9
1359 Words
PERFECT SHADOWS 9
Her meal request had confused the entire police station.
Steamed pumpkin fritters.
Pickled fish.
And a glass of warm milk with honey and black pepper.
Unusual. Very. Selene walked in like she was attending a brunch, not an interrogation. New hairstyle. Shorter. Curled softly around her face. She looked fresh. Almost glowing. She sat down and smiled at Detective Jaco like they were old friends.
“Morning, Detective,” she said cheerfully. “Today you can choose who I talk about.”
Jaco did not smile back.
“My husband,” she continued, counting on her fingers. “His brothers. My sister. Or my lovely mother-in-law.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“Choose well.”
Jaco thought carefully. Husband would be too obvious. Too expected.
“Your sister,” he said. “Nara.”
Selene grinned wide.
“Good choice.”
She took a slow sip of the warm milk.
“Nara was dumb,” she said plainly. “Dropped out of high school. Moved from one sugar daddy to the next. No direction. No shame.”
The camera crew shifted slightly behind the glass.
“But she was still my big sister,” Selene continued. “How dare she be that useless? I never gave up on her.”
She folded her hands.
“When everything started going wrong with my children… especially Lucas… I confided in her.”
Jaco listened closely.
“In fact,” Selene added, “she was the one who told me to hack Lucas. She said, ‘You built national systems, Selene. Why are you scared of your own son?’”
She smiled faintly.
“So I hacked him.”
Her expression darkened slightly.
“Then Adrian beat me up.”
Jaco looked up sharply.
“He said I violated Lucas’s privacy. That I was paranoid. That I had no right to dig into my own child’s affairs.”
She tapped the table lightly.
“And that’s when it clicked.”
Silence.
“Nara told him.”
Jaco’s jaw tightened.
“So I hacked her too,” Selene said casually.
She chuckled softly.
“What do British people say? Oh… ‘oh bollocks.’”
She shook her head in disbelief.
“My sister and my husband were sleeping together. For years.”
The room felt heavier.
“And not just that,” she continued calmly. “They were planning to kill me. Three years later in the future. When I retired.”
Jaco’s pen stopped moving.
“Retirement fund. Life insurance policies. Investments taken out in my name.”
She took another sip of milk.
“My car accident three years ago? That was Nara. She added water into my oil tank.”
Jaco’s eyes widened.
“I remember collapsing after finding out,” Selene said quietly. “ I was unconscious. I had to be supervised by a doctor for a month.”
She paused.
“When I recovered, I realised something very important.”
Her gaze sharpened.
“I had to hack everyone.”
The room was silent.
“That’s all for Nara today,” she said lightly. “I’m in a good mood. You can ask questions.”
Jaco sat there stunned. Even the camera crew behind the glass looked shaken. For a moment, they almost felt sorry for her.
“When was this?” Jaco asked.
“Exactly five months before the murders,” Selene replied without hesitation.
“Why didn’t you report it?”
Selene laughed softly.
“I did.”
She tilted her head.
“Your arrested Captain hid it.”
Jaco felt that one hit deep.
“Unfortunately for him,” she added, “I recorded everything. I’m a software engineer. A seasoned hacker. I know what the Marlowe name carries in this country.”
She leaned back.
“You’ll receive proof. Every report. Every attempt. Every dismissal. Law failed me.”
Jaco frowned.
“How will you send anything? You’re in prison. No phone. No computer.”
Selene chuckled again.
“You nearly ran a dog down this morning at the four-way stop,” she said calmly. “You checked your mirror twice.”
Jaco froze.
“That’s proof enough I can send anything.”
His face went pale. She slowly turned her wrist. A sleek watch rested there. He had never seen it before. She glanced at it.
“We’ve taken ninety minutes today,” she said pleasantly. “That means tomorrow will only be thirty minutes.”
She stood up smoothly.
“And tomorrow,” she added with a wicked little smile, “I’ll cover my favourite wicked witch… Mama Marlowe.”
She walked toward the door, then paused.
“Detective,” she said softly. “Be early.”
The door closed. Jaco remained seated. Stunned. Because he had definitely almost run over a dog that morning. And he had told no one. By the time Detective Jaco reached his office, the files were everywhere.
Trending.
Shared.
Downloaded.
Reposted.
The internal email system was flooded with links titled:
“Evidence Law Enforcement Buried.”
“Selene Marlowe’s Official Complaints.”
“Ignored Reports - Signed by Captain.”
Jaco locked his door and opened the first document. It was real. Official police report. Case number assigned. Statement logged under Selene Marlowe.
Allegation: attempted sabotage of vehicle.
Suspects named: Adrian Marlowe and Nara Grey.
Status: Insufficient evidence - Closed.
Signed off.
By the Captain.
Jaco opened the next file. Medical report attached. Photographs of bruises. Statement describing domestic assault. Recommendation for investigation.
Status: Complainant unstable. No further action.
Signed.
The Captain.
Jaco leaned back in his chair slowly. There were voice recordings too. Timestamped. Selene sitting in an office, explaining calmly. The Captain’s voice responding. Dismissive. Irritated. Protective of “the Marlowe name.” Another file.
Insurance policies taken out on Selene.
Beneficiaries: Adrian Marlowe.
Secondary beneficiary: Nara Grey.
Jaco felt something heavy settle in his chest. This wasn’t just corruption. It was obstruction. And if her reports had been taken seriously… Would ten people still be alive? The question burned. He stood abruptly.
.........
The holding area was quieter now. The Captain sat on the bench, no longer commanding, no longer confident. He looked up when Jaco entered.
“You believe her?” the Captain asked.
Jaco didn’t sit.
“I’ve gone through the files.”
Silence.
“You buried her complaints,” Jaco said flatly.
The Captain sighed. “It was a messy domestic situation.”
“You marked a sabotage report as unstable complainant.”
“She was paranoid.”
Jaco’s jaw tightened.
“She had evidence.”
The Captain looked away.
“The Marlowes were influential,” he muttered. “You don’t understand the pressure.”
Jaco stepped closer to the bars.
“Did you know what Adrian was planning?”
“No.”
“Did you suspect?”
Silence.
“That silence,” Jaco said quietly, “makes you accessory.”
The Captain looked up sharply.
“I never killed anyone.”
“You ignored reports,” Jaco shot back. “You blocked investigations. You protected a family with insurance policies tied to a woman who later killed ten people.”
The words hung heavy between them.
“You played a role,” Jaco said. “You may not have pulled a trigger. But you built the environment.”
The Captain’s face hardened.
“She made her choices.”
Jaco’s voice dropped lower.
“And maybe she made them because the law failed her.”
That one stung. The Captain said nothing. Jaco straightened.
“Internal Affairs will be adding accessory to obstruction and criminal negligence to your charges.”
As he turned to leave, the Captain spoke quietly.
“She’s manipulating you too.”
Jaco paused.
“Maybe,” he said. "The one who manipulated you is dead."
Then he walked out. Back in his office, the trending counter kept rising. Public opinion was shifting fast. Few called Selene a monster. Some called her failed by the system. Jaco stared at the screen. The bigger question was now unavoidable: If the law had acted when she first reported-
Would there have been any murders at all?
- Writer
