Agent Morris paused and looked at the entire team as they scribbled tiny notes, trying as much as possible to make sense of whatever was about to get down. She loved the kind of enthusiasm that was going around and needless to say, all that she wanted to do was make sure that every single detail was getting all sorted out by every agent, in their own different way. That way, the leads on how to go about the case would be incredible.
“Ok, so the next order of business is going out there and getting ourselves a vice president.”
Chapter 5:
-The second witness-
Once the deliberation was completed, the police officers decided to open Mr. Brown’s case scenario and agent Howard was assigned with the duty of digging up more information. Until then, Mr. Brown was still to be investigated and needless to say, remain as a number one and therefore a primes suspect.
Another thing the police officers were to pay attention was the list. It was without a doubt a very important aspect as far as the case was concerned and since they didn’t have any time to waste, it was about that time that they made sure that they were getting to pursue the second witness.
By that time, the forensics people were still taking their time to analyze all of the findings that they were getting from the whole thing and the last thing that Agent Morris wanted to do was to make them hurry up. If they did exactly that, then they were going to have a very difficult time staying afloat since their findings would be inaccurate.
And so as the scientists were busy doing their thing, she thought that the best thing would have been for her to just kick back and get to do her own thing rather perfectly.
The next suspect was the vice president of Mrs. Jones’ company. For a very long time, she didn’t seem like the kind of person who would organize for her boss to get murdered. But from the look of things, it seemed as though her ambition had been overlooked for a very long time and now it seemed as though the only thing that could happen was having her get all the necessary facts on her.
She was dangerous, like the thorns on a rose flower, only realized after a stinging prick. And for a moment, Agent Morris didn’t understand why she chose to not investigate her properly. Maybe it was because she had an assistant at work and needless to say, she was the most amazing human being ever.
But thankfully, she did her background check on Mrs. Jones’ secretary as well as her vice president and from the look of things, the secretary was clean. But it was the vice president who looked rather too ambitious.
According to the research, the woman had managed to knock off all the competition for the vice presidency but that said, it seemed as though the means that she used were unorthodox. And that said, the only thing that would have made any more sense would have been for them to take a hike from work and arrest her. But still, something just wasn’t sitting right with that woman.
It seemed as though she knew how to cover up her tracks and so if she was going to be approached and interrogated like a suspect, then the police needed to be very well prepared. And that explained why Agent Morris wanted to have a meeting before they could proceed with anything.
The arrest was supposed to be done as impeccably as possible, making sure that they weren’t leaving any stones unturned. And that said, the next thing for them to do was to make a point of going under the radar and getting the suspect without necessarily having to get the attention of the media.
It was no secret that the media had begun raising an eyebrow as far as dealing with the case was concerned and it went without saying that giving them a reason to run a story about the lemon pie murder would not be as shrewd. And it was because of that that Agent Morris made sure that they were doing all in their power to make everything all sorted out without a problem.
As usual, Miss Katrina moss was at work conducting a secretive meeting when they stormed in, reading her Miranda Rights. Everyone in the board room seemed a little bit shocked, but not everyone apparently. It seemed as though the more they kept on working, the more they were having to do this more often than not.
Miss. Katrina moss was unusually calm. It felt as though she was expecting them to storm in and make the arrest and that said, she cooperated fully, making sure that she wasn’t in a position to show any signs of guilt or else she was going to make their work very easy at the end of the day.
With a smile on her face, she put her hands forward, allowing the arresting officer with the handcuffs to do his duty and then walked off, leaving the members of the board with their eyes as well as mouths wide agape. Most of them weren’t really surprised that she was a prime suspect because they always knew she was a snake.
***
Katrina Moss, that was the name of the ambitious vice president who was on the verge of being crowned as the president of the Jones Lemon Pie company. At first, Agent Morris didn’t want to be straight forward with the interrogation like it was her style. But instead, she wanted to make sure that she had given her time in the interrogation room so that she could get to study her and see where she stood with all of the pressure that suspense grants a patient.
That said, the only important thing that could have happened at that moment was for all of the agents to join agent Morris on the other side of the glass. She preferred this to happen so that, like she already told them, she wanted everyone to form their different opinion. Getting to do this will allow people to think with their gut even before getting to hear the woman speak. And if they were getting this one right, then the case wouldn’t take that long.
The forensics people were still working on the findings but word from their department was that they were almost done. The presentation was going to be done as soon as the interrogation with the vice president was over and done with. And after that, they were going to see what course the case was going to take.
It was the third day after the gruesome murder and they knew that if at all they weren’t going to come up with any form of statement and present to the media, then the public was going to ask for justice in the worst way possible.
And since the media was always on the side of the public since they wanted ratings, there was nothing that was going to prevent them from acting their worst and making sure that they were getting everything out of control. As a matter of fact, the only bad thing to happen at that moment would have been to fail showing up with some concrete proof of progress as far as the case was concerned.
That way, they would have such a difficult time stay afloat.
“Mrs. Moss, we are very sorry that we had to bring you like a criminal. I swear this wasn’t our intention. We just found some evidence that was so incriminating that we had to bring you in like that. Are you ok?”
Mrs. Moss just smiled from ear to ear and didn’t utter a word. For a second, Agent Morris thought that maybe she was just getting to play some games as it was customary for her, according to the word around the street. But this time round, it wasn’t because she was playing games.
Mrs. Moss was annoyed and thus was looking for better ways in which she would vent her emotions without actually killing a police officer. But Agent Morris didn’t seem to care about it. As a matter of fact, she continued chitchatting as though she hadn’t seen the scowl on her face.
“Do you like tea?”
‘No.”
“Coffee?”
“Green tea? Oh we make the best green tea in town. You should try it out.”
“I SAID NO!!! Look, I don’t know why you brought me here chained up like a criminal. So I think it would be a good idea if you guys just go ahead and tell me what is up so that I can have it all sorted out. In the end, I am innocent and I don’t think you are doing this according to the law.”
“Wow, you need to ease up a little. We aren’t really enemies right here, are we? Just cool down for a minute so that we can get everything all sorted out without any problems. Do you think we can do that?”
“Well, let’s get on with it already!”
“Good then. Did you or did you not kill your boss?
”
“No.”
“Good.”
“So, are we done?”
“Yes, we are just about done.”
“You realize that we could have just done this over the phone.”
“I know. But the thing is, you don’t tell me how to do my job.”
“Am I free to go?”
“Yes, you are. Have a nice day Mrs. Moss.”
And as soon as she was given the chance to leave, Mrs. Moss didn’t really wait any longer. And as she stormed out, everyone on the other side of the window knew that it was going to end up in a lawsuit and the commander was a little bit concerned.
“You realize that this could end up in a law suit.”
“I don’t think so. Just wait and see what happens.”
Chapter 6:
-Fate takes a twist-
The interview was finally over and just like it was expected, each and every one of the police officers had observed and needless to say, made their own conclusions to the best of their abilities.
And now the only thing that seemed to matter was the fact that they were to make a point of getting to sit down with all of the facts and get to stay focused by all means necessary. And as the commander and Agent Morris were waiting for everyone else to show up, it seemed as though the most important thing to be done at that moment was to stay focused and wait. But the commander needed to know about the progress that the case was making.
“You know I don’t mean to interfere with your case and all. But I just want to know how things are fairing on. For instance, I need to know if any of these suspects are the murderers.”
Agent Morris just smiled. She and the commander had been friends for a very long time and it didn’t take much for her to realize that her friend was starting to panic. But she didn’t blame the commander for that either. The news people were already starting to talk and it wasn’t going to be a very long time before they started opening their mouths and coming with some half baked stories about how the police force was incompetent and all that crap.
And since the commander always had a clean sheet as far as the murder cases were concerned, he was really looking forward to not tainting his reputation. And that explained the reason why he wanted Agent Morris on this one since she was the very best.
“At the moment, I think it’s too early for us to tell. But I am sure that we are on to something. And if we aren’t, then we would have made progress regardless.”
And what kind of progress would that be?”
“We would have known that we are indeed chasing the wrong people. And if that will be the case, then I am sure that we will have no other choice but to go back to the drawing board and see to it that we are doing something about it. It is very important for us to assure ourselves that we are on to something or else, we are going to have a very difficult time.”
And with that, the commander seemed to have relaxed a little bit. But still, he needed to have all the facts ready. Agent Morris on the other hand was concerned about him and didn’t want for the commander to worry about things that he can’t control. And so the best thing that she could have done at that juncture would have been to just kick back and reassure him that everything was going to be alright at the end of it all.
“Look, we will find something tangible for the police spokesperson to give the news people. I am sure that the public, in as much as they are always more than ready to tear us apart, will understand that we are doing our best, even if our best might not seem to be good enough to them.”
The commander looked at her old friend and smiled. But the grin on his wrinkly old face wasn’t genuine. And Agent Morris knew that it wasn’t genuine because she had known the commander long enough and well enough to tell a genuine grin from the one that was put there to make her feel better and stop being concerned.
“Look, I think we are going to do all in our power to ensure that everything has been sorted out as far as this case is concerned. But until then, it would be a good idea for us to ensure that everything we do has been sorted out. We will follow a lead until we are sure that it’s not the right one. And once that has been done, we will proceed to look in the other direction.”
“Ok, I just hope that we are going to get a grip on this one. I know how the public can be especially with such cases. They always are looking for a scapegoat and when they can’t find, it’s the police they blame.”
“And then the politicians will jump on the bandwagon and try to make us look bad, diverting the attention from their incompetence.”
They just shook their heads and smiled. And for what was worth, the grin on the commander’s face this time looked genuine. They were both tired of how things always played out. But still, the police always did their very best to ensure that people are safe. And as far as they were concerned, there was nothing nobler than that.
Agent Morris wanted to say something about the debate that they were having but then again, she remembered that it would be much more important to just kick back and wait for the forensics team to arrive since they could hear the rushed footsteps. The head of the forensics team was none other than the brilliant Agent McCartney.
***
For the past couple of days, it seemed as though the case wasn’t going to proceed anywhere until the forensics people had arrived. And now that they were there, it was no secret that the entire team was more than anxious to find out what was going to happen at the end of the day.
According to history, sometimes the results came out and changed the whole landscape of the case, meaning that they had to start over or had to take a totally different road than they one that they were finding.
At the end of the day, they all prayed that they were going to have results that would support all the hard work that they had been putting in the past couple of days. And that said, the only thing that seemed to matter the most was the fact that they were going to have to bend to the will of the evidence, as they put it. And that said, they were left with no other choice but to wait and see what the outcome was going to be.
Agent McCartney started with his scientific jargon just like he always did when he was nervous. But it was the commander who was the first one to shut him down.
“Ok McCartney, try as much as possible to speak in English because, as you are well aware, not every one of us is accustomed to Greek.”
Everyone chuckled at the commander’s joke. But one thing was still for sure and that was the fact that everyone was scared of what findings he was going to spew. And judging from his facial expression, it didn’t seem as though Agent McCartney was the bearer of anything that was close to resembling good news. And that alone gave him a reason to worry a great deal.
He was clearly looking for a reason to massage the reality. But since the police officers who were present at the briefing wanted to be given the truth as bluntly as possible, then the chief forensic scientist decided to give them whatever the heck that they wanted without even the vaguest attempt at massaging the reality.
“The killing in this case was done by a professional. And that could be said because we couldn’t find any signs of struggle as far s the body was concerned. The latter also points to the fact that the killer knew what they were doing and hence caught the poor old woman off guard.”
The chief forensic scientist paused for a moment. From the look of things, it seemed as though he was trying to gauge how his information was being received by the fellow agents in the addressing room. And from the look of things, it seemed as though so far, they were doing all in their power not to show their real feelings. He hadn’t even started telling them how it was going down and at that point, they were already trembling.
It was at that moment that he was left with no other choice but to wonder just how he was going to tell it like it was. He was sure that no one was going to like the outcome of how things were going to unfold in the end. But that said, the chief forensic scientist had a job to do and it didn’t really matter what his colleagues were g
oing to think about it. The evidence was the truth and that was final.
The commander suspected that the findings weren’t going to be that pleasant and so he urged him to just get on with it.
“You know; we don’t really need to like what you say. For crying out loud you are giving us heart conditions with the way that you are stalling. Go ahead, give it to us as raw as you can.”
A couple of heads nodded as they looked at the chief forensic scientist without uttering a word. It seemed as though things weren’t going to happen according to how he had been planning all along. And if that was to be the case, then it spelled doom for everyone. So, yes, they needed to know the outcome and didn’t need for him to stall.
“According to the evidence, one of us might have been the killer. I don’t know how I am going to put this one but I think it might end up changing the way that we are looking at this case.”
“I am afraid I am not following whatever it was that you are saying. So please, cut to the chase Agent McCartney. What are you trying to say?” what about the finger prints?”
COZY MYSTERY: Lemon Pie Murder Series (Lemon Mystery Murder) Page 3
