The Poisonous Biscuit

by Paul Edwards

  "Where was you Frank?"

  "Oh, erm, I was outside having a smoke."

  "Ok, I'll note that down as it doesn't say it on here. Now, Samuel Adersall, where was you?"

  "I was at the bathroom."

  "Ok, I see that on here yes. Is that the only time you went?"

  "Erm, yes, why?"

  "Well, if the toilet has been cleaned at some point before the party, your fingerprints should still be on the flusher."

  "What? That's absurd. Lots of people have used it, they might have covered it with there’s by now. And what if I didn't flush the toilet? My fingerprints don't need to be there! What would I get out of killing people? Especially my own father, who is already dead anyway.”

  "Calm down, calm down. That's fine, but I was just curious why you didn't write it on here. A fingerprint examination will not be necessary, I can assure you of that."

  As time went on, the interviewing went on in the 'games room' with each and every individual spending about five minutes with Richard. This went on for a good while, while in the meantime Rita's body was being taken away, poor woman. It got round to the time for interviewing Julie and Sam, and they were nowhere to be seen.

  "Where is July and Sam?" Richard asked.

  "I think they sneaked out while the ambulance was here, should I ring them?" Hannah asked.

  "Yes, you should. Tell them they are only making things worse for themselves by running of like that. This is a murder investigation."

  It must have been the hundredth time he'd said 'this is a murder investigation.' Perhaps that was Richards favourite line? He seemed to enjoy reminding people of this fact. I suppose that made sense, after all it was his job and his way of life. When someone messed up his investigation and made it harder work for him, he was bound to be annoyed. After all, Richard was a stubborn man, and his ideas just had to be followed through.

  As they had all been spoken to him, Richard decided it was time to let them all go.

  "Thank you all for staying, even though technically I couldn't force you to. You can all go home now; I will be in touch. I will get all your contact details from Hannah. Bye."

  Everyone left, many of them shaking his hand, apart from the ones who were upset that he made them feel like criminals. The others understood that he was just trying to do his job and to keep people safe. After all, nobody wanted or deserves to fall into the hands of a murderer, and currently one was loose, if not more!

  After they went home, the Inspector was about to leave for a hotel.

  "See you on Monday Hannah if that's alright. So not tomorrow but the next day."

  "Ok, where are you staying?"

  "At a hotel probably, somewhere in the centre."

  "Really? You can stay here if you want."

  "That's exceedingly kind of you. How about this, I will stay in the hotel tonight and tomorrow night, then when I'm back on official business on Monday, I'll stay here whilst I'm conducting the investigation. Does that sound good?"

  "That's great Inspector. See you on Monday Morning. Do you need a lift into the centre? John could take you."

  "That would be most kind, thankyou Hannah." John went and got his car key and waved over to the Inspector, who then came over and got into his car. He brought his suitcase with him and his paperwork which he'd just filled in about the names of those present. During the journey, him and John had a nice little chat among themselves and got to know each other.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Since Rita had not been declared definitely dead by the paramedics, Hannah decided to drive down to the hospital to see if she was OK. After having not known her for long, it was a shame that she had to lose such an innocent friend so fast, who had no part to play in any wars Hannah had between her and anyone else. Poor Rita had been caught up in the middle of everything. Before leaving, Hannah said goodbye to her grandparents.

  "Leave the cleaning, I'll sought it when I get back, OK."

  "Don't be silly" her Grandma replied.

  "There's not use in telling her, she never listens" her Grandad then added, meriting another one of those disapproving looks from his wife.

  "Right, I'm going anyway, you know you don't have to do anything, but I know you'll do your own thing. See you when I get back."

  She got in the car and drove to the hospital. Hannah knew that it would probably be for nothing, but she did it anyway because it was the right thing to do. Meanwhile, she was simply happy that the inspector had come to try and get her of the hook. It was good of him to even consider staying at hers in the future, considering that she was the suspected murderer still. Most inspectors would run a mile at her suggestion. Thankfully though, Richard was not like most inspectors, he was one of a kind, as everyone he knew would say.

  Arriving at the hospital, Hannah was dreading the news she would probably receive. In effect, she had gone for nothing, but only as a formality. In that situation, who wouldn't? She went to the desk and asked to see her friend Rita.

  "Rita, who's Rita?"

  "Erm, I think It's Rita Parker.

  "No-one here by that name."

  "She's just come in not long ago, potentially dead I imagine, but they picked her up in the ambulance."

  "Oh, I see. Just a moment, we might not have her name on the system then."

  The receptionist then walked away, disappearing for a few minutes. Then she came back and asked Hannah a question.

  "Was Rita black?"

  "Yes, why?"

  “We've only received one black patient in that time frame, especially under these particular circumstances. A case of suspected poison was it?"

  "Yes, it was."

  "OK, well I have something to tell you about your friend, if you'd like to sit down."

  "I don't need to sit down."

  John and Inspector Richard arrived at Edinburgh centre. They were driving around quite a bit and had got to know each other quite well.

  "It's like a maze here isn't it?" John asked.

  "Yes, it is. But I can assure you, it's not as bad as Manchester! That is a minefield."

  "Is it? Gosh I could never survive there then. This is bad enough thanks."

  Richard then saw a hotel and looked at John. Next, he spoke out of the blue.

  "That's it there! I think that's it."

  "Where?"

  "There, it's called 'The Sparkle of Edinburgh."

  Driving around and around in circles, they looked for a space. Most places charged for parking, sadly. Luckily, while they were looking at a certain spot, a man came to their window and spoke to them.

  "I have this ticket here if you need it. It will entitle you to park for many hours. I got a long one, but it turns out I won't need it."

  "Thanks" John said to him, taking the ticket from him and placing it on display. This meant he didn’t need to pay to park after all. After they got out, they walked to the hotel from where they were parked, after John insisted on carrying Richard's case for him. This was another sign of maturity from John, who normally would never offer to do such a thing for someone. In fact, John was not the type to even want to carry his own case. He would rather not have a suitcase at all. Thankfully though, he knew Richard was an important man. Pulling his case, he walked with Richard into the hotel. There was a nice set of swirling doors as they walked through the entrance, and there was a man who greeted them and offered to take their suitcase for them. This seemed like it must be five-star service, or near enough.

  Despite this help which was offered, John still did cling to the Inspector and walked with him to his room. They got into the elevator and went up to floor five, which it turned out Richard would be staying on. As they got to the door, the member of staff who had Richards case opened the door for him after swiping a card in the door, which he then gave to Richard.

  "Thanks a lot. Please enjoy your stay with us" the man said.

  "Thank you, see you around" Richard replied. After the member of staff had gone, John did something he would n
ever normally do for anyone. He offered to help Richard unpack.

  "That's truly kind of you John. Are you sure?"

  "Yes, you’re doing Hannah a favour, so I think you deserve a favour."

  John hanged up all his shirts in the wardrobe, while Richard set up his laptop and then put his toiletries in the bathroom, items which were rather personal and needed to be to his liking. Richard needed everything to be in a specific place. All the labels of his after shave or shower gel had to be facing him, they couldn't be placed at random or facing the wall. As well as this, they had to be descending in height all the items he would lay on the bathroom side. He would look critically at each item, making sure it was perfect. No doubt, if anyone attempted to poison Richard through these items, they would fail miserably, as he would notice that the items were not exactly how he'd left them, and that consequently they'd been tampered with.

  At the Hospital, Hannah was standing there, waiting for an answer about what had happened to her friend.

  "What do you want to tell me?"

  "Well, her immune system was not very strong as it was."

  "And? You doctors need to say what you mean more. Next you'll be saying she has P231LK whatever that is."

  The receptionist looked shocked for a moment, so Hannah apologised.

  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. It's just, I've lost a lot of people lately, so I need to know how she is.”

  Of course, this receptionist couldn't help what had happened, and she had experienced much worse than a little rudeness like this, thankfully. Nevertheless, she was shocked and looked at Hannah as if she were not happy. Then, after a few moments, she spoke again.

  "Ok, the thing is, Rita did not make it. Rita is dead. I'm sorry."

  "What? No! That can't be surely?"

  "I'm afraid it is sadly. You can go and say you final goodbyes before her body is taken. I will ring them and ask them to admit you, Ok."

  Chapter Forty-Four

  At 'The Sparkle of Edinburgh,' Richard and John had finished unpacking, when John noticed that there was a kettle in the room. It was on the side, a side which was like a table for writing on that was attached to the wall. At the back of that, there was a large mirror which was opposite the bed. This sought of table, was like an unmovable desk that had a chair underneath it. To one side was this kettle, to the other there was an information pack about the hotel. At the side of Richards bed there was a table with a landline and on the other side was an empty table.

  Being the cheeky one that he was, John made reference to the kettle in front of them.

  "I notice you have a kettle in here Inspector."

  "Oh yes, would you like a drink before you go?"

  "That would be lovely thank you." John filled the kettle up with water for him and then put the tea bags into the two available mugs. He poured the water and was about to pour in the powdered milk.

  "Stop!" Richard suddenly said. "Please, none of that horrible stuff. I'd rather have it black."

  John then pulled his hand away, pouring only powdered milk into his own. After this, he passed Richard his drink and then sat down, on one of the two chairs. They started drinking, until John noticed something.

  "Oh, you've got two biscuits there which they've provided. Isn't that great?"

  "Yes, I suppose it is. Would you like one?"

  "If you’re sure, yes thank you."

  John opened the biscuit and started eating it. As he was doing so, they started in conversation again, with Richard asking him questions.

  "So, John, what had happened to your mum? I believe she has died. I'm sorry to hear that."

  "Yes, she got cancer I'm afraid."

  "That's awful, sorry to hear it. On a more positive note, I'd like to let you know I've spoken to Andria about what happened in her house and she admits that she drugged you up, but only because she was scared and also wanted a bit of fun. She claimed to have done similar things to other men but without drugs. Based on that, I'll leave it to discuss between you and her, but I wouldn't go the police, because you wouldn't want her being arrested for murder based on a misunderstanding, would you?"

  John seemed relieved that Andria had finally owned up and explained herself. It made it look less like she had something to hide. For all that time he was terrified of her, thinking she was a serial killer who was after him if she could not silence him.

  "Thanks for that Inspector. On second thoughts, I will not go to the police. I wouldn't want her arresting unless she actually killed my Dad. To be honest, I cannot think of a reason why she would want to do that, it's just not logical."

  "That's good to here. Now, may I ask, are there any people who you think would have a motive for killing your father?"

  John paused for a moment to think. His dad was a great man, but there was the reality that he had money as well. Surely, he had no real enemies.

  "If anyone did have a motive to kill my Dad, it must have been for his money."

  "You mean, like a relative of some sort?"

  Not knowing what to say, John froze and had some long thought about what mess he might be digging himself or Hannah in to. In essence, he was in reality one of the suspects on the list if money was the motive, as well as Hannah."

  "Well" John continued, "I suppose it looks bad on me if people think I killed him to marry Hannah and have the money, and it looks bad on Hannah who people think is a gold digger. Despite this, for some reason I don't think it's Hannah and I know it's not me. There must be another motive someone had."

  "I agree John. Strangely enough, I don't think it was you or Hannah either. There is definitely something else going on, but I can't quite put my finger on it at the moment. Let's just say, I don't just think Jack's money was the motive. In fact, I'm not even sure the killer really got what they wanted after all."

  Hannah looked at Rita's body, as her friend lied there cold. Poor woman. How could someone kill so indiscriminately? It seemed as if this killer would not let anyone stand in their way, whatever they were trying to accomplish. Was it another 'Jack the Ripper'? All Hannah knew was that she felt like a living disaster. Anyone who came to her house was at risk of death and she didn't understand why.

  Hannah went back home to her grandparents and told them the bad news.

  "She's dead? Really?" her Grandma asked her.

  "Yes. I don't understand what's going on Grandma, I really don't. Let's just hope that Inspector Richard can. By the way, where's John? Did he give the Inspector a lift?"

  "Yes he did, but he's not come back yet."

  "Why am I not surprised? He'll be chatting with him no doubt, knowing John. Just watch, he will be eating a meal with him right now and on the Inspectors expense, mark my words."

  "Aww, he's not all bad though is he?"

  "You might think it's cute, but I don't Grandma." Hannah walked to her room to contemplate on all that had happened and have some rest. She had lost her husband, her friend's children who were like nephews and nieces, her sister-in-law whom she didn't like, and now a friend who she'd not known for long but who was lovely. What next? What could possibly get worse? Surely nothing else could happen after this. Sadly though, reality did not deal with number, nor with chance. As Jack used to say, 'Chance means nothing, only reality actually means anything.'

  At the hotel, John and Richard had finished their cup of tea and had got to know each other quite well. After this, John was about to leave the door.

  "See you later Inspector, I'll probably go and find something to eat now, maybe back at Hannah's if not in the town centre."

  "Oh, I've just had a thought. I'm probably going to go downstairs and eat in the hotel restaurant in a moment, if you'd like to come along? I would invite Molly my next-door neighbour, who often eats in the restaurant attached to our apartments a few floors below. But seen as your here instead, how about you? After all the good work you've done, it will be on me."

  John smiled and looked delighted.

  "Are you sure? I wouldn't
want to go overboard."

  "Nonsense, you did me a favour and I'd like to return it. Learn John, grab opportunities while they’re available. When your offered something today, it might not be offered again tomorrow, if you remember that you won't go far wrong."

  It seemed that Hannah had predicted right after all what would be happening. John always had everything given to him on a plate for some reason. He always managed to land on his feet and manipulate every situation to work for him. Sometimes it was not clear if this was deliberate, or pure good luck. Needless to say, it was not the same kind of luck Hannah was experiencing, and she clearly hated this fact.

  Chapter Forty-Five

  Helen and her family were staying at home with sad faces whilst looking into thin air. They did not know what to say, considering all that had happened. This could have been any one of them, but thankfully it wasn't this time. After half an hour of silence, Helen broke her silence.

  "Arrrrrrrrrr! Arrrrrrrrr! Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!" she cried out load, which prompted Kwiatoslaw and Sally to put their arms around her.

  "Please, calm down Mum, everything is fine. We all have each other."

  Helen was not impressed and responded to them.

  "We shouldn't have gone! We shouldn't have gone!" Then she looked directly at Kwiatoslaw. "I should’ve listened to you, what is wrong with me? Why am I so trusting?"

  Helen was crying that much that she was struggling to breathe, then she turned to Sally.

  "I'm sorry for risking your life like that sweetheart. No more parties at that house ever again!"

  Sally of course was not having any of it, she knew it was not her mum's fault. How could anyone had predicted this? It was an unforeseen event, clearly. Despite this fact, Helen got up and walked out of the room and into the garden, to have some time to herself.

  Thankfully, the garden was now accessible, so she could just open the back door and step out, as many of the things that were originally blocking the door were now in the shed which they'd finally got around to finish building. As well as that, the garden was now much better. All the weeds were gone, the grass was finally short, the falling down fences were replaced, and the repairable ones were fixed. Consequently, it was now a garden of peace, one in which someone could sit and clear their head, as Helen needed to do. They had a nice wooden bench which she was sat on, which was a rocking bench attacked to something above rather than the seat directly being on the ground. Of course, the frame was on the ground, but then it attached itself to the top of the seat part of the bench, and it was flexible as it had springs of some sought involved.