The Case of the Parker's

by Michael Gerald

  CHAPTER 4

  As if been electrocuted, Bella jerked up from the bed. Sensing she has slept more than expected. It was fully in the hanger when she returned later yesterday because they were tied up with work on preparation for Mrs Jennifer’s birthday. Could it be she left it undone, but no, that was far from the Lilian she knew as she would always want to to get things done completely the moment she lays her hands on them. Bella then left the room to inquire from Mrs Lilian who should be in the kitchen by now in order to satisfy her curiosity. The Parker’s kitchen had two entrances, one led straight into the dining room, while the other one had its entrance at the end of the hallway where the maid’s room was. So she walked quickly to the end of the hallway, then turned left to the kitchen direction. She opened the kitchen door. Looked at the kitchen surroundings in utter confusion as the kitchen was still looking calm, no kettles or teacups, nor was there anything cooking for breakfast, and most of all, there was no sign of Mrs Lilian. Bella then walked slowly through the kitchen, softly calling out for Mrs Lilian but got no response. She then approached the other entrance of the kitchen that led to the dining room. Now she was out of the kitchen and in the dining room. Looking even more confused at what she was looking at. The dining tables bore no trays for breakfast or anything of the sort, it was almost the same way she left it after cleaning up the dining room the night before. While the was slowly observing the oddity of her surroundings marked by Lilian’s absence, she noticed two displaced dining chairs as she walked further into the dining room. One of the chairs was lying with it’s back on the floor, while the second chair was lying at an angle with the resting and sitting edges touching the floor. She walked towards the chair slowly and steadily as if approaching a mysterious light from space. As she got closer to the chair, she walked around it and behind the chair was a gory scene that answered her questions. Bella’s eyes immediately popped and shimmered with tears, her feet became weak and trembling as she staggered backwards. Her hands vibrated as she struggled to use them to cover her mouth. As if by reflex, on seeing Lilian’s bloody face which was facing her direction, Bella let out streams of supersonic screams that should be enough to wake everyone up that morning. There was a marked crime scene in the Parker’s residence. The police and first responders had arrived, they taped the area where Lilian’s body was, making sure the body or anything around it was not displaced while they await the crime scene investigator. Obviously Bella succeeded in alerting the inhabitants of the Parker's mansion, forcing all of them out of bed with series of repeated supersonic screams. It was Mr Richard who first ran to the dining room on hearing Bella's voice and witnessed the horrible scene. Without hesitation, he dialled 911 and informed them of the case. Now everyone one was downstairs, still in their sleeping wears. Mr Parker was talking to one of the officers in the premises when Mrs Catherine the Crime Scene Investigator came in through the entrance door with a briefcase, walking straight down to the other end where the police secured the crime scene. She came up to where the officer and Mr Parker stood, greeted Mr Parker and introduced herself as the crime scene investigator. She was obviously a woman in her prime, firm and wore a strict look. She was tall and had a bold manner of speaking. “I am sorry for your loss sir, my deepest condolences for the demise of one of your own.... If you'll excuse me, sir, I’ll have to do my job and access the body" She said while she left, signalling the officer to expand and secure the perimeter while she settled somewhere to open her briefcase, bringing out a pair of latex hand gloves and wore them. The officer nodded and inquired Mr Parker kindly give some space as they would want to preserve a greater portion of the scene. Mr Parker agreed and humbly left to meet with his family who were gathered at the other end of the house. “Who would have wanted her dead?” The thought sprang simultaneously across their minds. “She was such a gentle and good person,” Gabriella said,” why would anyone come after her?”.” The question should be how the killer even got inside” Vincent contributed. “The odds are many, but still anything is possible,” Allen said. Bella was somewhere away from where they were, been consoled by Mr Richard. She has been sobbing since she saw Lilian’s body.

  While various safety precautionary measures where observed by the officers on ground, an averagely tall man, wearing an overall coat came in, as he walked in he stopped by the entrance door which was widely opened. He wore a brown leather hat which made his appearance look more significant. As he stopped, he looked around for a while, now walking slowly he gently turned his head toward all directions of the house while he walked slowly purposely observing and taking note of everything. He got to the crime scene and stopped. Now looking more inquisitively at the dead body and watching how Mrs Catherine was carefully studying the body. He then left her there. Gabriella noticed when he came in, she watched how he turned around looking randomly as if admiring or looking for something. His eyes then caught with Gabriella’s and she looked away. He then started walking towards them. On getting to where they were he reached for the inner pocket in his coat and brought out his badge “I am detective Conan, from the Newville homicide department, I would the case" He announced after shaking Mr Parker. “I believe you are Mr Parker right?” he asked “Yes, Mr Williams Parker, this is my house” Mr Parker replied like an obedient schoolboy. “Okay good. Firstly, accept my deepest condolences for your demise,” Detective Conan said removing his hat and revealing his attractive blonde hair and brown eyes. He went on “I understand what you all might be going through right now trust me, I know the feeling, but we have a killer to apprehend I think its best we begin investigations from everyone within at the time of the incidence. And so I would be having a word with every one of you separately. Please I beg for your cooperation, let’s work together and I assure you we would be done with the case in no time. Alright?” They all affirmed without saying a word. Detective Conan looked to his left and saw Mr Richard consoling Bella. He slowly walked up to her with his hat in his hands and said softly “Hey hey hey!” with a low tone, “it’s going to be okay, alright?” She barely responded. As he stood up he went to meet with Mrs Catherine who was already done collecting some few relevant physical evidence. They both spoke for a while and went outside to continue their conversation. The medical team on ground were then allowed to move the body into the ambulance to be transported to the lab for further autopsy and findings. Detective Conan came back into the house and approached the

  Parker’s and said: “okay then, shall we?”.

  CHAPTER 5 There was a room upstairs in the Parker’s mansion, taking the right from the top of the central staircase in the walkway. It was not too specious like the other rooms but it could comfortably accommodate two persons. It had two single cushion chairs with four wooden legs. It was the perfect place for an interrogation session according to detective Conan. The room had other minor but necessary furniture's but not as fanciful as the ones in the other rooms. With detective Conan was officer Steve who came as an accomplice and perhaps for security reasons. Detective Conan pulled off his coat and laid it on the arm of the chair he was to sit on. Mrs Jennifer was now seated on one of the cushion chairs, facing the detective who sat on the opposite chair. “So, Mrs Jennifer. Happy birthday in arrears, sorry it’s coming late actually” he said. “Thank you" she simply said. “So moving on Mrs Parker, I'll be asking you some questions and I demand nothing but your sincerity, okay?”.... “So help me God" Jennifer replied smiling maybe, how close you two were, if there was anything extra, perhaps," the detective asked. “To be clear detective, Lilian was a hardworking woman. She worked tirelessly, ensuring that everything around the house was in order and so on. Apart from that, all I know about her is that she is a widow. Her husband died a year after they got married, So she’s like alone” Jennifer stated plainly. “Oh, very well then. So lately was there anything weird you noticed around Lilian maybe like anything unusual that she started pulling up?” the detective asked inquisitively. “Surprisingly none, she’s been the same way ever since
. Her character, as well as her service here was a satisfactory” she answered. “I see. So moving away from that, did you happen to notice anything unusual last night during or after your birthday. Did you suspect anything?”...... Jennifer paused for a while as if trying to remember a piece of crucial information, then she responded saying “Not really detective, Nothing went wrong or should I say, nothing seemed suspicious to me". The detective looked at her for a while, “Oh yea, I actually heard something. A kind of noise last night, while I was in bed. I honestly thought it was the maid or the butler working downstairs cause they sure had a lot of work to do last night" Jennifer said. “Okay then,” the detective said, then brought out his notebook and wrote some few things there. “Alright then Mrs Jennifer, you can go,” the detective said, “Oh, okay then" Jennifer stood up and left. “Hello Mr Parker,” Detective Conan said, as he stood up to shake him, please have your seat. “So Mr Williams sir, I'll be asking you some few questions and in return, I require your sincerity". “Sure, of course," Mr Parker replied. “So, how close are you to Lilian?” Detective Conan asked. “Honestly, it’s just an employer and employee kind of thing. Despite it being my wife who hired her though, we barely have anything beyond a formal relationship” Mr Parker said. “Okay then, have you noticed anything strange about her lately? Maybe an unusual behaviour or something like that".. “Honestly detective, I've noticed nothing off about her. Frankly speaking, Lilian has done really well for us. She works tirelessly and diligently” Mr Parker said softly.. “What a strong woman she was.... So moving on sir, did you notice anything strange last night, maybe before or after your wife’s birthday party?” Detective Conan inquired.... “Well not really detective, I actually crashed early” ...... “your wife said she heard disturbing noises downstairs while in bed, did you happen to hear this too," the detective asked leaning forward. “Not at all, although there was a time I woke up last night but she wasn’t in bed. So probably she was awake, maybe in the bathroom or so, but I heard nothing detective”.... “Okay then,” the detective said, jotting some things down in his notebook. Then he stood up and said “that would be all for now sir," he said to Mr Parker who stood up and received a handshake from him the detective was busy with his notes, jotting some things and reviewing them. So far the investigation hasn't yielded anything tangible. He could only refer to a trend that exists solely between Jennifer and Allen. They were the two persons so far who heard a disturbing noise in the dining room downstairs. Vincent had nothing for him, same with Gabriella and Veronica. Most less important was Patricia who didn't even ⁸know who the deceased was. He was still going through his note when Mr Richard came in. “You’re the butler right, Mr Richard?”... “Yes I am sir" he replied. “Do have a seat”. The butler sat and looked at detective Conan who was still jotting something down. He glanced at officer Steve who stood by a corner. “So, Mr Richard, you’re the butler of this big mansion. You certainly know everywhere in this house like the back of your palm. Let’s put aside any formal thing for now. Look, Richard, I don’t really know this Lilian, but so far from what I've heard, she was a good person who got what she didn’t deserve in the most gruesome of ways. Now you would agree with me that justice must be served on her behalf, no matter what it takes. Whatever it is you know, it would help me get to the bottom of this case . Trust me, Richard, you don’t have to always clean their mess. Lilian would want you to open up on this one for her sake. So tell me, Mr Richard, what's your take on this?”...... Mr Richard was already looking unease, the detective had really inspired him with his short speech, he simply said “yea, sure, of course, you’re right” as if being compelled. “Good, Now tell me what you feel I should know". Mr Richard looked at detective Conan straight in the eyes, then he looked at officer Steve who gave him a slight nod as if giving him permission to talk. Mr Richard then looked at detective Conan once more, letting out a sigh of relief before he said anything.

  CHAPTER SIX On the outskirts of Newville in a direction eastward from the Parkers, mansion was a small remote vicinity. It was more of an intermediary location between the main Newville and Woodpark city. The area was always calm and quiet during the day but at night, it’s quietness shouldn’t be mistaken for sound security. Late travellers at night were wary of downtown Newville and would most times prefer to take another longer route along East Avenue which was in an area west of Newville as it was safer and led directly to the main Newville. Passers-by were timorous while taking downtown Newville due to the kind of people that lived there. One could track a criminals hideout to downtown Newville. Travelling from downtown Newville to its uptown would take about twenty minutes by road but circumventing downtown Newville and taking East Avenue would take up to an hour by road. The houses in the downtown area of Newville were mostly rented lodges and had deteriorating appearances. On one of the blocks was a brown painted four-storey building. On the second floor of the building was room thirteen where Dan, a blonde-haired young man in his late twenties lived. He was averagely tall and had a moderately muscular body. He was mostly indoor during the day and moved out occasionally at night. He barely had any real friends as those he knew were riffraff’s like him. He was lying on his bed, with his squinted drunken eyes staring at the ceiling. He recalled when he left the home of the family that took him in some year’s back in Newtown city where he grew up and was an hour drive from Newville. Dan was fed up with Mrs Nancy’s theory of patience and her always reminding him that everything was going to be okay. He wanted more from life but life hasn’t been friendly to him. Before he met Mrs Nancy, he was on the streets and alleys like a young lost lamb crying helplessly. Anyone who saw him would know that he didn’t belong to the street. It had been a day after the fire incident at his place. He recalled vividly how terrifying it was for him to watch with shimmering eyes as the whole building of his apartment where they lived was engulfed in flames. Whether it was a gas pipe leakage or a wire connection that caused it he couldn’t possibly know at that time but he was certain that things would’ve been different for him now. His mother Miss. Rose was a fair and very charming woman. Rose was a promiscuous young lady at the time she met a young influential businessman, and it was there that things unfolded and to the birth of Dan. Her lover then was a rich young man who she met at his office when delivering a package to him from her workplace. That was the day it all started, despite he was married she ignored it and traded it for a jolly youthful life which led to her having an unwanted pregnancy. She feared abortion and it's possible harm and ruled it out as an option. So the only choice they had was for Rose to secretly keep the baby but on the condition that she would move far away and he would constantly send her money allowances to settle her bills and everything expense incurred, which she agreed. Dan was very young then and so he had trouble remembering his dad’s face whenever he comes visiting. His full name was also unclear to him but sometimes he tries to recollect the full name but ended up failing to come up with it. During the fire incident, Rose had quickly taken him downstairs for safety and ran back upstairs to get something she felt was very important “I’ll be back sweetie" she said to him. But she never did. The fire was spreading fast now and gutted its nearby surroundings and with the heat its emitted, he had to leave the scene so he wouldn’t get burnt. The fire service was nowhere to be sound so people attempted to abate the fire. Soon after there were a multitude of people in the area and it was rather uncomfortable for him so he left the area started strolling helplessly across the street nearby and alley. And that was when Mrs Nancy came into the picture. With the explanation he gave to her, it sounded as if he had nowhere to go and so she decided to take him in. Mrs Nancy was a middle-aged private nurse, although it wasn’t paying her enough but she, however, decided to take Dan in out of pity and in remembrance of her daughter who was involved in a ghastly train accident with her father on their way to see her mother-in-law. Dan has never been the same ever since. He couldn’t cope in school and he began to develop anger issues over the years. He r
ecalled hitting his classmate in sixth grade with a spanner for allegedly mocking his blonde hair. Nancy had talked her way into him, but she could only do her best. All that and every other thing mixed with the pain of being an orphan and alone created a rogue and drunk young man filled with nothing but an instinct to survive no matter what he was doing. He had tried meagre jobs, but the pay couldn’t last nor cater for his needs. And with not having a certificate whatsoever, theft was all that revolved around him as the only option. He tried to sit up on the bed using his hands as support but his fingers hurt him so bad “Damn!, so much stress for nothing" he grumbled. He reached for the remote on the bed and tried turning on his small-sized television in order to busy him from thinking. All he intended was to let the television play whatever was on air so his mind wouldn’t have to take him back in time to revise his wretched and unlucky existence. He randomly tuned to any channel and flung the remote on the bed. Just as he was about sinking himself back in his bed, what he heard from the television was a news report about the murder of a maid that took place earlier that day. He was less concerned about it knowing fully well the details. He was about dozing off when the reporter stated the full name of the wealthy businessman that owned the mansion where the maid worked. Like a glint in his memory indicating a familiar name in his head that he had long forgotten to remember. It was now revealed to him in full. With immediate alacrity, he jerked up from the bed to watch the news showing ardent interest to what the reporter was reporting. He watched keenly and earnestly at every detail stated about the mansion in main Newville hoping for something more to come about. After watching for a while, a picture of the influential businessman came up alongside that of his reported sister and brother. On sighting the picture, Dan's heart skipped a bit, his jaws dropped in shock, he felt a fire in his belle, a spunk, an intestinal fortitude. “The hell!” he exclaimed, still in shock.