Suddenly, Kristin heard familiar voices calling her. She turned around and saw that they belonged to Jennifer Davidson and James Jackson, who were out walking Apollo.
‘Hi, Kristin! Why are you here?’ inquired Jennifer.
‘Hi. I like to go home across the embankment,’ said Kristin.
Looking into her brown eyes, James asked in a low voice, ‘Kristin, how are you?’
‘I’m all good,’ Kristin answered with a confident voice and looked at the dog. ‘Apollo is so happy.’
‘Yes, he likes to walk here,’ said James.
Seeing Jennifer Davidson’s indignant look, Kristin asked with a smile, ‘Jennifer, how are your boys?’
‘Thank you, Kristin. They are fine.’
‘Jenny, you have not forgotten that Leo should be collected from school,’ reminded James.
‘Oh James, we have to go,’ said Jennifer.
‘Jenny, you go without me. I will take a little walk with Apollo, then meet up with a friend,’ answered James, calmly.
Jennifer looked at James, puzzled, and said, ‘Okay, James. I will go then; my boys will be disappointed not to see you.’
‘I’ll call,’ uttered James.
Jennifer hugged James, then turned to Kristin and said dryly, ‘Bye, Kristin.’
‘Bye, Jennifer,’ answered Kristin, seeing her off with a long look.
‘Kristin, my mom visited me today and said that you were at her house,’ said James.
‘Yes, James, it is true. I was worried about you and decided to visit your parents.’
‘Kristin, you were worried about me?’
‘Yes, James, when I see a person in a bad way, I try to help.’
‘Of course, when a person is in need,’ said James in a sad voice.
‘No offense, James. I am sure that soon you will have a person who will become an important part of your life.’
‘Sorry, Kristin. I guess I look like an idiot.’
‘No, you are just very tired of everything that is happening. You must rest and relax, for it is not bad that you are meeting with a friend today, and you may also enjoy a couple of glasses of wine.’
‘As always you are right, Kristin. By the way, you know my friend, Debbie Larsson.’
‘Debbie? She is a good friend. I wish you good evening.’
‘Thanks.’
‘James, should I ask you something?’
‘Ask? If this something is so important.’
‘James, I know that terrible evening, you were at the house of Jennifer Davidson. What did you do there?’
‘You have stunned me with your question. How do you know that I was there?’
‘Sorry if I offended you, but I should know about it. Please, James.’
‘Okay, Kristin. I was there on that cold, rainy evening, I really wanted to talk to Jenny, to find out about my wife’s lover. I sat there on the stairs, I do not remember how long, but when I was about to leave, the front door opened slightly. Turning around, I saw Jenny and was surprised that her clothes were soaked through and through. I just apologized and went back to the pub.’
‘And you did not ask about your wife’s lover?’
‘No, Kristin, I did not ask anything. I only felt a burning shame for my weakness.’
‘James, did she say why her clothes were wet?’
‘She said that she’d forgotten to take her washing in that day and had rushed out into the rain to collect it. She obviously didn’t have time to change into her dry clothes before she opened the door.’
‘Thank you, James. I’ll go then. I wish you a good evening with a wonderful friend.’
‘Thank you, Kristin. See you soon.’
Illumination
Kristin was making coffee for herself and Cameron when the home phone rang.
‘Kristin, don’t interrupt your fine work, I will answer the phone!’
‘Okay.’
A minute later, Cameron came into the kitchen, handed the phone to her and said in a calm voice, ‘Kristin, it is Chief Inspector Steve Duke. He wants to tell you something.’
‘Thank you, dear,’ said Kristin and took the phone.
‘Hi, I’m listening to you, Chief Inspector. Yes, of course, I remember. Thanks, I thought so. I’m fine, only my thoughts are confused. Will you close the case? Understandably. Bye.’
After finishing the telephone conversation, she silently held the telephone receiver near to her ear for a few seconds, until Cameron spoke, ‘Kristin, what has happened?’
‘Nothing, Chief Inspector Steve Duke just announced that he would close the case.’
‘But that’s good, isn’t it? He must know who the murderer is now.’
‘Dear, he thinks that Craig Davidson is the killer, but I’m not so sure, although there is his confession and some evidence.’
‘Kristin, it looks like you can safely complete your article now. If they have taken such a serious decision, there must be come kind of confirmation.’
‘Maybe,’ said Kristin. ‘I will take my coffee with me to the study, I want to complete the article.’
‘All right, dear. I will miss you even when you are in the next room.’
‘Thank you, dear. I will turn on beautiful music and work with inspiration.’
‘Then I will watch football on TV.’
‘Good luck, dear,’ Kristin said, taking her coffee with her, and she went to the study.
Kristin tried to gather all her thoughts together for more than twenty minutes but they remained stubbornly disjointed and confused, scattered in all different directions. She picked up her coffee, sighed, took a sip and put the cup back in its place. Looking at the laptop screen, she said irritably, ‘Something’s wrong here, but I’m tired.’
She went to the CD rack, took the Mozart disc from the shelf, turned on Symphony No. 40 and sat on the sofa. She closed her eyes, enjoying every bit of the music, and began to cry again.
Why are you making me cry again? I felt so much pain and a desperate soul. This soul is sinking and sinking into the depths of despair… thought Kristin.
‘Oh, mon Dieu! C’est n’importe quoi!’ Kristin exclaimed. ‘It cannot be? I know this soul… Traps for a goose!’
Hearing his wife’s disturbing outburst, an anxious Cameron hurriedly entered the study, hugged her and asked, ‘Kristin, what has happened? Why have you turned so pale?’
‘Should I talk to her?’
‘Who do you have to talk to, Kristin?’
Having calmed down a bit, she said. ‘With Debbie Larsson.’
‘Kristin, the day before our son comes home, please forget about this article, the murder and all the characters surrounding it. We need the old Kristin back. I think that now you need to have a hot shower and a little rest in bed,’ Cameron declared.
‘Yes, you are right. Now I need a hot shower and a warm bed,’ said Kristin and she left the study.
She went up to the bedroom, took her mobile phone and sent three messages.
The first was to Barbara and Martina, ‘Good evening, girls. Sorry, but tomorrow I will not be able to run with you. Hugs.’
The second was to Chief Inspector Steve Duke, ‘Good evening, Chief Inspector. We need to meet tomorrow morning at eight thirty. I will inform you of the meeting place at eight fifteen a.m.’
The third was to Debbie Larsson, ‘Good evening, Debbie. I need to meet you urgently tomorrow morning. The earlier the better. Send meeting time.’
‘And now a hot shower and bed,’ said Kristin.
Untangling the Tangle
Debbie Larsson was working an early shift at the clinic and was impatient to return home as soon as possible. She had dreamed of James last night and all day a smile never left her face as he was constantly in her thoughts. She was so radiant with happiness that her wings were spreading. No one had ever seen her this way before.
‘Hi, Debbie. You look great today, absolutely glowing!’ said one colleague she met in the corridor.
‘Thank you,
Abbie. I finish work in an hour. I’m sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry. Bye,’ said Debbie and went to her office.
Entering the office and closing the door, she looked at the time: the clock showed a little after twelve. Sitting down on a soft chair, which stood near the window, she took her cell phone, typed a message and pressed send. ‘Good afternoon! I saw you ruthlessly kill Danielle. If you want everything to be kept secret, then forget James forever. I hope you understand me. Today he is having dinner with me, and I think that there will be no reason to report this to him. Goodbye for the last time! Debbie Larsson.’
After work, Debbie Larsson, beaming with happiness, got into her car and drove to a beauty salon. She longed to be so beautiful and appealing for James, so that he would see in her not only as a good friend, but also as a desirable woman. All her thoughts were spinning in her head around tonight, this dinner could be the beginning of a wonderful relationship.
Opening the door to the beauty salon, Debbie Larsson confidently headed to room number four.
‘Hi, Debbie!’
‘Hi, Jenna! Thank you for seeing me.’
‘Debbie, do you have a date?’
‘Dinner, and I want to look decent.’
‘Do not doubt, you will be pleased.’
Back home, Debbie gathered her hair into a ponytail, turned on a disc of her favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, and began to prepare a romantic dinner for two. Twenty minutes later, in the midst of her preparations, she suddenly felt a fear that ran cold down her back. Turning around, Debbie realized that she was not alone.
‘What are you doing here? I did not invite you!’ Debbie said loudly, seeing a metal stick in Jennifer’s hand.
‘I’m not waiting for your invitation,’ said Jennifer Davidson and she unexpectedly attacked her rival with violent force, knocking her down to the floor. Jennifer moved in for the kill, but as she raised her hand to strike the death blow to Debbie’s head, Inspector Dave Tanner launched himself from the adjoining room and grabbed her arm.
‘Lie down! On your stomach! Hands behind your head and be silent,’ said Dave Tanner, forcefully. ‘Do not dare talk, just be silent, lie there and do not move.’ Dave Tanner, after quickly checking Debbie’s condition, then returned to his hiding place in the living room.
A few moments later, Debbie tried, slowly, to get back to her feet, but still feeling dizzy after hitting her head in her fall, she fell to the floor again.
‘What happened to you? Do you feel bad?’
Debbie Larsson looked up and saw Fiona Jackson standing at the door and staring at her with an evil grin.
‘Fiona? I didn’t call you,’ she said in a surprised voice.
‘Debbie, you’re clever,’ said Fiona, approaching her.
Debbie looked at Jennifer Davidson with apprehension and in a guilty voice said, ‘I didn’t want any of this, she came to kill me.’
‘I know, she is as insignificant a creature as her sister,’ said Fiona, taking a knife from the table.
As Fiona motioned to strike Debbie in the chest with the knife, a loud cry rang out, ‘Stop, Fiona! Not a step more!’ shouted Chief Inspector Steve Duke with a gun in his hand, as he and Inspector Dave Tanner rushed into the kitchen.
Seeing them and before they could act to stop her, Fiona sharply stabbed Debbie Larsson in the abdomen with the knife. At the same moment, Jennifer Davidson rose from the floor and in a violent rage, attacked Fiona, punching her face and shouting hysterically, ‘I’ll kill you; you ruined my life…’
The police quickly separated the pair from each other and handcuffed them.
Kristin worriedly approached Debbie Larsson, took her hand and asked, ‘Debbie, are you all right?’
‘My head hurts a little, but I’ll live, Kristin. By the way, this body armor is a perfect invention!’ noted Debbie Larsson.
‘I’m glad, Miss Larsson, that you like our clothes,’ said Inspector Dave Tanner, jokingly.
‘Thank you, Debbie. You are a brave woman,’ noted Kristin and hugged her.
Chief Inspector Steve Duke then said in a raised voice, ‘Fiona Jackson, you are arrested for the murder of Danielle Jackson, for complicity in the murder of Craig Davidson and for the attempted murder of Debbie Larsson. Jennifer Davidson, you are arrested for complicity in the murder of Danielle Jackson, for the murder of Craig Davidson and for the attempted murder of Debbie Larsson.’
‘I didn’t kill Danielle Jackson; she did it, her sister,’ said Fiona Jackson, pointing an accusing finger at her partner in crime.
‘No, Fiona, you killed her. In the heat of passion, Jennifer twice struck her sister fiercely with her umbrella and tore off the chain from her neck. Thinking that she had killed her sister, she called you in a state of shock and you immediately went to the crime scene. When you checked her pulse, you realized that Danielle was not dead and hatched an evil plan. You decided to get rid of Jennifer Davidson by assuring her that she had killed her own sister and now urgently needed to get rid of the murder weapon and go back home. When she left, you went back to Danielle and brutally killed her. You then got rid of the evidence by throwing the stone you had used to bludgeon her into the sea,’ said Kristin.
‘Jennifer Davidson, did it happen that way?’ asked Chief Inspector Steve Duke.
‘Yes,’ uttered Jennifer Davidson, crying. ‘Danielle told Craig that she would give birth to a healthy and beautiful child and they would all have a happy life together. It hurt so much. I couldn’t take it any more. She told me that my husband was disgusted and sick of being with me.’
Kristin looked at Jennifer Davidson with sadness and asked, ‘Jennifer, how did you get rid of the umbrella?’
‘Danielle bought two identical umbrellas for herself and me at Christmas. I went to Danielle’s house to pick up her umbrella and pretend that it was mine. I left my broken umbrella on the outside stairs, went into the house and took her umbrella from the rack in the hallway. Coming out of the house, I saw Richard Jackson’s car arrive and ran off in fear, leaving my broken umbrella still on the stairs,’ said Jennifer Davidson.
‘When James returned home in a drunken state, he must have stumbled over the umbrella and thrown it into the rubbish bin,’ said Kristin.
‘Jennifer, please tell me, did Fiona Jackson give you the Benzodiazepines sleeping pills to give to your husband?’ asked Chief Inspector Steve Duke.
‘Yes, she assured me that Craig would destroy James’ and my happiness,’ answered Jennifer Davidson in a tired voice.
‘Ha ha, your happiness. I would never let that happen. You are a Henderson and only worthy of Craig Davidson,’ Fiona Jackson declared, proudly. ‘And I really hope that my son has enough pride not to connect his life with that useless nurse.’
‘Fiona Jackson, it was this same nurse that saw you on the evening of the murder when you visited Jennifer Davidson’s house but did not enter after noticing that James was there. Then you called Jennifer and told her to come in through the back door,’ said Kristin.
‘You shameless Frenchwoman, I hope that you burn in hell!’ shouted Fiona Jackson with hatred in her voice and looking deeply into the eyes of Kristin. ‘I realized from the first meeting that you are a devil in the flesh!’
Kristin came closer to her, looked straight into her face and said in a calm voice, ‘You, Fiona, are the fiend, there is nothing sacred for you. You have mercilessly turned a lonely, desperate woman into a murderer. We must be afraid of God.’
When the arrested pair were taken outside, Chief Inspector Duke approached Kristin and said gallantly, ‘Kristin, let me thank you for your help. I wish you every success for the future in the field of journalism and also, do not forget to invite Barbara and me over for coffee. Can I give you a lift home?’
‘Thank you, but I want to take a little walk,’ said Kristin. ‘See you soon.’
Epilogue
Seeing his wife with a tray in her hands, Steve Duke, in a joking tone, said, ‘Barbara, our guests had begun to suspect that you�
��d changed your mind about bringing us canapes.’
‘Steve, I’m sure it’s just your assumption,’ Barbara said, putting the tray on the coffee table and sitting down on the sofa.
‘Barbara, you’re right as always,’ remarked Martina with a smile.
‘Thank you, Martina, for your solidarity,’ said Barbara.
‘Barbara, you forgot about the wine and glasses,’ said Steve Duke.
‘My dear husband, I have not forgotten, this responsibility is left for you!’ said Barbara, smiling.
‘Everything is clear to you,’ said Steve Duke getting up from his chair.
‘Kristin, please, we are burning with curiosity, wanting to know what really happened,’ said Martina.
‘Kristin, you are a brave woman,’ said Marco Gverzoni admiringly. ‘We are all very interested to know.’
‘To be honest, when Martina and I found the body, we were so scared that we lost the power of speech,’ said Kristin.
‘Yes, I remember, Kristin. She was brutally murdered,’ said Martina.
‘I then understood that such a crime is only capable of being committed by someone who hated the victim. The most amazing thing is that many people disliked Danielle Jackson, but not everyone is capable of killing so brutally, so I dismissed James’s guilt from the very beginning. After talking with him a little, I realized that this deep-minded man with a delicate soul and a sensitive heart was not capable of committing such evil,’ Kristin said.
‘Kristin, I’m sorry, but I remember it all perfectly, as you always told me about James’ innocence,’ noted Barbara, interrupting.
‘I remember well, Kristin, when you thought that Craig Davidson was the murderer,’ said Martina.
‘Yes, for a while I thought that he was capable of it. However, studying this person, I realized that Craig Davidson was a completely selfish and immoral monster. This man was unable to love and care. I’ll tell you honestly that he liked Danielle Jackson, but it was only a strong passion, lust not love. With Danielle Jackson he was comfortable: a carefree and secure life, and not any problems. And so, he was not interested in her death,’ said Kristin.
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