Life of Promise

Three Suspects. One murder.

The crime scene was open to investigation as soon as I walked into the store. There, an elderly woman, a drugstore cashier, lay on the floor, sprawled out over a dark puddle that grew more sickening as time passed. Cause of death: unintentional stabbing.

Only in rare cases do intentions hold up in a courtroom.

There were three other civilians around the area. All three are denying their involvement. Additionally, when I entered, no other soul was in the store.

“Mrs. Hower,” I begin. I stand across the table where a young woman sits. I know there are a few detectives behind the glass behind me, watching and listening for any indicators that this woman is the murderer. My superior is one of these detectives, seeing how I fare. “Where were you at the scene of the crime again?”

“I’ve said this a million times already. I was at the ATM.”

“How come?”

“I was withdrawing some money. My husband and I had planned a trip to the Caribbean. The plane left yesterday.”

I hum. I’ve worked on a case previous to this that was similar. After murdering their housekeeper, a man and wife left for the Caribbean, took small local boats and passages to Venezuela, and then traveled to Brazil. They nearly got away with restarting their entire life if it weren’t for the fact that they paid with a card to buy an English-to-Spanish dictionary. This wouldn’t have helped them much anyways since due to the fact that Brazilians speak Portuguese. Perhaps the Howers were in the same boat. Maybe they wanted a new life too.

“Sorry to inconvenience you about your vacation, Mrs. Hower, but a woman was murdered.”

“And who says that I did it?!” The man asks. Suspect Two, Room Two.

“Mr. Blanforth, you have multiple assault charges against you, not to mention we discovered your drug operations. Who’s to say that you weren’t robbing the store and shoved Ms. Genevieve into the post?”

The gruff man across from me pales. His eyes dart around the room. “How do you… Who’s to say I did? I mean, aren’t there cameras in that place?”

I sigh. The security cameras were cleverly disabled at the time of the robbery, the incriminating footage deleted mere moments after the crime took place. No fingerprints were found, the man used gloves. Not that this information is released by any means. “It would be your wisest opportunity to cooperate with us, Mr. Blanforth.”

“I don’t even know why I’m here right now,” The teen says. Suspect three, room four. Room three is reserved for someone I know not of... yet

“We’ve brought you in today because a cashier was murdered. You were one of the few people near the crime scene.”

“Well, I didn’t see anything, alright?”

“Todd, you were found with a mask in your backpack and your father’s knife in your pocket. You might not have seen anything, but you could have very well done it.”

“I…” The boy shifted in his seat. “I wasn’t going to do anything. I just needed some extra cash, is all. But I didn’t do anything! The police showed up before I could cross the street!”

I sigh as I leave the room. All of these suspects have a means and a motive, but none of them confess to seeing anybody other than me enter the store.

“Maybe it could be a team crime, and they're all in it together,” A detective says. Homicide detective Arnold and I were both put in the field around the same time. In six months, I can say that I have been thriving. Arnold…. I’m not too sure. He fiddles with a Styrofoam cup filled with watered-down coffee. The break room isn’t exactly a five-star hotel.

“Please, three individuals who have no connection to each other whatsoever teamed up to rob a drugstore?” Detective Lee-Ann says. She’s been in the homicide division for longer than most can remember. “My dog can come up with a better story than that.”

“Alright,” Captain Stanford walks into the room. He prefers to conduct interviews with the suspects personally before stating any theories. His commanding stature is enough to silence the room on its own. I would do anything for his approval or recommendation. I need to reason out who the murderer is. “All brainstorming is welcome, Lee-Ann, you know that.”

“Sure, sure,” She mumbles.

“Turner,” I lift my head as the captain says my name. “We haven’t got your statement on record yet, have we?”

“You need my statement too?”

“It’s a crime. You were there,” Lee-Ann says as if to say obviously.

I push down my urge to glare or snap back at her. “Is now a good time?”

“Room Three is open!” Lee-Ann calls out as the captain, and I leave the break room.

“Alright, let’s start with the beginning, detective, where were you before the crime?” Stanford says after clicking start on the recorder in front of me.

“I was headed to the drugstore for some cigarettes,” I answer. My eyes trace the outline of the recorder in front of me. Wordless patience. The captain wants more information. “I had noticed Mrs. Hower at the ATM— I don’t think it was her, though, she looked relaxed enough.”

“We can’t exactly rule anyone out yet, detective.”

“Even me?” I joke, looking up at the captain.

Oh.

I guess even me.

I clear my throat, adjusting in my chair. “I didn’t find Blanforth, but I did notice Todd, the kid, he definitely looked jumpy. Do you think he was going to go to a drug deal with Blanforth? I mean- sorry, jumped off topic.”

“You’re just fine, detective,” Captain Stanford finally pulls out the chair across from me and sits. “Continue, please.”

“Well,” I start. “I entered the drug store… and I heard, uh, like a sigh or something. It sounded off, so I went to check it out. That’s when I found the woman on the ground. I checked, no heartbeat. I figured CPR would be useless with the... amount of blood she had already lost.”

“Hmm. Have you been to this drugstore before?”

“Only once, same reason.”

“And what happened after you found Ms. Genevieve?”

“I called the police. While they were coming, I…. I looked around for security cameras to see if they could have seen anyone; they were already off.”

“I see,” Captain taps on the cold metal table a few times. “Detective,”

“Yes?”

“You have a lot of promise, you know that?”

Sparks light off in my chest. “Really?”

“Absolutely, I intended to see about getting you a promotion in this next review.”

“I- thank you, sir!” Finally! Someone to actually see my worth around here. “I won’t let-”

“That is until you killed the cashier three nights ago,”

“I- what?” I sputter out a laugh. “Are you joking? Did Lee-An put you up to this?”

“No,” Captain says. “I believe it was you, detective, and if you admit to it now, this whole process will be a lot easier.”

“I- I didn’t do it, Captain, I’m the one who found her,” I say, pointing my hands to my chest. “It was probably the druggie!”

“Mr. Blanforth?”

“Yes! Him!”

“Mr. Blanforth already confessed to his crime as well as yours,” Stanford says, standing. I can feel my chest growing heavy. “You had planned to rob the store to pay him back for his goods.”

“No, no, I wasn’t”

“You threw Mrs. Genevieve to the side where she fell back first into a sharp post.”

“No,” I repeat.

“You had already planned to disable the cameras, and it took you no time to do so before you called the police.”

“No, no, I didn’t.”

“Bloodied gloves in your jacket pocket were found with a piece of rubber from the wires.”

“I-”

“Your buddy ratted you out, Turner.”

“I…”

“Detective George Turner, please stand and put your hands behind your back, you are under arrest.”

“No. No, I can’t…”

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

He… he ratted me out? “He betrayed me?” I say weakly as the handcuffs click behind me.

“Detective, you had something good ahead of you, son,” Stanford says. “Blanforth didn’t betray you. You betrayed yourself.”