the murder of joey wheeler
Seto's pov
It was 10:00 pm when I went to my study in order to attend to some unfinished business.
I switched on my computer and called for Parker, my – no our butler. It was May 23rd one day before the anniversary of Mokuba's death. On the 23rd I always work on the tax returns of the Kaiba Corp. and my own household. Parker has always been the one helping me with this exhausting task.
"The bell rang, sir." Parker entered my study only seconds after I called for him. His swiftness never ceased to amaze me.
"Yes, I think it's time we start working on this tax returns. Prepare some coffee and then start working on those bills while I finish these contracts." I pointed at a pile of papers lying on the table in front of the couch.
"Very well, sir." Was Parker's only reply before he withdrew to the kitchen that was right next to my study only separated by a small corridor and two walls. The kitchen was also the room in which the nearest phone with my villa's phone number was installed, which is of crucially importance later in my narrative.
Parker entered my study holding a tray with a pot of coffee and an already filled cup which he handed to me. The tray he set upon the table by the couch and immediately began to work at the bills.
We worked in silence for about two hours before my boyfriend – I guess you could call him that - burst into my study like he always did. He seemed incapable of opening a door the civil and silent way.
"You shouldn't work this late! It's not good for you, you know." Joey told me like he always did when I worked late which happened almost five to six evenings a week. "I'm going to bed. And it's quite unsatisfying that I'm alone in bed almost all the time, you know."
Joey and I had been an item for almost a year. I had realized that Joey had fallen in love with me when he hadn't responded to my teasing the way ha had before with rage and insulting. Instead he had swallowed all teasing and had said with an sad expression something like 'I knew you were going to answer that, 'cause you think I'm some dumb dog not worthy of your attention…'. That made me consider my own emotions towards him and we ended up being a couple for - as I said - almost a year. It's not an interesting story how we had gotten together. The only thing about it that's important is that we're together and that he lives with me in my – our villa after I took him away of his abusive father.
Joey's complain about being always alone in bed caused Parker to clear his throat and ask if he shall leave the room.
"No, thanks Parker but I wanted to leave anyway. I hope you two don't work too late." said Joey grinning while he was walking out of the study. Parker sat down again smiling – he had stood up in order to leave the room. I shook my head and resumed to my work.
The clock in my study showed 00:58 am when the phone rang. I sent Parker to answer it.
As soon as Parker was out of sight I did what I had to do.
These contracts needed closure. I phoned Parker in the kitchen and told him to make another pot of coffee. I asked him who had called and he told me that there had been some problem with the connection and he didn't know who it was.
Parker returned to my study with another tray and a pot of freshly brewed coffee and we resumed to our work.
According to the clock in my study it was 02:03 am when the phone rang the second time this evening and I sent Parker to answer it again. He looked at the clock and shook his head mumbling something about manners of some people calling at this time of the day. He left for the kitchen but returned only after a minute telling me that the caller had hung up the second he answered the phone. Still mumbling about the manners some people don't have he sat down to his task again. I printed the finished contracts and looked at them. Seeing that I forgot to erase the line telling the reader the time and date when the page was printed I mumbled "How lazy of me to forget that…" realizing that Parker had herd me and that I just admitted a mistake in front of one of my servants I was quick to add "but I needed a copy of them anyway…". I erased those lines, printed the contracts again and saved the files on my computer and on a CD as well. I started working with Parker on the tax returns.
It was almost 04:00 am when I told Parker that I was going to fetch the mail. He should tidy up the room and clear out the trays before going into his own room directly across the corridor and right next to the stair leading to the second floor. I went out the front door when I remembered that no mail was delivered until about six o'clock in the morning. I went back inside, past through the hall and was entering the bathroom when I saw Parker leaving the study and enter his own room.
When I finished showering I walked past Parker's room and up the stairs to the second floor where Joey's and my bedroom was.
When I opened the door I froze. There he was…Joey was ling silent in the bed…with a hole in his head! There was no sign of a struggle so he must have been shot in his sleep. Don't know. It was probably because I saw Joey's dead body but I felt nothing and acted automatically. I walk over to the phone on the bedside-table and made the 911-call. When I turned I saw the open window and I cried for Parked. He came running into the bedroom. I heard him gasp as he saw Joey.
"I've already called the police. The window is open. The murderer might be still here. We must search the premises!"
"Yes, sir…But are you sure you don't want leave that to the police and sit down in the kitchen?" suggested Parker carefully.
"Why would I want to sit down in the kitchen when Joey's murderer might be still walking around in my garden?" I shouted angrily back at him.
"Because, sir, you just found the body of your lover and are in shock! Besides it is highly unlikely that the murderer is still on the premises."
While saying this Parker took my arm and led me down the stairs and into the kitchen where he placed me on a chair and set a cup of coffee before me. He sat down across the table and we waited for the police, the paramedics, the coroner and who else might be sent down here. While we waited I felt nothing. I stared in one direction without looking at anything. I held the cup of coffee but never drank from it. I heard the garbage men taking away the garbage and then finally I heard the sirens. Parker and I went to the front door to open the gate and let the policemen in.
"We received an emergency-call about a body found…"
"Yes, he is upstairs. I shall show you the way to the bedroom." Parker told the Policemen and let them to the bedroom.
"I am Inspector Sheppard. I will lead this investigation. Are you Mr. Kaiba?"
"Yes, I am." I answered the young man in the suit.
"I understand that you have discovered the body…Is that correct?"
"Yes. I found Joey when I was about to go to bed."
"Is Joey the decedent?"
"Yes. Joey Wheeler."
The Inspector wrote the name in a little notebook he took from his pocket.
"Might I suggest that we go inside?"
"Yes, we can sit down in the kitchen…" I said leading them there.
I sat down on the chair on which I had been sitting while waiting for the police. The inspector took the chair where Parker had been sitting and asked a few questions about my person and then excused himself to take a look at the bedroom. I kept sitting there holding the cup of now cold coffee still not drinking from it.
After about 15 minutes the Inspector returned with Parker and a few policemen. I could see the coroner carry away Joey's lifeless body.
"The crime scene analysts will be up there for some time. Do you mind me asking you a few questions in the mean time?" the Inspector asked.
"You just asked a question and I didn't object. You might as well go on."
"Would you mind telling me what happened tonight?"
"I was working late in my study. And so was Parker. At approximately 11pm Joey came into the study and told me he was going to bed. We worked until 4am. Then I walked out to fetch the mail but remembered that there is no mail delivered till 6am. So I went back inside and took a shower. Then when I went into the bedroom I found Joey…dead…"
"At what time was that?"
"It must've been about 04:30…When I saw him shot I made the 911-call and called for Parker. He convinced me to sit down in the kitchen and wait for the police…"
"That is right. I was sure that it was pointless to walk around the premises searching for a murderer that was probably already long gone." interrupted Parker.
"I see. Why where you convinced that the murderer had been still on the grounds?"
"The window was open." was my simple answer.
"And that was so unusual?"
"Joey never slept with the window open. He hated the noise and the cold…"
"I see. But what was he doing in your bedroom in the first place?"
"Sleeping."
"I guessed so much. What I meant was what was he doing in your bedroom?"
"He was my boyfriend. We shared the bed."
"Were there any problems in your relationship?"
"No, why do you ask?"
"He slept alone…"
"I worked late. Which I did frequently. Joey didn't mind!" I think my voice was cold as ice when I said that. Joey told me it gets that way when I'm angry.
"Might I ask what you were working on this evening?"
"Some contracts and tax returns."
"Tax returns? At this time of the year?"
"I always work on the tax returns at this time of the year! My tax adviser never minded."
"And you didn't hear a shot or a noise that could have been a shot while you were working in your study?"
"No, we didn't. Obviously the murderer used a muffler."
"Alright…Mr. Parker you mentioned two phone calls. Do you happen to know the time when you were called?"
"Yes, I do. It was about 1am when the phone rang for the first time. Master Kaiba sent me to answer the phone so I went to the kitchen. But there must have been something wrong with the connection for I didn't hear the caller say anything. So I hang up and was about to leave the kitchen when master Kaiba called and told me to bring some coffee. So I did and returned to the study.
The second time the phone rang it was about 2am. Master Kaiba sent me to answer the phone but the second I answered the phone the caller hung up. So I retuned to the study once more." answered Parker.
"You keep saying that Mr. Kaiba sent you to answer the phone. Is there no phone in your study?"
"There is. But it's a different number I use only for business." I answered instead of Parker.
"I see. So you went to the kitchen to answer the phone, the caller hung up and you immediately returned to the study. Is that correct Mr. Parker?"
"Yes, it is."
"How long where you gone?"
"About one minute, two at most."
"The coroner puts time of death between 1:45 and 2:15am. We'll know the exact time after the autopsy. Since it is impossible to run up to the bedroom, shoot Mr. Wheeler, open the window - if it wasn't open all the time – and run back to the study in only two minutes you seem to have an alibi. So for the time being we won't ask you further questions. But we must ask you to keep yourself available for further questioning."
With this the Inspector rose to his feet. "The crime scene analysts should be done by now." he added and walked out of the room.
Parker and I brought the Inspector who had gathered the people of the CSI and the remaining policemen to the front door where the Inspector told us that a car and two officers will remain behind and watch the villa in case the murderer should return.
"I'm sorry for your loss!" he told me and left.
Despite what had happened I slept like a dead.
It was not before three days when I heard from the Inspector who asked if he could come by and ask me and Parker a few things.
The Inspector and his men arrived at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Parker led them into the living room where I sat and drank a cup of coffee. I had taken some time off.
"Inspector" I greeted him.
"Mr. Kaiba. You don't mind me asking you some more questions?"
"Not at all. Do you have any leads?"
"We might…After the autopsy the coroner puts time of death at 02:00am give and take ten minutes. So I have to ask you whether you have any proof other than Mr. Parker's statement that you were in your study at two o'clock."
"As a matter of fact I have! And I will show you if you'll follow me into the study."
I led them there and showed them the contracts I printed by mistake.
"As you can see those were printed at 02:03am. Which puts me in the study at the time when Joey was murdered."
"Not necessarily. You could've asked Mr. Parker to print them…"
I was about to object when he continued.
"…But Mr. Parker has already given us a polygraph test and his story checked out to be true. So…are you willing to give us a polygraph test, too?"
"Why? If Parker was tested and he was telling the truth about whether or not I was in the study at two o'clock why should I have to be tested by a polygraph and some creepy guy sitting behind it?"
"It would really help us reconstruct the evening…"
"I can't see how it would help you. So for me it would be a waste of time and I do not believe in wasting time! So if you'll excuse me. Parker will show you the way to the door." I said angrily and left the study and went into the kitchen to make some coffee.
I heard the Inspector talk to Parker for a while before they were passing by the kitchen. When I turned to get back to the living room I surprisingly faced the Inspector.
"I know you want us gone. But just one last question: Why were you out to get the mail? I mean you have a butler whose duty it is to get the mail."
"May 24th is the day my brother was murdered! On this day I always get the mail myself. On that day I always get those hypocritical and unnerving condolence cards. I throw them away without reading them. I don't want them to stir up any memory about it and I don't want the servants to know so they won't talk about it. Now that I have answered you last question would you excuse me and leave already?!"
I left the Inspector and walked into my study slamming the door shut behind me.
Later Parker told me that the police had bagged the contracts as evidence.
After another five days the Inspector came again. Parker led him and his men into my study where I was working at some contracts of minor importance.
"Ah, Inspector. Have you come again to bother me and waste my time?" I greeted him.
"I'm investigating the murder of your boyfriend…I'm sure you don't think that's a waste of time…" retorted the Inspector sarcastically.
"Since you haven't found the murderer of my boyfriend it is!" I answered coldly.
"Oh, but we have. See, I've come to tell you I have a warrant which allows me to arrest Mr. Wheeler's murderer." smirking triumphantly he handed me the document.
"But…This warrant is for me…"
Confused I looked at Inspector Sheppard.
"Oh, really?" he asked as if he hadn't known. "Arrest him!"
"This is ridiculous! Why would I want to kill my own boyfriend?" I asked angrily shaking off the policemen trying to cuff me.
"Because it was he who killed your little brother Mokuba!"
I froze.
"Surprised I know?"
I didn't answer. But that didn't keep the Inspector from explaining.
"You know when you refused the polygraph test I started to wonder why. What would a polygraph reveal concerning this case that you don't want us to know? We have a sworn statement of Mr. Parker that you were in the study when Mr. Wheeler was killed and that statement was confirmed by a polygraph test. So clearly you had nothing to fear. But then it dawned on me Mr. Parker could only answer the questions to his best knowledge but what if he was wrong in the first place? What if he thought the first call you received was at 01:00am but actually was at 02:00am because you adjusted the clock so that it was one hour late. You then made the phone call to your own number from a cell rushed up into the bedroom while Mr. Parker answered the phone. You shot Mr. Wheeler, opened the window and when Mr. Parker hung up you used the phone on the bedside table to phone him and tell him to make coffee. You then rushed back into the study just in time to receive the coffee. Then at 03:00am you printed the contracts with the wrong time on it and made the second call from the same cell. Mr. Parker once more went to the kitchen while you adjusted the clock in the study to show the correct time again. You then worked till actually 04:00am. After that you told Mr. Parker you were going to fetch the mail fully aware that there'll be no mail till 06:00am probably adjusted the clock in the kitchen on your way out or back in. Once outside you threw the gun and the muffler into the garbage skip and since the garbage truck always comes at 04:45am the gun will be at the incineration plant along with some used diapers of your neighbors and some old shoes of yours long before the police will be there to search for it. Then you go back inside and showered probably to avoid the detection of gunpowder on your hands and arms. Then you walked up into your bedroom and made the 911-call. The rest as they say is history."
"Do you have any evidence to support that fancy theory of yours?" I asked coldly staring at the Inspector.
"Oh, that isn't a theory that is what happened! And yes, I have evidence to proof it. First, you did have a motive. Joey Wheeler was the one who cut your little brother's throat. Vengeance is a very strong motive. You may ask how I came to know about your brother's death. See after you refused the polygraph test I had your bank account checked and I saw that you until about a year ago you've paid a not very small sum to a professional detective. Learning that your brother was murdered I knew that there were only two explanations for you stopping to pay him: First he had found the murderer of your brother or second you gave up searching for him and since Seto Kaiba isn't likely to give up I stuck with the first explanation. So you knew Mr. Wheeler was the one gang member that killed your brother and therefore had the very strong motive of vengeance!"
"Just because you 'stuck' with one explanation that doesn't mean it is fact."
"Oh, but it is a fact. You see, I visited your little detective and he told me what he had told you."
"Even if I know Joey killed Mokuba I still could have forgiven what he had done. I could have loved him."
"Right, 'could have' but didn't. We both know that Seto Kaiba does not forgive…But well…let's move on shall we? Second we have those mysterious phone calls made by you. We have proof that the two calls both were made from the decedent's cell phone at two and three o'clock and not at one and two o'clock. I know what you're going to tell me probably that Mr. Wheeler's cell was lost or stolen some time before the murder. You probably thought that if you used the victim's cell it couldn't be traced back to you. Well you thought wrong. Nowadays we are able to pinpoint the location from where a phone call was made. Third those phone calls also support the idea that you adjusted the time on the clocks…"
"Oh, now it's just an idea not fact? Why can't you proof it?" I interrupted sarcastically.
"…it is also supported by something Mr. Parker said." he went on without responding to my sarcasm.
"Me??" Parker cried out not believing that he could have done anything that harmed me.
"Yes, you said 'The second call was made at two o'clock and when I answered the phone the caller hung up so I went back to work. And when I looked up I was astounded how fast the time went by because it was 03:23am when I could have sworn that it was just 02:20am…'"
"Oh my…But that doesn't proof anything I always had a bad sense of time…" Parker tried to defend me.
"Well forth and final there is the murder weapon. You know when I told you that the gun would be lying between used diapers and your old shoes I didn't make that up. I was down at the incineration plant and after a whole day spent searching we found it with your prints on it which places the gun in your hand. And what possible reason could you have had to hold the gun and to dispose of it if you not were the one firing the gun at Mr. Wheeler?"
"…"
"I'll take your silence as a 'none'" Inspector Sheppard said triumphantly.
"But I could have done it as well…" Parker desperately tried to shield me but failed.
"No, you couldn't. You could not have altered the time on the contracts or adjust the clock in the study unless Mr. Kaiba left it which he did only to kill Mr. Wheeler. Besides we didn't find your prints on the murder weapon but his!"
"It is okay Parker. I'm convicted. Everything the Inspector said thus far is true. I shot Joey! And I did it because it was he who just for the fun sliced through Mokuba's throat. It's true that my motive was vengeance…They say 'Vengeance is just a lazy form of grief.' and to stop grieving you must move on…It seems that I never moved past Mokuba's death…"
After this confession the two policemen accompanying Inspector Sheppard handcuffed me and took me to their car while reading me my rights.
I am writing this as the last chapter of my autobiography and I must say I'm quite pleased with myself as a writer. I mean, it was quite a genius thing to say for instance the following:
'The clock in my study showed 00:58 am when the phone rang. I sent Parker to answer it.
As soon as Parker was out of sight I did what I had to do.
These contracts needed closure.'
Everyone thought that when I wrote 'I did what I had to do' I was referring to the contracts and not that I killed Wheeler.
Yes, now I call him Wheeler again. Because to me he is nothing more than a filthy dog that killed my beloved brother!
I have to admit that under different circumstances I could have fallen in love with Wheeler…But then again…
I'm still grieving…