The First Suspect
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Chapter 7
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The Police Chief and two officers had arrived before the EMTs had taken Eunice's body away. Lee and Olivia had remained behind to privately discuss matters with the Police Chief.
The rest of the family had been escorted away to the living room, which was an exquisite area done up in tasteful grays and whites. Huge expanses of glass allowed a sunshine to break through to warm the area. The high-end décor included muted linear sofas with matching fabric chairs, and a beautifully accented marble table. A cozy stoned fireplace completed the luxurious feel of the room.
Isabella the maid and Amanda were busy serving tea to everyone. Conversation was quiet and sparse. After some time, all heads turned when the double doors opened and Lee and Olivia entered. They took seats alongside everyone else.
Amanda poured two more cups of tea and handed them to Lee and Olivia before being seated.
"Are they gone?" Amanda asked, referring to the police, along with the EMTs and Eunice's body.
Lee sounded tired, "Yes. They're gone."
"So, what happens now? What does the Police Chief intend to do?" Dean asked, as everyone listened closely.
It was Olivia who answered, "I was able to convince the Police Chief to allow this to remain a private matter. We must remain discreet regarding what had occurred here this morning. " she vaguely stated, "After all, I can't have the press descending upon my home, asking invasive questions!"
Dean scowled, "So you're saying it's up to us to find the murderer?"
"Not us," Olivia corrected her son as her eyes indicated Lee, "but Agent Stetson. The Police Chief has given Lee the authority to conduct the investigation in order to keep the media at bay. He is more than qualified, being that he is a high-ranking law enforcement officer. In exchange for this favor, I have pledged to keep in constant communication with the local authorities regarding the investigation and will turn over all our findings to them. However, the Police Chief has only granted us three days to wrap up the case. After that, if we are not successful, they will resume the investigation."
"No doubt I will be successful in this matter," Lee confidently stated.
"Let's hope that is the case," Olivia responded back, and then suggested, "And I think for decorum's sake, Agent Stetson should be addressed by his official title, since this is to be considered a formal investigation. So, Agent Stetson, is there anything you'd like to add regarding all of this?"
Lee cleared his throat as he stood, "There is, Olivia, thank you. To safeguard against evidence being destroyed, the police have already sealed Eunice's room. No one is to enter her room under any circumstance. And I also want to reiterate my determination to do my best with this investigation. Therefore, I'm giving you fair warning that I will be questioning each of you individually. "
Liz sounded accusatory, "In other words, you'll be questioning us as suspects!"
Lee turned to her, "A tragic death occurred, Liz, and there is a strong possibility that someone in this room is the culprit, since we were the only ones residing here when the killing occurred."
Daniel balked, "Are you insane, Agent Stetson? One of us a killer? We aren't capable of committing such an atrocious act! Look at us, we're the highly privileged, not some low-class, crime-ridden hoodlums!"
Lee countered with, "Unfortunately, murderers come from all status of society, Daniel. We've already checked the outside security cameras and they indicate that no one had broken in. It stands to reason then that someone in this house had to have committed the murder, and unless I find evidence that contradicts that, I will proceed under that theory."
Olivia added to everyone, "Although it's impossible to imagine that one of us could have committed such an abhorrent crime, we need to cooperate as much as we can with Agent Stetson. Is there something else you require of us as a group, Agent Stetson, or are we free to go?"
Lee stated in a solemn tone, "Just one thing. I have one questionable item that I want all of you to view. Perhaps one of you can help me identify the owner of this."
Everyone stared in confusion at one another until Lee held up a see-though evidence bag. Stuffed inside was what appeared to be a long, white, gauzy scarf.
Lee thought he heard Amanda gasp, but he couldn't be sure, as he explained, "Earlier, when the EMTs were lifting the victim off the floor, this item was found underneath her body. Olivia swears it did not belong to the maid. Does this scarf belong to anyone here?"
"Good heavens, that's Amanda!" Dean blurted out and then he instantly regretted his words as he looked guiltily at Amanda, "Oops. Sorry."
Lee hid his surprise as he turned towards her, "Is this your scarf, Amanda?" he paused before adding, "Take a good look, to be sure. White scarves are fairly common."
He was trying to give her a way out.
She took the bag and turned it all around, as she closely examined it. Then she handed it back to him.
"Yes, that scarf is mine," she admitted.
"Are you sure?" Lee asked again, hoping to give her another chance.
She nodded, "Absolutely."
Of course she wouldn't lie.
Daniel asked, "Are you saying that this scarf was used as the murder weapon to strangle Eunice?"
Liz looked at Amanda, "How horrid of you to use such a cheap scarf!"
"Oooo, I'd burn that scarf if I were you, Amanda," Deidre suggested.
Amanda looked shocked, "What? Yes, the scarf is mine, but I didn't use it to-"
"-It's too early to jump to such a hasty conclusion," Lee interrupted, giving everyone a stern look. He then asked the follow-up question, "Amanda, do you have an explanation as to how this scarf left your possession and ended up underneath the victim?"
Dean burst in, "Hey, now, wait just a minute here, Stetson, I know exactly what you're implying here…"
"You have no idea what I am or am not implying!" Lee snapped.
Amanda touched Dean's arm, "It's alright, Dean. Agent Stetson is only doing his job." She then answered Lee, "I don't know how my scarf got underneath the victim, Agent Stetson. I can only tell you that I usually use it to wrap around my head whenever Dean drives with the convertible down on his car. It gets super windy, and I like how the scarf flaps against the wind in long, continuous waves. When I wear it, along with my sunglasses, it makes me feel very glamorous...almost like Grace Kelly!"
Lee tried not to smile at that image, "And when did you last see the scarf?" he softly asked.
"Let's see," Amanda recalled, resting her index finger on her cheek, "the best I can remember was yesterday. I had folded the scarf and placed it on top of the dresser, and then I unpacked my clothes."
"Was your bedroom door locked or unlocked throughout the day?"
"Unlocked."
"So anyone could have taken it," Lee quickly asserted.
Amanda shot him a grateful look, "I didn't kill her, Agent Stetson, I promise. Besides, wouldn't it be rather dumb of me to strangle her with my own scarf?"
"That's an excellent point!" Lee heartily agreed, relieved that there was another good reason why Amanda had not committed the murder, "and you've never met Eunice until yesterday afternoon, is that right?"
"Yes."
Lee felt he could breathe again, "Good. Sounds as if you had no motive, so, therefore, no crime."
"Hmmph!" Daniel grumbled, "If you ask me, that was some kind of marshmallow line of questioning you've initiated there!"
"I agree!" nodded wife Liz.
Lee turned towards them, "Whatever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'? And are you saying I'm not being thorough or fair in my investigation?"
Daniel explained, "The way I see it, it's almost as if you WANT her to be innocent, which is so strange, being that you barely know her!"
"I think my brother makes a good point," Dean evenly stated, "Mother has mentioned you being a ladies' man, Agent Stetson, but I don't think a murder investigation is the right time for you to score points with anyone."
"Dean!" Amanda leaned in to whisper, "Don't be rude!"
Deidre commented, "You're being ridiculous, Dean. After all, Amanda couldn't possibly be his type!"
Liz inserted, "And you are, Dee?"
"Just stop!" Lee ordered, as he tried to calm the situation, "Look, everyone, we need to get back to the investigation! Let me remind everyone that at this point, we're not sure we even have the murder weapon. And if this scarf was the murder weapon, anyone could have stolen it and placed it near the victim's body. We also haven't established a motive, so we're back to square one with everyone being a suspect, unless someone else wants to add anything to test my anger skills!"
Amanda looked around, hoping no one would add another comment regarding her involvement. She began to relax, when...
"Actually..." Deidre suddenly inserted.
Uh-oh.
Everyone turned Deidre's way.
She continued, "...this may not mean anything and be totally inconsequential, but yesterday, I had noticed something rather strange going on between Amanda and Eunice."
Lee couldn't help himself, "Oh? And the word 'strange' is new to this family?"
"What do you mean?" Deidre innocently asked.
Lee's face remained expressionless, "Never mind. Go ahead with your explanation."
Deidre shrugged, "Well, it's just that Eunice had told me yesterday afternoon that when she had earlier answered the door upon Amanda's arrival, that Amanda had...curtsied at her! And subsequently, Eunice noted how Amanda continually seemed awkward around her."
All heads turned towards Amanda, who dropped her head to her lap.
"I was...embarrassed," Amanda mumbled, and then looked up, "especially after that curtsy mistake and then when Eunice added that my cake looked crudely made."
"Everyone loved your cake, Amanda," Dean assured her, as he patted her hand while Lee scowled at him.
"So why did you curtsy at the maid?" Lee curiously asked her.
"I panicked!" Amanda admitted, sounding flabbergasted, "When Eunice answered the door, she just kept staring at me. She stared at me so long and hard that I felt as if I were a window and she could see the Eiffel Tower between my eyes...THAT kind of hard staring...and it made me feel like... I was supposed to do something before she would let me inside, so I did something!"
Lee repeated, "And you thought curtsying was the answer?"
Amanda admitted, "Okay, so maybe curtsying wasn't the right thing to do, but I also wasn't sending her a message of: 'My scarf is a deadly weapon, and guess what? You're 'it'!'"
Lee had to fight not grinning.
"I think we can rule out curtsying and a poppyseed cake as motives, then," he lightly stated as he looked over at Amanda, "especially since everyone enjoyed your cake."
Liz added, "Are you saying that humiliation and owning the murder weapon isn't enough of a motive for murder?"
"I'll say it again: No motive, no crime!" Lee sharply declared. Then realizing how adamantly he seemed to be defending Amanda, he quickly added, "Again, it's too early in the investigation to draw any definite conclusions."
But besides Dean and Lee, everyone went back to staring at Amanda, as if she had just confessed to the murder.
"I'm telling you, I didn't do it," Amanda claimed steadfastly to everyone, "I didn't kill the maid!"
Olivia calmly stated, "No one is saying you did, dear, I assure you. But perhaps you should not protest so vehemently. That is often what guilty people do."
Grrrr! Amanda thought to herself. She was beyond frustrated.
At last, Dean stood up, "Okay, that's enough, everyone. I think what Amanda needs now is some fresh air. Therefore, we shall leave to stroll around the premises a bit," He next turned to Lee, "Unless, Stetson, you decide you want to arrest her now."
"I never considered her a suspect!" Lee growled, his jaw clenched.
Amanda looked relieved as she stood.
"Thank you, Dean," she gratefully stated, "some fresh air would be very nice."
Lee did not look happy that McGuire was making Amanda feel better, since he was not able to do so in front of this family.
"Just don't go too far," Lee warned them. Then he announced to all, "In fact, let me suggest to everyone here to make arrangements to stay here at Wellington mansion for the next few days."
"Can we at least occasionally go into town to break the monotony of this?" Deidre asked.
"Yes, going into town for a day is fine, but don't discuss what happened here with anyone," Lee warned, "and don't stay out too late, as well."
"We won't," Liz affirmed, "The town's too small to do much of anything, anyway."
Her husband, Daniel, agreed, "Besides, small-town people can be so petty and small-minded."
"Yeah, it's small-town people who are like that," Lee bitterly commented.
Meanwhile, as Amanda was putting on her cardigan to leave with Dean, she had an urge to thank Lee for standing up for her. But when she took a look back, everyone was getting up to leave, except Deidre.
Deidre had seated herself snugly next to Lee and was talking animatedly to him while placing her hand on his thigh.
Upon seeing that, Amanda changed her mind.
She couldn't get out of the room fast enough.
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