AUTHORS NOTE: So this story is now completed (or it shall be when I finish the chapters I'm writing at the minute) so you'll be getting one each day just because I'm that cool. This chapter, however, has no mention of the detectives at all but does prove that I need to have an attempt at writing a crime book!

DISCLAIMER: I own everyone in this chapter pretty much :/

[Cracking The Case]

The front hall to the house was empty apart from a large modelling photograph of Sheila. She looked simply radiant in a black dress that complimented her ivory skin and the long blonde hair. She was facing away from the camera, her face smiling at something to the right but it was caught mid swish of her hair so the effect was impressive. It could obviously never have been used for anything but it seemed Sheila or her husband had taken a great liking to the masterpiece and it was completely understandable. The three girls stood there admiring it for several minutes before they heard footsteps behind them.

"That was the last photo shoot she did," the masculine voice behind them said. "She was a pro and one of the most beautiful women you could imagine. However that shoot, and that particular photo, was ruined because she said she could hear a girl called Ellanna," the girl mentioned winced, "talking to her from the right. I, at first, believed that Ellanna was make up believe but then one day I ended up checking my wife's computer and how amazed I was to find that not only was Ellanna real but so were her two other imaginary friends, Ellie and Leila.

They were three online friends that wrote silly stories that my wife had a complete obsession with. She'd ramble excitedly to herself whenever there was to be a new update and when there was, I'd never seen her so happy. I didn't know at first what she was doing, it happens that way when you find out your wife has schizophrenia but these three girls made her happy. She was jealous of them though. They had normal lives. Students at still and they were going to better their lives by becoming secretary's, teachers and whatever tickled the younger one's fancy. Have you decided yet what you want to be, Leila?"

The question was met by silence. The three girls still unsure if they should turn and face the man to ask what he had brought them here for but they decided to continue staring at the photo instead. It was probably the safest option because the guy obviously had something he wanted to talk to them about.

"I don't know if that's a no or if you're just afraid to talk to me." There was another moment of silence before he spoke again. "Come girls, I've made us some refreshments. I'm sure you'd like to understand this situation a little bet." He said before leading them into a bigger room that was, again, filled with professional photos of Sheila. "Please. I would like for you to understand. I know that you had a close friendship with my wife, especially you Ellanna, and for that reason you must want to leave so badly but I need to tell you why it happened."

"Was the plan for us to ever die?" Ellanna whispered, showing the first signs of nerves since their part in this case had began, as she sat down on the couch and accepted the mug off of him even though she had no intention of taking a drink.

"Come now, why would I kill three innocent children? I just need Sheila to think that you had to die." He continued handing out the mugs of tea before looking at them. "It took me a long time to install the idea that Sheila should hate you guys into her head. She really didn't want to do that. You were her first real friends in a long time then all of a sudden I'm making her realise that you were wasting your lives writing and that was unfair because that was all she could do now. The modelling business wanted nothing to do with her, there was no such thing as a schizophrenic actor and the idea of being seen on stage terrified her so she was done for and I made her realise that you all had amazing potential to be out there in the world. You're all talented and beautiful but yet you spend your free time hanging out at your computer. Only fat, lonely girls do that, my children."

No one decided to comment on the fact that he had called them his children or the fact that that was a horrible stereotype. They were too busy worrying about how crazy this man had become if he seriously believed that this plan had been breathtakingly perfect. He didn't seem to have any remorse for his wife and that was what was hurting them more.

"Did you ever love Sheila?" Ellanna whispered causing the two other girls to look over at her to see the formation of tears in her eyes. It was obviously going to affect Ellanna. They'd been exceptionally close and Ellanna, even though she denied it, believed in marriage and the codes behind it all.

"I still love Sheila, sweetheart. I just struggled to love someone as mentally ill as my wife though."

"Well you work in that ward," Ellie said remembering the time Robbie had mentioned that to them, "so you should have known how to love her more than anyone. You should have been able to accept that she was beautiful despite that one illness."

"You're romantics, I know this from your work but life isn't as black and white, children." The anger was starting to fill inside of them now at the constant children comments but they still weren't going to let it show as they waited for him to finish. "She was difficult. She believed I was having affairs."

"And I'm sure you were," Leila said finally finding her voice but the two older girls wished she'd picked a less sensitive moment. "I'm sure the medication that Sheila was on didn't help her sex drive so you were slowly starting to feel sexually frustrated living with a wife that had become involuntary celibate."

"I am offended by that comment, Leila. I might have had the odd moment but I always returned to my wife. I could have put her in a home."

"That would have been too expensive," Ellanna finally voiced up. "I know the fees behind one of those places and for them to take care of your wife for several years because it's not as if it was a hospice you were going to put her in so she could die."

Picking up on what Ellanna was getting at, Ellie continued. "It was much cheaper to have her put in prison so why not mimic Ellanna's work knowing that the police would work out eventually that Sheila was schizophrenic and believe she'd got an unhealthy obsession on the work so she had killed the nurse to make Ellanna happy in her writing."

"Then you realised," Leila said cottoning on what they were doing, "that for that to happen, it would come out about your wife's schizophrenia to the entire neighbourhood and I bet no one really knew because your wife would have been terrorized by the bigots that live in this country."

"So you knew she had a friendship with one of your patients and that was your key. You knew he had a crush on your wife and would do anything to impress her."

"All you needed to do was show him the works that your wife read then that would be all it took."

"However it was the one story that involved a woman working in your hospital, up for your job and even more importantly, she'd made some noise about your practices particularly with female nurses and patients."

"You were terrified. There now needed to be a Plan C into getting Sheila out of your life so you decided to make the original mission look like a suicide mission. You made it look like it was all Sheila's fault. She'd been off her medication for days so all she needed was a few minutes with you every time she rang you and she'd be impressionable."

"She took the blame but you never expected the love of the hitman to come through or the guilt at killing the woman he loved. He was the one approached Ellanna and even though he said it was on your orders, it wasn't. He did it of his own accord."

"That's why we're here. You want to finish off your last pieces to the puzzle but do you not think that the detectives would have worked this out."

"Sweethearts," he said pulling out a gun which he aimed at Ellanna and then nodding his head so that two men came and pointed two guns at the other two girls, "don't you think that I don't have a Plan D. This is self defence. My wife's irate friends wanted revenge. They blamed me for her death because I hadn't taken care of her properly. If only I'd controlled her properly, told the police about her illness so they'd make sure she took her medication or even just refused to let her go the station then my wife would still be here with me and not dead because of some schizophrenic idiot that believed he could love a woman that belonged to me."

The girls swapped glances as they realised that the Plan D was pretty impressive.

They were screwed.

TO BE CONTINUED...