Assassination in Gump Lane

It was a cold winter’s night. The street lamps were out and there was an eerie effect going about. It was not the type of place anyone would want to be in at 9:00 PM in the night. To make things worse, the moon was clouded over. It was totally dark.

Rebecca Daniels was coming back from work and as there were no cabs available which went up to Gump Lane, she had to walk three kilometres. As she turned the corner into Gump Lane, she gasped. The next thing she saw was hazy surroundings and everything went black. That was the last thing Rebecca witnessed.

The next day, I was sitting on the easy chair, sipping a warm espresso with extra marshmallows, and reading The Sunday Telegraph, when the phone rang. Reluctantly, I got up from my chair and picked up the receiver. It was a very good friend of mine, Benjamin Theodore Alexis Rupert Conroy, or, more simply, Ben. He called and said to meet him in twenty minutes at his house. I asked what was going on but he just said to meet him at his house. I was curious to know what was going on and so, I made haste and hurriedly left for Ben’s house.

‘Why the hell are you late, Jack?’ Ben said with a demanding voice. I looked at my watch and I had taken only twenty three minutes to get there.

‘Oh, don’t look at you damned wristwatch, young fellow. Make haste. We have to get to Gump Lane now!’ Ben said furiously, emphasizing the word ‘now’. I was puzzled. Why the heck was Ben so harried? I just had to wait and find out by myself.

‘Thank goodness you’re here. I’ve been trying to contact Scotland Yard for the last fifteen minutes. They’re putting me on hold. I can’t get through to them at all. I’m really grateful that you can help us.’ said Caleb in an angry but a sorrowful voice.

‘Tell me, Mr. Daniels, how did you find out about poor Rebecca’s death?’ Ben asked calmly, as if the sadness in Caleb’s voice did not trigger anything in him.

‘Well, today morning, I went out to the local market to get some eggs and on the way, I saw something sticking out of the dumpster. On an impulse, I walked up to the dumpster and looked inside only to find my Becky lying motionless in there. Obviously, I called for help and no one came. I slowly took her out and felt for a pulse and….and….’ his voice trailed off.

‘Weren’t you a bit curious as to why your wife didn’t come yesterday night?’ Ben asked curiously, eying Caleb sharply.

‘I was putting our, I mean my, seven-year-old daughter, Julie, to bed and she asked me where mommy was. I, too, was getting very worried that Becky hadn’t come home and so I called her work place and they told me that Rebecca had already left. I looked at the clock; it was 9:30 PM. Very rarely, when it’s very late, Becky goes to her friend’s house. Her name is Fiona. When Becky does do that, she normally calls and informs me. So, I thought, as she would‘ve been very tired, she forgot to call. I just left it at that. I just forgot about it and went to sleep.’ Caleb finished his story.

‘Do you mind telling me where her friend, Fiona, lives?’ Ben questioned him.

‘She lives in the first house in Oakley Lane. About two kilometres down south.’

I looked over to Ben. He was in deep thought. Finally, he said he would look into the case and that he should not have to worry.

‘Before I go, may I get a glass of cold water from the fridge, if you please?’ Ben asked Caleb pleasantly.

We followed him into the kitchen where he opened the fridge and bent down to get the bottled water. In that split second, Ben took a quick peak inside the fridge. There were five eggs present inside.

‘Here you go, Mr. Conroy. And thank you so much for helping out. A private detective is just about what I need.’ Caleb said, handing over the bottled water to Ben. He grasped it and sipped a tiny bit before he bid goodbye to Caleb and left.

‘Why did you ask for cold water?’ I asked Ben as we hailed a taxi. We were on our way to Fiona’s house next.

‘Jack, use your brains, young man. He had said that he had gone out to get some eggs. But when he had found the body, he obviously must’ve been in a state of shock to even move. Heck, he must’ve been paralyzed to see his wife dead. How, then, were there five perfectly fresh eggs inside the fridge when he opened it? And if there were enough eggs in the fridge, why would he even go out and by more?’ Ben said thoroughly.

‘Hey, now that I think about it, it does seem weird.’ I said thoughtfully.

‘There is high suspicion thrown on Mr. Daniels; that’s for sure.’ Ben said absent-mindedly. He was clearly in his own little world and at times like these, it is best to leave him and his thoughts alone for some time. It was something that I learned over the years, whenever I worked with him.

We paid the taxi driver and went up the steps to Fiona’s house.  We rang the door bell. After a few seconds, the door opened and there stood the most beautiful-looking lady.

‘Yes. Who are you? What can I do for you?’ asked Fiona pleasantly.

‘Good Morning to you, miss. I am Ben Conroy and this is my companion, Jack Gilbert. We are investigating the death of Rebecca Daniels. We are here to ask a few questions regarding the case. May we come in?’ Ben said smoothly.

‘What are you saying? It wasn’t murder. Caleb said so himself. He told that she died due to cancer. How can this be possible?’ Fiona said, completely taken by surprise.

‘Oh. Caleb came by?’ Ben asked her calmly.

‘No. He had called yesterday night. He said that Rebecca had died due to cancer. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. She was always a healthy person. When I heard that, I was taken aback. I asked him when the funeral will be. He said that he was in complete shock and couldn’t even think properly. I sympathized with him. Eventually, he stopped crying.’ Fiona explained.

‘Oh. Alright then. Jack, I think it’s time to go. Thank you, Miss Fiona, for your time. We’ll be off now.’ Ben said, starting down the stairs. He hailed a taxi and both of us sped off.

‘Well, that was just odd. Who is lying here? Fiona or Caleb? What do you think, Ben?’ I asked him curiously.

‘Well, let me think. Who would have motive here? Certainly, both of them have opportunity. But what about motive? Ah, yes. I know who they are. Come on man, you’re driving like a snail. Step on it.’ Ben said suddenly.

‘Who? Who is it?’ I asked him, eager to know who it is. But as always, he wouldn’t tell me a thing as it “ruins the whole thing”, as he always puts it.

‘Caleb, I have found out who the culprit is. But, you have to come with me to the police station because the person’s there. Hurry. We mustn’t waste any time.’ Ben said.

‘Alright.’ Caleb said, hurrying out the door, a bit too enthusiastically.

‘You are under arrest for the murder of Rebecca Daniels. Accompanying you will be Fiona Sanchez.’ Inspector Tot said.

‘What the hell? I’ll be damned. I’m not the culprit. Neither is Fiona.’ Caleb said, frightened.

‘Come on, Daniels, let’s go. We won’t be hearing from you or Sanchez for a very long time.’ Inspector Tot said, taking hold of Caleb by his arm and leading him to the cell.

‘How?’ I asked incredulously.

‘Well, it came to me when I saw the eggs and when Fiona lied about Rebecca dying of cancer.’

‘Also, when we went to Caleb’s house today, he didn’t even think of Julie. It’s as if he had completely forgotten about her. At that moment, I realized that he had no baby. And that Rebecca wasn’t his wife. It was Fiona.’

‘Precisely, Jack. Caleb was holding Rebecca for hostage. And in the office, Fiona tortured her. They let her go to the office because all the money that she earned would go into their pockets. As they were departing, they knew that Rebecca won’t keep quiet. And so, they killed her.’ Ben explained.

‘Well, another case solved forever.’ I said triumphantly.

‘You never know. It might just come back.’