Secrets Behind The Walls

picture generated by me using MetaAI

"I know that look", Officer Langley asked, walking up to Detective Claire at the crime scene.

“Something’s not right,” Detective Claire replied, squinting her eyes.

She had been in the force for over Ten years now, and her instincts had grown to be sharper than a two-edged sword. She could smell foul play from afar, or from one's body language or even countenance. And this particular case doesn't look straightforward. She could feel it.

A wealthy businessman, Mr Reynolds, was found dead in his study with a gunshot to his chest. The media reported it to be a 'robbery gone wrong' but Claire could swear with her life that it wasn't a robbery. At that moment she couldn't tell what it was but she was going to find out, she always does.

She walked around the study carefully manoeuvring the expensive Persian rug that had the body of Mr Reynolds lying in it. Apart from shattered glass from the broken window and several scattered books on the floor and table every other thing seemed to be intact. Which was more of the reason she believed the scene was too clean to be a robbery incident. She looked around from corner to corner, shelf to shelf, and her eyes landed on the biggest bookshelf in the room, well arranged with books, awards and collectibles apart from an ornate box which seemed out of shape.

She walked over to the box and pulled it out from the shelf. A little jiggle and there was a rattling inside it. Quickly, she opened it and inside was a key.

"What are you hiding?" She muttered.
A hidden box, with a key inside in a crime scene.

"Detective Claire?" Officer Langley called again, breaking her concentration.

"We found skin underneath his fingernails. Looks like there was a struggle between the victim and his assailants" Langley explained.

"Good, send it to the forensics for DNA tests. Make sure it's ready by evening" Still with the key in her hands, she asked, “Have we found a safe or anything locked?”

Officer Langley shook his head. "His wife still insists that nothing is missing and that she hasn't been home for weeks"

"Hmm. Still can't trust anyone yet". She slipped the key into her pants pocket "Keep this between me and you. And don't hesitate to let me know once you find anything"

---

Later that evening, when the crime scene was deserted, Mr Reynolds's wife was placed under the protective custody of the police in case the assailants had other intentions. Detective Claire drove back to the Reynolds Estate along with the key. She wanted answers.

She walked back to the study and carefully walked around the room. Trying to see if she can find a safe or anything the key could open. She tapped the shelves, books, and walls, looking for a secret compartment or anything different from the other. And just behind the big office table in the study, she tapped the wall, and it sounded hollow from the rest of the walls. It was made of wood but painted the same colour as the other walls which were made of cement. She gently pushed the table aside to create more space and slid open the wooden wall to reveal a hidden door.

"Must be it, " she muttered.
Then she slid the key into the keyhole and turned. With a soft click, the door swung open.

To reveal a small room illuminated only by one big fluorescent bulb. On the wall was a filing cabinet that held different files with labels like 'Contracts, Finance, Blackmail'

She pulled out the blackmail file and inside held the names of various billionaires and powerful people in their land. It turned out Mr Reynolds had been setting them up and blackmailing these people with the secrets he got hold of that could destroy their marriages, lives and even businesses. Secrets like infidelity and dirty dealings.

He will make friends with them, get to know their deepest secrets and blackmail them with it. That was how he was able to build his wealth.

She flipped further and inside one of the pages held a letter dated a few weeks before his death from his wife.

I know what you’ve done, Reynolds. How you blackmail, tell lies, and destroy people's lives because of your greed. I can’t be a part of this anymore. it read.

Claire could feel her adrenaline pumping. She was beginning to piece it together. The "ah-ha” moment.

From the crime scene to the shattered glass and the scattered books, they were all staged by the murderer, Mrs Reynolds. She must have gotten tired of her husband's evil acts and decided to take matters into her own hands. Then she pretended to be out of town for weeks and one day sneaked into the house to accomplish her motive. All to make it look like she wasn't in town when her husband died. To make her look innocent.

But she needed more evidence. This alone wasn't enough proof that the murderer was Mrs Reynolds. Just then, her phone rang; she checked the caller. It was Officer Langley.

"Langley?" She answered

"Detective, you wouldn't believe it", Officer Langley's voice echoed from the other end of the phone. "The DNA result’s back. It's Mrs Reynolds"

"Great! Get an arrest warrant and meet me at the safe house we're holding Mrs Reynolds. We just found our murderer" Detective Claire said, stepping out of the house and getting into her car.