The investigation had taken a new turn of events; that was the most Jedidiah could ascertain. He didn’t expect that it would take him this much time in this backwater town, or that a series of conspiracies would unfold as he had just witnessed, but then, given the gruesome nature of the murder, it would be absurd to say that a detective of his caliber would be surprised at the turn of events.
“It’s a real pickle, this one,” the sheriff said after listening to his account of what had happened during the questioning. Although Martha wasn’t completely innocent, yet – she had written her statement – all fingers still pointed at Marcel.
A man who was keeping secret correspondence with Lady Cynster, a relationship which was close enough to draw tears from his eyes at the sight of her corpse. That ticked all the checkboxes in Jedidiah’s ‘vital-to-the-case’ list. But drawing Marcel back for questioning immediately would be another rodeo he’d love to avoid, especially since the man was a bit of a sly fox.
“It is what it is. Now we have to make progress one way or the other. Independent investigation without any questioning can prove to be a strenuous task, especially when asking questions is the logically easier way to go about it…”
He gauged the Sheriff’s face for an expression of exasperation but found none.
“…but it has to be done, since…”
“These people won’t be so willing to give up information, not in this kinda town, and not to a big detective like you,” the Sheriff said, smiling a tired smile. “Benn there, done that and done it again. It takes all the willpower not to hit someone in the face with the butt of my gun.”
Jedidiah laughed at that; it was relatable – interrogation in backwater towns was a pain because the people were a close-knit family – especially in matters of crime. Whether some of these people will happily snitch on others for personal gain, he did not know yet.
“We’ll have to split up, investigate two of the outstanding questions separately. At least one day should be enough – that’ll be tomorrow. We ask questions, we make inquiries, we sleuth a little… and then we rendezvous here at the end of the day and share the information we’ve both managed to gather. If need be, we reverse roles per se – I investigate what you did while you do mine, got it?”
“That’s a good plan. So I’ll be handling the nature of Marcel and the dead woman’s relationship, right?”
He was quick on the uptake. “Yeah, that’s it. Maybe you can go home and ponder on exactly how you’ll be going about your investigation, as will I. As soon as we meet tomorrow, we’ll talk about it, and then head out. Sound okay?”
“Hm,” the Sheriff nodded in the affirmative, dusting his hat as he put it on before both of them parted ways.
Jedidiah continued towards the inn he was staying at, fairly a kilometer’s walk away. Walking took longer, but at least he could have a chance to think. The Eye of the Sky, he thought. Could it be some sort of jewel - a diamond perhaps? Most likely. He’d never heard of it anyway, which was strange since he was well knowledgeable in such.
But then again, it was a backwater town. There were likely secrets upon secrets, and these things were only known to but a few. Most likely some of the older generations would have a clue.
And there was the fact that both Marcel and then Scarecrow Thomas knew about it as well. A storm was brewing, that was for sure. It was up to him and the Sheriff to figure things out fast before the gang struck again. They seemed to have a good information source – a powerful character pulling the strings for sure…
He couldn’t pretend to be oblivious. He had wished it was just his paranoia, but it wasn’t.
There was someone following him.
Looking back discreetly, he could make out a man dressed in farmhands’ clothes. He was tall, and wiry arms and legs with taut veins and lean muscle – probably quite strong if his looks were anything to go by. He tried to be discreet in his shadowing, but he did a bad job at that.
Or perhaps it was easy to see through his act since Jedidiah was a trained detective.
He ducked around a corner and hid behind a barrel in an alleyway.
The man must have seen his chance, because he jumped into the alley too fast before he could realize he had been tricked, and as he tried to turn, Jedidiah struck him down with a brick, drawing blood from his forehead.
The man crumpled to the ground, his eyes looking up as Jedidiah’s form came into his field of view.
“Stay…away…from that case. If you like your life, that… that is!”
******
@Ozzyy I did forget to tag you in the last one, sorry🙃🙃.
@Leo_kitti, @Hanzell *sprinkles jalapeño pepper to make the story more exciting*
😂😂 jalapeno pepper??;😂 I don't think that's needed. It's spicy already 😋