My Crimson Wedding

Chapter 2

Han’s POV:

Lewis and I were on the usual rounds conducting checks on the cases when we were driving through the Brampton road. This place was the recent one where many police cars have been frequenting and there was a need for it as the culprit behind the case wasn’t caught.

“So, are we going to the same shackled house again boss?” said Lewis as he changed the gear.

Lewis was a rookie joining us straight from the police academy. Fresh faces from Academy always amuse me for their eyes are glinting with pride and hope. Their energy is bursting out to protect their nation and it’s citizens from any possible harm, makes me want to pity them even more as these highly energetic faces turn worn out and stressed over a period of time and I don’t blame them. That’s how it works here. The police department is the most taken-for-granted department as there are hundreds of crimes reported everyday. Missing reports, r***s, kidnappings, murders, suspected murders, trafficking and what not. The rate of crimes is alarming but, the disappointment of not getting to put those crimes to justice takes a toll on us.

“Why are we going there again?” Asked Lewis.

“The woman who lives there is the first hand witness to the murder of Mr. Ethan Mathews. She refuses to speak of it and it’s pretty strange for a wife to not seek justice for her late husband. Since her place falls on the way to office, I wanted to check on her before we get there” I said as I looked out of the window, letting the cold air into my hair.

“Do you call this the detective hunch?” asked Lewis.

This cheeky little chap, is he doubting me? Well, I don’t call this a hunch. There was a reason to believe that something was not right. After a moment of silence, I heard the receiver go off and a message beeped.

“Control room, a suspect reported at the Brampton road. On duty cops, please report”…

A knowing smile crept up my face as I looked at Lewis whose facial expressions were just as clueless as that of a rookie’s. I ordered him to accelerate towards our destination and with the sound of screeching tires we rushed.

The car halted before the same shackled house that I’ve frequented quite a few times. It was the house of Ms. Eleanor Grace. The very house that many police vehicles have been frequenting and they happen to be for only one reason. A Murder.

I still remember the day when we first rushed to the wedding venue of Mr. Ethan Mathews and Ms. Eleanor Grace. That day was such a tragedy. The husband was shot right at the altar and her pure white wedding dress was blotched with blood stains. There was so much blood that it was hard to understand what had happened and if the woman was wounded herself.

After the visit to the hospital, it was confirmed that Ethan was shot from a mid-range with a 5.6 mm caliber bullet tearing right through his chest. The fact that such a common bullet from a father range was able to pass right through him was quite a shocking fact.

Eleanor was the direct relative of the deceased and our only hope to lead us to a conclusion of the case but, she was way too traumatized by the incident that she fell silent and became a social recluse. It has been a month since the murder and she refuses to cooperate with us on the case.

She was a victim and a potential suspect. But the fact that it was at her wedding that this incident had happened, we couldn’t directly accuse her of the murder. It just didn’t make sense to clear her off the charges either. At least, I never stopped suspecting her.

“We’re here” said Lewis as he opened the door and rushed towards the stairs that were leading to her home.

I looked around to check if anyone was awake in the neighborhood. It was past 1 AM and there could hardly be any witnesses. None the less, we followed our standard procedure and knocked at Ms. Grace’s door.

“Ma’am, it’s Detective Hans Wilbur. Please open up the door. We’re here for the daily rounds” I said.

A pale and petite woman who was about 170 cm tall opened the door as she looked at us. Her eyes seemed stressed with dark circles. She’d been crying, the swelling under those eyelids could say it all.

She’d also lost weight significantly from the last time I saw her. She was a woman in her late twenties but, the wrinkles around her eyes made her look much older.

Her arm was shaking as she tried to unchain the door to let us in. I was patiently waiting for her to let us in but, right at that moment, I heard a glass shattering and when I turned out to look for the cause of the noise I met with glass of the window which was broken. The long and thin branches of cracks surrounding the hole of impact on the glass gave an impression of something big and strong must have caused this. Possibly a stone?

Lewis ran out to check for anyone suspicious who could have done this while, I barged in to inspect the damages. The house was cold and empty, it hardly looked like someone lived here. There was only a mattress for bed, a few utensils on the shelf and a fridge on the corner. The pieces of the shattered glass were scattered on the floor as I looked around to search for the cause of it.

It wasn’t hard to figure out what must have caused the impact but the poor lighting wasn’t making it any easy. I looked back at the frail woman who was standing behind me in fear as she stared across my foot. I followed her gaze and realized that there was something wrapped inside the paper which laid at the corner of the room.

I picked it up and unwrapped the paper to see a stone inside it, which made sense. I dropped the stone and inspected the paper for anything written on it but it was a plain paper. I looked back at Eleanor as she watched me with horror in her eyes.

“Is there anyone who is trying to threaten you?” I asked.

She shook her head frantically in denial but her actions seemed to tell a different story. She was anxious I could tell just by looking at her shaking hands and fearful eyes which could hardly convince me otherwise.

Lewis rushed in through the door as he switched his gaze from me to the lady who was defensively holding her arms across her chest.

“Is there any damage?” He asked.

“Apart from this broken window, there doesn’t seem to be any damage.” I replied as I scanned the house once more.

“You’ll have to come with us Ms. Grace. This has to be reported” I said as I looked at her.

She nodded meekly but her gaze was held on the paper I was holding.