Martha Murder Case Investigation: Day 4

A few days have passed, and all early reports are ready. Maya, Runo, Lily, and other investigation members are present to hear the update that Daniel brought. He starts his sentence with a very obvious sigh, “Well, hmm… Nothing special to discuss… as of now. Results are very vague and no specifics lead to anything particular that can help us right now. But we still have other reports that will arrive later in the week. But we will get there.”

Daniel concludes his speech by stating the hopelessness of this case, and there is not even a hope of anything substantial or good in the current scenario. 

After a silence for a few seconds, Maya adds, “The evidence won’t go anywhere. It’s just a matter of where and how we find it. Let’s dig in.”

Everyone looks at her, and Lily corrects her speech by murmuring these words to her in a light whisper: “Don’t say ‘dig in’ when we investigate. It’s for when we eat.”

Maya replies, “It isn’t wrong, though. Is it?”

Everyone replies in unison, “It is.”

And then Lily softly adds to the response, “It isn’t particularly wrong. But, it just feels… wrong.”

Everyone has a little smile on their face after seeing the obvious discomfort on Lily’s face. And to be fair, on her behalf, there is a reason she seems to be incapable of letting other people make grammatical mistakes. She used to be a passionate literary book editor, which has left a substantial mark on her personality. Just can’t help herself in these situations. She corrects everyone, even when it sometimes leads to very awkward senior-junior situations. However, mostly, it is just something that cheers everyone up in the moment of distress. But of course, no one told this to Lily. For her own peace of mind, mostly. 

Anyway, the investigation is ongoing, but there is nothing to go on at the moment. That day ends with the external investigation procedures, as other officers investigate different parameters to rule out and find out various possibilities in this case.

Maya handles the paperwork and investigations of other cases till the evening. After that, there were no tasks remaining for her in the bureau that day, so she drove back to her apartment. She rarely goes to her apartment till late, but today she wants to brainstorm with herself. This has been a crucial case for almost a week now and it is still a mystery. Maybe she’s hoping for the miraculous discovery of another exceptional approach, which could lead her to shine the light on the dark side of this case.

She arrives at her apartment and walks inside, feeling relieved to be away from the chaos of the crime. As she kicks off her shoes, sits down on the couch, and enjoys a few minutes of relief and silence, her phone rings and breaks the calm of the atmosphere. It is Lily, again, asking her to come into the bureau, urgently.

She is a bit annoyed, but it isn’t the first time that this kind of thing happened. It was absolutely unusual anyway that she wanted to visit her apartment so much that she went home in the evening! It is amusing, almost. 

Looking at the urgent requirement, she questioned herself, “I just got there. Can’t it be just one day? And what could have happened in such a short time? What is so important that could not be discussed over the phone or meeting call?” She desperately needs some ‘alone time’ to brainstorm the scattered fragments of this case so that she can see the footprints of the crime. But well, looks like it won’t be possible for now. It was a luxury in the first place, anyway. 

Then she also sees Lily’s text, ‘Seems like you’ll be needed in the bureau immediately,” Maya was in her thoughts, so busy and preoccupied that somehow she missed it during the drive. But of course, you can’t ignore duty calls, especially when you are a homicide detective trying to solve a murder case.

She grabs her phone and heads out to the bureau. The same procedure follows. She gets in the vehicle, drives to the bureau, and enters, hoping to hear something miraculous about this case.

As she walks into the bureau, she sees a complete change in the bureau environment. Everyone is talking about the case, and Maya could feel the sudden change in the air. She walks up to Lily and gets a quick direction to join the discussion cabin, where another investigation officer, a stern-looking woman named Rebecca, is sitting. She is with Runo. Near that cabin is the interrogation room and one man is sitting in the chair. And clearly, he is not a staff member. Although the name ‘interrogation room’ sounds scary, we also use this space to conduct most general witness interviews.

As Maya walks into the cabin, she looks at everyone’s faces. Then the conversation starts.

“What’s the update?” Maya asks.

“We have someone who might have something that can help with this case,” replies Rebecca. “It can be something big, and we’ll be investigating and verifying it. And your presence is needed.”

Maya acknowledges, feeling a sense of hope and excitement. Then she asks, “Is he a witness?”

“Doesn’t seem like a direct witness, but yes, he did see her body. He does know the murder happened and during our investigation throughout the society, he eagerly agreed to the potential witness interview. He seems to know her a little. There could be hope but he wishes to speak to the detective-in-charge, which is you,” Rebecca clarifies.

She is looking for just a string of hope in this one. And it looks like this lead might be more than that.

Rebecca looks at Maya, hinting towards the guy who is sitting in the interrogation room, almost listless. He looks like an educated gentleman, wearing very particular academic glasses and his attire made him look like a man from the past. He looks a bit like a British-American. There is nothing particularly old about his attire, but it looks like he skipped the trend of the latest fashion and prefers the scholastic attire of the mid-60s-80s. He is wearing a brown traditional English suit, has a handkerchief in his coat pocket, with a watch and a ring in his hand. He looks like a scholar, but he could not have been more than 30 years of age.

Maya looks at him and hints, “He seems a bit shaken… but the level of fear doesn’t seem to match the brutal tragedy that just happened. Not even a week ago. Maybe I am being a bit too rational with my expectations. Maybe my mind is being ruthless with these civilians. But it does seem a bit off to me.” 

Rebecca replies, “Looks like that to me too. Let’s take the 1-1 approach first.”

Maya nods and concludes her sentence, “Let’s see what it is.” Then she walks towards the interrogation room and sits across from the man. 

Maya looks at him. Read the standard Miranda rights : 

You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time. Do you understand?

He replies, “Yes, thanks.”

She analyzes his face for a moment and then continues with the introduction and question, “Hi. My name is Maya. I am part of the investigating team of this case. So, let’s start with your name. Shall we?”

Until that point, his eyes were down, as if they were analyzing something on the floor. After hearing the question, he finally looks up and replies with a bit of hesitation, “My name is… um… I am Caius.”

Then excruciating silence covered the bureau cabin. Maya nods with a hint of ‘and’ question in her expression, almost bothered by such a short answer. 

She looks out at the bureau, hinting to others to join the interrogation, as it seems like she is making him uncomfortable, or maybe it is the nervousness of this man. Something is not working right. And if they want to get some useful information, then accessing witness emotions is mandatory. So, Rebecca and Runo join in, introduce themselves, and then the question-answer phase starts.

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