UP IN FLAMES

Though Jeremy kept his tone respectful, his firm reply told her he meant business. “Perhaps you’d like to contact your bank and verify?”

“Of course.” Hands shaking, she fumbled with her phone, looking up the bank’s number and calling it. Once she had an account representative on the line, she identified herself.

“Mrs. Spencer, we’re so sorry for your loss,” the woman exclaimed. “What can I do to assist you?”

After taking a deep breath, she asked to check the balance in the checking account, since she was also listed as an account holder in addition to Christopher for that account.

“Certainly. Just one moment.”

Vanessa gripped the phone, listening while the bank representative typed in the information. “Let me see here,” the woman said. “I show a balance of one thousand, six hundred and forty-seven dollars and seventy-eight cents.”

“What?” Vanessa swallowed, again trying to comprehend. “The checkbook ledger shows seventy-two thousand dollars and change.”

“That would have been before Mr. Wesley made that withdrawal last Tuesday. Were you not aware of that?”

“Obviously not.” Vanessa didn’t bother to keep the bitterness from her voice. “Do you happen to know if he transferred it to another account? Like maybe another savings account?”

“No, ma’am. He asked for it in a cashier’s check, which is how it was given to him. Beyond that, I don’t know.”

Reeling, Vanessa managed to thank the woman and end the call. She looked up to find Jeremy eyeing her.

“Is everything all right?” he asked.

She wanted to scream her answer, to shout the word no. Instead, she looked down at the floor before holding her hand out for the check. Once Jeremy handed it back to her, she got out one of her credit cards. She still had money in her other private accounts, but she and Christopher had shared the other one. She passed the card to Jeremy.

“There’s a mix-up at the bank,” she said. “Since I’ll need time to get it straightened out, go ahead and put everything on this.”

While she waited for Jeremy to run the charges, she couldn’t help but wonder what other surprises she’d find as the days passed.

—————-

Vanessa started her car and backed it out of the parking spot, aching all over. She tried so hard to be strong, even though she was beginning to wonder if fate was conspiring against her at every turn.

Once she reached her gate, she was surprised to find a cars waiting outside the house. She frowned, and when she realized it was those detectives again, she groaned. “Now what?” She whispered.

As she pulled into the driveway, the vehicle door opened and Alaric and his partner emerged. Vanessa got out of hers with a frown on her face.

“Mrs. Spencer?” said Alaric as he stepped forward, “We wonder if you might have a moment to talk with us. It will not take long”

“What are you doing here?” Vanessa demanded, “Have you come to make another accusation? I already told you everything I can and I said if I talk to you again, I’m going to need my lawyer around and as you can see, he’s not here,”

“We’re not here to accuse you, Mrs Spencer,” Paul cut in, his genial expression matching his soft-spoken tone. “We’re really sorry about that, but you have to understand why we have to be thorough since this is a high-profile murder. “We’ve got a murder investigation to work after all, and I believe that no matter the kind of relationship you had with Christopher, you’d want his killer found, won’t you?”

Vanessa blinked. Paul was right. She did want Christopher’s killer found, but she didn’t appreciate being falsely accused. Her eyes moved to the other Detective; the one called Alaric. For an incredibly good looking guy, he had such a shitty attitude. As usual, he returned her gaze with equal interest.

Though exhaustion made her wobble, Vanessa nodded. “Fine. Come on inside.”

She led the way through the house, taking them to a formal sitting room “Have a seat,” she said. “I’ll just be a moment. In the meantime, would you like any refreshments?”

“Water would be fine. Thank you” Alaric replied.

Vanessa nodded and left the room. Two minutes later, she returned to the sitting room with their water, then took a seat in front of them.

“Any idea why Mr. Wesley found it necessary to hire a bodyguard, Mrs. Spencer?” Alaric asked as soon as he dropped his bottle back on the table. “He hired a personal bodyguard a few months ago. The said bodyguard was killed during the attack. Do you have any idea why he did that?”

Vanessa shook her head. “No, I don’t

know why he did that. As you know already, we haven’t really been together for a while. I wasn’t even living with him anymore. I do think it might have something to do with his political career,”

Alaric nodded. “During our investigation, we also found out that there were rumors that Christopher had become an integral part of the Brothers of Sin operation. Although there was no concrete proof that he was involved in money laundering. Do you know about this?”

“Yes, I did, but we were already separated when I heard this. It was also one of the reasons why I wanted a divorce… I didn’t want to be involved,”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“Why didn’t you mention this to us at the station after we picked you up?”

Vanessa glared at him, “Well I didn’t think about it or even suspect that it had anything to do with his murder. Like you said, there was no concrete proof. You’re just asking me about it now and I’m giving you your answers. Am I not?”

“So the rumor was enough to fuel your desire for a divorce, but you didn’t think it was worth mentioning to us?” Alaric probed further, ignoring the growing anger on her face.

“Suit yourself, Detective,” she said carelessly, “You can believe whatever you want. All I know is that I’m innocent and whatever you think doesn’t matter to me,”

“Look, there’s no need for us to argue. We’re all trying to get to the bottom of this,” Paul Forbes said, “Is there anything else you’ve remembered or think we should know about, Mrs Spencer?”