Vin's POV
"Why don't you start with your name."
"Ah, the name's Matt, Matt Rodriguez, I was a surgeon at the Saint Ignatius Hospital." Matt
He shifted his gaze on his plaques on the shelves just below the certificates that hung on the wall. Dust was gathering near the base of a plaque that reads "ASA Flance-Karl Award". I cleared my throat to catch his attention.
"Where were you when the accident happened?"
"I was here in the living room watching some noontime show." Matt
"Did you see what happened?"
"No, I didn't look outside not until I heard a tire screeching and followed by a loud crash. That's when I saw you helping the truck driver out of his truck." Matt
"So you didn't actually see it happen, not until it was all over."
"Sounds about right." Matt
A dead end. This is what I hate the most, dead ends. Meaning I need to go back to square one and find another witness. I thought, since he's living across the street he might have seen who tampered with the victim's car.
I got up and thought about leaving. We thanked him for welcoming us into his house and started walking towards the door. I was about to step outside when something caught my eye. I didn't notice those earlier, but it stands out like a sore thumb.
"Your mailbox is full, you might want to take those letters in."
"Those are just hate mails, mostly threats." Matt
"Is it because of that incident?"
"Yeah, every once in a while a rock will suddenly break my window, send threatening mail to me saying that I should've died in that operation." Matt
"Do you have an idea who might have done all of those?"
"It could be anyone really, but the patient's family really despised me after the death of their child. Their older child took it the hardest. He was so close to his brother, he visits him everyday after school even though he knows his brother is in a coma he always talks to him telling stories and confiding secrets." Matt
"Did you see him throwing rocks at your house or dropping off the threat mails?"
"Nope, but one time I saw him intently watching me across the street from where I used to shop." Matt
"You didn't confront him?"
"No." Matt
I stepped out of the house and Matt closed the door behind me. Before we left the premises, I grabbed some letters from the mailbox and stuffed them in my back pocket.
"What was that?" Zaider
"What was what?"
"I saw you hid something on your back." Zaider
"It's nothing, nothing at all"
The police still swarmed around the car conducting investigation, I saw the inspector still talking to the victim's wife.
The sun is starting to set, I watch it disappear beyond the horizon. Without letting Zaider notice, I retrieved the letters from my back pocket and opened them.
"You should really look behind your back or something might hit you."
"Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling to your death."
"Ashes, ashes, you shall fall down."
"He was just a child, How could you let someone that young die. I won't let you live, not after what you've done to him"
Those were what the letters contained. The same newspaper clipped letters pasted to create the sentences, With a signature at the bottom of each letter. Ritard. A term used by a composer when he wishes to bring a melody or a piece of music to a close.
"Hey, Zaider… is the boy's brother a musician?"
"What boy?" Zaider
"The one that died while in surgery that Dr. Matt was doing."
"I'm not sure." Zaider
I could go back and ask Matt but instead I went to an officer near the car.
"Officer, the inspector wants you to look up for someone."
"Yeah? And who might that be?" Officer
I looked at Zaider, waiting for him to answer the question posed by the officer. He whispered the name to my ears.
"Bower, the surname was Bower, the inspector did.not know the name but all he knows is that he was the brother of the patient that died in Saint Ignatius Hospital due to complications from his surgery performed by Dr. Matt Rodriguez."
"I'll see what I can do." Officer
He walked into his car and drove away. All that was left was to confirm my suspicion. If it fits perfectly then case solved. He has the motive and access to the murder weapon.
To tie him from the murder scene I returned to where the inspector and the victim's wife stood.
"Ma'am can I ask you a question?"
"Vin, if that's one of your nonsense questions, I swear I'll lock you up myself." Inspector
"Do you know anyone with the surname Bower?"
"Bower? That rings a bell. He was mentoring this kid named Philip Bower in playing the piano. They've won several competitions, but suddenly they've been arguing about something. Why'd you ask?" Wife
"So he was a music instructor…"
"Is this related to the case?" Inspector
Before I could answer the question, the officer I sent away to look for the patient's brother returned and handed the professor a folder. I stepped closer to the inspector to see what's inside.
"What's this?" Inspector
The officer was about to speak but I cut him out.
"Inspector I solved this case."
"Really Vin?!" Zaider
"Isn't it obvious? The man in the car wasn't the target all along. It was the one that was living right across the slope. Dr. Matt Rodriguez. He had the motive, opportunity and access to the murder weapon to kill Mr. Liam."
"Who did it? Tell us Vin!" Inspector
"The one that could do all these was him."
I pointed to the picture inside the folder, the picture of Philip Bower.
"In fact he's here in the crowd. Would you mind joining us Mr. Philip Bower."
I called out to him from the crowd. I saw him earlier when we returned from Dr. Matt's house. I never knew who he was that time but as soon I saw the photo from the folder I immediately recognized him.
Philip weaved through the crowd trying to escape but the officers caught up with him and restrained him.
"But Vin, how would all these connect to each other?" Inspector
"Philip created an elaborate plan to kill Dr. Matt. After Philip's brother died from surgery, he started losing interest in playing the piano and refused to join any contests. That might be what they were arguing about. With him wanting revenge on what happened to his brother he killed Mr. Liam making it look like suicide. He probably drugged him, put a piano wire around his neck, set the car to neutral atop of the slope, and locked it. He nicked the wire so that it would break after being pulled. Thus making it look like suicide, and with the car rolling down the slope it would crash into Dr. Matt's living room killing him in the process making it look like an accident. But that was ruined when a truck came and crashed into the car sending it flying here."
"But earlier you couldn't open the car's door, how could he lock it from outside?" Zaider
"He used the piano wire and taped it on the child lock on the door and pulled it from outside."
"How could you do this to him, using him as a weapon to kill somebody?!" Wife
She was shouting at Philip, tears streaming down her cheeks. The kids hid behind her clutching at their mother's shirt. I met Philip's eyes, they're blank as the night sky, not even a light in them. A long cold gaze across the distance, where Dr. Matt stood.
They led Philip inside the police car, not even a single word from him. He just stares at something and nothing at the same time. The car lurched forward and drove into distance. People started going back to their homes, the only one's left were me, Zaider, the inspector, the victim's wife, and Dr. Matt.
"I can't believe I'm saying this again but, you've done it again." Inspector
He took the victim's wife inside the car and probably brought her to the precinct for more questioning. I put a hand on Zaider's shoulder suggesting that we should get going.
Minutes later we arrived at Zaider's house, I was about to leave when Zaider called my name.
"Vin, how do you manage to stomach seeing dead bodies?" Zaider
"I dunno, I never really wondered why. Maybe because I'm used to seeing dead bodies all the time that I managed to be immune to the sight and stench of them."
I don't know if that answer's Zaider's question but to avoid him asking another I started walking away from their house with only street lights lighting my way into the night.
To Be Continued...