THE HONEYMOON

Without warning she stood up and walked down the stairs to the table where laid the delicious creamy pink and white cake. She cut a piece and began eating instantly. He walked out of the bedroom seeking his bride only to find her lying on the floor her face covered with cream. On getting closer he discovered her lifeless body, it looked like she had stabbed herself. He read the inscription on the floor made with cream, it read, “Sweetheart I’m sorry I had to leave you this way, I hope you find true love cause I was never worthy of your love”.

This wasn’t happening; he felt every muscle in him break apart. He sat before her lifeless body completely shattered, wondering how he could call 911 and let them know his wife had been murdered; obviously he becomes the primary suspect and would be probably convicted mainly on circumstantial evidence. “No” he screamed loudly, the echoes virtually brought the house down. He fell into a deep abyss of despair that was the last straw; he could take it no more. “What’s left but death?” he screamed and tore his clothes to shreds.

“Adrian, Adrian” a voice beckoned on him, “what happened here Adrian, are you okay, oh my god Monica!” in the mist of his deafness he could hear that sweet voice he had sworn to despise. What the hell was she doing here, this was his honeymoon he expected no one to visit not his family or friends especially not her, his seductive secretary, personal assistant whom he could never really get rid of.

“Would you stop yelling in such a pitiful manner, god damn it, get out Sandra use the door” he seized her hand and took her to the main door, “You saw nothing, promise me you would tell no one, let me take care of my own mess”

“But, but, um what happened, Ad did you kill her?” she asked breathlessly, what she saw gave her goose bumps.

“No I did not, how can I kill my wife the day after our wedding, if that is all just get out okay get out” he yelled and shut the door after her. He then broke into uncontrollable tears, everything seemed amiss, how did it happen, who killed her and why? He did not buy the damn inscription on the floor; if she had such plans she should have written a note in her own handwriting and left it on the bed or the table beside the bed, besides she didn’t come across as suicidal in any way.

They had dated for five years, college soul mates; they had everything going for them, he studied cyber laws and she was an IT expert. They met in Knakish State University, she was slim and extremely muscular and hairy, that was what fascinated him most about her, she was not the all feminine beauty, no part in her was in curvy. She had a flat chest with little balls; the only beauty she truly ever possessed was a pretty face and long dark curly hair.

He on the other hand was every woman’s dream, muscular athletic build, and flat abdomen with a voice as deep, rich and resolute as Simon Cowell’s. Monica possessed a sharp wit and clever personality. She was arrogant and carried herself about like a goddess and she felt no one could measure up to her. Her life was the library and internet, such a voracious artist, the world was her oyster. The memories of her flooded his mind at that instant, their constant fights, how he had to press her to the wall to get a first kiss and the books stumbling and falling on them in the process.

An hour later he heard a knock at the door, he peered through the window to find out who it was or what they wanted, he saw the signal, the police cars, the investigators, who called them, damn it, he felt trapped. His mum was the first to rush in when he opened the door. “Oh no Adrian, tell me it’s not true, who did that to Monica, to my Monica, oh no this can’t be” He hugged his mum tightly and stared deep into her eyes as though to say search through me, feel my emptiness, I could not have done this.

“Why didn’t you call 911, that raises guilt, if not for Sandra we wouldn’t have known what happened”

He wasn’t surprised, he had never trusted her as his secretary, she claimed to have feelings for him and this was a basic test but she failed woefully.

The special homicide investigator got in, “do not distort the crime scene”, he shouted to anyone who bothered to listen. He went straight ahead to Monica’s lifeless body and observed the inscription on the floor, he smiled and turned to observe her body, he removed the cake that covered her face, cleaned her face and took snapshots of her body. The strain on her neck indicated she was probably strangled but upon closer look they discovered the finger prints on her neck.

The special investigator equally noticed the wound on her stomach and the bloody knife she held on her right hand. “She was murdered, and who ever did it tried to stage it as a suicide attempt, she couldn’t have strangulated herself”, the investigator ordered that the body be taken in an ambulance for autopsy so that the cause of death be revealed. He now turned his attention to the distraught Adrian, “I understand that up until now, she was your newly wedded wife and you must be really hurt by what happened that probably explains why you didn’t call us, but I’m glad you did not temper with the crime scene. I’m sorry for your loss Mr. Adrian but I have some questions you need to answer for any further investigations. You can talk to me Adrian”.

“I did not kill her” he said in a resolute tone and said nothing else.

“You must answer this questions for your sake and ours, I understand you stand alone at this moment, completely defeated but you must tell your story, what actually happened Adrian?” the investigator inquired with deep emotional strokes on his face.

“She woke up early at 6 a.m and bid me a good morning kiss, she hurried downstairs, I was so tired from last night, so I slept off again. Then I woke up at 9 a.m and found no trace of her, so I went downstairs to search for her, only to find her lifeless body.” He said with an indifferent look on his face this time, a face that read let’s get this over and done with.

“Oh and did you notice anything strange?” the investigator inquired further,

“The inscription on the floor, I just didn’t buy it, she was never suicidal, and then her face and neck all covered up with cream, that was terrible to say the least” he said, “I still can’t believe Monica is gone mum, tell me it is not true” Adrian broke into tears and sobbed, his mother comforted him for a while until he was ready to talk again.

“Did you receive any visits immediately after that, sometimes the murderer comes back to the crime scene for some reason, criminal psychology is a rather complex issue”

“Sandra came and found me on the floor, this was supposed to be my honeymoon, I left the city to my country home expecting no visits” he said wondering what the investigator might be getting at, could Sandra be a possible suspect.

The investigator smiled as though reading his thoughts, “the young lady who called 911, I’ve got to question her, you may be surprised or shocked at the turn of events Adrian, now take it easy, you need to pull through these, I’ll take my leave for now”

The thought of Sandra had not crossed his mind until the investigator had mentioned it. Adrian felt a wave of hope as he felt the investigator probably believed in his innocence. He hugged his mum once again and began crying again like a baby desperately in need for his mum’s comfort. “It will be fine Adrian, you would pull through this, I would help you, you are my son and even if the whole world thinks you committed this ferocious act, I know you are innocent”

Two days later, Adrian got a call from the special investigator, “bring the family together, I’ll be meeting with you guys in two hours.” Sandra had handed him the phone, she had been playing the perfect nanny, she behaved as though she needed to win every one’s trust, doing the dishes, cooking and cleaning the Belford home. Adrian refused to let his mind be confounded by thoughts of Sandra’s possible guilt, what could be her reason? Was it him, was she so in love with him as to kill Monica in other to secure her place. He secretly hoped it wasn’t true and that it was just a bad dream, he’ll probably wake up to find Monica sleeping beside him.

Two hours already, it was 4 p.m when the family of Monica and Adrian gathered in Adrian’s home awaiting the autopsy results. The atmosphere spelt silent doom as Monica’s parents stared at Adrian with deep distrust, he just ignored them, he couldn’t blame them they just lost a daughter, but why couldn’t they understand that he had lost a wife as well?

The special investigator got in and greeted everyone then sat on a chair at the centre. “I understand that seated here are the Belford and Jones families. I am deeply sorry for your loss, Monica was murdered, the autopsy results here reveal that she was strangled and stabbed once on her stomach. We, my investigation team and I were able to retrieve some finger prints that did not match Monica’s, both from her neck and the knife. I would like each and every one of you to take a polygraph test and give your finger prints for closer examination, we need to rule out the possibility of her being murdered by those with close affiliation to her and consider the possibility of an outsider or random killer.”

He walked to the door and welcomed in some experts, “the polygraph test shall be carried out here and the finger prints shall be taken for further observation. Pardon me you all but this has to be done and done right away.” He ordered the family to retire upstairs and he would send for them one at a time. The routine went on until it was Sandra’s turn. She began to tell Adrian, “trust me, I did not kill her, I couldn’t have done it”.

Adrian just shrugged and she left to take the polygraph test, her results were unclear, but her finger prints were a ninety percent match.

Special investigator Adam Cool could not believe it when he got the finger print results a week later showing a positive match. He then brought Sandra to the station for questioning, he pressed her for answers, she asked to call her lawyer, Adam smiled and told her it really makes no difference, he told her he was willing to help her if she fully cooperates. She asked that Adrian be sent for before she says anything. Two hours later Adrian came rushing in, when she saw him she rushed and hugged him tears flooded her eyes.

“I’m sorry Adrian I got jealous, I could not stand the fact of you marrying that bitch, I’m not sorry for murdering her, my only crime was loving you too much, why did it have to be her Adrian, why not me? I love you, so I followed you guys to your home, I stayed up all night seeking the right opportunity, when I saw you guys make love, I burned Adrian, I burned so the next morning when I knocked on your door and she opened, I covered her mouth, pointed a gun on her ear and drew her to the table where the cake was, I pressed her on the floor, strangled her. I stabbed her with the knife she used to slice the cake, robbed the cream on her face and neck and placed the knife between her hands.”

Adrian froze he felt like drinking poison and dying at that moment, he couldn’t believe it, what love was she talking about? How could she? He wanted to slap her, to push her, to kill her in fact but at that moment he lost it all even his will to go on. He stood like a statue of ice, not moving, neither speaking nor staring. The investigator got her off him and put the handcuffs on her and took her away.

Adrian then collapsed on the floor, he woke up on his bed with Monica right beside him with a piece of cake in her hand, “You are a ghost” he screamed.

Monica smiled and kissed him, “really now Adrian, can a ghost kiss the way I do, you probably had a bad dream”.

He became settled again and began laughing and playing with his newly wedded wife, he wasn’t ever gonna let her go especially not during their honeymoon.

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