THE CANCELED WEDDING
Two months before his wedding with Anne, Alan Berwick found her
corpse in their bedroom. The blood had stained his hands and dyed all
the bed sheets: she had been killed with a sword by someone and he had
to solve her murder immediately!
A few weeks later the lieutenant Ronald Hatherwood arrested him as the main suspected of the
case. He spent three fortnights and a half inside a cell of the police
station sharing that quiet and shadowy room with his wife’s killer
without knowing who was that outrageous man.
Afterwards
that time the judge initiated the legal proceedings and asked him to
visit her as soon as possible and ordered to Hatherwood to bring the
evidences of Mr. Berwick’s incrimination.
Peter Stone
drove the patrol car and took his friend to the court. It was in the
middle of Huddersfield and they had a traffic jam sooner arriving at the
building where Diana McMillan was drinking a cup of tea and eating a
piece of cake with the public prosecutor. They arrived earlier than
their much-anticipated, however.
He parked his car and
came into the hall of justice with the prisoner, waving at Mrs. McMillan
and her boyfriend who was sitting in front of her talking with his
partner about the mystery.
Alan knew that Diana was
McGovern’s successor because she was his lover and pupil during the
university. He met her and followed to her office which was on the last
floor.
She opened the door and while Diana and Alan sat
down in their chairs, McMillan’s secretary asked her something who Mr.
Berwick didn’t understand because the women were talking in German: “May
I open the door?” Diana’s administrative assistant questioned her.
Later,
she began to inquire of Alan with the typical questions but suddenly
Ronald Hatherwood and Peter Stone went into the suite and told them that
they had committed a mistake: the scientific police had found something
special which have demonstrating his innocence; the weapon had not his
fingerprints.
Alan became the new leader of the
investigation and came out of the workplace with his friends who were
disappointed because of that horrendous screw-up.
“Now,
Ronald Hatherwood and I have to go to interrogate Anne’s parents whilst
you and a police officer are going to my home to find fingerprints and
something else to find the murderer such as gloves either mobile phone
or its wallet too!” commissioner Berwick told them before beginning the
mission.
He drove his police car to
Leeds, the town where marriage Johnson were living nowadays. They were
living in Cork but four years after Anne’s birth, they decided to move
to Yorkshire.
Ronald Hatherwood and Alan Berwick
arrived. The two policemen alighted there and one of them knocked that
wooden door which was opened by Anne’s father named Kilian Johnson a
tiny and old man with a blonde hair.
“Good afternoon
Kilian!” said Alan. “How are you? We are carrying out your daughter’s
murder. Could we ask you some questions?” he questioned Mr. Johnson.
“Yes, of course!” Kilian exclaimed. “How can I help you?” he asked to his visitors who were sitting on the sofa.
“Explaining
us what did you do the night of the murder. Did you argued with your
daughter?” wanted to know Alan. “It’s important for us because if you
argued with her, may well we can help you!” he said.
“Yes,
we did! She asked for money because she had financial problems and I
denied it because I thought that she was lying!” he told them something
what Alan did not believe because while he had been with her she was in a
good monetary position.
“Does she had a brother?” enquired of Kilian Johnson.
“Yes. She had a brother who lives in Manchester working as a postman!” he replied.
“Thank
you very much. If we need more information we call you to meet with us
in the police station!” Alan said while he went out with Ronald
Hatherwood of that comfortable cottage.
At the same
time, when Peter Stone knew the results of the autopsy, rang up his
friend and explained him what had happened the night of the unlawful
killing: she was raped by someone who hit her because Anne attempted to
protect her live. The rapist saw that was a difficult challenge and his
accomplice helped him to kill Ms. Johnson. It took place in a street
near Berwick’s house and in order to have an alibi, they went into the
house with the victim putting her on the bed where Alan had found his
girlfriend, the next morning.
“Who is the rapist?” he urged to know.
“We think that was her male sibling and a friend of him!” Peter answered immediately.
“Thank you very much!” riposted Alan and put the phone down.
He began to drive his car going to Manchester and they got there at Mr. Johnson junior’s house.
When
Andrew heard the bell, he welcomed his visitors and invited them to eat
a piece of pumpkin pie and a cup of the best delicious milk that
they’ve ever drunk.
“How can I help you, my dear friends?” Andrew asked.
“We are investigating a murder. Did you have a strengthen relationship with your sister Anne Johnson?” replied Ron Hatherwood.
“Of course!” he exclaimed “I was his stepbrother!” Andrew continued.
“What did you do the night of her death?” wanted to know Alan who began to be annoyed with the sketchy.
“First,
I am going to explain you why I was his stepbrother and later I will
told you what I did that evening, ok?” riposted Andrew with a rhetorical
question. “Her father divorced when she was 13 years old and married
with my mother who was killed in a jihadist attack. He gave me his
surname because I was 12 years old and I had no family except Mr.
Johnson. I met a drug pusher and we became friends. Anne began to be
addicted of heroine and I offered her his services. She had a debt with
him before her murder!” Andrew replied.
“Thank you. Where did your friend live?” Alan enquired of Johnson junior. “We need to ask him some questions!”.
“He lives in Liverpool” he told them.
They took the train in Manchester and got off in that ermous town of the west coast of England.
Alan
and Ron walked through streets that were old and squares that were full
of people who were buying in the street market, fruits, vegetables,
fish, potatoes, meat, … when they found someone who helped them and
showed Johnson’s friend house.
The dealer was living in
an odd block of flats: it was in the middle of the city closed to the
bus stop. The outside of the apartment block was likeness a sphere; the
inside seemed as a triangle and his house such as square in the midst
of a small semicircle.
They were invited to drink a glass of beer with coke which Ron and Alan drank with pleasure.
Commissioner
Berwick interrogated him, who lied them, although his cleverness showed
him the truth: he remembered the weeks that he had spent indoors the
cell with the awful man and saw that Andrew’s homeboy was wearing the
same clothes as that evil guy.
“I know you was Anne’s
drug pusher and her debt with you because the lieutenant Stone found a
chat among Anne and you where you was asking her when she would be pay
the amount due.” Alan began to say “And I know too your threaten to Ms.
Johnson!” continued. “Which was your plan when you saw that the debt
wouldn’t be paid?” asked him.
“Well done, well done…
Yes, you tell the truth, but I hadn’t a chat with her. You have told me
that I was her drug pusher; it’s correct… And you have said that Anne
had an amount due with me; it’s correct too. Also, you have explained
that I threatened her; it’s incorrect because I not threatened her! When
I saw that the debt wouldn’t be paid, I planned the murder with her
stepbrother. We decided that he would be the rapist cause of he loved
his stepsister but she not wanted to be his lover and when she wanted to
run away of his paws fiercely, I decided to kill her to
defend him!” he answered.
Andrew Johnson and Albert
Firewater were arrested and supervised by the lieutenant Hatherwood
right up to the judgement and the sergeant Peter Stone requested Alan
how did he find the solution of the conundrum, as well as possible.
“I
knew that they were the guilties of Anne’s death when I had known the
post mortem results. As you told me, she was raped by a man and killed
by his friend. When I inquired of Kilian, I discovered that she had a
brother and Ron and I went to see him to asked some questions. He
explained us something outstanding of the case: Anne was addicted of
heroine regardless of we knew before in the autopsy. How can he knew it
if he didn’t know the results of the necropsy? Because he was his
stepbrother and a friend of her dealer. He told us the debt that she had
with his friend and I implicated the drug pusher as the killer who
helped Andrew Johnson when he fighted with the victim!” Commissioner
Alan riposted sarcastically.
Phoenix of the Literature
