100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 182: The Skeletons II

Sam’s Office, Guy’s Hospital

Elle furrowed her brows, looking at the image in the Irishman’s hand, "They died in a fire in Somerset almost 30 years ago." she started trying to recall the details. "It was considered as a Family Tragedy. Lilian was the only child of Denise; she married young, only 18, to Mr. Murdoch. And had a child, Mr. Ivan, shortly after." she continued looking at the duo hanging to her every word.

"From what I gathered, there were some issues after her giving birth, and she had difficulty conceiving---and for many years they tried, till finally ten years later they had Sam." She said, knowing that information was common knowledge to most employees working under the Fredricksen’s. Employees tend to gossip, after all.

"Her dad, Christian Murdoch, was an Architect, one of the best. He designed the Hidden Truth Building..." she provided, earning an impressed expression from Marco, who had the chance to visit the place with his wife Lisa ages before. In contrast, Levi seemed to have known it already.

"And also the Fredricksen Co. Building." She added.

"So, he was considered a genius too," Marco commented. "You can say that." the brunette nodded lightly.

"Married very young, big wedding?" Levi pried; from what he could see from the photo, this was love. Real romance. Which was odd, considering Lilian came from a high profile family and was heiress to the ’Family throne.’ Elle shook her head; she was aware of some of the family drama. After all, Sam was open to it; the redhead generally was open to her about her knowledge about the family.

"No, the two eloped to America. The witnesses to their wedding were strangers; they asked the day of their wedding." Elle said, remembering Monica, Sam’s grandmother, sharing stories about the redhead’s parents. Especially her youngest son, who she loved very much. His loss was something the Murdoch’s felt deeply.

"Well, that is really spur of the moment," Marco commented, finding the deed quite romantic. He wouldn’t mind marrying Lisa again; after all, maybe he should do something that spontaneous. He reckoned the blonde would love it.

Levi crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. "Hm. Interesting", he commented. "Family drama then." He thought out loud.

Elle nodded, "Very, Ms. Lilian was initially arranged to be Sir Keswick after all." she revealed, and Marco’s eyes widened in surprise.

"Sir? Like a proper, Sir?" the bearded man asked. Elle turned to him and nodded, "She was rebellious at heart." "Wow," Marco said, impressed with the information. He could only imagine Sam got her spunk from her mother.

Levi snorted, amused; he did enjoy a good gossip after all. That juicy gossip he knew he wouldn’t be able to get from published newspapers. "So I take it, it’s safe to assume Denise Fredricksen didn’t like Christian for her daughter?" he asked for confirmation.

"Not at first, but when they got married, she really couldn’t do anything about it. He was immediately welcomed to the family when Ms. Lilian got pregnant; the couple lived with them in the Fredricksen Mansion, 10 miles from London." she shared.

Levi scoffed, amused. "And I reckon his connection to the President of Hidden Truth Jason Murdoch didn’t hurt either," he commented, seeing the pattern.

POWER.

Elle nodded; the Irishman was right. "Yes, the Fredricksen’s and Murdoch’s went to business together. Christian designed fortress blueprints for the Fredricksen Security business. In contrast, Fredricksen provided Security for Jason Murdoch. And Jason Murdoch controlled the Press for them." the brunette revealed.

"And they lived happily till they burnt in a cabin fire." the Irishman commented with a hint of morbid humor, earning a scowl from the two. Suddenly they noticed the Irishman’s eyes widened, and a glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

"Oh!...awful good. Awful good indeed!" He exclaimed, as the corner of his lips curled into a real self-satisfied grin.

"What is?" Marco asked, but the psychologist ignored him. His full focus on the brunette. "So, Ms. Hart, with your deeper knowledge of Sam and her clearly....interesting family. Do you have any idea where she might go? And why would she leave in the first place?" the blond man asked.

Elle shook her head, "If I did, I would be there already." she expressed, looking him straight in the eyes.

Levi clapped his hands loudly, ending the conversation with "Very well."

He had gathered all that he needed, heading towards the door. He paused halfway through the door and turned to the brunette, "By the way, when did you last see her?" he asked.

Elle thought about it for a second, "Yesterday morning, she had worked overnight for the DNA result." she said.

"Oh wait," she added, remembering something she found odd. The redhead usually couldn’t be bothered playing the delivery guy. She usually called her to arrange for it to be sent to the Criminal Investigation Department. "She delivered the Result to Davies herself," she added.

...

Criminal Investigation Department

Davies sat behind his desk, looking at the two very familiar tall men he considered both colleagues and friends. The slicked blond sporting a crisp three-piece suit, dress shoes he reckons could show his reflection. While the even taller bearded man stood next to him, hands in his pants pocket, observing his friend and business partner. Why they were there, he had no idea why.

The slicked blond’s eyes narrowed at him, "You were the one last seen with her, Davies. You know the drill." he spat, wanting the older man to tell him everything he knows. Davies sighed at the blond’s antics; he was stumped with paperwork after all. If he were honest, he’d torch it if he could. But he had to be an example of professionalism with his crew.

He explained exactly what happened when he was with the redhead the morning before. He left no details and made sure to answer all of Levi’s questions so he could go back to work as soon as possible. The paperwork won’t write itself.

....

Yesterday, Pattin’s Flat

Sam stood inside Pattin’s flat, her gloved hands inspecting the books on the man’s shelf. With her was no other than Davies himself, watching her treat the place like she would a crime scene. He wondered why she wanted to see the suspect’s flat in the first place, especially since of all the favor she could ask him to do, she asked just that.

"Are you looking for something specific?" He inquired, his hands inside his coat pocket, offering a helping hand if she needed it. The redhead turned to him, "Not really, just a hunch. I could close up Davies; you can leave. I know you’re busy." She offered, pulling a book from the suspect’s bookshelf.

"Believe me, Sam. I would love to, but you know the protocol," he said. He was already pulling some strings for her to be there after all. And to his surprise, it was easier than he initially anticipated, just the mention of her name, and it was a go with the Chief.

Sam chuckled under her breath, "Yeah, I know." She said almost in a whisper, putting back a book and scanning the palace again. She paused for a second when she saw something and reached for it—a notebook. Sam smiled as she flipped through the pages, then turned to Davies, handing it to the detective.

His brows raised at her, but he accepted the notebook from her hand and looked at it. "This will cement your case----He’ll get life in prison." She claimed, confidence clear in her voice.

"What is it?" he asked, brows furrowed at the long narratives written on it. "It’s his Journal---people that had been institutionalized before will either be very organized--something they had practiced in the facility and keeps a journal as their doctor suggested." the redhead explained, and he nodded in understanding.

The two separated shortly after he drove her back to Guy’s.

Davies looked at the two men, who listened to his every word. "That’s all I know; I dropped her off at Guy’s around 2 PM.," he said. The duo exchanged looks, something the detective noted. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"She’s not missing, is she? I can file a missing report." he offered, suddenly concerned for the redhead’s safety. Levi ignored his question, "The journal. Where is it?" he demanded.

Davies made a call using the landline on his table, asking some of his people to pick up a copy of the journal from Evidence.

Minutes later, it arrived, and Levi took it from his hands, scanning it. "She found it? Did she read it?" he asked for confirmation.

Davies nodded, "She looked at it for like a minute then handed it to me." he recalled. It was just a simple look; it didn’t take longer than 60 seconds when she handed it to him. It wouldn’t have been enough for her to read through it, he thought.

Levi rolled his eyes, "You eejit. She has a photographic memory; she could have this memorized in seconds." he informed, looking through the Journal.