I received a hurried call today morning at 7.45 AM. The call was from Mr. Richard Wright, the Principal of St. Xavier’s college. He said “Mr. Jacob, can you please come over to the college as soon as possible. There has been a murder and I want you to investigate it at the earliest. Our college’s reputation is at stake.” I am a private detective and I am pretty good in my line of work. I am generally called before the Police so that the evidence would not be destroyed by inefficient procedures and gross negligence. I assured him that I would come over in 10 minutes. I took out my car and sped through the freeway and reached the college within 10 minutes.
I hurriedly parked my car and was met outside by the college Principal. We shook hands and it was clear that the Principal was visibly shaken by the incident. He was wiping sweat from his face with his handkerchief and said “This way, please hurry. Time is of the utmost importance”. He led me to the college library. The college was mostly empty as it was a Sunday morning. As he was leading me I asked him what exactly had happened. He said with heavy breath “The college librarian Ms. Susie was found dead around an hour back. I received a call from the cleaning staff”. We were now in front of the library. The principal took a heavy breath as he opened the library door and ushered me inside. I saw that the library was pretty big. On the side the body of the librarian lay in cold blood. She was a woman who seemed to be in her late forties. She was lying in her chair and her throat was slit wide open. The blood had now clotted and started to form lumps. It seemed that she was killed the previous night sometime around midnight. On moving closer I could see stab marks on her back as well. I asked the Principal to stay back.
I put on my gloves and took out my magnifying lens and started to inspect the writing desk in front of the chair. There were few books lying there along with regular stationery materials. I inspected the body and found that her left fist was clenched tightly. She was holding a small note of paper. I carefully removed the piece of paper. It was the bottom portion of a book with a page number 121 written on it. It seems like she had snatched a book from her killer and in the ensuing struggle a piece of paper had been torn from the book. As I moved little further I saw some blood stains. The blood stains led me to the second aisle where the Psychology books were kept. The blood stains ended near a shelf were few books had fallen off to the floor. I moved closer to the second rack and saw a bloodied hand imprint. It seemed the librarian was trying to run from away her killer and her bloodied hand had touched the rack leaving a stain on it. I looked around the remaining section and it seemed fine.
I returned back to the Principal and asked him “Is the library open on Saturday evening?” The Principal answered “No. And that surprises me as well. What was she doing there yesterday night?” “Didn’t anyone see her entering the college yesterday night?” I asked. He replied “No. I checked with the guard outside the gate. He said that he saw no one”. “Didn’t anyone hear any screams?” I asked. He answered “Mr Jacob this room is sound proof. It is impossible to hear what is going on inside”. “Did the librarian have any keys to the library?” I asked. He replied “Yes. She had a key and one more key is with the guard” “Is the cleaning staff here? I would like ask them few questions?” I asked him. He replied “Yes. Mr Underwood discovered the body and called me.” Mr Underwood was called inside. He was about fifty years of age with grey hair and a cap on his head. He was looking disturbed. He greeted me and I asked “Mr Underwood, what time did you discover the murder?” He replied “I came to college around 6 AM and cleaned the main hall. After that around 7 AM I came inside the library and saw that Ms. Susie was lying dead.” He was visibly shaken and I asked him “Did you see anything unusual today?” He thought for a while and answered “Not that I can recall anything, but the door of the library was already open when I entered. Generally the guard opens the door for me” “Thanks Mr Underwood that will be all” saying this I politely walked him outside the door.
It was becoming clear now that there was some connection between the Psychology department and this murder. I asked the Principal “Did Ms. Susie have any relations with someone in the Psychology department?” He thought and answered “I think she was close to Mr. Sam who was the Associate Professor in the Psychology department. But, they had a break up a few months back and were living separately now.” I had an inkling that somehow this Mr. Sam was the murderer or knew something about the murder. I asked the Principal “Can we meet Mr. Sam? “ He replied “I am afraid that is not possible. You see Mr. Sam committed suicide two months back. He was found in his house hanging from a ceiling fan.”
It was becoming clear now that there was some connection between the Psychology department and this murder. I asked the Principal “Did Ms. Susie have any relations with someone in the Psychology department?” He thought and answered “I think she was close to Mr. Sam who was the Associate Professor in the Psychology department. But, they had a break up a few months back and were living separately now.” I had an inkling that somehow this Mr. Sam was the murderer or knew something about the murder. I asked the Principal “Can we meet Mr. Sam? “ He replied “I am afraid that is not possible. You see Mr. Sam committed suicide two months back. He was found in his house hanging from a ceiling fan.”
I was mildly taken aback by this statement. “Do you suspect anybody with this murder?” I asked him. “No. I am afraid not.” “Can we talk to the guard?” I asked. The Principal called in the guard Mr. Hall White. He was a strong and well-built man in his early thirties. I asked him “What are your duty timings?” He replied gruffly “It is from 10 pm to 10 am”. “Did you see anyone suspicious during this time?” I asked. He replied “Not a single person.” I thanked him and walked him outside.
“When did the security guard join this college?” I asked. The Principal checked some data on his phone and replied that this guard had joined around one month back. I asked him what was the surname of Mr. Sam and he answered that it was White. A bell rang in my ear and I told the Principal that we had found our killer. We called the Police and they arrested the guard.
After a couple of days the guard confessed to his crime. After a few days, the Principal called me to his college to extend his gratitude and asked “How did you know it was the guard?” I told him that when I had checked the fallen books in the library I found an intimate photo of Ms. Susie with someone in the book. Apparently Mr. Sam had committed suicide over his broken affair with Ms. Susie. Hall was the younger brother of Mr. Sam and he had resolved to take revenge on Ms. Susie. He had found some intimate photos of Mr. Sam and Ms. Susie and had threatened her that he would leak the photos if she did not pay him. He called her on Saturday night on the pretext of returning her pictures in return for some money. The meeting was arranged in the library. Ms. Susie had kept the money in a book. It was the same book whose torn paper she was clenching in her hand. Hall had stabbed her and dragged her body on the floor. He then placed her on the chair and slit her throat. He then washed his hands and went back to resume his duty outside the gate. But, he had forgotten to lock the library door. This is what caught my attention and I suspected his involvement.”
After a couple of days the guard confessed to his crime. After a few days, the Principal called me to his college to extend his gratitude and asked “How did you know it was the guard?” I told him that when I had checked the fallen books in the library I found an intimate photo of Ms. Susie with someone in the book. Apparently Mr. Sam had committed suicide over his broken affair with Ms. Susie. Hall was the younger brother of Mr. Sam and he had resolved to take revenge on Ms. Susie. He had found some intimate photos of Mr. Sam and Ms. Susie and had threatened her that he would leak the photos if she did not pay him. He called her on Saturday night on the pretext of returning her pictures in return for some money. The meeting was arranged in the library. Ms. Susie had kept the money in a book. It was the same book whose torn paper she was clenching in her hand. Hall had stabbed her and dragged her body on the floor. He then placed her on the chair and slit her throat. He then washed his hands and went back to resume his duty outside the gate. But, he had forgotten to lock the library door. This is what caught my attention and I suspected his involvement.”
THE END
No comments:
Post a Comment