Before heading back, Stella Grace bought herself a new cellphone. She also got herself a new phone number just to be safe. On the way to the police station, she duplicated every phone number of the people she knew, including Frederick’s. Then she sent him a message.
Frederick Addington received the message and called her immediately.
Stella answered it.
“Did you change your phone and number? Are you trying to escape?” He said in a very disdainful tone.
“If I had planned to escape, I wouldn’t have sent you the message. I have decided to accept your terms, but I have something else to deal with now. I will go to your place when I come back the day after tomorrow,” Stella replied coldly.
“Are you still trying to fight your way through? It’s impossible for you to win this time. I have the upper hand now. If I want him dead, then he will not live to see another day.” Frederick said arrogantly, his tone was laced with confidence.
“Frederick, you can be quite conceited sometimes.” Stella said.
“It’s not a flaw.” Frederick replied coldly.
“Rolland is my friend. His ex-girlfriend was killed. I promised to help him find the murderer. So I will stay here for two days.” Stella explained.
“You’re still quite calm, aren’t you? Jasper is dying soon and yet you’re still in the mood to save others. How would he feel if he knows about this? When a pitiful man meets a ruthless woman, he is bound to be in misery.” Frederick mocked her.
Stella looked ahead indifferently.
It no longer mattered to her how Jasper would perceive her. Stella couldn’t care less and she was not going to explain herself either.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll end the call,” Stella said coldly.
“See you tonight.” Frederick hung up.
Stella’s heart skipped a beat. What did he mean by tonight?!
When he saw Stella zoning out with her cellphone in her hand, Rolland spoke apologetically, “Was that your husband? If he is unhappy about you helping me out, then you don’t have to. It wasn’t even your problem to begin with. I would feel bad if you two quarreled over this matter.”
“He’s not my husband. Since I’ve agreed to help you, I must keep my promise. We’ll talk about it when we arrive at the police department.” Stella put her cellphone aside.
She was still a little worried.
She had asked Jasper to arrange for her to be in charge of this case. But now that Jasper was in trouble, would she still have the authority to?
She walked into the police station with uncertainty. When she arrived at the director’s office, she knocked on the door. “Hello, I’m Stella Grace.”
“Oh, you’re the expert, nice to meet you. I thought you were going to come in the morning. Welcome.” The director greeted enthusiastically.
Stella sighed in relief. Judging by his attitude, the director did not seem to know about Jasper’s situation.
It could also be possible that Jasper had sent his men to inform them.
It was a good thing that it had not been spread around yet.
“I’d like to take a look at the case about the girl who died in her house yesterday,” Stella stated directly.
“You must be speaking about Wendy Fellow. They were just discussing this case earlier. Your help is much appreciated.” The director said enthusiastically.
“It’s my pleasure.” Stella said politely.
The director brought Stella to the meeting room.
As she walked behind the director, Stella suddenly recalled what had happened to Jasper. For a moment, she felt as if her heart was suffocating in pain, and the discomfort had surged through her body.
She had to clear her head and deal with this matter as soon as possible.
“Everyone, a moment please. This is Stella Grace. She is a professional psychologist recommended by the provincial bureau. From here on, she will be in charge of this case. If you have any queries, please discuss it with her and cooperate with her.” the director announced.
Stella nodded and sat down.
No one spoke. They looked at each other in dismay.
“The deceased was holding her cellphone when she was found at the crime scene. Let’s see what does her most recent text messages say. Who was the last person that she had contacted?” Stella asked.
“It’s strange speaking of which. The deceased died between 1700 hours to 1830 hours. Her family found her dead when they were calling her for dinner. During this period of time, she did not go out, and the window to her room was also locked from the inside. The deceased’s parents were outside the room and they said that no one entered. This locked-room murder seemed like a suicide case instead.
The forensics found traces of lysergic acid diethylamide, which is one of the components of hallucinogenic drugs, from the deceased’s body. It could cause one to hallucinate or faint. However, the deceased was with her parents an hour before her time of death, and there weren’t any significant symptoms.
Therefore, we were assuming that the deceased had accidentally taken the drugs, which made her hallucinate and commit suicide as a result.
At 1700 hours, the deceased had sent a text message to her ex-boyfriend, but it was just a simple ‘Where are you?’. Her ex-boyfriend didn’t reply, and we couldn’t find anything unusual.” An officer said.
“Isn’t there a surveillance camera installed outside their door?” Stella asked.
“We’ve also checked the surveillance footage. No one came in or out of Wendy Fellow’s house between 1700 hours to 1800 hours yesterday. We didn’t find any traces of a brawl in Wendy’s room as well.”
Stella narrowed her eyes and said, “I don’t think so. Who would hold a cellphone in one hand and a knife in the other before committing suicide? Not to mention that there wasn’t anything unusual with the texts.”
“Since she had taken the hallucinogenic drugs by mistake, she must be acting strangely.” An officer retorted.
“Where did the drug come from? How did the deceased take the drug by accident? Did you find the drug at the scene? If there was none, this assumption doesn’t make sense. Besides, if something strange happened in the room, why didn’t her parents hear anything? It’s impossible for her to take the drug and just lay on the bed with her phone on one hand and committing suicide with the other, right?” Stella imagined the scene in her mind.
The officers also felt that it was unrealistic and looked at each other in dismay.
“Are Wendy Fellow’s parents still at the police station?” Stella questioned.
“They are in the lounge next door.”
Stella got up immediately and went into the room next door.
Rolland was there with Wendy’s parents.
“Uncle, Auntie, I’d like to ask, do you find anything strange with Wendy when she entered the room?” Stella asked.
“No, we were watching TV. Wendy had always been a very obedient child. We thought she was reading inside,” Wendy’s mother replied.
“What were Wendy’s habits and hobbies?” Stella asked.
“She was very reclusive. She did not go out much and most certainly would not offend anyone.” Wendy’s mother said.
Rolland seemed to recall something and told Stella, “Wendy loved freshly grounded coffee. She would drink it regardless of her mood. I’ve once given her a coffee grinder, she kept it in her room all the time. However, I don’t remember seeing it at the scene. Does it have anything to do with this case?”
“Does she drink coffee every day?” Stella asked.
“Yes. Every day after coming home. She would brew it at about 1700 hours in the kitchen, and then drink it,” Wendy’s mother said.
“Did you buy any coffee beans yesterday, or did you take the coffee grinder out somewhere?”
“No.”
“It must be a murder then. Someone knew about Wendy’s habit. Therefore, between Wendy’s bedtime two nights ago up until 1700 hours yesterday, the drug was placed in the coffee grinder.
Wendy drank the coffee after sending the message to you. She waited for your reply with the phone in her hand. While she was waiting, she grew tired and eventually fell asleep. At that time, someone stabbed Wendy in the heart with a dagger and took away the coffee grinder and the cup.” Stella told Rolland.
“Who could that person be?” Rolland asked suspiciously.
“Let’s check the surveillance recordings.” Stella turned around and asked the officers to bring out the recordings. She focused the search between 2100 hours the night before yesterday until 1700 hours yesterday evening.