Chapter 53

Chapter 53


On the edge of the photo showing Mr. Cole sitting in the passenger seat, there was a reflection in the car window, barely noticeable.

On his wrist, he was wearing a gold watch.

Ariel blinked.

She had seen that exact watch before.

Her mind raced. She opened another picture, one she took earlier in the day at the station. One of the officers walking out of the briefing room had the same watch, down to the scratch across the strap.

She swallowed.

“That’s not Donovan’s watch…”

She checked again.
The reflection…
The watch…
The angle…

The person holding the camera wasn’t Donovan at all.

A bad chill crawled through her body.

Her phone buzzed suddenly, making her jump. Micheal’s name flashed across the screen.

She answered quickly. “Micheal?”

“Yeah. Just checking on you. You went home too fast.”

Ariel hesitated. “I’m fine. Just tired.”

“You sure?” he asked.

Her eyes drifted back to her phone screen. The reflection of the watch stared back at her.

“I need to check something,” she said quietly.

“What is it?” Micheal asked.

“I’ll tell you when I’m certain.”

She hung up before he could ask more questions.

Ariel stood up, her heartbeat increasing. The evidence they found didn’t point to Donovan. It pointed somewhere else— someone else.

She replayed the images one last time, and her stomach dropped.

Mr. Donovan was framed.



Ariel sat on her couch, her legs crossed, a bowl of popcorn between her legs as she kept throwing every pop into her mouth.

Micheal sat across from her, checking the images on the table— evidence that showed Mr. Donovan was framed.

“Could the killer be this policeman?” he looked up at her.

Ariel chewed slowly, deep in thought. “Let’s ask Mr. Donovan first.”

Micheal sighed out loud, staring at the pictures.



“Arrrgh. This just keeps getting worse,” Ariel mumbled as they walked out of the questioning room where they had just met with Mr. Donovan.

“So, the police officer came to his house in the name of wanting to ensure he was secure.” She slapped her forehead as she paused, her other hand on her waist. “That must have been when he fixed the fake evidence. But why would he do that?” Ariel shrugged.

They both cleared their tables while they sat in front of their desks.

Micheal sat at the desk just next to her, on her right, and James was on her left.

She glanced at James. He was already staring. Ariel quickly turned to Micheal.

“The policeman might not be the only one involved, he could be working for the actual murderer. How about you call Mrs. Cole? About the ring we saw—why was the exact same ring at Gideon’s apartment? And why would anyone try to frame Mr. Donovan?”

“He’s an easy target. Has a grudge against the Coles,” Ariel replied with a sigh.

That same afternoon, they left for Mrs. Cole’s. She wasn’t home, just the maids.

“If you need anything, you can call me,” one of the maids who served them said with a nervous laugh.

Ariel watched her closely.

Micheal nodded with a smile. The maid said Mrs. Cole would be back in an hour, and they decided to wait.

“Wait,” Ariel suddenly said to the maid.

The maid paused instantly, her back still to them. Her face lowered to the floor. Her fists clenched as she turned with a forceful laugh.

“Is there something you need?” the maid asked.

Ariel stood up from the couch, walking gently toward the maid.

“Yes, in fact, there’s something we need.” Ariel smiled.

The maid flexed her jaw and smiled nervously.

After over twenty minutes of going back and forth with the maid— Ariel using scary words, narrating the jail term for someone who aids murder—Ariel guessed the maid had a child. And Ariel was right. She smirked to herself.

Ariel scared her with her child, making her imagine life without her son.

“What do you think will happen to your son? No one to help him. You’ll rot in jail while whoever you’re covering up will find a way to get out of jail, leaving your pretty poor ass in prison because they have money and you don’t.”

“All right, I’ll talk!” the maid screamed, her palms on the floor as she kneeled in tears.

“I don’t know who the murderer is,” she sniffed.

“Mr. Cole wasn’t very close to Mrs. Cole. They acted more like strangers. Although it wasn’t always like that. I’ve been working for the Coles for ten years now, and I can say they were beautiful couples.”

“What changed?” Micheal asked.

The maid shook her head. “I don’t know. All of a sudden, they started to fight one night, and then I saw Mrs. Cole walk out angrily. I followed her to the garden behind the house, but I was surprised to see Mr. Gideon there with her. After that night, they saw each other secretly.”

“Have you ever noticed anything suspicious between them? Anything at all?” Ariel asked.

The maid thought for a while. She furrowed her brows, then made a face like she was trying hard to remember something.

“There was a night—the night Mr. Cole died. Mrs. Cole returned home, her gown stained with blood, but she claimed it was wine, then shut me up from asking her any questions.”

Ariel nodded. “Are you certain of what you just said?”

The maid nodded. “But I doubt she’s the murderer. Mrs. Cole might not have been in good terms with her husband, but she loved him.”

“Well, the law would have to decide that,” Ariel smiled.

The maid stood up and left.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Micheal turned to her after the maid left. “Damn! Even I would be scared,” he chuckled.

Ariel scoffed at him. “Let’s leave.”

Just as they drove their car out of the Coles’ residence, Mrs. Cole drove in.

She looked at the car leaving her compound, and when she got down from her vehicle, the maid rushed to her.

“Was anyone here? I just saw a car leave.”

“Yes ma’am. That was the detectives from the station,” the maid replied.

Mrs. Jones’ brows arched. “Detectives? Did they say anything?”

"No ma’am. They waited a while for you and left after saying they had something urgent to do and would return back.”

Mrs. Cole nodded. “Alright.”



Ariel walked into Micheal’s office. She threw the file across his table as she sat on the chair in front of his desk.

“The police officer who planted the fake evidence is also dead. His body was found down the river this morning,” Ariel said.

“Now we don’t know who the murderer is. No lead or evidence. Just a ring, and the fact that Gideon was having an affair with his boss’s wife.” Ariel added.

She breathed out exasperatedly and relaxed into the chair.

“We will call Mrs. Cole for interrogation. She has got to know something,” Micheal said.

Ariel turned to Micheal, a smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

Micheal watched her closely. “Why do I feel like you’re planning something stupid?” he muttered.

Ariel smirked. “I have an idea."