It was about an hour later that everyone involved in the case somehow had gathered at the room. It was quite crowded, what with the police and the people there and all.
“Okay Adrian, we came here as you said. So, did you solve the case or what?” inspector Cuth asked.
“Indeed I have,” Adrian answered. A murmur started in the room. “Or at least I think so. In any case, me and my friend's deduction, along with the evidence I have collected should be enough to bring the case to a close.”
“Okay then, shoot.”
“Now, all of you here know that Drake's body was found leaning against that window there. The window was closed with Drake's blood sprayed on it. He had been beheaded by something. The weapon was not anything that had a blade. We can be sure of that looking at the blood. It was sprayed on the window and the wall in the form of a fountain, meaning that Drake had been beheaded where his body had been found. If one uses a blade, at that place to behead him, it would have left a deep cut on the wall behind his body as well. But the wall was clear. So it wasn't a blade that had killed him.
“Now that had the police, Peter and me thinking. What could cut through a person's neck so neatly that was not a blade? It was Peter who discovered this. It was a string that was used to behead Drake.”
Adrian reached into his pocket and drew out a long shining piece of (guitar?) string. It was partially red. Damn, Adrian had found the precise string that had been used for the murder!
“I found this in the garbage dump right on the alley that stands right below that window. It took me a while (as you can see I'm filthy) but there it was, between the trash bags.
“You may wonder how this could be used to kill a person. It's simple. Loop it around a person's neck and pull back really hard. The person will most likely die of suffocation but you will see that the string will have cut into his flesh to some degree. Now, replace the force with a larger one and apply it very suddenly. I'm sure you know what'll happen next.”
The room, which had gotten quiet as Adrian had started explaining was suddenly ringing with voices again as people consulted with each other over Adrian's reasoning.
“The string will cut straight through his neck and the pop goes the head. That was how Drake was killed. The killer looped this string around his neck, tied something heavy at the other end and threw it down that window.”
“That explains how the murder happened but how did you solve who did it?” I asked. He hadn't yet told me though I'd begun to guess. Since, according to him, the murderer had not taken the door…
“I'm coming to that,” he said with a smile. “When all you people arrived here, the door was locked from the inside. We all thought the killer had somehow managed to lock the door from inside before making his miraculous escape. What was even more baffling was that no one had seen anybody leave this floor either from the stairs or the elevator. And a thorough check of all the other empty rooms of this apartment confirmed that no one had been there recently, hiding or not.
“There is quite a simple but an amazing and a hard to believe answer to that mystery: the killer never used the door to escape. He used that window over there. And he was the weight that was tied to the other end of the string.”
He ended that last sentence in a grand voice.
“What? Are you crazy young man?” one man spoke.
“Do you really mean the murderer leapt through that window?” another asked.
“Stop fooling around,” a woman said. There were other voices too, raising objections but I could not hear them clearly over the noise that the people were making.
“Are you quite sure about this Adrian?” I and Cuth said simultaneously.
“Quite sure,” Adrian answered with a confident smile. “Now would everybody please listen to me!” Silence fell almost immediately. It was obvious Adrian was completely in charge now.
“I know many of you find that hard to digest,” he continued. “But that is the only possible explanation. I think that the killer jumped from that window has a higher probability than simply vanishing into thin air after leaving this room locked from the inside, don't you think?”
Another murmur. But this time, it was agreeing to what Adrian was saying.
“But wouldn't the fall … you know … kill the killer?” Cuth asked.
“Of course it would. But the killer was prepared. He was able to plan a murder in such a way that we had so much difficulty in even finding out the murder weapon. He'd surely have made all the safety precautions before jumping from that window.” Adrian reached into his pockets again and took out the two hoops that he had found lying near the garbage dumps earlier that day. “Does any of you know what this is?” he asked.
“Of course we do,” someone replied. “Those things are hammered above every window on the outer wall of the building. They're used for hanging curtains though I can't imagine why anybody would want curtains on the outside and not inside.”
“Damn poor building planning too,” I murmured.
“Thank you for the answer,” Adrian acknowledged the woman. “I found these two lying near the garbage dump when I was searching for the string earlier today. These used to be above that very window over there on the outer wall.” Adrian pointed to the very window for effect. It was still covered in blood though it had now dried to a complete brown.
“The killer tied the ends of the string to a piece of rope, most likely bungee ropes. He looped the bungee through these two hoops on the outside. He used the exact length of the rope needed to almost reach the ground from which point on he could safely drop down and then extract the rope.
“Now, this is how the murder took place. Drake comes home late at night. He enters this apartment and locks the door. The murderer is already here, waiting for Drake. Once Drake arrives, the murderer loops the string around Drake's neck twice, maybe thrice or more so that Drake cannot remove it easily. The murderer already has the bungee rope harnessed to him. He quickly approaches the window and jumps. He has prepared the garbage dump below, filled with trash bags for a soft landing spot. As he nears the dump below, the rope and ultimately the string tug at Drake's neck, dragging him to the window. The wall prevents Drake from moving any further so the string, dragged on by the weight, slices through his neck. A stick, looped along with the string, was used to hold the window open in place. It is pulled too and the window slams down shut just as blood erupts from Drake's neck.
“The murder is a success. But something happens that the murderer did not foresee. The hoops cannot withstand the force and come off. The murderer lands not quite as softly as planned on the pile of trash bags he prepared. The force is also too much for the string which comes off the rope. It lands and is lost in the dump. The murderer, having just committed a murder, forgets about it. He also forgets about the hoops that fell besides the dump or rather he did not think they would be important.
“The alibis for all the people present here at nine o' clock of the murder day checks out except for one person.”
At that moment, I knew who the murderer was.
“And that is you Miss Jenna Harper,” he finished.
All heads suddenly turned to face Jenna Harper. Her face was stricken with shock and her motuh was partially open.
“But that is crazy Adrian. She was here at around nine fifteen. The receptionist gave the proof,” Cuth argued.
“Tell me inspector, how long would it take to change from sports clothes to that dress Miss Harper wore that day and walk perhaps fifty meters from that garbage dump, around the building and in from the front? Sure, the murder took place at nine. But Miss Harper was already down on the ground by no less than one minute after nine. Remove the harnesses, I'd say five minutes. Change into the other set of clothes, another five minutes. Hide the bungee ropes somewhere, maybe below or in the dump for the time being so that she could retrieve it later and then walk to the front desk, five minutes again. There you have your fifteen minutes inspector. I also said the murderer was already waiting for Drake. It couldn't have been a burglar, the murder was too well planned. The murderer had a key to the door. Drake would give such a key to someone he was very close too. And there are no signs of struggle. The murderer attacked Drake suddenly. Do you people really think that Drake would stand by idly when he walked into his room and saw a stranger?”
“That is all mere conjecture. You have no evidence. By your own theory, the murderer could have been anyone Drake knew closely,” Harper shot at Adrian.
“Oh no Miss Harper, I happen to have plenty of evidence. There's your limp, for one. You said you got it after you twisted your ankle on a heel that day. Or was it because you landed hard on the garbage dump on your feet. Besides, you weren't wearing any heels that day. I have a powerful memory you know.”
“I … I changed into other shoes before coming here,” Harper muttered.
“Wrong. You were wearing heels that day,” Adrian declared. “I was just messing with you,” he chuckled. “In any case, that's one point one for me and one against you. Are you taking notes inspector Cuthbert?”
“Well mental notes, yeah,” Cuth answered awkwardly, taken unaware by the sudden question.
“Also, you work for a travel agency. Wouldn't be too surprising for someone with such a job to be experienced with a bungee. I looked you up too; you seem to have done more bungee jumps than I have ridden roller coasters. And trust me, I love roller coasters.”
Jenna Harper was quiet, with her head bowed down, unable to meet Adrian's gaze.
“The most obvious piece of evidence, are these hoops and the piano string. I was a fool to have picked them up with my bare hands but besides my fingerprints, the only other major fingerprints on these objects should turn out to be yours after careful examination Miss Harper. You were so confident that the method of murder would not be discovered and, subsequently, neither would the murder weapon that you didn't care to use gloves while handling these objects. Want more evidence? I think these will be enough.”
Jenna Harper slumped to the ground with a defeated look on her face.
“Drake … he cheated on me,” she began with a meek voice. “I loved him so much and yet he cheated on me. Said he didn't care. Insulted me when I confronted him and then insulted my parents before we broke up. Called me a whore. That was when I decided he should die. He should die for taking advantage of me like that and not feeling a bit sorry.”
“And then you thought of this ingenious plan. Oh trust me when I say that; this plan was absolutely brilliant. Too bad for you, Peter figured the first half out. Then, it wasn't difficult for me to figure the other half.” Adrian turned to inspector Cuth. “It think it's time you arrested her and took her away.”
ns 15.158.61.6da2
