The Silent Shadow

There was something missing. The one thread that could unwrap the lies and reveal the truth. The point about truth is that it is present, right there in front of the eyes, yet it seems difficult to locate. As if it is lurking behind in the shadows waiting for you to turn and it would say, See I’m here.

Sipping tea, Veronica Matthews sat at the window mulling. The sunset looked magnificent. Everyone who had watched had announced it the sunset point. That was, in fact, one of the significant reasons she had purchased that house. She felt at peace watching the sky, painted in varied hues of orange at this hour of the day.

Leaning back in the chair, she stared at the wall in front of her. Her shadow playing on it. She recalled her childhood days, when her siblings would form different shapes of fingers and use shadows to enact plays on the walls. Shadow… Yes, that was what she was missing.

***Two days earlier***

She had just completed her dinner and was planning to watch a good movie when her phone rang. She looked at the caller id and winced. If Elliot Ross was calling her at this time, it had to be something serious. She picked it up.

“I know Veronica, it’s late, but this is urgent.” Elliot’s voice was laced with desperation.

“Yes, Elliot, how can I help?”

“Could you come down to 4th block in the lane opposite to yours?”

“Alright. May I know what this is about?”

Elliot hesitated. “A young couple has been found dead.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen.” Veronica put the remnants of the dessert in the refrigerator. Grabbed her coat and keys and went to see what awaited her.

***

Elliot was waiting for her at the entrance gate. The house was a duplex. Elliot led the way and took her upstairs. The bedroom was decorated with flowers. There was a half eaten cake on the table. Elliot explained how the couple was found.

“The woman was stabbed thrice. The man’s throat was slit. Nothing seems to be stolen. The knife was found in the man’s hand. Prima facie it seems the man first killed his wife and then himself.”

“You seem to have the case well under control. It looks pretty clear. What do you expect from me?” Veronica asked.

“I think there’s more to this than appears. I have a gut feeling this might not be suicide,” Elliot said thoughtfully.

Veronica was used to having instincts and had learned to never ignore them. Although it seemed otherwise, she did not discredit him at once. “But there seems to be no forced entry. Have you found the motive?”

Elliot took his time answering. “Today was the couple’s wedding anniversary. They had their house decorated, planned a small celebration. It is quite obvious from all the photo frames on the wall, they loved each other. Why would the man suddenly decide to kill his wife and then himself?” he was musing all by himself.

“A lot many couples who seem in love are not necessarily happy.” Veronica said with a sardonic smile.

“I know. I have seen some cases. It almost makes me detest the institution of marriage.” He got that faraway look. As if he was thinking about something graver than he actually meant.

“What was the motive?” Veronica brought him back to the present.

Elliot explained the details. The man, Wayne Clarke, was the head of Next GenSec, a company that provided security solutions. His wife, Maria Clarke was initially working there. They were married for three years. Over the past year, the company’s financial health has been on a decline. The debts were piling up, and it seems Wayne couldn’t figure out any way to pacify the creditors who had started calling him regularly recently.

“The best guess right now, is that Wayne could no longer bear the monetary burden and the possibility of defamation. So he chose the extreme step and took his loving wife along with him. And hence no one else was invited.”

“And you don’t believe this theory?”

“That is what this is—just a theory.” Elliot let out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t go on believing theories. I want the truth. And that is why I called you here. Because you can see what our eyes can’t.”

***

Finding out about the murderer was tough enough. Proving a suicide was a murder instead, required a lot of efforts. But she knew better than to question Elliot’s instincts. She loved to solve puzzles, and that was what she was going to do.

Veronica started by calling and meeting the couple’s families and friends. All held them in high regards. They were described as amiable, helpful and kind. No jealous relative.

The employees had no complaints, as they were very happy to work here. All loyal and honest.

The creditors took offence that they were considered suspects. Why would they want to kill him? Their precious money was at stake.

She interviewed the people who were really close. In most cases, it was the near ones, who were usually found guilty.

Wayne’s parents were in great shock. “He mentioned about his debts, but was confident that he could recover,” Wayne’s father said. “We are finding it hard to believe that he would do such a thing,” his mother cried. “He adored her more so much.”

“Do you have any suspicions?” Veronica asked carefully.

“No. Our son was so good with everyone, made no foes. I can’t think why anyone might be so evil to such a a wonderful person.” the proud father explained.

Not getting any luck there, Veronica went to visit Maria’s family.

“Why did he have to kill my daughter?” Maria’s mother had lost control over herself. “It was a love match. He had come home and promised me, he would treat her like a queen.” Maria’s father tried to console his wife to reduce the dramatics.

When Veronica asked for any suspicions, both of them denied. “You had a spare key to their house.” She stated a fact.

“Yes,” her father confirmed.

“Why?”

“She is—was our daughter!” mother almost shouted.

“You could just go up and ring the door. Why did you need a key?”

The father was the reasonable one among the two. “A couple of years back, Maria was ill. We had gone there to care for her. Wayne gave us a spare key to avoid inconvenience.”

“Why didn’t you attend the celebration?”

“They had wanted to keep it private. Since the debts have piled up, they didn’t want to throw a big party.”

Next, she paid a visit to Wayne’s personal assistant, Ralph Martin. He greeted her with a warm smile. His was a small house. The interiors were also barely furnished. Veronica felt she had entered a bachelor’s lodging.

“Don’t they pay you well, Mr. Martin? I understand you are Mr. Clarke’s personal assistant.”

“Wayne and I have been friends from college. And I earn well. I just like to live by simplicity.” Ralph explained when he noticed Veronica examining the rooms.

“I see.” Veronica said slowly. “If you don’t mind my asking, why aren’t you married, Mr. Martin?”

“What does my personal life have to do with this?” Ralph’s voice was laced with discomfort.

“I’m just curious, that’s all.” Veronica pasted a professional smile on her face.

She went off the check the drawers on the table. Some office documents, electricity bills, bakery receipts, take-away receipts. “You don’t cook?”

“My job does not give me enough time to cook. Some days are quite busy, so I prefer take-aways.”

Having found nothing of importance, she left dejected.

Veronica asked the Internet for help. She came across their social media profiles. One could find a lot through social media these days. It made her wonder if anything was really private.

There were loads of photos and videos of the couple. Right from their engagement to wedding, birthdays, anniversaries and many other celebrations. Even the recent event was not left out. The last photo was uploaded mere minutes before their death. Wayne and Maria holding a heart-shaped cake and smiling into the camera.

Veronica tried reading their smiles, searching for any hint that they might have faked it. She wasn’t what one could call a smile-reader, but this much was clear: Wayne seemed genuinely happy.

Which brought her back to square one. The why and who.

***Present***

Veronica went back to the photo again. And there it was! Wayne and Maria had their backs to a wall and on that wall was a shadow. The timestamp on the picture showed 5:15 p.m. She looked at her watch: 4:30 p.m. Being summer solstice, there was still time before it would be dark.

She grabbed her phone and called Elliot. “Can you be there by five?” she asked without preamble.

He didn’t need to ask where. “I’ll be there,” was all he said.

He was there before she reached. “What happened?” His voice filled with concern.

“I want to re-create the scene.”

They went to the room. Elliot and Veronica placed themselves in the positions of Wayne and Maria from the photograph. As soon as it was 5:15 p.m., Veronica captured the shot. She examined the two photos, and a slow grin spread across her face.

“What did you find out?” Elliot was curious.

“Guess you were right. There was indeed another person in this room. Here, see this image. Notice the shadow on the wall. It is not there in our picture.”

Elliot looked at the two pictures.

“The third person must have been standing,” Veronica went to stand in front of the window until she could see her shadow on the wall. “here.”

Elliot was stunned. “Who could it have been? Since both of them could easily see this person, surely he wasn’t a stranger. Could it be one of their parents?”

Veronica thought for a while. “Both of their parents confirmed, that they were not invited. And it is not likely that they had come come. Even if they did, wouldn’t they be included in the photo as well? They were family.”

She fell silent. Then suddenly sprang to her feet. “The assistant!”

“What about him?” Elliot looked confused.

“The bakery bills... Yes, it has to be him.”

“Bakery? What are you talking about?”

“I saw the bakery receipt for that day. Being his personal assistant, it is only natural that Wayne asked Ralph to get the cake for him. And that is how he got entry into the house. Hell, they invited him in.”

“And he wasn’t in the photo because he isn’t part of family.” Elliot nodded his understanding.

“As to why—”

“Maria.” Elliot cut in, shaking his head.

“Maria?”

“Ralph and Wayne were good friends. Wayne had appointed him as his assistant, a post that provides good money, especially considering Ralph’s earlier financial conditions. What then could have the potential to bring animosity between the two? A woman of course.”

Within the next twenty minutes, they were at Ralph’s house interrogating him.

“It wasn’t easy, was it?” Elliot asked.

“What?” Ralph made an excellent imitation of looking perplexed.

“Slitting your friend’s throat.”

Ralph’s head jerked towards Elliot. One look at him told Ralph that he knew. No defense was going to work. He buried his face in his hands, sobbing softly. “I loved her. Oh, how much I loved her.”

Elliot looked over at Veronica with that see-I-told-you smirk.

Ralph continued. “I even shifted over to this place, because she couldn’t dream of ever leaving here. I worked hard to earn a modest income so I could support a family. But…” His words were tripping over one another. “But she chose him. She chose money over me.”

With silent resignation, he surrendered. After all, his own shadow had betrayed him.