Easy crime

A body has been found inside a Gothic manor. Looks remarkably like Bruce Wayne's mansion, except the people who live here have no regard for gardening and there are vines and thorns swarming the walls, giving it an eery look in the cold morning. Honestly, the people who live here match the house quite well. Both of them are old and have wrinkles at their eyes and mouths, and they seem to wear nothing but black and white. I wonder what century they think they're living in.

"So tell me again what happened here last night," I say, shoving my hands in my jeans. "Well, Detective Sarah, as I said, we had our children and grandchildren over for dinner," the lady says, gesturing at the gathering of ten people all sitting uncomfortably on the overstuffed couches. Guess they're not comfortable being in a house with a dead body in it. I smirk and turn back to the old lady. "We went into the lounge with our drinks, when all of a sudden the lights went off, their was a loud thud, and the lights came back on and in the dining room, lying on the table for all to see, was my daughter in law! All bloody and -" the lady breaks off, trying to control her sobs. I place my hand on her arm in a half hearted attempt to comfort her, and then turn to her son, the one who's wife just got brutally murdered. "May I speak with you in private sir?" I gesture to the hall, and he follows me out.

"You must be devastated, seeing your wife like that," I say, watching him, waiting for his reaction. His eyes fill up with tears, but his voice remains relatively steady. "Yes, I am. I just don't know how I'm going to get by without her." I nod. "Do you have any children?" He shakes his head. "No, I don't. But Gracie was 8 months pregnant!" This is where he breaks down and tears swarm his face and he struggles to stand up. "You may join your family again," I say quietly, nodding to myself.

I lean back against the wooden wall and try and hold back my laughter. It's so obvious! Honestly, the murderer is so screwed. They couldn't be more obvious if they tried! Though I should probably let the family know who it is with a straight face. I place a neutral expression back on my face, and enter the lounge.

I look in turn at each of the children and grandchildren. The two sons, three daughters, and four grandsons and one grandaughter, the grandchildren ranging from 10 - 18 years old, the children ranging from 30 to 50 years. "If you will all be so kind as to follow me into the dining room, please," I say, and then stroll into the room where the body lay on the table, sealed up in a black body bag. Footsteps follow me and arrange themselves around the table as I zip open the top of the bag, revealing Gracie's face. Her face is pale and blue, while blood mats the back of her hair together.

"Gracie Humphries was murdered at approximately 8pm last night, Friday, the 23rd of October. She was 29 years old and 8 months pregnant. She was killed by strangling, yet her murderer continued to ravage her body, displaying it on the dining table and stabbing her 15 times, even though she was already dead." I pause and let this settle in. Most of them are gasping, dabbing tears in their eyes, or covering their 10 year old's ears. I take a step back from the table, leaving the victim's face visible. "Would anyone like to hazard a guess who might have done this? I'll give you a clue, they are standing in this room here with us." More gasping and shocked faces. But the murderer is all too obvious. "No one? Well, let me tell you."

Everyone pauses, holding their breath, some staring at me, some staring at the pale, lifeless face. "Jessica Fray," I announce, addressing the daughter of the eldest daughter of the elderly lady. "You are under arrest for the brutal murder of Gracie Humphries. Resistance is futile." Jessica looks panicked and her eyes flick about for an escape route. I cross the room, grab her hands behind her and slap the cuffs on.

Her mother gasps at me, and then her daughter. "How? How do you know? Why would Jess do this?" I give a knowing smile and begin. "Jessica Fray's real name is Jessica Humphries. When Gracie was a teenager, 14, to be exact, she accidentally got pregnant. She hid her pregnancy for as long as she could, and when the time came for her to give birth, she went to a secret hospital and had a daughter, whom she promptly gave over to foster care. Am I correct in assuming that you, Jessica Fray, were unable to bear the thought of a sibling who would actually get the love of your real mother, so you killed her and stabbed her one time for every year she had abandoned you?" Jessica is shaking with fury. "You're damn right!" She turns to her foster mother, her aunt. "Funny how things worked out huh?" she says with a smug look. I push her in front of me and walk her down the front steps and into the back of my police car. I wave to the team out the front, signalling them to take the body away.

I hop into the driver's seat and start the engine. "How did you know about my mother's pregnancy?" Jessica asks as we drive off. I smile sadly into the rearview mirror. "Because your mother was my best friend in high school. She never told anyone but me how she got drunk and got pregnant that night. It was easy to piece the rest together after today." Jessica huffs. "Gosh damn it all." I give a small laugh as I turn the corner, out of sight of the mansion now. "You didn't really think you'd get away with it, did you?" She sighs. "I thought I could. It seemed like such an easy crime." I nod. "They all seem that way in the beginning."