Raymond's Desperation

                            Raymond wanted very much to know the contents of the latest will of his uncle, Bradshaw. He had heard that the old man had changed his will yesterday. But still thought, “However changed it might be, I will still get a major chunk of his property. I am his nearest blood relative” he sought to reassure himself.

                                                      But he had a problem. His debts were mounting so much every day. He didn’t know what to do. He had banked upon getting an enormous sum from his uncle. Now, this uncertainty gnawed at him. " How can I make sure of this old codger’s will? How can I get out of this predicament?" he pondered. After much thought, he concocted a plan.

                                                     "If I somehow murder the old bird, the will has to come out and I will get some money in my hands. But I need to do this carefully," he thought. He spent a lot of time envisaging a fool-proof plan to exterminate his uncle so he can get hold of his money. Unfortunately, he had little idea of the latest will.

                                               He plied Fallon, his uncle’s servant, with rum and got hold of the back door key of the house. He made a copy of it and returned the key. He also found out all about the electricity mains and fuses in the power-room near the kitchen of the old house. He realized that they have no backup in case of power outages.

                                                           One evening, as usual, the old man had his supper. The nurse Abigail gave him his medications and went to her room after her supper. The Fallons too had retired to their quarters after the day's work. It was a dreary evening and outside it looked as though a thunderstorm may break out.

                                                              In his friend’s house, Raymond was the centre of attraction in the bridge club as he lost a lot of money. All of them were imbibing a lot. But that evening, Raymond was wary. He hardly took alcohol. He kept himself sober. As his friends focussed on the game, he quietly left the house and went out.

                                                      He had brought his motorcycle. He rode quickly to a motel he had engaged and changed his clothes there. Camouflaged in a black T-shirt and black trousers, in his rubber-soled shoes, Raymond was near invisible. He wore rubber gloves too. Riding to his uncle’s house, he tiptoed around it. He went to the back door. Using the key he stole from Fallon,  he entered the house silently. He walked into the power room and tinkered with the electrical mains. He used his powerful torch and removed the fuse from the mains.

                                                              He then slithered silently to the bedroom of his uncle. He had put on a black mask and made only his eyes visible. He had blackened his face with boot polish before he set out. He was literally invisible in that darkness. He was careful to mask his torch and use it minimally. He found the old man tossing in his bed.

                                                           Noiselessly, he neared the bed and took out a nylon stocking from his pocket. With his gloved hands, he clutched at his uncle's head and choked him. The poor old man suddenly became breathless and he could not cry out. Raymond used the stocking and garrotted him from behind. As the poor man struggled, Raymond held him tight till his body slackened as he died. Then he carefully removed the stocking and pocketed it.

                                               In the darkness because of the power outage, he crept noiselessly and set out to eliminate all traces of his coming. He softly went back to the power-room and put the fuse back. All the lights came up at once. Raymond crept out from the back door after locking it. He tiptoed to his motorcycle, which he had hidden in a neighbouring park.

                                                    He quietly rode off and went to a motel room he had hired two days back. Once in his room, he took off his gloves and the stocking and stuffed them into a bag. He changed and put his clothes also into that duffel bag. Wearing another pair of trousers and a full-sleeved shirt, he took the duffel bag and went on his bike to the nearest lake. He threw the bag into the lake and watched as it sunk noiselessly into the middle of the lake.

                                               Coming back to his motel, he quietly composed himself to have some neat whisky before sleeping. He had no qualms at all about what he had done. Early the next morning he paid his bill in cash and left the motel. He had carefully removed all traces of himself in the motel room too, in case they followed him.

                                               In the house, there was chaos in the morning as Abigail went to give the morning dose of medicines to the old man. She screamed and swooned at the sight of the murder. Fallon came running and called his wife to attend to Abigail He checked if there was any pulse and called the police.

                                               The police came within an hour and asked for the Scene of Crime officers. They came to photograph the scene and bagged the body away. Abigail had recovered but was weak and was resting in her room. Fallon called Raymond immediately as he was the next of kin. He also called the lawyer, Edward Fontaine. Both came one after another. The police interviewed them. The Detective Sergeant interviewed the Fallons and Abigail too. They were planning the autopsy of the body at the hospital, later in the day.

                                               Both Abigail and the Fallons remembered that they had a power outage for about half an hour. They told the police they had no backup against power outages in the old house.

                                               The next day the autopsy report came out. It was murder by garrotting. The perpetrator might have used a fine silk rope or cloth and applied force at the neck. The doctor opined. The police started looking for any break-in points in the house. They did not find any. Could it an inmate of the house be the perpetrator? The immediate suspicion fell on Fallon. The DS called him in and had a long chat with him. He grilled him about what he was doing during the power outage. Fortunately for Fallon, he had a secure alibi. His wife Marie detested darkness and clung to him all the while. They confirmed this when they talked to Marie Fallon. The police had to consider the nurse Abigail. “Could she have any motive for murder?” they wondered.

                                               They had a long chat with the lawyer, Mr Fontaine. He seemed to be as unsure as them. “Who could have done this crime?” they all wondered.

                                               Raymond was also questioned for an alibi. He had planned it well. He was a regular in the bridge club at a friend’s home. He was there most of the evening. But he left the home for just an hour. That was the hour where most of the players were sozzled with their drink. They never noticed the absence of Raymond. He had quietly crept in before they realized his absence. So all of them said he was with them the whole night.

                                                The case flabbergasted The police. “Who was the mysterious murderer?” they kept asking themselves. They continued to study reports and question people. They had no suspects so far.

                                               Raymond went to Fontaine’s office and asked him about his uncle’s will. The lawyer coldly told him, “Until there is a Coroner’s report and the police clear the case, I am not supposed to reveal his will.” Disappointed, Raymond went away. His problems still loomed large. “What shall I do now?” he thought as he sat smoking in his small apartment.