100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 105: Clarity

7 Eastbourne Rd

Sam sat on the sofa beside Levi, inside his flat. Spread around them were their closest friends. Elle, Marco, Lisa, Mrs. Whitehall, the boys, Janet, Davies, and even Jones. Each one focused on the two seated by the sofa.

"I had a plan. A plan that involved me playing the role of a psychologically vulnerable woman. I had to act like I had lost all reason to live." Sam started, looking at everyone.

"The role wasn’t hard to play. I had the mental history to back up the act, and every reason to break. I was blind, and with my sight, everything that I held dear was lost to me. And it had to be believable, and it was because it was true.

And for some time, I was able to fool even myself." she continued with her tale.

The group listened to the explanation regarding what truly occurred in the past months.

"My work was everything to me, and it being taken away was the most painful blow of all." she continued, earning nods from everyone. They all knew her as the workaholic, she could even be worse than their resident psychologist when it comes to her tunnel vision with her work at times.

"But unknown to everyone, my sight returned the fortnight, not completely; but little by little, it returned. First just the light, shadows, and shapes, and colors all blurred. And in time it improved." she continued, recalling the days after her attack.

"And during my recovery in Anna’s residence, suspicion grew in me. A suspicion I shared with Anna, no one else," she added, sparing Levi a look to her left. The slicked blond remained quiet in his spot.

....

Anna’s Residence|An hour after Marco and Lisa’s visit

Anna walked into the guest room, where the redhead had been staying for the past week. Her heels clicked against the marbled floors, her hair swept to one side in a soft manner.

"Dr. Gray, you asked for me?" she said, looking at the woman on the bed.

Sam turned towards the source of her voice, "Yes, I have a proposition," she replied.

The platinum blond arched a curious brow, intrigued by the notion of a proposition. "What do you have in mind?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.

"I want the head of the person responsible for the death of not only my dog but also of an innocent young woman," she said.

"It’s inevitable, Levi is working on it." Anna casually replied.

"Not the foot soldier, Anna. I want the Head, The King. We both know something deeper is going on. I know you have a copy of my blueprints." Sam said, and a grin crept on Anna’s ruby red lips.

"Impressive. You’ve lost your sight, yet see more than the others." she complimented.

" And yes, we were able to get hold of the blueprints. Ingenious design, Ivan customized it for you I presume." Anna said, indeed she did have a copy of it, and she was very impressed. So the question remained, what really went on that day.

"Yes, so you understand my concern, Anna? A house, considered a fortress, is breached, and this." Sam said, pointing at the watch around her wrist.

Anna looked at her wrist, "Ah, yes. The portable heart monitor." she said.

Sam nodded in confirmation, "It records my heart rate. The moment it spikes to unnatural levels, someone was supposed to come, and supposedly rescue me, wherever I might be with its built-in GPS." she said.

"Yes, the elephant in the room." Anna agreed.

Sam had a serious look on her face,

"The fact that someone was able to get in under these obvious factors and attempt to end my life without anyone’s knowledge, tells us someone from the Company had a hand in this. I want that person," she said, tone determined.

Anna approached the redhead closer to her bed,

"And how, if I do decide to assist you in this request, will I benefit in this?" Anna asked.

Sam tilted her head towards her voice, and a smirk formed in her lips.

"You already decided to assist me, Anna. I’m blind, not stupid," she commented.

And a smile grazed Anna’s lips; she will not admit it, but she finds her sass entertaining.

.....

"I devised the plan. And Anna, as my confidante." Sam revealed, recalling their little deal.

Levi shifted in his seat, leaning forward. "Sam devised a plan that mostly involved her dying, at the least mentally incapacitated. It was a brilliant yet undeniably foolish plan--" he started.

Everyone shifted to look at the blond psychologist, He was wearing a white dress shirt, under his crisp black Givenchy suit. While the woman beside him was in a white dress with yellow prints under a cardigan and a pair of keds. Her wavy red hair hovered inches above her shoulder, showing her slender neck.

Sam narrowed her eyes at the psychologist,

"It wasn’t--" she interrupted.

"Do be quiet." he retorted, shooting her a glare of his own. There was silence for a moment as the two glared at each other in mutual annoyance.

Jones grinned where he stood beside Davies,

"Should we leave you two in privacy?" he teased, seeing the two genius bicker. Though the Media has yet to be notified of the redhead’s return, the group had seen their so-called scandal photo.

To everyone, it was a clear sign the relationship had breached...crossing beyond the realm of friendship to the unknown.

But to the two, it was a photo of them sleeping. Nothing unusual or unnatural in their alien point of view.

Levi and Sam both whiplashed at the annoying man,

"SHUT UP!" they shouted in unison. At least they always agree on one thing, and that is, Jones is an eejit.

Finally getting back to business; Sam insisted she tell her side of the story first.

Levi begrudgingly agreed, rolling his eyes in the process. Sam gave Levi a side-glance, "It wasn’t a foolish plan as Levi graciously put. At the time it was the only plausible plan..." she started.

Levi scoffed, "It wasn’t the only plan." he interrupted.

And she shot him a look,

"Okay, it wasn’t. But it was the plan with the highest success rate." she insisted.

"And the highest number of possible ways for you to die," Levi replied, earning a glare from the redhead for interrupting her, again. Seeing as she was on her last nerve, Levi gestured for her to go on, and she did so after sending him one last warning glare.

"As previously mentioned, it all started after the assault in my home, resulting in the death of Rona and Mo. Two vital factors didn’t go public. First, was the security system in my house. Unknown to most, the Security Systems in the house were top-notched, it can compete with the safest places here; like the Pentonville prison. As you are now aware, my brother is the CEO of Fredricksen Co." Sam said. Jones nodded in confirmation, together with the rest of the group. They all learned her real identity when it was printed on all the newspapers months previously.

"With that factor, the breach in security had caused me to wonder who was capable of such a difficult feat. I formed the answer, no one. Not without help from the inside, that is." she revealed.

"Every door, every window opened is registered, recorded in a live feed like the Bank of England. Anyone who opens a door or a window is seen. The recordings are sent directly to the Fredricksen Mainframe, where people my brother employed observed 24/7. Any breach was supposed to be noted and action was taken." she continued.

"The last and most vital part of the security was this," Sam said, showing her new watch.

"4G, GPS enabled-portable heart monitor. The second it registers my heart rate erratic, armed men were supposed to arrive at my doorstep in 8mins time. As you are also aware, none of that happened; Levi found me and called 999. Obviously, Security was breached; feeds shut down and no actions were taken, meaning someone from the inside helped Baxter get in my house and murder Rona and Mo."

Sam took a deep breath, there was so much she had to say. "The second factor was the Promethean drug injected in my system, it was so ingenious, top government chemists had difficulty pinpointing its complete chemical makeup. Forming the conclusion that it wasn’t produced just by anyone, in further examination we did." Sam gestured to Levi and herself.

"We were able to identify some of the chemicals in the drug. It included a paralytic agent, relaxant, and hallucinogenic. And in my search, I found out that the drug belongs to Fredricksen company," Sam revealed. and everyone’s eyes but Levi widened in surprise.

"The Company was undergoing metamorphoses as Ivan calls it, they were creating new means to increase security. This time, chemically through drugs. The drug was called, Neuroplug, an experimental and still under study drug that in theory could paralyze anyone yet still capable of leaving the consciousness intact." Sam further explained.

"That caused your blindness?" Jones asked Sam nodded, "It was a rare adverse effect, only I experienced it." she clarified.

Sam swept her hand through her hair for a moment.

"Moving on, I was convinced someone in the Company was betraying not only my brother but also selling the drug in the black market to the highest bidder." she continued, everyone felt overwhelmed with the information and kept quiet trying to digest it all.

Sam sighed, "Fortunately, bidding wasn’t finished, and Anna’s husband Taylor was able to fix that. He was able to trace the person selling the drug online and connect them to Czar Murdoch, my cousin. Although ultimately too late. I was already ongoing surgery when the connections were confirmed." Sam said, eye shifting to scan Levi’s reaction.

"Together with my Brother’s discreet investigation inside the company, he learned that a couple of his Programmers were blackmailed into cheating the security my brother created for me. The men had been dealt with." Sam said, vaguely. She doesn’t know the details, but she had an inkling it wasn’t anything good.

Levi and Sam exchanged a look, and Levi continued with the story.

"I knew about the security systems, but we never spoke of it. I knew she had her suspicions, she wasn’t stupid after all." he started.

He leaned back on the sofa, crossing his long legs as he did, and continued, "I noticed her change in behavior a week after her second check-up with a specialist. She came to 7 Eastbourne Rd. at the same time and stayed for 3 hours every day, during afternoon tea for a week." he recalled.

"But a week later, she came at the same time and left an hour earlier. I had her followed by my Grapevine, and I learned she had been meeting Anna at her office secretly." he added, recalling that day when he ’dropped by’ his sister’s real estate office.

"I confronted Anna, and I learned of her plans."

Levi’s voice seemed darker for a moment, "And I join them on their next meeting. I confronted her about her plots. We..." he struggled to say the word ’fought’, giving the redhead a side glance beside him.

They did fight, words were said.

"Disagreed." Sam provided, patting his leg in the assurance that all was forgiven.