100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 124: The Artist XII

The Criminal Investigation Department

Diana stood behind the two-way mirror; one of the detectives was kind enough to let her in a few minutes ago. She looked at her daughter behind the mirror. Charmaine was crying, wiping the tears from her eyes. Alone in the room, she was gripping the cup of coffee in her hand tightly.

Diana wrapped her coat around her body, watching; she followed immediately after her daughter’s arrest, worried for her well being.

She turned towards the door when she heard it swing open; in her surprise and relief, Levi Jackson entered. "Mrs. Scott." the slicked blond greeted.

"Mr. Jackson," she said, her brows furrowed together in confusion, "I don’t understand; the detective said Charmaine is the main suspect for Michael’s death," she said.

Levi sighed, "I’m sorry to inform you, my colleague Dr. Evans was hospitalized after we visited your home this afternoon. We had a suspicion that Charmaine tried to poison us," Levi said, earning a shocked look from Diana.

"No, no, no, Charmaine would never do such a thing; there must be a mistake." she denied, shaking her head. Levi turned to look through the two-way mirror; behind it was the young woman. The woman that made them tea just yesterday, resulting in Marco getting hospitalized.

"I wish you were right, Mrs. Scott. However, lab results show that the isotopes in Michael’s blood matched Dr. Evans’. Meaning it came from the same source. It’s the only answer." he reasoned, giving her a sympathetic look. "Not only that, forensics had confirmed the presence of lead still in the cups, and I reckon it will match as well," Levi said.

He turned to look at the older woman, and he placed a hand over her shoulder. "I’m sorry to be a bearer of bad news, but your daughter will be convicted for not only the murder of your stepson but also for three counts of attempted murder," Levi said.

Diana’s eyes widened; she couldn’t breathe. Her daughter going to prison? It can’t be. She had so much to live for, a future. Dreams, hopes.

"No, no, no, It’s not her, it’s not her," Diana said, panicked. Her daughter couldn’t go to prison. She was innocent.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Scott?" Levi asked, taken aback.

"Charmaine didn’t kill Michael. She didn’t." Diana insisted.

Levi furrowed his brows, looking down at her in confusion. "But how could you explain the trace of the lead of sugar found in your home, Mrs. Scott? It’s the only explanation." He replied.

Diana took a deep breath, and with a determined look, she said,

"It’s not hers. It’s mine; I killed Michael. Charmaine is innocent."

.....

Guy’s Hospital Suite

Marco stirred, squinting his eyes from the brightness of the light above. "Sweetie?" he turned towards the familiar voice, and there smiling to his left was his wife, Lisa. Her eyes were red, and he frowned. "I’m fine, I’m fine," he reassured his wife. And he received a slap on his shoulder,

"You better," she said, relieved that he was now awake.

Marco scanned the room, "Where’s Levi?" he asked. "They’re in CID, and they took the daughter into custody," Lisa said, not at the least sorry about it.

Marco frowned; what was happening? He thought as he recalled the conversation they had before he collapsed in the Agency.

"It’s a hand," Marco said in awe, standing behind Sam as she finished fiddling, arranging the images. He turned to the two; Levi had a confused expression while the redhead looked extremely pissed.

Levi turned to face Sam, "I don’t understand." he said, bewildered with the result. He was confident of his suspicion. All Evidence was pointing towards Diana Scott.

"What does it mean?" Marco asked, knowing full well the two recognized the image immediately.

Levi turned to him, jaw clenched, annoyed. He got it wrong, didn’t he? But how could he have gotten it wrong? All the facts pointed towards her—the signs. He reevaluated all the clues. Did he read it wrong? He was so sure it was Diana Scott, so how come the image says otherwise?

Sam saw the expression on Levi’s face, "It’s her; you were right." Sam assured him, and he was both relieved and confused.

"But the ring." Levi retorted; Sam shook her head. Then she pointed to the computer screen where the complete image was, and she pointed at the hand, right beside the thumb was a mole, unnoticeable enough at initial glance.

"It’s her," she states confidently, looking back at Levi’s eyes.

Levi started to chuckle, "OH, that is awful good!" he exclaimed excitedly. Marco recognized the glint of excitement in the blond’s eyes.

"What do you mean?" Marco asked, both annoyed and confused.

"Marco, it’s always been Diana Scott." the slicked blond revealed, grinning widely.

"What? How?" Marco asked, taking a subtle step back. He was feeling woozy again.

"Why her, Levi?" Marco asked again.

"Oh, that’s why I felt butterflies when I first looked at her." Levi thought out loud.

"What?"

"It was my gut telling me something; we really shouldn’t ignore it." Levi mused.

"We can’t accuse someone with just gut feeling, Levi," Marco argued, wiping his neck. Why was he sweating when it was chilly?

"A gut feeling is a process. It is reasoning inside your head." Levi reasoned.

"But it all makes sense now. My brain was registering something I didn’t even realize I was seeing," he said, looking back on the first time he saw Diana in the Apartment.

"And that is?" the bearded man asked.

"Anemia!" Levi exclaimed, pacing around the room, savoring the feel of discovery. Oh! He lived for those moments—the thrill of the chase and the euphoria of solving a complicated puzzle. But Marco simply stared back at him with a blank expression.

"Her anemia, paleness of her skin, the whiteness of her eyes. We both know anemia is a sign of lead toxicity."

Levi shifted towards him, "My gut tells me she killed her son, and the very poison she used is killing her as we speak," the slicked blond explained with a sense of morbid satisfaction in knowledge.

The glint of joy in his face turned serious, "But yes, a gut feeling will not stand in court. That’s why we’re waiting; we need hard Evidence." Levi added, wondering how he will nail the culprit to the wall.

"But why?" Marco asked, what is the motive? He knew Diana and his stepson didn’t get along well, but he didn’t see it as enough reason to kill someone.

Levi’s eyes darkened for a moment as he looked at Marco, "The most aggressive motivator would always be love, Marco," Levi claimed confidently. The dark side of love, he knew it too well.

"She did it for her daughter," Sam said, earning both men’s attention. She had been quiet the whole time, thinking of ways she could give Michael justice.

After all, their Evidence is all circumstantial so far; it may not be enough to get a conviction in court, seeing as the possibility of reasonable doubt could influence a verdict.

"The question now is, how do we prove it was her?" Levi thought out loud, looking at both Marco and Sam for any ideas. Next thing they know, Marco staggers backward, and he balances himself against the wall. Sam and Levi looked at him, concerned, and the man collapsed.

....

Present time, CID

Levi took a step back, surprise evident on his chiseled face. He could win an Oscar for this, he thought.

"Why would you do such a thing? I don’t believe it. I’m sorry, but even the ring around her finger." Levi trailed, earning a confused look from the older woman.

"What do you mean a ring, Mr. Jackson?" she asked.

"All along, Michael knew he was being poisoned," he said, and shock flashed on Diana’s face.

"Although he never told anyone, he left the identity of the killer in his paintings," he explained.

Diana froze on her spot, questions running in her mind. Levi moved towards the monitors in the room, whole he subtly pressed a switch, and blinds started descend covering the two way mirror. He showed her the paintings. A small video of how it was rearranged into a bigger image.

Diana’s jaw dropped, and she staggered back the second she saw the image. It was a hand, and the ring around it cannot be denied was the same ring around Charmaine’s hand. But what she was certain was the mole on that hand. The same mole she has.

"She’s wearing the same ring. It’s Michael telling us who did it. It’s vital Evidence for this case." Levi explained.

"No, no, no. Mr. Jackson, you got it all wrong. That ring was mine; I passed it down to her just last month." Diana said, a hand over her chest. She felt dizzy for a second, short of breath.

"She wasn’t even here. How can she possibly do such a thing? What for?" Diana insisted, "We don’t know, but that wouldn’t matter. The jury will see the facts all pointing towards her as enough Evidence. Not only that, Dr. Gray witnessed her making the tea yesterday." Levi claimed.

"No, you’re wrong, Mr. Jackson. I really did kill Michael," Diana said, looking at him sternly.

Levi faked a look of disbelief,

"Why would you do such a thing? You had nothing to gain," he asked, milking the situation. He needed all the facts, and where best could he get it but from the killer’s mouth.

"I didn’t, but Charmaine needed the money for her future. For her education, for anything, she may need. I knew the building would belong to Charmaine when he died; it was on his will. I planned on advising her to sell the property."

Levi furrowed his brows, still in feigned disbelief. "I purchased the lead oxide online and created my own lead of sugar by mixing it with acetic acid," Diana confessed, giving him the facts.

"You knew this because you worked in an apothecary before..." Levi said, "Yes, that’s where I met his father." she replied, her face turning dark for a moment as she looked back. "I thought if I married him, I’d live a good comfortable life, but instead, I lived a mediocre life."

"But why??"

Diana looked back at Levi’s eyes,

"Because I’m dying and I don’t have long, I have to make sure that she’s going to live a comfortable life," Diana confessed.

"So you killed your stepson." the slicked blond muttered, earning a nod from Diana. Ironic, Levi thought. The same love that drove her to kill his stepson for the sake of her daughter was the same love that will inevitably send her to prison.

"He didn’t have a life anyway; he wasted his life with that dream of his. Passion doesn’t give you a fortune, and it did not give him happiness either." Diana commented, looking back.

"So, after so many years of no communication...you only reached out to him only because you wanted to kill him?" Levi confirmed.

"His death will benefit his sister; he didn’t have much to live for anyway," she said.

Levi clenched his jaw, "I see." he said, then he turned towards the cameras in the room, "Did we get all that?" he asked, dropping his facade altogether. Diana furrowed her brows in confusion.