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Detective Rebecca Watson entered the lobby of the hotel. A tall, thin woman stood next to her partner, Tony Francisco. The woman wore a sport coat several sizes too large. Her long, tanned legs attracted the attention of several men standing idly by. Water dripped from her hair.
“What do we have?” Watson asked.
“Appears to be a murder-suicide.”
The woman sobbed. “It’s horrible. So horrible.”
Rebecca nodded at Tony who returned the gesture. He’d remain here and finish up the questioning while she checked out the scene.
***
The room was a sea of activity as Crime Scene Investigators canvassed the area for evidence. The drapes were drawn over the window. Fluorescent lighting from a lamp next to the king size bed supplied a pseudo-dawn atmosphere.
Ray Soriano, the medical examiner stood near the body in the bed.
Rebecca approached him. “Is that the husband?”
Ray scratched his balding head. “Good morning, Detective. I see you’re lovely as ever.”
Rebecca flashed a smile as she moved toward the body.
Ray pointed with an index finger. “Meet Mr. Plum. He was killed by Miss Scarlett with a revolver in the bedroom.” He let out a boisterous laugh. “Get it, the game Clue.”
Rebecca rolled her eyes. “Why do I even bother to ask?”
He chuckled again then continued, “Gary Plum here was shot five times in the chest with a .38, courtesy of Mrs. Plum.”
Rebecca looked down at the body. Gary Plum, a white male looked to be in his mid-thirties lying on his back, eyes at half-mast.
His lips were pulled back from clenched teeth, almost in a sneer. There was blood on his cheek, nose, and chin, most likely coughed up as he died.
The front of his white robe, now saturated in blood, fanned out from his body. Because of this, Rebecca could see the bullet entry points into the man’s chest.
Ray tapped her gently on the shoulder. “The wife’s in the bathroom, a single shot to the head.” His voice softened. “Tragic.”
Rebecca glanced in the direction of the bathroom then turned her focus back to the body on the bed. “Tragic, indeed.”
She thanked Ray and headed to the bathroom. When she entered, Mrs. Georgia Plum was on the white tile floor. The tiny woman lay in a pool of blood, her long brown hair matted. The .38 revolver was next to her left hand. She wondered if the wife found her husband here in bed with Bambi downstairs and in a fit of rage, Georgia shot him before killing herself. It certainly looked plausible.
“What’s the consensus?” she heard her partner ask from the doorway.
She turned her head and looked up at Francisco. “Appears to be a murder-suicide. Did you perform a GSR test on Little Miss Sunshine downstairs?”
Tony smiled. “Getting a bit jealous, are we?”
Rebecca ignored the statement.
“Yes, came up negative.”
Rebecca turned her focus back to the corpse. “Bring me up to speed on her statement.”
Tony took out a small notepad and flipped through a few pages. “Sally Sutton is Mr. Plum’s secretary at his business. He owns Plum Construction. Apparently, he and Sally started having an affair six months ago. The wife had no clue, even when he worked late nights and an occasional weekend.”
He flipped another page. “Mrs. Plum spent most of her time at church gatherings and volunteer work for various charities. Sally said, Gary was quite the looker and always up for a challenge, both personally and sexually. This weekend marked the married couple’s tenth anniversary and he wanted to introduce the two women and have a ménage à trois.”
Rebecca simply nodded. She wondered if Gary had any idea his bonehead decision would backfire. She let the thought pass as Tony continued.
“Sally checked into the room next door. Gary texted her on his cell saying he and Georgia were going to the pool for a swim. While they were out, she would gain access through the door that connected the two rooms. His instructions were for her to lie in bed with nothing on. When they came back from the pool, he would lead his wife to the bathroom where they would take a quick shower together and then enter the room. He knew Georgia would be surprised but said he could get her to agree with the threesome. Appears things didn’t go as planned.”
“No shit.”
Tony grinned. “When he tried to explain his fantasy to Georgia, she became so infuriated with the notion she ran into the bathroom and locked the door. Several minutes later, she came back out holding a gun in her right hand. After a brief argument, she shot Mr. Plum repeatedly. Then she pointed the gun at Sally and pulled the trigger, but it was empty. That’s when Sally rushed out of the room still naked and ran downstairs to the lobby. She approached the front desk and told them to call nine-one-one. Afterwards the clerk gave her a sports coat to wear from lost and found.”
“I guarantee she’ll think twice before sleeping with another married man.”
Tony agreed.
Rebecca turned to walk away when she realized this wasn’t a murder-suicide. Sally Parker was a cold-blooded killer. And she almost got away with the perfect crime.
How did Rebecca solve the case?
In Sally’s statement, she said Mrs. Plum had come out of the bathroom holding the pistol in her right hand. Yet, the .38 was located next to the dead woman’s left hand.
When Rebecca arrived at the hotel, she noticed Sally’s hair was dripping wet. She’d stated she ran out of the room after Mrs. Plum tried to shoot her, but the gun was empty. If she’d done so, how could her hair be wet, unless she’d taken a shower, which would have also washed away the gunshot residue.
The final clue is when Sally stated Mrs. Plum tried to shoot her, but the gun was empty. The .38 revolver holds six rounds, not five.