GA Writing Prompts - 42. # 224 Stabbed

Stabbed

"Your accusation's entirely out of place," Alexander Carmichael said sharply. "You suspect me of having murdered Amanda, don't you? You're wrong, detectives."

He straightened and then continued, forcing himself to keep his voice calm.

"Again, detectives. I have not seen my half-sister and I have not heard from her in twenty years. Apart from the letter she sent after our father's death. That was nine years ago. She accepted the inheritance, a monthly allowance in money, 5.000 pounds sterling until her death. Don't think I killed her for saving that money. My father left me the rest of his fortune, 26 million pounds sterling. You'll find out about it anyway. I can do without Amanda's money and always could. Your accusation's downright ridiculous."

Alexander Carmichael took a breath, turned around and moved to the window. The two detectives watched him until he finally turned back to them and made a gesture with his hand.

"Do what you need to do. Investigate. Check my accounts, my correspondence, my house, whatever you want. I won't hinder you. I can't stop you anyway," he said.

"Is this all that bothers you, Mr. Carmichael? Don't you feel upset? Your half-sister was murdered," Ryan Jones, one of the detectives, said.

Carmichael measured him and then shrugged.

"I saw Amanda only once, twenty years ago. She was fourteen. I was nine. She had come with her mother, my father's first wife, to our grandmother's funeral. My father and his first wife divorced after only one year. Amanda had just been born. My father married again two years later. My mother died one year ago," he said.

He started pacing the room, an elaborately furnished parlour, and finally stopped at a desk and pointed at a photograph. The detectives stepped closer.

"My father and my mother," he said. "They loved each other dearly. My father didn't talk a lot about Sheela, his first wife, and Amanda, their daughter. He once said that the marriage had been a mistake. Sheela was an outgoing and extroverted woman, while he was calm and reserved. He was a rational, suppressing his emotions. My father acknowledged his daughter, but felt no connection to her." He looked up. "My father couldn't cope well with children. He couldn't cope well with me either," he said. His shoulders slumped.

"Aren't you interested in the details of the murder?" Mark Bentley, the other detective, asked.

Carmichael straightened. "What details?" he hissed. "She was murdered, stabbed. You have told me."

Ryan Jones and Mark Bentley exchanged a look.

"Yes, she was stabbed," Mark said. "A man walking his dog found her body on a clearing in the wood early in the morning. Her body was laid down on the ground. She was lying on the back, her hands folded on her belly. Her face looked peaceful."

Alexander Carmichael stared at Mark.

"She was dressed in a long white silken dress," Ryan said. "A veil covered her braided black hair."

"She looked like a bride," Mark said. "That's what the man said who found her. They have taken photos."

Carmichael looked between the detectives. "What are you trying to tell me?" he asked.

"The murder planned the deed carefully," Mark said.

"And no sign of a struggle or fight," Ryan added.

Carmichael made a step back. "You mean she sacrificed herself?"

Ryan and Mark exchanged a glance.

"Sacrificed?" Mark asked.

Alexander Carmichael compressed his lips and his face turned red. He shot Mark an enraged look.

"I've just said what you have thought already. What do you want?" he hissed.

"Information," Mark said calmly.

"There's one more thing," Ryan said.

Carmichael turned his eyes to him.

"A red ruby was placed on her forehead," Ryan said.

"A bloody red ruby," Mark said, making a step forward.

Carmichael's eyelids flickered, but then he straightened and narrowed his eyes.

"I have no idea what are alluding to, detectives," he said. "But like I said, investigate. Check my accounts, my correspondence, my house, whatever you want. I will not hinder you. You will not find anything." He looked at his watch. "Any more questions, detectives? I have matters to attend to." He lifted his chin and gave them a questioning look.

Ryan and Mark left the mansion a couple of minutes later. Alexander Carmichael took his cell phone and typed a number.

***

Ryan Jones entered the room. The investigation team had already assembled. Ryan summarized the findings.

"A red ruby," Catherine Garner said. "A symbol of passion and love. And a symbol of power. The gem of the kings."

"Also a symbol of immortality in my culture," Ish Putney said. "My grandparents came from India," he explained at their questioning looks.

They looked at the enlarged photos that were attached to a board.

"The dress she's wearing..." Catherine started.

"Looks like a wedding sari," Ish finished her thoughts.

"The gem," Catherine said, turning to Ish.

"A bindi," he said. "A mark of the married woman. Married Hindu women wear a red dot or a red gem on their forehead."

"God," Catherine said. "She was murdered on her wedding day."

"Sacrificed," Mark Bentley said. "Alexander Carmichael used the word. He knows more than he told us."

"The dot or gem on the forehead also signifies the individual's spiritual eye," Ish said. " Through the third eye, Hindus believe to see all that which cannot be seen through the two physical eyes. I wonder what she saw and we do not see," he said thoughtfully.

"And what Carmichael is trying to shield from our eyes," Ryan added.

"And the murder is trying to reveal and make public," Mark said. "Her body was found forty kilometers from Carmichael's mansion. He works in London. Amanda lived in London. Don't tell me he has not seen her in twenty years."

"Love, passion, power," Catherine said. "Symbols of the gem. One symbol will lead us to Carmichael."

"Don't forget immortality," Ish said.

All eyes turned to him.

"Amanda Carmichael is dead," Ryan said curtly. "Stabbed."

***