CHAPTER 4

Claire Evatt got up the next morning which is a busy work day for her especially. She sipped hot coffee and took her bag along with her, leaving the police station. She gets behind the wheels of her car when she sees a colleague. "Joan…where are you going?" She asks as she greets her fellow colleague with a horn. "Not far from here. I want to get across the street and pick up some printouts. Mind dropping me by?" Joan asks Claire through the window of her car. "Yeah sure. Hop in." Claire kindly replies. After a few drive, she drops her colleague and leaves for her destination. Maxwell is standing by the window in his office as he looks outside, through it. He sees a car driving under a tree shed as he watches the driver. Claire gets down from the car as she presses the key holder to lock the car then puts it into her jacket pocket. She looks up, straight to the office window of Maxwell but she doesn't know. He looks at her as she stares towards him for a while but he can tell that she didn't see him because he leaned backwards to the wall. He doesn't seem angry on seeing her. A smile played on his face as he admired her like a lover does to his woman. Claire walks away as his bet is that she is coming to his office again. He changes his countenance and puts on a tough and serious face while pretending to work on some papers before she arrives into his office. There is a knock on his door. "Come in." Maxwell answers the knock in a soft but normal voice. Claire walks into the office in a casual dressing. She wears a skinny jean and shirt to compliment her dressing with her jacket on top. "Good morning Mr. Wright. I'm sure you must be expecting me today." Detective Evatt says as she draws the chair outwards. Maxwell raises his head as he looks at her more like he is scrutinizing her dressing. "No uniform?" He asks her, after he observes her seducing body in those tight jeans. "Haha…detectives don't wear uniforms." Ms. Evatt replies to him. "May I sit?" She asks him as he points down his pen, giving her permission. "Sit." He replies in a soft voice. Claire pours her lips as she sits. "Thanks. How are you doing today?" She asks him as a start of their conversation. "I'm fine." He replies. She doesn't say anything as she leans backwards on her chair. "You?" He asks again, noticing her silence. "I'm fine too. Sorry for bothering you today but I'm only doing my job so you have to bear with me." She says to him after clearing her throat severally. "I see that detectives only go around disturbing the peace of busy and innocent people." Maxwell replied as he pretends or rather, is working on some files, reading through and dotting some things in it. "A nice joke…sorry for the nature of our work. By the way, I'm not saying you're not innocent Mr. Wright, I'm just doing my job here…please don't take it too personal okay?" Claire tries to soften him on the inside. "I've heard you." He replies back. "So before I left the last time, I took reports of other staff here and I can say that the majority of them are rules out of my suspicions of being the one who committed the crime." Claire opens up the case before Maxwell. "That's good to know. So why are you back? Why aren't you elsewhere finding the killer?" Maxwell asks her without any fork of seriousness as he still buries his face in the file before him. "That's because I have major suspects here." Claire replies back. It is as if her statement got him now. He stops what he is doing as he stares at the file in front of him before transferring his eyes on Claire. "And who's that?" He asks her with a frozen voice. "I'm not here for you today. I'm here to speak with someone else." She replies. "Who?" He asks again, wondering who this new suspect is. "Mmm…I'd like to talk to a few people here who I think had personal issues with the deceased. Ms. Ava." Claire clears her throat as she replies. "What has she got to do with this?" He asks her. "Well…that's left for me to find out. Please can I see her? Personally?" Claire places her request. "Go ahead. I'll call her in." Maxwell agrees to her request. "Thank you. Please ask her to meet me in the coffee room and no one should disturb us. Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Wright." Claire thanks him as she gets up from her seat and walks to the door. Maxwell hesitates for some seconds before he picks up his telephone and dials it. In the coffee room, detective Claire is seated alone on a sofa as she sips some hot coffee while she scrolls through her phone. A knock on the door distracts her. She looks up to see who is there as the door cracks open. A young woman of almost the same age as the deceased walks in. "Hi." The lady greets Claire. "Oh hi…error…you must be Ms. Ava…am I right? Because I'm not expecting anyone here apart from her." Claire replies back. "Yes, I am. And you must be the detective who wants to see me." Ava answers as she comes to sit on the sofa opposite the detective. "Want some coffee?" Claire asks her as she hands her mug to Ava but she declines. "No thank you. Why do you want to see me?" She asks instead as she is already feeling nervous. "I like you, straight to the point. I hope that is how our conversations will be…" Claire replies as she takes a sip which happens to be the last one and drops the mug on the table. A janitor happens to walk in and clears the table. "Thank you. Please can you excuse us?" Claire requests as she wants complete privacy. The janitor nods her head and walks out of the room, giving them their privacy. "Yes, Ms. Ava. As you know, I'm here because of the murder of your colleague, Emerald Warren." Claire starts the conversation as she keeps her eye on the body movements of the lady seated before her. "Okay. So why am I here and not with the others?" Ava replies as she looks so nervous but tries to hide it. No matter how she tries to hide her nervousness, a detective always sees it and so, Claire reads her well. "Yes. I called you here alone because…I learnt that you and Emerald, who was your colleague before she passed away, competed for the same position of transfer, is that true?" Claire gets to work now as she stopped beating around the bush. "Ye..yes. They must have told you that." Ava replies with a cracked voice. "Please be calm, feel free with me okay? Relax yourself." Claire says to her as she is all tensed up so she tries to calm her down. "So what happened after that? Did you develop some kind of relationship with her…like were you two friends because I learnt Ms. Warren didn't talk much with people. How was your relationship with her?" Detective Claire inquires. "We were good." Ava replies. "You ladies were cool? There was no sort of misunderstanding of any kind?" She asks her again. "No…why?" Ava replies. "Just asking you to know…I'm doing my job here. You may leave now. If you get to know anything you can contact me. Here's my card." Claire says to her as hands her her card, preparing to leave. Ava remains seated in the same position as she keeps fidgeting. Claire has reached for the door when Ava speaks. "I know something. Emerald went to have lunch with a colleague at work in a restaurant." Ava suddenly says. Claire closes the walks forward to listen to her carefully. "When was that?" Clare asks Ava. "On Thursday evening. She had a morning date with a friend on Allison Baker's way. There is a bakery where they normally eat there." Ava gives out all the information that she knows at that moment. "That's exactly the day and venue she passed away…do you know who the friend was and the time they went?" Claire asks her. "I have no idea." Ava replies. "Then how do you know she was on a date that night with a friend?" Claire asks suspiciously. "After work, I requested her to come over to my place for dinner but she said she had a date that same evening." Ava replies with sincerity. "You must have been cool then…for you to have invited her over for dinner at your place." Claire remarks. "Yes." Ava answers. "Did she live alone before she passed away?" Claire asks again. "No…she has family." Ava replies. "I see. Where do you say this restaurant was at again? And what's the name please?" Claire asks again. "Allison Baker's way, there's a restaurant just by the right. That's the name of the restaurant, Allison Baker's restaurant." Ava replies. "Okay, thank you. Please any other information you get or remember, please do remind me. I'll see your boss and take my leave." Claire thanks her. "Okay. Thank you." Ava thanks her too as Claire leaves. "Come in." Maxwell replies even before Claire knocks on the door. "How did you know I was there?" She asks him, surprised. "Could perceive it. Are you done here?" He asks her, still not looking at her. He is standing with his back against the door as he faces the window. "Yes and that's why I'm here. I wanted to thank you for your cooperation before I take my leave." She replies back. "Glad I could help. What a beautiful car you have." He compliments. "Huh?" She asks as she doesn't understand what he is saying. "I said your car is exquisite" He says. "Oh, thanks. Didn't know you can see it from here." Claire says. "Will you still be coming around?" Maxwell asks her. "If need be. But for now, I have to be somewhere." She replies back. "Okay." He replies. "Yeah. Thanks, I'm leaving. Have a nice day." Claire says as she leaves the office. Maxwell snickers as he remains at the window until he spots her drive away.