It's An Elementary Murder, Holmes

The police had been to question her, or perhaps she should call them precisely what they are; Homicide Detectives. Although she was very sure that they would come, and that it was certainly a routine part of any murder investigation; to question everyone that could even be remotely involved or would have any information relative to the investigation. But, she had to admit that they certainly did not waste any time coming round to see her. Alexis had maintained her calm and answered their questions with an honest clarity. She simply told them what she herself had been told by Abigail Vanderberry during that life-changing phone call yesterday. Really? Was it only yesterday that all of this had happened?

Yes, it was only yesterday as far as her part in this was concerned, but the murder of Bryce Meyers had taken place two days ago. Forty eight hours from meeting his bride-soon-to-become-his-wife at the altar, forty year old Bryce Alexander Meyers had been been the victim of a fatal close-up gunshot to the heart, dealt him by that same bride-soon-to-become-his-wife.

Alexis had met Bryce on several occasions when he and Abigail had come to her office to discuss and finalize the wedding/honeymoon plans that required them to make decisions as a couple. He made a good impression on Alexis; not because of his deep pockets, but because he seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. He wasn't an in-your-face type of guy. He was sort of quiet with impeccable manners and a soothing persona. Physically, he was tall and just average looking. He wasn't a very handsome guy, but he definitely possessed a confidence that was attractive in itself, and he had a strong magnetism about him that was almost palpable. He had never given Alexis any hint of a dishonest streak. This is exactly what she had told the two officers who had come to question her.

Detectives Mercer Holding and Artie Callahan had looked at her and then at each other with a smugness that bordered on arrogance. They were already to wrap this case up and charge Abigail with first degree murder. Detective Holding had snapped her laptop closed with a finality that she expressed in words as she stood to leave. She had said that it was probably an open-and-shut case, and as she looked to her partner for confirmation, she made the remark, " It's an elementary murder, my Mr. Holmes!" Detective Callahan nodded in agreement. He then added that "We have got your client, Abigail Vanderberry dead to rights. We've even got the smoking gun." I swear they both laughed as they prepared to leave.

Their enthusiasm seemed to be out of place and their eager-beaver attitude to see Abby behind bars  was almost obscene. No matter the circumstances, a man was dead. He had family who loved him, ...and oh mercy...his poor mother! This was the first time Alexis had thought about his mother.  Megan Meyers must be beside herself with grief. There was no imagining the anguish she must be feeling; the helplessness and the pain of knowing her son had been murdered.

Alexis had wished for the thousandth time that Abigail had told her more during that phone call. After Claudette had come over, and she had poured enough brandy down her throat to revive her into a semblance of reality, Alexis had tried to call Abigail back on both her cell and her land line phone. Of  course there had been no answer on either, and surprisingly, the voice mail greetings had been erased.  She had had no other chance to contact Abby, having seen news of her arrest on the morning news earlier today.

It appeared that the noise from the gunshot had been called in to 911 by an "anonymous" person who didn't wish to be identified, and when the police arrived they found Abby at the scene, sitting on the floor beside the body of the love of her life...her soul mate who was dead from the .9mm bullet that went straight through his heart.

She was still holding the gun in her hand. Sherlock and Holmes must have wet themselves with glee.

Conspiracy Theory

Probably more people than want to admit it believe in conspiracy theories. I'm talking about the unexplained effects of chain reactions that stem from unexplained phenomena. Not necessarily the deep conspiracy of Roswell, New Mexico, but the kind of things that occur unexpected. The sort of situations that are twisted so tight into a maze of questions to which there are no apparent or plausible answers, and no one who could provide them is inclined to do so.

So the story goes in the murder of Bryce Meyers. It is now several weeks later from the date he was shot to death, and Alexis Martin is really no closer to knowing the full story of how and why he was killed as she was from the beginning. She had spent everyday of the first two weeks after that alarming phone call from Abigail alternating between being in a scary "day mare" and an all too real reality.

Alexis had been questioned twice more at the hands of the local police. The second time she received a visit from Mercer Holding and Artie Callahan the first detectives to question her; and the next time she had the privilege it was with two different ones. Although she found the whole thing to be a big, royal pain in the rear end, she couldn't help but be impressed with the new duo. Two women detectives who were both in their mid-fifties and were so sharp and at the top of their game that they made the other two look like rookies. Detectives Rosalyn Baker and Charlene Harris were deceptively friendly, and cunningly solicitous. They knew how to lead a person into saying things unawares, simply by lulling one into a false sense of security.

But now, she had been assured by the first two detectives that there would be no more questions and her cooperation had been greatly appreciated, but in essence they were done with her. Alexis was thrilled to hear this, but she had a lot of questions of her own that she could not get answers to. She never heard from Abigail again after the one time she visited her in jail. This happened just before Abigail suddenly disappeared from town.

Nothing else about the case appeared in the news, and the last thing she was able to hear was quite disturbing. In the beginning she had felt a heart-wrenching sympathy for Bryce's mother. She could not imagine how heartbroken Melinda Meyers must be. But about three weeks after his death, Alexis was attending a meeting of her local business women's chapter, and was the recipient of some startling news. Pretty darn sure that she was not meant to overhear this, Alexis could not believe her ears.

According to the overheard conversation, Bryce's parents Kyle and Melinda Meyers were persons of interest in an ongoing federal investigation. All of their personal assets were being scrutinized and although they had not been frozen yet, it seems to be just a matter of time before they would be, and federal warrants issued for their arrests. And the clincher was this: Bryce was a personal friend of the  Special Prosecutor who was in line to work the case. The SP had been gleaning information from Bryce for months to be used against his parents.

And...Abigail Vanderberry had led him on to the point when he fell in love with her and they became engaged and planned their wedding. The wedding was never meant to take place, and all of the money that had been spent for the elaborate affair had been front money. Abigail was an undercover agent and her job had been to bring him in after the farce had been played out enough to reveal what she needed to know about his parents. Somewhere along the way, Abigail fell in love for real with Bryce, but then hours before the wedding was to have taken place (or so it was supposed to) she shot Bryce to death. The original plan was to have been for her to leave him a note with an explanation of why she walked out on him, and to dump him at the altar. Real love was not to have been a factor.

Kyle and Melinda had been planning to empty their bank accounts and open new off shore ones before their son had been killed. They had bought a new house, arranged to sell the one they currently lived in, and had wrapped up all of their domestic affairs in readiness to make a move to Tahiti. They had planned to be gone before the nuptials, based on a tip they had gotten that Abigail was in fact, not the person she pretended to be.

Nothing about this whole situation made sense to Alexis. However, she was grateful to be out of the mix. Now perhaps she could put all of it behind her, and get on with her life. It would be a most welcome change to get up in the morning and not feel as if she was living in a state of suspended animation. She may never get all of the answers to her questions, but she would draw a great deal of comfort from the money she had earned as the wedding planner. Thankfully, the check had cleared and now the plush cushion the cash made in her account was sufficient to make her willing to abandon the whole matter, and leave the conspiracy theories to the buffs who savor them.

Which is what she did as she hummed a jaunty tune all the way to the bank.