It was just a kiss…

He strode into the room. He was wearing a white shirt beneath his jacket, his dark hair was a mess and his face was pale. Despite his disheveled appearance, he had a mesmerizing charisma. His brown eyes were filled with concern as he leaned over the bed and took a closer look at the victim, Thomas Kendall. He looked around to observe and went near the window that overlooked the woods. A wine glass sat on the countertop. He then checked the washrooms, kitchen, and moved to the hall where a few young women were busy talking.

“What a beautiful place and home. Seems filthy rich, two women involved — must have had something to do with jealousy,” he thought, making a mental note on his observations.

“Hello, you must be Riley Strauss, the detective,” said a raspy voice. Riley turned around towards the direction of the voice; a young woman was standing in the doorway. “The number one detective who’d close cases in a jiffy, or at least, that’s what I heard.” She smirked.

“And you must be… Teresa Williams, the inspector in charge,” he smiled. She had mysterious green eyes; she was beautiful in her own unique way, with dark eyebrows and wavy hair.

“Yes!” she said and their eyes locked, they shook their hands for a brief second. “Okay.” He cleared his throat and looked around examining the hall. A man of few words, she thought.

Claire Samson and Kirsten Fourier were sitting next to each other on a thin mattress, their weight depressing it. Their eyes were filled with emotion and tears.

He looked at both of them for a brief minute, sat right opposite and said “So, what’s the story?”

“Claire Samson and Thomas Kendall have been married for over five years. Claire is bi-sexual and she was in a relationship with Kirsten Fourier before the marriage. They accidentally met in a pub after quite a few years, had drinks together and they ended up having a threesome and they’ve been continuing for about two years now. In due course, Kirsten fell in love with Thomas, and was forcing him to divorce Claire. He disagreed. She killed him yesterday — at their usual Friday session — she brought with her a bottle of whiskey, poured in some poison and killed him,” briefed Teresa in one go.

“Thomas Kendall runs a firm and is one of the most successful in his line of business. Claire is a teacher and Kirsten is working in a pharmacy,” she added.

“Hmmm, interesting! Can you recall what happened last night?” he asked and looked at Claire and observed her expressions while Kristen started sobbing.

“I was busy cooking dinner, and Kristen poured the whiskey for us. I didn’t notice what she did. I only looked at her picking the wine glasses from my cupboard. In 20 mins, Thomas said he wants to rest for a while and dozed off in the bed. I thought he just felt sleepy. I tried to wake him up for dinner, but found him dead,” Claire explained.

“You want to add anything here, Kristen?” Riley asked. He had some concerns — the emotions both the women displayed were very different.

“Everything seems a blur to me right now. I didn’t do this!” Kristen said, “We liked each other and yes, I asked him to divorce her and get married to me. But, I never wanted to kill him. I’m not that type,” she pleaded.

“Thomas booked a flight for his business trip just a few hours before his death, clearly, it’s not suicide,” Teresa added, “There are threatening emails from Kristen to Thomas, and there’s an email that clearly states that she’d kill him and commit suicide if he does not take a decision soon.”

“No. I… I didn’t send any such emails... I don’t understand,” replied Kirsten.

“Okay! So all three of you had the same drink?” he asked.

“I don’t drink,” Kristen said, her voice shaking, “I bought it for them. But, I swear, I didn’t poison it.” She wept. Her mascara ran down her face. She seemed to have cried more than Claire.

“You don’t seem so shaken about this, Claire,” he said, laying his bait.

“So, would you agree I’m shaken if I cry my lungs out? Each has their own way of mourning, Mr. Riley,” she said.

“How was the relationship between you three?” he pondered.

“We were fine. We were in an open relationship from day one of our marriage and we knew each other’s past. Kristen and I had good chemistry, and I presumed that we’d all have a smooth relationship. I didn’t expect Kristen to turn jealous,” she said, “If this was for money, you could have told me,” her tone changed.

“I didn’t do it,” yelled Kristen.

“That’s enough for now! I’m figuring it out,” he said and got up. Teresa’s eyes traced his path and he was aware of the same.

Riley walked again to the kitchen and stood there for a brief minute, lookng around. “Riley, the finger prints on the wine glasses are of Thomas and Kristen’s and I suppose, she is guilty,” Teresa said as she walked into the kitchen.

Riley looked at her and smiled. He walked out of the kitchen and entered the washroom.

“Who called the police?” Riley asked Teresa, as he examined the place.

“Claire did. She was the first to find him dead. He was killed using a strong poison and he died when he was sleeping. Kristen works at a pharmacy and clearly, she should know a lot about drugs,” she said, and he cocked an eyebrow.

“So, there are four of us in this room and only two of us know who the real killer is,” Riley’s stare dropped to the ground before he looked back up at Claire.

“Why, Claire?” he asked, “Why did you do it?”

Claire met his stare and did not reply.

“Riley, I’m confused,” Teresa rushed outside as he walked out. “What makes you think its Claire?”

“I don’t think its Claire, Ms. Teresa. It is Claire,” he shrugged.

“Officer, please! Can you ple — ”

Her green eyes were still wide with confusion. She didn’t take her eyes off Riley… she wanted to enter and search his mind.

“Okay!” Riley broke the gaze and started explaining.

“I walked into the kitchen and found the other wine glass that Claire used to have her whiskey. Apparently, the glass was fine! No water marks around or anything. But, next to it was a small glass tub which I assume was used for the ice cubes. And, I saw dead ants around it.”

Teresa’s eyebrows wiggled and her nose scrunched up. That kinda looks cute, thought Riley.

“The ice cubes were laced with poison by Claire. That’s why she didn’t use ice cubes in her drink but threw in more than enough in his glass, if you had noticed it carefully!” Riley shrugged. Teresa’s face relaxed, and was also amazed at the same time.

“Brilliant, officer,” she said. He witnessed a wave of admiration filling her eyes.

“There was a crumpled piece of paper with the poison’s name scribbled and it was near the kitchen door. She had easy access because she’s Kristen’s friend. So, the pharmacy folks wouldn’t have really questioned her much,” he added.

“So Claire, your husband and Kristen cheated on you. I saw hotel Lusthan’s toiletries in your washroom and a receipt for a room for two in Lusthan’s booked in Kristen’s mail box,” he said, “The recent emails were not sent by Kristen, but, you. You hacked her account, to set her up for this, right?”

She shut her eyes, took a deep breath, and started to talk.

“Yes! Do you know how it feels to be cheated by the two most important people in your life, officer?” Claire said unapologetically, “I confronted and he said they shared a kiss, he said it was just a kiss,” she continued, and she didn’t try to wipe the tears falling down her cheeks. Riley could literally sense the hurt coursing through her.

“I couldn’t for the life of me understand why he did this to me. I loved him.”

“I’m sorry Mrs. Claire, I can understand your mental agony but the law is the law,” he said and walked out as Teresa arrested Claire. He glanced back at Claire who was falling apart and walked away swiftly to avoid embarrassment.

“Are you really this sensitive, officer?” Teresa asked Riley whose mind was elsewhere.

“Ha. Nope. Happens, always!” he boasted, “So, hey, I thought I could ask you out for a coffee. Ifff... you’re... interested, that is...” he stammered. It’s been really long since I asked a woman out, Riley thought.

She wrapped her arms around her body and looked at him. A hint of blush colored her cheeks red. “I actually thought I’d call you out for drinks and dinner tonight,” she said.

“Oh! Sure. I’d lo...”

“In my apartment,” she finished her sentence and locked eyes with him. She giggled at his surprised look.

This story is part of the Murder Room project on Chalkboard.