My Ex's Ex

FOURTEEN

Charlotte put on soft music in the background as she did her night routine, which consisted of a little productivity, skincare, bathing, changing into her nightwear, and prepping for the next day.

She usually enjoyed this part of her day, but this time, something was on her mind. James.

She attended Lily Plugger's funeral because she felt attached to the victim, and the case was now on a personal level. She told the gatekeeper she was there for investigative reasons, and he let her in. She drove to a hidden spot, got out of her car, and watched the procession.

About ten minutes later, James drove in. Charlotte guessed he gave the same excuse she did. She was absolutely worried he would spot her from where he was parked, but he didn't. He was too focused on the events of the day. Charlotte watched him get out of the car and lean against his car as he watched.

She came for the funeral but she found herself watching James instead. She couldn't exactly see his face from where she was standing, but she was certain she saw him cry.

How much did he love Lily Plugger exactly? Why didn't they end up together? Did James know anything about the murder? And why did he always try so hard to avoid her family?

These questions and more plagued Charlotte. She really wanted to know more about James and his relationship with Lily.

She watched him dry his tears, get into his car, and drive off.
She didn't leave immediately, she decided to wait till the end of the funeral. Now that James wasn't beside her to distract her, she too began to feel down. Sadness was contagious

.

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Back in the present, Charlotte tried to take her mind off James. She wanted to go through the files one more time, which was why she brought them home even though it was against her work ethic. She felt something bugging her, and she knew that if there was any time she could really concentrate and focus, it was usually at night.

She plugged in her headphones, put on soft music, and began to go through the files.
She started looking thoroughly and carefully, trying her best not to miss any detail. Checking and re-checking, referencing, and cross-referencing the names that came up more than once across different zones to see if the stories matched.

After 2 hours, Charlotte was beginning to feel her eyes close, and she had made no progress. Nothing was off.

She sighed heavily, slumped in her chair, and put her hand around her forehead in frustration. How could there be a report this large and no information, lead or clue? This was so annoying.

She decided to look through the names of the workers again, checking what the neighbours said and crossreferencing it with what they themselves said. That was when she saw it.

Jamie, the gardener. He has told them that he was out for two days and that it was when he came back that he found out about Lily's murder.

However, Mrs Nettles, an old lady downtown, had carelessly mentioned to the officer that Jamie worked her roses the day before. It was a miracle the officer even took that down. Any other officer could have crossed that off as insignificant.

Charlotte immediately knew that this was what her uneasiness was pointing her towards. Something was not right with this time-lapse. She knew it was late, but she really hoped that Mrs Nettles was awake.

After about 3 rings, someone finally picked.

"Hello, am I speaking with Mrs Nettles?"

"Yes, you are dearie. Sorry, I came late to the phone. I was watching the TV. But who am I speaking with?"an old woman with a shaky voice responded.

Charlotte was glad she didn't wake her up.

"This is Detective Hutchinson, I'm one of the detectives investigating the murder of Lily Plugger."

"Oh. Is there any problem, Detective?"

"No. I just wanted to confirm what you said about Jamie, the gardener, being at your house to trim the roses the day before the murder?"Charlotte said as more of a question than a statement.

"Oh yes, he was. Is there any problem detective? Is Jamie in some kind of trouble?"the woman asked.

"No, no, he's not. I just wanted to confirm. Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome, Detective. "

That was what Charlotte needed to hear.

This was something, and she really hoped it would lead to more than something. She considered calling James, but she thought against it after seeing how he looked at the funeral. This could wait till tomorrow morning.

She looked at the files again just to reassure herself that she wasn't overanalyzing things. But she was sure, she knew that people wouldn't just mention that they travelled if they didn't. Even if it might not be directly related to the murder, she believed it had something to do with it.

She would just have to wait till the next day to figure out what Jamie the gardener had to do with everything and if he was actually the murderer.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter🫶

Tag for the chapter: HazarJammol