Crime At Northland Lake (Completed)

A Phsycopathic Killer

"Hold it right there." James said. "You're saying the man who came to me yesterday morning filing this case, is the one behind it?" He asked.
"Exactly." Nick replied.
"But it doesn't make sense." Cole exclaimed.
"It didn't for me as well. But if you think about the necklace, it does. I found the necklace near the pine tree. I went to Mr. Mathews residence and he stated that the necklace is Sarah's. But then it turns out that there is no Sarah at all. Later, Mrs. Howard appears to be the eye witness of the entire scene that took place in Northland lake on Friday night. She says that the figure in the white jeep had a necklace with the 'S' pendant. Now don't forget that Simon owns a white jeep and 'S' can stand for Simon as well." Nick explained. "When he went to collect the bag under the pine tree, the necklace must've fallen down."

"Mrs. Howard only saw two vehicles. A white jeep and a brown SUV. From the brown SUV, Mr. McMillan kept the bag and from the white jeep, apparently, Mr. Mathews took the bag." James revised it in his head.
"You'd visited Mr. Mathews house yesterday morning, hadn't you?" Nick asked. The deputy nodded.
"How much money was there in his locker?"
"I think it was eight thousand pounds." James replied.
"Mr. McMillan told me he was two thousand pounds short from the required amount that the blackmailer wanted. That's exactly eight thousand pounds, and that money is in Simon's locker now. Even if Simon was one of the victims, he'd have no reason to initially keep eighteen thousand pounds in his locker." Nick shook his head.

"But wasn't Simon attacked today?" Cole asked.
"Maybe he wasn't. He must've created a scene by himself while I was waiting outside the door. I even noticed footprints outside his back door. He must've worn his shoes and walked some steps. Wonder why his shoes were muddy." Nick chuckled.
"Then what about this diary?" James pointed to the book in the detectives' hand.
"This diary is nothing but a fictional book. Simon cooked up a story, wrote it and told us the same thing. The reality is what Mrs. Howard saw and I'm sure she wasn't lying." Nick replied.
"What if she was?" James asked.
"If she was, it would make no sense again. There's no chance she'd see Sarah Mathews because she doesn't even exist. She even had photos of every scene that took place. Simon Mathews kidnapped Judy McMillan from the club and blackmailed her husband. There are only three characters in this case."

"I think I get it. When I checked Mr. Mathews' phone, his entire call history was cleared. He also didn't have a single picture of his so-called wife." James said.
"I still didn't get it." Cole frowned.
"The information we've got will make sense only if Mr. Mathews is behind this crime. This seems the only conclusion. But I've gotta check one more thing." The detective opened the diary to a random page and also took out the note he'd found in the bungalow. "The handwriting matches." He exclaimed. "Simon wrote this note which means that he killed Joseph."

"Ok wait." Cole stood up. "Let us believe that this is the conclusion, but why would Mr. Mathews cook up a story like this?" He asked.
"Simple." Nick said. "To escape from suspicion. Mrs. Howard said that she stamped on a pile of sticks when she was hiding that night. The sound must've scared Simon and made him think that someone was eavesdropping. Who knows, he might've even seen Mrs. Howard hiding. So he immediately cooked up a story and presented himself as a victim the next day." He explained. "Simon thought by doing this act, he'll get away from suspicion. Turns out he just got me closer to the conclusion." The three men were fascinated with what they'd come up with.

"Let's get moving." Nick said.
"Where?" Cole asked, widening his eyes.
"To Simon Mathews. We've got enough proof to confront him. There's no sign that proves he's innocent." As Nick spoke these words, the men got into the sedan and drove towards the log house.
Still heavily raining, the roads seemed slippery to drive on. On reaching, the men noticed the white jeep parked down the steep. They slowly climbed the wet, wooden steps and knocked on the door. Nick gestured James and Cole to enter through the back door. The detective noticed that unlike last time, Simon's shoes weren't there. The door wasn't being opened as well. "He isn't at home." Nick said to himself as he walked towards the back door.
The other two men had already entered the wooden structure. "No one's in here." James said as he saw Nick.
"Well that gives us an opportunity to investigate this place." Nick smiled. "We still don't know why he committed this crime."

"It might be for personal revenge. Why would he kidnap a random working woman just like that?" Cole asked.
"That's exactly what we need to find out." Nick replied. "Before this criminal comes back, we've gotta check this entire place. I don't think this particular criminal's residence can be without anything out of place." The three men separated and searched the entire house. Unfortunately, even after thorough searching, nothing seemed to be kept suspiciously.

"We've got nothing Nick." James said as he saw the detective observing the book shelf. "Anything wrong here?" He asked.
"These books." Nick pointed. "Out of nine books, I've read six of them. All of them are mystery thrillers about a person who commits a crime and gets away with it. Usually the antagonist does it by presenting himself as the victim."
"There goes a spoiler." Cole rolled his eyes, mockingly.
"It's just how Simon did his act. He must've read a million books like these." Nick added.
"This might just be a coincidence." Cole stated.
"I don't think so." Nick frowned. "People can go crazy if they focus on one certain disturbing thing. They feel like they want to do the same thing they've read or watched, whether it's right or wrong." He paused. "I could say that's human nature but committing a crime after reading a book isn't normal."
"Who's the author of these books?" James asked, taking one in hand.
"Ajay Verma." The detective replied. "He's a famous novelist from India. Media says he's got into trouble in his country lately. Award winning books, but so deeply written that it can change a way a man thinks."
"So-" "Shh." Nick interrupted. He gestured the two men to hide behind the couches. "Footsteps." The detective whispered. As the main door opened, Simon Mathews came into the picture.
"N-Nick!" The man exclaimed. "How did you come in, and for what? Did you find Sarah?" He asked.
"Only if Sarah Mathews ever existed." Nick replied.
"W-what do you mean?" Simon stammered, coming towards the detective.

"Cut it man! You kidnapped Judy McMillan and blackmailed her husband. Finally, presenting yourself as a victim didn't seem like a big thing to do for you." Nick stated. Simon looked blank and scratched his nose. "You think only you read Ajay Verma novels?" Nick grinned. "Those are just books! How can you even apply them in real life?"

There was a moment of silence until it was broken by a wicked laugh from Mr. Mathews. "Alright detective, you got me." He raised both his hands. "But trust me, playing with those two was worth it. Mr. McMillan never knew how to treat his wife. He deserved death."

"Oh really?" Nick raised his eyebrow. "What about Judy McMillan? What did she do?"
"You're on the other side. You'll never get it." Simon shook his head.
"Well I'm on the right side." Nick said. "We have all proof against you. We have photos of you and also your word for it. Hand in yourself!" Slowly, the other two men walked out from where they were hiding.
"Wow!" Simon exclaimed. "Even you two are there?" The man dug his pocket. He removed a pistol and raised it up to his own head.

"Hold it!" James shouted. "We can do this the easy way."
Simon reminded Cole of one of those psychopathic killers he watched in movies when he was in his teenage years. "Put your gun down!" Nick ordered. "Tell us where's Judy's body."
"I'm never telling you that." The madman said with a wicked laugh.
"We need it from your mouth. Make it quick!"
James and Cole took out their pistols. Nick was surprised to see them armed.
"You'll never get anything from me." Before he could say more, Mr. Mathews pulled the trigger and his dead body lay in front of the three men. Blood rushed out of his head like water left from a dam. "What a waste of life." Nick said as he bent down towards the body. "Read mysteries so much that he wanted to get involved in one. Sometimes, people fail to understand that real life can never be compared to fiction. You can love a book, you can love a movie. You might even feel attached to it. But your life can never be THAT book. It's your own written story. " Nick smiled. "If Simon was alive, he would've ended up in the asylum. Any past history of this man?" He asked.
"We're yet to find out." James replied. "Now that he's gone, we can't get anything from him."
The three men carried the body into the car. They preferred not to change anything in the crime scene. The entire quarter of the floor was flooded with blood, leaving Cole to be nauseous. "I'm sorry guys. I'm sensitive to blood." He said as the men got into the sedan.
"You locked the doors?" James asked.
"All of them." Nick replied showing the keys. "Nothing's changed inside. Keep that gun safe inside the ziplock. I'm going to get those photos from Mrs. Howard's phone by the end of the day. Corporate will ask for all of it."
"I still have one question. If this madman killed Judy McMillan, where is the body? And how do YOU know where it is?" Cole asked.
There was no answer. Nick, instead of taking the usual route to the police station, he chose to stop by at Northland lake. "You had a question, didn't you Cole?" Nick asked. "Find some time to have a swim in this lake, you'll get the answer. After all, Northland Lake is where you get all the answers." He smirked in his usual way.

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Hope you guys enjoyed the book!