The following happened between 15:00 and 16:00
“Are you responsible for this?” Kim asked.
She, Jean and Fr. Mark were standing in the parking lot with Aidan Jacobs. He had been there, waiting for them and laughing. “You told the police about our financial state?” Kim said in shock.
“Your financial state, you mean?” Aidan laughed.
“Does Uncle Ethan know about this?” She asked, her voice shaking, obvious that she could cry if she wasn’t careful.
Fr. Mark said, “Aidan, I think you should stop…”
“Please. We are not here for prayers” Aidan fired condescendingly.
Kim and Aidan continued staring daggers at each other. Then Bridget, Aidan’s sister stepped down from her car as she hung up a call she was receiving. She hugged Kim. “I was so scared when I heard about the accident and the interrogation. Are you better now?” Bridget asked.
“I think you should ask your brother that” Jean replied.
Aidan rolled his eyes as the four of them stared at him. Kim and Aidan were not the best cousins but, how could he hate her so terribly to want to incriminate her?
“Are you the one stealing designs from the company?” Kim asked. “Are you the one that stole Richard’s paintings and tried to kill me now because you think I know something that could implicate you?” Kim raised her voice. “I’ll hire someone to investigate Richard’s death, the theft from the company and my accidents” She fired.
“Oh. I’m terrified. I’m shaking” Aidan said mockingly, acting as if he was shivering in fear.
“Richard will not be missed. And even if you drop dead now. I wouldn’t miss you either!” Aidan thundered.
*****
Death penalty. Connor thought. Could he watch it befall Kim? Was she responsible for this? He stood in front of his board again. There had to be something he was missing. Something he wasn’t getting right.
There were many questions that needed to be answered. Obviously, there was power tussle in Jacobs and Sons Architecture. Was it a healthy rivalry or was it so bad enough to frame one’s cousin?
Stolen paintings. Was it true? There was no way to prove this since the rest of Richard’s paintings that Kim called fake, weren’t in her car. Stolen paintings. His mind reiterated. Wasn’t that why Richard called the D.P.O who sent him to go and meet Richard yesterday?
He had been angry to do that but he was loyal to his job. After Richard complained about some of his paintings disappearing and being replaced with fake ones, hours later, Richard called him full of smiles and laughter, telling him that he had only been paranoid and that he shouldn’t bother about the case. He had been relieved to hear that. To know that he wouldn’t have to see the bastard’s face anymore.
However, at 11:30pm, the phone call came that Richard was dead. And since then, he had completely forgotten about the paintings until Kim mentioned it. So, the question was: did Richard confront the painting thief? Did he later find out who it was and threaten to get him arrested?
On another sheet, he wrote: stolen designs from Jacobs and Sons. Kim’s supposed accident. Why did he feel as if all these were related, but he was just not seeing the connecting thread. He wrote: Is Kim’s life in danger?
Does she know something that she is not telling? He looked at his previous questions the last time he communed with his board. Had Kim been lying on that floor with Richard? What happened within the twenty-eight minutes after Meryl came upon Richard’s corpse?
None of the Ethan Jacobs’s family members would possibly agree to talk with him. So, he wrote down a name on the board: Meryl. She knew something that could help him.
****
Jean entered her car with a food flask in her hands and shut the car door.
Kim opened one of her eyelids “You might as well be naked” Kim said, referring to Jean’s dress that was now showcasing her cleavage and more than half of her breasts.
Jean chuckled and said, “I pulled the neckline down on purpose”.
Kim closed her eyes back.
“Fr. Mark is so holy. Gosh. I just wasted my time, displaying half of my boobs and he didn’t even take a peep at them” Jean said.
They were in the Church premises. They just dropped Fr. Mark who asked Jean to escort him in order to bring back food for Kim to eat after the stress and accident she underwent.
“He’s a Priest: you should respect…”
Jean interrupted “I’m not a Catholic. To me, priest or not, a man is still a man” She laughed.
“I thought you decided to become Catholic” Kim said. Jean had been coming to the church for the past few months. Kim opened her eyes and watched Jean roll hers.
“I and many other women have been coming here because of him. Do you think I wake up at 6am on very cold Sundays when I’m supposed to be sleeping, just for Church?” Jean said and then added, emphasizing each word “you’re absolutely boring”.
Then she looked at the wing mirror “Do you think he doesn’t like women with big boobs and ass? I have Kim kardashian’s look. Who doesn’t like it?” Jean continued, “He never takes tiny peep. If I didn’t know better, I would say his genitals were cut off during his ordination”.
And Kim burst into laughter.
“It’s not funny, Kim. It’s the truth. Other women in Church also said he rejected their advances” Jean said. “And you know we women, we love a challenge” She dropped the food flask and adjusted her cleavage “I think he is too focused on God that he can’t…” Jean paused, obviously contemplated for a moment and then, screamed “Oh my God! He likes you, Kim.”
Kim gave her a weird look.
“Why else would he cook for you and Angel?” She raised the food flask Fr. Mark gave her.
“You are insane” Kim replied jokingly.
“It’s you he wants” Jean insisted.
“Can you please start this car?” Kim said, laughing.
“But do you agree that he wants you?” Jean started the car, forming a bizarre song with the lyrics, ‘someone has a crush on you. Can’t you see it? I know he’s in love with you. Can’t you see it?’
They drove off with Jean still insisting on her newly discovered theory.
And as they sped off, another car stealthily drove behind them.