Chapter 2 - The Hospital Interrogation
The blinding fluorescent lights of the emergency room flickered overhead.
Paramedics had rushed Eleanor through the double doors over an hour ago.
Maria sat on a hard plastic chair in the waiting room, still wearing her bright orange maid's uniform.
Her hands were wrapped in thick white bandages, but she barely felt the pain.
Detective Vance, a tall man with sharp, observant eyes, walked over and handed her a cup of terrible hospital coffee.
"You saved her life today, Maria," the detective said softly, taking a seat beside her.
"But I need you to tell me exactly why you brought an axe to a funeral."
Maria took a shaky breath, staring down at the dark liquid in the paper cup.
"Because of the tea," she began, her voice trembling slightly.
"Mr. David insisted on making Mrs. Eleanor’s chamomile tea himself for the past three weeks."
"Normally, that was my job, but he suddenly forbade me from touching her nightly drinks."
Detective Vance pulled out a small notepad and clicked his pen.
"Go on," he urged gently.
"She started getting incredibly sick, sleeping for days, her skin turning pale like a ghost," Maria explained.
"Two nights ago, the doctor declared her dead from a sudden cardiac arrest in her sleep."
"But yesterday, when I was cleaning Mr. David’s private study, I found a receipt."
Maria reached into her uniform pocket and handed a crumpled piece of paper to the detective.
It was a black-market receipt for a highly concentrated paralytic toxin.
"It slows the heart rate down so much that even a doctor might not detect a pulse," she whispered.
"He didn't want to divorce her, Detective."
"He wanted her massive inheritance without splitting a single penny."
Vance stared at the receipt, his jaw tightening in anger.
"Where is David right now?" the detective asked his partner, who was standing by the door.
"He's in the waiting room down the hall, talking to his lawyers," the partner replied.
May you like
"Not for long," Vance muttered, standing up.
The game of cat and mouse had officially begun.
