Chapter 189: Mrs. Dunphy
"Because it's safe here,"
Chuck said calmly.
"That's all?"
Jane had heard this before, but this time she was genuinely skeptical.
"What else could it be?"
Chuck said expressionlessly. "To challenge myself to face all the world's temptations?"
Jane didn't understand the implication, nor did she want to point out the obvious about men and their preferences, so she could only accept Chuck's explanation that it was safe here.
"Dr. Wolfe, you've arrived."
The tall, bald detective, upon hearing the announcement, came out of the villa to greet them, his eyes involuntarily falling on Jane, frowning. "And this is?"
"Jane Banner,"
Jane introduced herself. "FBI."
"When did the FBI get so much free time?"
The tall, bald detective's eyes flashed with recognition, and he said sarcastically, "Or has this case become big enough to get federal attention?"
"Detective Rostenkowski, she's not here as an FBI agent, but as my detective assistant,"
Chuck explained.
"I've told you so many times, just call me Mike."
The tall, balding detective smiled at Chuck. "Only you have the connections to be an FBI consultant, and then somehow manage to recruit the Bureau's most beautiful agent as your assistant. Impressive!"
He gave a thumbs-up; in his opinion, Jane definitely deserved the title of the FBI's most beautiful agent.
"Okay, Detective Rostenkowski."
Chuck nodded. "Let's go in and take a look at the crime scene."
"Alright."
Detective Rostenkowski could only accept Chuck's form of address and nodded, leading the two inside. The crime scene investigation team was already on site, taking photos and collecting evidence.
"The deceased's name is Scarlett Maxa, 38 years old, female, married, with one son. She hosted a party tonight. Around 8:20 PM, in the middle of the party, Scarlett ran to the balcony railing, clutching her throat and screaming. She then fell over the railing, foaming at the mouth with discolored lips. Although a formal autopsy hasn't been performed yet, the medical examiner says it's likely a poisoning case,"
Detective Rostenkowski explained. "The source is still unclear. The villa is too large; it'll take time to investigate."
"The second-floor bathroom,"
Chuck said, glancing at the deceased lying on the floor.
"You knew just by looking?"
Detective Rostenkowski looked at Chuck in amazement, showing no doubt about Chuck's judgment, and signaled his officers to prioritize searching the second-floor bathroom.
Jane also looked at Chuck, her eyes filled with admiration.
Chuck knew this was the eager look of a law enforcement officer, and reminded her, "Look at her eyes!"
"Eyes?"
Jane immediately looked at the victim's eyes, observed for a moment, and suddenly realized, "The mascara on her right eye is thicker than on her left, which means she was reapplying her makeup when the poisoning occurred. Therefore, the second-floor bathroom is the most likely source of the poisoning."
"I see."
Detective Rostenkowski also had his revelation. Previously, his attention had been focused on the blood and foam flowing from the victim's nose and mouth. Even with Chuck's reminder and repeated observation of the victim's eyes, he had completely missed this detail.
"Detective, you might want to come up and take a look."
An officer's voice came from the radio.
"Looks like we found something."
Detective Rostenkowski put down the radio and gestured for Chuck and Jane to follow him upstairs. In the second-floor bathroom, there was mascara on the sink, an unfinished glass of red wine, and a tissue on the floor with the words "We're even now" written on it in lipstick.
"Revenge?"
Jane voiced her guess.
"Anything else?"
Chuck looked at her noncommittally.
"Staged revenge?"
Jane, having picked up some awareness of multi-angle observation from Chuck, was thinking it through.
"What should we do now?"
Chuck asked.
"Where is the deceased's husband?"
Jane looked at Detective Rostenkowski. "I think we should talk to him. After all, statistically, most married women are killed by their husbands, so staging it as revenge makes sense."
"He's at the neighbor's house with their son."
Rostenkowski glanced at Chuck, not refusing Jane's question, and cooperated, saying, "At the time of the incident, he was chatting with someone on the first floor. He has a solid alibi."
"That's not necessarily an alibi."
Under Chuck's gaze, Jane started thinking. "He knew the deceased's habits and could have easily poisoned the drink beforehand, then timed it so she'd consume it at the party."
"Should we talk to him now?"
Detective Rostenkowski asked.
"If it's convenient."
Jane spoke up when Chuck remained silent.
"Alright."
Detective Rostenkowski had his officers bring in the deceased's husband.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
Jane asked quietly during the lull.
Even with experience handling several major cases, she was still relatively new and felt somewhat apprehensive about leading a criminal investigation.
"I'm not usually very talkative,"
Chuck said bluntly.
"..."
Jane's lips twitched, her long legs shifting slightly, as she thought of some inappropriate scenarios. Just as Chuck said, he was usually quiet, and she did most of the talking. Her nervousness involuntarily eased considerably.
"Is this the job of a detective's assistant? I feel like you're giving me one-on-one training?"
"My detective assistants all need to have specialized skills,"
Chuck said matter-of-factly. "Chandler is responsible for the humor, while you need to have the ability to investigate cases independently."
"If it were any other man, he'd probably say you just need to look pretty,"
Jane teased cheerfully.
Nobody likes being treated like just a pretty face.
"Being beautiful is just a baseline requirement."
Chuck shook his head. "Not really a specialized skill."
Jane's lips curled up at first, then, as if remembering something, her smile froze. The multi-faceted observation skills she'd unconsciously learned from Chuck made her realize that while it was a pleasant truth to hear, the competitive pressure on her was immense. Those who could get close to Chuck were not only beautiful but also possessed extraordinary talents.
Just then, a middle-aged man with a sorrowful expression was brought over.
"This is the deceased's husband, Vic Maxa,"
Detective Rostenkowski introduced them. "This is Dr. Chuck Wolfe, a consultant for the department, and this is his detective assistant, Jane Banner."
"Detective Chuck, I know you!"
The deceased's husband, Vic Maxa, looked at Chuck earnestly. "You have to find out who killed Scarlett."
"I will,"
Chuck said calmly. "Now, if you don't mind, my assistant needs to ask you some questions."
He gestured for Jane to take the lead in the questioning.
"Of course I don't mind."
The deceased's husband, Vic, hesitated for a moment, but nodded nonetheless. "I'll do whatever it takes if it helps solve the case."
"Mr. Maxa, did your wife have any enemies?"
Jane stepped forward and began to lead the conversation.
"No."
The deceased's husband, Vic, shook his head. "Scarlett had no enemies. Everyone loved Scarlett. She's the chair of the town's Women's Committee, which is a very prestigious position. I was proud of her."
"Mr. Maxa, no disrespect intended."
Jane glanced at Chuck and said to the deceased's husband, Vic, "But no one is liked by everyone. And if the chair of the Women's Committee is truly a prestigious position, as you say, then surely there must be others who wanted to be chair, right?"
"Well."
The deceased's husband, Vic, frowned. "Perhaps, but I'm not sure. You might need to ask her friends on the Women's Committee. In my memory, everyone loved Scarlett... The only one who had some conflict with her is Claire Dunphy, but the Dunphys are good people. I don't believe Claire would do such a thing."
"Claire Dunphy?"
Jane looked at Detective Rostenkowski.
"She's not on tonight's party guest list."
Detective Rostenkowski glanced at the list. "And as Mr. Maxa said, the Dunphy family might be a bit quirky, but they're all good people. We can ask her to come in for questioning tomorrow."
"Alright."
Jane glanced at Chuck, nodded in agreement, and continued, "Mr. Maxa, what do you do for a living?"
"I develop real estate."
The deceased's husband, Vic, lowered his head.
"The real estate market hasn't been doing well lately,"
Jane said, her eyes narrowing.
There are many reasons a husband might kill his wife, but the most common involves money—for example, not wanting to divorce and divide assets, not wanting to pay alimony, taking out a huge life insurance policy on his wife, and then killing her for the payout.
The fact that Vic's industry was struggling greatly increased the financial motive, but they needed to investigate his finances to confirm.
"That's true,"
Vic sighed. "But I believe everything will work out, we'll get through this."
"What did Scarlett do?"
Jane continued. "Was she just a housewife?"
"No,"
Vic shook his head. "Scarlett worked in the arts, but because she had to take care of the family and manage the town's women's committee, it was just a side business. She sold handmade jewelry, bracelets, earrings, and the like. Business had been good lately, helping support the family, which made me, as her husband, both proud and ashamed. Now that she's gone, I don't know if I can hold out until the real estate market recovers."
His expression darkened.
Jane looked at Chuck.
"Mr. Maxa, please accept our condolences. You can go back to be with your son. We'll contact you again if we have more questions,"
Chuck said.
"Thank you."
The deceased's husband, Vic, nodded to everyone and left.
"What do you think?"
Chuck looked at Jane.
"I can't tell."
Jane smiled ruefully. "But many husbands who kill their wives seem harmless. We can only wait for the follow-up investigation to see if he had any financial motives, and whether the death of the deceased could benefit him financially."
"I've already had someone start investigating."
Detective Rostenkowski nodded.
"What do you think? Is it him?"
Jane couldn't help but look at Chuck.
"I don't know."
Chuck said expressionlessly. "You're leading the investigation in this case. You're my detective assistant, remember?"
"..."
Detective Rostenkowski was speechless. He wanted to complain, "Do you have some misunderstanding about the word 'assistant'?"
However, this was Chuck's decision. Even if he wanted to complain, he only grumbled internally and then carried out the directive without objection.
"The women's committee members from Haven are all outside, right?"
Jane thought of the two intimidating housewives and said, half-thinking aloud, half-suggesting, "We should talk to them. After all, we can't rule out simple revenge, or someone wanting the position of chairwoman of the town's women's committee."
She wasn't really familiar with the dynamics among the town's housewives, but she had heard enough family gossip about 'small-town housewife politics' to understand one thing: these suburban housewives, once they got emotional enough, were capable of violence, and poisoning wouldn't be surprising.
"Yes."
Detective Rostenkowski nodded. "All four committee members are outside, and Claire Dunphy showed up after hearing the news."
"Can we bring them in?"
Jane said. "I think I should talk to them."
"Who would you like to talk to first?"
Detective Rostenkowski asked.
"Claire Dunphy,"
Jane thought for a moment and said.
When Claire Dunphy was brought in and they introduced themselves, she was asked where she was at the time of the incident. Claire covered her mouth in surprise and exclaimed, "Oh my God! You suspect me?"
"It's just routine questioning,"
Jane reassured her.
"How could you suspect me?"
Claire murmured absentmindedly, still in shock, then instinctively looked at Chuck. "Chuck, you know me! Tell them, I could never have done this!"
"Hmm?"
Jane immediately reassessed Mrs. Dunphy. Although she was a mother of three, she still had a certain charm, though she wasn't exactly stunningly beautiful.
So, while she was somewhat curious about the relationship between Mrs. Dunphy and Chuck, she didn't overthink it.
"A qualified detective must consider all possibilities,"
Chuck said calmly. "If you did it, you won't escape; if you didn't, we won't wrongly accuse you."
"When I heard the news, I was at home talking to my family about you, Chuck,"
Claire said, calming down slightly. "It couldn't have been me!"
"Earlier this year, you and Scarlett were competing for the position of chairwoman of the Haven Women's Committee,"
Jane stared at her. "Your conflict even became somewhat public; you weren't invited to tonight's party."
"So?"
Claire spread her hands and exclaimed, "You don't think I would have murderous thoughts over this, do you? Please! I had no such thoughts at all. The reason for the conflict was that she started it first. Do you know why?
Because she sees me as a major threat!
That's right! It's not that I have a problem with her, but she can't stand my popularity and potential abilities..."
Then, she launched into a lengthy explanation of her middle daughter Alex's theory that only by being strong enough to threaten others can one incur their fear, suppression, and ridicule.
The more she spoke, the more confident she became. She leaned back strategically, arms crossed, and looked at Jane. "She's the one who felt threatened, not me! I'm on the rise, do you think I'd be stupid enough to use this method to defeat her? Besides, I wasn't even there, how could I have done something like that?"
"Gloria Pritchett is a member of the Women's Committee, and also your stepmother, right?"
Jane reminded her.
"Not stepmother."
Claire nearly lost her balance from the strategic lean, and said wearily, "She's my father's new wife."
"So still a stepmother."
Jane corrected. "She was at the party too."
"So?"
Claire disliked the word "stepmother," and retorted, "You're not saying I asked her to poison Scarlett, are you?"
"I didn't say that, it's just that you seem quite certain you couldn't have done it."
Jane looked at her. "And the lipstick you're wearing is quite unique, what brand is it?"
"...'Tender Love,' my husband bought it for me specially, why?"
Claire was taken aback, and couldn't help but look at Chuck, clearly hoping he would say a few words in her defense.
Jane also fell silent, looking at Chuck.
Detective Rostenkowski, seeing this, coughed lightly and said, "Agent Banner, is the interview over? If it is, let Mrs. Dunphy go home first. It's getting late, and there are still many people to talk to."
"You can go now. We'll contact you again if needed."
Jane nodded to Claire.
Claire quickly got up and left. No one wanted to get caught up in this kind of trouble. She knew that gossip and rumors were rampant in the town; it was easy to spread rumors, but debunking them was incredibly difficult.
"The lipstick she's using is the same brand found on the tissue,"
Jane said after watching Claire leave, stating her observation. "It's not a drugstore product."
"So it's her?"
Detective Rostenkowski asked in surprise.
"It shouldn't be her; she doesn't seem that stupid."
Jane shook her head. "It seems someone knows about their conflict and wants to frame her."
"Dr. Wolfe, we have news from the station."
Detective Rostenkowski's phone rang. After listening for a few minutes, he hung up and reported the latest information. "We investigated Mr. Maxa's finances and found that his real estate company is in dire straits, on the verge of bankruptcy, but his personal account has been receiving a constant stream of cash deposits, sometimes exceeding $5,000."
"Such large cash deposits?"
Jane immediately understood. "Did you question Mr. Maxa about it?"
"Yes, he said it was Scarlett who deposited it, income from selling jewelry."
Detective Rostenkowski said.
"It seems the deceased had secrets beyond her role as a housewife."
Jane stated her assessment and looked at Chuck.
In suburban America, any large sum of cash is usually suspicious. The first thought that comes to mind is criminal activity; those people are never short on cash and prefer using it.
And Chuck is absolutely top-notch when it comes to financial investigations; he can make a definitive judgment.
Chuck didn't speak, only gesturing for Jane to continue.
For him, the case was inherently straightforward, and Haven was his territory; he'd even anticipated something might happen before the incident occurred.
But for Jane, it was a good opportunity to lead a case.
Therefore, Chuck wouldn't interfere, letting Jane work freely and see what she could accomplish.
(End of Chapter)
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