Bloody Love (by Omar Kamal)...Part.3

“Good morning inspector. We just received the autopsy report” said Valerie as she entered Inspector Leveuf’s office with the report in her hand. “Oh, and inspector, Monsieur Lenoir is waiting outside. Shall I let him in?”

“Yes please Valerie, show him in.” replied the inspector. “And please also get in contact with the mobile phone providers; try to find out who is the owner of the second number that was trying to call Madame Lenoir.”

“Of course, sir.”

Monsieur Lenoir walked into the room; on his face the traces of exhaustion and sorrow were visible, as if he had not slept the whole night long. His eye lids were dark and baggy, his eyes were red and watery, his footsteps slow and heavy, his back was leaning forward, his beard unshaved and his arms were hanging by his side as if he was carrying a heavy load. With a low and deep voice he said; “Good morning inspector.”

“Good morning Monsieur Lenoir. Please have a seat. Shall I get you anything to drink; tea or coffee maybe?”

“I could have a coffee, thank you inspector.”

Inspector Leveuf asked for a coffee, and while they waited for the drink, he rolled a cigarette as the silence reigned on the room.

The coffee arrived, monsieur Lenoir started sipping on his drink while the inspector lit his cigarette. He took a deep breath, and as he exhaled, he said;

“As you know Monsieur Lenoir, this case is no longer the search for a missing person, but it is now a murder case. I have here the results of the autopsy, and it shows that your wife was strangled to death, probably with the use of a belt. As nothing has been stolen from here, we are right now assuming that this murder is linked to some kind of personal vengeance between your wife and the murder. Do you know of anybody who might have a grudge against your wife, or who would have the motive to get rid of her?”

“Absolutely not! My wife had no enemies; she had no reason to have enemies. Her life was simple and peaceful, and everybody loved her!” said Monsieur Lenoir with an upset tone.

“Then who would have an interest in having your wife dead?”

“I don’t know, I cannot imagine anybody would want to kill her!”

 “How did your wife go to her dance lessons? Did you drive her there?”

“No; she usually went on her own.”

“Have you proposed to drive her to or from her dance lessons in the past months?”

“I never proposed to drive her to the dance lessons, because I always got home from work either just before she left for the lesson, or after she had already left. I did however propose a few times to pick her up once she was done with the lesson and even to take her out for dinner after it.”

“What was her reaction to this proposal?”

“In the past months, she would refuse, always politely.”

“What did she say exactly?”

“She would either tell me to relax because I had a long day at work, or she would tell me that it’s her night out with the ladies, and that they would have a girl time and girl talk.”

“How did you react to that?”

“I respected her personal space and her choice to spend time with her friends.”

Inspector Leveuf took a last breath of his cigarette and put it off in the ashtray next to him. He looked deeply towards Monsieur Lenoir and said;

“Monsieur Lenoir, did you know that your wife has not been to her dance lessons for several months?”

Monsieur Lenoir looked surprised and with a hesitant voice said; “No, I had no idea, why wouldn’t she? And where was she going all this time then?”

“That’s why I would like you to tell me.”

“As I said, I have no idea of that. I have always thought she was going to the dance lessons and after that going out with her friends from the lesson for dinner or a drink, as she always said.”

“As I mentioned previously, we’ve found out from her dance school that she hasn’t been there for several months now, not a single time. Have you ever considered or noticed any indication that she might be cheating on you with a lover?”

“No! I cannot imagine her ever doing that.” replied Monsieur Lenoir with an emotional voice.

“Was there, in any situation, the name of any guy mentioned in the past few months that you did not know, or had not heard his name before?”

“No, none; all the people she knew and talked to, I knew them and had met them at least once before on different occasions.”

“Monsieur Lenoir” said the inspector with a deep and serious voice, “where were you on the night your wife disappeared between 9PM and 11PM?”

“I was home.”

“Were you with anybody or is there anybody who could support what you say?”

Monsieur Lenoir looked shocked at the question, and with an aggressive tone replied; “I was alone at home, so no, nobody can support my words! But I did not kill my wife, if that is what you are trying to find out!”

“This is a murder case Monsieur Lenoir, and we must investigate all the possibilities. What time did you arrive home exactly on that day?”

“A bit before half past six”

“So you saw your wife before she left?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Did you talk?”

“Yes, we did.”

“Can you recall the conversation?”

“She asked me how my day was. I said it was a very busy day but productive. She then told me that dinner is ready and I can heat it up in the microwave. Then she kissed me and left.”

“What did you do after that?”

“I changed, washed, heated up the meal and sat in front of the television. I watched a movie while eating.”

“What did you have for dinner?”

“Excuse me?” replied Monsieur Lenoir with utter surprise at the question.

“What was the meal you had? Can you remember?”

Monsieur Lenoir struggled to remember and then said; “I had beans with white rice and chicken breasts. No sorry, it was green Pease, not beans”

“What did you watch?”

Monsieur Lenoir looked nervous, he stared at the inspector and said; “What has that got to do with the murder of my wife!?”

Inspector Leveuf smiled and said “I am trying to draw the evening’s events so we can understand better what happened. So, what movie did you watch?”

“I watched Kill Bill.”

“Ah, interesting movie; quite long, and bloody, no?”

Monsieur Lenoir had a sarcastic smile on his face and said; “Yes, it’s about three hours long, very bloody, but I do enjoy Tarantino movies.”

“What time did the movie end?”

“Around 10PM.”

“And what did you do after that?”

“I went to sleep. I worked the next day from 8AM, so I needed to rest.”

“Very well Monsieur Lenoir, thank you for coming. I will let you know if we need any further information from you.”

Monsieur Lenoir walked out the inspector’s office and Valerie walked in right after he left.

“So how did it go? You think he did it?” asked Valerie with excitement in her voice.

“Difficult to say; he seemed surprised at the fact that his wife had not been to the dance lessons in the past months. He also claimed that there was no indication that she cheated on him and he had no such suspicions.”

“You think he is saying the truth?”

“I don’t know. It’s still not clear in my mind.”

“Did he tell you where he was at the time of death?” asked Valerie.

“He was home. He arrived home before half past six, talked to his voice about his day and the dinner she made for him. She left, and he then changed, had dinner while watching Kill Bill, then went to bed after the movie, which ended around 10PM.”

“Yes, I remember that movie was on television two weeks ago, I watched it. Quite bloody I must say!” Valerie was silent for a moment, then she said; “So then he was at home.”

“No necessarily.” Said the Inspector; “he could have easily followed his wife, and killed her when she left her lover’s home. All he needs is to know what movies were on that evening, and what was prepared for dinner, and then he can make up the story to cover up his crime.”

Valerie thought for a moment about the inspector’s theory, then she handed him a paper and said; “those are the details of the owner of the second number.”

*****