Accused: (Mystery Series) (My Murder Mysteries #3) (3 page)

Seeing nowhere else to go, Tammy used her one phone call for phoning a friend from the past...

Inspector George Coarse entered the building. He was dressed smartly, and used a walking stick, for something had happened to his leg the last time he had been seen. He was allowed to visit Tammy for five minutes.

"Long time, no see", he said. "How've you been?"

"I really need your help", said Tammy, cutting to the chase because she knew that help was needed.

"I know you need to get out of here, but how can I help?"

"I need you to find the real murderer of Barry Scott", Tammy replied firmly.

"Aren't you supposed to be the one who can work these things out?"

"You're a great detective, too", she said, with a hint of desperation. "I've seen you in the papers a couple of times".

"I'll try my best, but I can't make any promises".

"You do this for me and you won't regret it", Tammy promised, seeing Coarse as her last chance

Coarse was not a complicated man - he was a straightforward man, who liked to get things done, and done right. He did not like to wait. He wanted to stop Tammy from suffering as he truly believed that she was innocent, although that was not yet proven. He knew that he needed to start investigating immediately. His tactic was simple: to put pressure on each of the five suspects. That way, he might get somewhere, he thought.

The first person to be interviewed was Bethy Sanders. She said that she was in the toilet, talking to Tracy, and that was all that she had said, until now.

"What do you want?" said Bethy.

"I am investigating the murder of Barry Scott", said Coarse.

"Not another one!" cried Bethy, "I'm sick of police officers! Can't you just let the dead rest in peace, and I don't mean Barry Scott!"

"It's not as simple as that", Coarse explained. "You see, Tammy Williams has been arrested for the brutal murder of Barry Scott".

"So it was her?" asked Bethy.

"You see, Tammy has asked me to investigate the death".

"You're wasting your time - it probably was her".

"If you look at it mathematically, Miss, you will see that it was probably not her. There were six established suspects. Therefore, the chances that Tammy Williams is the killer is one in six".

"Well, one in five to me, because I know that I did not do it, and I knew that Tracy did not do it, so it's a one in four chance to me".

"You say that Tracy did not do it because she was with you, but what about her alibi?"

"I don't follow".

"Who gives you an alibi? Tracy. Who gives Tracy an alibi? You. This is a traditional conspiracy technique, although it is not a very good one. Your alibi is not the most watertight of ones. You are still a suspect in my eyes".

"Alright, you've made your point, but you still can't prove it was me!" Bethy replied, grinning.

Coarse knew that that was right: he could not prove it...yet. He had a very similar conversation with Tracy, and her responses were very similar to Bethy's, as if it were a scripted performance. However, Coarse continued to the brother of Bethy, William.

William claimed that he was sat at a table with Linda. In order to prove or disprove this statement, Coarse looked at the CCTV, which was now available. Unfortunately, the results proved to be inconclusive, because as usual, on the screen, not much can be seen but a few blobs and black and white. It was like looking at a baby scan. No information could be retrieved, although Coarse thought that he had seen two people sat at the table where William said they were sat, but he could not identify them.

"So, you claim to be here?" said Coarse.

"I was here", William replied.

"But you might not have been", said Coarse. "You could have actually been outside. Nobody would have noticed you. You could be the killer".

"But you can't prove it", said William, rather smugly.

Linda had said exactly the same thing.

Joseph was the final one of the five to be interviewed. He did not say much, which made Coarse even more suspicious of him. His simple reply was, "you can't prove it".

That was rather strange to Coarse - were they all in it together? It certainly appeared that way, and if only one person had planned it all, it seemed to him that there was a conspiracy of silence between the five of them - they were not about to give any information away, so Coarse was about to struggle with this.

While Coarse was trying his best to find out the real killer of Barry Scott (and failing), Tammy sat alone in her cell, wondering what her fate would be. She had two and a half months to wait until the trial, which was a very long time. Still, she knew that she was going to get sent down anyway, unless Coarse saved her. Nobody else would listen to her, so Coarse was her only hope. She had thought about it herself, but she was too tired and focused on surviving in prison, so she could not think about it in too much depth.

It was still her first official day of been in prison, and a guard opened the door to inform her that she was allowed out for one hour to exercise. This terrified her - having to face psychopaths, with barely anybody there to help you. She knew that she might as well have faced it sooner or later.

Tammy left the cell, and walked over to a scruffy looking table, where nobody was. She did not want to sit near anybody, and she hoped that nobody would bother to notice her. A woman approached her, and she looked rather violent.

"What are you in for, then?" she said, taking a seat.

"Murder", Tammy quietly replied.

"So you're a lifer then?" the woman asked in a rather friendly tone of voice.

"I'm waiting for my trial yet", Tammy said, rather frightened.

"Oh, right", replied the woman. "Well, it's not as bad as you think here. They're alright - we're on the nice wing, even though it's full of murderers".

"Are they really alright?" asked Tammy.

"Well, you are, aren't you? And I am, and I killed someone!"

The woman then proceeded to ask Tammy about the circumstances of Scott's death, although she purposely failed to mention the fact that she was a police officer - if she did, she would probably die.

"She was a police officer", a voice said, in the background.

Tammy froze for a second. She had no idea who said that. Then, she looked across the room, and the penny dropped: Libby was in the same wing as her. Libby. She was a psychotic serial killer who Tammy had arrested a couple of months before.

"She was the one who got me arrested for the murders!" screamed Libby, "if it wasn't for her, then I wouldn't be here!"

"You what?!" screamed the seemingly nice woman who had conversed with Tammy.

"I don't know what she's talking about", cried Tammy, desperately, "she's crazy!"

"I'm not!" cried Libby, "I told you, Laura, about the one who had me arrested. Her name was Tammy Williams, who was a young woman!"

"She did", replied Laura.

Several large woman circled around Tammy. There was no hope for her. One of them jumped on her, and the rest followed. The rest was blank, but Tammy remembered been pulled out of the pile of women by one of the guards. She was then escorted to another quiet room, where she was left in there.

Later that day, at dinner time, Tammy was allowed out again, but she was allowed to eat separately from the others, given the circumstances. She could still see the women who attacked her through the bars, though, including Libby. Then, Libby made a surprising move: she approached Tammy.

"How've you been?" asked Libby.

"How do you think?" Tammy replied, "and why do you even want to talk to me?"

"Because I have nobody else to talk to. Deep down, I really admire you for what you did. I am now starting to realize that what I did was wrong. I've had time to think about it. I was...still am crazy. I appreciate the fact that you want to do good for the community".

"Well", Tammy begun, rather lost for words, "what you have to say does not really interest me right now, because I have other priorities".

"I was a vet, you know", said Libby. "Can't you see, Tammy? We are similar!"

"But I didn't kill anyone!" Tammy protested.

"That's what they all say", said Libby. "You did, really".

"Are you wearing a wire?" asked a suspicious Tammy.

"No", replied Libby, "and I'm not trying to get you to confess. The point is, we need each other in a place. Now that the truth about you has come out, you have no way of going back. You are going to be tortured. You will suffer for the rest of our life. It's happening to me, now. I don't want to come out of my cell because a big gang of them usually bully me. I hate my life so much and I would do anything to kill myself, but they have me on suicide watch. I can't cope in here, and the same thing will happen to you. So, why don't we just talk to each other about our problems, and we might get somewhere - who knows?"

What Libby said frightened Tammy - was this the end for her? Was she going to suffer non-stop?

"You got what you deserved", Tammy argued, "and you might then truly realize that what you did was wrong!"

Tammy then got up and returned to her cell, more determined than ever to get out of the place.

Coarse paid a visit to Tammy the following day. In the visiting room, a few of the women glared at her. She tried to ignore it, but it was no use. Coarse entered the room, and he told her about his news.

"It's early days, yet, Tammy", he said to her, trying to comfort her.

Tammy felt let down.

"But I want to get out of here now!" she cried helplessly, impatiently.

"I will get to the bottom of this!" he cried, determined to solve the murder before the end. "But there is one thing that you can do to help me - can you go through the entire night with me, remembering every single last detail?"

Tammy explained everything that she could remember about that night. Every detail was mentioned, including what had happened after the murder. It had gone through her mind several times before, so she did a good job of remembering everything.

After that, it was time to go. Coarse left the building, thinking through what Tammy had said. Just then, an idea came into his head - was this the moment of truth? Had he figured out the killer? It was doubtful, but perhaps one thing, one tiny thing, could solve the case.

Firstly, he needed to visit the police station. He quickly visited a few police officers downstairs to talk to them about a specific thing that they had witnessed on the night of the murder - it was minor, but important. Coarse then had a quick discussion with the rest of the team. He talked to Miranda first.

"Do you really think she did it?" asked Coarse.

"I think it's certainly possible", replied Miranda, grinning slightly. "Anyway, I did not really like Tammy that much, anyway, so I hope she gets sent down for life if she gets found guilty".

"And what about you...Pam?" he asked.

"I don't know", Pam replied, "I don't know what to think".

Coarse then went on to ask them one thing.

"Later, I would like to ask you to gather round, while I explain something to you. I just want to hear your thoughts".

"Why not now?" asked Pam.

"Later", Coarse replied, rather firmly.

He rushed out, thanking the police officers who had helped him identify something.

His final journey was to a woman's house. Coarse knew this woman from before, and he asked her if he could go into her bathroom, explaining everything. He then went into her bathroom, and found what he was looking for - he had solved the murder.

He rushed back to the police station to deliver the important news, carrying the evidence with him. He now knew without a doubt who the killer was, and he had evidence of that. He was ready to explain how and why the murderer did what they did.

"Ladies and gentlemen", begun Coarse.

Miranda was quick to interrupt. "Here we go, another one of Tammy's master revelations!" she said, jokingly.

"Please, hush!" he said seriously. "I am here to announce who the real killer of Barry Scott is. I missed it, and surprisingly, so did Tammy. I bet the thought had not crossed her mind, for once. Anyway, I am not going to make things tense. The murderer is in this very room. Isn't that right, Miranda?"

Everyone looked at Miranda.

"You must be mad!" she cried.

"No, I am not mad. In fact, you are the one who is mad, isn't that right?"

"Hang on a minute!" cried the boss.

"Allow me to explain everything", said Coarse. "Let's think back to the night of the murder, shall we? On the night of the murder, Miranda had asked Angela what perfume she was wearing. Angela replied with the name of her perfume. I have Angela's signature to prove that. Anyway, now that Miranda had Angela's perfume, all that she needed to do was mix Tammy's with it. Miranda knew what perfume Tammy used because she had previously asked her. Now, Miranda had mixed Angela's perfume with Tammy's behind Angela's back, while Angela was flirting with Barry, of course, and then Miranda also mixed Angela's perfume with Tammy's. When Angela approached Barry Scott and kissed him, her scent would travel on to him, yes? But then when he was murdered, the police would identify a certain smell. This was exactly the same smell as in Tammy's perfume bottle, which had been mixed with Angela's. This gave the police the impression that Tammy had been extremely close to Barry".

"I am so confused!" said Mitchell.

"Take one moment to think over what I had said, and it will become clear to you. Next, one of the murder weapons, a metal crowbar, was found in Tammy's car. Confusion was created because she had left her keys on a table for five minutes when she went to the toilet. However, nobody had left the table, although they had all seen the keys. Actually, Miranda had stolen Tammy's keys after the murder, when everyone was distracted staring at the body. Therefore, Miranda was able to make it look impossible that nobody else could take the keys from Tammy, but Tammy".