Chapter 6 The Suspects

An excerpt from The Titanium Mysteries Book 1: What Is She Doing Here?

Detectives Julian and Zelda were in their shared office. They were posting pictures on the big screen that took up one wall of the small office. The screen was of course a high powered computer built right into the wall. Their small portable computers could interact with it without any problem.

“Alright, Jule, today we are going to talk to Jessa more in depth about her relationship with Phillipe. Feeling up to it?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

They left their office. They took a hovercar to visit Jessa in her apartment. She was waiting for them to arrive. She let them in. They sat down on her couch.

“Have you found the murderer yet?”

Both detectives shook their heads.

“What’s taking so long?”

“We need you to answer a few more questions,” asked Zelda.

“Oh? Like what?”

“Describe your relationship with Phillipe.”

“Oh, we were definitely more than friends. You know more like friends with benefits.”

The detectives took notes.

“How long have you known him?” continued Zelda.

“For about a year now.”

“Did he ever give you the impression that he thought he was being watched or followed? Did he mention anyone threatening him?”

“No. No. Nothing at all. He was always very flirty and playful. Whenever we met, he was always ready for fun. He was never worried or anxious or anything like that. Just relaxed.”

“Did he ever give you any gifts?” asked Zelda.

“Yes, of course he did. He was always so generous. Not just with me, but with his other lovers as well.”

Julian raised an eyebrow.

Zelda went on. “Were you ever jealous of his other lovers?”

“No and he wasn’t jealous of mine either. We always got along.” She paused to look at both of the detectives. “Was there anything else?”

Zelda looked at Julian. She turned back to Jessa. “No, that’s all for now. If we have any more questions, we’ll contact you. Don’t leave the planet.”

“I won’t.”

Zelda and Julian left the apartment soon after. They got back into the hovercar they had parked on top of the building. Julian was driving.

“Now where to?” he asked.

“To Toni’s. He’s next on our list.”

“Then on to Zeta.”

“Yes.” Zelda smiled.

A few minutes later, he landed the hovercar on the roof of Toni’s apartment building. They got out and went to his apartment. Unlike Jessa, Toni was visibly upset. He had dark circles under his eyes.

“Just sit down in the living room. I’ll be right behind you.”

The detectives sat down on the couch. Toni sat down in his favorite chair. He sighed.

Julian asked, “Are you alright, sir?”

Toni shook his head. “My business partner and friend had just been murdered. Why would I be alright? I now have to run a business by myself.”

“That’s a lot to deal with at one time.”

“Yes, it certainly feels that way. I supposed you want me to talk more about the last time I saw him alive?”

“Sure, you can start there.”

“I remember he had a meeting with Zeta his ghostwriter that day. So, I let him be. She’s quite strange, but highly intelligent and beautiful. I’m sure you noticed.”

Julian smiled. “Go on.”

“I know how Phillipe is, I mean, was with women, so I left them alone. But I do remember him saying it was purely business with her. He said she hardly ever smiled. So, when I found him on the floor and she had gone, I didn’t know what to think. I called the police immediately.”

“It never pleasant to find someone dead, especially when they are murdered. How long have you known Phillipe?”

“We met in high school. We were both sent to a private school because our parents were rich and didn’t want to deal with us.”

Julian smiled.

“It wasn’t until we went on to college that we decided to go into business together.” Toni smiled. “We had some fun with our schemes back then. We were never sure we’d be as rich as we have been. But we certainly did have a lot of fun along the way.”

“Any fights or disagreements?” asked Julian.

“Oh, yeah, occasionally over the years. I suppose we all do from time to time. But we usually made up fairly quickly.”

“Anything lately?”

“No. But he was starting to get distracted. I wasn’t sure what was wrong. He refused to talk about it.”

“Oh?” asked Julian.

Zelda raised an eyebrow.

“I was worried, but knew better than to pry. There were times in the past when he would get like that and it had always blown over before. I guess I thought that would be the case this time, but it wasn’t.” He paused to sigh. “I hope you two can figure out.”

“We will,” said Julian. He looked to Zelda. He looked back at Toni. “That will be all for now. If we need anything more, we’ll let you know. Please don’t leave the planet.”

“I won’t be going anywhere. I have a business to run.”

The detectives left. Julian flew the hovercar away.

“Now is it time for Zeta?”

“No. We don’t have an appointment with her today.”

“Why not?”

“She has a doctor’s appointment. She said it was just a routine check up, but she couldn’t cancel at the last minute.”

“Oh.”

“We’ll talk to her another day.”

“Okay.”

Zelda studied Julian’s face. It was clear to her that he wanted to see Zeta again and under better circumstances.