Status: This story is a part of the Build a Story by Water Elephant.
Death on White Oak Road
Mistake
"My father has never looked so peaceful," Evelyn stated after the funeral service.
Evelyn, Alex, her friends, and her father's friends worked hard to pull off Steve Hunter's funeral. It was non-stop working. Evelyn coordinated people this way and that way. At times, she was terribly confused of who was doing what. Alex assisted with moving things from different places to the funeral home and Evelyn's house. Everyone else ran small tasks that had to be done. On the day of the funeral, Evelyn had gotten almost no sleep and she almost went to the funeral half dressed.
After the funeral, all most of everyone headed to Evelyn's house for the repast. As she was weaving through people, Evelyn seen that everyone was eat, talking, and enjoying themselves. A smile appeared on her face.
When the repast was over, everyone left except Alex and Evelyn's neighbor. Ms. Cho was a fun loving gardener. She owned the house with the beautiful flower garden and always kept it that way. She never cared for gossip and most of the time avoided people who loved to gossip about other. Ms. Cho's face sagged slightly, but it was full of youth. From her face, you could tell that she had been through ups and downs, happiness and disappointment, and successes and failures.
Evelyn and Alex sat down on the couch together. Evelyn sat carefully so she would not ruin her elegant, black dress. In his traditional black suit, Alex also tried not to mess up her dress. Ms. Cho, in her black and white stripped dress, sat down in a chair across from the couch. Ms. Cho looked at a picture of Evelyn and Steve Hunter.
"Your father was a good man," Ms. Cho said, "He had so much to live for. That damned fool had to get even. That damn Charles Walters."
"Ms. Cho...," Evelyn started.
"He did so much for this community," Ms. Cho interrupted, "Parks for the energetic kids, daycare for the busy parents, foster homes for the elderly who cannot be home alone. So much!"
"Ms. Cho," Alex said, only raising his voice slightly, "Could you please calm down?"
"IT IS JUST NOT FAIR!" she screamed. She pointed to her ring on left hand, "MY FIANCE IS DEAD! I LOVED THAT MAN!
Ms. Cho started to cry hysterically. Evelyn was quick to comfort her.
"Ms. Cho, I am sorry for your loss," Evelyn said, "Daddy will be truly missed."
Ms. Cho seem to stop crying. She started to head towards the door. "I better get heading home. Could someone walk with me... just like Steve used to."
"Ok, Ms. Cho."
"I got it Evelyn," Alex announced, "You could start cleaning up and come back after."
Evelyn nodded her head. Ms. Cho and Alex left Evelyn's home. The intersection of White Oak Road and 13th Street was empty. The birds did not chirp and mosquitoes were not present. There were no kids out and the adults stayed inside. As they approached Ms. Cho's steps, Ms. Cho turned to Alex.
"Thank you, Alex," Ms. Cho thanked, "A good walk was what I needed."
"No, problem Ms. Cho,'" Alex said as he walked away, "I guess I will see you later."
"Before you go, detective, there is something odd about Evelyn."
Alex stopped in his tracks. "Evelyn?"
"She hasn't cried much about the death of her own father. I did more crying than she did. Don't you find that rather odd?"
"It does when I think about it. Evelyn said something odd on the day of Charles Walters trial."
Ms. Cho started to stare at Detective Alex sternly. "Detective Alex, this case is NOT solved. Either the wrong man was punished for a crime that he did not commit or their were more accomplices to this crime. And Evelyn know something else. I can guarantee it."
"I thought the exact same thing when I first meet her. Thank you Ms. Cho."
Alex walked back to Evelyn's house. He thought really hard about the conversation that he had with Ms. Cho and Evelyn when they were at the trial. He thought about the worst case scenario, but he could not even fathom it. Some how, Justice was not served to the people who helped kill Steve Hunter.
Alex arrived and called Evelyn's name a couple of times without any answer. He checked the family rooo, dining room, and kitchen before going to her bedroom. Alex knocked on the door a couple of times to see if she was in there. Then, the door opened all of a sudden. Alex entered the dark room and turned on the lights. The light revealed the mess that her room was. There were papers everywhere and her bed was not made up. Alex thought that he could at least clean up her room for her.
He made up her bed first and then went to put up the papers. He could not resist reading some of the papers. Most of them were from Evelyn's friends and a couple were from her father. The last paper he picked up, he glanced at the paper, but something caught his eye. He read it thoroughly and dropped the paper.
"It can't... can't..." Alex stammered.
" 'It can't ' what?"
Alex spun around to find Evelyn in the doorway.
"Your first and last mistake, detective."
He would not believe what his mind wanted him to believe. He could not bear it.
Evelyn, Alex, her friends, and her father's friends worked hard to pull off Steve Hunter's funeral. It was non-stop working. Evelyn coordinated people this way and that way. At times, she was terribly confused of who was doing what. Alex assisted with moving things from different places to the funeral home and Evelyn's house. Everyone else ran small tasks that had to be done. On the day of the funeral, Evelyn had gotten almost no sleep and she almost went to the funeral half dressed.
After the funeral, all most of everyone headed to Evelyn's house for the repast. As she was weaving through people, Evelyn seen that everyone was eat, talking, and enjoying themselves. A smile appeared on her face.
When the repast was over, everyone left except Alex and Evelyn's neighbor. Ms. Cho was a fun loving gardener. She owned the house with the beautiful flower garden and always kept it that way. She never cared for gossip and most of the time avoided people who loved to gossip about other. Ms. Cho's face sagged slightly, but it was full of youth. From her face, you could tell that she had been through ups and downs, happiness and disappointment, and successes and failures.
Evelyn and Alex sat down on the couch together. Evelyn sat carefully so she would not ruin her elegant, black dress. In his traditional black suit, Alex also tried not to mess up her dress. Ms. Cho, in her black and white stripped dress, sat down in a chair across from the couch. Ms. Cho looked at a picture of Evelyn and Steve Hunter.
"Your father was a good man," Ms. Cho said, "He had so much to live for. That damned fool had to get even. That damn Charles Walters."
"Ms. Cho...," Evelyn started.
"He did so much for this community," Ms. Cho interrupted, "Parks for the energetic kids, daycare for the busy parents, foster homes for the elderly who cannot be home alone. So much!"
"Ms. Cho," Alex said, only raising his voice slightly, "Could you please calm down?"
"IT IS JUST NOT FAIR!" she screamed. She pointed to her ring on left hand, "MY FIANCE IS DEAD! I LOVED THAT MAN!
Ms. Cho started to cry hysterically. Evelyn was quick to comfort her.
"Ms. Cho, I am sorry for your loss," Evelyn said, "Daddy will be truly missed."
Ms. Cho seem to stop crying. She started to head towards the door. "I better get heading home. Could someone walk with me... just like Steve used to."
"Ok, Ms. Cho."
"I got it Evelyn," Alex announced, "You could start cleaning up and come back after."
Evelyn nodded her head. Ms. Cho and Alex left Evelyn's home. The intersection of White Oak Road and 13th Street was empty. The birds did not chirp and mosquitoes were not present. There were no kids out and the adults stayed inside. As they approached Ms. Cho's steps, Ms. Cho turned to Alex.
"Thank you, Alex," Ms. Cho thanked, "A good walk was what I needed."
"No, problem Ms. Cho,'" Alex said as he walked away, "I guess I will see you later."
"Before you go, detective, there is something odd about Evelyn."
Alex stopped in his tracks. "Evelyn?"
"She hasn't cried much about the death of her own father. I did more crying than she did. Don't you find that rather odd?"
"It does when I think about it. Evelyn said something odd on the day of Charles Walters trial."
Ms. Cho started to stare at Detective Alex sternly. "Detective Alex, this case is NOT solved. Either the wrong man was punished for a crime that he did not commit or their were more accomplices to this crime. And Evelyn know something else. I can guarantee it."
"I thought the exact same thing when I first meet her. Thank you Ms. Cho."
Alex walked back to Evelyn's house. He thought really hard about the conversation that he had with Ms. Cho and Evelyn when they were at the trial. He thought about the worst case scenario, but he could not even fathom it. Some how, Justice was not served to the people who helped kill Steve Hunter.
Alex arrived and called Evelyn's name a couple of times without any answer. He checked the family rooo, dining room, and kitchen before going to her bedroom. Alex knocked on the door a couple of times to see if she was in there. Then, the door opened all of a sudden. Alex entered the dark room and turned on the lights. The light revealed the mess that her room was. There were papers everywhere and her bed was not made up. Alex thought that he could at least clean up her room for her.
He made up her bed first and then went to put up the papers. He could not resist reading some of the papers. Most of them were from Evelyn's friends and a couple were from her father. The last paper he picked up, he glanced at the paper, but something caught his eye. He read it thoroughly and dropped the paper.
"It can't... can't..." Alex stammered.
" 'It can't ' what?"
Alex spun around to find Evelyn in the doorway.
"Your first and last mistake, detective."
He would not believe what his mind wanted him to believe. He could not bear it.