The evidence is unusually strong.”
Chen was silent on the other end. “Send it,” he said finally. “I’ll look it over.
Thank you. I’ll await the documents.”
Okonnell hung up. Now all that remained was waiting—waiting for the wheels of justice to begin grinding slowly but inevitably.
Meanwhile, Chloe Jefferson sat in her small rental room in Charlotte on an old sofa, looking out the window. A fine autumn rain was drizzling outside. The drops ran down the glass and merged into winding rivulets.
She still couldn’t believe it. Everything seemed like a dream. Two days ago, she had been mopping floors in a hospital hallway, earning a small wage, counting pennies until the next payday.
And today her lawyer, Okonnell, had informed her that she was the heir to a massive fortune. Chloe was not happy. She was afraid.
The enormous sum felt not like a gift but like an undeserved burden, a magnet for evil. She knew Evelyn’s husband wouldn’t leave her alone. He would come.
He would search. And what then? Her phone vibrated.
Tiffany Marorrow. “Miss Jefferson. How are you doing?”
“Pretty good.
I’m at home. It’s quiet here.”
“Excellent. Don’t go out unnecessarily.
Garrett has already begun searching. We are monitoring his activities. He doesn’t know where you are yet, but be careful.
Stay in the shadows.”
“All right. I understand.”
“One more thing. Soon the district attorney will want to call you for a statement about what you saw in the hospital—what Miss Vance said.
Be ready. Your testimony is crucial.”
“I’m ready. I promised her.
I’m not afraid of testifying. Just… of him.”
“Very good. Hang in there.”
Chloe hung up.
She remembered Evelyn Vance’s face—pale but with a clear, firm gaze. She remembered her last words. “See this poisoning through to the end.
So he goes to prison.”
She would see it through. Whatever happened. Because Evelyn had given her a chance.
The chance for a different life. And Chloe wouldn’t disappoint her. The revenge wasn’t hers, but the justice she owed Evelyn was her new purpose in life.
Dusk was breaking outside. Somewhere in another city, Paul Garrett was gathering information, making plans, preparing to strike. And here, in the quiet room, the girl who was nobody yesterday was preparing for her defense.
The game had begun, and the stakes were too high to lose. District Attorney David Chen sat in his office at the homicide division headquarters, studying the documents submitted by attorney Okonnell. The folder was thick—medical reports, toxicological analyses from two independent labs, excerpts from the medical history, the personal diary of the deceased, Evelyn Vance, in which she recorded her symptoms by date.
Chen was an experienced prosecutor with a reputation for being meticulous and incorruptible. He didn’t like sensational cases, but when he took one on, he saw it through. Now he was reading the toxicology report for the third time.
Everything added up. Traces of a drug used in palliative medicine to alleviate the suffering of the terminally ill were found in Miss Vance’s blood. In high doses, it was fatal.
The substance was rare, strictly prescription-only. Miss Vance did not have an oncological illness. Where did it come from?
Chen picked up the phone and called Okonnell. “Mr. Okonnell, I received the documents.
One question: were there any reasons for Miss Vance to take this medication?”
“None,” Okonnell said. “Her treating physician confirmed he had not prescribed anything of the sort. Furthermore, Evelyn Vance herself became suspicious and secretly submitted samples to an external lab.
The results will shock you, but they are credible.”
“I see. Who had access to her food and medication?”
“Primarily the husband, Paul Garrett. They lived together.
He prepared her tea, brought her pills. The housekeeper came three times a week, but has been under observation for 20 years. Absolutely trustworthy.
The other contacts were episodic. The husband’s motive is the inheritance. Miss Vance owned a chain of hospitals, commercial properties, and large accounts, all acquired before the marriage.
She had no children. Had she died without a will, Garrett would have inherited everything as the sole legal heir. But she left a will, one day before her death, in favor of an external person—the cleaning lady, Chloe Jefferson.
Garrett was left destitute. That was Evelyn’s final move.”
“Interesting,” Chen murmured. “So he had motive, means, and opportunity.
The classic triad.”
“Exactly. Furthermore, there is a witness. Chloe Jefferson heard Miss Vance tell me about her suspicion.
She is ready to testify. She is now in a safe location. Garrett is actively looking for her, trying to intimidate her, to force her to renounce the inheritance.
I fear for her life.”
Chen frowned. “Good. I am opening an investigation into suspicion of homicide under the first-degree murder statute.
I will order the exhumation and a new forensic medical examination. If the poisoning is confirmed, Garrett will face a high sentence.”
“Thank you, Mr. Chen.
I knew you were the right person for this case.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just doing my job.”
Chen hung up and began drafting the order to open the investigation. Tedious work lay ahead, but he liked such cases—when everything fit together into a clear picture, when the perpetrator believed they had escaped retribution and then realized the net was closing in.
Two days later, the district attorney received court approval for the exhumation of Evelyn Vance’s body. The procedure took place privately. Samples were sent for examination to a leading forensic center in Quantico, Virginia.
While the experts worked, Chen began collecting circumstantial evidence. He instructed his assistants to analyze the surveillance camera footage from pharmacies in the area where Miss Vance lived. The task was simple: to find out if Garrett had purchased the drug in question.
The result came after one week. In a recording from one of the private pharmacies, Paul Garrett was clearly visible. He approached the counter, spoke with the pharmacist, gave money, and received a package.
The date was 2 months before Miss Vance’s death. Chen called the pharmacist in for questioning—a nervous, frightened woman in her 50s. “Do you remember this man?” the district attorney asked, showing a photo of Garrett.
“Yes, yes, I remember. He came several times. He bought the palliative therapy medication.
He said his mother had cancer. The doctors had allowed him to administer it at home so she wouldn’t suffer.” The pharmacist lowered her gaze. The lie was clearly painful for her.
“Did you have a prescription?” Chen asked. The pharmacist turned pale. “No.
He said he lost the prescription. He offered to pay more. I agreed.
I needed the money. It was a mistake. I know.”
“How often did he buy it?”
“Four or five times.
I don’t know exactly.”
Chen nodded. “Do you realize that you violated the law? The sale of prescription drugs without a prescription.
And if this drug was used to kill someone, you are an accessory.”
The woman wept. “I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”
“Write a statement.
Admit it voluntarily. That will mitigate your guilt. But you will have to testify in court.”
She nodded, wiping away her tears.
Chen dictated the protocol to her. She signed. Another thread leading to Garrett was documented.
Simultaneously, private investigator Roy Singleton conducted his own investigation. He requested all surveillance camera footage from the hospital where Miss Vance had been admitted. He examined who went into her room, when, and for how long.
Paul Garrett was regularly seen bringing fruit and flowers, sitting by the bed. On the cameras, he looked like a model husband. But one day, Singleton noticed a detail.
Garrett entered the room with a thermos. He stayed for 10 minutes. He left without the thermos.
An hour later, the nurse came to collect the dishes. The thermos was empty. Singleton requested the medical records.
On that day, Miss Vance’s condition had deteriorated rapidly: nausea, weakness, confusion. The doctors had blamed it on the progression of the illness. The detective found the nurse and conducted an unofficial interview.
“Do you remember the day Garrett brought his wife tea in a thermos?”
“Yes, I remember. Miss Vance drank a little and then said the tea tasted bitter. I thought the infusion was too strong.”
“And what did Garrett say?”
“Nothing.
He smiled and said she had always been picky. He seemed unperturbed.”
Singleton noted the statement. Another building block for the indictment.
It showed the perpetrator’s method and cold-bloodedness. In parallel, he tracked Garrett’s actions after the will was announced. Paul had hired people—two strong men from a private security company.
They scoured the city, questioning Chloe’s former colleagues, neighbors, acquaintances. They were desperately searching for her whereabouts. Singleton reported to Okonnell.
“Garrett has become active. His men have already found out that Chloe rented a room on the outskirts of the city. They questioned the landlady.
She said
