Death at Springfield.

Chapter-4

In the sinister silence that ensued Aariz' declaration, I looked closely at the four faces in front of me. They all looked genuinely stunned.

At that moment, Mary came in to call us for lunch. The Inspector and Sergeant took their leave.

Aariz and I went out to the garden for some fresh air after the meal.

'So, who do you suspect, Aariz?' I said as we wandered around the beautiful garden.

'It is impossible to say just now, Haris.' Aariz replied. 'We don't have any evidence.'

'I don't understand, why would Mr Rigel's own family want to kill him?' I said.

'Motive!' Aariz exclaimed, turning to me. 'Every single one of them has a perfect motive, my boy.'

'Really?' I said, puzzled.

'Yes. Take Daniel first. He wanted to marry a girl of whom his father disapproved. He also threatened to disinherit him. So, if Daniel kills his father, he won't face any barriers in marrying the girl and he would not be disowned.'

'Do you really think he did it?'

'I'm not thinking anything. I'm just stating the facts.'

I nodded and he continued.

'Let's consider Dawid. He is in need of money. He asks his father for some who refuses. Remember-Dawid got the largest share according to his father's will. Maybe he knew this before his father died. He gets in to a fight with his father. The money he would inherit is in danger. What if his father disinherited him? He is already short of money. Killing his father would be the best solution for him.'

'What about Ariana?'

'She can have the same motive as her husband. She is very devoted to him.'

'Maybe,' I said, 'she was influenced by Dawid to drive the knife through his father for him.'

'The knife.' Aariz murmured. 'There is something wrong with it.'

I was confused. Nothing 'wrong' seemed to occur to me as far as the knife was concerned. I chose to ignore the comment and said, 'Surely Sarah cannot have any motive.'

'You can't be so sure. She is purely capable of killing someone. Perhaps she had a dispute with her father before today.'

But my mind wouldn't consider Sarah as a murderer. She seemed too innocent and ladylike to do anything like that.

'Let's ask Mary if Miss Sarah visited her father recently.' Aariz said, turning and walking back to the house. I followed him to the kitchen where Mary was washing the dishes.

'Can I have a word with you, Mary?' Aariz said to her.

'Certainly, Sir.' Mary replied, wiping her hands on a towel.

'Did Miss Sarah come to her father for a visit recently?'

Mary's eyebrows drew together as she contemplated.

'Try to remember, Mary.' Aariz coaxed her on.

'Now that I think of it, Sir,' Mary began uncertainly, 'Miss Sarah did come for a visit to her father. I remember Zachariah telling me. It was last year when he used to work here in the garden before the doctor-' She stopped abruptly.

'Zachariah?' Aariz said questioningly.

'He was my son. He's dead now.' Mary said with a tremor in her voice. It must've been painful to talk of her dead son. 'He had a hole in his heart and needed surgery. But I didn't have enough money.' She looked bitter for a moment and then recovered.