Part2
The men left the station and began the walk towards the scene, and when they got there, they saw footprints. It was hard to discern which ones belonged to the murderer.
"I was told you knew where the victim worked?" Nithum asked, preparing to make a note about that.
"Yes, it was a Garment, United Fashions. But unfortunately, there are no records of her at the store that would've helped us to contact someone," Jayasuriya explained,
" They should have collected such details?"
Jayasuriya shrugged and threw his files to the ground in exasperation.
"They should have, but they told us this was our responsibility," he replied.
Nithum watched Jayasuriya grab the files from the ground and straighten them out.
"It isn't windy," he commented.
Jayasuriya shook his head.
"What?"
As Nithum started walking west, it became apparent that was the direction from which it was coming. They might find something of interest.
"The wind flows from here to there, and if someone dropped something right here, it would've blown that way," he explained, showing Jayasuriya what he was talking about, and Jayasuriya nodded.
"Let's see what we can make out of it."
Nithum gestured for Jayasuriya to follow him, and they soon came across a bus ticket, and Nithum examined it.
"We've never found something like this even if we spent a week here" Jayasuriya said.
"I'm glad that there haven't been any windstorms; otherwise, we would've never found this," Nithum said, his voice becoming more serious. "Chief Jayasuriya, I'm going to need a warrant for United Fashions, and the other officers need to provide details about anyone who might have seen the victim before her death."
Chief Jayasuriya's dark eyes locked with Nithum's, and they shook hands.
"Thank you."
Chief Jayasuriya nodded before making his way back to the station. This left Nithum to act as Sherlock Holmes, taking notes as he inspected the things around him.
A week later, a report came out with the following headline:
"The autopsy of the unidentified female revealed that an unknown suspect murdered her. Further details will be released soon."
Soon, a month had passed, and the police found a forty-year-old thief potentially suspected of murdering her and sentenced him to life in prison.
The following headline was released:
"The police have sentenced a forty-year-old thief to life in prison for first-degree murder of the victim."
Two days after reading the second article, Nithum went to the station, and as soon as he entered the building, the officers swarmed him. When Bandara saw Nithum, his eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?!"
Nithum pushed his way through the crowd, keeping his head down. He did not want to talk to him. However, he was out of luck. Bandara rushed after him as he walked to Chief Jayasuriya's office.
"Nithum, you should've stayed away. We caught the suspect." He bared his teeth.
But Nithum side-stepped Bandara, heading straight for Chief Jayasuriya. He was just coming out of his office. Jayasuriya spotted him right away and adopted a concerned expression.
"Chief Jayasuriya, you've got the wrong person in custody," Nithum said. Jayasuriya furrowed his eyebrow in confusion and scratched his head.
"I can’t do anything more. The case is now closed."
The two men went into Jayasuriya's office. Nithum went to the desk and glared at the man across from him.
The two men went into Jayasuriya’s office, and Jayasuriya sat down. Nithum stood in front of him and glared down at him.
"I’m telling you that the only thing the thief did was rob her. Someone else did the killing.”
Hearing the comment, Bandara entered the room with a scowl and turned to his superior. Chief Jayasuriya looked like he was nursing a headache dealing with Bandara. Bandara, ignoring this, scowled and gestured to Nithum.
"Sir, Mr. Wickrama needs to leave."
"Never mind that, Bandara," he dismissed before looking at Nithum. "If you know who the real murderer is, who is it?"
Nithum gave him a chilling look while raising his chin.
"The CEO of United Fashions, Martin Silva, also killed her unborn child."
Bandara glared at him and shook his fist in the younger man's face.
"You should check yourself before coming to a respected institution." He'd had enough of this kid.
Nithum stared back at Bandara, mouth agape.
"This is a respected institution?!"
"Of course…." his voice trailed off.
Nithum shook his head before throwing the file he had been carrying on Jayasuriya's desk. The contents spilled out so everyone could see what was inside. Jayasuriya started reading, his eyes widening in horror before going from the paper to Nithum and then Bandara standing up.
"That does it!" he exploded before grabbing Bandara.
"Sir, where are we going?" he asked, confused.
"You're going home, but as for the rest of us, that's none of your business," Jayasuriya replied coldly, pushing him out of the room.
But instead of leaving, Bandara stood outside the office, crossing his arms over his large, protruding belly.
"Why are you still following this kid? He is not proving anything. And what are those files?!" he exclaimed, looking disgusted.
Jayasuriya pinched his nose.
"It's the woman's autopsy report."
"What?" was all Bandara could say before he was pushed aside, and Nithum and Jayasuriya went to United Fashions. Their intent was to place the CEO, Martin Silva, under arrest.
Once they had him, they put him in handcuffs, but he was silent until they brought him into the interrogation room.
"Excuse me, gentlemen, but interrogating me without a warrant is against my rights!" Martin protested.
Nobody said anything since Martin had the city's respect. But in the meantime, Martin continued yelling about testing his patience. Martin then saw Jayasuriya.
"Chief Jayasuriya, this will be your last day here because my officers will throw you in jail!" he screamed, throwing things at everyone. Trying to break free from the handcuff.
A few officers, dodging the objects, held him down so he wouldn't cause further problems. This left Nithum to crouch in front of him while Jayasuriya silently observed Martin.
"So, you're not going to confess to the murder?" Nithum asked.
"No, I'm not because I haven't done anything!" Martin replied.
"You need to calm down."
"I'd be calm if you hadn't pulled me away from work!" Martin growled.
"I'm sorry," Nithum replied. "But we had to talk to you; the young lady did work for you, after all."
Martin ceased his struggles and lay there, motionless, before being helped back into his seat. Another officer pulled out a pen and paper, intent on continuing the questioning. He cleared his throat and asked, "What do you know about Saroja?"
"Who?" Martin asked, his eyebrow furrowed.
"The woman you killed," Nithum said in reply just as Bandara reentered the room to throw a piece of paper on Jayasuriya's desk.
"Nithum, you don't have the right to disrespect Mr. Silva, and Jayasuriya, you're making a mistake," he said, a triumphant look on his face.
However, Jayasuriya shook him off and gestured for a few officers to remove Bandara, causing him to shout in protest. The interrogation then resumed, but Mr. Silva refused to accept his guilt and stood up to glare at Jayasuriya.
"I shall go now."
Jayasuriya shook his head, causing Martin to pound his fists on the table.
"Chief Jayasuriya, you don't have any evidence, so I'll have my lawyer sue you."
"Actually, I do," Jayasuriya said, standing up. "Did you even know where the woman lived?"
Mr. Silva scoffed.
"She didn't have an address."
"Because you burned her home." Nithum said looking him in the eye.
The comment caused Martin to go into a fit of laughter.
"Our victim was a poor widow from Udukumbura who lived with her mother but had entered a relationship with a wealthy man," Nithum said, which made Martin scowl.
"What does that have to do with me?"
