The Demise of Mayor Frye

Chapter 5: The Party Investigation

He'd never seen so many grieving and depressed individuals in the same place. There was his father Robert, his wife Demi, his little daughter Chloe, his brother Lewis, his sister Chelsea, his older cousin Joe, his younger cousin George, Lewis' wife Leticia, and one of their neighbors. Detective Stone had tried to gather all the people who were present at the party, but Charles Cunningham, another neighbor of him, couldn't make it. He'd left Irongate for the capital, Rosegulf, as he was a political interpreter.

As they weren't in good shape to come to the precinct for the interview, they were now gathered in the house of the deceased. Detective Stone had set his camera on a tripod in the guest room, and the others were in the living room. One by one, he would call them to come in to talk if they were in the mood to.

The first one to come was Mr. Robert Frye. The detective believed that Mr. Frye, Sr. would be less difficult to interview as he was older and more experienced and that he wouldn't express his grief much. When he came into the room, Detective Stone stood up for him as a sign of respect. Not only was he at least a decade older than him, but he also was a former minister of the country. He sat on the sofa where the camera was pointing to, while the detective sat on the bed in front, right behind the camera.

"Hello, Mr. Frye," Detective Stone said, almost quietly, in a sad tone. "My condolences for your loss."

Mr. Frye nodded his head, whispering "thanks" at the same time. There were apparent signs of weakness in his face, though he tried his best not to show them.

"Mr. Frye, I realize it's unexplainably difficult for you to be here or have a conversation with me, but it's necessary for us to investigate this case as soon as possible. So, if you don't mind, we'll start from the beginning."

"I understand," he whispered.

"Is there anyone else, besides Mr. Cunningham, who was present at the party but is not here right now?"

"No," there was a lump in his throat, but he was keeping himself emotionless.

"Perfect. So, now let's talk about the party itself. Have you been in touch with Emerson throughout the party?"

"Almost all the time," he paused. "Well," he took a deep breath, "except for when he was with George and Joe."

"Did he keep drinking while you two were talking?"

Mr. Frye nodded. "He always used to drink at parties," he added.

"And... can I ask you the topic of your talks?" Detective Stone was uncertain whether he would be willing to answer that or not. His whole sentence came out with a wavy tone, from quiet to loud and back to quiet again.

"I was giving him tips about his new job. Stuff like that," he then grabbed the bottle of water on the table. "Excuse me," he said, drinking a sip of water.

"If I now tell you that Emerson was poisoned, who would you think of as the potential person who could have given it to your son? We're not sure about the poison yet, by the way."

"Poison?" he said a little louder than his previous words. "It's not possible. No one in the house would do that. Focus your investigations somewhere else, Detective."

"Can I ask why you think this way?"

"Because I know my family better than you or anyone else."

"Mr. Frye, I have one last question for you, but before that, let me conclude one part of our conversation. You stated that your son, Mr. Emerson Frye, had spent almost all of his time at the party with you and his two cousins. Is that right?"

"Of course," he whispered, nodding.

"Right. And my last question. A little bit off-topic, though," the detective said. "Your previous driver, Mr. Gray, was he always... unworried? I mean, relaxed. Not showing any emotions or these."