Must Read: Before She Dies

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Before She Dies

Dennis recognized Vivian’s voice and his stomach churned. It was the same voice that had promised to marry him, it was the same voice he was always fond of hearing, it was the voice that always made him long to have Vivian in his arms, the voice of the lady he had once planned to spend the rest of his life with and it was a voice he now hated with passion and wished it was never in existence. Alfred who was looking at him observed what he was going through and held his wrist,
“Just pretend as if you haven’t known her.”

His voice became a whisper, “Take her as the Lovepeddler she already is.”

A smile flitted across Dennis’ cheeks and he dabbed his face with a handkerchief. In some seconds, Vivian opened the door. She became queasy and almost slumped when she looked from Alfred and saw Dennis standing beside him, but managed to pull herself together. She was wearing a black, lacy bikini and a bra that barely covered her firm, young breasts. A golden ring glittered on her nose and her fingernails and toenails were beautifully manicured. Her lips were painted with bright red lipstick and her long hair, pulled back in a chignon was grizzled. She looked absolutely magnificent. As she stared again at Alfred, then at Dennis, tiny beads of perspiration suddenly gathered on her forehead. That was the first time she was setting her eyes on Dennis since they broke up. She tried to smile but failed, tried again and ended up gritting her teeth. Alfred stood expressionless and took out his ID from his pocket. He showed her, “Detectives from CCU. We need some minutes of your time.”

Vivian didn’t respond. She stood for a while before she turned and moved into the sitting room. They followed her and Dennis closed the door behind them. She sat and crossed one leg over the other, her lovely laps dazzling Alfred when he stole a glance at them as he approached a seat. He swallowed hard, walked over and sat on the adjacent two-seater sofa.

He shoved up and Dennis sat beside him.



Vivian’s eyes were on the floor. Dennis nudged Alfred and Alfred said, “We’re investigating the murder of President Williams and her daughter.” He looked her in the eyes and made every effort not to get distracted by those tempting laps, “We’ve_”
Vivian looked up at him, tensed, “What has that got to do with me?”
Alfred shifted forward, his calculative mind at work, “Someone connected to the murder has something that belongs to you and you’ve to tell us how it got to her and every other thing about her that we must know.”

Vivian felt her heart beating fast, “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she blustered, “you’re probably in the wrong apartment for I know nothing about the murder or anyone connected to the murder.”

Alfred smiled, “No you’re wrong,” he said slowly, “we’re in the right apartment.” He regarded her, “Have you ever heard of the name, Lucia Brime?”
Vivian was silent for some seconds, contemplating whether to admit or not.

She scratched a finger on her cheek, made up her mind and said, “I used to know her.”

Alfred looked amazed, “Used to know her?”
She nodded, “Since her boyfriend, Hillary, made her quit prostitution, I’ve not set my eyes on her.”

Alfred thought for a moment, “How did your diamond necklace get to her?”
Vivian interlocked her fingers, uncrossed her legs and placed her palms on her knees. Her hands began to shake slightly and she noticed her legs were about doing the same, but she pressed her knees together and kept them still. The detectives took note of that. She pressed her palms together to keep her hands from shaking and said, “Lucia was my good and close friend when she was still in the business. She always bought me gifts and made sure I lacked nothing. In fact, she was like an elder sister to me. When she celebrated her birthday last year, I hadn’t enough money to buy her a present,” she looked at Dennis, met his eyes and quickly turned to Alfred, “so I decided to give her my necklace.”

Alfred thought for a while, relaxed back and said, “Are you aware your friend was a murderer?”
Vivian looked down and shook her head, “You’re certainly mistaking; she’s not a murderer.” Her voice was firm, “When she was still in the business, she was nice to all of us.

You’re making a mistake. Lucia couldn’t hurt a fly. She_”
Alfred interrupted, “Where’s your friend at the moment?”
She looked up and dropped her gaze, “I don’t know. She left no contact. I have been trying to reach her since she left but to no avail. Even her phone hasn’t gone through since then.”

Alfred frowned. He knew she told the truth.

He looked at Dennis and saw he had the same belief. They stood and left the apartment, disappointed.