Cherry Lipps - S01 E21

Story 2 years ago

Cherry Lipps - S01 E21

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 21

Craig arrived at the crime scene. Newspaper reporters with battery of cameras were waiting outside.

The darkness exploded with flash-lights as they photographed him stepping out of his Lamborghini.

The journalists rushed up to him, blasting out various Questions. A bunch of police officers hurried over, shielding him away from the cameras.

” Mr Craig. If you’d come this way,” one of the cops led him towards Scarlett’s flat.

Caption Benton was inside, staring at the bag of money on the floor. The room was crammed with detectives, forensic scientists and many other police men.

Craig marched up to him. ” Where’s he? Where’s my father?”

Benton turned around. ” He’s dead.”

” I know he’s dead. Where is he?” Craig demanded and there was a lump in his throat when he spoke.

Benton sighed then waved him over. ” Come with me.”

He led Craig to the kitchen where his father’s corpse laid in a black long bag with a zipper.

Craig staggered to the wall and gazed at his father in horror. The bullet hole on his forehead gave him goosebumps. His face was bloodless and drained of life. Craig had never seen anything like it in his life.

Some men in white coats came over and zipped the zipper up, shutting his father away from the world inside the bag.

Craig swallowed, watching them take his father away. Then he turned to Benton. ” Who…who could’ve done this?!”

Benton eyed him. ” Who else but Scarlett.”

” Scarlett?” Craig licked his dry lips. ” Scarlett did this?!”

Benton walked over to the sink and leaned on it. ” We believe she had a hand in the murder of your father.”

” That’s bullshít!” Craig yelled, balling his hands into fists. ” Scarlett would never do a thing like that!”

Benton regarded him closely. ” Was about asking you, Craig. This Scarlett Mason, she’s a well known figure. A pórnstar. Just wait until the papers know who she is. Do you know her?!”

Craig bite his lips. ” She’s my lover. Where’s she?!”

Benton Lowered his eyebrows. He was hoping Craig would deny her but it seemed Craig was very much interested in getting deeper into this shít.

” How did you meet her?” Benton asked, taking out a note. ” We wanna get all these straightened out, kid. It’s a mess. You can help me with this. So let’s have it.”

” She’s my mistress,” Craig said angrily. ” How I met her isn’t your business. I saw her on the p--n site, bought her and made her my mistress.”

Benton raised an eyebrow. ” Bought her? How much?”

” That’s none of your business!”

Benton took note. He scratched the back of his ear. ” Does your father knows of your secret affair with Scarlett?”

” He might’ve known all these while. He never confronted me,” Craig answered.

Benton made a sad face. ” I can’t say how sorry I am about the loss of your father, Craig. But we’ve got to help me straightened out this mess. I got too many irons in the fire. So relax, okay. Have a seat. There’s a lot concerning the murder of your father. Just cooperate with us. We wanna find the killer. That’s why we’re here.”

Craig saw an officer drawing out a chair for him to seat down. Craig took the chair and settled his weight on it. His hands were shaking and when his hands shakes, it means something wasn’t right with what’s going on around.

Benton took note of this particular body movement of Craig and tucked it at the back of his mind for future use.

” Where’s she?” Craig asked, staring fixedly at Benton.

” You don’t have to worry about her. She’s in HQ.” Benton said. He drew another chair and sat down. ” Let’s talk.”

Craig said nothing.

” To tell you the truth, Craig,” Benton said. ” We’ve been spying on you two. Don’t ask me why. I know it’s invasion of your privacy but that’s just it. After her store got burnt, we realized she was hiding something from us. So we followed her. Turns out she was keeping an affair with you. On the face of it, we were supposed to leave you two to alone and mind our business. But then we suspected Someone was after Scarlett. So I assigned two of my men to stick to her. Well, after you left for home, Scarlett was with your father. I don’t know if she was also having an affair with him as well but then my men heard gunshots and when they barged in, Scarlett was seen with a bag of money and your father lying dead with a gun by his side. Scarlett screams she had nothing to do with the gun but we’re kinda confused with the whole setup. My men claimed he saw someone ran into a nearby bush. It could be a person or a cat. No one knows. Then there was this Rolls Royce that started and raced out of the block. The whole crime is a mess but we kept Scarlett. As far as we know, she might be an alibi for the murder.”

Craig stared at him. He seemed a shade paler. ” My chaffeur, Quinn. Where is he?”

” That’s what I’m trying to say,” Benton said. ” He took off. My men are on the lookout for him. All airports, train stations, seaports have been alerted. He’s not going anywhere. I can assure you that. He has to give his testimony or else he’s also a suspect.”

” So what’s your question?” Craig asked.

” We wanna know everything about your affairs with Scarlett. Why is it a secret? You don’t have to look that way. You’re gonna still appear in court and give your testimony to the judge. This murder case revolves around everyone that’s had a thing to do with Scarlett.”

” So what you’re implying now is I’m a Scarlett, huh? You ever think I’ll want my father dead?!”

Benton saw the danger in that at once. It wouldn’t do him any good if the superintendent finds out he was making Craig uncomfortable with funny questions.

” I never called you a suspect, Craig. I just wanna get everything cleared out.”

Craig took in a deep breath. He laid everything out to Benton. He told him how he met Scarlett, he mentioned their private affairs and how he bought her. He also told him about Eddie and their little encounter.

Benton took note, saying nothing. By the time Craig was done, Benton had gotten the full story.

” That’s a pretty long story,” Benton said. ” All right Craig, we got our story from you. I’ll be heading back to HQ to hear Scarlett’s own side of the story.”

Craig’s hand was still shaking. ” I’m coming with you.”

Benton shook his head. ” Better save it, Craig. You’re still in shock. Go home and take a rest. I’ll speak to Scarlett. If in any case I got news for you, I’ll call you over.”

” I don’t believe it,” Craig said, getting to his feet. ” Scarlett would never do anything like that. Someone must’ve done it and framed her for it.”

Benton shrugged. ” It’s no use trying to defend her without a concrete evidence, Craig. I know you’re in love with her but it won’t do. Someone shot Larry Cage. It’s either Scarlett, or the invisible Man. This invisible Man is who we’re after but if we can’t find him, then Scarlett would take the murder rap.”

That was enough to tell Craig Scarlett may not survive. If his father’s company and associates press charges and no one came to clear Scarlett’s name, she’d end up in the electric chair.

” What about the gun?” Craig said sharply. ” Surely the gun’s got to have a finger print or something.”

Benton was walking out the door. ” Sure. We’re into that. I’ll give you a call when I get something.”

And Benton left.

He walked passed the crazy crowd of press journalists bombarding him with questions.

A black car pulled up beside him and he got in. ” Take me to HQ.”

It took a while before they arrived at HQ. Already, Benton’s mind was crowded with questions. He believed Craig’s story but then he felt really uncomfortable with the part where he brought Scarlett to stay in his father’s house as a maid.

It made absolutely no sense to him. Why bring a strange woman into your father’s house without your father’s knowledge? It got worse when Craig told him she acted as a maid.

Why make her a maid? What’s the essence of it all?

Coming out of the car, he ran upstairs to the interrogative room where Scarlett sat behind the glass partition room with nothing but handcuffs on her hands and a table before her.

Benton walked passed the men, snatching a nylon package from one of the cops outside and walked into the room. He pulled a chair and sat down before Scarlett.

Scarlett’s eyes were swollen from crying and her face showed her fears and defeat.

Benton thought she looked terrible. ” Hello, Scarlett. How are you feeling?”

Scarlett looked up at him as if his presence surprised her.

” It wasn’t me, captain. I didn’t do it. For God’s sake, don’t pin this on me.”

Benton hard eyes surveyed her. He pulled out the package, tore it’s seal opened and dropped the gun before Scarlett’s face.

” This, your gun?”

Scarlett feasted her eyes on the gun. ” I’ve never used a gun in my life. Trust me. This doesn’t belong to me.”

Benton took out a packet of cigarette from his pocket and lit one. He didn’t offer Scarlett one.

” Well, there’s a shocker I’ve got for you, Scarlett,” he blew smoke. ” Think you can take it?”

” What is it?”

” It’ll shock you,” Benton said, staring at her fixedly.

Scarlett licked her dry lips. ” I’m listening.”

Benton removed the cigarette and flickered ashes to the ground. ” Well, the gun belongs to you. It has your finger prints on it.”

Scarlett stiffened. She felt blood leave her face and her entire body ran with shocks that sent her crashing down.

She leaned back on her seat and spoke in a whisper. ” You’re lying.”

Benton brought out some papers and dropped them on the table. ” These are the receipts for the gun you bought. The fella who sold you the gun has some records about your sales. The gun has your serial number and all found. It also got your prints on it.”

” That’s a d--n fúcking lie!” Scarlett screamed at his face. ” I’ve never bought a gun. Get that motherfúcker gun vendor here. Bring him here. I’ll make the rat speak the truth. Bring him here!”

” He’s dead,” Benton said.

” Dead?” Scarlett cried.

” He got involved in a car crash a week ago,” Benton explain. ” He died at the spot but we were able to trace the gun to his store. Your records are all there.”

Scarlett couldn’t believe her ears. ” Benton, you gotta believe me. I got no idea what’s going on. Can’t you see someone out there is tryna frame me?”

Benton leaned forward, returning his cigarette back to his lips. ” Alright, if you say so. But then who is he?”

” How the hell would I know?!” Scarlett shouted. ” Someone was outside the door. He shot Larry Cage and tossed the gun in.”

” That’s all you saw? You didn’t see who shot him?”

” I don’t know.”

” If you don’t know who did it, then it would only mean you did it. Only you and Larry Cage was in the flat.”

Scarlett was terrified. ” How could you say that?! I’m innocent! Don’t you believe me?”

Benton smiled grimly.

” I’ll tell you what I believe. I didn’t think you did it,” he said. ” You don’t look like the kind to murder a man. However, I believe you might act as an alibi.”

” I ain’t an alibi!” Scarlett defended herself. ” Don’t make this complicated for me, captain. I don’t wanna end in the electric chair. I have a daughter. She’s all I’ve got. You have to help me. Please.”

Benton thought of his own daughter’s at home. He felt pity for Scarlett but there was nothing he could do for her.

Somehow, he felt she was innocent but there were too many evidence against her. Even the judges won’t believe her.

” Scarlett,” Benton took out his note. ” Tell me everything. From the beginning to the end. Don’t hide any details. What you make now might be helpful to you in court.”

Scarlett didn’t waste time. She told Him everything. Benton realized the story Craig gave him matched Scarlett’s perfectly.

” All right,” Benton said. ” This will do for now. I’ll talk to this guy, Eddie. Right now, we’re after Craig’s chaffeur. One of these two men did it. They’ll have to appear in court. The trail is gonna cause a lot of noise. Be prepared for anything.”

Scarlett stared frightenly at him. ” You’re gonna help me, are you?”

Benton rose to his feet. ” I don’t know, Scarlett. All I can say is say your prayers. You might need to involve God in this. That is if you ever believe there is a God.”

And he left her.

Stepping out of the room, Benton was greeted with a new news.

” Sir,” a female cop ran up to him. ” We just got a wire from of the seaport.”

” Let’s have it,” Benton said, throwing away his cigarette out the window. ” I ain’t got all night.”

The female cop spoke fast. ” A man got fished out ten minutes ago. He’s dead. The body’s been identified as Quinn, Craig Cage’s chaffeur.”

*

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At approximately nine in the morning, the restless crowds were finally led into the building of the court.

Craig came out of the limousine, surrounded by body guards. He walked undeterred through the Great Hall and two separate metal detectors, straight into the main courtroom.

Craig wore a dark coat and dark glasses. His face was screwed in tension. He wasn’t enthusiastic as the crowds. His mind focused on Scarlett and the trail today at court.

Reporters swarmed into the tiny press area on the side of the courtroom. Armed guards escorted him to the twelve rows of the benches in the center of the room, where the crowd all eagerly awaited the arrival of the Justices.

Craig was given the front seat. He was seated beside two of his father’s associates and company manager.

Everyone spoke in hushed whispers, which added a buzz of energy to the room.

Craig’s eyes searched for Scarlett. She hadn’t yet arrived. He watched the clock tick towards ten.

At exactly three minutes to ten, a buzzer sounded, summoning the Justices to the courtroom.

At exactly ten o’clock, the marshal banged his gravel, and every person in the room rose to his feet.

” The Honorable, the Chief justice and the Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States!” the marshal announced. Within seconds, the nine Justices strode through openings in the curtains and moved to their respective chairs.

The room faced the nine chairs of the Justices. As the Justices took their seats, the marshal announced, ” Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! All persons having business before the Honorable, the Supreme Court of the United States, are admonished to draw near and give their attention, for the court is now sitting. God save the United States and this Honorable Court!”

The gravel fell, and everyone took his seat.

Chief justice Hollis sat in the center seat. ” Today, we’ll be handling the murder case of late Steel billionaire, Larry Cage v. Scarlett Mason, ex pórnstar.”

The doors opened and Scarlett was brought in. She was stunned when she saw the packed court.

Craig turned in his seat and stared at her. A great change had come over her since the night of her arrest. She looked older and there was a wild, horrified expression in her eyes. She kept trembling as she walked.

She glanced around the court, caught Craig and shuddered. One look at him and she wasn’t sure what he thought about her.

His face was expressionless behind those dark glasses. She couldn’t read him.

As she gripped the dock rail, Craig felt a pang of sadness through his heart.

The trail started!

*

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To be Continued….

Author’s Note ✍️:

Scarlett is going to the electric chair??

A moment silence for our p.rnstar ??