Cheating by Death - My Short Story Entry for #murdermystery contest by @shepz1

Captain Droward stood silent, facing Assistant Commisioner McGillar as he continued to speak about the Mahana case.

"Captain, I am giving you a chance to make a clean case of this. The City is OK with manslaughter. And the victim's family are good, well known, people who want this to end without prolonged drama. Are you clear about how to proceed?"

Captain Droward hesitated a few seconds before replying. "Sir, the daughter- Sumana, is sure that her brother could never have assaulted their father. And some of the wounds are post mortem. Also the time table is off by about an hour, if the ME is accurate- And more often, he is- the son- Mukhtar was still at the airport when his father was dying. Also.."

AC McGillar thumped his table in frustration. "Droward, I just explained to you the case And I have read the same reports as you have. There is no other suspect. The only person in the city who could have entered the flat without raising alarms was Mukhtar- Whom we have documentary evidence of being at the site. Who himself confessed to assault and accidental death of his father."

"But the wounds.."

"Droward he confessed to it. Why do you want to complicate this?"

"Mr. Mukhtar has no previous record of any assault or rage issues and according to the sister; he fought with his father all the time. It is suspicious why he would fly into such a rage and attack his father and accidentally push him off the 16th floor terrace."

"What do you think happened? Someone else killed him and is blackmailing Mukhtar into accepting the rap. He must have also planted the video evidence of Mukhtar entering the flat and then on the street, when the victim fell to his death."

Captain Droward chose to remain silent. There was no clear answer- yet.

"Captain either you give me an alternative line of questioning based on the evidence we have. Or you obey and follow my instructions to the letter."

"Sir, I think we need to investigate how his stomach came to be ripped out. "

"It is an anomaly but not sufficient to require follow up in the light of other facts."

"Sir, what about Sumana's statement."

"What about the psychiatrist who says Mukthar experienced hyper-emotional state of anger and anxiety."

Captain Droward sighed and after a few seconds of silence said. "Right Sir, I will wrap up the case ASAP."

Mukhtar Mahana was on anti anxiety medication since his arrest and spoke only in short slurred sentences, which his lawyer elaborated. The prosecutor filed for manslaughter and a six year imprisonment including the time he would have to spend in recuperative medical facility. All this was accomplished within a week of Mahana Senior falling to his death, largely due to the tacit pressure by the multi-millionaire Mahana family.

When Sumana went to the Kendall Secure Medical Facility she found Mukhtar alert and almost normal. She wanted to stay for a longer period but Mukhtar whispered a few words to her and virtually pushed her out of his room. She repeated the words in her mind as she walked back to her car.

If I would not have confessed we would have lost the insurance.

In her car she perused her father's $150 Million policy on her tablet. And finally it hit her- the company would not have paid them in only two cases - Act of God Disaster and Suicide. Her father's death was not a large scale disaster, so it had to be...

PICTURE CREDIT: PIXABAY.COM

CONTEST: https://steemit.com/murdermystery/@shepz1/free-style-murder-mystery-writing-contest-20-steem-prize