Just as he started to choke on his own blood, Samson expected the worst, knowing the end was near. He made futile attempts at screaming for help as he felt paralyzed. Within seconds, his life flashed before him.

Samson remembered his father’s death and how the event changed his life. Following Paul’s death, Samson had come to believe that he was very lucky, that nothing would go against him. Over the years, the universe backed his belief as he lived his life without facing any reality check. Samson rode on his luck and often acted without caring about consequences, and he never had to worry about it. His life was simply perfect.

For the first time in his life, Samson was truly scared, lying next to his new wife. He wondered how he got to point of being poisoned as he began to struggle for air. He wished for a second chance; another chance to do things better, to make better use of the opportunities he’d been afforded all his life. At exactly 4:15 am, Samson gave his last breath.

Jannice couldn’t believe her luck. She had become a widow less than 24 hours into her marriage. The police were already present, along with some medical consultant, who were of the opinion that Samson had been poisoned. The police took pictures of the room and wrapped up some items from the room as potential evidence.

Jannice was in the comfort of her mum when Inspector David approached her for some light questioning.

Just in his mid-thirties, Inspector David had a physique that would deceive others into believing he was at least 10 years older. Tall and stout, David James would have passed for a weight lifter or a male model but for his bulging belly.

Inspector David is a scrupulous observer who pays attention to the tiniest of details. He once solved a break-in case in just a minute after reaching the crime scene.

John, a cooperative savings collector went to the police to report a break-in in his apartment, where a huge amount of money had been stolen. When the police got to his apartment, they noticed that the window was broken, and there was a total mess inside. However, Inspector David arrested John almost immediately for fraud as he believed that the crime was staged. Apparently, Inspector David was the only one who noticed that the glass from the broken window was all outside the house, instead of inside, thus disproving Johns’ claim that there was a break-in from outside.

As Inspector David approached Jannice, he cleared his throat. “Accept my condolences ma’am”, he declared, bringing out a small notepad from inside his jacket.

“Please can you run me by what happened?”, he added.

“Sure”, Jannice responded as she sniffed softly in evidence that she had been in tears.

“We arrived here at around 8pm. James drove. Then we had dinner, since we were both starving. After…”

“Where did the food come from, and did you eat together?”, Inspector David cuts in.

“The food came from the wedding reception. Mother packed it for us, and yh, we ate together. We fed each other. It was a mess.” Jannice added, trying to smile when she remembered having dinner with Samson. Instead, tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes with the handkerchief in her hand, took a deep breath and continued.

“After dinner, we both went to have a shower. Samson returned to the room immediately afterwards, while I remained to change into a… a night dress. I returned to the room, and we only made out for a couple of minutes when Sam had an asthma attack. We checked through our things but couldn’t find his inhaler even though I could have sworn that I kept one in my bag”

“Has that ever happened before? Did he ever have an attack while making out?”, David queried.

“No. Never.”, Jannice responded.

“What about allergies? Did he have any?” David asked.

“Yes. Pollen grains always made him choke. He suffered attack twice when we once went hiking.”, Jannice explained.

“Is that what he was wearing when he had the attack?”, David asked, pointing at Samson’s body that was now being moved.

“Yes, it is” she replied.

“What about you? Is this the dress you wore when it happened?” David queried.

“No. I had to change when I went to find him an inhaler. I was wearing this.” Jannice said, handing over a red satin lingerie.

Inspector David examined the dress closely, then jotted something down. He then asked Jannice if he could hold on to it for a while for better examination, and she consented.

“Is there anyone who had reasons to harm your husband or one he had a recent spat with?”, David queried.

Jannice took a while to process the question. Samson was quite lovable and rarely got into fights, so it was a difficult question to answer. However, about a week before the wedding, Samson had a spat with James, his best friend who left Samson with a black eye. When Jannice asked what they had quarreled about, all Samson told her was that it was a simple misunderstanding. Even though she wasn’t satisfied with the response, she decided to drop the matter when she saw both Samson and James later that day, acting like brothers again.

In the end, Jannice told Inspector David about the fight before he left.

Jannice returned to her parents’ house after her mum insisted that she stayed with them. Jannices’ mind hovered around the possibility that her husband had been poisoned. ‘Who would poison Samson?’ she wondered.

James was invited by the police for questioning, and he obliged.

David isn’t one to beat around the bush, so he asked James what the fight was about.

“It was nothing…just a fight over a football argument”, James explained.

“Mr. James”, David called, looking unimpressed. “I have a not-so-strong friend who I always argue football with. You see, he’s a Madrid fan, and I’m team Barcelona. Some of our arguments over team selection or player abilities would go on for hours, but not once did either of us barge into the others’ house to give them a beating over one of such arguments.” David said as he strolled over to sit on a table in front of James.

“And as I’ve come to understand, you and Samson are more than ‘not-so-strong’ friends. Some would even call you brothers. So cut me the football crap and tell me what went down between you guys, cos in case you haven’t noticed, you’re a prime suspect for his murder. So in your best interest, tell me what really happened and we’ll see how innocent you are”, David added.

James panicked. He looked into Inspector David’s eyes and was terrified by the sheer sternness he saw.

“Alright”, James yielded.

“I attacked Samson when I found out that he had an affair with my girlfriend, Susan less than two weeks before the wedding, and few days before she died in a car accident. I found out about the affair after her death, when I checked through her phone and listened to one of her recorded calls which sounded like she was blackmailing Samson.

Naturally, I got mad that he betrayed me, and I paid him a visit to give him a piece of my mind, but that was it. We met later that day, and we were cool. Jannice was there. She later came around; you can ask her.” James confessed.

“How close were Jannice and Susan?”, David asked

“Very close. They were best friends. I met Susan through Jannice after she and Samson started seeing each other back in school.”, James responded.

“Did Jannice find out about the affair?”, David queried.

“No. I don’t think so. Samson asked me not to tell her. Moreover, their big fight happened before the affair”, James said.

“What big fight?”, David asked, looking interested.

“Samson and Jannice. They had a big fight before the wedding. It was so huge that the wedding was almost called off. I bet she didn’t tell you that huh.”, James explained as he examined the bemused look on David’s face.

“Jannice is not who you think she is. That girl is crazy!”, he added.



To be continued…