Chapter 7 Adesua Ridley
Adesua Ridley
The moments before brunch were Adesua’s favorite part of the day.
But not today. Today, she sat in the tearoom, waiting for the investigators, while a breeze from the window caressed her cheek.
She beamed as she brushed her canvas with her paintbrush.
A variety of emotions flowed through her heart to her fingertips.
Adesua rarely ever left the estate. She’d just started to do so more recently with her newfound love, Joseph.
Adesua felt fear when she left without her siblings.
She always felt she needed her brothers Wei and Omar to escort her everywhere.
Adesua wasn’t like Amelia and Kavita in many ways.
Amelia would gallivant around the city, going to bookstores, exploring deep into the nature trails of their family’s property, and even flying with their brothers.
Kavita had been leaving the house at night since she was fifteen, and somehow would be back before school started.
Adesua sometimes felt like she didn’t know how to live life without the safety net of her family.
Deep in thought, her stomach grumbled as the smell of orange-cranberry muffins, eggs Benedict, and maple-chicken sausage roamed through the hallways.
It was now a quarter after nine, and none of them had eaten since before dinner yesterday.
How could they have an appetite, when the only thing that was served to them late last night was Dale’s cold dead body on the ground?
Mrs. Darla and Chef Laurent knew better than to cook her favorite breakfast when they were in the middle of an interrogation.
Diego and Omar tapped their feet impatiently, out of sync.
It was like they could feel their impatience.
The officers approached the door, motioning them to come back in, as this circus of unending questions wasn’t done.
Even the smell of breakfast didn’t budge them.
This drove her mad. What drove her madder still was how the insistent police officers hadn’t let up when Kavita had her outburst. Furthermore, she wondered how in the world Kavita was engaged and pregnant.
The fact that none of them had known bothered her.
Was this why Kavita felt she shouldn’t get married?
Because of this growing baby inside her womb?
Maybe Dale had found out and was ready to leak the story of her being unwed and pregnant.
Adesua’s head swayed with the never-ending thoughts.
Never mind that she had more problems on the rise as the investigators hammered down on poor Henrik.
“They say you and Kavita are glued at the hip. Maybe you tried to protect her from something, or maybe someone?”
Henrik couldn’t stop his plump cheeks from turning as maroon as the roses in the garden maze. Whether he was lying or telling the truth, his emotions showed all over him like a red balloon ready to pop. He picked at his nails, which were nearly nubs since he kept peeling them when he was nervous.
“Sir, me and my sister arrived here together when we were children, so with all due respect, yes, I am always with her. She’s home for me.
As protection goes, Kavita is the one to protect me.
I am sure you saw on Musings how she came to my all-boys school just to give each of them a piece of her mind when they weren’t being nice to me.
Kavita fights with words, and I am there by her side, just as she was for me. ”
He’d said his piece sure enough, and each of the investigators and cops started to soften somewhat.
Because, after all, they were truly poor children who’d been thrown into this.
Adesua knew how peculiar it was to everyone when they walked together to the Plaza for brunch.
The world didn’t know what to make of them.
So they were indeed each other’s homes and safe places.
They couldn’t argue with that even if they tried.
One thing she did know was that they couldn’t fully trust each other.
Dale had had something on each of them for a reason.
Now, Adesua, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.
She was quite literally the black sheep.
She and Omar both were, and they knew they had “special” treatment coming for them.
They would get blamed first simply based on the color of their skin.
Diego got away with everything just because his eyes were the perfect shade of green and he had a light-olive skin tone.
He was one of them no matter how curly his head of hair was. Henrik was just the same. This bothered Adesua to no end because what if they had done it? No one would ever suspect them. It angered Adesua that Amelia, Wei, and even Kavita got away with everything with a slap on the wrist.
When the officers came face-to-face with Adesua once again, she inhaled, trying to prevent an outburst. With perfect timing, Mrs. Darla knocked on the door, moving past the officers with a few maids behind her carrying plates of food for everyone.
“Now, I reckon no one here can think on an empty stomach,” she said as she shoved a plate of delectable food in one of the officer’s hands.
“Of course, I can’t forget my other babies. Omar, I got you two helpings of everything.” Mrs. Darla glided out of the foyer before the officers could say “thank you.”
It worked. Adesua could see the men diving into their plates like they hadn’t eaten in days. Mrs. Darla had always protected the siblings the best way she could. For her, that was through food, kindness, and love. One of the officers spoke with his mouth full of her brown sugar–cinnamon pancakes.
“Where were you during the hours Dale was last seen?” he asked Adesua. “A staff member said they saw you and Wei arguing before disappearing in the maze, where shortly after, Dale was found.”
Who from their staff was running their mouth?
She couldn’t believe it. Adesua always made sure to treat the staff with extreme care and kindness.
Even by helping with chores she didn’t have to do.
Now this was how they repaid her. She felt a gradual heat rise up the back of her neck.
Her tight dress wasn’t helping. Oh, how she couldn’t wait to rip the damn thing off and never wear it again.
“Officer, to answer your question, I was with my boyfriend, Joseph, most of the night. I then caught up with a donor for the ballet society I danced at. Then Wei and I did, in fact, run into some trouble with some uninvited guests, as mentioned before. Rest assured, I was getting my older brother to calm down by the maze away from everyone. As you see, the maze is a central place for guests and family alike to find peace and quiet.”
Adesua knew that was a lie, but it was important the narrative never change.
She wasn’t risking anything to make them look like suspects.
They all had the same alibi. The maze, the maze, it was just so peaceful and quiet, the maze.
She was sure the officers had had enough of hearing the word “maze.” She surely had, but that was the plan.
They hadn’t all murdered Dale. Or had he been murdered?
Adesua may have jumped to conclusions in her head.
A bloody champagne bottle could have ended up there in a variety of ways.
Clearly no one had been in their right mind.
The detective came in with Tom Smith, their family lawyer, and Father trailing behind.
“That’s enough today, boys. You all are free to continue your lives the best you can as we try to find the suspect.
Dale had plenty of enemies, as we all know, but we also have gotten accounts from guests and staff that Dale was acting very belligerent, which checks out with the champagne bottle near the pond.
It’s looking like an accident due to the sharp edges of the fountain.
So we have covered most of our bases. Have a great rest of your day.
” The detective nodded as the rest of the men followed him out the door.
“Thank you, gentlemen, for your due diligence,” Father said with admiration.
The police, investigators, and detective made their way off the estate, going down the long driveway.
Adesua knew her father was waiting for the moment they were out of sight.
Diego was still chomping on his food as loudly as he could.
He was enjoying every bite of it. Until Father swiped the table full of plates onto the floor.
“Seven of you. Seven of you interrogated for murder. After all the work I have done to build our family up. After all the years I tirelessly tried to work with the press. We had a redemption with Kavita. Giving them something good to talk about. Not only do we have the damn dead body of a man who hates us on our property. But we also have Wei hosting parties with women running these halls like they own the place. Omar over here trying to do business behind my back. Oh yes, I know, son! My eldest, Amelia, can’t even—”
He stopped as if someone had taken the breath out of his chest. Mother consoled him, as his rage was something like no other. Adesua hadn’t seen it in a long time. Father made sure they knew each one of them was at fault. If it was the last thing he did.
“Let us all get some rest. Too much has happened today, and we all need some time,” Mother said tenderly.
Father was right about one thing, though: Seven of them, herself included, had been questioned for murder.
Because, of course, they each had their own reason to kill Dale—at least, that’s what she would think.
No other guests were around the maze at the time.
It had to have been one of them. Adesua pondered which one had the most to lose.
It couldn’t have been her, though. Right?