Free Web NovelChapter 111: Chapter 111: This is Ms. Grace Sullivan
"Hello, Dodo," Renee Jennings said gently. "Could you come out and talk to me? I’ll treat you to a big meal later."
"Just me? A single ant?" Dodo asked.
Renee Jennings smiled. "I’ll treat all of you ants to a big meal."
Dodo was very pleased with this answer. It crawled to the mouth of the bottle and poked its head out to observe its surroundings, its gaze finally locking onto Renee Jennings.
Dodo said shyly, "Sorry, we ants don’t have very good eyesight."
Renee Jennings nodded in understanding. "That’s all right. Dodo, you mentioned you were disturbed while having a midnight snack the other night. What happened?"
"This is what happened," Dodo began to recall.
The night was pitch-black, the moon shrouded by dark clouds. Mae Sullivan and Connor Kent were arguing in the garden.
"Why are you so vicious?" Connor Kent’s eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed Mae Sullivan by the neck, his teeth clenched. "Grace Sullivan is your cousin! How could you do it?"
Mae Sullivan struggled to breathe, her cheeks flushing red.
She stared at the furious Connor Kent and sneered, "Me, vicious? Connor Kent, search your conscience and tell me who’s more heartless, you or me? You forced me to do all of this!"
"You..." Connor Kent was beside himself with rage, his hand tightening around her neck. "Mae Sullivan, you’re asking for it!"
"Then kill me," Mae Sullivan said, lifting her chin defiantly. "Kill me and avenge your beloved woman. Let everyone in Zenvia know that your wife killed the woman you love, and then you killed your wife!"
For a fleeting moment, Connor Kent truly wanted to kill Mae Sullivan.
He angrily threw her to the ground and roared in a hushed voice, "You poisoned her to death! How are we going to clean this up?"
"That’s not my problem to consider," Mae Sullivan said with a mocking expression. "You figure out how to clean it up."
With that, she climbed up from the ground, dusted herself off, and walked into the main villa, leaving Connor Kent fuming.
He paced back and forth agitatedly, his eyes finally landing on the flower bed to the side.
Connor Kent let out a frustrated breath and went back into the villa. He sent a few maids away, then went back outside, removed the flowers from the flower bed, and started digging.
He returned to the room where Grace Sullivan was staying. Seeing the pale, lifeless woman on the bed, a look of grief filled his eyes.
Connor Kent knelt by the bed, holding her hand. "Grace," he whispered, "I’m so sorry. This is my fault."
Mae Sullivan stood at the doorway, watching this scene with a sarcastic glint in her eyes. "How touching. You’re so deeply in love."
Connor Kent’s face instantly darkened. "Mae Sullivan, cut the sarcasm!"
A triumphant smirk spread across Mae Sullivan’s face. "What can you do to me? Go on, call the police. Let everyone know I killed her because of you."
"Get out!" Connor Kent snapped.
Mae Sullivan scoffed and turned to leave.
Connor Kent looked at Grace Sullivan for a long time before reluctantly picking her up.
He carried Grace to the flower bed, placed her inside, and, with reddened eyes, buried her under the soil before replanting the flowers on top.
After listening to Dodo the ant, Renee Jennings said softly, "We overlooked the flower bed that day."
"Mae Sullivan was so welcoming because she was worried we’d discover their secret," Henry Stark analyzed in a low voice. "She wanted to mislead us, to make us drop our suspicions about her."
Renee Jennings said to Dodo the ant, "Thank you, Dodo. What would you and your friends like to eat?"
Dodo and its friends buzzed with excitement as they discussed it. "We want honey and sugar water."
"Okay," Renee Jennings said, then asked Henry Stark to stop at the nearest convenience store or supermarket. "I need to buy some food for the little ants."
"Alright," he said.
After buying food for the little ants, Renee Jennings released them.
She and Henry Stark returned to the police station for a meeting with their colleagues.
***
When Mae Sullivan returned to the villa, a maid told her that Renee Jennings had visited with her boyfriend earlier that day.
She glanced at the gift box on the coffee table and asked nonchalantly, "What did she say?"
The maid recounted everything that had happened.
Mae Sullivan just said, "Oh," then rubbed her neck and went upstairs.
Early the next morning, Henry Stark returned to Mae Sullivan’s villa with his colleagues from the criminal investigation team.
They were in uniform, and the sight of them made the maid’s expression turn frantic.
She hurried forward. "Officers, is there something I can help you with?"
Henry Stark’s expression was cold. "Are Mae Sullivan and Connor Kent home?"
The maid answered truthfully, "The madam is home, but the master hasn’t returned." ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Henry Stark showed his badge and a search warrant. "Our investigation has led us to suspect Ms. Sullivan of murder, with Connor Kent acting as an accomplice in hiding the body."
The maid was shocked. "Th-That’s impossible!" freёwebnovel.com
Henry Stark didn’t waste any more words on her, simply raising a hand to signal his team to move.
The criminal investigation team took out their tools and began clearing the flowers from the flower bed.
The maid froze for a few seconds before hastily turning and rushing into the main villa.
"What?" The lipstick in Mae Sullivan’s hand CLATTERED onto the vanity. Her pupils contracted, her face a mask of disbelief.
’They actually found out?’
Mae Sullivan’s heart hammered with panic, but she fought to remain calm.
She took a deep breath, threw on a coat, and hurried downstairs.
The flowers in the bed where Grace Sullivan was buried had already been removed. Mae Sullivan felt her temples begin to POUND.
"What do you think you’re doing?" she snapped, rushing forward to block the police team. "I spent so much effort on those flowers! How could you do this?"
Henry Stark looked down at her and warned coolly, "Ms. Sullivan, this is a search warrant. Please do not obstruct a police investigation."
"My flowers!" Mae Sullivan cried, on the verge of a breakdown. "You’ve ruined my flowers!"
"You can’t do this!" She jumped into the flower bed and shouted, "Who gave you permission to touch my flowers?"
A mocking half-smile played on Henry Stark’s lips. "Are you worried about your flowers, or are you afraid of us finding Grace Sullivan in the flower bed?"
"Wh-What are you talking about?" Mae Sullivan’s eyes darted around as she feigned confusion. "I have no idea what you’re talking about."
Henry Stark announced, "Ms. Sullivan has stumbled. Give her a hand."
"Of course, we’re coming to help Ms. Sullivan right now." Kyle Morgan and Zachary Conway understood immediately. Together, they lifted Mae Sullivan, who had thrown herself into the flower bed, and carried her out.
"Let go of me!" Mae Sullivan struggled, her voice turning shrill. "Don’t touch my flower bed!"
The maid watched in astonishment. It was the first time she had ever seen her mistress lose her composure like this.
Kyle Morgan held onto Mae Sullivan while Zachary Conway and his colleagues continued digging up the soil in the flower bed.
Soon, a human hand was exposed in the dirt.
"AH!" the maid screamed in terror.
As more soil was removed from the flower bed, a pale, bluish corpse was gradually exposed to the air.
"That’s..." The maid covered her mouth in disbelief.
’It’s Ms. Grace Sullivan!’
Seeing this, Mae Sullivan shut her eyes in agony.
Henry Stark turned to her and demanded sharply, "Ms. Sullivan, would you care to explain why there’s a dead body underneath the flowers you so ’lovingly cultivated’?"
Mae Sullivan pressed her lips together and said slowly, "How should I know? This is the first I’m hearing about a body in the flower bed."
