Unclear Motive

By Moksha Prasana Kulkarni

Lifeless blue eyes looked at her as a pool of crimson red blood stained her sparkling white dress. She woke up with a gasp, panting, profusely sweating under the flickering yellow light. It was dark outside, she thought. Wiping water beads from her temple, she sat up on the cool metal bed. There was the sound of a buzzing bee in the distance but that didn't bother her now. Not after all this time that had been spent here, she was used to the stench of sewage, the smell of dirty clothes, and the four walls of dilapidated concrete surrounding her. She hoped that the soothing rays of the sun would fall on her again soon. That there were only a few days of monotonous work left. Her lawyer had come last week, comforting her with his fake promises and lies. “It is going to be okay, Liana you are going to get out,” he had said. When? What if nothing changes? Will she have to spend the rest of her life in jail?

The first few days were terrifying Liana remembered. The constant police questioning and psychiatrist visits. She had pleaded, wailing, narrating the same incident a dozen times. “It was my wedding…William… I saw him on the floor… but then something sharp hit me like a stick maybe. Everything after that was a blur, Officer” "All of the evidence we have collected from the crime scene for example the fingerprints on the gun or the strands of hair completely matches your DNA. CCTV footage from that day shows you were the last person to enter Williamsons' room,” Officer Lang said hoarsely. “Liana it would be better if you confess immediately we will try to shorten your sentences. If the court finds you guilty you will have a tough time in jail”

Confess? What was she supposed to say? She didn’t kill William. How could she, he was the love of her life. She remembered the first time they had met, in that expensive club. William was a gentleman to offer her a drink. They talked for hours exchanging conversations about their interest. Oh, how stunning he was in that beige blazer that highlighted his strong muscular arm. Liana was hypnotized by his crystal blue eyes. Liana knew immediately that William was the one for her. She was relieved to know he reciprocated her feeling. Maybe the officer thought she had killed William for his money. He was the head manager at a reputed bank firm and earned quite well among his colleagues. Again, William had invested a lot of his money into funds and house projects that there was very little Liana could get directly from his bank account. Williamson was much liked among his friends, they would jokingly call him 'the wife guy' because he would constantly talk about Liana with affection.

Liana drifted back to sleep slowly, only one question wandering through her mind. Did she kill William? Maybe she did…yes surely. Only for that blue-eyed man called Jake, she had met at a party that promised her a life of freedom.

By Moksha Prasana Kulkarni