“I think it is Agnes,” said Janet coolly.
Chapter 237
Telling Clemente seemed like a reckless move since he was on Agnes’s side right now and was very loyal to her..
But Janet had thought this through already.
First of all, she needed an errand boy.
This was the Lycan’s kingdom. She needed someone from the inside to conduct her investigation.
Clemente was a general, a very capable soldier. He was the perfect choice.
Second, Clemente was only loyal to Agnes because of his brother Keavy.
When he found out that Agnes had something to do with Keavy’s death, that loyalty would be gone by then.
Telling Clemente was a gamble.
But a worthy one.
“…Agnes?”
Clemente repeated in a strange tone as though there was a stone stuck in his throat.
“Agnes?!…No. No, Janet, you are crazy! She is my brother’s mate! They were a perfect couple. Everybody knew that! Do you know how devastated Agnes was when she lost my brother?!”
“I didn’t. All I know is that sadness can be faked. And Agnes is a very good actress,” said Janet icily.
Clemente glared at her, “You are only saying this because you hold a grudge against Agnes! Because she tried to kill you! But this and my brother’s death are completely two different things-”
“They are not!” Janet snarled, “Agnes did both of these things for the same reason–Westin! She wanted me dead because she couldn’t be with Westin with me.
his mate, still alive. And the same goes for Keavy…”
“FUCK!”
Clemente threw a punch at the shelves, which wobbled and a couple of files fell off.
He stared at Janet with bloodshot eyes.
Anger and pain gleamed in his eyes.
“I don’t care if you are the King’s mate and the Queen,” he hissed. “But if you say another word of groundless bullshit, I will fucking hit you!”
He was furious. His world just turned upside down.
But Janet knew that he wouldn’t hit her.
He was too nice for that.
“It isn’t groundless. And it isn’t bullshit!” Janet snapped, “Agnes framed me for Elder Randy’s incident! She was behind Elder Randy’s poison. And if Elder Randy and
Keavy share the same symptoms, she must be responsible for Keavy’s death as well! Just connect the dots here-”
“Can you prove that Agnes poisoned Elder Randy?!”
Janet bit her lips, frustrated.
No. She couldn’t.
She still hadn’t found that maid who asked her to help carry the barrel. And Annie wouldn’t testify for her.
“So it was all in your head,” Clemente sneered. “Groundless conjecture!”
Janet took in a deep breath.
Shit.
Maybe she went in too strong and pushed too hard.
Clemente needed time to process all these.
“Fine. Forget what I just said,” Janet said irritably. “But Elder Randy is poisoned, and he and Keavy share the same symptom. That part you can’t deny, right? You
have to see that there is something more to your brother’s death. It isn’t simple food
allergy!”
Clemente lapsed into silence.
Yes. That part was black and white on paper.
He couldn’t overlook that.
“Let’s look into it, OK?” Janet placed a hand on his upper arm, saying in a pleading tone. “It probably is Agnes, it probably isn’t. But you need to find out the truth. It has been 5 years already…You owe your brother the truth.”
Clemente rubbed his face with one hand.
“Fuck…” he murmured, “Fuck…OK. You are right. A little investigation will not hurt. Let’s do this.”
Janet smiled.
She knew that she could get Clemente on board.
“But where should we start?” Clemente asked.
“Well…I am thinking, maybe we should start with the restaurant that Keavy ordered that takeout from?” Janet said, “That is the source of everything, isn’t it?”
Clemente nodded and they left the archive room together.
The restaurant was located in a small town outside of the royal palace.
An upscale little place that served fusion cuisine.
A waitress greeted them when they came into the door, “Good afternoon. Table for two?”
“We are here to see the manager of this place,” Janet said.
“The manager is out at the moment. You can let me know if there is anything you need-”
“It is above your pay range,” said Clemente icily. “Just tell him that General Clemente is here to see him. I believe that he can spare a few minutes for me.‘
The waitress picked up the phone at the front desk and whispered something into the speaker.
Then her face changed abruptly, “OK…I see.”
She dropped the phone and looked at Clemente and Janet with an awe–stricken look, “My apology…This way please, General Clemente.”
They were shown to the manager’s office.
A chubby, middle–aged man was expecting them. A tall brunette was with him in the
office.
“General Clemente, to what do I owe the pleasure?” he shook Clemente’s hand with both of his hands, “I…I thought the case was closed already…It has been 5 years…”
“It was closed. But I am reopening it now. Any problem with that?” Clemente replied in a freezing tone.
“Yes! Yes, there is!” cried the tall brunette grumpily. “Mr. Keavy didn’t tell us about his allergy when he placed his order. Maybe he had some strange allergies that nobody knew of and the food came from us…So fine! But we have paid the fine already. We fired our chef. The restaurant was shut down for a year. My husband even spent his time in jail for a couple of months. What else do you want?” “That your wife?” Clemente gestured to the brunette.
…Yes.”
The owner mopped at his brow with the back of his hand nervously, “Look General Clemente, we really don’t want any troubles…It was a tragedy, yes. But people have to carry on living their lives. Don’t you think?”
“You won’t get into any trouble if you cooperate. Now, walk me through that night again.”
“I have told the police about this millions of times already-
“And I want to hear it one more time,” said Janet.
The owner and his wife directed a skeptical look upon Janet.
The owner and his wife directed a skeptical look upon Janet.
“This is the King’s mate, Queen Janet.” Westin introduced them.
The couple gasped and bowed to Janet immediately.
“So?” Janet demanded, “What happened that night? I want all the details.”
“O–OK…let me think…”
The owner licked his dry lips, recollecting the past.
“I received Mr. Keavy’s order at around 6… Took me half an hour to prepare the food and I left the restaurant at around 6:30. It was a clear night, a smooth drive…I didn’t. run into any traffic and arrived at Mr. Keavy’s doorstep at around 7-”
“Wait.”
Clemente interrupted him abruptly, “Clear night? That can’t be right. It was pouring rain that night!”
The owner’s jaw tightened, “No, no, the weather was very good I think…
“It was raining,” Clemente said firmly. “I remembered that clearly because I got caught up in a traffic jam on my way back. I even drove past a few horrible car accidents along the way.”
“R–Really?” the owner stuttered, “I don’t know…Maybe it was raining…I didn’t remember. It was so long ago…”
Janet frowned.
The owner even remembered the time he left the restaurant, but he couldn’t remember the weather that night..
Something was not right.
“Continue,” she said. “What happened after you arrived at the doorstep?”
“Then I rang the bell. Mr. Keavy came out himself and took his food. He tipped me 20 and thanked my service. I left. That was all. Are we done here?”
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