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Chapter 23: The Telephone Murder Case
🕑 Added 2024-11-28 15:18:51 +0000 UTCWhen the police arrived at the "car accident" scene, it was already half an hour later.
"Any findings?" A burly man in plain clothes got out of the car and asked a police officer in uniform standing nearby.
His name was Dietrich, a lieutenant sheriff of the Chicago North District's third precinct. As a federal country, the United States has never had a unified police rank system since its founding, and it’s common to see military ranks used interchangeably with police ranks.
The Chicago area isn't as large as it will be in the future, so there are only 13 precincts at present.
Dietrich, as the second-in-command of the third precinct, held an influential position.
"There are some bloodstains, tire tracks, footprints, and some bloodied bullets—probably deer-hunting pellets—but no eggshells, and no sign of the car or the body. What's strange is that although there are traces of two cars at the scene, we only found the tire tracks of one car leaving. The other car seems to have never existed." The police officer, looking a bit uneasy, reported.
"Witnesses?" Lieutenant Dietrich asked.
"We found the person who called in, but they only saw a figure holding a gun from a distance and didn’t approach, so they couldn’t even tell if the killer was male or female." The officer sighed helplessly.
Dietrich nodded, understanding the officer's frustration.
No body, no weapon, no witnesses, and not even any substantial evidence. In an era with limited investigative tools, this case was basically a cold one.
"Pack up and go. I'll speak to the chief." After surveying the scene, Dietrich ordered the team to leave. Similar cold cases were too common, and the police didn’t want to waste too much energy on them.
While the police were reluctantly packing up, having found no leads, Josh, who had changed into new clothes, drove the Lincoln Continental
that Margaret had helped him buy and just arrived home.
Seeing the Packard parked in front of his house, Josh knew that Margaret was in his home... He had left her a spare key when he moved.
"How did it go?" As Josh got out of the car, Tommy, who happened to be coming out of his house, walked over and asked.
"A small problem, already solved. Thanks for the help," Josh replied.
Of course, he couldn’t go into specifics.
Tommy, understanding the unspoken rules, didn’t ask further. He simply accepted Josh’s thanks, nodded, and returned inside.
Watching Tommy go inside, Josh sighed lightly.
If one paid close attention, they would notice his hands were still trembling slightly.
The reason was simple—he had killed someone.
It was his first time.
The image of a gunshot to the body, the blood and flesh splattering, still lingered in his mind.
Even the bloodied body, the shotgun, and the two cars involved in the incident were quietly stored in the system's warehouse.
There was no supernatural thrill.
No overwhelming fear either.
Just a sense of nervousness and confusion...
Josh still didn’t understand why he was so decisive while pulling the trigger and so calm in handling the situation.
"Josh, where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you," Margaret’s voice interrupted his thoughts as she came out of the door. Seeing him standing there absentmindedly, she asked with a hint of curiosity.
Then, she noticed the strange look Josh gave her.
"What's wrong? Did my makeup smudge?" Margaret asked, feeling a little uncomfortable under Josh’s gaze.
Before she could say anything else, Josh swiftly picked her up and carried her inside.
By the time Margaret came to her senses, she was lying on the bed, naked. (T/N: My Boy Got Rizz)
Lying in Josh’s arms, staring at his youthful, handsome face, Margaret felt something strange and complicated in her heart. (T/N: Author Skipped The S*x)
But... it was also very refreshing.
This was something she had never felt with Tony.
"What happened?" Margaret gently stroked Josh's face, asking softly.
"Your husband sent someone to follow you all day and took a lot of photos," Josh casually replied while caressing Margaret's body.
No wonder people say women are the best emotional regulators.
After some wild passion, Josh’s pent-up negative emotions had been fully released, and he regained his usual calm.
He then told Margaret about Tony Windis sending someone to follow her.
Josh didn’t have the habit of being an unsung hero.
If you make an effort, you should speak up; otherwise, no one will know what you’ve done.
Of course, he left out the fact that he had killed someone, only saying that he had used money to bribe the person following her.
"What? How dare he?" Hearing this, Margaret instantly became angry.
"Heh, why wouldn’t he dare? Not only did he dare send someone to follow you, but he even sent someone to kill you. Otherwise, he’d wait until after the divorce to get kicked out by you, right?" Josh said with a hint of mockery, though the mockery was aimed at Tony Windis, not Margaret. "To be fair, in this matter, he’s quite decisive. If you were dead, your vast fortune would all belong to him."
But how did Josh know about Tony Windis’ plan?
After all, Jo Barbaro had only been carrying out the first step of Tony Windis’ tracking plan. The subsequent plans weren’t even shared with Jo Barbaro.
So, Josh shouldn’t have known that Tony Windis wanted to kill Margaret.
Why did Josh say this then?
Because, as he was making love with Margaret earlier, Josh finally remembered where the sense of familiarity with her came from when they first met.
Margaret, Margot Wendice, a rich girl.
Tony, Tony Wendice, a tennis star. ('Wendice' is the surname used in the real movie but in this translation I used 'Windis'.)
These were characters from the Hitchcock movie Dial M for Murder. (T/N: Real Movie)
Josh knew about this movie because the actress who played Margaret was Grace Kelly!
When people think of famous 1950s Hollywood actresses, the first names that come to mind are Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe.
However, in the 1950s, there was an actress who outshone both of them.
That actress was Grace Kelly.
The reason she’s not as famous today as the other two is simple.
After achieving fame, she married into the Monaco royal family and became a princess.
In the hearts of the people of Monaco, her status was as important as Princess Diana’s to the British people.
Josh had only watched this movie by chance, so the impression wasn’t very deep, which is why he couldn’t recall it immediately.
But once he remembered, Josh finally realized that he might not have traveled to the original world’s World War II era, but rather to a parallel world.
And the current situation had a lot of differences from the movie’s plot.
For example, the movie’s story took place in London, not Chicago.
Furthermore, an important character was missing—Margaret's lover, Mark.
However, thinking about his current relationship with Margaret... it seemed like he had already replaced that guy.
Also, the movie's story took place in the early 1950s, which was ten years later than now.
