5
590words
We took custody of John Miller’s body. With no known relatives and an unsolved case, it remained in our mortuary.
unfortunately the body had been dead for too long — and waterlogged for most of that time — leaving the damage irreversible.
We still had no idea what really caused John Miller's death or how he ended up inside that toilet pipe.
I later heard that the forensic department had requested advanced professional equipment from the province authorities —but by then, it was no longer my concern .
The murder investigation had officially moved beyond my jurisdiction.
Still, the case never left my mind.
I called Lily Johnson and asked her to come to the police station. Though John Miller was now dead, there were still a few things I needed to confirm with her.
This time, she brought her mother with her.
Her mother's name was Emily Green — nearly fifty, but remarkably well-preserved. At a glance, you’d think she was in her early forties.
The moment Emily Green walked in, her eyes already red, she began shouting, “That filthy old bastard! How could he do something so disgusting to my daughter? He deserved to die — he deserved every bit of it, officer!”
I gestured for her to calm down — This was the police station, after all.
Once Emily Green had calmed down a little, I began questioning.
"What was your usual relationship with John Miller?"
Emily Green answered without hesitation,"There was no relationship.He used to pretend to be a good guy, always offering to help me and daughter, but I’m not the type to fall for that. I ignored this scumbag!"
I nodded and continued ,"Do you know anything about John Miller's health? Any illnesses or conditions ?"
Emily rolled her eyes"How would I know anything about his health condition? I barely even knew the guy, officer."
Then she looked up at me and, almost as an afterthought, added:
"By the way, just being curious .Can you issue this scumbag's death certificate here? Don’t get me wrong. I know one of his relatives. I’m just asking on their behalf. "
I was instantly on alert. What she’d just blurted out didn’t sit right with me.
Emily noticed the change in my expression. She seemed to realize she’d said too much. She quickly stood up, apologized, and pulled Lily Johnson away with her.
I didn't stop her because her slip had just given me a brand new lead.
Emily Green was probably too nervous. What she said contradicted itself. She claimed not to know John Miller well, yet moments later mentioned knowing one of his relatives.
The strange part was, we hadn’t found any trace of this so-called relative — yet somehow, she knew who he was.
Moreover, her sudden interest in the death certificate reminded me of the one I’d found earlier — tucked away in Lily Johnson's drawer.
Why did she want John Miller's death certificate so badly?
I decided to follow that lead — to figure out what someone could do with a death certificate.
Finally,I got the answer from a college who studied finance.
He told me, “If someone had a life insurance policy, the only way the beneficiary can claim the payout is by presenting the insured’s death certificate to the company.”
His words hit me like a flash of light.
Of course — why would Emily Green be so interested in the death certificate of a neighbor who had supposedly raped her daughter… and whom she claimed not to even know?
