Chapter 71

ALEXIA

I reached the police custody, I got down from the car and planned to walk in but I bumped into someone. It was Stephanie, I recognized her straight away as she hadn't changed much.

'Hey..." She wrapped her hands around me quickly once she saw me. Her red hair was scattered everywhere from her vigorous shaking. After letting me go, she packed her hair into a tighter bun.

I smiled at her but I was too shaken to waste any more time standing. We both entered the police building, Stephanie followed me as I took a left turn to Brandax's cell.

Soon, we reached and I met the Inspector general asking Brendax so many questions at once.
'How come you kept her in your house? What caused her attack? Why didn't you report her death after she died?"

Before I could say a word, Stephanie had moved to the front quickly and defended Brendax. She was really a criminal defense lawyer because she spoke with so much confidence and citadel.

Stephanie didn't stop talking so I looked at Brendax and he had an unexplainable expression on his face. He was shaking and blinking rapidly as though he was nervous. I have seen this kind of expression from him, yes, when he wanted to confess to me. With this guilty expression, he felt guilty. Why would Brendax feel guilty?

Thinking of his house, I suddenly remembered the burnt food/pot. I didn't know why I thought of it and why I was suddenly cracking my head for answers until it rang and connected. Helen was an asthmatic patient! She has an attack meaning something caused it.
I looked at Brenden quickly, my heart constricted once more when I saw the same expression on his face.

'How did the food get burnt?" I asked, my eyes not leaving his sad-looking face.

Brendax raised his head, he looked at me with a confused expression.

'What food?" He asked, still with a confused expression.

'The food I was preparing for you before you confessed to me. I remembered I was cooking mac before leaving your house that day. Yesterday, I went back to your house and I found out the food got burnt totally." My face didn't leave him, I studied his expression keenly and he kept that proving my hunch right.

'I... I didn't... After you left, I was too shaken to remember you were cooking." He answered, his lower lips pulled into the middle of his teeth.

'Did the food get burnt before or after Helen came to your house?" I pushed, my questions heightened the guilt expression on his face, he realized I was catching on.

However, Dylan walked close to me, he tucked at my hand; pulling it - probably telling me to stop but I didn't want to, I didn't plan to. I wouldn't.

'What are you driving at, Alexia?" Stephanie voiced, I felt her coming closer as well.

'Uhm..." Brendax stuttered.

'Oh my goodness!!" Stephanie gasped as though she realized something.

'What?" Dylan looked at her, he looked confused and lost.
'What is going on?" He placed his hand on my shoulder, expecting me to turn to him and explain but I didn't. I was too engrossed with what I have found out, the pain from finding out about it and It being true coursed through my entire body.

'Can someone tell me what is going on?!" Dylan shouted, frustrated from being ignored by everyone.

'He killed her." Stephanie gasped behind me, getting my point and what I was driving at.

'What do you mean by that?" Dylan turned to Stephanie.

'If I am correct, Brendax you have to correct me if I am wrong. After Alexia left your house, you must have been too worried about what transpired between you too that you forgot the food she was cooking. perhaps, fifteen or whatever minutes later, Helen came to your home and you both sat in your living room, right?" Stephanie looked at him calculatingly, carefully picking her words to picture the scenario. Brendax answered by nodding his head.

'You guys must be engrossed with whatever you were saying that you didn't realize something was cooking in the kitchen..." Stephanie paused, perhaps her imagination couldn't continue the story. Before she could say any other thing, Brendax continued;

'Helen came into my house thirty minutes after Alexia left. I told her everything that occurred between me and Alexia, we were busy talking, and we didn't realize that something was cooking in the kitchen. I only noticed when the smoke had filled the living room, I ran to the kitchen quickly and turned off the gas cooker.
However, by the time I returned to the living room, I saw that Helen was already gasping. I didn't realize earlier that she had an attack, I didn't know she was an asthmatic patient. By the time I realized it, I searched her bag for her inhaler but I found none. Helen died before I could call for help. .." he paused, out of breath from talking too fast.

'You killed her?" Dylan questioned too fast as though he had been waiting to ask him that question.

' He didn't, she died cause of her illness. However, he ruined it when he ordered for hydrofluoric acid. Why did you do that?"

'To get rid of her." I was quick to talk.

'I was scared, I was scared I would be accused of killing her. I was really scared of getting jailed!!" Brendax cried, his hand pulled away from the jail bar, he gently fell to the ground looking sad and miserable.

'What can we do, Stephanie?" Dylan asked looking at her. I did the same, although I didn't know what to feel about all these yet, a part of me knew this was my fault. It

Perhaps if I had switched off the gas cooker before leaving or waited and talked to him, all these probably wouldn't happen.

Stephanie sighed, she looked at Dylan then looked at me.
'I can't promise anything right now. I didn't expect this. When I accessed the case and his statement, I thought he wasn't guilty until now. I have to go back to my hotel and think about it." She uttered.

I nodded my head so did Dylan.
I looked at Brendax, I didn't know what to say. I was disturbed myself, I wasn't expecting things to turn out like this. I had thought Kylie did it to get back at him only for me to be proven absolutely wrong.