Chapter 3: The Detective

Emily turned to Lucy. "What do you think? Do you believe Thomas's story?"

Lucy shook her head. "I don't know. He seemed nervous but that doesn't necessarily mean he's guilty".

Emily nodded. "And what about the detective? Do you think he's on the right track?" Lucy shrugged. "He seems determined, but I'm not sure if he's looking at all the angles". Emily's phone rang. She answered it, listened for a moment then her eyes widened in surprise.

"What is it? Lucy asked.

"It's Sarah, my assistant at the bakery", Emily replied. "She says she saw something suspicious on the night of Henry's murder ".

Lucy's eyes locked onto Emily's. "What did she see?"

Emily's voice was barely above a whisper. "She saw James Parker arguing with Henry at the old oak. And she saw Thomas Brown lurking in the shadows".

Lucy's face went pale. "This changes everything ".

"This is getting complicated", Lucy said, her brow furrowed in concern. "We have Thomas's suspicious behavior, James argument with Henry and now Sarah's eyewitness account. Who can we trust?"

Emily shook her head. "I don't know, but we need to keep investigating. Let's go talk to Sarah and see if she can tell us more". At the bakery, Sarah was nervous and fidgety. "I didn't want to say anything, but... I saw Thomas and James together earlier that night. They were talking in hushed tones and looked really suspicious".

Emily's eyes met lucyi. This was getting interesting. "Did you hear what they were saying?" Emily asked. Sarah hesitated before replying. "I didn't want to eavesdrop, but... I heard something about a 'deal gone wrong' and 'taking care of Henry'"

Lucy's eyes widened. "This sounds like a conspiracy". Emily nodded. "We need to tell the detective about this. This could be the break we need to solve the case".

But just as they were about to leave, a surprising figure walked into the bakery....

The figure was none other than Margaret Thompson, Henry's wife. She looked pale and shaken and her eyes were red from crying.

"Emily, Lucy, I need to talk to you", she said, her voice trembling.

Emily and Lucy exchanged a concerned glance. "What is it, Margaret?" Emily asked. Margaret took a deep breath before she proceeded. "I know something about Henry's death. Something I didn't tell the detective".

Lucy's eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

Margaret hesitated before speaking. "I saw Henry arguing with someone the night he died. I didn't see who it was, but... I heard some that might be important".

Emily leaned forward. "What did you hear?"

Margaret's voice was barely above a whisper. "I heard Henry say 'you'll never get away with this'. And then... I heard a loud noise and Henry screamed".

Emily and Lucy exchanged a shocked glance. This was the new evidence and it sounded like it could be crucial to the case.