The case of Wakefield family.

Case 1725: Wakefield Family.

Barbara Wakefield, age 30, wife of Bram Wakefield, died in a car accident on 25th November, 2003.

Her dead body was found in their smashed car.

Investigated reason for the accident: With her family, she was returning from a restaurant at night, in a car. As their car turned right for their home street, a truck smashed them from front. The accident killed Barbara and left her husband and her child injured.

Evidences: The security camera footage of the street.

Edward Wakefield, age 8, the only child of Bram Wakefield, died in a fire, on 2nd December, 2003, in his residence.

His dead body was found in the hall. The body was completely burnt.

Investigated reason for the fire: The kitchen stove was left open by Bram Wakefield in the morning. Edward lit the matchstick, near the stove, at afternoon and caught the fire. He ran to the hall but couldn’t save himself.

Evidences: Partially burnt matchstick box found on the floor having fingerprints of the Edward Wakefield, burnt food near the stove indicating the reason for lighting the matchstick, statement provided by Bram Wakefield.

Bram Wakefield, age 34, committed suicide, on 17th December, 2003, by cutting his nerve of left hand.

His dead body was found in the bathroom.

Investigated reason for the suicide: Depression and sorrow due to accidental death of his son and wife.

Evidences: Bloody razor blade having fingerprints of Bram Wakefield.

December 27, 2003.

“C’mon, it’s already done. Why are you still so interested in this Wakefield case?” said Frank Lewis to his colleague James Snow. “This case is so fascinating. Don’t you think? It is so weird that just within a month the whole family died,” said James as he closed the Wakefield family report file. “What do you mean? The two of them died due to accidents and one committed suicide,” replied Lewis.  “Maybe the former deaths were planned by Bram Wakefield,” answered James as he kept the file in the shelf and took the keys of Wakefield’s house from the box. “Why do you think so?” queried Lewis. “Well, there may a possibility that Bram was involved in an extra marital affair which he was hiding from his wife. When the wife died in an accident he thought to kill his son too, so that he could began a new life with this hidden woman. So, he planned and left the stove open purposely. The child died and he proposed this hidden woman. However, his proposal was rejected and the woman left him. This made Bram to realize his guilt and finally he committed suicide,” said James wearing his coat. “It’s a point worth considering, but, Bram is already dead why did you still insist on knowing what happened?” enquired Lewis. “It’s been seven years of us working together in this police station. You still don’t know that why I insist?” marked James. “Yeah, yeah! Senior officer James Snow, who needs to know,” taunted Lewis. “It’s called being deterministic,” said James and headed to the door. “Or it’s called being stubborn,” again Lewis smirked and continued, “This attitude of yours will one day dip you in a serious trouble.” “We’ll see about it later. Right now, I am going to Wakefield’s house to reinvestigate,” said James rolling the door knob of his cabin to walk out of the station. “You have already visited that house three times,” shouted Lewis. “And I’ll visit it for thirty more times for finding the answers.”

As James walked to the Wakefield’s house he decided to opt for the shortcut. This short route involved the underpass to the Canti Bridge which ran into outskirts of the city. It was a cold night; moon seemed filthy as it was covered by the dark smoky clouds. This area being an industrial one had little or no population at night. James walked all alone on those streets till he realized that someone from back is approaching him. The heavy noise of strolling made him to turn back. He saw a man approaching towards him. This man seemed to be terrified and being chased by something, as he yelled, “Move aside. He’ll kill me. He has a gun.” James tried to grab the man by clenching his left shoulder. At a distant there stood another man pointing gun towards them. “Let me go,” yelled the man again, but James tried to get a control over him by closing him in his arms from behind, but he punched James at the chin, and stomped away from him. The man standing at a distant, aiming the gun, did a gunshot. James noticed it and pulled himself away from the aim. As he tried to dodge the shot, the former man escaped and ran away. The man who stood at a distant startled and began to run. James decided to run after him so at once he paced up and ran, but this attempt was a failure as this man also escaped. “Damn you!” he yelled and then he took out his notepad and wrote down the time and place of this incident. “Who they must be? He used a pistol. A local gangster? Ahh, this was such a mess. I should probably hurry to Wakefield’s house.” So focused he was on Wakefield’s case that he didn’t cared much about the incident that just happened to him. Moreover what could he have done? So he resumed his walk and finally reached the Wakefield’s house.

It was James’ fourth visit to Wakefield’s house. As usual, that ghastly and silent house stood straight in front of him. He walked inside unlocking the door, with the keys. It was so quiet inside that the tick-tock of the wall clock, in the hall, was audible. He looked at the clock, it was 9 O’ clock, beneath the clock there was printed- “GOD WATCHES!” He wore his gloves and started his investigation with the hall. He started rumbling the drawers, all he wanted was a letter or a card or something else which could prove that Bram Wakefield was involved in an extra marital affair. Suddenly, he heard some footsteps behind him, across the kitchen. He at once turned back and ran his sight to the entire kitchen but he noticed nothing. “I guess, I am not alone here,” he whispered to himself and walked very cautiously towards the kitchen. He stood leaning his back to the wall, of kitchen, and peeped inside. He saw on one in there. He whispered to himself again, “But I do felt …” James’ whispering stopped as he now heard someone’s sobbing. “What? Someone’s crying! This noise is coming from the bathroom.” In that deserted house, where two tragic incidents occurred few weeks ago, now he hears some footsteps and sobbing, it was something that could give chills even to the thirty eight year old police officer. His heart started to pound. His collar got sweaty. Not only his nose but also his mouth started to throw the air in and out of his lungs. He rolled his eyes and scanned the entire kitchen for a knife. After all he needed something to defend himself from the weeping guest in the house.

James tiptoed across the hall to reach near the bathroom. On his way a thought popped into his head that when he entered the house he did locked the door, so that means, intruder hasn’t entered through the door. Maybe he managed to enter through the kitchen window or the window in the bedroom. “It can’t be the kitchen window because I just checked the kitchen,” deduced James, “The dust over the kitchen slab was undisturbed that means, it must have been the bedroom window.”  As the deduction ended, James stood in front of the door of bathroom. The door was already slightly opened. James got close to it for having a close view of inside without entering the bathroom, but all was able to see was the bath tub and the marble sink. The sobbing had already stopped, when he came close to the bathroom, but James had a strong intuition that there was someone still in this place.

He at once kicked the door open and entered the bathroom yelling, “This is police! Put your hands back to your head!” But there he saw no one. He held the knife firm and straight. He was breathing heavily.  Very cautiously he moved inside and looked behind the door at the wall. He hasted his eyes to the entire bathroom, but there were no sign of any intruder. “But I was sure that I heard that sound,” whispered James, “Those footsteps and that sobbing. Ahh! I must be imagining things. Maybe it’s because of the incident that happened to me just before I arrived over here.”

Suddenly, his eyes fell on the mirror hanging just above the wash basin. He walked close to it and gazed upon his reflection.  “What a tiring face,” exclaimed James, “It has been so long since I was busy in all these cases. So less I care about myself. I hardly gave my attention and time to my family also. They deserve better than this from my side. I promise that this coming year I’ll be a better father and a better husband.” He sniffed out a deep breath and turned on the tap, on the washbasin, “I guess no longer anyone shall be investigating this place,” said James, “So there is no point of maintaining the integrity of this damn house.” The water came gushing out and he splashed some water on his face. Then he took some liquid soap and massaged in into his skin.

Just then, he heard that sobbing again. This time it was so close to his ears, as if someone was standing beside him. The soap was still on his face, so he couldn’t open his eyes. He fumbled for the tap and turned it ON. The water came gushing out. He rinsed-off his face, wiped-off the water over his eyes and looked around. The bathroom was empty. There was nobody there. The sobbing continued, this time it came from the bedroom. “I’m not imagining things,” said James picking up the knife at once, “There is someone in this house.” James paced out of the bathroom and ran across the hall to reach the bedroom. He peeped inside through the keyhole. There was a man sitting on the floor with his legs crossed. James was able to the shadowy image of that person. In this cursed house and at this ungodly hour, why would a man sit in this bedroom and weep? This question trembled James and he looked at the clock, hanging in the hall, and then what he saw, turned him pale white. The second hand of clock was rotating in anti-clockwise direction. “How could this be,” said a shocked James. ‘GOD WATCHES’, once printed below the clock, was now flipped to its mirror image letters. “What is this? What is happening?” said James in an absolute terrified voice. He looked around the hall and noticed that everything has been inverted to their mirror image. His fist loosened its clutch. He then regained his senses, turned around and banged the door, of bedroom, wide open. “It’s the police. Raise your hand and put it behind your head. Do it now!” James yelled out loud. The man sitting on the floor turned back and looked at him.

That man’s face made widened the eyes of the police officer. James started to shiver and the knife, which he was holding so firmly, slipped out of his palm, as his clutch loosened, and fell on the floor. Stainless steel kissed the marble and broke the silence in that house, with rattling noise. James gathered some voice in his throat and spoke, “Bram. Bram Wakefield.” “You,” said the man in a deep voice, “You, know my name officer. Are you here for investigation?” “Yes I am,” raged James as he got his senses back, “And now you are coming with me to the police station.”

In his long career, James had encountered several cases in which people faked their death. He referenced those cases with this one so as to build up a logical reason for stabilizing himself. “It seems you are eager for something,” said Bram with his grim tone, “Tell me what is it? I guess we don’t need to go police station. Ask me, I’ll tell you everything.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Bram Wakefield.”

“Go on. Tell me the entire story, your wife, your son and you.”

“Barbara, my wife, was such a beautiful woman,” started Bram, “She was my entire world. Her eyes were fabricated out the stars. Her hairs were as dark as night. Her smile was that of a lily.”

“And then?”

“And then, I saw the smiling rose one day. Her name was Eva Adler. I met her in a business party; she was so quick and happening that I wasn’t able to resist. It then began a sin which made my morals bleak. God must be watching me betraying my woman, so he took her away from me in that car accident.”

“So that car accident was a genuine one. Keep speaking.”

“After her death I kept visiting Eva every night. And now, I wanted her. I termed my lust as my love and one day I brought her home to introduce her to Edward. But Edward didn’t like her. Not a bit. He misbehaved with her. I tried to convince him but he didn’t give a damn. So one morning...,” Bram stopped, sat on the bed and started crying. James walked close to him and held his shoulder and said, “What you did that morning?”

“I left the stove open! I left the stove opened purposely!” yelled Bram.

James’ inner self shouted inside- ‘I was right! I was damn right!’

“That morning I cooked the food,” Bram continued, “And left the stove open. I knew it well that when Edward returns from school he’ll use the stove to reheat the meal. My eight year old son didn’t know the smell of the gas that must have leaked and covered the entire kitchen. He lit the matchstick and…” Bram wasn’t able to complete as James held his collar and shouted at his face, “You pathetic creature. You are a monster!” “After that,” Bram resumed, “One evening, I took Eva to a restaurant. I decided to propose her. I was sure that this time I’ll do it, I bought a ring for the purpose.”  James pushed him back to the bed and stood aside folding his arms in front of his chest and listened. “But that bitch refused to me! She started laughing and said that I was just a toy to her with whom she loved to play... Dipped in remorse and regret I came home. I wept and wept.”

“What after that?” James interrupted.

“My deeds started haunting me. Every time at night I felt as if someone was walking across the kitchen to the hall. My dreams were getting rusty night by night. I became so lonely. Then one day, standing in front of the mirror of the bathroom a thought popped in my head that what if I were in the mirror world? I would’ve taken left instead of right, that night and could have avoided that accident. In the mirror world, instead of turning the gas stove ON I would have turned it OFF, thus could have never killed my son. Every day I would spend so much of a day sitting in front of that mirror; thinking about the mirror world. Slowly my grief grew bigger day by day. And it was then one day standing in front of the mirror I…” Bram stopped and started to shiver. “Then what? Tell me. Speak!” yelled James. Bram resumed in a very shattered voice, “I…I took the razor blade and slid it over my wrist. The blood came rushing its way out of my hand and in few seconds I collapsed. The next thing I remember was that I woke up in here and it was all so dark all around. I tried to move out from this house but both the doors and windows were locked, there was no exit, after a few hours of wandering I realized that I was trapped in this house of mine of this world.”

“What? You died? What the hell is that supposed to mean? You are still alive and…,” James’ contradiction stopped as his eyes fell on the scar hanging at the wrist of Bram. It was a deep cut, done with a blade. Wound looked fresh as if it was cut just a moment ago. “My eagerness for this mirror world was so much that I cared about nothing else,” Bram continued, “Just before I died, I wished to visit this world where I supposed my child and wife to be safe. But it turned out that I was now trapped in here for forever. And now you too are, here in this world, dead. But it seems you haven’t realized it yet.”

“I…I died?” stammered the scared James, “No! That…That is not possible. How could I?”

Memory of the recent incidents flashed back to his mind and he rewound all that happened to him. Finally, he realized. “That gunshot,” spoke the stunned James, “That man with the gun ran away after doing the gunshot. I wasn’t wearing my uniform then why would he need to run? He could have threatened me to death if I had actually followed him. That means I died in that gunshot and that’s why he ran away, not from me but from the public to notice him.” James lost his balance and stood, somehow, holding his back against the wall. He started to breathe heavily.  He realized the shock that he suffered at that time and he removed his coat to see the wound over his waist. The bullet tore his flesh away digging a hole into his stomach. “NO, I can’t die, my family needs me! I was required to spend more time with them. I just can’t,” shouted James and tears rolled out from his eyes and he started to cry aloud.

“You were so eager,” started Bram in his grim voice, “to know how the things happened. The only way to know was for you to meet me in this mirror world and here you are, getting your last wish fulfilled.”

The end!

For those who want a little bit happy type ending:-

Watching James crying hopelessly Bram came close to him and sat by his side on the floor and started, “Don’t worry friend. At least you have a family out there who will take your dead body and will perform the proper rituals to it. You won’t be trapped in here for forever like me. You won’t feel any pain or distress. Unlike me, who has to sob and cry forever over my deeds in that living world.”

To make you happy here’s one thing more I could do:-