Filed to story: Sweetheart Do You Still Love Me
“How many times do I have to tell you that my love for her is long gone? I love you and the family, so stop bringing this up! I know Max’s death is affecting you, but it affects me, too! Don’t use me as your punching bag,” the man retorted in frustration.
Margot couldn’t believe Theodore would lecture her at a time like this. “I can’t believe-“
“Enough, both of you. We need to decide when to hold the funeral.”
The mention of the funeral made Margot feel even worse. Her health was in decline, to begin with, so as soon as she heard the words, she blacked out.
Elspeth wanted to stay out of the family matter, but when Margot collapsed, she quickly went over to check her pulse. Alright, she only passed out from the overwhelming grief. Elspeth heaved a sigh of relief. “It’s alright. Take her back to the room and let her rest.”
Ms. Layme quickly took Margot back to her room.
At that moment, only Theodore, Callum, and Elspeth were left.
“Where’s Blake and Edmund?” Callum wondered where they were.
However, it was as if Theodore had aged ten years in an instant as he weakly said, “The butler has called them. They’ll be back soon.”
Callum’s heart sank. He was worried his brothers might run into a similar accident, especially when they were anxious. However, fortunately, they both showed up half an hour later.
Just then, Edmund smirked. “Just kidding. Con’t believe you foll for thot.”
“How did this happen, Callum?” Blake was closest to Max. He couldn’t believe it when the butler told him Max was dead. “Is he really dead?” He looked at the urn in disbelief. That’s his ashes inside.
“Yes. He had an accident at the racecourse.” Callum refused to bring up the reason for Max’s death. Every mention made his heart hurt more.
Edmund stayed silent, but he looked upset. Max might not be his real brother, but they grew up together. This sudden death came as a shock. Max had always been the purest among the siblings, following Edmund around everywhere. Max was so pure that not even Arthur would have the heart to harm him. Yet, the innocence is now gone.
Edmund raised his head, trying to hold back his tears. “What happened at the racecourse?” He knew there was more behind the accident. “There’s more behind it, isn’t it?”
Callum gazed at him and thought, He has always been a smart boy. Callum replied, “No. He just drove too fast.”
Blake wiped his tears away. “No way. We used to skip classes just to race. He was a steady racer. There’s no way he could’ve driven too fast.”
“Maybe he just wanted to win the race.”
Edmund narrowed his eyes and put his hands in his pockets. Then, he backed off a little. “Impossible. He didn’t care about prizes. He would never drive too fast just to win, as he knew the risks. He was a racer, after all.” That’s not a good reason. “Callum, have you ever noticed you would rub your sleeve every time you lie?”
Callum looked at his hand immediately, but then he realized he wasn’t doing anything of the sort.
Shoot. He got me. Callum stared at Edmund, contemplating his next move.
Edmund stepped ahead and patted Blake’s shoulder. “If that’s what Callum says, then we’ll go with that explanation. For now.” Obviously, he didn’t trust Callum.
Callum’s face fell. He had a feeling Edmund was up to something.
Oh, they’re going to fight. Elspeth stepped in. “It’s not as conspiratorial as you think. Max sped up too much and got into a car crash.”
“Elspeth, I respect you because I like you, but please don’t meddle in our family affairs.” Realizing he sounded a bit too harsh, Edmund smirked. “Be a dear and stay out of this, will you?”
There’s the old, scheming Edmund again. Elspeth had a bad feeling about his sudden change.
“I think we should give Max the justice he deserves, Callum.” Blake picked up the urn, looking sorrowful. “I will find out who’s behind this.”
“Suit yourself.” Callum didn’t bother stopping them anymore since they had made up their minds. “But before that, we must hold his funeral.”
“Of course. Max’s our brother. We’ll make sure he goes out with a bang.” Edmund looked at Callum coldly. He was going to start his own investigation.
“Very well. I’m sure you know what to do.” Callum held Elspeth’s hand and left.
Once they were gone, Blake looked at Edmund. “You were awfully aggressive with Callum. Why? Do you still hate him?”
“No. It’s purely because of Max’s death.”
Blake was smart, but not smart enough. Edmund couldn’t tell him what he suspected. Blake was dating Elspeth’s friend. If he told that woman about Edmund’s thoughts, she might tell Elspeth, and Elspeth would probably hinder his investigation. In the end, Edmund swallowed his words and patted Blake’s shoulder. “Don’t think too much about it. You don’t have to get involved in this matter. Just deal with the funeral.” I’ll handle everything else.
Blake didn’t understand a thing. He just knew that there was tension between Edmund and Callum. “How did Max die anyway, Edmund? He loved racing and was a cautious person. There was no way he would speed up too much just to win.”
Edmund didn’t give a straight-up answer. Instead, he responded while smiling, “I think so, too.”
“Honestly, Callum is so careless. He’s always the most careful out of us, so how did he overlook this one?”
Maybe he did it on purpose. Edmund didn’t want to suspect Callum, but everything was pointing to Callum being at least an accomplice. He must act based on this assumption.
Blake took the urn and placed it carefully in a corner. “You’re a busy man, Edmund. It’s not every day you come back. Why don’t you go back to work? I’ll call when the date of the funeral is set. You can come back then.” His voice broke when he finished his sentence. “Max wouldn’t want to waste your time. He was a happy-go-lucky guy. He’d want you to finish your work before attending to his matter.”
Edmund was tearing up a little. “I understand.” And I can look into this matter, too. If Callum is involved in this, then I’m going after him.
…
The couple came out, and Elspeth thought something was off. Once they got into the car and buckled up, she asked, “Callum, don’t you think something seems off?”
“Yes.” Callum then whispered, “But I kept quiet just in case the suspect finds out.”
Elspeth arched her eyebrow. She looked a little grim. “So, you think there’s more behind this? And that his death was no accident?”
“Precisely.”
“You didn’t tell them that he sped up because of Yelena so they wouldn’t target her, did you?” If they knew Yelena was related to this matter, they would go after her, even though the accident wasn’t her fault and she didn’t mean to call him. Callum’s always so meticulous, Elspeth thought.
“Every suspicion they have, I’ve had it as well.”
No matter how heartbroken Max was, he would never speed up so much. Unless he wanted to die. However, Max said nothing back at the hospital. It almost seemed like he was the only reason this accident happened. Almost like no one was behind this.
“But they obviously think you’re a suspect. Maybe they think you killed Max.”
Elspeth was worried. If someone knew the Winthrop brothers were being suspicious of one another, they would probably set something up to affirm Edmund’s suspicion that Callum was behind the accident.
And if the Winthrop brothers get into a fight, who will benefit from this the most? She listed out the potential suspects, but none stood out. Arthur, the McGraths, and even Alphascape were factored in. They did have a conflict of interest in this matter, but that was no reason to murder anyone. Max never had any contact with them. So, there’s no way they would go after him.
“Let’s put this aside. First, we must check his car.”
Elspeth frowned. “But it might have been taken away and cleaned of all traces.”
They both loved racing and had a few achievements to show for that. Even without any professionals, they could still find out what was wrong with Max’s car. Callum called her so they could check the car out together.
While on the way there, Elspeth was reminded of how Callum wouldn’t tell his siblings about Yelena’s involvement, and it touched her. “Thanks for helping Yelena out, Callum.” In all honesty, Elspeth was surprised he did that. She thought he would tell his brothers all the details so everyone could find out the truth more efficiently, but instead, he kept Yelena’s involvement a secret.
“I did it for you.”
Aww, he loves me so much. She was moved and delighted. She could feel herself falling deeper for him. Though, she quickly calmed herself down and followed Callum to an abandoned warehouse in the southern part of the city. The car was moved to this place so no one could sabotage it or hinder their investigation.
When they came to the warehouse, everything seemed untouched. Callum whipped out a rusty key and unlocked the door. The red car was lying right inside. It was broken, but Elspeth could see that it was expensive. She narrowed her eyes in thought. It’s battered. I can imagine how bad the accident was. Max must’ve been in a lot of pain.
She held her sorrow down and touched the car. “The impact must’ve been really powerful. No matter how you cut it, only death awaited Max.” If this is a conspiracy, then the killer is sick in the head.
Callum looked at the car. He, too, felt sorrowful. “I think something’s wrong with the brakes.”
Elspeth didn’t think so, however. Nevertheless, they pulled the door open and checked the brakes. It was marred, but the brakes worked well. “Hmm, nothing’s wrong with the brakes. So, what caused this, then?” She was befuddled. What could make a car speed up even more when it was already at high speed?
Callum had the same question. He circled around the car before eventually laying his eyes on the tires. “Could it be the tires?”
Elspeth looked at the tires. Hmm, they look darker than most tires. “Say, don’t you think they look a bit darker than most tires?” I don’t remember our race cars having tires this dark.
Noticing that, Callum went for a check. She’s right. They’re darker than usual. Did someone sabotage it?
Elspeth leaned toward one of the tires and took a whiff. She noticed that aside from the smell of smoke and gasoline, there was another scent in the air. Lubricant! “Someone must’ve applied lubricant on the tires and glazed them to keep them smooth. This is no mere accident.” Her face fell. This is no accident. Someone’s behind this.
“They wanted Max dead. This might not be the only part they’ve tampered with.” We might have missed something else, Callum thought. Then, he added, “Most people would check the brakes after their cars go out of control. That’s what common sense tells us. The killer knows that as well.” He continued, “So, they might not tamper with the brakes, but…”
But they might tamper with something else! The realization struck Elspeth. She checked the car’s insides again and noticed the gas pedal had been tampered with. “Damn them.” Most people would’ve chalked it up to a real accident if they found nothing wrong with the brakes. Good thing we did a thorough check.
