Chapter 97
Logan and Matilda held each other in an embrace before she coaxed him to sleep. They chatted for a while, the conversation flowing easily between them until the deepening night outside went unnoticed, and Matilda, without realizing it, dozed off at Logan’s bedside.
Meanwhile, at Tiger Pub, Yvan and Mason sat opposite each other, swapping the information they had gathered.
Mason handed a report over to Yvan.
“Rachel fell down the stairs; that much is true. But since that corner was a blind spot for the mall’s security cameras, there’s no video evidence to prove that Matilda pushed her.”
“But…” Yvan wanted to say something, only to be interrupted by Mason, “You’re going to say you saw it with your own eyes, right? Yvan, how did you just happen to see Matilda push Rachel at that exact moment?”
“Someone tipped me off.” Yvan felt like he was missing a crucial detail, “At that moment someone was on the phone with me, mentioned Rachel, so I turned to look and just saw…
“Who was it?”
Ella.
The name slipped from Yvan’s lips, and Mason’s mouth curled into an almost imperceptible smile. “Ella?”
“It can’t be. It was just a coincidence. Ella has no reason to harm her own sister.”
“Then we’re again back to square one.” Mason tapped the stack of papers, “I had someone check the cleaning staff roster from that mall five years ago, pulled up their schedules and cleaning logs. Found out that the escalator where Rachel had her accident had just been mopped with soap; do you realize what that means?”
Yvan’s pupils contracted in sudden realization. Anyone passing that area could have slipped! But why such a coincidence?
“Moreover,” Mason pointed to a line in the spreadsheet, “the mall’s escalator was under maintenance at the time, so it was logged specifically. Typically, these large malls will record escalator maintenance. There were signs around at the time, but for some reason, someone moved them.”
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Mason spoke rapidly and with clinical precision, “Five years on, the rest of the mall’s footage is gone. We can only say this might have been a tragic accident. Rachel happened to pass by an escalator being cleaned, and Matilda…”
“So how did Matilda and Rachel come to meet?” Yvan quickly spotted the flaw in Mason’s theory, “It it was just an accident, Rachel would have slipped on her own. Why was Matilda there? Unless Matilda went looking for Rachel, how could she be by her side and just happen to extend her hand when I saw her?!”
Mason looked incredulous. “You…you saw Matilda do it? You’re sure it wasn’t a mistake?”
“It wasn’t a mistake.” Yvan seemed to be recalling something. “I saw it with my own. eyes–Matilda reaching out, and Rachel falling, tumbling down from the escalator to the ground floor!”
Mason’s brow farrowed deeply in frustration, “How is that possible?!”
“Besides, my testimony alone doesn’t count for much. After the incident, the police canvassed the area, and most of the witnesses corroborated seeing Matilda make her move.” Yvan enunciated each word, “That’s why I had her put behind bars!”
