The Last Call
February 21, 2025
Detective Sarah Lawson sipped her black coffee, staring at the pile of case files on her desk. The latest one, marked Urgent, had her full attention. The victim: Jason Whitmore, a well-known defense attorney, found dead in his downtown office late last night. Cause of death: a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Her partner, Detective Ryan Carter, leaned against her desk. “You’re gonna love this. Surveillance footage shows no one entering or leaving the building at the time of the murder. Locked-door mystery.”
Sarah exhaled sharply. “Great. Another magician killer.” She flipped through the file. “Any suspects?”
Ryan nodded. “His wife, Emily Whitmore. She reported the body. Says she came to check on him when he didn’t answer his phone. But get this—neighbors heard shouting from his office an hour before the estimated time of death.”
Sarah shut the file. “Let’s talk to her.”
Emily Whitmore sat in the interrogation room, her red-rimmed eyes fixed on the table. Sarah studied her—elegant, mid-forties, but clearly shaken.
“Mrs. Whitmore,” Sarah began, “you were the last person to see Jason alive. Can you tell us what happened?”
Emily sniffled. “I—I went to his office because he wasn’t answering my calls. He’s been… distant lately. When I got there, I found him slumped over his desk. I called 911 immediately.”
Sarah exchanged a glance with Ryan. “Witnesses say they heard arguing from his office earlier that night.”
Emily hesitated. “We had… an argument over the phone. He was angry about something—something personal. But I swear, I didn’t see him in person until I found him dead.”
Ryan leaned forward. “Mrs. Whitmore, was your husband having an affair?”
Emily’s lips trembled. “I think so. He’d been secretive, coming home late. I confronted him last week, but he denied everything.”
Sarah nodded. “Where were you last night around 10 p.m.?”
“At home,” Emily said. “Alone.”
Ryan sighed. “Not the best alibi.”
Emily sat up. “I didn’t kill my husband, detectives.”
Later that evening, Sarah played back Jason Whitmore’s voicemail logs. A single message, received at 9:47 p.m., caught her attention. She hit play.
“Jason, it’s over. I know what you did, and I won’t let you ruin me. I’m coming over.”
The voice belonged to Daniel Carter—Jason’s former client, recently acquitted in a high-profile embezzlement case.
Sarah’s pulse quickened. She turned to Ryan. “Daniel Carter. Jason got him off the hook six months ago. Rumors were that Jason knew Carter was guilty but buried evidence.”
Ryan cursed. “If Carter thought Jason would turn on him, that’s a motive.”
They found Daniel Carter at his penthouse, drink in hand. When Sarah played the voicemail, his smirk faded.
“I just wanted to scare him,” he admitted. “Jason was threatening to go to the press. I went to his office, yeah, but he was already dead when I got there.”
Sarah folded her arms. “Funny. The surveillance says otherwise.”
Daniel’s eyes darted to the door. Ryan pulled out his cuffs. “Going somewhere?”
Case closed.