The old woman sighed as she pushed the drawer of her till back in, and it closed with a ‘ping’. “I’m broke,� she said sadly and with such finality that one could almost taste the full stop. The woman had grey hair and was in her early seventies, but she had a face that looked still older than its years. Behind the watery blue eyes, something close to anger was stirring uncomfortably, but masking that emotion was one of sheer despair. If you had known this woman, as the man stood in front of her did, you would have known that she had missed her last three mortgage payments. The bank had sent her many a letter, covered in red stamps reading “FINAL WARNING�. The woman was at her wits ends; she had no money left and it was all her fault.

“Whose fault?� the man asked. You could hear the anger hiding underneath the mask of calm on his voice.

“Hers,� the old woman cried the word. “That Stefania’s.� Then it all became too much for the old woman; she broke down into tears, and despite the deeply buried anger in her eyes, the sight was enough to bring the strongest man to the brink of tears.

The woman went to walk around the counter, to receive some comfort from the man on the other side. But before she could reach him, the man simply nodded, turned on his heel and walked out of the door. The bell tinkled softly as the old woman dabbed at her eyes.

***

“George!� a large beefy man exclaimed, slapping a slightly smaller and younger man hard on the back. The man in question smiled as cheerfully as he could, while fighting the instinct to rub his now smarting back.

“Good to see you Augustus,� George replied civilly. He could see Augustus about to open his mouth to start a conversation that would no doubt take up most of the night and involve far too many back slaps than could possibly be good for a person. Making a hasty excuse, George moved on. Neville Longbottom and his wife Hannah intercepted George next, but left when Hannah declared she wanted something to eat.

Just then, George spotted a woman that he recognised. “Stefania!� he called out happily. Finally, someone he could talk to without being hit or bored to death.

“George!� the woman replied sounding truly delighted to see him; she kissed him lightly on each cheek. “How are you George?� she asked, sipping delicately from her champagne flute.

“I am good, thank you Stefania. And yourself? Been keeping busy?�

“Oh yes,� Stefania smiled broadly. “The shop is a huge success, everyday is a busy day, it is fantastic!�

George smiled at the woman and then noticed her look briefly toward me, as I stood beside him.

“Oh, how rude of me!� George exclaimed, sounding slightly embarrassed to have forgotten to introduce his friends and work mates.

“Stefania, this is Winston Smith, my assistant. Winston, this is Stefania, owner of the very famous Stefania’s Boutique.�

The two shook hands, each smiling politely. “Now!� said Stefania, clapping her hands excitedly,. “What kind of MLE ball would this be if no one asked me to dance?� She looked pointedly at George, who blushed slightly before holding out his hand to the lady. “Mi’ lady,� he began in a mock historical accent. “May I have this dance?� Stefania giggled before taking George’s hand. She looked apologetically at me, and held out her Champagne. “Would you mind?� she asked, flashing her pearly white teeth and fluttering her long black eyelashes. “N..not at all,� I stammered. She handed the glass over to me and flashed another smile before disappearing onto the dance floor with George. A petite blonde woman on the other side of the dance floor smiled at me. I smiled back as she began to walk over.

***

Stefania’s shop was beautiful. The shop front was clean and looked brand new; it was painted a dazzling white and had hanging baskets brimming with flowers below a perfect sign reading Stefania’s Boutique . The shop stood out in its comparatively dilapidated surroundings. There were a few other shops on the same street, some food shops and a craft shop, and there was one other clothes shop on the street – Granny Smith’s, but George barely threw a glance at it before hurrying into Stefania’s Boutique. I followed at a slower pace, fidgeting with my tie.

When I entered the flat above the shop, I could see my boss crouched on the floor beside the bed. I could see from my stance that he was upset. I walked calmly over to the bed, flashing my MLE badge at the other officers in the room. When I reached my boss, I saw that he was crouched low over the body of a woman – a woman with long curly blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. It was the body of Stefania. I looked up at George, to see how he would take the news that one of his good friends was dead. He looked confused, like he didn’t understand what had happened. I considered putting my hand on his shoulder, but thought better of it. Instead I surveyed the room. The bed was set at the centre of the room, its crème silk sheets were crumpled and uneven, it was obvious that Stefania had spent, or at least started, the night in the bed. One of the pillows had been knocked onto the floor, and the items from her bedside table were strewn across it. Possible signs of a struggle? I searched the rest of the room. The door hadn’t been forced, the window wasn’t smashed and, when I examined the body briefly, I discovered that Stefania had no visible signs of trauma.

I searched the rest of the room again, examined every piece of white wallpaper, every floorboard. I searched through the chest of drawers and the wardrobe. There was nothing. I knew there would be nothing. The crime was flawless. I couldn't wrap my mind around the perfection of the murder. It seemed everything had gone exactly according to plan. The murderer was untraceable.

After magically removing fingerprints from the door handle of Stefania’s front door and collecting any trace I could from her apartment, I returned back to the Head Quarters to analyse all the evidence. George seemed to be in a state of shock as we entered the MLE HQ. “Chief?� I asked uncertainly,. “Should I...erm.. get this evidence to the labs?� The chief nodded dumbly, and I set off down the hall, leaving him standing just inside the doorway.

The fingerprints from the front door, the window and numerous other things inside the house all belonged to Stefania. They were a dead end. I smiled and put them to one side. Just then I heard a voice from behind me.

“Smith!� it called in a low, gruff tone. I turned around to see who was talking and spotted Detective Chief Inspector Jones hurrying towards me. I smiled nervously at the large man who was curling his moustache between finger and thumb. When he finally reached me, he patted me on the shoulder with such force that I nearly fell over. “Good man, good man,� he said cheerfully. Then in a slightly more serious tone, “This business with Stefania... awful, isn’t it? Just awful. I have had to send George home, quite distraught he was. I had a word with him just now, and it has emerged that he was the last person to see Ms. Linton alive, meaning unfortunately that one of our best inspectors is now our prime suspect.� DCI Jones sighed sadly. “But,� he began encouragingly, “I would like to offer you, Smith, a temporary promotion. I would like you to head the case of Ms. Linton’s death. Take over from George, just until all this nasty business dies down.�

“I... I would be honoured.,� I said, smiling at DCI Jones.

“Well, there we go then!� he said happily. He went to slap my back again, but I moved just in time to avoid being sent to the floor.

“Thank you Sir.,� I said smiling.

“No problem!� he roared. “You just make sure you get this case solved!�

“I will, Sir,� I smiled. “I will.�

“Good morning Sir,� I said politely, walking into the interview room.

“Winston? You’re heading this case?�

“Yes Sir.�

“Oh, okay then.� He seemed a little disgruntled that a case involving himself as a suspect hadn’t been given to a higher authority then his own assistant.

“It has come to our attention that you were the last person to see Ms. Linton alive. Could you describe the night in question please?�

Still seemingly disgruntled, George began to describe the night of the MLE ball. “Well when I first arrived... Oh for goodness sake Winston, you were there!�

“I know Sir, but it is protocol for me to record the events from your point of view.�

“I know, but I didn’t murder Stefania! She was my friend!�

“Mr Smith?� A new voice cut in. I turned around to see a nervous looking rookie holding a sheet or parchment stood in the doorway.

“I...erm I have the results of Ms. Linton’s autopsy.� She gestured to the parchment she was holding. I nodded and walked toward her, gently taking the parchment from her and gesturing for her to leave.
Autopsy results for: Stefania Jocasta Linton
Age: 30
Gender: Female
Blood type: A-
Cause of death (COD): Poisoning

Poisoning, how... unexpected. I smiled.

I turned back to George. “We now have confirmation that Stefania Jocasta Linton was murdered. Continue, please describe, in detail, the night of the crime.�
At the word ‘murder’ George blanched. I looked at him expectantly.

“Well, when we first arrived at the ball, I went straight over to her; we talked, then we went to dance. We danced for about half an hour, and then we went for food and drink. We sat for a bit, talked, then I walked her home and I left. She was perfectly fine, I swear!�

“You were the only person at Ms Linton’s home that last night? And you didn’t go inside? She didn’t mention anyone else was going to be there?�

“Well no... But I didn’t do anything to hurt her! Please Winston, come on, you know me!�

“I am sorry sir, I have to do my job. I examined the objects I brought back from her flat, and we found two coffee cups with two different types of DNA. One belonged to Ms. Linton, and the other belonged to you Sir.�

“Well okay, I did go into her house. We had coffee, but how would this look if my wife found out?�

“That is not something for the MLE to worry about. The fact is that you went in and had a drink with the victim – how easy would it have been to slip some poison into her cup while she was looking the other way?�

“No! Why would I do that Winston!�

“You know Sir... as your assistant I pick up things that you probably don’t mean me to. All those sneaky floo calls? How you looked at Stefania last night? Asking me to tell your wife you are working late when you left the office two hours before? Not really very subtle sir.�

George blushed furiously. “Okay! I loved Stefania! Yes, we were having an affair. But why would I kill her? If I loved her, surely it seems even less likely that I killed her?�

“Not necessarily Sir. Planning on leaving your wife?� George looked nervous. “No, I thought not. I am sure Stefania was overjoyed when she heard that. Quite a good motive for blackmail I think. And an even better one for murder on your part.�

George looked stunned. Just then there was a rustling from underneath the door. An inter-departmental memo came whooshing through the gap, and landed in my hand where I unfolded it.

“I am sorry, George,� I said, mustering as much disdain as I could. “I have to go.�

And with that I opened the door and left, leaving George with his head in his hands.

***

I spent the next few days compiling evidence against George. I performed spells on the fireplace in his office, tracing the last destination. Sure enough, it led me straight to Stefania’s Boutique. I interviewed Hagrid and Madame Maxime, who had been walking in the grounds around the time when George and Stefania would have left, and sure enough they confirmed they saw George and Stefania Disapparate together. I thought I had a pretty solid case against the chief. Then, five days after Stefania’s death I got another inter-departmental memo. It told me that George had requested to see me.

I closed the door of the interviewing room behind me with a ‘snap’. “Yes?� I questioned the man sat at the other end of the grubby white table in the otherwise bare room.

George leaned back in his chair. “I’ve been thinking,� he said sadly. “About why you are working so hard to frame me.�

I raised my eyebrows at him. “You think I am framing you?�

“No. I know you are framing me. You know I didn’t kill Stefania as well as I do. I loved her, I really did. As a DI, I managed to call in some overdue favours. I found out what kind of poison killed Stefie.Nex Venenum. You know what that is of course. Before I hired you I looked at your qualifications; quite the expert potions brewer, aren’t you? Only someone who knew a lot about potions would know that Nex Venenum or Death poison is a deadly, yet easily attainable poison. And another quality to it, is that it is a slow acting poison. It burns your insides doesn’t it, Winston?�

I stood dumbly, not daring even to breathe.

“So,� continued George, “I thought back to that night In detail. When Stefie and I went to dance, who did she give her champagne to? You. Who else could have slipped a small dose of Nex Venenum into her drink? No one. Therefore I came to the sad conclusion that it was you who murdered my Stefie. My wonderful Jokie.�

“And isn’t it just killing you?� I sneered. “Yeah. I killed her. But you don’t know why do you? And no one will ever believe you. The man accused of murdering a woman he was having an affair with after she blackmailed him, accuses a golden genius of an MLE officer—who is also heading the case against said man—of murdering this woman, despite him having no motive to do so?� I laughed triumphantly.

George started at me, dumbfounded. “W..why?�

“Why would I tell you?� I sneered again. “When instead I could just sit here and watch you go down for a crime you never committed, taking your family name and your reputation down with you. While I, I get your job and the shining reputation of the person to catch the murderer of one of the most loved people in all of England.�

George looked pleadingly up at me. I just smirked and strutted from the room.

***

The next day I arrived at work as usual, and when I reached my office, DCI Jones was waiting for me. “Good morning Sir,� I said cheerfully. I looked across my desk, expecting to see the cheery face I was used to. Instead I saw that DCI Jones had a stressed, worried look on his face. “Is everything all right?� I asked uncertainly.

“No, Smith. Everything is not all right. First I have one of my best officers charged with murder, and then I hear, from him, that the man I got to replace him is trying to frame him.�

I froze, then tried to shake it off. “He said what?� I laughed light-heartedly. “Poor chap, I didn’t realise the cells were that bad; if he goes mad here goodness knows what he’ll do in Azkaban.�

DCI Jones frowned. “You’re probably right; of course, yes, of course you are. I’m being silly, just the ravings of a murdering lunatic.� He sighed again at his last words. “I did used to like George so much though...� he trailed off. “Sorry to waste your time Smith.� And with that he left.

I breathed a sigh of relief. The court case was in a day’s time; after that, I needed to get out. At the moment I was banking on no one believing George; it seemed at least that I had DCI Jones fooled. But what about all the other MLE officers?

***

“How is the shop going?� The man asked casually.

“Oh Winston! It’s going fantastic! Sad news about Stefania, but at least someone benefitted. I am so glad they caught the killer. Although I would have liked a chance to thank him. That woman really was unpleasant, the world will be better off without her I think, Winston.�

“ You can thank him, Grandma,� the man said casually.

The old woman looked confused. “What do you mean? I thought you caught the killer yourself? Locked him up?�

“It was me, Grandma,� the man said smiling.. “I killed her, and I framed George. The perfect murder, even if I do say so myself. Now we have the shop back, and I have been permanently promoted!� The man grinned down at his grandmother.

The old woman looked shocked. “Y..you shouldn’t joke about things like that, Winston,� she stammered.

The man looked confused. “Joke? I am not joking grandma, I thought you’d be happy!�

The old woman gasped. “Winston, what have you done?� She sounded like she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. “Happy? Why would I be happy, Winston?�

Winston looked more confused than ever. “I.. I did it for you Grandma, for us! You have your shop back! I thought it was what you wanted? You wanted your shop back and get rid of Stafania!�

“NOT LIKE THIS!� she cried. “Never like this! Oh Winston, what have you done? You’ll have to hand yourself in, I’ll get a good lawyer...�

Winston cut her off angrily. “WHAT? Hand myself in? Are you crazy? No grandma! I did this for us, to make you happy. I put my life on the line, my career, the family name, EVERYTHING! You can’t throw that all away, Grandma!�

The old lady was shaking no. “I’m sorry Winston, but you cannot let an innocent man go down for your crimes. If you won’t hand yourself in, I’ll do it for you.� With a trembling hand she reached for the phone hung over the counter of the family shop Granny Smith’s.

Screaming in fury, Winston balled his fists and threw himself at his grandmother with all his might, knocking her to the floor. He heard a dull ‘thunk’ as something hit the corner of the counter.

“Oh God, what have I done?� he muttered to himself. Horrified at what he might find, he pulled himself to his feet. His grandmother didn’t move. He screamed in fury. Throwing a handful of Floo power into the fireplace that stood at the back of the shop, he gently placed his grandmother into the flames. Once he was sure she had gone safely, he began to run.