The room fell silent as Detective Lena Hartwell entered the dimly lit study. In the center of the room lay the lifeless body of millionaire entrepreneur, Victor Blackwood. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling, a single gunshot wound to his chest. The only other people in the room were his wife, Evelyn, his business partner, James, and his personal assistant, Sarah.
Lena surveyed the scene, taking in the details. The gun lay just inches from Victor's hand, suggesting suicide. However, something didn't feel right. Lena noticed a peculiar smell lingering in the air, almost like burnt almonds.
She approached the body and examined the wound closely. The bullet hole was small and precise, not the typical entry point for a self-inflicted shot. Lena's suspicions grew as she turned to the three suspects.
Evelyn, a beautiful woman with a cold demeanor, claimed she had been in the garden when the shot rang out. James, a nervous man with a twitching eye, said he was in the kitchen preparing coffee. Sarah, a young woman with a guarded expression, stated she had been in the bathroom.
Lena's instincts told her that one of them was lying. She noticed a small, almost imperceptible stain on James' shirt cuff. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was gunpowder residue. The burnt almond smell, she concluded, was from the discharge of the weapon.
Confronted with the evidence, James broke down and confessed. He had discovered that Victor was planning to expose his embezzlement scheme, effectively ruining his career. In a moment of desperation, James had shot Victor and staged the scene to look like a suicide.
As James was led away in handcuffs, Lena couldn't help but feel a sense of sadness. Another life lost to greed and deception. She knew that justice had been served, but it always came at a cost.
