A Boot Full of Human Bones

Hannah杨涵190161130

“Freeze, don’t move!”

Several police cars surrounded his car, the wail of sirens echoing in the valley. He put up his hands and rotated his head toward the man sitting beside him, puzzled and resentful. Not surprisingly, the human bones in the boot were easily discovered.

But before talking about the bones, we need to go back several months to a baby.

At Manly Hospital, a baby cried for its mother, but she was nowhere to be found. More and more people gathered around, some of whom kindly called the police. One question gripped all of those people: what happened to her mum? With the infant safe, police began to search for anything that may have revealed some answers. They discovered that the baby was the daughter of Zoe, a white-collar employee of an international company. After searching Zoe’s apartment, the police had found nothing suspicious. Photos with her daughter were everywhere, placed on the table, hung on the wall, and even printed onto the fridge magnets. It seemed that she was a loving mother, unlikely to abandon her child. However, surveillance video revealed a clue: Zoe and her child had left the building the day before in the company of a middle-aged man.

The police were at a loss on finding this key figure; however, he soon came forward to identify himself as Michael Wallace, a close friend of Zoe. Wallace claimed he knew nothing of her disappearance. Police were obviously suspicious of Wallace, but with no evidence, they could only wait and watch.

Two months later, a spray painter came to the police office to reveal his inglorious past, which involved a man he’d met in prison years before. The man from his past was Michael Wallace, and it turned out he had quite a history. A former federal policeman turned drug trafficker. Wallace had wanted a favor, but the spray painter wasn’t interested. Living a complacent life, he felt he had done his time and was ready to put his criminal past behind. But in time, Wallace eventually convinced him by promising that $10,000 would be deposited into his account if the task was successfully completed.

His first request was, “I need you to dispose of a mate’s car. It’s for an insurance claim.” The spray painter was suspicious of his real intention but still did as instructed.

The second request came a few months later, “We have to go and fix something.”

Four months after Zoe’s disappearance, Michael Wallace and the spray painter headed to the West Mountains. When they reached the destination, the spray painter was shocked to find that in the big hole that Wallace had been digging were the remains of someone, but were hard to recognize after several months. The spray painter managed to pry the owner of the bones out of Wallace. Wallace assumed that the spray painter had already been mired in the crime; he couldn’t get away with this either if he didn’t keep it secret. Thus, he let down his guard to the spray painter and disclosed part of his scheme to him: initially, disposing of Zoe’s car had been to clear up the evidence, without which the police would have no reason to arrest him. Another action would be taken after several months, when the corpse turned into unrecognizable bones. This time was to collect her bones and dispose of them into the sea.

Getting nervous after collecting the bones, the spray painter wanted to stop for a drink. However, Wallace was worried about disclosing too much and attempted to murder him on the way to the bar.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the police swooped.

“Freeze, don’t move!”

The two men put up their hands, staring at each other. One was glaring while the other was sneering.

“What the hell? You dare to betray me!” Wallace was trembling with anger and rage.

The spray painter just responded with complacency, “Forgive me, man. I had no alternative. After all, someone who knows too many secrets is at risk.”

In the back of the vehicle, the remains of Zoe were found. The Police had their man. 55-year-old Michael Wallace was arrested for the murder of Zoe. The spray painter was allowed to go free. Disposing of a vehicle was one thing, but on learning that the vehicle belonged to the missing Zoe, that was too much. Months earlier, the spray painter had turned police informant. Thereafter, everything Wallace told him has been recorded on a wire-tap and used as evidence against him.

What the recordings revealed was a twisted and bizarre love triangle.

Wallace knew that Zoe had a lover, a married man with three children, who was also the father to Zoe’s child. Notwithstanding, he still was with Zoe like peas and carrots. Though a loving mother, Zoe was also poisoned with jealousy. She offered Wallace $20,000 to organize a hit on the married man’s wife. Wallace supposed accepting the offer would win her continued affection. He was wrong. Zoe only wanted to be with the father of her child, and worse, she complained that it was taking too long to organize the hit. Feeling rejected, Wallace came up with another plan: keep the twenty grand and turn the hit onto Zoe.

Jealous woman. Jealous man. Jealousy distorts people and makes them pursue love by resorting to unscrupulous means. If you believe murder can cure jealousy, then make sure you check which direction the weapon is pointed.