A Year after Son’s D3ath, Woman Sees Grave of Her Daughter In Law at the Cemetery
Brenda felt confused when her deceased son's wife claimed not to recognize her. She felt shocked when she visited her son's grave and found her daughter-in-law's headstone next to it. Brenda asked her son's best friend for answers, but his strange behavior made her decide to investigate the mystery herself.
Christopher died at age 27 in a terrible accident. This left his mother, Brenda, to deal with overwhelming grief. Her world turned dark after his death, and her health declined.
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Brenda was ready to leave the station when she spotted a familiar face in the crowd: Harper, her widowed daughter-in-law. Brenda had planned to meet Harper after visiting the cemetery, so she ran after the young woman to surprise her.
"Harper! Harper? Wait!" She tapped the woman's shoulder from behind.
"I'm not Harper. You have the wrong person, lady!" The young woman rudely pushed away Brenda's hand and hurried away.
"Ma'am...we're here," the taxi driver said as he stopped at the cemetery entrance, breaking Brenda from her thoughts.
The quiet felt disturbing as Brenda searched the row of graves for Christopher's final resting place. She began crying as she touched Christopher's headstone with her trembling fingers.
The inscription on the stone frightened her.
In Loving Memory of Harper. S.
January 8, 1995 – December 3, 2020
Forever cherished, Forever missed.
Rest in peace.
"Oh my God...Harper died last week and nobody told me?" Brenda gasped, unable to believe what she saw.
A chilling question filled her mind: "If Harper is dead, then who was the girl at the subway?"
Brenda jumped from her thoughts as she heard someone raking dry leaves.
The man lit a cigarette and breathed out, sending smoke into the air. "It happened last week. It seemed strange... There were no mourners, only funeral service workers. They brought the coffin, buried it, built a small headstone, and then left. It wasn't even a proper funeral."
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"Not that I know of, Ma'am," he answered. "I work here all day and live on the property. I watch over the cemetery constantly and haven't seen anyone visit that woman's grave."
"Okay...thanks," Brenda said and turned around. Nothing made sense to her.
Brenda wanted to solve the mystery about her daughter-in-law's death, so she decided to meet Jake, her late son's best friend and business partner.
Jake felt surprised to find his closest friend's mother there on his porch, smiling at him. He asked Brenda inside, but she noticed his nervousness.
Brenda entered and saw luggage in the living room, so she immediately asked about Jake's travel plans.
"I'm moving out of this state, Mrs. Sutton. It's been a hard year since Chris died," Jake said, with strange sadness and anxiety showing on his face. "The business is ruined so I chose to relocate somewhere far from all the problems I've been handling."
"How can the business be ruined, Jake?" Brenda questioned with raised eyebrows.
"What's happening? I found Harper's grave next to my son's burial site. Nobody even informed me she died! Tell me...what happened to my daughter-in-law? How did she die?"
"Mrs. Sutton, I... I didn't want to upset you. After Chris's death, you were so troubled and broken. When I heard you'd be staying a year in the hospital, I feared your health might get worse if you discovered the business's money problems and what Harper did," Jake said, troubling Brenda more.
"What did Harper do, Jake?" Brenda demanded. "I need to know everything."
"Well, Harper received the business after Chris's death, but she refused to run it because she knew nothing about the company. So, by shared agreement, I took over managing the business because I was already Chris's business partner."
"Honestly, the business collapsed after your son's death. We were close to filing for bankruptcy when Harper suggested finding investors and getting loans to save the business," Jake explained.
"But...you said Harper refused any control in the business," Brenda said, her doubts growing.
"Yes, but we were all desperate to rescue the business. We accepted Harper's suggestion. But just a week ago, Harper took the five million dollar loan money and ran. The police began searching for her."
"Oh, my God! Harper stole the loan money?" Brenda gasped in shock. It was too difficult to believe that her late son's wife had ruined his hard work after his death.
"We never thought she would betray us like this, but she suffered for her betrayal," Jake added. "The cops found a burned car that had crashed into a cliff near the forest. It was Harper's car. She had a tragic accident and died instantly."
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"The police found a woman's completely burned body with Harper's gold letter 'H' necklace. There were burned remains of hundred dollar bills. Everything else was destroyed...the case was closed as accidental death."
"Jesus...Harper destroyed everything," Brenda said. "But wait...what about Christopher's hard work? It doesn't make sense that the business went bankrupt after he died."
"I understand your anger, Mrs. Sutton," Jake said. "But things got out of control. Harper paid a terrible price for her actions, but her funeral was respectful. Many people came and everyone mourned her tragic death...despite the terrible thing she did to all of us."
"Harper's funeral??" Brenda became suspicious. The cemetery worker had told her nobody came to Harper's funeral. Something seemed very strange to Brenda. Jake's nervousness and restlessness, along with his sudden choice to leave the city, increased her doubts more.
"Uh, when does your flight leave, Jake?" Brenda inquired.
"Early tomorrow morning...6 a.m.," he replied.
"Do you mind if I spend the night here?" Brenda requested, a scheme forming in her thoughts. "I'm nervous about booking a hotel room by myself tonight in an unfamiliar city."
Jake thought for a moment before accepting and showing Brenda to the guest room. Brenda switched off the lights but stayed awake. Instead, she anxiously waited for Jake's bedroom lights to go off so she could search for evidence to help her piece together the puzzle.
Brenda's investigation became her worst fear when she found two fake passports hidden in a secret drawer. One contained a picture of her supposedly 'dead' daughter-in-law, Harper, but with a different identity.
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"John?" Brenda's expression filled with doubt when she saw Jake's picture under a different identity in the other passport. "What's happening here? Are they part of something bigger...something I can't even fathom?"
She then found two airline tickets to London reserved under the false identities. A strange feeling crept up Brenda's spine.
Jake and his partner, Sarah, who was really Harper, were planning something evil. Something needed to be done.
She quickly replaced the luggage exactly as it was and rushed to the pharmacy at the end of the street. Minutes later, she returned to Jake's house with sleeping pills.
Brenda was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast when Jake rushed downstairs at 5 a.m.
"Good morning, Jake! Eat breakfast before you depart for the journey!" Brenda smiled warmly. "Here's your orange juice."
"Thanks, Mrs. Sutton, that's really thoughtful of you." Jake drank from the glass Brenda handed him. "It tastes...uhm...good...."
About twenty minutes later, Jake fell asleep on the couch, exactly as Brenda had planned. Harper couldn't travel without a passport and airline ticket, so now, Brenda had to wait for her to call or message Jake.
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Suddenly, Jake's phone buzzed, breaking the silence in the room. The caller name, "Sarah," appeared on the screen. But Brenda never picked up the call. Eventually, a text message showed up.
"How could you oversleep, fool? Have you forgotten we're traveling to London today? I'm calling a taxi and coming to your house right now."
"Come...I'm waiting for you...HARPER!"
"Jake! Are you joking? Wake up," Harper shouted at an unconscious Jake lying on the couch. That's when a familiar voice spoke from behind, shocking her.
"ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE, HARPER?" Brenda said, delivering a hard strike to Harper's head with a vase.
Harper fell to the floor and lost consciousness. Brenda ran outside after hearing police sirens. She described the situation to the officers and showed them the fake passports and airline tickets. Jake and Harper were taken to the hospital and then brought to the police station for interrogation.
During questioning, Jake refused to admit his crimes, but Harper confessed when she understood her punishment could be lessened if she revealed the truth.
Harper told the police everything. She explained how she and Jake had planned Christopher's murder to steal his company and money. They had made his death look like an accident.
After Christopher died, Harper and Jake took control of the business. They used the company's funds for their own benefit. When the money ran out, they created a scheme to fake Harper's death and escape with loan money.
Jake helped Harper stage her death by burning another woman's body in Harper's car. They placed Harper's jewelry on the victim to make the police believe Harper had died in the accident.
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Harper received a life sentence for planning Christopher's murder. Jake got twenty-five years in prison for helping with the murder and the fraud scheme.
Brenda felt satisfied that justice was served. She had solved the mystery and caught her son's killers. The truth about Christopher's death finally came to light.
The police investigation revealed that Christopher had discovered Jake's theft from the company. Jake and Harper killed Christopher to prevent him from reporting the crime to authorities.
Brenda returned to her hometown knowing her son could rest in peace. She had ensured his murderers would pay for their crimes.
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The case became a reminder that determination and courage can help solve even the most complex crimes. Brenda's persistence led to the capture of two dangerous criminals who thought they had committed the perfect crime.
