Newspaper Articles



2 Weeks Later

Boston Globe;
Killer Caught

Local man, 38 year old Spencer Stevens, was discovered to be the mysterious killer in the small town of Sunrise Ridge, Massachusetts. He was killed himself by police shortly before he tried to kill one more potential victim but was stopped by Special Investigators Harrison Adams and Benjamin Sheffield.
"Spencer's crimes were brought on by a rage of passion after his fiancé's death." Adams told the Globe.
Stevens, real name Liam Backus, murdered several people that he held responsible for his deceased fiancé's death; married couple Matthew and Ashley Bundy, Georgina Seeger, Diane Pearlman, Brad Stokely, and Walter DuChamps, as well as 8 investigators that arrived to help solve the case. Stevens also kidnapped local resident Sydney Shields and was going to kill her before Investigators Adams and Sheffield stepped in.
A coroner's inquest into the case determined that Stevens was found guilty of 14 counts of murder, 2 counts of attempted murder, 1 count of kidnapping, 2 counts of vandalism after digging up the grave sites of his deceased fiancé, Tracy Johnson, and the grave of deceased judge, Judge Joseph Seeger, and 1 count of arson stemming from setting popular diner 'The Shaw Shack' on fire. Stevens would of served 4 life sentences without the possibility of parole if he was not killed himself.

6 months later

Sunrise Ridge Gazette;
Popular Diner Reopens

Popular diner 'The Shaw Shack' is officially reopen for business.
"I wanted to reopen because I know how much the community loves the food we prepare with our hearts every day." Owner Tiffany Shaw said in a statement.
The popular diner was burnt down just about 6 months prior. Local man, and former employee, Spencer Stevens, was behind the murders that took place, as well as the man behind the burning down of the diner.
Owner Tiffany Shaw said about Stevens, "It stinks because he was such a nice guy, but he turned out to not be there all the way upstairs."
Since reopening, Shaw has added some new items to the menu.
"I decided to add a few new things. First, because we were built back from the ground up, we now serve 'Phoenix Hot Wings'. From the ashes comes a new phoenix, just like our diner, and just like a phoenix, they're hot!'
When asked about other new items, she stated, 'We would not have been able to open this place back up if it were not for the investigators that came in to help solve the deaths in town. Without their help, out rebuild would not be possible. So, because of their help, we actually were able to have an add on to the diner and have an attached ice cream parlor. We have traditional flavors, but then we have our specials which we've named after the investigators. We have Benjamin Butterscotch, Chrissy Cotton Candy, Mitchell Mango, Kristen Caramel Mocha, Stacey Strawberry Cheesecake, Deanna Cookie Dough, Frank Tutti Fruity, Heidi Hazelnut, Doug Double Chocolate, and Harrison Hot Fudge. They were so sweet and cool to talk to and I can't thank them enough for what they did, so this is my way of showing them."
The Shaw Shack is available for catering.


Neary Reaches Out to Help Others
Local medical examiner Rachel Neary is on a mission after coming out.
"I was trapped in a place I didn't want to be, but I was scared to come out.", Neary said.
In an interview with the Gazette, Rachel Neary opens up about her coming out.
"I dated a woman, secretly, years ago, and after she cheated on me and we separated, she died a few months later. I was working in the office the day they brought her in and cried over her for what felt like hours."
Her former girlfriend, Tracy Johnson, was killed by a drunk driver roughly 10 years ago. Johnson was also the girlfriend, and fiancé, of Sunrise Ridge Killer Spencer Stevens, born Liam Backus.
Neary goes on to explain, "I was scared when we dated. I wasn't sure if it was right or not, but I knew I loved her. Then when she cheated, I was devastated. After that, some people in town discovered I was dating a woman. I was harasses constantly about it. Then when she was brought in after being killed, I locked myself away emotionally. It wasn't until the murders happened where I finally opened up. I felt a huge weight come off my shoulders. The people I opened up to, the investigators, couldn't have been more nicer to me about it. That's why I want to spread the story of love is love."
Rachel Neary has been going around as a motivational speaker doing talks in Massachusetts for numerous LGBTQ organizations to help others that are stuck in a position she herself was once in.
"No one should be afraid to say that their gay or lesbian. At the end of the day it doesn't matter if you're straight, gay, trans, or anything, what matters is that you're human and you are loved by someone."
Rachel also noted that she is happily in a relationship with a lady name Emily Weston.


1 Year Later
Sunrise Ridge Gazette
Announcements

Congratulations go out to the new Mr. and Mrs. Cooper Davis. Davis and now wife, Sydney Shields, were wed on July 29 in front of family and friends. Both husband and wife are local musicians and have written an album together called 'Our Love Ballad', which has gotten them several record label deals in the last few months.


3 Months Later
Sunrise Ridge Gazette
Advertisements

Stokely Works Inc. under new management. Employee Jeffery Ardis is the new
licensed contractor. If you need repairs, just call 1-(800)STO-KELY


The day after the finale
The Providence Journal
Local Man Wins TV Show

Resident Harrison Adams, 26, of Providence won the reality show competition "Murder in Small Town X". Last night on the show, Harrison discovered the whereabouts of a kidnapped suspect, which in turn led to him unmasking the show's killer and winning the grand prize.
"It was a surreal experience. I applied on a whim and the next thing I know I'm getting called by the producers.”
The premise of the show centered around a husband and wife that were killed in a small town in Massachusetts. Harrison, working with 9 other contestants, had to figure out who committed the murder.
On the show, the fictional Killer presented the group a list of 15 suspects, identifying them self as one of the 15. Each episode saw the contestants interview suspects (all actors) and gather information. The Killer then presented them 2 colored envelopes, the first allowed them to possibly clear a suspect by answering a question. The second envelope contains maps where a contestant could possibly be eliminated.
Harrison explained, "We voted for someone to go to one site, and the Lead Investigator for the day picked someone to go to the other site. We walked around with just a flashlight and this backpack that had a camera attached to us to get our reactions. It is basically pitch black except for a little bit of light here and there. We would find the clue and then have to walk all the way back through everything to the car that brought us back to the house. If we picked the wrong map, we'd find the "Killer", which is actually just a cameraman that follows you shortly after you arrive and they set it up to try and scare you, and we would be eliminated from the game. The eliminated contestants were kept in a hotel in the area and that's where I spent two days as well after filming the show.
Harrison added, "Once filming ended, the producers threw a wrap party. Everyone that was involved in the show got together and we had this little set up in the club used in the show. We ate and celebrated and had a fun time. The lady that played the first “victim”, Ashley, actually showed up dressed in the robe she wore in the beginning and had the makeup artist that was involved put a wound on the side of her head. She walked in like a zombie and had everyone cracking up.”
Harrison survived the “Killer’s Game” portion of the show 5 times during the season. When asked if he would ever want to relive what he did, he replied, “After everything that happened, I'd probably do it again."
At the end of the season last night, Harrison decided to track his suspect Spencer Stevens as the Killer. He ended up picking correctly out of his three possible choices and won the game.
His prize? The town's mayor awarded him with a check for $500,000 and the keys to a brand new Jeep.
"We were told about the cash prize, but we didn’t know how much it was until the Mayor told us. That shocked us all. The car I won as well was a complete surprise. I had no idea until the Mayor handed me the keys. It was a huge shock.”
The show Murder in Small Town X originally started back in 2001. Sgt Gary Fredo, who is actually a real life police officer, also hosted the series back in 2001 as well. The winner of that series, Angel Jubare, Jr, was a New York City firefighter who was tragically killed in the September 11th terrorist attacks, which happened less than a week after Angel was revealed to have won the season. Producers wanted to pay tribute to him in the new series.
"When we got the first X to signify what we'd be looking for on the elimination games, everyone was confused to why there was an angel attached to it. We all looked at it like it was the clue and we're all trying to decipher what it means."  Harrison continued, "It was during a break in filming when one of the producers mentioned Angel and told us about him and said it was just a small tribute with a play on words to him and we all thought that was a nice gesture."
A statue made for the original series stands on a pier in Eastport, Maine and was
left behind as a gift to the town. It was refurbished shortly afterwards and is dedicated to Angel as well.
When asked about what he would do with his winnings, Harrison said "I'm not completely sure yet, but I do know that my nieces and nephews are gonna have a little college money coming their way from Uncle Harry, and I’ll probably be getting myself a nice condo.”

”If peace can only come through killing someone, then I don’t want it.”
Hiro Mashima



Finale; Their Must Be A Winner

Last time on Murder in Small Town X;

Chrissy thought she would be safe, until Deanna turned the tables.
Deanna-“My choice for Lead Investigator..... Is Benjamin.”

Walter was confronted about being the one to deliver the black and red envelopes to the group and tried to cover himself my showing the video tape, but suspicion arose when Walter could not be seen at all when the Killer made their deliveries.
Walter-“I know t-t-this looks bad, b-b-but I swear I d-d-didn’t do it.”

And the Reverend of the town helped shed light on his church.
Chrissy-“Wait, you do same sex marriages?”
Wayne-“Yes. I actually married 2 men last month.”

When asked about a major clue involving the Killer’s real name, he could not help.
Wayne-“No, I unfortunately never met them. All I did know was that Tracey was bisexual.”

A delay in Gary’s arrival provided another turn in the case, as he was with Officer Faye dealing with another shocking murder of a suspect.
Chrissy-“WALTER?!”
Gary-“Yes, I’m afraid.”

When they checked the tape, they found a double surprise.
Benjamin-“Crap. The Killer must of altered the video.”

Not to mention the location of the next set of envelopes.
Chrissy-“Sure enough, the damn envelopes are in the friggin mail box.”

The Killer Question allowed the group to clear Tiffany Shaw. When it came time for the Killer’s Game, Chrissy earned the vote to go out and Harrison was elected by Benjamin to go out on his fourth Killer’s Game. Harrison couldn’t die at the Resting Oaks Cemetery, and Chrissy’s time on the case came off the tracks at the Abandoned Train station.
Harrison-“WE DID IT BOYS!”

Now, only 3 investigators remain;

Benjamin, the Lawyer. Conniving and cut throat at the beginning of the game nearly cost him as he was one of the first two people to go out on the Killer’s Game. He survived and played hard on not just suspects, but on his fellow investigators, and was able to use this to his advantage, becoming Lead Investigator twice during his time on the case.

Harrison, the MMA Fighter. The fighter has fought hard at almost every step in the case, having survived more Killer’s Games then anyone else. He has been Lead Investigator twice, as well as the first Lead Investigator on the case, and was a driving force in getting information out of the mysterious suspect, Rachel Neary.

Mitchell, the Youth Hockey Coach. While he has not gone out on a Killer’s Game, nor has he ever been the Lead Investigator, he has been the power house on the Killer Questions, answering more by himself than anyone else. Not only that, but he was the mastermind behind the eliminations of Chrissy, Kristen, and Doug after discovering their secret alliance.

With 5 Suspects and 3 Investigators remaining, it’s all down to this. Tonight, we will answer the major questions;

Who will die?

Who will claim the $500,000 reward?

And most importantly;

Who is the Sunrise Ridge Killer?

***

In the quiet town of Sunrise Ridge, a Killer is on the loose. A reward has been offered to 10 ordinary people;

Deanna
Benjamin
Chrissy
Frank
Stacey
Harrison
Kristen
Doug
Heidi
Mitchell

They have been sent to Sunrise Ridge to play the Killer's twister game. Now, they must enter the mind of a Killer and solve the mystery, or else they will be eliminated, one by one.

***

At 8 AM, Harrison, Mitchell, and Benjamin woke up to get ready for the day. Mitchell started breakfast for the group as Benjamin showered and Harrison took his time getting up after his night out clue hunting.

Mitchell-“None of us know what’s going to happen over the next few days. We’re down to 5 suspects and we’re so close, but so far from the answer still.”

Benjamin-“It’s a toss up going forward. Are we still playing the Killer’s Game? Are we making an arrest today? We have no idea what going on.”

Harrison-“Killer’s Games suck something fierce. I’m praying that was the last one, but I don’t think it was by a long shot. I’m not surprised if we have another one soon. I just hope I’m not part of it.”

The 3 men met up in the kitchen, just about 10 minutes to spare before their morning briefing. Mitchell had prepared waffles with eggs and bacon for them.

Benjamin-“Gentlemen, congrats. We made it.”

He lifted a glass of orange juice to toast the group.

Harrison-“To us.”

Mitchell-“To us.”

The group toasted and ate their breakfast.

Harrison-“I still can’t believe that I’ve made it this far. I’ve gone out on the Killer’s Game more than anyone else and every time I’ve come back. I’ve shown I have lots of fight left in me and I’m not backing down anytime soon.”

Gary entered HQ and found the group at the table.

Gary-“Good morning guys.”

All-“Morning.”

Gary-“So, I think you know the drill by now. Meet me upstairs in about 5 minutes. Oh, and bring me a waffle too, please.”

The 3 men finished their meal and hurried upstairs to start their day. They rushed upstairs and took their seats. Mitchell put Gary’s waffle on his table and sat down.

Gary-“Thanks guys. Now, we have something major coming in from last night. As we know, Harrison came back, and Chrissy did not. Before we do anything else, let’s see who Chrissy picked as Lead Investigator by playing her Las Will and Testament.”

He clicked a few tabs on his computer, and Chrissy appeared on the TV above the table to the group for the final time. Gary hit play, took a bit of his waffle, and retrieved Chrissy’s name plate from her desk and placed it with the others. He had a makeshift shine to the other investigators on his board. It said;

In Memoriam
Heidi Gillian
Frank Williams
Stacey Towers
Doug Graham
Kristen Reynolds
Deanna Landry
Chrissy Peters

Chrissy-“I  shouldn’t be sitting here. I should be out there watching Harrison name his choice. And seeing that him and Mitchell are apparently working together, I have no choice but to name Benjamin as Lead Investigator. He has tried to help me get rid of a headache and I hope I get that relief sooner than later.”

Gary-“Congratulations, Benjamin. You are the Lead Investigator.”

Benjamin grabbed his stuff and moved it to Gary’s table.

Benjamin-“This is my ticket to the end of the case. I can breath easy now for the next few days.”

Gary-“Alright now, last night, Harrison survived his fourth Killer’s Game, and he brought back 2 big clues. Harrison, tell us what happened.”

Harrison-“I walk through the gates and in the middle was a statue of Jesus with a note saying to find the clue at the back of the cemetery. I notice the X on a tombstone and when I walk around to the front of it, I nearly crapped myself.”

Gary-“I wouldn’t blame you.”

Mitchell-“Well, what was it?”

Harrison-“Well, beside the clue, it was Tracey’s grave”

Benjamin-“That’s it?”

Gary-“No. The grave was empty.”

Benjamin-“WHAT?!”

Mitchell-“You’re joking, right?”

Harrison-“I almost fell into the open grave. Didn’t notice until last second.”

Benjamin-“Dear God...”

Gary-“Beside that, he also brought back another clue, which is this.”

He held up a clear plastic baggie that held a torn up piece of paper with black and red writing on it.

Gary-“It’s a torn up card with writing in black pen and then the word ‘LOVE’ written in red and crossed out. Any ideas?”

Harrison-“When I saw that last night. I remember Walter saying he was going to give Tiffany a card.”

Mitchell-“Yeah. But neither of them are suspects anymore.”

Benjamin-“Well what if it’s like this; the Killer wrote ‘love’ on the card and crossed it out. They must hate love after Tracey died and wants the town to suffer from it now.”

Gary-“That’s an excellent idea. The Killer looks like they’re attacking people with love. Good job. Now, since there is only 3 of you, you 3 will be going out on 1 track today. I have Officer Faye at the cemetery right now going over what’s there, so I’m sending you guys to go meet with the remaining suspects over the next 2 days. Today, we have to collect the test results from Rachel Neary, so you can question her about Tracey as well. Then, I want you to go talk to Tyrone. He said he lived here years ago and we can ask if he knows Tracey at all. He said he had a girlfriend here that died about 10 years ago so we can try and link the 2. We’ll worry about Robbin, Spencer, and Jeffery tomorrow. Now go on out there. You’re dismissed.”
-
The 3 men arrived at the hospital and quickly made their way to Rachel’s office. They entered and found Rachel sitting at her desk with another woman sitting across from her.

Mitchell-“Opps, sorry to barge in.”

Rachel-“No it’s no problem. Come on in, Emily was actually just about to leave.”

Emily-“I’ll see you later, Rachel.”

She got up and walked past the investigators and out the door. The 3 men looked at each other and then back to Rachel, who had a smile going across her face. They all realized the same thing.

Benjamin-“Hey, what happened to Sasha?”

Rachel-“It didn’t work out. I called her a few days ago and she kept sending me to voice mail. Took the hint. I went back to Rise and I never saw her, but I did meet Emily there and we got to talking and.... well.... I think we’re an item now.”

Benjamin-“That’s great!”

Harrison-“Good for you.”

Rachel-“Thanks. We were just making a lunch date when you guys walked in.”

Mitchell-“That’s nice. By the way, do you have the blood test results from the other morning?”

Rachel-“Yeah, I got them right here.”

She got up from her desk and went to a filing cabinet and quickly produced the results.

Rachel-“Let’s see..... Yep, the blood was a confirmed match with Walter’s DNA we had on file for a hospital visit he had from years prior. It unfortunately looks like he was murdered. Obviously I can’t do any more test until his body is recovered.”

Mitchell-“That fine, we just had to confirm that it is his DNA.”

Harrison-“Hey, Rachel, I hate to ask, but we also need to talk about Tracey again.”

Small tears already started forming in her eyes at the mention of Tracey’s name.

Rachel-“Please.... Please don’t bring her up.”

Harrison-“I know, but I have to. We’re you 2 engaged at all?”

She sat back at her desk with tears starting to swell to the point they were about to run down her face.

Rachel-“We never got officially engaged. We dated for a bit, and I thought it was gonna be, but then I found out about her cheating, which lead to me finding out about her getting married to some one else.”

Benjamin-“Do you know who they were?”

Rachel-“Not at all. I knew she was bisexual. She mentioned that before, but she never mentioned being engaged.”

Mitchell-“Do you know who else Tracey was seeing?”

Rachel-“I couldn’t tell you. I found out after she had passed away that she was gonna be married.”

Benjamin-“Damn. Well, how about the initials L.B.? Do you know anyone with those initials?”

Rachel-“Geez.... I do know 1 person with those initials. Her name is Leslie Bowden. She works as an accountant at a bank across town.”

Mitchell-“It’s a start on the initials. We’ve taken up enough of your time. Thank you so much for your help.”

Rachel-“You’re very welcome. Have a good day guys.”

Mitchell-“You as well. Take care.”

Rachel got back up from her desk and hugged the 3 men goodbye and they left for their van to the next stop.

Harrison-“Ever since we got Rachel to open up and reveal her past. She has been super easy to work with. She might still be hiding something, but at the moment it’s a start.”
-
The group pulled up to the Hot Spot, where they were greeted by a brand new door that had been broken days ago by the now deceased Brad Stokely and the 3 men that tried to take on the bar fight juggernaut. He had opened early for the day to do lunch after The Shaw Shack’s unfortunate demise and Tiffany and Spencer were both inside, with Tiffany waiting and Spencer cooking. Tiffany noticed the group and approached them.

Tiffany-“Hey guys!”

Mitchell-“Hey Tiffany. How is everything?”

Tiffany-“Great! Tyrone has been so nice to us these last few days. He hired me and Spencer on until the diner gets rebuild. Which....”

She leaned in close to the group and whispered.

Tiffany-“You didn’t hear this from me, but whatever you said to the insurance agent must of really worked. They might cover the cost to the diner in no time.”

Harrison-“That’s awesome Tiff! Congrats!”

Tiffany-“Thanks guys. So, what can I get you?”

Benjamin-“Can you get us 3 sodas and a moment to talk to Tyrone?”

Tiffany-“No problem on the sodas, and I’ll check with him. Go take a seat guys.”

The group thanked Tiffany again and took a seat at a table.

Benjamin-“We have 2 suspects here but we can only talk to 1 of them right now. It’s a pain but it keeps both from changing their story based on the others.”

Tyrone arrived with their sodas and pulled up a chair.

Tyrone-“Hey guys, Tiffany said you wanted to talk to me?”

Harrison-“Yeah, we just wanted to go over a few things. For starters, it looks like you got a new door.”

Tyrone-“Yeah. When I went to talk to Brad I couldn’t find him. Had no idea the guy was dead. Luckily a friend knew a guy who came from out of town immediately and took care of it for me.”

Mitchell-“That’s good. So, you arrived at Stokely Works and tried to get in?”

Tyrone-“Yeah. I knocked a few times and never got an answer. Figured he left and I tried calling later. When I found out he died in his office it was a shock. Between you and me, what was it like when you saw his body?”

Mitchell-“Don’t know. His body wasn’t there.”

Tyrone-“Get the hell out! Are you serious?”

Harrison-“As serious as we could be. Every murder has left no body except for Ashley’s. You didn’t know that?”

Tyrone-“Not a clue. I know Ashley was found by Harper Park and that Brad and the others had died but I thought all the bodies were there. I mean, who the hell would take the time to remove a body after killing them?”

Benjamin-“I have no clue who would other than this psycho. So, we wanna ask, you lived here years ago you said, right?”

Tyrone-“Yeah, then I moved when I was around 14 but came back around 18 years after that.”

Benjamin-“And you had a girlfriend that passed away from cancer you said as well?”

Tyrone-“Unfortunately yes, she did pass away. Her name was Casey Oakley. She was always the nicest. Never was mean to anyone. I know it was just an elementary school and middle school romance but, even at that age, she was just one of a kind.”

Harrison-“Did you ever hear of a girl named Tracey Johnson?”

Tyrone-“Only from the last few weeks. I didn’t really know everyone growing up here. I had a big group of friends and we reconnected when I moved back. Hell, Danny the bouncer is one of my boys from back in the day. Tracey, though, never heard of her.”

Harrison-“But you have heard of her though, right?”

Tyrone-“Oh, definitely. Wasn’t until you guys came in that I heard about her. Don’t know how I didn’t meet her at least once growing up.”

Mitchell-“Just wanna know, have you heard of anyone with the initials L.B.?”

Tyrone-“Well, I do know of a guy named Logan Bautista, but he lives back in New Jersey so I don’t think he’d be helpful to you. I do know of a kid from here in town though named Liam Backus. He was very... odd. In middle school he had a girlfriend and when she broke it off he went crazy and stalker like on her. I left the school a few days later and moved to New Jersey so I have no clue what happened to him. Ironically, there was also a girl I know from childhood named Lisa Bronson. She was a little brat though growing up. If something didn’t go her way she’d bitch and moan. I remember one day in 2nd grade she got a boy suspended. She made up this lie about him saying he’d bring in a knife and stab her if she didn’t give him a jump rope just cause she didn’t like him.”

Benjamin-“That’s crazy! How do you know she lied?”

Tyrone-“Because I was playing kickball with him that day and the next day he’s being pulled into the principal’s office. A letter got sent home and my parents talked to me about it. I told them it was a lie cause he was playing with me and a few other kids spoke talked to their parents and said they were with him as well. Hell was raised and the boy got pulled out of school and placed in another. Nothing happened to the girl cause her parents were straight up relentless assholes and threatened the school if she was punished without ‘evidence’. She was a nightmare.”

Harrison-“She sounds like it. Do you know what happened to the 2 of them? Lisa and Liam?”

Tyrone-“Not the slightest clue. When I moved back I tried to reconnect with my childhood friends and not 1 of them knows what happened to either of them. As far as I know they both moved away.”

Benjamin-“Alright, you were very helpful.”

Tiffany-“Tell me about it!”

The group and Tyrone looked over and saw Tiffany waiting a table just feet away.

Tiffany-“Sorry guys, didn’t mean to easy drop, but I heard you say Tyrone was very helpful, and you don’t know the half. If it wasn’t for him, Spencer and I wouldn’t have jobs or anything right now.”

Mitchell-“You really are a good man, Tyrone. Listen, we’ve taken up enough of your time, we need to head out. Have a good day guys.”

Tyrone-“You as well. Stop by any time.”

Tiffany-“Bye guys!”

After handshakes and hugs, and a wave to Spencer who was busy making burgers and what not....

Spencer-“See you guys later!”

The 3 men exited The Hot Spot and retreated to the van.
-
At HQ, Gary waited for the 3 investigators to enter and be seated.

Gary-“So, what did we find today with Rachel?”

Benjamin-“She confirmed the blood was Walter’s, so he definitely is no longer with us. We asked her about Tracey and she said that she knew Tracey was bisexual, but had no idea that Tracey was cheating and getting married, nor if it was a man or woman. She did know someone with the initials L.B. named Leslie Bowden that works as a accountant.”

Gary-“And how about Tyrone?”

Harrison-“He pretty much confirmed everything we talked about before. He left town at 14, and returned 18 years later. He claimed he doesn’t know Tracey Johnson, but knew of 2 people with the initials L.B. 1 named Liam Backus who he said went crazy after a girlfriend dumped him, but didn’t actually know him and find out what happened cause he moved shortly after he was dumped. The other was a girl named Lisa Bronson. He said that she was an utter nightmare growing up and that she got a boy suspended because she didn’t like him. He told us that she claimed that the boy threatened her with a knife over a jump rope, but the kid was playing kickball with Tyrone. They sent a letter home, and Tyrone and several other kids told their parents what happened, but the school couldn’t do anything about her because her parents were pricks and threatened legal action. The boy ended up getting pulled from their school and put in another. He hasn’t heard from anything about either of them since he got back though.”

Gary-“Wow, that’s rough. You guys got a good amount of information. We have a few names with the initials L.B. so we can get started on looking into that. Great job. You’re dismissed.”

The 3 men exited to the kitchen to start dinner. Mitchell checked the fridge for something to grill.

Mitchell-“You guys want a steak tonight?”

Benjamin-“That sounds good to me.”

Harrison-“Same here.”

Mitchell took the steaks out of the fridge and harden sooner placed them on a cutting board to prepare them, when suddenly...




RING RING! RING RING!



Benjamin left the kitchen and put the speaker phone on so the group could all listen in.

Benjamin-“Hello, this is the Special Investigators’ Office. My name is Benjamin, how can I help you?”

Lady-“Hi, this is Robbin. Robbin Evans.”

Benjamin-“Hello Miss Evans, how can I help you today?”

Robbin-“It’s the weirdest thing. I just came to the Cemetery to visit my grandparents graves just now, and I found a dug up plot.”

Benjamin-“Yes Miss Evans. We actually already know about Tracey Johnson’s grave being dug up and we’re working to find out who is responsible.”

Robbin-“No, no, that’s the thing, this isn’t her grave.”

The 3 men shot confused, nervous glances at each other.

Harrison-“Hi, this is Investigator Harrison, are you sure that isn’t Tracey Johnson’s grave plot?”

Robbin-“I am more than certain. I’m at the Forever Hills Cemetery over on the opposite side of town, and I know that Tracey was buried at Resting Oaks Cemetery on Myers Ave.”

Harrison-“It wouldn’t happen to be Ashley Bundy’s grave, is it?”

Robbin-“No, she was interned at Resting Oaks as well.”

Harrison-“What grave are you looking at then?”

Robbin-“I’m looking at the plot of Judge Joseph Seeger.”

Mitchell cover his face with both hands and swore multiple times under his breath. Harrison threw the steaks back into the fridge and grabbed the keys to a van.

Benjamin-“This was the phone call none of us expected today. A second grave has been vandalized. And to make it worse, it’s the deceased Judge’s grave. What the hell?!”

Benjamin-“Miss Evans, stay right there, we’re gonna need a statement when we get there.”

Robbin-“Ok. See you soon.”

They hung up and headed for the door.

Harrison-“We just went from good steaks to a drive thru menu. Damnit.”
-
The 3 men raced across town and arrived to the Forever Hills Cemetery in near record time. They were able to spot Robbin near the far end of the cemetery and drove up to her. They got out and noticed the gaping hole in front of the Judge’s headstone.

Mitchell-“Hey, Mrs. Evans, could you talk to us for a bit?”

Robbin-“Yes, absolutely.”

She walked over and joined the 3 men by their van.

Mitchell-“You said you were here to visit your grandparents, right?”

Robbin-“Yes, they’re right over there. Just a little down from here.”

She walked the group over to Nicholas and Audrey Evans’ plots. A fresh bouquet of flowers laid upon each grave. Mitchell looked back over to where the van was parked next to Judge Seeger’s plot.

Mitchell-“What made you go and look?”

Robbin-“It looked suspicious. When we buried my grandparents, the groundskeeper put out chairs and had that device that lowers the casket into the ground, what ever it’s called, and nothing has been set out at all. I just happened to go and look and when I saw it said Joseph Seeger I called you immediately.”

Mitchell-“You did the right thing. Since I have you here, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

Robbin-“Go ahead.”

Mitchell-“It’s gonna sound weird, but do you know anyone in town with the initials L.B?”

Robbin-“L.B...... Hmmm..... I do know of 1 person named Lawrence Brighton. He used to be at the news station until he got a new job at the radio station last year. Other than him, I don’t know anyone else.”

Mitchell-“Perfect, and 1 other thing, I don’t think we’ve asked this, but how long have you lived here in Sunrise Ridge?”

Robbin-“About 20 years. I moved here when I was roughly 17 just after high school and went to school for journalism.”

Mitchell-“Thank you so much. If anything comes up we’ll give you a call.”

Robbin-“No problem. Have a good evening.”

Mitchell-“You as well.”

Mitchell-“It just so happened that Tracey’s grave was a clue, and now here’s Robbin at another dug up grave just hours later? Either she truly found it, or she’s in a lot of trouble.”

The men returned to the Judge’s plot. All they could do was just stare intently at the plot, which they noticed was half filled in.

Harrison-“What do you guys think?”

Benjamin-“The Killer had to of done it. They killed Georgina and the Killer must still be mad that the Judge threw out the murder charge on Matthew.”

Mitchell-“Definitely. Whoever L.B is is most likely the Killer.”

The group continued to stare in silence at the open grave. No one move, just because of the pure shock of seeing the gaping hole in the ground. Harrison, all of a sudden, took a deep breath.

Harrison-“Alright, going in.”

With that, Harrison stepped forward and jumped into the open hole.

Benjamin-“Are you mad!?”

Mitchell-“The hell are you doing?!”

Harrison-“Think about it; No bodies at any crime scene. Tracey’s grave was dug up and now the Judge’s grave is dug up. I want to know if the Killer took the body.”

Mitchell and Benjamin watched as Harrison started digging into the dry dirt with his bare hands as he attempted to find the Judge’s casket at the bottom. Handfuls of dirt went flying into the air and landed just in front of the 2 men’s feet in what looked like tiny smoke bombs being set off. Mitchell and Benjamin were shocked at Harrison’s idea to defile a grave, but at the same time, they thought he was completely right.

Mitchell-“....Harrison....”

Harrison stopped and looked at Mitchell. He had a pained look on his face as he didn’t want to say it.

Mitchell-“It would be easier with a shovel. Let’s see if theirs a few at the groundskeeper’s.”

The 3 men went to the shed and found 3 shovels and returned to the Judge’s grave and got to work.

Benjamin-“I never in my life thought I’d be standing here digging up the grave of a dead man to find his body. What the hell did I sign up for?”

Mitchell-“I cant believe I’m actually digging up a dead man’s grave. I don’t wanna know what we’re gonna find, all I know is I’m hating myself for doing this.”

Harrison-“You have a lawyer, a peewee hockey coach, and a mixed martial artist trying to solve a murder case, while at the same time they dig up a dead judge’s body, while also trying to find the bodies of the other victims of this psycho Killer. This sounds like the most morbid joke ever.”

A green, hazy glow watched from the bushes in the distance as the 3 men dug into the grave as the evening settled in.

Harrison-“How long have we dug for?”

Benjamin-“About an hour.”

THUD!

Mitchell-“It doesn’t look like we’ll be digging any longer.”

The men scrapped as much dirt off as they could and found the brown casket at the bottom of the grave.

Harrison-“Grab me a flashlight.”

Benjamin and Mitchell both jumped out of the hole and Mitchell went and grabbed a flashlight from out of the van. He handed it to Harrison who took a deep breath before cracking open the casket.

Harrison-“Here goes nothing.”

The casket creaked open, a sound just like Dracula’s when his would open. Harrison shined the flashlight inside and was met with a horrible discovery.

Harrison-“Aww crap. I have bad news and even worse news guys. Bad news is their is no body in the casket.”

Benjamin-“Ok, and the even worse news?”

Harrison didn’t say a word. He just threw the envelopes onto the ground right next to the grave. Once again, the Killer has delivered the invitation to their game in another sick, twisted way.

Mitchell-“You have got to be kidding me.”

Harrison-“Let’s just get out of here and call Gary on the way.”

The 3 men, no pun intended, departed the cemetery and made their way back to HQ.

Harrison-“I have seen the cemetery more times in the last 24 hours then I ever want to again for the rest of my life. If I find this Killer, I might just beat them over the head with that shovel.”
-
At HQ the following morning, Harrison, Mitchell, and Benjamin entered the Briefing Room at 9:00 AM. Gary has already arrived and was standing at his table waiting for the 3 men to get comfy at their seats.

Gary-“I take it you all had a good night.”

They didn’t laugh.

Gary-“So, you found the red and black envelopes inside Judge Joseph Seeger’s grave and no body was located?”

Harrison-“That’s right. After finding Tracey’s grave dug up as well, I didn’t want to take a chance and looked to see if the Judge’s body was in there as well.”

Gary-“Well, that was a good idea, because Officer Faye ordered for Tracey’s grave to be exhumed as well yesterday after we finished our meeting, and no body was found there either.”

Benjamin-“You gotta be joking! Both plots were robbed?!”

Gary-“Yes, both were dug up. So now, including Tracey and Judge Seeger, we have 7 missing bodies.”

Mitchell-“This is ridiculous.”

Gary-“Alright, so....”

DING DONG.

Stopped halfway through his sentence, Gary exited the room and went down to the front door. The investigators listened carefully, trying to figure out who Gary was talking to. A few moments later, Gary arrived at the doorway and was soon followed in by the Mayor.

Gary-“Gentlemen, Mayor McGee would like to talk to you.”

As Daniel McGee stepped forward, he was patting his head down with a handkerchief. The man was a sweaty mess from the moment he heard about the missing bodies.

Daniel-“Thank you, Sgt. Fredo. Gentlemen, I have a town on my ass since word got out about the 2 graves being robbed. Everyone’s on edge and I’m inviting you to a town meeting at 4 PM at Town Hall to discuss what’s going on in your case. Please, please be there.”

Benjamin-“We will be there, sir.”

Daniel-“Thank you. Thank you very much, I’ll see you then.”

The Mayor escorted himself out and back to his car. Gary turned back to the group.

Gary-“Alright. Get ready for the meeting. Hopefully Spencer, Robbin, and Jeffery will be there today to talk to as well. We’re nearing the end, guys, let’s hopefully try and put the town’s mind at ease. You’re dismissed.”
-
The 3 men arrived at the Town Hall and walked inside to the meeting. The entire room was filled with residents, nervously awaiting about the fate of their town and their lives. Daniel McGee noticed the group and gestured for them to come forward. As the group walked, cameras flashed to take picture that would most likely end up on the cover of a newspaper tomorrow morning. Reporters waited with note pads and phones set to voice record.

Daniel-“Good evening. As many of up you are aware, we have suffered tremendous loss over the past number of day. Local residents have been murdered, and a team of investigators have been brought in to help catch the Killer. I will now turn the floor over to Investigators Benjamin Sheffield, Harrison Adams, and Mitchell Kennedy.”

The Mayor moved out of the way, and the 3 men stood at the podium.

Benjamin-“Good evening everyone. As Mayor McGee stated, we have come here to solve the murders that have happened here in town. From what we have gathered, a suspect, who was engaged to one Tracey Johnson, is committing these murders out of anger for Tracey’s death.”

Mitchell-“At the start of our case, the Killer left us a video of the murder of Matthew Bundy and forced his wife, Ashley, to read a statement they prepared. The statement included a list of 15 suspects, with the Killer identifying themself as 1 of the 15. Over the course of time, the Killer has decided to leave us clues, as they want to “play a game” with us, which also affects us as, by leaving these clues, we lose a member of our team.”

Harrison-“We believe that all the victims involved are connected to this case in one way or another. We are very close to zeroing in on the Killer’s identity, but as of this time, we will not reveal their name or the name’s of any of our suspects for safety and security reasons.”

Lady-“So, what you’re saying is that all these deaths are because someone killed this person’s fiancé? So it’s a crime of passion.”

Harrison-“It does seem like that, yes.”

Lady-“Do you think this person is justified?”

Harrison-“Absolutely not. The victims here are just that; victims. They did nothing wrong and were targeted by a psychopath. And we can not take any more questions at this time.”

The meeting goers started an uproar, which Mayor McGee tried his best to control the situation.

Daniel-“ORDER! ORDER! PLEASE, WE ALL NEED TO CALM DOWN!”

The crowd was frantic, but somewhat starting to calm down.

Harrison-“LISTEN UP!”

The crowd became silent.

Harrison-“I completely understand everyone’s concerns about what’s going on. Yes, a Killer is in the town, however, starting an uproar is not gonna help stop them. We are extremely close to ending our investigation and we should be making an arrest in the next few days, but until then we need full cooperation from everyone in town. Thank you for your time.”

The men walked away from the podium and proceeded to the back of the meeting room. The Mayor returned to the podium to address the townspeople as the group were able to spot Spencer and Jeffery out of the crowd. Benjamin approached Spencer while Mitchell and Harrison approached Jeffery. Each suspect was pulled aside quickly.

Benjamin-“Hey, nothing much, but I just want to know if you know anybody in town with the initials of L.B.”

Spencer-“L.B?.... No. I don’t think I know anyone with those initials.”

Benjamin-“Alright. Thank you.”

On the other side of the meeting, Mitchell and Harrison asked Jeffery the same question.

Mitchell-“Listen, we just want to know if you know anyone in town with the initials L.B.”

Jeffery-“L.B? I honestly don’t know anyone with those initials.”

Mitchell-“Are you sure?”

Jeffery-“I moved around a lot as a kid so I don’t remember a lot of people from back in the day.”

Mitchell-“Ok, not a problem. Thank you very much.”

The investigators regrouped at the back of the meeting room and left for HQ.
-
The 3 men entered the Briefing Room and were greeted by Gary. They took their seats and Gary addressed them.

Gary-“So, how did the town meeting go?”

Benjamin-“It went well, we explained what we are doing here and tried to put everyone’s mind as easy, but they’re still worked up. I asked Spencer if he knew anyone with the initials L.B but he didn’t know anyone.”

Mitchell-“We asked the same question to Jeffery but he said he doesn’t know anyone like that because of him moving around a lot as a kid.”

Gary-“Great job guys. The only person you missed was Robbin.”

Mitchell-“Actually, I spoke to Robbin last night at the cemetery. She was visiting her grandparents graves and noticed the Judge’s grave being disturbed. She only knows of 1 person with the initials L.B that works at a radio station.”

Gary-“Even better. Great job. Now, I think it’s best that we take a look at Lisa Bronson and Liam Backus as our leading suspects. One of those has to be one of our remaining suspects. And speaking of suspects, I think we should try to clear one right now.”

Gary stepped away from the table and retrieved the red envelope from the evidence locker. He returned to his table, grabbed his scissors and carefully cut the red plastic like bag open. He turned it over and the question fell out onto the table.

Gary-“The question is; “WHAT ARE ROBBIN’S GRANDPARENTS’ NAMES?”

As usual, he brought up the Killer’s anonymous email address. After entering it, the swirl of Matrix letters and numbers flew across the screen until a single lime green line appeared in the top left corner.

Benjamin-“I can’t remember the names. Did either of you happen to see the names?”

Mitchell-“I did and I’m trying to remember the names.”

Harrison-“Same. I think the grandfather’s name was Nicholas or something like that. That’s the only name coming to mind.”

Benjamin-“Amy and Audrey are the 2 names popping in my head.”

Mitchell-“It’s better than nothing. I think the grandmother’s name was longer that Amy, and Audrey does sound right. Let’s just say Nicholas and Audrey and say a prayer when we send it.”

Harrison-“I’ll go with that.”

Mitchell-“Lets do it.”

Gary typed in ‘NICHOLAS AND AUDREY’ into the answer space and hit send. The screen flashed with Matrix letters and numbers in every direction. Each investigator held their breath as they waited the the Killer to message them back. After what felt like an eternity, a message appeared.....



YOUR ANSWER IS CORRECT. A SUSPECT WILL BE CLEARED.



Harrison-“WE DID IT AGAIN! YEAH!”

The 3 men and Gary hugged and cheered as they correctly answered the final Killer’s Question correctly, they waited to see which remaining suspect would be cleared. In no time at all, they got their answer.



SUSPECT CLEARED; ROBBIN EVANS; REPORTER



Gary-“Guys, tremendous teamwork! We can clear another suspect off our board.”

He grabbed a red marker and drew a big X over Robbin’s face, effectively clearing the reporter of the murderous rampage. He turned back to the group.

Gary-“Well, you guys know what happens now. We gotta open the black envelope. Seeing as Benjamin is Lead Investigator today and can not be voted out, Harrison and Mitchell, you will both go out tonight.”

Both men understood their fate tonight. They stood up and shook hands with each other. Gary retrieved the black envelope from the evidence locker and proceeded to cut it open. He poured the contents onto the table as Harrison and Mitchell joined them.

Gary-“Benjamin, please pick a map to go to Harrison and a map to go to Mitchell.”

Instead of handing the maps out, Benjamin slid them across the table in front of both of them. Harrison and Mitchell looked at each other, waiting to see what the other one chose.

Harrison-“I’ve gone out already, you pick first.”

Mitchell-“You sure?”

Harrison-“Trust me.”

Mitchell reached out and grabbed a map. Taking a deep breath, Harrison grabbed the other map.

Gary-“Please open your maps and tell us where you’ll be going.”

Mitchell-“I have to go to the general store on Henry St.”

Harrison-“I’m going to the post office.”

Gary-“Today is going to be a little different. When you go to the Voting Booth to make your Last Will and Testament, instead of naming a Lead Investigator, you are to name the person you want to have first pick of suspects when we confront the Killer. After that, go pack your belongings. I wish you both the very best of luck.”
-
Harrison and Mitchell continued to pack their bags as Benjamin entered the room.

Benjamin-“Hey, guys, good luck out there tonight.”

Harrison-“Thanks Benjamin.”

Mitchell-“Yeah, thanks Benjamin.”

Benjamin-“Listen, I wanna apologize for every bad thing I said and did to you guys.”

Harrison-“Ben, you don’t have to.”

Benjamin-“I want to. I was a prick at the beginning and I let my emotions get the best of me. Especially to both of you.”

Mitchell-“How me?”

Harrison-“Bro, he tried to have me send you out on day 1.”

Mitchell-“Wow, gee, thanks Benjamin. Your not getting a Christmas card.”

The 3 men laughed at Mitchell’s joke.

Benjamin-“But in all seriousness, I want to say sorry to you two. You guys knew how I was and invited me into your alliance. Thank you so much.”

Harrison-“Ben, don’t sweat it. I’m sure if the tables were turned and you were in my position at the start..... You know, I don’t wanna know what you’d do.”

The 3 men laughed again at the joke. Harrison grabbed his water bottle from his bed and held it up.

Harrison-“To us.”

Mitchell and Benjamin watched grabbed their water bottles and held them up in a toast like the other morning.

Mitchell-“To us.”

Benjamin-“To us.”

Harrison-“I have made it so far in this game. I’m just 1 Killer’s Game away from the end of the case. I’ve been sent out more times than anybody else and just like last time, I will go down swinging.”

Mitchell-“I’ll admit, I got very lucky in this game. I haven’t had to go out once on a Killer’s Game. I don’t want to go out, but I figure everyone has gone out at least once, so if I have to make it to the end, I gotta go out as well. This is my make or break moment.”



At 10:30 PM, 2 taxi cabs arrived to the Headquarters. Benjamin, Mitchell, and Harrison said their goodbyes and the 2 marked men enter their respective cabs.

Mitchell-“I need to go to the General Store on Henry St.”

Harrison-“Hey, can you bring me to The Post Office on Brennan Ave.?”

The 2 cabs set off into the night. At the end of the street, 1 went left and 1 went right.

At 10:43 PM, Mitchell arrived at the general store.

Exactly 1 minute later, Harrison arrived at the Post office.

Mitchell walked up to the front door. It was locked.

Harrison pulled on the door. It too was locked.

Mitchell walked around the building and found the key hanging on a noose.

Harrison walked to the back and found the key hanging on a noose.

Mitchell walked back to the front, unlocked the door, and stepped inside.

Harrison tried to unlock the back door. Good thing because the key worked.

Mitchell searched the cashier counter. Nothing.

Harrison started with the back loading area. Nothing.

Mitchell walked past several aisles, trying to find something of interest.

Harrison checked the break room. Nothing but tables and chairs.

Mitchell walked to the back of the store and saw a door. He opened it.

Harrison checked the security camera room. Still nothing.

Mitchell walked threw the door and found the break room.

Harrison started walking to the front lobby.

Mitchell walked past it and headed for the delivery area.

Harrison saw the blood puddle left by Walter.

Mitchell walked back and saw the X near a set of boxes.

Harrison saw the X attached to the same P.O. Box that the Killer left the envelopes in before.

Silently, the green, hazy glow watched and stalked their victim.

Mitchell picked up his clue; A wedding band. He studied it. Next to it was a note about a wedding date.

Harrison looked at his clue; A piece of wood. He shined his flashlight on it and noticed what it said. Next to it was a wedding invitation.

As one investigator started walking away, the green hazy glow jumped out from their hiding space. Shocked, the investigator yelled and tried to run. It was no good.

FLASH! BANG!

The surviving investigator picked their clue up and started walking away. Once they took a few steps, they took a deep breath and smiled. They made it to the end. The investigator retraced their steps and returned to their cab.
-
At HQ, Gary waited with Benjamin.

Gary-“The surviving investigator should be walking in any minute. Do you have a certain person you want to see walk in?”

He thought hard about Gary’s question.

Benjamin-“It’s tough.... I know the 2 of them worked together since early on. Mitchell has been able to answer more Killer Questions, and Harrison has gotten more Killer Clues. Either way you look at it, I just gotta hope I pick right and they pick wrong.”

Gary-“What about tonight’s Killer Clue? How do you think this will go?”

Benjamin-“Hopefully it gives us an actual name tonight. Not just a pair of initials. If it does then I think we can process it down to hopefully 2 people.”

Suddenly, the front door opened and closed to Headquarters. Footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. The surviving investigator entered the room with a look of upmost relief.

Investigator-“I did it. I made it to the end of the case.”

Benjamin got up and shook the investigator’s hand. He was slightly trembling and was on the verge of tears. They set the clue down and gave Gary a hug.

Investigator-“I’m shocked as hell. I thought I had the wrong map.”

Benjamin-“Well, you picked right. And for the fifth time none the less.”

Gary-“Congratulations Harrison. You and Benjamin have made it to the end of the case.”

Back at HQ, the investigators entered the Briefing Room where Gary was already waiting for them at his table. Benjamin placed the red and black envelopes on his table and took a seat with the group.

Gary-“I take it you found more than just evidence. We’ll get to the red envelope in a second, but what did you find at the Post Office?”

Benjamin-“Robbin Evans was doing her news taping at the same time and tried getting us on camera. We didn’t answer any of the questions she gave us and went straight inside. We swabbed the blood at the crime scene and found a .45 casing at the front desk there.”

Mitchell-“We also spoke to the coworker that found the blood. Jane Kauffman said that she saw a van pulling out of the post office parking lot when she was arriving on her bus. She said she couldn’t make out the plates but figured it was apart of either the murder or was in a rush dropping off mail.”

Chrissy-“She allowed us to look at the security camera footage, and we saw Walter walk in and then something happened with the video and it cut straight to just the lobby with the puddle of blood by the desk. A few seconds later the video acted up again and showed us the location of the envelopes. We’re more than certain that the Killer tampered with the security footage.”

Harrison-“Not much else, but Robbin talked to us again when we left and told us that the only reason she puts out the stories she does is because of the changing times with journalists being labeled as fake news and that she doesn’t want to do those stories but it’s the only way to be relevant at this time.”

Gary-“You guys did get a good amount of evidence. Great job. Now, I figure we can try and clear 1 of the remaining suspects.”

With that, Gary untied the red envelope from the noose, grabbed a pair of scissors, and started carefully cutting the red envelope open across the top. He then pulled the brown paper out and unfolded it to reveal the label maker worded question for the day.

Gary-“The question says “WHAT YEAR DID WAYNE CONNORS START AT THE FIRST CHURCH OF SUNRISE RIDGE?”

He put the question down and typed the Killer’s anonymous email address into the computer. A flash of Matrix style letters and numbers flew across the screen until the single lime green line appeared against the dark background of the screen. Benjamin turned and looked at Chrissy.

Benjamin-“Do you remember?”

Chrissy-“I think it was the 70’s. Does that sound right?”

Benjamin-“I remember him saying 40 years.”

Chrissy-“Well, that puts us at about 1979. Should we go with that?”

Benjamin-“I think that’s our best bet.”

With that, Gary typed in 1979 to the Killer’s as the group’s answer.

Gary-“Should I send your answer?”

With a deep breath, Benjamin replied.

Benjamin-“1979. That’s our answer. Send it.”

Gary hit send and the flash of matrix let’s and numbers flew across the screen. The group waited with crossed fingers, hoping that they got another answer correct.

After what felt like an hour, the Killer responded.



YOUR ANSWER IS CORRECT. A SUSPECT WILL BE CLEARED.


The 4 investigators stood up and cheered and joined in a group hug. They quickly turned their attention back to the monitor as the cleared suspect came in.



SUSPECT CLEARED: TIFFANY SHAW; DINER OWNER



Gary-“Fantastic job guys. We can clear Tiffany from our suspects.”

With marker in hand, Gary turned and drew an X over Tiffany’s face, effectively clearing the diner owner of the recent deaths. He turned back and addressed the group.

Gary-“Now, you know what comes next. It’s still early so go take the afternoon to yourselves. We will meet back here at 7 PM to open the black envelope. You’re dismissed.”

The group left the Briefing Room and went straight for the kitchen to prepare someone’s last meal.

Mitchell-“What does everyone want?”

Harrison-“I could go for some burgers. Anyone got a better idea?”

Chrissy-“No, burgers sound good.”

They grabbed the chopped meat out of the fridge and Mitchell got to work on seasoning them and making burger patties. He took the stack out to the grill and Harrison followed.

Harrison-“We’re still voting Chrissy tonight?”

Mitchell-“Without a doubt. The only thing we need to know is who Benjamin is picking to go out.”

Harrison-“Either way, she won’t be in control tomorrow.”

Mitchell-“That’s true.”

Inside, Chrissy was chopping onions and lettuce up while Benjamin was slicing potatoes to make homemade french fries.

Chrissy-“I know I’m going out, but you need to send Harrison out as well.”

Benjamin-“You really want him gone, huh?”

Chrissy-“He’s horrible to work with. He got Kristen and Doug sent out and eliminated.”

Benjamin-“But you know why, right?”

Chrissy-“Because he’s a horrible person. They did their jobs perfectly and he just didn’t care.”

Benjamin-“Chrissy, I hate to say it, but do you know how crazy you sound right now? You and them had the alliance and tried to get rid of everybody and you guys got caught red handed.”

Chrissy-“You see it as targeting, I see it as playing with numbers.”

Harrison-“But you’re saying Harrison has been a horrible person ever since he sent Doug out.”

Chrissy-“If he never sent Doug and Kristen out, we’d be cool. But because he did he can kiss my ass.”

Benjamin-“She’s lost it. She really, truly thinks that her group getting caught and busted makes it ok to act like a bitch to him. I’ve never even seen this in courts. Dear God, she’s crazy.”

Chrissy-“I’m going out, I know it, and I better bring Harrison out with me. He brought down my group, and if I’m gonna meet the Killer, then he’s meeting them with me!”
-
At 7 PM, the investigators regrouped in the Briefing Room, where Gary waited with the black envelope sitting on his desk. He waited for the investigators to take their seats.

Gary-“Welcome back everyone. It is now time to play the Killer’s Game. In just a moment, you will go down the hall to the Voting Booth and cast your vote for who you wish to play the Killer’s Game tonight. Remember, Benjamin is the Lead Investigator and can not be voted for. Chrissy, start us off tonight.”

Chrissy left the and walked down to the Voting Booth. She entered, closed the door, and grabbed Harrison’s picture.

Chrissy-“You’re going to pay.”

She left the Booth and placed her vote in the box outside. The next to enter was Mitchell. In no time he found Chrissy’s picture.

Mitchell-“As far as I see, even if you come back tonight, you won’t win this game.”

He left the Booth and placed his vote in the box. The last to enter was Harrison. He quickly grabbed Chrissy’s picture.

Harrison-“See you out there tonight.”

He winked and left the Voting Booth. He placed his vote in the box and returned to the group in the Briefing Room.

Gary-“What I need now if for everyone to turn around do not turn back until I tell you to.”

With that, Gary left the Briefing a Room to collect the votes as the group turned to face the wall behind them. When Gary returned, he opened the box and was able to quickly tally the 3 votes.

Gary-“Please turn around.”

The group obliged and turned back to face him.

Gary-“The group has voted, and in a 2-1 vote, the first person playing the Killer’s Game is.... Chrissy.”

He turned the picture around and Chrissy, not surprised at all, stood up.

Gary-“And now, Benjamin, as Lead Investigator, you must choose the second participant to play the Killer’s Game tonight. Please come up here and tell us who and why.”

Benjamin got up and walked to the front of Gary’s table.

Benjamin-“Wow.... This one is actually tough to make..... I got to make the decision, though.... and my pick is Harrison.”

Harrison gave a nod, shook hands with Mitchell, and stood up.

Benjamin-“My only reasoning is the hatred that Chrissy has for him, so this will obviously benefit the group.”

Harrison-“I completely understand, man.”

Gary-“Harrison, you will be playing the Killer’s Game along side Chrissy tonight.”

Gary then grabbed the pair of scissors from off his desk and carefully cut open the large black bag like envelope across the top. He turned the envelope over and 2 folded pieces of brown paper fell out onto the table.

Gary-“Benjamin please pick a map to go to the group’s choice, Chrissy. Then please give the other back to your choice, Harrison.”

Benjamin reached down and picked up both maps from the table. He looked at them in each hand and then looked up at Chrissy and Harrison. He thought hard about his decision. He started to hand one map to Chrissy, then paused, switched the maps around, and then handed that one to her instead and handed the other to Harrison.

Gary-“Please open your maps, and tell us where you will be going.”

Both them opened their maps and looked for their X on them.

Chrissy-“ It looks like I’m going to the abandoned train station off of Blake St.”

Harrison-“Oh, great. The map says I am going to Resting Oaks Cemetery on Myers Ave. I smell foreshadowing.”

Gary-“ I will arrange for your rides to come and pick you up later tonight. What I need you both to do is go back to the Voting Booth and record your Last Will and Testament. In case you do not return, you are responsible for naming the next Lead Investigator. After that, go back and get ready. I wish you both the best of luck.”
-
Chrissy was in the Girl’s Room packing her bag when Benjamin entered.

Benjamin-“Hey, good luck tonight.”

Chrissy-“Thanks. What’s it like out there?”

Benjamin-“Pretty dark. Just a flashlight.”

Chrissy-“Ugh. Just as long as Harrison is eliminated I’ll be fine.”

Benjamin-“Man, I hope Harrison does come back so I don’t have to hear her go on about eliminating him.”

Chrissy-“I lost my entire team because of Harrison. Not because of the Killer. Because of Harrison. I need to come back. I have to come back. It’s the only thing that’ll make this right.”

In the Men’s Room, Harrison was already set because he never unpacked from his last time out. Mitchell joined him.

Mitchell-“That was quick.”

Harrison-“I didn’t unpack from last time. Figured I’d go out again so I didn’t unpack.”

Mitchell-“I’m praying for your return tonight.”

Harrison-“You and me both. Chrissy won’t win if I don’t come back so it’s a win-win tonight as well for you and Benjamin.”

Mitchell-“Well, lets just hope she doesn’t and saves us the extra time.”

Harrison-“Definitely.”

Harrison-“This is literally the hardest one tonight so far. I either knock out someone that’s been gunning for me, and probably get scarred for life, or I’m out completely. It’s a double edged sword but I’m a fighter and I’m not quitting. I’ll go down swinging with everything I have left.”



At 10:32 PM, 2 taxis pulled up to the Head Quarters. The 4 investigators met in the doorway and said their goodbyes. Harrison, still being a gentlemen, offered to put Chrissy’s bag in her cab for her. The 2 chosen investigators said fair well and got into their cabs.

Chrissy-“I need to go to that Abandoned Train station please.”

Harrison-“Hey, can you bring me to Resting Oaks Cemetery on Myers, please?”

The 2 cabs left into the night in 2 separate directions.

At 10:52, Chrissy arrived at the abandoned train station.

1 minute later, Harrison arrived at the cemetery.

Chrissy walked through the entrance into the station.

Harrison entered through the gate.

Chrissy checked the ticket booth and found nothing.

Harrison walked down an aisle of headstones and couldn’t find anything.

Chrissy started walking towards the exit to the train platform.

Harrison walked up to a Jesus statue.

Chrissy saw a note attached to the door. “MAKE YOUR WAY TO THE OLD BOX CARS IN THE BACK”.

Harrison noticed a note stuck to the Jesus statue. “FOLLOW THE FLOWERS TO YOUR CLUE”.

Chrissy shined her flashlight on the ground as she made her way to the set of box cars.

Harrison illuminated the path and noticed several flowers going down a path and followed.

Chrissy checked a box car. She found nothing.

Harrison followed the trail to the back of the cemetery.

Chrissy checked another box car. She saw a sign. “YOU’RE GETTING CLOSER”.

Harrison looked down the rows of tombstones.

Chrissy saw 1 final box car. She walked towards it.

Harrison kept walking to the back of the cemetery.

Chrissy’s flashlight lit up her X attached to the last box car.

Harrison noticed his X, which was attached to a tombstone.

Chrissy approached the box car and walked up to her clue.

Harrison nearly tripped as he arrived at his clue.

In silence, a green hazy glow sat back and waited for their victim to claim the bait.

Chrissy picked up her clue; a journal that looked like it went through the a fire. She flipped it over and gasped at the name on it.

Harrison looked at his clue; a torn up piece of paper with red writing on it. He then read the name on the tombstone and was in shock.

As 1 investigator started to walk away, the green hazy glow slowly crept out. Thinking they heard a noise, the investigator shined their flashlight to look, but in wrong direction. The green hazy glow ran at the unfortunate investigator, and when they turned to check the noise from that direction, they screamed as it was too late for them.

FLASH! BANG!

The surviving investigator looked high and low at their surroundings. When they thought that they were in the clear, they started their journey back to the waiting car.
-
At HQ, Benjamin and Mitchell waited patiently for the surviving investigator to walk in.

Gary-“So, now that we’re down to 3, who would you like to see walk back in tonight?”

Mitchell-“Definitely Harrison. We’ve been working together early on and if he comes back then we keep the team together.”

Benjamin-“I’d say Harrison as well. I know him and I didn’t get along in the beginning but he has shown how to work hard.”

Gary-“Are either of you worried about Chrissy coming back?”

Benjamin-“Yes and no. I have a feeling I might be Lead Investigator again if she doesn’t come back. If Harrison doesn’t come back then it’s Mitchell as Lead Investigator. We won’t know until 1 person walks through the door and we find out who the eliminated person chose.”

Mitchell-“He’s got a point. It all comes down to who picks which map at the end of it. That’s where the whole story for us changes.”

Suddenly, the front door opened and closed. The conversation was put on hold as Mitchell, Benjamin, and Gary waited to find out whose footsteps were being heard climbing up the stairs to the Briefing Room.

But suddenly, the footsteps stopped. The silence was deafening inside of HQ. Nervously waiting, Gary called out.

Gary-“Who’s out there?”

Still silence....

Then suddenly.....





Investigator-“WE DID IT, BOYS!”

Harrison came bursting into the room with his clue in hand. Benjamin and Mitchell jumped up and applauded and shook Harrison’s hand as he placed his clue on the table.

Harrison-“Gary, do I have a clue for you!”


5 Suspects and 3 Investigators Remain

***

I did it again. Sorry again to those that read this. Hopefully, with the finale next week, I’ll remember to post it on time.

With that, please enjoy the episode.

Nobody owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.
William S. Burroughs


Episode 6; Let's Just Throw the Rule Book Out

Last time on Murder in a Small Town X;

The Killer struck again, killing another suspect.
Lady-“Hello, I..... AHHHHH!”
FLASH! BANG!
Chrissy-“Diane is dead!?”

And at Diane’s house, Robbin’s news story didn’t sit well with the ex husband, Brad.
Brad-“I BETTER NEVER HEAR YOU MENTION ME OR MY WIFE AGAIN!”

While a trip to the Town Hall helped out with more info about Tracey’s death.
Julia-“Well, you see, she was found dead in front of Stokely Works. The poor girl was hit and left for dead. That same night, the man whose body hasn't been found yet, Matthew Bundy, was arrested for a DWI and they pinned him as the one who ran her over. He was placed on trial but acquitted because there was no evidence and no witnesses came forward.”

The group found out about Tyrone’s former girlfriend.
Tyrone-“Found our that she developed cancer and passed away. This was roughly...... 10 years ago.”

And Rachel dropped a bombshell on the investigators.
Benjamin-“So wait....You’re..... Gay?”
Rachel-“Yes I am.”

And revealed she was in a relationship with Tracey just before she died.
Rachel-“I loved Tracey....”

Brad then confirmed what happened with Tracey, and he had a big surprise for the investigators.
Brad-“She’s still covering for me.....Some girl got ran down in front of my business..... Matthew and I are good friends. Hell, you could call us brothers. I couldn’t watch him go down like that. She understood, but she was pissed at me for it.”

And that wasn’t the end of his night, as he got in a bar fight with 3 other men
CRASH!!!!
Mitchell-“They just went through the glass door!”

At the end of the day, they cleared the teacher, Jennifer Harris, and both Kristen and Harrison ventured out into the darkness to play the Killer’s Game.

While Harrison found another clue at Georgina’s house, Kristen met the end of the game for her at the same place it all began, at the Bundy’s house.

Now 8 Suspects and 5 Investigators Remain.

Its 3:37 in the morning. Once again, a van slowly pulls up to its destination with its head lights off. A flick of a switch, and a green, hazy glow illuminates the night for the Killer. They get out of the van and look around. No one will hear this kill and alert the police. It would be their easiest kill yet, but is it their last?

The Killer reached into the back of the truck and grabbed the body bag. They gave it a tug and couldn't pull it up to them. They looked into the van and noticed that the most recent loser of their Killer's Game was pinning the unused bag down. They freed it continued on their evil mission.

The camera walked down the dirt road and up a set of stairs. Sobbing could be heard through the door. Quietly, the Killer opened the door and found a man sitting at a table in the room. He was clearly drunk and still drinking as they walked in.

Man-"She's gone...... I can't believe it......"

The man looked up and saw the Killer. He was too drunk to comprehend that the Killer was in the room with him. He looked at them like they were just a shadow on the wall and then put his head down on the desk.

The Killer actually felt bad. Not for the fact that the man was depressed, but for the sole fact that this kill would put up no challenge to them at all.

They didn't rush the man, just simply walked forward, weapon pointed.

FLASH! BANG!

***

In the quiet town of Sunrise Ridge, a Killer is on the loose. A reward has been offered to 10 ordinary people;

Deanna
Benjamin
Chrissy
Frank
Stacey
Harrison
Kristen
Doug
Heidi
Mitchell

They have been sent to Sunrise Ridge to play the Killer's twister game. Now, they must enter the mind of a Killer and solve the mystery, or else they will be eliminated, one by one.

***

the group woke up the next morning. Spencer and Tiffany had already dropped off the traditional breakfast to the group. Everyone sat down to eat at the table. Only 5 remain now; Benjamin, Chrissy, Deanna, Harrison, and Mitchell.

Harrison-"I came back last night. I know that Chrissy is still gunning for me to be eliminated, but I've made it this far in the game, and I wanna make it all the way."

Chrissy-"I'm now all alone in the house. Hopefully Deanna works with me to get rid of the rest of the boys in the house."

The group finished up their meals and walked upstairs to the Briefing Room. Gary was already in there waiting for them. Once again, he looked like he had a long morning.

Gary-"Good morning everyone. Before we begin, I have some business to go over. Last night, after you guys left The Hot Spot, the ambulance came by and took a man by the name of William Orton to the local hospital. He was questioned at the hospital and him and his 2 friends will be charged with disturbing the peace and inciting a riot. After talking to them and Tyrone, an arrest warrant is also out for Brad Stokely."

Every investigator basically said "WHAT!?" at the same time.

Deanna-"We were there! We saw the whole thing! Those 3 idiots provoked the fight!"

Mitchell-"Yeah, those idiots started a fight and got whipped!"

Everyone all thought the same thing; "Did we just defend Brad Stokely????"

Gary-"Unfortunately, we have no choice in the matter. Brad left the club before the police arrived. Technically, he fled the scene of a crime. Tyrone and the 3 other men all confirmed that Brad was involved in the fight and left. So, I'm arranging Officer Faye to come by and bring 2 of you to go pick up Brad. That will be Track 1. As for Track 2, you will be going on the Killer Clue track. Last night, Harrison survived his second Killer's Game. What did you find out there?"

Harrison-"I got into the basement, and somehow found my way through a lot of storage bins. Went through the house and up the stairs to Georgina's room. I found the clue on a desk in a shoe box."

Gary-"Congratulations on once again returning. This is what Harrison brought back last night."

Gary opened the shoe box and pulled out a gun. All the investigators were in awe at the sight of it.

Gary-"This is obviously a hand gun. It's unloaded and it's also a prop so it can't fire. Pretty sure that the Killer wants to keep the actual gun for the time being. Track 2's job today is simple; We got hold of a local gun club and they said that one of their experts will meet you at The Shaw Shack today to discuss the gun to more extent. As for who is going where today, we must look at the Last Will and Testament of Kristen."

Gary clicked open a folder and brought up a video on the TV above the table. Kristen appeared for the final time to the group. After Gary pressed play, he walked over and took the nameplate off of her desk and placed it on the board in his "In Memory Of" section. The names included Heidi Gilligan, Frank Williams, Stacey Towers, Doug Graham, and now Kristen Reynolds.

Kristen-"I don't want to be here. Both Chrissy and I were targeted after the last Killer's Game. If I don't come back, then it's time to remove the target from Chrissy and let the others go at each other for a bit. I name Chrissy as the next Lead Investigator."

Gary-"Congratulations, Chrissy, you are the Lead Investigator."

Chrissy gathered her items and made her way to the front.

Harrison-"I got this weird feeling that I'm going out again on another Killer's Game. I still don't think that she's happy with me calling her and the others out the other night."

Deanna-"I'm not surprised that Chrissy is Lead Investigator again. Whoever doesn't come back this time will most likely not name her for Lead Investigator next round and she'll be out on a Killer's Game very soon."

Gary-"Now, before you name who is going on what Track today, I want you and everyone else to keep this in mind; from here on out, the Lead Investigator will not remain here at Headquarters. They will join the Track of their choice and accompany them. As we are getting low in numbers, we need as many of you out there as we can. Regardless, the Lead Investigator will still remain immune at the vote. With that being said, Chrissy, can you please pick 2 people to go out with Officer Faye to go pick up Brad, and the other 3 will go to The Shaw Shack to speak with the gun expert."

Chrissy-"Well.... I want some strong men to go get Brad, in case he gets riled up. So let's send our MMA fighter and our hockey coach to get Brad, and I'll go with Benjamin and Deanna to meet the guns expert."

Gary-"Very well. Harrison and Mitchell, you are Track 1. You guys will go and assist Officer Faye with arresting Brad. Officer Faye drove past earlier and noticed his pick up truck on the road outside his business, so we'll be going there to arrest him. Also, Jeffery Ardis should be there as he is an employee, so you can talk to him as well, but remember, he's also still a suspect, so be careful what you say. Chrissy, Deanna, and Benjamin, you will be Track 2. Go get as much info as you can out of the gun expert, and since your there, Tiffany and Spencer should also be there so you could question them if you wish as well. Go get ready. You're dismissed."
-
Outside of HQ, Officer Faye was waiting with his patrol car for Harrison and Mitchell.

Jack-"Good morning, guys."

Harrison-"Hey! Good morning, Officer Faye."

Mitchell-"Good morning, Officer."

Jack-"As you know, we have to arrest Mr. Stokely today. I'll head in first and you 2 will wait by the door in case he runs. I'm hoping it'll go smoothly, but you never know with him."

Mitchell-"Trust me, I've seen him fight. As long as you got a taser, we might stand a chance if he fights back."

Jack-"Alright, let's get going."

The 3 men climbed into the squad car and took off to Stokely Works, Inc. It wasn't long before Harrison spoke up.

Harrison-"Hey, Officer Faye, I was wondering, have you ever heard of a lady that died here in town named Tracey Johnson?"

Jack-"Name sounds familiar. Is that the lady killed out front of Stokely's work place?"

Harrison-"Yeah, that's her. You don't happen to know anything else about her, do you?"

Jack-"Well, I was in the academy when she was killed, but it was big news in town. They tried pinning it on Matthew Bundy because he got pulled over for drunk driving a little bit after she was struck. They brought him to trial for the drunk driving charge and then set him up for a trial for the hit and run. They asked if anyone that witnessed it could please come forward. The day of the trial came, no one came forward as a witness. They had no way to place him at the crime scene, so they had to throw it out. He walked away a free man."

Mitchell-"Wow. That's crazy."

Jack-"You're telling me. And now, here we are with these murders. Just who's the Killer is what's alluding us."

Mitchell-"Don't worry, we're nearing the end of our investigation so hopefully someone will be arrested soon."

Jack-"Alright, this is the place coming up."
-
Deanna, Chrissy, and Benjamin all arrived at The Shaw Shack. They climbed out of the van and walked inside, with Benjamin holding onto the shoe box that contained the fake gun. The second they walked in, they immediately walked into Tiffany.

Tiffany-"Hey guys! How you doing today?"

Chrissy-"We're doing good. How about you?"

Tiffany-"I'm good. Can I get you guys anything?"

Chrissy-"Coffee with light milk please."

Deanna-"Coffee with cream please."

Benjamin-"Hot tea with a little milk please."

Tiffany-"Got it. Go grab a seat and I'll be right back with it."

The group thanked her and took a seat in an open booth. It wasn't long until. Tiffany came back with the drinks.

Tiffany-"Here you guys go. Like with the breakfast, it's all complementary."

Chrissy-"Tiff, you're the best!"

Tiffany-"Aw, thanks! Hey, what do you have in the shoe box?"

Benjamin-"Its something from our case. We're waiting on someone to show up to meet with us about it."

Tiffany-"That's so funny, I'm waiting on a group of people to come in as well."

Deanna-"Oh, what a coincidence. Anything special?"

Tiffany-"Not really, just something the gun club set up."

Deanna-"Wait, you said gun club?"

Tiffany-"Yeah."

Deanna-"That's what we're here about."

Tiffany-"Oh, no kidding. Small world. So, what do you have for me?"
-
Harrison-"Hey, who's that over there in the truck?"

Jack pulled the cruiser over to a set of pick up trucks. Once they got close, they could make out who was sitting in one of the trucks. The guys all got out of the car and approached the truck. A man was sitting in it, half asleep. Jack knocked on it and scared the man.

Mitchell-"Its just Jeffery."

Jack-"Excuse me, sir, why are you sleeping in your truck?"

Jeffery-"Jesus! Nearly gave me a heart attack. I'm waiting for Brad. We have a meeting across town and I'm waiting for him to come out of his office. Guess I started falling asleep."

Jack-"Why don't you just go and get him?"

He let out a big yawn before talking.

Jeffery-"Trust me, Officer, the morning after he drinks, its better to wait for him then to go get him yourself. It's like going into a lion's cage wearing a steak necklace."

Jack-"Well, I'll take that chance. Come on guys."

With that, Officer Faye, Harrison, and Mitchell walked up to the office door. Jack reached out and knocked on it.

Jack-"Mr. Stokely, this is Officer Faye of the Sunrise Ridge Police Department. I have a warrant for your arrest."

There was no answer from Brad. Jack knocked again.

Jack-"Mr. Stokely, I am here with a warrant for your arrest. Please come outside and make this easy."

Again, their was no response.

Jack-"It looks like we're going in to get him."

Mitchell-"Hopefully he's still in there."

Jack turned the handle and opened the door.
-
Benjamin handed the shoebox over to Tiffany. She opened it and immediately closed it back up.

Tiffany-"Let's move this conversation to my office. I don't wanna take this out and a customer freaks out."

With complete agreement from all, the group got up from the table and relocated their meeting through the kitchen and into Tiffany's office. She sat down at her desk and opened the shoebox up.

Tiffany-"Where did you guys find this?"

Chrissy-"Uhh.... Its a long, boring story. But what type is it?"

Tiffany rolled the prop gun over in her hands a few times and held it as if she was looking down a scope of a rifle instead of a hand gun.

Tiffany-"This is a prop gun of a M1911, nickname of 'Government'. Single action, semi automatic, fires a .45. Ironically created in 1911, it's the former standard issue sidearm of the United States Armed Forces, but does remain in service with multiple law enforcement agencies in the US."

Deanna-"Wow. You know all that just by looking at a fake?"

Tiffany-"Its a gift. What can I say?"

Chrissy-"That's really impressive."

Benjamin-"How do you know so much about guns?"
-
Jack-"Mr. Stokely, I have a warrant for...."

He stopped dead in his tracks. Harrison and Mitchell were standing behind him but could not see what Officer Faye was looking at. Jack finally snapped out of his trance and came back to reality. He shut the door and went straight to Jeffery's truck.

Jack-"GET OUT OF THE TRUCK!"

Harrison and Mitchell shot a glance at each other.

Harrison-"What the hell is going on?"

They immediately followed Officer Faye to Jeffery's truck, who looked as confused as ever. Jack stared daggers at him and reached for his taser.

Jack-"I SAID OUT OF THE TRUCK AND PLACE YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!"

Mitchell-"Officer Faye, what's wrong?"

Terrified, Jeffery stumbled out of the truck, fell on the ground, and placed his hands on his head.

Jack-"TELL ME WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Jeffery-"I swear, I don't know what you're talking about!"

Harrison-"Jack, what's wrong?"

Jack-"It's another damn murder! Brad's desk is covered in blood, his body isn't in there, and Jeffery is asleep in his car when we show up. You better tell me what is going on right now, Jeffery! I've arrested you before, and damnit, I'll arrest you again!"

Mumbling from the ground, Jeffery spoke to them.

Jeffery-"Officer, I swear to you, I don't have any idea what's going on. I showed up and I've been waiting for him since I got here. I never go into his office until he calls for me. If you've ever seen him drunk or hungover, it is not a pretty site at all. I swear I don't know anything Officer."

Enraged and frustrated, Officer Jack lowered his taser, placed it back in its holster, and walked back to Brad's office while grabbing his radio.

Jack-"Officer Faye here, we got another one."
-
Tiffany-"My dad loves sports and hunting. I'm an only child and I know he wanted a son to play football with and fish and hunt with, so when I was like 4 I started playing football. I was the only girl on the city team. Then he started taking me to his gun club just after I graduated high school. I really don't care for them, but I do have a place in my heart for them. Plus, I run a business. I don't wanna take any chances going from here to the bank and back to make a deposit and get jumped, so I have a conceal and carry permit."

Chrissy-"Really. Can we see it?"

Tiffany-"Just one second."

Tiffany then pulled her necklace out from her shirt, and attached to it was a key. She placed it on her desk, then opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a small silver briefcase. She used the key to unlocked it and pulled out her permit and a sleek silver hand gun.

Tiffany-"This right here is kinda like what you brought me, just a little bit more up to date. And don't worry, it's unloaded. I always keep it unloaded in the diner. Heck, I've only ever fired it at the range."

Chrissy-"So you've never had to shoot someone?"

Tiffany-"Thank God no. I don't think I would have the heart to. I mean, if my life was in serious jeopardy then most likely."

Just then, Spencer came walking into the office.

Spencer-"Hey, sorry to bother you, but... WHOA!"

He then dropped to the ground and covered his head.

Tiffany-"Are you OK?"
-
Harrison and Mitchell grabbed some caution tape from Officer Faye's patrol car and went over and taped off Brad's office. Once they were done, they grabbed the detective kit and went inside.

Mitchell and Harrison-"Oh my GOD!"

Their was Brad's desk, completely cover with what looked like an explosion of red paint. However, they wished it was paint. His chair was on its side, a 6 pack of beer was crushed, spilled, and coated in the blood on the side of the desk, and a stain of blood trailed across the floor and ended just before the door.

Mitchell-"I can see why Jack paused when he opened the door."

Harrison-"Let's get a sample of that blood and see if we can find a .45 casing."

Mitchell-"I have a good idea where that casing is. It's gotta be at his desk."

Harrison-"It makes sense. I'll collect the blood, you find the casing."

Harrison grabbed a swab and collected a sample from off of the desk. It wasn't long after he put it away that Mitchell emerged from under the desk with the casing.

Mitchell-"It's a .45."

Harrison-"You're the man. Hey, idea. Should we dust for prints?"

Mitchell-"We may as well. You never know."

Mitchell stored the casing and the 2 men started dusting. Mitchell dusted the desk and Harrison started dusting the door to the office.

Mitchell-"Hey, I have a few prints."

Harrison-"I have some too."

The 2 men collected the fingerprints they found, and then decided to pack it up for the day. As they walked out, Officer Faye was talking with Jeffery.

Jeffery-"Listen, I know it looks wired Officer, but I swear I have absolutely no idea about what happened. We had a meeting across town for a construction contract with a company and I was gonna drive him over because last night was his drinking night. I got here and saw his truck parked. I figured he was inside sleeping it off or cleaning himself up for the meeting."

Jack-"What time did you get here?"

Jeffery-"From when you guys pulled up, about half an hour."

Jack wrote everything Jeffery said down on his note pad. He rubbed his tired eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Jack-"Listen, I apologize for the whole taser thing. We found you at a crime scene and after everything else going on in this town, we're all on edge."

Jeffery-"Can't say that wasn't the first time I had a taser pulled on me. It's all good. I completely understand where you were coming from."

Jack-"Thanks. Listen, go home, relax, and start looking for another job. I got a big hunch that Stokely Works is gonna go under if Brad really is dead. Just don't leave town until their investigation is officially over."

Jeffery-"Got it. Take care."

The 2 men shook hands and Jeffery got in his pick up and left the job site. Jack turned around and saw Harrison and Mitchell.

Jack-"Are you guys all set?"

Mitchell-"Yes we are."

Jack-"Alright. Let me get you guys back to your headquarters."

The 3 men got into the squad car and left.
-
Spencer-"You have a gun?!"

Tiffany-"Shhh! Don't scare everyone out there. It's only in this room, in this case at all times."

Spencer got up from the floor very slowly.

Spencer-"Sorry. I just hate guns. No offense at all, I think people can own them, I just personally don't like them."

Tiffany-"I can respect that, and don't worry, this is unloaded and the safety is on."

Tiffany placed the gun back in the box and locked it back up.

Chrissy-"You don't like guns, Spencer?"

Spencer-"I just don't understand how people could own a device made for killing."

Benjamin-"Yeah, but the same could be said for a knife set. Hell, same could be said with a car. It's all down to the person who owns it."

Spencer-"True, but you never think of a car as a murder weapon. You see a gun as a murder weapon, and while I don't mind them personally, being around them kinda freaks me out."

Deanna-"Trust me, I get the same way."

Tiffany-"So, is their anything else you need to know?"

Deanna-"How bad would this be at point blank range?"

Tiffany-"Well, this model was for the Armed Forces, and certain police departments still use a variation of this, so it is a strong weapon. It can kill someone at point blank range pretty easily. Even at a longer distance it will cause a good amount of damage or even kill them."

Chrissy-"Damn, that's a powerful gun."

Tiffany-"Its probably one of the best sidearms ever."

Chrissy-"Listen, we’re gonna head out. If we have any more questions we'll give you a call. Is that OK?"

Tiffany-"Oh that's more than OK. By all means, come in or call anytime."

Chrissy-"Thanks, bye guys."

The 3 investigators and the 2 diner workers big farewell to each other and Chrissy, Deanna, and Benjamin left the Shaw Shack and returned to their waiting car.
-
The 2 teams arrived back at Headquarters and filed into the Briefing Room. As usual, Gary was waiting behind his table.

Gary-"Welcome back everyone. Let's get right to it. Track 1, I got the call from Officer Faye, why don't you explain it to the others."

Chrissy, Deanna, and Benjamin looked utterly confused at what Gary said, but their confusion turned to shock relatively quickly.

Harrison-"We got to Stokely Works, and we found Jeffery in his truck asleep. Brad's truck was next to his and they're supposed to go to a meeting across town. We go into Brad's office and there is blood everywhere. We think he's been killed by the Killer."

The other 3 investigators gasped at this information.

Deanna-"Are you kidding?"

Mitchell-"It was a complete mess when we walked in there. Jack pulled his taser on Jeffery cause he was there and thought he did it. There was blood all over his office. We collected a sample of it to confirm the blood to be Brad's, we also were able to collect a few sets of fingerprints and we also found the .45 casing under the desk."

Gary-"Excellent job guys. I won't cross Brad off from our suspects list until we get the lab results back to confirm it was him. Until then, he's still up there. Track 2, what did you find out?"

Chrissy-"Well, we got to the diner and, as it turns out, Tiffany was the gun expert. She told us about the gun Harrison found. It's a M1911 and was used as a sidearm for the Armed Forces and that it's still used in various police departments. She also said she doesn't care for guns but it made her dad happy and that she developed a soft spot for them and that she's never fired her own gun except at the gun range."

Benjamin-"Spencer came in to ask her something and saw her gun and dropped to the floor. He looked petrified. He said he can't stand guns but doesn't mind if someone owns one."

Gary-"You guys did a tremendous job out there today. Go get some rest and we'll join back up tomorrow. You're dismissed."

The group filed out and left for the kitchen. Deanna grabbed a head of lettuce from the refrigerator and started on a salad for the evening. Mitchell grabbed the chicken cutlets and some barbecue sauce.

Mitchell-"I'm gonna grill up some chicken for dinner. Any request beside barbecue sauce?"

Chrissy-"Oh, can you grill up some in some Italian dressing?"

Mitchell-"You got it."

Mitchell grabbed the bottle of Italian dressing and 2 bowls. He threw half the chicken in a bowl with the barbecue sauce and the other half in the other bowl with the Italian dressing. He mixed both up and went out to the grill.

Mitchell-"I love cooking on the grill. It's a way for me to detox myself from this case and keep me sane for a bit. I know that the envelopes for the next Killer's Game are coming soon, and I just hope that everyone loves my cooking so that they'll keep me around."

In the kitchen, Deanna and Chrissy worked on a salad.

Chrissy-"Listen, its only us 2 women left. We need to knock a man out and soon."

Deanna-"Who are you sending out?"

Chrissy-"Harrison, but unless he gets voted in, then probably Benjamin."

Deanna-"I know it's me that's gonna get voted in. I just hope I pick the right map."

Chrissy-"Then it's definitely Harrison I'll be putting in."

Deanna-"Chrissy's vendetta with Harrison is ridiculous. They got caught and now she wants his head on a platter. I don't think she'll ever get over it."

Harrison and Benjamin were busy setting the table when Harrison looked up.

Harrison-"I have an idea. You're teamed with Deanna right now. If you could convince her to vote for Mitchell, the 3 of us can vote her out."

Benjamin-"You sure that's gonna work?"

Harrison-"Think about it like this; if you convince her that Mitchell is too smart, I mean, he did get a few of the Killer Questions right on his own. If he stays in, we could all be done for. She votes for him and we got her sent out again."

Benjamin-"I'll get on Chrissy's good side. I'll tell them that you and I are targeting Mitchell, and since Chrissy is most likely sending you out, it can throw them off."

Harrison-"I like it. I really like it. If anyone can convince them, it's a lawyer."

Benjamin-"I know Harrison and I didn't get along when this first started, but I gotta admit, he's got this game down. He knows he'll be going out again, and he knows how to turn the game to still be in his favor. I gotta give him his props."

Harrison-"The way I see it, Deanna is already fed up with Chrissy. Deanna has gone out already and Chrissy has sat back and never as so much as lifted a finger. So if I don't come back, one of the guys get the Lead Investigator role and Chrissy will have a date with a map. If Deanna doesn't come back, then I hope that she doesn't pick Chrissy for a third time."
-
Deanna-"This has been tough. With the Killer's Game aspect, it takes a toll on you. I've played twice and I've had a hard time sleeping afterwards. It really drains you."

Benjamin-"We're almost at the end of this case. It's hard to zero in on a culprit right now, but if I had to, I'd say Jeffery was the one to do it. He was found asleep at a crime scene, even though he works there and he knows all the victims. I wouldn't be surprised if he started dating Ashely just to gain trust with them."

Chrissy-"Its been rough. I haven't been out on a Killer's Game yet, and honestly I rather not go out on one at all. I wanna make it to the end of this case, and with us finding out that Rachel was dating Tracey, I think that puts her at the front of the list as a prime suspect."

It's 2:02 in the morning. A green, hazy glow is illuminating the Sunrise Ridge Shipping Company. Inside the building were the 5 living investigators, sound asleep in the makeshift Headquarters. The green hazy glow didn't stay for long, however. They just waited there long enough for the show to start.



KABOOM!!!!!

Everyone inside HQ jumped awake.

Chrissy-"What in the living hell was that?"

Deanna-"Did a truck just crash?"

The group sleepily met up in the hallway.

Harrison-"Did you all hear that?"

Deanna-"Yeah, but what was it?"

Just then, the sounds of sirens in the distance could be heard. A blur of red and orange flew past Headquarters and darted towards the emergency. Mitchell walked over to the window and looked out.

Mitchell-"That was a fire truck, and it looks like its heading over to that fire out there!"

The group looked outside and saw what looked to them like a 2 AM sunrise. They hurried off and got dressed then rushed outside to see what was happening. Jack Faye happened to noticed the group running in the fire's direction. He pulled over and jumped out.

Jack-"You guys heading over there?"

The group gave a tired yet adrenaline filled 'Yes'.

Jack-"I'm heading over as well. Everyone squeeze in to the car."

With that, the group and Officer Faye crammed into the 4 door patrol car and took off with the siren blaring. Within seconds, they were at the scene of the explosion.

Deanna-"Oh my God! That's the diner!"

The Shaw Shack was completely engulfed in flames. Firefighters rushed to put out whatever remained of it as fast as they could.

Harrison-"Holy crap! How the hell did this happen?"

Just then a scream and a cry echoed out.

Tiffany-"MY DINER!! NOOOOOOO!!!"

The group turned and saw that Tiffany had arrived at the scene. She was a uncontrollable mess of tears. The hard work she put into it, all the years she slaved to make it what is was, all of it was gone.

Tiffany-"How did this happen?!?"

She was a complete mess. Hair all over and tears flowing like a water faucet. She was immediately consoled by Officer Faye. Walter showed up in his Mail uniform, as did Mayor McGee, who was still in his pajamas. Spencer arrived and dropped because, he too, just lost his job. As the group looked over, they saw Robbin Evans and a bandaged up crew recording the fire for a News segment.

Chrissy, having dealt with Walter before, approached him.

Chrissy-"You heard the explosion as well?"

Walter-"H-h-heard it. Felt it. S-s-saw the fire t-t-trucks. I had to w-w-wake up any way to o-o-open the post office. It's a l-l-little earlier than I wanted t-t-to be up though."

They looked over and saw Tiffany still crying.

Walter-"That p-p-poor woman. I'm g-g-gonna do it."

Chrissy-"Do what?"

Walter-"I'm g-g-gonna ask her out."

Chrissy-"Oh my God! Really?"

Walter-"I know it's n-n-not the best time t-t-to ask, but I f-f-figure that I can h-h-help her through al t-t-this."

Chrissy didn't say anything, she just gave Walter a hug. Meanwhile, Benjamin and Mitchell were talking to Spencer. Spencer was on the verge of tears when they got to him.

Spencer-"Its gone..... I lost my job..... Just like that.... This has to be a bad dream. The murders happen and now this."

Mitchell-"Its gonna be OK, Spencer. Don't worry about it."

Benjamin-"You're gonna be fine, Spencer. Keep your head up."

Spencer-"No offense guys, but you don't get it. This is all I had. I was just scrapping by and now I'm gonna be back to square one."

Mitchell-"Trust me, we understand. I lost my first job because of almost the same thing. The building went up in flames and when they redistricted our staff to other sites, I wasn't picked up."

Benjamin-"Hopefully Tiffany has insurance and this place will be back up before you know it."

Deanna and Harrison just stared at the burning building.

Deanna-"This is just awful. How could this happen?"

Harrison-"Maybe their was a short in the wiring. Could of set of some grease or something."

Deanna-"How long do you think it'll take to find out what happened?"

Harrison-"Something is telling me the Killer has something to do with it."

Deanna-"What makes you think that?"

Instead of answering, Harrison just pointed to the big Shaw Shack Diner sign that stood in the parking lot. Deanna looked at it and saw what he was pointing at.

2 envelopes. One red. One black. The calling card of the Killer once again arrived, this time with an even bigger impact than ever.

Harrison-"I'm gonna ask one of the firefighters to get those for us."

Deanna-"The Killer had to of lit this fire. Why else would the envelopes be there? And if they can blow the diner up, they could blow up HQ. This is terrifying."

Harrison brought the envelopes back to Deanna, and the rest of the group joined back up.

Benjamin-"Where did you find those?"

Harrison-"They were hanging on the diner sign."

Mitchell-"You think the Killer did this?"

Deanna-"I wouldn't put it past them."

Chrissy-"Let's get home and get some sleep."

The group agreed and Officer Faye drove them back to their Headquarters.

Benjamin-"The Killer loves to mess with us. First Brad goes missing and now the diner goes up in flames and the envelopes are found there. It just doesn't stop."

Chrissy-"I just wanna go back to sleep. The Killer is loving this game their playing with us and hopefully we can end it soon."
-
The group woke up late the following morning at roughly 10 AM. Unfortunately for them, their was no breakfast waiting for them. No pancakes, waffles, sausage, bacon, fruit salad, coffee, anything. Chrissy walked into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee for the group.

Chrissy-"It was rough trying to sleep last night, and with the diner being gone, we gotta fend for ourselves right now. The only problem is we're exhausted. We barely slept last night and we've been woken up before by the Killer before. The breakfast from The Shaw Shack has kept us going, but now it's gone and we're all running on empty after last night."

Tired and hungry, the rest of the group made their way to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and made their way to the Briefing Room. Gary had already arrived and had breakfast sandwiches on his table.

Gary-"Figured you guys could use the pick me up after last night."

Each investigator grabbed a sandwich and gave Gary a hug and a handshake before taking their seats to get started.

Gary-"Alright, now I got a call from Rachel Neary. The blood from the crime scene at Stokely Works has come back, and it's a match with Brad's, which means he is no longer with us."

He paused and grabbed a red marker and crossed out Brad's picture on the wall behind his desk. With that, the construction work was cleared of the crime and also brought the Killer's death count up to 5 townspeople and 5 investigators for 10 in total. The other 5 living investigators now had only 7 suspects left and were one step closer to the reward money. Gary turned back to address the group.

Gary-"Now, I also got the results of the fingerprints back from the lab. Some prints were smudged or couldn’t give a conclusive reading, but we were able to get a few. Robbin Evans, Tyrone Cribbs, Spencer Stevens, and Jeffery Ardis were all collected."

Harrison-"Damn, we found that many?"

Gary-"You guys did a good job with that, and that leads us into today. Track 1, I'm gonna send you to what's left of The Shaw Shack. Tiffany and Spencer are gonna be there to talk to her insurance agent about the fire so we can chat with them. Track 2, You're gonna go see Robbin Evans. She has been found at almost every scene so let's find out why she was at Brad's office. Obviously, we have Jeffery as an employee and Tyrone had to see him about a door, so these 2 are the odd ones out. Find out what you can and I'll see you back here for later for the Killer's Game. You're dismissed."
-
Harrison and Mitchell's ride arrived at the remains of The Shaw Shack. All that was left standing was the sign in the parking lot and parts of the walls. Everything else was a complete loss. They got out and saw Tiffany and her insurance agent, Johnathan Kemper, were talking by her car, with Spencer walking through what was left of the diner.

Johnathan-"Well, you're definitely covered for fire, but we have to still run the investigation into if you burnt down the place yourself."

Tiffany-"I understand, but that's still ridiculous. I keep copies of our financial records at home, and we've never been close to bankrupt."

Johnathan-"I completely believe you, I really do. It's the whole Killer thing in the town right now that's throwing out the red flag.

Tiffany-"And what do you mean by that?"

The insurance agent took an anxiety filled breathe.

Johnathan-"The office is under the impression that you purposely burned down your restaurant and made it look like that Killer did it."

Tiffany-"That's outrageous! Are you kidding me!?"

Johnathan-"Please understand me, I am completely on your side with this."

It's was no use talking, Tiffany looked like she was about to drop to the ground in a horrible, crying mess. Harrison and Mitchell started walking over.

Mitchell-"Excuse me, is everything ok?"
-
Chrissy, Deanna, and Benjamin arrived at the news station. Having been there before, Deanna knew exactly where to go to find the door with "ROBBIN EVANS" emblazoned on it. They knocked on the door and were quickly welcomed in.

Robbin-"Oh, hello. Sorry, I was expecting the boss, not you guys."

Chrissy-"Sorry to bother you, but we just have a couple of questions."

Robbin-"Well I'm sorry, but I don't speak to the public like that."

Deanna-"Actually, we are with the murder investigation."

Robbin-"Oh, I thought you looked familiar. So what do you need?"

Chrissy-"For starters, how is your camera crew after what happened with Brad?"

Robbin-"They're all doing good. The guy that was knocked out, Kevin, was kept for an over night stay just to be sure he was OK. Greg was kept for a few hours and released, and Carl's nose was reset and he was sent on his way about an hour later."

Benjamin-"Well, that's good to know."

Robbin-"Yeah, I thought it was gonna be a lot worse."

Benjamin-"Oh trust us, we thought so too."

Chrissy-"So, have you spoken to Brad since then?"

Robbin-"No, I have not. Why would you ask?"
-
Johnathan-"May I help you?"

Mitchell-"My name is Mitchell Kennedy and my partner, Harrison Adams, and I are with the murder investigation here in town. We know Tiffany and we happened to overhear what is happening."

Harrison-"We know it might not mean much, but we have strong reason to believe that the Killer in town is the one who did this."

Johnathan-"What makes you say that?"

Mitchell-"We really can't say as it ties into our investigation technically, but if you wanna call our Commanding Officer, Sgt. Gary Fredo, he will be able to talk more about it and explain. Can I borrow your pen and some paper?"

Johnathan shook his head yes and handed his clipboard over to Mitchell who quickly wrote down the phone number to their HQ and handed it back to him.

Mitchell-"When your done here, just call over. Gary will most likely be there all day today."

Johnathan-"I will gladly call, thank you. I'm actually all set and I'll going to head out. You folks have a nice day."

Everyone said their goodbyes and Johnathan left for his car.

Harrison-"Are you OK, Tiffany?"

Tiffany-"I'll be fine eventually. If I can't get the restaurant repaired though, I'll be done."

Tiffany started crying again at the thought of losing her entire business she worked for years at. Spencer finished sifting through the remains of the diner, looking as distraught as Tiffany. He had a metal briefcase in his hands as was walking up to the group.

Spencer-"Here Tiff. I found your gun."

Tiffany used the key on her necklace to unlock the briefcase and opened it. The certification was slightly burnt and the foam holder was a bit warped, but everything was still intact.

Tiffany-"Of course, this damn thing survives the fire."

She slammed the case shut in her anger.

Spencer-"Tiff, don't worry. We can rebuild it."

Tiffany-"What's the point?! They think I did this!"

Spencer-"What?"
-
Deanna-"I hate to tell you this, but we have evidence to suggest that you did try to see Brad."

Robbin-"I never spoke to him."

Benjamin-"Ma'am, we have your fingerprints at his office."

Robbin-"So you found a few prints. I was there a month ago for a repair job on my house. It could have been from then."

Benjamin-"Can you prove that's why you were there? Any receipts? Maybe something in his books to confirm that you're telling the truth?"

Robbin-"I don't need to answer to you. You're just some nobody they dragged in to town to solve a case that has nothing to do with me!"

Benjamin started turning red. Not in embarrassment, but in anger.

Chrissy-"We've all seen Benjamin get mad, but I thought he was gonna rip Robbin's head clear off her shoulders."

Benjamin leaned in close to Robbin. He didn't yell or raise his voice at all. All he did was give a calm, almost Hannibal Lecter like speech.
 
Benjamin-"Do you even know what I do for a living?"

Robbin-"No I do not."

Benjamin-"I'm a lawyer. I'm the last line of defense from keeping someone from going to jail. At the same time, I'm the guy that can also fight and look for any evidence they can, from a fingerprint to a footprint and even a hair from when you scratched your head or even a fingernail that happened to break off, just to put someone away for the rest of their life. Just saying you went there for a repair job a month ago is not gonna cut it without documents to back it up."

Robbin-"This is my personal business! Why does it matter so much that I need to tell you what's going on?!"

Benjamin-"Because Brad Stokely is dead and we have your prints at the scene, lady! So you better talk about why you were there and you better tell us the truth, because trust me, if I crack this case and find out you did it, you'll bet you ass I'll see you again in a court room to testify against you!"

Deanna turned to Chrissy and just quietly whispered "Oh crap!".
-
Tiffany-"The insurance company thinks I burnt down my restaurant! I worked so hard on this place and now it's gone!"

Tiffany started crying heavily. The 3 men consoled her as best they could.

Harrison-"Tiffany, I assure you that this restaurant will be rebuilt. I have no doubt in my mind the Killer did this to send a message."

Spencer-"I hope you guys catch that psychopath and throw them away for life.

Mitchell-"Trust us, we will. But that is also why we're here today. We wanna talk to you about something we found the other day."

Tiffany got herself calm enough to speak.

Tiffany-"Sure, what do you need? More info about the gun?"

Mitchell-"Actually, its Spencer we need to talk to."

Spencer-"Me? What did I do?"

Harrison-"I'm going to be straight forward with you; We found your fingerprints at Brad Stokely's work site."

Spencer-"That's not too bad, is it? I just went there to see if I could find a little extra work, especially with the diner being burned down."

Harrison-"Unfortunately, it gets a little more complicated."

Spencer-"How complicated?"
-
Robbin-"Ok, fine, I wasn't there for a repair. After he assaulted my crew and broke my equipment, I went down there later that day to personally talk to him about the damages and have him try and pay them. I knocked several times and he never answered. I came back here and went through my video files to get ready for the news and found a clip of him breaking it. He somehow turned the camera on when he grabbed it. I took the video to a lawyer and he immediately got hold of a sherif to serve him. I went back there the other day with the sherif to serve him and we knocked and he never answered."

Chrissy-"What was the sherif's name?"

Robbin-"Sherif Clark Monroe of the Massachusetts State Police."

Chrissy-"We'll give them a call later to see if that comes out true."

Robbin-"Trust me, its true."

She proceeded to pull a piece of paper out of her desk and handed it to the group.

Robbin-"This is my copy of the lawsuit that I filed against him.

The group read it over. It stated that Sherif Clark Monroe, accompanied by one Robbin Evans, also on behalf of ones Carl Levy, Kevin Austin, and Gregory Sanders, arrived at Stokely Works Inc. to serve one Brad Stokely for damages of video equipment and assault. Upon arrival and for 1 hour, Mr. Stokely could not be located. Papers are to be withheld and attempts to serve Mr. Stokely will resume the following day.

Deanna-"Well, Benjamin, you're the lawyer. Is this all correct?"

Benjamin-"It looks all good to me. But you said you were there later that same day as well. What time did you go there?"

Robbin-"Around 8:00 that night."

Chrissy-"Ok, thank you. We're gonna head out now. If we have any other questions, we'll give you a call. Have a nice day."

Robbin-"You as well."

It was eerily silent as the group said farewell to Robbin and left back for their van. The silence was broken quickly by Benjamin by the time they got to the front door.

Benjamin-"Listen, I shouldn't really say this, but we gotta take out one of the other two guys tonight."

Deanna-"What do you have in mind?"
-
Mitchell-"You see, we went there with a warrant for his arrest, and when we got there, he was nowhere to be found."

Spencer-"So he ran for it?"

Mitchell-"No. We have a strong feeling that Brad was killed."

Tiffany's tiny sobs immediately froze and stopped which were followed by a shocked gasp by both her and Spencer.

Spencer-"Wait, you don't think I did it, do you?"

Harrison-"No, no, no. we're not saying that at all. We found multiple fingerprints at Brad's. We just wanna get info on when and why you were there."

Spencer-"Like I said, I was there looking for a second job. I know he's a bit of a prick, but I heard he pays nicely. I wanted to pick up some work there to go along side of working here at the diner."

Mitchell-"What day and time did you go there?"

Spencer-"I went there 2 days ago around 4:00 in the afternoon."

Mitchell-"Was anyone with you that could confirm that?"

Spencer-".... Unfortunately, no. No one was there with me."

Harrison-"Ok, that's all."

Spencer-"Listen, I know it looks bad, but you gotta believe me, I swear I didn't kill him."

Spencer started to turn pale and was nearly about to start hyperventilating. It was as if him and Tiffany switched roles in a heartbeat.

Mitchell-"Spencer, calm down man. It's ok. We aren't going to arrest you or anything. We've questioned everyone whose fingerprints we found as well. As far as I know, one of them could have done it and you're completely innocent. Relax and take a breathe."

While shaking, Spencer took a long breathe and tried to settle down.

Spencer-"I swear, I had no idea he was dead."

Harrison-"Listen, we believe you. Relax, man."

Spencer-"I'm sorry. I'm just thinking of the worse case scenario. What if the Killer goes free and I'm stuck as the only suspect? My life could be ruined."

Mitchell-"Its ok, Spencer we have the prints of others that are more out of place than you. You'll be fine."

Mitchell-"Spencer is a nice guy. He's really worked up about this. He could be the Killer and could be putting on an act, or he could be innocent. Tiffany could be the Killer and did this to cover her tracks, make herself look more of a victim, or she could also be innocent. It's tough. It really is."

Tiffany-"Hey, what did you tell my insurance agent?"

Harrison-"We really can't explain, but let's just say we found evidence here last night that points to the Killer."

Tiffany-"Oh my God! Really?"

Harrison-"Yeah. Listen, we've taken up enough of your time. We need to head out."

Tiffany-"Ok, thanks for your help. Bye guys."

Mitchell and Harrison-"Bye. Take care."

They hugged and shook Spencer's still trembling hand. They made their way to the van and left for HQ.
-
Benjamin-"I know that the 2 of them are starting to hate each other. They both convinced me to vote for the other 1 for the Killer's Game. If I vote Harrison and you vote Mitchell, they'll tie and Chrissy can send them both out."

Deanna-"How is that gonna happen?"

Benjamin-"Remember when I was Lead Investigator? You tied with Frank and I was able to choose who went out."

Deanna-"That's right. I forgot that happened. I've been trying to block out all the Killer's Game votes out. Especially the ones I got sent out on."

Chrissy-"Wait, how do we know you're telling the truth?"

Benjamin extended out his hands to the 2 girls.

Benjamin-"I'm a lawyer, I'm paid to lie and tell the truth depending on the case. Our case right now is getting through to the end.  Right now, as God as my witness, you have my word that my vote is for Harrison tonight."

The 2 women looked at each other. He said it point blank; he's paid to lie and tell the truth. Their questing was obvious; is he telling the truth?

Deanna-"Let's do it."

Deanna and Chrissy shook Benjamin's hands.

Chrissy-"I know Benjamin had his vendetta at Harrison, so it's understanding he wants to try and get him out still. I hope it works.

The group walked away from the news station and into their waiting van to go back to HQ.

Benjamin-"I'm not lying, I am gonna vote for Harrison. Our plan is set, and if I make it look like they decided to flip at vote time, then if she gets eliminated, I could be in line for Lead Investigator, I can send out whoever I want and I can be one step closer to solving this case and winning."
-
Everyone arrived back at HQ and filed into the Briefing Room and to their seats. Gary was standing behind his table, like usual, waiting for them to get settled.

Gary-"Welcome back. I'm sure we all got a little info to help us along. Before we start, I got a call from Tyrone a little bit ago. He called to see if he could get a police report for what happened at his club. I asked him if he went to Brad's office and he did confirm he went at 7:30 that morning. It's possible he did go at that time, but it’s also possible that he is making this story up. Regardless, it puts him at our scene and at this moment, that’s big. Now then, Track 1; what do you have?”

Mitchell-“Well, when we got here, Tiffany was talking with an insurance agent about the fire. He said that they believed she purposely set it. We have them the number for here to talk to you about it.”

Gary-“I did happen to get a phone call from someone named Johnathan Kemper.”

Mitchell-“That was him!”

Gary-“I couldn’t get into details with him about the actual case, but I told him that we had evidence that it was the Killer that did this. Anything else?”

Harrison-“We spoke to Spencer about him being at Stokely Works. He told us that he wanted another job to go with the diner. He knows full well that Brad is an ass but the pay is good. He then started freaking out and was about to cry when he found out Brad is dead. He say he’s afraid that he’ll be arrested for something he didn’t do. We had to assure him that other evidence was found that pointed to other people just to calm him down.”

Gary-“Very nicely done. Track 2?”

Chrissy-“We walked in and Robbin gave us an attitude when we asked if she was there. When we told her that we knew she was lying, she got defensive. After Benjamin talked to her she told us she went down there to talk to him about smashing the camera and assaulting her crew. When she didn’t get to see him, she went back to the station and was able to recover the footage of Brad breaking the camera and brought it to the police. She went back later that day to serve him but couldn’t find him again.”

Gary-“Again, great job. We learned more about our suspects today, and now let’s try and clear one of them.”

Gary then walked over to the evidence locker and grabbed the slightly singed red envelope and brought it back to his table. He grabbed the scissors and carefully cut the top of the envelope open and removed the brown paper and unfolded it to find the label maker words.

Gary-“Your question is; “WHAT NICKNAME DID TIFFANY GIVE FOR THE PROP GUN I LEFT YOU?”

Gary then typed in the anonymous email address on his computer and the TV screen above his table flashed in the matrix like grid until a single lime green line appeared.

Chrissy-“That was us. I don’t remember at all.”

Benjamin-“I think it was something involving the military.”

Deanna-“That sounds right. But what word?”

Chrissy-“Maybe Militant?”

Deanna-“I don’t think that was it. That sounds more violent. I swear it was more of a government style name.”

Scaring everyone, Benjamin slammed his hands on his desk.

Benjamin-“That was it! It’s Government!”

Chrissy-“Are you sure?”

Benjamin-“I’m positive.”

Gary-“Should I take that as your answer?”

Benjamin-“Yes. Send it.”

Gary typed ‘GOVERNMENT’ and hit send. The flash of letters and numbers flew around the screen. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they received their answer.




YOUR ANSWER IS CORRECT. A SUSPECT WILL BE CLEARED.

The group clapped and cheered and high fives Benjamin for his answer. The group stared at the screen to see the newest cleared suspect.



SUSPECT CLEARED; DANIEL MCGEE; MAYOR.


Gary-“Excellent job! We can clear the Mayor from our list!"

With that, Gary grabbed the red marker from his desk and crossed out Daniel McGee's picture, effectively clearing the Mayor of murder. The group watched him cross out the Mayor's photo and saw the list of suspect dwindle down. Jack Faye, Sydney Shields, Georgina Seeger, Cooper Davis, Diane Pearlman, Jennifer Harris, Brad Stokely, and now Daniel McGee. With his clearing, their were left with 7. Gary finished crossing out the photo and turned back to the group.

Gary-"Now, unfortunately, we have to play the Killer's Game. One by one, I'll ask you to enter the Voting Booth and cast your vote for the first person to play the Killer's Game. Remember, Chrissy is the Lead Investigator and can not be voted for. Benjamin, start us off."

Benjamin left the room and down to the Voting Booth. He entered, closed the door, and grabbed Harrison's picture.

Benjamin-"This is all part of the plan."

He placed his vote in the box and went back in the Briefing Room. Harrison entered next and grabbed Deanna's picture.

Harrison-"I know I'm going out, and I'm sorry, but you're coming out with me. We have 3 strong and we're staying 3 strong."

He placed his vote in the box and left. Deanna walked in and grabbed Mitchell's photo.

Deanna-"If what Benjamin says is true, a major threat will be eliminated tonight."

She placed it in the box and walked out. Mitchell was the last person to enter and quickly made his choice.

Mitchell-"I'm sorry, but it's my only option."

He walked out, placed his vote in the box, and returned to his desk in the Briefing Room.

Gary-"What I need for everyone to do is turn around and do not turn back until you are instructed to."

All 5 investigators turned around and Gary left and retrieved the votes. He came back in and counted the 4 votes and placed a picture against his chest.

Gary-"You may all turn back around."

With the command, the group turned back to see Gary with the picture of the losing participant.

Gary-"The group has voted, and in a 2-1-1 vote, the first person playing the Killer's Game is..... Deanna."

I’m a Pat’s fan, and while I’m upset they’re out, I actually couldn’t be more happy right now. I love TB12, and if this was his last game in New England, then I’ll shake his hand and wish him all the best with whatever team he decides to sign with.

Right now, though, I wanna throw a little flare into the mix right now and kinda break away from football and bring up some baseball real quick.

Now, please, just stay with me;

In 2004, the Boston Red Sox (yes, I know another Boston team, but just see where I’m going), became the first team to win a championship in baseball after being down 3 game to none. While it has been seen in other sports, like the Boston Bruins (yes, again, I know. I’m sorry) losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2010 playoffs, or even the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup after being down 3 to none in their series in 1942, and while teams have comeback from a 3-1 deficit in baseball, not 1 team came back from 3 games down until that series. As we all know, the Red Sox came back, won, and swept the Cardinals to win their first World Series title since 1918.

The 2004 World Series was the 100th edition (or 100th year, take your pick) of the event, which involved a team with the most infamous curse in sports history, The Curse of the Great Bambino, being broken after 86 years.

That leads me back to the NFL. This is the 100th season, a full century of the game. While the Patriots and their dynasty winning a 7th title and Brady basically becoming more powerful than Thanos sounds like a true story for the league’s 100th year, we need a team that has that underdog feeling, or even a redemption story, hell, even the full circle story.

Saints-Obviously, last year’s missed pass interference was horse crap. With them in the playoffs, they can make the huge run to the Super Bowl and erase the demons from last year.

Chiefs-The team that everybody thought would win last year and defeat the Pats. Mahomes is a beast and is leading the future of young QBs.

Seahawks and Eagles- 2 teams that I personally can’t stand, but I did love Philly’s Super Bowl win. The 2 of them are the definition of underdogs this season. I honestly didn’t expect either team to make playoffs, but here we are.

Vikings-They have been to the Super Bowl 4 times and haven’t won once. Diggs’ last second catch 2 years ago against the Saints was literally a fairy tale ending, until the Eagles slammed the book shut. Minnesota fans have been dying to see a Lombardi Trophy, with their last championship happening in 1969 before the AFL-NFL merger.

49’ers-With their last championship coming in 1994, they went a perfect 5 for 5 when they entered the Super Bowl until the Ravens stopped them from their 6th title in 2013. Nearly 6 years after their last post season appearance, they look to be in good shape, but the ghosts of Kaepernick past might still be lingering in them.

Texans-A team I’ve always had a soft spot for (don’t know why, I just do), they never could make it past the Divisional Playoffs, falling to the wayside thanks to the Pats twice in the past 8 years and once to the Ravens. With this year being their 20th anniversary (18th technically) and J.J. Watt returning after what was though to be a season ending injury, and him being legit one of the most charitable athletes in sports, this could be his run to the top.

Titans-“The Tackle”, “One Yard Short”, “The Longest Yard”. Whatever you call it, it was just heart breaking. For those that don’t know, Rams linebacker Mike Jones tackled Titans wide receiver Kevin Dyson one yard short of a touchdown and potential game tying drive in the last seconds of Super Bowl 34. That was the closest the Titans came, legitimately, to a Super Bowl title, not having seen a championship game, or winning one, since 1961 when they were known as the Houston Oilers. Finally breaking the plane of the end zone and scoring in the Super Bowl will erase the memory of the 2000 Super Bowl.

Ravens-2 teams can say they’re undefeated at the Super Bowl, the Ravens and the Saints. With the Ravens having won in their only 2 appearances, if title #3 is coming, they don’t have to worry about the Pats stopping them again. However, they missed playoffs from 2015 until last year, with last year they were knocked out by the Chargers in the Wild Card round. This year the earned the bye and will face the Titans, so we just gotta wait and see.

Packers-Where do I start? Along with NFL100, it is also the Packers 100th year as well (99th season and 101st all around, but who’s counting). The Vince Lombardi Torphy being named after their former coach. The winners of the 47th AFL-NFL World Championship Game, which was also the first game under the Super Bowl moniker. This screams “full circle” and “classic”. They are back in the playoffs since missing them in back to back seasons, and with a new head coach and a bye, they can end the season the same way it all began.


History will be made in just a few short weeks, and I hope it’s an epic tale.

“Murder is an inherently evil act, no matter what the circumstances, no matter how convincing the rationalizations.”
Bentley Little (The Ignored)


Episode 5; Time to Change the Rules

Last time on Murder in Small Town X;

The Killer struck again, eliminating a suspect.
Mitchell-“Who’s dead?”
Jack-“....Georgina....”

Georgina-“AHHHH!”
FLASH! BANG!

A the crime scene, the investigators found a surprise.
Robbin Evans slipped in the blood by the sink and landed with a thud.

And Rachel Neary still wouldn’t budge.
Rachel-“Leave or I will call security! Your choice!”

Jennifer Harris gave some insight into the check the investigators found.
Jennifer-“Matthew found out about me sleeping with a student.”
Chrissy-“How did Matthew find out?”
Jennifer-“Some of us have nephews who brag to their uncles.”

And Diane just wanted everything back to normal.
Diane-“Like I said, I know him better than anyone else. He was my whole world since we first started dating. I just wish he would change his ways.”

At HQ, the group cleared Cooper Davis as a suspect by way of the Killer Question. Then in the Killer’s Game, Deanna was once again placed into the it by way of the group vote, and Harrison shocked the group by picking Doug after his partner, Mitchell, caught Doug, Kristen, and Chrissy’s alliance trying to run the house.

In the end, Deanna survived the Woods at Harper Park to find the clue, while the curtain fell on Doug at the Playhouse Theatre and he was eliminated from the game.

Now only 10 Suspects and 6 Investigators Remain.


It's 3:19 in the morning. Everyone is sound asleep in their beds in the small town. At HQ, it was no different. The group slept quietly, aside from Deanna, who was tossing and turning in her sleep, possibly having a bad dream from her second trip out to find the clue. But while she had her nightmare of the Killer, the real Killer was about to start a real life nightmare in the city.

Their van slowly pulled up to a house. Just like last time, the headlights were off on the van to keep them as stealth like as possible. They turned on their infrared camera and grabbed the unused body bag from the next to the one that was currently preoccupied.

Slowly, on foot, the green glow approached the house. They arrived at the back door and realized that they left their crowbar at Georgina's house. Without that or their lock picks, they should of just left. They didn't. They want this kill.

Thinking on their feet, they grabbed a rock and broke a panel of glass from the back door. Quickly they reached in and unlocked the door and entered the house. Without anytime to waste, they hid in a corner of the room as footsteps came closer and closer.

Woman-"What in the world was that?"

The Killer watched the lady arrived in her slippers and a robe. She surveyed the scene and looked at the ground where the former window was now laying in pieces.

Women-"What the hell happened?"

The lady walked back into the other room, completely oblivious to the intruder in her house. She entered into the other room and grabbed a phone. As soon as the Killer realized she was calling the police, they acted fast. The green haze of inferred rushed forward at the lady. She turned around to a surprise.

Woman-"Hello. I.... AHHHHHH!"

FLASH! BANG!

***

In the quiet town of Sunrise Ridge, a Killer is on the loose. A reward has been offered to 10 ordinary people;

Deanna
Benjamin
Chrissy
Frank
Stacey
Harrison
Kristen
Doug
Heidi
Mitchell

They have been sent to Sunrise Ridge to play the Killer's twister game. Now, they must enter the mind of a Killer and solve the mystery, or else they will be eliminated, one by one.

***

Per the usual, at roughly 8:00 AM, Spencer and Tiffany dropped off breakfast for the investigators. The remaining 6 enjoyed their meal, while Deanna went straight to the coffee again.

Deanna-"I hate the Killer's Game. Last night's was the creepiest yet. I kinda just wanna stand outside later tonight and just let the Killer get me cause I don't know if I'll be able to do it again."

The group was just about to take their food and leave when Gary came in. He had an expression of despair mixed with chaos on his face, with a dash of sleepiness thrown in as well.

Gary-"Everybody. 5 minutes. Briefing Room."

Everyone looked at him like a ghost just walked in.

Benjamin-"When Gary busted in like that, it was a shock. We've never seen him like that before. Something must of happened."

Chrissy-"I got a bad feeling, with the way Gary came flying in, that our easy morning has ended early."

The group grabbed their plates and made their way to the Briefing Room. Gary was found with his face in his hands as he also let out a deep sighing yawn. Once the last of the group made it in, he addressed them.

Gary-"Alright, I got a call from Jack Faye a little while ago. The Killer has struck again."

The group gasped at the info.

Mitchell-"Once again the Killer acts in the middle of the night. We need to catch this person soon."

Gary-"Now, it sadly comes as 'Good News, Bad News' for us. Obviously, bad news is someone is dead. However, we can now clear a suspect because of it."

The group looked at each other as they wondered who the Killer cleared for them. Their question was answered very quickly as Gary took his red sharpie and walked over to his suspect bored. He reached up and threw a big red X over the face of the deceased suspect. The group looked in awe at who it was.

It was Diane Pearlman. Thanks to the Killer, the now deceased beautician was cleared of being the bad guy.

Chrissy-"Diane is dead!?"

Gary-"I'm afraid so. She called the police department around 3:25 and, well, I have the audio from the call."

He then held up a Flash Drive and placed it into the USB port on the computer. After a few clicks, the TV above the table showed the official Seal of the Sunrise Ridge Police Department. A play button sat directly on top of the logo.

Gary-"Now, just like the Killer's first video they sent us, I've already listen to this, and it sounds as bad as the video was. I'm sorry in advance if it's hard for you, too."

With that warning, Gary moved the cursor over the play button and clicked it.

Jack-"Sunrise Ridge Police Department, how can I help you?"

Diane-"Hello, I.... AHHHHH!"

What sounded like a struggle then took place, followed by the panicked screams of Diane.

Diane-"AHHHH!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!"

Jack-"Hello?! Is everything OK?"

Diane-"HHHHEEEEELLLLLPPPP!!!"

BANG!

Some of the investigators jumped when the bang was heard. After what seemed like an eternity, the ironic dead silence was finally broken.

Jack-"Hello? HELLO!?"

He dropped the phone in his rush to get to his radio.

Jack-"I need a call traced! Another homicide!"

The audio ended.

Kristen-"The Killer claimed another victim. This is insane. They've broken in here, they've broken into the homes of the victims. I don't know where it's gonna go next."

Gary-"Now, police arrived to Diane's house and found no body, but the amount of blood suggest that she is no longer with us. Now, on to other items. Last night, Deanna again returned with the Killer Clue. What did you find out there?"

Deanna-"I was dropped off right at the spot Ashley was found. I walked over to a note that told me to follow the caution tape that was tied to the trees to the clue. I followed it and it brought me deep into the woods. I arrived at a flare where the clue was."

Gary-"I'm very proud of you. This is what the Killer left us. A Massachusetts license plate."

He held it up for the group to see.

Gary-"I've already talked to Jack Faye about it, and he ran the plate and found out it was registered to a truck that once belonged to Matthew Bundy."

The 6 investigators all started writing and whispering to each other over the major clue.

Gary-"Now, let's get to the investigation. As we know, Deanna returned again last night, but unfortunately Doug did not. I'm going to play Doug's Last Will and Testament and see who he named as the next Lead Investigator."

Gary clicked open a file on the computer, and a video with Doug appeared before the group on the TV over head. Just as Gary hit play, like with the others, he walked away to grab the name plate in front of Doug's desk and placed it on his board along with Heidi, Frank, and Stacey's names in his own makeshift "In Memory" mural.

Doug-"I can't believe I have to make this. I don't blame Harrison, but I'm also not happy with him. As for who I pick for Lead Investigator, it's down between 2 people that I want to have it."

He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a quarter and flips it.

Doug-"My choice is Chrissy. I believe her and Kristen can get to the end. They're both really good investigators and I think they can solve it."

Gary-"Chrissy, congratulations! You are the Lead Investigator."

Chrissy grabbed her stuff from her desk and made her way to the front of the room

Chrissy-"I have a good and bad feeling about being in this position today. After last night, I know Kristen and I are targets now."

Gary-"So today, the 2 tracks are as follows; Track 1, I am sending you to Diane's house. We found a casing at the last crime scene, let's see if we can find another here and prove that a gun is being used. Track 2, you are going to the Town Hall. I want you to look into this Tracey Johnson girl and find anything and everything you can about her. Chrissy, it is your job to make our teams today. I want you to decide which 2 go to Diane's and which 3 go to Town Hall."

Chrissy-"I'm going to send..... Deanna, Mitchell, and..... Kristen to the house, and Benjamin and Harrison to Town Hall."

Gary-"Very well, go get ready guys. I'll see you all when you get back."
-
Deanna, Mitchell, and Kristen were in their van heading to Diane's house. Everyone was silent.

Mitchell-"I caught their alliance red handed. Harrison and I have our own alliance and we both want to make it to the end and claim the reward so I played a power move during the last Killer's Game round. If we can avoid the next Killer's Game, I think we can make it all the way."

The van pulled up to Diane's house. The 3 investigators stepped out and checked the scene outside. It was eerie.they had just spoken the other day, just like with Georgina, and now both are gone. All 3 of them thought to themselves the same thing, 'Who's next?'.

They walked around to the back door of the house and were instantly greeted by Robbin Evans and her camera crew. They were filming for Robbin's website news article, 'Robbin's Scoop'.

Robbin-"Once again, another grizzly murder has happened in the town of Sunrise Ridge. I'm here at the home of latest murder victim, Diane Pearlman, a beautician in the town. It was here within the last 12 hours that Miss Pearlman was killed in her own home by the mysterious killer that has been stalking the city the last few days. Diane's death is now the fourth death in the city, following Georgina Seeger and, of course, Matthew and Ashley Bundy. Questions have been raised as to who or whom have been behind the murders in this town. For example; Could the Mayor still harbor resentment toward Matthew for pointing out his crooked ways in the Mayoral election? What about the teacher that aided him? Could she lose more from this? What about the ex husband? Could he have been angered at her possibly dating or moving on from his abusive ways?"

Man-"EXCUSE ME!?"

Deanna, Mitchell, and Kristen whipped around on cue to see a visibly upset, and obviously extremely angry, Brad Stokely. No one heard his truck pull up, nor hear him walk up to the house. The red flannel on his shirt was nothing compared to the red in his face, with his stubbled grey hair acting as the smoke to the fire.

Brad quickly approached the reporter and her camera crew. Robbin's eyes bigger than saucers. Mitchell thought quickly and placed himself between Brad and the news crew.

Brad-"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE BLONDE BIMBO?!"

Robbin-"I'm in the middle of filming a segment, sir."

Brad-"ABOUT MY WIFE! DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT ME OR MY WIFE!"

Robbin-"Please calm down or I will have you arrested for disturbing the peace."

Brad-"YOU WANT DISTURBING THE PEACE, I'LL GIVE YOU DISTURBING THE PEACE!"

At this moment, Brad broke free of Mitchell's grip easier than breaking a popsicle stick with a sledgehammer. He walked up to Robbin and her camera crew with Mitchell still trying to keep him back. It was no use. Brad seemed to have the strength of 10 men. He reached the camera crew and grabbed the camera off of the tripod.

Brad-"HERE'S YOUR DISTURBING THE PEACE!"

With that, Brad delivered a pro wrestling style body slam to the camera. The camera hit the ground in an epic thud, shattering into a million pieces in the back driveway. The 3 members of Robbin's camera crew confronted Brad, but they haven't heard of his legend of bar fights.

Brad put one in a head lock and was about to punch him when another tried to stop him. They grabbed his free arm, but like something out of a movie, Brad spun the other cameraman around and placed him in a headlock as well. As the third member tried to pry everyone apart, he was met with a head butt square to the face. They went down with a bloody and possibly broken nose. He then pulled both of the other crew members together and both men met head first into one another and fell down as well. Now 3 men were down and one very angry and bitter man stood above the rest.

He looked over at Robbin and approached her. Mitchell tried his best to keep the peace, but after watching Brad win a 3 on 1 fight, he knew to keep his distance.

Brad-"I BETTER NEVER HEAR YOU MENTION ME OR MY WIFE EVER AGAIN! I WON'T HIT A WOMAN, BUT I CERTAINLY WILL HIT A BITCH!"

With that, Brad walked down the driveway, back into his truck, and sped off.

Kristen-"Jesus Christmas, are you guys ok?"
-
Benjamin and Harrison arrived at Town Hall. Neither said a word to the other as soon as the van left Headquarters. They got out and started walking up the steps to the building.

Benjamin-"So, you really heard of the girls and Doug having an alliance?"

Harrison-"Yeah, its the only reason I sent him out. I figure why work together like that when you're gonna have to turn against each other at some point. Let's say you and them are the last 4 and you're the Lead Investigator. They have no choice but to vote for each other. Why do that and then ruin your own chances of coming back and winning?"

Benjamin-"You put a huge target on your back. You know that, too?"

Harrison-"I knew what I was getting myself into when I sent Doug out. I've gone out already. If I have to go out again, I'm ready."

Benjamin-"Harrison is an idiot. You have a 50-50 chance of coming back from a Killer's Game. If the girls get their way, Harrison most likely won't come back. That's a plus for me at least."

Harrison-"I'm not gonna tell Benjamin or anyone that Mitchell and I are also working together. If I did, we'd both be out by now. Mitchell and I made a deal when Benjamin became Lead Investigator to have one of us walk out the winner, and we are sticking to that."

The 2 men walked into the Town Hall and were greeted by the desk clerk. An older lady by the name of Julia McMahon sat at the desk and welcomed the 2 men in as she did for Mitchell and Deanna just days before.

Julia-"Good morning, gentlemen. How can I help you today?"

Benjamin-"We're here for the murder investigation. We would like to go through the town records."

Julia-"That shouldn't be a problem. Town records are kept behind that door to the right."

Benjamin-"Thank you very much."

The 2 men walked through the door and found filling cabinets galore of information about the townspeople. They looked at each cabinet and followed the alphabet layout that was on each one.

Harrison-"Aa through Ag.... let's move down and skip this one."

The 2 men walked down and found the J's cabinets.

Harrison-"Bingo! Let's see what we can find."

He opened up a drawer and pulled out a file.

Harrison-"Jubaré. Nope, too far down."

Benjamin opened another cabinet drawer.

Benjamin-"Jonas. Getting closer."

They checked farther into the drawer and found Johnson.

Harrison-"Alright, let's see...... Allen, Amanda.... skip a few.... Stacy, Taylor, Thomas... Tracey. Got it!"

Benjamin-"Open it up."
-
Carl Levy-"I think my nose is broken."

The camera man struggled to his feet and grabbed a handkerchief from his back pocket. He put it against his nose to soak up the blood and let out a small yelp of pain. The other 2 members, Kevin Austin and Gregory Sanders, were still on the ground. Kevin was knocked out cold, while Gregory was dazed and probably concussed.

Robbin-"That man is a piece of crap! He needs to be locked up!"

Robbin then took out her phone and placed a call.

Robbin-"Yes, hi. My name is Robbin Evans and.... Yes, the reporter. I'm at the Pearlman house doing a story.... 19 Lane St.... Yes, I need an ambulance...... No, we did not find Miss Pearlman, I have 3 crew members that have been assaulted...... 1 has a possible broken nose, 1 has a possible concussion and the other is still unconscious..... Yes, he is breathing and... Oh, wait.... he just came too but he's still out of it obviously..... Yes....... Ok,  thank you very much. Bye bye."

Michell-"Ambulance on their way?"

Robbin-"Yes, they'll be here shortly."

Almost, as if on cue, a siren was heard far off in the distance. Mitchell, Kristen, and Deanna tended to the 3 men as well as they could until 3 separate ambulances showed up. Each man was taken away and treated by each set of paramedics. As Carl willingly stepped into his ambulance, Kevin and Gregory had to be placed on the stretchers and placed in their own ambulance. All 3 men then left the area by way of their respective rides and brought to the hospital. Robbin stayed behind and loaded the camera's remains and boom stick into the news van.

Kristen-"Are you OK?"

Robbin-"Oh yeah. I'm used to it. In news, even if you're slightly off with a story, people will rip your head off."

Kristen-"Hey, if you don't mind me asking, how did you know about Diane's death?"

Robbin-"I have a police scanner."

Kristen-"What?"

Robbin-"I have a police scanner. It's basically a radio that is connected to the channels the police use. I left it on last night by mistake and woke up to hearing Officer Faye ask for a call to be traced."

Kristen-"OK. Thanks Robbin. I'm gonna get back to my group. Have a good day."

Robbin-"Thanks, you too."

Robbin loaded the last of the equipment and drove off from the crime scene. Kristen rejoined Mitchell and Deanna who were also just finishing up helping the paramedics load the 3 injured crew members into the ambulances.

Kristen-"How are they?"

Deanna-"Well, they reset that one guy's nose, hope I never see that again, and the other 2 they said most likely have concussions but will get checked out."

Kristen-"That's good. I talked to Robbin. She said she heard about Diane's death from her police scanner."

Deanna-"Well, all we gotta do is check the crime scene."

Deanna started walking to the door with Mitchell and Kristen closely following behind as they approached the back door.

Deanna-"Well, we know how they got in here."

She pointed to the broken window on the back door. Deanna then opened it and the 3 stepped inside.
-
Harrison-"Johnson, Tracey Kendall. Born 4/18/1980, died 7/22/2007. Cause of death was multiple injuries after a hit and run."

Lady-"Are you talking about that poor girl that died in town years ago?"

The 2 men whipped around and saw the desk clerk, Julia McMahon, walking in to check on them. They looked at her and both realized that they just might have a break in the case.

Benjamin-"Yes we are, ma'am. Did you happen to know her at all?"

Julia-"Well, I do not know her personally, but I did know about the court case."

Benjamin-"Court case?"

Julia-"Well, you see, she was found dead in front of Stokely Works. The poor girl was hit and left for dead. That same night, the man whose body hasn't been found yet, Matthew Bundy, was arrested for a DWI and they pinned him as the one who ran her over. He was placed on trial but acquitted because there was no evidence and no witnesses came forward."

Harrison-"Damn. Do you think he did do it?"

Julia-"I've heard of the rumors of him and some other guy's drunken antics."

Harrison-"Brad Stokely. We've seen him drunk. It's not pretty."

Julia-"I can only imagine. All I've heard is the stories."

Benjamin-"You have been a tremendous help. Thank you so much. Have a good day."

Julia-"Not a problem at all. You boys have a good day as well."

Harrison-"Actually, before we leave, could you make a copy of Tracey's papers for us, please?"

Julia-"I think I can arrange that. Give me one moment."

She took the paperwork from the 2 of them and walked out the door to find the copy room. Harrison and Benjamin headed back out the door to the lobby and waited for her to return.
-
As soon as the stepped in, Deanna heard a crunch under her feet.

Deanna-"Obviously she couldn't clean up the glass in time."

Kristen-"Wait, do you hear that?"

They then walked through the house and into the kitchen, where the faint buzzing sound was heard. It didn't take long to find the answer. The phone was still off the hook, lying right next to a puddle of blood.

Mitchell-"Hand me the swabs and some gloves, please."

Kristen took out a pair of rubber gloves and a cotton swab from their investigation kit and handed them to Mitchell. She the. Grabbed a second pair of gloves and the fingerprint kit and started working on the back door handle. Deanna got on her hands and knees and looked around on the ground.

Deanna-"We found the bullet casing last time at Georgina's house. Hopefully, if we can find the same type again this time, we might be able to confirm that it's some type of firearm as the murder weapon."

Mitchell bent down and looked at the blood and used his swab to collect a sample, placed it in a baggie. He just started to stand back up when Deanna yelled at him.

Deanna-"Freeze Mitchell!"

Mitchell stopped in what only looked like a awkward yoga position, trying so hard not to fall into the blood on the floor or stand and get in Deanna's way. She swooped in and grabbed something off the floor quickly so Mitchell could stand up fully.

Mitchell-"What was that about?"

Deanna-"You almost stepped on this."

She held up the bullet casing that she was able to spot fairly easily. Mitchell nodded to her as she placed it into a ziplock baggie. Kristen returned with the fingerprint kit with an upset look on her face.

Kristen-"No prints on the door. How about you guys?"

Deanna-"Nothing except the blood and the casing we found."

Kristen-"Should we call it here?"

Mitchell-"I think it's safe to say we can go."

The group packed their things and headed out the back door. Mitchell made sure it was locked again before they walked out to the front of the house and into the awaiting van.
-
Benjamin-"You know, her telling us about Brad being the one who killed her, that just pieced the Killer Clue from last night."

Harrison-"That's right. Maybe Brad is the Killer."

Benjamin-"Maybe we can pin him for it before the day ends."

Just then, the desk clerk, Julia, walked back in with the Mayor.

Daniel-"All I'm saying is if I have to keep hearing about this election, I might just kill someone myself."

Julia-"Shhh!"

She pointed over at Harrison and Benjamin, who acted like they couldn't hear them.

Daniel-"I mean I never would. It's frustrating. I've been cleared several times and then the murders started happening. It's a lot of stress in such a small time."

Julia-"I understand sir, but please don't lose your mind over it."

Daniel stepped into the elevator and headed back up to his office as Julia returned to Harrison and Benjamin with the freshly printed paperwork on Tracey Johnson.

Julia-"Here you are boys. Is their anything else I can do for you?"

Benjamin-"Well, if you don't mind, can you explain what Mayor McGee was about?"

Julia-"Oh, that. It was nothing much. He got yet another accusation of fixing the election."

Harrison-"How many times have they looked at it and cleared him?"

Julia-"Roughly 4 or 5 times. Hell, the guy that he ran against tried getting people to back off after the write in vote. He went on to better things and has no grudge against anyone here, so I don't know why people are still saying he was robbed."

Harrison-"Politics are weird thing. Anyway, thank you very much for all your help."

Julia-"You're very welcome. Have a good day."

Benjamin-"You too, thank you."

Harrison-"Thank you. Have a good one."

The 2 men walked out of Town Hall and headed back to the waiting van.
-
Both groups arrived back at HQ with their gathered information. Gary and Chrissy sat quietly while looking over their notes, waiting for the groups to enter the Briefing Room. Deanna, Kristen, and Mitchell walked in, and were soon followed by Harrison and Benjamin. Gary stood in his usual spot at his table and wait until everyone was situated at their desks.

Gary-"Alright guys, let's see what you got today. Track 1?"

Mitchell-"We gathered a blood sample to confirm it is Diane's and Deanna found a bullet casing like at Georgina's house."

Gary took the bullet casing from Mitchell and then went to retrieve the other one in the evidence locker. He looked at them immediately realized what he had.

Gary-"These casing are both the same. So what you do think about that?"

Deanna-"The Killer used the same weapon at both locations."

Gary-"Bingo! Now if we could get the weapon itself, we'd be in business. Did you find anything else?"

Kristen-"Yes we did. When we arrived to Diane's house, we found Robbin in the backyard doing a news piece on the murders. She made comments about the Mayor and Jennifer Harris possibly being the Killer. Then she mentioned Brad's name, and out of nowhere, he walks into the yard. He yelled at Robbin, smashed a camera, and beat down her 3 crew members before leaving."

Mitchell-"I tried to hold him back, but I saw the fight at The Hot Spot. I didn't wanna be apart of that."

Gary-"Well, you guys seemed to have a rough morning. Good job though out there today. Track 2, what did you get?"

Benjamin-"We got Tracey's record. It shows she died about 11 years ago. That was really all it said beside it saying she was killed in a hit and run, but then the desk clerk at Town Hall over heard us talking about it and told us what she knew. She said that she was found dead outside of Brad's business of a hit and run and that Matthew was also pulled over that night for a DWI. they linked the 2 together and wanted to charge him with her death. The court couldn't find any hard evidence to place him there when she died, and their were no witnesses, so they had to let him go."

Harrison-"It isn't much, but we also overheard the Mayor complaining about the election again. He said he was accused again, and since you brought up Robbin saying it in her story, I wouldn't be surprised if it was her."

Gary-"Nicely done guys. I believe that we've covered a lot of ground today. Go eat and get some rest. I'll see you guys laters."

Before anyone could move from their seats, the doorbell rang. The entire group looked at each other in confusion as to who would be at the door. Gary stepped out, which prompted everyone to get up and follow him out the Briefing Room and down the stairs to the door. To everyone's surprise, it was Walter DuChamps. He was holding a box, and still acting his usual nervous self.

Walter-"H-h-hello sir. I have this p-p-package for you."

Gary-"Thank you, Walter. Can you come in for a second?"

Walter-"Oh, um.. err... Y-y-yes, just for a m-m-minute."

Walter stepped in as Gary opened the package."

Gary-"So, how's work going at the post office?"

Walter-"The u-u-usual. I get l-l-letters, send them to o-o-others."

Gary looked in the box and his face turned pale like a ghost. He looked at Walter and his pale face turned red.

Gary-"Walter, is this some kind of joke?"

Walter-"W-w-what?"

Gary pulled out the contents of the box. A noose with a red and black envelope tied to it. Walter looked as if he borrowed Gary's pale face and started wearing it as his own.

Gary-"This is the second time we've gotten these from you. What's going on?"

Walter-"S-s-sgt. Fredo, I s-s-swear to you. I w-w-was left this a-a-as well."

Walter grabbed a brown letter from his duffle bag and handed it to Gary. He unfolded it and was met with the traditional label maker words.

"DELIVER TO SUNRISE RIDGE SHIPPING OFFICE AT 4:00 PM SHARP"

Gary-"Who dropped this off?"

Walter-"T-t-that's the thing. I n-n-never saw anyone."

Gary-"Walter, you know this looks bad for you, right?"

Walter-"I k-k-know sir. But h-h-honestly, I'm being s-s-set up. I s-s-swear."

Gary-"Listen, go home, relax, and take it easy. It's been a stressful day with the second death here in the city. I didn't mean to snap at you."

Walter-"It's ok. I'm u-u-use to it by n-n-now."

Gary-"Ok, have a good night Walter."

Walter-"Y-y-you as w-w-well."

Walter shuffled out the door and straight to his mail truck. The mail carrier looked terrified as he took off. However, was it all just an act to get sympathy, or was it genuine? Gary watched the mail truck leave and turned around to see the remaining 6 investigators looking at the envelopes still clutched in his left hand. He sighed as he addressed the group.

Gary-"It looks like we'll be playing the Killer's Game very soon. Until then, eat and get some rest. If you need me, you have my number. I'll see you guys later."

The group bid goodbye to Gary and he left. Kristen then stepped into the kitchen and went to the fridge to get a dinner started. She grabbed the door and paused.

Kristen-"Last time I open this, those freaking envelopes were in here. Does anyone else wanna do this?"
***
Deanna-"We have a good chunk of the puzzle started. I just hope we could get the rest before another Killer's Game. I really don't wanna go out again."

At 8:00 AM, the group woke up to the traditional breakfast drop off from Spencer and Tiffany. They walked down and saw Tiffany and Spencer standing in the kitchen.

Tiffany-"Hey Guys!"

The group gave her a yawning hello as they started grabbing coffee, trying to get themselves to the level of perkiness that she was already at.

Spencer-"Listen, we wanted to stay around and talk for a quick second about the case."

Chrissy-"You guys know we really can't talk about the case like that."

Spencer-"Well I think you'd like to right now. I was at The Hot Spot last night watching the Bruins game with Tyrone."

Harrison-"Go B's!"

Spencer-"You're a Bruins fan, too?"

Harrison-"I love that Dirty Water!"

At that moment, with both Harrison and Spencer wide eyed, they belted out "Dirty Water" by The Standells. While the majority of the investigators were amused, Benjamin was not. With rolling eyes, he shook his head back and forth. He then interrupted the impromptu concert.

Benjamin-"So, yeah, you were watching a hockey game. What else?"

Spencer-"Oh, yes, sorry. Anyway, we were watching the game and Tyrone was telling me that Brad's usually drinking night was tomorrow. We chatted during the intermission and he said he was getting a couple extra beers and making sure he's got an extra bouncer ready for his arrival."

Benjamin-"He's not banned?"

Spencer-"Tyrone's got a soft spot for everyone. He's kicked people out but allows them back in."

Kristen-"But why?"

Tiffany-"Small town. Business is business. You lose one customer, you start losing more. You lose Brad at a bar, you should basically shut down. He's probably spent more money drinking then on anything else."

Harrison-"Do you know what time he'll be there?"

Spencer-"Usually he's down there at about 5. Grabs a burger with onion rings and fries and knocks an entire pitcher of beer back before you know it."

Chrissy-"Alright, well thank you for the info guys. We're gonna probably chat with him tonight before he gets too drunk."

Tiffany-"Not a problem, guys. Take care."

Spencer-"Bye guys."

The group said goodbye to the diner workers and they headed out and back to The Shaw Shack. The 6 remaining investigators made their plates and ate in the lounge together.

Chrissy-"Harrison sent out Doug the other night and now our coalition is down a member. Looking at him gets me more and more ticked off every second. I don't know who put it in his head, but both of them are gonna be gone soon."

Harrison-"I know I'm a target because of what happened the other night. I know I'm going out tonight, regardless of the vote. I just hope I pick the correct map."

The group filed into the Briefing Room after finishing their breakfast and waiting on Gary's arrival. It wasn't a long wait, as Gary walked in the door by the time they all took their seats. Gary was surprised by the readiness of the group today.

Gary-"Wow, I was not expecting you all to be in here and ready for the day. I'm very impressed."

Chrissy-"Gary, before you continue, we got a tip on a suspect today. Spencer and Tiffany told us that Brad Stokely was gonna be at The Hot Spot tonight for his usual drinking night around 5. We were hoping to question him about Diane and what we learned from our tracks yesterday."

Gary-"You guys came in today with all cylinders firing. Great idea, we'll do that. Track 1, I'm going to send you to The Hot Spot tonight. I figure we'll send you at 4:45 just to make sure you get time in case Brad gets there early. Try to talk to him, Tyrone, or any other suspects you might see. Track 2, I got a call on my way in from Rachel Neary, the blood test results are in from Diane's house. She said we can pick it up at any time. Go over and get the results and try and get any and all information you can from her. You are all doing a great job, I'm very proud of you. Go get ready for the day. You're dismissed."
-
At 4:40 PM, Mitchell, Deanna, and Kristen arrived at The Hot Spot. They stepped in and were greeted by Tyrone, who called them over to his station of the bar.

Tyrone-"Hey guys, what are you doing here? Haven't seen you since the benefit."

Deanna-"We were told that Brad would be coming by here tonight. Has he been in yet?"

Tyrone-"No, not yet. What's going on with the case?"

Kristen-"Its been tough, but it's going good."

Deanna-"Well, good for some, a nightmare for others."

Deanna-"Kristen didn't have the 'privilege' of going out on a Killer Game yet. I can clearly understand why she thinks everything is all sunshine and cupcakes. Meanwhile, Harrison, Benjamin and I have returned from a Game and know it's not fun. With her and Chrissy getting busted, I think the 2 of them need to experience a night out soon."

Mitchell-"Well, while we're waiting for Brad, can we get a little info about you and some sodas please?"

Tyrone-"Not a problem. Cola OK?"

Deanna-"That's good for me."

Kristen-"Yep. That's perfect."

Tyrone-"Give me a minute and I'll get them for you."
-
Benjamin and Harrison arrived at Rachel's office. Benjamin was ticked off upon his arrival.

Benjamin-"I don't know how many times I've seen this lady now and she won't tell us a thing. If I go on another Track involving Rachel, then I think I'll be the next Killer in this damn town."

The 2 men walked into the office and waited for Rachel to enter as well. When she did, she immediately rushed to grab the file and hand it over when she saw Benjamin.

Rachel-"I can confirm the blood at the scene is a match to Miss Pearlman's DNA. Unfortunately, without her body I can't do any other test to completely confirm that. That's all I have for you gentleman. Have a good day."

She went to leave as quickly as she had walked in, but Benjamin blocked her way. He had anger written on his face, while Harrison looked terrified that he was about to become the referee in a fight between the two of them.

Benjamin-"Listen, lady, I'm tired of you ducking us every time we have to talk to you. We need to know where you were the night of the murders, and we want them now."

Rachel-"I am not comfortable telling you, and with that attitude I refuse to answer any questions you have."

Benjamin's face started getting red. He looks like he was gonna pop.

Benjamin-"Every single time I see you, you tuck tail and run like you are hiding something, and I don't care how crappy your excuse is. Every other person we've talked to gave us an alibi or some stupid story except you. So if you don't wanna come clean yet, then I'll have no choice but to call up the police and have you arrested right NOW!"

Harrison got in the middle of Benjamin and Rachel as fast as he could. He knew this was gonna turn almost violent the way Benjamin started shouting. Rachel, to her credit, would not go down without her own fight.

Rachel-"YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF MY OFFICE NOW, OR I WILL CALL THE POLICE ON YOU!"

Harrison-"Please, guys, please calm down. We can all talk rationally. We're all grown adults."

Benjamin-"HOW HARD IS IT TO TELL US WHERE YOU WHERE THAT NIGHT!?"

Rachel-"I KNOW MY RIGHTS AND YOU ARE INVADING THEM RIGHT NOW!"

Benjamin-"DON'T WANNA TALK AGAIN! WHAT A SURPRISE!"

Harrison-"BENJAMIN, CHILL OUT AND SHUT UP!"

Harrison was able to get the two of them quiet, although Rachel was nearly in tears. He looked back at her and saw the pain in her face.

Harrison-"Rachel, I'm sorry. Please, we don't wanna cause any problems. We're stressed, everyone in town is stressed. I completely understand that you are uncomfortable telling us your story, but we need to know where you where. Please."

Rachel could see the sincerity in Harrison's face. She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath.

Rachel-"Ok, fine. I was on a date."

Harrison-"Thank you, Rachel. Does it happen to be someone in town?"

Rachel-"No..... I don't think you will know her."

Harrison was just about to say something but stopped.

Benjamin-"I'm sorry..... Her?"
-
Tyrone arrived with the drinks for the group and pulled up a stool to sit with the group.

Tyrone-"So, what's up?"

Mitchell-"We just wanna know about you before Brad shows up. We never got a chance to talk the last time we were here."

Tyrone-"That's no problem. I lived here for about 14 years then moved to Trenton, New Jersey for roughly 18 years. My parents stayed back there but I moved back up here and opened The Hot Spot about a year after coming back. Anything else?"

Deanna-"Did you ever have a girlfriend?"

Kristen-"Girl, are you looking?"

The four of the started laughing at what had been said, but Tyrone was quick to bring the conversation back on track.

Tyrone-"Well I did, actually I had a few. Had one here before I left originally, a few in New Jersey, and when I came back I tried to find my first girlfriend here but I never found her. Couldn't find her on FaceBook or anywhere. Found out she died a couple of years back."

Mitchell-"If you don't mind me asking, do you know how she died?"

Tyrone-"I ran into her parents, they were shocked about how big I got. I asked about her, and they unfortunately told me that she developed cancer and passed away. This was roughly...... About 10 years ago."

The investigators looked at each other, knowing that Tracy Johnson died 10 years prior as well. Could Tyrone be lying about his girlfriends death? Their next question was cut short by one of Tyrone's bouncers, Trevor Barker.

Trevor-"Hey, sorry guys, but Tyrone, heads up. Brad just pulled up."

Tyrone-"Thanks, Trevor. Make sure Danny has the door covered and then stand by the bar in case things get outta hand."

Trevor-"You got it. Be right back."

Tyrone turned back to the group.

Tyrone-"Sorry, guys. Gotta get back at it."

Kristen-"We completely understand. We're gonna hang back until Brad gets settled so we can talk to him."

Tyrone left and took his place behind the bar. His bouncer, Trevor, positioned himself just off to the side. Brad then walked in and took a seat right in front on Tyrone.

Brad-"Hey Tyrone. Can I get a burger and fries and a pint?"

Tyrone-"Coming right up Brad."

Brad then placed his head down on the counter and stayed like that, as if he already had a few.
-
Harrison-"Am I confused? Did you say 'her'?"

Rachel was still out of it with tears still in her eyes, but she knew exactly what she was saying.

Rachel-"Yes. I did say 'her', and her name is Sasha."

Benjamin-"So, wait.... You're.... Gay?"

Tears instantly filled Rachel's eyes.

Rachel-"Yes I am."

She started crying at that moment. Benjamin and Harrison looked at one another with the same puzzled look on their faces.

Harrison-"Why couldn't you just say that to begin with?"

Somehow, through the sobs, Rachel was able to talk to the two men.

Rachel-"You don't know how hard it is. I grew up in a strict Catholic family. When I told them I thought I was gay, they tried sending me to away to a gay conversion therapist. I refused, so when I turned 18 they kicked me out. Then you have people like Matthew Bundy who tried to make me into a monster, which obviously I'm not. I've been trapped ever since because I'm terrified on how people will treat me. Then you came in asking about Tracy, and...."

She broke down again, sobbing harder than before.

Rachel-"Just trust me, you won't understand."

As she turned away, a hand pulled her back around and embraced her in a tight hug.

Harrison-"One of my best friends is gay."

Rachel cried into his shoulder as he held her tight, in his way telling her she wasn't alone, no matter what she thought. However, it was quickly broken up by Benjamin, who stepped in. He just looked blankly at Rachel and Harrison. Then, all of a sudden, he grabbed both of them and pulled them into a hug as well.

Benjamin-"My younger brother is gay."

Rachel and Harrison looked at Benjamin during the hug and realized, for once, Benjamin wasn't being a jerk and was actually sincere.

Benjamin-" My brother, Jacob, came out to me originally when we were in high school. I was the first person he came out to and I've been by his side ever since. When Rachel said she was gay and we wouldn't understand, I immediately thought of Jacob and his fights and his struggles."
-
Tyrone returned with a tall beer and a burger and fries for Brad. He set down a bottle of ketchup and mustard next to it. He then had to nudge Brad to get him to pick his head up.

Tyrone-"Hey, Mr. Stokely, your food and beer are ready."

Brad-"Thanks, Tyrone. Put it on my tab."

Tyrone-"Way ahead of you, Mr. Stokely. Just need your card."

Brad-"You're a good man, Tyrone. Don't change."

Brad handed Tyrone his debit card and he walked away to fill another order, while Deanna, Mitchell and Kristen all looked at each other like they were in an alternate reality. They were not being deceived; Brad actually complemented someone.

Kristen-"I think this is as best a time to talk to him. When he's still sober and throwing out complements."

Mitchell-"Good idea."

The 3 of them walked over to Brad, who took a few bites out of his burger and fries.

Mitchell-"Hey, can we talk?"

Brad-"You guys again? Well, I guess. What the hell do you want?"

Mitchell-"First off, we are so sorry about your wife's death. We wanna know why you are so upset even though you divorced."

Brad took a long, refreshing sip of his beer to wash down some more of his burger. He set the glass down and wiped his mouth.

Brad-"That women was a damn saint for putting up with a bastard like me. I never deserved her."

Kristen-"Is that why you cheated on her? Because you felt that way?"

Brad-"What? I'd never cheat on her. Who the hell would tell you that?"

Kristen-"Diane told some other investigators that when they came to talk to you a few days ago."

Brad-"She's still covering for me. God bless that women."

Deanna-"I'm sorry?"

He took a deep breath, then took another gulp of his beer. He looked up with tears in his eyes, which was extremely weird for him.

Brad-"About 12 years ago, some girl got ran down in front of my business."

Deanna-"Tracey Johnson."

Brad-"I guess, I don't remember her name, but I was in the office at that time. I was having an argument with some punk kid that screwed up my accounting numbers. All of a sudden, I see Bundy's truck fly by. About 10 minutes later, they walked out fired, and then someone starts yelling that they need an ambulance. Matthew really did run that lady down."

Mitchell-"I'm sorry, but I'm confused. How did Matthew not get arrested for it?"

Brad-"I refused to testify because Matthew and I go back and I owed him a favor. Diane begged me to step forward. She pleaded with me, but I told her I just couldn't. Matthew and I were good friends. Hell, you could say he was like a brother to me. I couldn't watch him go down like that. She completely understood, but she was pissed at me for it. We had arguments for months and then we got divorced and I drank more and more afterward."

Deanna-"Good damn. Are you serious?"

Brad-"Yes, and I should of said something. If I did, I know Diane and I would still be together. Hell, she'd still be alive."

With that, Brad placed his head back down on the counter, right between his empty plate and nearly empty beer glass. He took a deep breath and picked his head back up.

Brad-"I messed up. I ruined the chance for that family to get justice, I ruined my marriage, and I ruined several lives."

He finished off his beer and gestured for another one. All of a sudden, a group of men walked into the bar. Brad looked over and recognized them immediately. He looked back at the investigators.

Brad-"You guys might wanna go. This isn't gonna be pretty."
-
Harrison-"Benjamin, are you serious?"

Benjamin-"Yes. My little brother, Jacob. He came out to me while him and I were in high school and I've had his back ever since. I won't let anyone mess with him and I've kicked a lot of ass in the past 20 years since he came out."

Harrison-"I just can't believe it. He yelled at this lady for days to give up information and to find out she's gay and he can relate to it.... There are no words. It's just a surreal moment that they can connect and she could open up to this."

Benjamin-"So, you were on a date the night of the murders?"

Rachel wiped away her tears and took a deep breath.

Rachel-"Yes. I met Sasha at a coffee shop. We talked for a little bit and we decided to go out together. She knew this little place just outside of town called The Rise, which is a gay bar. I got out of working a double shift here, went home and got ready, and she drove us there. We had a few drinks, we went back to my place, and.... Well, you get the idea."

Harrison-"So you two are an item now?"

Rachel-"I don't know. I wanna be, but I don't know if this is me."

Benjamin-"And who says it's not what you're supposed to be?"

Rachel-"My parents, gay conversion therapists, my family's church."

Benjamin-"Alright, alright, alright, here's the thing though; who's life is it?"

Rachel-"It's my life."

Benjamin-"There you go. Just because they don't agree with it does not mean you need to change your life to make others happy about their lives. Whatever in life makes you happy is what you need to worry about. If you like girls, then like girls. You like hospitals, you got a job in one."

Rachel-"I just wish there was that 1 day I could take back."

Harrison-"What day was that?"
-
A group of 3 men walked into the bar and noticed Brad. They approached him as he drank his second beer in record time.

Gus-"Hey, Dave and William, look who we found. Hey old man, where's your buddy now? You wanna start a fight 3 on 1 now?"

Brad-"Listen, I'm not starting anything tonight. I wanna sit here, watch the Red Sox, and eat my food."

Dave-"What, can't win a fight on your own?"

Brad-"I'm not fighting tonight. I told you that. I'm watching the game and eating my food. That's all."

William-"I bet that your wife could put up a better fight."

Brad had the thousand yard stare. He was almost tunnel vision like when the guy said that. Brad slowly turned in his seat and stood up, getting right in the face of the guy who said that.

Brad-"You listen to me, you little punk. You don't ever mention my wife. That women is an angel and if you ever say anything about my Diane again, you'll be saying it from the floor. You hear me?"

William-"Diane? The lady who died?"

Brad-"Yes. She is a saint, and.."

Gus-"And you are the guy that killed her probably."

Brad stepped aside from William and right into Gus' face?

Brad-"You wanna say that again?"

Cold and quietly, Gus leaned up to Brad's face.

Gus-"Your bitch wife is dead because you're a disgusting drunk."

Brad stepped back. He looked at the 3 men, then to the investigators. They knew exactly what was about to happen after the other day with Robbin's camera crew. Brad then made a gesture to Tyrone, which quickly got his attention.

Tyrone-"What's up Mr. Stokely?"

Brad-"You still have my tab open?"

Tyrone-"Yes sir. Got you card right here."

Brad-"Hold onto it. I'm gonna knock some punk's teeth out and I'll need you to add what is broken onto my tab."

Before anyone could say anything else, Brad grabbed Gus by the arm, quickly spun himself, and judo flipped him over and onto the ground. Dave ran forward to attack Brad from behind, and was quickly met with an elbow to the face. William took a run at him, but Brad sidestepped him, grabbed the back of his pants, and threw him up and over the bar. Gus got back up and lunged at Brad, who quickly got him in a head lock and started to apply pressure. Dave got back to his feet, but got hit with what only could be described as a professional wrestling style thrust kick to the stomach. William threw a wild punch that caught Brad square on the side of the jaw. He looked like he was gonna fall down, but regained his senses, removed Gus from the headlock, and shoved him into William and then Brad proceeded to football style tackle the two men to the ground. Brad landed a few punches until Dave pulled him off of his friends, and they pushed and shoved each other back towards the door.

CRASH!!!!

Kristen-"Holy crap!"

Deanna-"Oh my, what just happened?"

Mitchell-"They just went through the glass door!

The 3 investigators rushed over to help the 2 bouncers. When they got to the door, they see Brad standing up and stretching out his shoulder after landing hard on the pavement. Tyrone came running out to see what had happen as well. He was in shock when he walked outside and realized that the door was still closed.

Tyrone-"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE HELL!?"

Brad reached into his wallet and pulled out his business card and handed it to Tyrone.

Brad-"I'm sorry about this, Tyrone. Get a list of what I broke and what their bodies broke and come by tomorrow. It's on me. Just bring my debit card as well."

With that, Brad walked away under his own power to his pick up and left. The three men had to be helped to their feet. Tyrone just stood their, card in hand, still as a statue and still in shock at what had just happened.

Kristen-"You OK Tyrone?"

Tyrone-"He's...... He's...... He's not human. How?"

Danny-"Hey, boss man, this guy is cut bad."

They look over to the three men and William was seen to have a large gash from the glass door on his arm. The bouncers got to him and Trevor pulled his cell phone out and called an ambulance for him. Deanna walked over to help, but caught sight of her watch.

Deanna-"Guys, it almost 7:00. We need to get back to HQ."

Mitchell-"You're right. Hey, Tyrone!"

Tyrone whipped around and saw Mitchell walking up to him.

Mitchell-"Listen, obviously we know there's an issue here right now, but we need to leave. Hang on."

Mitchell took a sharpie out of his pocket and took the business card from Tyrone, wrote the HQ's number on the blank backside, and handed it back to the still stunned Tyrone.

Mitchell-"That's the number to our Headquarters. If anything happens, call us immediately."

Tyrone-"Well, thanks, but I already know where you guys are set up. It doesn't matter though, I'll let you know if anything happens. Have a good night."

Mitchell-"You too. Bye."

Mitchell then rushed off to the van, where Kristen and Deanna were already waiting. He hopped in and they left for HQ.
-
Rachel-"Well, it started about 14 years ago. After I first started working here, I was seeing someone. I thought we were in love. Then a year and a half later, I found out she was cheating on me. I was so hurt that she could do that. A few months later, I find out she was engaged, and then...."

She started breaking down in front of Benjamin and Harrison. She tried to compose herself as well as she could, but it was apparent that it wasn't going to work at all.

Rachel-"I was working here one night.... They bring in a lady that got ran over..... It.... It was her."

She broke down completely in tears, almost falling to her knees.

Rachel-"I..... I.... Couldn't believe it....."

Benjamin and Harrison picked her back up and held her tight as she sobbed into their shoulders.

Rachel-"I loved Tracey..... How could that happen?"

Benjamin and Harrison both looked at each other as Rachel continued to cry. They both had the exact same thing in mind; is the Tracey she mentioned the same Tracey from their case? Their was only one way to find out. Harrison nodded at Benjamin and started to speak.

Harrison-"Rachel, is Tracey's last name Johnson?"

Rachel couldn't speak through her sobs, but she shook her head with her answer of yes. Harrison and Benjamin held her close and she finally started to calm down enough to speak. Benjamin walked away to the water cooler in the corner of the room and got a cup of water for her. Rachel sipped it and got herself calm.

Rachel-"I cried over her for what felt like hours that day. People asked me why I was crying so bad that day. I'm so scared of coming out to others, I told them it was my cousin that died."

Harrison-"But you've come out now to us. I mean, the circumstances surrounding you saying you're gay could of been better, but you're out now."

Benjamin-"Listen, I'm sorry I've given you such a hard time earlier. If I knew what I know now, everything would have been different. And I hate to say it, but we have to leave."

Rachel-"Its OK, and thank you for helping me open up. You guys take care."

The men said goodbye, but first gave Rachel one last hug. They then left the office and made their way back to the van.
-
The group's made their way back to HQ and filed into the Briefing Room. Gary was already standing at his table, going over notes with Chrissy. She left for her seat and Gary addressed the group.

Gary-"Alright, I'm hoping we covered some more ground today. Track 1, what did you get out of Brad?"

Deanna-"Well, before we talked to Brad, we chatted with Tyrone about his life. He lived here and then moved to New Jersey for a while then came back. He said he tried to reconnect with an old girlfriend when he got back, but found out from her parents that she passed away from cancer about 10 years ago."

Gary-"Well, that puts us at around the same time frame that Tracey died. Their could be more that Tyrone isn't telling us. Now what about Brad?"

Mitchell-"It was bizarre. He was all well behaved. We chatted about his wife and he said she was a saint for putting up with him. When we asked about his cheating, he denied it and told us that she was covering for him because he witnessed Matthew hit Tracey with his truck. Matthew and him were friends and he didn't wanna see his friend get locked away so he refused to testify, which is why Bundy got off scott free. Diane and Brad argued, fought, and he started drinking more and they ended up divorcing because of it."