Author Topic: Murder In Small Town X; The Return  (Read 2810 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #15 on: January 07, 2020, 08:24:06 PM »
My apologizes to the people that read this. I was unable to post the episode last night for personal reasons so I’m currently posting it right now. Just think about it as being preempted.
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #16 on: January 07, 2020, 08:59:56 PM »
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!”
Chrissy-“Diane is dead!?”

And at Diane’s house, Robbin’s news story didn’t sit well with the ex husband, Brad.

While a trip to the Town Hall helped out with more info about Tracey’s death.

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
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.







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?"


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.


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.


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

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


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.


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!"

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 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.


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


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."
« Last Edit: January 07, 2020, 09:02:14 PM by TempleFan322 »
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #17 on: January 07, 2020, 09:04:05 PM »
He turned the picture around and revealed Deanna's face. Meanwhile, Deanna's real face was left with an expression of disbelief. Stunned, she stood up.

Gary-"What I now need is for the Lead Investigator to come up and name their choice for who they want to play the Killer's Game and why."

Chrissy got up and made her way to the table and faced the group.

Chrissy-"My choice is simple tonight. I pick Harrison to go out. I have a feeling that you set up Benjamin to give us bad information and you are the reason 2 solid investigators didn't come back. Deanna, good luck. Harrison, don't come back."

Harrison tried his hardest to contain his anger for Chrissy's comment as he stood up.

Gary-"Harrison, you will play the Killer's Game alongside Deanna."

Gary went back to the evidence locker and grabbed the black envelope. He bought it back to the table and started cutting it open.

Gary-"The Killer has stated that the black envelope contains 2 maps to 2 different locations. At 1 location will be an important clue. At the other, the Killer is going to be waiting, and 1 of you will not be coming back. What I need you to do, Chrissy, is hand a map to the group's choice, Deanna, and hand the other map to your choice, Harrison."

Chrissy thought about her decision. Which map lead to a return, and which lead to the end of the line? She handed Deanna one map and dropped Harrison's onto his desk.

Gary-"Please open you maps and tell us where you'll be going."

Deanna-"I'm going to the Library on Hawthorne Ave."

Harrison-"I get to go to Sunrise Ridge High School."

Gary-"I will arrange for a cab to pick you up later tonight. What I need for you to do is to go into the Voting Booth and record your Last Will and Testament. If you do not return, you will name our next Lead Investigator."
Harrison was busy packing his bag with Mitchell close by.

Mitchell-"She is relentless with you."

Harrison-"You don't gotta tell me twice."

Mitchell-"Let's hope you come back."

Harrison-"Definitely. Either way, I think Chrissy is going out next as long as Benjamin convinced Deanna."

Harrison-"Chrissy had a lot of nerve the way she said 'don't come back'. I've gone out on the Killer Clue twice already, I've come back twice and now I'm hoping to go 3 for 3 tonight. She's been mad ever since I busted her group and sent Doug out and she'll stop at nothing till I'm gone. Well, guess what Chrissy? I'm not going anywhere."

In the girl's room, Deanna was just finishing up packing her bag when a knock was on the door.

Benjamin-"Hey, can I come in?"

Deanna walked over and opened the bedroom door. Benjamin stepped and and saw Chrissy sitting on her bed and Deanna's suitcase on hers.

Benjamin-"Listen, I swear to you I voted Harrison. They must of worked something out on their track and went for you. They tricked me as well."

Deanna-"Its OK, Benjamin. You don't need to apologize."

Chrissy-"We got set up by them and now it's the 3 of us versus the 2 of them, and hopefully that piece of crap Harrison doesn't return."

Benjamin-"Chrissy really has it out for Harrison and it's kinda pathetic. I had my issues with him but she really wants him dead."

Deanna-"Let's just get this over with."

Chrissy-"Yeah. Good luck girl!"

Deanna-"You know, as I think of it, if I were to be eliminated tonight, I honestly wouldn't mind it. I wouldn't have to see Chrissy's smug face when it comes to getting rid of Harrison and I might actually sleep well once it's all said and done."

At 10:25 PM, 2 taxis pulled up to the Headquarters. Harrison grabbed his stuff and Deanna's and placed it in their respective cabs. They said their goodbyes to the group, gave each other a hug, and climbed in their cab.

Deanna-"Can you take me to the Library, please?"

Harrison-"Can you please bring me to Sunrise Ridge High? "

The 2 cabs took off into the night.

At 10:45 PM, Deanna arrived at Library.

4 minutes later, Harrison arrived at the High School.

Deanna walked up to the door and saw the noose with the key. She unlocked it and walked inside.

Harrison found the noose and keys attached to the door. He took a breathe and went in.

Deanna went and straight to the librarian's desk. She found nothing.

Harrison checked the main office. The door was locked and he moved on.

Deanna saw a statue with a piece of paper attached.

Harrison saw what looked like a note attached to the trophy case.

Deanna read the familiar label maker words. It said "FIND THE KIDS SECTION".

Harrison read his note. It said "FIND CLASS B112" with a map attached.

Deanna, easily, found the children's section.

Harrison started walking towards the location of B112.

Deanna saw a second sign. This one read "GO UPSTAIRS TO THE NON FICTION TO FIND YOUR CLUE".

Harrison arrived at room B112 and found another note that said "FIND THE CAFE TO FIND YOUR CLUE".

Deanna walked around to the flight of stairs. She pointed her flashlight up to the top.

Harrison started walking in the direction of a flight of stairs to the cafe.

Deanna got to the top and shined her light around looking for her clue.

Harrison arrived at the flight of stairs and started heading up.

Deanna walked down the isles of books, looking for her X.

Harrison arrived at the next floor and immediately saw the cafeteria.

Deanna did a double take at the end of the last isle. She saw the X.

Harrison walked through the cafe doors and instantly saw the X at the back of the room.

Silently, a green glow watched the investigator approaching the decoy clue.

Deanna walked up to her clue; it was a set of pictures. She flipped through them, hoping to notice someone she knew.

Harrison arrived at his clue; a bell. He rolled it over and saw an engraving that puzzled him.

As one investigator went to walk away, the green hazy glow quickly ran out and caught the investigator off guard. Startled, they yelled and tried to run. It was no use.


The surviving investigator looked over each shoulder, smiled, and quickly retraced their steps back to their cab.
At HQ, everyone was waiting on who would walk back though the door.

Chrissy-"Listen, all I'm saying is that Harrison isn't a team player."

Mitchell-"What makes you say that?"

Chrissy-"He sent out Doug for no reason. He was a strong asset to the group and Harrison didn't care."

Mitchell-"True, or is it because you, him, and Kristen were acting as a 3 person team to try and control the house and you got caught?"

Chrissy-"Its a game of life and death. Picture Hunger Games, 'May the odds ever be in your favor.' He wanted to play that game, so now he is playing the Killer's Game."

Benjamin-"Well it's just down to you and Deanna. That poor girl keeps getting sent out."

Chrissy-"She better come back."

Just then, the door to the HQ opened and closed. The footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. Everyone stared at the door, waiting to see who survived.

-"I'm starting to hate this game. But, damn, do I love coming back."

Harrison set his clue down on the table and winked at Chrissy.

7 Suspects and 4 Investigators Remain

Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #18 on: January 14, 2020, 12:11:25 PM »
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.
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #19 on: January 14, 2020, 12:32:41 PM »
The Joker (The Dark Knight)

Episode 7;The Game Takes a Shocking Turn

Last time on Murder in Small Town X;

Brad is murdered in the middle of the night.
Brad-“She’s gone..... I can’t believe it.”

Jeffery Ardis is found at the scene of the crime the following morning, but claims innocence.
Jeffery-“Officer, I swear, I don’t have any idea what’s going on.”

Tiffany is found out to have a gun almost identical to the one Harrison found as the Killer’s Clue.

And the Killer decided to create an early morning walk up call, in the form of The Shaw Shack Diner.
Deanna-“Oh my God! That’s the diner!”

Forensics revealed Spencer, Tyrone, Jeffery, and Robbin at Brad’s office before the crime scene was found. Tyrone needed a door, Robbin tried serving a lawsuit, and Spencer was looking for work.

And Tiffany had her own issues with the Shaw Shack.
Tiffany-“What’s the point?! They think I did this! The insurance company thinks I burnt down my restaurant!”

Not to mention Spencer’s near nervous breakdown when asked why he was at Brad’s business.
Spencer-“Listen, I know it looks bad, but you gotta believe me, I swear I didn't kill him."

The group was then able to clear Mayor Daniel McGee by ways of the Killer Question.

As for the Killer’s Game, Harrison and Deanna, the 2 investigators sent out the most so far, competed to return with Deanna being voted in after being double crossed by the alliance of Benjamin, Harrison, and Mitchell, while Harrison earned Chrissy’s pick after she started gunning for him after sending her alliance partner, Doug, out. Harrison found his clue at the High School, but Deanna read into her clue the wrong way at the Library and instead found the Killer and was eliminated.

Now only 7 Suspects and 4 Investigators Remain.






The remaining 4 investigators woke up ?at 8:00 AM? the following morning. Harrison was the first awake after his night out and decided to start making breakfast for the rest of the group.

Harrison-"Its always rough going out on the Killer's Game. You're in the dark by yourself. Nothing but a flashlight. You turn and look over your shoulder because you hear something after every step. It sucks. Deanna and me went out last night and I know that poor girl was probably terrified when the Killer got her, and I probably would be as well. I'm upset we had to send her out, and I'm sorry she's gone, but we had no other choice last night."

Harrison made the group scrambled eggs and pancakes with coffee as the rest of the group got ready for the day. Chrissy was just starting to walk down stairs and could smell the coffee.

Chrissy-"Deanna didn't return last night and now I'm on my own. I hope she named me Lead Investigator so they don't send me out. I think we had a good enough bond that she would try and keep me safe."

The rest of the group converged down stairs and started eating.

Benjamin-"When did you get up, Harrison?"

Harrison-"About ?6:30?. Hard to sleep after the Killer's Game."

Benjamin-"I hear you. It's tough."

Benjamin-"Harrison and I have both been out on a Killer's Game before, but I've only gone out once. This kid has gone out a few times. It was defiantly hard to sleep after mine, but I don't wanna know how he feels going out all those times."

The group finished eating and thanked Harrison for cooking for them and promised to return the favor the following morning. They cleaned up and quickly made their way upstairs and waited in the Briefing Room for Gary's arrival. It didn't take long, as Gary arrived just minutes later.

Gary-"You guys are ready to go. That’s great because we got a lot to do today. Before we start anything, I want to go over the clue that Harrison brought back last night from the Killer’s Game. Harrison, tell us what you found.”

Harrison-“I got to the High School and on the trophy case it said to go to room B112.  I get there and it tells me to go find the cafeteria. I walk in and there’s the X at the back of the cafe.”

Gary-“You did great out there, and you were able to bring this back.”

He held the small golden bell up for the group to see.

Gary-“This golden bell had the inscription that says “L.B. & T.J. 7/27/07”. Any ideas?”

Benjamin-“If I remember correctly, Tracey died almost a week before that.”

Mitchell-“Yeah, and obviously T.J must be Tracey Johnson.... But L.B? Who the hell is that?”

Gary-“That’s what we’re gonna try and find out. Today’s tracks are as follows; Track 1, I want you to go to the church and talk to Reverend Wayne Connors. Try to see if this was a gift from the church and to see if he has any info on Tracey as well. As for Track 2, I want you to go see Walter DuChamps. We got those envelopes from him twice and I wanna see if he has any other info. You all know that all 4 of you are going out on the tracks, but who will be making those tracks will belong to whoever Deanna names as Lead Investigator. Let us find out who she has picked.”

Gary clicked a folder on his computer and Deanna appeared for the final time on the TV above the table. With another click she spoke to them for the last time as well through tiny sobs as he grabbed her name plate from her desk.

Deanna-“I d-d-don’t understand why I keep getting p-p-put into this.”

She took a stuttered breathe and tried to regain herself.

Deanna-“I tried t-t-to do everything I could to m-m-make it to the end, but every time it f-f-felt like I was a target for no r-r-reason. I don’t wanna come back again. I hope I p-p-picked the wrong map, and I wanna choose someone who I’ve grown to t-t-trust the last few day.”

Chrissy smiled brightly as Deanna said that.

Deanna-“My choice for Lead Investigator..... is Benjamin.”

Chrissy’s smile instantly turned into a dropped jaw as Harrison tried his hardest to contain his laughter.

Deanna-“He saved me earlier from going out for a possible fifth time and he just tried to save me again, but Harrison and Mitchell must of patched things up. Thank you for caring.”

She wiped her face of the drying tears and the video ended there. Harrison and Mitchell shook hands and Chrissy caught sight of this.

Chrissy-“Don’t tell me, you guys are working together?”

Harrison-“I guess you could say that.”

Chrissy-“He gave that whole speech about not wanting coalitions in the house and he’s been apart of one?! The nerve of him! The 2 of them can kiss my ass!”

Gary-“Benjamin, congratulations, you are the Lead Investigator.”

Benjamin grabbed his stuff and moved to the table with Gary as he placed Deanna’s name with the other departed investigators. Heidi Gillian, Frank Williams, Stacey Towers, Doug Graham, Kristen Reynolds, and now Deanna Landry.

Gary-“Remember, you’re going out on a Track as well, so I need 2 of you to talk to Wayne Connors about the wedding bell, and 2 to go see Walter DuChamps.”

Benjamin-“Well, to save Harrison and Mitchell the earful, I’ll go with Chrissy to see Wayne Connors, cause then she also can’t swear in a church, and that leaves them to see Walter.”

Gary-“Very well. Remember, keep on your toes out there. We’re hopefully at the end of our investigation, so the Killer will go to any and all cost to get away. Get all the info you can so we can lock this psycho away for good. Go get ready. You’re dismissed.”
Mitchell-“It’s surreal that we are all this close to unmasking the Killer and claiming that reward. If I had to guess right now... Jeez.... I’d probably name Jeffery as my leading suspect. He was seeing Ashley behind Matt’s back but that could just be his cover, but we’ll see.”

Harrison-“Right now, my money would have to be on Walter. He’s seems to out there and the way he stutters is almost the worst kinda poker face ever. He has to be hiding something more.”

The 2 men arrived at the post office and walked inside to see Walter behind the counter with a line waiting to see him.

Harrison-“Maybe we can jump the line to talk to him?”

Mitchell-“We can try.”

The 2 men walked past the line and straight to the front counter to Walter. Obviously, this did not sit well with the people in line.

Man-“Hey, I’m waiting here! What the hell do you think you’re doing!?”

Woman-“I’m running late for work! Get in line like the rest of us!”

Harrison-“Please, everyone, please understand, we need to talk to Mr. DuChamps.”

Man-“Is it this important that we are gonna be later then we already are?!”

Mitchell-“Everybody, please understand, we are here on behalf of the murder investigation and we need to speak to Mr. DuChamps.”

Walter-“W-w-what? Why do you n-n-need to talk to me?”

Harrison-“Can we speak in private? Nothing major but we rather it be behind closed doors.”

Walter-“Sure, hold o-o-on one second.”

He turned around and called out to the back room.

Walter-“Hey J-J-Jane, could you t-t-take care of the front f-f-for me real q-q-quick?”

Another post office attendant quickly came out to handle the group of people and Walter gave a wave to Harrison and Mitchell to follow him to the back room. They walked into a break room and they each took a seat at one of the tables.
Chrissy-“We’re right at the end and I’m so close to winning. At this time, I’d have to say Rachel is or has something to do with this. She dated Tracey and she could of been driven crazy from her past and Tracey’s death.”

Benjamin-“I’m sure that Jeffery Ardis did it. The drunken tears and sob story are a good cover for him to hide behind, and hopefully the next Killer Clue will shine a little more light on the situation.”

Chrissy and Benjamin arrived at the First Church of Sunrise Ridge. They entered and found Reverend Wayne Connors standing at the front altar, going over his verses for the next mass. He looked up and removed his reading glasses.

Wayne-“Good morning, my children. How are you today?”

Chrissy-“We’re doing ok, thank you. We have an odd question for you.”

She pulled the bell out of the bag and handed it to the Reverend.

Chrissy-“We discovered this on our investigation. Could you explain this to us?”

The Reverend took the bell and rolled it over in his hand. He smiled and nodded.

Wayne-“It is custom here at our church. When a couple are to be married, we have a wedding bell made with the couple’s initials and wedding date inscribed on it. A little keep sake from the church.”

Chrissy-“That’s so sweet.”

Benjamin-“Were you here when these were given out about 10 years ago?”

Wayne-“My child, I started the tradition when I started here in 1979.”

Benjamin-“That’s incredible!”

Wayne-“Indeed. I’ve been doing what I love for 40 years. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and everything in between.”

Chrissy-“Could you possibly tell us who these 2 people are?”
Walter-“H-h-how are you d-d-doing?”

Mitchell-“We’re good, how about you?”

Walter-“N-n-no complaints h-h-here.”

Mitchell-“We wanted to come by and ask about the envelopes that you gave to us.”

Walter-“Y-y-yeah. What are t-t-they for?”

Harrison-“We really can’t explain that. We just need to know where you got them from.”

Walter-“I have n-n-no idea where they c-c-came from.”

Mitchell-“You had to of seen something. Or even someone.”

Walter-“N-n-no. Not a single p-p-person when I get t-t-them.”

Harrison-“Walter, I don’t wanna sound mean at all, but it doesn’t look good for you. I shouldn’t tell you this, but these envelopes you gave us are very critical in our investigation. They literally could mean life and death for us and for people in this town. You saying that you haven’t seen anybody is cause for us to arrest you.”

Walter-“W-W-WHAT!? I swear I d-d-didn’t do anything!”

Harrison and Mitchell could see the fear in his face. The greying mustache looked as if several more grey hairs formed from Harrison’s announcement.

Walter-“I h-h-have an idea.”
Wayne Connors rolled the bell in his hand and looked at the engraving on it, “L.B & T.J 7/27/07”.

Wayne-“Hmmm.... You do realize that we’re going back over 10 years ago?

Chrissy-“We understand.”

Wayne-“We’ve done this a lot. Any info you could help me with about them?”

Benjamin-“This involves that girl that was killed here in the hit and run.”

The Reverend took his free hand and slapped himself on the forehead and gave a small chuckle.

Wayne-“Forgive me, my children. I obviously didn’t put 2 and 2 together on that. I can remember meeting with the young lady just weeks before. The church was rented and they even paid for the hall downstairs. And just 1 day before the wedding, she came in in a casket. This beautiful soul was so happy to be married, and she was gone. I was given the briefing on her, and when they brought her in, I couldn’t believe it was the same person.”

Chrissy-“Oh my God, that is so upsetting. Did anyone come in to get a refund?”

Wayne-“Not a single soul. Only phone numbers that were put down were hers. I tried to find someone that knew her, but I couldn’t. I took the money and donated it to a non profit for cancer research.”

Benjamin-“Did you ever happen to meet the fiancé?”

Wayne-“Not once. Couldn’t tell you if it was a man or a woman.”

Chrissy-“Wait, you do same sex marriages?”

Wayne-“Yes. I actually married 2 men last month.”

Chrissy-“You don’t find that wrong at all?”

Wayne-“Times have changed, my child. At first, I though it was immoral and wrong to marry 2 men or 2 women in a house of God. But, one night, I had a dream. Jesus came to me and told me He loved all his children, no matter what sex, race, or religion. Over the darkened sky in my dream, He waved his hand, and a rainbow appeared across it. He told me not to discriminate against His children, not to hate or spread bigotry, but to accept and love them for they were in His likeness. He then clapped his hands, and a thunderbolt appeared and woke me up. I fell asleep and when I woke again, His message appeared to me again, this time in reality. The rainbow flag of my neighbors house blew in the breeze of a thunderstorm. It appeared just like my dream.”

Benjamin-“That is absolutely amazing. Might send my brother up here when he finds his love.”

Wayne-“By all means. I mean, love is love, no matter what.”

Chrissy-“Aren’t you afraid of what others might think?”
Walter got up from his seat and beckoned the 2 investigators to follow him. Harrison and Mitchell got up and followed him.

Harrison-“If you don’t mind me asking, where are we going?”

Walter-“I f-f-figure we can c-c-check the security t-t-tapes.”

Harrison-“Good idea.”

They took a trip from the break room to a tiny room in the back of the post office where the security camera’s main computer was located. Walter took a seat and typed in the date he received the first envelopes. The 3 men watched as Walter walked in to the post office with a coffee in his hands. He proceeded to the back, out of sight of the cameras. A few moments later, the front door of the post office swung open and a mysterious person, dressed completely in black, ran in and dropped the red and black envelopes on the counter and ran back out just as fast as they entered. Seconds later, Walter re-emerged and saw the envelopes. He then grabs a phone and makes a call.

Walter-“See, s-s-someone was in h-h-here. I’m c-c-calling your b-b-boss Gary on the t-t-tape, just like I s-s-said.”

Mitchell and Harrison both looked at each other. They both knew the same thing, and Mitchell spoke up first.

Mitchell-“Walter, you were nowhere to be seen until after the person left.”

Walter-“But I s-s-swear it wasn’t m-m-me.”

Mitchell-“Well, you still have the other day when they left the package.”

Walter-“T-t-that’s right!”

Walter typed in the date of the second set of envelopes given to the post office. The video popped up and the 3 men watched Walter standing at the counter. He then picks up the phone at the front desk and starts looking through his desk drawer. When he can’t find what he’s looking for, he placed the phone down on the counter and retreated to the back. A few moments later, the person dressed in black came in with a box with the familiar light brown paper flailing on the top attached to the box by just a single piece of tape. They quickly dropped the box on the counter and ran back out the door. A minute later Walter re-entered the front of the post office, grabbed the phone, and make a double take at the sight of the package on the counter. He then continued the conversation and hung up moments later. Walter hit pause and put his head down. He mumbled from his new position on the table.

Walter-“I know t-t-this looks bad, b-b-but I swear I d-d-didn’t do it.”

Mitchell-“It’s ok, Walter. Yes, it does look bad, but trust us, weirder things have happened on this case for us so far.”

Harrison-“Hey, what did they call for?”

Walter-“The c-c-commemorative stamps. They a-a-asked about what w-w-we had in s-s-stock and I went in b-b-back to check.”

Harrison-“And no one else was here with you when you opened?”

Walter-“No. I o-o-open every d-d-day by myself.”

Walter took a deep breathe and sat back up.

Walter-“I f-f-finally get the courage t-t-to ask Tiffany out, and n-n-now it looks like I’m g-g-going to jail.”

Harrison-“You were gonna ask Tiffany Shaw out?”

Walter-“Yeah. I b-b-bought a card and was g-g-gonna give it to her t-t-tomorrow.”

Harrison-“Bro, awesome! I hope everything goes well when you give it to her.”

Walter-“I h-h-hope so, t-t-too.”

Mitchell-“I wish you all the luck, Walter.”

Walter-“You g-g-guys are too n-n-nice. Thank y-y-you.”

Harrison-“We’ve gotten what we needed. You have a good day. Take care and good luck.”

Walter-“T-t-thanks. You 2 t-t-take care as w-w-well.”

The 2 men shook hands with the slightly trembling Walter and walked back out the front door of the post office and back to their waiting van.
Wayne-“My child, I’m 84 years old. I have seen The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. become a leader for civil rights, and be murdered before my eyes. I remember watching gay couples get beaten by horrible people just because their lifestyle was different. I remember the moment that same sex marriage was made legal, and this lady outright refused to give out marriage licenses because she said it was against her religious beliefs and people agreeing that she didn’t have to follow the law because of it, but yet those same people tell a Muslim lady to take off her hijab even though it’s part of her religious beliefs. It all goes into people wanting their freedom and beliefs without looking at someone else’s. That’s why their is the separation of church and state, and that’s why I will gladly stand here and officiate any wedding for any person until the Lord calls me home.”

Chrissy-“That’s incredible. God bless you.”

Wayne-“The Lord has already blessed me by allowing me to do His bidding for Him.”

Benjamin-“I’m definitely sending my brother to you.”

Wayne-“By all means, my child.”

Benjamin-“But back to this bell. You honestly don’t know Tracey’s fiancé?”

Wayne-“No, I unfortunately never met them. All I did know was that Tracey was bisexual. When they gave me the run down on her for the funeral it was brought up that she has dated both men and women.”

Chrissy-“Ah crap.”

Then, as quickly as she said ‘crap’, her eyes bugged out and she quickly made the sign of the Holy Cross. Benjamin couldn’t help but laugh at Chrissy’s mess up. Even Reverend Connors laughed at it.

Chrissy-“I am so sorry sir!”

Wayne-“It happens, my child. God does forgive. If you don’t mind me asking, why is it so important that her fiancé is found?”

Chrissy-“We’re more than certain that the fiancé is the Killer in the town”

The reverend’s eyes opened wide.

Wayne-“That’s crazy. I pray that you find and stop this person.”

Benjamin-“We’re working around the clock to stop them. We’ve taken up enough of your time sir. Thank you for your help.”

Wayne-“No problem at all my children. You have a great day.”

Benjamin and Chrissy shook hands with the Reverend and retreated back to their van outside.
The 2 groups arrived back to HQ and met back up in the Briefing Room. Gary had just walked in and greeted the group.

Gary-“Alright, I hope we can close the gap on catching the Killer right now. Track 1, what did you get out of Walter?”

Mitchell-“Well, aside from clients in the post office wanting our heads on posts for line cutting, Walter showed us the security tape footage from the 2 days he got the envelopes. In both videos, he is not visible at all when a person wearing all black runs in and drops the stuff off on the front desk. He opens by himself everyday and no one was around to give him his alibi. Someone did make a call when the envelopes where delivered in a box but that’s probably no help at all either.”

Harrison-“It’s probably nothing much, but he also said he was gonna ask Tiffany out. He bought her a card to give her.”

Chrissy-“Yeah, the other night when the diner blew up, he mentioned to me he was gonna do it.”

Gary-“Alright, you guys did get useful evidence out of him. If he’s nowhere to be seen, and then minutes later the person drops the envelopes off, runs, and then Walter reappears minutes later, it could look like he’s trying to pull a fast one on us. Good job. Track 2?”

Chrissy-“We talked to the Reverend and he told us that he’s been making these bells when he started at the church years ago. When we asked about Tracey, he told us that no one else was placed down as a contact for the wedding arrangements. It was all just her.”

Benjamin-“Yeah, and come to find out, he allows gay marriages in the church as well. We definitely can’t rule out anyone, especially Rachel yet. She was in a relationship with Tracey.”

Gary-“That’s great work you 2, but we still have one grey area; who is L.B.?”

The 4 investigators all thought hard.

Benjamin-“Maybe the Killer is not who we think it is.”

Mitchell-“Come again?”

Benjamin-“Think about it. Yes, 1 of those faces up there is the Killer, but the name might be fake. Rachel could be Leslie. Walter could be Larry. The Killer could have changed their name after Tracey’s death. That could be why the Reverend couldn’t tell us if they were a man or woman.”

Gary-“I think you just turned this case directly on its head. You might be absolutely right. Our L.B. might just be the Killer’s real name. Great thinking. You guys have the afternoon to yourselves. You’re dismissed.”

Across town, the First Church of Sunrise Ridge was holding their evening mass. Wayne Connors stood at the front altar giving his sermon, with remaining suspects Tyrone, Tiffany, Spencer, Rachel, Walter, Robbin, and Jeffery all in attendance along side cleared suspects Mayor Daniel McGee, Jennifer, Officer Faye, Cooper, and Sydney. Aside from Cooper and Sydney sitting together, everyone else was spread out amongst the sea of churchgoers.

Wayne-“My children, before we depart this evening, I wanted to talk about the recent events of our town. As you must all know by now, an evil, horrible human being has been claiming the innocent lives of our fellow townspeople. I ask you all; what is so wrong that you must kill 5 other human beings? What is the death of innocent people going to fix? Time is not going to rewind and fix the issues of the past. We must look deep down inside of ourselves and and find the love that has been lost for one another.”

Suddenly, someone stood up and shouted.


Officer Faye stood up, along with other members of the church to try and calm Jeffery down.


With the service in an uproar, Officer Faye walked up to stop and calm Jeffery down. Several towns people started getting flustered and concerned at Jeffery’s claims. The majority of them thought the same thing; is he right?

Wayne-“It is talk like that, straight from the mouth of the devil, that will divide a community and spread fear throughout the land! We must stop letting the devil enter our lives and embrace God and His Holy wisdom!”

Jeffery-“I agree, but something bad has happened with Ashley’s death and it will not end!”

The townspeople started getting more worried at Jeffery’s outburst. The cleared and remaining suspects started leaving, with only Jeffery, Officer Faye, and a few townspeople still inside.

Jack-“Jeffery, calm down. I do not want to arrest you again.”

Jeffery-“But it needs to be known, Officer Faye. It needs to be known. The Killer here will strike again. Who, I don’t know, but they will.”
At 6:40 AM, a van parked outback of a building waited patiently. Sitting quietly, a green, hazy glow didn’t have to wait long before their target arrived and entered the building. The quickly reached in the back of their van and grabbed a black bag from behind their seat. Slowly, they crept out and looked though the window and saw a man holding a coffee and a card in hand. When the man turned around, the green hazy glow quickly looked around and then quickly opened the door and ran at the man. He spun around and was frozen in fear.

Man-“W-w-what the...?”

At 9 AM, the investigators gathered in the Briefing Room for the days activities.

Chrissy-“Yesterday, we cleared a lot of ground. I feel like today is gonna be our best day yet.”

The group sat at their desks waiting for Gary’s arrival. However, Gary was running late.

Benjamin-“Where is Gary? He’s never late.”

Benjamin-“Gary is always on time. 9 AM every morning. This is weird.”

Chrissy-“Maybe he’s stuck in traffic?”

Harrison-“Yeah, but you think he’d call.”

Mitchell-“This doesn’t seem good. Maybe something happened?”

As if almost on cue, the front door opened and immediately slammed shut. Footsteps were heard coming up the staircase and Gary arrived with a bitter expression carved into his face.

Gary-“I apologize for being late, and the reason will tie into your investigation. The Killer struck again just a little while ago.”

The group gasped at the startling information.

Harrison-“Who got killed? Another suspect?”

Gary-“Unfortunately yes, the Killer cleared another suspect for us.”

He grabbed his red marker and turned to the board where the row of suspect picture’s where placed just above it. He looked down the list and found the picture he was looking for and started crossing it out.


Gary-“Yes, I’m afraid. Officer Faye got a call at 7:20 from 1 of his coworkers and he called me. We’ve been talking about that an he mentioned an incident at the church last night. It appeared that Jeffery Ardis was there and he made a mention of more murders.”

Benjamin-“That just moves him to the top of the suspect list.”

Gary-“Indeed, now, instead of going on different tracks today, all 4 of you are going to the Post Office to gather as much evidence as you can.”

Mitchell-“This case took a unexpected turn today with Walter being axed by the Killer. Who knows what’s gonna happen next.”

Gary-“Get ready, get out there, and catch the Killer. You’re dismissed.”
Chrissy-“This is awful. He was just about to ask Tiffany out and now the poor guy is dead.”

She paused as she wiped away a few tears in her eyes.

Chrissy-“I mean, he obviously had it hard growing up and just when he was feeling good and about to turn it around, he’s killed. The Killer is a cold hearted piece of crap and we need to catch them immediately.”

The 4 investigators arrived at the Post Office. When they stepped out of the van, they immediately noticed Robbin Evans with her camera crew doing her report.

Robbin-“This is Robbin Evans. I’m here at the Post Office here on Brennan Avenue, where the 6th murder has taken place in this short time. It is believed that postal worker Walter DuChamps was targeted and killed inside this very building, and just like the previous murders, no body have been discovered, only a pool of blood. Oh, and with me now are the investigators that have been brought in to solve the case.”

She quickly ran over to the group as they tried to go into the Post Office, with her camera crew following close behind.

Robbin-“Please, tell us what you know about Mr. DuChamps.”

The group looked at each other, with anxiety quickly setting in.

Harrison-“Unfortunately, an attack has happen, but as to who we do not know at this time.”

Robbin-“Is it clear if Mr. DuChamps had any enemies?”

Harrison-“I can not answer that question at this time.”

Robbin-“Well, it’s clear from the amount of blood present that he is dead, correct?”

Mitchell-“Listen, we would love to talk, really, but we have a job to do that you’re currently interfering in, so please kindly step to the side and out of our way.”

Mitchell quickly rushed the group away from Robbin.

Mitchell-“Good lord, she is annoying. If we were gonna do anything, we needed to get away from her.”

She tried following them inside, but Officer Faye and his crew stopped them in their tracks. Benjamin pulled Officer Faye in close and whispered to him.

Benjamin-“Has she seen inside here or been given any information about what happened?

Officer Faye quickly shook his head no. Benjamin patted him on the back and gave him a nod before joining the rest of the group inside.

Mitchell-“Where do you wanna start?”

Chrissy-“How about swabbing the blood first?”

They agreed and took the forensics kit over to the front desk where a puddle of blood laid before them like in the murders of Matthew Bundy, Georgina Seeger, Diane Pearlman, and Brad Stokely. Just like their murders, no body as well.

Harrison-“Hey, keep an eye out for a .45 casing.”

Benjamin put his hand under the desk and swept it across and from out underneath it shot a few dust bunnies, 72 cents, and a .45 casing.

Benjamin-“Well, that didn’t take long now, did it? What else?”

Chrissy-“Maybe his coworker saw something?”

Mitchell-“Yeah, where are they?”

Chrissy-“Break Room?”

They walked through to the back and found an officer comforting Walter’s coworker, Jane Kauffman. She had her black hair up in a very tight bun, but you could tell if it wasn’t like that then it would be standing up on its ends.

Benjamin-“Excuse me, ma’am, could we have a word?”

She took a sip of her tea, trying not to spill it in her trembling hands and nodded to the group. They all took a seat near her.

Benjamin-“I know this is very hard for you right now. Did you happen to see anybody or  anything out of the ordinary?”

Jane-“Besides the pool of blood? Not much. Actually, when my bus pulled up, I did notice a white van pulling out of the parking lot here. Couldn’t tell you the plates, it was so far away. Looked like they dropped off mail, but the speed it left the parking lot, I think they clipped the curb on the way out. I walked in and usually there’s Walter standing behind the desk with a coffee and his usual greeting. Really was a nice guy, even with the stuttering being annoying.”

Benjamin-“So, you think that van was apart of it?”

Jane-“I’m not sure. Like I said, they sped off just as we were pulling up. We have the mail box out back that you can just drive up to and drop your mail off into and leave, but they pulled out of the parking lot so quickly though. I couldn’t tell you what they were doing here.”

Benjamin-“I have a huge feeling that the van she’s talking about might belong to the Killer. We haven’t found any bodies at any scene, they moved Ashley’s body from her home and brought her to the park. Now here’s the crime scene here and Walter is missing. That van must of had Walter in the back of it.”

Harrison-“Is there anything else?”

Jane-“I really don’t know. If you want, you can check the security tapes in the back.”

Harrison-“We will, and what time did you arrive here?


Harrison-“Thank you so much. Take care.”

Knowing exactly where it was after the day before, Harrison and Mitchell led the group to the back room where the main computer was located. Mitchell typed in the date and the video feed from the morning popped up. He clicked it and the group watched as Walter entered the Post Office for his final time at 6:45. He took a sip of his coffee and searched though a bin on the counter behind the desk. The front door started to open when suddenly the video glitches out. It comes back on a second later with nothing but a blood puddle on screen in the lobby.

Chrissy-“What the hell happened? Did you hit a button or something?”

Mitchell-“I didn’t touch a damn thing!”

He rewound the video file and the same thing happened.

Benjamin-“Crap, the Killer must of altered the video.”

They watched the clip again and again, just to be sure it wasn’t a computer error. After the 6th viewing, a quick flash of the Killer left them one extra message. A piece of brown paper with the label maker words appeared briefly for them hung from the ceiling directly in front of the camera and disappeared again as quickly as it first showed up.

Harrison-“Pause it there. What did that say?”

Mitchell hit pause and looked at the clip. It read “P.O. BOX 727”.

Chrissy-“P.O. Box 727? The hell is that mean?”

Harrison-“I think I know.”

He got up and left the back room, with Benjamin, Chrissy, and Mitchell getting the idea and following close behind. Harrison arrived back to the P.O. Boxes inside the Post Office. They counted out the number of boxes and found 727.

Benjamin-“Let me get the key.”

Benjamin went over to the front desk and located the key to the P.O. Box. He returned to the group and unlocked it. Inside was a familiar site.

A red envelope and a black envelope attached to the noose.

Chrissy-“Sure enough, the damn envelopes are in the friggin mail box. This is crazy. This Killer is a psycho and needs to be locked in a looney bin for the rest of their life.”

Mitchell collected the envelopes from the mail box and the group retreated to the parking lot. Robbin Evans was outside, working with her crew to get their equipment back into their van. She noticed the investigators and ran over to them.

Robbin-“Hey, one second. Listen, I know we have our differences with me and the case, but I can assure you I mean no harm with your case.”

Benjamin-“Robbin, I can understand that, but you showing up when you shouldn’t be there is grounds for us to not trust you.”

Robbin-“And I understand that, but listen, I know that the people that have died have a connection.”

Chrissy-“How do you know?”

Robbin-“I work side by side with the police department. I know what’s going on in your case.”

Benjamin-“If you do, then why are you talking about Walter having enemies and thinking Brad killed his wife?”

Robbin-“It’s today’s news unfortunately. You gotta run with something. You could report with researched facts, but then you get told you’re ‘fake news’ and your name gets dragged through the dirt. It sucks. I don’t wanna be mean or anything to anyone, but this all comes with the territory, you know what I mean?”

Harrison-“Actually, I do.”

Benjamin-“You do?”

Harrison-“I’m an MMA fighter. I gotta train, eat right, I have all these tattoos on my arms, and I get paid to punch people in the face. Everyone looks at me and thinks I do steroids and I’m always mean and pissed off, when in reality I’ve never once taken steroids unless it was doctor prescribed for illness and I honestly can’t be mean outside of the ring. I have nieces and nephews that look up to me and I don’t want them to see me as an evil person and grow up thinking that’s ok.”

Robbin-“I’m glad to know you see what I’m talking about. Please, if you need help, you know where to find me.”

Harrison-“Good to know. Thank you, have a good day.”

Robbin-“You too.”

Robbin left back to her news van and the investigators returned to their van.
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #20 on: January 14, 2020, 12:40:08 PM »
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.


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.


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.


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-“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.


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

Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #21 on: January 21, 2020, 11:47:07 AM »
Well, I did it again. Sorry to those who have taken the time to read this story I wrote. It was a long day and also a bitter sweet day for me. No, not cause of Trump being inaugurated on this day, but this was the day we lost my grandfather a few years ago. Kinda used it as a day of reflection.

But now, we have the finale of Murder in Small Town X.

Down to the final 3 Investigators, Benjamin Sheffield, Harrison Adams, and Mitchell Kennedy. Who is going to win the $500,000 reward for catching the Sunrise Ridge Killer? Who is the Sunrise Ridge Killer? Let’s find out.
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #22 on: January 21, 2020, 12:15:59 PM »
”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.

And the Reverend of the town helped shed light on his church.
Chrissy-“Wait, you do same sex marriages?”

When asked about a major clue involving the Killer’s real name, he could not help.

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.
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?






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.”


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.”


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...


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.


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.”


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....”


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.


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.


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.....



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.


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.


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.”
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #23 on: January 21, 2020, 12:39:13 PM »
Harrison-“I survived my fifth Killer’s Game last night. I survived more than everyone else on this case and, even though I’m tired as hell, I’m not slowing down. The finish line is I’m sight and I’m gunning for the reward on the Killer’s head.”

At 9:00 AM the following morning, Harrison and Benjamin entered the Briefing Room and were greeted by Gary.

Gary-“Good morning. Last night, we played the Killer’s Game, and Harrison, you survived for the fifth time. Unfortunately, the Killer also claimed another victim, Mitchell.”

He went and grabbed Mitchell’s name plate from his desk and placed it on his makeshift memorial. In the left hand corner, he placed every investigator that lost the Killer’s Games.

In Memoriam:
Heidi Gilligan
Frank Williams
Stacey Towers
Doug Graham
Kristen Reynolds
Deanna Landry
Chrissy Peters
Mitchell Kennedy

Gary-“Now, we will not reveal who Mitchell has picked until it is time up for you 2 to name your suspect of interest. Until then, let’s go over what Harrison brought back last night. What did you find out there?”

Harrison-“I got to the Post Office and went from the back at the loading dock, up through the break room and the security room to the front lobby. Up there I saw the X covering the P.O. Box that the Killer used to give us the envelopes before and inside was the clue.”

Gary-“Great job out there. This is what you brought back last night.”

He held it up for the 2 men to see. It was a chunk of burnt wood and an invitation with the infamous label marker words on the front.

Gary-“This is a piece of the sign from The Shaw Shack. Obviously it’s been burnt badly from the fire there a few days ago. To go with that, you also found a wedding invitation. It says “JOIN TRACEY AND THE KILLER ON THEIR WEDDING DAY. I HAVE LEFT YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW, INCLUDING WHO MY LAST VICTIM IS. SEE YOU TONIGHT.”. What do you think this implies?”

Harrison-“The Killer isn’t done yet. They got 1 more victim to go for.”

Gary-“Exactly. The Killer has 1 more potential victim and we need to get to them before the Killer does. Now, what has the Killer left us?”

Benjamin-“The Killer Clues.”

Gary-“Exactly. Now just who is the final victim?”

They thought long and hard about it.

Harrison-“Well, they left Walter’s card for us. He was killed.”

Benjamin-“And this recent one was the sign from the diner. Tiffany didn’t die though.”

Harrison-“But she loved her diner so they blew up the diner.”

Benjamin-“Good point. The license plate was Matthew’s and he’s dead, but Ashley was given back because she must not of had anything to do with Matthew hitting Tracey.”

Gary-“Great ideas. Anything else?”

Harrison-“The first clue was the cracked heart. The second was the music sheet.”

Benjamin-“Holy crap I got it!”

Benjamin jumped up and ran up to Gary’s board. He wrote every name down of each victim and pulled out every clue.

Benjamin-“Georgina is dead because her husband threw out the case against Matthew.”

He erased Georgina’s name.

Benjamin-“Brad and Diane are dead because Brad was friends with Matthew and saw it happen but refused to testify. Diane tried to get him to but he refused and she stopped.”

He erased their names.

Benjamin-“The Shaw Shack is gone because the Killer hates love and wanted to have people suffer like they are. Then there’s Walter, who had nothing to do with this case, but he’s dead because of him loving Tiffany from a far.”

He erased Walter’s name.

Benjamin-“Thats The Shaw Shack sign and Walter’s card as pointing to them. Here is the final victim; the person actually behind the “Here Comes the Bride” song.”

He wrote down one name and circled it several times.

Benjamin-“Sydney Shields. That is our final victim. She got engaged to Cooper the night of the benefit. They’re in love. She’s getting married. She’s the bride.”

Gary nodded his head in approval of Benjamin’s idea.

Gary-“That’s a great theory. And since the Killer is attacking suspects, that makes really good sense. I want you guys to head over and do a wellness check on her and Cooper now. The van will be waiting.

Harrison and Benjamin grabbed their stuff, ran down the stairs and out the door, straight into a van and sped off to Cooper and Sydney’s condo. They arrived in roughly 15 minutes and rung the doorbell.

And waited.

And waited.

And rang the doorbell again.

And continued to wait.

Benjamin-“Maybe they’re not home.”

Harrison-“It’s gotta be her though. She’s gonna be a bride. All the deaths have been suspects. It’s gotta be her.”

Harrison walked to the back of the condo and tried looking through the window. He was able to see the kitchen and tried his hardest to spot any living being and not just a blood puddle.

Harrison-“I can’t see anyone. We need to get inside.”

He tried the open the back to but it was locked shut. Benjamin went back to the front and tried the front door. That, too, was locked. Harrison checked around the side of the condo and found a window that was able to slide right open.

Harrison-“Ben! Over here!”

Benjamin joined him and they were able to enter the condo. Harrison crawled through first and assisted Benjamin in. Once inside, they were able to see why no one answered the door. It looked like a war zone with a bomb going off and ending it all. The place was completely trashed.

Harrison-“Oh crap. Sydney!? Cooper!?”

The 2 men ran off into different direction of the house. Benjamin checked the living room and Harrison checked the bedroom.

Harrison-“No ones in here.”

Benjamin took a corner and saw someone lying on the floor.

Benjamin-“Dear God! Cooper!”

Benjamin ran straight to him and Harrison entered the room mere seconds later. Cooper was lying face down on the ground.

Harrison-“Cooper! Cooper, wake up!”

He was unresponsive. Harrison and Benjamin rolled him over to his back and checked for a pulse.

Benjamin-“He’s got a heartbeat. That’s a good thing.”

Harrison-“And he’s breathing. Thank God.”

Harrison unlocked the front door and ran out straight back to the van for a walkie talkie. He grabbed it and started running back inside.

Harrison-“Gary, come in Gary!”

Gary-“This is Gary.”

Harrison-“Cooper has been attacked and their is no sign of Sydney. I think the Killer got to her.”

Gary-“I’m calling in an ambulance to you guys location right now.”

As Harrison returned to help check on a Cooper, he noticed something attached to the TV.

Harrison-“The hell is that?”

Benjamin looked up and saw it as well. The traditional brown paper with label maker words. It said “WANNA PLAY ONE LAST TIME?”

Just below the paper was a DVD in a case that had “PLAY ME” with the same label maker words attached to the cover.

Before anyone could say anything else about it, the sound of a siren sounded in the distance. It was no time before they arrived to Cooper and Sydney’s place.

Medic-“What happened?”

Harrison-“We don’t know. We came to do a wellness check and found him like this.”

The stretcher was brought in and they quickly loaded Cooper up into the ambulance and took off with him to the hospital. Harrison and Benjamin returned to the living room and grabbed the DVD and note off the TV. Harrison radioed to Gary about their discovery.

Harrison-“Gary, Harrison again.”

Gary-“I’m here. What’s going on?”

Harrison-“Cooper has been taken to the hospital and while we were tending to him, we found a note from the Killer along with a DVD saying ‘PLAY ME’.”

Gary-“Hurry back here and we’ll play it.”

Harrison-“Got it.”

The 2 men locked up the condo and returned to their van and hurried back to HQ.
Harrison-“The sight of Cooper and Sydney’s place was insane. I hope Cooper is OK, and I really hope Sydney is still alive.”

Benjamin-“That was a surreal moment. Sydney is missing and Cooper was attacked. We don’t know what’s on this DVD but we”re gonna find out and hopefully piece it all together.”

Gary was ready with the computer as Benjamin and Harrison walked into the Briefing Room. They handed him the DVD and took their seats as Gary loaded the DVD to the computer. When it was ready, he hit play.

Some feedback started the video, followed up by the sight of Cooper laying on the floor like he was when Harrison and Benjamin found him. The sounds of crying where heard, and when the camera panned over to the left, it showed Sydney tied around the waist to a chair. She was trembling with tears streaming down her face. She had a note in her hands, but her crying stopped her from being able to read it properly.

Sydney-“Congratulations...... You h-h-have m-m-made it to the end. Unfortunately for you, it will all b-b-be in vein. I have all my g-g-groomsmen, but Tracey still needs 1 more b-b-bridesmaid.”

She stoped and cried a little more.

Sydney-“The w-w-wedding and start of our l-l-lives begins at s-s-sundown tonight, as I claim my final victim, and m-m-marry the love of my l-l-life. After that, I will dis-disappear into the b-b-background, never to be h-h-heard from again. You have everything you n-n-need to figure out who I am. I enjoyed our l-l-little game, and I’m happy t-t-to say you will not win.”

The DVD abruptly ended. Gary turned around and looked at the 2 men.

Gary-“So the Killer’s has kidnapped Sydney. Did you get anything else from that video?”

Benjamin-“Killer is a guy.”

Gary-“How so?”

Benjamin-“She said that the Killer has all his groomsmen and Tracey is missing a bridesmaid.”

Gary-“I think you’re right. Rachel is the only suspect left that’s female so I think we can cross her off our list.”

Gary grabbed his red sharpie and drew a red X over her face, effectively clearing the medical worker of the murders. With that, their were 3; Tyrone, Spencer, and Jeffery. 2 were innocent, and 1 is the Killer. But who? Gary turned back and face the final 2 investigators.

Gary-“What else could this mean?”

Harrison-“The 2 big names that were giving to us about L.B were Lisa Bronson and Liam Backus. With Rachel being cleared, and Liam’s backstory from Tyrone, I think it’s safe to say that Liam is one of those 3 men and lost it over Tracey’s death.”

Gary-“I believe your right. Now then, we have a hostage situation. At sundown the Killer has said that they will murder Sydney. The time is currently 3:00 PM, and sundown today is at 7:30. I’m giving you until 6:00 PM to come up with a main suspect and a backup suspect to chase down. Go over all your evidence and be ready for tonight, because in 3 hours, we catch a killer. You’re dismissed.”

Benjamin and Harrison shook hands and got to work.
Harrison sat on the edge of his bed, going over every note he took during the investigation. He took a piece of blank paper from the back of his note book and started jotting down more notes.

Harrison-“I’m trying to see if I can piece together anything. Like any clue with a suspect or even the DVD with with a suspect. I just gotta hope I find something that clicks and gives me a main suspect.”

In the kitchen, Benjamin sat at the table. He had every Killer Clue written down and every note he took at his disposal.

Benjamin-“This is one giant puzzle. This is more pieces then I’ve had to put together for a case and I hope I get it right. One clue could put me towards the right person, but looking at it the wrong way could put me completely off track. I just hope it doesn’t effect me and I get it right.”

At 6:00 PM, Harrison and Benjamin arrived in the Briefing Room. They each brought 2 folders with them. Gary was waiting for them in front of his table as the 2 men each took a seat at a desk in front of him.

Gary-“Alright guys, it’s 6:00 PM. We need to go out and find Sydney and the Killer. Our final 3 suspect are Tyrone Cribbs, Spencer Stevens, and Jeffery Ardis. Before we find out who you have named as your lead suspect, we must find out who gets to name their suspect first, and for that, we turn to Mitchell’s Last Will and Testament.

He returned to the back of his table and brought up Mitchell’s video file. He clicked play and Mitchell spoke to them for the final time.

Mitchell-“So, I have to go out on the Killer’s Game. Both Harrison and Benjamin already have, so it’s only fitting I have to go out as well. If I don’t return.... I just have to give first choice to Harrison.”

Harrison smiled.

Mitchell-“No offense to Benjamin at all, but I’ve worked with Harrison and gotten to know him better than any other person in this game. I wish both you guys all the luck in the world. See you on the other side. Go get them.”

The video ended and Gary returned to the front of the table.

Gary-“Ok, Harrison, you have first pick of the remaining 3 suspects. Please name your choice.”

Harrison stood up, opened his folder, and revealed his suspect’s picture.

Harrison-“My choice for the Killer is a Spencer Stevens. I see a few factors in him and his prints at Brad’s office are making me choose him.”

Gary-“ Very well Harrison, you will track Spencer Stevens tonight. Benjamin, please name your suspect you wish to track tonight. Remember, you cannot choose Spencer.”

Benjamin stood and opened his folder, revealing his choice.

Benjamin-“My choice for the Killer is Jeffery Ardis. I think his affair with Ashley was real, and when he discovered she was married to Matthew, he snapped inside. He was easily able to get to them and Brad because of his connections to them both.”

Gary-“Alright, you have both named your leading suspects. To make sure all the tracks are covered, I will go and locate Tyrone. He is most likely at The Hot Spot. Benjamin, you will most likely find Jeffery at his house on Pasture Rd, and Harrison, you will most likely find Spencer at his house on Mathers St. I want you guys to each take a van to your location, I’m going call Officer Faye and head out with him.”

He grabbed a set of walkie talkies and threw one to Harrison and Benjamin and kept one for himself.

Gary-“This is it, guys. Go out there and find the bodies, find Sydney, and stop this Killer. We’re all dismissed.”

The 2 men ran down the stairs and out the front door. They each jumped into a van and took off to find their suspect.
Gary was riding with Officer Faye and arrived to The Hot Spot. They weren’t just opened yet for business.

Harrison was still on his way to Spencer’s.

Benjamin still had a bit to go to Jeffery’s.

Gary and Officer Faye entered The Hot Spot and saw Tyrone at the bar.

Harrison pulled up a few houses away from Spencer’s.

Benjamin stopped at the end of Jeffery’s street and walked on foot.

Tyrone-“Hello Officer Faye, Sgt. Fredo. What brings you out here?”

Gary-“We’re looking for someone. Is it ok if we check you club?”

Tyrone-“Listen, I’d rather you have a warrant, but knowing you’re running the murder investigation, I’ll allow it. Anything to help out.”

Gary-“Glad you completely understand. Sorry for the intrusion.”

Harrison crept up to Spencer’s house.

Benjamin approached Jeffery’s house.

Gary-“Sydney! Are you here?”

Gary raced into the kitchen area and checked for her. Tyrone looked at Officer Faye, puzzled as could be.

Tyrone-“Sydney? Sydney Shields?”

Jack-“Yes. She’s missing and it’s been implied that she’s here.”

Tyrone-“I hope everything’s OK. I haven’t seen her in a few days.”

After a few minutes of looking, Gary came out from the back, looking flustered. He checked the kitchen, fridge area, back of the building, and everywhere in between.

Gary-“She isn’t here at all.”

He grabbed his radio and called Harrison and Benjamin.

Gary-“Come in boys. Sydney is not here. Tyrone is not the Killer. I repeat, Tyrone is not the Killer.”

Tyrone-“Y’all thought that I was the Killer in town? Man, that’s whack!”

Gary-“A million apologies, Tyrone.”

Tyrone-“Why would you think I was the Killer?”

Gary-“It’s a long story and I’ll explain later. We gotta go catch up with the others.”

Gary and Officer Faye left. Tyrone, still confused, followed them to find out what was happening.

Harrison-“Copy. Over.”

Benjamin-“Got it.”

Harrison tried the front door. It was locked.

Benjamin checked the windows. The curtains were down.

Harrison walked around and tried the cellar hatch. It opened.

Benjamin walked around and tried the back door. It opened.

Both men turned their walkie talkies down, making sure the Killer couldn’t hear them and be alerted from them.

Harrison walked silently through the basement.

Benjamin snuck through the kitchen.

Harrison carefully walked up the stairs of the basement.

Benjamin approached a door leading to the living room.

Harrison approached the top of the basement steps and quietly opened the door.

Benjamin silently turned the handle to the living room.

The investigator walked in and found what looked like a wedding in Hell. There they stood; the remains of Judge Joseph Seeger and Tracey Johnson. To the right were Matthew, Brad, and Walter, all dead and all in tuxedos. To the left were Georgina, Diane, and, after hearing the door open, a screaming Sydney.


Investigator-"Shh! It's alright. I'm gonna get you outta here!"

Quickly, the investigator ran forward and attempted to untie Sydney. They were slightly distracted when they noticed in the Killer's makeshift church that the spectators were the 8 other eliminated investigators, still inside their black body bags, placed in the front row. The picture of each investigator placed on the front of the body bag, with the remaining 2 pictures sitting to the side, right on top of 2 folded body bags.

The investigator quickly tried to undo the knots holding Sydney in place to her chair. They got through only a couple of knots when a door burst open.

Killer-"What are you doing?!"

The investigator looked up and saw the Killer from across the room.

It was Spencer.
Benjamin found Jeffery in the living room lying on his couch, nearly scaring Jeffery half to death. He jumped up and staggered to his feet.

Jeffery-"What in the Hell are you doing in my house!?"

Benjamin-"Where is Sydney?"


Benjamin-"Don't play games, we've played them enough during the investigation! I wanna know where Sydney is right now!"

Jeffery-"No one named Sydney is here! I'm here by myself!"

Benjamin-"I don't believe you!"

Benjamin walked away and checked the house for Sydney.

Benjamin-"Sydney! Where are you?!"

He checked the bathroom, the bedroom, the dining room. She was nowhere to be found. Jeffery was staying close behind the entire time.

Jeffery-"Anywhere else you wanna look? My truck? A closet? I got a shed out back. Hell, I'll start digging a crawl space under my house if you wanna look there too!"

Benjamin quickly went to a back window and looked at the shed. The door was already opened and he could clearly see a lawnmower, rakes, and his other yard tools. It was clear Sydney wasn't in there.

Benjamin-"So you're not the Killer?"

Jeffery-"What?? You thought I was the Killer??"

Benjamin's eyes widened. He grabbed his radio from his hip and turned the volume back up.

Benjamin-"Come in, Gary! Come in!"

Gary-"Gary here."

Benjamin-"Sydney is not here at Jeffery's. Spencer is the Killer!"

Gary-"I'm heading over there right now with Jack. Meet us there."

Benjamin-"Got it!"

Jeffery-"Spencer? That guy from the diner?"

Benjamin-"Yes, and I need to get to his house immediately.”

Jeffery-"Go to my truck. I'm gonna grab my keys and I'll meet you outside."
Harrison-"What is wrong with you, Spencer?"

Spencer-"You're ruining my wedding!"

Harrison-"Jesus, man. You're insane!"

Spencer started walking forward toward Harrison and Sydney.

Spencer-"I had my life ripped away from me by this town, and I'm fixing what happened."

He started to reach at his waist band of his tuxedo, but Harrison raced forward and tackled him. Spencer just barely was able to pull the gun out and did fire off a shot that missed both him and Harrison and ended up firing right into the ground. The still sobbing Sydney was now back into hysterics.


Harrison wrestled Spencer to the ground, and eventually was able to knock the gun out of his hands and kick it across the room. When Harrison tried to roll Spencer over to subdue him, Spencer quickly threw a hand up and caught Harrison with a finger to the eye, which blinded him for a moment. Harrison lost his grip and Spencer stood up and tried to locate his gun while Harrison rubbed his eye to try and get some of his vision back. Once he did, he noticed Spencer still trying to locate the gun. He took a running start and tackled him again to the floor.
Benjamin and Jeffery were racing across town, when suddenly a cop car with its lights flashing pulled up behind them. Jeffery pulled over and the police car went flying past them, and behind them was Tyrone on his motorcycle.

Benjamin-"I think that was Officer Faye."

He grabbed his radio and called Gary.

Benjamin-"Gary, come in. Gary, come in. It's Benjamin."

Gary-"This is Gary."

Benjamin rolled down the window and started waving.

Benjamin-"Jeffery and I are in a black pick up truck tailing a police car. I am currently waving and want to know if it is you in front of us."

Gary-"Yes, I can see you waving. Stay behind us. We're almost there."

Benjamin-"Got it."

The 5 men sped through the traffic in the rush to save the lives of Harrison and Sydney. It's wasn't long until they pulled up to Spencer's house. They all exited their vehicles and Benjamin ran up to Gary and Jack.

Benjamin-"Has anyone heard from Harrison lately?"

Gary-"No, not since I radioed you guys about Tyrone."

Benjamin-"You don't think he's dead, do you?"

Jack-"Well, we're gonna find out."

Officer Faye started running to the house when all of a sudden...


Everyone jumped when both Harrison and Spencer came flying through the front door and onto the porch. Jack Faye pulled his gun but wouldn't fire because he was afraid of hitting Harrison.

The 2 men continued to wrestle on the porch. Gary, Benjamin, and Jack started running forward and before anyone knew it, both Spencer and Harrison wrestled back into the house. Harrison rolled forward and noticed the gun under a seat. He grabbed it quickly and got to his feet, but he was attacked by Spencer before he could realize what happened. Spencer shoved Harrison down the aisle, grabbed the gun, and walked up to Sydney. He went to point the gun at her, and Harrison placed himself in between the both of them.

Harrison-“You wanna kill her, you gotta kill me first.”


Harrison closed his eyes and braced for it. Spencer went to point the gun at Harrison, and all of a sudden.....


Harrison thought to himself “That definitely wasn’t a gun shot.”He opened his eyes and saw Benjamin had tackled Spencer to the ground. Benjamin saw the gun hit the ground and with his free hand slid it away from them. Spencer, however, was able to throw Benjamin off of himself and got to his feet before he knew it. Harrison went to tackle Spencer, but Spencer used the momentum to escape Harrison’s grasp.

Spencer then saw the gun. Harrison and Benjamin both knew he was going to go for it. They looked at each other and lunged at Spencer one last time. They got to him and tried to subdue him. They didn’t have long until....


Officer Faye was standing at the door way, weapon pointed. Spencer, Harrison and Benjamin were frozen in place. Suddenly, Spencer shoved past both Harrison and Benjamin and went for the gun. He grabbed it and pointed at Officer Faye.


Benjamin and Harrison’s ears were ringing, not just from the gun shot, but because Sydney was still screaming in hysterics. They looked at Officer Faye, still with weaponed pointed. They then looked at Spencer, wobbling with a red mark around the center of his shirt. Then suddenly he collapsed.

Spencer Stevens was dead.

The Killer was dead.

Jack-“You guys OK?”

Benjamin-“I’m good.”

Harrison-"I'm good, thanks."

Jack-"Don't worry about it, but let's get her out of here."

Harrison removed the blindfold from Sydney and she cried even more when she saw Harrison and the bodies.

Harrison-"Its ok, it's ok. We're gonna get you out of here now."


Harrison-"He's ok. He's at the hospital getting treated and we're gonna bring you as well."

As Harrison and Benjamin freed Sydney, Jack took a look around the room and saw what Harrison found and what Sydney dealt with. He waited for the 2 men to leave with Sydney.

Jack-"Good God. That poor girl."

Jack looked around and saw a brown envelope lying on top of a pedestal at the altar, with a blood stained wedding ring sitting on top of it. He brought it outside and handed it to Gary. He then grabbed his radio and called the station to report what they found. Gary looked at the envelope and read the cover, which said "For the Investigators". He walked over to the ambulance that was brought in for Sydney, where Benjamin, Harrison, and Tyrone were helping calm her down before they took her away.

Tyrone-“Guys, if it’s cool with you, I’m gonna follow the ambulance and make sure everything is cool with her.”

Harrison-“Please, and check in with Cooper. He’s there too after what happened with Spencer earlier.”

Tyrone-“Not a problem.”

Tyrone rode off behind the ambulance, and Gary stepped in to talk to the 2 men.

Gary-"Hey guys, I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think you should look at this."

He handed the envelope over to Harrison and Benjamin. They looked at the cover and then opened it up and removed the letter from it. This time, there were no label maker words. It was pen and paper, clear as day hand writing.

"To Whom it May Concern,

I hope I've left this town before this is read. I, Spencer Stevens, originally Liam Backus, am the Sunrise Ridge Killer. It's very simple, this town is poisonous. Love in this town is a death sentence. I want to rid this town of love.

In 2007, my life was going great. I was engaged to Tracey Johnson, but then she was tragically killed by that moron Matthew Bundy. That drunk idiot not only ran down my love, but ran my heart over at the same time. He was the first to go. I did feel kinda bad for killing Ashley, but I needed her ring.

The next was Georgina. So frail, so easy. It would of been her husband instead had he not of died a few years ago himself. His dying made me target her. He had Matthew in his court room and threw the case out because they couldn't place him at the crime scene. It was a joke. Their was a witness; Brad Stokely.

I killed Diane next because she tried to make Brad go forward with testifying, but he refused and she stopped trying. She covered it up for him, even after they divorced. She stopped caring that lives were ruined. I knew that they still loved each other, so I killed her first, just because I wanted to watch Brad break down. I wanted to watch him loose it, but I kinda felt bad, but just a tiny bit, when I walked in and found him drunk and crying at his desk and decided to finally put him out of his misery.

Next was the unfortunate Walter. He was never on my list to die, but I overheard him say he was gonna ask Tiffany out. He loved her from a far, and in a town where it was stolen from me nonetheless. He had to die because of that. As for Tiffany, she didn't have love in human form, but she did love her diner. I broke in and turned the gas on all the burners and in the stoves and lit a trash can on fire. I left and quickly and made my way out of the area before the place blew up. Tiffany's love literally went up in flames.

After that, I went and dug up Tracey and placed her in her wedding dress. I stared at her in her beauty, before realizing I still had to dig up one more person, the man who caused this. I dug up the Judge to preside over our wedding and placed him and Tracey at the alter, and set up the others as our wedding party. All that was left was just the final bridesmaid.

I went to Sydney and Cooper's place and kidnapped her. They got engaged in a town that took love away from me. It had to be fixed. Cooper tried to fight back and stop me, but he was no match for a pistol whip to the back of the head. Sydney froze in fear when she saw the gun. She will be my last victim.

And now, at sunset tonight, I will claim Sydney as my final victim, I will marry the love of my life, and then I will disappear into the night like a shadow, never to be heard from again.

I have fixed the wrong that this horrible town created.

Goodbye, you awful place,
Spencer Stevens
Formally known as Liam Backus
Forever known as the Sunrise Ridge Killer"

Harrison-"That's insane."

Benjamin-"Its all over, though. Spencer was stopped."

Just then, Officer Faye walked back up and grabbed both Harrison and Benjamin and quickly hugged them.

Jack-"You did it! You guys beat the Killer at his own game!"

Gary came in and hugged them as well.

Gary-"You guys solved the case! Excellent job!”

They all stopped hugging and quickly got down to business.

Jack-"I have Mayor McGee on the phone right now."

He quickly held his phone up and pressed the speaker button.

Jack-"Hello, are you still there sir?"

Daniel-"Yes I am. Is it true the Killer has been apprehended?"

Gary-"More than that sir. The Killer has been killed themself and we have found a letter of confession."

Daniel-"This nightmare is finally over! I'm am scheduling a town meeting ?for noon tomorrow?. Sgt. Fredo, I want you and your team there when we announce it. I want the town to see these heroes get their reward."

Gary-"We will be there sir. See you then. Have a good night."

Daniel-"You as well."

They hung up and Gary looked back at Harrison and Benjamin.

Gary-"Congratulations, guys, you did it!"

Harrison-"I still don't believe this just happened. I literally just had a gun in my face, I helped apprehend a Killer, I saw a wedding ceremony that looked like something out of a Tim Burton movie, and now I'm getting a reward. This is complete insanity!”
The following day ?at 12:00 noon?, as Mayor McGee said, their was a public meeting at the front steps of the Town Hall. At the top of the staircase was a polished podium, several microphones attached to it. Reporters, including Robbin Evans, lined the bottom of the steps, microphones in hand and their news station cameras surrounding them all. Behind them, the public, lining the sidewalk in front of the Town Hall. Inside the sea of people, Cooper Davis and Sydney Shields were seen together, being released from the hospital together just an hour earlier. Word spread quickly about Sydney's night with Spencer and those that found out were very quick to offer their sympathy to her for the ordeal she went through. Tiffany Shaw was standing next to Jennifer Harris, lost in conversation. Tiffany then said something that made Jennifer and several people around her very happy. Jennifer and the others offered their congratulations to her.

All of a sudden, Officer Jack Faye walked out of Town Hall, still in his uniform that seemed fused to his body. He was quickly followed by Mayor Daniel McGee, who was wearing the same suit he wore when he first met the investigators. They both approached the podium that was set up. Behind them, Gary, Harrison, and Benjamin. They all approached the podium, and Jack spoke first.

Jack-"Ladies and gentlemen, last night, the team of investigators that were brought in have captured the Sunrise Ridge Killer."

Cheers ran out from the public.

Jack-"At this time, I turn over to the Mayor of Sunrise Ridge, the great Mayor Daniel McGee."

McGee stepped to the podium as Faye stepped to the side.

Daniel-"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, as Officer Jack Faye has said, last night the Killer was apprehended. Local resident Spencer Stevens was discovered to be the Killer and lost his life trying to kill another victim. He left behind a letter of confession, as well as other evidence found at his home."

As he continued to speak, he extended an arm out to his side.

Daniel-"I have here the 3 men that helped catch the Killer last night. First off, Sgt. Grady Fredo, who lead the investigation into the crime. Next to him, Mr. Benjamin Sheffield of Alabama and Mr. Harrison Adams of Rhode Island."

Clapping accompanied the introduction of the 2 final investigators.

Daniel-"First, I would like to bring up to the podium Mr. Benjamin Sheffield. He arrived with Officer Faye and Sgt. Fredo and helped capture the Killer last night. So, for your help in apprehending the Killer, the city of Sunrise Ridge would like to offer you a check in the amount of $75,000."

Cheers rang out as Benjamin walked forward, with a small smile on his face, and shook Daniel's hand as they posed for photos together.

Benjamin-"It kinda stings. I thought Jeffery was the Killer. It came down to Harrison and me and I thought when he was able to pick first that he couldn't be more off when he said Spencer, but he had it all right. I'm mad, but the $75,000 will probably help me get over it eventually."

Daniel-"And now, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Harrison Adams. Harrison was the investigator who arrived to Spencer's home, saved a fellow resident from the same horrible fate that befell The Bundy's, Mrs. Georgina Seeger, Miss Diane Pearlman, Mr. Brad Stokely, and Mr. Walter DuChamps, and was able to apprehend the Killer. Spencer said that they wanted to 'play a game' with all of us, and I must say that, if we are playing a game, then Mr. Adams, you are indeed the winner. So, Mr. Harrison Adams, on behalf of the great city of Sunrise Ridge, I would like to present to you a check in the amount of $500,000, and the keys to a brand new 2019 Jeep Liberty."

The crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Harrison walked forward to the Mayor and took the check and keys from his left hand while shaking his right hand as they posed for their photos together. Benjamin rejoined the Mayor, as did Gary, and they all started posing for photos together.

Harrison-"I can't believe this has happened. It still feels so surreal. This town and this moment are going to be burned into my memory for life."
Later in the day, back at the Headquarters, Benjamin, Harrison, and Gary are walking out, bags packed and HQ as empty as it was when they started. The sign that said 'Sunrise Ridge Shipping Office' was once again just a shipping office. No longer a home, no longer an HQ. Just a normal place once again. Outside the now defunct Headquarters is Harrison's new Jeep Liberty. Harrison hopped in the drivers seat and got himself nice and comfortable.

Harrison-"Just call me Lyft. I'll drive you guys to the airport. Hop in."

Benjamin and Gary looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They both hopped in, Gary in the front seat and Benjamin in the back seat.

Gary-"Congratulations again guys. You both did a tremendous job."

Harrison and Benjamin-"Thanks Gary."

Gary-"So, I wanna know, Harrison; what made you choose Spencer as the Killer?"

Harrison-"A few things. Spencer saying he lived here and moved back to the town a few years ago, the fact that the majority of the envelopes came straight to the HQ and only a few of the suspects knew where our HQ was set up, and the Shaw Shack explosion. Tyrone is helping Tiffany out until the diner is rebuilt. Why would he help fix love? Then Jeffery saying he lived all over the state. I didn’t think their was a way for him to really know of Tracey.”

Benjamin-"I didn't even take Jeffery moving around into account like that. I saw him being able to get easy kills on the Bundy’s and Brad as the major factor.”

Gary-"Its always the fine details that will reveal the guilty from the innocent. One wrong move can send an innocent man to jail and a guilty man go free."

Benjamin-"At least the town can sleep easy with out a Killer roaming the streets."

Gary-"Alright, you guys ready to go?"

Benjamin-"Yes, let's head out."

Harrison-"You got it, guys."

Harrison started the engine of his brand new car. The 3 men looked back at the HQ one last time. They each reflected, in silence, on their own journeys to this very moment. They all turned back forward almost exactly at the same time and let out a sigh. Harrison shifted the car into drive and headed off. He made sure to pass the Town Hall one last time. Several townspeople were standing outside along with the Mayor and the remaining living suspects that waved goodbye to them as they honked and drove past. Harrison kept driving forward and eventually passed a sign that read;

You Are Now Leaving Sunrise Ridge

Harrison-"Its weird. I never in my life thought I'd sit here and solve a murder case. If you told me that last year I might of thought you were crazy. But I did it. I actually solved this case. I have so much respect for the people that do this for a living. It really is hard."

They past the sign and left the now quiet town.

The End
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #24 on: January 21, 2020, 12:43:13 PM »
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

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

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.”
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #25 on: March 17, 2020, 03:47:07 PM »
700+ Views! Wow!

Just wanted to say thank you to any and everyone that’s enjoyed the story.
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan

Offline TempleFan322

  • Orange Iguana
  • Posts: 262
  • Gender: Male
    • View Profile
Re: Murder In Small Town X; The Return
« Reply #26 on: June 07, 2020, 02:09:03 PM »
1000+ Views!

Thanks you to everyone that enjoyed my story!
Blue Barracudas and Silver Snakes fan