A/N: Hey guys. I'm not going to continue this story because the revised plot wasn't really doing what it was supposed to, but here is the original story. I thought you might want to read. Sorry if you wanted more. Please read my other stories. If you like murders, read Lemonade. I also have a one- shot autobiography that's really funny and short, which is A Silly Red Face and a Solitary Tear; I have an adventure story that's uncompleted and a pirate novel coming soon. Now to personally thank and respond to the readers:
EViv: I'm glad that it was suspenseful but I really lost the thread of where I was going. Hope you like the original.
ShiningStarAngel: Thanks for both the reviews, but as I told EViv, I just can't continue. Hope you really like original.
Warning: This was written when I was in eighth grade. My writing has improved greatly since then (for the record, I'm in tenth).
Enjoy!
Murder on Oak Tree Lane
The Introduction
As I sat in my office, staring out at the pouring rain, I thought that tonight was the perfect night for a murder. There was a knock on the door. "Come in," I called.
"I'm going to lock up now. Are you going to stay?" my secretary asked.
"I'll lock up tonight. I still have some paperwork on that last case to do." I answered.
"Okay, good night."
"Good night."
As I heard the door close behind her, the phone rang, shattering the silence of my office. It was my employer, James Cromwell, wondering if I could come over for a dinner party he was having. I said yes immediately, knowing that I was going to have a spectacular time. James Cromwell was a multi-billionaire who was a bit eccentric but a lot of fun. He was getting on in age so it was probably a party for the reading of his will. A terrible scream on the other end of the phone line interrupted my train of thought and the line went dead. I decided to investigate immediately. This was going to be an interesting case.
The Arrival of the Guests
James Cromwell and his butler, Henry, were chatting in the study when the doorbell rang. It was the niece of James, Elizabeth Robertson. They said their hellos and walked to the Library where drinks were being served. As they made a toast to good health, the doorbell rang again. It was Andrew Thompson, one of the nephews of James Cromwell. They had a quiet argument about their stocks until William Cromwell, the other nephew of James Cromwell, arrived. They walked to the Billiard Room, where Andrew and William started a game. Andrew accidentally knocked into his uncle, causing him to spill champagne down his front. Uncle James went up to change, and the game resumed.
It had been a long time since Uncle James had gone upstairs so Elizabeth went to check on him. She came down a minute later screaming, "Uncle James is gone! He has been kidnapped! He is gone!"
The Missing Uncle
Andrew and William comforted Elizabeth, thinking that their uncle was probably playing on of his little games and would come out from a room any minute, but they decided to check the house just in case. There were four levels of the house so they called Henry the butler to help. He was confused at first but grasped the plot, as it was explained to him, quickly. Elizabeth checked the basement, Andrew checked the ground floor, Henry checked the second floor, and William checked the attic. They were almost done their search when they heard a scream coming from the ground or second floor.
They rushed to outside their uncle's room, their meeting spot after the search. Henry was not there. They cautiously walked down the stairs, sticking together in case of any surprise attack. Henry came out of the Billiard Room, explaining where the scream had come from. The maid had screamed because she saw a spider on the floor. She was well-known for her arachnophobia.
They were all safe and forgot about their missing uncle for awhile, because Andrew wanted to show them the profits he had made on one of his business encounters. When he opened his locked briefcase he did not find his business papers. Instead, he found four weapons, all dusted for fingerprints. A candlestick had Elizabeth's fingerprints on it, a lead pipe had William's fingerprints, a knife had Andrew's on it, and a revolver had no one's fingerprints on it. They all stared horrified at one another.
The Cousins Say Good Night
Elizabeth had received a spiked e-mail earlier that week. It said "When you find the briefcase, leave the room. There will be a handsome reward for you." When she realized this was the briefcase the note had talked about, she excused herself and left the room. She heard an awful scream and ran back into the room. Andrew had been smashed on the head with a lead pipe, and William had been killed the same way except with a candlestick. The two weapons were lying innocently in the briefcase but the revolver was missing. She ran to the phone in the library and called me, her uncle's private investigator, to come over for a party. She disguised her voice as her uncle's so I wouldn't be alarmed. As she turned around, she screamed and hung up the phone. A mysterious shadow was standing in the doorway.
It was only Henry, and he was as scared as she was. Together they stood in the main hall, waiting for me to arrive. Henry walked into the Billiard Room to tidy up. He had just disappeared into the room when I rang the doorbell. Elizabeth let me in. She explained as much as she could of the situation until she got to the last sentence. "Now I think someone is trying to kill m…" she said. She never finished her sentence, because Elizabeth had been shot. As she slumped to the ground, Henry the butler appeared behind her. "Your next," he said with a smirk on his face as he pulled the trigger.
The Explanation
"Wait," I cried, "Why did you do this? I don't understand."
"Why?" he replied, "for the money, of course. Now I will get all the money from this mansion and not have to share it with anyone." He laughed hysterically. I was dealing with a madman! Oh well, I had done this before. Keep him occupied while I page the police on my silent beeper.
"You'll never get away with this," I replied, "but how did you do this anyway." I switched on my recorder. If I didn't get out of this, my recorder would be enough proof.
"I told the old man that the cousins wanted to play hide and seek. He fell for it, the old fool. He hid in his secret closet where only I could find him. It was murder made easy. While the brats were looking, I grabbed the knife from the briefcase and stabbed the old buffoon. He screamed but I thought up a cover story. They believed it." He exposed his entire story. What an idiot. "I hid the real briefcase under the couch and placed the fake one on the coffee table. Each of them thought the other one did it. I sent the spiked e-mail to the girl and waited to see if she was greedy enough to believe it. She left and I killed the boys. I was going to finish her off when I realized she was calling you. I acted worried and soon found my chance to nab the gun and shoot her. By then you had arrived and now I'm going to kill you." He finished as he shot me in the heart.
Epilogue
"How many deaths?" asked Commander Root.
"Five," replied Lieutenant Fowl.
"Any IDs?" asked the commander.
"All five had them, sir." The lieutenant answered.
"Well, who are they?"
"James Cromwell, the multi-billion…"
"I know who he is! Who are the others?"
"No need to get touchy." Fowl reported, "the others are a Andrew Thompson, an Elizabeth Robertson, a William Cromwell…"
The commander sighed, it was a family party. That meant the phone calls to other relatives. "And…"
"And Detective Keith."
"What," the commander roared, "we can't lose our best detective!"
"We just did."
"I know that. I'm not stupid."
"Coulda fooled me."
"I can replace you."
"Right. Cromwell, Jr. stabbed Sr., Thompson killed Jr., Robertson bashed Thompson, Keith shot Robertson, and Keith committed suicide by shooting herself.
"Are you sure?'
"Positive."
"Anyone else around?"
A cook and a maid in the back kitchen. No idea what was going on. A butler at a store getting stuff for the party they were having…"
"Some party."
"Yeah. The butler is gonna be filthy rich because according to the will, if the other three die, he gets the dough."
"That's one lucky butler.'
"Yep."
"Oh well. Straight forward case, nothing to do now except sit back and watch the techies reconstruct the scene."
Henry the butler got away with murder. At least I tried to prevent it. I fell on my recorder and squashed it. Now the truth will never be known.