"High School Drama" Chapter Three.

Everyone's eyes followed Conan's pointed finger right to Sammy. Sammy stared down at it frightenedly. Richard, however, felt that not all was said.

"No, no, wait a minute- That's impossible! Sammy was with us outside when the alarm went off- we'd even talked to her! The only person here with a considerable doubt in their alibi is the true killer- Mrs. Hanae!" Richard pointed straight at the woman on her knees, Her eyes were now wide, though her face was still wet.

"How dare you!" she called, "Mitzy was my star pupil and I had nothing but good intentions for her!"

"Well then why" started Richard lazily, "Do you have no witnesses to prove you didn't do it? You even said it yourself that there were no other people in the hallway. It's also kind of obvious all these tears are fake. It's a cover-up, and a very poor one indeed."

"Oh yeah?" asked Conan, fury bubbling up inside him, "Then what would be her motivation? Why would she want to kill her best student?"

"Why there could be a lot of reasons!" Richard answered somewhat nerviously, "Albeit not right of me to pick a specific reason. Anyway, what do you know? You're just a kid! And so's she- Sammy's got her whole life ahead of her, why ruin it with a jail record?"

"It seems worth the risk if she could get in the top college in the country!" Conan cried, pointing once again at Sammy. The girl now stood against one of the walls of the lounge, arms crossed over her chest as she shuddered rushed breaths.

Rachel gasped, "You mean? ..."

"Yep" Conan finished, "Full scholarship was the first place prize- and only first place. It's also well-known that if for any reason the first place winner cannot accept his/her prize, the second place winner will thus be able to accept them."

The room was silent once more. Sammy was reluctant to look up at them.

"But that doesn't explain everything!" Richard suddenly announced, in a meak effort to gain back his spotlight and show he was smarter than an elementary-schooler. "How did she kill her? She was, after all, outside when it happened."

There was a shuffle down the hallway, Rachel stepped out again to look around. Richard and Conan, however, were two to pay no attention.

"Oh that's simple" Conan answered, "First of all, sir, your timing was off. The murder wasn't comitted when the bell went off- it happened before it sounded. As you can see, the victim made no attempt to escape before her moment of death. The fire alarm was used to distort the crime scene, increase suspects, and as a getaway plan. It's also fairly easy to set up- simply maneuver the fishing string around the proper corners, but don't tie it too tight. Hook it up to the fire alarm lever and viola! Next clumsy person to walk in that door will kicked the wire, thus causing it to suddenly jerk and pull down the lever- instant fire alarm, and not a fingerprint in sight. All that one had to do was get the murder done before anyone can trip the alarm or find her. This is where the point behind using the teacher's lounge comes in."

Conan turned to the silent radiator, then chimed to the teacher,

"How long had the radiator been broken in here, Mrs. Hanae?"

The teacher gaped at him for a moment. "Since the end of last week. We've all been using the staff room for breaks, since the mechanic still hasn't come down."

"But it's a teacher's lounge!" Richard called, in another attempt to outshine Conan. "I don't think they just leave their doors unlocked, working heat or not! I'm also quite curious as to how you left your briefcase in there, Mrs. Hanae..."

Mrs. Hanae glared up at him. "You aren't seriously suspecting me again, are you Mr. Moore?" she sighed. "I'm always leaving that thing around... and it wasn't so cold earlier, I planned on staying in here later on... Guess that's not going to happen. Also- I gave both Sammy and Mitzy spare keys to this room. Heavens, they spent enough time around teachers and nobody objected. Show them the key, Sammy."

Suddenly Sammy's head shot up, a fierce glint in her eye.

"NEVER!" She screamed, as she clutched both her hands closed and made a dash for the door, stupidly bumping into-

"INSPECTOR MEGUIRE!?"