Foreword: As I had promised, I will update this story because I got more than five reviews and I am finished with the new chapter. Also, I'm going to answer a question posted by a newcomer here:
Nancy Nickerson: It's really easy to load your document! Just go to Documents at the menu and click Documents on the top right corner of the page. Then, at the bottom of the page, you'll see Doc Label, Format, and File on Computer. Pick a name you want to put for the document, select story format, and click Browse. Select your document on your computer, and then click Submit Document. After that, the document will be loaded. To put your story up, go to Stories on the vertical menu at the left side of the screen. Choose New Story at the top right corner. Say that you agree to the content guideline and follow the on-screen instruction after you did so. You'll have your story up in no time! I hope I answered your question. Good luck!
Anyway, this chapter is VERY IMPORTANT! It contains details on who the killer is, how he/she got away with murder, and the proof to put him/her right into jail! Be sure to write down every detail. This chapter and the next will mainly focus on the second murder and the suspects, so don't miss out!
Also, the story itself will be VERY DIFFICULT to understand without a map of the hotel. I made one using Word. (I made it for those with slow dial-up connections; it's just 30KB!) If you want the map, please say so in your review. I will be more than happy to send you one (it shows me that my readers actually participate in sleuthing with the detectives). Also, you can send an empty e-mail to my e-mail address and I'll return the mail with the attachment. The trick will be very easy to understand once you see the layout of the rooms and the hotel. You'll also see where Nancy and her friends were staying at. This is a must-have if you want to solve the mystery. If you don't want it, it's okay. But when the detectives reveal the trick, you'll need the map to fully understand how it worked. So, just mention if you want a map or not in your review and I'll send you one right away.
I know my foreword became the longest one I've ever written. (I hope it's not longer than the chapter itself!) Enjoy my newest chapter and good luck sleuthing! Oh, and review, please!
11
Arrest
Ned opened the door, but Frank was still faster. He jumped out of the car and lounged at Nancy, who was staring with a gaping mouth at the car that was coming her way.
The girl detective shouted in surprise as Frank jumped into her and pushed her out of the way of the speeding car.
Frank was not a moment too soon. Then the car came to the spot where Nancy had been standing just a moment before. The two detectives were just inches away from it.
Nancy gasped as her back hit the ground. Then, the two of them tumbled down a foot or so and stopped. They were covered in dirt but didn't get a scratch.
The driver hit the gas pedal and the car went zooming out of sight. The black car was already gone when Nancy looked up to see his license plate.
"Did you see his license plate?" Frank asked Joe. His brother nodded.
"Sure did. And I'll let the police know about that."
Ned, who had failed to be the one to save Nancy, just sat back. He was feeling strange. He was grateful Nancy wasn't hurt, but he wasn't the one who had saved her from danger; it was Frank. He was grateful and jealous at the same time.
The team of detectives headed for the police station when a police car came behind them and signaled them to stop. Frank stopped the car and got out to talk to the policeman. The officer, who was as old as Nancy's father, said, "Put your hands behind your backs, Mr. Frank Hardy."
The others were astonished to hear this. Why should Frank put his hands behind his back? And how does the officer know Frank's name?
The officer snapped a pair of handcuffs on Frank's wrists. The others in the car gasped. They immediately got out of the car.
"I'm placing you under arrest," the officer said sternly.
"What?" the detectives were surprised. "But why?"
"Just an hour ago, we found that the fingerprint on the weapon had matched yours. I'm afraid that according to the other members in the inn, you were the only one in the room when the sound of shattering glass was heard. All others had alibis. And also, you were in a locked room. One of the two doors was locked and couldn't be locked from outside. But the killer couldn't have gotten out from the other door because that was the one your friends had entered. The kitchen which was right next to the dining room had no way out, so I'm convinced that we have enough evidence to arrest you and put you on trial."
These words shocked the group, but they had known that it was fact; Frank really was the only one in the locked room, and he had been holding the weapon when he had been found.
"This is bad," Nancy muttered. If Frank didn't find the real killer soon, he could be the one facing the life sentence, or worse!
"But officer!" Joe shouted. "Frank just came here yesterday and never even spoke to the man who was killed. The victim never even spoke a word to any of us when we came here. I think Frank has no motive to kill Mr. Cantu."
"No motive, yes. But we have enough evidence that we can use to convince the jury that this young man had killed a guest in the hotel."
"But…"
"I'm afraid you'll have to talk about this later," the officer said. He told Frank to come into the police car with him. Frank didn't argue. He went to the car after the officer. The foursome went back into the car. Joe went to the driver's seat now and they followed the police car to the police station.
Inside the police station, the detectives spoke with the officer. They then told him of the illegal business Samuel Cantu and Percival Stuart were involved in. The officer, whose name was Holloway, frowned.
"I'm afraid there is no evidence proving that any of this had actually happened. After all, everything you are saying is pure speculation. Unless you can prove otherwise, I'm holding your friend here for questioning. He'll have to take the polygraph test and if he passes every single time, then we can be sure he is innocent.
Polygraph test? Nancy was disbelieving her ears. That was another name for a lie detector test, but it didn't actually detect lies but instead saw if the person taking the test showed any sign or symptoms shown by the people who took the test and lied.
"But Officer Holloway, this polygraph test can take hours. And we don't have that much time left!"
"She's right, officer," Joe added. "If we don't hurry, our target might get away! Can't you send your men over to look for Percival Stuart?"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Hardy," Holloway said. "This man should stay here for at least three to four more hours for the tests. And we cannot send the men over unless we have the evidence linking him to importing of illegal aliens."
George looked at Nancy with worried look in her eyes. Nancy nodded. "Okay, then, officer. We'll go now, if you don't need us."
The officer let them go, and once outside, Joe stamped his foot down onto the pavement with fury he couldn't hide. "I know that Frank's innocent! And I also know that Percival is the one who killed Sam!"
"But…why?" George asked.
"I have plenty of reasons. He and Sam were doing this shady business to gain money, but then, Sam started demanding more and more money. So he killed him before he could go to the police. Then he made it like Frank killed him so he could have a perfect alibi!"
"That's a good hypothesis, Joe," Nancy said. "But I still have many unanswered questions. What was the footprint made in the garden right outside of Kent's room? What about the trick the killer used to get away from the locked room in less than fifteen seconds? And what about the evidence linking him to the murder and the murder of Christina Stuart? There are still unanswered questions and clues that don't seem to fit the puzzle. Maybe we should stay calm and investigate more on these murder cases."
Joe nodded as Nancy was speaking. She did have a point there. He needed evidence. He needed clues. But most of all, he needed to prove that Frank wasn't the one who killed Sam but was the one who was framed.
"Don't try too hard by yourself, Joe," George said. She grinned at the seventeen-year-old blond. "Ned, Nancy, and I are still here to help."
Joe smiled slightly. "Okay, George. Thanks for your support."
But then, there was a long moment of silence. Nobody seemed to find a word to say to each other.
Nancy thought: Should I tell Joe to cheer up? But the police caught his brother with the evidence pointing to his killing Sam Cantu. Nobody can be cheerful at a time like this!
George was thinking: I hate it when nobody can find the right word to say to each other! I just wish Frank was out of the police station filled with those boneheaded officers who are convinced that obviously-innocent Frank is guilty of a murder!
Joe had been thinking: Frank will be released from the police officers once they find that he had passed a million polygraph tests. But proving them would be tough, especially when they say that they have the evidence. But where can I look for clues? Think, Joe, think!
Ned was the one who broke the awkward silence.
"We can't do anything standing here and be completely locked in our thoughts. We have to do something. We don't even know the killer. How can we know how the killer murdered Sam and framed Frank when we don't even have an idea who the killer is? My suggestion is that we should go back to the inn and talk to the suspects one more time."
Nancy, George, and Joe were all grateful for the sudden inspiration. They nodded.
"But we should tell the police the numbers on the license plate of the car that almost hit Nancy!" George said. The others went inside and told the nearby officer what happened. After a few minutes, the officer promised to let them know when she found out about the owner of the car. The detectives thanked her and went out and toward the car.
The foursome then went into the car and drove back to the bed-and-breakfast. As always, Joe tried to drive as fast as he could, but he needed to stay under eighty miles per hour. He could remember the most recent time when he got his ticket. If his memory was right, that had been the seventh time ever since Joe started driving at the age of sixteen. The first time he got a ticket was the time when he was late to a date with Iola and drove at seventy miles per hour when the speed limit was forty-five.
When the gang arrived at the inn, the innkeeper was outside watering the plants. She grinned as she saw the members come inside. "I certainly wish you can catch the killer soon," she said as the detectives passed her. They said they will try, and she smiled and got back to work.
Joe noticed a black spot on the glove she was wearing. "Is that blood?"
Mrs. Morley looked surprised but suddenly smiled. "Oh, that. I cut myself from pricking my finger with thorns of these roses." She then showed the detectives the roses she had planted the day before yesterday. "What can I get for you young sleuths? Cold cups of lemonade, perhaps?"
"No, thank you, Mrs. Morley," George said, putting down the offer. "We are in a bit of hurry."
After the detectives have gone inside, Mrs. Morley looked at the ground where the footprint had been earlier with a cold stare. She then got back to work.
Nancy, George, Ned, and Joe first went to Kent's room. When they knocked on the door, they heard some shuffling inside and the man appeared. He was wearing his usual clothes, but Nancy noticed that the brown shoes he had been wearing the other day had been changed to a blue one.
"Hi, new shoes?" she asked. Kent looked taken aback for a moment, but smiled.
"Yeah. I just bought it today at the nearby department store. I liked it and bought it because the old one was too small for me."
"I see…" Nancy said. "Well, we need to ask you about your alibi. You said that you were just coming inside when you saw us rush to the kitchen, right?"
"Yes. I heard a commotion when I came back inside from getting dinner. I had no idea a person had been killed."
"I see…" Nancy said again. "Did you have any disagreement with the victim lately?"
"No."
"Well, I think that's all we have to know for now."
Nancy thanked him and closed the door. She then looked to her right. Kent's room was the closest to the door in the dining room that was locked. But because it was locked, he had a perfect alibi. Could he have locked the door from outside using a string of some kind?
No. Nancy was sure of that. The lock was the round type that was on the doorknob itself, making it impossible for anyone to hook a string on the tip of it and pull down, thus locking the lock from outside. Kent couldn't have done that, and Nancy considered that he was unable to commit the crime.
But wait! she thought. There was a shoeprint on the ground close to the bushes under Kent's window. Could it have been Kent who got out of the room? No, that can't be it. There's no reason he would have to do that.
The detectives decided to talk to Jerome next. He was staying in room three, adjacent to Kent's room. He answered the door when the detectives knocked on it. He seemed awfully upset and tired. "What do you want?" he asked.
"Hi. We want to ask you about your relationship with the victim," George said.
"He and I never met. That's that."
"Okay, so this is your first time meeting him, right?"
"Yeah."
George looked at the notes. "So what about Christina?"
The suspect became quiet for a moment, as if he was thinking what would be right to say at the moment. Then, he opened his mouth. "I guess it's no use concealing this any further. I stole the idea for mystery she had been writing in her notebook. But I was a writer but had no inspiration at that time. I had to come up with a mystery. She was very talented, so I thought she would come up with another one in no time."
"So did you get worried when she told you that if you don't give her one half of the profit, then she would tell the lawyer?"
Jerome's eyes got bigger. "How did you know that?"
"A long story."
"Well, we agreed on giving her one fourth, since I was the one who spent weeks writing the novel, even though she only provided a rough sketch of the plot. She seemed satisfied enough. There's no way I would kill her or Sam. I barely know him at all."
The detectives nodded in agreement that it was time to go ask someone else. But before they closed the door, Nancy noticed the scratch mark on Jerome's wrist. When Nancy asked him of that, he laughed and said, "My cat did this to me. Yesterday, I noticed that my cat had come home dirty. I had to wash her fur, but she hated water. So she scratched my wrist. But it wasn't bleeding that bad, so I decided not to put bandage on."
Nancy nodded. It was a logical story. It didn't seem like Jerome made it up in a second. The detectives said goodbye to him and got out of the room. The foursome was thinking about what they were going to do next.
"But I would like to look at the crime scene first," Nancy suddenly said. "I have a feeling I missed something."
The detectives went to the kitchen. The police have taken the weapon and the broken vase, but Nancy felt that she could still smell the stench of fresh blood. It sickened her, even though she knew the police have wiped the blood off a long time ago. The detectives put on their gloves and looked around.
Nancy suddenly stopped. She saw something dark on the already-dark-magenta-colored carpet. The special linoleum floor had the color of fresh blood, but Nancy immediately knew that the black things were blood. Immediately taking out her magnifying glass, she took a close look.
The other detectives joined. They looked curiously as Nancy scrutinized the marks. They shaped like half moon, and there were two paths of those shapes leading toward the door. Nancy thought for a moment.
"What could it be?" George asked.
Nancy wasn't thinking about the marks. But she had been having a bad feeling about something.
"I get a feeling that the serial murder is not over," Nancy said, and the thought frightened her. "If I'm right, the murderer is still going to kill another person."
"How do you know?" Joe asked quizzically.
"I don't know. It's my gut feeling."
"Or maybe it's your detective's instinct," Ned suggested. "Either way, I think Nancy is right. I hope nothing bad happens…"
And that was when the telephone rang.
Postscript: Countdown! Only five more chapters until the end! (I decided to have two more chapters before the final showdown) Who is the killer? How did the killer frame Frank? Who will Nancy decide to be her boyfriend? And don't forget the mini-romance involving George and Joe!
These and many more questions will be answered in the final chapters. So don't miss them!
P.S. Please review!
Keywords: passageways, suspect's strange behavior, denial