Foreword: I'm not sure if I should talk about Thanksgiving, since some of my readers might not be from the US. Oh, well... Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving! Since I know you have time to read my chapter because you're not as busy as usual, this chapter will be longer than the previous chapters. I packed two chapters into one and included just the essentials for you to read and cut out all the unnecessary parts. The reason I'm doing this is because there will be a vital clue in this chapter that you'll not want to miss. In fact, if you got the clue, you'll be able to guess the killer, his/her trick, and the solid evidence! In other words, I gave you all the possible clues you'll ever need in this single chapter. And for those who still don't get who the killer is, I'll be sneaking in some small clues into chapters nine to eleven.
I'm still waiting for the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys graphic novels, but they aren't at the local library yet. I guess I just have to wait or order online, since I can't find them in any bookstore I know. Anyway, after this chapter, there are only three more chapters until the detective (Nancy, Joe, Frank, or Bess) reveals the killer. After that, like the one before this, there will be two revelation chapters in which the detective (I won't reveal who just yet; you'll have to wait) reveals the killer and his/her trick. In the last chapter, which I like to call Epilogue (since the mystery is already over), I'll be tying some loose ends together. In other words, there are six more chapters until this story truly ends. I promise that the next story will be much more exciting and filled with romance (and I don't mean just Nancy-Ned). Oops, I guess I'm revealing too much. For now, you'll just have to wait a few more weeks. I promise that my next story will be up by February or March. Enjoy the latest installment and please review!
8
Devilish Symphony
Smith Wickliffe noticed that it was already time to go to the practice hall to play, but the pianist wasn't back. She was gone for at least fifteen minutes. The others were talking to each other, but they noticed that the Katrina was late.
"Where could she be?" Leticia wondered, looking around.
"Oh well," Luke said. "I guess we should just go to the practice hall. I think she might be there, waiting for us."
The group went to the practice room. As they opened the door, they noticed that the moon was hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds. The room was very dark, and they couldn't see anything in it. Abraham felt around the wall to find a switch. He found it and turned the lights on.
At that instant, Bess and Leticia both screamed at the same time. The lifeless body of the pianist was sitting down in front of the piano with the floor underneath her soaked in her blood. The eyes of the pianist stared blankly back at the guests who came into the room. They had no emotion; they just stared at the guests. And right next to the body was a letter with these words typed on it: "The second victim of the MUSICIAN FROM THE GRAVE."
Nancy was afraid of this. The murderer won. The killer finished off his second victim.
Police officers were everywhere. Nancy noticed that Officer Barnhart was there as well. She watched as the officers took fingerprints and photographs in and around the crime scene. She knew it was useless; if a murderer planned the crime in advance, then he or she would have at least worn a pair of gloves when committing the crime.
The girl detective went to the grand piano and looked at the keys. She then noticed that four keys on the keyboard were smeared with blood.
The first one was right in between two black keys. The second one was between a black and a white key. The third one was also between a black and a white key. The last one was in between a white and a black key. Nancy carefully thought about the music lessons she enjoyed when she was a little girl. She knew that the first one was A and the second one was B.
As the girl detective continued up the scale, a horrid thought came into her mind. The letters spelled ABEC. In other words, they spelled Abraham Connor's name!
Frank noticed that, too, and thought for a moment.
"So we have ourselves a message," the officer said as he looked at the four notes. "A-B-E-C… I wonder if this means Abraham Connor…"
The officer looked at Abraham, who was talking with the others. Joe thought for a moment. He then went to the suspects. "Can you tell me your alibis from the time you left the dining room to the time you discovered the body?"
Luke was astounded. "Do you mean one of us is the killer?"
Joe didn't answer, but he then nodded. "There is a strong chance, since according to the police, every window in the house was closed and locked, and the cameras set up around the house showed no sign of intruders. They also searched every room in this house, including the attic, and found nobody hiding in the rooms."
Jennifer was trembling. "I…I was in the living room with everyone. I left the room to go to use the restroom for a few minutes. And after that, I noticed that people were in the living room looking at the clock."
"So you were alone when you left the living room?"
"Yes."
The next one was Mrs. Mott. "I was in the kitchen all the time washing dishes. Leticia was here with me all the time, except when she left the kitchen for about five minutes."
"So, can anyone say that you were in the kitchen all the time?"
"Um…No…"
The third one was Luke. "I stayed in the living room most of the time. I only went to the kitchen to get a glass of water."
Frank asked, "Did you see anybody there?"
Luke thought for a moment. "I don't think I saw anybody there."
He then turned to Mrs. Mott. "Didn't you say that you were at the kitchen all the time, Mrs. Mott?"
Mrs. Mott seemed surprised for a moment. "Oh, yes, well…I think I left the room for a minute or so. I didn't think it was important to say that, since I don't think I could've committed a murder in one minute."
But you did leave, Nancy thought.
Smith then said, "Well, I was in the living room all the time. I got out to go to the bathroom. I think it took me three to five minutes to come back."
Nancy closed her eyes. According to her memory, to get to the bathroom, she first had to get out of the living room, head for the direction of the dining room, and then turn right as she saw the door to the dining room. To get to the scene of the crime, she had to turn left instead of right when she saw the door of the dining room. Therefore, Smith could've gone to one of the two places: the bathroom or the practice hall. She knew that she had to keep an eye on Smith as well. But she then realized that Jennifer also used the bathroom at that time. That meant Jennifer, too, could have gone to the practice room instead of the bathroom.
Leticia went next. "As Mrs. Mott had said earlier, I was washing the dishes most of the time and went out to call a friend of mine. Since there was no phone in the kitchen, and since I forgot my cell phone at home, I used the one in the hall."
Nancy again thought about the telephone's location. She could've gone to call her friend and then entered the practice room in less than thirty seconds, if she hurried, making it possible for her to kill Katrina.
The girl detective then went to the suspect whom the notes the victim played right before she died indicated: Abraham Connor.
"Where were you after dinner?" the titian-haired girl asked.
"I was in the living room with the others, too," the violist said. "I don't think I ever got out of the room."
Nancy was awestricken. Katrina spelled Abraham's name on her piano, but the prime suspect didn't even leave the room!
"Are you sure?" she asked.
Jennifer, Luke, and Smith all nodded. Smith explained: "Each of us except for Abraham left the room, but only one of us left at a time, so there were still two people left, and I'm sure I saw Abraham sitting there before and after I went to use the bathroom."
"I agree," said Jennifer. "I did see him watching TV when we were waiting. And I think Luke can say the same thing."
The detectives paused to think about what the suspects said. According to their statements, nobody except for Abraham had a solid alibi, but his name was spelled out when they saw the keys on the keyboard that were smeared with blood.
This case was turning out more complicated than they had hoped. Then, Nancy suddenly remembered of Mrs. Fontaine.
So she doesn't have part in this case after all? Nancy thought.
The detectives went out of the house. Frank was deep in thought, just like Nancy. "So the most baffling thing about this case is that everyone has a solid alibi in the first murder, and the prime suspect in the second murder is the only one with an alibi."
"I was wondering, could someone have pressed Katrina's fingers onto the keyboard to leave a fake message?" asked Bess.
Nancy shook her head. "I don't think so. If someone really did leave the fake dying message, then he or she would've made a solid alibi for himself. In other words, the most suspicious suspect in a case would usually be the one with the most solid alibi."
Joe nodded. "I get it. If you know you're going to commit a murder, then you would at least make yourself an airtight alibi to protect yourself. But in the second murder, Abraham was the only one with a believable alibi."
Bess then asked, "What makes you so sure that the two murders are connected?"
Nancy replied, "Well, the writer knows about the blackmailer who kept tormenting Jack."
"But he could've talked to somebody about it."
"If he did so, then I don't think the person whom he talked to would know that the blackmailer always capitalized the name 'musician from the grave.' Therefore, the sender must be the killer in this case as well."
Bess suddenly gasped. "So could Abraham have put his own name down so the police would think that he's the prime suspect? And when the police notice that he had a solid alibi, then they would think twice about that. Besides, he has solid alibi during the first killing, also."
Nancy sighed. "Well, I don't think we can solve this case if we can't find out how the killer killed Jack in the first place. Even if we find evidence, as long as the person has an alibi, we can't make a move."
Frank grinned. "I knew I would hear something like that from a lawyer's daughter!"
Nancy smiled with her face turning slightly pink. It felt nice when Frank complimented her. She then suggested: "So, why not go to the theater to investigate? I think there's no concert held there tonight."
As the girl detective got into her car with Bess, Frank and Joe got into theirs. Nancy started the car and, grinning at Frank, drove into the night. Frank turned the ignition on, but he then noticed a blue car he hadn't seen before when the detectives arrived at the house. The headlight was turned off, but he could make out the face of the driver and was shocked to find out whom it was.
The driver was Mrs. Fontaine.
"Really?" Joe asked as his brother explained to him what he saw five minutes later. "Do you think she was there because she knew a murder would be committed tonight?"
Frank shrugged. "I don't know, really. She might have come here because Jennifer called her to come. Or," he paused, "she is the one who planned the murder."
Joe was astounded. "No way!" he shouted. "You think she's the killer?"
"I was merely suggesting a possibility, Joe."
After that, the two kept quiet. They didn't talk until they got to the theater.
Nancy and Bess were already there, waiting for the boys to arrive. The former saw Frank's face and was concerned. "Something happened?" she asked, walking toward the boys.
Joe nodded. "Frank saw Mrs. Fontaine when we left the house."
"Mrs. Fontaine?" Bess asked. "Didn't she come because she got a call from Jenny or something?"
Frank said, "I don't know, but I just got a feeling that she was there not because Jennifer called her."
Then, Nancy understood. Frank, too, was suspicious of Mrs. Fontaine.
The back entrance was locked, so the detectives decided to go to the front of the building and go into the theater. Fortunately, the concert hall was open, and they decided to go in. They went to the backstage and looked around for any clue. Frank searched the floor. Joe searched through the racks of costumes. Bess went to the dressing rooms. Nancy looked at the machines.
Earlier that day, there was a play going on in the hall. Nancy remembered that the concert hall wasn't used just for concerts: sometimes, there were local shows and plays opened to the public. Searching in the hall made Nancy remember the time when she, George, and Bess met and investigated with Frank and Joe in a mystery involving a valuable vase and strange occurrences at a local theater when they were in New York City. George, who was looking for a secret passageway, was pulled into one by the culprit and was kept there for a few days. It was Nancy's first case that she solved with the Hardy brothers, and they had solved two cases total since then.
The girl detective came across a machine that controlled the rope that held the klieg lights in place. She knew that klieg lights typically weighed a few hundred pounds, and she was careful not to touch the machine. She noticed that each lever controlled the height of the light, and if one was brought down quickly, it could cause the light to crash down onto the floor.
The titian-haired detective went to the other side of the backstage and closed the curtain behind her, hiding the machine from view.
Frank Hardy looked up from the floor and saw many wooden boxes lying before him, just a few yards away. He then walked to the boxes. Frank checked each of the boxes and opened the lids. He found one that was labeled "Tuba" and opened the lid. There wasn't a tuba, but he found strands of brown hair at the bottom. The box was big enough to fit a person inside.
Closing the lid, the dark-haired detective went toward the stage. He then heard something creak.
"Frank!" someone shouted. He noticed that it was Joe. He turned around and saw Joe, who was looking at the ceiling with shock.
Frank then heard a loud creaking sound. The blond detective was running toward him. The older Hardy looked up, and all he saw was the three-hundred-pound klieg light falling down. The klieg light was located right above him!
Joe ran as fast as he could, but the light was falling down too fast, and the blonde detective was more than twenty yards away. Bess noticed this, too, and screamed. The klieg light was falling faster each moment, and Frank was too petrified to move. Nancy desperately looked for a way to save Frank. Her eyes went to the curtain that concealed the machine that moved the rope controlling the height of the klieg lights. Someone was running from the machine to the exit door located right behind the machine. Nancy was two yards away from the machine. With one swift motion, the girl sleuth opened the curtain, went to the machine, and pulled the lever that was placed down upward.
With yet another loud sound, the klieg light stopped in its place just a few feet above Frank's head. Now, the heavy light was steadily swinging from left to right. Silence followed for a few seconds, then Frank finally blinked, recovering from his shock. Noticing Nancy, whose hand was still on the lever, he smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Nancy," he called. "I owe you one."
Sighing a sigh of relief, Nancy went to Frank. "I'm so glad I didn't go too far from that machine. Anyway, I heard someone running to the exit. Should we chase after him?"
Frank shook his head. "No, I don't think we should. Besides, the culprit must be long gone now."
Joe looked at the klieg light. "It could be someone among the suspects," he said. "I'm sure he or she did that to frighten you off, if not kill you."
The detectives went to the exit and opened the door. Frank was right. The culprit must have parked his or her car there and escaped the scene in less than fifteen seconds. But Frank managed to see the blue car that was driving away from the parking lot and into the busy streets. He recognized the car, and his eyes got wide with shock.
The car belonged to Mrs. Fontaine.
Postscript: The next chapter will be titled: Lost in a Discord...
Nancy almost gasped as she entere the room. There were two scythes, with each of the blades gleaming in the light from the lamp, hanging from the wall. They were the exact ones that appeared in the girl detective's nightmare.
P.S. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as your thanksgiving dinner!
P.P.S. When chapter 11 (or 12 depending on the length of the novel) is up, I will ask you readers who the killer might be. If you answer correctly, I will send you a sneak preview of my next story which I'll be working on in a while. Don't worry, though. I'll reply to your review and send you the preview that way, therefore not involving the use of e-mail at all (which I think is good, since some of you don't want e-mails sent from strangers. I don't like it, either).
P.P.P.S. Mark your calenders! I'm sure that the next update will be up December first. Don't miss it, since that's the turn of the story (i.e. the climax).