Teenage Detective

Chapter 9: Truth in the Snow

Harry demanded Kevin to give himself to the police but the tall boy was defiant. "You think I'm a murderer, Harry? Don't speak such nonsense," he said. Snow started to fall on them.

In anger, Harry grabbed Kevin by the collar. He was utterly cross and in disbelief.

"Kevin! you…," but Kevin cut him off.

"Isn't it? According to you…"


According to Harry's discern, the killer killed Farah before the snow fell, when the snow started to pile up, the killer left by means of walking backwards, this is to trick people to think it was Farah's footprints.

The killer made the crime scene looked as if it was Farah's footprints were left behind. The police even said the killer did that to make it looked like Farah committed suicide.


Kevin spoke in defence. "If you remember correctly, on the morning we found Farah's body, I was with you and the two girls, there's no possibility that I waited with Farah's body till the snow fell. Could I done the impossible?"

Harry let go of Kevin's collar and sighed.

"You're right, Kevin, at that time, you could not leave any footprints, and I was almost fooled by you!"

Kevin's eyes went wide when he heard Harry's last sentence.

"You're really bright for assuming the police to think the walking backwards method, and the suicide conclusion," Harry looked serious at Kevin. "To leave the footprints behind on the snow filed was for people to think the killer was there till the snow started to pile up and to create a solid alibi," Harry uttered the shocking revelation.

"If that so… how do you explain the footprints?" Kevin asked back in retaliation. "Whose footprints are those? Other than walking backwards there's no way I can leave footprints on the snow!"

Harry just sighed and closed his eyes. "Kevin looked behind you," he told the tall boy.

Kevin then turned his head around in alarmed. His eyes widen again when he saw what he was deeply afraid. Footprints appeared like magic on the snow and connected to his feet. He turned his body fully.

"When did the footprints appear on the snow?" he spoke in astonishment.

"This is the trick you used on the morning of Farah's murder," Harry told his friend.


Last night, I have arranged everything like you did Kevin. The beach gave me this idea. The snow did not pile on the beach because the sand contains salt. Salt melts ice.

Gardening used salt around their plant to avoid snow piling up on their plants.


Harry took out a shoe box cover. "On that morning, you came earlier than any of us and designed this instrument," Harry explained, and showed the shoe box cover with a rectangular hole in the middle and grills taped to cover the hole. A shoe shape was drawn on the grill.

Kevin was utterly shocked to see this.

"Put this on the ground, and sprinkle some salt inside the shoe shape, this is to create salt pieces to melt the snow, so to make people think Farah walked toward the centre of the field!"

"After you were finished planning, you called Farah earlier and somehow made her wore her favourite white coat so people would think she was Farah the instant anyone saw her. Farah came, unknown for her date of death with the white coat."

Kevin continued to be silent, unable to speak anything, daring himself to hear every truth Harry spat out.

"After you killed Farah, you moved her body to the place where the footprints you made ended and left the field in a hurry. As long you were with us, you only have to pretend to see Farah's body in shock like everybody else."

"Furthermore, you knew the snow would turn to rain and washed away the salt so the police wouldn't find the trick. You really used this phenomenon to create this perfect trick."

Kevin sighed in defeat. "It was wrong to call you back here," said Kevin, almost in regret, and Harry was slightly taken aback by it. "But the real truth is Harry, when I called you up, I did not have the intention to kill those two!"

"Kevin…" Harry cut in. "Last morning I encountered your father."

"You saw my father?" Kevin said as though it was nothing.

"Gavin L.P or Gavin LaPorte, yours and Elisa's father share the same name," he told Kevin.

"Maybe if I knew that earlier, this whole fiasco would not have happen," Kevin lamented.

Then Harry asked something that he wanted to know for sure. "Are you and Elisa an item?"

Kevin nodded. "Yes, for a year and we were planning to get married one day," Kevin replied. "Ever since I was injured, Elisa always gave me hope to never give up."


"Kevin, you should be more cheerful, even if you stop playing football, you are still you," said Elisa cheerfully.

"I'm good only at football, there's nothing else I'm good at! What should I do…" Kevin's words were cut off by Elisa.

"That's because you never did anything other than playing football," spoke Elisa with a smile, Kevin remained blunt though. "Starting today we find something that you could do best… together. There must be something you could do and love it!"


"After reading a book Elisa lent to me, I started reading and writing and she read my bad novels, she praised me and encouraged me to continue writing," Kevin told Harry.

"I was utterly happy, maybe I could not play football but I can be a sport writer and Elisa gave me a hope! But the first trick I thought of was the footprint trick I created." Kevin went silent after that so Harry returned to his interrogation.

"Kevin… about Farah and Amy, both of them have a major crush on you, right?" Harry asked coolly and Kevin did not know how to answer. "Both of them were jealous when they found out about you and Elisa, so they created a lie based on both of your father's name and Elisa's father's name but it led to Elisa's untimely death…"

"Like the letter she left, I thought words of hatred for her father, the colour that thought to be happiness turned to unforgiving, finally I knew what she meant… Elisa was carrying your child."

The last sentence made Kevin broke down and he dropped down to his knees, looking down at the snow and cried.

"Yes, she was pregnant with my child," Kevin spoke in pant. "But I did not know it till I heard their conversation."


I was hiding behind the shadows of a lamp post. Farah and Amy were talking and walking, unknown my presence.

"For the sake of that, she killed herself, what a foolish girl," said Farah.

Amy turned pale. "But Farah, I saw it! I saw it, she bought that weird thing!"

"What weird thing?"

"A pregnancy test! She bought it at the pharmacy," Amy said a bit louder.

Farah immediately froze. "Are you sure, Amy?"

"Yes, that's why she assumed our lie was a truth and could not live…!"

When Amy said that, I did not know the whole story was about. They were still talking and my head was still about Elisa's pregnancy. It did not occur to me it was my child until…

"She must be carrying Kevin's child," Amy said and my world turned dark.

"So that's the case… she should have been happy to know she was pregnant but if it was her brother's child, things are unforgiving," said Farah, who was really scared by now.

"We only used the same initial name to trick her into believing she and Kevin were siblings. What now, Farah? If people got wind of this thing…" Amy did not get to finish her sentence as Farah cut her off.

"Don't be stupid, no one will ever know," Farah said adamantly. "It's not our fault, she misunderstood and committed suicide."

"Yes… you're right, of course," Amy said a bit hesitant.


"They said it was a misunderstanding, and because of that lie, Elisa died," Kevin spoke, while crying. He moaned Elisa's name over and over.

Harry gaze pityingly at his childhood friend.

"Harry… I was also a terrible person,"


The day before Elisa's death, she came suddenly to my house and wanted to see pictures when I was little. Without a thought, I just showed her.

When I got back from the loo, she was gone.

The photo album was opened on the first page. All of my pictures when I was little were on that page. One certain photo though…

Elisa's father lived right next door when I was little, a photo of him playing with me. When Elisa saw that picture, she must have believed the lie she heard and misunderstood that we were siblings.


"Doesn't make sense, right?" Kevin said downheartedly. "Even if I wanted to live with her forever, in the end, I did not understand the sorrow that forces her to death, I gave her the last punch!"

Kevin put his hand inside his pocket. "I also understood it was just not those two girls' fault. I did not notice any unusual things, that's why I am also guilty."

Kevin took out the last dart, the ones stolen from Elisa's coffin. Harry's eyes went wide. "This last dart is for punishment!" cried Kevin, holding the dart to his throat.

"Kevin… stop it!" Harry ran towards Kevin, as the dart was inches away from killing its last victim.