It was a lovely morning in the little town of Brookshire. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was a light breeze, making the air a very comfortable temperature. It was a lovely day for a short horseback ride through the woods, which was exactly what Ezra was doing. Ezra Elizabeth Heart was a very clever and observant nineteen-year-old. She enjoyed solving mysteries, reading books, horseback riding, and hanging out with her friends. She especially loved hanging out with her best friend, Evelynn Kimberly Scott. You could often find Ezra and Evelynn, often referred to as 'Eve' by her closest friends, shopping or hanging out around Ezra's farmhouse, usually taking the horses out for strolls through the woods.
As Ezra and her horse, a chestnut gelding with beautiful blonde mane who went by the name Leo, trotted through the woods, leaves crunching and twigs snapping beneath Leo's feet, the two came upon a clearing. Inside the clearing was a small box, almost completely covered with leaves and twigs. Ezra slowed her horse into a stop, finding this box rather suspicious. "Woah boy, stop right here." She said calmly, rubbing the side of his neck. Leo simply neighed in response. Ezra hopped off her horse and slowly, yet cautiously, walked over to the box. As she got closer to the box, the features became a lot more noticeable. It was a decent-sized box; about four feet by four feet. It was very obviously an old box that had been there for around a week at the least as it was molded and reeked of death. As Ezra drew near, she got more and more anxious. The hair was standing up on the back of her neck as she looked around, determining if this was some kind of trap that she was about to fall for. By now, she was right at the box. "Here goes nothing." she thought nervously to herself as she slowly opened the box. What she found inside shook her to the core.
"I'm telling you Eve, it was a corpse! There was a real life, human corpse in the box!" Ezra shouted, annoyed that her friend was denying the reality of the situation. "Oh, c'mon Ez. I highly doubt that was a human corpse you found. It was probably a dog corpse that someone abandoned in a box in the woods and you just overreacted about the whole situation!" Evelynn reasoned, trying to calm her friend down. "Ugh, why won't you just listen to me?" Ezra asked, staring at Evelynn, visibly angered at her friend's words. "Because," she started with a sigh, "Why would anyone in our little old town have anything against someone else?" She replied, gesturing her arms in the air. "I know what I saw, Evelynn." Ezra shot an angry glare in her friend's direction. "Fine, whatever. If that actually was a body you found and reported, it would be all over the news, eh?" Evelynn retorted, a sassy hand on her hip. "I suppose we should check then. When I'm right-" "If you're right," Evelynn added. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever. If I'm right, then as soon as I turn this tv to the news channel," she gestured to the tv next to them, "It will be the first thing we see," Ezra said. "Deal," Eve said simply. Ezra turned on the T.V. and quickly changed it to the news station. There it was, the headline she was looking for; Corpse found in the woods located in Brookshire. "Woah... I guess you're right then," Eve muttered. "I told you I was. Now, I have a police station to get to," Ezra said, walking towards the door.
Ezra slammed open the police station's door, striding past the chairs and decorative plants to get to the front desk of the station. "Excuse me, may I speak to someone about the 'box in the woods' case?" Ezra asked in a hushed tone, glancing around. "Name?" the receptionist asked politely. "Ezra. Ezra Heart," she replied. "Ah yes, the one who found the box. Right this way, miss Heart," she said, standing up and guiding Ezra to a back room. "In here," she said, gesturing to an empty room. "I will inform Officer McIntosh that you are awaiting him," the receptionist said with a nod.
Five minutes later, Officer McIntosh, a tall, heavy-set man with a joyful grin, walked into the room. "You're Ezra Heart, the one who found the mysterious box. Is that correct?" he asked. "Yes sir, and I presume you are Officer McIntosh?" Ezra asked. "Yeppers! That's me, Mr. McIntosh. How can I help you?" He asked in a cheerful tone. "I would like to know if you saw anything off about the box found in the woods," Ezra replied simply. "Ah, well I don't recall finding anything particularly interesting," He replied. "However," he began, "I can give you full access to the crime scene if you wish to investigate further," he finished with a smile. "That would be lovely!" Ezra smiled.
Ezra lifted the yellow and black police tape, ducking under it and walking towards the crate. As she got closer, she noticed the letters "L.S." carved into the side of the box. "L, S, L, S..." Ezra's thoughts raced as she paced back and forth. "That could be a name, place, word, anything!" she thought to herself. "Hmm. Maybe a person?" she decided. "L..S.." she thought, thinking of everyone she knew and trying to match the initials. Then, it clicked for her. "I've got it!" She said aloud, stopping in her tracks.
"Let me get this straight; you think I'm a murderer?" asked Liam, Evelynn's older brother, in a dumbfounded manner. "I'm not saying that, I'm just saying that your initials were carved into the side of the box." Ezra replied, sipping her tea. "Listen, I don't even know who was in that stupid box! If you're just going to accuse me of murdering a random person, whom I don't know, then get out of my house." Liam said in a harsh, loud tone, pointing towards the door. "I just want to know where you were on the day of April fifteenth," Ezra explained. "I was out with my sister shopping all day, then we parted ways. I went home, and so did she," Liam stated. "Actually, she went towards your house so I think she was with you!" He exclaimed, exasperated. Now that I think about it, I remember seeing you post photos with Eve on your Instagram..." Ezra muttered, just loud enough for Liam to hear. "See? I swear, I was with Eve all day long. Listen, can you just take your investigation elsewhere? I really need to get these finances done," Liam asked politely. "Fine, but that doesn't mean you're 100% clear," Ezra replied, walking towards the door. "Yeah, yeah. Look, just text me if anything else comes up, ok Ez?" Liam asked, casting a weary smile at her. "Alright, I will. Promise," she said, returning the weary smile. "Thank you. I'll talk some other time. Bye bye Ezzy!" Liam said in a more cheerful tone, slowly shutting the door. "Yeah, bye!" Ezra said, returning the cheerful tone a bit more wearily.
"Ugh, I don't know where else to go. I'm stuck," she thought to herself, sitting on the step of Liam's porch. Then something hit her. "Wait, didn't Liam say Eve went towards my house? She never made it all the way there because I never saw her," Ezra thought to herself. Right at that moment, her phone rang. She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and glanced down at the name, straining to see it with the blazing sun reflecting off her screen. It was the coroner, Dr. Wilson. "Hello?" Ezra asked, clearly sounding confused. "Hello, is this Miss Heart?" Wilson asked politely. "Yes, this is her. What's up Dr. Wilson? Find anything interesting?" Ezra asked, anticipating a key answer. "Actually," he said with a chuckle, "The blood test results came back from the knife you found in the woods near the body," Wilson said wearily. "The one with the dull blade?" asked Ezra. "Yes, that one." Wilson replied. "So? What came of it?" Ezra asked, becoming increasingly worried. "Well, I think you should get down here, and quick too," Wilson said impatiently.
Ezra sprinted through the parking lot, wind blowing through her flowy hair. She was trying desperately to get to the morgue where the key evidence awaited her. "Please don't be who I think it is, please don't be who I think it is," resonated in her head, repeating over and over until she reached the door. She slammed it open and quickly walked over to where Wilson was standing, bending over, hands on her knees, and panting. "What were the results, Wilson?" Ezra asked again, impatient, winded, and eager for a response that would lead somewhere in the case. "Well," He started, rubbing his head, "The DNA on the knife was none other than..."
Ezra rang the doorbell, growing more and more impatient. Finally, the door opened. "What do you- oh, hello Ezzy!" Eve's tone changed, instantly becoming more cheerful when she saw Ezra. "Hello, Evelynn." Ezra replied. "Evely- what's wrong, boo?" Eve asked, visibly upset by Ezra's harsh demeanor. "Evelynn, your evidence was all over the crime scene. Why on earth would you kill someone?" Ezra asked, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Ez..." Eve started, instantly being cut off by the swarm of police officers that seemed to have formed behind Ezra. "Ma'am, you have the right to remain silent," said Officer Douglas, pushing past Evelynn and placing handcuffs around her wrists. "I'm sorry Ez. He got too close to you and I couldn't have that happening," Eve replied, her face twisted with malice. "I'm sorry too, Evelynn. I'm sorry for not noticing the red flags sooner," Ezra said, tears streaming down her face, her fists balled up in anger. "How did you even know?" Evelynn asked quietly, staring at her feet. "It was really easy to figure it out, Evelynn. You left the knife too close to the box," Ezra stated. "Ugh, I knew I should have gotten rid of it for good. Maybe next time!" Evelynn laughed as the officers walked her towards the squad car. As Evelynn was passing Ezra, she whispered to her old friend with a devilish smile:
"I guess you don't remember how I taught you to hide a body, eh?"
