Everyone's A Suspect

Kayla Saint Francis is Dead

The sun began to rise the next morning, and Alyse Montgomery got up around 9:00. She and Kayla were going to study for a test together at the library. Alyse got dressed, did her hair and went downstairs for breakfast. Alyse's younger sister, Kali was sitting in the living room with a plate of pancakes. "You know you're not supposed to eat in the living room, right Kali?" Alyse asks, walking past her. Kali rolled her eyes. "Mind your business, Alyse." Alyse didn't think much of it as she put a few pancakes on a plate for herself until she heard Kayla's name on the news. 

"This morning, a young adult female was found dead just off the side of the parking lot on Flattop mountain. The victim was identified as 18-year-old Kayla Saint Francis." Just after that, a picture of Kayla came up on the screen. Alyse froze and dropped her plate. "Oh my..." Without another thought, Alyse grabbed her purse and keys and raced up to flattop to find her friend. When she got close to the flattop parking lot, she saw police cars, an ambulance and frantic neighbors surrounding the Saint Francis house. 

The police were talking to Kayla's mom, Aurora Saint Francis, who had tears streaming down her cheeks. Alyse looked around the house with shock expressed deeply in her eyes. She saw Kayla's older brother Julian looking both confused and sad as an officer approached him to talk to him. He didn't seem to notice Alyse. She then spotted Kayla's 16-year-old twin sisters, Tiffany and Shawna. Alyse couldn't tell if they were upset about Kayla's death or if they couldn't care less. That made Alyse suspicious. 

Keith Saint Francis spooked Alyse out of her daze. "Hey Alyse." He says, approaching her. "This is Kayla's best friend. She's like another daughter to us." An officer nodded to Keith, who walked away. Alyse wasn't sure where to start, knowing that she was going to be questioned. "What was your name ma'am?" The officer asked. "Alyse Montgomery." "Mmm-hmm. Miss Montgomery, how do you know Kayla Saint Francis?" 

"She's my best friend. We've known each other since 2nd grade. Before you ask, I'm not quite sure who would have done this, and I was at home all night last night with my sister." The officer nodded while jotting down notes. He gave her a look as to say 'how did you know what I was going to ask'? "Well Miss Montgomery, what were you planning on doing when you arrived this morning?" 

"Kayla and I were going to meet at the library this morning to study for our biology test, but I saw the news and rushed over." Alyse was annoyed at this point. She folded her arms, hoping that the officer would leave her alone so she could go talk to Kayla's family. "Yes, I can see that you rushed over. Tell me Miss Montgomery, why did you rush over so quickly? Were you hoping to get here before the authorities?" Alyse couldn't believe what she just heard.

"I'm sorry, but are you suggesting that I have something to hide? I'll have you know that this is hard for me. I just found out that my best friend is dead, and here I am being accused of a crime!" She nearly yelled. The officer paused, noticing the emotion in Alyse's eyes. "You're right. I'm sorry. We'll continue this interview some other time." He put his notepad away, and let her go. Alyse wiped a tear from her eye and headed towards Aurora. 

"Hey Alyse." Aurora says, hugging her. "I'm sorry Mrs. Saint Francis. Do they know what happened?" Aurora wiped her tears away and folded her arms. "Sorry, it's just a lot." Alyse nodded. "I understand." Aurora nodded, and walked inside with Alyse. The house seemed quiet without Kayla, and mostly because the whole family was in shock. Alyse looked around at the black kitchen, then out the window to the bear statue in the driveway. The Saint Francis family had a long driveway. It was slippery now that it had started snowing in the mountains. 

The twins came downstairs as Alyse was leaving. Tiffany tapped Alyse on the shoulder. "I heard you ask Mom what happened to Kay." Alyse nodded in agreement. "She fell off the cliff." Shawna added as they walked away. Alyse needed some time to process this whole thing. How would Kayla just fall off a cliff? She wouldn't go near a cliff if she knew it was too easy to fall. Something wasn't right here. As she was walking down the driveway, she saw a young man next door, staring at her. "What's up with that guy?" Alyse thought to herself. When she got to her car at the bottom of the hill, she moved as fast as she could. It started to snow as she drove off. Once she got back to ground level, she started crying. The snow had stopped, but she couldn't help but see the snowy mountains in her rear view mirror.

She parked in the driveway and went inside as the breeze got colder. She didn't bother greeting her parents as she walked in the door. Her parents looked at her, but she barely acknowledged them. Alyse bolted up the stairs and back to her room. She slowly started sobbing until she fell asleep. Little did she know that her parents were outside her room.