One Clue Behind

Chapter One

It's been three months since Olivia was found dead at Jeremiah's cabin. The police still have no leads, no suspects, and most of all, no evidence. I can't imagine anyone wanting her dead, brutally murdered. No one can. Courtney, Tony, Jeremiah and I all hole up in my dorm room and we slowly pack up Olivia's things. I've known her since we were small children, so her mother, I call her Aunt Victoria, let me have this last piece of her. So my friends helped me pack up her things, cautiously making my room more barren by the day. More lonely by the second.

Tony and Courtney huddle together, stacking Olivia's sketchbooks and painting utensils into a box. Tony- short for Antonio- and Courtney are twins, even though they look more like a regular set of siblings, you can see the fraternal resemblance. When Courtney wasn't with her brother or their family, she was with Olivia and I. And Tony and Jeremiah were practically brothers from other mothers, they were such close friends. We as a group were so tightly knit that Olivia's tragic and untimely demise shook us to our cores.

Each of us had different reactions. Tony and Courtney became inseparable as if they weren't already. Siblings, we understood though since Olivia seemed like a sister to us all. Jeremiah and his parents had installed cameras and floodlights around the cabin and a few hundred yards into their property stretching into the forest, past the trap door we had found. But for me... it was different. My heart completely broke, she was my best friend, my soul sister, and the person who was always there for me no matter what. After her death, my mom and dad drove the thirty minute route to Briarcliffe to bring me home and to see the Fernsby's, her parents. She was an only child, so her dying so young angered and saddened them to no end.

I was gone for a week, the school had shutdown and canceled classes, but students were not required to go home. Briarcliffe was our home away from home. We had security at every entrance and even had our curfew pushed up by a few hours. The administration is doing everything in their power to make the school safe. Even though the murder didn't happen on school grounds, Olivia was a student here so the headmaster and the board thought best to add and change some rules "for the time being." Which means until the killer is caught and brought to justice.

I know it's terrible for my grieving and mourning period, but I can't help myself from reading news reports and requesting access to case files, which all were denied since it's an ongoing investigation. From what I could gather from the media and loose-lipped rookie cops, the killer is meticulous. He, or she, didn't leave so much as a hair behind for trace evidence. Not a fingerprint or a droplet of sweat behind. It's almost as if they had cleaned up after themself. Almost as if it was premeditated. Almost as if the killer was experienced. I'm not sure what part of the mystery chills my bones more, Olivia being the victim, the manner of the murder, the gore of the murder, or the lack of any evidence at the scene.

I've only taken mystery writing workshops and binged crime shows on Netflix, so all I know is from the media I have access to. Since Olivia's murder, I've been scouring Google and Briarcliffe's academic resources for any possible leads or ideas to crack the case. I had even created multiple zipped files on my laptop, neglecting my duties as the chief editor for the creative writing journal, not that there's been many submissions lately anyway. So far, I haven't come up with much at all, I'm not a homicide detective, but I sure as hell know my best friend like the back of my hand. At least, I hoped so. I'm not ready to unveil any of Olivia's secrets... if she had any.

Today is another solemn day where the four of us are begrudgingly packing boxes and getting them ready to take back to the Fernsby's. The headmistress has contacted me multiple times to see if I wanted to  pick out a new roommate, but I kept telling her not yet, it's too soon. I think it'll always be too soon. But if anybody would be a good candidate, it would be Courtney. We've been friends since I transferred here and she and Olivia became close as well, eventually inviting Tony and Jeremiah into our little group making it a group of five.

Usually, silences are awkward, but during this time, it's soothing. Jeremiah and I are in charge of packing up Olivia's books and clothes. I take skirts, dresses and blouses off of hangers and sort them into their respective boxes. I'd already put her jeans and sweaters into their separate box. All that's left is her underwear, bras, socks, and pajamas. I'll leave those for a time when it's just Courtney and I.

The lingerie drawer reminds me of the first time I bought my first set of lacey garments. Olivia and Courtney were with me at the boutique while I worried about mine and Jeremiah's first time together. I was scared but I trusted him, so I wanted it to be perfect. Olivia managed to pick out the perfect set, a simple white teddy with a lace bow under the breasts and a stringy thong to match. Olivia was right, Jeremiah did like it. That night marked our one year together, Jeremiah and I. I thought I loved him so much, and I think I still might. There's just too much that went on to continue.

I look over my shoulder and Jeremiah is taping and reinforcing a cardboard box holding her school books and watercolor guides. His face scrunches up as he tears the tape from the roll, my heart sadly swells, thinking about the first time we had. I'd never been so vulnerable with someone before.

To Jeremiah's right is Tony and Courtney closing up the box of Olivia's painting supplies. Olivia was an avid painter and loved the beauty in everything. Besides being one of the most popular girls in school, she never transformed into the snotty girls that always looked down upon us. She was sweet and inviting. Which makes it that much more perplexing that she was killed in such a cold way.

I sigh and finish folding the last few silky soft pieces of Olivia's expensive clothing before folding the top to the box and stacking it atop another. I turn around to Jeremiah and my friends and watch them silently for a second, remembering all five of us together and feeling like only four friends are too lonely without our Queen Bee.