Everyone's A Suspect

Kali's Concert

Kali came down the stairs with her violin wearing a black shirt, black pants and black shoes. She had her hair in a curly ponytail and was wearing light makeup. "You excited Kali?" Alyse asked. Kali nodded. "First concert of the year." Kali and Alyse got their coats and headed out to Alyse's car. It was snowing, so Alyse wanted to leave a little early. When Alyse pulled up to the school, she let Kali out and went to find parking. She found parking not too far from the bus loop, and entered through the bus loop doors by the gym.

There was still time before the auditorium doors would open, so Alyse just wandered around the common area of her former high school. Nothing had really changed. She stopped near the grand staircase near the large school logo sat on the wall and closed her eyes. She could hear the chatter from when she and Kayla were in high school. Particularly, she remembered when she was there for Kayla's choir concert.

FLASHBACK

Alyse hadn't gotten her own car yet, so she pulled up in her mom's car. She entered the building through the lower C hall doors and went upstairs to see Kayla. "Hey Alyse, what are you doing? You're not supposed to be up here!" Kayla says, walking over to her. "I know, I just came to wish you good luck on your solo." Kayla smiled, Alyse smiled back, then Alyse went back downstairs. She waited in the common area before the auditorium doors opened. She found a seat close to the front and waited patiently for the choir to arrive.

During the group performance, Kayla would look directly at Alyse, as a way of saying she was nervous. Alyse never knew why, because Kayla was a great singer. The piano player played an instrumental solo, then Kayla approached the microphone. Alyse smiled broadly. The Saint Francis family was sitting near Alyse, and they were all excited aside from the twins who looked part bored, part distracted, and part happy. Alyse knew that at least some part of them was excited for Kayla.

Kayla started singing a verse about friendship and how everything falls into place when you're surrounded by the right friends. Her voice was clear and open. She could reach incredibly high notes. When she finished her solo, she joined the rest of the group with the audience roaring with applause behind her. After the concert, Alyse found her. "Girl, that was awesome!" She says, hugging Kayla. "Thanks. You have no idea how nervous I was." "But no one else could have pulled that off!"

Kayla got a lot of compliments for a few days after the concert by students and parent volunteers from the student store. Of course, not everyone appreciated Kayla's talents. "You know, that solo should have been mine." Alyse heard someone say. By the time she turned around to see who it was, she already couldn't tell because of the huge crowd of students. It annoyed Alyse greatly to hear that someone would say that. She wanted to know who it was, but also knew better than to provoke it.

She'd gladly ask Kayla if anyone in her choir class was jealous of her solo, but she didn't want to make Kayla feel bad. Instead, Alyse did everything she could to distract Kayla from that feeling. Everyone knew that Kayla was the top singer in her choir class, and that's why she was always in the more advanced choir. They were going to sing the same song on their trip to Orlando for the music department trip, and Kayla still had the solo. Alyse never got the hang of singing or playing an instrument. She was more athletic, but she gave it up to focus on college after she and Kayla graduated.

PRESENT

The auditorium doors opened, and Alyse found her parents. She followed them, and they took seats in the middle row half way up the stairs. The stage was set up for the orchestra. With this being the fall concert, all of the groups in the music department were going to be performing. Most of the parents here are orchestra and choir parents since the band always went last. Unless Kali wanted to stay for the other groups, they usually left after Kali's performance.

About 10 minutes later, the symphonic orchestra took their places on the stage. Kali was 1st chair of the violin section, so she sat on the end. They started warming up on their own until the conductor stood on the podium in front of the class. Everyone put down their instruments and looked at her. She raised her baton and the orchestra started playing their scales. Kali looked so poised and focused.

The conductor turned around and faced the audience. "Good evening parents and families, and welcome to the South Anchorage High School Music Department Fall Concert. My name is Holly Farly and I am the orchestra conductor. I'd like to start the night off with our symphonic orchestra." The audience applauded Ms. Farly pulled out a paper and showed it to the orchestra students, who all flipped through their music folders. As Ms. Farly prepared to start the piece, all the students had their instruments and bows ready. The piece began with an upbeat tone. The piece sounded a lot like the overture Alyse heard Kali playing a few days ago.

Their next piece was a slower piece. It reminded Alyse of a clear, starry night in the middle of an open field, or on the beach. It was calming and relaxing. She enjoyed it, and it was obvious that Kali liked this one too. As the piece continued, Alyse saw Shane playing the bass in the back. Kali never told Alyse that he was in the orchestra. After seeing Shane, Alyse started looking around the other students to see if she recognized anyone else, and she didn't. It was interesting for Alyse to see Shane.

The last piece was from a horror movie, in tribute to Halloween coming up. It was a catchy tune and the orchestra played it well. Kali seemed to enjoy it too, as she was bouncing lightly, trying not to see Ms. Farly notice. Alyse giggled. At the end of the symphonic orchestra's performance, Ms. Farly had them stand up. She bowed on their behalf, then had them sit back down. "Thank you parents and families for your support. These talented musicians have worked hard for this moment. Please feel free to stay for our other musical groups." The orchestra students got up and headed back to the orchestra room. Blair, Alyse and Everett all got a text from Kali, saying she'd like to go.

Kali met them in the commons, and they all made their way out of the building. "You were wonderful honey!" Everett says with his arm around Kali. "Which one was your favorite? I couldn't really tell." Alyse asked. "The last one. Although I liked 'Midnight Blue Moon' pretty well too." "Is that the middle one?" Blair asked, and Kali nodded. Kali chose to go home with Blair and Everett so Alyse drove home alone. On the way back, it had stopped snowing, but the roads were a little more slippery. She made it home okay, and not too long after Blair, Everett and Kali.

Kali was in the shower when Alyse got on her pajamas. She texted Ashton, asking if they were still on for their Movie this weekend. He answered yes, then Alyse got a notification from the police department. She clicked on it, and saw that it was based on the report about Mr. Crawford. "Miss Montgomery, your report on Dalton Crawford has reached a decision and the suspect shall be in questioning." Alyse was in shock. Is this who killed Kayla??