The Unsolved Murder On Milton Street

Prologue

Jem could barely believe what he was seeing and hearing. Everyone was telling him to run the opposite direction. To run back into the house. But all Jem could do was go towards the danger. Jem wanted to see what was going on. But when he got to where the terror was coming from he soon regretted his curiosity. Two feet from his favorite tree on his family's giant property was his best friend, Samantha. But Sam wasn't laughing at Jem while she dangled from one of the tree branches with her laugh that could cause the rain to go away. No, Sam was lying underneath the tree.

"Sam? Sam? What's going on? Why didn't you tell me you were here?"

Jem then notices  Sam lying too still. With her eyes wide open and her arms and legs spread out, she looked like she was trying to make a snow angel in the 102 degree Georgia summer grass.

She is too still. Jem walks over to her and notices her bloody forehead and the gun that was no doubt moved by the police. And all the blood. So much blood

"Sam?" he says again. "Sam?!" Jem is yelling now. "Sam! Answer me! Why are you just staring at the sky?! Why are you ignoring me?!"

"James? Someone askes behind him.

"Sam?!" Jem asks with hope in his voice. Maybe this is all just a big joke and the girl lying beneath the tree is just a dummy set up to make him laugh. But instead of Sam standing behind jem, instead his mother is there, with, what looked like, worry that spread from the tallest hair on her head to the very last tip of her longest toe nail.

"James?"

Jem turns to his full name and a familiar voice.

"Mommy? Sam..." He trails off.

"I know darling. Come here." James's mom stretches out her arms and he runs to her. They sit on the steamy grass and James, finally understanding what is going on, cries into his mom's arms.