Acess Code for Murder

Double Trouble

None of us reacted to the awful picture that unfolded in front of us: it was only after 10 seconds that we all snapped to reality with an "Oh my God" coming from Anne. I stood up from the floor, still dizzy, and walked over to it: the lifeless corpse of Sophie Figs. I touched it on the neck: no pulse. I couldn't see any signs of breathing too. I shed a tear, regretting not doing anything to prevent what I knew was going to happen. How I sometimes regretted being right all the time; it is no blessing. Erica shed some tears as well.

- Go get the others. I'll stay here. - I said in a weak voice.

Plato says that someone that wants to know, and is in constant demand for the truth, is a philosopher. I disagree. I'm always searching for the truth, even if I keep a low profile about it, and I'm no philosopher. He should have specified under what circumstances this demand is considered philosophical since mine certainly wasn't.

30 seconds later everybody else but Sarah, Victoria, and Guy showed up, flooding the room with murmurs, whispers, tears, and questions. Nobody knew what happened; better said, somebody there pretended not to know anything.

Ivy and Andrew held each other, crying so much and constantly asking "Why?". The rest of the people there did shed some tears, but not emotional tears: respectful tears. There was no real emotion there, Maggie being the exception to the rule, given as she was Ivy's best friend.

- Call Sarah. - I said, after cooling down and gaining my composure. - I want the footage from the surveillance cameras that are outside the house.

- Who are you talking to? - Someone whose voice I couldn't recognize from it being so broken.

- Simone. Don't exactly know if she is or not a suspect yet but that doesn't matter right now. I just need someone to help me now. The rest of you, please do get out of here, but stay in the house, or I'll find you and arrest you. - I said, my back turned to everyone.

I could still hear cries behind me, that I assumed were from the parents and Maggie. Turning to them, my suspicions were confirmed. I hugged Maggie and said:

- It's okay. We're gonna solve this. - We stayed embracing each other for a long time until I heard the front door closing. Looking over, Sarah had just walked in.

- Do you know where the others are? - I asked as soon as she walked in. She looked at me and her face stayed in a neutral state of anger.

- How the hell would I know?

- Calm the fuck down... I need to ask them things, you too.

- About what? - She said, putting down her wallet.

- About the murder. Sophie's dead. - She smiled. Suddenly, Finch and Victoria appeared from the living room.

- What? - Guy asked me. 

- Where did you come from?

- We were in the kitchen this whole time. - He started coming upstairs.

- Guy, maybe you shouldn't see this? It's a bit brutal. - Ivy continued to cry. - Wait... You were in the kitchen and you didn't come to check on Ivy who was crying? That sounds a bit suspicious. - He ignored my statement and continue to come upstairs.

- Bloody hell! - He said, immediately looking away after seeing that awful picture. She lay dead with her face towards the entrance of the room, her feet facing the desk on the right. Her right arm was folded, being behind and below her back. She had clearly been pushed out of her chair and shoved onto the rug.

- Oh God. - Victoria's weakness was clearly blood, as she told us she felt sick after seeing such a wicked scene. My focus returned to Maggie and, in a calm tone, I said:

- Babe, I need to ask you something... - Wiping the tears away from her face she said:

- Don't worry, I'll try. - She knew that I was asking her to examine the body, even though I didn't think she'd find anything of interest.

She left the house wiping her tears away and came back 2 minutes or so later. I started thinking in some of the most important questions that surrounded that mystery.

When was she murdered? We didn't see her between 1:30 P.M. and 4:30 P.M., which left a pretty big interval. Nobody had a certain alibi because all people were alone at some point of that interval, and the whole resting room seemed a bit suspicious: one could go in there to pretend to fall asleep and just wait for everybody to do so, slipping away and coming back after the deed was done.

What was the murder weapon, and how was it disposed of? Clearly, it was a knife, but from where? It didn't even have to be a knife, it just had to be a sharp blade capable of piercing through skin. If it was from the kitchen, maybe Peter saw something since he was in the living room. Or maybe Tyler brought something from his house on the supposed diaper search. It could have then been tossed to the turtle pond, or to another house in the street.

How did Guy and Victoria enter the house without nobody noticing? If they managed to enter the house without nobody noticing, there also was the chance that a random person that wasn't present took Sophie's life, with a murderous lust.

Was it indeed a stranger, or a neighbor? To be honest, I didn't know which one would be easier to solve: a murder by a stranger or by a friend. Now I know two things: first, it was most definitely not a  friend; and also, a murder by a friend is indeed easier to solve.

Maybe it's because they pity their friends and feel remorses when doing such a hideous action. Or maybe it's because you don't need to establish a pattern to realize why your victim is that now: all you need is a motive. Whatever the reason is, being trapped with a murderer isn't that bad.

When was the threat placed on the grill? Clearly, even though Sophie tried to disguise it, she was nervous about it. She would have removed the threat if she could, so probably someone had put it while the grill was already sizzling.

What was the meaning behind Sophie's questions? She asked me how good I was with codes... Perhaps she knew who was going to commit the murder and felt the need to give me a hand to solve this murder. If so, it was probably on her computer. I remembered at the time something about a question over my hacking abilities.

I entered the room again and picked up the computer and noticed a little note she had left, saying "(Color of your office) + (Name of your murderous deceiving friend) with no spaces."

"What the hell was that? How does she know about Robert and the color of my office?" I thought. I instantly typed "greenRobert" as the password and entered. With my arm, I wiped the blood off the screen. The only document was one titled "Philosophy Project". Not fooled I opened it, thinking the code could be in there. I read the whole thing thoroughly: Plato's dialogue with Diotima, Socrates' method to reveal the other people's true interpretation of justice, art and life... Some pretty standard things for a philosophy project, until I reached the final part of the document with 3 pages. It said, and I will quote word by word:

What is actually the truth?
...But can something be real and also have some other state?
My mom and Edward say and insist "You've gotta stop"...
Is something real 'cuz we see it? I think there's more, 'kay?
Good luck, Mr. Detective. I hope you're unique enough to solve this.
Maybe we will never know. It bothers me... Or maybe not. I just truly hope you care about the mystery.

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If you thought a cup of tea with the all-seeing eye was fine, and that you were fine with your age when your life reaches an end, you should know that you are like me: with a beaten ass like M, waiting to be de(-)nied, 'kay?

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"Oh, great. " I thought. "Prepare for trouble... Make it double."