Hail's Storm

Chapter 26: Three Motives To Kill

Officer Logan Snow

A few weeks had passed since we interviewed Parker and Mariya. The information they gave us was very vital as we came to the conclusion that we were dealing with a cunning man or woman. We cancelled a number of suspects from our list including the Parkers and after a few weeks of searching, we were able to locate Tyler Wilson. Shockingly, they hadn't moved far, just two towns over.

Unfortunately, the day we were heading there, it started raining from morning. Just a tiny hindrance, in my opinion, so Sanders and I still drove there with much determination to crack the case. From what we learned, Tyler and Hail were together for some time. Also, Tyler was the last person to see Hail. Apart from mentioning that she wanted to go protect Mariya's dad, I'm sure Tyler knew or saw something.

Hours later we arrived at the doorstep of the Wilsons. A slender woman, whom I identified immediately as Tyler's mother, opened the door for us smiling widely. She ushered us in and sat us down in their dining room.

"Officers, what can I help you with today?" She inquired as we showed her our badges. Before I could make a formal introduction, my partner beat me to it.

"Mrs. Wilson, I am Detective Sanders and this is my partner, Officer Snow. We came in for a short interview with your son. We are investigating Hail's death," she said.

"Of course. I'll call him right now but in the meantime, what can I get both of you? The journey was long and tiring, and to top it all off, you drove in the rain."

"Just a cup of coffee maybe," I requested.

"And a glass of water," my partner added.

"Sure thing," Mrs. Wilson said.

We saw her exit the dining room before hearing her call out for her son.

A young boy, tall and well built strolled into the room with his hands in the pocket. The look on his face showed clearly that he didn't want to be there at that moment. He pulled out a chair across from us and sat down scowling.

"What do you want?" He asked.

Oh how delightful! I thought.

We were about to deal with a very angry teenager going through a lot more than we could tell.

"Hello Tyler, we just wanted to talk to you about Hail Summer, your best friend," my partner began.

"Ex best friend!" He corrected us.

"Sorry, ex-best friend," Sanders apologized. "First tell me about the car accident you were in a few weeks after Hail's death."

"What is there to be said? I was hit by a black car. I didn't see the driver and the incompetent police force didn't even bother to look things through well. They just said that the car had no registration, the car had no fingerprints and it had no useful evidence."

"How close were you to Hail?"

"She was my best friend so we were pretty close."

"Anytime you became more than that?"

He looked down at his hands that he had placed at the table, avoiding eye contact. Clearly, my partner's question was a bit too personal for him to answer.

"Yes. It was when she was with her boyfriend but nobody ever found out. Just Mariya and Parker."

"We understand you were the last person to see and talk to Hail apart from her killer."

"Yes, there was a guy who was bothering her at the party who went by the name Noah I think. That was the name I heard Parker call him. I don't think many people in the school know him anyway. After the small argument between Hail and Noah, I dragged her away from it since she was frustrated. I still have no idea what they argued about, Mariya doesn't know either. I took her to another room then she started crying about how she had to protect something. Since I thought she needed to calm down, I left to get her a drink, I came back and she was gone so I ran out of the house only to see her drive away. I was drunk so I couldn't go after her. I wish I did."