An Unexpected Turn| Michael Jackson

Chapter Thirteen: Blind Date(s)

POV: Eddie October 18, 2008

My week of leisure was over and I was back to working on the case. After spending my free time hanging out with Ryan, spending daddy-daughter time with Ava, and catching up on some much-needed sleep, my mind was refreshed, my stress was alleviated, and I was ready to get back to business. Not wanting to be couped up in my house any longer I decided to work out of my office for the time being. I scanned and studied the various papers that were stacked on my desk. Photos of employees, managers, and close friends of Nicholas and Rayna lay askew in front of me. There were also newspaper clippings, statements, transcripts and police reports that I got my hands on thanks to Makai.

I held up the newspapers reading the contrasting storylines, one named the murderer anonymous, another blamed Nicholas. The media was having a field day with this story, and made sure not to pass up an opportunity to capture their audience with new found "evidence".

"The Tragic Death of Rayna Right!"

"A Husband's Deceitful Murder!"

"Rayna Bright's Mysterious Unsolved Murder!"

The different intriguing headlines screamed media frenzy. This case was one of the biggest murder cases during the 90s, giving enough space and opportunity for exploitation of the family. I remember watching it all play out on the news, reading articles, and listening to various sides of the story: People coming out saying they saw what went down, different opinions on who did it and why. I could tell the family was going through hell, especially Makai. The media was trying everything possible to get a glimpse of the six-year-old boy and Nicholas after the news went out, however, Nicholas and his parents removed Makai out of the public eye, hiding him from any and everybody.

I began looking through the photos of the employees of the Bright's residents who were present during the night of the murder. Anyone who as around during the time of the crime stated that no one witnessed anyone entering, or leaving the home. This left me very skeptical about who was all involved. The mansion was highly secured, and the only way to get on the property was through security check-in. There were cameras around the perimeter, but shockingly no footage of anyone sneaking on to the property was found, stated by police investigation reports. If that was the case it had to have been someone who was already in the home, or someone who had exclusive access that wasn't seen as a threat. Or it was all a setup... Many speculated that Nicholas murdered his wife for reasons unknown: Maybe it was for insurance money, maybe it was due to a mental break down after being released from the army, yet no one knew about the affair.

This brought my mind back to Michael. If Nicholas didn't want Rayna in the picture he could have murdered her himself. The only problem was, Nicholas had an alibi: He was already on his flight to Morocco during the time of the murder which cleared his name of any crime. However, Nicholas could have hired some to do the job for him, which is where Michael comes in. If Michael was involved as Makai claimed, it is a great possibility that Michael could have murdered Rayna to get away with being with Nicholas exclusively, or for his own jealous hateful reasons.

I rested my head on my hand with a sigh, something was missing and it wasn't making sense. Nicholas wasn't there during the murder, and no one reported Michael being on the property. No security or camera identified anyone suspicious, and no employees were seen entering the bedroom, not even an ounce of fingerprint evidence was detected. Whoever planned out this whole thing did an excellent job at hiding their tracks. The only source that could tell specifically who murdered Rayna was Makai, the only witness, and he's currently pointing fingers at someone who has no evidence against them at all except for sneaking around in an intimate love affair.