Crime At Northland Lake (Completed)

First Suspect

"This madman knows me. He even knew that I'm gonna come here. He can't kill Mr. Mathews!" Nick banged the steering wheel in frustration. All the way, he thought of nothing. Nick felt like a speed racer as he drove along the wavy lanes. Lucky there weren't speed limits written. The detective was completely used to the route to Mr. Mathews residence. He just hoped the residence wasn't converted into a crime scene.

As soon as Nick arrived, he started banging the wooden main door. He could hear strange noises from the inside. He sensed two people were having a struggle. "Hey!" Nick shouted. "Open up!" Suddenly footsteps were heard, but they were moving away. "Nick!" A voice was heard behind the door. Nick now knew that Simon was definitely in trouble. The detective waited no more. Just when he was about to kick the door, the large wooden piece slowly opened.
What Nick saw was indescribable. In front of him laid Simon Mathews beaten up like a dog, half unconscious. "N-Nick." He called as he left the door handle. Blood dropped off his forehead, making everything in his surroundings appear like his flesh. "Calm down Mr. Mathews. Let's get you to that sofa." Nick slowly got him up and laid him on the dirty white piece of furniture. "W-water." Simon said as he closed his eyes. Nick rushed into the kitchen to get a glass. As the young man drank the transparent liquid, he wiped his forehead.

As Simon closed his eyes for while, Nick looked at the mess created in the room. He was so curious to know what had happened, but felt Mr. Mathews was at a critical state. However his thoughts changed as he saw Simon slowly rise up.
"Be careful." Nick said.
"I'm- I'm alright." Simon murmured.
"Now will you be able to tell me whatever happened right now?" The detective asked.

"I-I heard a knock on the front door at about twelve. I was just writing a thing or two in my diary. I-I got up to see who it was. There was nobody. Again I heard the knock. But this time when I opened the door, a masked man pushed me down." Simon explained.
"Can you be more precise of how he looked?" Nick asked softly. Simon thought for a moment and said, "He didn't really reveal much and I wasn't in a state to pay attention. All I did was try to save myself. I wouldn't have been able to do that as well if you hadn't come."

"What was the man trying to attack you with?"
"He had some sort of syringe. He wanted to inject a green liquid inside my body. Looked like poison."

"So if the man went just when I came, how did he go out? I was right outside the main door." Nick said.
"He went through the back door. You can see that it's still open. That brat didn't close the door as well." Simon pointed. Nick observed for a distance. He wondered where that path lead to. As the detective went into deep thought, Simon carefully wiped the blood off his head and arm.

"Did you harm the attacker?"
"Yes." Simon replied. "With that glass bottle." He showed the scattered pieces of glass on the floor.
"Just stay here." Nick said as he went towards the back door. The path behind seemed to go into the forest. Wonder where that would lead to. What Nick found frustrating once again was that the log house was in an area where nobody would've noticed anybody move in and out.
He observed the footprints just outside the door. However, Nick was surprised that the footprints ended just after two yards. The prints even seemed pretty old. He came back in and asked, "Are you sure that the attacker entered the house at around twelve?" Simon nodded positively.

"Sir, I really don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come here." Simon began weeping. "Anything about Sarah?" He asked.
"We're working on it Mr. Mathews. But it's definitely true that your and Joseph McMillan's case are connected. Might be strange to tell you, but Mr. McMillan was murdered around an hour ago." Nick sat down. This sentence developed a shocking expression on Simon Mathews face. "What!" He exclaimed. "So the-the attacker wanted to kill the husbands of the missing wives?" He asked.
"Looks like it. In that case, the attacker might be connected to the one who's responsible for the wives disappearance or IS the one who's responsible." Nick frowned.
"I think he is the one." Simon said.
"How can you be so sure?" Nick looked sharply.

"When the man was attacking me, he growled several times. His voice seemed similar to that of the blackmailer." Simon replied. Nick put his hands in his pockets. There was a sudden expression of exclamation from him as he felt the necklace. He had completely forgotten about it.
"Does this belong to you?" The detective asked handing it over. Simon seemed to be in a state of shock. "This belonged to Sarah! I had gifted it to her on our one year anniversary. Where did you get it?" He asked as drops of tears ran down his cheek.
"It was under the pine tree in Northland Lake. Apparently, Sarah was there at one point of time where you'd kept the money. There are still, however, no whereabouts about both the women." Nick got up. "I'm going to shut all your doors and windows. There's a chance that the attacker might come back. I'm sure he wants both the husbands killed. He's a madman." As he said this, the detective went all around the house.

In the bedroom, he noticed a book with a rather fascinating cover page. As Nick went closer, the book appeared to be a diary. He got hold of it and went back to the living room. "This is yours?" He asked.
"Ye-yes. It's my diary. I've been writing a thing or two since Sarah has gone missing." Simon replied softly.
Nick scratched his head and as usual, went into deep thought. "Well, are you alright? I can drop you off to a nearby nursing home."
"No Nick, I seem to be fine. I just may have to apply a bandage here or so." Simon pointed to his bleeding arm and forehead.
"In case you need anything, just make a call." Nick smiled. "I've got to get moving on. With the attack and the murder that took place, the culprit seems like he wants to seek attention. If I get this man, I'm sure I can get the two women back. Just don't give up hope Mr Mathews." Nick patted the man's shoulder.
Just when Nick opened the main door, Simon made a voice, "Nick. When you find Sarah, you've gotta find her alive. I know she's not dead." He wiped a tear. Nick nodded with a smile, keeping in mind the strange figure he'd noticed in the lake earlier in the day. He still felt it was just an imagination. But if the visual was real, then that was serious.
It was just at the moment when Nick stepped down the stone-y step, he noticed Simon's shoes. "His shoes." He thought. "They're recently muddy."
The detective rushed back in. "Simon." He called. "Did you go out anywhere?"
The young man was still seated on the whitish sofa. "Definitely not. You told me not to, right?" Simon said. Nick nodded softly and headed back. The detective felt appropriate to go back to the station after half day of investigation. With all the drama, he'd completely forgotten about Cole. Nick made a call immediately and kept it on speaker. "Hello Cole." He said.
"Good afternoon sir." Cole said over the phone. "I was just going to call you. I've got the fingerprints on the knob. It's rather a surprising result. I thought you were out of your mind when you asked me to check James' fingerprints first. But turns out, the fingerprints on the knob is actually James'. They completely match!"

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'Any suspects in your minds? Well Nick has a few. What does he do with them? Do they have a motive?
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