Murder in the woods

Chapter 12

It does end up being a long day, both of them bitching about each other to me and ranting about how mean they are. It's exhausting.

It's a relief to get to Chloe's house, safe within the sturdy walls. We get a bowl of ice cream each and take them up to her room. It literally takes one second after sitting down on her bed that Chloe unleashes her anger about Lara. She drones on and on about how she's done nothing wrong, but Lara's bringing all the attention to her, acting as if it was so truly awful for her to go through all that. "The funny thing is," she continues, spoon midway to her mouth, "She barely even had a chance to see the body properly! God, I hate calling it that "the body" is my mum, it gives me shivers, sorry. Yeah, anyway, she got there after us and then darted off again to get help. You were loyal and stuck with me even though you were injured. What would I do without you, eh?"
"Ha, I don't know." I laugh nervously, "Look, maybe you should make up with Lara, she didn't mean to offend you."
"She totally did!"
"Ok, but let's quit talking about her, we're still doing the interview, right?"
"Oh, sure, yeah."

I get out my notepad and write down our conversation:

Skyla: First of all, is there anyone who may strongly dislike your mum?
Chloe: Not that I'm aware of, she was really popular and lovable. Besides, the police are saying it was suicide, so why are you looking for suspects?
Skyla: There are some inconsistencies in that theory.
Chloe: What, like the bruise from a punch on her face?
Skyla: Yea- wait...the police never said it was a punch. It could have been anything from being kicked in the face to simply falling and hitting her face at an angle.
Chloe: Well- umm, yeah, I just assumed it was from a punch as that's how it looked. Anyway, why are you investigating this when we know it was suicide?
Skyla: I just want to explore all possibilities and get justice served if the death was murderous.
Chloe: Your imagination is way too crazy, Sky- too much TV probably. Can we stop now, I don't want to talk about this anymore, it's too upsetting.

Although I didn't get many answers from that short interview, I did get one more potential suspect. Chloe. How did she know that the mark on her mum's face was a bruise? And why would she get so defensive after her slip up if she didn't have anything to hide?

Suspects:
•Random stranger
•Chloe's dad
•Ruby
•Chloe
I think I'm getting close to finding the culprit now, but why would anyone do such a despicable crime? Especially if it was Chloe or her dad- who would kill their mum or wife? I have so many unanswered questions orbiting my mind and I can't think straight. I leave her house early to find about ten texts from Lara and three missed calls.

Lara: Come quick, major news!
Lara: Need u nowww!!!!
Lara: This is urgent!
Lara: Pls be quick, major evidence
Lara: Come to mine when u see this!!
Lara: Sky, pls! I'm mad at u for ditching me 4 Chlo today, but this is big!!
Lara: I need 2 tell u something
Lara: I NEED U, we have 2 go 2 police!
Lara: I solved the case!!!!!
Lara: Oh god, help me, Chlo is here and she's MAD, come quick!!

Oh. My. God. I sprint down the road, racing to Lara's house. What's going on? I need to help Lara, but why is Chloe so mad at her? What is it that they're not telling me?

As soon as I get to Lara's house, I know that something is seriously wrong. The air seems still and sort of...empty. Her door is wide open and I can see into the hallway. A small patch of blood stains the carpet and a vase is smashed on the floor. There is an eerie silence filling the house and suffocating me with the danger it holds. I take a deep - if slightly shaky- breath and run up the stairs two at a time. What I see at the top knocks all of the breath out of my lungs and brings tears to my eyes.

What has happened here?