KOTLC: Murder At Foxfire (Human AU)

Chapter 8

Sophie's POV:

After the big news of the list of suspects, everyone had spaced out and decided not to talk to each other. I couldn't believe that all our names were on the list. Did Alden think his own children and their friends were murderers?

I'd decided to go stand out on the balcony of the house so I could get some fresh air. There was a lake below me that sparkled against the sun, and it probably would've been fun to have a nice get-together at, but not now.

I just couldn't believe it. What Fitz had said kept playing over and over in my head:

"It doesn't matter! What matters is that one of us killed Tam!"

None of my friends would've killed Tam...would they?

I started to think back to yesterday.

Keefe had been the last person to see Tam alive. He may have been around when he was murdered. Unless, he was the murderer.

I shook my head, dismissing the thought. Keefe wouldn't kill Tam. The two of them may not have always gotten along, but they were like brothers.

I kept thinking.

Biana had been very intent on seeing Tam that day, and Tam had been running away from her. So maybe somehow he'd known if she would've killed him.

I hated that the information I'd thought up about Biana was some-what plausible.

Fitz should've been at football practice that day...unless he wasn't. No one had said anything about him being late, and he would've definitely been late if he'd killed Tam.

I let out a sigh of relief. I was so glad it wasn't Fitz.

The last person to cross my mind was Dex. I understood why they'd put him on the list, but just because he found Tam with me didn't mean that he was guilty. Anyone that knew Dex knew that he'd never kill someone. But...

Maybe that's what he wanted us to believe.

"UGH!" I screamed into the air, pounding my fists against the railing. I felt tears roll down my face as I looked away from the shiny lake. "Why would someone kill Tam?" I whispered to myself, wiping my face and sniffing.

I thought about all my friends and wondered that, if one of them had killed Tam, what would be their motive?

Keefe.

He and Tam never got along, and I sometimes suspected that Keefe had been a little jealous of the silver-tipped bangs kid. But would that really be enough for him to want to kill Tam?

Biana.

Maybe when Biana realized that Tam wouldn't date her, she killed him. But Biana wasn't petty and she didn't have anger-issues, so would that really make her kill Tam?

Fitz.

After the five of us had first met the twins, Fitz seemed to have a small crush on Linh, but it went away within a few months. Maybe Fitz had been starting to have feelings for Linh again and decided that the only way to date her would be to end Tam's life.

After thinking that, I rubbed my eyes. Sometimes, I think I'm the most weirdly-minded person in the world.

Dex.

Dex never had any problems with Tam. The two of them loved playing video games and they always had small conversations at lunch. There was no reason for Dex to want to murder Tam.

I let out a sigh and turned to go inside, but saw Alvar standing a few feet behind me.

"Oh," I said, a little surprised. "Hey. What's up?"

Alvar bit his lip. "I saw the list," He said.

I sucked in a breath. "You don't think any of us are guilty, do you?"

Alvar rubbed the back of his head with his hand. "I don't think so, but, right now, anyone can be guilty. Even if we think they didn't do it, we still may not know since no one saw it happen."

I nodded. "I don't understand how--"

I was cut off when I heard something shatter from inside.

Alvar and I shared a look before running into the house to find Fitz and Keefe having a stare-down with a shattered plate on the ground.

Soon, Biana, Dex, and Linh came running down the stairs to see what had happened too.

"Why on earth do you think it's me?" Keefe questioned, looking extremely offended. "I'm your best-friend--do you really think I'd kill someone?!"

"I don't know," Fitz said, crossing his arms. "You never liked Tam. You always made fun of him and he hated you too. So maybe you thought that it'd be a good idea to just get rid of him so you wouldn't have to deal with the hate."

Keefe laughed. "Dude, Tam and I had fun hating each other. Why would I want to ruin having fun?"

"Is that all this is to you?" Biana asked, running up to Fitz's side and glaring at Keefe. "You just think everything's a game and you don't take anything seriously. Maybe Fitz is right and you did kill Tam!"

Keefe's eyes widened, and I decided I needed to stop this before it got too bad.

"Guys!" I said, walking in between them. "They just have the five of us on a suspect list. That doesn't mean any of us did it!"

"Are you sure you're not just saying that so we don't think it's you?" Linh's voice called from the bottom of the stairs.

My heart dropped to my stomach as tears pricked in my eyes. "Linh, I understand that you're going through a lot, but--"

"No you don't!" Linh shouted, bursting into sobs. "None of you know how it feels to have part of yourself missing. Tam was my other half, but now he's gone!" She wiped her eyes and said before running up the stairs. "I don't want to talk to anyone until I know who the murderer was, so just leave me alone!"

The door slammed behind Linh, and everyone flinched. But as soon as they all recovered, I felt everyone staring at me.

"What?" I asked. "You guys don't think I did it, do you?"

Instead of answering my question, everyone just parted ways once again and went about the day.

I sighed, decided I needed to go lay down before I got a headache, but before I could, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me down a hallway.

I was about to scream until I saw Keefe smiling at me. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I believe you," He said with a nervous smile. "I don't think you killed Tam, but I think someone in this house did. Will you help me find out who?"

"Well," I started. "That's what we've been trying to do for the past thirty-two hours, so why not?"

Keefe nodded. "Alright, how about we talk about this tonight after everyone's asleep? I don't want to run into Mr. Temper-tantrum or Queen B,"

I smiled at the nicknames as I nodded. "Okay,"

Keefe nodded before walking away.

But as he did, I couldn't help but think: I might be trying to solve Tam's murder with his murderer.