“Detective Bryant?” says Michel Sanders, “ Boss says he’s putting you on the Lily Nelson case.”

“Alright, hand me the folder” I say and then take the folder.

“Police on the scene of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park said they felt something just wasn’t right when they finished questioning.”

Sanders stepped out of the room and I open the folder. Lily Nelson; died from severe asthma attack and couldn’t get her inhaler in time. She’s a pretty girl, what a shame. I read all about her case. It makes no sense how she could not get her inhaler in time. The police report says all of her friends were well aware of her severe condition so they would have also been aware where she keeps her inhaler. I guess me and Jillian will have to take them in for questioning ourselves.

Closing the folder I picked up the phone and dialed over to Jillian’s office.

“Meet me in the prep room.”

Putting the phone back I stand up and head over to the prep room. We needed to lay out everything on the board so we can find connections between all of the suspects and Lily. From the report in the folder it said the police questioned all three of her friends so we have to conclude it was one of their faults Lily did not get her inhaler.

“So what’s the next case Beau?” my partner Jillian says as she walks in.

I take off my jacket and walk over to the white board carrying the folder. I take out pictures of the suspects and one at a time put them on the board with a magnet.

“Suspect 1: Samuel Mullins. 6’2”, tan skin, black hair, would be what you would call a pretty boy. He was a varsity baseball player in high school and got voted MVP. His family is pretty wealthy, and right before the trip he saw Lily cheating on him with another boy. He never said anything to her. Maybe wanted to take matters into his own hands?”

“Suspect 2: Dana Fox. Star track runner. 5’8”. Athletic build. Long blonde hair. Blue eyes. Was Lily’s best friend for 12 years. According to Peter she’s always had a thing for Sam. Maybe she wanted Sam all to herself?”

“Suspect 3: Peter Fox. Yes, that’s Dana’s brother. He grew up with Sam playing baseball all the way through middle school through high school and he’s currently going to school to become a lawyer. I’m not exactly sure yet what his motive would be yet.”

Jillian didn’t respond at first. I turn around and find her sitting there just looking at the pictures for a few more seconds until she finally says something.

“What about any evidence? Anything that might help?”

“Considering our victim wasn’t killed by an object there isn’t really much. They kept all three adults’ backpacks though so we can look through them if you want. There were Dana’s fingerprints though on the inhaler. We better interview her for sure.”

“Good idea. We might be able to get her here within the hour. Should I call in all of them?”

“That would be great. Maybe I can make some phone calls to the parents. I’ll start with Dana and Peter’s parents to kill two birds with one stone.”

“Meet in the holding room in about an hour?”

“See you then.” I say, then head to my office.

I get Sam’s mothers phone number and call her. I need to figure out as much as I can about the suspects before I interview them. They say knowledge is power and you should always be one step ahead.

“Hello?”

“Hello Mrs. Mullins this is Detective Bryant speaking. I was put on the Lily Nelson case and am just getting some background information on your son before I interview him. Would you mind if I ask a couple questions?”

“You don’t really think my Samuel killed Lily?”

“No accusations have been made ma’am. I just wanted to ask a couple questions.”

“Well I guess then what do you want to know?”

“How is Sam? Is he a good kid? What’s his and Lily’s relationship like?”

“Sam is a good boy. We got very lucky you could say. He’s always tried his best in school to get all A’s and B’s. Him and Lily had a great relationship. The way he looked at her…”

“If this is too hard I can call back later.” I say. I could tell she was getting choked up.

“No. I want to help. Um, where were we? Sam. That’s right. Anyway, they were great up until about two weeks ago. He came home so upset. Whenever we would try to talk to him and ask what was wrong he’d say it wouldn’t matter. When Lily was around it was like nothing happened. When she’d leave he would get sad and angry again.”

“Does your son have any past of anger issues?”

“He used to, but none in a long time. He’s been good at controlling his anger for years now.”

“Okay thank you Mrs. Mullins. That’s all I wanted to know today.”

Now for the Fox family.

“Mrs. Fox speaking.”

“My name’s Beau Bryant and I am the lead detective on the Lily nelson case. I know both your children were on the camping trip and were present at her death. Do you mind if I ask a couple questions?”

“Um, I guess.”

“Let’s start with Dana. How long have her and Lily been friends?”

“Oh gosh. It seems like forever. 10 years? 12 years? Somewhere around there. They’re good girls. Always have fun together. The only thing they’ve ever fought over is Lily’s boyfriend.”

“Could you explain that last part?”

“Well Dana had the biggest crush on Sam for so long. All the way through middle school to tenth grade. Lily thought he was cute too and then in tenth grade they started to date. It broke Dana’s heart. They didn’t talk for months because Dana felt betrayed. Then both girls came to their senses that they shouldn’t fight over a boy and they put everything aside and deciding to continue being best friends again.”

“Did it still hurt Dana to see Sam and Lily together even after putting everything aside?”


“Oh of course. But for Lily she just dealt with it.”
“How about Peter; why did he go on the trip?”
“Dana and Peter are so close in age they sometimes have had the same friends. Both of them are close anyway. Peter and Sam have been best friends since high school. With Dana and Lily being close and Peter and Sam so close they all thought it’d be fun. Luckily he found time in his schedule. He’s been so busy with his internship at a law firm he hasn’t had much time to go out.”
“Thank you for your time Mrs. Fox” I say, “I’ll call you if I need anything else”
I guess Sam never told his parents he saw Lily cheating on him. Maybe I can go down to forensics where the kids backpacks are and check them out. I look down at my watch; I have thirty minutes left till I have to meet Jillian in holding. I better head down there quick.


Down at forensics I start with Sam’s bag first. I don’t find anything out of the ordinary. Peters’ bag is next. I don’t find anything out of that one too. Last was Danas’. At first I don’t notice anything when all of a sudden a pink notebook caught my eye. I reach in and pull it out to discover it’s actually a diary. That’s quite strange to take on a hiking trip.


I hesitate to go through the diary but in the end I decide to read it. There are entrees all the way from two years ago. The entrees seem to all be about Sam. Is Dana obsessed?



February 1st, 2012 – First Entrée

Sam called me today. He wanted to know what he should get Lily for Valentine’s Day. I love the way his voice sounds on the phone. I never wanted to hang up. It’s so hard to see him with Lily. What is so wrong with me? Why won’t he like me?


August 4th, 2013 – Last Entrée

Ever since me, Lily, Sam and peter have all started to hang out it’s harder to resist Sam. I just want him to be mine. Those blue eyes are so dreamy. If only something bad happened to Lily. Maybe Sam would be mine.


Bingo. This case might not be so hard after all. This diary entry seems to be fitting evidence along with her finger prints on her inhaler. She must have hid it or put it somewhere Lily couldn’t find it. When Jillian and I question them we will find out why Dana would write this and why her prints were on the inhaler.

I hear my cell phone ring. “Detective Bryant speaking.”

“It’s Jillian. Sam, Dana and Peter all came in for questioning. Who are you questioning first?”

“Lets question Sam.”

Walking through the doors of the interrogation room and seeing Sam’s face makes me feel downright sorry for the kid. He just looks so sad.

The room is very plane. White walls with a single wooden desk in the middle and two chairs on either side. I sit across from Sam. I can tell he definitely would rather be somewhere else.

“Sorry to have you come in on such a short notice.” I say.

“Let’s just get this over with.”

“How about we just start with you telling me what happened.”

“Me, Lily, Dana and Peter were all hiking and we stopped for the day a little early. We set up camp and made a fire. We were all telling creepy ghost stories and then Dana suggests we play a game of hide and go seek tag. While playing the game and running, Lily has an attack. You know the rest.”

Sam just looks at his lap. “Did Lily have her inhaler on her?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Well she handed it to Dana before we told stories around the fire and must have forgot to grab it before we started playing.”

“So who went to get her inhaler when her attack started?”

“Peter said he’d go get it.”

“And?”

“And what? He couldn’t find it.”

“How? You all know the severity of her condition; you must know where she keeps it.”

“Well, ya. She kept it in the front pocket on her bag with the zipper.”

“Was Peter aware of this?”

“I thought so. He says he couldn’t find the inhaler.”

I can tell Sam is getting angry just talking about it so I should probably let him cool off and question someone else. “I’m going to interview Peter now.”

Sam gets up without saying anything. I don’t think he had anything to do with it at all. The boy is depressed for crying out loud. There is no evidence pointing to him either. Peter comes in next and sits in front of me.

“Let’s get straight to the point. So tell me what happened when Lily had he attack.”

“We were playing a game and I was chasing Dana when I hear Sam yell out help and that Lily is having an attack. I say that I’ll go get her inhaler and I couldn’t find it in the midst of our bags. It wasn’t in the front pocket where Lily normally keeps it.”

“Did you ever find it?”

“Yes, in the coat pocket. But by the time I found it, it was too late.”

“How’d you get to go on this trip? You’re mother says you’ve been extremely busy with an internship at a law firm.”

“Well the boss let both me and Lily go so he could think about his decision on who gets to stay. After the trip we were going to find out who got the job. This is all I’ve ever wanted.”

“You both have an internship there? I didn’t know Lily did.”

“Yeah…did.”

“Let’s bring Dana in.”

Dana walks in slowly. She doesn’t seem super sad though. “How may I help you detective?”

“Can you explain to me miss why your finger prints were found on Lily’s inhaler?” I say with a straight face.

“While setting up camp Lily took it out of her pocket and asked me to put it in her bag.”

“Where did you put it?”

“I think in the side pocket.”

“Sam says you all know Lily keeps it in the front with the zipper.”

“Yes but I was in a hurry and I put it in the side pocket.”

“You were the one who suggested playing the game right?”

“Yes.”

“Wouldn’t you know that could cause Lily to need her inhaler?”

“I didn’t think abou-“

“Would you purposefully hide your best friends inhaler and try to cause an attack to occur so you could have Sam to yourself?”
Dana looked absolutely shocked. “Yes we know you have a thing for Sam.”

Sana didn’t even deny it. “I would not kill my best friend over a boy.”

“then explain why you said in your diary you wished something bad would happen to Lily.”

Dana starts to tear up. “I was jealous okay? I’ve been in love with this boy forever and of course my best friend would get to have him!”

“You’re lying. You saw this as a perfect opportunity to get rid of your competition. The odd are not in your favor Miss. Fox. We are going to take you into custody for further investigation. You will spend the night in jail.”

Security moves in. Dana tries to pretest by kicking and screaming when the guards grab her. “You are insane! I didn’t kill my best friend! I DIDN’T TRY TO KILL MY BEST FRIEND!”

The next morning Jillian approaches me in my office claiming that something doesn’t add up in the interview recordings. All the evidence points to Dana. Such a shame that a girl would plot to kill her best friend.

“What’s the problem Jillian?”

“While looking over the recordings I noticed that there is a conflict with two of the suspects’ answers. Dana says she put the inhaler in the side pocket. Peter says that he found the inhaler in the coat pocket. How can that be?”

“Maybe Dana lied. She did try to kill her best friend.”

“No, listen to this. I went back to forensics to look at the file that told whose fingerprints were on the inhaler and there was a third unidentified print. The reason we weren’t told this is because it was unidentified.”

“So are you saying that Peter lied? That he purposefully didn’t give the inhaler to Lily?”

“Maybe.”

“Why would he do it?”

“The law firm position.”

“I don’t know how I couldn’t have seen this. I guess case closed. Let’s go get our man.” I say with a grin.