“Come on, guys,” David says to his friends. “I know that finals are coming up pretty soon, but this is the party of a Lifetime!” One of David’s friends, Trent, turns to him and says, “Dude, there’s no way. I still have three assignments to do, and everyone else needs to study!” Trent looks around the room for looks of approval from the others. “Well, it might do us some good to take a night off,” says the teacher’s pet, Martha. “See, even Ms. Perfect thinks we need a break!” David exclaims. “You know I love you, David, but I have to agree with Trent. I still don’t understand how Alpha particles can affect our everyday life, and that’s the only question on my physics exam.” David contemplates what his girlfriend Allison said and comes to a solution. “Well, I heard that there would be a bunch of professors and scientists at the party, so maybe you can ask one of them.” 

David figured that the best way to get what he wanted was to propose a vote. He knew that Trent and Allison were opposed to the party, but he didn’t know how his other two friends, James and Noah, felt about the matter. So far, they had been silent and showed no interest either way. But then James stood up rather abruptly and said, “Noah and I want to go to the party too!” After hearing this, Noah looked somewhat confused and said, “We do?” Then almost instinctively, James elbowed him, and Noah changed his answer, saying, “I mean yes, yes, we do want to go to the party.”

Everyone noticed this strange behavior, but because James and Noah were their friends, they just brushed it off and continued the discussion. “Fine, if everyone else wants to go, then I guess I’ll join in,” Trent said while closing the book he had been studying moments ago. “Ya, I’ll go too, and who knows, maybe there will be someone who can help me with my questions.” Hearing Allison say that made David love her even more. In the end, what would be the point of going to a party without your girlfriend? 

Three hours passed, and the group had now been at the party for about an hour and a half. David was walking around with Allison trying to find someone to help her study. Trent was talking to some girls and playing some typical party games. Martha was off in a corner reading some books she found. James and Noah were nowhere to be seen.

Before now, David had never told anyone who the party was for. But then someone walked into the room, and everyone immediately knew who he was. This man was Johnathan Wright. Jonathan Wright was a famous author who had stories in every genre, and each time he released a new book, it broke world records. He is most known for his long-running series called The Legacy of Eros. This series followed an Orc who wanted nothing more than to become a mage. Eventually, he overcomes the racial stereotype of the barbaric Orc and achieves his dream, but then Wright announced that that would be the last book he ever wrote. The world was shocked to hear this news, but at the same time, they understood. Jonathan wright had been making books for the last 30 years, and everyone thought he needed a break. This party was a celebration of Wrights’ retirement, but the night would not go according to plan.

Hours went by, and Wright answered questions about his books and signed autographs. Allison even got to talk to him about his book on physics until she understood her question. Another few hours went by. During this time, some people decided to leave the party until it was eventually just David, Allison, Trent, and Martha. They started to clean up when Trent looked around and said, “Did anyone see James or Noah leave?” Everyone took a minute to think and, in unison, shook their heads. “Come to think of it. I never saw Mr. Wright leave either.” Said Allison, who had been following Wright around like a puppy. Then Noah rushed into the room, covered in what looked like blood, and yelled, “Guys come quick!”

Everyone followed Noah into the drawing-room to find Jonathan Wrights’ body with a pool of blood spilling out. “What the hell happened?” exclaimed Trent with panic in his throat. “I don’t know!” Noah yelled back, “But James is hurt too!” Everyone shifted focus to where Noah was pointing. James was propped up against the wall with what looked like a stab wound in his chest. Martha rushed forward and immediately applied pressure to James’s wound while Allison checked on Wright.

Allison reported that Wright was dead. David was frozen in shock, but he managed to pull himself together and called 911. Fifteen minutes went by in what felt like an eternity, and then the police arrived. They showed up, took pictures of the scene, took James out in an ambulance, and moved the body. Everyone was told to stay behind for questioning, except for James, who was sent to the hospital. The group was then examined by a detective named Daniel Knobbs.

 Det. Knobbs started off the questioning by asking who all attended the party. The group gave a few names that they remembered, but because there were hundreds of guests, they couldn’t remember them all. Det. Knobbs continued asking standard protocol questions for about twenty minutes, and then he asked what everyone had been wondering. “Do you have any idea who might’ve killed Jonathan Wright and stabbed your friend?” The group spent the next few moments recalling the events that had occurred until David spoke up and said, “I’m not sure, but none of us saw James or Noah since we arrived at the party.” This seemed to pique the detective’s interest while also striking fear in Noah’s eyes.  

But before Det. Knobbs could say anything, Noah shot up from his seat and said, “I didn’t want to go to this party in the first place, but I owed James a favor. So when he nudged me to go, I agreed. I spent most of my time here in the bathroom studying to prepare for my exam. My backpack is still in there because I left to see who was still here, and that’s when I found the bodies.” 

Everyone was shocked to hear all of this come from their soft-spoken friend, but Det. Knobbs simply said, “Calm down, son. No one was accusing you of anything. I’m just trying to get an idea of what happened here.” Noah sat back down, and Det. Knobbs continued his questioning. He went around asking everyone questions pertaining to the party and the murder. He then left the lounge and went to examine the drawing-room.

While he was gone, the group discussed who may have done it. Allison pointed out that she saw a homeless man outside on the street and suggested that he may have robbed them both. Trent then pointed out that none of their belongings were gone. Martha just seemed to be hyperventilating on the couch, so David was trying to calm her down. But the person who looked the worse was Noah. Not only was he still covered in blood, but he was also sweating more than usual and had a vicious look in his eye.

Det. Knobbs entered the room once more and said, “I have found some evidence that I believe has led me to the killer, but before I say whodunit, I would like to ask if there is anything you guys forgot to tell me?” Almost in unison, everyone said, “No sir,” and then Knobbs told them what happened. He explained how he found a knife hidden in a vent in the drawing-room and how it had not only James’s fingerprints but Noah’s as well. Noah finally broke and burst out into tears. He told everyone how James had killed Jonathan Wright and then blackmailed Noah into hiding the knife after James stabbed himself.

    The only thing that they didn’t know was James’ motive. “I think I can shine some light on that,” said Det. Knobbs. “I’m sure you know that James’s father is a famous publisher, but what you didn’t realize is that his father published all of Jonathan Wrights’ novels.” Everyone was shocked. How did they not know this about one of their best friends? Det. Knobbs continued by saying, “After Wright announced his sudden retirement, James’s father was furious. This selfish act would cost him billions of dollars, but there was nothing he could do. Then James’s home life became a hellish nightmare, his father drank all the time, and his mother was always sad.”

“James must’ve been furious, so he figured that killing Wright was the only thing left to do. I’m sure that James thought that no one would suspect him as the killer by stabbing himself, but what he didn’t count on was that Noah is a good person who told the truth even if it had put himself in danger.” “Well, what’s gonna happen to James?” asked Martha on the verge of tears. “Oh, don’t worry about that kids, he’s going away for a long, long time.”