It all started on July 30, 2001.

The scream,

the knife,

the roar of an engine,

but I’m getting ahead of myself.

My name is Hugh Stark,

and I am here to tell you a story.

A story of

                money,

                cruelty,

                and…

               revenge.

                    So, here we go.
The wind was

                       blowing

and clouds were

                         moving

across the sky, as Miss September Cole stepped

out of her car and onto Mr. Karnowski’s gravel driveway.

She was closely followed by her two

daughters,

Sky and Rebecca.            

Rap,

Rap,

Rap,

Went the silver knocker

on Peter Karnowski’s door.

The door   

             opened

and Mr. Karnowski stepped out.

He greeted everyone and welcomed them inside.

They all sat down at the table and had a hearty meal,

before

          crashing in the living room.

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Went the clock, signaling the dawn of a new hour, and

Rebecca

and

Sky stood up.

                    May I be excused to the kitchen for a cup of                

                    coffee?

                    asked Sky.

                     I’m going to the bathroom,

                     blurted Rebecca.

And they both

left.

Rap,

Rap,

Rap,

Went the silver knocker

on Peter Karnowski’s door.

                    I’ll get it.

                    called Mr. Karnowski.

Behind the door stood a mailman,

whose big bushy beard seemed to cover his face.

This is where the story turns.

No one saw it, but

everyone

heard Mr. Karnowski fall.

The loud thud.

The mailman’s scream of, Oh My God!

And the last

thud.

The following silence was broken

by the sound of feet,

                        pounding,

                        sliding,

                        and racing

towards the door.

Closely followed by another scream,

but this time

it belonged to September.

There, slumped in

                       a lake of

                       blood,

was Mr. Karnowski.

Next to him was the mailman’s unconscious body

and

a

bloody

knife.

The sound of approaching footsteps woke the Cole’s

from their horrified stance and

panic

         started

                     to

                          kick

                                  in.

Mr. Karnowski's neighbor; Jonathan Lee rounded the corner.

          I heard a scream,

          he said.

Suddenly, the mailman

                     started to stir.

The Cole’s could only watch as,

his stare landed on the body

as he panicked,

as he screamed

and as he ran back towards his mailvan

and drove away as fast as he could.

                 Does all of that seem right, Ms. Cole?

                 I asked.

I was sitting behind a row of bars,

looking into a dark cell occupied by one person only,

Sky Cole.

Her face was red from crying

and

her throat weak from yelling.

The damp mold in the corners

and

the bleakness of the empty cell

only added to her terror.

      Yes. It does Mr. Stark-

      Sky started, but I quickly interrupted her.

                 Please, call me Hugh.

                 I said, while flashing her one of my signature  

                 smiles.

                 Now, do you know why you are the prime

                 suspect, Ms. Cole?

       No! I don’t understand. I didn’t do anything wrong.

       I would never hurt anyone…

       She started to sobb once more.

                  Ms. Cole! Please bring yourself together. There

                  is only one reason why you are the prime

                  suspect. You have no motive, but you were

                  in the only room in the house that contained          

                  the murder weapon. Were you not in the  

                  kitchen before the murder took place?

      Yes, I was but you must believe me. I would never

      hurt anyone!

After three hours all I could get out

of Sky was that she

would never hurt anyone, so

I decided to pack my stuff

and leave.

The next day, I was going to question the others at the

crime scene, so I needed rest anyway.

***

I arrived at Peter’s house and I stepped out onto the drive.

I looked up at the ancient house,

It’s pristine condition somewhat annoyed me.

The beautiful brick,

the furnished windows,

and the freshly

mowed

lawn.

Rap,

Rap,

Rap,

Went the silver knocker

on Peter Karnowski’s door.

I opened the door and stepped inside.

I looked around me and saw that

Miss September Cole was sobbing,

Rebecca was texting,

and Jonathan was staring out the window.

I cleared my throat

                              and

                                      silence

                                                   fell.

                 I would like to speak with each of you

                 individually. Miss Cole will you please come

                 with me?  

Please Mr. Stark, Sky can’t live out the rest of her

life in jail… She never killed Peter, you must

believe me! Miss Cole cried.

           Please, call me Hugh, and believe me,

           Miss Cole, I know. Now please tell me

           about your history with Peter.

Peter was one of my closest friends. He was

            smart,

                          funny,

                                       handsome…

I’m sorry it’s hard to describe him as was and not

is…

He was a great man,

but

he did owe me quite

a

bit

of

money.

You see, a while back, Peter was trying to start his

own business and he needed a loan.

I lent him some money, but he never paid me

back.

That’s why we came over for dinner last night, but

now I will never talk to him again! I’m sorry! I

just...

miss him

so

much.

                       Don’t worry about the money, Miss Cole,

                       because Peter left everything he had,

to you.
                          

***

                      Now Rebecca, what do you think of this

                      whole ordeal?

                      I noticed you on your phone do you

                      not

                      care

                      about

                      Peter?

          I never really knew the old man. I knew he owed us

          money, but other than that

          no,

          not really.

          Sky on the other hand did,

          and she deserves

          to rot in that cell.

                     Why is that?

                     I asked, thinking that I might have found a

                     motive.

          Why should I tell you?        

                    Because I too have an emotional connection

                    to this case. Peter and I used to be college

                    roommates back in 85’.

          Were you guys still close when

          he died?

          asked Rebecca.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

         No,

         I responded.

         We had a bit of a falling out after he stole

         my girlfriend, Julia.

Now she couldn’t help but laugh.

          Now, if I was in your shoes I would’ve gotten him

          kicked off the campus

or at least retaliated.
***

                      Jonathan, you were across the street when

          the murder occured, correct?

          I was done with flimsy stories,

          alibis,

          and revenge plots.

          It was time to get some evidence.

Yes, I was.

                      Did you see who committed the murder?

I’m sorry, mate, I wish I could help, but I didn’t see

           anything.

           I heard Mr. Karnowski yell

           and Miss Cole scream,

           but other than that nothing.

           I am new to the neighborhood as well, so I haven’t

           known Pete for very long either.

So much for a solid story.

          Thank you for your time. You may go.

           Sorry, mate.

           Also, I was wondering if I had ever seen you

           before?

                           No, I don’t think so.

                           I just have one of those

                           faces.

            I guess so.

           Wait, did you have a different profession before   

           becoming a detective?            

                          I used to be a mailman.  

but those days are long gone now.

I sat down in a leather arm chair in the living room.

The clock across the room said that it was 3:58pm.

It was getting late so,

I tried to come up

with an idea.

Almost everyone has a motive.

no matter if it’s

                        revenge

                        or greed,

I know someone in this house is guilty.

Rap,

Rap,

Rap,

Went the silver knocker

on Peter Karnowski’s door.

This time Rebecca answered the door.

Behind the door were two police officers in crisp and

Freshly ironed uniforms.

              Hello, we are here to investigate in murder of

              Mr. Peter Karnowski.

              they said.

I got up and started to walk to the back door.

                          I’m sorry, but there must be some

                          mistake. We already have a detective.

                          Rebecca responded.

               What is the name of the officer on duty?

                          His name is Hugh Stark.

Who?