The silence of the night was broken by a scream. She passed out of exhaustion but she was successful, she had pushed the baby out of her and now it was the newborn child’s turn to disturb the peace. Halfway around the world there was another scream but it wasn’t followed by good news. A man had been murdered and his mother fainted on seeing his corpse.
 ***
 Felton wasn’t really interested in Halloween. And in a town like Salem where crimes were rare, the uniform was as good a costume as any. His partner and ME were already there so he went to them for enlightenment, “Cause of death?” Detective Barry replied, “Bitten by a vampire I suppose.” With an incredulous look on his face he turned towards Barry but then the ME who was examining the body called him. There were two jagged holes at the side of the victim’s neck which in fact did look like a bite mark. “So I guess we can say for sure it was murder.”
“Unless he bit himself, I mean he is dressed as a vampire.” Barry’s comment didn’t have a favourable reaction on Felton’s face, glaring at him with painful intensity. Joe laughed to release the tension and spoke up for the first time, “Sorry to disappoint you Barry, but your Vampire theory won’t work. It wasn’t a bite but two incursions applied by something sharp and reasonably small. I think the first jab was enough to kill him as it was straight at the jugular vein. It’s also deeper than the other one which I believe was added to keep in theme.”
Barry walked around and observed that there was an ice-pick wrapped up near Joe. “So you’re sure that’s the murder weapon?”
“Could be. No blood marks were there but they could’ve been washed off anyway. I’d like to take a look at it. Also I’ll be interested in an autopsy to see if he was drugged or not. I’ll be at the lab if you guys need me, and don’t forget to look for any other possible murder weapons.”
Felton was still deep in thought and wondered what his next move should be. It was pretty clear he needed to interview all the guests but knew before hand he’s not going to get much out of it. “Hey Fel I think this guy seems pretty dangerous.” For some reason even Felton had gotten similar vibes. “Lets find him as quickly as possible then.”
 ***
“How are we going to hide it now?” Walking to and fro with his hands crossed behind him Aditya was a picture of consternation. “Do we really need to”, his wife replied. “After all he’s our first grandchild.”
With anger he responded, “He shouldn’t have been. We should have killed him as soon as we found out about it. Our girl is still to get married.” Even as he said that he knew it wasn’t their biggest problem. One they were still reluctant to discuss. A voice put this all to end, Sarah had woken up and decided it was time to face the truth, “We don’t even know who the father is.” And with determination continued, “About time we found him.”
 ***
The guests had all been interviewed and as Felton expected no one had seen anything or anyone suspicious. All of them were enjoying the party before Brenda found the dead body. She was the only one they had not talked to yet. Despite having seen cases they’d seen where the one closest to the victim was the culprit, this was never easy. By mutual agreement they always did it together. “We’re really sorry for what happened” started Barry, “But we really need your help to progress. Is there anyone you suspect, any enemies others may not know off?”
“Jordan doesn’t have any enemies. He was the nice guy everyone liked.” She paused as she sobbed in his remembrance. After composing herself, she continued, “Only friends were invited to the party, so I think it would be better if you start looking at outsiders.” The detectives’ eyes met for the only fact they were sure of till now was that it was an inside job.


“Can you tell us who Jordan was closest to in his college?” Felton was already in a hurry to end this and was fishing for a different source, “Maybe this had something to do with an issue you weren’t aware of?”
With an accusing look she replied, “I know everything about my son. He had a girlfriend named Clara. If you’re looking for his best friend, your best bet is Justin.” This piece of information surprised the detectives. Justin’s reaction had told them he was close to Jordan, but they’d never interviewed a person called Clara. “Wait, did this Clara attend the Halloween party?”
There was a sudden change in the mother’s reaction. “Yes”, she said with a quiet voice, “and she left early, making sure no one saw her leave. This was only a few minutes before I discovered my son’s body.” With fresh tears in her eyes she looked Felton in the eye, “I think you’ve got your murderer.”
To make sure emotions were kept in check, Barry spoke up, “Ma’am, let’s not jump to conclusions. Why don’t you give us her photo and address and we’ll look into it.”
 As Barry led her out of the station, Felton started walking towards the lab to meet Joe. They had decided to conduct all interviews one day later and had told all present to report to the station the next day. Clara obviously wasn’t present, all the same she could’ve easily found out about this and should’ve dropped by. Without any greetings Felton gave voice to the question in his head, “Could a girl have dealt the fatal blow?” Joe hid the shock of a sudden entry quite well and replied calmly, “Yes, if the weapon was sharp enough. There is one thing I’ve found out which could help you out though.” He walked over to the body and pointing at his neck said, “The injury suggests that he was struck with a certain angle, which can be comfortably achieved only if the person is of the same height as the victim. He’s 6’ 2’’ which should also be around the same height of the murderer.” Felton tried to remember the people he had just talked to. His thought process was interrupted by Barry’s voice, “Add 1 to the number you’re thinking of.” This time Joe couldn’t help but react, “Goodness me, when did you get in. Guys please don’t jump on me unexpectedly. It’s scary.” The mumbling Joe left the two detectives alone. Barry showed him the picture of Jordan and Clara, arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder. “Well”, said Felton, “that narrows down the number of suspects to four.”
 ***
Sarah was trying to relax but as she sat idle in the plane her mind kept going back to the conversation she had with her parents. Her dad was still angry and not for the first time expressed his regret of letting her go to the States to study. "I'm sorry dad, but I cannot change what has already happened. I have to do this. Even if he doesn't deserve it, he ought to know." His voice was different now. It had the distinct flavour of pain but it lacked understanding, "Or you could let it go and end this once and for all."
"The boy will live and if his father has an objection he's all mine." It was now the mother's turn to speak. She wasn't questioning her daughter's decision, she trusted her. All she wanted was an answer she simply refused to give. She tried again "Why now? After all this time. You could've confronted him 9 months ago instead of running away."
"I wasn't ready, wasn't strong enough."
Aditya couldn't take it anymore. He'd tried his best to convince her but she wouldn't budge. "Where are you going anyway?" He asked in a tone which could be mocking as well, "He could be anyone in that college of yours, right? One of the many hundreds who may have defiled my daughter." Sarah was hurt. She'd never thought her dad would talk to her like that, as if she were a slut. When she'd recovered from the blow she replied, "I know who all I slept with" and with a finality in her voice said, "and it's one of the four"
    ***
Felton and Barry decided to take things slowly. They kept an eye on there suspects and decided to take action after the funeral. Clara was visibly broken and the rest were pretty shaken up too. For those brief moments guilt and grief were similar. They called them in for investigation and decided to deal with them together. Barry started it off with Justin, "Your best friend's death must have been really hard for you."  With an effort to hold himself together, he nodded. "So tell us about Luke." Justin was startled by the question.He wasn't the one to react though, it was Wally, "How do you know about Luke?" With an almost triumphant voice Barry replied, "We did some digging. Found out how you three", pointing at them all except Clara, "were involved in the kid's death. It was hushed up because of Luke's dad and how there was a girl involved. Care to enlighten us?"
The atmosphere in the questioning room changed. It was more tense now. After a few the seconds that felt like an eternity, Patrick spoke up, "It was an accident. T-the four of us got drunk and somehow he fell of the cliff. We were camping there on his request only. We don't remember much of it."
"Was there any reason for you to have a fight back then?" Silence. After they'd looked at each other and silently voted for their spokesperson, Justin said, "We may have been slightly divided on how we'd treated a girl called Sarah."
Clara gasped and for the first time during the conversation they realised she too was a part of it. "That's the name he mentioned, the reason we'd fought. I thought he was cheating on me and so I left the party." Deciding to take control Felton asked the boys, "Had he talked to you about her in the recent past?" Justin took a moment before saying. "No. But h-"
Before he could complete his sentence Wally cut in, "Why are you lying. Only last week he asked us if we knew where she was. About how he wanted to settle old issues. You were the only one against that idea. Something about not revisiting the past." Justin was sweating badly. He replied, "I have my reasons, and I still do. I-"
"You killed Luke didn't you. Jordan was not as drunk as the rest of us. Now that I think about it maybe you and Luke were actually sober."
It seemed like Patrick had seen the light, and he wasn't going to stop before others had too. "I wonder what you did to the girl. It has made you kill 2 of your friends.Surely they know something you want to hide"
Justin was in a pitiful state now. He didn't know how to defend himself, cornered not only by the detectives but also his friends. When he finally found his voice again all he could produce was a weak denial. Felton knew there job was over. To seal the deal he showed Justin the ice-pick, "Recognize this? It's what you used to kill Jordan. His blood and your fingerprints, both were found on this."
"I'm telling you I didn't kill Jordan." The firm accusation had finally got a reaction, an urgency to prove himself innocent. "Maybe Luke, but not Jordan."
"I'll take that as confession for the other murder. Either way Justin you're going to jail." Chimed in Barry, "We'll let the jury decide if it's for one murder or two."
The matter was finally settled and Felton was pleased with himself. They had managed to save two cases at once and probably even saved another life. "You know", Barry started, "Joe still isn't sure if the ice-pick was the weapon, it also had other fingerprints besides that of Justin. Says it's too sharp or something."
"Yeah, he told me about it. Told me if he had to choose the weapon and bet on it, he'd go with an ink pen."
With a laugh Barry said, "Too bad our choices aren't aways right."
   ***
Sarah couldn't help but think about how it all had started with a date with the same person she was currently eating with. She happened to meet him shortly after she reached the airport and decided to get it over with. After all that had happened this was pretty weird. "For all it's worth, I'm sorry. I don't even expect forgiveness." The man continued, "I've thought about it for a long time. It wouldn't be wrong to say that we raped you. Maybe we were drunk. I started it and I thought you'd be fine with it. We'd gone out a few times and it seemed right back then. I had no idea Jordan would react like that. I think you passed out and they just made use of that." His gaze shifted from her eyes to the floor, he was ashamed and meant every word he spoke, "I was powerless and couldn't stop them. I'm so sorry."
Sarah knew she'd been offered the truth. "The only reason I came back is my son. I-"
"You got pregnant that night!"
"Yes. I'm here to find out more about it." Her voice reflected her determination. "I may even need DNA samples."
"There's no need. It's me. The others used protection."
"Oh", the only word she could manage. After the initial shock she said, "So do you-"
"No I can't be a father to him." He said in a quiet voice. "But I can't deny the fact that he's my responsibility."
He took out his pen,a special ink pen that had been passed down to him by his Grandfather and wrote down his account details on a piece of paper. "This is now yours, take whatever you want from it."
"I can't-"
"Please, it's the only way I can feel better about this. Back then, I really did love you Sarah."
"Had you given me the chance, I think I would've loved you back Luke."
"Back then, I made a decision for you." And with a sad smile added, "Too bad it wasn't right."
 **END**