Crestwood Murders

Chapter 9: Missing Brick in a Brick Wall

Flashback to a year prior.

On the night of Kayla's murder at the college campus the atmosphere was charged with tension.
The group of friends unaware of the impending tragedy gathered at a local cafe Laughter and joy filled the room. Capsulating a moment that would soon be shattered.

Later that fateful night, the friends parted ways, with Kayla expressing excitement about the upcoming weeks and giving her boyfriend Joshua a hug and kiss goodnight. Unbeknownst to everyone it would be the last time they saw her alive.

Kayla walking back to her dorm would let out a scream behind the campus never to be seen alive again as she was stabbed to death and had a bag covering her head.

There was one witness to the murder who police investigated but it led nowhere.
The witness would later witness another murder nobody knew of yet.

As the night and weeks went by the group mourned with sadness over Kayla's death,
Joshua especially went into depression and was not even playing baseball for several weeks and had lost interest in everything.

A month later
the group still grappled with the void left by Kayla's absence. Grief lingered, casting a somber tone over their interactions. In this emotionally charged atmosphere, Joshua and Hannah found solace in one another's company.

Hannah, initially a source of comfort for Joshua discovered a deeper connection forming between them.
Hannah telling Joshua
"You need to move on, and I always liked you, and Kayla wouldn't want to see you sad and alone, she wouldn't want either of us that way, I think we should get together she would want that, she would want you happy, I can make you happy."
Hannah said gripping his shoulder and convincing him to let go and bottle his sadness and get back into his sport and once again date little known this would eventually create his anger problems we know today, but he was happy at least from what we know.
Navigating the delicate line between friendship and something more they leaned on each other for support and kissed for the first time.

As time went on the friends confronted the complexities of healing and moving forward. The month following Kayla's murder became a pivotal chapter, where emotions simmered beneath the surface and the characters grappled with the shifting dynamics of their relationships.

Michael never agreed with how fast Joshua moved on but never brought it up until modern day.

The group despite their attempts to move on, couldn't escape the shadows of the past though.
The scars of Kayla's murder ran deep, and the newfound connection between Joshua and Hannah added another layer of complexity to their friendships until this day.

In the weeks that followed the friends attempted to find solace in their routines, but the pain of loss lingered.
Michael, Tyler & Emma observed Joshua's changing demeanor. The rapid transition from mourning to a new relationship left them and michael specifically uneasy, but they chose to keep their concerns to them self.

The friends' attempts to rebuild their lives became intertwined with the unspoken aftermath of another murder now with Jessica a fellow college student dying the same way.
They had all their past brought back.

Now they have already spent Days looking into it to find justice and peace.

Tyler decision to tell the others would soon reflect big as the mystery man knew what happened and would contact Michael again about it.

Hannah and Emma relationship was at an all time tense.
And Joshua's mental state was in question and they all knew they had little time to find out what happened to Kayla and Jessica before it might happen again, or never be found out.

The friends are still in an attempt to find a semblance of normalcy among all that's happening and find themselves taking a break from the investigation by attending their college classes still from the last chapter.

Amid the silent concentration Michael can't focus as he still thinks about what happened with him, Tyler and the mystery man.

In the midst of the exam Michael's phone buzzes quietly. The slow build of tension returns as he receives a message from the mystery man reading
"I want to see all 5 of you tonight in the same spot, I know the information was shared but I'm still willing to work with you, it will be harder now however, I will share with you all tonight who I am.

The exam room, once a place of routine and academia, becomes an unexpected setting for the slow build of suspense as he looks down at the message and replies agreeing to the terms and texts the others to let them know including a screenshot of the mystery mans message.

The slow build of anticipation lingers as they all leave the classroom at the end of the day. their minds are filled with questions. The mystery man's  knowledge casts a shadow over the routine of college life underscoring the uncertainty that follows them.