The Mysterious Case of Eileen Vermont

July, 21st

Over the past day, Andrew didn't speak to me; I guess, he had gotten a little embarrassed – or angry – after the sort-of kiss. I couldn't blame him; I myself wasn't stable enough to face him after what happened, and the consciousness had grown all the more as Andrew himself didn't make an appearance. But I was thankful of him because he had left me the biggest clue ever – by translating the poem's last four lines, and what Eileen might've meant to do the night before her death.

Joshua and I met at the entrance of Austen High's and from there he decided to very courteously walk me home. On our way, I told him about what the poem (the part that Eileen had sent him particularly) could mean. Joshua listened carefully, an odd look of seriousness settling over his face, as I spoke.

"That is interesting." he finally replied.

"I know. But that also means that since Eileen could not tell me the solution, we have to work ten times harder to find it."

Joshua nodded simply.

"Well, on Eileen's funeral, your mother and her mother were together discussing something about money. I know it may be some personal matter, but I feel that this may somehow minutely be related to Eileen's case." I asked, briefly recalling all those words I had heard the women mention, and that this was the last word left.

Joshua was hesitant, but replied almost boredly "My mom's been in short of money for a long time." We were now almost at my apartment. "There's almost this sort of illogical thinking that every month, some cash is practically disappearing from her account. She thinks she's the only one, but well, everyone has their financial problems." He shrugged.

I took three seconds and a fraction of the fourth second to think about what he had said – about all that had happened since Eileen's death, and finally it all made sense. Even the barely-noticeable reluctance he had portrayed some seconds ago made sense now.

"Vera – you killed Vera three years ago." I said in a feverishly shaky voice.

Joshua visibly flinched. "She committed suicide for reasons I don't yet understand."

"No, she didn't. You killed her. Drowned in Flathead Lake, wasn't she? And there's absolutely no proof whether she jumped into the lake or was pushed deliberately. You killed Vera Clarke, and Eileen knew about it. She could've gone and reported it to the police and you would've gotten the punishments you deserved. But she didn't. Instead, she blackmailed you for the money her brother needed to survive.

"For three years you supplied Eileen the cash, and she sent it to Andrew. But then your mother got suddenly suspicious and seemed to have realized that her finances were getting drained at an unusually high rate. You couldn't get money from elsewhere either. Eileen was threatening that she'd report you to the police if she doesn't get the money to support Andrew. And in that mess you ticked Eileen off your list on that night."

It all fitted perfectly. That who is made of what I am keeps me threatened by that who is veiled. The one who is made of what Eileen is, is Andrew, and the veiled person was Joshua – since from outside he gave the illusion of innocence, while in reality he had murdered two people and had committed other great crimes. Andrew had unknowingly kept Eileen threatened by Joshua – because Andrew needed the money.

Crushed by my love for him I am, and by those who in life have failed. Here Eileen is crushed by the pressure of her love for her brother, and by the pressure of those two who had failed in life – aka Joshua and Andrew (Joshua, because he had murdered his own twin, and Andrew because he had violated the rules of his family by ruining a girl sexually, and had been exiled for the act).