Unsolved Murder Case

(There are no chapters in this story)

Margret Ellens. That is my name. I am a 21-year-old woman who is a detective in training. Ever since the day my beloved uncle was murdered in which justice was never served, my dream has always been to become a professional detective that helps solve crimes. Today, I have been ordered to solve the mystery revolving around the murder case of a wealthy man known as Gregory Hilton. Supposedly, he lives in a mansion that resides in a town that goes by Silverkeep. I am eager to uncover the mystery behind the passing of Gregory Hilton. 
After sitting on the train for 30 minutes to get to Gregory Hilton's neighborhood, I had finally arrived. The chilly autumn breeze fiddled with my curly brunette locks as the leaves slowly danced with the wind. Before me, loomed a vast and intimidating mansion that was raided with a swarm of crisp green vines. A cobblestone walkway led to the front door of the manor. After standing outside for 15 minutes, I peered down at my golden wristwatch impatiently. The watch read that right now it is 10:00 a.m. He is late to yet another of our investigations. I thought to myself, "Why doesn't that idiot ever learn to come on time to these types of important events?" Suddenly, a grating voice shouted, "Hey Margret! Sorry, I'm late!"
Finally, he shows up! He should feel ashamed for making his coworker wait for him outside on such a chilly day! The man who looked as though he was around my age shot me a warm smile, "I'm so sorry for making you wait out here on such a cold day! Why don't we head inside to get the testimonies of the Hiltons now?" He asked. As you already know, this man is my coworker who is known as Joseph! He is a detective in training and is pursuing the same dream as I am! As you can see, he is an irresponsible airhead who fails to come to his investigations on time! We quickly walked to the front door and gently knocked.
A gorgeous lady with shiny blonde hair opened the door as if eagerly awaiting our arrival. She waved at us and greeted, "Why hello there! You two must be those amazing detectives that are here to help us find out who murdered my dear father! It's a pleasure meeting you!" She stuck her small pale hand for us to shake it. Joseph shot her a radiant smile. He then shook her hand without any hesitation and introduced himself. I was hesitant to shake her hand at first, but then I figured that it would be impolite to leave her hanging, so I gently shook her hand. I had introduced myself as well and explained what Joseph and I were going to be doing today. The beautiful lady had introduced herself as Veronica Hilton, and let us inside her home. Immediately after walking inside, the pleasant scent of green tea welcomed us as a chandelier flaunted its beauty for us.
Joseph and I took a seat at their antique wooden dining table as the family of three sat on the other side of us, enthusiastic to answer all of our questions. Oddly enough, Veronica kept pestering us to let her answer the questions first. So we first asked Veronica how she was related to Gregory, and what she was doing on the night of his death. Veronica replied, "I am Gregory Hilton's oldest child, and his one and only daughter! I am his favorite child and I--" A handsome boy who looked as though he was in his teens interrupted, "Bah! Veronica, stop being caught up in your own ego! Father does not have any favorites! And you, especially, wouldn't be his favorite child." Veronica made a fake cough as she was trying to silence her brother and continued. "AHEM! Sam, it's rude to interrupt people who are talking! Anyways! I really loved my father... He was a very sweet and supportive man who helped achieve all of my dreams, and become successful in life! I-I can't believe someone could be so cruel to the point where they could murder him in cold blood!" Veronica began to sob uncontrollably as though she had lost her very means for being alive.
Joseph turned to me with a concerned expression in his eyes as if asking me if he could go comfort Veronica. I gave him a small nod. Joseph then arose from his seat to hand her tissues and pat her shoulder. Veronica wiped away her tears and gave Joseph a small smile. "Thank you, Mister Joseph..." Veronica then turned to me and apologized, "Sorry about that! My father's death is a pretty sensitive subject right now but I will remain strong throughout the rest of this investigation for his sake!" Veronica continued, "On the night of the death of my father, I was actually looking out the window! I was very bored so I figured that I could watch the lovely scenery from my window! However, A few minutes after that, I had witnessed my grumpy neighbor, Josh, having a heated argument with my father."
Joseph hastily scribbled notes in his small red journal and then looked up at Veronica with his emerald green eyes. "An argument you say? Can you tell us more about this? For instance, could you tell us what you heard when they were arguing or who had started the argument?" Veronica's blue eyes glanced up at the ceiling as if reminiscing the night. "If I remember correctly... It was actually Josh who started the argument. He has always been trying to start drama with my father. They had been arguing because Josh accused my father of going around telling our neighbors that Josh was threatening him. The argument ended with my mother, Sophia, telling Josh to never set foot near our home ever again." The woman with light auburn hair that sat beside Veronica nodded her head in agreement. Sophia agreed, "That definitely happened... Josh was always messing with my dear Gregory. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who killed my sweet angel."
Joseph continued to jot notes in his journal. Joseph was very quick with his hands and could fill up 3 pages of his journal with notes in the span of merely 3 minutes. I turned to Veronica and queried. "Can you explain everything else you did that night? We need as much information as we can." Veronica shook her head in agreement. She explained how she comforted her dad and drank tea with him when he entered the house. He had been visibly upset after the argument. Next, we told Sophia and Sam to leave and asked Veronica who she thought the murderer was. Veronica stated that she believed Josh was the killer because he openly hated Gregory and disrespected him on a daily basis. To be honest, it was quite an understandable reason. But wouldn't that be too obvious? If you openly hate the person you plan to kill around everyone then the entire neighborhood will suspect that it was you who murdered the victim.
Veronica left the dinner table to use the restroom, as Sophia and Sam returned their seats at the table again. Sam was next to be interrogated. We asked Sam the same first two questions we had asked his older sister. Sam replied, "I am the second oldest and only son of Gregory Hilton. On the night of my father's death, I was actually in my room playing video games like I was for the whole day! I didn't really do anything on that day except play that new fighting game that was released! You guys have probably heard of it but it's called Super Street Brawlers! It's so addicting!" Joseph's emerald pools lit up with excitement as he began rambling. " OH MY GOSH! YO BRO YOU HAVE A GREAT TASTE IN GAMES! Who is your favorite character to play as? Mines is--" I flung Joseph an ice cold glare and interrupted, "Let's not get off topic now. You guys can fangirl about your favorite video games another time. Surely a stupid video game isn't more important than the unsolved murder case of Gregory Hilton. Yes?"
Joseph apologized and told Sophia to leave the room so we could ask Sam who he thinks the murderer is. Sam fiddled with his fingers nervously and said, "U-Um... To be honest with you guys I think the killer is my mother... She had been acting kind of strange before my dad's death. She was really grumpy and when he died I felt like she wasn't really upset that he died. I feel like she was just acting." Joseph scrawled in his journal at lightning speed. That was unexpected...Why his mother? It isn't every day that you see a child suspecting his mother to be the person who murdered their own husband.
Last but not least was Sophia. Sophia introduced herself as Gregory's wife! She informed us about the family and about how Veronica was the next in line to inherit Gregory's wealth once he passed away. Sophia also told us that on the night of Gregory's death, she had been watching her favorite soap opera when she heard Josh arguing with Gregory and had banned Josh from setting foot near their home. Sophia explained that she then made some lemon tea and continued watching her soap opera and she was the first to discover his corpse. When we asked her who she thought the murderer was in private she also said that she suspected that it was Josh. This Josh person must really have a bad reputation in the Hilton family, huh? I guess he will be the last person we talk to.
Now that we have questioned all of the Hiltons, next up was all the townsfolk in the neighborhood, including Josh. When we interrogated all the townsfolk some suspected each other, others Sophia, and the rest suspected Sam and Josh. Josh was the most popular suspect around the town too! I wonder what makes everyone think it was him? He must be a really horrible person, huh? The only person that no one pointed fingers at was Veronica. Must be because she is very well-liked and has a great reputation in this neighborhood. The townsfolk gave Joseph the address to Josh's house so Joseph drove me to his home. We found ourselves standing in front of a small yellow cottage that was accompanied by many types of lovely flowers that seemed to happily greet every visitor. I gave the door a soft knock, and a young man who looked as though he was in his late teens slowly opened the door.
The boy raised a brow and queried in an annoyed tone. "Who are you guys, and what business do you have with us?" I thought to myself "Wow... Is that how this kid greets all his visitors? Even this brat's front yard was more welcoming than him and that's saying something." Joseph and I introduced ourselves and informed the bratty teenager about why we came to visit. The boy rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Fine! Whatever! Just come take a seat already!" Joseph whispered, "I think this boy is going to be a bit of an issue... He's pretty disrespectful." A bit of an issue? I think this rascal is going to be a huge problem. A stunning lady with pale strawberry blonde locks, who looked as though she was around the boy's age gave us a warm welcome. She introduced herself as Angelica Rosado and apologized for the boy's rudeness.
She told us that his name was Josh Rogers and that he is just naturally grumpy. Angelica also informed us that Josh had a bad time with his family, so he has always been having trouble with people ever since. I guess I misjudged Josh just like the other neighbors and the Hilton family did. Josh just subconsciously comes off as a jerk. Angelica willingly decided to help Josh answer our questions.Our first question, what was Josh doing last night? Josh explained how he was at the grocery store when suddenly he overheard these two people saying a rumor about him. He overheard them say "Josh had threatened to harm Gregory" Josh stated once he heard that, he confronted them and they admitted that it was Gregory who told them this. Josh was very upset and wanted to talk things out with Gregory. But due to Josh's bad communication skills, he ended up having an unintentional argument with Gregory, which then resulted in being banned from the Hilton family.
Angelica's hazel pools widened in surprise. " Really?! You never told me about this! Why didn't you tell me anything?" Josh looked down at his feet in guilt, " I'm so sorry Angelica... I wanted to tell you but I was really ashamed that I had argued with Gregory due to my stupid issue with talking to others. I didn't want you to worry." Angelica hugged him and forgave him, but she told him to talk to her next time so she could be there to back him up. Josh looked up at me, " Miss Margaret... To be honest... I do dislike Gregory because he reminds me of my abusive father, however, I would never treat Gregory like trash or murder him. That is a very horrible and immature thing to do." Since Josh and Angelica had already cleared up our misconceptions revolving around him. Once we no longer thought of him being a horrible person who killed Gregory, we only had one question left for him.
We asked Josh who he thought the murderer was. Josh told us that he suspected that Sam was behind the death of Gregory because Sam seemed to have a forced family relationship with his dad. To Josh, their bond looked fake and had no trace of realness. It was as though it was all an act. Hm... Now that I think about it... Sam was the one who was the least concerned about the death of his father when we did the interrogation... Sam was very laid back and calm about the whole situation... But maybe that was for another reason. Well... We'll ask him that question when we return to his house again. Joseph finished scribbling his final notes down and thanked Josh and Angelica for taking the time to answer our questions.
Now that all of the testimonies have been acquired, we can go visit the Hilton family again to examine Gregory's corpse. Once we arrived at the house, Sam opened the door for us and explained that the police moved Gregory's corpse to the basement of the house. Sam offered to help us get to the basement so we followed him downstairs into the basement. The walls of the basement had been smothered with chiffon white wallpaper that had been peeling off and cracking with its age and horrible maintenance. The room was poorly illuminated with a lone small lightbulb that flickered on and off with each passing second. Thick gray coats of dust and cobwebs had vandalized every inch of the melancholic room. An acrid stench of decaying flesh slapped my nostrils and made me gag a bit. Gregory's corpse was definitely here. My eyes scanned the room in search of the body when a circle of yellow "keep out" caution tapes caught my eye. There he is... Joseph took out some tools from the black leather suitcase he was holding for the entire day and handed me his notebook so I could jot some notes down while he examined the body thoroughly.
According to Joseph's observations of the cadaver, there was a sum of 10 stab wounds on the victim. 2 stab injuries were located on the jugular and the other 8 stab wounds were on his chest. The oldest stab wound was in the middle of his chest meaning that the culprit had stabbed Gregory's chest first. The stab wounds were vicious and precise meaning that the criminal had orchestrated this entire murder case and had a lot of strength. Joseph also noticed that no major arteries were stabbed, which meant that the wrongdoer had planned the areas where they could stab Gregory to ensure that he would not lose plenty of blood. Furthermore, when Joseph tested Gregory's body for potential chemicals he found a sleeping drug in his system. The sleeping pill used was the type that had to be in a beverage to take effect. The person behind this assassination really took the time to plan out how they would slaughter Gregory.
Joseph and I took all our notes and then returned upstairs to have the three Hiltons answer some more questions. The first question we had was for Veronica. Veronica mentioned drinking tea with Gregory after he argued with Josh. That could be how the sleeping drug was put in his system. Veronica's eyes widened and she began to blink rapidly. Veronica stammered, "U-U-Um! You're getting the wrong idea! I didn't make Gregory's tea! S-Sophia handed me the tea! She made the tea, so she was the one who probably put the sleeping drug in there!" Sophia bit her lip and started trembling. "W-while, yes, I made the tea... I can reassure you that I don't have any kind of sleeping pills in my possession so it couldn't have been me." Sophia added, "To be honest! I left out a bit of information! I originally found Gregory's corpse in the dining room! But afterward, someone moved the corpse near the bathroom."
Now the blame game has definitely begun. Everyone will start blaming each other and revealing each other's secrets. Sam tilted his head and pondered, "That's right... Wasn't Veronica the last one in the bathroom? It really reeked of blood in there!" Veronica's face turned red with anger and embarrassment as she rambled, "E-Eh?! How preposterous! Me? Kill my favorite father? You must be out of your mind for suspecting me! I-I-I'll have you know that bathroom reeked of blood because I am on my period! I-I also had discovered my father's corpse once I left the bathroom!" Veronica began tapping the table as she continued, "Actually! I think Sam is more of a suspect than I am! The week before my father's death, Sam had been arguing with my dad about how Gregory was being unfair by giving me the most privileges! There were items being thrown across the room and after the argument, I noticed that my dad had a nasty bruise on his arm."
Sam glared at Veronica and snapped, "How dare you say such a thing. Fine! Be that way! Did you at least tell the nice detectives about all the times you threw a hissy fit with mom and dad over the times they didn't give you money or gifts?" Sophia nodded her head in agreement, "Well... Sam isn't exactly wrong there... Veronica always does that! She always wants things to go her way all the time." Sweat began to form on Veronica's brow as she tapped the table faster and harder. After a few minutes of awkward silence, Veronica exploded with her voice being so loud it could practically shake the floor a bit, "HOW DARE YOU GUYS SAY THAT I AM THE KILLER! I AM DAD'S FAVORITE CHILD! I WOULDN'T DO SUCH A THING! All my life, everything I've ever done was for his sake! I could never hurt the person who loves me more than all of you!"
From my observation, Veronica is constantly boasting about how much her father loves her and how she is the favorite child. That mindset could be really toxic and if she was the killer she would never admit to her crime. Veronica turned to Sophia and pointed her index finger at her, "Mom you also aren't any better! On the morning of the day of father's death you literally had an argument with dad because you thought it would be smart to cheat on him with your stupid ex!" Ah... So that's why Sam said that she was grumpy in the morning. Makes sense! But wow...Why would Sophia cheat on the man she called her "beloved husband"? Is she really sad that he's dead? Suddenly a loud heated argument with Sam, Sophia, and Veronica erupts in the dining room. Joseph turned to look at me with piles of sweat slipping down his temples.
Joseph whispered in my ear, "I-I think we've got all the information we need...Let's just leave now before they unintentionally hit us while fighting amongst each other. They would be too focused on the argument to notice that we left!" I bobbed my head in concurrence. As screwed up as it is to leave in the middle of a meeting, we obviously can't stay here because it's too dangerous at this point. Joseph and I slowly slid out of our seats and tiptoed to the exit while the yelling and screaming filled the entire house. When I opened the front door I heard the sound of glass cups being shattered from the dining room. Oh god! They all have lost their marbles! I shoved Joseph outside and slammed the door behind me. We ran to Joseph's car and drove to a nearby hotel to discuss our notes. Joseph sighed, "Thank goodness we are done interrogating them. After sitting in the middle of their heated argument I fear returning back to their home." I replied, "Agreed! Though at this point I was sort of expecting that! It always happens. When the blame game begins tensions rise and everyone is at each other's throats." Joseph looked down at his feet, "I guess you're right... Anyhow! Let's talk about our suspects now!"
The first person on our list was Josh. Joseph and I knew Josh was not the criminal because he genuinely explained his reasons for being innocent. There were no lies in what he said whatsoever. He even said it himself. He hated Gregory because he reminded him of his dad but he had no ill intentions towards Gregory. Either way, what reason is there for Josh to murder Gregory? Killing Gregory because he looked like his dad? That makes no sense and if that was the case wouldn't Gregory have been dead a very long time ago? Next up was Sam. Now, while Sam did have that argument with Gregory and objects were thrown it was all because of how unfair Gregory treated him. What would have Sam actually gotten from killing Gregory? He would only get a prison sentence really. Honestly, Sam's story of what he did on the day of his father's death was also quite believable. He seems like he would be the type to lock himself in his room and just play video games all day long.
As for Sophia, Yes, She cheated on Gregory. She was mad at him after they argued but why would she murder him? He probably pays the rent and buys all the food and clothes. If she killed him then who would pay the expensive rent of the mansion? Besides, it should've been the other way around! Gregory who would've wanted to kill her for cheating on him with her ex! As for Veronica, She was always the most suspicious. Nobody ever dared to accuse her of killing Gregory. Veronica also stuttered a lot and tapped her fingers when Sam or Sophia pointed a finger at her. Usually when someone is lying people stutter and fiddle with their fingers in some way. Additionally, she also was quick to pull up past conflicts to take away any suspicions from her which were also quite odd. Why didn't Veronica just refute the accusations just like Sam and Sophia did? Also, Sam mentioned that Veronica always wanted money whenever she wanted it and would throw a hissy fit when things didn't go the way she planned it. Sophia had also mentioned that if Gregory were to die Veronica would be the one who inherits all his wealth.
This means that Veronica must have murdered Gregory to get all his wealth. Which it also means that she put the sleeping drug in his drink after Sophia had handed her the tea. Once he drank the tea, that's when she probably stabbed him.  It could also explain why Gregory's dead body had been discovered in the dining room! Veronica must have been drinking tea with him in the dining room! Since Gregory loved Veronica to bits he could have never suspected that she would try to murder him which gave Veronica an easier time eliminating him as well. Furthermore, Veronica could've cleaned herself in the bathroom because she was on her period and nobody could have ever suspected that she was actually cleaning Gregory's blood off her clothes and her body! Joseph nodded his head, "Yeah! It must be her! Especially because she always was quick to deny that she killed him because 'her father loved her'." Joseph continued, "Let's make her crack under pressure so she can admit to her crime!"
On the very next day, we told Veronica to meet us in our hotel room. Veronica looked at the table we were sitting at and asked in a shaky voice, "W-W-Why is there only one empty seat? D-Didn't you tell Sam and Sophia to come here too?" Joseph smirked, "Oh no...We already know who was the murderer...That empty seat is for the murderer!" Veronica looked around with a bead of sweat sliding down her cheek and asked, "R-Really? Where is the murderer? I don't see Josh in this room!"I shook my head in disappointment, "Oh Veronica...Are you really that dense? Must I really spell out the name of the murderer for you?" I extended my index finger to point at her, "The murderer is you, Veronica. You killed Gregory for his wealth." Veronica's sky blue pools widened in shock, "Y-You can't be serious. Why do you guys think I'm the one who d-did it?! I love my father too much to s-stoop so low as to kill him for a bit of cash!" Veronica mumbled, "Besides, It's not like I'm strong enough to kill someone like that..." Joseph crossed his arms and raised a brow while asking, "What was that? Instead of talking under your breath how about, repeat what you said out loud." Veronica scoffed "I said that it's not like I have the strength to kill someone like that!" Joseph leaned his head closer, "Oh? And what makes you say something like that? Hmm?"
Veronica averted her eyes and began to blink rapidly again, "W-Well what do you think I mean?! You and I both know that I'm not strong enough to pierce a knife in my dad's chest and stab him in the jugular! Heck! I can barely even lift the groceries when I go shopping!" Bingo. She already dug her own grave with that statement. I stood up from my seat and played with the pen I had in my hand and asked her "My question was when did we tell you or your family where the murderer was stabbed or what he was stabbed with... How do you know that information, Veronica?" Veronica began to play with her fingers rapidly as she looked down at my feet, "O-O-Oh! Well I know because I--" I took a step closer to Veronica, "I think it's about time you fess up and admit it was you, Veronica. You have no one to point fingers at now. There are no more past conflicts to bring up. This interrogation is about you." Veronica violently shook her head, "N-No! I didn't do it! I am his favorite child! I am the best and most beloved child Gregory has ever raised! Why would I ever do that to him? Are you guys crazy?" Joseph stood up from his seat and tilted his head while asking her, "The real question is are YOU crazy? Why would you do such a thing to your father? He always loved you and gave you what you wanted even when you would throw those annoying hissy fits. Did his wealth really matter more than his life?"
Veronica had a cloudy expression on her face as silence filled the room. The sound of birds chirping and kids playing could be heard from outside. Suddenly Veronica started giggling, "I guess it's no use...I have been found huh? Oh well...Good job Mister Joseph and Miss Margret! It was I who murdered my father. I needed the cash! I trained weeks in advance and did tons of research for that special day and made sure that there was little to no evidence! I have no regrets! I have my money! I can still buy my own mansion after I leave jail!" I shook my head, "Sorry honey...We are confiscating your money and your freedom from prison! You are a sick murderer and I pity Gregory for trusting a demented witch like you." I waved at Veronica, "Let's meet again soon!" Veronica pondered, "H-huh? What do you mea--" Click! A cop came from behind her and successfully handcuffed her. There, the murder case has finally been uncovered. Veronica Hilton was found guilty of murdering Gregory Hilton. Her prison sentence will be for life.