Arabella Academy: Perfectly Imperfect

15. Retractions and Aspirations

If you're not confused, you're not paying attention.

-Tom Peters

***

"What the hell did we just see?" Jeff exclaimed, long after the men had left.

They all stood up and slowly made their way out of the shed. They then walked up to the place where Tyron's body lay and held their breath as they each recalled what had just happened. The bullet had created a hole through Tyron's skull, and it lay beside Tyron's corpse all smeared with his blood. Michelle gasped for air as she eyed the blood that was oozing from Tyron's head.

"Wait," Marcus started as he tried to piece things together, "That guy in the suit just said that he sent someone to kill Sheila, but we just heard Mr Stevens name being called at the voice note. So who really killed Sheila?"

"Maybe he was an accomplice in the murder," Jeff suggested.

"No, it can't be. That Rocco guy said that if Detective Timothy ever did find out that Stevens was involved then he should call him to take care of the matter," Michelle countered. She was the smartest of the three and paid great attention to whatever talk that interested her.

"This is all really confusing," Jeff remarked, struggling to process everything that was happening around him.

Marcus sighed and then said, "Obviously there isn't any way we can conclude on who killed Sheila, and seeing Timothy here just blew our chances of Michelle going forward with the voice note. Now we are stuck here with two very confusing theories and another dead body just in front of us. What happens next?"

They all looked at each other confusion written all over their faces. The emergence of another theory just as they thought they had finally found the murderer had complicated their earlier plans. Marcus was always drawn to mysteries, and this one proved to present a challenge to him. He therefore had a sense of curiosity in him that really wanted to know what had happened. Michelle, on her side, felt guilty about not being there for Sheila in her death and burial. She blamed herself for not being able to know Sheila's whereabouts and consequently felt like she owed her one. Her friend unmasking Sheila's killer would give her the peace she deserved and make it up to her dead best friend. Jeff, on the other hand, just wanted to know what really happened to Sheila that morning. He had nothing else important going on in his life and thus thought that solving the murder would serve as a worthy pass-time.

They all looked at each other and realised that they were all thinking of the same thing. Michelle was the first to convey it.

"Guys, I think it's now up to us to find out why Sheila was really killed, and who between the two killed her. The police have already dropped the investigation so if we don't do it ourselves then there is no hope for Sheila's killer being brought to justice. Are you in?" she said, eying the two boys with hope.

"Well, Marcus here is very nosey and hence I am sure he is in so I guess we have to now draw out a plan," Jeff spoke, confirming their participation.

"So, our first task will be finding out about the Dragon Pearl. Anyone who has an idea of what the hell that is?" Marcus began, casting the die on investigating the murder. Michelle and Jeff both shook their heads- the Dragon Pearl was an unfamiliar concept to them.

"Timothy said that there was a file about it at his office, and it was being collected tomorrow," Jeff remarked.

"How about we go and retrieve it before it's collected. My dad's the sheriff, and I'm sure we can cook up a pretty good excuse to enter," Michelle suggested. Her dad was indeed the sheriff at MPD and had kept that position for the past twenty-three years. He had played a big role in maintaining Middlewood's security, managing to keep it calm and safe for all those years.

"That is brilliant!" Marcus retorted. "If we can get a hold of the document, maybe we can go through what it entails and see whether it has any link to Sheila's murder."

"We meet tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning at the town square, tomorrow," Michelle said. She had begun to see a ray of hope in the midst of all the negativity she was feeling, and that set her in a good mood.

"You guys are forgetting one crucial thing," Jeff interrupted. "How do we get inside Timothy's office when he's already there?"

Marcus and Michelle looked at each other in surprise. They had certainly not thought about that one part which was sure to be a big problem.

"We'll just figure out a suitable distraction to get him out of his office," Marcus quickly shut off Jeff's burning question, afraid that it may spoil the healthy atmosphere that they were all enjoying.

"Now, let's get out of here before Tyron's ghost confuses us for its murderer."