Chapter 11: Handicap (11/15 alive)

Jack is found dead... Who's guilty?

Without us? Landon plans to let us run solo? "Hey," Kendrick responds, "What do you mean 'without you'? You're the only one who let us get through the first trial!" "Yes, but I'm sure Roy would love to help, given the fact that he hid important evidence." I'm at a loss for words. Why? But that was the rest of him. He kept his mouth shut and grinned at the overlapping chaos. "Roy, this is your fault, you b*****d!" Kendrick exclaims. I don't say anything. I can't really, because I'm thinking. If Landon could've already found the killer, I'm sure we can do it by the end of the trial as well. As long as we don't panic. "Come on, guys." I begin. "We 

need to figure out Jack's death. All of us. That includes you, Kendrick." Silence, until, finally, "I'm with Roy. We can't just stand around yelling at each other!" That voice surprises me. I haven't heard it in a long while. It belongs to Sky Turner.

      The quiet girl. The traumatized girl. But now she's back. I'm grateful for the positive attitude. It's needed right now. "The rope intrigues me." Aisha says. "It seems as though it was used in the murder, and it was also disguising the lighter  underneath it. And, two of the ends of the rope were frayed. Kinda makes me think  that they're... Connected, somehow." That's a great point. But how? How could you connect those two things? "The weights couldn't have been used, so it might not be anything, but I still think it's worth mentioning." "Stop. right there." I say. "Huh? Did I say something wrong? Are they not connected?" "No, they definitely are." "Oh, I get it!" Mya yells out. "They used the rope to stage a hanging!" "What? No. No no no no no. That's... That's not even close! And how does a lighter connect to that?" "I dunno, maybe they wanted to, like, burn the body with the lighter but it got the rope instead!" I didn't have time to argue with Mya, so I continued. "Aisha. What makes you think the weights weren't used?" "Well, one weight was clean, and the other one was bloody. They could've washed both off, but they didn't. It doesn't make sense for a clean weight to be connected to a bloody one." "Yes, however, I think the killer must have set up a mechanism that links to both weights. The girder scratch marks were directly above the body, meaning something was triggered above the body that killed him. After thinking, the only thing I could think would cause these marks are excessive pressure on the girders. The entire room was set up for this. It was a trap!" "A trap, huh," Aaron says. "Nah. Jack was stupid but he wasn't that stupid. I was his best friend, so I'd know." "Why do you keep steering away my train of thought, Aaron? Even when Jack died, you didn't seem all that upset. Instead, you seemed kind of happy, even though your 'best friend' died. You keep turning my evidence away, and you ignore Landon when he accuses you of knowing something. And, I never even mentioned what the trap was. It could have been incredibly well thought-out and sophisticated. Which makes me think that the only one who could have executed and created this trap... Is you." 

             The room goes silent. The evidence against Aaron is overwhelming. Aaron looks down, and doesn't dare to say another word. Eventually, I begin to see tears flow down his face. "Amazing. I'm truly moved by your deductions, Roy!" "Is that b*****d smiling?" Kendrick asks, confused. Aaron's face suddenly turned serious. "Roy. Let me ask you this. If I was the one who murdered Jack how would I get the items needed to stage the case? The hammer isn't found anywhere, and neither is the lighter and rope." 

              I think for a moment. "The store. Aisha said that all those items are only found in the store." "And how, Roy, do you pay for these said items?" "The sign on the front of the building said that it required labor. Like a sort of job for Samael." "That's right! You want an item from my store, you gotta work for it!" "That's right, Roy. Now. The final piece of evidence that drives your deductions to the ground. When, even once, did I perform any type of labor?" The pieces are fitting together. I'm close to uncovering the truth. The real question is, how do I refute this guy? Think, think! 

               And then I figured it out. The real truth behind this case. "I didn't see Jack all that much, but I did manage to see him two nights before he died. Jack was mopping the hallways. He was the one who did Samael's labor, and he was the one who bought the items. "Yes, Roy! Amazing work! Of course, a dumbass like Jack didn't come up with this plan on his own. It required some assistance from me. I pulled him out of the cafeteria the next morning after he did all that work, and told him about my plan.   One that would never be figured out! And he believed it! I lied to him, faked pouring my heart out to him for a lie, told him how much of a hero he would be, killing all of you stupid elites before you killed everyone yourselves. I made the fool kill himself! Because, as it turns out, It's far too dangerous to have someone close to you in this game, and he could never figure it out. So I just needed to... Show him." I couldn't believe my eyes. Aaron Ko had gone insane, and driven his one ally to commit suicide. "Hang on! There's still a massive hole in this case." I turn and see Kendrick Houston. "If this was a suicide, how'd he stage the scene? How did he set up the weight to be put back on the rack after he died? And how did he move the hammer to smudge his own blood? And how did he put the rope over the lighter? There just isn't enough evidence to call this a suicide!" He was right. However... "Yes, but I think we are failing to address the evidence. Aaron said that he set it up, and Jack executed it. But you don't even know what the trap that killed Jack was yet, so let me explain the whole case from the beginning. The trap only required 4 items. A rope, two weights that weigh the same amount, and a lighter. The killer had talked to his only friend, and his friend came up  with a plan. First, he would instruct the killer to do labor for Samael, allowing the killer to buy the items for the trap, as well as a hammer. He then instructed him to take a strip of rope, tied to two seventy-five pound weights, and hang the rope over a ceiling girder, which was incredibly high from the bottom. The thickness of the rope would prevent it from snapping, leaving the weight above the spot the victim died suspended in midair. Then, the killer slowly burned the rope with the lighter, and right before it snapped, ran underneath the weight, and his head was crushed. After the suicide occurred, that same friend snuck into the room, with the same hammer the culprit purchased. He set up the bloody weight onto the rack, and smudged that same weight so it appeared that the hammer was the weapon. He then took both ends of the rope and threw it into the corner of the room, placing the lighter underneath. And that is the truth of this case! Because the victim, Jack Mummert, was also the culprit! And the one who manipulated Jack into killing himself was Aaron Ko!" Aaron stood up and began to clap. "Bravo, Roy! You've done it. You've won my little game!" "Your game?" Kendrick asks. "We would've been killed if we hadn't solved it! It was way more complicated than the first one!" "Oh, relax. I already told you I wanted the b*****d dead. I knew exactly what happened so even if you didn't figure it out I would have told you. I don't wanna die either, y'know. I just needed Jack gone, and since I didn't kill him, I'm not the culprit! Ain't that right, Samael?" "Hmm... Well, he's right. The only way for a culprit to be a culprit is if they actually killed someone... I suppose harassment doesn't fit into this category, so if Aaron's story is true, he's correct, he cannot be convicted as the killer. "Damn it!" Kendrick exclaims. "But he's... he's insane!" "Yes, Kendrick, maybe he is. However, I believe that keeping someone like him in the perfect move for spicing up our game a little, don't you think?" "Spicing it up? He'll kill all of us!" "Yes, yes, maybe not so entertaining for you, but oh so great for me! Ahem. Anyways. Are we ready to vote?" "So... Aaron can't even be  voted for?" I say, confused. Aaron won't even get 

punished? He drove someone to commit suicide for his own entertainment, and the worst he gets is a slap on the wrist? "Oh, no, Roy. You can certainly vote for him. But if your suicide theory is correct, and you decide to vote for Aaron, you would be considered 'incorrect' and you'd all be executed. It sucks, though. There'd be nobody to send home. Oh, well, I'd just grab another group of elites. Anyways, it's voting time! Take that slip of paper and cast your vote!" I feel... empty. All that hard work, and I don't even get to see the insane person executed. He's the only one who deserves this penalty... And now he walks among us scott-free? "Roy... You seem to be taking quite a while, and we're on a time crunch. Cast. Your. Vote." It's Samael. I quickly wrote down Jack's name. I don't want to, but it seems like it's the only correct choice. "Alright, students! It seems that everyone has voted! Now, let's see those results! Ahem, Aisha voted for Jack! Landon voted for Jack! Aaron voted for Aaron! Roy voted for Jack! Sky voted for Jack! Evie voted for Jack! Mya voted for Jack! Faye voted for Jack! Tristan voted for Jack! Kendrick voted for Aaron! Halima voted for Jack!" Well, it seems like, by an overwhelming majority vote, the person you have voted for is... Jack Mummert, the elite baseball player! And the real culprit of this case is..." He grabs a slip of paper he keeps on his chair. "Jack Mummert, the elite baseball player! Bravo, everyone! Two in a row! But we don't even get to see a punishment... Boo-hoo! Well, that was fun, but the games are over. Head back to 

your dorms immediately! I need to prepare everything else for our next game! And just like that, the case is over, resolved with Jack Mummert as the culprit of his own death.