Murders+by+the+Beach

"Murders by the Beach" by Weston

**Murders By The Beach **

 The sweat started to drip down my face as I kept jogging, the sky was cloudy but there was a still hot sting in the air. I came across the corner of Palm Meadow Lane, about another mile to my condo where I could get some water to cool down from the long run. As I started to turn onto Palm Meadow I heard a scream coming from the beach house across the way. Once I stepped onto the clean-kept yard, the rain splashed down in buckets. The little beach house had a blue awning on the side of the porch. So, being the curious guy I am, I crept up to the porch not only to get away from the soaking rain, but to find out what that scream was and who it came from. On the porch, I peered through the cold glass window. To my surprise, the next sight I saw would leave me paranoid for good.  A man, lying flat on the couch, with a knife wound in his chest. I covered my mouth with my shaking hand, to keep from puking and screaming at the same time. The man on the couch lie their in stillness, with his tired, lifeless eyes rolled back. I turned my head, scanning the scene, looking for anything else to do with the crime. There was a large, expensive golden watch sitting on the floor. Furniture was also sprawled across the tiny living room. Chairs were lopsided and knocked over, and the flower vase from on top of the counter was crushed in pieces on the hard wood floor. I thrust my hand on the porch door knob and twisted it forcefully. Nothing opened. Locked. //Locked?!// This was the only door, other than the front that appeared shut tight as well. My curiosity got the best of me, and the adrenaline was rushing, so I kicked as hard as I could through the porch door. Luckily, the beach house was on the far end of Palm Meadow, so no one could hear the crash.They also wouldn’t be able to hear the scream either, which is exactly why the murderer would’ve escaped so quickly.  From the inside, the room was even more horrifying, and not only was the victim dead on the couch, but I saw long strands of dark, curly hair sticking out of the kitchen cabinet. Carefully, I ducked down under the counter and slowly pulled the cabinet adjacent. Another dead person, bu this time, a woman. She too had a red stain across her chest, but her eyes were not rolled back like the man’s. As I stepped back from the woman, I realized I recognized the people, a couple actually, from TV. They were on commercials for phones. The man and woman were Levi and Jen Solos, makers of SOLOphone.  Levi and Jane Solos had been murdered, and I had been here to witness the crime scene. Before the police could come, I grabbed the gold watch crumpled on the floor for a clue, stepped over the demolished vase, jumped back through the porch door onto the crisp, Florida grass, and jogged back to my condo, with the faint sounds of police sirens behind me.

 Back in the condo, I narrowed down some suspects who could have wanted to murder the Solos. It was a tough process, because nearly anyone would murder them who wanted some money! But finally, the list was complete: **SOLOphone Employees** **Mrs. Finch- Lives on Palm Meadow** **Mr. or Mrs. Leigh- Lives on Palm Meadow** **James A. Leck- SOLOphone assistant, know that he wanted more money**  Next, it was time to start the investigation. Interrogate, find clues, and get more info on the Solos murder. To start out, I began to watch TV, the SOLOphone commercials and news specials, (which were live) for any suspicious activity. I got out my suspects list, the gold watch, and my laptop. Then, I pressed down on the remote, and the moving screen of SOLOphone Channel appeared. Nothing suspicious about it to me! Just info on SOLOphone tablets, the NEW HD SOLOphone, James A. Leck announcing a new product, his big golden watch, more junk about “great deals”….his big golden watch! The watch that I picked up at the crime scene, the watch sitting right next to me. Quickly, I flung open the laptop case to search when that SOLOphone commercial had aired. There it was, the list of new SOLOphone commercials on the SOLOphone store. May 23, a day before the Solos murder. I wrote down the clue, and went back to the commercials. A brand new one, James A. Leck announcing the NEW HD SOLOphone again, a flash of the price, another description of the “great deals”, James A. Leck appears again, with a big bruised forehead, and without his gold watch. I glanced over at the laptop screen again and scrolled down further. A new update on the commercials. This one had aired May 26, today, two days after the Solos murder.  I flipped the CHANNEL button up on the remote, searching for more SOLOphone commercials. Finally, I found one. James A. Leck announcing the Solos’s death, more news, even more advertisement for the HD SOLOphone, and he was there again, without his gold watch, aired just one day after the Solo murder, May 25. I searched the web for more info on any commercials before the murder. There was a video of a commercial that had aired May 11, and some others on 12, 13, and 20. All of them with Levi and Jen Solos, and some shots of James A. Leck, with his big shiny watch. //Could he have done the crime, and dropped his watch on the scene?// Just as I had a good bet it was James, a news reporter flashed up on the TV, interrupting the current commercial.  “Welcome to FLORIDA SOUTH NEWS,” the news lady said, “I am here, at the scene of the murder of James A. Leck, a worker of SOLOphone. He worked with Jen and Levi Solos, who also got murdered only about two days ago. On the eastern side of town, two other SOLOphone employees have been killed as well.”  The FLORIDA SOUTH NEWS logo appeared again, and a voice was recorded as well. “Thank you for your time, and watch FLORIDA SOUTH NEWS,” it said  The screen was now back to the SOLOphone commercials. Well, I guess I could cross James A. Leck off the suspect list. Three SOLOphone employees had been killed, the murderer was still on the loose, and I had to go find witnesses of the crime scenes. SUSPECTS: WITNESS: <span style="font-family: Luxi Mono,monospace;">**SOLOphone Employees Mrs. Backwater** <span style="font-family: Luxi Mono,monospace;">**Mrs. Finch Sam Tinyl** <span style="font-family: Luxi Mono,monospace;">**Mr. or Mrs. Leigh** **<span style="font-family: 'Luxi Mono',monospace;"> Other neighbors? ** <span style="font-family: 'Luxi Mono',monospace;">**James A. Leck**

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> I arrived at the first murder scene, 4701 Palm Meadow Lane, covered in caution tape, where Levi and Jen Solos were killed and wounded. As I walked towards their condo, notebook in hand, a tall blonde woman with deep wrinkles stopped me on the sidewalk. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “What do you think you’re doing, young man?” she asked in her scratchy voice. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Umm..well,” I stuttered, “I was going to my aunt and uncles condo, you know…uh…Jen and Levi solos.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Boy, I wasn’t born yesterday. They were murdered just a week ago!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Oh, uh….”, I couldn’t find the words to say, “okay, listen. Are you Mrs. Backwater? <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Yes…” she said. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “I saw the Solos murdered in their condo, and I’m trying to figure out who did it. So, did you see anything suspicious before the crime? You know, anyone who might have broken in?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Well..”, Mrs. Backwater looked as if she was hiding something valuable, something important to the murder. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Come on, spill it.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “I saw a woman walking up to the house to deliver the newspaper. Uh, I also saw a man dressed in dark clothing…but he just walked past the condo,” she said. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Okay, thank you for the information,” and without another word, I turned and headed back to my condo. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> Okay, a woman walking up to the house to deliver newspaper, and a man dressed in dark clothing. I think I could find clues with the vague information, but I had to work at it.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> The next day, while I was walking back to the Solo’s condo for any more clues or witnesses, it started to pour down rain again. The sidewalk was slippery and wet, so I tucked the gold watch in my pocket to protect it from breaking if I fell. I was looking down at my feet as a hooded man with a black sweatshirt ran into me at a fast pace. The blow made me slip on my heel, and scatter the notebook and watch in front of me on the hard sidewalk. The man swerved around and glared at me with his shadowed face. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “That’s…my…watch,” he said, in a deep and unnatural voice. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> I stared up and caught his face in a strike of lightning. James A. Leck. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “I…you’re suppose to be…dead,” I managed to say. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Give me the watch, and this will all be over with,” he said. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Why did you do it Mr. Leck?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Just give me the dang watch!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Answer my question first,” I demanded. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “What?” James asked. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “You heard me, why did you do it? Why did you murder Levi and Jen? And what about the other two employees? Did you kill them too?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> Without warning, James A. Leck dived for my chest. But, I managed to slip out of the grip and grab the watch with me. However, I did leave the drenched notebook behind on the soaking concrete. As I ran, the rain got even heavier and came down harder. I sprinted towards the nearest shelter I could find, the Solos’s porch. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> I jumped up onto the porch, with James at my tail. Luckily, with so much money, the Solos had big chairs and an umbrella on their porch. I used them to dodge James’s flying fists and feet. Once I got to the far edge of the porch, I bounded across the table and kicked James square in the tenders. After I ducked down behind one of the large chairs, I hoisted myself up onto the roof of the condo, while James was recovering from the hit. I climbed to the top, getting as far away as I could, until he started to climb up too. There were glass shards laying on the roof, which made it even harder for him to get up though. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Why did you, what was the point!?” I yelled, while he struggled to the top. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Give me the watch!” he screamed in reply. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> Obviously, this guy wasn’t mentally correct. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Tell me, and I’ll give you you’re freaking watch!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> He stood in silence, smirking at me. Without him looking, I slowly pulled out my cell phone and hit the record button, the camera barely poked out of my pocket, able to catch the whole scene on tape. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “I wanted the money! I wanted the position! I eliminated anyone who got in my way of owning the business, and becoming rich!” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> Finally, I pulled out the phone for a full view. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Mr. Leck, why don’t you say that to the camera one more time?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> James stared at the phone in amazement and lunged towards me. Without hesitation, I side-stepped, causing the SOLOphone employee to jump off the roof, and plunge onto the hard, wet concrete below.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> About two weeks later, I visited Mr. Leck in jail, in my sweet new ride that the mayor had paid for, since I was practically the new town celebrity. Me, Tyler Hamilton was famous. Well, at least a little bit. James wasn’t dead, but definitely had some serious injuries from his fall, and he would rest up just in time before being released in the public, which would be in 50 years. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> He was sitting in his cell on an old wooden chair, biting his nails with his broken teeth. Now I had all the information about the Solos and SOLOphone employee murders. James wanted to move up and own the business, and would do anything to get that position. So, May 24, he broke into the Solos’s house from the roof, which would explain the shattered glass up there. After getting through the skylight, he sneaked up behind Levi, and stabbed him in the chest as Jen was walking down the stairs. Once she saw him, she ran back up until James caught her. She kicked him in the face, which was why he had a bruise along his forehead on T.V. Jen then scrambled across the house looking for a place to hide, knocking over the furniture. Finally, James grabbed hold of her blouse, and stabbed her in the chest as she screamed. After, James carried Jen’s body, stuffed her into the cabinet, and climbed back through the skylight, dropping his watch that hit the vase, and went crashing to the floor. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “So, James,” I said, “how do you like your new life behind bars?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Kid, stop asking me questions. I’m a murderer. Didn’t your parents ever tell you to not talk to murderers?” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “My name’s Tyler.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Well, Tyler. Let me tell you one thing: I would’ve gotten away with my murder if you hadn’t showed up.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> “Sorry Mr. Leck, but I figured it out. Now, have yourself a nice time in jail,” I said, “and oh, don’t bother ever going back to SOLOphone again.” <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 15pt;"> And with that last comment, I walked out of the muggy corridor with some pride in my step. I was Tyler Hamilton, and I solved the murders by the beach.