Write a mystery where the detective realizes at the last moment that they have the wrong suspect.

Posted in Mystery on Jul 27, 2021

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✍️ 117 stories

“My First Case” by Singaravel Sudeeksha

Submitted to Contest #72

~Aurelia~Location: My office room14. 5. 202109:00 amI was sweating, not due to the heat. I was shivering not because of the cold. It was all fear...nervousness.I saw myself in the mirror, my chocolatey brown skin glowed. My face seemed like a scared child.A woman in her thirties was standing at my door. Her face was pale and her eyes were brimming.I felt Jack’s presence in my room, so I tried to act normal. He touched my shoulders “Are you sure you can do this?” I took a deep breath “Yes, I can!” But actually, I wasn’t confident...I let the ...

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“MoneyBall” by Navneeth N

Submitted to Contest #72

John’s ViewpointJohn watched as the cards danced at his fingertips. They multiplied and fanned through his hands, jumping and flying. He wished he had enough money so that he could do the same with ten-dollar-bills. He set the cards down on the coffee table that had a missing leg and sat back on the sofa. He sighed. He looked around and sighed even more. Dishes were piled up against the moldy sink, cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and trash was littered everywhere. The stains in the carpet did nothing to help, and all the furniture h...

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“Got em” by Vameerah Darren

Submitted to Contest #72

“RED SUS!” “Nick you literally always say that! Just because I’m red,doesn’t mean I’m automatically sus!” I chuckled into my mic, leaning back in my office chair as the chaos unfolded in front of me. This was the third time I was crewmate since we started playing together, Nick and Jack always attacked each other with random susses that made no sense. But I mean, hey, it was funny to watch. I heard Kayla call my name. “Hey, why is Theresa so quiet?” My finger pushed down CTRL, “I’m just listening to what other people have to say.” ...

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“The Wrong Witch” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

Submitted to Contest #72

If you look closely at the map, smack in the middle of the US of A, there's a small town. It's called Garrow, and it's so small, it only has 10 buildings. The main hall, the school, and eight houses, not counting Kathy Nickerson's cottage on the edge of the woods.In the house next to the main hall, there was the house of Henry Rickson. Henry Rickson was the judge. And Henry Rickson didn't trust Patty Okven and Marinda Quaine.Patty Okven and Marinda Quaine lived in a cottage at the edge of Garrow. It was a small, one-story cottage, with curta...

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“Have a Beer” by Monica Chaddick

Submitted to Contest #72

It had been a long day for Al. The case that he had been assigned wasn’t a particularly difficult one, but it was time consuming. The good thing was that he had already been able to determine a suspect, and he was pretty sure that the guy he had fingered was guilty. Now the problem was the burden of proof. Al got up in the morning and made himself a cup of coffee. As he lit a cigarette, he pulled his notes towards him from the day before. Everything that he had ...

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“Too Late” by Chris Buono

Submitted to Contest #72

“Hey, O’Brien,” Detective Schwartzman pipes up on the ride to the murder scene, “If you could go back in time to anything, where would you go?” He paused for a moment to take a drag of his unfiltered cigarette, “When would you go? I should say.” Plainclothesman O’Brien didn’t answer his partner’s ridiculous question. Why was Schwartzman always asking ridiculous questions about time travel? The older detective kept his eyes on the road, he was attempting to foc...

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“Class” by Vadasz Sara

Submitted to Contest #72

“I know it’s funny after all these years but every time I walk on the streets, I feel to be abroad and home, at the same time. It’s like… love.” “Could you please answer the question miss Kulmane?” detective Gillespie interrupted the young woman, although he felt guilty. It wasn’t the first time they’ve met however the very first occasion he was listening. Interesting, he noticed before, he thought eastern women used more make-up but Illa Kulmane seemed to break that habit. “Sorry detective.” Illa went on, rubbing her skull under the half...

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“Switch” by Chris Wagner

Submitted to Contest #72

Clad in a full French maid's outfit, I pulled a tray of cookies out of the small oven in our loft. Love makes you do strange things. "Just one more batch to go, mademoiselle...or should I say monsieur?" My girlfriend had taken to literally wearing the pants in our relationship, so the question seemed appropriate. Ashley kissed me on the lips, playfully fluffing my layered skirt. I loved when she did that. "That mustache looks ridiculous. Who do you think you are, Hercule Poirot in heels?" My mocha s...

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“The second face” by Joane Unknown

Submitted to Contest #72

Today, Mr. Jackson, one of the best detectives, got a new case, about a woman named Sofia, that was kidnaped at her birthday party. Sofia was not that kind of girl that would run away with anybody, even if she was 20 years old. She just entered Faculty of Medicine. Her mother Melissa, told Mr. Jackson that she had a boyfriend. She told him that her boyfriend, Alex, was doing strange business with his friend, Mike. Melissa told the detective that Alex was not at her birthday because the night before he went to his parents in Florida. Mr....

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“The Graffiti Vandal” by Lisa Segale

Submitted to Contest #72

The sound of the spray can was the only noise that could be heard in the posh downtown retail district. A vandal had already tagged almost all of the building fronts on the one hundred block of West Main Street. They finished painting and tossed the empty can aside, intentionally leaving it for the police. The vandal then pulled out a hammer from under their black overcoat and when they were done the windows of the elite bridal shop on the corner were smashed to bits and glass shards were scattered on the street, the sidewalk, and insi...

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“What Did I Do?” by Daniel Roueche

Submitted to Contest #72

Blank. Empty. I don’t know who I am. I don’t know where I am. It’s cold. And wet. A steady throbbing, like someone continually pounding my head with a fist, makes me flinch. I try to stand, but my legs ache as though they’ve been asleep and are coming out of hibernation. I feel nauseated. Bile races its way up through my throat. I vomit. And vomit some more. The gore smacks against a brick wall. Looking around, I realize I’m in an alleyway. Blackened snow piles up along the walls. ...

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“NOBODY HOME” by Doug LeBlanc

Submitted to Contest #72

NOBODY HOME We got the call from dispatch, and I sighed. “Not again,” I complained. My partner laughed. “Jack, you ALWAYS gripe about going to the Crepe Mansion,” he chuckled as he turned the car around. “It should be called the ‘Creep Mansion,’ because it gives me, and everybody else, the creeps.” He smiled.&nb...

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“Unknown Twin” by Jade Orien🍀

Submitted to Contest #72

This story takes place in Los Angeles, police station. Two detectives are questioning a male in his mid-30s about a robbery that involved a 65 years old woman getting robbed at gunpoint in a neighborhood corner store."When are you going to start confessing?"Detective Gibson says as he sits across from the suspect at a table. Detective Gibson was a white male in his mid-40s."What's there to confess? I didn't rob that old lady. I told you that"The voice came from a black male named Dante Palmer."There's footage from the neighborhood store of y...

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“ "The Wrong road"” by Tariq Saeed

Submitted to Contest #72

I was appointed Assistant Sheriff in a small sheriff office in a town.On second day ,Me and Sheriff were sitting in the office. Sheriff got stunned when he read a news of the Murder of an philanthropist Mrs Mary Jane.Mrs Mary Jane, was indeed a fine lady,working for the needy and betterment of the society. She was residing in our jurisdiction. “Oh my God,Murder took place and we are not aware”. ”The sheriff expressed concernedly.” You look after the office “and sheriff drove the jeep towards Mary James home .An old man sa...

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“Empress Hatinu” by Philip Ebuluofor

Submitted to Contest #72

My name is Hassan mai wurno pronounced wuruno, I'm 42, am about 5’8,in height, hair was black curled as if jerry curl was applied. I tell you truth, I have never touched any oil on my head since my secondary school days. I'm a fulani man, that is why my hair is like that. I weigh about 68kg. My profession changes every season, somethings, it doubles per season but I am staff of local government in record,others are side kicks. I came from sokoto northern nigeria. I passed through schools, primary to university level where I studies agr...

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Write a mystery where the detective realizes at the last moment that they have the wrong suspect.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 117 stories

“My First Case” by Singaravel Sudeeksha

“MoneyBall” by Navneeth N

“Got em” by Vameerah Darren

“The Wrong Witch” by Roth Sassin (inactive)

“Have a Beer” by Monica Chaddick

“Too Late” by Chris Buono

“Class” by Vadasz Sara

“Switch” by Chris Wagner

“The second face” by Joane Unknown

“The Graffiti Vandal” by Lisa Segale

“What Did I Do?” by Daniel Roueche

“NOBODY HOME” by Doug LeBlanc

“Unknown Twin” by Jade Orien🍀

“ "The Wrong road"” by Tariq Saeed

“Empress Hatinu” by Philip Ebuluofor

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a romance where your character falls in love with the last person they expected to.

Write about someone getting a job offer they never would have thought to apply for.

Write about someone who gets an inheritance from a relative they’ve never heard of, but they’ll need to do something completely outside their comfort zone in order to collect it.

Write a science fiction story where all human behavior can be predicted — until your character does something the algorithm did not expect.

Contest #72

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

687

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: