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

“The Midnight Walk ” by Simone Myricks

Submitted to Contest #72

On nights like these, you will never run into a person doing something crazy. I will never forget this night. It was the night I got arrested for a crime that I didn’t commit. I was strolling through the streets that night. It was so quiet outside, that the only thing you could hear were the crickets chirping. I was on my way home when someone ran past me and almost knocked me over. I stood there silently because my body was flowing with anger because they didn’t say excuse me or anything. As I started walking I heard somethin...

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“Justin's Interrogation ” by Kate Walsh

Submitted to Contest #72

The room was cold and clinical. The table he was sitting at was metal and shone under the fluorescent lights that illuminated his face. His leg shook as he looked around the room and tried to figure out who was on the other side of the clearly two-way mirror. The skin on his thumb was numb from being worried between his teeth and his mouth was dryer than it had ever been, even after a good smoke. The doors finally groaned open and Justin sat up straighter in the chair. Two detectives entered one after the other. It was the same detectives ...

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“The Jealous Monster” by Marcia H.

Submitted to Contest #72

Maude vanished in broad daylight. It all started with her arguing with the preacher’s wife. She went to her car, made one phone call. There was no answer. Maude sped off in the car. Another car was following her. Maude’s mother called Maude’s phone for three days straight with no answer. She was worried. Maude called her every day and told her about her day and her schedule. Her mom was worried and called everyone she could think of. Nobody had heard from Maude since the same Sunday her mom last heard from her. The last p...

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“The Deadly Mistake” by Amber House

Submitted to Contest #72

I was called on my lunch break by Detective Smith. I wrapped up my half eaten burrito and shoved it into the metal filing cabinet. I grabbed my coat and badge and went to the crime scene. I arrived within the twenty minutes I was called. As I approached in my car I saw the victim. Her lifeless body hung from the sturdy tree branch. She had a noose around her neck, her wrists and ankles were wrapped in duct tape. Her mouth had a gag and duct tape around it. Her body was the whitest white I had ever seen, her lips, hands and feet were ...

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“Sue Learns” by Ruth Major

Submitted to Contest #72

After school, I have more work then most kids do. Not because my parents are mean, but because I have a job to do. Some would think, I am a little too young to really have a job. I don't get paid a lot, mostly the people who get my services give me something they think I would like instead of money. Sometimes, I get things wrong when I am doing it. I am not a professional, since I am a kid really everyone makes mistakes. Today, when I am doing my homework someone comes in with my favorite type of candy. They know me well, really most people ...

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“The Ivory Diversion” by Mathias Nobel Hadberg

Submitted to Contest #72

Boromin was sat quite at his desk with a pile of papers to look through and sign when he heard a commotion downstairs. The Ivory Court was a modern building in one of the towers between Dalan’s Refuge and Ocean View. A beautiful floor plan with a tiled-mosaic pattern was always visible from the balcony-like upper floor, where the employees could free from the oppressing sensation of the thousands and thousands of tonnes of stone magically suspended in the air around them. For those, like Boromin, who were relatively new to the city life, it ...

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“Sweet Dreams” by Vanessa Voigt

Submitted to Contest #72

“We have to be careful,” Mr. Wilson whispered into Kayleigh’s ear, as he was pushing her against the wall in the high school’s storage room. She could feel his warm, heavy breath on her neck, as he gently put his arm on her hip. Their eyes met, and Mr. Wilson leaned in for a kiss. She could feel the soft pressure of his kisses on her lips, as she let her fingers go through Mr. Wilson’s soft, curly, black hair. Entangled in their kiss, they didn’t notice how the door slowly opened. “Oh my goodne...

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“A murder in the coffee shop” by Fatima Mahmoud

Submitted to Contest #72

PS: first person narrative I was busy reading a paper work in my tiny office around 1:30 pm when sergeant Ray informed me of a murder in our local coffee shop. The only coffee shop we have at Branton township was the famous ‘coffee house’ owned by a sweet old lady called Mrs Evie Stellings. Mrs Stellings and her now recently deceased husband came to Branton township a long time ago and built the famous coffee house here. The coffee and pastry they serve are next to nothing! But now, as sergeant Ray informed me about a...

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“Psychopath” by Clora Green

Submitted to Contest #72

One cold and dark night, people are screaming behind the bars. But one is still calm and thinking as normal people. But he isn't the normal person. He's Ted Bundy. Theodore Robert Bundy ( Cowell; November 24, 1946 – January 24, 1989) was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped, and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. After more than a decade of denials, before his execution in 1989 he confessed to 30 homicides that he committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. T...

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“Soup to Nuts” by Rick Bramhall

Submitted to Contest #72

Detective Richard Pettibone stood at the head of the dining room table, looking as impeccable as usual in his black tuxedo with the satin lapels. His jet-black hair was slicked back and looking shiny. He had just gotten out of the shower when his guests started arriving and so it was still wet. Trying to hide his nervousness, he stuck his hands in his pockets, only to find that his pistol wasn't where he thought it was. What he really wanted was a stick of gum, but he knew it would hurt his appetite. He scanned his dinner guests from left t...

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“DEJA VU” by Max Utendorf

Submitted to Contest #72

PROLOGUE A bell is rung. “Breakfast in ten!” a loud rough voice announces through an intercom. Screaming, Chris Steventon wakes up, startled and drenched in sweat. He looks around the room at his prison cell. He gets out of bed and crosses off another day on the calendar. “Another day in paradise...” he whispers hopelessly to himself. In the bunk above him, Jason wakes up. “What the hell are you doing down there?” Jason asks, half awake. “I’m counting down the days until I get out of this shit hole.” Chris replies. Chris walks over to h...

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“Ringmaster” by Nushrica Choudhury

Submitted to Contest #72

We had the apartment surrounded. There were officers on the roof, ready to swing through the windows. Several others, including me, were at the door. We had him. After years of searching, we had finally found him. I had finally found him. The SWAT officer in front of me breaks down the door and we all stream into the apartment, guns drawn, ready for a fight. But it doesn’t play out like that.Our suspect sits in a wooden chair in the middle of the room, his hands clasped together in his lap. At our entrance, he gazes up and tilts hi...

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“Can I realize my blessing” by Michelle DeVine

Submitted to Contest #72

My god...I cant sit still. Anxious need to do something. Excited major life change. Minga can i borrow Minga can you loan me....Minga Minga Minga.. I've got to go. I got to breathe. Tired These people got me confused. Stealing from me, conning me, playing me for a fool. Never mind that now I've got to get to work and make moving arraignments. Catching the sound of voices Jenosha pauses. Not seeing anyone she keeps going getting ready for the work day. Right as she walks out the door she hears them again. Wait a minute, eve...

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“One of the Good Guys” by SA Bouteloua

Submitted to Contest #72

“We, the jury, find the defendant guilty.” “Thank you for your service. You are dismissed.” It was completed without fanfare, another routine of the daily court. Court adjourned, a date was set for sentencing, and the handful of people in attendance began to trickle to the doors. It was all mundane, but I had never felt so alive. My chest swelled with pride, and my skin tingled. This was my first case, my first conviction. I had joined the detective force at the start of the year and had first been assigned to this case. My partner Seller...

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“The Widow of Palos Verdes Drive” by Enriko Pratt

Submitted to Contest #72

For the first time in a long time, a quiet calmness swept over the town. The murder of business magnate Richard Knight had finally been solved and the townsfolk could return to the mundanity that filled their existence prior to the incident.Detective Banner left the local diner with a casual smirk. She was greeted by the usual crowd on the way out. Her fingers were bent tightly around two cups of joe, prohibiting her from waving back. It was her fault for choosing to grab her partner’s excuse for a caffeinated beverage back to the office.“Co...

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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

“The Midnight Walk ” by Simone Myricks

“Justin's Interrogation ” by Kate Walsh

“The Jealous Monster” by Marcia H.

“The Deadly Mistake” by Amber House

“Sue Learns” by Ruth Major

“The Ivory Diversion” by Mathias Nobel Hadberg

“Sweet Dreams” by Vanessa Voigt

“A murder in the coffee shop” by Fatima Mahmoud

“Psychopath” by Clora Green

“Soup to Nuts” by Rick Bramhall

“DEJA VU” by Max Utendorf

“Ringmaster” by Nushrica Choudhury

“Can I realize my blessing” by Michelle DeVine

“One of the Good Guys” by SA Bouteloua

“The Widow of Palos Verdes Drive” by Enriko Pratt

🌟 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 🏆

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