Murderer?

Alec was always a naturally curious child who had aspirations to become a detective when he grew up. He especially enjoyed watching murder mystery shows because it gave him the opportunity to polish up his skills. 

One sweltering summer day Alec decided to take a break from playing detective. Instead, he wanted to shoot hoops with his older brothers. Unfortunately, Alec's brothers suffered from a common disease known as teenitis. The most common symptom of teenitis was having the urge to be on an electronic device 24-7 with no interest in engaging in physical activity outside. It was the equivalent of being a mindless zombie whose brain had been taken over by the internet. Alec tried his best to persuade one of his brothers to accompany him outside, but neither were able to break free from the trance. 

Since all of Alec’s efforts came to no avail, he decided to see what his mom was doing. As Alec got closer to the kitchen area where Mom was located, he realized that she was on the phone. However, Alec’s detective skills began to be triggered because he immediately noticed some inconsistencies in Mom’s behavior. The first red flag that got Alec’s attention was that Mom was not using the speaker mode on her phone. This was odd because Mom almost always put her phone on speaker whenever she was at home or alone in the room. The second red flag that peaked Alec's interest was the fact that Mom was speaking in a low whisper-like tone.

In order to avoid drawing attention to his presence Alec kneeled down and peaked his head slightly beyond the kitchen wall. He could only hear bits and pieces of what Mom was saying. Alec didn’t fully hear every word that Mom said but he definitely knew that she said, “yes, the deal is done” and “no he definitely won't be returning.”

Unbeknownst to Alec his older brother Sean was behind him. Sean startled Alec when he yelled, “Hey, what are you doing?” The commotion on the other side of the room startled Mom so she told the caller on the other side of the phone line that she would call them back later. Alec slowly stood up as Mom hung up the phone line.

“Alec, were you eavesdropping?” asked Mom.

“No, I was just coming to the kitchen to get a snack,” Alec replied “but I stopped once I noticed that you were on the phone. Who were you talking to? What deal is done? Who isn’t returning? Returning where?” Alec, asked.

“So, you were eavesdropping,” Mom replied. “How many times have I told you that listening in to other people’s private conversations without their consent is wrong.”

“I know, I know,” Alec responded, “I won’t do it again.”

“Go to your room, you can get a snack later,” Mom said.

As Alec began to head towards his room, he noticed that his mom had not answered any of his questions. Alec suddenly realized that he had stumbled upon his first real-life mystery.

Day 1 of the investigation:

The following day Alec got up early because he was eager to find out more details about Mom’s mystery conversation. The night before he wrote up a list of peculiar circumstances that he felt he needed answers to, in order to put the puzzle pieces together.

Task 1: Find out who Mom was speaking with on the phone.

Task 2: Find out what deal Mom was referring to.

Task 3: Find out who wasn’t returning and where they weren’t returning to.

In the Wilson household Sunday mornings were special because it was the one day that Mom made a huge spread for the family. The family rule was that no one was allowed to miss breakfast, no matter what other appointments or activities that they had planned for the day.

When Alec came down to join his family for breakfast, he immediately noticed that one person was missing. “Where’s Dad?” Alec asked. Both brothers shrugged their shoulders. Mom then said, “your father won’t be joining us for breakfast.”

“Why not?” asked Alec.

“Because he is busy” Mom replied.

“But that’s against the family rule remember, everyone has to come to Sunday breakfast, no excuses,” said Alec.

“Dad’s not coming,” Mom, stated in a stern tone, “now drop it.”

In order to ease the indescribable tension in the room, Sean began to talk about his new summer job. While the Wilson family engaged in small talk during breakfast, Alec added a mental note for his investigation. He had just come to the realization that it had been a couple of days since he had last seen his father around. Not seeing his father daily wasn’t unusual because he worked two jobs and so often times he was at work or sleeping. But no matter how tired Dad felt, he always made time to come to Sunday breakfast. Dad being gone and Mom’s extreme reaction to Alec simply asking where he was were two additional clues that Alec added to his case.

Later that day Alec was still determined to figure out the identity of the mysterious caller Mom was speaking with. He devised a simple yet exquisite plan to get the answer to his question. Alec decided that he would simply ask Mom to use her phone because his phone was charging.  His plan worked; Mom allowed him to use her phone. However, when Alec attempted to get the mysterious caller’s name or phone number, he noticed that the call log from the past couple of days was gone. “Why would she delete the call history” Alec thought to himself.

Day 2 of the investigation:  

The following day Alec got up early. He wanted to see if Dad had returned home. Alec checked his parents’ bedroom, but it was empty. He also noticed that Dad’s work boots were still in the closet. “That’s odd,” Alec thought to himself, “Dad always takes his work boots with him.” Alec started to feel anxious because the clues that he had gathered so far indicated that something terrible had happened. Alec decided to shoot some hoops in order to blow off some steam.

When Alec opened the front door to his home, he noticed Mom was outside talking to a man. He definitely was not a relative or neighbor. Alec did not recognize the male figure at all. To make matters worse Alec noticed Mom give the unknown male an envelope before he left. When Mom approached the house, Alec asked, “Who was that?” Mom replied, “no one dear, just forget you ever saw him.”

Case closed

It had been nearly a month since Alec launched his investigation. All of the clues that he had gathered had led to one regretful conclusion, murder. Alec’s findings had him convinced that his Mom was a murderer. Initially Alec did not want to believe it. He couldn’t fathom the thought that his mom could truly be a murderer. However, the cold hard facts were overwhelmingly convincing.

Alec did not know how to handle the situation. His young mind was constantly filled with the same questions roaming through it. Should I call the police? Could I really turn my own mother in? What about my father’s legacy? Should I turn in my mother in order to get the justice owed to my father? Eventually Alec realized that the outcome of this situation would affect the whole family, so he decided to call a family meeting.

The family meeting was held at the family home in the living room. Alec chose the living room because it was a common space that everyone felt comfortable in. Once Mom and Alec’s two brothers had arrived at the meeting, Alec unveiled his evidence board.

“What is this?” asked Sean.

“Yeah, what’s going on sweetheart?” Mom asked. “Did you create one of those detective boards that you see on those murder mystery shows? Why is my picture in the center of your board? Are we going to do a mock murder mystery game?”

“No Mom this isn’t a game,” Alec replied. “This is an evidence board that I created. Over the past few weeks, I have noticed some inconspicuous things happening but after I put all of the puzzle pieces together, I realized the sad truth.”

“Ok” Mom said, in a curious and yet confused voice. “What inconspicuous things have you noticed?”

Alec then began to go over in detail all the peculiar events that had occurred. He started with the strange phone call, the cleared call history, her irritation when he asked about Dad’s whereabouts, also the fact that Dad was still MIA and the envelope given to the strange man, during the early morning hours. After providing the summarization of his findings Alec stated, “all of these details have led me to conclude that you murdered Dad, or you were at least involved with his disappearance.”

“Would you like to make a confession to being involved in the murder of our father?” Alec asked. Alec had read and seen a lot of murder mystery shows and he knew that having a confession was much more valuable than piecing together various articles of evidence.

“Alec are you being serious right now?” asked Sean.

“Yeah, you sound foolish,” chimed in their other brother, Matthew. “Mom’s not a murderer,” Matthew went on to say, “are you?”

“Murder” Mom said in disbelief, “are you really accusing me of being a murderer? How could you possibly think that I would be capable of doing such a thing, and to your father, of all people?”

“Well, how do you explain the phone call, or the stranger coming by or even the fact that Dad is missing. I think that you hired that man to get rid of Dad and the envelope was payment for completing the task,” Alec replied.

“I hate to admit it, but Alec is right Mom, the evidence is overwhelming,” said Matthew.

Before Mom could respond, the front door unlocked. Everyone’s eyes turned towards the door in unison. Moments later the front door opened, and Dad entered the room. “DAD!” exclaimed Alec. All three boys ran to greet their father at the door.

Dad entered the living room with the family after sharing joyous moments of love with each individual.  While sitting on the couch, Dad immediately noticed the evidence board. “What is this?” Dad asked, “are you guys playing a live action version of clue?”

“No, it’s a little bit more extreme than an ordinary game of clue,” Mom stated, with a chuckle in her voice.

“Well, what is it?” Dad repeated.

“Alec” Mom said.

Everyone looked towards Alec. Alec then began to explain to Dad the beginning, middle and current state of his investigation.  

“You thought your mother killed me,” said Dad while laughing.

“Well, my theory seemed plausible, right up until you walked through the front door,” Alec replied.

“Where have you been since it is obvious that you were not murdered?” asked Sean.

Mom and Dad then began to explain to the boys what happened. Dad was facing some misdemeanor charges that were related to a fight that he had with a co-worker. Mom’s phone call was with Dad’s lawyer. He had called to give her an update on Dad’s case. The deal that Mom was referring to was a plea agreement made with the prosecutor and the fact that the judge presiding over the case accepted the plea deal. “No, he definitely won't be returning” was Mom confirming with the lawyer that Dad would not be coming home that day because his brief jail sentence was enforced immediately. They also explained that the stranger that stopped by the house was Dad’s attorney who was coming to get the payment for Dad’s legal fees. The couple didn’t want to worry the boys, so they didn’t tell them that Dad was going to jail.

“Ok, well I guess the truth is more sensible than my murder theory,” said Alec.

Alec then apologized to his mom for accusing her of being a murderer. Mom suggested that he do more research or consider alternate theories in the future if he wanted to become a good detective. “I think I may put a pause on launching my own investigations” Alec thought to himself.

As Alec watched his family sit and laugh together in the living room, he realized that there was a positive outcome of the investigation. Sure, his conclusion was wrong, but it also brought the whole family together, laughing and enjoying each other’s company.