Soda Crackers and Insanity

This is a tale of death, twists, and turns. Many years ago, not that many actually, there was an intriguing case that was specially given to the FBI to work out. A man, an innocent video store clerk, was killed, seemingly for no reason. But, after the case was looked over and into, the most odd thing was discovered.

Detective Zacky Baker had been working for the FBI not even three years when he was given a very special assignment. His boss called him into his office one day to discuss it over with him. It was, apparently, quite urgent.

"Detective Baker," the boss grumbled, "sit down, son. I have a very important case to talk to you about."

The detective was very excited. He'd never gotten an important assignment. He quickly sat down. "What is it, sir?" His voice was smooth, and a bit higher than a normal man's voice.

Boss man cleared his throat. "Over in Orem, a video store clerk," he picked up the case file and looked through it, "by the name of Bert McCracken, was killed. We still don't know how he was murdered and we need you to figure it out."

"Great!" Zacky exclaimed. "I'll get right on it."

"In the lobby is Mr. McCracken's boyfriend, Jepha Howard. He might be able to help you he knows where Bert was killed. He'll take you there. Try to get some answers out of him, Baker, but don't push him too far. He's just lost someone close to him."

Zacky nodded, then stood up, took the case file, and left the office into the lobby. He shook his dark hair out of his eyes. Wow, he thought, this is a big case. His green eyes scanned the lobby and saw a man sitting on one of the couches. He had dark hair, and eyes, and his head was bent. He looked up when he heard Detective Baker's shoes on the floor.

"Mr. Howard?" Zacky questioned.

He nodded. "Yes." It came out as a whisper.

"I'm Detective Zacky Baker. I've been assigned to work out your boyfriend's death."

Jepha said nothing, only stared at the detective with sad eyes.

Jepha took the detective to the oasis out in the desert, which was where Bert had been killed. It was an odd place. Zacky didn't understand how there could be an oasis, as they were living in Utah, but he went right along with it.

"Were there any objects found by Mr. McCracken's body?" he asked.

Jepha shook his head. "No, nothing. He was just here, alone. There weren't any wounds to his body."

Zacky's brow furrowed in confusion. No wounds? How could that be? No weapon, no apparent sign for anything to have gone wrong. Strange. "Maybe we should go search for clues at your house," he suggested.

"Yes, that might be a good idea."

They drove the few miles to the apartment where Bert and Jepha lived together. They looked through drawers and old phone messages, but there really was nothing.

Jepha was looking through the closet when a picture fell from the top shelf. It was of his ex-boyfriend, Mikey Way, a championship chess player. He examined the picture the crazed looking boy with dark hair and glasses for awhile before an idea came to him. He ran out of the bedroom and into the living room, where Detective Baker was. He shoved the picture at him.

"What's this?" Zacky mumbled.

"My ex-boyfriend, Mikey. He never liked Bert. He hated him, actually."

"Hated him?"

"Yes."

"Well, do you think that he might have something to do with Bert's mysterious death?"

Jepha thought about it. "I really don't think so," he started. "Mikey's been in an asylum for the past three years. I'm pretty sure he hasn't gotten out."

Suddenly, a thought came to the detective. He realized that he should have relayed, and remembered, the information before. "We have cameras," he whispered to himself.

"What was that?"

"In the oasis where Bert was killed, we have cameras set up."

Jepha's eyes became wide. "Well, then, let's check the tapes!" he yelled. Then he was quiet for a second. "Why do you have cameras up in the desert?"

Zacky was silent, the look on his face sheepish. "We're tracking chupacabras."

"In Utah?"

"Do you want to check the tapes, or not?"

"Of course I do!"

The two left the apartment and went back to headquarters to look through the tapes from the day of Bert's death. The first few tapes showed nothing. But around three o'clock in the afternoon, Bert had entered the oasis. Alone. It was only Bert as he sat down on the rough ground next to the small puddle of water.

His messy, dark hair was covering his face, and he simply sat there.

"But, he's the only one there!" Jepha exclaimed.

Zacky nodded. "We'll have to look more closely at the tapes."

After another hour, Jepha and Zacky found out what had killed Bert McCracken.

"What's he eating?" questioned the detective.

Jepha looked closer and realized what it was. He glanced down at his lap. "Soda crackers."

"Soda crackers?"

On the screen, slowly, Bert began to asphyxiate and he fell to the sand. "He's allergic to soda crackers."

Detective Baker and Jepha Howard immediately looked more into the case, and eventually found out exactly what had happened. First, they'd gone to the asylum where Mikey Way was locked up and talked to him. Nothing was told to them in the beginning, but slowly he began to realize what he'd done to his ex-boyfriend. He explained to them that he'd written a threatening letter to Bert, telling him that if he didn't leave Jepha alone, Mikey would find a way to kill him. Being scared, and not wanting to have hurt Jepha by breaking up with him, Bert had decided that the only way to save himself was to commit suicide.

Mikey was not made to be tried for murder in any kind of trial, as he was, in fact, insane at the time of Bert's death.