Cupid Gone Killer

A sweet Valentines Day has just gone bitter with death.
Near the edge of the local park where the lake is located. A body was found surrounded by five other people and that could only mean that one of them has to be the killer. “It seems that the victim was shot through the heart with an arrow, but the arrow looks very similar to the one Cupid shoots in myths.” It was true, the arrow was painted red and the tip was a pink heart. “So tell me what you all saw.” Said Officer Henson. “Well, I was at the car getting the drinks for our picnic.” Said Diana, one of the victim’s friends. “So you weren’t here at the time of the
murderer?”
“That’s right.” Diana was starting to feel very uneasy. She knew that she was probably one of the more suspicious people out of the other four.
“I was also not here at the time. I had gone for a walk with my camera. I was hoping to capture a few pictures of the wildlife for my nature website.” Officer Henson was starting to get worried that this case was going to take all day. “And who might you be?”
“My name is Alex and Drake was my boyfriend!”
“You’re boyfriend! Does that mean you’re gay?”
“Yes, and so are my friends Mica and Diana.”
“Then what about the other two?”
“No, Ashley and Joe are just childhood friends we know. We all thought it would be fun to invite them. We thought it might get them to connect.”
“I keep telling you guys I don’t see Ashley that way! We’re just friends!” Joe’s face had turned a bright red and Ashley had turned her view way from Joe. She seemed to be very embarrassed.
“That’s enough! This is getting really annoying!” Said a voice. “Who’s there?” Officer Henson turned to the direction of the voice quickly. Then his face turned grim with horror. A man holding a crossbow was aiming straight at him. “What are you doing?” Officer Henson wiped out his gun and pointed it at the man. “Hey! Henson, it’s just me! Kiel.” The man stepped closer into the light and revealed himself.
It really was Kiel. “Kiel! Don’t scare me like that! God man! Why are you here anyway?” Like he really had to ask. “I was taking a stroll when I noticed something. It was a crossbow, the one I’m holding now. I found it in a tree. There was a line still attached to it and I followed it. When the rope came to an end I found a pulley system attached to a timer. I think this is how the killer committed the crime.”
“I think you might be right Kiel, but the only question left is whose the killer.”
“I’m sure that can be answered through a little questioning of the suspects.”
“Right! Now tell me what was going on, and where you all were at the time of the murder.” The first to speak was Drake’s boyfriend, Alex. “Like I said before I was out on a walk taking pictures for my website.” Second was Mica, “I was with Joe, Ashley, and Drake playing cards at the picnic table. We were getting bored waiting for the food to cook so I pulled out some playing cards and suggested that we play.”
“So you were with the victim when he was murdered?”
“Yes, the same with Joe and Ashley.” The alibi’s were causing a major decrease in suspects. Detective Kiel was trying to think of a possible way his hunch could be correct. Cause he was certain he knew the killer identity, but the alibi was the only problem. “Then that mean Diana was out at her car. So due to these facts I can now narrow down the suspects to two individuals. Diana, and Alex!”
“I can’t believe you would accuse me of killing my own boyfriend!” Said Alex with an enraged face. “I can’t believe this is happening.” Diana fell to her knees and started crying. Mica rushed over is comfort her. “You should be ashamed of yourself Officer. Making a poor innocent girl cry like this. I hate people like you!”
Kiel started laughing. “Kiel why are you laughing?” Officer Henson was starting to get worried. He thought the sun had gotten to him. “Do you think this is funny?” Mica was getting very upset. “I think it is very funny. Very funny indeed. For someone like you to say and act like this is hilarious!” Kiel couldn’t stop laughing. He found all of this to be quite amusing.
“How dare you!” Mica stood up and slapped Kiel in the face. He stopped laughing immediately. Then turned to slap her back. “Don’t ever slap me again bitch!” Officer Henson could only stand and watch. He was too afraid to stop the fighting. “Officer Henson, I know who the killer is.” Officer Henson hesitated for a moment. “Henson!” He snapped out of his trance. “Who is it Kiel?”
“The murder is this girl right here. Mica Rogers!”
“But Kiel, she was with the victim the same time the murder had been committed.”
“And that’s what makes her the killer!”
“I don’t understand. Wouldn’t the killer be one of the two friends that weren’t here at the time, and not the other three that were here?”
“In most cases yes, but this case was completely different. I all most missed it myself, but the real two clues that played into all of this are the playing cards and the timer.”
“You’re right! I had almost forgotten the timer. With that the murder could have happened at any given time. Making anyone a suspect, but then how do you know the killer was Mica?”
“The second clue, the playing cards.”
“Playing cards?”
“Yes, my guess is that when Mica and her friends were playing. She handed him a card, there are a few games that are like that, but the card wasn’t one from her hand, but was hidden in her sleeve. When she handed the card to him it probably had something written on it to make him turn around at the exact moment the timer for the crossbow had gone off.”
“Mica? Where are your playing cards right know?”
“I left them on the picnic table” Kiel went the picnic table and started looking at the cards. After he was done he placed them back on the table. Then he noticed something on the ground and picked it up. “So was it there?” Asked Officer Henson. “No, but that deck of cards is missing one card.”
“Then she must have hidden it!” Officer Henson started checking Mica and her belongings, but no card. “I guess the wind carried it away. That’s probably why there’s a card missing.”
“Possible, but highly unlikely.”
“Why is that?”
“Two things! One, the deck of cards would be partly slanted if the wind had blown on it, and second, there is no wind out today.” He was right, there had been no wind! Kiel smiled. “I also know where you hide the card. When you were playing cards you were chewing gum. Right?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?”
“I found a rapper near the picnic table, and realized quickly it was a gum rapper.” Kiel was moving towards the picnic table as he talked. “So when the victim was killed, I’m pretty sure you and your friends hide under the table to avoid any of the blood spatter.” Kiel put his hand on the front edge of the table. “That’s when you took the card and your chewed up gum and stuck it to the bottom of the table.”
Kiel flipped the table so it showed its bottom. Then there in the middle was the card. Written on it was, ‘Look Behind You!’ “So anyone playing with us could have done it! You have nothing on me!”
“But didn’t you say that you had brought the cards and suggested to play? Or were you lying?” Mica chuckled, “You win Detective. I killed Drake Morris. I killed him for taking Diana away from me!” Diana looked at Mica. “Mica.”
“I don’t understand. Don’t you love me any more?”
“I’m sorry Mica, but Drake was so nice to me. I didn’t think you would go this far.” Both were on the ground hugging one another and crying. “So it was a love triangle motive.”
“No. Alex was all ready cheating on Drake when I noticed that Alex wasn’t as upset as Diana was. So I knew Diana must have been cheating on Mica with Drake. While Alex cheated on Drake with Joe.”
That was the end of a bitter Valentines day. “So tell me Kiel. Why were you here in the first place?”
“My wife and I used to come here all the time and gaze at the clouds and take long walks up the trails. I come here every Valentines day carrying around an old picture of her.” Kiel pulled out a framed picture of his wife. “Wow! She sure was a beauty!”
“Yeah, we had been forced to get married at a young age. At first we were apposed to it, but then we got to know each other a little more. Soon we fell in love.”
“You really miss her huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey! Don’t be so down. Some of my friends and I are going to this bar downtown tonight. If you want, you can come with us.”
“Sure, sounds like fun.”