《The Software Detective》20. I'll Get to the Bottom of This Case
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Back in my room, I went into my suitcase and took out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I'm going to figure out this mystery. There's a chance the perpetrator could destroy valuable evidence before the detectives arrive. The murder could not be allowed to leave. The person who could commit such a gruesome act to a person in the hallway does not deserve to walk free.
I walked over to my desk and outlined who the suspects could be. One of the first suspects would be Vivica. She was close to Maggie. It's very common the victim knows their murderer. I'll need to find out her channel so I can verify if what she says I true. However, it doesn't make much sense for her to be the killer. If she wanted to kill her editor, why not do it while she's sleep or while she was still in the room?
The next suspect is most definitely Bethany. She knew exactly how the victim was murdered and where the injury occurred. I also highly doubt she is in medical school, given her work experience here. I should find out what hospital or doctor's office I should avoid. But even so, not everything pointed to her either. I remember hearing Maggie scream, 'Help! He's stabbing me to death!' and Bethany doesn't seem to identify as male. Even if Bethany identified as male, I don't think gender awareness and inclusivity was the first thing on Maggie's mind as the murder was ripping her liver out. With shaky evidence and suspects that aren't clear. I left my room with a notepad and pen. I would not solve this by just thinking about it rationally.
Back at the scene of the crime, Maggie's corpse was covered with a bed sheet. It was probably best not to examine the body. I didn't want the police to find my DNA at the scene of the crime. I went to Vivica's room first. I waited so long after I knocked on the door; I had almost given up hope and went to Cyrus. But Vivica opened the door, now in a pink unicorn onesie with her hood over her head. "Hi there underwear boy." Vivica said as tears fell from her eyes, and she sniffled.
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"The name's Tom. I came to check up on you." I said.
"That's so kind, please come in." Vivica said opening the door and inviting me in. She walked over to the desk where she had her streaming set up. There were two monitors that covered the majority of the desk. Behind them there was a desktop with the colors changing every so often from red to blue to green. In front. Of the monitors was the keyboard that also changed colors, like the desktop, with pink cat headphones on top. She took a seat at the table and grabbed a tissue box and blew her nose. "I only let you in because you don't look very athletic or strong."
There might be two murders tonight. "Uh thanks, I guess? Also, for the record, I can bench the bar." I took a seat on the bed near the desk. "Were you two close?"
"Yeah, we actually went to high school together, and we started doing this together our freshman year." Vivica blew into another tissue. "When we made some more money, we saved up so when we graduated high school we could move into our own apartment and pursue content creation full time. Maggie wasn't only an editor, but she was also a co-writer for the skits we would create. After this convention, we were going to go on a vacation to Bermuda to relax by the beach."
"That's tough and I am sorry you have to go through that." I said, pulling out my phone. I went on YouTube. "What's your channel? I want to see the videos you both worked on throughout the years. Since it's her legacy now, I want to see what kind of person she was."
Tears started to build up in her eyes and rolled down her face as she cried. "It's called SuperPoweredKittyStudios. We also have a vlog channel KittensInTheWild."
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"Are most of your videos about cats?" I asked, subscribing to both channels.
"Oh, so you've heard of us before!" Vivica said, perking up. "Do you want an autograph" wiping the tears and blowing her nose. She grabbed a sharpie that was on the desk, leaving her chair. She walked over to her suitcase and grabbed a photo of her dressed as a cat from her suitcase.
"That was just a guess, and there's no need for an autograph." I said, getting off the bed. Walking towards her I put a hand on her shoulder "Take care of yourself and if you need anything, just let me know." Taking my hand off her shoulder, I walked to the door.
"Thank you, Tom, I will." Vivica said as I was walking out the door.
The next person I need to interview is the author. He was weirdly excited about the murder. Stepping over the body, I knocked on the door. "Are you the police or the detective?"
"Uh no, it's me Tom. The guy that showed up in underwear." I yelled outside the door.
"What do you want? I'm working?"
"I was going to ask about what you heard about the victim."
"If you're not the police, I'm not talking to you! Either send them to my room or call me when you get there!" Cyrus screamed from inside the room. Well, I guess I won't be getting any information from this guy. That makes him more suspicious because he might destroy evidence in there, but I won't be able to get in there until the police arrive.
I walked over to Raj's door and knocked. But there was no answer. Some time passed before I figured he wasn't inside his room. I walked back to the elevator and went back into the lobby.
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