Ellie nodded her head vigorously.

"Ellie..."

I looked up at her, and said, "Did the telescope observe your parents?"

"I... no," Ellie said, "No, but..."

"Then you don't have to do this, you can turn back now and we can forget this ever happened."

Ellie stared at me for a few moments, and said, "No."

"Is that your final answer?" I asked, "Will you murder your parents?"

"Yes."

I kissed her, hard, and said,

"Then I will help you." I held out my hand, palm up. "Give me your pistol."

Ellie placed her pistol into my hand, and I said, "Thank you."

I took the silencer out of my pocket and put a silencer on her pistol with me, "After you kill them, disguise it as a robbery to take all the money and then set it on fire."

"What?" Ellie asked, "Why would we do that?"

"To make it look like a robbery," I said, "And make it look like your parents were killed."

"But..." Ellie said, "Then everyone will think I did it."

"No," I said, "I won't say anything. You don't have to do this."

"Yes," Ellie said, "I do."

I said, "Let me help you escape, and I will make sure no one thinks you did it."

Ellie nodded slowly, then looked into my eyes.

"Do you... promise?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, "I promise."

"Then..." Ellie said, hesitantly, "Then I will kill my parents."

"I thought so," I said, "Let's do it."

We spent the next hour setting up for the murder/robbery.

I went around the house several times, picking and piling furniture to hide behind.

"Do you..." Ellie asked, "Would you want someone else to do it... instead of me?"

I didn't answer for a moment.

"No," I said, "It has to be you."

"Are you sure?" Ellie asked, a bit worried.

"Yes," I said, "I'm sure."

Ellie sighed and said, "Okay."

We went through with the plan.

We hid behind the furniture and waited for the old man to fall asleep.

"You look nervous," I said to Ellie, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Ellie said, shivering, "Quiet."

"Fine," I said.

My heart was beating loudly, faster than normal. I could barely hear myself think.

I kept glancing around, waiting for the old man to make a move.

"He's sleeping," Ellie whispered, "He's not going to do anything for a while."

I looked at my watch. "Your mother is in the living room, wait a little longer."

"What if he wakes up?" Ellie asked, "What if he finds us here...?"

"He won't if you give me time to get away," I said.

I was beginning to get anxious. I could barely contain myself.

"What if..." Ellie said softly, "What if it doesn't work..."

I put my finger to my lips, then whispered, "Shhh."

I glanced around the room. The curtains were closed, but it wouldn't take long for one of the People to come into the room and open the curtains. I had to act fast.

I slowly edged closer to the sitting chair, and peeked around it.

I saw the old man sleeping in the chair.

His head was tilted to the side, hanging loosely.

"Ellie, come over here and shoot."

My voice was shaking. I drew closer to the chair, then closer still.

I saw his head twitch.

I raised my pistol, and fired.

The bullet hit him in the forehead and he slumped over, falling off the chair.

I stared at him in shock.

Ellie ran over and examined the body. "He's dead."

"Go kill your mother!" I said.

Ellie nodded and hurried over to the sitting room. I followed her. A few gunshots later, I went over to see her.

"I did it," she said to me, "She's dead."

"Good," I said, "We have to get out of here!"

Ellie nodded, and took the old woman and dragged her into the bathroom.

"Take all the money!" she shouted to me, "Do you hear me! Take it all!"

"What about Mom?"

"She's not worth it," Ellie said, "We have to go!"

I nodded and hurried out of the bathroom.

I ran up to the sitting room, grabbed the old woman's purse, and ran outside.

Ellie ran up to me.

"Light this place up and no one will ever know about your past again." I said as I found the oil in the kitchen and poured it on the floor, handing her the lighter.

"Why are you doing this?" Ellie asked, "We can just run away from here."

"It is the flame that can destroy all evidence!"

"They'll find the body," Ellie said.

"Take out the money! And just leave the body, they'll think it's a robbery."

"I can't..." Ellie said, struggling against her conscience.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I can't..."

"Just do it!"

"No," Ellie sighed, then lifted her pistol and shot the old woman in the head.

I gasped as blood sprayed onto the walls and I said, "Shit!"

Ellie stared at the blood on the wall, then looked at me.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked.

"You're fucking tougher than me! Well, light the place up and escape again."

Ellie frowned, then shot the old woman again, in the chest.

"No one's going to know anything about this you can rest assured," Ellie said, "It's better that way."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"You're a cold-blooded murderer!" I said, "You're worse than those animals at the zoo."

"I'm not worse than them!" Ellie snapped, "And you're not helping matters by calling them that. They're bad animals. Bad, bad animals."

"I'm just saying..."

She lit the fuel to set the room on fire and I took her hand and ran out.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Running away."

"From what?"

"You. And this place. And the dead woman. You killed her."

Ellie nodded.

"We have to go to the forest."

"Come on!"

The fuel in the sitting room was beginning to burn.

Ellie dragged me towards the forest.

"They're going to find the body soon," she said, "It's better we're far away when they find out how greedy you are."

"If they find out..." I said, "They'll kill us."

"If we run, then maybe..."

"We can't run, we have to hide in the crowd. Give me your gun, we have to destroy it before we can wash the blood off our bodies."

Ellie handed I the gun.

"Now, let's go," Ellie said.

We hurried into the forest.

The smell of smoke reached our noses and we saw the fire in the night sky.

"We can make it," Ellie said with a smile, "Don't worry about it."

"You're not worried?"

"Of course not," Ellie said, smiling.

"How does it feel? Turning into a murderer?" I joked, throwing the two guns on the ground.

"Shut up," Ellie said, "You're not a murderer, you're a hero."

"Yeah, a hero who is running away from the cops."

"I'm not running away from the cops."

"I know, we saved each other, we became social monsters." I sat down to catch my breath. "What do you think they'll do to us?"

"Probably nothing," Ellie said, "If we're lucky, they'll hang us for the public to see."

The thought made me shiver.

"I don't want to die," Ellie said, "But if it comes down to it, I will."

"Me either," I said. "Have you figured out what you're going to say to the police?"

"I'm going to tell them," Ellie said, "That we staged the whole scene, the guns, the blood. They'll never believe it."

"You're wrong."

"Am I?"

"Yes, you are."

"Well," Ellie said, staring into the night sky, "I guess it's better than being in prison."

I didn't say anything.

"Come on, let's go."

"Where?"

"Anywhere. We'll just walk around the forest. It looks dark, but there's a full moon out."

We walked around the forest. It looked scary at night, with the trees reaching to block the moonlight. The quiet of the forest was scary, with the wind chimes making a creepy music.

"Stop shivering," Ellie said, "I know how to handle a gun."

"You don't know how to handle a gun," I said, "You only know how to stage a crime."

"Shhhh!" Ellie hissed, "I said shivering is bad."

We walked in silence. Ellie held my hand.

say "Let's start with a unified narrative, we all saw a robber shoot your parents."

Ellie nodded.

"Then we have a common enemy, a unified goal."

"Yes," Ellie said, "The police."

"What will we tell them, that the robbers are psychopathic killers?"

"No," Ellie said, "That the police let them out of prison in order to kill again?"

"That sounds a little farfetched," I said, "A masked man?"

"With a mask?" Ellie asked, smiling, "Even better."

"Ellie, what were you doing before you met me?"

"Gathering data for a report... for a possible book deal."

"You didn't have a career before me?"

Ellie smiled, then frowned.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm afraid. Afraid of what, Death? Pain? Confinement? That's a fairly standard reaction for anyone who's not insane."

"Well," I said, "Maybe that's why you'll never amount to anything. No ambition. I suppose it's my job to cheer you up."

Ellie blushed.

"You... you don't understand," she said, "I've always been ambitious. I've just been frustrated that my methods have kept me from reaching my goal."

"Frustrated?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's interesting."

"What do you mean?"

"I can help you, my father is rich enough for you to follow me and achieve your goals." I stopped and stared at her, a certain desire to control burning from within. "Would you consider that a bribe?"

Ellie smiled. I could tell she was tempted and I could see the gears turning in her head.

"No," she said, shaking her head, "But thank you for thinking of me."

"You're welcome."

Ellie looked at the ground.

"Actually," she said, "It's not about the money."

"Oh?"

"Yeah," Ellie said, "It's about the power."

"And?"

"And... I want to be a famous writer. Your parents have money. I want them to invest in my future. Then maybe I can get a book deal. Then maybe a movie deal. Then maybe..."

"Ellie..."

"I'm serious," she said, "This is my chance. I can be whatever I want. There's no stopping me."

"Sure, just what do I get?"

"You get my undivided attention," Ellie said, staring at me, "You get to be the main character."

"That's not a deal, that's..."

Ellie shook her head.

"No, it's a deal," Ellie said, "I'm giving you a chance. If you refuse this offer, I will become the most hated person in New Zealand."

"Why would you want that?" I caressed her face and said, "I will agree, only you will kneel to me."

"Don't make me do this, please," Ellie said, dropping to her knees.

"If you refuse, this bargain is off."

"You best not make me angry, Mu," Ellie said, staring down the barrel of my gun.

"I won't, I just want you to bark like a dog."

"It's not the same thing," Ellie said, "What I want is your attention, power, and money. If you refuse me, I will kill myself."

"You want my power and money, I want total control over you, and you must learn to bark."

"That's not the same thing, I don't want to..." Ellie looked down at her knees.

"Then you'll have to learn to stop being so greedy and to do as I say."

"Don't tell anyone, or I'll have to kill you." Ellie looked up at me, her hands clasping her knees.

"Don't worry," I said, "I won't tell anyone you begged me not to. But you'd better start learning how to obey."

"Yes, Master," Ellie said, bowing her head.

"Learn to bark like a dog."

Ellie rose to her feet, eyes wide with fear.

"No," she said, struggling not to let her fear show, "Maybe later..."

"No later," I said, "Bark!"She screamed as I fired a succession of lead bullets into her side. She screamed and clutched at her bleeding mouth.

"Give her a chance to live," Ellie shouted.

"Yes......," I whispered.

Ellie looked to the ground, then slowly nodded.

Ellie barked.

I smiled.

"Good girl," I said, "You're learning."

"How'd you do that?" Ellie asked, staring at her bleeding side.

"I'm very inventive," I said, "Come, I'll teach you later, to fear rather than hate."

"It's a start," Ellie said, "We'll have to work on that."

"Yeah, let's get you home," I said, leading Ellie up the path.

* * *

Ellie slept in, and I stayed up to make sure she was comfortable.

After she went to sleep, I returned to my room, and studied my notes on the characters.

I wondered if my study of Psychology had helped me understand anything.

I knew little about the human mind, but what I did know, I applied it.

If someone did to me what I had done to Ellie, I would fight back.

I would not allow them to control me.

I would not let them use me.

It turns out that people can be controlled. I need to find a form of capitalism that can control human beings more deeply, with apparent choice, but actually without choice.

If this is not possible, then I would like to be left alone, not manipulated, used, and deceived, as much as possible.

* * *

Ellie took a shower, and I made her breakfast in the toaster oven.

After she finished eating, I showed her how to bark like a dog.

"Bark!" I said sharply, snapping my fingers in front of her face.

"Woof!" Ellie barked, staring at me in confusion.

"Do it again!" I said, smiling.

"Woof!"

"Yes!"

"Oh, goodie!" she said happily.

"Good girl," I whispered, patting her head, "Take off your clothes and let me see your tattoos."

"What? No!" she exclaimed, clutching her T-shirt.

"Obey!" I said, pointing a threatening finger at her.

Ellie undressed, and I studied her shapely body.

"You're beautiful," I said, "Just like my mother."

Ellie blushed, and I stroked her pretty face.

"You're so pretty," I said, "When the police have finished investigating the case, I'll take you to get a nose ring & tattoo."

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"Trust me," I said, "It'll be well worth it."

Ellie smiled shyly, and pulled back the covers to reveal her beautiful long legs.

"Now, get into bed," I said, "I'll brush your hair for you."

Ellie laughed, and I removed the brush and made her hair as long and wild as possible.

"It's perfect," I said, "How could anyone possibly want their hair done any other way?"

She smiled, and closed her eyes.

"You've ruined me for anyone else," she said.

Ellie slid out of bed and into the shower.

"I'm going to go take care of the cleaning," she said, "Because you've spoiled me."

"Me too."

Ellie closed the door to the bathroom and turned on the water, leaving me in silence.

I stared at the door, and thought about the woman who had once been in there.

Would she come back?

And if she did, would I recognize her?

These were the questions that obsessed me, and I could not wait to find out the answers.

* * *

Ellie emerged from the bathroom, and I stared at her.

She looked beautiful, as always. Her long hair dangled over her face, obscuring her expressions. Even so, I could see the confusion in her eyes and the worry on her face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Master."

"Yes?"

"You do understand that we're being hunted, don't you? By the people who want to destroy our kind?"

"Yes," I said, "Put on some new clothes and come downstairs with me to meet my parents."

Ellie hesitated, and I said,

"Now."

Ellie nodded, and slipped into a nightgown.

I led her downstairs, and she followed me meekly.

* * *

We went through the regular motions of eating dinner and saying pleasantries.

"You're a lot like your father, I see," My father said, glancing at Ellie.

"Not in every way," she said, "But we have the same last name, so..."

"Yes, yes," he said, waving his hand.

"So, what's the problem, Ellie?" my mother said from the table where she sat, a newspaper in her hands.

"There's someone who can help us," she said, "But..."

"Hang on," my father said, cutting her off, "We'll get to that. Right now, I think you should tell us about this person."

Ellie looked at me, and I nodded encouragingly.

"Last night, when Lee and I went back to my house, we saw a masked man burst into my house and shoot my parents, and then he chased and shot us. We barely escaped with our lives."

"Did you get a good look at him?" my father asked.

"No, he was wearing a mask," Ellie said, "But..."

Ellie hesitated, and I went over and put on my best encouraging face.

"But what?" I asked.

"But we think that person is Doctor Kessel," Ellie said, "We saw his car parked here."

"No," I said, shaking my head, "He wouldn't..."

"Hush," my mother said, "Let the poor girl finish."

Ellie looked at my mother, and I nodded.

"Yes."

"We think that masked man was Dr. Kessel," Ellie said, "My father and I saw his car parked here, and we think that he killed my parents. When we got away, he started shooting at us. My father tried to fight back, but..."

Ellie's voice cracked and tears formed in her eyes.

"But they were both dead," she finished.

"Why would he do that?" my father asked, "If he's the one who killed your folks, why would he risk everything by shooting at you?"

"We don't know."

"What's this about you seeing his car?"

"Don't ask Ellie, we should tell the police now, the fire must have alerted them during the night."

"Oh, I see." My father's voice turned stony. "I suppose it would be best to have the police do an investigation, yes. We'll give them all the information they need."

***

The police arrived in the morning, and I told them everything.

It was a long and boring hour. They asked the same questions again and again, and we gave them the same answers.

"Have you notified the relatives?" a female officer asked.

"She lives here in New Zealand."

"So, who might have done it?" the police chief asked.

"Well, we weren't exactly best buddies with the family, so..."

"How did this Kessel guy find out?"

"We don't know. It's quite possible he saw something that set him off, and then he just took care of the problem without any regard for the law."

"Well, we'll do a thorough investigation, and we'll find out what happened. Don't worry."

"Do you think it will be enough?" Ellie asked.

"We have enough evidence to prosecute, yes. I'm sorry, Ellie, but you've got a lot of questions to answer."

"I'm not going to jail," Ellie said.

"We'll do our best to make sure you don't," the police officer replied.

Ellie nodded, and the police left.

I said to Ellie, "Go to the bathroom and talk."

Ellie followed I into the bathroom, and when we were alone, I said to her, "So? Did they catch on?"

Ellie sighed.

"No," she said, "They'll keep trying, but they don't have nearly enough evidence to convict me."

"Do you think they'll find something?"

"I don't know," Ellie said, "I don't think anyone really knows what happened. I mean, we were the only witnesses, and we weren't exactly the most credible ones. Do you think the police will find a better suspect or something?"

"No, I don't," I said, "There's a serial killer out there, and he's still at large. I turned up the water on the faucet to muffle the sound of speech. "We need to unify the testimony, not have you detained and put the suspicion on Dr. Kessel."

"I know," Ellie said, "But I don't see that happening. The police must have an idea of who did it by now, right?"

"Not really," I said, "There is the principle of presumption of innocence, and as long as there is no evidence to establish that you are the killer you will not be convicted."

"What about the physical evidence?"

"What do you mean?"

"The murder weapon, for example. Surely the police would need that to convict me."

"Not necessarily," I said, "We can get a warrant and test the gun, and if it turns out not to be the murder weapon, they can drop the charges."

"And if the gun doesn't match?" Ellie asked.

"Then they need another suspect, and maybe you will be that person."

"I don't think so," Ellie said, "Anyway, there's no way the police will ever get a warrant for that test. I wouldn't put it past them to try and use this as an opportunity to get information on me or my family. We're not the only people who could possibly have a grudge against the family, you know."

"True," I said, "I need to wipe those two pistols clean and put them in Dr. Kessel's house so he's a suspect. That way, they'll have something to go on. Or do you think they'll suspect him from the very beginning?"

"I don't know," Ellie said, "Probably not. That guy is a pompous jerk, but I don't think he'd go around killing people just to get revenge. Plus, he has an alibi for the night of the murder."

"What about his car?"

"He admits it was there, but he says he never left the house that night. Too risky, according to him."

"Well, at least we know that Kessel really doesn't have an alibi, or if he does it's not a very good one," I said, "Come closer to me and let me see the gunshot wound on your face."

Ellie leaned in, and I examined the injury. It seemed to be healing very well.

"Hmm," I said, "That looks like it could have been caused by a.22 caliber bullet."

"So we're looking for a gun that fits that description."

"A good guess," I nodded.

"What other evidence do we have against Kessel?"

"Not much," I said, "Don't worry, even if you're convicted, I'll bail you out, praise be to capitalism."

"Don't make me laugh in this situation, " Ellie warned.

I shrugged, and said, "Okay, I guess we'll need to do a little investigating of our own. We can't just sit here and let a madman get away with murder."

"That's true," Ellie said, "but how?"

"We'll put him in jail, but until then, you make me comfortable."

Ellie walked over to me and sat down on the closed toilet seat..

"Come on," I said, "let's see how well you can take a beating."

Ellie laughed, so I pulled her close and kissed her. I placed my hands on her butt, and squeezed in a little bit.

"So," I said, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to resist you," Ellie said, "But I'm sensing a weakness in my position."

"Oh yeah?"

Ellie nodded, and I kissed her for a bit longer.

My plan worked and she was domesticated.

This is the first time that I've ever done this, and I'm not too sure of myself.

Should I keep this prisoner, or free her? And how will I do it?

Should I kill her to stop her from talking? Or will that cause a bigger scene?

Should I drug her? The sedatives in the hospital might not be the best, but they are probably better than no medication at all.

Should I give her an injection? Is giving someone a sedative an acceptable way to restrain them?

I have no idea what I'm doing.

It's a difficult decision.

***

A few months later, it was finally over.

I was in the main office of the St. Louis County Courthouse, waiting with Ellie for the judge to call our case.

Our lawyers had managed to get Judge Edblad to grant us a jury trial, which was a big ask, considering that Ellie was a suspect.

We would have to put up with a judge who would not allow us to introduce Ellie as our suspect, and we would not be allowed to introduce any evidence that she wasn't.

"Mr. Li," the judge said, "The plaintiff may present its case."

Ellie and I stood up and faced the judge.

"Your honor," I said, "Miss Jordan and I are standing here, ready to present our defense."

"You may proceed," the judge said.

"Of course," I nodded.

"Now," I said, "I would like to question the testimony of the defendant, Dr. Charles Kessel."

The judge said nothing, and Ellie sat down.

"Dr. Kessel," I said, "You were the coroner of St. Louis County, were you not?"

"Yes," Kessel said, "I was."

"Do you remember testifying in a trial not too long ago, that the deceased had a fatal gunshot wound to the head?"

"I do."

"Was that testimony accurate?"

"In so many words, yes."

"So you were not deliberately lying?"

"Of course not," Kessel said, "It's just that the wound is self-evident, isn't it?"

"That's not what I meant," I said, "In your testimony you determined that the two decedents, the parents of the plaintiff, Miss Ellie, died from gunshot wounds?"

"That is correct."

"Do you know where those wounds were located?"

"The mother's in the chest, and the father's in the head."

"Thank you, for the prosecution to produce the two .22 caliber handguns recovered from Dr. Kessel's home? Your Honor?"

"I call no witnesses, Mr. Li," the judge said, "You may call your first witness."

I looked over at Ellie, who had a smug look on her face.

"Thank you, Your Honor." I said, "I request that Officer Smith be subpoenaed."

"Mr. Li," the judge said, "What's the purpose of calling this witness?"

"He's a material witness." I exchanged a glance with my attorney, Miss Jordan, and then I said, "Officer Smith recovered two .22 caliber handguns from Dr. Kessel's home, which is the same caliber of bullet required for the fatal wounds of the two victims. We have reason to suspect that Dr. Kessel shot and killed Ellie's parents."

"Oh?" The judge asked. "Go on."

"Officer Smith is an extremely credible witness," Miss Jordan said, "and his testimony will be of critical importance in this case."

"I see," the judge said, "You request that the officer be compelled to appear?"

"If it won't cause undue hardship, yes."

"Well then, the request is granted. Officer Smith, please stand."

"Please state your name for the court," the judge said.

"William Joseph Smith."

"Where you employed by the police department?"

"St. Louis County, Hawke's Bay Area."

"On what dates did you perform your last two investigations?"

"December 16, 2016 and January 12, 2017."

"Please point out the location of each and every one of those investigations."

"Here."

"Thank you, officer. Now, would you please state the results of each investigation?"

"Yes, please."

"Please describe what you found during the December 16, 2016 investigation."

"In the living room of the plaintiff's home, we found a male decedent with a gunshot wound to the head and a female decedent with a gunshot wound to the chest, identified as Mr. Jim, the father of the plaintiff, Miss Ellie, and her mother, Mrs. Alice. The Two decedents had been gunshot, with a.22 caliber revolver. It was determined that the revolver had been fired at close range."

"Thank you, officer."

"No further questions."

"Mr. Li, do you wish to cross-examine the witness?"

"We do not, Your Honor."

"Very well, the witness may step down."

I looked at Ellie, who was smirking.

"Thank you, officer," the judge said, "Please give us a moment to discuss your testimony in private."

"Of course, Your Honor."

The judge and the lawyers all left the courtroom.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Ellie said, "I told you the trial should have gone along without a jury!"

"Hey," I said, "I didn't know that we would have a jury!"

"Yeah," she said, "Me neither."

"Ms. Jordan, what are the chances of us winning the case?" I asked, ignoring Ellie.

"Well, there's a 50 percent chance of winning, because I'm not an idiot. I'd be happy with a 33 percent chance, because these juries are impossible to predict. But, I hope you don't intend to spend all your money here, because I won't be able to continue representing you if that happens!"

"That's not what I'm worried about," I said, "We have yet to find a motive for the defendant Dr. Kessel's crime."

"Well, let's assume for the sake of argument that the defendant did shoot the two decedents accidentally. Would you still not have a motive? What's the potential gain from a crime like this? Unless he's a sociopath, the only likely benefit he would receive is fame, and even that may not be enough to overcome the social stigma of being branded a murderer. I'm not sure what it is about this case, but I definitely see where Dr. Kessel's coming from."

"But, what about the fact that he's a doctor? No one knows what was going through his mind. Maybe being a doctor for a long time made him a sociopath. And finally, hatred and revenge against people like us? I mean, we're good-looking people, and we're successful, so he might think it's his due. Maybe he's got a history of mental illness, and has been undiagnosed for years. Maybe he's getting desperate for cash, and is planning to sell this place. Maybe it's all of the above! I don't know, but I'm not sure we're dealing with a rational or normal human being, do you?"

"I wouldn't go that far," Miss Jordan said, "But, you're probably right. So, what are we going to do?"

"First assume that he is the subject of the crime and has the criminal purpose of killing the victim, as for the motive of the crime is presumed from his testimony and evidence?"

"Yes?"

"Then, we need to figure out how he could have committed the crime."

"Yes, that sounds right. Let's start with the location."

"The crime occurred in the house of the plaintiff, Li Ellie, which is in the town of Martinborough, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand."

I stood up and put my hand to my head, as I tried to remember the exact location. "Hm. The place seems rather empty."

"What do you mean?"

"There are very few residents and no surveillance system." I explained as Ellie and Miss Jordan stared at me.

"That's weird," Miss Jordan said, "I mean, the house is pretty run down, and we've been told that the plaintiff has very little money."

"Yeah," I said, "It is weird."

"But, the house has surveillance cameras, so that's not a situation."

"Oh, really?"

"Surveillance videos were captured in the house on the nights of December 5 and 16. You can watch them at the police station."

"Let's see."

I walked out of the courtroom and up the stairs. I held the door open for Ellie and Miss Jordan, and they followed me.

"Can we watch the footage now?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, but you have to wait in this waiting room. We have to monitor it and make sure it hasn't been tampered with. The computer will be connected to the police department's filing system to broadcast the surveillance." Ms. Jordan explained.

"Wait." Ellie said, "Will you two be able to watch it?"

"Yes," I said, "we'll be watching it."

"Fine," Ellie said, walking into the room.

"There," Miss Jordan said, pointing at the monitor. I walked over to the screen, and saw three people walk into the kitchen.

"That's strange," I said, "Three people entered the kitchen during the time the murder was supposedly being committed."

"What do you mean?" Miss Jordan asked.

"Well, let's look at it this way," I said, "If the system was working as it's supposed to, then the camera should have captured the presence of Dr. Kessel, or at least he should have given some sort of indication that he was there. But, no one entered the room for over four hours, while the murders took place."

"What do you think it means?" Ellie asked.

"It means that the video has been tampered with, Or maybe the killer has two people. One to shoot the victims and one to dispose of the body. Like, maybe, a partner in crime? I'm not sure, but it's possible."

"You think that's what happened?" Ellie asked. She sounded scared.

"I can't be sure, but it's a possibility. We have to consider all the evidence, and the only way we're going to do that is if we get the tapes from the cameras."

"We have video cameras," Miss Jordan pointed out.

"Yeah, but the police have the only video recorder in the entire town. We have to get the evidence out of town so a copy can be sent to a crime lab for analysis."

"That's a very good point," Miss Jord

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