Update: Riri’s handwriting is headache-inducing. We’ve been spit-balling motives for Fred, Mimi and Derek all day. But what we’re coming up with is ridiculous. Too far-fetched.
My phone rings. This works in my favour, now becoming:
TUSC report: very important call #2
‘Yo, LaShawn, what goes up but never goes back down?’
‘What?’ he asks.
‘An exploding rocket.’ I break out into laughter. So does LaShawn.
Meanwhile, Riri’s eyes widen. ‘How insensitive!’
My eyebrows knit down. ‘It’s a joke. Relax.’
‘You’re mad, son,’ LaShawn tells me with a snigger.
‘Mad enough to ask you for a favour. But is it really a favour if you’re technically fulfilling your duty as a SIT for the TUSC?’ I’m hopeful that this will be the year that LaShawn and Helin qualify as sleuths. They have the skillset, for sure. Just not the stomach.
‘Favour? Y’know Mama’s got me on house arrest until I study my brain away. Mama actually asked the secondary school for the Year 7 curriculum so I could get ahead or whatever.’
‘Sucks to be you.’ Also, I hope Dad doesn’t find out about that and get the curriculum for me – I have lots of things on my plate, and preparing for Year 7 is not on the agenda. ‘I need you to use your drones for a super-secret TUSC operation.’
‘Nice. You didn’t ask me how I am, by the way.’
I hold back a sigh. ‘How are you?’
‘Y’know what? Not too good, man. Remember my dream of being a grime MC?’
‘It’s all you ever talk about. You want to be the first-ever grime MC who raps while he invents things for science. The freestyling inventor.’ LaShawn has won many science competitions for his inventions. My personal favourites are his weather balloon and robo-ercoaster (his robot rollercoaster – the robot does your chores while you enjoy the mini rollercoaster in the back garden. The robot senses when parents are nearby, to disable the rollercoaster so you can act like you’ve been doing the chores the whole time. He’s currently trying to program the robot to do maths homework). Between LaShawn winning awards for his inventions and Helin for her journalism, I’m starting to think I’m the unremarkable one of our friend group. But one day I’ll win supersleuth awards.
‘Well, I finally finalised my soundboard design. The LaSoundboard 5.0. Tryna make beats outside – for authentic, real-world sounds – and it went great. That bus in the background would sound epic, y’know?’
‘Is there a point here or are you losing it because of your studying house arrest?’
‘Pfft, patience. Let me huff and puff and blow your mind! So, sunset, about two weeks ago. The day before Mrs Kostas got killed. Streets weren’t busy. I walked around, recording my audio and whatnot. Finally got round to listen to my slaying beats just now. Guess what? One had been disrupted. It picked up the audio of some angry folk arguing.’
‘Who?’
‘Patience, Ani. With a heavy heart, I had to put the LaSoundboard 5.0 to bed. And by “to bed”, I mean “under my bed”. And by “under my bed”, I mean “in my archives”.’
‘And by this –’ I yawn – ‘I mean “I’m falling asleep”. Did you call me to monologue? Cause I’m kinda busy here. Doing serious work.’
‘Yeah, I did call you to monologue – Helin told me about your call to her. I felt left out, so what? I’m ready to help.’
‘I know you are. Listen to that tape you’re talking about – maybe you’ll find something useful to our investigation.’
‘That’s what I’ve been trying to say – I already did. To both of those things.’
‘What?’
‘Listened to the tape, check. Found something useful to your investigation, check.’
‘What?! Why didn’t you start with this?!’
‘For suspense! You’re a supersleuth, aren’t you? In sleuth movies, we always see the good guy do a big reveal at the end.’
I grunt. ‘LaShawn.’
He laughs, nervously. ‘Just listen to it yourself. I’ve refined the audio – stripped it of my rapping and background sounds so it’s clear for you to hear. I’ll send it over. Uh . . . not to bias up your thoughts but you will not like what you hear. ’Kay, bye.’ He hangs up.
I turn to Riri. She probably heard that because she was dead silent throughout the conversation. ‘OK, let’s play it then we’ll look at motives.’ I hold my breath as I recognise the voices. Friendly voices – or so I thought: it’s Derek and Mrs Kostas/Dimas!
Derek: Mrs K, listen to me for a sec!
Mrs Kostas/Dimas: No, young man, I won’t. This isn’t up for debate.
Derek: Actually it is! I’m your silent partner now, remember? I get a say in things about Cafe Vivlio now too. Don’t forget that.
Mrs Kostas/Dimas: Don’t forget your manners. Just give me time to consider it. And if you say you’re a silent partner, then why go behind my back? It’s unnecessary –
Derek: I’ve already explained to you why it’s necessary. Our partnership won’t work if you refuse to see my point-of-view, you know. Mine is current, fresh and successful.
Mrs Kostas/Dimas: It’s costly and time-consuming. Not to mention an extra responsibility. Look, there’s a lot to discuss but I can’t right now. I’ve got to go to a barbecue with Ani soon. Tomorrow, I’ll have an answer for you.
Derek: In the meantime, don’t forget who helped people discover Cafe Vivlio on a bigger scale than Castlewick. On social media, you’re the puppet and I control your strings.
Mrs Kostas/Dimas: I don’t think you –
Derek: In life and in death, Mrs K. When you’re six feet under, I’ll fully own the cafe. If I’m six feet under before you, then you’ll go back to fully owning it. But for now, it’s ours.
Mrs Kostas/Dimas: Derek Chase, remember that the tongue has no bones but bones it crushes. You –
The audio turns static and then cuts off.
I’m dumbstruck but Riri must be clueless, so I explain: ‘That was Derek talking to Mrs Kostas/Dimas.’ Derek’s words and his tone have chilled me. That doesn’t sound like the Derek I know. And he was Mrs Kostas/Dimas’s silent partner for Cafe Vivlio?! How did I not know this?
‘Are you positive?’ Riri asks in a husky voice, as if she’s on the verge of tears. It was an intense exchange we just listened to.
I nod. ‘I’m – I was – friendly with both of them, so I know their voices. Positive.’ I know it’s them and I’m so annoyed – my breathing is loud through flaring nostrils. I know my face is red and I’m glaring but that’s not helpful for a supersleuth. No time for anger. But if I do focus on what else I’m feeling, then it’s anger. ‘I want to bottle up the sound of her voice. Even this angry voice.’
‘Well, recordings can be forever . . .’
My shoulders droop. ‘It’s not like him to talk like that. I know people have different sides but . . . no.’
It’s too painful. And now it seems like Derek might have murdered Mrs Kostas.
Riri turns to the board before we can dwell. I’m secretly grateful our investigation is still business as usual – it gives me something to occupy my mind from grieving Mrs Kostas/Dimas and having another Bleak Week. ‘So, her silent partner has a fight with her the day before her death. They fight over the business. So it’s obvious, right?’
‘Wait,’ I say. ‘Let’s prove it. Would he gain ownership now? Is there a law or something?’
Riri shows me this on my laptop:
According to the Partnership Act 1890 (Act of the Parliament of the UK), a partnership ends upon the death of a partner, unless a formal agreement is made prior to the deaths.
‘Dead partner means dead partnership,’ I deduce. ‘So, he would lose ownership.’
‘That settles it, right?’ Riri says. ‘Derek could’ve killed Mrs Dimas/Kostas because of greed – but only if there was a formal agreement made prior to her death about their partnership. All we have to do is figure out if there was one. But because he said if Mrs Dimas/Kostas dies then he’ll own the cafe, let’s assume there was an agreement.’
‘Yep. Or that Derek thinks he’ll get to fully own Cafe Vivlio,’ I add.
‘Yes, that’s good.’
‘I know, Riri. Now before I tell you about each of our suspects so we can figure out their motives, I need you to wait in the living room.’ I send Riri on her way so she doesn’t see what I have up my sleeve. Then, I create the invention of a lifetime, sticking out my tongue as I concentrate cutting. Writing. Tacking. After about ten minutes, I call her back.
‘SIT, welcome to The Motive Board.’
‘Is that my corkboard and its stand? And my thumbtacks and cards?’
‘Yes. Why you decided to pack them for a summer holiday is beyond me. But I’m happy you did because, well, when I first searched your things –’
‘Hey!’ she protests, eyes wide.
I continue, unfazed, ‘I thought it was odd. But now it’s worked out perfectly.’
Riri motions to my invention. ‘And what exactly is this?’
‘The Motive Board,’ I repeat, wondering if she has a concussion. ‘I’ve cut out pictures of Derek and Mimi from old issues of The Castlewick Chronicles. Fred is a ghost online so I’ve drawn a face. We’re going to talk about The Clio Trio and see which motive best fits what I know about them. Once we’ve talked through each motive for each suspect, we will have a clearer picture. You can offer a different perspective because you don’t know them.’
‘Ooh, so I’ll be the deciding factor?’
‘No, Riri. Get off your high horse. See, I didn’t say you had the right perspective. Just that you have a different one. Now without further ado . . .’
We’ve finished going through The Clio Trio and The Motive Board. My ingenious idea was to write notes/theories about potential motives for each suspect:
MOTIVES Fred |
|
DESPERATION Desperate to be a successful screenwriter |
LOVE/OBSESSION Could be obsessed with fame/success? Loves Mrs Kostas/Dimas? Hates Mrs Kostas/Dimas? Meticulous and a perfectionist (takes ages writing scenes) |
JEALOUSY IS JEALOUS OF THE CAFE’S SUCCESS? |
REVENGE Wants revenge for something Mrs Kostas/Dimas did in the cafe – maybe spilled his drink or stopped making his favourite pastry? |
GREED Greedy for fame/success Greedy for the unlimited internet the cafe provides |
CRIME OF PASSION Argument/misunderstanding with Mrs Kostas/Dimas that led to a random murder |
MOTIVES Derek Chase |
|
DESPERATION Desperate to be the sole owner of cafe vivlio (but what about his youtube channel? That’s a full-time job. Can he juggle both without the quality of one decreasing?) |
LOVE/OBSESSION Loves money and fame? Obsessed with making Cafe Vivlio successful but only according to his vision |
JEALOUSY Jealous that mrs Kostas/Dimas was doing a good job on the cafe on her own |
REVENGE Revenge for the argument he had with Mrs Kostas/Dimas the day before she was murdered? Revenge for Mrs Kostas/Dimas not listening to his suggestions about how to run Cafe Vivlio? Revenge for something Anastasia did? But how would Derek have known her? And what – or who – would he want to be avenged? |
GREED wants to be the sole owner of cafe vivlio (again: what about his youtube channel? That’s a full-time job. Can he juggle both without the quality of one decreasing?) |
CRIME OF PASSION maybe he couldn’t shake the argument he had with Mrs Kostas/Dimas and his anger took over OR maybe he was regretful and went to apologise but something triggered him to hurt her |
MOTIVES Mimi Bloodworth |
|
DESPERATION Desperate to get her big break Desperate to have more followers and views so desperate she tried to use Derek for clout |
LOVE/OBSESSION Might be obsessed with Mrs Kostas/Dimas’s popularity in Castlewick and on Instagram Might be obsessed/in love with Derek – maybe she wanted to hurt him by killing Mrs Kostas/Dimas? |
JEALOUSY Jealous of mrs Kostas/Dimas’s popularity in castlewick and on instagram |
REVENGE Revenge for something Mrs Kostas/Dimas did/said as her boss when Mimi was a barista? Revenge for something Anastasia did? But how would Mimi have known her? And what – or who – would she want to be avenged? |
GREED Greedy for followers/fame |
CRIME OF PASSION maybe she got in a spur-of-the-moment argument with Mrs Kostas/Dimas in The Secret Garden? |
I think we did well. Sure, there are loads of unanswered questions and lots of uncertainties. But it’s something.