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Before we continue, I feel it is my obligation to offer you a confession – a disclaimer of sorts. Much of what you have heard, or are about to hear, is hearsay; a culmination of my interviews with various suspects if you will. I can only attest to my own thoughts and actions in this tale. 

I might also add that I have carefully examined the case notes, and I have worked diligently to filter out any falsehoods. That said, please allow me to proceed.

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The investigation into Ms. Maddie’s disappearance was bungled before it began. 

Benny presumed that the phone conversation she’d been having had simply upset her to the point of running off – and that Ms. Maddie’s phone had been left behind in error. 

He saw the situation as an excuse to flee his tutoring session, so he delivered the phone to Principal Derrick’s office and went straight to baseball practice.

It wasn’t until the following day, when Ms. Maddie didn’t show up for work, that someone notified my office – the missing persons unit at the Fillmore P.D. 

By the time I arrived at the campus, Principal Derrick and Benny’s prints were all over Ms. Maddie’s cellphone, and the hallway outside of her room – the ‘apparent crime scene’ if you will – had been trampled on by nearly one hundred students.

It was my first day, on my first missing persons case, and it was off to a bumbling start.

TO BE CONTINUED

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I had to cut this short because I’ve had two sleepless nights this week – last night being one of them. I managed a three hour nap this afternoon, but now I think it’s time for some real sleep.

One quick note. If you’re following this story, you might notice that I had to change the way the story was told – bringing in this new investigator. I reread last night’s intro and I could tell I was headed for some confusion, so I opted for this perspective.

I also noticed that when I changed the title late last night, I totally left out any indication that this was a crime mystery. Ha! Live and learn!

Anyway, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed the little “snippet.”

Goodnight!

Word of the Day Challenge: Trample