Shaela Dixon, P.I.: part 1

Chapter One: Mr. William Stanford

It was a dark and stormy night. A dense fog began to slowly creep across the sky illuminating th silhouette of a large castle-like house. As a set of headlights pull up to the house the reflect off a vast sea of vehicles already parked. By looking at the front of the house, you wouldn't thnk anyone even lived there. It was very old-fashioned, run-down, and disheveled looking, but ye it still seemed homey. Upon entering the house you first stand in a luxurious foyer. It is covered in pink and gold designs, and the left corner next to the door stands an old grandfather clock. The clock, as well as all the other corners and fixtures in the room, were completely covered in cobwebs.
To the right, faint music can be heard, seeming to be inviting anyone to dance. After entering the room, seeing all the people standing around chatting, laughing, and just having a good time, it seems a shame not to join in. As soon as the band begins to play their next song, a loud, bloodcurdling scream comes from the far side of the room. A large group of people formed a circle around the area the scream came from.
Upon arriving at the spot, it becomes apparently obvious why someone screamed... a body lay sprawled across the floor. After examining the body a little closer, it is discovered that someone has stabbed this man! In a room full of suspects, who is going to figure out who did it? Who? Why the greatest detective in the world... you, Shaela Dixon, P. I. that's who!
First things first, let's examine the body a little closer. Twenty minutes later, after you are done examining the body, you find the following items: the wound itself was made by a straigt blade, there are two round bruises on the sides of the wound, as if the handle of the weapon was shoved hard into the victim; you also find the man's wallet containing his identification card- Mr. William Stanford, the owner of this home and host of the party!
Lastly, you find an envelope marked 'Stanford's Last Will & Testamet'. "Ah-hah!", you think, "the plot thickens!" So now you must ask, who would gain from this man's death? You ask the party guests to form into four groups in the room; those who are related to the victim, those who were close friends, those who were business associates, and thos who knew him but were not that close.
You start questioning the non-friends, then the friends, then his business associates. Out of these people, only two of his business associates seemed to have a motive for Stanford's demise. There was , of course, his secretary Ms. Louise Allister, but she had nothing to gain from this man's death. Still, she could be useful, after all, she did know everything that had anything to do with his business affairs, better keep her nearby.
As for thosewho had somethig to gain, there was Mr. James Jefferson and Mr. Patrick Connors. A quiet man, Jefferson was, to say the least, a very unique individual. About 5'9", maybe 136 pounds, James was Stanford's partner. The blonde-haired, green-eyed fellow didn't seem the type to be able to commit such a horrible crime, but with Stanford's death, James is now the sole owner of JCS, Inc., Stanford's business firm.
The other possible suspect, Mr. Patrick Connors, had all the more reason in the world to do away with William. Recently terminated from JCS, Inc., Connors had an excellent reason for murdering Stanford.... revenge! Patrick had been terminated for embezzling funds; although swearing up and down he was innocent, there was too much evidence to suggest otherwise, and william and James had no choice but to let him go. "Could it have been him? With black hair and blue eyes, standing 6'4" and weighing close to 265 pounds of pure muscle, he certainly fits the description of being able to have the force to cause the bruise impressions on Stanford's body. But did he do it? Or was it Jefferson after all?", you pondered. But wait, there's still his family, maybe one of them could have done it.
First there is his wife, Virginia; she is bawling hysterically in the arms of her maid, Sophie. Is she truly heart broken, you think, or just a really good actress? Of course all of William's worldly possessions including the billions of stocks, bonds, and cash was now hers, but does she really seem concerned about that? Even with tears streaming down her face, she still was beautiful. With dark brown hir an a perfect face, Virginia looked like a porcelain doll, classic and untouched by age and time.
"You did it! I know it was you!", someone shouted. That someone was William Stanford Jr., Stanford's one nd ony son. He was pointing at Mr. Connors and screaming, "You hated him ever since he fired you! You wanted him dead!" The young man's sandy brown hair was flapping wildly as he shook with anger, and his greenish-yellow eyes seened almot piercing as if they were daggers going through Connors. You wonder, if this much rage could just be a cover up or was Jr. truly on to something?
"Dinner is served", stated Andrew, the Stanford's butler and most trusted friend. 'Ah-hah! The butler did it!', you thought, 'isn't that how all those murder mystery movies go?' But what could Andrew have to gain from Stanford's death, after all he wasn't in the will. Anyways, you think, now would be a good time to have some dinner and take a break from investigating and just watch all the suspects interact.



Chapter 2: The Dining Room

(yet to come)