50 Words For Murder

chapter 11: terminate

terminate
ˈtəːmɪneɪt/
verb
bring to an end.

Andy turned around saw a group of six people staring at him. He recognised Zayn and Eleanor and knew the rest as Zayn's friends.

He wasn't stupid.

He ran.

"Andy, stop!"

He could hear yells and loud footsteps running behind him but he didn't stop. Suddenly, he felt a heavy weight fall on top of him, wrestling him to the ground. He scratched his attacker, fiercely, managing to peel away some of his skin.

"What the fuck?" yelled the attacker ; shortest one among all six. "Zayn, control your roommate."

"Can you get off my chest please?" wheezed Andy. "It hurts."

"No," said the guy who attacked him.

"Louis, get off," ordered Eleanor. Louis grumbled something about being scratched and then got off.
"Andy, we just want to talk to you, okay? We don't want to hurt you and we sure as hell won't go to the cops." said Eleanor, as though speaking to a child.

"I-I don't..Eleanor..what's happening?" asked Andy, scared.
"We know you're not innocent, pal," said Louis, sternly. "Out with it. What do you know about Cassie's murder?"

Of all the things to do, Andy began sobbing. Zayn sighed. There wasn't enough time for this.

"Don't listen to him, Andy," said Zayn. "Let's go get a drink, okay? You can talk to us then." His tone was gentle but he didn't leave room for negotiation.

"What's his issue?" asked Louis, walking beside Zayn, far behind the group. "Is he a retard?"

"Retardation is a serious condition, Louis," said Harry, unamused. "Don't joke about things like that."

"I'm not!"

Before they reached the bar, Eleanor grabbed Louis's coat. "I'll do the talking, okay?"

The tone of her voice didn't give him room for disagreement.

They found the corner to sit in and ordered a few drinks.

"Listen, Andy," said Eleanor. "My friends here have some questions for you, okay? You don't have to be scared."

"O-okay."

"Remember that night you hid a phone in Zayn's side of the room?" said Eleanor, slowly. "Why did you do it? Who's phone is it?"

"T-the guy..the guy who was with the Eagle," stammered Andy.

"Hold up," said Eleanor. "Which guy? And how does the Eagle connect to him?"

Andy took a sip of his drink and visibly seemed to calm down.

"The night Cassie was m-muredered..I was going down the horse trail to pee," he explained. Louis mumbled something along the lines of 'who pees on a horse trail' "I went to the side, right? And then I saw this guy holding a body - Cassie's body - and there was a shovel in his hand, too."

"The man threw the body and then placed the knife in this guy's hand," he continued, pointing at Niall. "Hey, wait! You're the guy who was at the crime scene, too!"

Zayn rolled his eyes.

"What happened, then?" Said Harry.

"The man was there with Cowell. And I remember wondering why he looked so calm despite his definitely dead daughter lying at his feet," he explained. "And then they saw me..and the guy..who killed Cassie..he started freaking out and came towards me with the shovel."

The group leaned forward.

"But the Eagle stopped him," said Andy. "He was really nice to me. Said I was a good student. He said I should get out of the scene at once, reach a safe spot and then call the cops."

"Why would he want you to call the cops?" demanded Louis. "That's like walking into a trap!"

"Shh!" exclaimed the group in unison.

"Sorry."

"He said I should tell them I saw a dead body, and that I panicked and fled. And that I saw only this guy at the crime scene," said Andy, pointing at Niall. "He asked me to do that and never to mention the fact that I saw them there. They gave me their numbers and asked me to call them if any trouble occurred. "

"So?" asked Liam.

"So I did it," said Andy. "I called the cops. Told them I saw a positively dead body and another person on the crime scene. And then I walked back to the party like nothing happened."

"No, Andy," whined Eleanor. "Why did you do that? You could've saved everyone a lot of trouble if you had just told the cops the truth!"

"I was scared, okay?!" burst Andy. "Imagine seeing a person get killed -"

"Technically you didn't see them kill her."

"- and then being a prime witness to the murder. I was willing to do anything to get my name off record."

"That doesn't explain why you hid a phone under the plank," said Zayn. "Did they give it to you?"

Andy nodded. "I'm sorry," he said, guiltily. "He said they were going to take care of it and that I was supposed to plant this in our room. I didn't realize then that they were trying to pin it on you."

"I'm okay with being framed for murder," said Zayn. "But don't lose our keys again, man. I don't think the dorm is going to give us another one."

Everyone laughed.

"Wait, so Andy," said Harry. "What's the name of this guy who was with Eagle you said?"

"Shahid. Shahid Khan."

"Alright," said Eleanor. "That's enough questions. Come on, Andy, let's get you home."

The pair left.

"Alright," said Louis. "So the Eagle and Shahid Khan killed Cassie, pinned the murder on Niall and planted evidence."

"And Brooks and the Eagle are together," said Zayn. "So we can't tell her what we've uncovered."

"We go to the Chief of police then," said Liam.

"We also need to know what this Shahid guy looks like," said Harry.

"Guys!" said Niall. Everyone looked at him in surprise. "I just remembered something from that night."

"What is it?"

"So you like golf?" asked Niall.
"Umm.." Cassie said, texting someone on her phone. "Not really."
Suddenly, her phone rang.
"Stop calling me!" she said, angrily. Niall stared at her in confusion. "It's over, understand?"
"You can't do that! I..I'll kill you!" He heard the male voice across the line say.
"Alright," said Cassie, exasperated. "I'll meet you near the main column okay?"
She hung up. "God I think I'm being stalked." she said, nervously.
"Wanna talk a walk down the horse trail to calm your nerves?" suggested Niall.

Everyone looked confused but Zayn slammed his hand against the table.
"I remember," he said. "The night Cassie was murdered I came back to my dorm to check on the locks. When I was on my way back to the dorm, I saw a guy saying the exact same words to someone on the phone."

No one doubted him. Zayn's memory was exceptional.

"We need to collect all our evidence together," said Niall. "What say we head back to the cabin?"

Niall and his friends owned a little cabin in the Oakwood woods for their little parties. It was their haven when they needed a smoke or a break from class.

"I'll meet you guys there," said Louis. "I just saw my professor here and I need to talk to him about a test I missed."

The group left Louis behind and headed to the cabin.

They were being watched.