Emily dreamed of being a detective her whole life. The crime, the evidence, the clues, all of it. Although her family ruthlessly tried to persuade her otherwise, 22-year-old Detective Emily Bowle emerged in 2015 with her bachelors degree in hand. But one year before that, Emily met the love of her life: Michael Matthews.
From the first glance, Emily saw a future with Mr. Matthews. Michael was a 23-year-old high school AP US History teacher. The two met at Emily's first bachelorette party, but she withheld mixed emotions surrounding the marriage. After all that drama, Michael and Emily married in 2016.
Now to the present . . .
24-year-old Emily Bowle approached the door with Michael's hand in hers. The door opened dramatically and Emily's mother gasped at the couple.
"Emily? Y-You . . . Came?!"
"Don't make a scene about it . . ." Emily sighed, hugging her mother loosely.
"And Michael," her mother released Emily "Still a home-wrecker?"
"Mother!" I spat "I love Michael and you need to do the same!"
"Nice to see you, Mrs. Bowle." Michael looked down.
"The party just started and with everyone here, we can go ahead with our traditional Christmas Carol!"
Emily pulled past her mother with Michael and entered the house's large and majestic ballroom.
"It still shocked me that your family has a full-blown ballroom!" Michael smiled.
"And speaking of shocked, look!" Emily pointed at her astounded family.
Her family consisted of the following people:
• Heather Bowle - Mother
• Todd Bowle - Father
• Ester Banks - Older Sister (27)
• Jesse Banks - Rich Brother-in-Law
• Ebony Bowle - Youngest Sister (16)
• Oliver Bowle - Uncle
• Viv Bowle - Aunt (Unrelated)
• Viveronicolah - Hobo who only speaks Polish
Suddenly, Emily's mother rushed to the center of the ballroom "Time for our Carol!"
The 9 of us gathered in a circle, surrounding Emily's mother whom began singing the Polish tune.
Eventually, the entire family began singing and in the final note of gone song, the lights went off and moments later, six gunshots were fired. Screams echoed through the ballroom.
"Someone get the lights!" Ester begged.
The lights came back on, thanks to Todd, revealing the newly dead Heather Bowle.
"Mother!" Ebony screamed.
"Holy —" Oliver began.
"Is anyone else injured?" I yelped, standing tall.
"No, everyone else is fine . . . Except for your mother . . ." Michael sighed.
"Whoever did this is going to pay! I'll see to it myself!" Todd growled.
"Whoever did it has a gun!" Viv pointed out "Someone needs to check the armory!"
"No one is going anywhere until we learn who the killer is! If we send the wrong person, we could all be next!" Jesse exclaimed.
"So who'll go?" Ebony asked.
"The one who can solve this case. Emily!" Michael urged.
"Hell, she probably killed Heather!" Jesse spat.
"Why on earth would I do that?" Emily argued.
"Resentment? Her constantly picking at Michael? The fact that she kicked you out?"
"Look, she didn't do it." Michael stood "And she's the best chance we have at solving this. Give her a chance!"
"I agree." Ester joined in.
"Me too." Viv agreed.
"She's our best shot." Ebony sighed.
"Fine, but if I get shot, it's on all of you!" Jesse warned.
"Okay. Everyone stays in here until I figure this out. Father, you're coming with me."
Todd and Emily left the ballroom and walked through the household until they reached the armory.
"Why are we here?"
"Unlock it. You're the only one with the code, right?" Emily asked.
"Y-Yes, but I would never —"
"Just unlock it."
Todd typed in a 16 digit code and the locks released. Emily pushed the door open, along with Todd.
Gripping her old pistol, Emily raised her voice "Is anything missing?"
Emily pointed the gun towards Todd as he searched. A minute or so later, he replied "My Glock 17, it's not here."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. You know I'm a very OCD person, Emilia."
"Don't call me that. Ever."
"Yes, I'm sorry." Todd sighed.
Emily kept the pistol in grip and she reentered the ballroom.
Todd waltzed over to the snack bar as Emily began "I'm going to start my questioning. Starting with Jesse."
Jesse kissed Ester and followed me into the kitchen.
"Are you planning on pinning this on me?" Jesse asked.
"Only if you're guilty."
"Fine. What do you want to know?"
"Did you have any altercations with Heather Bowle?"
"No. She's always treated me as her own." Jesse replied calmly.
"Is there anyone who might've had an issue with Mrs. Bowle?"
"Not that I know of."
"Okay. Send in Ester."
"Fine." Jesse sighed.
Moments later, Ester was in the room.
"Have you figured it out yet?" Ester asked.
"I can't say." Emily bit her lip.
"Look, there's no reason Jesse or I would harm Mother. She's always treated us with love. We were her heirs."
"Heirs? To what?"
"Uh - I just meant that as in I'm the eldest. I'm her heir, and so is Jesse."
"Okay. Send in Aunt Viv and Uncle Oliver."
"Of course." Ester scurried out of the room, soon replaced by Oliver and Viv.
"Honey, are you okay?" Oliver asked.
Oliver had always treated Emily better than her sisters. After realizing Viv couldn't have kids, Oliver slipped into a depression. But thankfully, when times were tough, Emily would always put a smile on his face. She was his light in the dark and she outshined all others.
"Look, just tell me what you know about the murder or anything surrounding Heather Bowle."
"I heard Todd wasn't on the best of terms with Heather." Viv admitted.
"Do you know why?"
"Not a clue."
"How about you, Oliver?" Emily asked.
"Can I talk to you . . . privately?"
"Fine. Viv, you can go." Emily said blankly, dismissing Viv.
"I know who killed Heather."
"W-What?" Emily gasped.
"It has to be Jesse. Him or Ester."
"What? Why?"
"As you know, Heather was a bloodline Bowle like me. Heather received everything when our parents died because she was the eldest Bowle heir. Now that Heather is dead, e —"
"Everything is going to Ester!" Emily gasped.
"Exactly."
"Anything else?" Emily wondered.
"Just that I love you." Oliver smiled and left the room.
Michael entered after him and sat down "What do we have?"
"A motive." Emily replied "A strong motive."
"Who?"
"So far, I think it's Jesse. Now that Heather is dead, everything to the Bowle name belongs to Ester. It's written in Heather's Will. I think that Jesse stole one of our weapons. Then, he shot Heather during our family carol. Once her Will has been followed, Ester would receive everything and Jesse could empty her pockets, stealing generations of riches for himself. The only thing I need is that gun."
"How will you get that?"
"I need to talk to Todd again, but I'll wait until I've spoken with everyone."
"Alright. I'll send in Ebony." Michael said, blowing a kiss on the way out.
Ebony entered the room, bringing a dark vibe with her.
"Ebony, are you okay?" Emily asked, worried for her little sister.
"She's gone. Mother is really gone . . ." Ebony cried.
"Look, I'll get to the bottom of this. Okay?"
"I know you will. Just hurry . . . We're running on borrowed time. You have 5 hours." Ebony choked, preparing to leave.
"5 hours until what?"
"Until Christmas."
Ebony left and Viveronicolah ran in with Michael.
"What are you doing?" Emily asked.
"Viveronicolah needed a translator. She has some information."
"What do you know?" Emily asked.
"Jesse ukradł broń!" Viveronicolah exclaimed.
"Jesse stole the gun." Michael translated.
"What? How? When?"
"Czyściłem proch z broni w zbrojowni, kiedy weszli Heather i Jesse. Pytali o broń, więc podałem ją Jessie. To był Glock 17. Nie myślałem o tym zbyt wiele, ale teraz wiem. Jesse użył go, by zabić Heather!"
"I was cleaning dust off the guns in the armory when Heather and Jesse walked in. They asked for the gun, so I gave it to Jessie. It was a Glock 17. I didn't think much of it at the time, but now I know. Jesse used it to kill Heather!"
"Holy Hell! We found our killer! We have a motive, witnesses, and history with the weapon. It'll take a while, but we'll recover the weapon later. Right now, we need to arrest him."
The three of them stood, making their way to the door when the lights went off again.
Two more gunshots rang through the house before the lights flickered back on. Emily bolted for the ballroom to see a dead man on the floor.
"Jesse!" Ester screamed "Not you! Not my love! No!"
"What happened?" Michael gasped.
"I'll tell you. I know who killed mother and my husband! It was Uncle Oliver! He knew that if mother wasn't dead, Aunt Viv would leave him for father! They've been sleeping together for years and when mother found out, Aunt Viv was actually going to leave Uncle Oliver. That's when Uncle Oliver murdered mother! Then, he must've found out Jesse knew too and killed him as well!"
"Is this true, Oliver?" Emily asked.
"Fine! Yes, I knew about the affair, but I wasn't going to kill Heather for it! And Viv wouldn't leave me because she's a backstabbing gold digger! She knew if Todd left Heather, he'd be penniless! I had nothing to gain from killing Heather except satisfaction! And that's one idiotic reason to kill someone!" Oliver argued.
"Emily! I need you for a second!" Ebony urged.
"Okay. Michael, be careful! I'll be back." Emily warned, hurrying off with Ebony.
Reaching a hallway, Ebony began "I killed them."
"What?" Emily gasped.
"I had to. You don't know what's coming! If we don't figure this out, hell will come to earth." Ebony warned "You have to stop it!"
"Ebony, you aren't making sense!"
"It's Todd and Heather! They started it. Then they recruited Oliver and Viv. Then Ester and Jesse. Then they tried to convert me, but I'm resisting. Viveronicolah was the sacrifice and now that you and Michael are here, there's hope!"
"Why'd you kill them? That's not okay!"
"Save yourself and your husband. Save Viveronicolah! Solve this and end it. It's you're only chance." Ebony begged.
"Wait! Where'd you get the gun?"
"I stole it from Jesse. He was going to kill you, Viveronicolah, and Michael with it. I had no choice. I swear that I'm not crazy. Just trust me and figure this out! Go into the basement. That's where you must end it!"
Ebony ran back into the ballroom and I followed her anxiously.
"I truly hope she's right about this . . . I trust my sister . . . I trust my instincts . . ."
Rushing to Michael, I spoke "Come with me. Now."
Silently, the three of us crept down to the basement. After flicking on the light switch, we gasped as a strange alter revealed itself.
"What on earth is that?!" Michael exclaimed.
"Some sort of . . . alter!" Emily replied, still shaken by the recent events with Ebony.
"And look, there's writing inscribed on it!" Michael revealed, pointing at the head of the alter.
"To pisanie! To polski!" Viveronicolah jumped.
"What did she say?" asked Emily.
"She said the writing is Polish."
"What does it say?"
"Tajemnica końca leży w nazwie."
"The Secret of the End Lies in the Name? What does that mean?" Michael wondered.
"It's a riddle . . ." Emily sighed "The way to stop this is in the name . . . My name?"
"Hold up, what is going on here? I though we were just gazing at a weird alter. What does this have to do with the murders?" Michael asked.
"Just trust me, okay?" Emily begged.
"Fine . . . I won't question it again . . . For now . . ."
"So this 'secret' is in my name . . ."
"Maybe it means you're family's name?" Michael questioned.
"Bolwe? Is it in a bowl?"
"Wait! I think I got it! Step back!"
Listening to Michael, Emily stepped back. Suddenly, he tackles the alter, detaching it from the semi-concrete floor.
"What in the— Oh my god."
In the rubble, a small scroll appeared to be untouched. Emily hurried over, picking it up and breaking its' seal.
Michael stood from the remains of the alter and spoke "Did it work?"
"I think so . . . How'd you know what to do?"
"After a quick thought, I began pulling apart the letters in your name. The letters in 'Bowle' come out to form another word: 'Below'. So I gave it a shot, and sure enough, we have a . . . scroll?"
Opening it, Emily grunted "It's in Polish. Viveronicolah?"
Extending her arm, Emily handed the scroll to Viveronicolah who began reciting the words.
"Mocą Tego, Cofnij to, co bezprawnie nęka mnie Wam, odrywam te więzy, uwalniając moją linię od waszej klątwy i panując samotnie na zawsze!"
Immediately after Viveronicolah spoke her last syllable, a wave occurred through the house and the three of them collapsed on the floor.
Emily opened her eyes, finding herself in the warm embrace of her fiancé.
"Michael! You're okay?" Emily asked.
Groaning, Michael replied "I was until you woke me up."
He chuckled and closed his eyes again "Did you have another nightmare about you're family?"
"Yes . . . It was insane!" Emily sighed.
"It's all over now . . . It's all over . . ." Michael whispered.
And for the first time in a long time, Emily finally felt the way she'd always wanted to feel:
Accepted.
The End.