The truth will ultimately prevail where there is pain to bring it to light
~George Washington
***
Michelle, Jeff and Luis made their way into Arabella Academy's compound. Their pace was slow as they tried to figure out what was going on. They had realised that they were not the only ones who had been summoned to the school. William, Sheila's parents and brother together with Luis' grandmother were there. They all seemed surprised to see each other, but somehow they knew why they were being called.
It had been three days since Marcus had disappeared into thin air at his mother’s memorial. His friends freaked out and had begun a frantic search for him. However, they couldn’t find him no matter how hard they tried; the boy knew how to hide. Three days later, they had woken up to a text from him saying that he needed them to gather at the place where it all started. It didn’t take a genius to figure it out that it was Arabella Academy's school auditorium. They all thus made their way into the great big hall; the hall where their adventure started.
Everyone took their place at the seats near the stage. They then quietly began discussing why they were called when they were interrupted by a sound at the backstage. Marcus appeared, and following him was Sheldon, Middlewood's sheriff and Michelle's father. Jeff and Michelle couldn’t hide their surprise and they found themselves on their feet, trying to figure out what was happening.
“Dad! You knew where he was this whole time?” Michelle exclaimed. Her father glanced at her and nodded.
“I had to keep him safe, that is, if he was to complete his investigation,” he answered.
“So you know who killed my daughter?” Samantha, Sheila's mother, found herself asking. Tears swelled in her eyes and she leaned onto her husband for support.
Marcus looked like he had lost a chunk of weight since his disappearance. His sullen eyes and bags under them revealed that he had not been sleeping well, if he slept at all. However, he was giving out a no-nonsense vibe, and his eyes were empty of any emotion.
“Yes, I do. We figured out who killed your daughter, or rather truthfully, he figured out who killed your daughter,” the sheriff answered, pointing to Marcus. All eyes turned to Marcus and he looked back at them, keeping a stern face.
“Well, who is it then? Are they in custody?” William questioned. He was eager to know who was this person that had brought his life to a literal standstill.
“He is, Mr William,” Marcus was the one who replied, his voice deeper than usual. “But first I wanted to gather all of you here to show you how this person was able to pull off such a gruesome murder and keep himself hidden among us.”
“Who is the murderer? Do we know him?” Jeff was getting impatient. Marcus gave him a weak smile.
“Relax bro. All will be revealed in good time,” he told him. Marcus' eyes scanned around the auditorium. He couldn’t believe he had finally solved a murder. He started wondering whether he could actually be a discount Sherlock Holmes but immediately shrugged the thought away. His eyes went back to the audience and he cleared his voice.
“Without further ado, let me present to you Middlewood's paedophile and murderer.” He pointed to the opening leading to the backstage and everyone's jaws dropped as a man came in, being dragged by two police officers. The terror in Michelle's, Luis' and Jeff's faces was real when they realised who the culprit was. Jeff found himself involuntarily gasping.
“No! This can't be true.”