Today marks my seventh year as a private detective. I have been wanting to become one since Mom got murdered 25 years ago. She was found in a suitcase, full blood inside. It was a scene I cannot forget to this day, and I get shivers whenever I see suitcases. At first, I thought it was Dad. He was an alcoholic and left us until he was found dead on the streets of Los Angeles after being involved in a shootout a few days after Mom’s death. However, there was not enough information for Dad to be the killer. After 10 years, the case was closed and the sheriffs in town were not able to find a single piece of evidence, which I thought was unbelievable. How experienced was this murderer?

I step into my office and stare in awe at my desk plaque; it says Arthur Upfield, Head Detective. I find it funny for me to be a “Head Detective” when I am the only one working in the office. There are not many private detectives here in Wyoming, but I still don’t get a lot of cases. Just as I tried to sit down, a lady burst into the office, carrying multiple thick folders and a laptop.

The Lady: Arthur Upfield?

Me: Yes, I am Arthur Upfield. Do you have a case?

She is tall. I am guessing about six feet. She has a Louis Vuitton handbag, diamond ring, Chanel x Adidas sneakers, and much more, hinting that she is wealthy.

The Lady: Yes. I do have one. My younger sister, Olivia Stone, was murdered and found in a suitcase five days ago. We only have a few sheriffs at Doveport, and they cannot do anything at the moment.

A sudden coldness spread from head to toe. If this murder has to do anything with suitcases, there is a high chance that it would be linked with Mom’s death. I became actively engaged in what the lady had to say.

Me: To continue, I need to know more about you. What is your name?

The Lady: My name is Victoria. Victoria Stone.

Me: Do you have any documents regarding the case?

She handed me the the folders filled with documents about suspected murderers and what had background information.

Victoria: For the last three days, I collected as much information as possible. You can find more information on Olivia, the people I think are the suspected murderers, and what Olivia was doing on the day of her death.

Me: This will help me, but I am afraid that this case would come at a large cost.

Even though this case might even solve the murder of Mom 25 years ago, I decided to demand as much money from her. She looks wealthy. I might as well just get the best out of it.

Victoria: Here. Will this be enough?

She handed me a white envelope; it looked like it was about to explode because of its thickness. The envelope was stacked with 100-dollar bills.

Victoria: That is 30,000 dollars. If you could find me the murderer in less than two days, I will pay extra.

30,000 dollars for one simple case with all the documents provided are not something any private detective can experience. Resolving the case in two days is challenging.

Victoria: I’ll see you in two days.

She left my office

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I flipped through the documents Victoria provided for me. The documents were very detailed: the time periods of what and where Olivia Stone was at on the day of the murder were exact with the seconds, her appearance and visuals were extremely detailed, and every small detail from family members to what they were doing on the day of the murder of the suspected murderers were listed on the documents. I have never seen such precise and descriptions from any murder report. Where did she get all of this?

I should start with the background information on what happened four days ago:

Olivia Stone Murder Case

Name: Olivia Stone

Age: 42

Hair Color: Black

Eye Color: Brown

Place of Residence: 29 Grover Street, Doveport Town, Wyoming

Guardian: Mason Adler (Fiancé)

Time of Death: March 8, 2007, 11:29 P.M.

Olivia Stone was an honest being. She was a executive manager for a well-known banking company and had many friends. She was in fact, very rich but never showed it off.

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Olivia Stone was found dead in a suitcase below the San Mariana Hill next to Doveport Town. Blood was filled in the suitcase and Olivia Stone was violently tied and had many wounds, possibly from a kitchen knife--the wounds were very deep and large.

Reading that Olivia Stone was found similarly to how Mom was found 25 years ago still gave me shivers. There were detailed photos of the suitcase and blood stains inside of it. A picture of Olivia Stone was also provided next to her details.

I decided to focus more on what Olivia Stone was “supposed” to have been doing four days ago--the day she was murdered:

Olivia Stone on March 8, 2007

9:02:35

Olivia got up from her bed and got a drink of water.

9:08:20

Olivia took a bath and went to the dinning room for breakfast.

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12:19:50

Olivia dressed and went to meet her friends for lunch.

12:28:13

Olivia and her friends eat Chipotle at Doveport Plaza and decide to go to the club later at night.

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6:19:30

Olivia arrives at Club Mystic, which is 30 minutes as the crow flies from the house.

7:49:53

Everyone loses any contact with Olivia.

This document could provide me with extensive amounts of evidence regarding the suspected murderers. Looking at the document, I could hypothesize that Olivia was somehow kidnapped in Club Mystic by one of the suspected murderers and then sent to Mariana Hill, which is on the other side of town from Club Mystic and then kept there for a few hours before she died. Maybe the suspected murderers could end this case:

Suspected Murderers

There are two suspected murderers relating to the death of Olivia Stone on March 8, 2007:

Suspect #1:

Name: Mason Adler Jr.

Age: 42

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Blue

Place of Residence: 29 Grover Street, Doveport Town, Wyoming

Guardian: Mason Adler (Father)

Mason Adler and Olivia Stone have met for a little over 8 years. They were friends since high school and lived very close to each other. Mason Adler was one of the three friends that Olivia Stone met four days ago at Chipotle at Doveport Plaza. They all went to Club Mystic afterward.

Suspect #2:

Name: Chris Lenning

Age: 42

Hair Color: Blonde

Eye Color: Brown

Place of Residence: 11 Grover Street, Doveport Town, Wyoming

Guardian: Anabelle Lenning (Wife)

Chris Lenning and Olivia Stone met because Anabelle Lenning, Chris Lenning’s wife, has been a friend of Olivia Stone since they were in middle school. Chris Lenning and Olivia Stone had some fights sometimes because Chris Lenning would sometimes assault Anabelle Lenning. Chris Lenning is one of the three friends that Olivia Stone met four days ago at Chipotle at Doveport Plaza. They all went to Club Mystic afterward. Anabelle Lenning was there too, but she left early after a fight with Chris Lenning. Olivia Stone was involved in this small fight too.

Much more is provided on other pages of the document. There are detailed photos of them at Chipotle, photos of them, and even what the suspected murderers were doing four days ago.

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I organized all of the documents so that each murderer suspect matches with what Olivia Stone had been doing. This all doesn’t make any sense. Everything is so perfect. Why couldn’t have Victoria just figured out the case herself if she had enough documents and evidence? All the documents have detailed descriptions and precise dates, times, and even to the seconds regarding everyone involved in the murder of Olivia Stone. Something was not right.

Later that night, I called Victoria back into my office. She rushed in with the same expensive luxurious brands on her.

Victoria: Did you find the murderer? How did you find him? Do you have enough evidence? What do we do now?

She was speaking so fast that I couldn’t keep up with her.

Me: Victoria. How did you get these documents? Did you receive it from the sheriffs in town or investigate yourself for four days?

Victoria: I investigated myself. I hired… I hired some people and interrogated, investigated, and observed every piece of evidence we could find and… and pasted it on the documents.

She was shuddering like a criminal. I can sense it.

Victoria: Tell me. Who is this murderer?

I took a deep breath.

Me: I’m afraid that you are the murderer. You killed Olivia Stone for her wealth and for the sake of jealousy

Victoria was shocked. Her jaw dropped, but then, she gave a big smile.

Victoria: Nice work Arthur. Nice work.

Me: You killed her just like my mother. The suitcase. I noticed.

Victoria: Now it’s time for you to go after her!

She got up.

Arthur Upfield was found dead in a suitcase below San Mariana Hill.