Stephanie Greene (Apt. 309)

It was all starting to come together. Rose. The rose etching on the watch, hammer, diary, photos: almost everything tied to the murder. Now, the hard part was figuring out which Rose. Rose Pittus? Or Dorothy Rose? Both lived in the Foxberry, and to be honest, both were pretty shady figures. Mr. Salimov, from one floor down, had recently sent Stephanie a note, after which they met for the first time. Apparently he’d thought she sent him the watch so he was just as confused as Stephanie when she revealed she hadn’t. Little by little, pieces started coming together. With her collection, Aydar’s testament, and the remains of the police’s evidence, she had managed to piece together a story. They both believed that Rose, Pittus that is, wasn’t guilty. Dorothy Rose was a photographer, after all. She could have taken the two photos of Stephanie, as well as the picture of Mr. Evans that Stephanie Lovett had found in the parking lot and turned in to the police. They couldn’t be sure, though. Unf...

The trumpets of elephants and bouncy circus show tunes could be heard throughout the town, permeating The Foxberry and finding their way into Stephanie’s apartment. When they started early this morning, they woke the majority of the residents, but Stephanie was already awake. The box’s contents, Aydar's note, the hammer, and new diary were strewn on the floor in front of her, as well as her own notes about possible connections between the objects. She had employed her critical thinking skills, still dusty due to infrequent use after high school, and created a chart titled, “Know, Think, Wonder.” Know: Someone took photos of me. There was a diary in the wall of Mr. Evan’s previous apartment. Mr. Evans is dead. Think: Whoever took the photos wanted me to find the diary and hammer. They are connected to Evan’s death. Wonder: Who took the photos? Why was the diary in the wall? Who killed Evans? The curiosity and frustration with what little progress she had made overcame her, an...