by Dorothy Jo Bourbeau

Created on: April 18, 2008

The Death of Abby Mitchell
Murder or Accident

Abby is dead. Everyone knows Abby is dead, but no one seems to care. Mom and Dad are more interested in their luncheon with Dad's boss. Dad's boss is more interested in how to make more money. Even the police don't seem to care. The detective in charge, Detective Monroe, said he only has time to worry about real crimes. REAL crimes; Abby was MURDERED!

Isn't murder a real crime?

Of course I am the only one who thinks, knows, that Abby was murdered. Everyone else says she was old and it was her time to die. Dad says we should just bury her and move on. I've known Abby my whole life, how can I just bury her and move on? Fine, if no one else is willing to solve the mystery of who killed Abby then I will do it myself.

Problem, I have never actually solved a mystery. I have never even read a Nancy Drew book. Isn't Sherlock Holmes a housing development somewhere? This may not be easy, but for Abby's sake I have to do it. Abby deserves nothing less. Her murderer must be found.

OK, I guess the first thing to do would be to investigate the crime scene. That would be the barn; the creepy barn with all the rats and spiders. What could possibly have lured Abby into that barn? She really was old enough to know better than to go in there. Well, I have no choice, so I'm off to the barn.

I hate this barn. Not only are there rats and spiders, the only light comes from a hole in the roof. No wonder Dad always told me to stay out of here. He wouldn't have come in if I hadn't insisted he look for Abby. I am surprised he let me search with him, I kind of wish he hadn't, I will never forget seeing Abby lying on the floor of the barn, eyes bulging out of her head, tongue hanging out of her mouth. It was a horrible site.

Looking around the barn in what little light there is I findnot much of anything. There is an old pitchfork, not the murder weapon; there was no blood on Abby or the barn floor. There are some rusty old farm tools that haven't been touched in years and of course spider webs and rat burrows. Not a very interesting crime scene.

Still, there are clues. Footprints leading into the barn that no one ever goes in are definitely suspicious. Then there is that old tool box; none of the tools in the barn are ever used, so who opened the tool box and why? There is an old pair of leather work gloves on the work table; whoever killed Abby didn't want to get dirty hands. The dirt around the rat burrow has been disturbed making room for an old

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