"There is a party tonight at Erin's house! Are you guys going?" Mark said to his two friends as they sat in Derek's bedroom. They had been hanging out for a few hours to just relax after school before the party.
"Yeah, totally! I wouldn't miss that party for anything! You'd have to kill me to stop the Carl party train! Woo woo!" Carl exclaimed, despite his confidence Mark began to hysterically laugh at Carl.
"You guys are idiots." Derek said, looking out of his window and seeing someone in the park. He had lived there for a number of years and spent most of his time just looking out of his window and watching the people walking about the park. Night time watching was even more fun, however, because strange characters would always be out at night. Derek began to recall a time he saw a group of people dressed up as chickens just running around in the park. He guessed it was a bunch of college kids just having some fun, but when they began running around the area closer to his house, Derek became scared, shut the window and shut off his lights and went to bed.
"Well, I take it that you aren't going, Derek?" Mark questioned, a bit of sarcasm hinting in his voice, but he knew the real reason why Derek didn't want to go, so he didn't mean to say too much.
"No, I've got better things to do than go to a party for a few hours. I'll just have to ride my bike back home close to midnight or after. It wouldn't suit well with my mother."
"Yeah, that makes sense, your mom really is strict these days. Hey, who's that out in the park?" Carl asked, peeking his head out of the window to get a better view.
"He's that old man from the window, right? The one who looks out of his bedroom window every day at 3 o'clock, down on the street over there on the right?" Mark asked, although Mark didn't need to. Mark lived on that street, but on the end of the street, whereas the man he was talking about lived in the middle of the street.
"Definitely, who else would it be?" Carl said, sure of his decision, but asking if he was right only because he didn't know the man's name.
"Just some old man walking in the park, that's who it could be. I've never seen Old Man Heirwick on his walks this late at night," Derek said.
"Well, we ought to get going to the party, right Carl?"
"Yeah, sorry we couldn't stay long, but Mark and I gotta book it if we are going to make it there on time. You sure you don't want to go, Derek?"
"It's fine, don't worry about me. Go to the party and have fun. I'll see you tomorrow."
Carl and Mark quickly left Derek's house and rode their bikes down the road. Derek watched them until he couldn't see them and turned back to see if the old man was still there walking around in the park. It was an odd sight, some random old guy walking around a park at night. Of course Derek was suspicious! He had the right to be, anyways, the old man himself, was a suspicious person entirely. Derek guessed that it was Old Man Heirwick, some English guy who lived on a street down the road who liked to go outside for walks around nighttime. Although, this was late even for Heirwick, at least that is what Derek thought. When he looked back, the old man was long gone, so Derek decided to go to bed so that he could wake up in time to get to school and hear about Erin's party from all of his friends.
After waking up, Derek turned on the news while getting ready for school. He usually turned on the TV to some cartoons or some other show, just for some background noise while he got ready, but for some reason he decided to turn on the news. While putting his shirt on, Derek heard something that sounded strange, so he finished getting his shirt on and turned up the TV to listen to the story.
"Be careful of what your children are doing out at night, parents - Two teens were found dead on Aster Street this morning, they have been identified as Mark Taylor and Carl Dobson, two juniors at the Glensdale High School. Taylor and Dobson were riding their bikes when they were pushed off of their bikes and stabbed numerous times in their backs and sides. Police are still investigating the apparent murders, and we'll have more to report about this later tonight."
Soon after, Derek's mom rushed into his room and hugged him tightly. Through a string of sobs and cries, Derek managed to hear that she wanted him to stay home today and not go to school. He really didn't have a problem with it at all, but he did feel like all he was going to do was mope around all day. That's when Derek remembered the old man and decided that when his mom left for work, he would venture to the next street over and see what the Heirwick household looked like after the night before.
She didn't leave for quite a while, but when she did, Derek ran outside, grabbed his bike, and rode over to the street where Old Man Heirwick lived. He passed the house a few times, riding away for a few minutes, then riding back to make it seem like he was bringing stuff from point A to point B. The house itself was nice, it was a decent size for someone to be living alone. Derek assumed that Heirwick would only live in this house another year or two before moving out to an old person's home, but he didn't know how old the old man was. He could have been forty for all he knew and just didn't have luck with growing hair and his hair getting white. Whichever the case, Derek continued to look around before riding back over to the house, to make sure no one was nearby watching him riding back and forth down the street. After his third round trip, he noticed that Heirwick was looking out of his window at Derek. From what Derek saw as he glanced over at him, he looked like he was mumbling, which only struck Derek as the perfect motivation to just leave and not return for a while. As soon as he began to bike away, he heard a door slam. Turning around, he saw that Old Man Heirwick had left his house and was beckoning Derek over. Derek fearfully walked his bike back over to Old Man Heirwick, but not too close so that if necessary, he could get back on the bike and ride away in a hurry.
"You," he said in a dreary tone. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night it seemed, but Derek could only guess from the dark circles under Heirwick's eyes. "Why are you riding by my house every few minutes? Can't you leave an old man in peace?"
"You...you saw me?"
"Well, of course I did. All you are doing is riding down the street ,and every time you pass my house you slow down and look at me: it's annoying!"
"We-Were you at the park last night? Were you?!"
"What are you, my parole officer? Bah! I was in my home if you must know, now why are you stalking me, get outta here, filthy local!"
Derek took what Heirwick had to say and got away as fast as he could. He seemed angry by the fact that Derek was snooping around, which only gave him more suspicion. He would just have to return tomorrow and hope that Heirwick didn't see him this time. The next day rolled around, and Derek's mom gave him a kiss goodbye, and left for work on time. He soon after got a call from one of his friends at the school asking if he had known anything about the murders. Derek couldn't tell who was asking him, so he just hung up the phone. If he gave out any information without knowing who he was talking to, he might get in trouble. Derek got back on his bike and rode back to the Heirwick household. This time, however, he wasn't stopped by Heirwick at all. After six runs, he went home, and would try again tomorrow.
The next day started the same, only a different person called, but he still hung up on them. He rode over to Heirwick's house, but as he rode by the first time, he heard the door slam, and Heirwick beckoning him over.
"You're so interested in my house, why don't you come inside then. It's annoying to see you ride by all the time." Derek did as asked and dropped his bike off on the lawn and went inside the house. He knew to be careful, that's why he brought something along with him every time he came out this way in case he got into trouble. "Take a seat, anywhere you like, or don't sit at all. All you locals are the same..." Heirwick continued muttering as he walking into another room, leaving Derek in the room alone. Derek could tell that Heirwick wasn't from America; he had an accent. Derek could also tell that Heirwick didn't like Michigan that much, since he always talked down to people who were "Locals". He began to search around for any clues or knives, or something that would prove that he murdered Carl and Mark. Heirwick came back into the room holding a cup of water that was half full, and his hand pulled away from his mouth. Although Derek never noticed it before, Heirwick was a sickly looking man, with a slight hunched-over look and very skinny. His hair wasn't as full as he remembered it either. The two sat down in the living room of the Heirwick house, and the two of them talked for a long while about multiple things including the recent murders of the two boys.
"You don't like Michigan, do you?"
"Hell, no! I hate it here!"
"Why do you hate it here, where would you rather be?"
"I want to go back home, to England, but that's not possible at the moment.
"Then why don't you move to a different state? Are you staying here to cover something up?"
"I've got no money to go where I want to, but enough about me, I called you inside to talk about what you want! You are always riding by my house these past days, and I want to know why! Can't an old man get his privacy? You aren't as secretive as you think you are if I could see you riding back and forth every single time without even being near my windows."
"Do you know about the two boys murdered a few days ago? They were my friends, and I believe that you are the one that killed them." Derek said in a calm voice, not meaning to put any emotion in his voice in hopes that the old man couldn't sense his fear.
"Me? Haha! I wouldn't kill anyone, I couldn't! I hate it here too much, why would I want to be thrown in the dregs of this godforsaken state for years? I got my blood-thirst out in the war, I need no more."
It was then that a scream was heard from upstairs. Derek quickly looked up to the ceiling, and then back down at a confused Old Man Heirwick. Derek began to stand up, but Heirwick stopped him with a gesture of his hand.
"There is nothing upstairs you need to worry about, so why don't you go home now?"
"I-I can't leave, you're keeping someone hostage!" Derek ran up the stairs in a hurry, but Heirwick grasped Derek's coat and pulled him to the ground. Heirwick then ran up the stairs in a hurry, leaving Derek there on the ground. As Derek began to stand up, he heard a call from upstairs.
"Don't make me call the cops for a tresspassin' kid, kid! Get out of my house!"
A week went by, Derek can still remember how he ran out of that house. He stood up and was about to run to the upstairs again, but he saw Heirwick coming down, so Derek turned to the front door. Derek ran out of the front door and attempted to look back at the upstairs window at the same time, catching his foot on the sidewalk and face-planting the pavement. He was in the hospital when he awoke, but he passed out before he could get a good look at where he was. He woke up again and saw that he was in his room, his mother crying at the end of the bed. As he began to move, she jolted up and embraced her son, thankful that he was okay. The doctors had told her that he would be out for another few days, at least that's what the mother told Derek once he was out of bed. Derek was more confused then ever, so he turned on the TV and switched it over to the news, to see if there was anything like more information about the two boys' encounter before their death or about his situation.
"...another suspect of the murders has been revealed as James Heirwick, an elderly man who just recently had an encounter with one of the two boys' friends. Heirwick was investigated after the friend was heard and seen by neighbors running out of the house and screaming. Heirwick states that the boy had been stalking him and entered his house illegally. Only by threatening to call the police did the boy run away and trip into the street. When the boy, Derek Grayson, had gotten up after his fall, he had been hit by a car that hadn't braked in time."
Looking out of his window, Derek saw the same old man walking about the park, only this time there was something different about him. He looked much the same as he did the time before on that one night, but he knew it wasn't Heirwick walking around the streets if he was a suspect of murder, it was some other old man awkwardly walking around a park in the middle of the night. Derek decided to check it out, so he snuck out of the house and went over to the man standing there. Derek clearly saw that the old man had been standing there for a while, watching Derek's house with a clear view of Derek's bedroom window.
"Hey! Why're you staring at my house, creep?" When the man didn't respond, Derek shouted the same thing even louder, but then he realized that the man had begun taking steps forward towards him. "G-Get outta here!" Derek said, beginning to take a few steps backwards.
"You shouldn't talk to strangers." The man said, almost in a whisper, but loud enough for Derek to hear. As he got closer to Derek, the man pulled something from his pocket and also began to move faster. "Strangers aren't particularly nice to other strangers, especially mean ones!" When the man got close enough to Derek, he revealed what he had in his pocket, a small knife. Derek tried to run, but tripped on a small rock. When he turned his head to see if the man was still there, he was running towards Derek. The light of a street lamp reflected on the blade revealing there to be a red stain covering the blade. "Those two boys tried to run, but I got em'! Now I'm gonna get you!!" Derek got up and ran as fast as he could from this man, the obvious murderer of Mark and Carl. He ran back into his house and locked all the doors and windows. Once he felt he had everything secure, he called the police and told them everything he knew and saw. The police proved Derek's claims to be wrong, however, due to Heirwick's confession to the murders of Mark and Carl just hours ago. Derek pleaded to the man on the phone that Heirwick had said that he would never murder someone and be put in jail to be forcefully stuck in Michigan for years and years. Derek through weeping and tears tried to tell the man that the actual murderer is outside or near his home right now trying to kill him.The man on the phone refused to believe anything the kid said and hung up the phone on Derek, saying something about how it is a felony to prank call the police. Not sure of what to do, Derek ran to his room and locked the door. Once he felt the man had gone, he turned on the TV and saw on the news that Heirwick was being sentenced to death for the murders of Mark Taylor and Carl Dobson. The reporter then announced that James Heirwick's final words were, "I've got enough money now, I can finally go home." Although the news reporter was trying to give her opinion on what she though Heirwick meant by these words, Derek knew exactly what the old man had meant with his words. A wave of grief washed over Derek as he soon realized that he just put a man to death for murders he did not commit. All Derek could think about was what if he had gone to that stupid party all along, maybe they would have been able to take the man if it was three against one, or they could have escaped because Derek knew the part of town Erin lived in very well.
A knock at the window startled Derek mid-thought, but when he went to go check on what it was, nothing was there. He opened the window and looked out to see if the man was still there outside, but as soon as he poked his head out, he was pulled from the window and never seen again.
Interesting - is there a relative living upstairs who commits all the murders? If so, why? What does he mean that he has all the money to return now? Why did he stop going to school and become a detective?
"There is a party tonight at Erin's house! Are you guys going?" Mark said to his two friends as they sat in Derek's bedroom. They had been hanging out for a few hours to just relax after school before the party.
"Yeah, totally! I wouldn't miss that party for anything! You'd have to kill me to stop the Carl party train! Woo woo!" Carl exclaimed, despite his confidence Mark began to hysterically laugh at Carl.
"You guys are idiots." Derek said, looking out of his window and seeing someone in the park. He had lived there for a number of years and spent most of his time just looking out of his window and watching the people walking about the park. Night time watching was even more fun, however, because strange characters would always be out at night. Derek began to recall a time he saw a group of people dressed up as chickens just running around in the park. He guessed it was a bunch of college kids just having some fun, but when they began running around the area closer to his house, Derek became scared, shut the window and shut off his lights and went to bed.
"Well, I take it that you aren't going, Derek?" Mark questioned, a bit of sarcasm hinting in his voice, but he knew the real reason why Derek didn't want to go, so he didn't mean to say too much.
"No, I've got better things to do than go to a party for a few hours. I'll just have to ride my bike back home close to midnight or after. It wouldn't suit well with my mother."
"Yeah, that makes sense, your mom really is strict these days. Hey, who's that out in the park?" Carl asked, peeking his head out of the window to get a better view.
"He's that old man from the window, right? The one who looks out of his bedroom window every day at 3 o'clock, down on the street over there on the right?" Mark asked, although Mark didn't need to. Mark lived on that street, but on the end of the street, whereas the man he was talking about lived in the middle of the street.
"Definitely, who else would it be?" Carl said, sure of his decision, but asking if he was right only because he didn't know the man's name.
"Just some old man walking in the park, that's who it could be. I've never seen Old Man Heirwick on his walks this late at night," Derek said.
"Well, we ought to get going to the party, right Carl?"
"Yeah, sorry we couldn't stay long, but Mark and I gotta book it if we are going to make it there on time. You sure you don't want to go, Derek?"
"It's fine, don't worry about me. Go to the party and have fun. I'll see you tomorrow."
Carl and Mark quickly left Derek's house and rode their bikes down the road. Derek watched them until he couldn't see them and turned back to see if the old man was still there walking around in the park. It was an odd sight, some random old guy walking around a park at night. Of course Derek was suspicious! He had the right to be, anyways, the old man himself, was a suspicious person entirely. Derek guessed that it was Old Man Heirwick, some English guy who lived on a street down the road who liked to go outside for walks around nighttime. Although, this was late even for Heirwick, at least that is what Derek thought. When he looked back, the old man was long gone, so Derek decided to go to bed so that he could wake up in time to get to school and hear about Erin's party from all of his friends.
After waking up, Derek turned on the news while getting ready for school. He usually turned on the TV to some cartoons or some other show, just for some background noise while he got ready, but for some reason he decided to turn on the news. While putting his shirt on, Derek heard something that sounded strange, so he finished getting his shirt on and turned up the TV to listen to the story.
"Be careful of what your children are doing out at night, parents - Two teens were found dead on Aster Street this morning, they have been identified as Mark Taylor and Carl Dobson, two juniors at the Glensdale High School. Taylor and Dobson were riding their bikes when they were pushed off of their bikes and stabbed numerous times in their backs and sides. Police are still investigating the apparent murders, and we'll have more to report about this later tonight."
Soon after, Derek's mom rushed into his room and hugged him tightly. Through a string of sobs and cries, Derek managed to hear that she wanted him to stay home today and not go to school. He really didn't have a problem with it at all, but he did feel like all he was going to do was mope around all day. That's when Derek remembered the old man and decided that when his mom left for work, he would venture to the next street over and see what the Heirwick household looked like after the night before.
She didn't leave for quite a while, but when she did, Derek ran outside, grabbed his bike, and rode over to the street where Old Man Heirwick lived. He passed the house a few times, riding away for a few minutes, then riding back to make it seem like he was bringing stuff from point A to point B. The house itself was nice, it was a decent size for someone to be living alone. Derek assumed that Heirwick would only live in this house another year or two before moving out to an old person's home, but he didn't know how old the old man was. He could have been forty for all he knew and just didn't have luck with growing hair and his hair getting white. Whichever the case, Derek continued to look around before riding back over to the house, to make sure no one was nearby watching him riding back and forth down the street. After his third round trip, he noticed that Heirwick was looking out of his window at Derek. From what Derek saw as he glanced over at him, he looked like he was mumbling, which only struck Derek as the perfect motivation to just leave and not return for a while. As soon as he began to bike away, he heard a door slam. Turning around, he saw that Old Man Heirwick had left his house and was beckoning Derek over. Derek fearfully walked his bike back over to Old Man Heirwick, but not too close so that if necessary, he could get back on the bike and ride away in a hurry.
"You," he said in a dreary tone. He hadn't gotten much sleep last night it seemed, but Derek could only guess from the dark circles under Heirwick's eyes. "Why are you riding by my house every few minutes? Can't you leave an old man in peace?"
"You...you saw me?"
"Well, of course I did. All you are doing is riding down the street ,and every time you pass my house you slow down and look at me: it's annoying!"
"We-Were you at the park last night? Were you?!"
"What are you, my parole officer? Bah! I was in my home if you must know, now why are you stalking me, get outta here, filthy local!"
Derek took what Heirwick had to say and got away as fast as he could. He seemed angry by the fact that Derek was snooping around, which only gave him more suspicion. He would just have to return tomorrow and hope that Heirwick didn't see him this time. The next day rolled around, and Derek's mom gave him a kiss goodbye, and left for work on time. He soon after got a call from one of his friends at the school asking if he had known anything about the murders. Derek couldn't tell who was asking him, so he just hung up the phone. If he gave out any information without knowing who he was talking to, he might get in trouble. Derek got back on his bike and rode back to the Heirwick household. This time, however, he wasn't stopped by Heirwick at all. After six runs, he went home, and would try again tomorrow.
The next day started the same, only a different person called, but he still hung up on them. He rode over to Heirwick's house, but as he rode by the first time, he heard the door slam, and Heirwick beckoning him over.
"You're so interested in my house, why don't you come inside then. It's annoying to see you ride by all the time." Derek did as asked and dropped his bike off on the lawn and went inside the house. He knew to be careful, that's why he brought something along with him every time he came out this way in case he got into trouble. "Take a seat, anywhere you like, or don't sit at all. All you locals are the same..." Heirwick continued muttering as he walking into another room, leaving Derek in the room alone. Derek could tell that Heirwick wasn't from America; he had an accent. Derek could also tell that Heirwick didn't like Michigan that much, since he always talked down to people who were "Locals". He began to search around for any clues or knives, or something that would prove that he murdered Carl and Mark. Heirwick came back into the room holding a cup of water that was half full, and his hand pulled away from his mouth. Although Derek never noticed it before, Heirwick was a sickly looking man, with a slight hunched-over look and very skinny. His hair wasn't as full as he remembered it either. The two sat down in the living room of the Heirwick house, and the two of them talked for a long while about multiple things including the recent murders of the two boys.
"You don't like Michigan, do you?"
"Hell, no! I hate it here!"
"Why do you hate it here, where would you rather be?"
"I want to go back home, to England, but that's not possible at the moment.
"Then why don't you move to a different state? Are you staying here to cover something up?"
"I've got no money to go where I want to, but enough about me, I called you inside to talk about what you want! You are always riding by my house these past days, and I want to know why! Can't an old man get his privacy? You aren't as secretive as you think you are if I could see you riding back and forth every single time without even being near my windows."
"Do you know about the two boys murdered a few days ago? They were my friends, and I believe that you are the one that killed them." Derek said in a calm voice, not meaning to put any emotion in his voice in hopes that the old man couldn't sense his fear.
"Me? Haha! I wouldn't kill anyone, I couldn't! I hate it here too much, why would I want to be thrown in the dregs of this godforsaken state for years? I got my blood-thirst out in the war, I need no more."
It was then that a scream was heard from upstairs. Derek quickly looked up to the ceiling, and then back down at a confused Old Man Heirwick. Derek began to stand up, but Heirwick stopped him with a gesture of his hand.
"There is nothing upstairs you need to worry about, so why don't you go home now?"
"I-I can't leave, you're keeping someone hostage!" Derek ran up the stairs in a hurry, but Heirwick grasped Derek's coat and pulled him to the ground. Heirwick then ran up the stairs in a hurry, leaving Derek there on the ground. As Derek began to stand up, he heard a call from upstairs.
"Don't make me call the cops for a tresspassin' kid, kid! Get out of my house!"
A week went by, Derek can still remember how he ran out of that house. He stood up and was about to run to the upstairs again, but he saw Heirwick coming down, so Derek turned to the front door. Derek ran out of the front door and attempted to look back at the upstairs window at the same time, catching his foot on the sidewalk and face-planting the pavement. He was in the hospital when he awoke, but he passed out before he could get a good look at where he was. He woke up again and saw that he was in his room, his mother crying at the end of the bed. As he began to move, she jolted up and embraced her son, thankful that he was okay. The doctors had told her that he would be out for another few days, at least that's what the mother told Derek once he was out of bed. Derek was more confused then ever, so he turned on the TV and switched it over to the news, to see if there was anything like more information about the two boys' encounter before their death or about his situation.
"...another suspect of the murders has been revealed as James Heirwick, an elderly man who just recently had an encounter with one of the two boys' friends. Heirwick was investigated after the friend was heard and seen by neighbors running out of the house and screaming. Heirwick states that the boy had been stalking him and entered his house illegally. Only by threatening to call the police did the boy run away and trip into the street. When the boy, Derek Grayson, had gotten up after his fall, he had been hit by a car that hadn't braked in time."
Looking out of his window, Derek saw the same old man walking about the park, only this time there was something different about him. He looked much the same as he did the time before on that one night, but he knew it wasn't Heirwick walking around the streets if he was a suspect of murder, it was some other old man awkwardly walking around a park in the middle of the night. Derek decided to check it out, so he snuck out of the house and went over to the man standing there. Derek clearly saw that the old man had been standing there for a while, watching Derek's house with a clear view of Derek's bedroom window.
"Hey! Why're you staring at my house, creep?" When the man didn't respond, Derek shouted the same thing even louder, but then he realized that the man had begun taking steps forward towards him. "G-Get outta here!" Derek said, beginning to take a few steps backwards.
"You shouldn't talk to strangers." The man said, almost in a whisper, but loud enough for Derek to hear. As he got closer to Derek, the man pulled something from his pocket and also began to move faster. "Strangers aren't particularly nice to other strangers, especially mean ones!" When the man got close enough to Derek, he revealed what he had in his pocket, a small knife. Derek tried to run, but tripped on a small rock. When he turned his head to see if the man was still there, he was running towards Derek. The light of a street lamp reflected on the blade revealing there to be a red stain covering the blade. "Those two boys tried to run, but I got em'! Now I'm gonna get you!!" Derek got up and ran as fast as he could from this man, the obvious murderer of Mark and Carl. He ran back into his house and locked all the doors and windows. Once he felt he had everything secure, he called the police and told them everything he knew and saw. The police proved Derek's claims to be wrong, however, due to Heirwick's confession to the murders of Mark and Carl just hours ago. Derek pleaded to the man on the phone that Heirwick had said that he would never murder someone and be put in jail to be forcefully stuck in Michigan for years and years. Derek through weeping and tears tried to tell the man that the actual murderer is outside or near his home right now trying to kill him.The man on the phone refused to believe anything the kid said and hung up the phone on Derek, saying something about how it is a felony to prank call the police. Not sure of what to do, Derek ran to his room and locked the door. Once he felt the man had gone, he turned on the TV and saw on the news that Heirwick was being sentenced to death for the murders of Mark Taylor and Carl Dobson. The reporter then announced that James Heirwick's final words were, "I've got enough money now, I can finally go home." Although the news reporter was trying to give her opinion on what she though Heirwick meant by these words, Derek knew exactly what the old man had meant with his words. A wave of grief washed over Derek as he soon realized that he just put a man to death for murders he did not commit. All Derek could think about was what if he had gone to that stupid party all along, maybe they would have been able to take the man if it was three against one, or they could have escaped because Derek knew the part of town Erin lived in very well.
A knock at the window startled Derek mid-thought, but when he went to go check on what it was, nothing was there. He opened the window and looked out to see if the man was still there outside, but as soon as he poked his head out, he was pulled from the window and never seen again.
Interesting - is there a relative living upstairs who commits all the murders? If so, why? What does he mean that he has all the money to return now? Why did he stop going to school and become a detective?