It was the hardest time of my life. I got it all wrong. Dammit! I yelled in frustration. Here I was, the greatest detective, well, not really the greatest now. In any case, here I was, duped by the most elementary of tricks.

From the start of the investigation, there were three facts that were apparent to me. One, the weapon used at the scene of the crime was not, in fact, the weapon used in the murder. Two, there were scuffs leading over to my suspect’s house. And three, I recently discovered a passageway leading to and from their houses.

The mystery was simple to a fault, but my suspect, and eye witnesses, claimed to have gone,or seen him gone, after the murders occured, and I believed that. I am a failure of a detective. My suspect, Carlton will now be proven innocent for the murder of four people and neighbors will be proven guilty. This is injustice of the highest order! Worst of all, I enabled it! I had initially caught him in his lie and made him talk, so he then came “clean”. He stated that he was off at the club, neglecting his job as the nighttime janitor, and was coming back to finish his work because he was fearful of being terminated. I believed that story, that wretched story!

I thought more and more, and the words of my mentor rushed into my head. “After a lie is exposed, anyone will perceive the subsequent answer as the truth.” His unheeded warning and my arrogance were downfall….... Wait, that’s it! I still have time, I praised my mentor for his ingeniousness and ran, placing my bets on my last strand of hope: Carlton’s tell tale signs! 

-Ritzu, Tell Tale Signs