Going through my suitcase, I took out a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I’m going to figure out this mystery. There’s a chance the perpetrator could destroy valuable evidence before the detectives arrive. I have to catch the person who did this. The person who could commit such a gruesome act to a cinnamo…I mean to a person, does not deserve to walk free.

I walked over to my desk and outlined who the suspects could be. One of the first suspects would be Vivica. She was close to Maggie. It’s very common for victims to know their murderers. I’ll need to look at her streaming channel so I can verify if she is telling the truth. However, it doesn’t make much sense for her to be the killer. Maggie was Vivica’s editor, and Vivica would have had multiple opportunities to kill Maggie. It doesn't make any sense for her to do it now of all times.

The next suspect is definitely Bethany. She knew the precise way Maggie was murdered. She's studying to be a doctor, and that's how she knew where and how to remove the victim's liver. Not to mention, Bethany was even in charge of the security cameras. It’s hard to believe she's in medical school after seeing her job performance here.

However, I remember hearing Maggie scream, ‘Help! He’s stabbing me to death!’ and Bethany doesn’t seem to identify as male. Even if Bethany identified as male, I don’t think gender awareness and inclusivity was the first thing on Maggie’s mind as the murderer was ripping her liver out.

But Bethany could still be involved. Maybe she's playing dumb to cover for the actual killer. Hell, if that's the case, Vivica could have hired one of the guys to commit the murder. My suspicions about the girls were flimsy, but one thing is certain: the person who murdered Maggie was either Drake, Raj or Cyrus.

Trying to pin down the perpetrator logically was getting nowhere. Without evidence, identifying the killer seemed impossible. I needed hard evidence to solve this case. Grabbing a notepad and pen, it was time to investigate.

When I returned to the scene of the crime, Maggie’s corpse was covered with a bed sheet. It was probably best not to examine the body. I didn’t want the police to find my DNA on her. I went to Vivica’s room first.

It felt like I was standing in front of Vivica’s door forever. I’d almost given up hope and gone to Cyrus’ room. But she finally opened the door. Vivica changed out of her blood-soaked clothing and into a pink unicorn onesie with her hood over her head. “Hi there, underwear boy,” Vivica said as tears fell from her eyes, and she sniffled.  

“The name’s Tom. I came to check up on you.” I said.

“That’s so kind, please come in.” Vivica said, opening the door and inviting me in. She walked over to her gaming setup, where two large monitors dominated the desk. Her computer tower sat beside the right screen, its case cycling through colors—red, blue, green—in an endless light show. The keyboard matched the same rainbow pattern, bathing the whole desk in colored light. Bright pink cat-ear headphones sat on top of the keyboard. Everything looked organized and well-maintained, though the setup showed signs of wear from being moved around frequently.

Vivica took a seat on top of the table and grabbed a tissue box and blew her nose. “I only let you in because you don’t look very strong. So, it would be impossible for you to be the murderer.”

There might be two murders tonight. “Uh thanks, I guess. Also, for the record, I can bench the bar.” I took a seat on the bed across from the desk.

“I bench 120 lbs,” Vivica said, folding her arms.

“I’m not getting into a dick measuring contest with you.” I said, rolling my eyes as she snickered. Clearing my throat, I continued, “Were you and Maggie close?”

“Yeah, we’ve known each other since high school, and we started doing this together our freshman year.” Vivica blew into another tissue.

“We saved all the money we earned creating content, so when we graduated high school, we got our own apartment and worked on making content full time. Maggie was also the co-writer of all the VODs we put out. We were grinding so hard that when we planned on taking a two-week break after this convention.” Vivica’s eyes got red and puffy, and tears dropped from her eyes; they fell all at once. Vivica covered her face and wept into her hands.

“That’s tough, and I am sorry you’re going through all this on your own.” I said, sitting next to her and pulling her in. Vivica wrapped her arms around me, burying her face in my chest, and wept uncontrollably.

We sat there for a bit until Vivica’s sobbing died down to small whimpers. She pulled away, using her sleeves to wipe the snot and tears from her face. “Thanks, I really needed that.”

“Yeah, of course,” I said, looking down at the large wet spot on my shirt. Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and went on YouTube. “What’s your channel? I want to see the videos you both worked on throughout the years. Since it’s her legacy now, I want to see what kind of person she was.”

“Maggie would have loved to hear that; she worked very hard on all the videos. Our channel is called SuperPoweredKittyStudios. We also have a vlog channel KittensInTheWild.”

“Are most of your videos about cats?” I asked, subscribing to both channels.

“Yes! We are cat lovers who also love to game,” Vivica said, with renewed joy in her eyes. “Do you want an autograph” wiping the fresh batch of tears off her cheeks. Standing up, she walked over to the desk and blew her nose again. Vivica then grabbed a Sharpie that was on the desk. She then walked over to the open suitcase on the floor and grabbed a manilla envelope. She pulled out a large print of her and Maggie in cat cosplay, already signed with two signatures.  

“Thank you, but I don’t need an autograph. But if you don’t mind, I would like to ask you some questions about Nightmare Chasers.” I said, pulling up my notes app on my phone.

“Oh, of course, that’s my specialty! What do you want to know?” Vivica said, bouncing up and down on her toes. We talked for a few hours about Nightmare Chasers until I got all the tips and tricks I needed so Vin doesn’t have to carry me in each dungeon raid.

Walking towards her, I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Take care of yourself, and if you need anything, just let me know.” I said before leaving.

“Thank you, Tom, I will,” Vivica said as I shut the door behind me.

The next person I needed to talk to was the author. With the dead person in front of him, he wasn’t very fazed. I stepped over Maggie’s lifeless body and knocked on Cyrus’s door. “Are you with the police or the detective?”

“Uh no, it’s me, Tom. You know the guy who showed up in his underwear.” I yelled through the door.

“What do you want? I’m working?” Cyrus yelled back.

“I was going to ask what else you heard about the murder.”

 “If you’re not the police, I’m not talking to you! Either send them to my room or call me when they get there!” Cyrus screamed. Well, I guess I won’t be getting any information from this guy.

I walked over to Raj’s door and knocked. But there was no answer. He’s probably working. I walked back to the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.