Chereads / Grim Haven Mysteries / Chapter 6 - The Murders of Vien Strauss and Hal Gremory part 6

Chapter 6 - The Murders of Vien Strauss and Hal Gremory part 6

It's almost been a week since the discovery of Hal Gremory's body. But the death of Vien and Hal wasn't the first, nor would it be the last casuality that our little town would suffer. The Grim Drive-In where my friends and I used to watch movies with our families, our sometimes just by ourselves. It was our home away from home, a piece of our town's history is closing for good, just when we needed a place to escape to the most.

With the sheriff knocking on every door, neighbors suspecting neighbors, our town is becoming more and more like it's name. A grim little town surrounded by layers and layers of dark shadows.

Meanwhile, at the Coroner's office. Our resident good girl, Pauleen Strauss, was wrestling with the knowledge about the death of her sister. And with the fact that her best friend and ex-boyfriend, Vincent Price, also knew about the truth.

Lets fast forward four hours prior to what was about to happen at the Shack...

I just entered the Shack and was just about to sit at one of the booths before Pauleen dragged me outside. The look she had on her face was a mix of sadness and anger, so I asked her what's the problem but her reply surprised me.

"Do you have something that you want to tell me, Vince?" she asked

"Nothing," I replied

"Vien died of poisoning, she didn't drowned. And you knew about it all this time," hearing her reply, I froze. Well, I knew she'd find out eventually but, I didn't ecpect her to find it out this quick. I guess our resident cunning doctor made a slip of the tongue, now I am really going to punch him.

"You lied to me again, this time I can't forgive you..." those were the last words she said to me before she left. Even back when we were still together, I couldn't talk back to her when she's that angry, And I actually find it cute. So, every single time that she scolds me, I just took it, especially when I do these really stupid things. Well, I guess she really hates me now.

And as the full moon passed by the night sky, two friends were just idly sitting in one of the Shack's booths, talking about everything that has happened so far. Reminiscing their past innocent lives while also fighting the horrors of their present life. Patrick and I talked till the sun came up, we stayed at the Shack eating and drinking like there's no tomorrow. Patrick told me that he'll talk to Pauleen for me, he said he'll explain everything but that will only worsen our relationship so, I asked him not to. Well I actually think that nothing would change even if he were to explain everything, because I already reached the point of no return. And I already knew that that argument will be the last conversation that we'd have...

Now back at school, Patrick and I were just idly sitting at our desks listening to our mathematics teacher blab about equations, god my head already hurts just by looking at it. Well I don't really care about math, Good thing my seat mate was Patrick or else I'd be bored as hell. We were talking about how to unveil who the killer was but with our limited intelligence, we were having a hard time. We already had a hard time just by using a voice changer and hiding our IP adress when we reported Hal's body to the cops, now we're having a hard time figuring out the killer's identity. Well at least we have progress right? Now that I think of it, how the hell did the killer managed to get arsenic trioxide? How did the killer knew about its effects? And just why did they kill both of my classmates? Another three questions just popped out, I'm starting to think that the questions in this case are a hybrid of a hydra and a cerberus. Well, I guess we'll start with arsenic trioxide and how the killer got his hands on it. For the past 30 minutes I've been researching the effects of arsenic trioxide inside a human body. The toxic effects of arsenic trioxide usually result from ingestion. Small amounts of arsenic trioxide can lead to multiple organ damage and death. Acute signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, cerebral edema, tachycardia, dysrhythmias, and hypovolemic shock. Now that I think of it, the autopsy said that Vien's stomach had some contents and they found traces of poison in her trachea and the rest of her digestive system. But why keep Hal alive if they were also going to kill him? I don't really care about Hal one bit but killing Vien too was just cruel, she was just a normal and simple girl. Yes sometimes she can be scary and mean but most of the time she's just cheerful. Third period was over and I didn't even knew what the lesson was all about, I guess I'll just ask Sydney then. She's a very intelligent person and she'll probably help me... I guess.

Good thing that fourth period is chemistry 'cause I can have more time researching about the poison. It's like hitting two birds with one stone, I can get more time investigating what happened and the professor will only think that I'm researching for one of his experiments. Hell she might even help me.

But I my investigation will be for a later date, it was halfway through fourth period when Principal Le Grande and Sheriff Smith came in to the chemistry lab where we were holding our class. All of us were surprised but what's more surprising is when Christian Gremory, brother of the deceased Hal Gremory, Stood up on his chair and said "You don't have to interrupt the class sir, I'll go with you." and that wasn't all of it. Because the most shocking thing that he said was "I guess you already know now... that I'm guilty," and as those words left his mouth the whole school was once again enveloped in horror...