"Ah! Anne made it just in time. This storm is getting rough, they will close the bridge any time now", George said as she got up to open the door.
Julian moved closer to the window. He watched a blonde in a mini-skirt and high heels get out of the car - was that really Anne? He remembered reading about her modeling career, but he had trouble imagining timid plain old Anne as the same woman in front of him.
He would be meeting the old gang after almost two decades - those friends who had meant so much to him in his childhood had drifted apart as they had grown older. It was George who had called for a reunion, an invitation which Julian had quickly accepted.
"Julian, sweetheart" Anne kissed him on the cheek "You look good for a cripple". Julian laughed, moving his wheelchair closer to the fire. "You don't look so bad yourself" he quipped.
"Hello Julian and ... wow, is that you Anne?" Julian turned around to find Dick lounging around. Dick looked bad - unshaven, with red blood shot eyes and a faint scent of Whiskey in his breath. Dick looked like he just came out of prison, which given his history was more than likely.
George joined in from the Kitchen. "Anne, Dick - make yourself at home." George was ... well, George. She was the only one who hadn't changed much, Julian thought, though she was definitely mellower. She had found a fair amount of success writing books and making documentaries. "Dad's sleeping upstairs." Quentin Kirrin, the acclaimed scientist was frail, almost 90 years old, but still pottered around with his inventions.
The evening started awkwardly as everyone tried to make small talk, but the conversation got easier as the evening wore on. Over dinner, the gang reminisced about the various escapades they had gotten into. It wasn't until George exclaimed that she had to give her dad medicines at 11:00 pm did anyone notice how long they had been talking.
George came down after a few minutes and showed everyone their bed rooms. "Hey, can you put me next to Anne?", Dick asked. "Way out of your league, dude", George muttered, but nonetheless gave him the room next to her.
What do you want to happen next?
The sun was out in full force the next morning. The storm had dissipated through the night, and it seemed that the sun was making up for lost time. Julian was the first to get up, his regimen punctual even after he left the military. They reminisced some more over a leisurely breakfast, but one by one they started to leave. As George waved goodbye to the last one to leave, she felt contented. The old gang was back.
Julian was awakened by the screaming. His military training kicked in as he quickly located the direction (upstairs) and the voice (George). By the time he got into his wheelchair, the rest of the gang had woken up. As he came outside, he saw George walking down the stairs, her face white as ash. "Dad ..... Dad's dead. There's ... Blood everywhere."
Dick ran up the stairs, Anne followed. Julian comforted George, who looked to be in shock. After a while Dick and Anne came down. "It's brutal, someone cut him up quite good. They must have hit an artery coz blood's splattered everywhere. His desk looks like someone broke it open."
Who killed Uncle Quentin?
No! Timothy the dog has been dead for many years now.
No! Julian is in a wheelchair, and Uncle Quentin was sleeping upstairs. There are no elevators in Kirrin Cottage, so Julian couldn't have killed him.
No! The bridge was closed because of the storm, and the bridge is the only way to get to Kirrin Island. The storm was too fierce for anyone to come by boat.
"How can accuse me of killing Uncle Quentin?", Anne exclaimed. "Why would I do that? He has always been very supportive of me. He was the one who encouraged me to come out of my shell. I owe my modeling career to him. Besides, I was not alone tonight." She glanced at Dick, who nodded his head.
Dick was on the defensive right away. "I know I have a history of crime, but I didn't kill him. He was like a father to me. No, I was not alone - Anne was with me in my room the whole night, wasn't that right, Anne?". Anne nodded her head.
"Are you nuts?", George exploded. "You think I killed my father? On the same day I called you guys home? That's the stupidest thing I have heard". George fumed as she sat down on the sofa.
What should they do next?
The Famous Five doesn't wait for the police, they solve the mystery themselves!
Julian took charge. "Where there is a murder, there is a murder weapon. Dick, was there a knife in Uncle's room?" "No, there wasn't", Dick replied. "Well, lets find it then. Since we don't trust each other, all of us will visit each room in succession."
Julian's came up empty, so did Dick's. As they were searching Anne's room, Julian looked carefully at Anne and said "Look under the bed". There was a blood soaked knife. "I have no idea how that got there!", Anne cried. As far as Julian could make out, she was genuinely surprised.
"Your murderous bitch! You killed my father!", George tried to get to Anne, but Dick held her back. "I couldn't have killed him, I was with Dick the whole night", Anne cried. "Then you and Dick hatched this plot together", George fumed.
The tension in the room was palpable. Looking at their tense faces, something clicked in Julian and he started laughing. "Guys, Guys, don't you get it? We've been made fools today. Nothing about this murder makes sense. No one heard Uncle Quentin scream even though it would have taken him several minutes to bleed to death. None of us had any blood on our clothes, even though it was splattered everywhere. The simple explanation is that there was no murder. Isn't that right, Uncle Quentin?".
The door opened, and a sprightly old man came out. "So you finally figured it out, eh?. I wanted to see if the Famous Five were still capable of solving a mystery. So when I heard Georgina inviting you all to this reunion, I hatched this plan."
Anne burst out laughing, and hugged her uncle. Dick gave a grudging nod. Only George was still. He father turned to her and said "I'm sorry if I had you worried Georgina, it was just my idea of fun."
As Uncle Quentin moved towards Julian, George picked up the knife they had found in Anne's room, and in one smooth motion, thrust it into her father's chest. Everyone looked at her in shock, as her father fell dead. George stared blankly ahead, as if in a trance. Julian looked at George and asked "Why? Why did you kill him? It was just a prank."
George RR Martin, the author of the popular fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, today launched a campaign on the crowd-funding website Kickstarter. If the campaign raises $2 million, Martin pledged to not kill Arya Stark, one of the most beloved characters in the series.
Martin released a heavily redacted draft of Arya's fate from the next book of the series, The Winds of Winter. While most of the text is obscured, what's visible confirmed that Arya would die in a brutal and agonizing manner. "Millions of fans will have their hopes dashed in the most gut-wrenching manner", Martin chuckled, "It'll be another Red Wedding", referring to the infamous event in A Storm of Swords which shocked fans worldwide. "But this time, you can prevent it from happening".
Martin justified the $2 million goal by saying that he would need to rewrite a lot if he saved Arya Stark. "The whole plot depends on Arya's murder. If she doesn't die, I have to throw away all what I've written." Martin also said that donating would show that the fans are serious about Arya. "Anyone can claim to be a fan of Arya Stark, but are they willing to part with their hard earned money for her?"
Maise Williams, who plays Arya in HBO's adaption Game of Thrones, was one of the first to donate. "I read the draft and cried the whole night. I donated $10,000 so that I don't have to act that scene in the show."
While many authors are praising Martin's innovative approach, some are saying that it sets a bad precedent. "This may start a trend for authors to auction the fates of popular characters for money. You might see JK Rowling bring back Sirius Black or Stephanie Meyer killing Bella Swan." lamented author Neil Gaiman.
You have undoubtedly clicked on this link by mistake. To preserve your sanity and general well-being, LEAVE THIS SITE AT ONCE! If you are still reading this, you either don't understand English very well, or you are so past the boundaries of sanity that any further insanification is of no concern.
