Don’t you hate those stories that start out saying everything appeared ordinary that day until...dun, Dun, DUN! Something goes dreadfully wrong. Well, so do I, that’s why this isn’t one of those stories. This story doesn’t play by the norm of start and end blissfully. It starts bad and just gets worse. Only fair to warn to you to stop where you are right now.

Well since you choose to ignore my warning, I’ll continue with my tale. James had been searching for hours this Halloween night. He just didn’t understand why he couldn’t have found something, anything, by now. He had all the information he needed; all he had to do was piece it all together. He looked around the room for about the tenth time, hoping that maybe, just maybe, the next clue would jump out at him.

James was a detective for the NYPD. He had gotten endless praise for how well he did his job. So, why couldn’t he solve the one case he needed the most to figure out? James didn’t know what exactly led him to this place, besides what the sick and twisted clues he had found said. He was now standing in his missing sister’s unruly apartment.

He took the last riddle he had gotten, left by whoever had kidnapped Maggie, from his pocket. He read it again to see if he was mistaken on where to go next. It read in the scrawling penmanship,

“Missing the place You adore most? See that The truth Uncovered will only stray you from your Desired path. Do you think You have enough time left?”

This still bewildered James. He had gone to the place that was most apparent to him, My Study. But, it was obvious the clue was not here.

Thoughts of Maggie flashed in his mind. He thought, “Where was Maggie’s favorite place? What truth did she want uncovered?” He thought and thought, because he didn’t want to know about life without his dear sister. It was as suddenly as a lightning bolt; he knew where he’d gone wrong.

James rushed out the door and down the hall of the apartment building, into the bustling sidewalk of Trick-or-Treaters. He was so mad at himself for wasting so much time there. Anything could have happened by now. Maggie’s favorite thing in the world was talking with their mother. That’s why it was so tragic when she died in a bank robbery. Maggie has been obsessing with finding out who did it ever since.

James had to go to his mother’s grave; that’s where he’d find the next clue. He was right across the street when a blinding light came from behind him. He turned around as the light died down from a billboard. Terror filled his face as he read the words he dreaded the most, “You’re Out of Time, James!” Halloween was over for James... to bad he only got the Trick part...only it wasn’t a trick

My name is Maggie and this is my dying testament. I warned you there wasn’t a happy ending... for me anyway.