Chapter One

Detective Colby Nickson, a twenty-five-year-old cop and former patrol officer, had been called to a crime scene. He parked his unmarked 2025 Ford Mustang police car beside the victim's house.

He unbuckled his seat belt, turned off the car with the key, opened the door, and stepped out of the driver's seat. His partner, Detective Jennifer Jones, a female homicide detective like Colby, got out of the passenger seat and shut the door after unbuckling her seat belt as well.

Colby walked ahead of Jennifer and entered the victim's house. Jennifer caught up with him after entering the house and stood behind him. A patrol officer named Carson Grey walked up to them and informed Colby and Jennifer of the victim's name, age, and cause of death. The victim was Morgan Yates, fifteen years old, and had been stabbed to death, although the medical examiner still needed to confirm the number of stab wounds. The coroners covered Morgan's body with linen sheets, placed him in a body bag, and lifted the bag onto a stretcher before carrying him out of the house.

The witness sitting on the living room couch was a fifteen-year-old boy named Ramos Ferguson. Carson told Colby and Jennifer that Ramos had come over to talk to Morgan about something but had not said exactly what because he was too scared to tell them. Colby nodded and said, "Okay. Thanks, Carson."

Colby and Jennifer approached Ramos. Colby took his notebook and pen out of his pocket and sat down next to Ramos. Ramos did not say a word; he simply looked at Colby. Colby sighed and began speaking to him.

"Hey, Ramos. I'm Detective Nickson, and this is my partner, Detective Jones. We'd like to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?" Colby said.

Ramos did not respond verbally but nodded nervously. Colby nodded back and said, "Okay. Can you tell me what happened?"

Ramos said, "I came over to talk to Morgan and waited for him to answer the door. I wanted to tell him something important, but he refused to talk to me because he said he didn't like me."

Colby nodded once more. "I see. Did you and Morgan have any trouble at school? Do you know why he didn't want to talk to you?" Colby asked.

"Because I used to be friends with him. He was my best friend, but we drifted apart after starting high school. He said he didn't want to be my friend anymore. I haven't spoken to Morgan since September. It's been two months, and he's been ignoring me," Ramos said.

"Ah. So, when Morgan ended your friendship, how did that make you feel?" Colby asked.

"Hurt. I cried because he called off our friendship. I hated him for two months. He started hanging out with a popular guy named Jake Galloway, who's in the same grade as Morgan and me. But Jake bullied Morgan while hanging out with him. Morgan wanted to leave the group but felt trapped," Ramos said.

"I can see that. Did Jake ever give you a hard time? Is that how you got that black eye?" Colby asked.

"Yeah. Jake and I got into a fight at school this morning. Morgan tried to stop it, but Jake punched him too," Ramos explained.

"So, you're being bullied. I'm sorry about that," Colby said softly.

"I'm used to it. I've been threatened, beaten, shoved into lockers, and had food thrown at me. Jake doesn't bother me; I've been through worse," Ramos explained.

Colby nodded and sighed. "Okay, uh, Ramos, do you know where Morgan's parents are? We should let them know that their son was killed," Colby said.

Ramos shrugged.

"Do you know where your parents are? Are they at home?" Colby asked.

"My parents are always out drinking. They also abuse me," Ramos said, looking down.

"Okay," Colby answered. "Well, Ramos, I'm going to have to take you down to the station to make a statement. We can continue this discussion in the interrogation room," Colby explained.

"If my dad finds out I'm at a police station, he's going to kill me. I can't go in there. My dad hits and beats me, too. My mom hits me as well. They both do," Ramos said.

"Okay. Okay. Um, well, I promise not to call your parents while you're at the station. But it's important that you come with us because we want to hear more of your side of the story," Colby said.

"Okay," Ramos answered.

Colby nodded. Then he and Ramos stood up from the couch and left the living room together. Jennifer also left the living room and exited the house, following Colby and Ramos to the unmarked police car.

After Ramos got into the back seat, Colby walked to the driver's side and closed the back door. Jennifer got into the passenger seat, sitting down after opening and closing the door. Colby sat in the driver's seat and closed his door.

After Colby and Jennifer fastened their seat belts, Colby sighed as he started the car with the key, shifted the gear into drive, looked in his rearview mirror to check for cars behind him, glanced into the side mirrors beside the doors, then pressed the gas pedal and drove away from Morgan Yates's house.

Upon arriving at the police department, Colby walked into the interrogation room and shut the door. He had brought a bag of chips and a soda for Ramos. He approached Ramos, who was sitting behind the interrogation table, staring out the window and at the one-way mirror. Ramos did not look at Colby.

"I brought you something to eat and drink if you're hungry or thirsty," Colby said.

Ramos remained silent.

Colby nodded and gently placed the chips and soda on the table in front of Ramos. He continued looking at Ramos, who sighed. Colby nodded again and pulled out a chair to sit facing Ramos.

Ramos grabbed a potato chip and ate it slowly. Then Colby asked, "Can you tell me what else you know about Morgan?"

Ramos swallowed before speaking and nodded. "Yeah. Morgan is the youngest in my class."

Colby nodded.

"Okay. And when you say that Morgan was your best friend—"
Ramos interrupted, "Ex-best friend."

Ramos looked at Colby.

"Yeah. But do you know why Morgan ended the friendship?" Colby asked.

"No. That's why I went over to talk to him, and that's when I found him dead on the floor. He was murdered, wasn't he?" Ramos said.

Colby went quiet, nodded, took a deep breath, and sighed deeply. Then a knock sounded at the door. Colby stood, pushed his chair under the table, and walked to the door. He opened it, stepped out, and closed the door behind him before looking at his partner, Detective Jones.

"What's going on?" Colby asked.

"Well, the medical examiner wants to speak to us. He said it's urgent," Jennifer said.

Colby nodded. He and Jennifer left the observation room together, exited the precinct, and headed to the medical examiner's office.

"What do we have going on here?" Detective Colby Nickson asked.

"So, apparently, Morgan was stabbed multiple times. See these wounds? They were probably caused by a kitchen knife, but I'm still trying to rule that out. And these wounds on his arms are cigarette burns. Before he died, he was also suffocated by someone—probably a parent or someone with a grudge against him," the medical examiner explained.

Colby nodded. "So, he was basically abused, just like Ramos."

"Yeah. It's so bad that I lost count of the wounds. And lastly, he was raped. There was semen in his underwear," the medical examiner said.

Colby nodded again, furious. He sighed. Jennifer nodded and said, "Okay, thank you." She looked at Morgan, who lay pale and deceased on the autopsy table.

"Did his parents come to the morgue?" Colby asked.

"Yes. They're in shock, waiting in the waiting room," Asher, the medical examiner, said.

Colby nodded again and turned around. He and Jennifer walked out of the morgue and saw Mr. and Mrs. Yates sitting together in the waiting room, crying.

"Mr. and Mrs. Yates?" Colby said.

They looked up and noticed that he was a police officer.

"I'm Detective Colby Nickson, and this is my partner, Detective Jennifer Jones. I'm so sorry for your loss," Colby said.

Mr. and Mrs. Yates continued crying. Mrs. Yates began talking about her son, Morgan.

"My boy. He was murdered, wasn't he?" she asked.

Colby sighed, pulled out a chair against the wall, and sat facing Morgan's parents. "I'm so sorry. Can you tell me whether your son was ever in contact with anyone who might have wanted to hurt him?" Colby asked.

"I don't know. Morgan wasn't supposed to have his phone back until tomorrow. He was grounded for a week because he'd been acting out," Mrs. Yates said.

"Okay. Um, can you tell me a little about Morgan? What was he like? What did he love to do?" Colby asked.

"He was such a sweetheart. He never got into trouble until his best friend, Ramos, ended their friendship, at least according to Morgan and his father. He loved playing basketball and singing. Gosh, it's almost Christmas, and we were going to surprise him with his very first piano. He had been taking piano lessons for the past couple of months," Mrs. Yates explained, sniffing.

"Um, can you tell me what was going on between Ramos and Morgan? I know they were best friends, but is it possible that Ramos had some kind of grudge against Morgan? I heard he'd been hanging out with one of their classmates, Jake, at school. Apparently, Jake had been bullying both Ramos and Morgan. And when Morgan started hanging out with that group, he was afraid to leave because he felt unsafe," Colby explained.

"I didn't know Morgan was hanging out with Jake. He's always been a troublemaker. He gave Morgan black eyes multiple times, and Morgan came home crying because of the bullying at school. I tried to get him to talk to me so I could tell the principal, Mr. Smith, but I didn't know what else to do. So, I decided to talk to Mr. Smith. Jake was supposed to be suspended, but he came back to school two weeks later," Mrs. Yates said.

Colby cleared his throat. "Okay, I'm going to take your statement." He took out his notebook and pen and began taking notes.

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Yates said. "I just can't believe my son is dead." She cried continuously.

"No, don't apologize. Take all the time you need," Colby said. "So, can you tell me a little about Ramos?"

"Yeah. He and Morgan had been best friends since they were toddlers. Apparently, his parents aren't good parents—they're alcoholics and drug addicts. I made Morgan stop hanging out with him. I later found out that Morgan had ended their friendship," Mrs. Yates said.

"Okay. And can you tell me whether Ramos's parents had any trouble with Morgan? Maybe they threatened him or something?" Colby asked.

"No, but..." Mrs. Yates began before Colby looked at her.

"I remember when Morgan told Ramos that Jake was going to kill him if he told anyone his secret," Mrs. Yates explained.

"And do you think this secret led to your son's death?" Colby asked.

"I don't know. Morgan never told me what the secret was. I couldn't get him to say anything. He was silent a lot and didn't talk much. But he was a good boy, I'll tell you that, Detective Nickson," Mrs. Yates said.

Mrs. Yates cried harder. Mr. Yates hugged and comforted her. Colby nodded, closed his eyes briefly, then opened them and closed his notebook, placing it back into his pocket along with his black ink pen. He sighed, feeling terrible for Morgan's parents.

Colby stood up, turned, and walked past Jennifer. Jennifer followed him as they both left the waiting room inside the medical examiner's office. After leaving, Colby paced around, breathing heavily, with both hands resting on his waist.

Jennifer eventually walked out and noticed her partner in distress. Colby leaned forward with his hands on his knees, trying to calm down. After straightening up, he leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and rested his arm on it.

"Are you all right?" Jennifer asked.

Colby nodded and looked at Jennifer.

"This Morgan Yates guy has really hit you hard, huh?" Jennifer said.

"Yeah," Colby said, leaning away from the wall as his breathing began to calm.

Jennifer smiled at Colby and said, "Come on. Let's go back to the station."

Colby nodded, and they walked away from the medical examiner's office, crossed the street, and headed to the unmarked police car.