The old theme park

The ticket window of the impressive Ferry wheel which was right at the entrance of the theme park. That huge iron structure stood magnificently and seemed to be scratching the sky. However, the rust that covered it made the fact that someone who valued their own life dare to give it a try surprising. Inside the stand, a guy was lying on a puddle of blood, which came from a whole in the middle of his forehead. The bullet casquet near the body confirmed the fact that that man was shot.
After a while, glancing at the inside of the ticket window, he turned around and headed towards one of the wheel’s carts. On one of the seats, there were different objects which seemed to have been carefully placed.
“Let Ms. Perkins examine everything in detail” he said.

Ms. Perkins was on its way to the theme park. Her grandson, Mike, who wanted to follow her grandma’s steps and become a detective too was driving the car, a noisy cobalt blue Renault. Once they reached the entrance, the rusty iron front door made a piercing noice when it was opened by the two police officers who were standing outside the theme park. Mike, wearing a red and black tartan cotton shirt, ripped jeans and huge boots, was the first one to get out the car. His presence surprised even the police chief, who was not aware of the fact that someone was accompanying Ms. Perkins. His skin, full of tatoos, and his huge muscles gave him the appearance of a tough guy. His beard, sharply and pointly shaved was tied in a hair tie, as well as his bun, which stood out due to the fact that the rest of his head was highly shaved.
He opened the passenger’s door and a grey haired old woman in around her seventies slowly got out of the car. Her moon shaped glasses and her sweet face made her look adorable.
-“Good evening, Ms. Perkins. How does it feel to be back at work?” One of the police officers said.
-“You know? I have missed it badly, sweetheart”. It had been a while since she retired but participating again in an investigation made her feel young.

“Do we have any suspects, Chief?” asked Ms. Perkins.
“Well, not really. The theme park janitor, Mr. Evans, a man in his fifties, and the security guard, Mrs. O’Neal, a woman in her fourties were apparently here when the murder happened. However, they claim they were together at that time and the security cameras confirm their story”.
“Anyone else connected to the victim who could be related to the victim?” -Mike asked.
“Well, Mr. Robinson was supposedly dating a girl, Mrs. Adams whose alibi is still unknown”. -the chief replied.
“We will interrogate her after we examine the crime scenes”- Mike said.

The police chief leaded them to the crime scene:
“Was it a suicide or had someone deliberately murdered that poor guy?” thought Ms. Perkins.
-“It seemed that this dude was having a good time before he was shot. Don’t you think so, Grandma?”- said Jerry when he saw the blood- soaked popcorn lying next to the body and the headphones on the guy’s ears.
-“Indeed, dear”- said Ms. Perkins after having a glance again at all this mess. “Moreover, there is no trace of a gun, so it is highly improbable that this guy had shot himself”.
When she turned around, she discovered her grandson already inspecting one of the Ferry wheel’s cart and a tiny smile appeared on her face. “One day, he will become a good detective”-she thought.

“Everything was already there when I arrived and discovered what had happened”- said the theme park janitor who apparently have been there the whole time but had not spoken before. His voice sounded shaky and his whole face was full of sweat.
Mike, Ms. Perkins’ grandson, who was steel kneeling and examining the cart, raised his head and looked at him distrustfully. “What were you doing last night, sir?”- He sharply asked him.
“Take it easy with him, lad” quickly intervened the Security guard. “Mr. Murray and I spent the evening together having some drinks before our work shift, and we discovered the dead body together. Our alibi is consistent. You can check the security cameras”.
“Fair enough” Ms. Perkins said as she turned around and focused her attention again on the cart scene.
The tiny wooden chest decorated with red hearts drew her attention first. It was closed and there was no key near it. Under it, there was a torn piece of paper with a phone number written on it. Mike took out one small notebook from his pocket and wrote the number down. “We should check who answers the phone”- he said.
The Police Chief put everything in a plastic bag and handed it in to Ms. Perkins who was already heading to the car. “Come on, dear. We must discover who the dead man’s partner is and interview her”.

As soon as they saw her, Mrs. Perkins’ face lit up but said nothing, waiting for her grandson to discover what seemed to be quite clear in front of their eyes. “Excuse me, Mrs Adams, I know that you are going through a hard time, but could you please tell as what you were doing when your boyfriend was murdered?”.
-“Well, Robert and I were not really… I mean, he was not my boyfriend. We have been dating for quite a long time, but I had always thought that this would end eventually.”.
-“I see, but could you answer the question, darling?”- sweetly said Mrs. Perkins.
- “Yes, I am sorry. I spent the whole day at University. You can ask my teachers”.
Before she could finish the sentence, Mike left the room and after a couple of minutes, he placed the chest they found at the theme park on the table in the middle of the room. Mrs. Perkins smiled again. “Could you be so kind of letting me have a look at your necklace, Mrs. Adams?”.
-“For sure. Here you are. Robert gave it to me one week ago”- she said while passing him the shiny golden key that was on the necklace.
Mike took the key and put it in the lock, opening the chest easily. Everyone looked extremely surprised but Mrs. Perkins who appeared to be enjoying every single second of the situation. In front of them, there was the most beautiful diamond ring anyone could imagine.
-“What does this suppose to mean?” said the girl stuttering nervously.
“Well, perhaps Robert did not only see you as a simple friend”- answered Mike.
Mrs. Adams broke into tears. “I swear I did not kill him. I did not love him but I would never mean any harm to him. I swear!”- she said.
“I guess she is telling the truth”- Mike whispered to her grandma and walked towards the door following his grandma on her way out.
When they were on the street, Mike just remembered about the paper with the phone number that they found at the theme park and took it out from his pockect. “We should better call that number and see who answers the phone” – he said as he started dialing the numbers written on the paper.
A deep male voice answered saying the name of the city’s flower shop. “And that, confirms my theory. Let’s pay a visit to that man”. Ms Perkins said.
…
“Good evening, we would like to ask you several questions. A dead body was found at the theme park and we discovered a note with the flower shop’s number at the crime scene. We suspect that that guy phoned or was planning to phone you to order some flowers.” Said Ms. Perkins.
-“Mmmm… Let me check the register. What is the guy’s name?”
-“Mr. Robinson” answered her.
-“ Let me see… Robinson, Robinson… Oh, here he is!”
-“Could I maybe have a look? This is weird. It says that Mr. Robinson order 12 roses to be delivered at the theme park.” She continued.
-“That is strange. There were no roses when we arrived”. Mike added
-“We had a problem with the delivery. I called the guy and told him that we would arrive half an hour later”
Mike who had been inspecting the shop since he first entered, took something from one of the bins which was in one of the corners. “Did you have fun at the theme park yesterday, sir?” He said waving the theme park ticked that he was holding on his hand. “It is quite surprising that you bought your ticket just five minutes before the closing time. Did you even have time to try any of the attractions?”.
-“What? Wait! What are you implying? I did not kill Jeffrey.” The seller tried to defend himself.
-“Jeffrey? Did you know him?”
In that precise moment, the chief police entered the shop. The shop assistant, while everyone was distracted by his entrance, started stuttering without being able to produce any recognizable word while he started rubbing and moving his hands behind his back.
“Excuse me, sir. Could you please pass me the bracelet you have just hidden in your pocket?” Ms Perkins asked seriously.
Knowing that he had no other way out, he took it out and handed it to her, who examined it over her half moon shaped glasses. The silver bracelet was plain and ordinary. However, inside it, there was a name carved: “Beth Adams”.
“ So, you know Mrs. Adams, Mr.Robinson’s girlfriend. Don’t’ you?”
“Sir, you are under arrest for the murder of Mr. Robinson”-said the chief Police.

Among the rusty attractions of the old theme park, the ticket seller was found dead with a bullet shot in his forehead. Ms. Perkins, a former detective, had been asked to come back from her retirement and solve the case. Her smart and sharp grandson, who wants to be a detective too, will help her to find out who the perpetrator of the crime is. Will they succeed?