Chapter 36

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Note: This is the final chapter. I promise to reveal who the killer is. You can stroll down, the killer's name is the final word of the chapter. Or you can read the whole chapter, and learn the killer's motive.

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July 2005

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Nate Flint was on his fishing boat with his daughter Abby. She still didn't like spending her summer vacation working, but Nate thought it was doing her good. Making her realize how hard he worked for his money, she wasn't as spoiled as she had been a month ago. On this day they found something interesting, a note in a bottle. It was about the killings on Merchant Island six months ago. If the note was accurate, it was apparently written by the killer. Father and daughter read this with great interest.

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"Dear reader, by the time you read this, I will be dead. By now you may have heard about the killings on Merchant Island, that someone murdered ten people. There has likely been speculation as to who killed us all, who even had motive. I'll end your suspense, I did it, I killed them all. It's true I manipulated some into killing others, one woman I manipulated into suicide, but I take full responsibility for all the dead. I like to think I outsmarted the police, that they have no idea I was the murderer, but I can't rule out that DNA and/or forensics proved my guilt. But I like to think they could never identify my motive. I won't dissapoint you on that, but I must start from the beginning. I have always loved mysteries, beginning with "Encyclopedia Brown" and "Nancy Drew." I was probably one of the few children who enjoyed watching "Matlock" with her father. As a teenager I even tried to write a few mysteries, but I could never really get into the mind of a killer. I couldn't fully understand why someone would decide that their greed was more important than someone else's life. My father said I was a good person, that was why I couldn't relate to a murderer. Neither of us yet realized how wrong he was. Reading these mysteries helped me to escape the public eye, to retreat into myself. I preferred these to my family issues. But I couldn't always escape reality. In the summer of 2001 I devoted my energies into the reality series "Murder in small town X." I did not figure out who the killer was, but it was a brief escape. Then, one week after this ended, our country was attacked by 19 psychopaths. The player who had won "Murder in small town X" Angel Jurabe, was among those murdered that day. Watching him on tv was the closest I came to personally knowing any of the victims. Like every american I was very angry at those who did the killings. I have no sympathy for them. Their perversion of islam taught them they could get 72 virgins by sending infidels, including children, to eternal suffering in Hell. I do not consider myself in their category, but we'll get to my motives soon enough. Admittedly September 11th did make me think about the big issues of life and death, the afterlife. But I was hit more personally in July 2003. It was then that an evil man raped me, and I soon found myself pregnant. Many consider themselves pro-life, unless the pregnancy was a result of rape. For me it was the opposite. I always considered myself pro-choice. And yet, when I found myself pregnant from rape, I wanted to keep this child. But most of my friends and family said they would understand if I had an abortion, some were even encouraging me to do this. I almost gave in, but in the end I choose to have this baby. I wanted to protect her, to make sure noone knew how she was concieved. But there was the issue of my rapist, who escaped justice. I killed him. People don't believe me when I say I blocked out the memory of killing Michael. Most don't care, they think Michael deserved to die. Some think I was such a good person, that I can't even deal with killing an evil rapist in self-defense. In truth, I now realize I was creating my own murder mystery, and it just happenned to lead back to me. I don't know if you can believe I had no interest in the Cambias fortune, but I didn't. And having admitted to all these murders now that I'm on the verge of death, what motive do I have to lie now? I thought me and my baby, whom I named Miranda, would live happily ever after. But she was taken from me, we had only a few hours together before she died. I have been contemplating suicide every day since. But I knew my loved ones, my mother, my sister, so many others, would be hurt by my death. Then, one day, I was at the grocery store. While waiting in line I heard the woman in front of me talk about a story in the tabloids. It was about me and my baby, more stupid trash for the entertainment of paying losers. This woman made a comment about how Miranda was better off dead, now she wouldn't be remembered as the bastard spawn of a sick rapist and a lesbian. I had tried to prepare myself for this moment, I truley feared I would tear the throat out of the first person I heard say this about my baby. But instead, I thought she might be right. That was the day I had the epiphany. It would be selfish to kill myself, and leave my loved ones to suffer in this world. I had to end their pain first, then I could join them. The question became who I should kill. My mother and my sister were at the top of my list. I think Erica and Kendall loved each other, but neither could get over the pain. Erica from having been raped on her 14th birthday, Kendall from the pain of being the child of rape. Then there was David, the doctor who helped me during my pregnancy. He also dealt with the pain of losing a child. Later his wife Anna left him, because of the lies he told to protect me. I see the pain in David's eyes, he longs to be reunited with Leora. And JR, he has been cursed with losing so many loved ones, he has little love to give his own child. I would spare him the pain of his child being taken from him. Lena, my beloved, she tried to kill herself because she blamed herself for what Michael did to me. If I died, she would join me before long, especially after the death of her mother. I feel I was merely speeding up what she would inevitably to do herself. Ryan and Greenlee. Ryan struggles with his abusive upbringing, fearful he could become as big a monster as his father or brother. Greenlee's mother was a monster as well, forcing Greenlee away from home at boarding school. They both struggle with issues of being loved, issues not helped by Ryan's affair with Kendall. Greenlee feels betrayed by her former friend, Kendall feels her friend betrayed her by stealing Ryan. My uncle Jackson has his own issues. He broke the law, an institution he believes in, to frame the man who raped me. His suspension from practicing the law hurts him more than he lets on. And to take away his beloved Erica, his niece, his own daughter. I cannot let him live with that much pain. Last but not least, Zack Slater. He bears a heavy burden for how his brother became a monster, how he was unable to save him in the end. These issues have caused Zack to sabotage his relationship with his son Ethan. These people are my loved ones. We love each other, but at times we hate each other. This hatred will end soon, and we will all be happy at last. Once I decided who to kill the issue of how became easier. I wanted another mystery, and Merchant Island would be the perfect place to do it. Given it's history of murder, its similarity to the novel "And then there were none" and ofcourse the fact that there would be no escape, no other witnesses, it was not hard to decide where it should be done. I went to my mother, asked her to go to Zack and plan this murder mystery weekend. They both kept quiet about Erica's involvement, Zack never even knew it was my idea. I then had to go to Alexander, and request he make this tape. Alexander thought it was strange, but he agreed. He felt so guilty about what Michael had done he would have agreed to almost any request of mine. I think he also wanted to be part of one last power play. Erica knew it was my idea, that was why she had to be the first to die. I put the curaree in the wine bottle, brought it to the island along with the tape and the assorted weapons. There was however a reason why I put the bottle in my own room. The whole time I planned this I wondered if I could go through with it. This gave me the option of destroying the poison before anyone got hurt, or drinking it all myself. But in the end I gave it to my mother, and nervously waited. Erica lived just long enough to see Alexander's tape. She called my name before she died. Was she seeking comfort? Or had she figured out my plan? I'll never know for certain, but I saw something in my mother's eyes. She was afraid, angry. But I also saw recognition, the understanding that she deserved to die, and that she would soon be at peace, finally. It was then that I knew I must keep up with my plan. I should have simply poisoned all of our food, now I would have to eliminate us all one by one. I kept up my best poker face, but Zack suspected me. I have to give him credit, I had hoped I was above suspicion, but he knew I was the murderer. He was however wrong about my motive, as I said I had no interest in the Camias money, nor did I have the desire to leave this island alive. I had to wait. Of all the theories being put forth the one which helped me was that Erica was the sole target. People began to let their guards down. I went to Lena this night, kissed her, told her I loved her. I felt she deserved one last happy memory. Then, less than an hour later, I returned in the dark. I quickly threw the rope around her neck and began strangling her. Lena was tired, confused, she never even got the chance to see my face in the dark. I'm glad she never knew who was killing her. At this point there were only eight of us left. Simple mathmatics said that the fewer of us who remained, the more suspicion woud fall on each of us. I had to make an alliance, with David. David had pronounced Erica and Lena dead. Noone else bothered to check their corpses, why would they, guilty or innocent a doctor knows the difference between a patient who is alive or dead. I told David I feared for my life, I needed his help in faking my own death. David agreed, he had no idea I was the killer. He was so blinded by his hatred of JR he assumed JR was the killer. He also planned to use my "death" as a way to monitor everyone's reaction, who was worried that there was a second kilelr on the loose. Kendall already suspected Zack, so when we split up to search the island I needed Zack to be my partner. Choosing partners with cards was the obvious choice, so I subtly marked the cards earlier. I also influenced Kendall to demand Zack choose his card first, then I simply picked the same card. As we searched the caves I seperated from Zack and found David. He put the rope around my neck and squeezed, just hard enough to give me a convincing rope burn. Having to fake my death, difficult. Once again everyone took David's word that I was dead. I had to remain completely still while Jackson and Kendall carried my body to the basement. I couldn't smile when Kendall swore to me she would avenge my death. Sure enough Kendall stole the gun and went looking for Zack. While waiting I moved the bodies slightly. I knew that as I made frequent trips upstairs I could never return to the exact position I'd always been in. If anyone noticed, it had to seem like all the bodies were moving, just a little bit. I watched from a distance as Kendall shot Zack, kept shooting until she ran out of bullets. I regret that Zack died knowing people thought he was a murderer, I'll have to apologize to him in Heaven. Unfortunately JR saw this, which meant Kendall had to die next. I couldn't take the chance Kendall would back up JR's story, suspicion now had to fall on JR. Kendall was scared, she ran back into the mansion. Perhaps she would have killed herself, but I couldn't take the chance she wouldn't. I found her in the bedroom, scared, desperate. Kendall was suprised I was alive, and we hugged. I admitted I had faked my death, David helped me. I also told her that Zack probably was the killer, she save us. And just as Kendall let her guard down, I hit her on the back of the head with the wrench. She lost conscioussness immediately. I waited with my binoculars, made sure each person was alone, and then I pushed Kendall outside the window. Only David wasn't fooled into thinking it was a suicide. I waited patiently in the basement until David found me this night. He informed me that Kendall was dead, JR was almost certainly the killer. David said he saw it in JR's eyes, when he was told I was dead. I realized David only saw what he wanted to see in JR's eyes, but I went along with it. He talked me into killing JR, as if it was his idea the whole time. David felt he was protecting his daughter and granddaughter, in a way he was, and so was I. We confronted JR, made some noise. Fortunately the three upstairs were too scared to come down. With my help David smashed JR's skull in, but got hurt in the process. I hugged David, and plunged the knife into his back. He tried to crawl away, only in his last moments did he realize I was the killer. Jackson wanted to believe the killer was now dead, the other possibilities were perhaps too horrible for him to admit. I crept up behind him this morning. Like Lena, he never turned around. I shot him, he never saw my face. After this I quickly fled, leaving the gun on the ground. Greenlee and Ryan found him, Greenlee reached the obvious conclusion, that Ryan was the killer. I like to think that by now Ryan and Greenlee have reconciled in Heaven, I will apologize to them soon. While Greenlee was shooting her husband I set up the rope. Greenlee saw it, and feared she was losing her mind. Whether it was guilt, or fear of prison, Greenlee reacted just as I thought she would. She climbed up and hung herself. Now, at long last, my work is just about done. I've removed the chair from the room, let the police figure out how it was removed after she died. After I finish this note I shall go to the basement, and shoot each of the bodies in the head. All except Zack, who already has bullets in him. Finally, I will shoot myself in the head. According to my calculations the force from the fired revolver will send the gun flying away, thus landing away from my body. My hope is to create a murder mystery that will never be solved. But a part of me hopes to be recognized for my brilliant scheme. Undoubtedly some would consider my motive insane, but I believe I was ultimately ending the pain of the people I love the most. I'll never know for certain if the police could figure out I was the killer. I leave it to chance. I shall place this note in a bottle and throw it out into the sea. There's the possibility this bottle will sink to the ocean. Perhaps it will hit a rock, destroying the bottle and thus making this note forever unreadable. If you have been fortunate enough to find this I leave it to you as to what to do with my note. For now, I must say goodbye. Sincerely, your friend, Bianca.