“Let's recap one last time before we start. We are about to interview two potential suspects or witnesses who were present at the party the night of Keeth Salro’s death. Twenty-three-year-old male Keeth Salro was found dead in the upstairs bedroom at his party. Cause of death, presumed blunt force trauma to the back of his head, resulting in his skull being caved in.”

“We don’t know that for sure yet, there were also high amounts of narcotics found in his bloodstream.”

“Correct, continuing… The victim was discovered two hours after the start of the party in the upstairs bedroom. The safe was left open with only a gold watch being taken and the bedroom window open. The bedside table was broken and bloodied and determined to be what caved his skull in. The bedroom window suggests that someone either entered or exited the house from there. High amounts of narcotics were detected in the victim's blood. The last two witnesses needing to be interviewed are here, with Jacob Wenden waiting in interrogation room Three Green, and Max Danes in interrogation room Five Red. I'll talk to Wenden and you talk to Danes, let's get this wrapped up.”

[Interview Transcripts from Jacob Wenden and Max Danes]

[Detective Room 3]:  Please state your name and age.

[Jacob]: Jacob Wenden, twenty years old.

[Detective Room 5]: Please state your name and age.

[Max]: Max Danes twenty-one years old, I already fucking told you this.

[Detective Room 3]: How did you know Keeth Salro?

[Jacob]: We went to the same middle school, high school, and college. I wouldn’t say we were super close, but I liked him. We met sometime during sixth grade, he was one of the first people to talk to me and helped me through some shit, so, you know, the friendship just started from there.

[Detective Room 5]: How did you know Keeth Salro?

[Max]: I didn’t. I saw him around school a few times. I didn’t even know his name till he died.

[Detective Room 3]: Why were you at the party that night?

[Jacob]:  Keeth invited me. I didn't even want to go but it was his birthday, I've known him since middle school, I couldn't just not go.

[Detective Room 5]: Why were you at the party that night?

[Max]: Look man [pause] it was a party, why else would I be there, bongs, booze and boobs.

[Detective Room 3]: What time did you get to the party?

[Jacob]: Well, Keeth was like dead set on having his party at his summer house, so I left a few hours earlier than I normally would because it's off in the woods and I didn’t want to be driving through the woods in the dark. I've seen enough movies to know that's how people die. I knew I would be early, but I got there a lot faster than I expected and ended up there around seven thirty two I think?

[Detective Room 5]: What time did you get to the party?

[Max]: Man I don’t have a fucking watch, I just showed up when I felt like it. By the time I got there, shit was already in full swing. Some rando was already shitfaced on the front porch when I went in and ran into Rowan.

[Detective Room 5]: And who is Rowan?

[Max]: He was my old roommate. I have no clue how he got there though, I wasn't even invited, plus Keeth and Rowan fucking HATE each other, so it was super funny to see them in the same room. I was just waiting for shit to hit the fan between them two.

[Detective Room 5]: Do you know why Keeth and Rowan dislike each other?

[Max]: Yea, a few years back Keeth set off a firework on campus and it went straight through the library window. Burnt a few thousand dollars worth of textbooks alongside two students and the librarian. Rowan was walking by at the time and Keeth shoved the lighter on him and ran, Rowan got fined a shit ton and expelled for the damages. After that, Rowan kept showing up to Keeth’s football games and sabotaging him.

[Detective Room 5]: Sabotaging him?

[Max]: Like shining a light in his face from the stands. When Keeth found out who it was, they got into a fight and Keeth broke Rowan's wrist in the fight. Funnily enough, Rowan had a table tennis tournament in a few days and wasn't able to compete.

[Detective Room 5]: Do you think that would be enough for Rowan to want to kill Keeth?

[Max]: I mean yea, probably. If he won, the prize money would have been his way out of this damn town.

[Detective Room 5]: Tell me a little bit about Rowan. What kind of person is he?

[Max]: He's a pretty chill dude, if he's not high. He aint the smartest, but damn was he fast with his hands. I honestly think he woulda won that tournament if he was able to play.

[Detective Room 5]: Did Rowan say anything about wanting to get revenge on Keeth?

[Max]: Nah, Rowan likes to keep his problems to himself, says that he isn't a fan of relying on other people with his problems, asking for help is for the weak.

[Detective Room 5]: What happened when you got to the party?

[Max]: Ya, so like, I went in and ran into Rowan in the kitchen, and we caught up over some beers. Only other people I recognized were Jacob, Keeth, and Clare, but they were all getting hammered with some people by the couch.

[Detective Room 3]: What happened when you got to the party?

[Jacob]: When I got there I ran into Clare, but nobody was really there yet so I waited in my car cause it's awkward to show up to a party early, right? [Silence]. I went in after some more people showed up and it was all just normal party shit man, drinking and drugs. But not me though! I-I don't do drugs, not my thing. When I got there, Keeth and some people I didn't know were already drinking on the couch so sat down to say hi. I had to go to the bathroom and Keeth pointed me down the hall, but apparently he was too drunk already and pointed me down the wrong hall. So I walked in on some dudes shooting up in the guest bedroom, so I did a one eighty right out of there...

[Detective Room 3]: Why’s that?

[Jacob]: What? What kind of question is that? I’m practicing to get into med school, I know how mixing shit can fuck you up. You don't know what medications people might be on or what dangerous reactions could happen if you shoot something up. My cousin took some sort of relaxant on top of some Xanax and he had to get rushed to the ER. If I was a few minutes later finding him, he would be… I don't want to think about it, can we continue?

[Detective Room 5]: And when was the last time you saw Keeth?

[Max]: I was coming back downstairs, and I passed him and Clare on their way to the guest bedroom-

[Detective Room 5]: What were you doing that required you to be upstairs?

[Max]: I was looking for the bathroom and I went to the wrong room, so I went back down to ask Keeth where it is.

[Detective Room 5]: So why didn't you stop to ask him when you passed him going to the guest bedroom?

[Max]: Well, he was with Clare…

[Detective Room 3]: And when was the last time you saw Keeth?

[Jacob]: I was drinking with Keeth, and he asked me to go grab more drinks from the kitchen but when I came back he, Clare, and some of the others were gone, so I went looking. That was the last time I saw him. Keeth made it very clear to everyone that he didn't want anybody upstairs because he's got some important family things or something up there, so he probably was up there.

[Detective Room 5]: Why did it matter that he was with Clare?

[Max]: Well Clares’ Jacobs' girlfriend and I know Keeth has been trying to get into her pants basically since they first met but she kept shootin him down. There was no way I was risking him being pissed as fuck if I ruined this for him, so I just went outside cause Rowan texted me that he finally pulled up.

[Detective Room 5]: Why was Rowan arriving now? I thought you had said that you were previously drinking with him?

[Max]: Oh, no, I mean… I was but then Rowan ran out of smokes so he went to go buy some more. We were drinking earlier, he was just coming back now.

[Detective Room 5]: So were you, or were you or were you not, with Rowan earlier in the night?

[Max]: No I was with Rowan and then he went to get smokes and then he came back.

[Detective Room 5]: What did you do next once Rowan arrived?

[Max]: So I went to go meet him on the porch but when he got outta his car people started screaming. At first I thought someone was dying, but apparently acceptances to this big like med school thing finally came out, so everyone was freaking out about whether they got in or not. Really easy to tell who didn't get in, people were pissed. Jacob came storming down the hall and made a beeline to the bathroom, dude almost had smoke coming outta his ears, he was way madder than all the others who didn't get in, dude was in the bathroom for like ten minutes probably crying.

[Detective Room 3]: What was your relationship like with Clare?

[Jacob]: We've been dating for like, five years I think? The relationship is good? I don't really understand why she has anything to do with this. She didn’t have anything to do with what happened if that's what you're getting at!

[Detective Room 3]: Other witnesses state that you got quite upset and saw you storming off during the party, why was that?

[Jacob]: Is Clare a suspect?! Was she the one that killed Keeth?!?!

[Detective Room 3]: Please, answer the ques-

[Jacob]: Oh my god, the last time I saw Keeth was when he was with Clare! A-a-and she was always talking about how Keeth was hitting on her! She was saying something about wanting Keeth to drop dead!

[Detective Room 3]: Sir I need you to-

[Jacob]: Holy shit, she killed Keeth… she fucking told me she wanted him dead?! I should have done something! Fuck, if I wasn’t such an idiot, maybe… maybe Keeth would still be alive… [Scraping bang] You guys need to go after her!

[Detective Room 3]: Sir I need you to sit down!

[Jacob]: SHE'S STILL OUT THERE!

[Recording Stopped]

[Recording Start]

[Detective Room 3]: Let me ask you again, why were you storming off during the party.

[Jacob]: I was already stressed about the med school acceptances, and I was already kinda worried about not being able to find Clare. Then that asshole Rowan showed up, he's always blasting music from his truck to the point where you can hear him coming before you can even see him. Keeth hates Rowan's entire being. I made fun of him for being so paranoid about Rowan crashing his party that he paid one of his friends to be a bouncer to keep Rowan out of the house. Just, the fucking music and his damned highbeams shining through the windows in my face was the last straw I guess. With everything I just got so pissed off I had to go out back for some air.

[Detective Room 5]: So after Rowen arrived, then you went drinking with him? Is that correct?

[Max]: Yea.

[Detective Room 5]: Well, according to other witnesses, when Rowan arrived, you weren't ther-

[Max]: Well theyre fucking blind! [Delz slams table] I was right out there with Rowan! We were outside but then Keeths meathead gym bro was blocking Rowan from going in, so I went to the kitchen to grab us drinks, if he wasn't allowed inside, we’d just continue the party outside.

[Detective Room 5]: We interviewed Rowan and he said that the last time he saw you that night was when you went back into the party to get drinks. What happened to continuing the party outside?

[Max]: Dude look, I was drunk! I don't even remember what I was saying at that time. I went back inside and was just hanging around. I think I went back to the couch for a bit. [Pause] No yea I did, I went back in and my head was spinning at that point so I sat down on the couch for a second and I remember thinking that I was gonna get something for Rowan.

[Detective Room 5]: So did you?

[Max]: Did I what?

[Detective Room 5]: Get something for Rowan.

[Max]: I think so? I went back to the kitchen and I remember grabbing a beer but I forgot why, so I downed it.

[Detective Room 5]: So you remember grabbing a drink but not that Rowan was waiting for you outside?

[Max]: I'm a bad friend alright? Are you going to arrest me for forgetting about him, do you want me to apologize? It was loud, I was drunk, I was so disoriented and outta it. But I do remember some dude puking all over this one chick and he got the shit slapped outta him.

[Detective Room 5]: Were you also too disoriented to sneak back upstairs as everyone was distracted?

[Max]: What?

[Detective Room 3]: Alright, so what happens when you rejoin the party?

[Jacob]: When I came back, Keeth and Clare were back from wherever they were, drinking again. I went and sat next to Keeth to ask where he went, but he was too wasted to talk to. He said he wasn't feeling great so I suggested he go upstairs and rest for a bit.

[Detective Room 3]: I thought the last time you saw Keeth was when he was with Clare when you went to get more drinks from the kitchen? So did you send him upstairs before that?

[Jacob]: No, I mean the last time I saw him with anyone was with Clare, when I went to get more drinks from the kitchen.

[Detective Room 3]: So then when was the last time you saw him at all?

[Jacob]: The last, last time I saw him that night was when he wasn't feeling good and went upstairs to rest it off.

[Detective Room 3]: So did Clare follow him up there?

[Jacob]: What? No, why would she?

[Detective Room 3]:You seemed quite certain that Clare was the one who killed Keeth, correct?

[Jacob]: I wasn't with her the entire night, I went back to the bathroom because I drank way too much, and while I was in there I heard this big thump from upstairs, so I just assumed he passed out in his room. When I came back from the bathroom Clare was gone again. I had assumed she just left cause she had some family event in a few hours- Wait. Can I ask you a question?

[Detective Room 3]: Please

[Jacob]: How did Keeth die?

[Detective Room 3]: [Silence]

[Jacob]: Please, I need to know, I think I might know what happened.

[Detective Room 3]: [Silence for a period] Blunt force trauma to the back of the head.

[Jacob]: WHAT!? No, but-... does that mean… that thump I heard… was Clare… she did, didn't she!? Why would she do this!?

[Detective Room 3]: Calm down and continue. What happened after you came out of the bathroom.

[Jacob]: I… I left the bathroom and... I couldn't find Clare so I assumed she went home for the family thing. I thought Keeth was asleep upstairs, and with Clare gone, I didn't have a reason to be there so I left to go home.

[Detective Room 3]: Did you not stop to see if Clare was still at the party?

[Jacob]: I looked around for her for a little while but when I couldn't find her, as I said. I just went home.

[Detective Room 3]: Did it not occur to you to call or text her?

[Jacob]: No, not really, she had made a big deal about her thing the next day so I assumed it was that.

[Detective Room 3]: So you just went straight home from the party?

[Jacob]: I did, but on the way out I saw Max stumble out of the bushes from the side of the house. I went to go check on him and noticed he had some blood on his shoulder and was a bit cut up. He smelled like he jumped in a pool of alcohol, so I asked him to tell me what time it was cause I don't really know what to ask to see if someone is drunk or not. This idiot looked at his watch upside down. If he couldn't even tell which side was up there was no way I was letting him drive, so I offered him a ride and dropped him off at his house. Then I just went home.

[Detective Room 3]: Were you not curious as to why there was blood on his shoulder?

[Jacob]: Well I had just assumed that he cut himself on something, he was so drunk that he probably didn't even notice he was bleeding. He seemed pretty freaked out though so I spent a bit of time trying to calm him down before taking him home.

[Detective Room 3]: And that's it?

[Jacob]: That's it, I took him home and then I went to bed.

[Detective Room 3]: Alright, thank you for your time Mr. Wenden, we'll be in touch.

[Recording Stop]

[Detective Room 5]: A witness stated that they saw you sneaking back upstairs after Rowan arrived. Wasn't it made explicitly clear at the start of the party that Keeth didn't want anyone going upstairs?

[Max]: Look, I don't know what happened okay? I went in, grabbed the drinks, and then the next thing I remember, I was outside pissing in the bushes.

[Detective Room 5]: Can you recall how you ended up back outside? There is no account of you coming back down stairs.

[Max]: Dude I don't know! I just remember the bushes and my shoulder hurting like hell. And since I had no clue how any of that happened, I was like, okay, im way to fucked, I gotta go home.

[Detective Room 5]: It didn't bother you that you were bleeding?

[Max]: Not really, it hurt but it wasn't anything serious.

[Detective Room 5]: How do you know it wasn't serious, for all you know, you could have been bitten by an animal?

[Max]: It wasn't an animal!

[Detective Room 5]: How can you be so certain?

[Max]: Cause I cut my shoulder on a tree branch on the way out!

[Detective Room 5]: When did you realize that you got cut?

[Max]: What? When it fucking happened. What kind of dumbass question is that? I slipped and hit the branch and it cut me. Simple as that.

[Detective Room 5]: I'm just curious, you said you were too drunk to remember how you got outside correct?

[Max]: Yes, pay attention. [Inaudible]

[Detective Room 5]: So tell me, how do you know that you cut yourself on a branch?

[Max]: It's cause I…! [Silence]

[Detective Room 5]: Because you… what? If you don't remember anything until you were in the bushes, how are you so sure that it was a branch?

[Max]: I- dont know it's all still really fuzzy but like, some things are coming back…

[Detective Room 5]: You said you slipped, how did you slip?

[Max]: I don't know, I musta just like… slipped or something

[Detective Room 5]: Slipped or something?

[Max]: Dude I dont fucking know! I can't remember, alright?! I sorta remembered the branch but that's it! Do you want me to finish tellin you what happened or not?!

[Detective Room 5]: Yes, please, continue.

[Max]: Alright, so as I was trying to say. I woke up in the bushes and thought that it was time to head home. So I ordered an uber but my phone died right after that. It was like a fifteen minute wait till he got there. Five star driver my ass, I was paying for quick transportation and the best they could do was a fifteen minute wait. While I was out there, fucking Jacob came out, but this dumbass was to busy looking at his phone and ran straight into me. Just went straight to his car and just straight up left, muttering something about “not understanding”, like dude, what's hard to understand, you didn't get into med school cause you're not good enough, it's not that hard!

[Detective Room 5]: I'm going to have to ask you to stop shouting and tell me the rest. Calmly.

[Max]: Oh fuck off! Uber got there and I went back home and crashed for the night, that's it! Are we done here now?!

[Detective Room 5]: For now, yes, we are done here.

[Max]: Piece of shit wasting my-

[Recording Stop]

“Alright, so we have interviewed all the witnesses, now all that's left is to go back through the interviews and see if we can't find some answers. Were looking for anything that may hint at what exactly went down that night, what was Keeth’s cause of death. Who killed him if anyone? How did the killer or killers manage to kill him? When during the party did Keeth die. Was Keeth’s murder the only crime that took place that night or does this go even deeper. What was the motive behind the murder?

(There is enough information within the interrogations themselves to be able to figure out exactly what happened the night Keeth Salro died.)

[NEXT PAGE FOR HINTS]

EPILOGUE

(Read on if you want hints):

“Okay so we know there were two crimes committed, the murder of Keeth Salro, and the theft of a gold watch. Our prime suspects are Keeth himself, Clare, Jacob, Max, and Rowan. Given the interviews, we can conclude that Jacob never went upstairs and if we can figure out when the gold watch was taken, it might help solidify timelines.  Both of the crimes were committed a little after the time that Rowan showed up. Given what the witnesses have said, it's likely that Jacob did not even know that Max was at the party until the end of the night.”

READ ON FOR LARGE HINTS

[Detective 1]: “Forensics just got back to us about the cause of death, it was a narcotics overdose. Keeth was dead before his head was smashed in.”

[Detective 2]: “So with his death being a narcotics overdose, why bother with smashing his head in? Falling over from the drugs, even if he hit his head on the bedside table, it wouldn't have caved the whole back of his head in.”

[Detective 1]: “Your right, somehow, enough force was used to crack the skull, either he was hit with something, or he was pushed.”

[Detective 2]: “Yes, but whoever drugged him was smart enough to do it without anyone noticing and likely wouldn't have risked getting caught trying to stage a death. His broken skull was a lot more sloppy, less planned if you can even call it that.”

[Detective 1]: “So then likely two people knew of Keeths death but likely didn’t know about the others' involvement.”

Answer:

         “Jacob arrived at the party with no intention to kill Keeth. During the party he stumbled on Keeth and Clare cheating. With his medical background, made a lethal mix of narcotics and poisoned Keeth in revenge for cheating with Clare.”

“Max had drunkenly wanted to help Rowan get back at Keeth and stole his gold watch. The damage to Keeth’s skull was due to Max attacking him when he walked in on him stealing the watch, but at that point Keeth was already dead due to a drug overdose and Max hitting him causing his body to collapse into the shelf, leading Max to believe that he had killed Keeth.”

“In a panic he climbed out the second story window and fell into the bushes. Around the same time, Jacob heard the scuffle from the downstairs bathroom but had assumed that it was just Keeth collapsing from the drugs. With his job now done, Jacob left for his car but suddenly ran into Max on his way out.”

“The two never actually interacted with each other that night, rather, Jacob, knowing that he needed an alibi, seized the opportunity of Max being drunk, crafted the narrative of bringing him home.”

“Jacob had assumed that, from Maxes' stumbling state, he would be too drunk to remember what happened. Unbeknownst to him, Max had just fallen out of the window and was stumbling away. Jacob drove off alone and Max left in an uber.”

“Jacob, knowing that he would be interrogated, had planned ahead to try to pin the whole thing on Clare, thus taking her down for cheating as well as putting himself in the clear.”