Ciara is at her house with her friends Piper, Henry, Skylar, and Brooklynn. They’ve just finished talking about a book they’ve all been reading, Words of the Sea by Daniel McGoff. “Oh, that reminds me,” Skylar began. “There’s going to be a fantastic party tonight! Daniel McGoff is going to be there to get some reviews on the book. We should all go!” Skylar loved reading and writing novels; she and Daniel McGoff also created the idea of the novel together. “I say let’s.” Ciara replies. “After all, you did help develop the idea and it’s amazing!!” Skylar looked around to see if anyone else would give an opinion, to which they gave a thumbs-up and a smile. Skylar said, “Alright, that settles it then. Let’s go to the mall!” 

Stopping at the first store they saw, the friends go into Fix That Mess, Get Her A Dress! Henry insists on wearing a tux he used for a wedding last month, so he patiently waits on the fabric cushions across from the dressing rooms. Each of the girls come out in a dazzling dress and accessories: Ciara in a long turquoise dress, Piper in a yellow skirt, black shirt and high yellow heels, Skylar in a puffy, ball gown-type, red dress with high, black, velvet boots, and Brooklynn in a rose pink dress with a beaded belt and hoop earrings. Making a decision on what happened to be the most expensive items in the store, the girls spent a fortune and walked out penniless. 

“We’re here,” Henry said as he opens the door and the girls came pouring out. Ciara speed-walks to the fanciest doorbell she’s ever seen and rings it. “Hello, you must be Miss Skylar’s friends. I’m Daniel McGoff, assuming you’ve heard.” They thank Mr. McGoff for the not-cheap party invite and he shows them in. They step into the drawing room, where McGoff has a few copies of his novel and a pad of paper to write reviews. He slowly sits down and waits for people to come in, but they are all having such a great time they forget what the party was intended to be. 

Ciara goes into the lounge and is tempted by the small nacho cheese fountain, Piper and Henry stick together and talk to a few people on the porch, Skylar reviews parts of McGoff’s book on the balcony then heads off, and Brooklynn begins an argument with someone who thinks they can eat more tiny cheeseburgers than her. The chef walks into the drawing room, then out into the connected lounge. Ciara then comes into the drawing room as the chef leaves. “Oh my--Help!! Help!!” Everyone from this room and that come rushing in to see what the commotion is about. Ciara bends over the floor, and as Henry turns to see what’s the matter he sees blood ooze into the million-dollar rug. 

Henry then, without saying a word, calls the detective housing not a block away from the party. “Hello, Detective Hobbert?” “Yes, this is he.” “There has been a murder.” “What is the wound and address?”  “Stab in the upper back, and 1509 West View St, please come quickly.” “To accurately gather evidence, I need everyone to be locked in the lounge room. It will make it easier for me to do my job with fresh and clear evidence.” The phone hangs up on Henry’s end, and he directs everyone into the lounge. “Alright, is this everyone?” Henry questions before locking the door. “Yes, I believe so.” Piper answers. Henry locks the door and then hears that Hobbert has arrived. 

Skylar begins sobbing because she knows McGoff the most out of everyone here, and Henry comforts her with a hug. Piper, in an attempt to distract everyone from this traumatic event, asks if anyone has a copy of Words of the Sea that she can read aloud. Skylar picks one from under her arm and tosses it across the room to Brooklynn and then Piper. Moments later, Detective bangs on the door and orders Henry to unlock the door. Henry picks them out of his pocket and stares perplexed. “What’s wrong?” Serena asks. “It’s just that-- I thought there were three keys, not two. Nevermind, it’s alright.” The keys jingle as the lock turns and sets them free. The mob of attendees begin to push through the door in an effort to resume their partying time. 

“Now,” Hobbert began. “I have a suspicion for only one of you. Serena?” “Yes, sir?” she replies. “When you walked into the drawing room and found McGoff on the floor, did you see anyone come out of the room, or perhaps anyone remotely near?” Serena takes a second to flash back to that moment, then remembers. “The chef, she walked out right as I walked in, then she headed for the kitchen.” A few people in the small crowd gasp and the detective finds this newly learned information reassuring. “Mrs. Croix, what exactly were you doing at that moment?” Hobbert’s questions got more and more intense, and the chef bounced back to recall what exactly she was doing. 

“I began informing the attendees that the steak and veggie dinner was going to be served soon.” “Then why--” Detective has a confused face as he puts further questions together. “How did you not see Mr. McGoff? Surely you could have seen him at any angle of this room, correct? And is that blood on your apron?” She looks in astonishment at the fact that the detective assumingly thought she had taken the position of a killer. “Yes, I presume so. I guess I was just too eager to share my newly created meal with everyone that I hadn’t noticed. And yes, it is. I am making steak, and I needed to cut each piece into equal amounts so each guest could have some.” Mr. Hobbert looks around the room to capture the expression on every person’s face. Announcing this to everyone, he says, “I will be taking Mrs. Croix back to the station with me until this case is further investigated. You can continue with your party for now. Henry, call me again if anything else comes up and I’ll be right over.” 

Serena begins looking around for any clues or possible suspects, but can find none at the moment. She turns her head in the direction of someone getting frustrated, assumingly Skylar by their voice. “What happened?” Serena asks. “Piper wants me to show these people the tattoo on my foot and I don’t want to.” Serena then walks out and puts more focus into figuring out who the murderer could be. It’s very possible that Mrs. Croix really didn’t see Mr. McGoff, but I’m just not sure. At the time I came into the drawing room, I knew where every one of my friends were: All of them later came into the lounge except for-- wait… She took a moment to put together any evidence she could find, and unsurprisingly there was some present. Skylar came off of the balcony when I yelled for help, and the balcony is connected to the drawing room. Then Henry thought he was missing a key.. Maybe he was. He gave Skylar a hug, and not long after the key went missing. In an effort to put the mystery to an end, she calls Hobbert back to the crime scene. 

It was not long at all until he came. “Alright, Miss Serena, what’d you got for me?” Serena quickly put the clues together in her head in order to present them understandably to the detective. “I remember that when I called for help, Skylar came from the balcony, and the balcony and drawing room are connected with only a thin glass sheet in between. This means that she would’ve heard if he were in trouble. Henry said it was a stab wound, and right before I called you, Piper wanted Skylar to show off a tattoo on her foot and she wouldn’t.” Hobbert stops her in confusion. “What are you trying to say?” “I think Skylar planned to murder him at this party. Why would she buy velvet boots and a huge dress when it’s seventy-two degrees outside? I think she hid a knife in her boots to kill him, that’s why she couldn’t show her tattoo. I think Skylar murdered Daniel McGoff.” The detective and Serena gather everyone into the drawing room where the incident has been cleaned up. 

“Skylar, why?” Serena questions, and with that all Skylar did was confess. “Yes, it was me.” “Why? You cared for him so much,” Hobbert adds. “No, I didn’t. I faked it. After he told everyone that he was the one who wrote the million-dollar novel and I only influenced the idea of it, it crushed my career. I was the one who wrote it, and he took all the credit for himself. I introduced the idea of coming here so I could get him back for what he did.” “No further questions, then.” Detective replies. 

With a flick of the wrist, Detective pulls out his phone and calls the police, to which Skylar gets escorted back with them. Everyone is then ordered to return home, and the friends go back to Serena’s place. Piper immediately goes for the bookshelf and grabs all of Daniel McGoff’s and Skylar’s books. Chucking them into the trash can, she smiles and replies, “I never liked their books anyway.”