Detective’s Log – 2025 Spooktastic 5th Place

“Don’t be a wimp! Let’s go, it’ll be fun!” Frederick yells, his voice echoing in the open
air.

“We’ve all heard the story of this house, and no one ever buys it, no one goes in,” Samuel replies, glancing toward the dark windows that seem to watch them back.

“It’s the perfect place for the Halloween bash. No adult would ever suspect it. No one
will hear the music,” Frederick says, gripping the rusted door handle. The house groans as he forces the door open.

“We all know the tale of the Giro family. We shouldn’t go in,” Samuel says, his voice
dropping to a whisper.

“It’s not haunted, you scaredy cat. People just believe in bad luck and that family was the epitome of it,” Frederick says, waving Samuel in behind him.

“I wouldn’t even call it bad luck,” Samuel mutters, stepping inside. “It’s just… tragic.”

The house greets them with silence. It hasn’t been touched in eight long years. Dust dulls every surface, muting the light that slips through the boarded windows. The air hangs thick and cold, carrying the faint scent of mold and something older—something metallic. Cobwebs drape across corners like thin, gray curtains, and the furniture is buried beneath layers of dust that look
disturbed, though no footprints mark the floor.

“It would be perfect,” Samuel says after a long pause, his voice too loud in the stillness.
“We gotta clean up and move the furniture around though.”

“See? I told you! I am going to check upstairs, stay down here. ” Frederick grins.

Samuel moves carefully through the first floor, each step echoing through the halls in an empty cathedral. The floor groans beneath his feet, the air colder now, pressing against his skin. Upstairs, Frederick’s footsteps creak across the floorboards slowly, deliberate.

Then, they stop.

“Fred?” Samuel breaks the silence.

No answer.

A faint sound like a footstep comes from behind him. His screams are met with intense
laughter. 

“You’re such a jerk, Frederick.”

Frederick wiped the tears from his eyes laughing, “You screamed like someone tried to
kill you.”

“Did not!” Samuel replied embarrassed

“Yes you did, I got it on video and everything.” Frederick replies teasing the phone in his face

Samuel lunges at him. The two boys wrestle for the phone, bumping into furniture, debris filling the air. Frederick backs into a massive closet, Samuel closing in.

“What’s that behind you?” Samuel says.

“Like I’d fall for that.” Frederick replies smugly.

“No, actually,” Samuel says pushing past Frederick.

A thick, leather-bound book juts out from beneath a fallen dresser, its cover coated in
grime. The air around it feels colder, and for a moment, Samuel could swear the faintest brown stains surfaced on the book’s cover when Frederick wiped the dust from it.

“This is awesome!” Frederick exclaims

“No, put it back! We shouldn’t touch that!” Samuel says

“Too late,” Frederick says, flipping through the pages. “It’s a log, some detective
guy…Detective Asesino.”

“I’ve heard that word before…. asesino… in …Spanish class? I don’t remember.”
Samuel thinks aloud

“Who cares! This is ridiculously awesome, look! There’s one about the Giro family”
Frederick says excitedly

Samuel begins to read:

Entry 201, the night settled softly, wrapped in quiet stillness. Pierced by the sound of
gurgling, the sounds of gagging, and not so silent tears, with the outlying intense echo of joy.

My phone rings, “Hello, Detective Asesino speaking,” there’s only one reason for my
phone to ring at this hour.

“Asesino, there’s a homicide in your area; woman, seemingly bled out, bruising.” The
officer replies

I head to my car, “Understood, eta 15 minutes.”
As I arrive at the scene, the familiar scent of death welcomes me. Neighboring onlookers cover the eyes of intrigued children amidst a sea of phones, blue and red lights flooding the night, and the wails and groans of people who wonder ‘what monster could have possibly done this?’ But most of all the deep pool of crimson seeping from the victim’s mutilated body. The neck hangs on by a thread, you can see the tubes of her throat dripping blood. The hands look as if they have been gone through a blender. I cover my expression as the thrill of the hunt begins
to overwhelm meI took a detailed look at the female victim searching for any signs of evidence left on the body, detecting none that was clear to my naked eye or hadn’t already swept away. I have done this enough times to know a homicide, and the correct evidence to double check for. The murder did a fairly good job at hiding any evidence that may have been on the person.

“Luis, find out who she was seeing where she was going send me the details and schedule an interrogation for 9 am”
“Alright, I will forward you the information I find on what grounds do we bring the
partner in on?” The pathologist replies
“Drug possession”
After turning in the initial report, I headed home, knowing the first move had been made and the rest would follow naturally.
The next morning, the pathologist Luis, sent me the information and the woman found was, Rebecca Giro. I conducted a deep dive into her past records. She’s a 32 year old teacher, married to a man named Jasper Giro, struggling with drug addiction. The couple had two children, both of whom died in a car accident two months ago.
I go around town asking about her, hearing rumors of her with a man, Lance Edwards, this is too easy
“Jasper Giro abused all sorts of substances and she was sick of it. So, rumors state she
started an affair with Lance Edwards.” An older lady outside the local diner tells me
“Really.” I reply
I called LAPD, “ Hello this is Detective Asesino speaking, I need a data extraction off the victims phone.”
“Already on it sir.” The officer replies
I get forwarded the information, seeing intimate texts between her and Lance Edwards, dots connect as I look through other messages. After doing the necessary work to get a warrant, I take Edwards in for an interrogation.

BEGINNING OF LANCE EDWARDS INTERROGATION REPORT:
Asesino: Did you meet with Rebecca Giro on October 15, of this year?
Suspect: Y-Y-Yes, I d-d-d did. From seven to ten we were together.
Asesino: Do you know what happened to her?
Suspect: I saw it in the news the next morning.
Asesino: Did you see the murder?
Suspect: No, I stayed in my house after she left.
Asesino: “Any witnesses to attest to that?
Suspect: My wife…She returned home at a quarter past ten.
END OF INTERROGATION.
After that useless investigation, I confirmed with his enraged wife the details of Edwards’ story. I immediately drag Jasper Giro in for an interrogation.
BEGINNING OF JASPER GIRO INTERROGATION REPORT:
Asesino: Your wife has been found dead. What do you happen to know about it?
Suspect: Nothing besides that she was having an affair with Jasper, I knew we
were being driven apart after the incident with our babies, I was driving the car that came out of nowhere and hit me. She had been so heart broken but cheating on me-
Asesino: You knew nothing of your wife’s affair? You were the reason your children were killed, did they ever arrest the driver who hit you?
Suspect: I had a hunch it made me so angry about the affair, no they never did it was a hit and run.

Asesino: So you have a motive to want to murder your wife?

Asesino: Do you have any suspicion on who may have killed her
Suspect: No, she was an amazing woman to say the least but there hadn’t been much to live for since the children died.

Asesino: Where were you the night she died?
Suspect: I don’t remember, I was h-high
Asesino: “So, you have no alibi?”
Suspect: N-not that I can rember
Asesino: I’d like you to use this pen and sign this release form, so it’s known I’ve already spoken to you.
Suspect: Thank you, sir.
END OF INTERROGATION.

I stare at the sweat prints Jasper left on my pen careful to not touch them. I stare at the report, the evidence is stacked high against Jasper Giro.
I get a call from LAPD, “Hello, Lance Edwards has been found dead, finger prints of
Jasper Giro are all over his body.”
“I’m on my way to the scene.” I replied excitedly to make my arrest.
A wicked smile spreads across my face as I go to make my arrest, Jasper Giro has
officially committed a double homicide. After two months of court, Jasper Giro goes to jail for the murder of his wife Rebbeca Giro and her affair partner Lance Edwards.

“Woah. So Detective Aresino framed Jasper Giro!” Frederick says nervously.

“I think so, that’s crazy he was our town hero. Samuel says astonished
“I really am the greatest. I would appreciate my book back so I could get started on entry 202” A voice booms behind us.
Screams fill the empty home, as the blood of two young boys paint the walls in crimson.
Detective Aresino begins his next entry.