Elliot’s drawing did very well to help Carter in trying to solve the murder. Using the drawing, Carter was able to rule out three suspects.
According to the drawing, both Stewart and Anderson had been standing to Freeman’s right when they were watching the trap. Had one of them shot Freeman, the bullet hole would have been somewhere on his face, or possibly somewhere on the side of his head. But the hole was on the back of Freeman’s head, so neither Stewart nor Anderson could have been the killer.
So Anderson’s hostility towards Stewart wasn’t acting. Carter wasn’t entirely surprised. For Anderson, hostility comes naturally.
Howard could not have been the killer, either. Elliott’s drawing stated that Howard had been standing directly in front of Freeman. Even more, Howard had turned around before Freeman was killed, because he thought he had heard a sound. Because he was turned around, Howard couldn’t have shot anybody if he fired a gun.
Even if Howard hadn’t been turned around, he still couldn’t have been the one who killed Freeman because he was standing in front of him. Just like Stewart and Anderson, had Howard shot Freeman, the bullet would have been somewhere on his face rather than the back of his head.
So Stewart, Anderson, and Howard were all innocent. Carter made up his mind to not yet go and tell anybody that he found this out. He already felt terrible because of the loss of his best friend. He didn’t need anybody trying to make him feel worse by saying “I told you so” comments.
The remaining suspects were Sullivan, Jenkins, and Cruz. These were the three men that Carter was getting along with when the party was still going on. One of them had killed a man who had been an important part of Carter’s life for thirty-eight years.
He wasn’t sure how he would figure out which one of these three men was the culprit, but he thought carefully of what they had been doing right before Freeman was shot.
Sullivan had been looking at a poster, Jenkins had been leaving the basement, and Cruz had been tying his shoe.
All of a sudden, another question to ask a suspect passed through his mind. It was a question that he should have asked long ago.
He turned to the suspects.
“Cruz,” he asked. “Where exactly were you tying your shoe when the gun was fired?”
Cruz thought for a moment. “I was looking at the trap. But then I noticed my shoe was untied, so I walked away for a moment to tie it. I don’t remember where I tied it, but I was still able to see where everybody was positioned when Freeman was killed.”
“You don’t remember?” Carter asked.
Cruz shook his head. “But I swear I wasn’t the…”
Carter held his hand up to silence Cruz. He didn’t need to hear anymore.
Sullivan, Jenkins, and Cruz were all standing away from Freeman when the gun was fired. Any of them could have shot the gun from a distance. But which one?
Carter would have to have a close look around the room to find out.558Please respect copyright.PENANAIYf0dwseWp