Chapter 3
The Diary

Kathy didn’t enjoy the whole summer holiday. She didn’t want to cheat anyone but this was the order that her uncle gave her. However, she had to do what her uncle told her because she wanted to help him.

It was time to go back to school. Kathy found out that Steven and herself were not in the same class. Then Kathy found out that Steven joined the computer club, so she joined too. She thought that she could make friends with him.
This day was the day of the first meeting. Kathy was early there. She didn’t want to be late. Steven came. He was taller than Kathy. He was handsome also. Kathy had a good impression of him. They were in a group. They chatted and she discovered that they had the same hobbies. Then they became good friends.
One day, the computer club held a competition between groups. They had to make a computer programme in three weeks time and the teachers to decide which was the best one. Without making any progress, the first two weeks passed. Kathy and Steven discovered that they didn’t have enough time to do that. Steven asked Kathy to go to his house to finish the work. At first, she didn’t want to. However, she remembered what her uncle had told her:
“Go to his house to find some evidence to show his father was the murderer.” So, she agreed with him.
They went to Steven’s house together. Steven told her that his mother died when Steven was six. His father worked very hard to make money for Steven to study in a good school. However, one day, they suddenly became rich. Steven did not know why. Kathy thought that it was the prize of “mark six”. Steven’s father was not there. They started their work.
Hours passed. They felt hungry. Then Steven suggested that he would go out to buy their dinner. When Steven was out, Kathy went to Steven’s father’s room to find some evidence. She searched for a long time and she could not find anything. She wanted to give up. However, suddenly, she noticed that Steven’s father wrote a diary every day. Kathy opened it and read. She could not find anything that showed he was the murderer. She wanted to find the paper that was written five years ago, but she could not find it.

“What are you doing here?” Someone said suddenly. Kathy was very scared. She thought that she would be killed like her uncle. She thought that it was Steven’s father. However, it was Steven. He did not know why Kathy was in his father’s room. He was very surprised.
“Please, do not kill me!” Kathy said shaking.
“Why are you here?” Asked Steven. Kathy turned around. It was Steven. She did not know how to tell Steven. She could do nothing but stand still there.
“Tell me, why are you here?” Steven asked again.
“I…I…” Kathy could not finish it.
“You what? Don’t be afraid. I will help you,” Steven said.
“Really?” Kathy was not as afraid as before.
“Yes, tell me!” Steven said.
Then, Kathy told the story of her uncle to Steven. After she had finished, she cried loudly. The house was quiet and there remained only the sound of Kathy’s crying.
“Are you sure that my father is the murderer?” Steven said at last.
“My uncle told me that. I also think that he is the murderer. However, I am not sure about it,” Kathy said. The house was quiet again.
“I…I know where my father put his diary,” Steven said.
“Can you take it out?” Kathy asked.
“OK.” Although Steven said, this he walked very slowly. Although he knew that his father was the murderer, he did not want to believe it.
“Why are you walking so slowly?” Kathy said.
“Although he is the murderer, he is my father!” Steven cried.
“We are not sure about that, Steven!”
“However, I know that my father was the murderer! Why could he have a lot of money suddenly five years ago?” Steven said sadly, “because he took the prize between your uncle and himself!”
“It may not be true…” Kathy said.
“Let’s see his diary…” Steven said. They went to a room. It was full of books. Then Steven took a book out from a cupboard.
“How do you know your father put his diary here?” Kathy asked.
“I saw that he put his old diaries here one day,” He answered. Then he opened the book he held in his hand. He found the date that Kathy’s uncle died and read it:

“I knew that John and I(Kathy’s uncle is named John) had won the ‘mark six’, but I didn’t think that he needed it because he was rich. Then I asked him to come to my house and I would give him half of the prize. Steven was in school, so there was no one in except John and me. He was waiting in the sitting-room. I took a knife from the kitchen and killed him. I really needed the money. Steven and I have very hard lives. I hoped people would think that he committed suicide instead of murder, so I wrote a letter in his hand writing to prove that he was not murdered by me. Then I put the knife in his hand and cleaned all the evidence. Nobody would know that I killed John, except me. I found the key of his house and put his body in it. Steven is so small that he will not know how I got the money. The police will think that John committed suicide, then Steven and I will have a better life. However, I left my handkerchief there. Luckily, the police did not find it. I would like to get my handkerchief tomorrow.”
Steven’s face turned white. He could not believe that his father did such bad things. Then he turned to the next page and continued to read:
“I went to get my handkerchief today. There was no one in the house. It was very hard to find a little handkerchief. However, I found it at last. It was full of John’s blood. At first, I wanted to throw it away, but if it is discovered by the police, I would be put in jail. Then I buried it under the big tree in the park near John’s house. The police really would not find it.”