20th June 1979
On the night of July, 1st there was ball at the estate of David Higgins. That night the body of a young girl was in the woods at 12 midnight. Everyone who attended the ball was brought in for questioning. The proceedings were as follows.
First Witness: Wicked Stepmother, aka Meredith Crowley
Exchange as Follows
…
Detective: State your name, age
Crowley: Meredith Crowley
Detective: Age?
Crowley: …
Detective: Age?
Crowley: …
Detective: Age?
Crowley: …
Detective: Okay…
he leaves the age section of the report blank.
Where were you on June the 17th?
Crowley: At the prince’s ball of course. I was there with my two daughters, Sue Ellen and Martha.
Detective: This girl have you seen her before?
He shoves a picture of a girl wearing a ball gown across the table.
Crowley: No idea.
Detective: Look at it again. Pick it up and look.
Crowley picks up the picture, and examines it briefly. She pauses, and then flicks the photo back onto the table.
Detective: You know her?
Crowley: No, may I go?
Detective: No.
Rustling and shuffling of papers.
Detective: I have a birth record for a Ms. Mia Irene Aarons, sound familiar?
Crowley: Not at all.
Detective: This record seems to show that you are her moth-
Crowley: STEP-mother.
Detective: Why did you say that you didn’t know her?
Crowley: Because that girl in the photo and Cinderella, Mia, are two completely different people. Cinderella didn’t even manage to finish her chores in time to go to the ball! I know that sooty wench from another, and that…
Crowley gestures to the photo
…is NOT her! Now, may…I…GO?!
She exits

Second Witness: Prince Charming aka David Higgins
Exchange as follows
…
Detective: Name and age.
Higgins: David Higgins, 20
Detective: Where were you on June 17th?
Higgins: At the ball?
Detective: Do you recognize this girl?
Higgins: Yes. She was the lovely girl that I danced with.
Detective: When did you last see her? Start from when you first saw her at the ball to when you saw her last.
Higgins: She walked in at about a quarter to eleven. She was stunning; the whole room was in shocked silence. She was gorgeous-but she did the strangest thing…As soon as she walked in she headed start to the balcony; she COMPLETELY ignored me!
Higgins exploded
That has NEVER happened before! ALL women want me! No one has EVER ignored me!
Higgins pauses; blushes
Higgins: I…um…I uh…followed her.
He rushed to explain himself
She was just so beautiful…not to mention she ignored me…
He muttered the last part under his breath, so the detective could not hear him.
Detective: What happened after you followed her?
Higgins: She was standing, alone, on the balcony when someone approached her…I think it was um…that freak, Jackson Montgomery.
Detective: Jackson Montgomery?
He writes down the name; underlines it.
Higgins: Yeah, Jackson Montgomery, her dork friend from school. He’s also my servant. That fool is completely incompetent. He’s always screwing something up, day-dreaming and the like. He’s an idiot.
Detective: What happened after he approached her?
Higgins: I couldn’t see all that well…
Detective: Why?
Higgins: I was hiding. I couldn’t let her see me. What would she think if she saw my magnificent-self hiding behind a bush?! Hmph! The very idea is preposterous!! But I did manage to see one thing.
Detective: And that was?
Higgins: When Montgomery approached her, she turned; when she did I saw that she was holding a piece of paper in her hand. She and Montgomery talked for a little while, and then headed off towards the garden.
Detective: Is that all?
Higgins: I can say one thing. That was the first time a girl has EVER ignored me; who wouldn’t want a handsome guy like me? I have money, power, and good looks.
The detective nodded preoccupied for this was about the fifth time he had heard this statement.
The detective waved his hand dismissively.
Detective: You may leave.

Third Witness: The Prince’s Assistant aka Jackson Montgomery
Exchange as follows
…
Detective: Name and age.
Montgomery: Jackson Montgomery, 19
Detective: Where were you on June 17th?
Montgomery: At home.
Detective: Why weren’t you at the prince’s ball?
Montgomery: I had the day off.
The detective pushes the photo of Ms. Aarons, across the table.
Detective: Do you know her?
Montgomery: No.
Detective: I have a testimony from a Mr. David Higgins stating that he saw you talking to Ms. Aarons out on the balcony soon after she arrived; he also stated that the two of you were friends from school.
Montgomery: Ahh…
Detective: Why did you lie?
Montgomery: I wasn’t supposed to be there.
Detective: Why?
Montgomery: The prince wouldn’t allow me to come to the ball.
Detective: Higgins also testified about her having a piece of paper in her hand. Explain
Montgomery: Paper? Ahh…right. That was…a note.
Detective: A note?
Montgomery: Yes. She told me that she had been called out by someone. They had asked her to meet them by the fountain at midnight.
Detective: What time did you talk to her on the balcony?
Montgomery: 11:30
Detective: Higgins also stated that he saw the two of you walk off towards the garden. Where did you go?
Montgomery: Yes, she said that she didn’t want to miss whoever had written the note. I went with her…to make sure…she was safe.
Detective: Is that all?
Montgomery: Yes.
Detective: You may leave.
The detective stands up as well, and heads to the break-room. Along the way he heard someone talking in hushed tones. The detective recorded what he able to hear.
The conversation follows
…
??? : You did what?!!
???: I’m sorry! I couldn’t help it!
???: You couldn’t help it! Youcouldnthelpit!! Do you know what you’ve done?! You’ve ruined us!! This is the fourth time! We’ll to leave and start over all over again! You promised me you wouldn’t harm anyone else!
???: I know, I know.
???: …
???: …
Not being able to hear anything else, the detective left.
Fourth Witness: Wicked Stepsisters aka Sue Ellen & Martha Crowley
Conversation as follows
…
Detective: Name…err…NAMES and ages.
S. Crowley: Sue Ellen Crowley, 17
M. Crowley: Martha Crowley, 17
Detective: Where were the two of you on the night of June 17th?
S & M Crowley: At the prince’s ball! It was a marvelous night. We danced and we eat and we even saw the prince! He was gorgeous!
Detective: Do you know this girl?
He pushed the photo of Cinderella across the table.
M. Crowley: Of course not. Isn’t that right sister?
S. Crowley: That’s right. Who would know such a hideous girl?
Detective: Hideous? This photo seems to show otherwise; she seems like a charming girl.
M. Crowley: Charming?! That piece of trash? That’s preposterous! She thinks just because she puts on a pretty dress…
S. Crowley: …does her hair, and puts on some fancy slippers, that she’s the belle of the ball! It ridiculous! Martha and I…
M. Crowley: …are ten times…
S & M Crowley: PRETTIER!!
The detective was trying furiously to write down what the sisters were saying; he was having quite a bit of trouble. The sisters kept finishing each other’s sentences; to make it worse they liked to talk at once.
As the detective was writing down the sisters last statement, another detective, a junior detective, burst into the room.
Jr. Detective: Sir, we found it!
Detective: What is it? Show me!
The Jr. Detective held up a plastic evidence bag. Inside the bag was a glass slipper, but what was more interesting than the slipper itself was the bloody fingerprint on the side.
Detective: Did you have the fingerprint checked?
Jr. Detective: Yessir!
Detective: Well, who does it belong to?
Jr. Detective: A Ms. Meredith Crowley.
Detective: Bring her to interrogation room A.
S. Crowley: Mother! Mother could never do a thing like this!
M. Crowley: That right! Someone is trying to set her up!
Detective: We’ll see.
Repeat Witness: Wicked Stepmother aka Meredith Crowley
Conversation as follows
…
Detective: Do you recognize this slipper?
Crowley: Not at all.
Detective: Are you sure?
Crowley: Very.
The detective slides the evidence bag across the table fingerprint side up.
Detective: This evidence seems to show otherwise...
The detective points to the fingerprint
…lab results show that this is YOUR fingerprint.
Crowley: …
Detective: Anything you’d like to say? If not…
The detective trailed off; he gestures to the door and the detective waiting outside with handcuffs.
Crowley: I forgot to mention something.
Detective: I thought so.
Crowley: That night, I went out to the fountain.
Detective: Why?
Crowley: After she, Cinderella, appeared the prince was enthralled by her; I realized that my girls didn’t even stand a chance. I went outside to clear my head.
Detective: That’s why you killed her?
Crowley: I didn’t!!
She pounded on the table.
When I went outside, I saw her. She was talking to someone near the fountain….I think it was her friend – that Jackson Montgomery kid.
Detective: How did your fingerprint end up on the slipper?
Crowley: The two of them were talking; I wanted to hear what they were saying so I… snuck closer. But then…everything went black.
Detective: Someone knocked you out?
Crowley: Yes, when I woke up I felt this bump on my head. I looked around, but I didn’t see anyone – I went to the fountain to refresh myself. Near the fountain there was a slipper – it was gorgeous; unlike anything I’d ever seen. I took it.
Detective: It that how your fingerprint came to be on the slipper?
Crowley: Yes, remember when I said that I felt that bump on my head?
The detective nodded.
Well… it was bleeding. When I picked up the shoe I got blood on it.
Detective: Why didn’t you wipe it off?
Crowley: I didn’t realize I had gotten blood on it…plus I TOOK the shoe. But it must have fallen out as I was making my way back to the house….
Detective: Is that all?
Crowley: Yes…I am ashamed of myself for taking the shoe…but I did NOT kill the girl! If anyone harmed her then it was that Montgomery kid!!

Repeat Witness: The Prince’s Assistant aka Jackson Montgomery
Conversation as follows
…
Detective: You lied. You told me that after you took her to the fountain you went back to the house. I have a witness you states that she saw the two of talking at the fountain.
Montgomery: I…didn’t lie…At least I didn’t mean too…
Detective: Tell me the truth this time.
Montgomery: Remember that note she had?
The detective nodded
Well….I wrote it.
Detective: YOU wrote it?
Montgomery: Yes…I’ve been in love with her for over ten years. I’ve known her ever since her father died…I had finally gotten the courage to tell her how I felt…
Detective: Anything else?
Montgomery: When she asked me to take her to the fountain because she didn’t want to miss her admirer I was thrilled…the way there she kept talking about how excited she was to finally meet her admirer.
Montgomery lowers his head
I couldn’t help myself…I grabbed her and told her I loved her. But she told me she didn’t love me…in anger I grabbed the nearest thing I could find and hit her over the head. She fell; she wasn’t moving. I wanted a memento of her, so I grabbed her slippers…they were as beautiful as she was…
Detective: You took both slippers? And you still have them?
Montgomery: Yes, they’re in my room.
Detective: You’re lying.
Montgomery: No I’m not!
Detective: IF you had really killed her then you would’ve known that one of her slippers was left at the crime scene.
Montgomery looked down stunned.
Detective: What really happened?
Montgomery: She accepted. She told me she loved me. We were going to run away together; we loved each other.
Montgomery looked down at his hands.
But the prince showed up…
Detective: The prince?
Montgomery: Yeah…
Detective: Continue.
The detective leaned forward interested.
Montgomery: No, he’ll kill me. But I can say this; he’s crazy- he doesn’t handle rejection very well….Just say the word and he’ll snap.

Final Witness: Prince Charming aka David Higgins
Conversation as follows
…
Higgins walked into the interrogation room pretty full of himself.
David Higgins: Why am I here? Didn’t you already arrest the guy who killed Cinderella?
Detective: Not yet. I wanted to ask you some questions to make sure I catch the right guy.
Higgins: Oh, of course. Ask away.
Detective: Did Cinderella ignore you?
Higgins snapped.
Montgomery got what he deserved! How dare he think that he stood a chance against ME? He’s a fool!
Detective: What are you talking about?
Higgins in anger started to his run his mouth.
Higgins: That fool thought that he could have the most beautiful woman to grace the ball; everyone knows that I, Prince Charming, ALWAYS gets the woman – that’s just the way the story works! How DARE he try to steal my spotlight!?
Higgins: The prince ALWAYS gets the girl!!
Detective: But not this one.
Higgins cringed.
Higgins: HEH. HEHEHEH! I may not have gotten this one, but Montgomery can’t have her either. If I can’t have her, NO ONE can!
Detective: You killed her?
Higgins: Of course. I killed her like all the rest. How dare they choose some lowly born commoner over me?! Me, who can give them anything they could ever want, Me, with my dashing good looks, and money!
Detective: The others?
Higgins: Yes, the others! Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Rapunzel; they all turned me down. Now they will all rot for it!
Higgins breathing heavy realized that he had confessed to killing Cinderella, and three others. He sat in horror realizing what he had just done.
The detective stood up.
Detective: David Higgins you are under arrest for the murder of Ms. Irene Aarons.
…