Concerning the Hutchinson Twins

By Leah C Wright

While at boarding school, Seth Hutchinson, a high school sophomore, gets a new forensics project: find and write a paper on an unsolved cold case from at least 15 years ago. Doing his research after school, Seth comes across another case: the kidnapping of a pair of toddler twins nearly 13 years ago.

Seth soon realizes that he and Louisa, his twin

• Language: English
• Publisher: Leah Wright
• Release date: Jul 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9781087979649

Leah C Wright

Leah Wright is a young student living in Atlanta, Georgia. Her first writing award was the 2020 Georgia Playworks competition. She writes fiction novels for young adult readers but plans to branch out to adult fiction. Concerning the Hutchinson Twins is her first novel, and she is currently at work on her second and third novels.

Book preview

I

Chapter 1

Seth arranged his tie, then rearranged it, then re-rearranged it. He twisted it back and forth, tied and untied it in elaborate bows, and crinkled it into an accordion. He dangled it towards the floor, trying to catch an imaginary fish. He was beginning to feel rather bored in here.

Hutchinson! Tie on, please! Mr. Watson called out sharply to Seth, glowering sharply at him.

Oh, right! He was in class. 10th grade forensics.

Seth obediently put his tie back on and tied it appropriately. He drummed his fingers on the desk. His eyes flitted back and forth at his classmates. They kept their heads down, still working. He had been waiting for a while now, having already turned his paper in, but it’s not like he had any choice in the matter, so he settled on waiting some more.

Remember to turn your papers into the basket, Mr. Watson said, clicking through emails on his computer and crunching on celery and hummus, making the classroom smell like a weird combination of disinfectant and the Mediterranean.

Seth could almost feel his brain liquefying in his skull. The tiny, imaginary people who controlled his thoughts were taking a nap or playing solitaire or doing whatever quiet-time activities they enjoyed. Seth put his head down and closed his eyes. His breathing slowly evened out; his stomach grumbled. The clock ticked, either unaware or uncaring of his internal plight.

A rustling of papers and feet caught his attention and pulled him out of his lull. Wait. Wait! Everyone was getting up to turn their worksheets in! Finally, the class was almost over! Seth sat up (a little dizzy from all that blood rushing to his head) and reached to gather his things to leave.

Wait! Before you all leave, I have something for you. Mr. Watson began walking around the room, handing a thick packet of papers to each student, It’s your favorite: a project!

A few students groaned audibly, and Mr. Watson shot them a glare.

Settle down, class. Now, this will be the final project before Thanksgiving Break; final drafts are due on November 15th. It will count as a project, and as you know, it will be five percent of your final grade.

This was news to Seth. Another project grade? He picked up and looked at his packet of papers. He skimmed it, flipping through the pages full of tiny 12-point writing. It said something about copious amounts of research and another four-page paper he now had to write and that was due in two weeks. Great.

Your job is to research an old unsolved case, and by old, I don’t mean something from a few months ago. I mean at least fifteen years old. Maybe ten if it's something really good. Now, with this old case, I want a detailed report on what happened, how people responded, and what modern technology we have now that could’ve solved it. The case, I mean. Minor details will be covered in your packet. I’ll be here during office hours if you guys have any questions. Anything now though? Mr. Watson addressed the class, standing with his back leaning against the desk.

A girl by the window raised her hand, If we have the technology now, why can’t we use it to solve the cases?

Because most cold cases are forgotten, Mr. Watson began, The files just sit in a box until new evidence is found or someone comes forward. And it's been years, dramatically lowering the chances of finding new evidence. Exactly why I’m giving you the project: to attempt to solve cases like real detectives. Understand?

The girl nodded, letting the issue go. Another kid in the back asked a question, but Seth didn’t hear. Maybe this wouldn’t be that bad; he actually didn’t mind this project. Flipping through the packet again, he began to actually read it. Cautiously, Seth allowed himself a little smile. Carefully, so as to not wrinkle them, he tucked the papers into his folder and his folder into his backpack, zipping it all up safely.

The bell rang and everyone stood, bursting into different conversations that all just sounded like chatter. Seth slung his backpack on his shoulder and left the classroom. He frowned and his brow furrowed, thinking about the project and his next class: art. He walked quickly and quietly, dodging between and behind other students for fear of--

Suddenly Seth was knocked back into a locker and subsequently onto the ground. His backpack went skittering across the floor and his legs went twisting in all directions as he fell. Scrambling to get his head upright off the floor, he looked up and out, right into the mocking blue eyes of Nicholas Bogart. Other students crowded around the two of them, encasing them in a semicircle. Some laughed and some pointed, but no one said anything to Nicholas. They only watched, murmuring between themselves. Nicholas puffed out his chest, put his hands on his hips, and looked down at Seth.

Seth caught flashes of Hutchinson got knocked to the ground and Nicholas’s after him again, but no Get a teacher or Someone do something or anything. Surrounded by fifty people, he was alone on the floor.

Seth stood up slowly, wiping the dust from his pants. Crouching down, he lifted his backpack back on his shoulder and shot a fierce glare into Nicholas’s eyes. Nicholas only smirked, taking a step closer.

Leave me alone, Seth kept his body still and pressed against the lockers, but his heart beat faster and faster. Lucky for him, His voice never wavered; it stayed strong and clear. His only saving grace in this humiliation.

Get bent, Hutchinson. Nicholas spit the words at Seth. Literally. It landed on his cheek.

Nicholas walked straight into Seth’s shoulder, pushing forcibly past him and knocking him back into the lockers. The crowd parted for him like the Red Sea. He sauntered down the hall, leaving everyone else in his wake.

Seth wiped the smelly saliva from his cheek, adjusted his blazer and tie, and walked through the shoulders of the kids closest to him, breaking into a run once he got through.

⬥⬥⬥⬥

As Seth was nearing the end of his Forensics class, Louisa, his twin, was finishing up with a double period of physics in the next hall over. The class’s assignment of the day was to construct a working culinary grill from nothing but a cardboard box, aluminum foil, and tape. And, if the groups did it correctly and before the time limit ended, the teacher had a surprise for them!

The advanced physics class clambered with rowdy kids, jumping, taping, and prattling on. Most of the groups finished quickly, testing their simple oven inventions by making pizza with ingredients provided by the teacher, otherwise known as the surprise. By the end of class, every kid had eaten their fill of pizza and started either building elaborate structures with spare cardboard, working on their homework for other classes, or simply sitting on desks, talking about something or the other. Louisa dangled upside down off her desk, fiddling with a piece of tape that had gone unsticky, talking to her friend Jamie.

What’s for lunch today? Louisa asked, twirling the piece of tape around her index finger.

Pot roast? I dunno. Something gross, probably; I haven’t had a chance to look at the menu yet, Jamie replied, tapping on her phone.

Well, I don’t care because I’m gonna make myself a grilled cheese at the deli! Louisa smiled, kicking her legs and nearly falling off.

With garlic bread? Jamie grinned back.

With garlic bread, Louisa confirmed, righting herself.

The bell rang and Louisa, startled, fell on her head. Quickly, she rolled over and jumped to her feet, made sure nobody saw that, and bounced around to snatch up her backpack up as she ran through the door, Jamie at her heels.

Once they escaped the classroom, Louisa slowed to a brisk walk beside Jamie, both almost racing to get to class quickly. Not like they actually cared about getting to class early, but it was fun to race. They talked about silly things as they ducked and weaved through, over, and under various classmates through the halls. Louisa laughed boomingly and Jamie continued tapping on her phone, and they both kept walking.

Well, they kept walking until they saw a crowd forming at the end of a hall. Kids were pushing and shoving and whispering at each other to see what, or who, was in the middle. Interested, the two girls pushed in closer and made their own seeing holes between different shoulders and heads, wrestling other kids for a sight of the fight. Louisa went stony-faced and sighed. The boy on the floor in the center of the crowd was Seth, her twin.

He probably thought he was putting on a brave and indifferent face, keeping stoic in the face of injustice, but to Louisa he just looked humiliated. His hands were clenched into little fists. Tears brimmed in his eyes, but at least he had enough dignity to not let them fall. Jamie poked her in the ribs, trying to get her attention about something or the other; Louisa ignored her.

Seth didn’t give them the satisfaction; he rose to his feet and dusted himself off wordlessly as Nicholas taunted him. He refused to rise to the challenge. He stood straight-backed but defeated, his eyes pointing straight down.

Louisa’s eyes tried to burn a hole in Nicholas’s back. She scowled fiercely and tried to push her way forward, but the crowd wouldn’t let her. She itched to help her brother, but everything would’ve been worse if she attempted to rescue him. She almost wasn’t able to hold herself back, but she did thanks to the help of Jamie, who had a sharp death grip on Louisa’s arm.

Nicholas walked straight through Seth towards Louisa, but he didn’t see her. She resisted the urge to trip him or punch him in the face or set his hair on fire. Turning back; everyone had turned their eyes toward Seth. He slowly picked up his backpack and stalked away from the group, everyone watching him.

Louisa, come on. We have to-, Jamie began.

I’ll see you at lunch. Save a seat for me, Louisa cut her off with a wave.

With those words, Louisa ducked down a nearby hallway and bolted off as Jamie sputtered behind her.

⬥⬥⬥⬥

Nicholas Bogart was in the stairwell, waiting for the school’s mandatory fifteen-minute break to be over. He snorted wetly and tapped on his phone, playing some silly game with lots of colors and irritating sounds of victory. He was alone, or maybe he wasn’t.

Unbeknownst to him, Louisa Hutchinson waited two floors up with a clear view of her target. She focused, then smiled. On the floor next to her wobbled the fattest, thickest, wettest water balloon she could find. It easily held a quart of water; enough to soak a blond, arrogant dolt into soggy oblivion.

Nicholas was blissfully unaware of the peril he was in. He continued tap-tap-tapping on his phone. He sniffed noisily, then shoved a finger knuckle-deep in his right nostril and began digging for gold, snorting all the way down.

Louisa wrinkled her nose, disgusted. Slowly, carefully, she picked up the balloon and held it over the railing. She adjusted her weapon, recalibrating for the slight movement of her target.

With one final hesitation and no remorse, Louisa let go, dropping the balloon directly onto Nicholas’s blond head.

Nicholas screamed, jumping up. His phone fell out of his hand and bounced down the stairs as he pitched forward from the momentum of the balloon. His arms flailed and punched furiously, as though he was trying to attack some mysterious assailant near him. He shook his head wildly around, trying to both shake the water off and catch whoever assaulted him.

Louisa’s eyes twinkled and she pumped her fist in victory. Swiftly and silently, she slipped out the door and away from the crime scene.

II

Chapter 2

A few days later, Seth finally made the time to get to work on his exasperating, but interesting, forensics paper. Easing open the door to the library, Seth peeked through, checking to make sure the area was void of Nicholas. Nicholas was rarely seen in any kind of academic room, but he could never be too sure. Lucky for him, the stereotype of the uneducated bully held up.

Seth lumbered through the entryway under the weight of his own backpack, textbooks, and laptop. The afternoon sun shined through the skylight windows onto him, making his dark hair look almost blue. He found a seat at a table alone in the back corner between the encyclopedias no one looked at and the SAT prep books, took out all his supplies, and got to work.

Seth couldn’t help himself. Even though he had nearly an hour’s worth of math problems to finish, he began with the forensics project that wasn’t even due for another two weeks. He started in the way everyone starts a big project: pulling up a search engine and guessing.

First, Seth searched several keywords like murder and 15 years and arrest. The first case he found was one about some man who claimed not to have killed his wife almost 40 years ago, but as Seth read further down, apparently the man confessed to the job on his prison deathbed. Unfortunate for the victim.

The next case article told about a teenage girl who seemed to have been pushed off a high bridge by her boyfriend and was found dead a week later, her body just about completely decomposed. Seth got excited for a second that he’d found his case, but then found that it was solved 10 years ago. A surprise new testimony resurfaced from an old man walking his dog who’d witnessed the perpetrator walking away from the crime scene. It later came up that he didn’t actually see the attack, which the