Most former residents of Whistle, Indiana believed Jay Gibson’s arrival marked the beginning of the end for their hometown. Every horrifying event that had come to define the town for decades after the summer of 1948 were summed up by one name: Jay Gibson. The town’s beloved clock tower perishing in flames and the mayor’s daughter, Mary Thomas, corpse being fished out the river: Jay Gibson. The corruption of Alice Sayre’s soul and the reason why she betrayed her family, neighbors, and friend: Jay Gibson. The reason why the fields outside of Whistle stopped producing oil causing the gas companies to pack up and leave, the mass movement of residents that followed, the decline of market value that allowed minorities to call Whistle home for decades, and the decision by the state to tear the down the town to make way for a expressway was all caused by one man: Jay Gibson.

The true crime documentaries, and the novels that inspired them, revolved around the complex fugitive whose three-month hiatus in the beautiful town of Whistle has dazzled and intrigued hundreds to conduct official and unofficial investigations to uncover the truth. They discovered that the case of Mary Thomas death was not as black and white as the records reflects and the truth of what happened in Whistle during the summer of 1948 was not as black and white as the residents remembered. By taking former residents interviews, which were mostly attempts to maintain the crystal image of their former home, with a grain of salt, and focusing more on the forensic science and the views of those who were ignored and undervalued, the true story of Jay Gibson, Alice Sayre, and Mary Thomas has been revealed.

The day that truly marked the beginning of then end for Whistle takes place two days before Gibson’s arrival. It began on the same day as the 1948 Whistle High graduation ceremony.

On the day of the celebration, the tall pine trees planted along the roads were decorated with balloons and ribbons. The store fronts were half-covered by banners. The streets of the town center were filled with chalk drawings that displayed school pride and the names of each graduating senior. Every resident of the town dressed in the school’s beloved colors of red and gray. The athletes strutted around town in their Letterman jackets and the girl’s wore different variations of red and gray bows in their hair. At the fifty yard line of the high school’s football stadium, on the perfectly trimmed grass, stood the stage where each senior walked across to receive their diplomas and waved to a crowd.

After the ceremony, the mayor invited the entire audience to his estate to celebrate the graduating class which included his beloved daughter, Mary Thomas, achievement. At the estate, the guest were greeted with a large red banner with white letters that read: Congratulations! The backyard was filled with over a dozen round tables and each table had its own flower arrangement at it’s center. The guests stood anxiously in line for smoked barbecue that filled their noses with a hickory smell. Along with the barbecue, they were served mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, salad, and cornbread. A handful of clean shaven black men in black tuxedos walked around with trays full of champagne and sweets. A classically trained violinist played soft music in the corner of the back yard where a large umbrella hovered over his head.

To end the event, the mayor arranged for fireworks to be set off after sunset. A small crew was given access to the country club’s golf course on the other side of the estate’s tall iron gates. When the sky lit up, the town looked up, awed, and cheered. Everyone marveled at the electric display.

Everyone but Alice Sayre.

As Alice stood pinned between her mother and father, she couldn’t help but stare at the unsettling image a few yards to her right. On the edge of the back porch, Mary Thomas was holding hands with Joshua Swan. She watched as the couple looked up at the sky and, by the cold expression on her friend’s pale face, sensed that Mary was as disconnected from the moment as she was.

Once the show was over, Alice drifted away from her parents to check on her friend but was ambushed by the Hinton sisters. The short and round daughters of a gas company executive grabbed her arms and overwhelmed her with their glaring eyes and high-pitched voices. They asked who did her hair, where did she find her worn-down flats, and complimented her baby blue handmade dress in a way that made her feel as if she was wearing the latest Christian Dior.

As the guests began to slowly leave the estate, Alice eventually found Mary in front of the house and saw her best friend wave Joshua and his parents goodbye. The scene brought her great joy. If she knew no one was watching, she would’ve leaped into the air with her arms stretched towards the sky.

She immediately asked her parents if she could stay with the Thomases for the night and assured them that she would be home in the morning. They said yes.

Finally, there was an opportunity for Mary and her to celebrate their achievement alone. They ran to Mary’s bedroom after the last guest exited the estate. As they undressed, Mary handed Alice the cigar she kept tucked away in her bra. She locked the door and walked out to the balcony where Alice waited with the bottle of bourbon that was hidden in the closet. They lounged on the chairs in their underwear, passed the cigar back and forth, and took careful sips out of the bottle. Alice stretched out her legs and allowed her skin to soak in the warm night’s air. She wiggled her long toes around to feel the air absorb the sweat in between them.

After a few minutes of silence, Alice placed the bottle of brandy down. She pressed the cigar on the floor to give it a rest. Her head felt like a pin ball bouncing against the stars as she turned toward Mary who appeared to be meditating on a serious matter. She leaned close and planted a wet kiss on her best friend’s chin. Then created a trail of soft kisses to Mary’s lips. The affection appeared to annoy Mary. She grabbed Alice’s hand before it traveled any further down her arm.

“I’m tired,” Mary said with a sigh. “Some other time.”

“Oh, come on,” Alice cried. “It’s our graduation night.”

“I’m not in the mood.” Mary swiped Alice’s hand away as if it was a mosquito stuck in her arm. “Is that all you can think about right now?” Mary stopped herself from saying anymore. She turned away and shook her head while she slipped out another cigarette from the pack sitting on the floor.

Earlier that day, Alice held onto the small moments being Mary Thomas’ best friend awarded her. She guided the guests who weren’t familiar with the estate to the nearest bathroom and relayed details of the various pieces of fine art to admirers. For the first time in her life she was called on by her peers to be included in a silly affair. She giggled when they giggled. She offered a comment, and gained a genuine response. That day was the first day in her life she felt that her voice mattered. A day filled with the love and appreciation she always wished for. On the balcony, she wanted to revel in the aftermath like a royal bride preparing for her first night in the king’s bed, but Mary’s rejection reminded her that everything good she felt that day may had all been given to her out of pity.

Despite the feeling of accomplishment, the celebration of youth and a promising future, Alice felt a dark cloud hovering above her head reminding her of her sister’s suicide. A death that fractured her family and shook the entire town a few weeks before graduation day. She was aware of the awkward stares that came her way whenever she walked into a room and the whispers that took place after she left. The soft condolences that came along with pats on the back and firm grips on her shoulder. The graduation was the perfect occasion for the people of Whistle to immerse themselves in and forget about the lost Sayre daughter. No matter how many drinks were poured or how many laughs were shared, Amber Sayre’s suicide lingered around the town like a thick fog.

“It’s all I want to think about,” Alice said.

Mary shot up from her chair. “I should probably take you home now. I know your father expects you in the office bright and early.”

“Are you mad at me?” Alice shrieked. She regretted being so aggressive. Mary had the tendency of being a rattlesnake at times. Alice figured graduation night was one of them. An emotional price that was to be paid when befriending Mary Thomas. A small price in Alice’s mind.

Mary turned to Alice while fixing her hair behind her ears. She flashed the kind of smile you offer to someone you felt sorry for. “Of course not,” Mary said with her arms crossed. “I’m just so exhausted. I’ll see you early tomorrow at your mom’s store.”

After Mary dropped her off, leaving her with the taste of a rushed kiss goodbye, Alice stumbled up the stairs of the front porch and leaned against the railing with her head tucked underneath her arm. She found it tiresome to walk any farther so she decided to lay on the front porch steps, close her eyes, and listen to the buzzing insects in the trees until she fell asleep.

An hour later, Alice jumped out of her slumber and screamed when a spider crawled up her leg. After swiping the spider away, she looked around and anticipated the sound of her parents walking down the stairs but only heard the sound of her heart beat.

There was a warm and powerful sensation within her chest. A feeling she first felt in the pit of her stomach after her third sip of brandy.

It was three years ago when she first felt such a feeling before.

It was the night she first visited the Thomas Estate. The occasion was an exclusive slumber party where only a few girls in town had the honor of receiving an invitation. To no one’s surprise, Amber was given an invitation and brought Alice along for charity. They spent the evening braiding one another’s hair and sipped from the bottles of wine Mary kept hidden under her bed. They all split off into three groups of four to play gin rummy. Alice was fortunate enough to be Mary’s partner and her sister’s opponent. After consuming a few glasses of wine, Mary wanted to show Amber the bruise she earned during their last practice. She stretched her leg out and lifted her gown up to her waist where a purple bruise the size of an orange sat on the inside of her thigh. While Amber and her partner winced at the sight of Mary’s injury, Alice’s eyes marveled at Mary’s delicate, unpolished toes. Her eyes traveled up Mary’s firm, sun-kissed leg and rested where she could see pubic hair.

Since she could remember, Alice has had crushes on a handful of her peers, mostly boys, but all of them eventually fizzled away. All with the exception of Mary who walked into her life in the fifth grade wearing pigtails tied with crimson red bows. An innocent longing to be near her gradually turned into an intense thirst she couldn’t explain. The desire for the mayor’s daughter kept her blood rushing while the rest of the girls slept the night away. Eventually, she built up enough courage to sneak into the downstairs bathroom and use her fingers to release the tension. She kept this private action to herself until her relationship with Mary became more than friendly.

There was enough nighttime to go back to her old ways. The idea came to mind that it would be better to do it outside than in so she didn’t feel restrained by the thin wall between her bedroom and her grandmother’s.

She decided to go to the infamous river that cut through the neighboring towns of Fulton and Jeremiah and hugged the east side of Whistle like a slithering snake.

She walked behind the house and up a trail through the bed of trees that led to a section of the river that bent right and flowed south. The Sayre’s privately called this part of the river their own. Once Alice arrived at the river, she spun herself and fell onto the grass, inches from where the cool water touched the land and looked up at the stars.

The next morning, she woke up with the sunlight in her eyes, one arm wrapped around the top of her head, and the other tucked underneath her skirt. She stood up, fixed her dress, and rubbed her temples as the blood began to rush down her body. A throbbing pain settled in the left corner of her brain and blurred her vision. She looked around until her eyes focused across the river. There was a pickup truck parked in between two trees. The shade of the trees prevented her from seeing through the truck’s windshield. The truck had a grayish-blue color to its body. The half-ripped-off bumper gave it a crooked smirk, and the headlights were dim and cloudy.

The door on the driver’s side opened. A frail girl stepped out and stared at Alice. She wore a red-and-gray cheerleader uniform. The same Amber used to wear every Friday evening for football games. Though the girl’s eyes were alien in nature, black as oil, Alice felt a familiarity with them. The girl’s face was remarkably pale, the bridge of her nose bent to the left, and her hair was dripping wet as if she had just risen out of the river.

As Alice walked closer to the river, she could make out that the girl was her deceased sister. The realization altered her surroundings from a summer’s morning to a winter’s evening. She closed her eyes and felt the sharp wind pierce her skin and the hard ground numb the sole of her feet. She convinced herself it was all a nightmare soon to pass and opened her eyes. The ghost climbed on top of the truck’s hood and sat with her knees pressed against her chest. The ghost was undeterred by the wind blowing west and indifferent about the woman looking back at her with a face filled with terror. Amber slowly lifted her left hand, turned her palm toward herself, and waved for Alice to come closer. Alice obliged like a sailor answering a siren’s call. A call to face her deep seated fear. To answer for the betrayal that drove her sister to suicide.

She took another step that sunk her foot into the ice cold river.

A squawking bird swooped down and flew across her face. The sudden shock told her to turn around and run home. Suddenly, the snow melted away and the skies cleared and the sun’s radiance broke through clouds and gave life to the trees. She locked the backdoor door behind her and tiptoed upstairs to her bedroom. She laid out on her bed, closed her eyes, and replayed the surreal image she saw across the river until her eyes grew heavy.