The Investigation
What happens when you discover your father standing over your mother's body in the basement and you have to run for your life?
In this episode, Isaac whispers 'F-father... why?' as he stares at his mother's deceased body surrounded by a pool of dark crimson blood. He dashes up the basement stairs with trembling hands, pulls out his phone, and dials 999. But he can hear slow footsteps coming up behind him. He runs to the front door, grabs the house keys, locks the door behind him, and sprints down the street whilst explaining to the emergency operator: 'My father has killed my mother and he's chasing me!'
Enter Agent 23, who responds to the call. When the criminal escapes through an alleyway, Agent 23 gives chase, only to encounter Isaac on the street: 'I know where he went. Please let me come with you!' Together they track Isaac's father to an abandoned building where they must solve riddles to progress through locked rooms. Darkness. A jigsaw puzzle. Time. Each answer brings them closer until finally, they corner him in a long corridor.
The arrest is made. Agent 23 is promoted to Chief Constable with a golden badge. But as everyone congratulates them, Agent 23 can't stop thinking about Isaac. They know this is not over.
Atmospheric, emotionally complex, and structured like a thriller, this is a story about trauma, pursuit, justice, and the boy left behind when the case closes.
This story proves what one Year 6 student told us: "The only superpower you need is imagination."
About the Story
Story Type: Crime thriller with detective procedural structure
Themes: Domestic violence, trauma, justice vs healing, the cost of being a witness, professional duty vs personal concern
Setting: Bradford (14 Daisy Street), police station, alleyways, abandoned building with riddled rooms
Key Elements:
- Opening scene: Isaac discovering his mother's body, father approaching
- The escape: trembling hands, grabbing keys, locking door, 999 call whilst running
- Emergency call details: 'My father has killed my mother and he's chasing me!'
- Agent 23 responding, father escaping through alleyway
- Isaac on street: 'I know where he went. Please let me come with you!'
- Partnership between Agent 23 and traumatised child witness
- Abandoned building: shattered glass, cobwebs
- Three riddled rooms acting as locks:
- First riddle: 'I live where there is no light...' (Answer: darkness, Isaac solves instantly)
- Second challenge: jigsaw puzzle (Agent 23 solves)
- Third riddle: 'I wear you down, yet you'll mourn me once I fly...' (Answer: time)
- Final chase down long corridor, physical fight, handcuffs
- Father deported to police station, Isaac 'sent to station to be dealt with'
- Promotion: golden badge reading 'Chief Constable'
- Final line: 'I couldn't stop thinking about Isaac. I knew this was not over...'
Why This Story Matters
This author has created something remarkably mature: a crime thriller that understands the difference between solving the case and solving the trauma. That opening scene is genuinely distressing, written with visceral specificity: 'Her eyes were open, they captured her horror before she passed.' This isn't a child writing violence for shock value, this is a child understanding the weight of what they're depicting.
Notice the emotional precision: Isaac's hands are trembling, making it difficult to unlock the door. That physical manifestation of trauma is psychologically accurate. And the choice to let Isaac accompany Agent 23, a professional procedure violation that acknowledges the boy's need to be part of bringing his father to justice, shows sophisticated understanding of what victims need.
The riddles serve multiple functions: they're puzzle obstacles (thriller structure), but they're also thematically significant. Darkness (Isaac solves instantly, he's been living in darkness). Time (Agent 23 solves, recognising that time is what they're losing, what they can metaphorically kill but never truly destroy). These aren't random brain-teasers, they're emotionally resonant.
But the most sophisticated element is that ending. Agent 23 gets promoted, receives congratulations, holds a golden badge reading Chief Constable. Professional success. Case closed. Yet: 'I couldn't stop thinking about Isaac. I knew this was not over.' Because arresting the father doesn't undo what Isaac witnessed. Doesn't bring his mother back. Doesn't heal the trauma. Isaac was 'sent to the station to be dealt with', passive voice, like a problem to be processed rather than a child who needs care.
When children are given complete creative autonomy, they write stories with moral complexity that adults often sanitise. They understand that happy endings for law enforcement aren't happy endings for traumatised witnesses. They understand that justice and healing are different things. And they're willing to end on that unresolved note: 'This is not over.'
That's not a child who doesn't know how to finish a story. That's a child who understands that some stories don't finish.
About StoryQuestâ˘
StoryQuest is a validated methodology that achieves 100% engagement across all learners, including reluctant writers, boys, and students with SEND. The approach is simple but profound: give children complete creative autonomy over something that truly matters to them.
Resources & Links
Bring StoryQuest to Your School:
Visit my-storyquest.com to download the curriculum guide and discover how your students can become published authors.
Start Friday Night Storytelling at Home:
Download Gabriel's StoryQuest Family Kit at theadventuresofgabriel.com
Read Gabriel's Adventures:
The international #1 bestselling series that started it all, co-authored by Kate Markland and her son Gabriel Khan. Available at theadventuresofgabriel.com
Connect with Kate:
Website: katemarkland.com
Share This Episode
Know a teacher struggling with reluctant writers? A parent whose child says 'writing is boring'? A school leader looking for proven literacy solutions? Share this episode with them.
Because every child has a story. And when we give them the freedom to tell it, extraordinary things happen.
Keywords
Child authors, creative writing for children, literacy education, reluctant writers, StoryQuest, student engagement, children's storytelling, authentic writing, educational innovation, child-led learning, crime thriller, detective stories, riddle stories, Bradford UK, emotional complexity, trauma narratives, UK education
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Production: StoryQuest
"When given complete creative control, children don't just create great stories, they discover their voice. And that voice deserves to be heard." - Kate Markland