Speaker 1: Hello, one can remain new her pies high school. I
Speaker 1: mean the girl's bathroom by back exit. We need help, please, Harry,
Speaker 1: you'n it on the way. What's your name here? Mean Amy?
Speaker 1: Are you an immediate care? No, it's my best friend, Hazel.
Speaker 1: She's a black black round Yeah, the sheriff's daughter. She
Speaker 1: needs help, please, She's helped now to be an I
Speaker 1: called to the high school and for Hair black world daughter. Okay, honey,
Speaker 1: help it on the way. Can you tell me what
Speaker 1: happened to Hair? I don't know. Her dad's must pick
Speaker 1: her up and something must have happened, and she she's bleeding.
Speaker 1: It's she's not pretathing shed. Welcome to Solve, the interactive
Speaker 1: mystery podcast where you don't just hear about crimes, you
Speaker 1: solve them. Each episode will present you with a different
Speaker 1: case inspired by a true crime. You'll interrogate suspects, piece
Speaker 1: together evidence, and investigate the crime scene. You're the detective.
Speaker 1: This is your case. Can you solve it? Solve presents admission.
Speaker 1: I'm here in front of you today not as the sheriff,
Speaker 1: but as a father. Inside my worst nightmare, my daughter
Speaker 1: Hazel was the light of my life. Seventeen years, and
Speaker 1: not a day went by when she did not make
Speaker 1: me proud of her character, moral compass, and her kind heart.
Speaker 1: I thought the hardest thing my wife and I would
Speaker 1: have to do this year is sent her off to college.
Speaker 1: She had just been admitted to ul A, her top choice.
Speaker 1: Hazel had so much to look forward to. We all did.
Speaker 1: Murder is a path I've walked many times in my
Speaker 1: third year career. I never liked this. Today my work
Speaker 1: takes on a new meaning. While I won't be handling
Speaker 1: my daughter's case personally, my wife, my son, and I
Speaker 1: couldn't have more trust in this department and their ability
Speaker 1: to conduct an investigation that will get justice for my girl.
Speaker 1: For Hazel, Hazel was my best friend for twelve years.
Speaker 1: We were inseparable since the very first day of kindergarten
Speaker 1: and I was crying, scaredually my parents, but not Hazel.
Speaker 1: She marshed over to me, grabbed my hand, and brought
Speaker 1: me over to play. From that moment on, Hazel was
Speaker 1: my smarter, braver, better half. We did everything together. The
Speaker 1: first time with sleepaway camp, our first crushes, our first
Speaker 1: time sneaking out, thanks was supposed to be college. We
Speaker 1: were planning on going to ul A together, sharing a dorm.
Speaker 1: That's all I ever wanted. Oh my gosh, As, I
Speaker 1: can't believe it's our last first day of high school tomorrow.
Speaker 1: What are you gonna wear? I don't know. Maybe that
Speaker 1: wrap dress and boots or shorts and sandals with a
Speaker 1: crop top. I can't decide. Yep, I'm thinking the Fleetwood
Speaker 1: Max shirt that I got at that vintage store with
Speaker 1: my highwaysted shorts. I can't believe it's our last time
Speaker 1: doing this. Please, I'm sure we'll stress out about first
Speaker 1: day off. It's in college too. Yeah, well, it'll have
Speaker 1: to be over FaceTime unless they get into l A.
Speaker 1: Don't be ridiculous. You're obviously going to get in. You're
Speaker 1: the one who's a legacy while according to Mr Briggs
Speaker 1: last time I met with him, and that won't make
Speaker 1: up for my g p A. Mr Briggs told Lucas
Speaker 1: he'd be lucky to get into community college and look
Speaker 1: at him now, Deans listed state. If he got in there,
Speaker 1: then you'll definitely get into l A. I hope you're right.
Speaker 1: I just I don't know what my parents are gonna do.
Speaker 1: If I don't, it's like they've been waiting for this
Speaker 1: for ae. The moment they met. I can't even think
Speaker 1: about what it will be like at home if I
Speaker 1: left him down. You won't This time next year, we'll
Speaker 1: be planning our first day of school outfits in l A.
Speaker 1: Trust me. Mr Briggs was wrong about Lucas and he's
Speaker 1: wrong about you, dear journal Um. I'll be honest. I
Speaker 1: did not expect my first senior assignment to be keeping
Speaker 1: a journal. Seems a little more like first day of
Speaker 1: middle school stuff to me. But hey, maybe Ms O'Brien
Speaker 1: is right. Maybe I will want to have everything from
Speaker 1: this year written down. The prompt on the board says
Speaker 1: to write about my hopes for this year. I guess.
Speaker 1: More than anything else, I hope Amy and I both
Speaker 1: get accepted to You l A. I have the grades
Speaker 1: and test scores, but apparently Mr Briggs told Amy she
Speaker 1: should be aiming lower. So even if I do get in,
Speaker 1: it won't mean much If Amy doesn't too. It won't
Speaker 1: matter if I can't go with my best friend. Hazel
Speaker 1: was an all around exceptional student. Can you see once
Speaker 1: a year, if you're lucky, it's good at math and
Speaker 1: science as she was at English and his three. She
Speaker 1: scored a fifteen twenty on her s A T did
Speaker 1: student government and sports, got straight a's as a high
Speaker 1: school counselor. You can't ask for a student much better
Speaker 1: than Hazel. Kids liked her too, all of them from
Speaker 1: the I guess you'd call them the nerds to Kira
Speaker 1: Umanski most popular girl in school. They started hanging out
Speaker 1: after they were paired up for some English assignment. You
Speaker 1: know you should be talking to her. That's how this
Speaker 1: whole thing got started. Hey, gira um, it's Hazel. When
Speaker 1: do you want to meet up to work on the
Speaker 1: English project? Or if you're busy, we can totally do
Speaker 1: it over email. Whatever you want, inflexible. Hey Hazel, I
Speaker 1: want to meet up tonight the Seventh Street coffee houses WiFi. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that sounds great. Um also, could I uh? Is it okay?
Speaker 1: If um uh? Is it cool? If I bring Amy.
Speaker 1: I didn't know Hazel very well. We've gone to school
Speaker 1: together for a while, but didn't exactly run in the
Speaker 1: same circle, if you know what I mean. It wasn't
Speaker 1: until we got paired up for that English project that
Speaker 1: we even hung out after school, And at that point
Speaker 1: it really was just to work on the assignment. We
Speaker 1: had to figure out something we've both written about in
Speaker 1: our journals. That was how we found out we both
Speaker 1: wanted to go to ul A. Well, that all three
Speaker 1: of us wanted to go. It's silly, but I'm really
Speaker 1: hoping to go to ul A. No way, you will
Speaker 1: as my first choice to really cool? Oh, I should
Speaker 1: have said, we're actually both hoping to go, Me and Amy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: if I get in, you will, she will. We're gonna
Speaker 1: room together. How can you be sure she'll get in?
Speaker 1: Did you talk to Mr Briggs? Well? Yeah, but it's
Speaker 1: not like he has much of a say hmm, what, Well,
Speaker 1: it just sounds like you haven't really talked to him.
Speaker 1: There's a lot that goes into choosing a college. Parents
Speaker 1: tend to focus on the academics, but there's so much more,
Speaker 1: and every student is different. That's the whole reason I
Speaker 1: decided to become a school counselor, to help my students
Speaker 1: find the same experience I found, whether it's State or
Speaker 1: Beaumont or Ula or anywhere else. That was all I wanted,
Speaker 1: at least in the beginning. So much has happened just
Speaker 1: since my first journal entry, but most importantly, we may
Speaker 1: have figured out a way to make sure Amy gets
Speaker 1: into l A. And by we I mean me and
Speaker 1: Kira Umanski. Yes, top of the social pyramid ASP president,
Speaker 1: the same person who once told the entire freshman class
Speaker 1: Amy and I were lesbians. It turns out it's her
Speaker 1: top choice too. Who knows, maybe our double will become
Speaker 1: a triple, especially if Kira is telling the truth about
Speaker 1: Mr Briggs being able to guarantee Amy gets in. Kira, Hazel, Amy,
Speaker 1: come on in. Thank you so much for meeting with us.
Speaker 1: Of course, Kira told me that you two wanted to
Speaker 1: talk about U l A admissions. It's been our top
Speaker 1: choice since we were kids. Amy's parents used to take
Speaker 1: us to football games. You met there. That can certainly help.
Speaker 1: Now let's start with Hazel. I've got to say your
Speaker 1: transcript is impeccable. I can't imagine you'll have any trouble
Speaker 1: getting into U l A. Frankly, some kids with these
Speaker 1: stats might consider it a safety school. What about me,
Speaker 1: Let's see mm hmm. Well, unfortunately, Amy, you're a bit
Speaker 1: of a different story. Your grades are decent, test scores fine,
Speaker 1: extracurriculars are lacking. I'd say you're more like Kira. Your
Speaker 1: application has some strengths, but also some weaknesses that could
Speaker 1: use a little extra help. Help. Well, you see, Kira's
Speaker 1: parents and I have come to a bit of an agreement.
Speaker 1: For a small fee, I will make sure her application
Speaker 1: meets u l A standards of acceptance, she gets in,
Speaker 1: I get paid for my time. Clean deal sounds like
Speaker 1: a quid pro quote to me. Hm, I prefer to
Speaker 1: think of it as an upgraded service, optional but worth it.
Speaker 1: I'm sure you do. You know this is illegal, right?
Speaker 1: You're not actually considering this, are you? Look? I want
Speaker 1: to get in. Don't you want that too? Of course
Speaker 1: I do? But Mr Briggs, what if I don't get in?
Speaker 1: Do we get our money back? You'll get in? How
Speaker 1: can you promise that? Well, frankly, because I have a
Speaker 1: perfect track record, this is wrong. Mm hmm. I'm surprised
Speaker 1: to hear you feel that way, Hazel. Why don't you
Speaker 1: know who my dad is? Yes? But I also know
Speaker 1: who your brother is. Poor Lucas barely graduated, but your
Speaker 1: mother was desperate for him to get in. What'd she
Speaker 1: say somewhere that would make your father proud? Now, you
Speaker 1: wouldn't want to ruin that for your brother? Would you
Speaker 1: not to mention for your best friend? Mm hmm, that's
Speaker 1: what I thought I drove down yesterday. It still doesn't
Speaker 1: feel real. I'm half expecting Hazel to walk through the door,
Speaker 1: laughing and telling us about the crazy adventure she's been on.
Speaker 1: I'm sure everyone will tell you how special my sister was,
Speaker 1: But what most people don't know is that Hazel was
Speaker 1: like that from the moment she was born, always the
Speaker 1: golden child, teacher's pet. If anything, she was too nice,
Speaker 1: too weaker to help, too willing to prioritize others over herself.
Speaker 1: I always told her it could lead to something like this.
Speaker 1: I always told her she couldn't save the world without
Speaker 1: sacrificing herself. I should have known something bad is going
Speaker 1: to happen. And she was hanging out with Kira Monsky.
Speaker 1: It was like that or nothing but trouble, especially when
Speaker 1: they're teenagers. Hello in here? Mm hmm, smells good. What's up?
Speaker 1: Why are you guys looking at me like that? Received
Speaker 1: a call from Mr Briggs. Yeah about what he said.
Speaker 1: You referred to another young girl to him, Amy, Oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: she's Hazel's friend. Figured if Mr Briggs can help me. Hazel, Hazel,
Speaker 1: Hazel Blackwell, we're pared up for an English project as
Speaker 1: in Sheriff Blackwell's daughter Kira. Do you understand what kind
Speaker 1: of risk you've taken by bringing someone like that into this.
Speaker 1: I'm not bringing Hazel into anything. She doesn't need any help.
Speaker 1: Mr Briggs says she'll get in all on her own,
Speaker 1: but she still knows trust me, it won't be a problem.
Speaker 1: How can you be so sure of that? Because Hazel
Speaker 1: has a brother so a brother at u l A,
Speaker 1: a brother that Mr Briggs knows very very well, you
Speaker 1: seriously expect us to believe the Sheriff is in on
Speaker 1: this deal with Mr Briggs. He's not, but apparently his
Speaker 1: wife is. If I'm being honest, I guess I kind
Speaker 1: of felt bad for Amy. I don't know. I guess
Speaker 1: I understand how it feels to want control over your
Speaker 1: own future, to be the person your parents want you
Speaker 1: to be. That's why I set her up with Mr Briggs. Well,
Speaker 1: that and the ten percent cut he offered what did
Speaker 1: he call it, a referral fee. I know it probably
Speaker 1: sounds stupid, but it really didn't seem like that big
Speaker 1: of a deal, especially since Mr Briggs had done the
Speaker 1: same thing for Hazel's brother. I figured, even if the
Speaker 1: sheriff did find out, what's the worst that could happen.
Speaker 1: It's not like he would have done anything to put
Speaker 1: his own son's future at risk. What's up? Sorry, we're
Speaker 1: just finishing up dinner, Lucas. What's going on? Are you okay? Um? Yes, no, honestly,
Speaker 1: I don't I don't know. Okay, Okay, take a deep breath.
Speaker 1: What's going on? Hey? I need to ask you something. Okay,
Speaker 1: what's up? Did you work with Mr Briggs to get
Speaker 1: into state? What did he like help you for money? God? Damn? Hey,
Speaker 1: I thought someone died and I mean, yeah, mom had
Speaker 1: him help me out a little. Wasn't a big deal.
Speaker 1: Why you didn't say anything to that about it? Did
Speaker 1: you know? But I'm scared for a second. You know
Speaker 1: what he'd do if he found out about this. You
Speaker 1: should be scared. I mean, do you know how serious
Speaker 1: this is? Come on, it's not that pay a deal.
Speaker 1: How can you possibly say that our dad is the sheriff?
Speaker 1: How could you do this to him, to me? To you? Look,
Speaker 1: I gotta go lazy. I don't worry so much, Okay,
Speaker 1: And just please don't say anything to Dad like you
Speaker 1: know how he can be, and you know he wouldn't
Speaker 1: hesitate to throw the book at his troublemaker son. Probably
Speaker 1: love the chance to make an example out of me.
Speaker 1: All Right, I won't say anything. You promise, Yeah, I promise,
Speaker 1: all right? Let me says Hi, Honey, should you be
Speaker 1: a clue? Um? Um, I just talked to Hazel. We
Speaker 1: have a problem, A big problem. I think you need
Speaker 1: come home. What if you knew something that was wrong,
Speaker 1: like major crime, big deal, sound the alarm? Wrong? But
Speaker 1: what if you couldn't do anything about it, couldn't tell
Speaker 1: anyone without putting people you love at risk, hurting the
Speaker 1: people you would never ever want to hurt. What if
Speaker 1: the only options were swallowing the secret or letting it
Speaker 1: ruin everyone's lives. My dad taught me how to tell
Speaker 1: right from wrong, but he didn't teach me how hard
Speaker 1: it be to do something about it. Um. Well, look,
Speaker 1: Hazel and I are were always a little different. I
Speaker 1: was always the wild one, the one who thought rules
Speaker 1: were meant to be broken. My mom would say I
Speaker 1: was a free spirit, but that's of being nice. She
Speaker 1: was always making excuses. I think She felt bad because
Speaker 1: of all my dad was with me. That was the
Speaker 1: whole reason we got to make stuff with Mr Briggs
Speaker 1: in the first place. She thought that if I got
Speaker 1: in somewhere, it's something of myself. Maybe it proved something
Speaker 1: to my dad, but he was never interested in me.
Speaker 1: Who could blame him. Hazel was the kind of kid
Speaker 1: every parent dreams of, but especially someone like my dad.
Speaker 1: She was just like him too much. So if you
Speaker 1: ask me, Jeames, what's up, Hey, I have care on
Speaker 1: the other line, I'm just going to merge the calls.
Speaker 1: Sounds good. Hey, neither of you said anything to anyone
Speaker 1: about Mr Briggs, right? Obviously not, of course, not why
Speaker 1: he just emailed me asking if anyone else knows. I'm
Speaker 1: sure he's just being paranoid. You didn't see anything to
Speaker 1: your dad, did you, Haze. I'm not an idiot. It's
Speaker 1: just that if anyone was going to say something I didn't,
Speaker 1: I want me to get into u l a too,
Speaker 1: you know, Okay, we'd talk to you, Hazel. Hazel was honest,
Speaker 1: sometimes to a fault. Some people would hate being the
Speaker 1: daughter of a cop, but she loved it because she
Speaker 1: was just like him. Good if not a little righteous.
Speaker 1: Sometimes it would have just been easier if she could
Speaker 1: have just let some things go, if she could just
Speaker 1: realize that not every rule needs to be followed, that
Speaker 1: it wasn't her job to make sure everyone was doing
Speaker 1: the right thing. She wasn't trying to police everyone all
Speaker 1: the time. Then I don't know, maybe she would still
Speaker 1: be here today. M Mom is there? Breakfast? Was just pops,
Speaker 1: grab one and take it to go. Thanks. Big day today?
Speaker 1: Huh yeah, big day? Where's dad? Good morning? My lovely
Speaker 1: wife daughter ul A. Decisions come out tonight huh yep.
Speaker 1: I'll be nice to have a reason to celebrate. It
Speaker 1: feels like just yesterday we were doing all this with
Speaker 1: Lucas right. I can't believe it. You're ready your turn?
Speaker 1: So you're ready to go? Hayz Yeah, I'm ready. Let's
Speaker 1: go have a good day. Okay, kid, don't worry about
Speaker 1: getting into U l A. You're gonna get in. You
Speaker 1: earned it. Dad. Could you pick me up from school today?
Speaker 1: Doesn't Amy drive you home on Tuesday's Yeah, but there's
Speaker 1: something I need to talk to you about. I can
Speaker 1: leave sixth period a few minutes early. Make you buy
Speaker 1: the back exit Okay, sure, Yeah, Yeah, is everything all right? Yeah,
Speaker 1: it will be. Just don't tell Mom or Lucas about this, okay,
Speaker 1: all right? Well, journal I tried to let it go,
Speaker 1: really I did. I tried to tell myself it wasn't
Speaker 1: a big deal that my dad didn't need to know.
Speaker 1: But the more I thought about it, the more I
Speaker 1: realized I couldn't just let it go. There was something
Speaker 1: telling me not to, something telling me that I had
Speaker 1: to do the right thing. This whole time, I've been
Speaker 1: trying to ignore my conscience. But that didn't mean it disappeared.
Speaker 1: In fact, it's louder than ever. Dad's going to pick
Speaker 1: me up early from sixth period today and I'm going
Speaker 1: to tell him everything. I know some people will never
Speaker 1: forgive me for telling him, but I'd never forgive myself
Speaker 1: if I didn't. So do you want to come over?
Speaker 1: Just cool? I think the ul A emails are supposed
Speaker 1: to come out of five six, but um, I can't.
Speaker 1: I gotta finish that report for Kim. I'm going to
Speaker 1: go to the library so I don't need to write home. Fine,
Speaker 1: I guess not that exciting when you know you're going
Speaker 1: to get in Hey, I don't know anything if either
Speaker 1: of us is to guarantee at this point, it's probably you,
Speaker 1: isn't it. I'm sorry, I'm just stressed out. I guess,
Speaker 1: don't worry. We'll both get in. That's a good thing, right, Yeah,
Speaker 1: of course it is, seems did you check your email?
Speaker 1: What do you mean? The ul A decisions came out early?
Speaker 1: I caught in no way. Look, Oh my god, I
Speaker 1: got in, so did I. It's all because of you.
Speaker 1: We're gonna have the best time ever. Rights, I thrilled. Really,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go call my parents. Okay, Hey, there a girl? Everyone? Okay, Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just I wanted to tell you the good news.
Speaker 1: The missions emails came out early. I got into l
Speaker 1: a ay too. All right, Hey, how can you'll be
Speaker 1: a little more excited? I am. I just you're still
Speaker 1: coming to give me later, right, as long as you're
Speaker 1: not want me to I do. Hey, Hazel, Hey, don
Speaker 1: I gotta go you Okay, you ran out pretty quickly
Speaker 1: back there? Yeah? Sorry, Um, I guess I just couldn't
Speaker 1: wait to tell my dad. Is he as excited as
Speaker 1: we are? More? Maybe? Hey? My journal for English classes missing?
Speaker 1: You guys didn't see it inside? Did you? Don't see anything.
Speaker 1: Maybe it's in your locker. Yeah, must be. Oh, I
Speaker 1: gotta go. I'll see you later. Yeah, Hazel, call me
Speaker 1: after the library. Okay, okay, hey dad, Yeah, I'm coming
Speaker 1: out now. I'll be right there. Oh excuse me. I
Speaker 1: didn't think anyone else is in here. Son, Sunda knife,
Speaker 1: what do you What's what's going on? Wait? No, no, no,
Speaker 1: get away from me. This doesn't stop. Help help m hm.
Speaker 1: You've reached the end of the investigation. It's time to
Speaker 1: decide who you think killed Hazel. Here are your suspects.
Speaker 1: Hazel's best friend Amy. She wasn't trying to police everyone
Speaker 1: all the time, then maybe she would still be here today.
Speaker 1: Popular girl, Kira. It's just that if anyone was going
Speaker 1: to say something, high school, college counselor Mr Briggs, poor
Speaker 1: Lucas barely graduated, but your mother was desperate for him
Speaker 1: to get in. What did she say somewhere that did
Speaker 1: make your father proud? Or her brother Lucas? Maybe it
Speaker 1: proved something to my dad, but he was never interested
Speaker 1: in me. Who could blame him? Hazel was the kind
Speaker 1: of kid every parent dreams of. We'll be back with
Speaker 1: the answer after a word from our sponsor. Now it's
Speaker 1: time to find out who killed Hazel. Hazel's killer was
Speaker 1: her so called best friend Amy, after she discovered that
Speaker 1: Hazel was planning to tell her father about the admission scheme.
Speaker 1: I hope you're right. I just I don't know what
Speaker 1: my parents are gonna do if I don't. It's like
Speaker 1: they've been waiting for this one the moment they met.
Speaker 1: I didn't even think about what it will be like
Speaker 1: at home if I lived in town. The only person
Speaker 1: who could have known that Hazel was going to tell
Speaker 1: her dad that day is someone who read her journal. Hey,
Speaker 1: my journal for English classes missing. You guys didn't see
Speaker 1: it inside? Did you know? I didn't see anything. Maybe
Speaker 1: it's in your locker. And if you listen closely to
Speaker 1: her call, Amy gave away that she was the journey
Speaker 1: Old Thief by revealing a piece of information that only
Speaker 1: someone who had read it would know. Dad's going to
Speaker 1: pick me up early from sixth period today and I'm
Speaker 1: going to tell him everything perhaps up and something must
Speaker 1: have happened, and she's believing she's to This episode is
Speaker 1: inspired by the true story of two teenage girls who
Speaker 1: murdered their best friend as well as the college admission
Speaker 1: scandal that broken early two thousand nineteen. Amy was played
Speaker 1: by Hope Elena Garcia Hazel by Son he Cio. Kira
Speaker 1: was played by Carson Fagerbacky Byron Briggs was played by
Speaker 1: Nick Thurston, Sheriff Blackwell by Joe san Filippo, Lucas Blackwell
Speaker 1: by Zeno Robinson. Mrs Blackwell was played by Robin Reid.
Speaker 1: Kira's dad was played by Michael Young, Kira's mom by
Speaker 1: Christine Dunford, and the operator was played by Veronica Taylor.
Speaker 1: Written and directed by Nile Cappello, produced, recorded and mixed
Speaker 1: by Salt Audio Executive Produced by Walt Palmer and Corey Serge.
Speaker 1: Recorded at Bang Zoom Studios, Edited by Zack Jurich for
Speaker 1: Salt Audio. Sound designed by Jasper van Dyke for Salt Audio.
Speaker 1: Original music and score by Noah Gersh and Jamie Cheffman
Speaker 1: at Salt Audio. Casting by Romy Stuttman. Casting assistant was
Speaker 1: Daisy Laura and the production coordinator was Liz LeMay. Next
Speaker 1: time on Solve, an ambitious PhD student gets a unique opportunity.
Speaker 1: You know, Killip paulas the billionaire. Yeah here has built
Speaker 1: his own submarine. If I can talk a me to
Speaker 1: bring me on his team, I could get firsthand experience
Speaker 1: on a dive. How would that look in my thesis?
Speaker 1: But how did this underwater expedition turn into a murder
Speaker 1: below the see? I can't believe you're doing this again.
Speaker 1: I talked to her, Philip. She is a child, damn it,
Speaker 1: and I don't have time for your ship. Get on me.
Speaker 1: Tune in next week to find out