This story was actually an add-on story where my sister Karen and I alternated with paragraphs. We never got past three paragraphs, so I decided to just start all over on my own, adding more detail and changing the plot to my own liking.

The old, aristocratic man descended the grand stairway that led to the main kitchen of his mansion of opulence. He walked down the aisles of the enormous kitchen admiring his new glass ceiling, oblivious to the banana peel lying on the floor. And then, and then, and then...he tripped. He went flying into the air, and the banana peel flew even higher in the air. Then the old man landed with a crash, breaking his neck and dying instantly. The banana peel fell on the slippery floor and slid under the main refrigerator.

Detectives filled the entire estate. The family of old man Samuel L. Charrington wanted to know how this man died, so the best detectives in New England were hired. After a thorough investigation, two of the best detectives came up with what they thought happened.

Detective Bernard Smith had grown up in a wealthy household in Boston, seeing many of his relatives dying of diseases or old age, which was why his parents decided to send him to school elsewhere. They decided to send him to a military school - West Point. He became a police officer in Richmond and worked with a partner he never got along with. Eleven years later, he moved back to his hometown of Boston and became a detective solving the most difficult cases that most detectives couldn't handle. He was the best detective around.

Detective Smith concluded that Mr. Charrington had died of natural causes and had broken his neck in the resulting fall.

Detective Arthur O' Riley grew up in the rough parts of Brooklyn. He had a tough childhood and whenever he got home, he would try to avoid his parents' constant quarrels by reading books about murder mysteries. When he asked his parents if he could go to a military school, his father grew furious. So he ended up running away from home, taking some of his father's money to go to West Point, the only military school he knew of. After graduation, he was upset that he couldn't be a detective, so he became a police officer at Richmond. He had a partner who was richer and more well-educated, and he seemed to have it easy. He hated him and always got in quarrels with him. He was finally relieved when his partner left to Boston. Two years after this, O' Riley moved to Manhattan and became a detective. He was the most aggressive detective around but he sure was good at solving cases.

Detective O' Riley's theory was that Mr. Charrington was strangled to the point of neck-breaking by a conspirator, an insider actually. He figured that it was most likely a family member or someone close to the family who wanted to inherit the old man's wealth.

The next day, the Boston Globe dedicated a section to Mr. Samuel D. Charrington's tragic death and a lengthy obituary. The New York Times announced a murder scandal in the Charrington family. Other newspapers across the nation merely stated that the old man had died. And the supermarket tabloids began screaming out ludicrous rumors.

When Detective O' Riley began ordering full investigations of the Charrington family, the family lost its great reputation of great deeds and selfless acts to charity. They were mocked by the press constantly, so they hired one of the best detectives around to help prove O' Riley wrong - Detective Smith.

Detective Smith accepted the case without hesitation. He claimed that he was fighting for the dear innocent lives of the Charrington family and in a way he was. But deep down inside, his dislike for Detective O' Riley had not dissolved. He wanted to prove that he was much more superior in skill. He wanted to blow a hole in O' Riley's arrogance. Now was his chance.

The very next day, O' Riley claimed that he had hard evidence that the grandson of the late Mr. Charrington had strangled the old man to death. Detective O' Riley, Detective Smith, and a number of other detectives were in the main kitchen where Samuel Charrington had died.

"Ah ha! Finally! Hard evidence that William Charrington, the grandson of the late Mr. Sam Charrington, had strangled the poor old man! Ha! Book 'im!!" O' Riley pointed out fervently with great enthusiasm. Murmurs and whispers among the other detectives showed that they had all unanimously agreed. But Smith refuted this claim.

"And how do you prove that?"

"There is a thick, sturdy piece of string that was apparently stretched. Stretched when used to strangle this old man -

"You cannot jump to conclusions like that! And so what about the string?"

"The grandson's fingerprints were all over the thick string!"

"Just because the string was stretched doesn't mean that it was used for strangling. I have examined the string, and it seems to me that it was stretched because it was used to wrap a cake box." Seeing that he was being proved wrong, O' Riley began to retort.

"But...but...the fingerprints...they -

"The grandson's fingerprints were all over it because he had wrapped the cake box. The cake was for his grandfather - Mr. Charrington." Again, all the detectives murmured and whispered to each other, only now agreeing with Smith.

Furious from his failure, O' Riley stormed out of the room. He had to prove Smith wrong.

The next day, O' Riley called some professionals to do an autopsy on Mr. Charrington. The family had always thought of autopsies as immoral, but they had bigger problems to concentrate on. Their grandson was being convicted of a crime he did not commit. For permission to do an autopsy on Mr. Charrington, O' Riley promised not to bother the family for two days and make an excuse to keep the press away. After half a day of thorough examinations during the autopsy, it was proven that the old man had not died of natural causes, which Detective Smith had theorized. O' Riley told the media of his discovery and it was soon broadcast all over the nation.

The next day in the kitchen, O' Riley, Smith, and the same detectives were again in the main kitchen of the Charrington estate. Detective Smith was furious.

"What the hell are you trying to prove, Arthur?"

"Don't you dare address me as Arthur, you insolent aristocrat! You shall address me as Detective O' Riley!!"

"Why is it that you are always trying to prove me wrong? What makes you think that you must prove yourself superior to me?!?"

"I'd like to ask you that very same question, Bernard!"

"Why you nasty 'ol hypocrite! 'You shall address me as Detective O' Riley!!' Why, you don't even address me as Detective Smith!"

"Let me tell you something, lad! Don't you think that you will always be the centre of attention! You think you're the best in the game, don't you? You think you're the best officer to graduate from West Point, don't you? Well let me tell you something, smartass! One of these days your hubris is going to get you back!!"

"ME ARROGANT?!? Look at you!!! You think you're so much better because you influence the largest newspaper in the country and maybe even the world!! You have your loyal followers, your connections to the media... You always jump to the first conclusion that pops in your head and you never even stop to contemplate whether or not you are right or wrong!!"

"Well...well...asshole!"

"Jackass!"

"CAT FIGHT!!" a detective from the crowd hollered.

Before someone could say "Twinkie," two blows from the fists had been aimed toward Smith. Smith retaliated with a blow to the face. Before long, the two detectives were on the ground banging and hitting and kicking and screaming. The other detectives there merely cheered and rooted for whoever looked like was going to win. They began betting who would win. The Irish American or the American American? Then they froze. Both detectives stared in the same direction.

There was something beneath the refrigerator. They both took the object out from under the electric appliance. It was a banana peel. They both held the banana peel staring at each other, both speechless. Smith and O' Riley finally knew what caused poor old Charrington to die. Was it the banana? It sure as hell was.