A cold case involving the murder of a Michiana girl is heating up.

The murder of Brandie Peltz came into the spotlight again 22 years after her death, when a novel called “The Passerby” was published.

It led Indiana State Police to take over the case, and Maureen McFadden had an exclusive interview with Detective Tom Littlefield, the lead investigator.

When you think of small towns you think of charm and safety, where kids can play freely without the fear of big city crime.

But that all changed in the sleepy town of Argos just days before Christmas in 1986, when 11-year-old Brandie Peltz was murdered.

Last December, Maureen spoke with spoke with two men who remember it well.

“I think it changed the entire town,” said Joe Stone, an Argos firefighter who was a child at the time of the murder.

“I remember when I got home my mom was talking about it at the time and she was crying,” said Doug Middleton, another Argos firefighter who was a child at the time of Brandie’s death.

Brandie stayed home from school sick. She was found dead in the bathtub. She had been sexually assaulted and her home set on fire.

Author Thomas Crowell came across her grave and wanted to know why her killer was never caught.

He started talking to people in Argos and last year published his novel, “The Passerby”.

“The book has stirred up a lot of emotions in people,” says Middleton.

Crowell concludes Marshall County Police bungled the investigation and overlooked the key suspect -- the man who reported the fire, the passerby.

“When he reported the fire, the fireman was already there,” says Crowell. “The fireman was guarding the door.”

The book caught the Marshall County Prosecutor's attention, who put Indiana State Police Detective Tom Littlefield in charge of the case.

“I think the book caused a stir, or kind of brought the case to light again,” says Det. Littlefield. “The book is one part that's kept this thing going, but I think your station really has a lot to do with it.”

“We've gotten tips and the tips have been very useful in documenting the timeline,” Littlefield says.

And Littlefield says while the book helped spark a new investigation, it doesn't make his job any easier.

“Some witnesses are reading the book and are hesitant to come forward, even though it is a fictional claim of the events,” says Littlefield. “You know if you were part of the event back in ‘86 yourself, it causes them to be hesitant to cooperate with police now.”

And he wants anyone with information to know they will be dealing only with him.

“We are not working in tandem with this book or with the author,” says Littlefield. “This is an independent investigation by the State Police.”

And while the book may be a page turner, “by the author’s own admission it's a fictional account and our role in this is to document witnesses in a format that would be useable in a courtroom later on,” says Littlefield. “So the level of accountability for these witnesses is much higher standard.

Littlefield is hopeful that this case will be solved.

“I'm optimistic, I really am. I'm optimistic that it can be solved, if we can get some evidence forwarded to some new technology,” says Littlefield.

“Even though that road was a rural road at the time, there was enough travel there,” Littlefield says. “There's someone out there that has information on cars that were parked at the house, near the time of the fire.”

And Littlefield thinks the final chapter in the case will come from the people in the town where little Brandie died.

“It's a small town and in a small town people talk,” he says.

Talk he hopes will finally put the killer of an innocent child behind bars.

If you saw or heard anything the day Brandie was murdered Detective Littlefield wants to hear from you. He says it's the only way to end the speculation about who did it and bring Brandie's killer to justice after 22 years.

We have contact information below:

Brandie Peltz Tips
Detective Tom Littlefield
Indiana State Police, Bremen Post
1-800-552-2959