Murder Mystery

Hi all - its Amrita. I thought I would try this blog out. I wrote a small murder mystery (its still a work in progress) but I am not sure whether it will work with our 'color' theme for April. Let me know what you think.

***
He shifted his feet, the signal was supposed to be an hour ago. Why was it taking so long? He felt uneasy, as he watched the alleyway from his black Sedan. The full moon gazed at him from her perch with a silver glow, that seemed to make all the shadows come alive. He quickly looked at the alley again, it shouldn’t take this long. Jerry said he would be back soon, should he call and call the job off?

He felt more uncomfortable because this was his old hunting grounds, the place he used to call home. But that was a long time ago, and he is a different person now. He fingered the darkened scar on his feet, hearing the voices of his friends from a different lifetime. Wait, was that a ball, his breath quickened as he saw a red ball being bounced against the walls down the passage. At this time of night, he wondered, who would be playing outside.

It reminded of him of when he was young and with his best friend John. John and him were inseperable, John always brought his red ball and they would bounce it up and down, if they threw it hard enough, Ms. McDouglas on the 4th floor would stick her head out of the window, her curlers furiously shaking as she would use choice language at them. John’s mother would rush out, scream obscenities back at her and the two kids would sheepishly go inside the house, as John’s mother made them hot chocolate and muttered about what a silly witch Ms. McDouglas was. Of course, this exercise was repeated quite often but each time it would seem like time stood still... Like now..

The red ball continued to bounce towards him, now rolling towards the Sedan. Should he get out, he wondered. He looked up at the sky, the moon teased him between the clouds, urging him, go on, see what’s there. He got down, his black polished shoes glistening in the moonlight. He couldn’t see inside the alley now, the lights must have burnt out somehow. He threw the ball back into the alley, maybe that kid would take it and go home. Jerry still hasn’t signalled, what’s taking the job so long? He watched in amazement as the ball bounced back. He walked into the alley, not noticing the silver blade that came behind him and the red river that flowed back towards the black Sedan.
***
“Coffee or doughnuts?” Mary shoved a box under my nose. It was too early to see hot pink donuts and the coffee smelt a couple of days old, but how could I refuse a blond. I picked a donut and gave her my best smile, even though my stomach rumbled in disgust. My desk was full of paperwork and I knew the Sargent would give me a hard time about it, but what can I do if the suspects in the last case refused to cooperate and give a proper confession? I sighed and sat back to nibble on the pastry, watching Mary as she ran between the cramped desks in the station, her black uniform a few sizes too tight, but it flattered her youthful figure. “Give it a few years in this place, she’ll be the size of ol’ Bertha over there” whispered Ivan as he nudged me with a smile. “Until then, let me enjoy the view” I replied.

The phone rang “Good morning, West Hartford Station, how can I help you?” Ivan replied as he answered the phone with a bored look on his face. “Yes, yes, straight away” Ivan replied quickly as the phone squeaked out a series of directions and his face turned white. He quickly put down the phone and grabbed me, “Lets go”. While I grabbed my coat, he explained “There’s been a body found at West 45th and 3rd.” We quickly got into my patrol car and he drove for once. West 45th and 3rd was my old neighbourhood, I reminisced. Ivan nodded as he put on the siran as he manuvered through the heavy traffic of morning traffic.

I remember there used to be two boys who always played there – Jerry and... I always forget the other boy’s name. Jerry was a sweet kid, always helpful and his mother was the neighbourhood mother to all us kids who had broken homes. She always made cookies and made us feel so welcome, even if we couldn’t go back to our homes. But that other kid always made me worry. I later heard he got into some bad company and I remember one of our witnesses in the Ramsey murder case describing the person very similar to him. “What happened to Jerry?” asked Ivan. I remember I was the first on the scene when Jerry’s body was found. His red ball was beside him and his little corpse was decorated with knife marks. It was an initiation killing – one of the gang’s had recently initiated a new member and to harden the boy, they had instructed him to kill a young boy. I remember looking at the red ball floating in a red ocean of blood. Jerry’s friend was suspected at the time, but there was not enough evidence so he was dismissed. We arrived at the scene. The other police officers had cordoned off the area so it was easy to get to. “There was a black Sedan, we took it to the impound. There was no prints inside but we suspect the victim drove here and went out to the alley” one of the police offcers said as we walked into the alley.

It looks so different now, Ms. McDouglas’s flat is replaced by an Indian restaurant. The smell of curry made my stomach rumble, its definitely too early for spices.

“Didn’t anyone see anything, there was enough of light last night with the street lights and moonlight yesterday” Ivan yelled at one of the policemen, Barry I think was his name. Barry shrugged, “There was a power surge yesterday and the lights had gone out and the killer had somehow been very quiet”. We reached the body, “That’s Jerry’s friend” I exclaimed. He looked older now, obviously. I had not seen him in years. His hair was shorter and he looked more muscular. His black clothes were soaked in blood, and his body echoed Jerry’s, with similar knife work. Ivan looked at me and laughed “Old man, you are seeing things. Maybe its the work of Jerry’s ghost”. I know I have been haunted by that death for a long time.

“He was killed between midnight and 2 in the morning, but it looked like a serated blade. I will; know more at the lab” said Caroline, as she prepared the body to be taken to the ME’s office. None of the police officers had found any weapon but I told them to keep looking. “Well, its time for more paperwork” Ivan said and we got back into the car. I looked back in the rear view mirror, and was that a red ball bouncing onto the street?