.
.
.
What she did was unforgivable. It hurts me to think about it, so don’t ask me to tell you what occurred. Suffice to say I’ll never recover from damage she afflicted upon me.
I’d not seen or heard from her since she left. I had no idea where she was, and I really didn’t care. So imagine my shock and horror when I answered my phone only to hear her voice.
It was not as I remembered it though, she sounded desperate, scared even. She begged me for my help, but didn’t tell me why. She sobbed, pleaded. ‘I know what I put you through was wrong’, she said, ‘you are a good person I know you are, and despite everything I did, you’d never forgive yourself if something terrible happened that you could have prevented, you’d feel responsible. Come now, please, now ’.
My mind was spinning. She’d tricked me so many times in the past. What if this was another of her wicked games? But something inside me said she really was in danger.
I asked where she was. Appartment four, second floor, Angel House.
The street entrance was open. I rushed up the staircase. I ran along the passage. Her door was ajar. I swung it open. I saw her lying here. I was too late. I sank to my knees.
‘John Sawyer’, said someone from behind me, ‘I’m arresting you for the murder of Pauline Sawyer, you don’t have to …….’
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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Thanks to Jenne Gray and C.E.Ayr for hosting The Unicorn Challenge
© Ayr/Gray
Woah!
Very woah! Thanks, Beth!
Oh hell! That was NOT the way I was expecting this to end. What a gripping tale.
To be honest, neither was I when I started writing!
Don’t you just love that?
I do, it happens often!
For me too 😊
Woah! What drama!! Well played Keith.. I did not foresee that ending!
Delighted to have surprised you, Suzette!
My pleasure, Keith. Cheers.
Oh, that is just brilliant!
That’s so kind of you, Misky.
Well, that was unexpected, Keith, and so well set up.
Her last wicked trick? Or…
Great story.
…or him making the whole story up in the hope he’ll get way with it! Who knows? Even I don’t
How unexpected and engaging this is! It takes a different kind of talent to write gripping plots in short stories. You sure had your reader by the throat!
Coming from a book blogger such as you, that really is a lovely comment. Thanks so much, Asha.
Best murder mystery I’ve read this week! Thanks for the entertaining short story, Keith.
Wow, thank you, Gail!
Well, I’m your pal, old buddy, and I think you did it.
Excellent tale, hurtled us along to great denouement!
Shhh, don’t tell everybody! Thanks though, so glad you liked it.
Brilliant, although he needs a better alibi if he wants to avoid “the big house.”
I tend to agree, Mimi!
Perfect story(ette)!
Checks all the boxes!
Engaging (Full Disclosure: I immediately identified with your protagonist!*)
Urgency (suspense pushes us along the narrative path)
Open-ended ending with a hook. A good story leaves some answers for the Reader to ‘fill in the blanks’. An excellent story puts a wtf?! pillowcase on our heads, drives us out to the countryside and makes us find our own way back. Your story is, of course, the latter.
*the answer to the unasked question, ‘No, at least not directly in their published comments. They (those connecting with your antagonist) would pay lip service** to our lead character, but with an unspoken ‘Well what did he expect? Playing out of his league and all’)
** what an odd phrase… probably should look that up
Thanks for your in-depth analysis and generous words! I just looked up the ‘odd phrase’ to discover it’s been around since the 1500’s,
As much as I love your funnies, Keith, I am always engrossed by your more serious stories and today is no exception. This is riveting, not an unnecessary word throughout. Not disparaging anything you have written thus far but this, IMHO, may be your finest tale of murder, intrigue and suspense. Superb writing, my friend. Absolutely superb!
Nancy, I can’t thank you enough for your kind comment. I mainly write funnies because it’s an underused genre out here in the blogosphere. I’m all for trying to be different!
I agree with you, Keith. I try to interject humor into my stories when I can. So much these days is gloom and doom and I’m guilt of that, too!