I tilted my head back and let the last few drops of coffee fall into my mouth. I vigorously rubbed at my eyes as I walked into my office. I rolled my eyes, “What is it this time boss?”.
He got out of his chair and slapped me on the back, “Don’t look so glum Rookie, I got you a case.” he yapped, dragging a chair to the opposite side of the table.
“Last time you said that you had me looking for some guy’s grandparents.” I groaned, sitting back into the chair. He slammed a paper file onto the desk, “Don’t worry rook, I got you a murder.”
I sat up and leaned my arms on the desk.
He chuckled, “Knew that’d get ya interested.”
Lord I hated his guts: he was a 50-year-old man-child with no sense of dignity whatsoever, making corny jokes at the wrong time and picking his nose like a toddler. As he slid the file across the table, I clamped down with one hand and opened the file with the other. I drew back a breath, it couldn’t be.
“Five deaths two years ago, all ruled an accident until now” he said as I leafed through the file.
“So, you’re making me investigate an imaginary killer?” I questioned, wiping my sweaty palms across the top of my jeans.
“Well not exactly, see these deaths are already really suspicious” he pointed out, flipping back to the first page of the document. “This eighty-year-old man was found washed up on the shore of a surf beach, what kind of eighty-year-old goes surfing.”
I had to admit he was right; it was horribly executed. “But that’s not where it ends. We recently found something at each crime scene, a calling card of sorts.”
He continued flipping towards the back of the file. “At each scene he left a sprinkle of flower petals,” he pointed at a picture of a familiar flower petal on the ground of every scene. I let out a small gasp. “It’s a…,” he mumbled as he struggled for words.
“Chrysanthemum” I finished him off as I stared at the beautiful orange petals in a small pile.
“Yeah, how’d you know” he said pushing his finger in his nose and giving it a good twist. “Gardening’s a bit of a hobby of mine.” I shrugged cringing as he slowly pulled his finger out of his nose. “Really now!” he laughed, “I thought your only hobbies were murder and chess” he wheezed and leaned back into his chair in a fit of laughter.
“Ha-ha very funny,” I begrudgingly replied, shooting him a dirty look. I swear one day I was gonna kill him.
“Anyway, I’m thinking these murders are the work of a hitman.”
I nodded, and got up, nonchalantly slipping the file into my bag. I let out a sigh of relief, walking out the door. “I’ll call you if I get anything” I shouted back as I waved to him. I couldn’t let him know that I was playing dumb.
I walked back to my desk and grabbed my jacket, slinging it over my shoulder. I strolled out of the building and entered my car, an old rusty sedan. I slid over the worn leather seat, the foam protruding from the holes and turned the key.
As the clock hit 3:00 I pulled into my driveway. I walked up towards my doorstep stepping through a petrol rainbow. I sighed, I needed to get that leak sorted soon. I walked through the door and into the living door, closing it behind me. I walked over to my marble chess table and picked up the neatly stacked set of papers, leafing through them before scrunching them up and throwing them into the fireplace one by one.
As the last ball entered, I struck a match and tossed it in. The small flame began to grow, consuming each ball one by one. Finally, the final sheet finished burning, a stack of ash lying at the bottom of the fireplace.
I sweeped it into a dustpan and dumped it into the garden, coughing from the smoke of dust left behind.
I descended the old mahogany wooden stairs and felt my way through the dark for the light switch. I missed and smacked my palm against the wall. I ran my hand across the wall waiting for the little bump where the light switch would be.
I Got it. I flicked the switch on and walked towards the bookshelf in the corner of the room, the lights still flickering on. I pushed the bookshelf to the side and was met with a single sheet of paper before me, stuck to the wall. The sheet was torn and tattered, crumpled and discoloured. I ran my finger across the lines of numbers and stopped.
I whipped my phone out of my pocket and dialled the numbers in. After about 10 rings the phone was finally picked up. “it’s been a while man what’s up,” the warm familiar voice greeted, the signal tearing up at various intervals.
“I’m gonna keep this quick, you need to delete all records.” I whispered, my voice unsteady and distressed.
“What’s going on man, why?”
“Just do it.” I firmly answered, hanging up the phone. I walked out of the basement, shutting and locking the door.
I walked back upstairs and opened the fridge, grabbing a half empty bottle of beer. I sat down at the desk and tilted my head back, drinking the entire beer in one draught, the chilled slightly bitter amber liquid pricking at my throat. I grabbed another. This case was bringing back memories that I’d rather have left buried. The rest of the night went by in a blur, drinking an entire 6 pack on my own. I chuckled at how pathetic I was, before my head slammed down on the desk with a dull thud.
I jolted awake, my body covered in sweat. I looked at the clock on the wall, 3:00 AM. I must have fallen asleep. As I got up my phone started ringing. I reached towards the table. “Hey rook, there’s been another one.” The commissioner hurriedly told me.
“What do you mean another?” I asked, tensing up.
“The hitman.” My heart sunk
“You sure?” this had to be a mistake, I was sure of it.
“Yup, he left the same calling card and everything.”
‘’ Aight, I’ll be there as soon as I can” I answered
“Also this time he left us a note, it says ‘Pawn to D4, your move — Kasparov’.”
I hung up the phone and walked into my closet. I pushed aside the clothes and stepped behind them, an arsenal of weapons before me, still pristine and charcoal black. I had quit the business three years ago, but if someone wanted to attack my reputation, I couldn’t let that go by quietly.
Written explanation –
I don’t think my short story has any themes. I didn’t have much inspiration from any short stories, however I tried to incorporate the things used in a few of the short stories we used in class like dialogue from cat in the rain. My main idea for this short story was to give small hints throughout the story to get the reader thinking before finally revealing the twist at the end. I think I did the dialogue quite well, however I could have used some better words and vocabulary. I had to do a little bit of research for my story, for example chrysanthemums, in many Asian and European cultures are symbolic of death and are a common flower used in funeral or put on gravestones. I feel like I tried to cram a bit too much into 1100 words
