The icy fingers of fear crawled up my spine
before constricting around my lungs. In true gossip form, the ladies gave me
the latest scoop.
“From what I hear, Mandy was supposed to go to dinner
with his grandmother Sunday night. When he didn’t show up, his mom called him.
She didn’t get an answer so she thought maybe he’d forgotten but she kept
leaving messages and he didn’t call back. She called his cell phone and his number
here and she still didn’t get an answer. Apparently, she got so worried she went
to his house last night. His car was there and his TV was left on but he was
nowhere to be found. She called the cops and they started an investigation.”
My stomach froze into a
block of dread…cops interviewing the staff was bad news. I sat in my cubicle
waiting for them to come get me but they never did. Cory and Sherry, as I
learned on the ride home, spent a long time talking with the officers. While
they were being questioned, a detective called them and said Mandy appeared to
have left willingly. A bag and much of his clothing was gone so the interviews
ended.
Knowing I had dodged a bullet impressed
upon me the need to end my foolishness and just get rid of Mandy. Playtime was
officially over! Besides, I was ready to get back to a normal life again. The
trick was figuring out how to kill Mandy and get rid of his body.
“Hello?!? Anybody home?”
Startled, I looked up and we
were sitting in Cory’s driveway. The car was off and both Cory and Sherry were
standing outside looking at me.
“Wow, you were a million miles away, there.”
I could feel a blush burning
my cheeks but I knew they didn’t mind. Cory playfully punched my shoulder and
Sherry placed a kiss on my scarlet cheek.
“He’s so adorable when he blushes.”
Cory groaned and went
inside. Sherry and I spent some time together before she went home for dinner.
I knew I needed to get my butt in gear, quit goofing around, and just kill
Mandy already.
I stormed into the house, locked my doors,
and went directly to the basement. Usually when I flung open the door, Mandy
would pretend he was sleeping but the involuntary twitch his body made, proved
he was aware that I’d entered. This time there was no reaction. I tapped him on
the shoulder and he did not move. In no mood to play games, I took my knife and
stabbed his arm. Still, there was no movement. It was then that I realized he
wasn’t breathing. His chest didn’t move up and down in respiration. When I
pulled his head back, Mandy’s eyes were open and didn’t even flinch when I
touched his eyeball. I felt for a pulse but he was dead. Relief washed over me.
In truth, I didn’t know if I could really look him in the eyes and kill him,
face to face.
What I learned later was that Mandy had
been a diabetic and I hadn’t given him any insulin. Between the stress, multiple
infections, shock to his system, dehydration, lack of food and then a sudden
influx of sugar, Ketoacidosis shut down his system for good. I just needed to
dispose of the body and I would be home free.
I stuffed Mandy in the trunk of my car and
started to pull out of the garage when Sherry came running across the
lawn. I rolled down the window and, of
course, she asked where I was going. Dumbfounded, I didn’t have an answer so I
said I was going to hit a drive-thru for dinner. Big mistake! She forced me to
come with her to her house and eat dinner there. By the time I ate, chatted
with the family, and had dessert, it was late. I was too tired to do much of
anything so I chucked Mandy back into the root cellar and decided to wait until
the next night.
At work, I sucked down coffee all afternoon
so I’d be able to stay up long after Sherry had gone to bed. I plotted out the
logistics and knew I had a solid plan for getting rid of the body. It was just
a matter of waiting out the day. Just like any other day, I rode home with Cory
and Sherry. Cory went home while Sherry and I walked hand-in-hand to my house.
I can remember it like it was yesterday…. She was in mid-story about something Ruby-the-cat had done as we walked in through the front door. One second I was
facing her, the next I was jacked up against the wall. Sherry’s screams echoed
in my ear as a gruff voice snarled at me.
“You’re under arrest for the murder of Darren Mann. You
have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be used against you
in a court of law.”
Once the cuffs were snapped
around my wrists, the cop spun me around. My mother was sitting in a chair
sobbing as officers fluttered about bringing her a glass of water and tissues.
“I-I-I c-came t-t-to visit m-m-my son and,” for effect,
Mom paused to make sure all eyes were on her as she dabbed at the tears. “I
decided to do some laundry and I smelled something awful down there. I’d
assumed an animal had gotten trapped in the root cellar and died. When I opened
the door….Oh, God! It wasn’t an animal. It was a man and he’d been mutilated.”
“No, Mom, you’re wrong. He was an animal.”
Of all the dumb luck….My mom
decided to visit. I hadn't heard from her in months but she just happened to pop in, out of the blue. No doubt she hoped to bum some money or try to steal more of Grandma’s
silver. If she’d just waited one more day or if she’d bothered to call me to
say she was coming none of this would have happened. It wasn’t until I heard
Sherry whimper that I realized they’d cuffed her too. I cleared her immediately
and, when the shock passed, they could tell she was truly innocent.
In the days and months that followed, I’ve
thought long and hard about what I’d done. I know I can never make any of you
understand why I did what I did but I did it because I love my family. I did
it to protect them because they’d been bullied their whole lives. I did it
because Cory was the closest I’d ever come to having a brother and Sherry was,
and is, the love of my life.
I was just writing the words, “The End”
when I heard the cell door clang open. The guards and the warden were standing
there, waiting for me
“You ready to go?”
“Would it matter if I said no?”
The guards half-heartedly
chucked but I guess they’d heard that line before. The shackles were clamped to
my hands and feet. With one guard on each side of me, they linked their arm
around mine as if we were “off to see the wizard”. I supposed that was so they
could drag me in if I refused to walk. I didn’t though….not even when “The Chair”
was in my line of sight. I listened as they read the decree while the guards at
my side strapped me in and put the electrodes on me. Most of it sounded like
Charlie Brown’s teacher, “Wah wah wah wha”, until the warden said:
“Electricity shall be passed through your body until you
are dead. Do you have any last words?”
I looked out at the people
there to watch me fry. Cory and Sherry were permitted to come but Cory was not
there. Sherry sat alone, sobbing. Mandy’s family was there. I remembered them
from the trial. Mom didn’t bother. I’m sure she was busy hocking all of
Grandma’s stuff.
“Do you have any last words?”
“Yes. The papers got it wrong. They usually do. This
wasn’t a hate crime…at least not in the traditional sense of the word. I didn’t
care that he was a cross-dresser or that his sexual preference was “anything
goes”. Those things don’t matter to me. What people do in the privacy of their
own bedroom is their business, not mine. No, my motive had nothing to do with
his slinky dresses and wigs; it was all about the person under the mask.
Sometimes, no matter how much makeup a person spackles onto their face, they
can’t hide the ugliness inside…”
***Mandy made have concluded but there is something new brewing for July. Be sure to return on Monday, June 30th to get a sneak peek!***
