Suspense Short Story – Killer Jeans (Killer Jeans Series – Part 1)
Photo credit: jzlomek from morguefile.com
At twelve minutes to lunch time, Shivani was getting restless. She couldn’t wait to go shopping with Roohi, her colleague and close friend since the beginning of their one year old careers together at Paribhasha Telecommunications. Roohi looked equally restless. They were going out on a double date that night, with two very cute guys they had met last week at the bar across the street.
On the dot at one o’clock, both sprung up from their seats and after a small fit of the giggles hurried to the mall nearby. Roohi suggested they check out her favourite boutique first. Shivani really needed a pair of jeans and this was a good place to start.
It was love at first sight for Shivani. Those jeans looked scorching hot on that mannequin. She asked the assistant for a pair in her size and went to check them out. They looked sexier on her than on the inanimate model, she thought smugly. Roohi was impressed too, “You know, you have a delicious-looking arse!”.
“I know, right?”, replied Shivani as she swished her tush about for added effect. Another laughter attack, a dress for Roohi and a quick lunch later, they were back at their desks to daydream away till the clock struck five.
The date was lovely, both Akash and Sumeet such perfect gentlemen. The girls were dropped off at Roohi’s where it was decided they could do with some more dessert. Out came a tub of London Dairy’s strawberry ice cream, which was nearly wiped clean. Shivani was so full she could have burst out of her new jeans. “Killer jeans, hon! I bet Akash wanted to get into them tonight!”, said Roohi followed by a lewd wink. Another predictable bout of laughing and Shivani decided to call it a night.
On her way home, she thought about what Roohi had said. Akash was a very good guy, he’d make a great boyfriend..
Just two blocks short of her apartment, something in the shadows broke her train of thought and she instinctively reached for the pepper spray she always carried in her handbag. She turned around swiftly but saw no one, and turned back to continue walking. Suddenly an arm grabbed her in a headlock and another forceful hand jammed her mouth shut. She bit the arm as hard as she could, then turned around when it slackened and made a run for it. She got to her flat as quickly as her legs could carry her, bolted the doors and fell asleep the very second she hit the living room sofa.
A commotion outside on the streets woke her up at the crack of dawn. Everybody looked pretty worked up, so she put her housecoat on and went down to check it out herself. A crowd had gathered at the very same spot where last night’s scary incident had occurred. There were milkmen, paper vaalas, policemen and a few neighbours she recognized. She peered through the crowd and saw a corpse lying on the middle of the road. Khanna Uncle pulled her back from the crowd saying, “Beta, this is not for your young eyes. Somebody has strangled this guy so bad his eyes have popped out and his tongue is lolling out. It is too gruesome!” From whatever little she had glimpsed, Shivani could tell it was last night’s perp, but which animal could have done this to anybody? The thought made her shiver.
As she walked back to her apartment, she overheard a policeman say, “Why would the murderer empty an entire can of pepper spray in his mouth after killing him? Only the devil!”. Shivani got back home and crumpled into her sofa. Just as she was dozing off, her hand touched something cold wedged into the side of the sofa. It was an empty can of pepper spray.
Shivani called in sick. She stared all day at the jeans she had discarded as soon as she realized what she had done. It was the only explanation; her killer jeans had killed a man.
Roohi came to check on her after work and found her curled into a ball on her bed. She made up fake fun stories of what happened at work to cheer Shivani up, but nothing would do.
“Hey, can I borrow these jeans, I want to wear them tomorrow night.”
“You know what? Keep them!”
“Are you see-rious?!”
“Yes, they’re not all that great anyway..”
“Okay, you’re really bothered about something, aren’t you? What is it?”
“Nothing! Let’s bake a cake!”
“Phew!”, thought Shivani after Roohi finally left. “Good riddance to bad rubbish! Roohi can handle such sh*t!”
The next day at work, Roohi was wearing those jeans. She walked up to Shivani’s desk to say, “Nothing quite the bomb but I do look like a firecracker in it”. This time she giggled alone.
“Come on! What’s the matter with you!?”
“Nothing, where are you going tonight?”
“Petsitting for my neighbour, yaar. Can my life get any worse?”, Roohi said with dramatically flailing arms. Shivani ignored the rhetoric and simply asked her to get home early.
At about 8pm Shivani stepped out of the shower and checked her mobile phone. 13 missed calls from Roohi. “Uh oh..” She called her back immediately, but couldn’t hear a word Roohi was saying. After a few minutes Roohi stopped sobbing and said, “I’ve strangled my neighbour’s dog, Shivani, what am I going to do?”
***
(to be continued)
