Paranormal Short Story – Natural Causes
Photo credit: blary54 from morguefile.com
The holding cell was over-packed. People, in various states and types of dress and undress waited their turn. Some of them were naked, most drugged and a few still engaged in their fetishes. Halloween did bring out the crazy.
Huddled against the front glass, sat Ted Landry. He’d been arrested fifteen minutes ago, coming out of a restaurant after an unsatisfactory and expensive dinner. Not aware of why he was arrested, he waited for his eventual turn to be questioned by the cops. Must be some sort of misunderstanding, he thought to himself. Or maybe Toni had called 911 after he’d hit her…
A familiar voice broke his reverie. His wife Antonia –Toni- stood before him across the glass barrier.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Uh-yeah… I mean are you okay? Wait a sec- there’s blood on your forehead-”
“No-no,” she interrupted. “I’m fine. I’ll get you out of here. You’ll be free soon,” she said before whispering, “forever.”
“I love you babe,” Ted lied. “I’m sorry I hit you.”
“No you’re not!” Toni scowled, looking through his lies- and added, “But you will be.”
With that, she turned around and disappeared into the thick crowd in the room.
*****
TEN MINUTES LATER…
“Get me number thirteen,” Detective Thomas ‘Tommy’ Hart said to the uniformed officer seated across him. “Ted Landry. Bring him to Interrogation Room One.”
The officer returned three minutes later.
“Sir! Landry’s dead.”
“What? How?”
“The M.E. will perform the autopsy of course, but it looks like he died of natural causes… there was some blood on his forehead – probably his, but his injury doesn’t seem fatal… The M.E. is on his way over, we will know more soon.”
“Why was he arrested?” Hart asked, sighing.
“His wife Antonia was found dead two hours ago. Neighbors said they fought often- and that he’s hit her.”
“And how’d she die?” Hart asked.
“Someone hit her and she crashed into the sharp edge of a glass table, forehead first… death from severe blood loss.”
“That’s a freaky coincidence.”
“Sir? What do I do with Russel?”
“File the paperwork; he died of Natural Causes.”
__END__
