"And you say that's the way you found them?" queried Detective Herbert.
"Yes sir, I haven't touched a thing", Melissa's father replied shakily.
"Tell me the story again, slowly", said Detective Herbert.
"Well", came the reply, "Melissa told us she was going over here tonight at eight; she was supposed to be looking at the old man's antiques or something. When she wasn't back by eleven thirty, I came over to see if anything was wrong. I knocked on the door and got no answer. I tried the knob and found the door unlocked. I went in and found the two of them the way you see them. I checked for pulses just in case they might still be alive, but it was hopeless. Why in God's name did this happen? For God's sake, what exactly did happen?"
Herbert replied, "You go on home now, sir. We'll call you tomorrow morning so you can arrange the funeral. I assure you we'll do our best to discover what transpired."
Herbert walked over to the dining room table and pulled up a chair. "Sure wish I had a drink", he thought. "Crazy thing. Old man and young girl found in an embrace at the bottom of the staircase. Normally, that might sound a little kinky, but in this particular instance, it was grotesque. The old man had a broken neck and the girl had a knife buried in her chest." Herbert picked up some papers on the table that appeared to be correspondence. He began reading, fascinated, realizing that his was to be the key that would explain this bizarre occurrence.
"Well, here it is 1982 and I still find the events that took place fifty years ago stuck in my head. That's the trouble with an old man, he can't remember what he did yesterday, but the long ago seems like it just happened. Now, just sit back and listen a bit and I'm gonna tell you about the time this old man was a hero. Nope, nope, weren't a war, not that atall. This story is much different than that. Yesirree, Bob! Had my name in the papers; people'd come up to talk to me I never even seen before.
"Old Frank was sure popular then. But he weren't old; in fact he was only seventeen. Now in case you can't figure it out, I'm old Frank. And back in 1931, I was a hero. But I already said that, didn't I? Well, us old men tend to ramble on a lot, so you just gonna haveta put up with that. I never made it to high school so my writin' ain't too good, but I reckon ya can make it out good enough.
"Now this story started back in 1929. Even though I was only fifteen, I knew that the country was in awful shape. That was the year of the stock market crash, Black Monday they called it. But it weren't just that Monday that was black, it was years, dark black years.
"My Pa he had himself a business painting homes. Did pretty well for himself too. Had a decent house, nothin' fancy mind, but it was nice and the best part was it were paid for. My Ma always said she never had trouble feedin' us with the money Pa brought home. Us bein' me and my sister, Maggie.
"Maggie was twenty-two then and a real looker. She always had plenty of men callin', but it seemed Pa just wasn't happy with any of them. Not good enough for his daughter, he would say to their face. Go on and on about how his Maggie wasn't just one of your ordinary girls. Oh no, his little girl was destined for somethin' big. Her looks and her charm would get her a mayor, a congressman, or some such important man. Most of 'em just lit out before Maggie even made it down the stairs.
"Ya see, things were way different back then. If the father didn't approve of something, then it just wasn't done. Pa was law. And fathers back then were pretty darn particular about who was callin' on their daughters. Not like today when all kindsa weird lookin' guys take girls out and the fathers just smile sadly as they watch their little girls leave with hardly a stitch on and God knows what goin' through their minds. Ah, sorry, guess I got to ramblin' again.
"Now Maggie wasn't too happy about the way Pa just tore into her suitors and scared them all away. But Maggie knew that Pa was the boss and if she didn't like what he did, then at least she better act like she did. Women knew their place back then, even if they did just get the vote.
"Not long after the big crash, Pa's business started to slow up. Seemed people just didn't want their houses painted anymore or maybe they were just doin' it themselves. Pa used to say he was real happy he had the house free and clear and a little nest egg set aside. But still Pa was upset most of the time. Had to fire most of his workers, and it was gettin' to the point to where soon it'd just be Pa and me doin' all the work.
"Pa still kept on to his car and one evening during the week, he and Ma'd go out to the picture show or some such thing. I guess business was on Pa's mind too much 'cause early February 1930, Pa missed a stop sign and him and Ma drove straight into a truck.
"Lost Ma and Pa both. I sure do miss 'em, even now, even though I'm older now than they were back when they died. I still remember when the policemen came to the door and took Maggie and me over to the funeral parlor and told us what happened. Old Maggie just fell apart, went crazy. She started screamin' and hollerin and I couldn't make out any words, just a lot of noise and drool comin' outta her mouth. Then she started pullin' her hair real hard, and some of it came out in clumps. Watchin' Maggie made me forget all about Ma and Pa. Well, the police grabbed her and trussed her up so she couldn't hurt herself anymore. Maggie put up a horrible fight, scratchin' and bitin' anything that came near. They put Maggie in one car and took her to the hospital and they put me in another car and took me over to my Uncle Joe's and Aunt Sally's. They're both gone now, God bless 'em.
"Uncle Joe and Aunt Sally were both real nice to me; both of 'em went out of their way to see that I has as much to eat and as many toys as their own kids did. But it just wasn't the same. I mean, even though they were kin, they just couldn't replace my Ma and Pa.
"I was there near two, three weeks when they told me Maggie was gettin' outta the hospital. Uncle Joe and Aunt Sally sure were worried though. They wanted Maggie to come and live with them a while, but Maggie wouldn't hear of it. She was a strong woman and she said she was gonna live in her own house and she insisted her baby brother come back to live with her.
"Now, old Joe and Sally weren't too keen on that idea. They thought Maggie wasn't old enough to handle all the responsibility of keepin' the house and takin' care of me too. Besides, they knew what happened to Maggie and they thought she still might be a bit touched. But old Maggie just came over and got me and that was that.
"Maggie and me got along pretty well for a while. Ma had showed her how to cook, even though she wasn't near as good as Ma. Pa had saved up quite a little bit of money so Maggie and me didn't have to worry much about that. Maggie sold off what was left of Pa's business and bought some new clothes for both of us.
"The only trouble was that Maggie treated me as if she were my Ma, and me bein' just sixteen then, I wasn't none too happy. Don't misunderstand me now; I loved her as much as any brother could love a sister. But at sixteen, I felt I was a grown man and could make my own way, but Maggie kept on treatin' me like a little boy.
"Spring came and I discovered girls. I musta fallen in love twice a week, I was that bad. Maggie kept tryin' to keep me in, sayin' a young man's place was with his Ma, but hell, she weren't my Ma. I mean, Maggie was seein' men and all and not bein' any too choosy about it, like she was makin' up for the times when Pa would send her suitors away.
"One warm May night, Maggie and her latest beau were goin' out and I was stayin' home. Maggie was real surprised and happy, sayin' that finally I'd got some sense. What Maggie didn't know was that old Frank wasn't plannin' on bein' home alone. On no, I'd fund me a little girl who was showin' me what love was all about.
"Right after Maggie, left, Jenny knocked on the door and we didn't waste any time, just hot-footed it right to my bedroom. Jenny and me went to it like there was no tomorrow. After 'bout an hour, we fell asleep in each other's arms. And that's the way Maggie found us when she came home.
"She started yellin' and howlin' just like when Ma and Pa died, 'cept this time she kept it under control better. It still scared the bejesus outta me and Jenny. She called Jenny all kindsa names and slapped her face once real hard, hard enough where it seemed like I felt it too. Then she told Jenny to get out and said if she ever saw Jenny again, she would tell her Ma and Pa just what kind of girl their daughter really was.
"And when Jenny was gone, Maggie started in on me. First, she was just yellin', sayin' things like I was gonna burn in hell for this and how ashamed Ma and Pa were of me now even though they were dead. Everything got all misty and I realized I was cryin'. Then she hit me, hard, on the face. I was so shook up I just stood there. After that, Maggie went wild. She grabbed my hair and threw me into the wall face first I don't know how many times. When I finally fell down, she kicked me and hit me until I passed out.
"When I woke up, I was sore all over, so sore that I couldn't even move my arms or legs. I tried to look around and my vision was real blurry, but not so bad that I couldn't see Maggie had tied me to the bed. I got scared and started to scream for Maggie to come and untie me. She came in right away, lookin' like a wild woman. She still wore the same dress she had on when she beat me up, 'cept now it was all tore and dirty. Her hair was stickin' out from her head like she been standin' outside in a tornado. She screamed at me to shut up and that scared me even more than I already was, so I screamed some more. Maggie slapped my face until I finally understood that I would keep gettin' slapped until I shut up.
"Well, she says, how's mother's little sinner today? Says she's gonna haveta make me understand how evil I am and how she got to teach me a lesson. Says she really loves me or she wouldn't be so concerned over what I did. Scared the hell outta me, I can tell you. She tied a cloth 'round my mouth so I couldn't scream no more and then she told me my punishment. I was up in the attic, she said, and then I understood why it was so hot. Said she was gonna leave me up here a while with no lights or nothin'. Said I was only gonna get food and water once a day and if I hadta pee or anything, then I'd just have to dirty myself.
"Well, time went by I reckon, but I just lost track of days. Seems like I'd black out from time to time, other times I 'member seein' my sister look like an angel, sometimes like a devil. I can't tell for sure how long I was up there, but I know the whole summer was wasted.
"That was a part of my life I don't 'member too well. I was so weak, old Maggie would have to feed me and it seemed like all I wanted to do was sleep. Right after winter came, I got sick and old Maggie nursed me through the worst spell of influenza I ever had. Lordy, I was sick as a dog.
"Spring came and I began to feel much better. Maggie was actin' almost normal, I mean no crazy spells or nothin' like that, but she insisted on me callin' her Ma. And after what she did to me before, I did what I was told. Bein' as it was nice outside and all and thinkin' 'bout girls again, 'specially Jenny, I asked Maggie if I could get out of the house for a while.
"After all, says I, I'd not been out of the house for almost a year. Maggie nearly hit the ceiling. Said that all I wanted to do was to go out and find that whore Jenny and spend my life in sin. Called me all kindsa names. Well, I may not be too smart, but I was smart enough to know what to do to avoid the pain Maggie put me through last year. I said I was sorry and I didn't really want to go out, I'd much rather be here with her, just the two of us, and I could see it was working. And then when I called her Ma just like she always wanted me to, she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and said she surely did love her only little boy.
"I think I forgot to mention that while Maggie kept me up in the attic, I used to have spells where I'd black out from time to time. Even when I got better and was back in my old room, I'd still black out every once in a while. It was real strange; I never hurt myself. I'd always been sittin' or layin' down and then, pow, I was out. Only sometimes I'd wake up standin' and I'd be in another room, not knowin' how the Sam Hill I got there. Scared the hell outta me. Once I came to and I was standin' in the kitchen holdin' a big butcher knife in my hand. Never told old Maggie 'bout that.
"I'd managed to stay in the house all through the spring, but now summer was here. I had to get out even if wasn't to see Jenny. Just to play baseball or sit in the park, go to the beach, anything, as long as I got out. I knew too that I couldn't talk to Maggie 'bout it or she'd just become a wild woman again. One mornin' while Maggie was goin' out to do some shoppin', I decided I'd wait a few minutes and go out behind her.
"I said goodbye to her and watched her leave and walk up the street from out of my bedroom window. I ran out of the house and looked real careful around the side. No Maggie, but our neighbor, Mr. Carlson, was there trimmin' his roses. Well, hi Frank, he says. I'm surprised to see you. Your sister told me you were real sick every time me or the missus asked about you. How you feelin', boy? I told him I felt much better and that I was sick before. I was just thinkin' 'bout tellin' him 'bout how queer Maggie got when someone grabbed my right arm from behind and whipped me round. Damn if it weren't Maggie! She musta read my mind. Musta walked down our street and then back up the alley. Maggie didn't say anything; she just stood there and I could see she was getting' crazier by the second. Then she slapped me hard on the face. Punched me in the belly and kicked me a few times.
"Mr. Carlson pulled her offa me. I think she was so mad, she didn't even see Mr. Carlson standin' there. Well, she pretended to calm down right away, told Mr. Carlson she was sorry and then came to me and asked if I could ever forgive her. Maggie put her arms round me and I tried to back away, not knowin' what to say. Mr. Carlson asked if I was alright and I just nodded my head up and down. Maggie kept one arm around my shoulder and started to walk me back into the house. Mr. Carlson went into his own house and told his wife 'bout what he just saw. He remembered how Maggie had to be taken away that night Ma and Pa died and said she must still be crazy. Well, Mrs. Carlson told everyone she knew and, in a few days, all the neighbors thought Maggie was still off her rocker. And they were right.
"Maggie took me into the house, still treatin' me sweet as pie. She walked me up the steps to my bedroom and told me to pull off my shirt so she could see if I was bruised or anything. I always just pulled my shirts over my head to take them off. I was still pretty skinny and my clothes were big on me. Well, just as I had my shirt over my head, Maggie lit into me, caught me off my guard. Hit me in the belly, the back, and the legs. My shirt was stuck over my head with the arms up and Maggie used it to bounce my head off the wall. I remember bouncing a few times and then I blacked out again.
"I woke up with Maggie standin' over me. I thought she was gonna start all over again, but she was real nice. Said she didn't like to hurt her little boy, but she had to punish him when he was bad. She hugged me and kissed me and asked me not to be bad anymore. I reckon I don't need to say I agreed right away.
"Now all this time while I was bein' kept in the house, Maggie had kept on seein' her fellas. Most of the time, she'd go out with 'em, but after my talkin' to Mr. Carlson, she didn't trust me alone at night, so she'd invite 'em over.
"I was sleepin' in my room and I heard Maggie fightin' with her fella. I got up and sat on the landing to listen and I heard her slap him. sounded like she was treatin' him the same way she treated me.
"Well, I guess I blacked out again. When I came to, I was holdin' a big butcher knife in my hand and I was standin' over Maggie and her fella. They were both cut up somethin' fierce and I figured they were dead. I ran over to the Carlson place and told Mr. Carlson I heard the fight and ran downstairs. Maggie was already slashin' away at her fella and I wrestled the knife away from her. She came at me and I didn't have any choice but to kill her. I mean, I couldn't help it; I knew what would have happened to me if Maggie woulda got that knife away from me.
"Well, the police came and questioned me and at first they thought I was guilty. But they talked to all the neighbors and they stood up for me, 'specially the Carlson's. Mr. Carlson, he told the police how Maggie kept me locked up and how she even beat me up in front of him one day. Mr. Carlson told them too how crazy Maggie got when Ma and Pa died. So the police figured I was innocent. Then the newspaper reporters came over. Asked me all 'bout Maggie and the killin' and such and they made me a hero. Said my sister was crazy and she used to beat me up and how I tried to save her fella and then had to save myself.
"Well, everyone knew me then. Old Frank was happy to be alive again. Yesirree! But then the nightmares came. They were always the same and they'd come 'bout every night. I was back in the house on the night of the killin'. I watched Maggie and her fella argue. I stood in the doorway with a knife in my hand and finally ran up to Maggie. I caught her unawares. I stabbed her chest and her face and when she put her arms up to block the knife, I stabbed them too. Her fella tried to get the knife away from me, but I stabbed him too; before I was done, he was as dead as Maggie. And then I always wake up, sweatin' like I was next to a furnace shovelin' coal.
"I had those nightmares nigh on ten years and finally they started to go away. Then I went a long time with no bad dreams atall. But 'bout a year ago, I started to have a new kind of nightmare. Maggie said she was comin' back and this time she was gonna kill me. Said she would make me look like a butchered pig and I didn't doubt for a minute that she would. This nightmare came to me every night 'til the new people moved into the Carlson place next door. There are three of 'em, Mr. and Missus, about forty-five and a pretty little girl 'bout twenty name of Melissa.
"Now the name was different, but everything else is the same. She looks like Maggie, smiles like Maggie, walks and talks same as Maggie. I knew I'd haveta get to her afore she got to me, but I didn't know what to do. Then, one warm day I was tendin' to my garden, old Maggie-Melissa asks me if she could come over and see my place from the inside, said she heard I had a lot of nice antiques. I knew that she would try to kill me then, but I figured I would just haveta stay one step ahead of her. I said sure, come on over, I'd be delighted to have you see the house again, Maggie. She looked at me a little queer. I think she figured I'd caught on to her new self. I said come on over tomorrow night at eight, and she said fine, she'd be there.
"That's the reason I figured I'd best write this story, just so people know what happened in case she gets me.
Last Updated January 7, 2007
All original material © Mike Dubrick 1998-2007. All rights reserved.
