A Murder Mystery

Happy Birthday

The icing of the triple layered chocolate cake did not look so tasty anymore. The balloons no longer gave off the celebratory feel. The presents did not look like something absolutely wonderful that could be tucked under rainbow-coloured wrapping paper. But the ribbon binding the presents did look peculiarly tighter than it did before when Leah Anne graciously accepted her birthday presents into her arms.

Her heart raced. Her palms were sweaty. Her vision blurred. Her mind was still in shock. She wanted to scream for help but no voice came out. No one was watching so no one would hear her anyways. She was going to die and no one would find her. “Will people miss me?” she wondered. Ten minutes ago she was skipping around with her friends, and now she was going to die.

It was beautiful for a Sunday afternoon in mid fall when the leaves decorated the grass and the aroma of fresh pumpkin pie roamed the streets. Leah Anne stood on the back porch and scanned the backyard to make sure all guests were picked up. Her searching eyes stopped at Jill who looked very still, leaning against the blueberry bush beside the aging picnic bench. Jill’s green eyes were wide open and looked still like those of a doll. Leah Anne found it odd. Jill’s eyes looked so still she could be...

            “Mum! Come quick!” Leah Anne beckoned her mom to come. Mrs. Freisan was still bustling about in the kitchen when she heard Leah Anne’s call. She dropped the dirty dishes in the soapy sink and walked to the back porch to see what the raucous was all about.

“Yes Lans?”she asked as she made her way to her six-year-old daughter. Leah Anne stepped back and Mrs. Freisan gasped as she saw Jill’s wide opened eyes, pale face, and unmoving body.

“Should I call the ambulance?” Leah Anne nervously asked her mother.

“Yes, Lans,” quivered Mrs. Freisan, looking as if she were about to faint. Mrs. Freisan was never the type for dealing with emergencies; she has always been queasy.

Shortly after the local police dispatch received an urgent call from the Friesan’s home in the midday, the blaring sirens disrupted Bedford drive. It was too late by the time the officers and paramedics arrived, for Mrs. Freisan had already collapsed on the leaf covered grass. Leah Anne tried her best to answer the police officers’ questions but did not understand the big words they were saying half the time. Leah Anne was taken to the hospital, where Mrs. Freisan was staying in the emergency wing.

Little did Jill’s parents know that their biggest fear, of their daughter being a victim of the life-taking seizure, became reality. Jill’s parents were crushed when they heard the news of their daughter. Jill’s mother’s side of the family had a long history of epileptic seizures. Though filing for a divorce and undergoing a difficult situation, both Jill’s parents could not mask their utter devastation when being told their daughter had a seizure attack. Their precious daughter, their only child, was gone forever.

***

What the police and investigators found were of no irregularity: wrapping paper, confetti, cake smeared paper plates, plastic utensils. Seeing no physical evidence on the Friesan’s property, the police resorted to direct evidence and began the interrogation process. All the parents of birthday guests were called into the police station and even some of Leah Anne’s bolder friends accompanied them. The testimonies had minor differences; all of which shared the same account of not remembering Jill disappearing at all. However, the excitement and amusement of the party left little to no “boredom” or “spare time” for party guests to wonder if their friends were all around them.

The pretend clown and princess walked into the police station. Both guests claimed that they did not know who Jill was, let alone where she had gone.

***

Upon further investigation on Jill’s six year old body, the officers found remnants from the sparkle wand and some faded red marks smeared all over Jill’s jaw and behind her neck, hidden behind her red hair. The red marks looked like faded face paint that someone was trying desperately to rub off.

***

Leah Anne and her mother were still in shock. Along with Julian, Leah Anne’s older brother, they stayed with Jill’s family for the time being while their house was still under investigation for the next couple of days. Leah Anne and Jill had been best friends since the first day of day care, so the Friesans often got together with Jill’s family. Jill’s mother was sweet and welcoming while Jill’s father was stern and spoke very little.

One night after getting ready for bed, Julian felt thirsty and went downstairs to get a glass of water. On the way back to his room, Julian was stopped short by a course whisper.

“Our daughter, our, beloved daughter,” Jill’s father breathed.

“I know, but what can we do? Tell me, what…”

Julian was so engaged in listening to the dialogue his overly filled glass of water began to tip over and the water started to damp the velvet carpet. He quickly tiptoed back into his bedroom and tucked himself into bed.

***

The next morning, Mr. Drab showed up at the front door of Jill’s house. Mr. Drab, a close of Mr. Friesan’s, was an investigator trained in analyzing autopsy reports. He had investigated many cases with epileptic seizure victims. With Jill, however, her small 6- year old body looked perfectly normal, it was only her face that looked disturbing. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes gave off that same chilling and desperate stare. None of the symptoms of epileptic seizure were present on Jill’s body. This left Mr. Drab to conclude that rather Jill’s death wasn’t a matter of genetics, it was a homicide.

***

            Mr.Drab asked the clown to return to the police station and proceeded with interrogation. Mr. Drab tested the face paint on the clown’s face and found that it was identical to the smears founded on Jill’s neck but only faded. The clown was immediately arrested at the station.

            Although it was with great triumph at the police station that the case was closed, Mr. Drab had a hunch that there was a different story behind the murder. His twenty five years of experience in solving homicide cases have given him a second nature of verifying his instincts and not jumping to the obvious conclusions. While the other detectives at his office delved into other cases, Mr. Drab remained hesitant to move on. He decided to go back to the Friesan’s property and give it one last look before letting Mrs. Friesan, Leah Anne, and Julian back into their home.

***

            Mr. Drab pushed aside the screen door from the back porch and walked into the quaint kitchen. The mountain of birthday presents still sat beside the dining table, untouched. Mr. Drab walked over to the presents and admired its vibrant colours, so bright, so attractive. It was hard to believe that a murder would happen to such an innocent child at such an event. He shrugged off the unease he felt and turned to walk to the foyer area when something caught the corner of his eye. He turned back to look, but only saw the same inviting stash of presents. He turned to the foyer one more time. Once again, he looked at the presents, but this time his eyes zoned in on one present covered in bubble gum pink and bright golden yellow gift wrap. He slipped on his gloves and reached out to the present. Dr. Drab cautiously picked up the present and noticed that a short but sturdy piece of ribbon floated towards the floor.  The ribbon looked like it was once supposed to embellish and wrap neatly around the present but it looked too short to be used in that sense. His eyes scrutinized the piece of ribbon and saw that there were tear marks. Someone must have ripped the ribbon.

***

Dr. Drab sat in his office and could not recall where he had seen that ribbon. He was almost completely sure that he had seen it before. Was it at the party? Was it during the interrogation process? Did the clown have the ribbon attached somewhere? In his head, Dr. Drab replayed everything that happened on the day of the murder when the police arrived at the scene. He remembered walking into the backyard where there was a picnic bench covered with dried up face paint and some broken pieces of laytex balloons. A woman was lying face down. A little girl was trying to wake the woman lying face down, and then there was the victim sitting like a doll against the bush. Dr. Drab gasped. He remembered where he last saw the ribbon. He replayed the image in his mind to confirm his recollection. A tiny bit of the violet colour poked out of the woman’s back jean pocket, giving off a slight glint in the afternoon sun. It was the exact same shade of violet as the one Dr. Drab held in his hand when he investigated the scene the last time. Images flashed through Dr. Drab’s mind: the ribbon he held when investigating the property, the ribbon in the woman’s back pocket, Jill’s wide opened eyes and ghostly pale face. Everything began to make sense to Dr. Drab.

***

Leah Anne’s brother Julian had missed the conversation between Jill’s father and the woman in the living room the other day when he went downstairs to get a glass of water. Had he stayed just a bit longer, he would’ve been able to make out of the sound of the woman’s voice, for it was not Jill’s mother’s.

“Our daughter, our, beloved daughter,” Jill’s father breathed.

“I know, but what can we do? Tell me, what we can do?” Mrs. Friesan’s whispered softly and urgently.

“I guess you’re right,” Jill’s father relaxed a bit as Mrs. Friesan made her way over to his lap.

“Now, nothing is in your way of the divorce,” smiled Mrs. Friesan, “we got rid of the only thing that was in the way.”

Jill’s father managed to squeeze a tiny smile as he looked into the eyes of Mrs. Friesan. He always felt so safe when with her.

THE END