Short Stories from English Class

Looks Can Kill, But So Can Paper Mache

Detective Jennifer Halls surveyed the crime scene directly in front of her. A man's body lay on the cave ground. He was wearing an apron with a nametag on it that read, "Gilbert Smith, Cafe Coffee." No blood was present anywhere on the barista's body, but his face was plastered in paper dripping with some liquid. Jennifer stepped closer and leaned down to identify the material. She wasn't officially supposed to do this, but she quickly stuck her finger in the goo and held it up to her nose. Glue. The killer had coated the victim's face with paper mache.

Jennifer gasped and shouted, "Elena! Write this down: Victim is a Cafe Coffee barista named Gilbert Smith. No blood found in the area or on the body. Face is coated in paper mache. Victim may have suffocated."

The detective's twenty-two-year-old assistant, Elena Johnson, jotted down the information in her notebook. "Yes, ma'am."

Jennifer glanced up from the barista and looked around the cave. Cave paintings covered the walls, possibly from ancient cavemen. She swished her blonde hair behind her shoulder and stood, walking toward a particularly stunning illustration of a bear. There was an incredible amount of detail for the simplist style cave paintings usually consisted. The woman raised her hand and gingerly touched the art. She was expecting smooth stone, or maybe even a chalky substance, but she definitely did not expect the wall to be sticky.

Taking a step back, Jennifer brought her hand to her face. The distinct smell of glue once again hit her nostrils. She leaned forward once more and studied the area she had touched more closely. There was a white dot on the eye of the bear. She had originally assumed it was meant to be a highlight, but now she realized it wasn't part of the artwork. She looked farther down and to the left of the painting and spotted another speck of white. Testing the liquid and finding more dots, Jennifer made her way slowly down the cave wall.

Elena stood still beside the body, careful not to touch anything. She started her job only a week prior, and she needed it to help pay off her student debts. The tall skinny brunette watched as her boss moved along the cave wall, touching it and smelling her hand every so often. Elena sighed, wishing she could be of more service. The best she could do was write notes.

The young assistant glanced down at her pink nails absentmindedly. When she turned her hand over, a drop of something fell from the ceiling. She rubbed her hand on her leg, thinking it was water from the roof of the cave. When her hand stuck to her leg, she became slightly worried. Another drop of glue fell onto her black heel. One more on the ground. Drops began falling faster and faster, but only from above her.

Elena worriedly looked toward the ceiling, but it was too dark to see anything. Glue hit her hair. With a quick glance to the side, Detective Halls was still occupied with the walls. Elena opened her mouth to mention the glue when something larger fell onto the ground in front of her. She screamed as it shattered on the floor and something flew in the air toward her.

Pieces of a glass jar littered the cave floor and a wooden paintbrush rolled to a stop at Elena's shoes. A huge splatter of glue stained the ground.

Jennifer quickly sprinted to the scene, shouting, "Elena! Elena! What is it?"

Elena took a few deep breaths, realizing she had no need to be frightened. A jar of glue holding a paintbrush had merely fallen off a ledge or something of the sort and crashed on the ground. There was no real danger.

"Mrs. Halls, I think someone might have used the glue and paintbrush from that jar to paper mache the victim," Elena stated, her voice a little bit shaky. "I don't think the--"

The girl abruptly stopped talking and held a finger to her lips. Thomp. A noise made its way to Jennifer's ears. Thomp. It sounded like something coming this way. Thomp. Or someone. Thomp. It sounded oddly familiar. Thomp. Like... footsteps. Thomp.

Detective Halls grabbed her assistant's arm and yanked her behind a large ledge jutting out of the wall. Thomp. There was someone in the cave with them.

Elena peeked over the ledge, curious. She didn't know what the noise was, but she thought it might be a clue as to who killed the barista. A shadowing figure appeared out of the darkness.

"Elena! Get down, now!" Jennifer whisper-yelled, tugging on Elena's shirt. The brunette stayed standing, squinting her eyes to get a closer look. The figure was closer now, and she could identify some features. The person was wearing a mask and was fully covered in black clothing. The person stopped when they saw Elena. They turned around and took off in the other direction.

Elena leaped from behind the rock and sprinted after the mysterious figure, gaining on them. She stumbled in her heels but caught up to the suspect, grabbing them from behind. The mask snapped off of the person's face and Elena realized it was a woman. She had short, choppy black hair and a dainty nose. While Elena gaped at the lady in black, Detective Halls ran up and held her badge in the air.

The black-haired lady raised her hands above her head and pleaded, "Please, don't hurt me. I promise I didn't mean to." Jennifer lowered her badge, confused.
    "Didn't mean to do what?" the detective questioned suspiciously. "Didn't mean to paper mache that man's face?" Elena looked at her boss, stunned that she so blatantly accused this newly found suspect. Jennifer held a finger to her lips and turned back to the lady.

"I couldn't help it... I just couldn't!" Black-Hair cried, tears welling up in her eyes. "He was just so... It wasn't my fault!"

The detective and her assistant couldn't believe it, this random lady was basically admitting to the entire crime. But what did she mean when she said it wasn't her fault.

"Elaborate. Now," Jennifer ordered. Elena nodded along.

Black-Hair wailed and covered her face in her hands. "He was just so... so... I can't picture him. It's too painful." She peeked through her fingers at the other two and swallowed. "I had to do it. I couldn't look at him anymore. I didn't think it would kill him!"

The pair looked at each other and back at the suspect.

"His face was so horrid, I held in vomit every time I looked at him. I couldn't imagine being married to that, that face! I had to do something. But I swear, I didn't mean for it to go this far! I loved him! Please believe me!"

Black-Hair grabbed Jennifer's hands in her own. "Please," she pleaded.

Jennifer snatched her hands away and asked, "First off, what is your name? Why are you telling us this? What happened?"

The lady replied, "My name is Naomi Davis. I'm an artist, and I'm Gilbert's fiance. Well, I was Gilbert's fiance. And I'm telling you this because I can't live with the guilt. I came here to see him one last time, but when you caught me I just felt the urge to spill everything. I can't keep it to myself any longer." She swallowed and looked at her hands. "As to what happened... I had some extra strips of paper and glue leftover from my last art project. Gilbert was standing near them, and I was just overcome with the urge to cover his face. His horrible, disgusting face. He was very ugly, and I just couldn't stand it anymore. It was too much. So, I grabbed a stool near me and knocked him over the head. He passed out and I went to work. When I realized what I had done, I cried and cried and cried. I had coated his face in too many strips with too much glue, and he couldn't breathe. I just... I just couldn't look at that face anymore."

Jennifer and Elena's jaws dropped in shock. The victim's killer was his fiance, and she killed him because he was too ugly. No one spoke for a moment until a sound broke the silence. A giggle came from the brunette. Her laugh started off quiet and rose quickly. The detective and killer stared at her, startled by the sudden interruption.

Elena regained her composure after Jennifer shot her a warning look. Detective Halls looked Naomi Davis over and shook her head slowly. "You're under arrest for the murder of Gilbert Smith."