Blackness covered the sky. Only a small shimmer of light from the moon fell upon the city. Martha put the key to her apartment in the door and turned it quickly and purposely. She got an eerie feeling as soon as she walked inside. She felt something was terribly wrong.
Martha turned on the light and looked around. Well, everything looked ok, things were where she left them. She was a neat freak, and if one thing was out of place, she would know it immediately!
Was she just being paranoid again? Living alone has been a challenge for her since her boyfriend of fifteen years left a few months ago. She was not used to being alone. She went from her family’s home, to college with three roommates, then on to living with Billy the last twelve years.
She remembers the day he left like it was yesterday. Three months ago she came home and he announced that he was leaving, for good. He was in love with someone else. “That *****” is all Martha thought, not blaming Billy for falling in love with another woman, it had to be “the *****’s” fault.
She begged and pleaded on her knees for another chance. Another chance for what? She was the perfect partner. Neat, clean, cooked, made love on a drop of a dime. She kept herself in good shape, nice figure, pretty face and long brown hair. So what did she do wrong? She couldn’t understand, and he wouldn’t explain. His bags were already packed and he was going. She asked who the other woman was, but he refused to say, just wished her well with a pat on the back. “Wish me well! Go to Hell!” Martha screamed at the top of her lungs. Billy, looking embarrassed and uneasy, grabbed his suitcase and headed for the door. Martha was still screaming and crying when he walked out. She collapsed into a pile of jagged rocks when he left. She doesn’t remember how long she sat on the floor crying. It seemed like days, even though it was only a couple of hours.
She finally pulled herself together and got off the floor. He was gone. She ran to the bathroom, his toothbrush was gone. For some reason that made it feel so final. The picture of the two of them at her sister’s wedding was still on the bedroom dresser. That was from five years ago. They looked so happy, so wonderful together. How could this be happening!!!!
Well, she should be over it by now, but she’s not. Constant reminders of Billy are found daily. Just little things, like his coffee cup in the cabinet, the kitchen magnet they bought together on vacation… They are all little pins in the voodoo doll, poking away at her heart.
As she looks around the room, she feels sad. It’s so empty now. She walked over to the closet, took her coat off, and turned to the kitchen. That’s when she heard it. A crashing sound came booming from the kitchen, like all the pots and pans had fallen. She panicked for a moment, no time to think, what does she do? Is someone in there?
She starts back toward the locked door when she sees him come staggering out of the kitchen. It was Billy. He looked drunk and could hardly walk. “What are you doing here?” Martha asked with a frightened voice. Billy just swayed there, holding on to the wall, and then she saw it. Blood on his hands, blood gushing from his chest. “Oh My God” Martha said as she ran toward him, “are you ok?” Billy just slid down to the floor, he could not answer. She ran for her phone to dial 911, but just then he came around a bit and stopped her. “NO, don’t call anyone!” Billy said “I can handle this.” But Martha didn’t seem to believe it seeing the blood still flowing on the carpet. “What should I do then? How bad are you hurt? What happened?” The questions kept flying from her mouth, without her knowledge of what she was saying. “Get me some towels,” Billy faintly said as he held the wound on his chest to keep the bleeding down. Was it a knife wound, bullet wound? She had to know, but he was in no shape to talk. She kept changing the towels for the next half hour, until the bleeding finally stopped. Applied pressure worked, but now what? She had to clean up the wound for infection and bandage it properly. Billy still hasn’t said a word. Blood in the kitchen and her rug now. How could she be thinking about that, although she was upset, **** Billy!
She made sure he was conscious and left for the pharmacy. She grabbed large gauze bandages, tape, alcohol, and cleaning solutions for her rug. How did she get into this? Oh yea, he was at her apartment, but how did he get in? She didn’t have time to think of any of those things until now, as she was paying the cashier. Lots of answers she needed, and needed soon.
Martha returned to the apartment and Billy was resting, eyes closed, but not asleep. He grunted a few times, not knowing she was back. Martha went to him and said, “Billy, we need to clean up this wound and bandage it properly.” Martha was always so level headed, knowing just what needed to be done and how to do it. Billy murmured a soft “ok,” before closing his eyes again. This was not going to be easy!
Martha removed the towels that were starting to stick to him with the dried blood. She knew she had to clean the area of his chest with alcohol. She could hardly see the wound through all the blood. This was not going to be fun.
She took out her latex gloves to start with, she always used them to clean. Then started to clean the wound with the alcohol. “This is going to sting,” she said to Billy. He didn’t even flinch. The cut wasn’t that deep, and luckily not near any vital organs. After cleaning up the wound, she got the gauze and tape out and wrapped him up in it. He was barely awake by now, but at least not screaming. Maybe he did have more than a few drinks!
Martha walked back to the kitchen. Let him rest now, but she needed answers. She looked at the blood splattered kitchen and wondered where to start. Then it occurred to her, should she be scared? She hasn’t had time to think anything through, only react. What if he was in trouble and someone was after him. Obviously this happened here, by the positioning of the blood speckles.
Maybe she should leave the crime scene as is, if she has to call the police. She needed to know what was going on! She hadn’t seen Billy since the day he left, nor has she heard from him. Who knows what he got himself into. Maybe the ***** ***** did it?
She got out a new pair of gloves and started to clean the carpet at least. That was blood he dragged in later, so not really part of the crime scene. She had no tolerance for dirt, no less blood stains! Ugh, hopefully it would come out. All the while, she’s still running different scenarios through her head on what could have happened.
