Stay Calm and Yoda On

When she got to her sister’s countryside mansion forty minutes later, she stepped out of her used black Honda civic and made quick strides to the front door where she was promptly greeted by Mr. Jennings.

“Hello, Miss Cloud. It’s nice to see you again. It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”

“Hello, Mr. Jennings. Where’s my sister?”

“She is in the dining hall waiting for you to join her for breakfast.”

“Alright. Where is it again? On the left or right?”

“It’s down to the right side once you reach the end of the foyer.”

August gave Mr. Jennings a professional yet friendly shake of the hand and said “Thanks” before heading off in the direction of the dining hall.

When she got there, Alice, who wore a light blue summer dress, threw a genial smile her way. Just as August pulled out a chair on her sister’s right side and sat down, the food was served and Alice folded her hand over the white table cloth and leaned forward with a degree of palpable interest.

“Well, you’re a sight of sore eyes. I’m surprised you’re still single at the ripe age of twenty five.”

August doubtfully looked at herself wondering what was so fascinating about her outfit that she usually wore with very little variation: a cotton and polyester blend, violet t-shirt, form-fitting, black jeans, and black shoes of some sort. Today, she had on her ankle-length boots. She looked back up at her sister with some suspicion.

“What’s so special on how I dress?”

Alice shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing. I do think you look beautiful in your own simplistic way and that you haven’t had any men or women lining up to be with you. The only thing I’d wish you’d change is your long and wavy copper hair. You should take it out of the long ponytail you always have it in. Aside from that, I was making friendly conversation. We don’t see each other as much as we could.”

“That’s because I’m busy as a private detective and your now-dead husband didn’t like me very much.” August placed a white cloth napkin onto her lap like the way their mom taught her to and picked up her silverware. Her sister had already had her napkin ready and so she was ahead of her in taking a bite of her breakfast before she continued.

“Yes, well, Edward seemed to not like many people ever since we got married last year. Anyway, I need to know who murdered him so I can put this whole thing behind me and move on with my life.”

August had just finished chewing and swallowing a piece of crispy turkey bacon. “Where was he found?”

“In his study.”

“Who found him?”

“Mr. Jennings.”

“Do you know how he was killed?”

Alice chewed her lower lip and thought for a moment. Then, she looked straight into her sister’s royal blue eyes. “Not exactly. I know he was stabbed in the heart and there was some struggle between him and his murderer because I saw the ruined stated of the study.”

“Alright. I’ll look into the matter.”

“Thank you, August. I’m so lucky to have you as my baby sister. You’re my favorite sister in the whole world.”

August looked down at her plate, cut a slice of cantaloupe and muttered, “I’m your only sister, you dope.”

Early in the morning, the police came over to put up the yellow tape, take notes and photos, and first asked questions from the butler, Mr. Jennings, who heard the ruckus the night before.  Just when a police officer finished asking his questions with Mr. Jennings, a young woman of around the age of twenty eight, who had long, brown hair, gray eyes, and the figure and face structure of Angelina Jolie came down the wooden and carpeted spiral staircase. She looked around and saw the dead body of her husband, Edward Knave. In a sleep-like state, she walked over to where the yellow tape was up and approached Mr. Jennings and the police officer.

“What’s going on here?”

The police officer looked at the young woman with the sunbathed complexion. “Ma’am,” the police officer gestured toward Edward’s body, “Are you associated with that dead man over there at all?”

“Yes.”

The police officer whipped out a notepad and pencil. “How did you know him?”

“He was my husband.”

“So, you’re Mrs. Knave?”

Mrs. Knave seemed to be looking past the police officer’s left shoulder towards the dead body of her husband. She didn’t know how to respond to the sudden fact that he was dead.

“That’s right.”

“Do you recall the last time you saw him?”

“Last night.”

The police office, with his quiet diligence, took note of everything Mrs. Knave told him.

“At what time?”

“Eleven o’clock.”

“What was he doing?”

“He was in his study,”

“What for?”

“I don’t know. He goes in his study for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes it’s to work, sometimes it’s for a drink at the wet bar, and sometimes it’s for reading and thinking.”

“I see. Is that all?”

“Yes.”

“What was the last thing you said to your husband?”

“Goodnight.”

The police officer had enough information for the moment and so he put away his notepad and pencil. Then he looked straight into Mrs. Knave’s eyes and she looked straight into his hard, dark eyes, the kind of eyes that reminded her of Edward.

“Alright, Mrs. Knave. I think we have enough information from you for now. Thank you for your time. We’ll be bagging your husband up in a few short moments. If you want to have a moment to say goodbye to him, we can give you some space.”

Mrs. Knave waved her hand as if she was swatting a fly. “No. That’s alright. I’ll think I’ll manage for now. I think I’ll need some time to process everything considering the fact that I wasn’t expecting him to die so soon.”

The police officer shifted his broad shoulders and placed his hands on his hips. “Of course, Mrs. Knave.”

Then, Mrs. Knave gave the officer a small smile. “Besides, I can always say goodbye to him at the funeral.”

The officer nodded his head in agreement. “That’s true. If you need any assistance in dealing with the death of your husband, you can contact us or you can contact one of the private detectives in the area. One way or another, we’ll get to the bottom of your husband’s murder.”

Mrs. Knave slowly nodded her head. “Yes. Thank you, Officer…” “Officer Harris.”

“Thank you, Officer Harris.”

“Anytime, Mrs. Knave.”

Officer Harris quickly turned around and went to his fellow officers. They shared some words and then packed Edward Knave away in a body bag. In the meantime, Mr. Jennings looked toward Mrs. Knave.

“What are you going to do, Mrs. Knave?”

“I’m going to contact my sister, Mr. Jennings. I’ll get her advice on the whole matter and know what to do.”

“Your younger sister?”

“Yes. She’s very bright for her age. She’s a bit of a loner, but not exactly by choice. Anyway, I love her just the same and I can always trust her to have good judgment.”

“Very well, Mrs. Knave.”

August was in her bedroom sitting crossed-legged on her bed playing Sudoku when, a minute past eight in the morning, her cell phone vibrated through the faded black denim of her right front pocket. She begrudgingly put down her black belt level Sudoku booklet and pencil so she could pull her cell phone out of her pocket and read the text from her sister.

August, come to the mansion ASAP. Someone murdered Edward and I need your help. –Alice.

It was thirty minutes to midnight on a warm August night when Edward Knave strode around in his sweat-stained white undershirt that came untucked from his gray slacks. His polished black dress shoes clicked against the oak floor panels of his study in time of the tic-tic-toc of the grandfather clock. He was thinking what to do with his wife. She had been avoiding him lately and he needed to rectify that soon, very soon. He strode across the room to the polished cherry wood wet bar and went behind it to retrieve a snifter glass and a crystal decanter of plum brandy and proceeded to pour himself a generous amount of the liquor that had the color and warmth of autumn.

Edward took a quick swig of the brandy before rounding the wet bar and going back to pacing back and forth. Every so often, he swirled his brandy in the snifter, took a pensive sip, and continued to pace about the room. When it was five minutes before midnight, Edward had his back to the study’s western wall and the window opened. Edward didn’t turn around until he felt the room get warmer by the slightest degree. When he did, it was already too late. He came face to face with a man in all black, with the exception of his swarthy arms showing in the chandelier’s soft glow.

The man in front of him had fists curled at his sides and he took a menacing step toward him. Edward took a cautious step back.

The man in black just stared at Edward.

Edward’s face twisted in anger. “Who the fuck are you? Get out of my home!”

The fists curled in against themselves tighter than a rattle snake about to strike. The blackest venom dripped out of the man’s covered mouth. “Your home?! Ha! You don’t belong here!”

Edward no longer needed to guess who he was speaking to. “You! I thought I made sure you never came around—!”

Before Edward could utter another word, the man in black pulled out a knife and shoved it in Edward’s heart with the speed and ferocity of a viper. He twisted the knife in Edward’s chest before he yanked it out with a jerk, causing some blood to splatter back onto his black shirt.

Edward sputtered out blood and garbled words before falling backwards hard onto the floor. His body spasmed and then went completely slack. The man in black put his bloody knife back into the sheath that was strapped to his left side and kicked Edward in the side to make sure he was dead. When he got no response he was satisfied. He peered through the eye slits of his black mask and looked at the time on the grandfather clock. Midnight. He looked back at Edward Knave. “Looks like your time is finally up, Edward.”

Just then he heard the creak of a servant’s footsteps and a nervous “Who’s there?” The man in black quickly and quietly crept backwards until he reached the window and crawled out in a backwards fashion before closing it after dropping back onto the soft grass. Shortly after, a man of around fifty opened the door of the study and saw the current state it was in. While it was troublesome to see all the things that needed to be cleaned up and replaced or fixed, the sight of Edward Knave lying dead on the oak floor peaked the man’s interest. He walked up to the unmoving body and looked upon it with the amount of respect he’d give to any dead stranger.

The flower

Red

Blood

Red

The flower petals fall

Blood drops fall

Red

The wolf will feast tonight