It was 8 O'Clock in the morning, Magnolias woke to the sound of police sirens coming out from the
window. He picked up his phone to check the time and then quickly decided to go back to sleep.
one of the benefits of being unemployed is having to not wake up early in the morning he thought.
When he did wake up a few hours later, the sound of police sirens coming out from the window had gotten louder. Curiosity getting the better of him, he leaped out of his bed and made his way out to the window and looked down upon the sight of police cars and news vans gathered in front of the building and a swarm of policemen coming in and out of the building and news reporters all gathered around a police tape.
Did I sleep through a murder?, Magnolias thought."Neat" he grinned, as he made his way to the living room to switch on the television and all over the newsfeeds was his apartment building with reporters on the screen.
BREAKING NEWS! THE BASHER STRIKES AGAIN! WHEN WILL THIS MADNESS END?
That was what the media had dubbed the person behind the murders, a crude name, Magnolias thought, feeding the ego of a deranged individual and yet an apt moniker since the faces of the victims had indeed been bashed in beyond recognition.
At that moment, there was a knock on the front door, he made his way to unlock the door where a man and a woman stood. The man wore a suit underneath a brown overcoat while the woman wore a blue shirt and jeans underneath a black blazer.
“Mr.Clarke we need you to--”
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“Jack”, he exclaimed cutting her off mid-sentence. “A little early for a visit”.
“Maggie, I don’t know if you know this but there has been—”,
“A murder” he interjected.
“how did you—?”, Jack questioned.
“I have two eyes, two ears, and a brain, You know”, Magnolias said.
“Also great job at keeping it all quiet”, he added.
“Yeah, somebody talked,” Jack said, “Maggie, this is Inspector Helena Morgenthau, she and I will be heading this case”, he continued, gesturing towards her.
Magnolias extended his arm to shake her hand. “Morgenthau? What kind of a name is Morgenthau? He asked as they shook hands.
“What kind of name is Magnolias?” She replied as she rolled her eyes.
They stared at each other for a moment and then Magnolias muttered “Nice”.
“So, are you here to ask me the obvious questions, my whereabouts last night, whether I heard anything. Who?” he paused. “Who er… Who died?” he asked from the both of them.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” Helena replied. “We can't reveal that information yet”.
“Oh come on, if you hadn't noticed yet, I live here. The place where the crime occurred, I'm bound to find out who it is regardless,” Magnolias said.
Jack and Helena both looked at each other and then Jack turned to Magnolias and said: “It was Amanda Hartford”.
“Oh, oh no, I um... I, I didn’t know her, at all,” he paused. “Who is she? er… was she?” he asked.
“Oh my God… okay,” he said, dumbfounded by his response. “She was the girl who lived in 3B, on the floor below yours,” he replied and then asserted “The one you spilled coffee on” after looking at his puzzled expression.
“Right, her? Shit.” Magnolias exclaimed.
“So, did you hear or see anything suspicious last night, anything out of the ordinary? Mr. Clarke.” Helena asked.
“Ah, the usual questions, where were you last night? Did you see anything? Did you hear ANYTHING? Magnolias always hated this line of questioning, as it would more often than not lead to only one answer” Magnolias thought. “No, miss, I certainly do not, and to answer your next question, I was in bed at night” he paused, “sleeping, and please call me Magnolias”.
“Thank you for your time, Mr. Clarke,” she said, annoyed by his response.
“We’re in a hurry, so, if you think of anything call Inspector Jack” She added.
Inspector Jack and Helena then started to turn back and walk away when Magnolias pulled Jack aside and said “Stop calling me Maggie in front of like… people and incredibly rude detectives”.
“Well then stop acting like a child, grow up.” Jack replied.
“One doesn’t need to grow up to grow old” Magnolias said as he closed the door in Jack’s face.
“Yeah, are we still on for lunch this afternoon,” he said, reopening the door.
Jack turned around as he walked backward towards Helena, who was waiting for him at the end of the hallway and said “Sure unless you go on and change your mind… again”.