Tom and the Death

(Name withheld for safety reasons.)1

(Teachers Name withheld for safety reasons.)2

English, Per. 33

13 Feb. 20054

Tom and the Death5

Prologue:6

A scream engulfed the air. People rushed outside of their apartments to see what the racket was. Within minutes, the police and paramedics had arrived. They searched and searched the complex until the finally discovered the origin of the wail: A man lay on his bed face down with a knife in his back with blood slowly dripping onto his bed.7

Chapter One:8

I turned the doorknob on the entrance to my office. I dragged myself over to my desk and slouched down on it. What would they want from that poor man? I thought. We kept searching but we found nothing in the apartment that could have to do with the murder¡­9

Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the window of my office door, knocking. ¡°Come in!¡± I shouted.10

The shadow sluggishly turned into my boss, Joe Seph.11

¡°Tom,¡± he told me; ¡°We found a file on this dead guy.¡±12

¡°Did you read anything out of it?¡±13

¡°Yeah, and¡­well, this guy©¤apparently his name¡¯s Dan Eadguy©¤has had a pretty harsh life in the past. Who ever kill him shared, somewhat, the same history as Dan.¡±14

¡°Can I See the file, please?¡±15

He handed me the file and added, ¡°By the way, we think the suspect may have tried to trick us. The name ¡®Robert¡¯ was on the knife in Dan¡¯s back.¡±16

¡°We can¡¯t be too sure he¡¯s not a clumsy¡±©¤I fell out of my chair and crawled back up into it©¤¡°guy.¡±17

¡°No, I think that¡¯s you,¡± Joe laughed. He exited the office, continuing to chuckle.18

I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m so clumsy. I really am. Tripping, falling, running into things; You name it, I do it all!19

My name is Tom Atosauce, and this is the case of the death of Dan Eadguy20

* * * * *21

I drove over to the apartment complex to investigate. I stopped for a donut or two¡­okay, a dozen; I¡¯ll admit it.22

As I pulled into a parking spot across the street in front of the Pizza Parlor, I jumped out shoved some coins into the parking meter, hopped back into the car, and sat and waited¡­23

Waited¡­24

Waited¡­25

Waited¡­26

Slept¡­27

I woke up and glanced over at the apartment complex. A car was just pulling up with four men inside. They all got out, j-walking over to the ¡®Parlor as quickly as they could. They were paranoid, double-taking every two steps, checking for the ¡®Fuzz¡¯ without noticing that the ¡®Fuzz¡¯ was really watching them.28

But I let them off.29

And that¡¯s when everything slowed down. My eyes zoomed in and focused on one of the men.30

I know I¡¯d seen that face before, but it usually takes me a while to remember things.31

Then, for no apparent reason, a kid came up and threw a pine cone at my windshield. Probably a red herring. That kid was hired to do that to try and lead me off-track because those four monkeys assumed the ¡®Fuzz¡± would be spying on their pathetic little lives.32

Sorry I¡¯m so angry; That pine cone put a crack in my windshield. I have to got to the car dealership or something and get this junk-heap fixed. Or just buy a better car.33

Anyway, I was right. They did hire the kid. I saw the kid talking to the four monkeys in the ¡®Parlor. They started to head towards the door.34

I quickly flung the stick-shift into reverse and sped into an alley. I got out of the dump and pined myself against the brick wall, poking my head out slightly to take a peak at them.35

But they made a big mistake: They casually walked over to the apartment complex. Don¡¯t switch from ¡°j-walk¡± to ¡°polite¡± mode in front of a detective. He¡¯ll know you¡¯re up to something.36

But I was wrong. They were all just pulling a prank on me. They got back into their car and drove off.37

But (too many ¡®buts¡¯ in this part of the story) then I noticed a man covered completely by a coat stepping into the apartment complex. Another mistake: Don¡¯t wear that as a disguise when it¡¯s not raining.38

I saw him pull something out of a coat pocket. It looked like a gun¡­?39

Luckily, I had a gun in my car. I pulled it out and ran across the street.40

* * * * *41

¡°Freeze!¡± I yelled as I flung the door of the apartment open. No one was in the room. But the window was open.42

I looked out the window and down at the ground. The crumpled-up body of a man in a coat lay three stories down.43

* * * * *44

I arrived at the body¡¯s location just seconds later. I tried to check for a pulse but when I turned the body over¡­45

It was nothing but a stuffed coat-and-pants-with-shoes dummy thing.46

I turned around and there was the real man, just hopping into his getaway car.47

Chapter Two:48

I drove back to the office and my boss ordered me to go check out D. Eadguy¡¯s (Dan¡¯s) ex-wife¡¯s house. He gave me the address on a piece of paper and pushed me out the door.49

I can really hate my boss sometimes¡­50

* * * * *51

I arrived at¡­Ms. ex-Eadguy¡¯s¡­house and we discussed the matter.52

¡°They could be after his prized-but-then-not¨And-given-to-me glass horse. I didn't¡¯t know it was worth so much¡­maybe I¡¯ll sell it¡­¡±53

¡°I don¡¯t think that would be such a good idea, Ms.¡­ex-Eadguy¡­?¡±54

¡°Why?¡±55

¡°We don¡¯t want the burglars getting a hold of it¡­¡±56

Suddenly, a man swept into the house through the front door with a pistol in hand.57

¡°Where¡¯s the horse?¡± he asked¡­more specifically, he ordered.58

We didn't¡¯t answer because we were filled with fright. But then, he fired a shot. Unfortunately, it hit my leg.59

Then everything went blank. My body sank into a deep, black pool of ooze¡­60

Chapter Three:61

I awoke on a cloud. Dozens of purple turkeys filled the sky. Big, red dots tried to eat me. My cloud started to careen from the sky to the ground. I pulled the button that closed my parachute. That should slow everything up.62

Then everything cam into focus; the doctors were operating.63

And that¡¯s when it hit me: that face at the Pizza Parlor! Kevin Garcia!64

He had committed around 3 crimes that I worked on in the past. He was also the man who shot me!65

* * * * *66

When the doctors were finished with me (weeks later), I got to discuss the case with my boss. He¡¯s a jerk, so he didn't¡¯t come and visit me or tell me anything while I was in the hospital. He told me Kevin had gotten away with the horse and Ms....ex-Eadguy¡­was okay¡­67

But I knew just where Kevin was hiding¡­68

* * * * *69

BAM!! I knocked down the door to Kevin¡¯s house with a pistol in my hand. Lickily, he wasn't¡¯t home.70

Or so I thought.71

I found the horse sitting on a dresser in his room. I grabbed it and stuffed it in my trench coat.72

Then I heard a key ring collide with the hard-wood floor.73

Kevin, and three guys with shirts that all said ¡°Robert¡± on them, were staring wide-eyed at me with their jaws hanging.74

* * * * *75

They were all guilty for being part of the project. They were placed under arrest.76

Now, I can get back to my work. I should call my gardener¡­the plants at my house need watering¡­?77

My boss abruptly burst into my office. ¡°Tom, we¡¯we've got a new case for you!¡± I grabbed my coat, slipped it on, and followed him out the door¡­78

Who knows what could happen next¡­?79