Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here and I’m back again to tell you all about an amazing new collaboration with a great friend and fellow DETECTIVE, Melissa Tejada! Melissa is a fantastic writer with tons of aspirations in the creative writing aspect and plenty more of her choice. Please feel free to check out her Instagram tag below, literameli. Melissa has chosen to write a brief murder mystery short story full of thriller, suspense, and with plenty of clues for you to solve and sleuth through! So, it is my great pleasure that without any further ado, read on DETECTIVES!
Oh, My Mother
By MELISSA TEJADA
I stood there in my dress an hour before I had to be there. Prom is such a stressful time, especially when you must out dress everyone present. Of course, I am going to be prom queen. Why wouldn’t I be? I do wish my parents were around for this though. Now they are off on another trip around the world. They are in Australia, I think. I cannot keep track anymore.
I hear the doorbell ring and I rush down the turning red stairs for what feels like eternity and almost slam myself into my ten feet front doorway. I get butterflies in my stomach thinking about the man standing on the other side of this door. Still turning in my head whether this man I have been talking to is going to murder me tonight.
“First night meeting, and I never bothered to fit check him before allowing him to escort me to prom.” I whisper to myself, frustrated at my miscalculation. We have been talking for weeks but is this how I want to start the relationship. Is this how I want to get back at my dad? By dating older men, I met online? Not that he cares.
I push all this down and open with a wide smile. I might be crumbling inside, but the moment I show weakness the world will realize it has a crack to break into.
“Why hello there my knight in shining armor.” He appears with a BMW limo, and I am taken aback. At this rate, I can disown my father completely. “
So, she’s legal and beautiful,” he says with a grin on his face. His looming stare makes me uncomfortable. My birthday was two months ago, and ever since then I have been speaking to Maxim. He is an entrepreneur, rich beyond compare, not richer than my father but enough to cut ties.
“Let’s get this over with.” I grab him by his tie and lure him into the car.
We were driving for about fifteen minutes, and something feels off. My gut is wrenching, and my intuition tells me Maxim is planning something. He is checking his phone every two minutes, I counted, and his body language seems tense. I look out the window to see we have detoured.
I try to keep my calm, “so, did I meet your expectations? Or were you waiting until we were in an enclosed off space to learn how to set things in motion?” I say, trying to disarm him. He places his hand on my knee and slowly rises his hands up to my thigh.
“We certainly don’t have to wait until later” he says with his lips next to my ear, breathing down into my neck. “Is that where we’re going now?” I croaked out, trying to keep the mood I have set for information. If there was one thing my father taught me, is to use all tools at my disposal, sexuality being one of them. That, however, does not seem to work here. He breaks our touch, and we stop at an abandoned factory.
“Where are we?” Maxim sees my anxiety rising and at once produces an excuse, “simply a quick business meeting with a client. I promise it won’t be long.” My heart sinks into my chest and I am convinced I am getting sold off into prostitution or that I will end up being one of those kids on tv found on the side of the road in black bags and pieces.
Two hours have passed now and I’m still waiting in the car. I’ve thought of different escape routes and can’t wrap my head around getting away from the driver. I’m in heels, there’s no way I’m outrunning this. I’ve had enough of this and muster up the courage to step inside the factory. There is no way that I’m missing this prom when I’ve been prepping and negotiating, setting up and building my reputation for months to make prom queen. It’s my right. I walk in on a bunch of men on metal, foldable chairs, sitting in a circle, guns in hand. As soon as I open the door, all the men jump out of their chairs with their guns pointed at my face.
“What the hell are you doing in here, you were supposed to wait in the car!” Maxim shouts at me, face red, trembling. Why is he trembling?
“The hell I am going to wait, this is the most important night of my life and I’m an hour late because you have scheduling issues, we need to go now!” I will not back down. I’ve let enough people walk all over me.
“Alicia, what the hell is the meaning of this?” A tall, 6’5 man steps out from behind Maxim, and I instantly recognize his face. This time, I turn pale, and I feel like my knees are going to give out. “Dad?”
Stay tuned for the next part of this most intriguing short story, DETECTIVES. I hope it has hooked your interest as it has me. Feel free to let me know if you are interested in seeing more collaborations with other awesome DETECTIVES, like Melissa!
Until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!
Detective Writer 