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Crime Fiction

By the time I stepped outside, the were on fire, because someone had set the tree that was on my lawn on fire. At the moment I was pray that the fire, which was spreading to the grass on my lawn, wouldn't make it to my house before they put it out.

Currently I was standing on my neighbor's lawn waiting for the fire men to put the fire out. While they were working on putting the tree out the fire continued to spread across the lawn, but surprisingly not toward the house it was going parallel to the house. God does hear prayers.

By the time the firemen got the fire put out, most of the grass in my yard was gone. You could definitely tell that there had been a fire. Not only was the grass gone but the tree was definitely burned. All of it's leaves were gone and most of it's trunk was burned down to the ground.

The police were here to investigate, apparently this is not the first time that this has happened lately. There were several other tree fires around Chicago lately. I hope they catch this guy, he may not have burned my house down but... he's still attacking people in their homes. I just hate it when people attack other people in their own homes, it makes them afraid to go in said home.

After I answered the police's questions, they left and I went back to bed. But before I went to sleep I made up my mind that I would follow the investigation.

In the morning when I got up, I had almost forgotten about what had happened the night before. Then it all came flooding back to me. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The fire, in my own lawn, I just can't believe it. I mean, who sets trees on fire?

After I ate breakfast, I decided to call the detective who was working this case, Detective Robert James. So I found my phone and his card and gave him a call. When I called he didn't answer though, which is weird cops always answer. They kind of have to. So I called his partner instead, I got both of their numbers the night before after all.

His partner, Detective Michelle Clement, answered her phone, and this is what I heard, "Clement."

I replied, "Hi, this is Miranda Kylie, I believe that you and your partner, Detective James, were at my house last night, looking into the tree that was set on fire in my yard, weren't you?"

"Oh, yes miss Kylie, how can I help you?"

"I was just wondering if there was any progress in the case, I would like to know when you catch this guy."

"I'm afraid that I can't share any details of an open investigation, but I would be more than happy to let you know when we make an arrest, if you would like me to?"

"Yes, please do. Oh, one last thing?"

"Yes?"

"Why isn't your partner answering his phone? I tried to call him first but he didn't pick up."

"Oh, he probably forgot to turn his ringer back on, I'll talk to him and make sure he knows."

"Oh, ok. Thanks."

"Your welcome, bye" then she hung up.

"Bye, I guess. That was odd, why would she say goodbye and then not wait for me to say goodbye? It just doesn't make any sense at all to do that." I said all of that out loud.

It confused me as to why Detective Clement would hang up like that. I set my phone down on the counter next to me. As a sat down at the counter, I was mulling over what had happened in my head, all of it.

The next thing I knew there was a hand holding a rag or something over my mouth and nose that smelled funny. Just as everything started to go dark I realized that it was covered in chloroform.

The reason that Detective James didn't answer his phone was because he had turned it off while he was watching Miranda's house. He figured out the night before that something was different about this fire. All of the other fires were on the property of four member households, and in a completely different neighborhood. Why would the pyromaniac change victim types and his location? It's not the why these guys usually work.

Detective James didn't see the offender go in the back door, to abduct Miranda. But he did hear her struggle has the chloroform was put over her mouth. Unfortunately he was to late getting into the house to save her from him. But he wasn't going to rest until he had this guy in custody.

I woke up as the affects of the chloroform wore off. My vision was still blurry, but I could tell that I was definitely in a basement. There was someone else in the room, I could hear him moving around. When he noticed that I was waking up he came around in front of me, so that I could see his face

As soon as I saw his face I knew that I was in trouble. I knew enough about criminals to know that if they let you see their faces, they don't plan on letting you leave there alive.

He had a knife in his hand and I could tell that he was going to use it on me. He went around to the back of me and put the knife to my neck. I could feel the cold metal against my skin. I just knew that it was about to slide across and I would be dead.

As he was standing behind me about to slice my throat open, there was a knock at the door. Before going to answer it he put a rag in my mouth and tied it behind my head to muffle in noise I tried to make.

I could hear the noise above me, it sounded like the police were here to talk to him. I couldn't make out all of the conversation but sounded like they were arresting him. And from the sound of his protesting that he didn't take anyone, I think that they were looking for me.

It wasn't long before they found the door to the basement came downstairs and found me. Needless to say he was arrested and sent to jail. Apparently they had already suspected him in connection to the fires, and he had left his DNA on the rag that he used to subdue me.

October 17, 2020 03:40

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1 comment

Elizabeth Inkim
23:29 Oct 21, 2020

Hi Maya! I found your story through the Critique Circle email, so here it goes. This was an interesting storyline, the pacing was a bit slow, and then, in the end, it took a real turn. I think if in the future you tighten up your grammar, maybe type it in Microsoft Word, Google Docs or just a wordprocessor that picks up on grammar and spelling, because the corrections would make for a smoother read. Believe me, I have committed many grammar crimes, and they help. It's most glaring in the first paragraph, "By the time I stepped outside...

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