Jo watching, Jo killing, Jo dead

Jo was 96% sure what had happened, but she was less than 37% sure that anyone would believe her. She wasn’t much more sure that she believed herself. The entire walk to the police station, she did nothing but rehearse the words within her head, what she might say when giving the report.

Yes officer, I have just witnessed a murder. In an alley between Dolly and Whelton. Who died? Why, it was me! Who did it? Well, that was me too.

But no, it wasn’t Jo. And yet it had been! The women wore the same dress as Jo, had the same penny loafers with the little scuff on the inside of the left shoe, even had the same tortoise shell eyeglass frames. They had Jo’s nose and Jo’s eyebrows, so it had to be Jo, but it couldn’t be, because she had just watched it happen. She had seen one Jo grab a bottle from the alley and crack it against the head of the other Jo, the other Jo crumpling to the ground and moving no more. The murderous Jo dropped the bottle on the ground, looked at bystander Jo, and sprinted out of the alley. 

She shouldn’t lie to the police, but she didn’t know if she could tell the truth either. With little resolve, she decided to tell most of the truth, leaving out the part where she had died, killed, and watched.

The tired looking officer at the front desk barely lifted his head from the newspaper crossword.

“Can I help you?” he rasped, cigarettes clear on his voice as well as his breath. 

“Yes officer,” said Jo, smoothing her skirt. “I have just witnessed a murder.”

The officer lifted an eyebrow. “Where and when did this occur?”

“Just a few minutes ago, down the street in an alley between Dolly and Whelton.” Jo began to sweat. She knew which question came next.

“Can you describe the victim?”

Jo nodded. “Yes, she had blonde hair, a straight nose, and skinny eyebrows. She wore a floral skirt and had brown loafers on.” She sprawled her hands in front of her waist, hoping to hide the floral print on her own skirt.

The officer’s eyebrow lifted a little further as he looked at Jo with her straight nose, blonde hair, and floral skirt. Her shoes were hidden beneath the counter, but Jo didn’t think it did much good.

“What about the assailant?”

Jo willed her shaking hands to still. “Yes, she had blonde hair, a straight nose, and skinny eyebrows. She wore a floral skirt and had brown loafers on.”

Whatever mild curiosity was within the officer’s eyes died as she completed her description. He grunted and went back to gazing at his crossword.

“We don’t offer mental health services here. I recommend you go to the hospital and tell them what happened.”

“But… officer-” Jo stammered searching for words. “Someone is dead! And someone killed her!”

The officer sighed and looked up at her once more. “Listen lady, either you just hallucinated watching yourself kill yourself or you’re playing a prank on me. If it's the latter, I can put you in one of the cells in the back for a while so you can think about your decision to prank an officer of the law.”

Jo had not expected anyone to believe her, but her temper flared at the words of the officer.

“If you are so determined to believe that I’m lying, then I will prove that I’m not! Come to the alley and you will see the body right where the murderer left it.”

The officer chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.”

Jo gave him her most stern stare.

The officer sighed.

“Fine, if you’re so determined, why don’t you just bring the body here? I’ll believe you if you do that.”

Jo nodded and twirled on her heel, stomping out the door. She didn’t see the officer go back to his crossword, smiling, satisfied that he had been rid of the crazy woman trying to take him on a goose chase.

Jo did not stop stomping all the way to the alleyway. Not only had he not believed her, but he had insulted her by calling her crazy and a prankster. She wanted to throw a tantrum, to shout and kick her shoes through the air, but that would only confirm to the officer that she was crazy. No, she would prove him wrong and bring back the body.

She rounded the corner into the alleyway where the body still lay, although, it wasn’t where it had been. In fact, the body was being hauled up by a straining Jo who was attempting to tip it into the large green dumpster belonging to the restaurant next door. With a great heave, she finally managed to tip the body into the dumpster. She dusted off her hands and turned to walk out of the alley. 

And right into the pathway of Jo.

She had stood there, wondering what to do as the murderer Jo had returned to hide the body. Fear quickened her thoughts but did little to clarify them as she debated between screaming, running, or any other of the myriad of options. She was still wondering when the murderer Jo looked at her, fear widening her eyes, and turned to run.

Her decision made for her, Jo took off after the murderer, desperate to catch her so that Jo might not be mistaken for the one who had killed Jo. She caught up to the woman and grabbed her blouse, tugging her to the ground. The murderer grabbed a stick and swung it at Jo, eyes wild. Jo, feeling her own fear at being faced with a murderer, reached behind herself for anything that might save her. Her hand wrapped around something long and smooth. She gripped hard and swung.

The glass bottle connected flawlessly with the murderer’s temple.

Jo’s body shook as she stared down at the now unmoving body. She let the bottle slip out of her grasp, let it fall to the ground with a loud clunk that echoed through the alley. 

Suddenly, she realized there was someone else in the alley. She had Jo’s nose, Jo’s hair, and Jo’s skirt. The fear that had not once left her since she saw the murderer hiding the body surged within her as she turned and sprinted out of the alley.

She ran for as long as she could, which was a surprisingly long way. By the time she stopped, she was many blocks away from where the murderer now lay dead.

Dead by her hand. 

Dread filled her as she thought about the police that the woman had undoubtedly gone to retrieve. Police that would find the body, and then find the bottle with her fingerprints on it, and they would undoubtedly know that Jo had killed that woman.

So she turned around and sprinted back to the alley for the third time that day. When she arrived, the body was still on the ground and there wasn’t a police officer in sight. A tiny bit of relief wormed its way into her bones. She scanned the alley for somewhere to put the body, and decided on the dumpster where the murderer had hidden the other body. There was no time to take it anywhere else, and her strength was flagging from the long run.

Jo slid her arms around the body on the ground and heaved, tugging it towards the dumpster. Her arms were burning by the time she reached it, but she could almost hear the ticking of the clock until someone showed up to arrest her.

With one last, tremendous push, the body tipped into the dumpster. Jo stepped back and dusted off her hands before turning to leave the alley for the final time. 

There, before her, stood Jo. 

The two Jos gaped at each other.

Jo didn’t stop to think before she turned and sprinted down the alley.

She felt the other Jo grab a hold of her blouse and tug her to the ground.

Panicked, Jo grabbed a nearby stick and swung blindly, hitting nothing but air.

Despair filled her as she saw the Jo above her raise the bottle and send it swinging at her head.

It connected flawlessly with her temple.

A starburst of pain emanated from the impact as Jo fell to the ground, the injury making her immobile. She heard the clink of a bottle hitting the ground and managed to open her eyes, just a tiny bit, in order to see Jo turning to sprint out of the alley in one direction while another Jo turned to dash out the other. 

Jo closed her eyes once more, the throbbing in her skull fading, and thought to herself what an odd day it had been.