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Our first place winner in the Middle School category is eighth grader Hillary W. Steinbrook who attends the Marblehead Middle School. |
"Victoria Anne Cline. Get up here this instant!" Mrs. Cline yelled angrily from upstairs to her fourteen-year-old daughter.
"Coming, Mom!" Vicky yelled back; as she ran up the stairs to her bedroom from the den, where she had been watching TV.
"Vicky," Mrs. Cline began tiredly, "How many times do I have to tell you that you are not to have food in your bedroom?" Mrs. Cline held up Vicky's bright yellow and white checked comforter that had been lying on the bed. A bright red pizza sauce and grease stain was on it.
"But, Mom, it wasn't me! It was Crystal, when she came to sleep over." Vicky protested.
"I don't want to hear excuses. You got the stain there, so it's your responsibility to get it out. Later today, I expect you to go to the laundromat since a comforter won't fit in our washing machine. I'd recommend using the Black Cat Laundromat at Village Plaza because they're having a Halloween discount sale. Now I'm going to go help your sisters make their Halloween costumes. Finish your homework, though, before you go to the laundromat."
Later that same afternoon, Mrs. Cline dropped off Kendra and Sophie, Vicky's seven-year-old twin sisters, at their ballet lesson, and drove Vicky to the laundromat. As soon as Vicky stepped into the store, she could tell that Halloween was near. There were jack-o'-lanterns all around the store, and a plastic skeleton stood near the entrance. A jar of candy corn stood on the clerks counter, and there was a miniature black witch's hat on top of every washing machine. Vicky stuffed her comforter into a washing machine, scooped some laundry detergent from a big, black cauldron and poured it in, then pushed a few quarters into the slots. After the water began rushing into the machine, she left the laundromat and walked down the Village Plaza pathway to the White Hen Pantry.
Vicky bought a soda, which she sipped slowly on her way back to the laundromat. When she got back, the comforter was done, so she transferred it to a huge dryer. Then Vicky sat down, grabbed a "Teen" magazine off the rack, and began flipping through the pages. She noticed an outrageous ad for a new shade of nail polish that was popular with her friends.
All of a sudden, something glinted in the light and caught Vicky's eye. She got up and looked down into the space between two of the washing machines. Vicky bent down into the darkness; she could faintly see what looked like an old changepurse. She carefully stuck her hand in between the machines and pulled the object out. Sure enough, it was a changepurse. Vicky quickly brushed the cobwebs off and opened the worn latch on the purse, hoping to find something inside which identified the owner -- some papers, perhaps. Inside, she found some old coins and a letter, dated three years before. Wondering what the letter said and maybe a bit too curious to find out, Vicky unfolded the letter, which was written on latticework stationery, and began to read. She scanned the letter's contents, which alluded to a murder that would soon take place As her heart was beating fast, she stopped at the end, stunned. The person who had signed the letter was Mr. Homer, her ninety-three-year-old next-door neighbor. Vicky thought to herself, "I'll have to get this purse back to his wife. And besides," Vicky added as an afterthought, "Maybe I can find out who was killed in the process." Vicky pocketed the purse, grabbed the freshly cleaned comforter, which was now baked to a crisp, and ran outside to wait for her mom and sisters.
"Tomorrow is Halloween! Tomorrow is Halloween!" shouted Kendra gleefully as she skipped around the house the next day in her witch costume.
"Halloween! That's perfect!" Vicky almost whooped for joy -- she had a plan: "I'll go next door to Mrs. Homer's house while I'm trick or treating with Sophie and Kendra, I'll return the purse, and maybe I'll be able to find out who was killed three years ago on Halloween night." Vicky thought, feeling anxious, and turned her attention to the task of making her black cat costume. She put the purse into her candy sack so she wouldn't forget to take it.
"Trick or Treat!" the little kids from across the street shouted as they clambered up the front steps of the Cline house. Vicky gave them all candy, as she waited impatiently for Kendra to get her make-up on. As soon as Vicky (a black cat) and her sisters (a witch and a princess) left the house to go trick or treating that dark Halloween night, they went to many houses in the neighborhood and collected a lot of candy before Vicky had the courage to go to the Homer's house.
Vicky's fear made the front steps seem steeper as she slowly climbed to get to the front door of the darkened, spooky house. Sensing something evil about old Mrs. Homer, little Kendra and Sophie refused to approach this house despite their love of candy. They waited in the street below for their sister to return. Jack-o'-lanterns glowed, casting an eerie light on the steps. Vicky rang the doorbell, but no one answered, so she pressed the button again. At last, Vicky could hear footsteps inside the house. The big front door creaked as it opened slowly.
"Why, hello there!" Sarah Homer cackled as she opened the door. "If it isn't little Vicky Cline. You're not that little anymore, though." The ninety-year-old crone laughed at her own joke. "What a nice costume! Mr. Homer is at a bridge game tonight, so I'm the official candy-giver." Mrs. Homer held out an empty bowl. "Here, have a -- oh, dear! I must have forgotten to refill the candy bowl. Well, come on in. I have lots more candy in the kitchen." Mrs. Homer held the door open for Vicky. Remembering the message in the latticework letter, Vicky was determined to find out who had been murdered three years ago, so she hesitantly stepped into the house. Vicky could hear Dance Macabre playing faintly from farther inside the house and cobwebs were everywhere. Vicky followed Mrs. Homer into the kitchen and placed the purse on the table -- Mrs. Homer didn't notice. As Mrs. Homer filled the bowl with candy, Vicky began to walk around in the front hallway. Vicky was annoyed she couldn't find any clues as to who had been murdered. Suddenly, the tense teenager smelled something very strange. She sniffed the air a few times; yes, something was not right. Following her nose, Vicky walked farther down the corridor. She finally came to a room where the odor seemed the strongest. Through partially closed doors, Vicky saw what she had been hoping, yet fearing, to see all along. The room was lit up by moonlight from the full harvest moon outside. The bright white light shone directly onto a corpse. This person was pale and was very still. The stench of this decomposing body was so bad that Vicky could not bear to step into the room and investigate. Just then, Mrs. Homer appeared, not holding a bowl of candy, but a long, serrated bread knife.
"I know you saw the body," Mrs. Homer began. "I also know that you read the letter in the purse. So now you know the whole story: I was the nurse who came to help Mr. Homer's first wife, Lydia, when she was sick. Mr. Homer and I fell madly in love. We decided to kill her so that Mr. Homer would inherit her money and then we could get married. No one suspected anything; everyone thought that Lydia had died of natural causes." Horrified, Vicky backed away. A homicidal glaze crossed Mrs. Homer's eyes, The old hag lunged towards Vicky. Quick as a flash, Vicky whipped out her hard rubber mouse and whacked the old lady across the forehead. The old lady fell to the floor with a loud thud, and Vicky, her candy flying, fled to the street below. She insisted that her sisters return home with her immediately.
Sarah Homer died the next day of a severe concussion. Mr. Homer surreptitiously moved away, never to be heard from again.
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