Charlene Desmond is on holiday, with a girl friend of hers and with the girl's parents, in Margate on the Natal South coast, when the two girls walks in the direction of a ice cream parlour after visiting a cinema chatting about the movie, when a car flies around a corner with screaming tires.
The two girls are waiting for the traffic light to change its colour to be able to cross the street, when the terrific speed at which the car travels causes it apparently to leave the road. One of the two girls is missed by a hairs breadth and before her very eyes, her best friend is slammed from the sidewalk through the front window of a florist shop by the black car, which sends bouquets of red roses shattering all over the shop floor.
There's a mighty explosion when the car bursts out in flames after the fuel tank ignites, but the driver escapes unharmed and leaves no trace to his identity behind. The Police, an ambulance and the fire brigade arrives at the scene of the accident and the terrified girl, is treated for shock while the firemen try to extinguish the fire.
"When the Police experts find no trace of the driver one of the Police officers at the scene reports to his commanding officer over the radio telephone: "Major it looks like murder. There’s no trace of the driver. He has escaped."
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The shrill and insistent ringing of the front door bell, awakes Robert form his sleep. While he throws a dressing gown over his shoulders, his eyes go to the numerals of the radio alarm next to his bed. Great Scot! It's two o'clock in the morning, he realizes. I wonder who is at the door, at this hour he thinks while he rushes to the front door and uses the peeping hole for safety’s sake.
"What can I do for you mister? Do you realize what time it is?" He asks the man standing in front of the door. "Good morning sir. I am sorry to wake you up at this hour. I am Detective Lieutenant Carr, from the murder and robbery unit. You are mister Robert Desmond?" The Policeman says while removing his Police identification from his wallet to verify his identity.
Haven't they asked enough questions already Robert wonders? "That's right officer. Will you please come in?” Robert replies and when the Police officer is seated in a lounge chair inquires: "What brings you here?"
Robert still feels sleepy, but what the Police officer tells him, shocks him wide-awake. "Your sister Charlene has been killed." The Policeman has to swallow at the lump in his throat. "How was she killed?" The young man who has turned pale, wants to know. "It was a motorcar accident, but we can find no trace of the driver of the car.
Robert looses control of his emotions. "No! It can't be true. It can't be true!" He says in a state of shock. "First them and now she. In one day. She is on holiday in Durban,” he states flatly as if to be on holiday is able to deny death from taking its toll.
It is with great effort that Robert finally takes control and makes some strong black coffee, for him and the Lieutenant. "It must have been a terrible day for you, mister Desmond. I can assure you that we will do every thing in our power, to find the guilty."
"She also has been murdered?" Robert queries. "I am afraid that it is unfortunately so." "But why? Why did they kill her? She was but a child? Why are the people that are the dearest to me been murdered? Why?"
The Policeman's voice has a dangerous pitch to it when he speaks: "I can not answer that question just as yet, because we do not know the answer at this moment, but we will discover the truth and then...” The Policeman doesn't complete the sentence and Robert notices determination in his eyes. "Fortunately for you, you where at work when your parents where murdered." What do you mean?" Robert responds.
"You could have been in dire straits, without a alibi. The Major is not sure that you are not involved, but then he's not sure of anything about this case right now. He says that some people will do almost anything for power and money?"
"It's absurd. Just who do you and your Major think that you are to throw accusations like that around. You must be mad. Do you honestly think that I will kill my own parents and sister for some more money and power?" Robert says while his eyes burns into those of the detective.
"I doubt that you are involved mister Desmond. It isn't probable anyway," the Policeman responds. "There must be some logical explanation for these murders?" Robert wants to know. "It seems that some kind of organization has got a grudge against your family, or some member of your family which leaves you are a threat to that organization."
"Lieutenant you said the car which hit my sister rammed her into a shop. What kind of shop was it?" For a moment the expression on the detective's face is that of suspicion. "Mister Desmond it may very well be that you know more than you are willing to tell?" "Now what do you mean Lieutenant?" "Will it satisfy your curiosity if I say that it was a florist?" The detective says rather harshly and an uneasy silence hangs in the air between them, before the Policeman speaks again.
"I am sorry mister Desmond. I have been much too harsh on you. Some Bouquet's of red roses had been on display in the window of the florist." In his minds eye Robert see how his sister is flung threw the window and how her blood mixes with the shattered bunches of flowers and he knows that the Detective will be tempted to arrest him, if he where able to read Robert's thoughts. Robert has got enough hatred brewing in him, to kill those responsible for this terrible day.
After the Detective goes Robert returns to bed, but any hint of sleep evades him and every time that he closes his eyes, he sees the terrible scene of his parent's murder which he saw, on the television news earlier that evening. Eventually Robert does fall asleep again and when he is waken by the sun’s hot rays shining through the drawn curtains, he finds a printed note in the mail box. The note reads: "Roses are red. So is blood. There's three dead. The file is red. Return it or you'll end up worse than dead."
(1182 Words)
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