Jealous Murder

Tracy was sure she wasn’t meant to be there. The room was lit dimly by the moonlight streaming through the window, the shadows played on her mind. Though her hand rested on her hip, and her foot tapped against the wooden floor, the act of confident impatience was only a cover for the fear that was lighting in her. She pulled a small pocket mirror from the bag that hung loosely against her hip, and checked her make-up. She fumbled in her bag for a hairbrush.
“Hi Tracy.” The voice from behind her was a familiar one, though the sinister intent was obvious. Tracy spun around. She looked into the barrel of the gun.
“What? What are you doing?”
The gun was wrapped thickly in material, to try to insulate the bang. Tracy’s blood ran red on the moonlit floor.

*

Tracy wasn’t in class. The teacher, Mr Payton looked suspiciously worried. Eventually, he walked over to where Amanda sat. Amanda was a member of the group of friends Tracy went around with.
“Have you seen Tracy today, by any chance?” he asked her quietly. She looked up. He was twenty-two years old, had blonde hair and a pretty boy face.
“No sir. She’s not in school today.” Amanda had just finished her sentence when the headmistress entered the classroom.
“Amanda, could you take a step outside please?” she asked.
Amanda looked up, her face suddenly going white. Amanda fooled around a lot, but she was never in deep trouble. She had never had to speak to her headmistress before. She stood up and followed to her headmistress’s office. Inside, she was surprised to see Lorraine, Natasha and Nicole, her three best friends. They were all a group, which Tracy been a member of. Amanda went even paler when she saw the policewoman.
“I’m very sorry Amanda. I heard that you were particularly close to Tracy. You might want to take a seat.” The policewoman suggested. Amanda sat down, next to Nicole, Lorraine and Tasha.
“What about Tracy?” asked Amanda, nervously.
“She’s dead.”

*

The first suspect was Daniel Morris, a seventeen-year-old, same age as Tracy. She had just split up with him at the time of the incident.
The two men interviewing him at the station, were getting nowhere.
“Where were you last night?” Detective Cole repeated. Daniel glared.
“I told you. I wasn’t near Tracy. That’s it.”
“No it’s not,” Sergeant Taylor insisted. “You need an alibi, mate. Where were you?”
Daniel shuffled. “I was with this girl.”
“A girl? Who?” asked the Detective.
“I don’t know her name.”
“That’s useful,” snapped Taylor sarcastically.
“You must know her name?” Cole persisted.
Daniel went red in the face. “Fine. She’s called Amy. She’s at this school.”
Cole nodded. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”
When Amy was produced, she turned out to be fifteen years old. Daniel was taken off the suspect list.

*

Daniel had told the police that he and Tracy had broken up because she cheated on him with a teacher. The detective insisted on meeting with Mr Payton, the alleged offender.
“Were you involved with Tracy Sullivan?” Cole asked.
Mr Payton fidgeted. “She wasn’t underage.”
“That’s not the issue. Did you ever fight with her?” asked Taylor.
“No! We were in love.” Payton frowned.
“Where were you last night?” asked Cole, who didn’t doubt that Tracy had said she loved Payton.
“With some mates at the pub,” said Payton, listing his friends.
After Payton left, Taylor checked the names.
“It wasn’t Payton. Three guys were with him last night.”
Cole sat thoughtfully. Payton would lose his job, but was taken off the suspect list.

*

Payton had told him that Tracy had recently had a fight with her brother, who was two years older than her. They brought him to the station.
“Joshua Sullivan?” Cole asked. The man nodded.
“Did you have a fight with Tracy about a week ago?” Taylor asked.
“Not a big fight. I didn't want her to date that jerk, Payton,” Joshua’s face was wet with tears.
“Where were you at the time of the murder?” Taylor continued.
“I was at my girlfriends house. Tracy’s friends sister.”
“Which friend?” asked Cole, intrigued.
“Lorraine,” Joshua uttered the word with hatred. “And I can tell you something. That little brat Lorraine shares a room with her sister, right, and when she came home, she ran up to the room where me and her sister were.”
“And?” asked Taylor.
“Lorraine had blood on her T-shirt.”
“Really?” Cole said. Hopefully not just another empty lead.

*

“It was her fault. She was an annoying little cow. We all hated her,” Lorraine rushed and slurred her speech.
“I didn’t mind her,” Amanda gasped between sobs.
“You helped.”
The four girls were sitting in the police station.
“She deserved to die. She stole him, that was the worst thing she could do,” Lorraine said.
“Stole who?” Cole asked.
“Mr Payton.” Nicole answered. “We all really liked him. She took him, even though we made a pact not to.”
“We all wanted him, but none of us were meant to take him,” added Tasha, between sobs.
“She laughed in our faces, ‘cause she got Mr Payton,” added Nicole.
Taylor and Cole sat back in their seats as the girls argued. They sifted through the evidence. The four girls had left a note for Tracy. They had removed this note from her body after they shot her. The note had told her to wait in the abandoned church in the cemetery, and had been signed by “Mr Payton”. The note had been Nicole’s job. The weapon belonged to Amanda’s father. Tasha had brought a few old t-shirts to wrap the gun in. Finally, Lorraine had shot the bullet that had killed Tracy Sullivan.
Strange, the things you'll do out of jealousy.

*

Lorraine was finally out. Out of that hell-hole, into a world where the sun shone again, where life was sparkling in the air. Her time in a juvenile detention center had been arduous to say the least. And now her heart leapt with the excitement of new freedom.
She was going home.
She walked up her street, towards her house, the sun dazzling her eyes making a figure walking towards her only a silhouette, his face indistinguishable.
The last thing she heard was the sound of the bullet ripping through her heart.
Joshua Sullivan walked on. One down, three to go.
Strange, the things you'll do out of revenge.