→ For some reason [I can not explain]
"He was the monster!"
Monsters came in the guise of so many that it was difficult to tell them apart from others just by looking at their faces alone. From where she sat on the other side on the interrogation table, she maintained the calm, collected facade as the father lapsed into the story.
A story that he spoke with with the tone of someone lost in their memories. It was if he was speaking a narration of the events like he was witnessing them all over again as the third party instead of the first.
Brenda had always known that crimes of passion could be just as stomach churning as premeditated murder. The opened binder was lying between her and Tao with the parents on the other side. The hammer print was glaring up at them all, the red ink vibrant, taunting. Both of the parents were gazing at the hammer before exchanging significant glances, his story continuing.
In her mind Brenda could see it - the blur of the house hold hammer meeting with the flesh and bone of the Russian child's head.
A sickening crack.
The thump of the body slamming the ground.
No movement. Just the silence of the air and his heart pounding painfully in his chest.
And then the second smash of metal to flesh.
"He wasn't mine."
The door closed behind her, the click almost echoing in the hall. She breathed in deeply and clutched both the binder and hammer to her chest. In the room Tao had reminded with the parents. The wife was still holding her husband close as she cried into his hair, his own expression tired and blank as he held onto her.
First they had believed it had been the child's friend. The clues certainly fit in place. There had been motive, there had been justification for the crime for the kid.
It's amazing how the ones someone would think they could trust would be the ones to lay out the perfect frame.
As she looked down the hall Gabriel had caught her gaze. Seated in the small row of chairs there the daughter was hunched over, her hands covering her face as her shoulders shook.
Watching him crouch down and console the girl, Brenda gripped the hammer's handle tightly.
"We had our family again."
Prompt: Soul
Word Count: 372
Monsters came in the guise of so many that it was difficult to tell them apart from others just by looking at their faces alone. From where she sat on the other side on the interrogation table, she maintained the calm, collected facade as the father lapsed into the story.
A story that he spoke with with the tone of someone lost in their memories. It was if he was speaking a narration of the events like he was witnessing them all over again as the third party instead of the first.
Brenda had always known that crimes of passion could be just as stomach churning as premeditated murder. The opened binder was lying between her and Tao with the parents on the other side. The hammer print was glaring up at them all, the red ink vibrant, taunting. Both of the parents were gazing at the hammer before exchanging significant glances, his story continuing.
In her mind Brenda could see it - the blur of the house hold hammer meeting with the flesh and bone of the Russian child's head.
A sickening crack.
The thump of the body slamming the ground.
No movement. Just the silence of the air and his heart pounding painfully in his chest.
And then the second smash of metal to flesh.
"He wasn't mine."
The door closed behind her, the click almost echoing in the hall. She breathed in deeply and clutched both the binder and hammer to her chest. In the room Tao had reminded with the parents. The wife was still holding her husband close as she cried into his hair, his own expression tired and blank as he held onto her.
First they had believed it had been the child's friend. The clues certainly fit in place. There had been motive, there had been justification for the crime for the kid.
It's amazing how the ones someone would think they could trust would be the ones to lay out the perfect frame.
As she looked down the hall Gabriel had caught her gaze. Seated in the small row of chairs there the daughter was hunched over, her hands covering her face as her shoulders shook.
Watching him crouch down and console the girl, Brenda gripped the hammer's handle tightly.
"We had our family again."
Prompt: Soul
Word Count: 372