The Mysterious Death

Show Don’t Tell Contest

July, 2019 prompt


While eating breakfast, Ruby watches a newscast.
A delivery person arrives with a package from Ruby's mother.
The package contains a cryptic note and a book.
Ruby becomes absorbed in the book and reads until late in the night.
There's an unexpected pounding sound from outside her bedroom.


Word Count: 1767

the Mysterious Death
By Lisa Noe

The rain was dripping from the roof of the house, I was watching a

newscast with my husband when there came a knock at

the door of my home, which is secluded in the Appalachian

mountains of Kentucky. Opening the door, There stood a young

man delivering a package.

“Hi, can I help you?”

“Are you Ruby Stewart?”

“Why, yes I am Ruby Stewart, can I help you?”

“Yes ma’am, I have a package and a letter for you.”

I reached for the package and read the name on it, shocked, I turned and

Walked back in the house, closing the door in the face of the

deliveryman. Turning and speaking in a frail voice…

“John it is a letter from my mother, she’s sent me a letter and a

copy of a diary.”

Ruby ran to the couch and sit, first reading the note from her

mother…

“Darling please find in this book the truth about your husband’s
stepmom.”

John came into the room…

“What is this all about Ruby.”

“I really don’t know It is something about Gail, your stepmom, she says

this book contains the truth about her.” “Let’s read it and find out.”

Reading out loud, Ruby began…

“Gail is thirty years younger than George, John’s father. She has been married six times before, four times she has been divorced, and two times she outlived her husbands. Both times her husbands died under mysterious circumstances. She is a Felon, who was arrested for drugs, and running guns. The only reason she is not in jail, because she turned states evidence on her last husband, putting him in jail. She married George only because he has money and coal land, which is worth a lot more money. I would question last week’s death of George.”

Ruby and John looked at each other, with a puzzled look…

Ruby and John became obsessed and absorbed in the book and

read until late at night.

“What could she mean, he died in a hospital of cancer I thought.”

John studied for a few minutes… What could be meant by the words in

the diary? Then he thought and told Ruby…

“I know he had cancer, but the doctor did say that he didn’t believe that

the cancer was bad enough to kill him, he said his cancer wasn’t that bad

yet.” You know that bitch Gail works at a nursing home, I bet she could

get any kind of drugs she wanted and could have poisoned him.”

They stayed up until the morning reading and talking about the diary

and John’s father and step mom. They heard their dogs barking

outside and knew that this was a sign that the mail had ran. So John

grabbed his pistol, in case of bears or snakes in the deep Appalachian

woods, where they lived, and went up the road to check the mail. This

was an extremely rural area and the mailbox was located up the hill on

the main road.

John looked inside the box, reaching in to retrieve their mail, While a

truck containing four people came towards him and

stopped about twenty feet from him, racing the motor several times.

John stepped back placing his hand above his eyes to block the sun, so

he might see inside the truck. He recognized the truck as being

Gail’s, But he could not see inside it.

The truck moved towards him, to hit John.

He reached for the gun he had in his pocket and pointed, shooting two

shots at the truck, before being struck by the vehicle. It struck his leg

and knocked him off the road and down the hill to his driveway, several

dozen feet away. He crawled towards his house on his hands and

knees. Meanwhile, Ruby opened the door to let out the dogs, after

feeding them and she heard John’s voice, faintly calling…

“Ruby, Ruby, call 911, I’ve been hit by a car, I need an ambulance.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious, call the damn ambulance, I can’t walk.”

Ruby ran back in the house, pick up and dialing 911…

“Hello 911, How may I help you?”

“Yes, I need help, my husband’s been hit by a car, He needs an

ambulance.”

Ruby slammed down the phone, running to John, who had now crawled

up on to their front porch. She looked down at him, with blood all over

his face and mouth, unable to walk, his jeans torn and muddy. And tears

filled her eyes. They waited for several minutes then John began to get

angry because no one showed up.

“Call 911 again and see what’s taking them so long.”

Ok

“Hello, 911, how may I direct your call?”

“Yes This is Ruby Stewart again, I called before about my husband being

struck by a truck. No one has arrived yet and we really need an

ambulance, bad.”

“Yes, There is an ambulance on route to your location at this time…”

Ruby cut them off “They’re here, there’s a State Police now.”

The police officer stepped out of his car, with his hand on his gun…

“Do you have a fire arm?” The officer asked.

Ruby shook her head from side to side, saying “No!”

The officer came inside the gate and up on to the porch, where John lay

in bad pain. “I was told that you shot and tried to kill Gail Stewart and

three other persons that were in a Ford truck about twenty minutes ago.

Did you have a gun?” Where is it now?”

“She hit me with her truck, I only shot at them because they hit me…

When they came towards me, I lifted the gun and fired two times,

before being hit. The gun flew from my hand and must still be on the

road up there.”

The ambulance then showed up and they took John to the Hospital.

The police stayed behind and interviewed Ruby, who was left alone

because she couldn’t go with John to the hospital. Ruby told the police

that Gail had not told John when his father died, and she had him

cremated before any of his family were informed. Even though George

had not wanted to be cremated. She further went on to tell them…

”She had initially got mad at John because He could not take Gail to

work because he had to take me to the doctor. And she has been mad

every since and said she would get even because she missed work that

day and had to stay home with George and take care of him.”

After the police left, Ruby was home alone all day she worried and cried

over John. Later in the evening, as she was changing clothes,

she heard a sudden pounding out her bedroom. The

dog began to bark and she looked out her door to find that Gail was

there, trying to break into her home, not knowing that Ruby was still

there. Ruby confronted her and asked…

“Why did you hit John?”

“He was blocking the road and would not let us pass so we had no

choice.”

“You are a liar, I know what went on and I know, he is not a violent

person, and I know all about you.”

Ruby thought for a minute and then bluffed…

“I know what you did to George, you are not going to get by with it.”

Gail was surprised by the revelation made by Ruby. She came closer to

Ruby, who was a small framed and petite young woman. Gail was

quite larger, both taller and heavier. Gail took a large pole, which she

was using to break into the house and swung it at Ruby. Ruby ducked

and slammed the door shut. She ran for the phone and called 911.

“911 who’s calling?”

“This is Ruby Stewart, Gail Stewart just tried to break in to my home and

kill me, she tried to hit me with a long metal pole. Please send the police

as soon as possible.”

Gail swung the pole several times, hitting the sliding glass door, until it

shattered and she was able to get in.

Grabbing a knife from the kitchen, Ruby ran to the bathroom, locking

the door behind her. Gail followed her, pounding on the door with the

pole.

“I called the police Gail, you’d better leave before they arrive.”

“I am not leaving here until you are dead, bitch!”

Gail kept pounding the door with the bar until the door began to

splinter.

Ruby noticed that the door was not going to hold out much longer

therefore she opened the bathroom window and crawled out of it,

running into the thick woods.

Gail kept beating the door, not realizing that Ruby had made a mad dash

out the window. Ruby was frightened hiding in the woods with the

snakes and bears, but she knew she had no alternative. She suddenly

saw the blue lights of the police car as it pulled in to the drive way. She

ran to the car, crying and begging the officer for help. It was one of the

same officers , which had arrested John earlier that day.

“She is inside, she has a long metal pole and she broke into my home

swinging it at me, saying she was going to kill me. She killed John’s dad

George, she all but confessed it to me, that is why she’s after me.

The officer drew his weapon and entered the house, calling her name…

“Gail, it’s the officer Barns, could you come here please.”

Gail had completely lost it, she came out swinging the pole towards the

officer. She knew she had no where to run. Then officer Barns

grabbed the bar from her and threw it to the ground. He grabbed her

arms and twisted them behind her back.

“Officer, She lied earlier, My husband was the victim not her. She hit

him for no reason, he was just defending himself with the gun.”

“I see that now, I’ll see to it that he is released, He is in the hospital right

now and you can see him in the morning. I’ll see to it He goes free.”