A Short Story
By Jazmin Crimson
Copyright Jazmin Crimson 2015
All Rights Reserved
The pianist raced through the halls of his Beverly Hills apartment, sweat beading his body as panic coursed through every fiber of his being. His breath came in loud pants as he ran through the darkened halls, looking over his shoulder ever few seconds to gauge how far away his unseen stalker was. He reached the living room, stopping at the beautifully carved piano that brought out the elegance of the room.
“What do you want from me?! Fucking leave me alone!” Cried the pianist.
He got on his knees and crawled under the piano, his only thoughts were to hide and escape his mysterious predator. He clasped his hand over his mouth to quiet his frantic pants and stared as a shadow grew on the wall opposite. Demonic laughter pounded his eardrums and the glass windows of his living room shattered at the thunderous, out of this world, voice.
The pianist trembled at his predicament, dread filled him to the brim as the piano he hid under suddenly began to play. The same piano he’d entertained guests with for the first time approximately thirteen days ago began to play Beethoven’s 5th Symphony all by itself. The demonic laughter chimed in with the keys of the piano, a cello located in the corner on the far side of the living room began playing along and it was all the pianist could do to keep himself from going mad.
He clumsily crawled out from under the piano, desperate to escape the asylum that was once his apartment. Tears blurred his eyes, rendering him unable to see the ghostly figure standing before him as he rose from his knees.
“What the.. What the fuck are you?”
The ghostly figure, clad in a tuxedo that was ridden with rips and tears and held a walking stick, smiled a fearsome smile at the pianist. His nearly transparent face was laden with slashes and wiggling maggots, his wide eyes completely black. The pianist was answered by having himself violently flung against the piano. In a slight disarray from the impact, he looked up to find the lid of the piano staring back at him, the horrid face of his assailant hovered to the left and he watched as the maniacal demon laughed.
“No... Please no! I’ll.. I’ll do anything..” His cries went unheard as the grand piano’s lid came down upon his head with massive force. A sickly crushing sound echoed through the room as the tuxedo-ed ghost watched the gushing of crimson blood.
“Eight,” was all the demonic spirit moaned before seating himself at the piano and playing the keys to the tune of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.
******
Detective Todd Hewitt sat in his dark office at the witching hour of midnight, pondering on the current happenings of his latest case. He looked intently at each picture in front of him as if to ascertain some hidden clue, some piece of information that could tie these eight murders together. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger, tired from the whirlwind of emotions that ran with each of his case. For ten years he was efficient at his job, he was able to piece puzzles together much quicker than other detectives, that’s why he was the best. But this case was different, nothing about it made sense.
He shut the files of each victim and called it a night.
“You off for the night, Todd?” Asked a burly old man behind a desk.
“Yeah, I’ll start fresh in the morning.” Replied Todd as he poured himself some coffee.
“Must be getting old huh? Don’t worry, buddy. You’ll figure it out soon.”
“Thanks Hobbs, Goodnight.” Todd left the station and walked to the parking lot. Something about this case wasn’t right. All eight victims were killed precisely the same way, their heads bashed in by the lid of the grand piano. What’s even weirder, each of the victims’ pianos were the same. What are the odds of each victim buying identical pianos?
He’d have to check into that, probably talk to the manufacturer, check bills, dates, times. Something wasn’t adding up and it was frustrating the hell out of Todd. He’d forget for tonight and tackle it head on tomorrow, this case was open for way too long and it was time that he’d shut it away for good.
******
Four hours of sleep and all he dreamt about was that confounded grand piano. Never in his ten years of being a detective has any of his cases plagued his dreams. Todd had always been so sure about details and information regarding each case, he knew what his next move was, he never felt like he was in the shadows about anything.
As he sipped his coffee, he studied the information he’d gathered earlier this morning from calling various piano manufacturers. He’d faxed a picture to each and not one of them claimed to have made it. This just added another loose end. The case had been open for twelve years, the locals called it ‘the piano killings’ and no one came close to ever finding out who was behind it.
He’d been working it for the past six month and normally by now he’d have it all closed, collecting his pat on the back and his bonus for exceptional performance. He flipped through the last victim’s file, victim number eight; Emanuel Perkins. A concert pianist. Married to Jessie Perkins who was currently staying at her mother’s house in Black Lake. He closed his file and grabbed his keys, it was time to get to the bottom of this once and for all.
It was only a twenty minute drive to Mrs. Perkin’s house. He was greeted by the grieving window who cradled her baby tightly in her arms. As he sat down, he felt a pang of guilt for questioning her at a time like this but he shook it off, the case needed to be solved and if she wanted to see her husband’s killer brought to justice, she’d cooperate.
“Mrs. Perkins, did your husband have any enemies at all? Someone he worked with?”
“Not that I know of, Emanuel was a good man. He was always friendly and helpful. I.. I can’t think why someone would do this..” the young window began to sob and Todd suddenly felt awkward, he never knew what to do around crying women. He gingerly patted her back before offering her his handkerchief.
“What can you tell me about your husband? Any weird occurrences, did he say anything off? Any strange behaviour?”
The woman looked up at the ceiling as if in deep thought, trying to recollect memories between her and her husband.
“Come to think of it, yes. It was around that time he brought home that piano. He’d been so overjoyed he’d gotten such a beauty for a good price. He’d hosted a party and everything where he played it for the first time. After that things got weird.” She stared at Todd, a look of mortification on her face as if embarrassed to disclose her husband’s darkest secrets.
“He..he said he started seeing and hearing things.”
“What kind of things?”
“Like shadows or sometimes he said he’d hear the piano playing on its own. One night I woke up and he was on the kitchen floor just rocking back and forth, crying. I’d never seen my husband so spooked by anything. He started getting violent as the days went by, I was in my last trimester at the time and was worried he’d hurt me and the baby. So I came here to my mother’s.”
As Todd penned down Mrs. Perkin’s story, he began wondering about the nature of it. It sounded so ludicrous to him but she looked she was absolutely serious about it.
“So you’re telling me your husband experienced super-natural happenings?”
“I.. I don’t know. He was going through something, I just don’t know what. Maybe it was something at work and he never told me but that’s all that I remember.”
“Mrs. Perkins, did your husband ever brought home a receipt for the purchase of the piano?”
“Um.. Yes, he gave it to me and I have it here. It’s in my wallet, I’ll just go get it.” Mrs. Perkins handed hi
m her child as she got up to leave. He awkwardly held the baby as he stared down into her little face. She smiled up at him and it pulled at his heart strings. He remembered holding his little one for the first time, he remembered her first word, the first step she took and he remembered how her mother took her away from him. A sea of emotions washed over him as he stared into the little person’s eyes.
“Here you go, Detective Hewitt.” He was dragged out of his memories by the re-entry of Mrs. Perkins. He carefully handed back the child and took the receipt. His eyes zoomed in on the signature of the seller; Anita Walker. The seventh victim’s wife.
******
Todd stood on Mrs. Walker’s doorstop, trying to figure out what role she had to play in this. He knocked on the door of the mansion and awaited a response. Finally the door opened and a small woman looked up at him.
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Walker,” he said while flashing his badge, “May I come in? I need to ask you a few questions.”
The woman stared at him for a short while before mutely nodding and stepping aside to let him through. She escorted him to the living room, offering him a cup of tea. He graciously took it, sipping from it while mentally prepping himself to question her.
“So Detective Hewitt, to what do I owe the honour of your visit?” She asked.
“Well I uh.. I was just at the Mrs. Perkins’ house, trying to find out more about these piano killings.”
The woman stared intently at Todd, her eyes showing visibly her pain no matter how old the incident may be, “What do I have to do with this?”
“I’ll just cut right to the chase. Her husband bought that piano from you, he died six months ago, same way your husband died.” She startled at his revelation and quickly sat up, a look of shock registered on her face.
“I’m sorry about that.. I..I didn’t know.”
“It’s alright. Mrs. Walker, do you remember Emanuel Walker?”
“Yes I do, he’s the only one who offered to buy the piano, I was glad to get the thing out of my house.”
“Who did you buy it from and when? Do you have a receipt for it?”
The woman reached for her purse nearby and produced a small slip of paper to Todd, his eyes quickly scanned it.
“I bought it from a man named Henry Galloway. I bought it was a gift for Gareth. Seems like it was more of a death present.” She sniffled as she spoke, the memories of her husband’s gruesome death renewing fresh emotions with the old scars ripping apart.
Todd’s heart broke for the woman but he couldn’t let emotions get in the way, he was finally getting somewhere with the case. Another familiar name came up, Galloway. Martin Galloway was the sixth victim, killed in the same way. This Henry guy must be his brother.
“Thanks you, Mrs. Walker. I’m really sorry for making you rehash this today. I promise I will bring justice to your husband.”
Todd departed and got into his car, his mind reeled as he drove. Everything seemed like they were connecting but the killer eluded him, he’d need to visit Henry. But for now, he knew that all the victims were pianists or music lovers, they were all killed in the same were. He did the math from the last two visits and realized that the victims were killed exactly thirteen days after they purchased the piano. He’d be willing to bet it was the same with the other six victims but he needed to make sure. Their deaths all revolved around that damned piano, what was it about that piano?!
His tyres screeched as it came to a sudden halt at the residence of Henry Galloway. He practically sprinted to his door step, eager to connect the dots. A man came out from behind the house, he appeared to be working in his backyard garden.
“Yes? Can I help you?”
“Good afternoon, sir. Are you Henry Galloway?”
“Yes I am, what’s this about?”
“I’m Detective Hewitt, I’m currently working the piano killings case. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?”
The man walked forward, slowly taking off his gloves and bending to wash his hands at a small stand pipe just at the edge of the house.
“Not much to tell, my brother’s been gone a few years now.”
“Mr Galloway, who did your brother buy that piano from?”
Galloway stood straight and peered at him, “He told me some woman name Stephanie Driggs, why?”
Another familiar name; the wife of victim number five.
“Do you have the receipt? Or anything of your brother’s?”
“As a matter of fact I do, his wife left everything with me before she packed up and left, even told me to sell that piano.”
“Is it possible for me to have that receipt?”
“Sure, just a moment.”
The man went into his house to retrieve the receipt. Upon returning, Todd’s suspicions were confirmed. Martin Galloway died exactly thirteen days after purchase of his piano, just like the other two. He’d collect information from the other victims’ families as evidence but he was sure the story was all the same. But what was the significance of it all though? How did it add up?
“Mr. Galloway, was there anything else that your brother might have told you before his death? Anything at all?”
“He went a little crazy, was convinced something was haunting him, said he saw shadows and heard things. He went to this lady up on Shallow Street, she told him..hmm, I think it was something about his soul? Not sure..but that was just crazy talk.”
This seemed familiar to Todd, Emanuel saw things, he was sure Gareth saw the same though he didn’t ask and now Martin was confirmed to have seen ‘Things’ as well, whatever they may be. Now, there was another person in the mix; some old lady.
“Thanks, Mr. Galloway, I’ll be in touch,” said Todd as he walked away towards his car.
As he drove to Shallow Street, The wheels in his brain spun and spun as he tried hard to make sense of the clues he obtained. Every time he thought he was getting somewhere with this crazy mess, he always encountered a stop. Hopefully the old lady will be able to help me out.
He pulled up to an old fortune teller’s shack, barely visible as it was cushioned between two large buildings. He scanned the place carefully before his eyes landed on the ‘Closed’ sign. He swore as he slammed the palm of his hand on his steering wheel, Todd would have to re-visit tomorrow. But for now, he’d continue visiting the families of the victims and collecting the receipts and additional info. He had to get to the bottom of this, even if it killed him.
******
It had been two days since Todd visited the fortune teller and now, he stood at the entrance, bracing himself for whatever he was to encounter. He slowly pushed the door and a little bell above tinkled as if to alert the teller that a customer was here. He stepped into the dimly lit tavern and gazed upon the trinkets that she sold, some frightening and some comical.
“Can I help you, mister?” An uneven voice croaked out.
Todd looked up in time to see an old woman staring at him. She wore a purple satin dress fashioned to look like it was something out of the Victorian Era and a lace shawl over it. Her head was banded with a black turban, a feather poking out of it with an eye in the middle.
“You’re the hunter, aren’t you..” She said, almost as a statement instead of a question.
“Pardon? No.. I’m a detective” he said before flashing her his badge. She exited the space behind the counter where she was standing and took a seat at the table in the middle of the room, she gestured for him to sit opposite her and he obliged.
“I’m here about Martin.”
Her eyes widened at the name and she leaned forward against the table, a look of anguish on her face, “He’s dead isn’t he? I told him to beware of the anima comedenti! The soul eater.”
“What are you talking about , ma’am?”
“The soul eater,” she repeated with conviction, “The piano he bought was a portal for the soul eater.”
Todd stared at the little old woman before him as she spurted her lunatic talks. He had to wi
thhold himself from laughing raucously at her absurd logic. Supernatural forces killed them? Yeah right, Lady. And my grandmama is having a date with the devil as we speak, pft.
“You look as though you do not believe me,” she said as she sat back down in her chair, relaxed and composed as she was when he first stepped in.
“Ma’am, I just find it hard to believe that supernatural forces would be responsible for the piano killings, did you mean the soul eater is a real person?”
“He was once a real person..”
“Go on.” Said Todd, willing to listen to what the looney bird had to say.
“His name was Edward Griffin, a world renowned pianist. He grew up here in Black Lake. In his starving days he made a grave mistake, he made a covenant with a demon to make him a better player, one who will be recognized for his talents, one who will receive the largest amounts of riches and fortune.” The woman stalled as if to make sure Todd was paying attention.
“I’m listening, ma’am. Please continue.”
“He was granted his wish on the condition that he sacrifices his first born child to the demon as payment. He agreed. The demon fashioned him a piano, a special piano that made him play even more beautiful than Beethoven. The day came when his first child was born and he went against his word to the demon, he tried to trick the demon and in return was cursed. His soul was trapped in the piano for an eternity but the demon gave him a choice, he had to collect thirteen souls for the freedom of his soul.”
“Ma’am, do you really expect me to believe that crap? You’ve wasted enough time, thanks anyway,” annoyed, Todd got up to leave when the woman gripped his hand. He turned back to look at her.
“Sit and I will make you see for yourself.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. This is ridiculous!”
“This is the only way..”
Todd sighed and gave in to the woman, all the while thinking that nothing was to come out of this.
“Give me your hands”
The Curse of The Grand Piano: A Short Story Page 1