What happened that night?

‘The Tell Tale Heart’

Polices point of view

By Max Duckworth

My partner and I walked through the night after receiving information from the chief that a scream was heard in this neighborhood, a murder perhaps? From the way he was shouted I derived that this wasn’t just somebody screaming at a rat. We had to corroborate to the ladies’ statement, no matter how much we wanted to go to sleep. Clad in heavy coats we walked to the next house watching our breath turn to mist before us in the cold night air. We both wanted to succumb to the night and return home to our families although we both knew that it couldn’t happen because the chief expected no less than an endeavor.

We had reached the next house. I knocked on the heavy, ice cold, wooden door. Its hard, jagged surface caused an abrasion on my knuckles. A man opened the door and said merrily, “Hello officers.”

“Hello sir, we’ve heard that there was a scream coming from this house. Would you happen to know anything about this?”

“Oh…I am so sorry officers. That shriek was mine, I was having a nightmare you see.” He apologized. “And the old man that lives here, well he’s off in the countryside. Cornwall I think.”

“Well, we hate to inconvenience you but we must search the house even though you seem fine.” I noticed how his smile grew for a second, just for a second. Relief perhaps?

After making a cursory search of the premises. The gentleman invited us to the elderly man’s chambers for a cup of tea. My partner and I searched the room. Doing an inventory as we did so. I found a small chest of jewelry under the bed. Rich guy. I opened up the box and found a diamond the size of my hand. I gingerly lifted it up to my face, fascinated by it. When I looked over my shoulder I could see my partner stupidly wearing a big diamond necklace. Simulating being a rich man.

I was handed the hot mug of tea. I was virtually dehydrated, and the first sip I had felt like water in a desert. “Cheers.” I said. Before we started the usual questioning process although judging the man’s calm manner I had surmised that he was innocent.

However as the conversation escalated the mans voice became higher and he started speaking quicker. Like all of a sudden he was nervous.

His voice got higher and he spoke faster. Until finally he exploded. “Villains!! Dissemble no more! I admit the deed!- Here, here tear up the planks here! Here! Is the beating of his hideous heart!” He started screaming and running around the room kicking the chairs and flipped over the bed.

“Sir! SIR! Please stand still!” I demanded but he persisted. “Stop or I will take physical action!” I threatened, removing my baton from my side.

The man screamed and lunged at my partner. “It was the eye! THE EYE!!! It was driving me crazy!!! You have to believe me!!!” He screamed. My partner was stunned, electrified in fact. I had seen enough, a grimace crossed my face. I lifted the baton above my head and them swung it down, hard on his shoulder- braking it.

I pinned his arms behind his back and held him on the floor, he tried to resist even with a broken shoulder. My partner started tearing up the floor boards, to see if this lunatic was telling the truth. Underneath the floor a gruesome corpse looked back at us, mouth open, and only one eye on his face.

“Where is his eye?” He questioned.

“I took it! I burned it! I couldn't stand it! I cant bear to even think about it! Please, don't remind of that hideous thing! And please, PLEASE get his hideous beating heart out of my head.” I looked away from the body. “Let's take him to the precinct.”

“No! NO! Please don’t, please don’t!”

“Sir, you have the right to remain silent.”

“NO!! Please!!! Let me go or I’ll kill you!!”

“Are you a madman or something?! Shut up!!”

“Ahh, you may think that I am a madman, but would a madman of taken the time to do such s thing?”