text: Shruthi Viswanathan The Toystore Murder 
   
   
     
                                                        The Toy store Murder 
   
  “Hello Sam” Mrs. Adams said, in her sweet voice, which was full of warmth.  
  “It is nice to have you here” Mr. Adams said.  
  “Thank you” I said. I was in a toy store owned by my neighbor’s grandparents. It was called Mary’s toyshop. Stella had forcibly brought me to her grandparents store to show me around. She had told me that it was the best store in the whole city. It was very big indeed. It was a two storey shop. Colorful toys were displayed on the display window.  
  “It’s really famous around these parts. Come in, I’ll show you around” Stella volunteered. I followed her quietly. She took me to the first floor. A few customers were there, looking at toys. There was a lady and a girl.  
  “Hello Stella” the girl walked towards Stella.  
  “Oh, hi Tabitha” Stella said. Then she turned towards me. “This is Tabitha, a regular customer. And that’s her mom” she said, pointing at the lady. I didn’t say anything. I was just thinking how I had managed to get myself into this girlishness. I was a normal college student with an over-enthusiastic and a little unconventional neighbor who wanted me to accompany her everywhere for no apparent reason.  
  “See you later” she said and took me to the second floor. It was full of big and expensive-looking toys.  
  “This is the second floor. We have the most expensive toys here. No one comes here usually” she said. I looked at one of the toys. It was a huge talking doll. I looked at the price tag. Three thousand dollars it glared. ‘No wonder’  I thought to myself.  
  “That’s the store room. We keep extra stuff there” she said. We went back to the first floor. There was a window. I looked outside. There was a swing.  
  “There’s a story behind that swing” she said, as if reading my thoughts. “Long ago, there was a girl Mary who was a regular visitor to this toyshop. She loved toys. One day, she dies in an unfortunate accident. It is said that her ghost still comes to play here. Sometimes, that swing moves even when there is no wind. If her ghost gets angry, it can even murder people” I looked at her. She closed her blue eyes. “I feel so happy when I visit this shop. I used to play with Barbie dolls a lot when I was a kid. So, it reminds me of my childhood” ‘Just my luck’ I thought. To be listening to girly stories from my neighbor about Barbie dolls.  
  “Let’s go out and eat something” she said. We went downstairs. On our way, we bumped into a man carrying a large suitcase.  
  “Sorry” Stella said.  
  We went downstairs. I felt a little tired. Stella had made me walk here all the way from my apartment which was at least a mile away. My legs were going to bleed if she made me walk more.  
  “I’ll sit and wait here. You go and get something to eat” I said. I sat down on a chair next to the counter. Mrs. Adams smiled at me.  
  “You’re so lazy” Stella complained.  
  “I’m tired” I said. “Please” 
  “Okay, she said. Come on Uncle Adam, let’s go” she and her uncle went away. I sat and stared at Mrs. Adam for a while.  
  “Want a newspaper?” she asked. I nodded. She handed me a copy. Before opening my newspaper, I saw an old woman and a few high school girls enter the shop. Tabitha came over to the counter and bought a Barbie doll.  
   
  I read the newspaper. There was nothing too unusual. The usual political news and celebrity gossip. I turned the pages. A huge poster of a man’s face caught my eye. I read what it was about. The man’s face was pale. He had shifty black eyes and a long face. His hair was black and curly. A huge WANTED was stamped across his face. Below it was a description.  
  Harry Hinsou- the famous jewel smuggler escaped from the confines of the city prison four days ago. Long, pale face- small eyes and curly black hair. Wanted living or dead. Suitable bounty to informer. A jewel smuggler? I had heard his name somewhere before. His face seemed familiar. Had I seen him somewhere before? But I had not gone out of my apartment in the past three days.  
  “I want this” someone said. It was the man with a big suitcase. He was holding the big talking doll that cost three thousand dollars.  
  “Three thousand dollars” Mrs. Adams said. He quickly paid the money. Mrs. Adams packed the doll for him.  
  “Actually, I am in a hurry” he said. “I had come here on a business trip. My niece asked me to buy her a doll. I was so busy that I forgot about it.  Do you think she will like this?”  
  “Of course she will” Mrs. Adams assured him. “This is one of the best. So sweet of you to remember your niece and buy something for her”  
  “It’s okay. There’s no need to pack it. I have to hurry to the airport” he said. Mrs. Adams handed over the doll to him.  
  “Thank you” he said and walked out. I buried myself in the newspaper again.  
  A few high school girls came up to the counter and bought a game boy game. It was something about make up and something.  
   
  Mrs. Adams packed it for them. Then they hurried out. I sat there, looking at everything, wondering where Stella was. The phone on Mrs. Adams’ desk rang. “Hello” she said.  
  I heard Stella’s voice on the other end. I couldn’t make out what she was saying, though. A stylish looking lady walked into the shop. She looked around and then went upstairs. She was followed by a swarm of small girls who hurried upstairs too. I could hear them chattering in the first floor. Mrs. Adams was still talking to Stella. The old woman came to the counter with a teddy bear in her hand. She waited for Mrs. Adams to stop talking but she kept talking.  
  “Can you kill it?” she asked me. I nodded. I looked at the price tag on the teddy bear. It said forty five dollars.  
  “Forty five dollars” I said. I fed the information into the computer and printed the bill. I put the teddy bear into a paper bag and gave it to her.  
  “Thank you” she said. “Today is my granddaughter’s birthday” 
  “Oh, happy birthday to her” Mrs. Adams said. Then she continued talking. The group of small girls came downstairs and started looking for something. They went out without buying anything.  
  “Stella just told me that she bumped into a friend of hers and has gone over to her house to chat. She will take some time”  
  “It’s okay. I’ll wait” I said. “If that’s not a problem”  
  “No, no” she said. “It’s not a problem at all”  
  The stylish looking lady came downstairs. Something about her was different. She pretended to look around the shop and then went out.  
  “Who is that?” I asked.  
  “I don’t know her name but she lives nearby” Mrs. Adams said, pointing to the cluster of apartments nearby. I didn’t know so many people lived here.  
  “Youngsters these days have no manners” the old man who had come into the shop said to Mrs. Adams. He was buying a puzzle. “Yesterday, while I was walking on the road, a youngster bumped into me. He didn’t even say sorry and said that it was my fault” 
  “That is so manner less” Mrs. Adams sympathized. 
  “Yes, it is. How much?” he asked.  
  “Sixteen dollars” she said sweetly. He paid the money and then went outside.  
  “I think I will go outside and get some air” I said and walked out. I looked around. There were many shops on this street. There were many people and cars also. This place seemed to be busy.  
  “So you are the new employee in Mary’s toyshop?” a voice behind me asked. I turned around. It was a middle aged man. He looked angry.  
  “So do they think that by employing young people they will be able to take away my business? They are mistaken” he said.  
  “Excuse me but what are you talking about?” I asked. I really had no idea.  
  “Don’t try to act innocent” he said. “Everyone here knows that Mary’s toyshop is the biggest rival of Anthony’s Toy world. My shop is so much better. I have the best toys. But they still steal all my customers. I wish that their shop would close down”  
  “Hey Sam” Stella shouted. She was carrying food in her hands. My nose gravitated towards the smell.  
  “I was waiting” I said. “Who is that anyway?” I asked, pointing to the man who had been talking to me.  
  “He is Anthony, owner of Anthony’s toy world. He always thinks of us as his rivals but we think of him as our friend” Mr. Adams said.    
                                                                        -#- 
   
  Stella’s eyes were full of tears when she came into my room without knocking the next day. She was sobbing. “Something…….terrible…..happened” she managed to say between her sobs.  
  “What is it?” I asked.  
  “They found a body…..someone was murdered” she cried.  
  “But those kinds of things keep happening. Why are you so worried?” I asked. She looked at me as if I was the murderer.  
  “They found the body in the store room of grandma’s shop” she sobbed.  
  “What?” I was surprised.  
  “It was the body of a high school girl named Ann. It was there in the closet. She had been stabbed. Imagine how grandpa must have felt when he saw it. He called the police immediately” 
  “So that’s good, isn’t it? The police will find out who did it” I said.  
  “No, the police think that it is grandma and grandpa’s fault. They are thinking of closing down the shop. I don’t want that to happen”  
  “But why are you telling me all this?” I asked.  
  “You are the worst neighbor” she said and went out of my room. I just looked at her. It wasn’t my business anyway but I still felt bad. I got up and went to Mary’s toy store. There was a huge crowd in front of the shop.  I waded through the crowd until I found Stella. She wasn’t crying but she looked sad. She looked at me but pretended not to notice.  
  “Sorry” I said. I dragged her out of the crowd. “I was in a bad mood in the morning. Why don’t you tell me everything again?” She looked at me suspiciously but then told me.  
  “Ann’s body was found in the store room of the toyshop in the morning….” 
  “I got all that” I said. “But tell me about this girl” 
  “Ann?” she asked. I nodded.  
  “Well, Ann is just a high school student. I don’t know much about her. I haven’t met her much. But one of her friends is here. I could ask her” She went into the crowd and came out with a thin and sad girl. She introduced her to me as Bella- Ann’s friend.  
  “What kind of person was Ann?” I asked her.  
  “She was a really nice person. She was so energetic and friendly. I cannot think of anyone who would murder her”  
  “No, not that. What else can you tell about her?” I asked.  
  “She was crazy about mysteries. She told me that she wanted to become a detective when she grew up. She had special interest in real life murderers, serial killers, smugglers and thieves. She studies about them extensively. I always thought that was strange”  
  “Anything else?” I asked. 
  “She had no enemies” Bella said. “She was a wonderful person. I don’t know how anyone could have murdered her……” she started crying. Stella let her go. She went back to the crowd.  
  “I think I know what happened” Stella said, trying to sound like a detective. “I think it was Anthony’s fault. He murdered her and put her in the store room of the shop so that he could steal all our business. Yes, that’s it….” 
  “Don’t you think that it is a little extreme?” I asked. Just then, I got it. I looked at Stella.  
  “No that’s not what happened” I said. “I know what happened”  
  “Really, what?” she asked. “Come, tell grandma about it also” She caught my arm and dragged me to her grandma.  
  “Grandma, grandpa, he knows what happened” she said. There was a police officer standing nearby. His attention turned towards me too. I felt a little embarrassed.  
  “It’s just a wild guess” I said.  
  “Guess it” the officer said.  
  “Okay, so here it is. Harry Hinsou- the famous jewel smuggler, who escaped from prison, was here, in this city. He was wandering around in disguise. One day, Ann spotted him. Since she had extensive knowledge about him, she recognized him in his disguise and immediately hurried to inform the police. But before she could do that, he realized that she knew about him. So he murdered her. But to direct the suspicion from him, he had to direct it towards someone else. So he kept the body in the store room of this toyshop because it was the only place he could find before he went to the airport and escaped from this place” 
  “I am not understanding anything” Mrs. Adams said. “We locked all the doors and windows at night. We don’t even have a duplicate key and the lock wasn’t broken or replaced when we came here this morning”  
  “He didn’t come here at night. He came here in the morning” I said.  
  “But I didn’t see him” she said.  
  “You did. You just didn’t recognize him because he was in a disguise. Remember that pale man with the huge black suitcase who bought a talking doll for his niece. It was him. He came with the body in that big black box. He went to the third floor where there was no one since Stella and Mr. Adam had gone out. Seeing this as an ideal opportunity, he opened the store room, took out the body from his suitcase and placed it there. Then he came down and pretended to be an innocent customer. He bought that doll and cooked up a story and by now he’s probably landed in some other place, too” I said.  
  “I think it all makes sense” the police officer said. “I’ll call up all the others immediately and alert them. Maybe we can still catch him”  
                                                                              -#- 
  “Thank you soooo much Sam” Stella said. As usual, she hadn’t bothered to knock before coming in. She was carrying a big box in her hand. She put it down on my table.  
  “What is that?” I asked.  
  “It’s a huge chocolate cake. It’s a thank you from grandma and grandpa for you. You were right about the whole thing. It was he who did it. The police caught him finally. They told you to come and collect your bounty from the police station later” 
  “How much was the bounty?” I asked, curiously.  
  “The officer told me that since he was a wanted criminal there was a bounty of three hundred thousand dollars on him” 
  “I’m rich” I said.  
  “Yes, you are” she said. “But you deserve it. Let’s eat the chocolate cake now” She opened the box and we both sat down to eat delicious chocolate cake.  
   
   
   
   
   Publication Date: March 30th 2010 https://www.bookrix.com/-elementswater