Jon's Revenge

Jon Dorset walked up the hallway to his apartment, a bouquet of roses in his hands.  His apartment was at the end of the hall. Once he reaches the door, he opens it slowly, so as to surprise his wife, who wasn’t expecting him home for a few days.

Once the door was open a crack, he peered around the edge.  When he didn’t see anyone in the living room, he opened it the rest of the way.

The living room was neat and orderly – the way his wife likes it.  When he was gone, she would clean up all of the little messes.  Jon walks through it, and toward the back hall of his apartment.  Their bedroom was directly on the left; the door to it was closed.

He slowly opened the bedroom door and peered through.  He could see the picture of his wife’s late cat, the one in the gray frame with the cat head sticking out of the top, lying shattered on the bedroom floor.  At the sight, he throws the door open the rest of the way.

His wife is lying in a pool of blood; pieces of glass from the picture frame stick out of her skull.  In horror, he drops the bouquet of roses and rushes to his wife.

He checks her pulse, only to find none beating.  He quickly grabs the phone, and dials 911.  He leaves it off the cradle – he didn’t feel like dealing with snippy 911 operators – and goes back to his wife.

Jon holds his late wife close.  Tears well up in his eyes.  He swears to himself that he would avenge her, and find her killer.  His justice would be cruel and punishing.  Death.  If only he could find out who killed her.

About a half hour later, a police officer and paramedic arrive at his apartment.   After dealing with the rather unpleasant police officer, he sat down next to his wife in the ambulance.  Although she was pronounced dead beforehand, she was brought to the hospital anyway.

Using an ambulance phone, Jon calls his father-in-law.  He informs him that his daughter is dead, and he agrees to meet Jon at the hospital. 

Once Jon reaches the hospital, his father and mother-in-law are already there.  They lived closer to the hospital than Jon did. 

They weren’t the actual parents of Jon’s wife, her real parents were unknown.  They were godparents, prescribed by her adopted parents. Jon didn’t know how her family life worked. All he knew was that his mother and father-in-law were really her godparents. 

Jon’s father-in-law consoled his wife, handing her a torn silk handkerchief, as Jon stood there. 

Jon was never really fond of his in-laws.  After his wife’s adopted parents died, they took charge, and they never liked him.  In fact, they hated him.  Jon could never understand why.   

He decided at this point, that he ought to go back to the apartment and look around a bit.  He hated how hotel staff made the pain worse by making you sign all kinds of death certificates and forms.  He left the building quietly.

Back at the apartment, he could clearly see the bloodstained frame on the ground.  The police had cordoned off the area, but they must be on some break, seeing as they weren’t around.  Jon’s roses were still sitting on the floor, chalk surrounding them.  The broken picture frame – the one used to murder his wife – had the same treatment.  They even drew chalk surrounding the little tail that came out of it.  He remembered that it was her godfather whom had given it to her.  It was her 23^rd birthday, if Jon remembered correctly.  He remembered that she had smiled her beautiful smile as she opened it…

Jon had smiled too.  A fake one.  A smile to appease the in-laws, and to make his wife happy.  Jon would do anything to make his wife happy.  Now he needed to avenge her memory. 

He picks up the frame, and a small piece of fabric falls off.  He takes it and examines it.  A silk handkerchief, very expensive.  About as expensive as the frame.  Unfortunately for Jon, there were no initials on this particular piece of fabric.  He pocketed it though, just in case.

He takes the frame and pockets that as well.  Then he stops, and remembers something.

The day of Jon’s wedding. His bride’s godparents were there.  Her godfather had handed his wife a silk handkerchief because she was crying.  Probably because they lost her to Jon. 

He snaps out of his memory – the police were coming back. He quickly ran out the door, the frame still in his hand, and out the back apartment door.  He then races back to the hospital in his station wagon. 

Once there, he finds that his in-laws had left.  He races back to their house, and sneaks in through their back door.  This led to a kitchen, and he took a knife from the drawer.

He could hear them talking in the living room.  He slowly walks toward them, and when he reaches him, they are surprised.  He’s not going to kill them yet, though.  He wants to figure out why they killed their precious daughter.

“To put her out of her misery.” His father-in-law answered Jon’s question, “To be married to such a bastard as yourself, she must have wished death upon herself.  We simply helped her.  Besides, she left us for you.  That hurts.”

Jon, in all his rage, stabs his father-in-law.  He then does the same thing to his mother-in-law.  His revenge complete, he drops the knife on the floor, falls on his knees, and weeps.