Murder7

Part Seven: Ghosts


It didn't take long for the students of Benjamin Franklin to find out what had happened at the Taint's clubhouse the night before. Crackwhore had told the children everything on the bus on the way to school. Word spread quickly from there.
      "Tiama had a gun to my head." Crackwhore had told them. "He was going to hold me hostage, but then he realized that there wasn't any bullets left in his gun. He tried to get away, but Detective Hill caught him."
      When the children finally arrived at the school, they heard the rest of the story. Only Tiama had been arrested on drug charges. The other members of the Taint's weren't arrested because there wasn't any evidence that they were involved in the dealing. However, all members of the Taint's (except for one) were expelled from school. Axlotl, Clot, Zhora, and Tom Green were to never set foot on Benjamin Franklin again. Tiama didn't have to worry about school, since he would probably be in the juvenile detention center for years to come.
     The one member of The Taints that was spared was TheDeuce. The Deuce promised to testify against Tiama in court, but only if he wasn't kicked out of school.
     "I don't like drugs," TheDeuce had told Det. Hill. "And I don't like bullies or gangs either"
     The students and faculty were both shocked and amazed over TheDeuce's over night transformation. Normally, deuce wore a dirty white t-shirt, ripped jeans, and a black leather jacket to school. Today, however, he wore a nice, clean pair of khakis, a white collared shirt (starched like a board) and a red plaid tie. His hair was neat and clean, unlike the greasy mess he used to wear to school. He wore a button on the pocket of his shirt that read, "Mean People Suck." In class, Deuce was on his best behavior. He sat still in his desk. He didn't talk during Ms. Crabtree's lessons and he didn't pull Geena's ponytail all day either. In fact, he raised his hand and answered questions. He even did a math problem on the chalkboard... correctly. Ms. Crabtree was convinced that aliens must had kidnapped the real TheDeuce and replaced him with a clone.
     "It's all an act, I bet," Suzanne said to the Girl Gang upon her arrival back at school. "No one can go from bad seed to perfect angel over night."
     All the children were excited over Suzanne's return. They congratulated her and even hung a sign in the cafeteria that read, "Welcome Back Suz!" Gym classes were canceled for the day. The big dance was tomorrow night and all the teacher's aids were busy decorating the gym for the celebration. The stage was all set for the N'Sync concert. The drama teacher made sure that the lighting is perfect.
     At lunch, one could barely hear themselves talk in the cafeteria. There was so much gossip going around. All the children talked about their date to the dance. They talked about The Taint's expulsion, Suz's return, and about Shrew, who seemed to have disappeared after being interrogated by Det. Hill.
     "Audrey did say that there had been another murder," Kedra told the girls at her table."Maybe Shrew's dead."
     While the kids tried to eat their lunches, Det. Hill was searching the school boiler room. Blowfish had awoke from his coma the night before. the only words Blowfish had spoken was, "Boiler room." Fish's doctor said that he was probably still in shock, but should come out of it soon. Hill had tried to ask Blowfish some questions about TheNewKid, but Blowfish would just whisper, "boiler room.. boiler room..." He was quite sure what he was looking for.
      The boiler room was hot and sweaty. Hill was engulfed by the steam from the pipes. He could barely see. It reminded him of the evil child killer Freddy Kruger and his boiler room. Chills ran up Hill's spine.
      "Over here! Detective Hill, over here!"
     It was a child's voice. Very familiar.
     Hill turned toward the direction of the voice, but couldn't see through all the steam.
     "Who is it? Who's in here?"
     "Look over here," the voice beckoned. It was a boy's voice. "Look over here!"
     Hill did recognize that voice. It was Shrew. Hill followed the voice to the back of the boiler room. There was still no sign of the little boy. The only thing he saw was water heaters and a brick wall. Then, something caught Hill's eye. One of the bricks in the wall was a different shade for red than the rest. And it was loose. Hill pulled out his pocket knife and pried the brick out of the wall. He reached inside the cavity, feeling around. His hand brushed up against something. It felt like paper. Hill grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a medium sized manila envelope. Inside were an undeveloped roll of film and a note. The note said,

NK, I have even more bad news. Your girlfriend is a slut. Not only do I have pictures of you banging your girlfriend, but I have pics of her screwing Shrew, as well. I want that money dammit. So, unless you want all your dirty little secrets made public, you better cough up some cash. I won't wait much longer. Blowfish

     Hill now knew Shrew was dead. The killer was killing off all her boyfriends. Shrew's ghost had led him to the envelope. Hill had been hoping that the list of people that had bought the shade of lipstick on TheNewKid's collar would reveal the secret girlfriend. When Hill received the list earlier that morning, he got more than he bargained for. The list had not just one or two names. There looked to be over a hundred names. It seems almost every girl at school purchased the "Strawberry Fields" lipstick. Suzanne, Audrey, Meep, Sweet One:), DawnWiener, Kelly9Rox, Briann, Kedra, plus Ms. Crabtree, TheLunchlady, the school nurse, and on and on and on. This was going to take some time. Hill left the boiler room. His next stop: the photo mat. If the list wouldn't reveal the girlfriend, maybe Blowfish's pictures would.

Meanwhile at The Tainted Taint's clubhouse....

     "I'm the leader of this gang now," Axlotl told the remaining members of the Taint's. "Tiama's in jail. TheDeuce has gone wacko-o. You know where TheDeuce is at? I'll tell ya. He's working at the homeless shelter. Helping to feed to poor! Ha!"
     Tom Green, Clot, and Zhora had no problems with their new commander-in-chief. the three of them were more followers than leaders, anyway. Clot was a little uneasy of Ax's new power, but he was sure that Ax would be a great leader.
     "As my first major decision as the Taint's new leader, " Ax announced, "I hereby decree that Clot is no longer a member of our gang!"
     Everyone gasped. Ax then went on to describe what he had witnessed the night before at the park. Ax had caught Clot sleeping with the enemy. Sweet One:). member of The Girl Gang.
     "Traitor!" Zhora called Clot.
     Tom punched Clot in the nose.
     Clot fled the clubhouse running for his life. His secret had been exposed. He was kicked out of school and kicked out of his gang. Clot was a man on the edge.
     The Taint's didn't bother to chase after him. Zhora found some coke that Tiama had hidden away. Tom cut out the lines. Ax brought out the straw. Under Ax's management, The Taint's would be better than ever. Sniff, sniff.

Meanwhile at the hospital...

     Blowfish was sound asleep. So, he didn't see The Murderer standing by the bed. The Murderer held a pillow above Blowfish's face. The little boy knew too much. He had to die.
      "Oh. What are you doing here?"
     The Murderer spun around. It was AudreyHorne. She walked in to the room.
     "I just came to visit," the Murderer said, hiding the pillow behind her back.
     "Me too, " Audrey said. " I had a dream that I should come here."
     Audrey walked over to the bed and looked down at Blowfish. Her back was to the Murderer. Audrey placed her hands on Blowfish's forehead. She closed her eyes. Images came to her.
     "You're the secret girlfriend," Audrey said, turning to the killer.
     The Murderer grabbed the telephone by the bed. He smashed it into Audrey's head. She fell to the floor. She was unconscious. The Murderer gathered up her limp body and snuck out of the hospital.

Night...Suzanne's bedroom.....

He climbed inside her window, while she pretended to sleep. Suz knew that he was coming. She could see it in his eyes at school. He had rescued her. He saved her reputation. Her heart was now his. Hill removed all his clothes and climbed into bed with Suzanne. He took her into his arms. He kissed her softly on the lips. His hands wandered, finding her still developing breasts, and the patch of hair growing between her legs. He entered her, pushing his gigantic member into her tight, tender love hole. She had been waiting for this moment. Hill was making her a woman......

TO BE CONTINUED...

Next Time on Murder on the Playground: Suzanne returns to school. TheDeuce helps the poor. Several students are expelled.