St. Annie in the Watchtower

Anne shuffled about the shop putting the finishing touches on a display from Bali. She rarely saw any real action in the store. It was quiet, and quite tranquil most of the time, with customers popping in and out, but that was how she liked it.

She’d been there for five years, making sure that every country’s culture was well represented. She had talking drums from Africa, jewelry from China, statues from India… a very nice collection.

She found them by doing some careful shopping all over the world, right down to recording Native American music, which constantly played on her stereo. She had moved here from South Africa solely to start a business in the States, and for the past few years she’s been making trips every month to collect new things. Many people respected her and saw her for those items that were hard to find in this country.

Anne Meriwether had her name in the papers several times with her store “Saints in the Watchtower.” It was very popular in the area with all sorts of people – old, young, locals, people from neighboring states, people with lots of money, and people with very little just looking for a charm.

She was a lover of people, and therefore was kind when they had questions about the merchandise. The mayor of the town had been there on several occasions, officials and authorities… so she didn’t think anything of it when an officer walked in, and started looking around.

“Excuse me, mam.”

“Yes officer, see something you like?” she asked.

“Well, I was wondering if you kept any records regarding what gets sold?”

“Why, absolutely. I keep a log of everything.”

“Could I possibly take a look at it?”

“Hmmm…” Anne said, “I don’t generally let customers look at those things, but… is there something you’re looking for?”

“We think someone might have bought a statue from you recently.”

“What kind of statue?” she asked. Anne was getting concerned.

“We’re not really sure.” The officer continued, “That’s what we’d like to find out. You see we recently arrested someone for a murder, and…”

“Oh my. That’s terrible.”

“Yes it is mam… the murderer seemed to believe this statue of his wanted him to commit the murder, and he has said that if he’s released he would kill again, because it would be the statue’s bidding.”

“You think he got the statue from here?”

“Well, your store is the only one in the area that would carry such a thing, so we figured we’d check it out.”

“Do you remember the customer’s name?”

“Well, the man’s name is Rudolf Hugo.”

“I could check my records for his name if it would be any help.” She said.

“It would mam.” Said the officer.

Anne went to the counter and from underneath she pulled out a box.

“Every transaction is in this box. If he indeed bought it here this is where it would be.”

“Could you look up Hugo?”

“I’ll see.” She said.

Anne searched the records in alphabetical order…

“Hugo… Hugo… Alright, here he is. For 120 dollars he bought… an African statue from Ghana. I don’t have a picture, but…”

“Are you sure?” the officer asked.

“Absolutely. It wasn’t even in very good condition. I didn’t expect to sell it for that much. It was very old from Africa, so I found a place for it in my shop. I have much nicer things from Africa… more expensive of course… jewelry, instruments…”

“I’m sure.” The officer replied, “Could we have a copy of the form for OUR records?”

“Absolutely, let me take it in back to the copying machine. I’ll be back in a minute.”

She went to the back of the store as the officer looked around some more.

“I wonder if there’s anything to this.” He wondered aloud, “Or is the guy just another wacko?”

In a minute or two Anne was back with a copy of the form.

“Ahh, still looking I see.” She said, “There are many wonderful things in my shop. Things that have changed my life.”

“They seem to change other people’s lives too.” The officer remarked, “Do you have a copy of the form, mam?”

“Why yes. Here you go, a fresh one.”

“Thank you Miss Meriwether, I’m sorry if I wasted your time.”

“Oh no, it gave me a bit of excitement. Nothing exciting ever happens around here. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you something more juicy.”

“That’s alright, we have the paperwork.” The officer said, “We know he bought it here, but as far as evil statues go, it’s all in his head.”

“I’ve been collecting for many years, and I’ve been exposed to many different cultures, but I never believed in all that witchdoctor nonsense. Well, good luck. I’m sure this man will get whatever sentence he deserves. Very creative alibi, I must say.”

They both laughed, and said goodnight. Anne couldn’t believe it. All she could do was shake her head in amazement.

“Wow, imagine that… So exciting.” She said, “So exciting.”

She locked up for the night, and turned the lights off. Then returning to the back, she went behind her desk, and removed one of her decorative oriental rugs from the wall. Behind it was a door, and when she opened it, she walked down some steps that led to a basement room. It was pitch dark…

“Nothing ever happens around here, officer.”

Anne turned on the light to reveal a shrine of some kind… covered in symbols, with candles and shelves of statues just like the one bought by Hugo.

She lit each of the candles carefully, and flipped off the lights. She knelt down on a rug in front of the statues, and bowed her head. She was muttering to herself.

“Looks like I picked the wrong one… I should have known an American wouldn’t do the job right… Stupid, stupid… don’t have the head for this sort of thing…”

With eyes closed, she began to chant. It was a different language, some kind of African dialect. Anne seemed to be in a trance. The shelves were shaking, and the candles started to flicker, as her chanting got louder. When she opened her eyes they were glowing.

“You were weak, you stupid b*****d. You got caught, and you ruined your one and only chance, now you’ll be your own victim… Scratch off one Rudolf Hugo.”

A flash of light brightened the basement, and the chanting turned into laughter… “Exciting indeed…” She said, “Exciting indeed.”
 

Reviews

[هل ك&..]

I loved the twist at the end!! It had me going.