Murder At The Highlands

A very short story.Based on a true event but with some fiction... I tried to combine all the elements of a short story in a compact way where the term less is more suffices in this case for the reader

Murder At The Highlands/By Sami Khalil

The Revenge of the malefic husband…

Sunshine filtered through the interstice of windowsills, as the stench wafted through the mansion, compelling prohibition and plausibility.

In death’s grip, the stolen shadows slipped past frosted silences of breaths, under the shattering of echoes.

In the quiet of condemnation, footsteps faded in rapt thought, as the air was pushed in anger, traced by malignant effects.

Victoria Higgins, the Lady Of The Highlands, had her conversation with death, fated in a unified theory of circumstance.

Several minds stumbled when entering, especially Houston Pierce, the “Last Southern Gentleman”, when the myth of hard choices represented to him and others the mixture of hollow foreclosures.

As he walked in, after forcing through, along with his wife, they heard the distant sirens rushing towards them in the distance, chiming the clueless to the obvious.

Here was Miss Higgins lying, in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to eternal death. Grace fell that morning, as horror had spread in its pervasive effects of evil doctrines, while the moon slipped away behind dark clouds of altered state.

Words drifted in sorrow, bodiless and ethereal.

His wife had her unflappable hunches after several newspapers crowded her neighbor’s immaculate lawn for days on end and due to her women’s affiliation of the six senses.

For her, being tearful, after the fact, were not hidden from the thief of happiness, as she, the victim, marked the shift changes in wounds that weaved the surreal run of thoughts, ending in sad assonance and mayhem.

Now, with the law enforcements’ arrival, they tumbled over the offbeat ways to find validity of conclusive results. Many sought answers as to whether a crime of passion, hate or greed. And, as those answers persisted not, but were chased by cull leads of intrusions.

Such was the murder at The Highlands!

A mystery to unfold after the preservation of fingerprints and samples, establishing a restricted perimeter between the physical and testimonial evidences.

This time there would be no witnesses in the art of forensics, but doubts which were tossed around in solipsistic dribbles with some facts.

Details started coming out, evocative of the forged backstory where crimes speak of themselves.

Victoria Higgins was a wealthy widow, an antithesis of sinister degradation.

She had a shapely figure, wasp waisted and a velvety complexion. A dainty nose with halo-white teeth and sunshine, golden hair.

What people adored about her was her bouncy personality and vibrant clothes. A sugary voice adored with Southern slang, gave closeness to scrolled ears. She appeared a cardboard cutout of Hollywood legends, in living, breathing characters.

Most folks form their first impressions through visual clues, but apart from that, she was more complex in nature.

Come to find out, after the police discovered her biography, confessing within to pushing her husband off the long and winding stairs to his death, that the marriage was sour and headed South to divorce.

But her husband discursively transfigured into a Poltergeist, exercising the power of the abnormal, channeling horrid expectations.

Now, he can operate freely to haunt her, redefining her acknowledgment between the pragmatic and spiritual.

To find his solace, he caused her to tumble down the stairs to her final death, stabbing her in validation of high revenge.   

No flippant naysayer dared to ignore…

Reviews

[Steven]

i am most likely wrong but, i dont think that was her husband at the end... i think that was the her no one knew. the her she didnt even know mixing with her instinct.

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! It could be so. You are highly astute. Thank you kindly sir for sharing this with us.

[Kathy Van Kurin]

'Murder At The Highlands'
Sami Khalil,
This story was an intriguing layout of the inner motivations and expression coming forth to create a colorful tapestry of action. Wonderful descriptive language which was like music-like an inner swirling of emotional driving wind. The wind being the motivations of your two main characters. The upper one being the wife, Victoria Higgins. Coming up to the present which is the discovery of her biography we find the culmination of the sad actions, almost a double murder of husband and wife upon one another. It reads that way and is quite dramatic. Great ending too; "now he can operate freely to haunt her, redefining her acknowledgment between the pragmatic and spiritual. This line is amazing to me as it shows the thread of the story. His death does not go unseen and she will know it in his haunting. I suppose this could be called be a horror story but it is housed in a first person account I think? Well, I enjoyed it and was challenged. Very fun!
Blessings to you.
Kathy

[Sami Khalil]

Wow! I love your take on this story . You are very talented and right on the money. Blessings to you good poet and million thanks.

[barleygirl]

Your writing style here is very unique & full of million-dollar vocabulary (which slows down the reading a bit for a simpleton like me!) There's a dance between verse & story here . . . as if this can't decide which it is. In the end, your "show instead of tell" style is what carries your story . . . full of good details despite the short length. I feel it's best to do such short stories nowadays with the short attention spans online. Here you've packed a lot into this brief thriller! *smile* Fondly, Margie

[Sami Khalil]

You are right on the money dear poet and writer. All true is what you shared and if I might add is" less is more " approach for the reader and like you said marvelously " short attention spans..."
Thank you so much for all.

[Rubick]

So, miss Higgins is the soon-dead husband's wife? As far as I understood, she is the one whom you depicted to be in a pool of blood.. as a metaphor or something. Right?? Y'know, like a flashback image or something?!

[Sami Khalil]

All true and wonderful. Thank you so much for all.

[Rubick]

I got a bit confused.. maybe that's one of the many reasons which makes a literary work unique for me, lol. Nice piece!

[Sami Khalil]

:).....................

[Irenic]

The whole story is gripping one.

Sunshine filtered through the interstice of windowsills, as the stench wafted through the mansion, compelling prohibition and plausibility.

the starting is making the picture of a perfect haunted house in mind.

Here was Miss Higgins lying, in a pool of blood, bludgeoned to eternal death. Grace fell that morning, as horror had spread in its pervasive effects of evil doctrines, while the moon slipped away behind dark clouds of altered state.

that description is creating a perfect pic of an English humane lady who had sympathies for Victoria sitting to see what happened to her.

Come to find out, after the police discovered her biography, confessing within to pushing her husband off the long and winding stairs to his death, that the marriage was sour and headed South to divorce.

That part created a image of beautiful lady with stone heart.

Now, he can operate freely to haunt her, redefining her acknowledgment between the pragmatic and spiritual.
To find his solace, he caused her to tumble down the stairs to her final death, stabbing her in validation of high revenge.

that part is bit funny because of the way he become horror producer in her house and made her to die and on the other hand the last lines created the horror and fear to be the victim of revenge.

On whole, the story is very well-crafted.

You are master, man.

Thanks for sharing:)

[Sami Khalil]

Thank you so much dear poet and great friend for all you say and do. I'm excited to press ahead. Take care.

[Irenic]

nope........
The piece is thumbs up............

[Sami Khalil]

:)....................

[.]

Wonderfully constructed, Sami!

It reads like very impressively languaged newspaper journalism; the type that tries to inform the reader with news of an incident by being written in a thrilling narrative format.

As always, your writing is infused with fabulous vocabulary; words that add great depth to the story and create a sense of spooky foreboding. And your conclusion was quite unexpected! Revenge from beyond the grave!

A excellent story, well constructed and infinitely original. Well Done!

[Sami Khalil]

I love how you sum up things with shrewdness and intelligence. You are amazing . Thank you so much. You are the only one who got the type of format to the tee.

[.]

Haha. Let's just say i can interpret writing better than i can write! Always a pleasure to read your profound writes.

[Sami Khalil]

I love your talent. Thank you kindly again.

[Jimmy Yetts]

Probably the classiest flash fiction ever written--well, partially fiction, at any rate.
Most appreciated the ultimate justice of it all.
A gratifying offering, Mr. Khalil!

[Sami Khalil]

Thank you so much beloved poet and friend for this wonderful review and kindness. I'm honored to know you.

[Josie E. Cook M. A.]

Wow,
love the image with this one!
Some poetic techniques with elegant creative flourish
and secrets in the narrative wording cause me to think about the situation and the outcome.

[FJ Davis]

A most poetic short story; eloquent, elegant and fiendishly creative.
Exceptional work, gifted poet!