Mary Had a Little Lamb

This is a short story from my fiction 2 class junior year.

Officer Mullen 06-05-14

We found Dr. Patel, male, 37, Indian, lying dead behind his desk. Time of death was estimated to be 2:16 pm. Cause of death is assumed to be bludgeoning to the head. There was a square antique hand mirror found next to his head. We believe this to be the murder weapon as the gold plating was covered in blood. “Patel” was engraved on the back. We expect the murderer escaped through the open window because there was a bloody handprint on the sill. The computer was still on and we found an email chain between Dr. Patel and his colleague Dr. Conwell on the monitor. It reads as follows:

"

Dear Dr. Conwell, 05-27-14

I am writing to you for some advice. I believe I have a Schizophrenic, but she has never had signs before murdering 5 people. Her name is Mary, she is a 32-year-old Caucasian woman. My first impression of Mary was a perfectly nice and normal woman. She enjoyed talking about her daughter, Rosie. She spoke about her in the present tense but is aware that Rosie is dead. I addressed this, and she said: "Death is not truly the end."

I moved on, asking about her childhood. She said she had a fairly standard farm-life childhood. She said many skills, helped while running a household and raising a child.

I asked her to tell me about Rosie. One thing she kept coming back to was Rosie's love of horror. She segwayed into explaining the families favorite game called, ‘Killer Chase.' It's a modified game of hide and seek. The finder cannot run, and when they do find someone, they have to give chase and stab them with a plastic knife. The finder has to find everyone while also singing a song of some sort, usually a children’s song or lullaby.

Surprisingly, we broached the subject of the murders. Mary initiating it by saying she had no memory of the events. I asked her to recount what she remembered:

“I was confined to the couch in my bedroom with a migraine. It was 2 am and the kids were still running around upstairs, so I asked Jon to go put them to bed. He went upstairs, I started to hear a voice from the bathroom, I thought it was one of the kids. When I went to look, I opened the door, looked in the mirror then blacked out.”

She paused here. I couldn’t tell if she was remembering, or searching for the memory. When she continued, it was with this statement:

“Next thing I know, I wake up in bed, my migraine’s gone, and Jon’s body is lying next to me without a head.”

I don’t know if she’s still in shock or if she doesn’t know the weight of what she’s done.

We ended our session there.

After our meeting, I contacted her parents and asked if I could visit. They agreed, and when I got to the farm I asked them some basic questions, they said they had never seen anything odd while she was growing up. No mutilated animals, or terrified children that they could find. The only comment from her parents that stuck out to me was that she had an aversion to mirrors.

Mary’s call to the cops after waking gives me pause as well. Her voice is level throughout. The call is as follows:

911 operator: “Hello, what is your emergency?”

Mary: “Hello, yes, I would like to report a multiple homicide.”

911 operator: “What is your location and are you safe?”

Mary: “Yes, I am safe, and it is 725, E Lewis Road, Phoenix Arizona.”

911 operator: “Did you see the killer?”

Mary: “I see her in the mirror every day.”

911 operator: “Can you describe them?”

Mary started to sing Mary had a Little Lamb before hanging up. When the police arrived they found her sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette, still dressed in her blood covered nightgown. The description of the interior of the house is terror and bile-inducing. There is no doubt that she was the culprit. I’ve transcribed the police report here, so you can get a better picture of what transpired. It is as follows:

Officer Terac, 05-12-14

Mary, Caucasian, age 36, female, brown hair, brown eyes, 5' 7", of slight build was sitting on the porch when we arrived. She was smoking a cigarette. Blood covered her nightgown. Upon physical inspection, we saw she had sustained multiple bruises and scratches. We got her into a cop car before entering the house.

Upon opening the front door there was the smell of cooked meat. The was a wooden stairwell that had a 90o the body of the first child found was at the bottom, their head was caved in. The child, Lora, Caucasian, age 7, female appears to have been dropped from the banister above. There were gouges from nails on the side of the wall.

We then entered the kitchen. There was a skillet with sausage that was cold, we assumed this was the source of the meat smell. But, upon closer inspection, we saw a shape in the oven. The door was locked, and upon opening, we found the second body. He was still warm to the touch. I could barely stand the sight. I looked up and found myself looking into a mirror above the countertop. This child was named Rajul, Indian, age 7, male. We found Rajul’s clothes in the trashcan. The murderer stripped, then hog-tied him. He would only have been able to roll around, not even kick or punch.We noticed two knives missing from the knife stand.

We entered the dining room. Two of the walls were floor to ceiling mirrors covered in splattered blood. Under the table was one of the knives, covered in blood. The wall closest to the master bedroom had a bloody handprint streaked down it. Our best guess is that the killer stabbed the victim in the throat, forcing them to bleed out. The victim fell down without a fight, due to surprise. We believe this victim was Jon, age 39, male, Caucasian, and the murder, after letting him bleed out, dragged his body onto the bed of the master bedroom. The killer then proceeded to saw his head off with the bread knife. We found the knife lying next to the bed, covered in blood. The head was later found in the on the desk of the study.

In the bathroom of the master bedroom, we found writing on the mirror in a childlike script. It read:

“Mery had a litel lam litel lam hr flees was sokd in blod.”

We believe it was written in Jon’s blood.We proceeded upstairs, the walls up here were also floor to ceiling mirrors.

We entered the first room immediately to the left of the stairwell and found Jon's head upon the desk, facing towards the door. There was a bookcase dedicated to the likes of Poe, Lovecraft, and King. One of the walls was covered with floor to ceiling mirrors. We then walked down the mirror heavy hallway to the two other bedrooms. Mary and Jon’s daughter's room was the one on the right. Posters of horror movies covered the walls and a plushie of Cthulhu sat on the bed. Across the hall was the guest room. A fort had been made with pillows and blankets. The bed frame was too low. Upon closer inspection, we found the legs had been knocked out. We lifted the bed and found two bodies underneath. Destiny, age 7, African-American, female and Mary and Jon’s daughter, Rosie, age 7, Caucasian.

We found nothing else in the house. Mary was immediately incarcerated. Hopefully, she gets put away for a long time.

As you can see, it was quite disturbing. Would you give me your thoughts?

Yours truly,

Dr. Patel

Dear Dr. Patel, 05-31-14

One thing is for sure, she is clinically insane. Try giving her a mirror, it seems that may be a trigger.

Sincerely,

Dr. Conwell

Dear Dr. Conwell, 06-05-14

When Mary came in today she was complaining of a migraine. I took your advice and brought my Grandmother’s mirror. Currently she’s just staring into it. I can hear her singing Marpiup ioajoaoo ojoauehoahpjdhsohfbaihasn;;;m oajjasuhyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy;ooookjlopv’,bMery had a litl lam litl lam hus hed was pink and skwishy

“

Mary is considered extremely unstable and dangerous. Her face has been sent to local media stations. The community is searching for her now.