Chapter 53
Melody got off the plane at the airport closest to the town she grew up in. She knew going back home was going to flood her with painful memories. She was going to have to suppress those feelings right now. The woman her dad used to justify murdering her mother was on the loose and she knew she had to see that woman before they caught her.
Melody walked up to a cab and gave him directions to the place she wanted to go. She sat there thumbing through her phone looking at old photographs of her mother. She didn’t know what was going to happen but she knew she owed it to her mother to find out who this woman was.
It was a three hour drive to her destination.
By the time she arrived in town she knew she had some digging to do. She decided to have the driver take her out to the home her father grew up in. She wasn’t sure if grandma would be happy to see her or not but she felt she had to start someplace.
The car pulled up to the house. Melody asked the driver to hang tight. She walked slowly up to the front door. She her heart was pounding. She was dreading the reaction she would get from her grandmother, the woman who raised her father, the man who turned out to be a monster underneath it all.
Melody walked up to the front door. She took a deep breath as she mustered all the courage she could. She didn’t even get to knock, the door opened. There was her grandmother standing there with open arms. She grabbed Melody tightly and began sobbing.
“Oh child, it is so good to see you, won’t you come in please,” Grandma Thompson said.
Melody walked into the old house. It was a farm house. Her dad always told her stories about how his parents had been very active in the community. She always imagined they had more money than they actually had.
While they were active and pushed all three of their boys and one daughter to be the best they could, Melody could tell deep down they were simple people. She looked around the house ad noticed everything was exactly as she remembered it. She used to spend the weekends at grandma and grandpa’s growing up. That stopped around the time of the divorce. Her mother never gave her a good explanation just said they were his family and her own. Melody never viewed it that way.
“I was expecting you child, I received a phone call from a gentleman by the name of Manuel something. He told me you were going home for some important life passage,” Grandma said.
“Hi grandma it’s good to see you. I don’t know what he told you but I just needed to get some answers about my dad before I went to college I guess. Do you mind if I ask you some questions about him?” Melody asked.
“Oh dear, not at all. You do know I hardly believe the lies the police man said about my dear boy. George was such a sensitive child. He was always too tuned in to the feelings of other people. I don’t believe a word of it those police men set him up,” Grandma said.
Melody had heard all of this before at the custody hearing. It was a large part of the reason she opted to stay with her rich uncle rather than her grandma who lived close by. Grandpa passed away a few years ago and grandma had been slowly losing touch with reality ever since.
“Grandma, please, I am not here to talk about the things my dad did to my mother. I just want to get some clarity on who he was. What was his life like before he met mother? How did he get along with his brothers or his sister? Most importantly I want to know more about his relationship with a girl named Ashley,” Melody was abruptly interrupted.
“We do not talk about that harlot in this house. Your father broke free of that wench when I set him up with your dear mother. That succubus kept trying to corrupt all of my boys. No dear, we’re not going to talk about her,” Grandma said in a very stern voice.
Melody knew she was going to have to be more tactful.
“I don’t want to know what she thought of him. I just want to understand why he was so obsessed with her, what did she do to him?” Melody asked.
“Oh she was a harlot my dear. She seduced two of my boys and made strides to get into bed with the third over the years. My darling George was such a sensitive little boy. He was very easily duped by her wiles. She was such a temptress. Why don’t you have a seat while I fix us some tea and we can talk about something more pleasant,”
Grandma said as she placed her hand on Melody’s back leading her into the living room.
She stopped in her tracks.
“Grandma, please, I know you don’t like Stephanie and I don’t know anything about her. I just need to know why he was so obsessed with her. The night he killed my mom he kept talking about her like he was doing it for her,” Melody said.
Grandma slapped Melody across the face.
“You listen to me child! My boy was set up. He did not lay a hand on his lovely wife, your beautiful mother. The police framed my boy and convinced you of things you didn’t see. You weren’t even in the room. You know I will not sit here and listen to you slander the good name of my innocent little Georgie…”
Grandma said as she fell to the floor in tears.
Melody bent down to her grandmother and wrapped her arms around her tightly. She whispered into her ear,
“Grandma, I am sorry. Please forgive me for bringing this up.” The two women cried on the floor a few minutes.
Melody decided it was best she left the old house. Her grandma was in bad shape and she didn’t want to make things worse. There was no point in pressing further; it was a dead end at this point.
Melody walked back to the cab. She sat in the back sobbing for a few minutes before she instructed the driver where she would go next.
After a few minutes Melody decided she needed to check out the backyard. She needed to retrace her father’s steps. Touch everything he touched the night he left Stephanie for Melody’s mother.
Melody knew there had to be something they were missing. Why on earth would her dad be so obsessed with this other woman that would stage her kidnapping, murder her mother and then kill himself in the process. It didn’t make any sense. Who the hell was Ashley and why didn’t anyone in the family ever talk about her?
Whenever Melody would ask her mother how she met her dad, Molly would always tell the sweet story about how they went to the fair and had a great time. How he kissed her on the Ferris wheel before winning her that pet goldfish. It was that goldfish that Molly would take to school in a little water bottle that earned her the nickname Molly Goldfish. That and how she tripped on her shoe laces standing in the lunch line, accidentally dropping the goldfish into the chili pot. The poor fish was dead instantly, ruining the whole pot of chili, and ending the lunch period early as a result.
Molly always said how much she resented how she earned the nickname Molly Goldfish, but since the pet that caused the whole ordeal was a gift from her beloved George, she always cherished it.
It was that love Molly had for her husband, that unwavering devotion to a man secretly growing increasingly resentful that made her death all the more tragic for Melody. She loved her dad at one time but she never stopped lover her dear mother.
Melody spent a lot of time at the old farm house over the years. She knew she had seen every inch of her father’s childhood home. As she walked around the backyard she began to wonder if there were any clues here at all.
She sat down on a pile of hay in the barn her dad used to play in as a kid. It wasn’t the same barn as that one had burned down in a fire, killing one of George’s best friends along the way. Her dad never let that go. He held onto that memory, retelling the story of how he wished he could have done something to save his friend. Molly always said it haunted him more than anything else.
She sat and wondered if that tragedy all those years earlier might have left a scar on her father turning him into a murderer. The more she remembered her dad the more she was determined to get to the bottom of all this.
“My dad was a cold and distant man,” Melody said. “But he most certainly wasn’t a killer.”
Melody woke up. She must have fallen sleep in the barn. She had no idea how much time had passed. All she knew is it was dark and she didn’t have a flashlight on her. She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket in the hopes the dim light from its screen would be enough for her to find her way back to the cab, that is, if the cab was still there.
Melody decided her best bet was to confront her grandmother once more. She stumbled her way up to the house and knocked on the door. She peaked around front confirming her suspicion; the cab was most certainly gone.
Her grandmother opened the door.
“Oh child, it is so good to see you, won’t you come in please,” Grandma Thompson said.
“Hi grandma can I come in?” Melody asked.
“Why sure child, you’re always welcome at grandma’s house. Should I give your mother and father a call to let them know you are here? It’s a little late for you to be out child, did you get into an argument with your mother again?”
Melody had forgotten about grandma’s Alzheimer’s. She seemed so together this morning it completely slipped her mind.
“Oh no grandma, they said I could sleep over, they wanted some alone time,” Melody said.
“Oh of course they do. That slut can’t keep her hands to herself can she.” Grandma scowled.
“Grandma, please, I just want to go to bed can I sleep in my dad’s old room?” Melody asked.
“Oh no dear, I can’t allow that. It’s not been touched since the funeral. You’re dad hasn’t quite been himself since poor Brandon passed away the other day. It was such a tragedy. Why don’t you sleep in your uncle’s bedroom instead? He is off on a business trip you know. He won’t mind one bit.”
Melody walked up the stairs to her uncle Drake’s old bedroom. She really thought she should get a look around her dad’s room to see if there was anything to explain his behavior. As she walked pass her dad’s room on her way to Drake’s she decided she would take a peak. After all, grandma was downstairs. She turned the door knob only do discover it was locked.
She looked around to see if there was anything she could find to force it open. She decided against it. She made her way into her uncle’s room. She sat on the bed wondering what ever happened to Uncle Drake. She knew he hadn’t been himself since his wife died but she never really was that close to him in the first place.
Melody decided since she came all this way she was going to have to do some snooping. While she couldn’t get into her dad’s bedroom easily she could snoop look around her uncle’s room just in case. The more she could learn about her father’s past the better chance she had at discovering what made him snap at the end.
She looked around the room. It was a typical boy’s bedroom alright. It had a football shaped alarm clock on the night stand. The wall paper was sports themed. There was a desk pushed into the corner. Along the farthest wall there was a trophy case for all her uncles trophies. Even though it was her other uncle that grew up to be the professional athlete, Drake sure was an all-star at the high school level. She saw a group photo of her uncle’s little league team with a face crossed out in red marker. It was his childhood friend, Brandon that died in the fire when the barn burned down.
She pulled it out of its frame to see if it had anything written on the back. It had the names of all the players written in blue ink. The name Brandon was crossed out in red ink with the words DEAD written over the top. She shook her head. Clearly his death affected Uncle Drake almost as much as her dad.
All of a sudden she noticed something unusual. The football trophy her uncle’s received for winning the state football championship was cracked and lying on its side. She pulled it out to see it had a piece of paper stuffed inside the crack. She wiggled it free.
It was a single note rolled up. She sat on the bed and began to read it. It was a list of names. Each one had a cross through it.
Brandon- fire
Jennifer- pills/suicide
Baby- pills/mothers suicide
It didn’t take long before Melody figured out what kind of list this was, a death list. Next to each person’s name was a cause of death. She read each name to herself and the cause of death. Each one made her stomach churn; girl death on table, woman death in waiting room, girl chocking. The first one that caught her attention was Linda, car wreck followed by campers, stabbing.
There was a whole list with stabbing next to the names. At the bottom of the list, there were two more names, one yet to be crossed off. Woman, wood chipper. George, gunshot. Molly Goldfish, mutilated.
Molly’s name had not been crossed off but her dad’s had.
“You sneaky little shit!” grandma yelled as she flipped the light switch on.
“You mind your own business you little twerp!”
Melody dropped the note. Her grandma was coming at her with a butcher knife. She grabbed the football trophy and smashed it into her grandma’s hand, knocking the knife onto the floor.
She tripped over her grandmother as she tried to reach the dropped knife before her attacker could.
“You little shit. Just like that slut of a mother!” Grandma yelled as she inched her way towards the knife.
Melody managed to get it first pinning her grandmother down in the process.
“Grandma, I don’t believe this, what is wrong with you?” Melody asked.
The woman was old and weak. Melody heard bone cracking.
“Ouch! My ribs, child you are cracking my ribs please mercy!” grandma began to yell.
“No way! You tried to kill me!” Melody exclaimed.
She could feel the woman’s bones cracking. Suddenly with tears in her eyes she got up off her grandmother and ran over to the wall, yanking the jump rope her uncle used to train with and tied her crazed grandma’s hands together.
“Why grandma?” Melody asked.
“You are just like that whore who seduced your father. You just couldn’t leave it the hell alone could you! Let me go child. I am your grandmother this is how you treat your elders? Such disrespect child,” grandma said.
“First, you tell me what the hell is going on with my mother. Then I will call the police and let them sort it out,” Melody said.
“The hell you will. I am family. You don’t rat out family,” grandma said.
“You want to know the truth child, I’ll give it to you. Your mother was nothing but a dirty whore who seduced my boys. I wanted my son to have a good life. He was supposed to marry Jennifer but that went out the window when she took her own life. The whore became pregnant and, well she got what she deserved didn’t she? Well, didn’t she!” grandma snapped.
Melody sat her grandmother up against the bed. She walked over to the list, opened it up and shoved it into her grandmother’s face.
“Did you kill her too? Did you kill all these people? What about my dad, did you kill him too?”
“No child, you’ve got it all wrong, I never hurt anyone,” she said.
The woman began to chuckle. Confused Melody snapped her fingers in the woman’s eyes.
“Hey lady what the hell is so damn funny?” Melody asked.
“You’re out of time kid, you’ve already lost and I am too old to care anymore,” the woman said.
“What do you mean? Tell me! Is my mother still alive?”
Melody slapped the old woman across the face.
“Answer me! Is my mother still alive!” Melody asked.
“You really want to know? What difference does it make now, even if she is still alive today she won’t be much longer so what does it matter? She will be dead before you can get to her. And there is no chance in hell I will tell you where she is. Not like this anyways. Not until I get word the cunt has gotten when she deserved. You hear me.
That woman that seduced your mother, that whore that produced you, a little tart yourself, she will be dead just like all the other whore’s that get in the way of my boy’s living a good life. And believe me child, if that means you then so be it.” Grandma said.
“I don’t get it, why kill those people? What did any of them ever do to you?” Melody asked.
“I had four children. Three good kids and one dip shit. I tried to my hardest to teach that boy, George, to grow up, to get a real job. I tried to get him to marry a girl that would better his life. He had eyes for Stephanie Taylor, another whore. But Jennifer was the one I picked for him. The problem was Jennifer, the little cunt, had a crush on my son’s best friend. Naturally I couldn’t have that now could I?” grandma said.
“What so you killed Brandon?” Melody asked.
“Oh child, you have it all wrong,” grandma said. “Like I told you I never killed anyone. But I had two good sons. They would do whatever I asked of them no questions. Drake was instructed to set Brandon up. Get that little twerp put of the picture and once she finished mourning the girl would see George was perfect for her”
“But no, that slut seduced my Drakey, getting pregnant along the way! I had to work fast. I told Drake he had to talk her into getting an abortion. It was the only way. But the ignorant little shit ended up taking her own life instead! What the hell was I to do?”
So I tried to find my son another suitable companion. Drake ended up with Lynda and Daryl well he married a gorgeous super model since he was a famous football star. I couldn’t complain about that.”
But George, the dreamer, he ended up falling for Stephanie who broke his heart by sleeping with his brother. I instructed Drake to get her out of the picture too so he could focus all of his attention on Molly. I thought, she was a suitable replacement for the lovely Jennifer. I was wrong. She ended up being a slut too, a worthless whore just like the other sluts that my George would fall for. I had to do something,” Grandma said.
Melody couldn’t believe it. Her grandmother had been pushing her own son to kill in order to, supposedly, protect her dad. It was too much for her to handle.
“What about aunt Lynda? Her name is on the list,” Melody asked.
“Oh she was a fine woman, but I needed Drake to fuel his taste for blood while getting Molly out of the picture so my George would finally be happy. Except he never got that stupid Stephanie out of his mind. Lynda was an unfortunate collateral damage I needed to get Drake to give up his life as a doctor to become a full time killer. It was the only way to see to it he would be blood thirsty enough to do away with Molly the way she was meant to be, tortured to death in a slow, painful manner as she was slowly torturing the life out of my Georgie Boy.”
Suddenly Grandma wiggle free of the jump rope and made a dash for the knife in Melody’s hand. In a split second there was a squeal and then grandma’s lifeless body fell limp to the floor. The blood was pooling onto the carpet.
Melody panicked.
“What have I done? Oh Grandma! Oh no I am so sorry!”
Melody rushed down stairs to call 911.
Stephanie Bri 