About 'Dead Girl'[]
Situated in Room #35 on the Corridor of No-Wishes and Anguish slumps a corpse of a young girl named Kelly, Kelly Hampton.
She was 14 and had nowhere to live, so we allowed her a free placement within the ghastly walls of The Mansion of Delights, the only Corridor available for her is a gruesome length of dried bloody floors and desperate clawed hand prints stained with blood that wipe across the walls in any and all directions. Who knows who or what attacked the previous victims in here? Nobody knows, but everybody comes to this Corridor from time to time including Mike, Barry (cleaner), Walton, Nigel, Wype and finally Scran. Scran tends to visit everywhere, even Hammering Harry's patch - Scran is too fast for any beast or monster here thus allowing him a safe freedom, unlike Kelly Hampton: found with her heart gouged out of her chest, with broken ribs snapped clumsily to the sides and her whole abdomen coat of skin ripped open like a gift in wrapping paper. Her body was left abused from head to toe with bruising found around her neck, eyes, breasts, vagina and knees. Cuts and slices up her arms and legs looked like some form of artwork or attempted tattoo, yet the autopsy revealed these were wounds doused in vinegar, salt and lemons. She died having been through extreme amounts of pain -- the question is, who dunnit?
The scene of the crime, much like any scene of crime felt cold and haunting. A room that can tell a story just by looking around it. The door of Room #35 had been lock picked, visually captured by the bent scraps of wire left at the entrance. The murderer had gave up trying this and had smashed through the door using the steel candle-holders that line up the majority of the older Corridors.
The one by Room #35 had been pulled from the wall and once used to break in it was found discarded by Room #37.
Inside the room, a scuffle had taken place from the small entrance way through to the living quarters and had ended finally in the small kitchen area, where Kelly lay slumped against the cupboard below the sink. Her face was as pale as a glass of milk, and had frozen in the face she had when she died: terror remained in her now-dried eyeballs, her jaw locked in position of a constant scream. You think of death, you think eyes closed, mouth shut and laying peacefully. No. Not for Kelly. Her face contained so much emotion - yet she was completely lifeless. It looked as if her soul hadn't quite left her body...
- The photograph we are allowed to display has been added to this report. The murderer had left a message on the kitchen counter, a very sly (I U) using the knife as the 'I' used to slice at Kelly's body, Kelly's heart for the and a peculiar horseshoe for the 'U'. We know that the horseshoe was brought from the outside, as well as the knife - so the murderer must be an unknown, but The Mansion has a strict policy and we know that somebody hasn't snook in without our knowing, it's just not possible.
Back at the autopsy of Kelly, more information was leaked giving us a touch of evidence to help the case. On the bottom of her left foot heel, marked deeply with the knife used to kill her was a sloppy attempt of the letter 'N'.
On her back between her shoulder blades was dried semen, splodges of the stuff that mainly squirted the back of her head. Bruising on her back in the shape of butch hand prints allowed us to know the murderer was a Male, obviously, from the semen and the newly discovered spacious anal-passage of Kelly.
She had been raped, abused, slit and sliced, beaten, strangled and cut open to her eventual death, which she bled out from her open abdomen with a missing heart. More evidence of the bruising on the neck shows this was the last inflicted damage that Kelly suffered.
Things started to make sense once Paul Cronus reviewed the evidence compiled. He knew who it was. And he wasn't happy.
Nigel.
The 'N' found on her foot, the craziness that Nigel presented us with on his entrance. The fact Kelly was so young. It of course, was Nigel.
Paul closed the case immediately. BnK Authorities asked him to explain himself - BnK Authorities have power over anybody in the Mansion - but not Paul. He handed them the case of Kelly Hampton and ordered them to burn it. Burn it all. Burn Room #35 to the ground and to never speak about this again...
The following day, Paul knocked on Nigel's room early in the morning, with a tray of smoky-hot fresh toast, a butter knife with a small tub of butter, a tangerine (peeled) and a boiling hot tin of the finest of coffees. Sachets of sugar, both white and brown and a container of full-fat milk alongside that.
Nigel answered, he wore only boxers as he had just woken up. Rubbing his eyes and yawning an array of smelly breath all over Paul, Paul held his breath throughout the yawn and handed the Breakfast tray to Nigel.
Come in..or, whatever, says Nigel stepping back with the tray in his hands. I don't like coffee, so, you can have that, if you want. He yawns again, handing the cup to Paul. Paul takes it, nods, and takes a sip of it. He likes his coffee black - no sugar, in which Nigel frowned over. He did drink tea, but never black or without sugar, That's disgusting, man... said Nigel.
Paul places the cup down on the floor, safely out of the way by the bed. He dives straight into the deep end with Nigel. I covered your stupid ass last night. Don't do it again. Nigel. Don't. There's things that happen here that can't be explained, those are the things people never forget. I only saved your ass because Kelly has no family outside of here. Your doings are your doings, and I respect them, but you could've gotten me in trouble. The whole place could be brought down if not dealt with properly, okay?
Nigel didn't speak a word during Paul's little speech. He nodded, and agreed, and listened until Paul was finished.
Nigel breaks the eye contact from Paul and reaches to the right for a piece of toast. Paul is expecting a reply....
Nigel grabs the knife, slashes it into the butter and smears it across the toast quickly. He takes a giant bite, a buttery-bite no doubt as it didn't have time to melt. Nigel then stands up angrily and slams the half-chomped toast down onto the floor. He stomps on it with his barefoot, slipping a little but maintaining balance as he stomps more. Paul watched on, confused.
Nigel sat back down with toast and crumbs all over his foot. He crossed his right leg over his left calmly and said, I'm very interested in understanding the rules of this place, Paul, I really am. Sorry. I won't do it again.
Thanks for the toast.
Paul feeling nervous stands up. Nigel remained seated, watching him leave the room.