The Night in Question

They say you can tell a lot about a person from what's inside their bedroom.

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"I entered Nancy Muller's bedroom on the night in question. The door was held open by two black five pound weights. She had two of those superhero stickers on the front of the door. Superman and The Flash. Her favorites, I guess. There were more scattered all over the wall by the light switch, two more of The Flash and Batman. The rest of the room's walls were covered with paintings and drawings of animals, flowers, one about love and one resembling the movie poster of The Mummy. Across from the superheroes section was a vision board displaying her hopes and dreams of becoming a writer. Below that was a dry-erase board calendar with no appointments on it. Right in front along the wall was a black wooden desk with a white laptop at the top. Next to it was a book titled, "Ancient Egypt '' opened to the chapter on mummification.

The blinds were open to a clear view of the brick houses across the street. Directly in front of the window was a keyboard piano, an ironing board, a standing fan and two pop-up laundry hampers. The bedside table sat a framed photo of her posing with two small children in front of a Christmas tree. A lamp, cell phone charger and humidifier. The queen-sized bed was unmade with a little black dress and a pair of heels in front of it. Across from that was a four-drawer dresser with a small box of jewelry, lotion, body sprays, deodorant and oils. The TV sat on top of an old sewing machine desk with a shredder and a clear bag of papers. Behind that hung two winter coats and black raincoat. In the corner in a cloth bag were blank canvases, a box of paint and a small printer.

There was a long gold mirror glued to the closet door when I opened it. She had clothes hanging on hangers, two large suitcases in the corner and a variation of heels and boots on the shelves next to five action thriller novels by different authors and a clear plastic bin with combs, brushes and hair cream.

I stepped out of the closet and shut the door behind me and thought how normal Ms. Muller's bedroom was. Nothing out of the ordinary. Except one thing. There was one thing in particular that I just couldn't quite put my finger on. I stepped over to the painting of The Mummy above the radiator and studied it. I still couldn't put my finger on it. I went and sat over at the desk and began reading the last chapter Nancy was reading."

Mummification was the artificial preservation of the body arising from the belief that it would reunite with its spiritual counterparts in the afterlife. The first step was the removal of the internal organs - lungs, liver, intestines and stomach - through an incision in the lower left side of the abdomen. These were mummified separately and kept in containers called canopic jars. The heart was left in the body and the brain discarded. The body cavity was then washed and packed with natron, a mixture of sodium bicarbonate, which helped desiccate the body, and the entire body immersed in a natron bath for 40 days. The next step was to wash the body cavity with aromatic oils, replenish the natron, and cover the body with resin, which protected it from insects and bacteria. The phase lasted 30 days. Finally, the body was wrapped in bandages, within which were inserted protective amulets, according to rigorous religious specifications.

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"You can learn a lot about a person from what's inside their bedroom. And I learned a lot about you, Ms. Muller." Agent Hunt paced the floor.

The small squared room was dimly lit. Nancy sat at a steel table in a matching chair. One hand was handcuffed to the table while the other hand was on her shaking head.

Hunt placed the book on Ancient Egypt in front of her then leaned close to her ear and spoke in a low tone. "I found your book."

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Hunt looked around at the twenty-three members seated on the grand jury., "I did not have any other suspects at the time."

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"Hi, Nancy!" Warren waved from his red mailbox as Nancy twisted the key in the doorknob and turned towards the walkway.

Nancy smiled politely and waved. "Hi, Warren." She climbed into her car and drove off.

Warren smiled and opened his mailbox.

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Jim balanced the bowl of popcorn and a bottle of coke in his hand with a twizzler hanging out of his mouth then slumped on the couch next to Nancy.

"Ready to watch the best movie ever made?" Nancy asked, pressing play on the remote controller.

"I don't know why you love this movie so much."

"What's not to love? It's got action, thriller, adventure, romance, mystery. What's not to love?" Nancy tossed a cheese puff in her mouth as the opening credits rolled.

"Thebes. City of the living. Crown jewel of Pharaoh, Seti the First..."

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Jim was sprawled out on the kitchen floor. His lungs, liver, intestines and stomach were ripped out. His skull was cracked open and his brains were oozing out on the tiles.

Nancy woke up and rose lazily from the couch. She looked around at the scattered candy wrappers, empty soda cans and popcorn bowl on the table. "The Mummy." She chuckled.

Pushing through the swinging door to the kitchen, Nancy screamed.

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"I pushed open the door. There was a creak in the hinges as always. I took a moment to take in the Hawaiian Breeze body mist that had been sprayed that morning. I glanced over the desk and traced my finger over the unmade bed. I kicked my shoes, pulled back the covers and climbed in the bed. It was warm and cozy being in her full-sized bed. I sunk my face in the pink cotton pillowcases and rolled around. I took a deep breath and lay flat on my back and stared up at the blank ceiling then around at all of her original paintings and drawings all over the wall. My favorites, in this order, were hanging to the right of the headboard of the naked bodies of a man and a woman. The second was hanging on the left of the headboard, of a chaotic scatter of words to describe love. There were one-hundred eleven words to describe it. My favorite word was passion. The third was an exact replica of the movie poster for the movie, The Mummy.

I sat up and gently pressed a few keys on the keyboard piano. I was careful not to make a sound, so I just gazed out the window and smiled. I walked over to the dresser and spritzed a few sprays of the Hawaiian Breeze body on my neck then yanked her robe from one of the hooks next to the winter coats behind the TV. I looked good in the robe through the mirror hanging from the closet door. I stepped inside the closet and picked out a pair of black heels and that sleek black dress with the split and laid it on the bed.

I sat at the desk and continued reading the chapter on mummification that was left open. That's where I got the idea. I was going to gut him. After I removed the organs, I did n't feel the need to wrap the body, because he didn't deserve the full mummification ritual. And I was going to do it the minute he was in deep sleep.

They say you can tell a lot about a person from what's in their bedroom."

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Warren sat with his hands clasped in front of him.

"Where were you on the night in question?" Agent Hunt asked.

The End