Martha

The Heinous Crime

Police sirens blared through the silent neighborhood, causing curious bystanders to emerge from their homes.  Nothing exciting ever happened in the small town of Potteria, so when Officer Holloway and his partner were dispatched to investigate a domestic dispute, all hell seemed to break loose. People gathered around and watched as he parked his patrol car in the driveway of the address in question and ran to the front door.

The door was cracked open, just enough to where he could see the drops of blood that were splattered on the floor of the foyer. He drew his pistol with one hand, and shined his flashlight into the house with the other.

"This is the police! We're coming in!"

Officer Holloway slowly made his way into the house with his partner, a first year officer by the name of Francine Fuller, trailing closely behind. They followed a path of blood until they came across something that made them both freeze in their tracks. It was the dead body of a well known preacher in town.

Reverend Michael Crenshaw.

He was lying on the floor with a knife sticking out of his back, and a pool of blood coming from his crotch.  It looked like he had been stabbed several times down there. 

Francine threw her hand over her mouth and turned her head away, trying to swallow the vomit that threatened to escape.  "Oh, dear God."

Officer Holloway pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and stuck it over his face.  "Jesus Christ," He breathed, "Who the hell would do this to a man of God?" He called for back up on his radio.

He took another step forward when the sound of someone crying echoed through the room.  It was a small child. Gripping on to his gun a little tighter, he shined the flashlight into the living room. 

That's when he saw her sitting there.  Reverend Crenshaw's youngest daughter, a girl by the name of Martha.  She was huddled in the corner of the room, with her head buried between her knees. 

"Martha...." He called out softly, taking a cautious step towards her, as not to frighten her. "Martha, it's Officer Holloway. You know me from church."

She did not respond.

"I'm your friend, Martha.  I want to help you."

He took a few more steps towards the child, until he was right in front of her.  He glanced over at his partner before putting his hand on Martha's frail shoulder.  "Talk to me, sweetheart.  Are you okay?"

The officer gasped in horror when the child picked her head up.  There was a hideous cut on her cheek and her right eye was hanging out of the socket. 

Someone had tried to cut it out.

"Call for an ambulance, Francine!  This child is severely injured!"

Martha whimpered and reached her blood soaked hands towards him.  The officer kneeled in front of her and rested his hands on her shoulders.  "You're gonna be alright, sweetheart.  Help is on the way."

The ambulance arrived five minutes later, along with four more police vehicles. Officer Holloway shook his head as he watched Martha being taken out of her home on a stretcher. He tried to ask her if she knew the person who had done this to her, but the EMTs implored him to leave her alone until she was in a more stable condition.

Little did the officer know, Martha would never speak again and that the horror was just beginning.