I arrived back at my parent's house that night more depressed than the darkness that was within the house when I entered it.
As I started to take off the black suit I had been wearing all day, I felt a cold piece of metal touch the back of my head.
"Where is it?" A clearly disguised voice asked me.
"Where is what?" I asked back as I slowly raised my hand in the air.
"The painting!"
"What painting?"
"The painting of the three witches burning."
"I have no idea what you are talking about." I lied. I knew exactly which painting the person on the other end of the gun was referring to. It was a painting that hung in my uncle's library just above the fireplace. The painting was called The Flames Consume Them. It was a painting of three women, each tied to a large piece of wood, and flames rising up from the bottom of the canvas to consume them.
Uncle Merton purchased it while he was in the tiny town of Arkham, Massachusetts. He thought it would look good over his fireplace. That was the kind of sense of humor he had. After I told the person holding the piece behind me my lie, I said to whoever it was behind me, "Look, this is my parent's house and they aren't home. Just take whatever you want and leave me alone." My plea didn't work. The room became darker as what I assume was the back of the gun hit me in the back of my head.
YOU ARE READING
The Case of The Perplexed Painting
Mystery / Thriller17-year-old Simon Blink hires a private eye to help him find who murdered his uncle. It is soon discovered that his death was linked to a mysterious painting.
