The Marked Coffin

PROLOGUE

It was a cold and eerie night on October 23rd. The time was about 10:30 pm. I was working late at the detective's office downtown. My boss came to tell me my shift was up, but the phone rang before he could say something else. RING RING! My boss grabbed the phone from my hands and answered, "Hello, this is Marshall Detective Services. This is Ace Walker speaking. How can we help you?" The caller had not responded. "Hello, ma'am or sir? Do you need any help?" Walker repeated. The caller was not responding to anything that he said. Ace had gotten very mad and told me to step outside. "But this is my office," I said. I sighed, grabbed my stuff off the desk, and headed toward the door.

~

I stood at the door, waiting for him to get off the phone. Ace was very cranky, and a little vein on his forehead would pop out when he got mad. It was a funny sight to see. I heard him yelling on the phone but couldn't understand what he was saying. After a few minutes, I rolled my eyes and sat in the chair outside the door. I closed my eyes and slowly drifted in and out of consciousness.

~

A couple of hours had passed before I woke up. "Unn... I must have fallen asleep." I said weakly. The office had been silent, and I thought my boss had left without warning me. "That asshole," I muttered under my breath. I checked the window to see if he was gone and noticed his car was still there. "Hmm, maybe he is still on the phone with the client," I said, shrugging my shoulders. I sat my bag on the chair and tried to open the door. It wouldn't budge.

~

"Hey, boss! The door is locked. Are you alright in there?" I said, hoping I could get his attention. There was no response. "Boss? Are you okay in there?!" I exclaimed. I slowly pulled out my key and stuck it into the keyhole. Turning it, I couldn't believe what I just saw. Stumbling back over my feet, I let off a bloodcurdling scream. My boss had been hung from the ceiling by the telephone cord. I looked up and heard laughing from the telephone, almost like witches from those TV shows. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and began to call the police.