The Toystore Murder by Shruthi Viswanathan (good romance books to read TXT) đ
- Author: Shruthi Viswanathan
Book online «The Toystore Murder by Shruthi Viswanathan (good romance books to read TXT) đ». Author Shruthi Viswanathan
The Toy store Murder
âHello Samâ Mrs. Adams said, in her sweet voice, which was full of warmth.
âIt is nice to have you hereâ Mr. Adams said.
âThank youâ I said. I was in a toy store owned by my neighborâs grandparents. It was called Maryâs toyshop. Stella had forcibly brought me to her grandparents store to show me around. She had told me that it was the best store in the whole city. It was very big indeed. It was a two storey shop. Colorful toys were displayed on the display window.
âItâs really famous around these parts. Come in, Iâll show you aroundâ Stella volunteered. I followed her quietly. She took me to the first floor. A few customers were there, looking at toys. There was a lady and a girl.
âHello Stellaâ the girl walked towards Stella.
âOh, hi Tabithaâ Stella said. Then she turned towards me. âThis is Tabitha, a regular customer. And thatâs her momâ she said, pointing at the lady. I didnât say anything. I was just thinking how I had managed to get myself into this girlishness. I was a normal college student with an over-enthusiastic and a little unconventional neighbor who wanted me to accompany her everywhere for no apparent reason.
âSee you laterâ she said and took me to the second floor. It was full of big and expensive-looking toys.
âThis is the second floor. We have the most expensive toys here. No one comes here usuallyâ she said. I looked at one of the toys. It was a huge talking doll. I looked at the price tag. Three thousand dollars it glared. âNo wonderâ I thought to myself.
âThatâs the store room. We keep extra stuff thereâ she said. We went back to the first floor. There was a window. I looked outside. There was a swing.
âThereâs a story behind that swingâ she said, as if reading my thoughts. âLong ago, there was a girl Mary who was a regular visitor to this toyshop. She loved toys. One day, she dies in an unfortunate accident. It is said that her ghost still comes to play here. Sometimes, that swing moves even when there is no wind. If her ghost gets angry, it can even murder peopleâ I looked at her. She closed her blue eyes. âI feel so happy when I visit this shop. I used to play with Barbie dolls a lot when I was a kid. So, it reminds me of my childhoodâ âJust my luckâ I thought. To be listening to girly stories from my neighbor about Barbie dolls.
âLetâs go out and eat somethingâ she said. We went downstairs. On our way, we bumped into a man carrying a large suitcase.
âSorryâ Stella said.
We went downstairs. I felt a little tired. Stella had made me walk here all the way from my apartment which was at least a mile away. My legs were going to bleed if she made me walk more.
âIâll sit and wait here. You go and get something to eatâ I said. I sat down on a chair next to the counter. Mrs. Adams smiled at me.
âYouâre so lazyâ Stella complained.
âIâm tiredâ I said. âPleaseâ
âOkay, she said. Come on Uncle Adam, letâs goâ she and her uncle went away. I sat and stared at Mrs. Adam for a while.
âWant a newspaper?â she asked. I nodded. She handed me a copy. Before opening my newspaper, I saw an old woman and a few high school girls enter the shop. Tabitha came over to the counter and bought a Barbie doll.
I read the newspaper. There was nothing too unusual. The usual political news and celebrity gossip. I turned the pages. A huge poster of a manâs face caught my eye. I read what it was about. The manâs face was pale. He had shifty black eyes and a long face. His hair was black and curly. A huge WANTED was stamped across his face. Below it was a description.
Harry Hinsou- the famous jewel smuggler escaped from the confines of the city prison four days ago. Long, pale face- small eyes and curly black hair. Wanted living or dead. Suitable bounty to informer. A jewel smuggler? I had heard his name somewhere before. His face seemed familiar. Had I seen him somewhere before? But I had not gone out of my apartment in the past three days.
âI want thisâ someone said. It was the man with a big suitcase. He was holding the big talking doll that cost three thousand dollars.
âThree thousand dollarsâ Mrs. Adams said. He quickly paid the money. Mrs. Adams packed the doll for him.
âActually, I am in a hurryâ he said. âI had come here on a business trip. My niece asked me to buy her a doll. I was so busy that I forgot about it. Do you think she will like this?â
âOf course she willâ Mrs. Adams assured him. âThis is one of the best. So sweet of you to remember your niece and buy something for herâ
âItâs okay. Thereâs no need to pack it. I have to hurry to the airportâ he said. Mrs. Adams handed over the doll to him.
âThank youâ he said and walked out. I buried myself in the newspaper again.
A few high school girls came up to the counter and bought a game boy game. It was something about make up and something.
Mrs. Adams packed it for them. Then they hurried out. I sat there, looking at everything, wondering where Stella was. The phone on Mrs. Adamsâ desk rang. âHelloâ she said.
I heard Stellaâs voice on the other end. I couldnât make out what she was saying, though. A stylish looking lady walked into the shop. She looked around and then went upstairs. She was followed by a swarm of small girls who hurried upstairs too. I could hear them chattering in the first floor. Mrs. Adams was still talking to Stella. The old woman came to the counter with a teddy bear in her hand. She waited for Mrs. Adams to stop talking but she kept talking.
âCan you kill it?â she asked me. I nodded. I looked at the price tag on the teddy bear. It said forty five dollars.
âForty five dollarsâ I said. I fed the information into the computer and printed the bill. I put the teddy bear into a paper bag and gave it to her.
âThank youâ she said. âToday is my granddaughterâs birthdayâ
âOh, happy birthday to herâ Mrs. Adams said. Then she continued talking. The group of small girls came downstairs and started looking for something. They went out without buying anything.
âStella just told me that she bumped into a friend of hers and has gone over to her house to chat. She will take some timeâ
âItâs okay. Iâll waitâ I said. âIf thatâs not a problemâ
âNo, noâ she said. âItâs not a problem at allâ
The stylish looking lady came downstairs. Something about her was different. She pretended to look around the shop and then went out.
âWho is that?â I asked.
âI donât know her name but she lives nearbyâ Mrs. Adams said, pointing to the cluster of apartments nearby. I didnât know so many people lived here.
âYoungsters these days have no mannersâ the old man who had come into the shop said to Mrs. Adams. He was buying a puzzle. âYesterday, while I was walking on the road, a youngster bumped into me. He didnât even say sorry and said that it was my faultâ
âThat is so manner lessâ Mrs. Adams sympathized.
âYes, it is. How much?â he asked.
âSixteen dollarsâ she said sweetly. He paid the money and then went outside.
âI think I will go outside and get some airâ I said and walked out. I looked around. There were many shops on this street. There were many people and cars also. This place seemed to be busy.
âSo you are the new employee in Maryâs toyshop?â a voice behind me asked. I turned around. It was a middle aged man. He looked angry.
âSo do they think that by employing young people they will be able to take away my business? They are mistakenâ he said.
âExcuse me but what are you talking about?â I asked. I really had no idea.
âDonât try to act innocentâ he said. âEveryone here knows that Maryâs toyshop is the biggest rival of Anthonyâs Toy world. My shop is so much better. I have the best toys. But they still steal all my customers. I wish that their shop would close downâ
âHey Samâ Stella shouted. She was carrying food in her hands. My nose gravitated towards the smell.
âI was waitingâ I said. âWho is that anyway?â I asked, pointing to the man who had been talking to me.
âHe is Anthony, owner of Anthonyâs toy world. He always thinks of us as his rivals but we think of him as our friendâ Mr. Adams said.
-#-
Stellaâs eyes were full of tears when she came into my room without knocking the next day. She was sobbing. âSomethingâŠâŠ.terribleâŠ..happenedâ she managed to say between her sobs.
âWhat is it?â I asked.
âThey found a bodyâŠ..someone was murderedâ she cried.
âBut those kinds of things keep happening. Why are you so worried?â I asked. She looked at me as if I was the murderer.
âThey found the body in the store room of grandmaâs shopâ she sobbed.
âWhat?â I was surprised.
âIt was the body of a high school girl named Ann. It was there in the closet. She had been stabbed. Imagine how grandpa must have felt when he saw it. He called the police immediatelyâ
âSo thatâs good, isnât it? The police will find out who did itâ I said.
âNo, the police think that it is grandma and grandpaâs fault. They are thinking of closing down the shop. I donât want that to happenâ
âBut why are you telling me all this?â I asked.
âYou are the worst neighborâ she said and went out of my room. I just looked at her. It wasnât my business anyway but I still felt bad. I got up and went to Maryâs toy store. There was a huge crowd in front of the shop. I waded through the crowd until I found Stella. She wasnât crying but she looked sad. She looked at me but pretended not to notice.
âSorryâ I said. I dragged her out of the crowd. âI was in a bad mood in the morning. Why donât
Comments (0)