Deena Jenkins surveyed the room pleased with the results. Candlelight shimmered softly with the vibrant purple and green decorations. No orange and black, those colors were too depressing for Deena Jenkins; her ex-husband Henry would no longer drag down her life. Henry was gone; she was dumped aside for a more exciting life. There wasn’t another woman involved, just the fact that he was tired of her and wanted a different life. Deena half hoped there was another woman, it would give some sense to the whole deal, but she was slowly emerging from the fog and tonight she was giving her first party as a single. Deena was alive again.
Julie was prancing around trying to move things around, making herself more of a nuisance than anything else. Julie was like that – always thinking about herself no matter where she was. During the past few weeks it seemed as though Julie was taking the breakup harder than Deena. "Julie, leave things like they are, everything is perfect," Deena said in an irritated voice. Julie made an ugly face and starting to whine.
"I don’t know what is going on with you Deena, you act as though you hate me anymore. I mean, I am here to help you and all you ever do is complain. I’m thinking you want to dump me as a friend, just like Henry dumped you." Deena took a few breaths trying to control herself. Why she had stayed friends with Julie over the years was a real mystery. Even Henry couldn’t stand Julie. He would say that anyone who would want her negative personality even remotely near was a glutton for pain.
"Julie, please, I just don’t have the energy for this type of conversation," she said in a controlled voice, “so let’s talk about something else. Do you have a costume?” Julie smirked as she pranced again as if she was a small child.
"Not only do I have a great costume, I have a date." Deena was pleasantly surprised; perhaps having a new man in her life would get Julie out of her life. "What is his name, where did you meet him?" she asked.
"Uh, let’s just say he goes by Frank and he is an old, old friend," Julie said laughing. "I gotta go, bye-bye," and as she left she nearly knocked over one of the lit candelabras. "Please don’t burn my apartment down," Deena said aloud even though Julie had already left.
The party started with a bang and people were piling into the apartment. Deena was dressed as little Bo Peep and she looked adorable in her little outfit. The past few months of depression caused Deena to lose some weight, so she looked more curvaceous than usual. Her friends were in good spirit for the Halloween fun, and she suddenly knew that everything was going to be just fine. She would truly be embarking on a new journey without Henry. She only wished her heart wouldn’t hurt each time she thought of him.
"Deeeeeena!" Julie screeched as she came in dressed as a naughty nurse in a very short dress, and fishnet stockings. Her date was indeed Frank – Frankenstein. He had an ugly mask on and was dressed head to foot in a shabby green suit with big shoes.
"That’s outrageous," she laughed at her friend. You two look fabulous together."
"Sorry we are late," Julie said, "Frank was a little frisky so I had to calm him done before we got here." She was hanging on the man in a lurid way. "So you gonna hang up our coats or what?” Deena smiled as she nodded her head. She was tired of listening to Julie’s stories of picking up men and immediately going to bed with them. She knew at that moment that she and Julie would have a permanent break up real soon. It was time that Deena kicked Julie to the curb. She moved away to talk to her other friends. Somehow her run-in with Julie and her friend took the fun away from the party.
A few hours later, Deena went to use the bathroom in her bedroom and she saw movement coming from her closet. She caught Frankenstein going through her things. "That’s it buddy, you are so busted," she screamed. "I am going to call the cops and you will be spending the night in jail." Just as she picked up the phone, the man reached up and took his mask off. She was face to face with Henry.
Deena was speechless. She couldn’t fathom how Henry was able to come into her space with the woman he hated just so he could go through Deena’s personal things. "I was looking for my special cufflinks, you know, the ones you gave me," Henry whispered sheepishly.
"Those cufflinks belonged to my father and you do not deserve them," Deena said. "How dare you come into my home and try to rob me. I am going to call the police." Suddenly, Julie came rushing in, "what’s going on here?" she demanded. Deena walked over to her and slapped her hard across the face. So hard that Julie fell down on the floor and writhed in pain. The outline of Deena’s hand was vividly portrayed in red on Julie’s face. Henry screamed at Deena as he lifted Julie from the floor. She looked pitiful and Henry murmured something in her ear as he walked out of the bedroom. The guests were suddenly so quiet you could hear a pin drop
"You will be hearing from her lawyer," Henry said as he walked out in the cold. Deena’s guests were abuzz with speculation. "Where did Henry come from?" someone said as Deena locked herself in her bedroom.
Deena heard the knocking on her bedroom door and she opened it to find the worried face of Ann Jones, a neighbor and fairly new friend. "Oh Deena honey, I am so sorry," she said as she took Deena in her arms. Ann’s boyfriend, Joe was looking on with anger. "That bastard had no right to come into your house like that. Hiding behind a mask, he’s nothing but a pansy, a pure sissy." Deena cried as Ann told Joe to stop talking. Joe paced back and forth and then left without saying a word. Ann made some hot tea and they talked for a few moments. After Ann left, Deena paced around the apartment thinking about the night’s events.
The knocking was incessant and the more Deena moved her covers over her head, the louder the knocking became. She got up stiffly and nearly gagged at the smell of her own breath. She had a distant memory of drinking half a bottle of whiskey last night and her throat was like dry cotton. Deena splashed cold water on her face and shuffled to the door. The sun was blinding as she open the door. The two officers peered at her with some concern. "Ma’am, are you alright? Do you need help?” Deena replied by vomiting on both officers.
Henry was dead. He had been bludgeoned from the back of his head. He was found face-down in the bathroom by Julie. Police later learned that Julie had broken in using a spare key she had taken from the deceased. After several hours of questioning and with the cooperation of angry neighbors who had heard shouting in the early morning hours, police learned that Henry and Julie had a terrible fight the night before. Henry had deep scratch marks across his face and the living room was strewn with broken glass. Julie admitted having a fight with Henry after he brought her back to his apartment from the party. After he gave her ice for her face, he said everything had been his fault and that he owed Deena an apology. He told her that he would be back later on and to sleep on the sofa. Julie lost her temper and attacked the man with her long fingernails. A vase had toppled over and broke. Julie swore she left Henry alive. She was arrested and brought in for questioning.
Deena was so embarrassed but the two men were able to clean themselves off with a wet towel. Sgt. Miller actually made a pot of strong coffee and forced Deena to drink a few cups. "Do you think Julie could have killed Henry?” They asked. Deena appeared confused. She said that Julie had a very unstable side of her, but she was also concerned about Joe, Ann’s biker boyfriend. She was thinking that maybe Joe went over and roughed up Henry after he saw how he had treated Deena. The police said they would question Joe, but they seemed to think Julie was the killer.
The CSI detectives worked through the apartment looking for clues to confirm the police suspicions. Fingerprints were lifted as they worked methodically through the small place. One of the detectives even dusted the Frankenstein mask thinking he might be able to discover other prints. Meanwhile, Julie cried for Deena. She needed her friend to help her make bail, but Deena never came or called. Julie had been officially dumped. Who killed Henry and what was the motive?
Solution to: “Trick or Death”
Henry was killed by none other than Deena! She had paced through her apartment getting angrier by what had happened. She found Henry’s coat still hanging in the closet with the keys in the pocket. Remember – Julie had taken a spare key from Henry, meaning that he didn’t have his regular key. Deena also brought over the mask that Henry had left behind. She saw Julie leave and she used that time to argue with Henry. She was so angered, she hit Henry from behind and then went home and got drunk to erase the pain. Deena was the killer – but she would never confess. Julie got what she wanted – Henry, at a very high price.
