Monday, July 13, 2009

Entry #105

The Socialite
by Terri Welch


The ruby at her throat matched the scarlet in her wine glass.
"Always co-ordinated, eh Marilyn?" The heartbroken youngster inside him bitched silently, still bitter. He turned his back on them both, scanning the room.
A flashbulb popped. The culprit danced in the mirror behind the bar; point and shoot, move, point and shoot. Pushing his way to get the angle he needed. Like her, just less subtle.

A silver tray bearing champagne tempted his inner youngster. Forget it, dumbass.

His companion touched his elbow. "You okay, Henry?" Her murmured voice portrayed concern; her face gave nothing away. He nodded, grateful.

Velvet drapes hugged lead-pane windows, crystal chandeliers sparkled off paneled walls and a polished mahogany bar. The furniture probably cost the planet a piece of rain forest. Yep, it looked like she'd found the angle she was looking for. High society - her Holy Grail, with all the trimmings.

"Detective!"

He had to look back. Another flashbulb seared her alabaster skin into his eyes.

"I think we can be pretty sure what did it." A fistful of pills; didn't matter what kind.

Did you really wanna end up like this? Surrounded by cops, wearing nothing but a thousand-dollar ruby that matches your wine..?

"Hey Sid... get that wine tested too."

"What for?"

"Anything that shouldn't be there."

Even twenty years later he'd never forget her last words to him.

"You got as much chance of getting rich as me taking a fancy to red wine, Henry. Forget it. Goodbye."

24 comments:

Laurel said...

Great twist at the end! This was really visual for me to read. It played like the opening scene of something.

Good job!

JR's Thumbprints said...

I liked the reasoning of the victim as they gathered evidence.

Rachel Green said...

Lovely! Clever introduction / realisation of the corpse.

He shouldn't be working the case, though!

laughingwolf said...

cops... who can figure them out?

Catherine Vibert said...

Wow, I had her as a star and he was watching, and so it was quite a twist when the word 'Detective' came into the picture and I realized she was dead. Great irony here.

Hoodie said...

Very nice, my dear. I like the parallels. Great writing.

Aniket Thakkar said...

Wow. This was splendid.

Really liked it. You used the italics quite well too. :)

Terri said...

Thank you all for the positive feedback - it's good to know I did what I set out to do. You make me a very happy girl :-)

Unknown said...

Good story! Really loved the way you unraveled the plot, bit by bit, taking the reader to rich ending.

Therese said...

Excellent perspective, really great story. I really enjoyed your entry, Terri.

BernardL said...

I could see trench coated Robert Mitchum cock his hat standing over Rita Hayworth in a film noir.

PJD said...

Monroe?

I was a little confused as I thought Marilyn was "my companion" at first. Then it all came clear.

Really well written. I especially like the dialog at the end and her last words to him.

JaneyV said...

Terri - I love how you built this up to look like a disgruntled ex-lover is looking on as the egotistical object of his desire is photographed by voyeuristic paparazzo. The poignancy of a shallow life lived in the media ending in such a media frenzy and lack of dignity is a sobering lesson.

Was it really only 250 words? It was so rich it felt like mush more.

Meghan said...

Great twist at the end!

Ranee Kaur Banerjee said...

I like both the build up and the end, Terri. This is one of my favourites.

Chris Eldin said...

I love the buildup and the dialogue, and I love even more being surprised!! This was a tightly written piece, and especially clever the whole way through. Very nicely written!!

As the Mind Meanders said...

That is nicely written

Cool

blog gore

Anonymous said...

This unfolded so nicely, petal by petal like a dark rose blooming. A complete story in 250 words - it leaves me in awe.

Sarah Laurenson said...

Awesome job!

And my word ver is 'proof' Hah!

Anonymous said...

Great piece. Great twist. You showed me show much in so little time. Left me wanting more!

Tara

Tessa said...

Rich, delicious, compelling and superbly well written. Impressive.

Terri said...

PJD - Nope, not Monroe, just a name that seemed to fit in with the characters in my head.

JaneyV - I love that you summed up the story exactly as I intended it to come across. Happy days!

And thanks, everyone :-)

Rabid Fox said...

Clever seems like a suitable word for this one. Me like it. :)

Anonymous said...

The death scene of Marilyn Monroe? Or something like it? Very original. Great take on the picture.

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