The Beautiful Headstone
She was the cynosure of all eyes every man wanted her in Scentro County. Every single man wants to marry her, while some of the married ones had thoughts of divorce or wished they married her. Every married woman somehow tried to hate her. But it was impossible to hate Hannah Bedingfield. She was sweet, caring and kind. She worked at Sammies Hardware Tool Shop. She was the salesperson working in the hand tool section.
The store section was stocked full with pliers, cutters, vises, saws, knives, hammer, screwdrivers, etc. There were lots of young men who have rooms filled with screwdrivers that they do not need. They only needed some excuse to talk to and be close to Hannah.
Hannah, on the other hand, was happy she was meeting the sales target, she happened to be the only one unaware of her stunning beauty or the impact it had on men. She met Phillip Moorehouse some weeks ago. She had been dating him for six months, Philip Moorehouse, who until two months ago popped the big question, and she said yes. They got married the next month. She was still basking in the euphoria of the wedding and was lost in thought, rubbing the new diamond band wistfully, and did not hear when the man standing ten feet away asked her a question. On realizing this, she quickly apologized.
"Sorry, please what was it that you said, Sir?"
"What I want?" The man replied teasingly, undressing her with his eyes. His stares make her uncomfortable. He was looking at her the way a hunter looks at a prey that is about to be shot.
Subconsciously, she felt her hand go up to see if there was a button that was undone on her crisp white uniform with a red logo bearing SHT embroidered on it. The buttons are in order. Suddenly he laughed and said, "My name is Edward, and your name is Hannah." Hannah was about to ask how he knew her name because this man is a stranger when she realizes the tag on her shirt pocket has her name on it, as do other staff of Sammies Hardware Tools shop.
She smiled sheepishly at this sudden slack in her composure.
"I have been standing here the past one minute looking at you admiring the new ring. New love? I could only imagine how it feels."
Hannah turned red with embarrassment and murmured her apologies.
"Please, what can I get you, sir?" Her attempt at being professional sounded weak even to her.
"Oh, nothing much, I want to build a small home for my cat and dog, and I was wondering the type of drill that could make a clean 6mm hole, through a thick wood, that I could buy?" He walked a little closer maintaining eye contact, which she thought was a weird way to behave.
"Is there anything I could help you with, Mr. Edward Parker?" Samual Bun the manager/owner of the store asked in his deep bass voice. The duo did not notice him arrive.
Parker? Could this have any relation to Parker Autos, the billionaire family of the town? She wondered.
"Oh, Mr. Samuel, yes. I'd love to buy some drills, and your sales exec here is trying to help me." He replied without looking at him.
"Ok. Please give my regards to Mrs. Evelyn, tell her Samuel of Sammies Homemade Tools sends his regards. I'm grateful for the donation to the charity last month." He concluded.
Edward grunted in reply and the manager seeing his mind is obviously elsewhere quietly left. Now there is no doubt in Hannah's mind that this is the Edward; notorious for his womanizing ways. But he looked quite different from the picture. Evelyn is Edward's stepmother who controls the vast empire after the husband, Edward's father died. She caught herself staring and him smiling.
He picked up a drill and sauntered to the checkout leaving Hannah perplexed.He walked up to the checkout, paid and left the cashier's jaw on the floor when he instructed her to tip Hannah with her balance. That was $700. Most girls in the shop wished he would look their way, but Edward got eyes for the only person there; Hannah.
That was the biggest tip Hannah had ever received for the past three years working here. He sauntered out with the girls in the shop following him with their eyes.
Parked outside was his expensive red Ferrari that had featured in many newspaper headlines with different models and actresses gracing the front seat. He is a man who loves his women and parties.
After that day, gifts kept coming for Hannah delivered by various couriers. Each with one expensive item or another. She rejected all. Her coworkers were the happiest people, as each gift that arrived over the next couple of days means they get to have a taste of luxury which comes with a rich boyfriend.
He started calling the shop’s line. He always calls when she was on a break as if he has someone spying on her. She always ignores the call, letting it go to voicemail and he never leaves any. Finally, he decided to visit her in person. This time around a paparazzi photographer was able to take a photo of him talking to Hannah. Of course, Hannah turned him down
The newspaper headline next day reads: New Love Interest or Toy for Edward?
Philips was the first to see the news and laughed over the headlines and said,
"You are popular, come and take look at what was written about you here?"
She was relieved he did not see it as anything but newspapermen looking for a cheap sensationalism. His ability to love her no matter what is what she truly loves about him. The cheerful disposition was quite the opposite of her last friend which ended in him shouting at her and raising hell over men's attitude over her. It was not her fault if men stared at her or were it? Moore definitely does not feel any jealousy, he is a very cheerful loving man who is now her husband.
One day she came to work and was only in for an hour when she received a phone call. She did something she had not done since working there; she took permission to go. The manager quickly approved of it and did not ask what the problem was. That was the last time anyone ever saw her that week.The husband had long reported her missing. The phone call was traced to a street phone opposite the shop.
Her small green Prius car was found parked in front of a hospital. There was no sign of her anywhere there. No sign of struggles, her purse was found inside the car complete with all her IDs. Her clothes are intact at home. As usual with such case, the husband was the first suspect.
The news made headlines over the little town. In the following days, the investigation could not say if it there was foul play or not. She was filed in the missing person register.But Philip Moorehouse was as distraught as any husband would be who had a missing wife. Either he was that or a great actor. But the police after carefully going over motives found out he was the loving husband. No motive for wanting her out of the way. Next, the spotlight went to Edward, who had a group of lawyers making sure he does not say a word unless he absolutely has to. It made him look guilty as hell but he just does not care.
Finally, he was brought in for questioning and he at first tried to deny he knows the missing lady. But when he was showed the various delivery notes from his gifts, both the anonymous and the one he personally signed he grudgingly agreed to that. He maintained his innocence and said he tried to be friends with her and realized she was married and stopped. This was another lie he was caught in as one of Hannah's coworker has already issued statement that he once overheard Hannah tell him on the first day that she is married. But without a body or even the slightest hint of foul play, the case was filed as open but not currently under investigation.
It had been one hundred days and no one had seen or heard from her.
After all the dust has settled in, there was this rumor she might have eloped with a young lover and that they have started a new life in another country. There were even rumors of her sightings in various countries. Hannah soon became the favorite topics of the conspiracy theorists. Some even said she was kidnapped by the government running an illegal beauty cloning programme. These people were able to come up with lists of other stunning ladies who like Hannah vanished leaving no trace.
It was the five year anniversary of her disappearance, Moore had found love after waiting for four years and seemed to be happy again. Some group of Hannah's friends and relatives laid out some flowers on her favorite bench in the park. It was both heartbreaking and mysterious that they may never find out what happened to her. Time, like the restless stallion, kept running and with it, the memories start to fade. The flower-laying get-togethers become smaller every year till there was no one coming.
Thirty years later, a lot had happened. Edward died of a drug overdose some twenty years ago. Moore was now a proud grandfather. Hannah's only surviving relation, Aunty Betty, quietly passed on in an old people's home. Her last thought before she died was of her niece's beautiful smile. Moore had since relocated with his family after about four years after Hannah's disappearance. People understood, not wanting to be around the very people that may remind her of Hannah.
The police handling Hannah's case have long retired. The file containing her case was kept and was gathering dust in the evidence room.
The housing boom makes many developers go into a frenzy of upgrades with the ever-skyrocketing mortgage costs. Old houses demolished and new one sprang up in its place. It was all about who would pay the highest. Houses were always up for sale with outrageous price tags.
Sam Miller had been working in the scorching Sun and he needed a rest before continuing but there just one more room before the demolition is done. But as the wrecking ball hit the last standing wall, a crimson cloth caught his eye. He stopped the noisy machine and climbed down from the crane. He approaches the portion and discovered it was a doll. Oh. Kids and the way they hide things. He was just about to turn around and walk back to the crane when he saw what he taught was a doll was not a doll but more like old pieces of clothes. He walked closer and his body grew cold. It was a human. But had been closed in the wall and cemented shut. It appeared to have been there and is now mummified. He immediately alerted the police and there ends his job and police were all over the site looking for evidence and taking pictures.
The unidentified body was transported to the laboratory. It took three weeks before the result came in. It was Hannah Bedingfield and the body appeared to have been there for at least 20 years. There was blunt force trauma on her head showing death was not natural. That was murder.
The house in question was a house she and Philip Moorehouse used to live in. The house had been occupied by three other people after Philip left with new family. Philip was invited to the police station. He never showed up and he was found in the bathroom, a picture of Hannah on one hand and his gun lying beside her. A bullet hole in his temple told the whole story of his ending. One mystery was solved and another reared its head. Did he commit suicide out of guilt or sorrow? Who killed Hannah? Many actors in this saga are long dead.
The police could only find one thing that may be useful in the case. Hannah was murdered. There appeared to be no struggle. The past occupants were traced and questioned. All were as surprised as the perplexed like the police.They have no idea a body was walled up in a house they lived several years. They were let off the hook, one by one. It was another dead-end.
Further digging into the life of Philip revealed he had had many violent outbursts that led to him being treated in two psychiatric clinics. A revelation the police failed to uncover as he used an alias while registering there. The alias was found when he was dead, in one of his private documents hidden inside a locker in his bedroom. The attending doctors have all died. Only hospital record revealed the extent of his dementia. He never finished treatment in either clinic. Finally, the case of Hannah Bedingfield was closed and no one till today could say, with certainty, who killed her and to what end.
Mental disorders affects about twenty percent of the world's population including both adults and children. The stigma attached to it makes many not to seek treatment.
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