The Little Black Book Of Murder

In all the years that Lydia Graham had worked for The Philadelphia Police Department, she had never considered that her job as the coroner would take a sinister route… That she’d have to use her skills and her cunning for far darker things than just coming up with a cause of death. Least of all, she’d never thought that she would have to go under her wife’s nose to do it. Could she bear that burden? Could she really pull off such a momentous and heinous act, meanwhile pretending to be the same woman she’d always been? The stakes would be incredibly high and that morning, over a cup of steaming hot coffee, she weighed the pros and cons of ending her father-in-law’s life and considered the reasons he needed to die.

The squelching of rain-soaked work boots sounded throughout the three-bedroom home’s hardwood floors. Isabella had spent weeks making sure those floors were perfect before the newly-married couple had moved in six years ago. Now, they were covered in mud as Howard Stone, Isabella’s father, walked further and further down the hall toward his sleeping grandchild’s room.

Charlotte Graham, the tender age of three, had no way of knowing that her grandfather was moments away from plucking her from her bed and stealing her away into the night. She cuddled her stuffed Olaf closer to her chest as her subconscious heard the door creak and her grandfather loomed over her bed, similar to that of a sailor with his work boots and his long coat. He was no sailor, not with his leather gloves that would leave no trace of a fingerprint against the child’s bed or the door handles.

Howard scooped the child up and held her close to him, shielding her from the light and the potential of waking up. He knew she’d eventually stir, but things like this were easily explained away to a three-year-old. Grandpa was just coming to pick her up for a sleepover, of course. What was there to be worried about? She’d tuck back into him and fall fast asleep, none the wiser to the betrayal that was currently taking place.

Isabella Graham was a detective and worked alongside her wife at The Philadelphia Police Department. A detective and not even she had seen this coming, nor had she heard anything. The police that were called were long-time friends and even if they reassured the worried parents that their child would be returned safely, both mothers were a mess with worry and absolute dread. Who were their enemies? Who could’ve done something like this? Who had access to their house? They were all good questions.

At noon the next day, around the time that Charlotte would’ve been wondering where her mothers were and when they were coming to get her, Howard decided that the game had gone on long enough. The worry had sat in the pit of their stomachs just long enough to teach them a lesson and with that conclusion, Howard had returned his granddaughter to her parents. He explained to both them and police that Charlotte had showed up at his home, which was just a mile away, barefoot and carrying her blanket. He explained that she had been sleepwalking. It was an easy solution for the police, tied up in a nice little bow. But for Isabella? He Her daughter hadn’t been sleepwalking for almost a year … None of it made any sense.

Later that night, once the commotion had died down, Isabella received a call from her father. He explained that if she ever tried to cut him off from seeing his grandchild again, that he would make sure she wasn’t found the next time he took her from her bed in the middle of the night.

It was enough to unsettle both of the mothers, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from moving further from both work and the city… Further from the man who wanted nothing more than to terrorize them.

“You’re up early, “ Isabella said, walking into the kitchen and brushing a hand against her wife’s back. She kissed her on the cheek and headed for the coffee machine. It was six in the morning, but it was Saturday. They should’ve been sleeping in. Unfortunately, all Lydia could do was think.

“I couldn’t sleep. I woke up three times last night. Twice from a nightmare and once because I needed to pee.” Isabella visibly tensed up when Lydia spoke about a nightmare. “Again? It’s been months.” Months since she’d had them and months since they’d moved and months since Charlotte had been kidnapped by her grandfather. But, nothing could erase the trauma of not knowing whether your child was alive or dead. Every time the wound would scab over, it would just fill with pus and become infected once more.

“I know. Can you blame me? He’s not even in jail, Izzie. He should be. He should be rotting right now. How is it fair that he called our daughter an abomination and we’re the ones who should have to fear for our lives? It’s ridiculous.” At some point, Isabella had stopped pouring her coffee and had moved over to her wife who was sat at the kitchen island. She rested a hand on the back of her neck, the other combing through her hair. “I know. It was awful. And my father is an awful man. But all we can do is try to move forward and thank our lucky stars that Charlotte won’t need therapy for the rest of her life.”

“What if we didn’t?”

“What?”

Lydia gently took her wife’s wrist, moving to hold it and look Isabella in the eye. “What if we didn’t just move forward? What if we actually did something about it?” There was a look of slight disbelief on Isabella’s face. Howard Stone was untouchable. Between the money he had and the contacts? Anything they tried to do to him would never see the light of day.

“What did you have in mind? If you’re asking me to be an accomplice to something illegal-”

“What if I am?”

There was a pause between the women as Isabella stared at her wife. She swallowed, already putting the pieces together of what they’d do.. Of what Lydia would do.

“How?”

Isabella’s voice was barely above a whisper as she asked the question. It went against every cell in her body, to even consider something like this. She was a police detective. She was supposed to be on the right side of the law. What did it say about her that she was considering murdering her own father in order to keep him away from their child?

Over the next few weeks, both women planned how they would murder Howard Stone. They planned it meticulously, going as far as to purchase a little black book that they kept in a safe in their study. They documented everything, though they really weren’t sure why. It would most likely be burned the minute the act was carried out. Still, they kept writing and they kept planning, biding their time until an opportunity struck.

And of course, it did.

Howard Stone had gone further this time, threatening Lydia. He’d said that if she didn’t stay away from Isabella and Charlotte, that he would have her killed. He’d even offered her a check, one that she had torn up in front of his face, regardless of how that could potentially piss him off. She didn’t care. She was done with the way he was terrorizing her family.

A few weeks later, after the untimely death of Howard Stone, the dust had finally settled. The air felt lighter and despite them standing over a grave, Lydia and Isabella were no longer filled with dread and fear that their family was in danger.

“Get rid of it,” Isabella said, once everyone had thrown their handful of dirt into Howard’s grave. She retrieved the little black book from her pocket and passed it to Lydia, her heart pounding in her chest. She was calm, stoic. She felt relieved, but she also felt incredibly determined to get rid of the book in her hand. “I don’t care what you do with it as long as you get rid of it and make sure nobody ever finds it.”

Taking it from her hands, Lydia stared at the book. She knew immediately what to do with it. Lydia Graham tossed the book into Howard Stone’s grave, knowing that nobody would ever find it.

As the couple walked away from the grave, Charlotte was nearby. The girl had wandered away from her aunt and now that she was nearly five, she knew something about the book being down there wasn’t right.

13 YEARS LATER….

Not even a twenty-thousand dollar life insurance policy could quell the Graham’s minds. Four children and a brand new home later, the memories should’ve faded. But what they did to Howard Stone would always lurk beneath the surface.

With a grunt, a metal shovel hit something hard. It was exactly what seventeen-year old Charlotte Graham had been looking for: Her grandfather’s casket, Since her childhood, she’d known something wasn’t right. She’d known and she couldn’t figure out why her mothers would lie to her. The events surrounding her grandfather’s death were murky at best. None of it made any sense and she was determined to prove that she wasn’t just making everything up in her head. Why had he been a bad man? Why had he died such a mysterious death?

Brushing away the dirt from the casket, she had been mentally preparing herself to open it. Would she find some sort of proof? The answer revealed itself seconds later when she found a small, black book. It was the size of a standard journal that you’d find in any bookstore and it was worn from the dirt and the years it had obviously been in the ground.

“What the hell?...”

She breathed, shining the flashlight on the book.

As she opened it, she could barely make out the words. It looked a bit like some sort of messed up grocery list, items that you’d find at a hardware store and some you probably couldn’t. Charlotte’s lips parted as she realized what she was looking at and she quickly shut the book.

A little black book of death, neatly tucked away into the Earth. Now the only question was… What the hell would she do with the answers she never thought she’d find?