Flash Fiction Friday: Who Killed Sara?

This is a fun murder mystery story I wrote for my high school English class to get them interested in looking for evidence to support their answers to open-ended responses.

Who Killed Sara?

A girl named Sara was walking home from work one evening. Her apartment wasn't far, but she was always uneasy about walking because it was just getting dark and she had to pass by Old Man Grady's house. Old Man Grady was a creepy man who lived in an even creepier house. Every evening when she walked home, the old man would stare at her from the front window of his house. There were rumors that Old Man Grady once had a family, but that he murdered them. Some people said that his wife and kids were buried in his backyard. 

On this particular night, Sara was thinking about the argument she had with her boyfriend Steve earlier in the day. She had kissed his best friend Darrell, and Steve found out. She knew it was stupid, but her relationship with Steve wasn't going so great lately. When Steve found out, he'd lost it. She was scared that he was going to hit her, but he stopped himself. Unfortunately, even if he had hit her, it wouldn't have been the first time. Before storming out of her apartment, Steve had told her she was going to pay for what she'd done.

She hated the way he made her feel. Why couldn’t he just love and treat her right? She hated the way everyone made her feel. She thought about how many times she could count on one hand that her mom called just to talk to her. She was walking home from a job she hated to an apartment that she could barely afford. Surely, life was meant to feel more fulfilling than this.

When Sara walked by Old Man Grady's house, she noticed that he wasn't in his usual place. She thought it was odd because he was always there. As she continued walking home, she felt like she was being followed. She looked back, but it was so dark that she couldn't see anything. She kept walking, but a little faster than she had been.

When Sara reached her apartment, she looked behind her one more time. No one was there that she could see. She stepped into her apartment and closed the door.

Local police found Sara dead in her apartment the next morning.

Who do you think killed Sara and why? 

photo credit: Ajnagraphy photopin cc