Who is Alice?

“ALICE IN WONDERLAND”

Alice stepped out onto the wet pavement; she inhaled the slightly humid night air. Shadows were cast along the street walls from the sidewalk lamps and passing cars. In one swift movement she turned the key in the lock of the door. Clutching her laptop under her arm she moved onto the sidewalk, flagging down a taxi to take her to 273 Workshop Apartments, Cedarville.

Alice was startled by the bang at the door, it had been early morning and she hadn’t expected anyone.
“Coming” called Alice in the direction of the door, but before she had time to open it herself, her neighbour from the flat next-door bustled in. Her appearance was neat and meticulous, her white curly hair slicked back into a bun. Her face was ancient, deep lines where set in her forehead, like small ripples of water frozen in time. She smelt strongly of perfume, almost sickly sweet she’d thought. 
“Can I help you, Mrs Dally?” she questioned, as she begun to drift around the room, gathering her things. She pulled a black coat over her cream long sleeved top, and ran her fingers through her short dark brown hair.
“I was wondering when my jewellery would arrived, the ones I had ordered last week from the store?” claimed Mrs Dally, her plump figure stood in the doorway blocking the light, her stance suggested she was demanding. She was extremely impatient thought Alice.
“I’ll pick them up for you at the store and drop them off to you by the evening... Mrs Dally I’ve got to go now, I’ll see you later then?” Alice didn’t have time for her neighbour and she was late to catch the taxi to her jewellery store in Matatiele. She brushed passed her and headed for the door. Leaving Mrs Dally flustered and annoyed in the doorway.

The streets where lively and busy, local businessmen and women rushed through the streets, with a comforting coffee and bag in hand. Alice tidied her small jewellery shop which was filled with little miscellaneous items and Chinese brooches. She looked out her shop windows, the rain last night had dried up and the sun now beat down on the pavement. Across the small walkway she saw Polliz Tea Garden, her shop was colourfully decorated in traditional lanterns and objects. The colours contrasted so greatly against the dull buildings it seemed odd- or perhaps out of place. Alike her store she had no customers all morning. But by late evening there’d been one customer; if you could call it that, which had came to Alice's jewellery store.

Mrs Dally hated waiting all alone in her small flat, it wasn’t preferable, and she constantly felt claustrophobic. As she paced around the house pulling open old windows, she was oblivious to the grey sky that would soon bring rain to the town. Alice should have been back soon with the package she thought, but where was she? She contemplated this and many other things while the TV hummed comfortingly in the background like a light lullaby.

She woke to the ear piercing screech of a car, dazed and disorientated she abruptly sat up. She’d fallen asleep on her old rocking chair and her spine ached from the awkward pose she’d slept in. Mrs Dally fumbled with the lace curtain to peep out into the street, only a dim light spilled onto the street from Alice’s flat. It had been too eye straining to see much more than a blank canvas. She trudged down the hall to her bedroom at the far end of the flat, and switched on the small lamp by her bedside. She noticed the window she’d left open earlier in the day, and was disgruntled by the water that now stained her wood floor. The rain lightly trickled down onto her peeling and cracked window still, diluted in the water had been some sort of red liquid. She looked at it puzzled and as she turned for a cloth her eye caught the butchered dark red body of her now lifeless neighbour; Alice. 

Mrs Dally let out a horrified scream as she saw Alice’s brown hair drenched in the red, red blood. Who could of done such a terrible thing to the jewellery shop owner.  Mrs Dally knew the number of the caretaker of the apartment building.  She got hold of Mr Rawlins to come and see what the heck was going on.  “Bullshit, this is crazy.  Poor Alice butchered like this.”, Mr Rawlins called the police. A short, bald, muscular cop entered the building.  “Inspector Jordaan, Jose Jordaan.” Mrs Dally took her pink handkerchief and wiped the tears that rolled down her wrinkled cheeks.  All she wanted from Alice was her jade earrings and bracelet, but this is what she had to see.  

The next morning the drizzle was falling softly on the flower pots at Polliz.  Inspector Jose was extremely busy with his pocket note pad, taking down every detail he thought important from the little jewellery shop for the murder of Alice.  Something made him look down, as he had tramped on something.  He lifted his size 8 right boot to reveal a broken piece of glass, red coloured glass with green edging.   He has seen this type of pane before on his way to the cop station in Maine street.  It was one of the churches stained window panes.  What was that doing in Alice’s shop?

Mrs Dally was waiting in Cedarville for the inspectors visit, bringing her up to speed of the progress of finding Alice’s killer.  “Mrs Dally, it shows on the coroners report that the suspect had used a butchers knife to inflect the multiple stab wounds on her body.  The defence wounds on her hands shows that she had fought back, trying to stop the suspect from hurting her, but the culprits strength overpowered her”.  Mrs Dally answered in a choking voice, “Poor girl only had a bird as her family, “Grootman”, what is to be done with her burial.?’  “The pastor Freddy decided that he will pay for everything, and do the burial service as well.”  

The day came when Alice’s funeral was held, Mrs Dally was standing at the far end of the cemetery trying to make sense of all this hurt and destruction that was taking place in Cedarville.  Why did this person see it necessary to kill Alice like this.  It was then she saw the grey headed man, a tall man, dark skinned, he looked rather familiar.  The limp in his step affirmed that she did see him that night when Alice was killed.  Mrs Dally went to the Inspector Jose to report that she saw that man standing under the sidewalk lamp that night.
Jose went closer and realised it was the antique Jeweller from the city.  Asian, very swift in his steps even though he had a limp.  “Mr Mansraj, could I ask you a few questions?” “Yeez of course, what can I do for Mr Police Man.”  “I have a witness that saw you over at the Workshop Apartments, did you know the victim Alice?” “No, I only saw that she was the girl from the shop in Matatiele……”

Mr Mansraj was finally apprehended for killing Alice.  He used a carving knife taken from the Lodge he was living in.  Obsession drove him insane as he watched her daily at the shop.  Because he couldn’t have her for himself, Mr Mansraj decided he rather kill her so that no body could have her.  Inspector Jose came across the room he was renting at the Lodge, on every inch of the walls, he had photos of Alice.  The knife was in one of the drawers of the cupboard that he hung his shirts in.  The red stained glass was used to cut her face.  

Mrs Dally was sitting in her lounge and rocking on her rocking chair, listening to “Grootman” whistling away.  Happy that justice was served and knowing that Inspector Jose Jordaan was just a phone call away.