The Razor

"We're going to get caught," Norma said in a quivering voice.

"Don't whine Norma, everything is going to be alright.  All we need to do is lie.  Lie well," Mary Bell smirked.

The police were interviewing the children in the neighborhood and Norma was getting nervous.  Sooner or later, the police will be at her doorstep, and her mother would let them in.  The day before, Norma was walking back to her house when she saw a police car pull into her driveway.  She knew the police did not particularly suspect her; they were there because Norma was between the ages of five and fifteen.  Norma had turned around and walked quickly in the opposite direction.  She was frightened by the idea of an interview and she was not ready to face the police just yet.  It had only been two days since the murder of Martin and two weeks since Brian Howe.   Mary Bell, on the other hand, had no fear.  The police had already interviewed her and she had passed the examination.  Norma knew she would pass.  Mary Bell was an exceptional liar. 

"Never admit to anything, Norma" Mary Bell coached her.  "Whenever they ask about specific things, all you have to do is think for a second.  Don't rush yourself and blurt out with a stupid comment.  That will get you thrown into jail for sure.  And anyway, no one thinks it's us.  After all, we're just the little girls from the hills of North Hampton, who will ever suspect us?"

"But…" Norma sighed.  There was no way she was going to be able to convince Mary to turn herself and Norma in to the police.  She would refuse.  Mary might even kill her if she suggested such a thing.

"What did you do with the rope…and the razor?"  Norma asked cautiously.

"I threw the rope into the trash yard.  The Razor is under the floorboards in my mama's room.  No one will ever think to look there.  I'm the only person who knows about it."

"But what if the police decide to search the house?  Or maybe they'll realize they were wrong about Martin's death and start looking around for that rope.  We really should go get that rope from the junk yard.  If the police were to look anywhere it would be there"

              "Oh, Norma, stop fretting will you?  The rope is fine where it is.  Everyone thinks Martin swallowed a bottle of aspirin, and besides, it would look worse for us to be snooping around the place especially with the whole neighborhood on it's toes.  Can you even think for a second?"

              Norma looked straight into Mary's bright and shining brown eyes.  Her eyes had been sparkling ever since the killing of Martin and Brian.  Mary wore a great smile most of the time except for when she was talking to the police or discussing the tragedies of the boys' deaths with the grown-ups.  She was happier than Norma had ever seen her best friend.  In the school yard, Mary shrieked with laughter as she frightened the other children with horror stories and myths.  She captured the attention of everyone, small and large, and told them how Brian and Martin died step-by-step.  She told them the truth, and as Norma listened from the sidelines, she couldn't help but smile herself.  Although the children were scared, they were intrigued by Mary Bell's stories.  Mary made them swear not to tell anyone, and she made it clear that if anyone spilled the secret they would end up like the two mutilated and dead boys.  Being Mary Bell's best friend was an honor, and Norma happily etched the initials "MN" in the children's ankles with The Razor.  It was the same marking the girls made on Martin and Brian's soft bellies.  Together, Mary and Norma were the gang leaders, the President and the VP.  Norma did not want to lose her position.

              "Yeah, you're right.  We should leave that rope alone and let it settle in with the rest of that garbage and the razor will stay with you."

              "That's what I thought.  Just listen to me and everything will be fine, Norma.  Don't worry," Mary Bell put her small arm around her partner in crime.  Norma smiled.  Everything was going to be fine.  Mary had it under control.

              The next morning Mary and Norma walked to school, hand-in-hand, as usual.  The two giggled and chatted throughout their walk until they reached their classroom where all the boys and girls sat quietly in their assigned seats.  Norma and Mary parted and sat at the opposite ends of the room.  Time passed by as the children listened to their teacher, and in no time, everyone was released into the school yard for lunch recess.  The usual gang congregated under the Douglas fir tree next to the wooden swing sets and broken teeter totter.  Mary Bell and Norma both noticed one was missing.

              "Where is Kevin?"  Mary demanded.

              The children shrugged but a few looked away and shuffled uncomfortably on the bench they were sitting on.  Mary sensed disobedience among her minions.

              "I said where is he?  I saw him in class, so why isn't he on the school yard?"  Mary directed her question at the few who looked uneasy.  There was silence until one of them spoke up.

              "Kevin said he don't wanna eat here no more.  Said he's scared and doesn't wanna hang aroun' with us or something like that.  I don't know what happened so don't look at me like that."

              Mary raised her eyebrows and stopped smirking.  The abrupt change in her facial expressions scared the children.  Everyone knew this meant trouble.  Mary looked at Norma, and they nodded as their eyes locked.  They knew what must be done.  

              After lunch they had had art, and instead of making paper mashe animals they sat in the corner of the kiln room and whispered to each other as they formulated their plan.  Kevin's dad was a coal miner so he wouldn't be home until darkness had fallen.  Since Kevin didn't have a mom, this meant Kevin would be home alone for at least three hours.  Once Norma and Mary figured out where he lived by following him home, they would simply invite him to come exploring with them like they did with Brian and Martin.  If he refused to come along, they would invite themselves into the house.  Once school ended and the two girls followed Kevin out of their fourth grade classroom, they stalked him.  They hid behind trees and buildings when they thought he was turning around.  However, Norma could not help but notice the large knot that was growing in her stomach as she tip toed alongside Mary Bell a block behind Kevin.  She fingered the rope that was tied around her waist as she nervously looked over at Mary.  She was smiling and giggling, probably imagining how Kevin would look in a couple of hours- dead, mutilated, and marked with a large and bloody "MN".  She didn't want to upset Mary, but Norma was scared and intimidated.  Unlike Brian and Martin who were both in preschool, Kevin was taller and larger than both the girls.  Kevin was the fastest kid in their fourth grade class and had an A in Physical Education.  Although Norma understood that being a good runner wouldn't necessarily save him from Mary Bell's wrath, she wasn't as confident about his murder than she was about the two preschoolers.  Norma tried to build up the confidence to mention Kevin's physical abilities to Mary Bell, but Norma could not bring herself to do it.  Mary Bell was determined, and that was simply that. 

The girls hid behind a large diesel pick up truck as they watched Kevin unlock his front door.  They watched him feed the dog that howled behind the chain link fence in the front yard, and through the window they could see him turn the dials on his old and beat-up television set that was placed on a table on the far end of their living room.  After about ten minutes, the girls crept out of their hiding spot and rang the door bell of the creaky gray house.  Kevin opened the door and did not like what he saw but tried his best to be polite.

"Hey whatcha gals doing on this side o' town, eh?"

"We came to visit my auntie who lives about two blocks away but she wasn't there.  We thought that we would stop by your place for a little before my mama came and picked us up.  She won't be here for another hour and we were wondering if you liked exploring." Mary Bell smiled widely. 

"Exploring?  You girls like exploring?  Yeah sure I guess.  I don't really got anything else to do" Kevin shrugged and smiled weakly.  He looked slightly relieved that Mary Bell hadn't mentioned his absence from the gang meeting earlier that day.  Mary, Norma, and Kevin took off into the rubbles and broken down shacks that once used to be busy and productive factories.  Although the girls explored the abandoned buildings as if they had never been there before, Mary and Norma knew exactly where they were going.  The three children took a flight of moldy stairs up to an old office where the desk and old file cabinet still lay intact.  It was when Kevin peered into the open drawers that Norma snuck up from behind him and grabbed both of his arms.  Mary Bell took the rope from Norma's waist and threw it over Kevin's neck where the noose took hold perfectly as Mary Bell pulled as hard as she could. 

"This is what you get for disobeying me and breaking the alliance to the gang!"  Mary Bell shrieked with manic laughter.  Mary pulled and pulled as her smile became wider and wider at the sight of Kevin choking to death.  Meanwhile, Norma was struggling to keep his arms from wriggling free.  She kept on losing one arm, regaining it under her grasp, and then losing the other one immediately after.  Kevin, holding on to the last moments of life, was now blue in the face from lack of oxygen.  Mary Bell laughed until Kevin finally broke loose from Norma's grasp, pulled off the rope from his neck and kicked Mary hard in the face.  Mary fell to the ground with a loud thud, and her head hit the corner of the desk on the way down.  Kevin turned to Norma.  Instead of fighting Norma, however, Kevin keeled over and started coughing intensely, inhaling as much air as he could in between coughs.  Norma stood, in shock, and watched blood ooze out of her best friend's head.  Without a second thought Norma ran down the moldy stairs, out of the old factory and unto the street where she proceeded to run as fast as possible. 

Norma ran, because she knew it was over.  Mary Bell was dead, and Kevin was sure to tell the police the whole story.  Norma ran, so she wouldn't have to face the police.  Norma ran, so she wouldn't have to see her mom's shocked face.  Norma ran so she could run away from herself.