The Perfect Crime

Prologue

"Betty Richards!" A woman of African American descent called to her eleven year old daughter. "Make sure to be home by dinner!" The woman waved a handkerchief in the air as her child vanished in the distance.

"I will momma!" The child called out as she skipped to town. In her pocket she carried a small sack of coins which she had been saving up to buy a doll with burnt umber coloured skin.

As she reached the store's front, the girl's eyes widened as she saw the china doll that sat, perched upon a display window swing. Too excited to wait, Betty ran to the door and pulled it open with all her might. She walked right up to the counter and looked up at the old man that stood at it.

"Why hello miss Betty, what do I owe the pleasure to?" His wrinkles curled to his smile as he leaned down against the counter to look at the child, a light pink blush forming upon his pale cheeks as he smiled.

"I came to buy the doll, please." Betty rose upon her tippy toes and held onto the counter's top as she pointed to the doll on the shelf behind the man.

"Good choice." The elderly man turned to select the right doll off of the shelf, he gently placed the doll onto the counter as he turned back around. "50 cents please."

Betty dug her hand into her cotton coat's pocket and pulled out her old sack of coins. Her smile widened with excitement as she placed the bag upon the counter.

The old man dumped the contents of the bag upon the counter and counted the coins. He noticed she was a little short, but he looked over it and brushed the coins into his hand.

"Make sure to take good care of her."

"I will sir!" The child pulled the doll off the counter and hugged her to her chest. "Bye mister Johnston." She waved at him as she left his store.

***

Betty skipped through the park as she made her way home, she turned her attention to the screeching swings that slowly drifted back and forth in the wind. She knew she was to head home right away, but she couldn't resist the urge to play with her new doll.

The child ran to the swing set and gently placed her new doll upon one of the metal seats. She then maneuvered behind it and positioned herself to start pushing.

She reached for the metal chains that supported the seat and gripped onto them loosely. Taking a few steps backwards, the child pulled the swing back with her. She smiled at her doll before she released and let the doll swing forwards.

Betty stepped back a bit as the swing returned to her and she gently pushed it forwards again. The child stood there pushing the swing back and forth for a while before a man approached her.

A man in a heavy, navy blue cotton jacket walked over to the child and her doll. A slight chill filled the air as a sheer wind cut through his coat and sending a shiver tingling down his back.

His jacket was unzipped and parted to reveal his grey cotton suit over a white shirt and tied together by a burgundy red tie. His black leather gloves covered his rough scar'd hands, and a grey cotton cap covered his auburn brown hair.

"Hello mister Sheriff." The child smiled up at the man, despite him being a white man and her a child of colour.

"Hello miss Betty, what brings you out here all by yourself?" The man smiled warmly as he bent down to the child's height, he was about three times her age yet she wasn't frightened by him at all.

"I bought the doll with the pretty pink ribbon." The girl picked up her doll from the swings and held it up to the man. "Momma let my buy it with my own money!" She exclaimed with excitement. The man smiled as his cheeks turned a rosy red.

"That's great. Ya got a name for her?" He rubbed his chin slowly. "I wanna know what to call her."

The girl thought for a moment as she held up the doll and stared at it.

"Hmm...." She hummed as she stared into it's brown beaded eyes. "I'm gonna call her Ruth." Betty gleamed.

"That sounds perfect." The man smiled as he tipped his hat to the girl and her doll, "it's nice to meet you Ruth."

The girl giggled at the man.

"You're silly mister sheriff." She hugged her doll gently as she smiled at the man.

"That I am," he smiled. "It's been nice talkin' with you miss Betty, but I must be on my way now." The man stood up calmly, "take care little lady." He waved at her before he walked away, heading towards the town's bar.

"Bye mister sheriff!" Betty waved as she watched the man leave before she continued to play with her new doll.

***

As the sun began to slowly set, the child decided it was time to head home. So she gently picked up her doll off of the swing set and began walking towards the path.

She casually skipped along the path that lead her to her home. She just passed a darkened alley way when the sudden sound of a glass jar rolling against the stone ground caught her attention, she stopped and turned to face the darkness.

She felt something hit her head before a dribble of liquid rolled down the side of her face. Clutching tightly onto her new doll, she had been forcefully pushed down onto the ground before a jolting pain shot through her.

Betty tried to roll onto her back to see who her attacker was, but whoever they were was insanely stronger than she was.

She tried to scream but nothing came out, her blood staining Ruth's pink bow.