PROMPTuesday #47: The Triumvirate

PROMPTuesday #47: The Triumvirate
The prompt? Use in a story/poem: a skein of red yarn, a comb and a bottle of water.
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Detective Williams no longer woke in confusion to the 2:00 am sound of the telephone. He knew the script and just waited for the cast of players or location of the scene. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there in 20,” Williams grumbled. He quickly glances at his hands to avoid transference before patting down the wrinkles in the shirt and pants he slept in. Pinching his tie into position over the missing shirt button, he runs his palm over his hair to slick it down. Williams hadn’t used a comb since he left it in the pocket of his previous suit a decade ago and he wasn’t one to veer from the frozen food aisle to track down something like a new comb. Less than a minute from leaving and only three since he was dreaming of his former life and family. He grabs his suit coat from the door handle, picks a dinner-flavored protein bar, and scans the room for his “water” bottle. The crinkled plastic of the bottle looks thin and fragile, but makes a soothing sound as he fills it with Smirnoff.

As his Taurus pulls up to the scene, Williams can tell how long ago a neighbor, relative, somebody made that panicked call to the police. He could tell the time down to a few minutes just by the number and type of response vehicles already on site. The circus is only contained by the spiraling yellow tape at the perimeter; a long-standing “dare” line to keep people in check. Williams drafts one of the Stay Puff Men up to the opened front door. The flash of lights within only make the sideshow that much more enticing to the gawkers from the street. Williams knows he is supposed to catalog the faces of the crowd, to catch the perp doting over his masterpiece of drama, but he gave up those movie-inspired hopes years ago. As he crosses the exterior threshold, he pauses to survey the room. His eyes finally light up at the skein of red yarn pinned from wall to floor and table to lamp. The room almost looks festive with the lights, spray of red and excited people mingling all about. And there, in the center of it all, is the host and hostess. Williams smirks to himself as he thinks “You’d have thought they would dress up a bit if they knew so many were attending their farewell party.”