*Author's Note
This is a POV response to The Tell-Tale Heart
In the tell-tale
heart, the narrator is a mad murderer that is overcome with guilt. He is unreliable and cannot see the world
clearly. His point of view shows the
story in a crazy and delusional way.
This is they story
from the police's point of view.
"We've got a
report of someone hearing a neighbor screaming," the chief of police
announced, "might be foul play.
Hubert, James, Grey- you go have a look at it. Search the premises."
We sighed and
tromped out in to the crisp night air.
We walked in silence, looking out over the barren streets. After about 10 minutes we reached the old
house.
The house had an
eerie feel as we crept up the cobblestone path.
Hubert pushed me forward to knock on the door. The young man who answered it smiled. He welcomed us and asked us to come
inside.
When we asked about
the shriek he informed us that it was his own, from a nightmare. He told us that the old man was off in the
country, visiting friends. He was very
hospitable, we hardly even had to imply before he let us search his
apartments. He even showed us the old
man's room with all of his belongings intact and undisturbed.
He pulled up chairs
and had us sit down. We chatted about
inconsequential things; the weather, the government, the strength of our
military. He seemed to be growing tired
and his face was starting to pale. We
thought little of it. He suddenly
started talking faster and louder for no apparent reason. He seemed particularly upset when the death
watches in the wall became a bit louder.
He talked louder and
faster with each passing minute. Finally
he seemed to reach the breaking point.
Se stood raving and swearing. He
thrashed his chair against the floorboards.
He had a reputation of being mad so we thought little of his sudden
outburst. This seemed to aggravate him
even more and he screamed in rage.
He admitted to
killing the old man; covering up his terrible deed by hiding his limbs under
the floor boards. We brought him back to
the police station. His madness was
recorded as his motivation for the murder.
He was brought in for questioning but testified strongly against
insanity. He was sent to the asylum; he
obviously had mental issues and could not be trusted with reality.