As I’ve already said but you weren’t listening: Melva had two favourite hobbies: pot plants and chemistry. Her Hippeastrums* and Phalaenopsis were to die for. They were beautiful in the extreme. Melva tended to them constantly. She was so proud of them. (*Some seem to refer to “Hippeastrums” as “Amaryllis” and some seem to refer to them as “Naked Ladies”. Apparently each is different but I can’t tell the difference).
Her interest in Chemistry was more recent. She had experimented with various chemicals just for the fun of it. Her husband said she was insane. Mad. Nuts. He could be extremely annoying sometimes. He hated her having a life with interesting hobbies. All he did was read the paper and complain and watch television and complain.
On this particular day Melva had mixed up a huge brew of fuming nitric acid. She was trying to dissolve different things in it: a piece of string, some paper, some plastic, and even a small piece of meat left over from yesterday’s dinner.
Oh goodness! Hurry! There’s a policeman coming up the driveway. He’s knocking at the door.
Melva hastily tipped the fuming nitric acid into the Hippeastrums and Phalaenopsis pots. I’ve killed them, she thought. She answered the door.
“Good afternoon, Officer. How may I help?”
“Good afternoon. I’ve come to enquire about your missing husband. He seems to have dissolved into midair.”
Back to Index
Next Story
Previous Story