This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/Necessary_Walrus1703 on 2023-06-27 13:47:38+00:00.
The clock had turned 9 and I was beginning to get worried. I had not heard from my wife for a while now.
I tried calling her half a dozen times since the afternoon, and the number remained unreachable.
This was very unlike her.
She has always been accessible by phone, even if she was facing delays due to work.
I called her friends and parents enquiring if she had stopped by. They answered in the negative.
My wife Martha works as a real estate agent. She is an enterprising woman and really dedicated towards her job.
So I am not usually surprised when she sometimes loses track of time.
She got excited when she spoke about a new house listing in the market today. And she left quickly to check out the place. And I haven’t heard from her since.
‘Maybe her phone was low on battery and it switched off on its own’, I thought.
I opened her laptop to check her appointments. She is usually a stickler for details. Always jots down the client’s name, time of appointment and the address of the house they were supposed to visit.
I found no new entry on her ledger.
‘This is weird.’ I thought to myself.
For some reason, I just thought I should click on her Facebook profile.
I then clicked on Facebook Marketplace and I could see she had initiated a chat conversation for a house listing in a place that was atleast 30 miles away from ours.
The building of the house listed looked like one of those old traditional bungalows that still managed to withstand the test of time.
Looking at the overgrowth of plants and shrubs on the property, it was clear the place was not very well maintained. It even kind of gave me a spooky vibe.
But the property was massive and that alone must have been worth its weight in gold.
No wonder Martha was so excited all day.
The person on the other end of the chat had provided his phone number and contact address.
I tried calling him on it. It was not reachable. I tried reaching out through the chat option. But there was no response.
So I noted now the address of the listing on a piece of paper.
I waited for another couple of hours. The clock had turned 11 now.
I decided to file a complaint at the police station. I was beginning to fear the worst.
The cops were sympathetic to my situation.
I had brought Martha’s laptop with me to the station. I opened it in front of the Police Superintendent to show the details of the listing.
And it had vanished!!
I couldn’t find the listing anywhere!
‘This is bizzare’, I thought.
I just saw it half an hour ago. The officer was beginning to look at me a little suspiciously.
I then remembered the piece of paper on which I had written the address. I removed it from my pocket and showed it to him.
He decided to go take a look at the property and I requested if I could tag along. He nodded.
I got into back of the police van while the officer sat in the front. There were two other PC’s accompanying us.
All kinds of thoughts were going through my mind as I sat there in the jeep.
Will I be able to find Martha? Is she safe? Has she been kidnapped?
At one point, I began to wonder if she was having an affair behind my back. I immediately felt a little ashamed of myself.
We finally reached the address listed on the paper.
And I could not spot any bungalow in the vicinity!
All I could see was a row of houses which is very common in suburban areas.
You know, the house with a small garden and a white picket fence!
That’s all I could see.
Just rows and rows of these houses signifying the average suburban American family.
We contacted a few people in the neighbourhood to enquire about the bungalow I had seen on the listing and they were all surprised. They denied its existence.
The officer even contacted the local cops in the area and they all said the address was a mistake.
We finally decided to get back to the station. A couple of PC’s were giving me strange looks during the drive back.
They were probably seeing me as a suspect now. I couldn’t even blame them if they did.
The officer decided to drop me in front of my home. He probably wanted to check where I lived.
He got down from his car and told me, “I will come and check up on you tomorrow. I will get a constable to drive your car back to your place. “
“Don’t worry. We will find your wife” he added.
I nodded my head in gratitude.
I opened the door to my apartment and got inside and looked at the clock. It was 4 in the morning.
I felt truly exhausted with all that worrying.
I lied down on the bed and immediately fell asleep.
It was already 9 in the morning when I finally woke up.
I slowly turned to my side to get up from the bed and got the shock of my life!
My wife Martha was sitting on an armchair right next to the bed looking at me!
I immediately got to my feet and rushed towards her.
“Martha where on earth were you all this while? I was really worried about you” I said.
She hugged me tightly and replied back, “ I’ve had quite the day Jimmy”
“Why didn’t you wake me up when you came home?” I asked.
“And what happened to your phone? I tried to call you all day.” I said in an angry tone.
“I am sorry dear. You looked fast asleep and I didn’t want to wake you. I think I lost my phone. I have been looking for it everywhere” she replied back.
I was still mad at her but was relieved to see that she was safe. Everything else could wait I thought.
“Did you eat anything? Come lets go have some breakfast.” I said
She nodded her head and we got into the living room to get to the kitchen.
Just then the doorbell started ringing.
I opened the door and saw the police officer standing outside.
“Good morning officer. Thank you for coming” I said.
“My wife is back home” I added with a warm smile.
She was standing right behind me.
I just move a little bit away from the door so that he could see her properly.
He looked inside and then looked back at me.
“I don’t see anybody there other than you” he replied back.
Martha then walked towards the entrance and introduced herself.
“Hello Sir. I am Martha” she said and offered to shake his hand.
But the man kept staring at me.
“Sir Martha would like to shake your hand” I said to him.
I could see his face swelling with anger.
“Is this some kind of a sick joke” he asked me.
“You know, I gave you the benefit of the doubt yesterday when you came to the station. But now I think you been taking me for a ride” he said.
“I am wondering if you are even married now.”
“ Or if you are doing all this because you feeling starved for attention with nothing better to do” he added.
Both Martha and I looked at each other bewildered to see the officer speak this way.
He then took out his sidearm and pointed it at me.
“Step back!” he said.
I moved back into the living room with my hands raised.
He then started searching one room at a time. He looked at various photos which included those of our wedding. I even showed him our marriage certificate.
Finally he asked me, “Ok Jimmy. I believe you”
I felt a little relieved.
“So what did you do to your wife? Were you bored of your marriage?” he asked.
Both Martha and I began to protest.
He said “Shut up”.
“You are coming with me to the station.”
I got into the back of his police jeep. Martha got in as well and sat next to me. She was looking hopelessly upset. She took my hand and held on to it tightly.
For the first time I began to question my own sanity.
‘Is the person sitting next to me really Martha?’ I asked myself.
‘Is she even real?’
‘Am I looking at some kind of a ghost?’
I was feeling really low and delusional all at once.
As the police officer took control of the wheel, I began to wonder if he had any hidden agenda.
‘Is he jerking me around? What on earth is going on?’ I thought to myself.
When we reached the station, the same pattern repeated. None of the other cops could spot my wife and it didn’t take long for it to turn into an interrogation.
They asked all kinds of details about me and my wife. My professional life. If I was under any sort of medication. The stress was really beginning to build up on me.
Just then, the officer received a call and he answered it.
He spoke on the phone for a few minutes. He kept glancing at me every now and then like he was judging me. That made me feel even the more agitated.
When he finally finished speaking, he said” Come with me”
I again got in to a car with him and was driven out to another location. When we reached the spot, I could see the place abuzz with activity.
It was a secluded part of town but the area had been cordoned off by the police. The press were waiting at a distance. I already began imagining the worst. It looked like a crime scene.
The officer escorted me out of the car and walked me to the scene. Martha was following right behind me.
As I walked closer my heart sank and then reality hit me hard. I could see the mortal remains of my wife. She had been stabbed and bled to death on the floor.
I dropped to my knees and was overcome with grief. Tears started flowing down my face.
And then I saw Martha kneel down in front of her own body.
Realization had finally dawned on her.
She looked at me horror struck.
Suddenly all the events of the past few hours began to make sense to her.
The police office came to me and said, “Jimmy stand up. Turn around with your hands behind your back”.
I did as I was told and one constable came forward to handcuff …
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