Just A Little Terrible

It Was Ellen’s Face

  It was Ellen’s face.

  Ellen, the pretty girl who answered the ad and applied for the nanny position Barbara posted about on the Internet. From the moment she walked through the door, the single mother of two knew she would be a perfect fit for the job. Ellen was kind, courteous, and charismatic – everything Barbara had been looking for. She appeared to be faultless. Her smile beamed with the splendor of a sunset at sea and her voice was delicate like the music of a wind chime singing in a gentle breeze. Nevertheless, there was something else about the girl that had struck a chord with Barbara. It was only after Ellen had gone home for the evening that she was able to put her finger on it.

  It was Ellen’s face.

  She reminded Barbara of her best friend from high school – a girl who had passed away at the tender age of eighteen. They had the same gorgeous grey eyes and Ellen even wore her hair in a similar manner. The girl was an absolute delight, but it was her face that had won Barbara’s over most of all. Looking at it just made her happy.

  The children seemed to love Ellen too. They usually didn’t do well with babysitters, but when Barbara invited the young lady over to meet the kids, they took quite the shining to her. It warmed her heart to see her children connect with the girl. Her kids had been having a difficult time opening up to people after their father walked out on them, but they showed no difficulty in bonding with Ellen. When Barbara asked them what it was they liked about their new nanny, the little ones responded with glee.

  It was Ellen’s face.

  It made them feel comfortable and safe.

  The young lady came over to babysit for the first time a week later. Barbara was finally ready to start dating again and had lined up a dinner with a handsome doctor whom she had met online. She left Ellen her cell number in case she needed to reach her while Barbara and her new beau were at the restaurant. The kids seemed genuinely excited to be spending time with the pretty girl and for the first time in years, Barbara felt at ease leaving them in the hands of someone else as she headed out the door.

  Her date went better than she anticipated. The doctor was a perfect gentleman and even more handsome in person than he was in his pictures. The two hit it off right away, laughing over appetizers and sharing funny stories while enjoying delicious entrees. After dinner the couple decided to stop off somewhere and grab a cocktail before going home.

  They walked across the street to a trendy upscale lounge. Barbara had expected the bar to be buzzing with life, but when they arrived they found the place was dead silent. Everyone, from the patrons to the barkeeps, had their attention turned to the TV monitors on the wall. Barbara and her date focused their gaze on one of the televisions as well. It was a news segment that was playing on the screen. Barbara read the graphic prominently displayed in bold red font under the TV anchorman.

  SUSPECT IDENTIFIED: CHILD HOMICIDE/ABDUCTION CASE

  Barbara realized that the news story was regarding a child murder that had recently been getting a lot of attention in mainstream media. The single mother usually didn’t have the time to pay attention to those kinds of sensationalist news stories, but everyone else was watching so she followed along with the crowd. On the screen, the TV anchorman looked solemnly into the camera as he began to recite the words scrolling on his teleprompter.

  “…New evidence suggests that the babysitter, who up until this point was believed by authorities to be kidnapped, is now considered to be the prime suspect. Police investigators have concluded that she acted alone when murdering the child she was hired to look after then faked her own abduction. She is still currently at large. We are going to show you a picture of the suspect now. Please be advised, she is considered to be highly dangerous. If you see her, call the police immediately.”

  A picture of the suspect was brought up on the television screen.

  Barbara felt her stomach drop.

  It was Ellen’s face.