Stanley Hawk had always been a very reserved gentleman never really expressing his true feelings even to those close to him. One could almost say he had dual personality. There was Stanley the average working man and law abiding citizen; the one everyone was used to and had grown to love and there was also the other Stanley no-one really knew about, a more sinister, dark Stanley who loved to ponder the issues of life and meaning of life itself.
One day, Stanley was found dead in his home sprawled across his couch with a large cut on his stomach from hip to hip, leaving his insides hanging out. Judging from the state of the apartment there were no signs of forced entry it seemed the assailant either had a key or knew Stanley very well. Investigations revealed that the cut was made with a sword and could have been the result of a robbery attack. Police had to go around the neighborhood asking questions about Stanley and his acquaintances and to see if anyone saw anything the night before, as it had been ascertained that the incident could only have happened at night. After lots of questioning from the neighbors it appeared no-one saw anything but there were quite a few notions as to why anyone would have wanted Stanley dead.
One of which was; Stanley had an affair with a neighbor’s wife several months ago causing the family to move away from that area. Police attempted to contact the family in question but it turns out they moved back to their home country months ago, meaning the likelihood of their involvement would’ve been zero to none. Another neighbor suggested it was a beef he had with old MR. Wilkins down the street for breaking his lawn mower 2 years ago.
The neighbor claimed MR. Wilkins never got over the fact that Stanley didn’t bother to replace the lawnmower or even apologize for the damage. Attempts to contact Mr. Wilkins also proved futile because no-one answered the door for a few days.
On the fourth day the police spotted a man driving up to the Wilkins residence it appeared to be Mr. Wilkins himself, the police ushered him into his home for some questioning. It turns out Stanley and Mr Wilkins buried the hatchet two nights before the ugly incident. Stanley had brought over a bottle of whiskey to share with Mr. Wilkins and they both sat in Mr Wilkins backyard and drank while they talked about the old days, GOD, Oriental Mythology, Religion and past mistakes. Mr Wilkins claims Stanley seemed quite chipper and at peace through out the whole conversation but there were moments when he seemed to be disconnected or stoned as Mr. Wilkins put it. It was at that moment that Mr. Wilkins remembered that Stanley handed him a journal and said if anything ever happened to him that he was to hand it over to the police. The police collected the journal after they were satisfied with Mr Wilkins's alibi that he’d been on a fishing trip for the past two days.
On going through Stanley’s journal it seemed that he was very troubled and had been involved in some esoteric activities like outer body experiences, exorcisms, seances and even time travel. In one of the entries he claimed to have been a Samurai warrior in a past life and had the privilege of sharing a meal and some Saki with himself in this alternate universe.
He claimed that of all the past selves he had met this particular individual was one that he cherished very much and also wished he could go back to or live as; because it was one he could relate to very much in his current life. Some of the police investigators saw this as an open and shut case of suicide of a man with a troubled mind but some of the other officers still questioned this notion even though a toxicology report came back as positive for LSD (mushrooms) at the time of death. Amongst other bits of evidence found on Stanley at the time of his death. Amongst other bits of evidence found on Stanley at the time of his death was a rough looking gold coin and bracelet made from granite and twine but woven together so intricately that it was unbreakable, not like anything they’d ever seen before.
This forced the DCI to seek more professional insight into the origin of the gold coin and bracelet and it found out after several tests, that the artifacts were indeed original dating back to 204 B.C and they were no official records of the items being stolen or traded in any museum or black market in the whole world. This was all to surreal for the police, could it be that Stanley committed suicide to return to that previous self by disemboweling himself in the ancient Samurai tradition of Bushido; leaving his intestines hanging inside out. An act perpetrated to purge themselves and relatives of dishonor brought upon the clan or lineage.
Or was it just the ramblings of a troubled lonely man. The police will probably never figure this one out but one thing’s certain, the seldom seen side of Stanley is now INSIDE-OUT.
