The Art of Gardening: Mystery/Horror

Flowers bent before her hands as she carefully shifted them in the soil until they were ideally positioned, their timid golden heads peeking up at passersby. Yes, she thought, squatting back on her heels and wiping her forehead with the back of one cotton-gloved hand, her garden was going remarkably well. The new fertilizer had been just the trick, she thought. The neighbors all admired her garden. The owner of the home association had even taken her aside after the last meeting and told her that her garden was one of those nominated for the homes & gardens tour next fall. It was an honor, and she was quite glad of it. Of course, she'd have to be careful that none of the tourists took a sample of her soil for analysis--something not at all beyond a zealous gardener eager to replicate success.


Inspiration: Motorhead with Ice T and Whitfield Crane Born to Raise Hell. Yeah, no kidding.
Story Potential: Medium-high potential.
Finished Length: Short story.
Notes: Well, obviously there's bodies in that fertilizer. The question is why? I thought it would be horror, but the character just doesn't agree with me, so now I'm thinking that she, this nice middle-aged woman, has at least a decent rationalization for her murders/killings. I guess the mystery could be the conflict over whether she's evil or not...trying to get the reader to guess--wavering one way or the other. If I was really evil I wouldn't answer that question, either.