Mug

Milk Wood

The mug was empty.

The cop sniffed it, after pulling it closer with a pen. He shook his head.

Then, they went through the whole house. Nothing looked out of place, except that one mug.

The cop sniffed it again.

“Whose drink was this?”

The old man shrugged, looking away.

“Your wife's?”

He couldn't remember, he said. Old age, you know.

When the police combed through the house again, they found it, the tin.

This was not a case of amnesia, but a case of death by hot chocolate, hot chocolate seasoned with a slight scent of almonds.

100 Word Stories