Short Story - Prompt: Babysitter and Photograph

Promt: A babysitter is snooping around her employer’s house and finds a disturbing photograph…

             Little Roy was supposed to be in bed thirty minutes ago. The babysitter lost track of time of time while helping Roy look for his first missing tooth. “Miss Sarah, will the Tooth Fairy give me money if we don’t find my tooth?” Roy asked trying not to stutter.

              Sarah said hesitantly, “Of course, the Tooth Fairy knows where every tooth in the world is, so she’ll know to leave the reward for you when she finds yours.” She was making this up as she was going along. There was nothing about handling Tooth Fairies and missing teeth in the book for babysitting 101. “Let’s brush the teeth you have left and get ready for story time before bed.”

 
             After reading Roy a story about Transformers, she tucked him into bed and whispered, “Goodnight, Roy.” 

             Once Sarah was in the Kitchen she replayed where Roy had been playing before she realized his left front tooth was missing. Perhaps he swallowed it. They had already searched around the bookshelf Roy claimed as the domain for his dinosaurs. She decided to double check around the toys where Roy made Dax the Dino bite her toe over by the chest of drawers.

              One thing led to another and somehow Sarah was no longer looking for Roy’s tooth. She found herself snooping around her employer’s house. She wouldn’t have stopped snooping after that first drawer had she not heard Mrs. Horn open the garage door. She wouldn’t have stopped snooping because of the photograph she found of children Roy’s age. The children looked alive. Why would Mrs. Horn have a photo of dead children?  These weren’t just any children. These were children with their eyes gouged out and bloody tears staining their cheeks. Sarah managed to control the fear in her voice when she said, “Good evening, Mrs. Horn.”