The Killer Within

The killer within

The monster looked down into the fading eyes of yet one more victim.
His evil grin exposing pointed jagged pointed teeth betwixt a devils sly smile as he feels his poor female victims larynx slowly crushing at the force of his retching thumbs and fingers. The,whites of her eyes slowly start becoming more bloodshot from the force of his grip,as her final blood soaked attempted pleas fall upon deaf ears,all he wants is the kill. He squeezes with even more force until finally her last gasp comes shooting out as a wide bloody mist splashing across his face.....(beep! beep! beep!) 3:30am,I awoke in a cold sweat again...My head pounding as i was hyperventilating. My eyes straining to focus upon the alarm clock,inwardly thinking,that damn dream again. As i rolled over and sat up turning the alarm off before it wakes my slumbering nude girlfriend misty up. Her perfect form laying against mine,gently cradling her head into the cool half of my pillow. My feet hit the floor as i started rubbing my temples attempting to rid myself of this persistent migraine.
I hate waking up like this...for the past three months it's been the same. Ever since this sicko fuck started his spree. Working homicide in this cesspool of a city has taken it's toll,or so says the department mandated shrink. Ever since the first kill,a poor 14 year old girl,Mandy Stafford,she was found down in the old industrial park stuffed naked,raped,and choked to death. The look of fear,pain,and anguish frozen on her pail colorless face,deep in the bottom of an old compactor,as fucked as it sounds we were thankful that this industrial park hasn't had power for over ten years,otherwise it's likely she'd never been found or identified. Autopsy confirmed that her final moments she'd felt the sicko enter her as the bruising confirmed it was premortem. The animal stared into her eyes as he choked the life out of her....that thought haunted me just as much as her final expression.
She didn't deserve such an end,top of her class,well on her way to honors,she was head of the cheerleaders. Spent her free time helping hand out food down at the local shelter...honestly girls her age are usually to busy chasing boys or experimenting with drugs. Even the autopsy proved she was a Virgin at least till he got a hold of her...semen samples negative,no trace of pubic hair from the perpetrator,not even flakes of dead skin. Ligature marks around her wrists...poor girl was tortured all for this assholes amusement....the department shrink tells us all not to take each case personally,i think to myself,fuck you asshole,you've never had to knock on the parents door at 2:30pm when she should be getting home,just to tell them she'd never return. You do that then tell me you don't feel for them,insensitive prick.....i hate these fucking shrinks looking down their nose at you,scribbling nonsense about gender confusion issues,or repressed memory syndrome,on their little notebooks,dolling out prescriptions of Prozac,or lithium,all in a vein attempt to make us further zombified....nothing a stiff shot of whiskey or a good hard fuck won't cure...Dick. I'm sure he sleeps peacefully in his mcmansion all bought and paid for by our tax dollars,such a crock of shit. For every person he "helps" he's never cured a single person,only kept them comfortably numb or at least drugged up enough they sleep at night.
Not even 4 am yet and my cell phone is blowing up,haven't even managed to slip on my Jeans or shirt yet...my partner Jim neighbors...i let it go to voicemail as i sneak a peek at misty's perfect slightly heaving breasts as she smiles "perv", just chuckled as i kissed her deeply,running my hand up her inner thigh slowly,"can't blame a guy wanting to see perfect beauty before he's exposed to absolute horror babe." She raised an eyebrow,"your partner i take it?" I just nodded. (beep! beep!) "and there's the voicemail. "John?! The fuck you doing? We got another victim down at rands pond. Your ass was late ten minutes ago,get the fuck over here before the chief has your sack!...(click) I sigh as i let my head droop to the pillow,"ignore it baby...come keep me happy for a while." I kiss her cheek softly,"as much as i wish i could babe i gotta boot scoot got another body to examine..." She tongue rams me hard mid sentence,as she rips the sheets clean off. "you are speaking of this body right?!" My eyes wander up and down,her laying there naked as the day she was born wearing nothing,yet wearing it so well. A sly grin couldn't help but work it's,way across my face,after all one doesn't just look the goddess in the eye and tell her no,when it's you she wants. Just as my fingertips hit south of heaven again my phone rings,she whispers in my ear lustfully,"just ignore it baby,why go ogling a cold one,when you got a hot wet one right here?" My sigh was way to loud this time,as i answer,"yes you cockblocking cock smooch,what?!?", "john it's the chief..." Already my heart sinks,what a stupid thing to say..."you'd best be on your way here NOW! If you're not here in ten I'm literally going to make my wife a coin purse from your shriveled balls!...(click)
"Ugh! Babe i gotta go,like now,otherwise the boss is gonna make me a nutless,,wonder,sorry babe,luv ya!" I grabbed my holster and jacket walking out the door. My thoughts racing all the way down the stairs,as i think the sickos in this world got nothing on some of the force. I just shook my head as i pull the keys from my right pocket,now to my second love my car,a cherry red with black racing stripe,67' gt.500 Shelby hard top,i swear it's the only thing in the world that gets me as hard as misty. As i start her up and all hell breaks loose from her straight pipes,my neighbors hate it when i pull out or down the street,today will be no different,my tires screaming as i punch the gas,tearing a slab of cement almost completely from the street,as i cut the wheel. A satisfied smile from the power at my toes to the memories of the goddess upstairs would quickly fade,of all mornings to hit traffic...my hands gripping the steering wheel till my knuckles were white,cussing under my breath as i put the siren on and placed my red light on my roof. I quickly blasted into reverse,spinning the tires again as i cut the wheel and took a j-turn,i had to get to the scene or risk suspension,after all calling your boss a cockblocking cock smooch never places them in a good mood...As i blast down the one way road on the other side pushing 100 miles per hour. Even as i pushed my vehicle to the literal red line for me it felt like i was standing still,then the thoughts started racing...what am i walking into today? Each victim died by strangulation. Each was tortured,yet in every case never once any evidence found...the pattern is just too hopelessly random. None of the victims share physical attributes,all are different ages,each from a different area of the city. Flashes of faces unseen flood my brain,terror filled eyes,flesh beaten bone....blood splatter hitting the monsters face in that one final moment of life spewed breath.....i was at the scene in what seemed an hour,as my eye glances at my watch to find it only took eight minutes,yet all that time to me seemed to be an eternity,why do these apparitions haunt me? I had barely opened the car door to,be met with Jim scowling,just shaking his head.

You didn't have to know Jim fifteen years like i have,to know exactly what was going through his mind,his six foot tall frame and ice blue eyes just glaring,his arms folded across his broad chest,all the while tapping his foot. "You epic dick....the chief grabbed the phone out my hand right after i dialed you the second time...i got reamed because of you.(sighs deeply,then cracks a sly smile)but not nearly as hard as he's gonna ream you,(he chuckled)and I'm gonna love every second you ass. Come on partner,come see what the sick asshole did this time."
I light a cigarette and crack a smile,"Your just jealous."he just snickered,as we made our way to the scene. I hated to admit it but nothing could've prepared me for what i was to see today,even the burning twinge in the back of my head that this day can still get tons worse,but one horror story at a time.

E.M.T.'s were on the scene,this time the victim was still alive...I'm not so sure that was a good thing...this was different,deliberate. A poor bloody slumped mass,quietly sobbing,murmuring unintelligible syllables,her eyes had been gouged,but also sutured so she'd not bleed out,her tongue was cut entirely out,also that had been stiched,and burnt closed. Truly the sicko had stooped to a whole new low. Even as she could nod yes and no she can't see anything,and can't verbally speak...what a bastard. The horrors he put her through,the things he forced upon her,and left her stuck in her head...there's always that human sympathy that exists in us all,human nature would dictate to treat her like we would a sick or injured animal...just put her out of her misery...but justice doesn't work like that,not today it doesn't. The department was sweeping everything in the area for any trace,like every other time...nothing...another dump job,if it wasn't for a passerby we may not have found her at all,not sure who i feel worse for...."c'mon partner we're not going to get anything from her like this,let the E.M.T's do their jobs,we'll go talk to the person who found her." Poor guy was stuck with the chief,angrier then a bear waking up from it's hibernation,to which i played a large part...and right now the poor scarred gentlemen to his left,is bearing the brunt of his frothy spat. As,i watch in a hazy amusement,the reality kicks in,when he finally notices I'm standing nearby,that all that rage will be trained on me like a howitzer round aimed squarely at my testicles. Again I'm not sure whom i feel more badly for,the poor bastard getting reamed and the third degree,the poor girl trapped inside her own hell,or myself about to place my scrotal sack into the gaping maw of the meat grinder that is the chief.

If looks could kill....well needless to say I'd be Swiss cheese right now,don't get me wrong the chief never was the agreeable type. One of those holier then thou types,my shit don't stink types,so anal retentive,he literally shat diamonds. The kind of guy who'd Pat your back just to throw you under the bus...yup asshole supreme. Then he chimed in with that gruff gravelly voice,"You....(my partner just snickers)give me one good reason i shouldn't just tear your balls off now!" All and all it was far more tame then I'd imagined,honestly i was half expecting a crowbar upside my head,or possibly even a few pop shots in my direction from his 44. Python. But no just a few very harsh words,followed by a quick point of his finger,"just do your damn job! And get as far from my sight as humanly possible!" In all honesty it was almost a let down,all that build up for essentially a fart of force,here I'm expecting cataclysmic universally shaking force, to be met with practically nothing. The only good part of that was watching the smug smile get obliterated from my partners face. That and nothing more made this nightmare bearable. We,escorted the witness over to the ambulance,wrapped him in a warm blanket and handed him a cup of fresh coffee,small consolation i know,but what can we do? Not like the poor guys ever going to unsee all he's been exposed to. And our impossible task to console the inconsolable,to turn shit into gold. I let Jim field the passerby,i was more focused on the scene,after all i majored in crime scene forensics,and ol' Jim never had the patience to search mundane scenes devoid of any kind of particles or traces of when's or how's,so i nod to him as i exit stage left to the roped off remnants of where she was found.

With every step flashes,begging pleas of no! Stop! Then the moment of impact,a large fist punching almost through the poor girls face,blood spraying from the sheer force of brutality,primal carnal lust,mixed with sick arousal,the sick fuck gets hard just watching them flinch. He licks his bare knuckles clean,moaning at the steely taste of her blood,staring coldly,a predator born,not so unlike a wolf closing for the kill. Licking it's chops on the scent alone,snarling hungrily. The world closes in once again,here i find myself at the right side of the pond,bushes laden with blood spray and particles of what ones was her eyes,another flash hits me like a ton of bricks to the face,the killer stares into her weeping plead filled eye as he cuts the other from her face,his jagged smile reflecting in her tears at her screams of agony,he wanted her to see what he was going to do,as if it gave him super human power over her,reminding her she is but a puppet on his strings,and she will dance exactly as he commands before he's finished,he gingerly runs the blade against her bloody cheek and down her neck,cutting away her blouse masterfully,not even knicking her flesh,one final plea of "no,stop...please Mr." Then his hand slides up her exposed chest retching her tongue from her mouth,as he cut through like a hot knife through butter. She passes out from shock,and he continues his sick game,stitching up the wounds he created....i shake my head as i transcend back into now,i pull the tape recorder from my breast pocket,then grab a smoke and light it. "No visible drag marks on the ground,no shoe or boot prints at the scene,blood from the victim against the tree bark and surrounding bushes,goo like substance on the leaves of the bush,assuming it's the remnants of her eyes. (my eyes scan the area) trash barrel on the far left side of the bush line,victims tongue sitting propped up almost trophy like right at the top,the killer made no attempt to really hide the evidence. Absence of drag marks indicates the victim was carried here,so our suspect is very physically strong..." I'm wracking my brain as to how in broad daylight nobody saw the fiend...then it hits me...."possibility that the victim willingly walked along side of the perpetrator,or may have even been lured here by him." Those thoughts alone shook my very core...focus on the facts,not what ifs. I continued north to the bench next to the scene. "Victims cell phone,intact...(i turn it on) Enter Sim card displayed on screen. (i carefully slip it into a evidence bag) no sign of any physical struggle,no personal belongings missing,her clutch is still intact,i.d. Feminine products,library card,work employee card,fifty dollars and assorted change,nothing out of the ordinary." I'm left shaking my head,poor girls cut off clothes near the bushes,feint scent of bleach,the sicko made sure he tainted any viable samples....what a fucking psychopath,such a mix of both brain and braun,it's unnatural. Another flash hits me,the monster approaching from her rear,needle in hand,sticking her neck slowly as the plunger hits the base,her lifeless body slumping into controlled conscience,unable to fight,unable to move,but fully aware,fully able to feel....back to here and now in a blink.

"This was done with purpose,as were all the others,but she's different,she's the only one left alive thus far...why?" I'm clearly no psychoanalyst,yet nothing shy of full sodomy from his mother could.ever manifest into such deep seeded hatred,let's be brutally honest here,besides some kind of absolute loathing for his victims had to have some bearing from his childhood. Yet the whole pattern is so hopelessly sporadic. The who's and why's,even hair color anything that would determine just where or whom he may likely target next,all completely wasted notions. It's been like chasing the wind. The shrink tells me I'm obsessing over the guy,maybe he's right......i make my way back to my partner,satisfied that anything I've missed the forensics team will find,jim has gotten any and everything applicable from the passerby,name,date of birth,address,even where and when he works,it's all protocol. In a case like this where the killer has no face,you grab what clues or suspects you can,you never know when or if that one and only lead you missed,makes or breaks you.

(ring!,ring!) My cell phone...i crack open my eye half way....still fuzzy....2:30am. What the hell happened to the day? When the hell did i get home? More importantly,why do i feel like I've been hit by the 5am bus? I rolled haphazardly from the bed,making a loud crash in the process. The pain sets in,"fuck!" I scrambled to turn on the lamp that would've been sitting right there on the night table....realization kicks in...or at least the fact i just slit my palm on a massive piece of what once was the lightbulb and it's now lodged deeply in the bone. At this point my eyes are starting to adjust to the darkness in here. The smell of blood is downright rank in here. And I'm still entangled in the sheets and comforter from the bed,so i stumble to the window across the room,shade still drawn tightly,i almost trip on something solid,(flap,flap,flap,flap)the dawn is just breaking,then my bare toes hit something moist yet sticky,that musty semi metallic scent,unmistakably blood,recently spilled but definitely left sitting hours. Something is incredibly wrong here....i rub my temples,then a sharp pain hits me like a ton of bricks,just as the throbbing from my fingers which just got shredded from the jagged piece of lightbulb stuck there. Things go dizzy,that woozy pukey feeling hits my stomach. I look at my flashing clock,odd it's flashing 6:66 impossible without the right amount of force to break the internal display,ominous all the same...am i dreaming? Is this just another flash? However the seething pain tells me otherwise....even in the flashes the pain is never this persistent...this is,an all too real nightmare,not a concoction of my brain. Nor some sinister prank,no...this is real....sound fades in as the lightness in my head slowly starts clearing,I've lost a lot of blood...and must have a mild concussion,that throbbing is far more than just the glass. Far to many questions swirling in a sea of blood loss induced fog. One things certain i need help and fast,i vaguely here my cell on the other side of the room beeping, getting harder to see...even the light from the dawns break grows harder to see.....my foot grazes something cold and fleshy,my right hand shoots out grazing the leg of my Jeans dangling from the far bottom bed post,my head collides with something hard as rock.....the lights go dim.........................................

(Bang,slam,thud,thud,thud) "Rexy?!? REXY!!! Open the fucking door rexy!!!!" (THUD,THUD,THUD,creek,crack,pop,snap!} "Oh god no! Fuck me,No! Sweet Jesus!!! John??!?! The fuck?!?!?!" Jim was breathing heavily,ranting,racing about,his flashlight hit the edge of the massive blood pool,right of the position i was,he flicked the light switch like a madman,only when the beam hit my eyes did i start to stir,guess I'd been unconscious a while,all that time laying there bleeding. "this is detective Jim neighbors,central come in! I need two ambulances at my position....yeah,238 grey ave. Best send the crime team as well...No i have no idea what happened! We got an officer down,and a corpse...yeah rexy may...look just get here,my partners bleeding out,move your ass!!" Jim slumped into the nearby chair,he knew the scene was already contaminated,but that didn't stop him from lighting up a smoke,all the while quietly rocking back and forth. There are a million things as an officer you are prepared for,but walking into your home to your loved one dead,laying next to your almost dead partner,both naked,both bloody messes,yeah i dare say that's one of those things i don't think any can prepare themselves for....
Jim just sat there gritting his teeth,smoking a cigarette,I'm sure only the worst ideas swimming around in his head,frankly who can blame him? After all in this world not everything is,as,it seems,nor appears,however every once and a while,what you see is exactly what you get. He placed his left hand upon the arm of the chair he slumped into,scratching his palm upon the jagged sharp edge of a Sim card,his eyes grew wide,"now how did this get here?" Indeed this picture paints a tale,one suitable for framing,or at least one that says they weren't alone here....only time will tell which is correct.

The E.M.T.'s and crime scene investigation team were there before he'd even finished half his cigarette. Obviously Jim wasn't looking forward to the ninth degree he was going to receive,or the investigators going through all their worldly possessions,least of all the whole explanation he'll have to produce for the medicinal pot he's got hidden in the dresser(without a prescription mind you) but then again,they may only be interested in the scene itself,too many questions eating at poor Jim,and no concrete answer. Hell of a way to end a day though, call your woman repeatedly,kick your door in,she's a naked bloody mass,as is your partner of ten years. Honestly who can blame any for the conclusion that he jumped to? I know if i came into that,well I'd likely shoot first ask questions later,so him being this patient,huge bonus.

Jim just picked up the Sim card and slipped it into his shirt pocket,thinking to himself this proves they weren't here alone,but that just leaves more questions. No point in waiting around,my partner either betrayed both me and his lady,or this was an elaborate frame job,after all why not frame the lead in your murder investigation? Helps cloud the picture even more,god i hate this shit. This perpetrator is too smart,but they left this here...why? Pride isn't something a serial killer can afford to have or keep. But there's no calling card,just similar means of death,except rexy...this wasn't planned...or was it? What if the way she was killed was because he was here? Still way to many questions,not enough answers. Just before i leave i hear john's cell phone beeping in his shirt pocket,hmm one new voice mail...but i don't know his code,I'll look at missed calls...name unavailable,number unavailable,odd. Obviously the Sim card isn't john's. Only one thing left to check,i pull my cell out and dial rexy,i hear her sweet voice one last time...the tears are,swelling yet won't fall,so you were here...but why? John isn't answering any questions like this,and only one other person would know how they got together,I've gotta go find misty,she and rexy worked together. Maybe she'll have some answers,and who better to tell her how her man is doing then me. As i was headed out the e.m.t.'s and c.s.i.'s showed up simultaneously,even as they passed at near light speed,everything was moving in slow motion...that whole shock thing i guess. The c.s.i.'s tried to get my statement,you know the whole responding officer thing. I just shook my head,"no time egg heads,just find what you can,catch up with me at the hospital when he wakes,if he wakes that is...i got leads i need follow,and little time boys and gals." I was off,even if the gravity of it all was only piercing the surface.

11:00am,it didn't take hours to get to the club but i did have time to kill before it'd opened,even strip clubs have business hours. But the thought of sitting back at home,watching c.s.i.'s and e.m.t.'s go through every worldly possession,or the insistent questions with no answers,yeah didn't thrill me. Yeah i know what you're thinking...what a low life scum bag,but this is where misty is and where i met rexy,and it's the only place I'm going to find any answers as to the how's and why's. The life of a detective isn't easy,work insane hours,like a doctor you're always on call,even on scheduled days off you're never truly ever off the clock. Plus you wade through a young victims entails elbow deep,well occasionally you'd need a distraction too. Hey if the worst things i do are being guilty of is watching a hard body work a pole or smoking some reef to forget the bloody mess i left earlier in the day,shoot me. At least i turned out better than most the force,bottles of jack a day or hookers in the small hours, cesspools of filth chasing a rush or being completely numb. At least i try to stay alive,yeah yeah the whole objectification of women,these ladies made their choices,many are working here just to make it through med school or law school,none are whores,just like me down on their luck and working what their momma gave em. And because of that,the ladies always liked me. I didn't judge them based on their current occupation or think lesser of them simply because they got tips for working their tits,who am i to judge? And nothing wrong with tasteful nudity. Hell most these,sad sacks are here purely because without these ladies,they'd have forgotten even what the female form even looks like. And the older you get the harder it gets to start over,fact of life. Most these guys are hardworking,divorced,a few are everyday run of the mill perverts,others desperately clinging to long past glory days,reliving past conquests from thirty plus years ago...god i can relate,can't we all? Just getting lost in the ripples of the bottom of a shot glass,hanging on the edge of hell,looking at the edge of heaven just past your finger tips,close enough to smell or touch,but never allowed either,just our luck eh?

Rexy used to open for misty, she was something else....the whole package. A sultry red headed vixen,torn from the very pages of those old p.i. flicks in the thirty's,she didn't have to disrobe. Her voice and soft sway,those come hither lips and smokey eyes,speaking truths you are to scared to hear,but you can't help listen. A classically trained burlesque performer,showing just enough skin to make you hot,but never showing everything,like a good cigarette or movie,always leaving you wanting more. That was rexy,hell I'd skip the nudes just to hear her sing,just to let my eyes wander her curves,even in her gown. Those eyes telling you your every desire,yet telling you that she's unobtainable,bitter sweet...it's a wonder i never took to drinking. The old rumies would tell you she was like a perfectly aged scotch,bit like a snake but smooth going down,you had to breathe the fire,or get burned trying...just like icarus,flying to close to the sun on wax wings,just before you crash and burn. There's that tragically romantic side showing,the thing that brought her to me. Daring to dream even if it hurt,if only for a moments glory...yeah I'm a sap,what can i say? I'm a man of few words,and it's hard to change,but she was the only other person who truly understood me,besides frank. Lifes hard as an observer,spending years locked inside your head,knowing what others are thinking or feeling but the words those never come...until it's far too late anyway...but we've all our Crosses right? With her it was different,it was like she could read my mind,i didn't have to say those things,and she didn't need to hear them,she already knew. But enough internalizing,getting lost in memories that no longer have meaning,just serve to remind you of where you've been,and how it came to this. Yet those are the very questions that brought me here,and give me the displeasure of telling misty,now i find myself feeling like frank with the chief,just can't win for losing.

The bass starts pumping,the spot lights start changing color,Mindy is about to start. Mindy in three words nice meets naughty. A sexy Lil minx all natural,her and her little teacher uniform leaves men very hot and heavy,however I'm not her to watch her work. Mine is to deliver the rotten news to both misty and her manager,neither I'm looking forward to facing. I make my way to the rear door,the bouncer eyes me angrily,i just smirk and pull out my badge making sure to show the handle of my glock .45 that angry look faded quickly must be a new guy,haven't seen him before,and here i am having come here the better part of eight years,you get to know the faces,yet something about this guy just rubs me the wrong way. I just smirk as i make my way out back,then realization kicks in,that chair to my right is exactly where rexy would've been...stay strong old man,even if the feint smell of her perfume still lingers,she's gone,and misty and the rest need to be warned.

I stroll through the mists of memory lane,the what weres and all those might have beens,i still think the what ifs are hardest to deal with,i was standing in front of the managers door by the time reality kicked back in,muffled shouts from behind the door,instinct kicks in as my inner cop decides to boot open the door,note to self don't boot open a door at a strip club....it did answer the question of what was happening however the visual i could've lived without...I'm no homophobe,but seeing a 300lb guy getting rammed bareback,well the smell was enough,needless to say i quickly closed the door and ran to the nearest bathroom. After retching up what seemed a weeks worth of bile and remnants of what was lunch i finally emerged,defiantly not better then when i went in. I was now focused on finding misty and know exactly where not to go,lest aunt dry heave decides to rear her ugly head.

(beep....beep.....beep...beep..beep,beep,beep) "inspector,doctor come quick,he's starting to come to." The nurse shoots out the room like greased lighting,the door,doesn't even fully close before the inspector and his cronies fill the room well beyond the brink of what's socially acceptable in a hospital,even family and direct kin would be limited,what a kick to the balls,the sicko fuck is still prowling the streets and here they are poking and prodding the lead detective on the case,mind,you I'm barely able to drool a,response,but these i.a. Assholes always want the first response,even if it's a half to fully drugged out slur,even the doc can't reach the medical chart on the,base of the bed,hell he can't get through the door. My eye is,about a quarter open and already some asshole i.a. Dickhole has a .45 to my face,i crack a wiseass smile,cough the say meekly "is this because i called the chief a cockblocking cock smooch?" Well if sense,wasn't coming cleanly the impending back handed bitch slap that Mr. Domingo just delivered didn't hurt it coming along. "Still the same ol smart arsed small dicked prick ya always was eh Shwartz?" I just smiled slyly "you know i could go ahead and run you in,assault and battery on an officer,or for that over inflated ego,I'd add carrying a concealed weapon but that's just your Lil .45 not the heat you think you got." Before his second strike could land the head of the i.a. Called him off "alright Craig lay off,you're already pushing it with the cheap shot you took,don't think that won't make the report." Baxter Lutz as,infamous of a name in the p.d. As Manson,cold,ruthless,and calculated,guy was and the cause of and solution to all problems in the force. However he's also the only person higher on the chiefs shit list then i am,at least last i knew,things are a bit fuzzy still,And it ain't the pain killers. The docs trying to work his way in,seems I'm Mr. popularity,if this is,what it's like to be a celeb then i feel bad for them. "Well gentlemen are we finished?" "yes doctor,i think we got all we're going to right now,see you back at central shwartz."

Meanwhile back at the club,Jim finally makes his way to misty's dressing area. He knocked gently until he,was invited inside,"Jim hun you didn't need to knock,you're pretty much family.","misty how long you got till you hit the stage?" She smiles slyly,"long enough to give you a quick dance if that's what you mean." I just pull a fatty out my pack of smokes,"trust me sweetheart,after everything I've seen tonight,that'd be positively epic,however you'll wanna join me in smoking this,I'm not here on business,bad news kiddo...." The lighter shaking visibly in my hand,"ohhh my god Jim,what happened?!? Is it Frankie?" I just shake my head,"not just darlin,not just him...rexy.....rexy isn't gonna make it tonight...or any night soon....she's......." Misty wrapped her arms around my neck quickly,"ohhh Jim,I'm so sorry,but wait what about Frankie?" I light the fatty and pass it to misty,"Franks in the hospital doll,that's why I'm here...i came to answer some questions,cause finding them like that,well it's left me wondering,i know the last place rexy was before home,was here,yesterday was the final time any would ever see her perform. Somehow,sometime yesterday,frank saw her home,what's worse was seeing them both naked as the day they were born,no not in the same bed...i saw the look misty...but they weren't alone in the apartment,and i can't say,anymore,not without compromising the investigation." Misty nods "i understand jim.","do me a favor Lil darlin,try and call my cell from yours,i gotta see something." She looks puzzled "but why?","please,this is important." She nods then dials. (ring,ring) I quickly silence my phone. "Thank you Lil lady,now only one person left to check." I was on my way,gotta get to the hospital quickly,frank is in more danger then he realizes,and time is fading quickly.

I slink out the back entrance,i can't afford any snags along the way,i may already be too late but I'll be damned if I'm not gonna try,my brains going a mile a minute, who's Sim card is this? Could it be the poor ladies? Did the sicko take it from Franks phone? I can't check in on the phone at the station,especially given it's sitting in the evidence locker. Only thing here that's certain is the killer was in my apartment earlier,the how's or if anyone saw them,well just more questions that have no answers. But i can follow up on frank,i already know that the hospital is swimming with c.s.i.'s and guys from i.a. Poor basterd locked in the hospital,likely confused,who wouldn't be? Get conked on the head,literally lay there bleeding for god only knows how long,hell who knows what the guys from i.a. Or even the department have been asking him or accusing him of. No wonder he ended up my partner,poor guy like me,just can never catch a break.

I get to a few blocks from the hospital,what felt like a lifetime passed in a few blinks of an eye,all i can see is her face,looking back at me with that vacant blind dead stare. I just gotta keep it together a little longer,soon I'll have the time to mourn you properly love. Memories of her laugh,her smile,her voice all scrape through my brain,all still so fresh,but still just memories all the same. A shadowy figure with wild staring eyes i catch out the corner of my eye,gone the moment my eye tries to focus on what i think i saw,maybe the shrink was right,maybe it's all getting to me,maybe I'm on my way to a major breakdown,but I'm not about to let that stop me. I couldn't save her,but I've still a chance to save him,I've gotta try,he's all i got left. I'm within visual range of the hospital entrance,just like i thought the place is swimming with i.a. Vice,even the chief is here. Poor basterd even on the brink of death still you just can't catch a break. Well it's all or nothing time,i make my way into the waiting area,there's the chief just shaking his head,"you're too late neighbors..." The crash cart and the team go screaming by,"frank just coded not but a few seconds ago,despite the dnr order,they are trying...but it's not looking good,he's not going to make it." Everything is moving in super slow motion,like pictures of copies pasted overlapping other pictues. Even as his mouth keeps moving,no sound is,reaching my ears,it's like I'm stuck in a vacuum,and that vacuum is my own head,sound fades in just in time to hear,"i want you off the case Jim,it's a conflict of interest,but frank wanted you to have this." Just a piece of paper 0164. "He said you'd know what it's for,take some time off,report to the psychologist in the morning,mandatory grief counseling,I'm sorry Jim but it just has to be this way,you can collect his personal affects when you finish,the force lost a good investigator today."

That was it,i couldn't go home,i didn't get to save frank,and i got kicked off my own case. The killer still at large,this is far from over,i just leave in a haze,no point in arguing,it's not a fight I'd win. I make my way to the nearest hotel for the night,i got phone calls to make,but no aspiration to tell them the bad news,i call misty tell her where to meet me,also tell her to bring a nice stiff drink,we'll need it,the whole way here i couldn't shake the feeling i was being watched,i was also to preoccupied with the thoughts racing through my head to focus. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks...the Sim card...the code,in my line of work coincidence rarely happens. I slide my phone from my pocket,take the back off and the battery out,it's the same kind of Sim my phone has...i slide in the one i found,Frankie i hope your loss wasn't for nothing,i slide my battery back in,power kicks on....one new voicemail...please enter password..here goes nothing,0164.
(loud screaming,then a sickening wet thud,breathing...."Hello detective,so glad you got my message...don't bother trying to trace this or even save this,not like any will hear what you've to say at this point,such a tragedy what happened to good ol Frankie. But I've a question for you,did you see me? I saw you....but now the game begins....which matters more? Career or justice? To pursue me means sacrifice...just how much are you willing to lose? Or are you willing to know you could stop me,but it will cost you everything you hold dear to do so. I gave Frankie a gift,now it's your curse to bear......I'll see you soon jim..." Low laughter,click) please insert Sim card on the screen.