Enjoy! :D
Project City, Colorado.
Contrary to its name, Project City, at first, was nothing like the projects. It was a warm, friendly, crimeless, and extremely religious city. If you had their faith, you would be dying to move there. If you didn’t, then you’d be very puzzled and alienated.
Project City was built by the scant, sacred few people known as the Messianic. Worshippers of Yahweh.
Lance Osten was the founder. He and his pregnant wife settled down in a secluded ranch on the border of Colorado and Kansas, close but not too close to the I-70 and the tiny town of Burlington. At first, their seclusion was peaceful, but it became very lonely. They tried making friends in town, but being devout in their faith, they were written off as heretics.
So they sent out a chain letter to many important religious figureheads, who in turn sent it to theirs, who in turn sent it to theirs, until nearly 1,000 people had an invitation.
An invitation to come to their ranch with everything they owned, and to start a small town. It was started in 1960 and finished in 1962. It had a small hospital, a store, houses, schools, and pretty much everything a little town could ask for.
But no police station.
They called it Project City, because it was the project of Yahweh, through them. Lance’s wife gave birth to the first baby, Frederick, in their hospital.
That was in 1962.
In 1980, people found out about the hidden town. At first, they were hesitant to join, but soon enough, they overpowered the Messianic and took the town for themselves. It grew to 10,000 people by 1982 and made its first appearance on an atlas. But still, no crime.
In 1993, there were 50,000 residents. Still no police station.
In 1999, the first crime ever took place in the city, with the murder of Messianic Laura Sykes in the Scholl’s Hills district. The town is shaken to its core, and 300 residents leave the next day, all of them Messianic.
The next day, it happened. Then the next, then the next. It happened every day for one year, and then it stopped. A Police Station had already been built halfway through the year, under Chief David Domingo.
Crime had gone to a near standstill, but now normal crime, no matter how sparse, had found its way into the city.
In 2004, the murders started again, one every day. David Domingo worked as hard as he could to find a connection, and he found one.
Every kill was exactly the same. A clean shot to the head, executioner style. Every kill was located at the same spot in Scholl’s Hills.
David had little forces, but everyone was on a manhunt to find this killer. David had the murder site guarded as soon as he found out. The next day, every guard was dead, shot executioner style.
David was enraged and waited at the site himself, despite warnings from his wife, Danica. He waited and waited, and when the killer came, he shot her in both the arms and legs, wounding her from escaping. She was given medical care and after several months was interrogated. She instantly admitted to every murder with pride, and revealed herself to be an atheist and said she enjoyed killing religious heretics for fun. Her name was Isabel Dion, and she was only 24 at the time, meaning she was 19 when she committed her first murder.
When David went to book her, she attacked him and escaped, and David never saw her again until 2009.
On the 10th anniversary of the first killing, David’s wife was found dead in Scholl’s Hills.
David was devastated and sent a manhunt to catch her again, but with little success. That was the only murder to be committed in 2009.
Thus Far.
Chapter 1-Terminal
__________________________________________________________________________
Amazing. An innovative genius. Revolutionary. Unusual. Mother. Outside of the box. Loving. Fantastically Insane. 5-Stars. The Perfect Person.
These 10 terms all described Jessica Harrison to a “T.”
Amazing was an overall description term. Everything she did was with amazing grace, kindness, innovation and at times, ridiculousness. Nothing was boring or ordinary about her.
An Innovative Genius was a term to describe her work, which was making cars. She was coming awfully close to creating a car that ran off of water. She shared her secret with no one until she had perfected it herself, patented it herself and then donated it to car companies around the world. After all, water is free.
Revolutionary was a term to describe how she did everything. Working on cars, making friends, even going to get groceries was done with the attitude of attempting to change the world or even the life of the checkout stand lady.
Unusual was a term she lived by. Jessica made sure to never do anything by the book. So unusual, rather than doing things by the book, she shredded the book, got some markers and a day later had confetti for her friend’s son’s birthday party. And, yes, she actually did do that once.
Mother was not a biological term, rather an adopted term. She became her nephew’s mother 18 years ago, after the biological mother, her sister, died during childbirth. She was 16 at the time, but did it with pride and ignored the stares she got in high school. This was a term she held dearly, when her son, formerly her nephew, Jake Peters, talks to her. She was kindly up-front with her child at a young age about his mother, and J.P. has benefitted from it ever since, with a security not often found in adopted children.
Outside of the Box could basically be another way to say unusual, but this was a term she loved anyway. There were always rules when it came to working on cars, but Jessica always found a way to follow the rules and disobey them at the same time.
Loving was the most truthful term. Jessica had no enemies. She treated everyone like a family member. If you were hurt, Jessica broke every traffic law in order to get to the hospital first. If you needed help, the phone would be still going when she got there. She had enough care, love and prayer for everyone.
Fantastically insane was a term that started as an insult. She was presenting a modified security car to the people of Project City in their Convention Center, when a heckler shouted out “Lady, you’re insane!” She replied with “Yes, but fantastically so.” The whole crowd cheered, even said heckler, and Jessica stood at her podium, silent. Then, when the cheering stopped, she looked up and said “Thank you, sir, for the realization.” The crowd cheered again.
5-Stars was the term from the review she got from Car and Driver on her first car. Car and Driver gave people a test drive and not a single person disapproved. She framed said review from the magazine and hung it above her desk where she did all of her conceptualizing.
The Perfect Person was a term, but this one was to Jessica’s disgust. She had it well, but she was by no means the perfect person. She harbored a dark secret, something that had haunted her for life. And she never told anyone; never let it surface in her actions, even when she was alone. She hadn’t cried in 10 years since it happened.
Jessica was fast at work on a sketch, just getting to the best part. She thought she had finally gotten the formula down for a water-powered car. Her legs moved restlessly and purposelessly, almost nervously as she started to finish the drawing when the phone rang.
She slammed the pencil down on the desk, positioned right to where she was about to draw. She got out her cell phone and spoke with a subtle hint of a Scottish Accent. “Hey, has your mother not told you not to interrupt genius?”
Her son laughed on the other line. “Hey, mom. Sorry, was this a bad time?”
“In a ways. But that’s not the important thing, aye? What are you calling about?”
“Uhm, yeah, it kind of seems insignificant now.”
“Nothing’s insignificant when it comes to you, darling one.” She laughed. “So what is it?”
“I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind if I went to the rose garden with Violet. They’re playing a free concert tonight in the ampitheater.” J.P. announced.
“Going to a rose garden… with Violet… let me guess, the band’s name is Daisy?” she joked.
He chuckled a bit before responding with “So what’s your verdict?”
“Well, I don’t really mind. I’m gonna have an unusually busy night tonight.” She lowered her voice to a whisper and said “J.P., I’m close.”
“All right, mom!” Jessica could nearly see his Cheshire grin over the phone. “I knew you could do it. Let me know when you finish, OK? I want to be the first to see it in action.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way, darling.”
At that moment, a banging noise was heard against the shop’s garage door. “Pardon my pun” she whispered to herself, just under J.P.’s earshot, “but Hold the Phone.”
“Hey, mom, you’re all silent there. Something wrong?”
“I do believe it may be so, J.P.” she replied. “Something sounds like it was thrown at the door. Hold on a second.”
She opened the garage door and looked around. “J.P., no one’s here, but whatever you do, be careful, all right?”
“All right, mom. But you’re scaring me.”
“It’s not that big of a deal, I just heard a noise.” She reassured him. She looked around again, and then down.
She gasped and told J.P. “Jake Peters, whatever you do, stay home tonight. Tell Violet to stay home, too.” She looked down again at the decapitated head that had been thrown at her garage door and said “Everything just changed.”
__________________________________________________________________________
At 8 at night, David was asleep at his desk again. This was a bad habit he had developed since Danica’s death. He didn’t even notice that his phone was ringing until ring four of his old-style rotary telephone. Finally, he awoke and ran to the phone in a surprised frenzy.
He answered the phone with a large yawn and a welcoming “Police Chief David Domingo’s office, how may I help you?”
“Wake up, first off,” a young woman’s voice giggled at the other end. David smiled and replied “Hello, Miss Scott.”
Malina Scott giggled again and said “Well, stretch your arms out and stuff, because we got another case.”
David sighed upon hearing this information in a mixture of sadness and boredom. “Let me guess, Malina. Messianic found dead in Scholl’s Hills off of NW General Avenue, 2100 Block. Shot executioner style to the head, most likely by Isabel Dion. Am I right?”
The phone conversation went silent for a few seconds. Malina started talking again nervously, starting with “Normally, David, I wouldn’t even have to explain, because, obviously you know what I’m going to say. But this time is different.”
“Different?” David said, putting the phone on his shoulder and cracking his knuckles.”Interesting. I could go for a challenge. So, how is this one different than the other ones?”
“Well, yes, someone was killed, David, but this time it wasn’t in Scholl’s Hills. It was in the Duke’s Industrial Mall.” Malina responded. “And this man was decapitated, with the body nowhere in sight.”
“You don’t mean…” David gasped.
“David, what are you thinking?” she asked.
“I think Isabel Dion isn’t the only killer in this town.” Was the stunning response.
__________________________________________________________________________________
David drove down Duke Boulevard in a small Caprice from the 90’s, the last time the squad got new cars. The police being a drastically new and underused part of the city, they had been drastically underfunded.
Adelaide Sykes was a bit shook up. 20 years old with spiked lime-green hair, she stood out in a crowd. But she could take you down in 5 seconds flat. “I find this very strange.” She admitted to David.
“You’re not the only one, Addie.” He replied.
“I mean, I’ve taken down drug dealers and robbers, but the fact that we could have a new killer in town scares me even more than that…” her voice drifted off.
“Now, Adelaide,” Raymond Stiller replied. “Nothing’s set in stone yet. It could be just a ploy.” That was a typical Raymond Stiller sentence. He was everything you would expect out of someone who looked like a younger Morgan Freeman- sensible and velvet-voiced. In his 50’s, Raymond was the oldest officer of the city. He was well loved and respected by his crew members.
Juniper was silent, looking out the window. She wasn’t sure what to think. Stay positive, or prepare for the worst? Be on your guard, or relax? It was very confusing for her sometimes as a police officer, but all worth it in the end.
“Okay, guys, here’s the deal. I myself believe and hope it’s a different killer. But you guys believe whatever you want.” David said. “We just need to act on one thing, and with me being the chief, I say we act on it as if it were a totally new case. Because in some ways, it is.”
The car pulled up to the scene of the crime. Juniper was the first out, her prosthetic feet leading the way. She never had legs to begin with, so she walked like a natural.
David got his yellow “CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS” tape out and some stakes, and started to roll it around the crime scene when he bumped into someone he knew.
This woman was about 6 feet tall, with shoulder-length orange hair and some freckles around her face. She was dressed in casual clothes, dirtied up with oil stains and such. David recognized her immediately.
“Jessica.” He said, holding a hand out.
Jessica skipped the hand, and went straight to a hug. “David, it’s so relieving to see you, aye?”
Chapter 2
Raymond walked in on the reunion. “Hmmm… David, you know this woman?”
David nodded. “My daughter Violet dates her son.” Jessica nodded, then turned her attention to the head. “But who on earth throws a disembodied head here? And why?”
“Well, obviously, that’s what we want to know.” David sighed. “I would automatically assume it was Isabel Dion, but she doesn’t kill like this.” He sighed.
“Curiouser and Curiouser.”
Juniper snapped some gloves on and said “Well, what else can we do except look for the body and get the head back to Shi Anne?”
David nodded and got a small body bag out for the head. For babies, although, luckily, none of them have ever been used. He got a pair of his own gloves on, to the slight annoyance of Juniper, lifted the head up and looked up to the sky. He created an odd mood in the area by saying “Dear heavenly father, I pray you take care of this being and we beg forgiveness for the ending of your plans prematurely. We pray that the one who slaughtered this man be brought to justice and that your will be done, above all. In your son’s name we pray, Yahweh, HalleluYah.”
He proceeded to place the head into the bag and place it in the trunk. He walked up to Jessica and said “If anything comes up, we will let you know first, for now.”
Jessica nodded. “Nice little prayer, by the way. Oh, and before I forget, David?”
David turned around mid-stride and approached her. “Yes, Jessica?”
“I wanted to tell you, I’ve got something to show you. Here, tomorrow evening, okay? It should be ready by then.”
“Well, you’re a car-maker, and we need cars.” David grinned, motioning to the Caprice. “We could sure use your services.”
“Well, that’s great news David.” She grinned, giving him a thumbs up. “See you then!”
David nodded, said “Have a great evening, ma’am.” And got into the car. After about 30 seconds, Adelaide shook her head and said “He never gets any closer to sane. Back in the car, you buffoons.” Raymond and Juniper followed close behind, not getting used to David but not really minding it either.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shi Anne spotted David’s shaved head as soon as it peeked into her office. “Anyone here?” he asked.
Shi Anne opened the door as soon as she saw him and said “Hello, David! What do you have for me today?”
One of the newest hires for the crew, 25-year-old Shi Anne Chan was one of the most upbeat people you would ever meet, which is ironic for someone who performs autopsies for a living. She brought a ray of light into the fluorescence of the police station, and everyone liked her, even Adelaide, who was, let’s face it, less upbeat.
David brought in the small body bag, and Shi Anne gasped. She knew she had to be prepared, but small body bags never meant anything good. “Da-Da-David?” she asked. “What’s in there?”
David unzipped it and set the open bag on her autopsy table. “Whew, tiny body bags are the scariest.” She sighed in relief.
“Well, here’s th-“David started, but Shi Anne put two fingers up and said “No, give me a second to think.” David stopped and watched as she took a seat on her stool, twirled a strand of black hair between her fingers and swiveled gently, allowing her to think. After about a minute, she said “Well, I feel ridiculous that it took me so long considering this is a severed head, it probably isn’t Isabel Dion.”
David nodded. “We don’t think so.”
Shi Anne walked up to the head and took a good look at it. “Well, David, I can tell you this much. This guy was a professional. Clean cut, no errors, it was practically a butchering. Give me about 24 hours and I should have the guy’s name.”
David nodded and said “Good luck with that, Shi Anne.”
Shi Anne nodded and said “Same to you, David!” And with a grin, she turned around and got back to her work.
David was on his way out when he was stopped by Malina. “Uhm, sir. Someone wants to see you.”
“Who is it?” he asked.
“Uhm… you should see for yourself.” She led David to the front desk, where he saw the person he had hoped to see again, yet at the same time hoped never to see again.
Isabel Dion leaned over the desk, smiling smugly at David.
David leapt over the desk and jumped Isabel, pinning her to the ground. He hissed in her ear “What in Yahweh’s name are you doing here?”
“Get… off… me…” she hissed back.
“Answer the question, or so help me Yah, I’ll drag you into the execution room right now and-“
“Fine, David.” She stopped the struggle and said “I’m here to help you.”
David was nearly enraged. “How… can you… help me?”
“Take me to some interrogation room and get me a cup of coffee, and I may be willing to explain.” Was Isabel’s snide response.
David got up, grabbed her arm, told Malina to get them both some coffee, and soon enough, the moment he had been waiting for during the lapse of a year finally occurred.
“Isabel Dion.” David drew out every syllable in her name. “What on earth would possess you to come here and ask to talk to me?”
“The knowledge that later I will escape and live to kill another day.” Isabel spat back.
David growled, trying mentally and physically to restrain himself. “I would die before that happens.” He said.
“You probably will.” Isabel smirked. “And I will be proud to say it was me who did such a task.”
“Enough of those snide, horrible jokes.” David spat in rage. “You’ve killed hundreds, literally, hundreds of people. One of those people was my wife. I’ll be forsaken by Yahweh before I let you live for those crimes.”
“Hey, I’ve killed hundreds of people, but I can assure you that none of those people were your wife.” Isabel said, rolling her eyes. “Some tool had the nerve to frame me for that one. Can you believe that? Beat me to the-“
“You liar!” he shouted.
“But as I was saying,” Isabel ignored him with a knowledge that there was no reassuring him, “There’s another killer out there. He killed your wife, your mystery head and I’m not about to have him stealing my spotlight.”
Those last few words drove David over the edge. “You Yah-forsaken liar!” he roared as he threw her out of her chair and into a wall face-first. Blood gushed from her head as she slumped to the floor, still conscious. She used a chair to hoist herself up and said “David, I would love to tell you I have your wife. I’d love to tell my entire crew that I had killed her, killed you, even. But unfortunately, some lucky S.O.B. beat me to one of those. Now, I’ve got you saved for another time, because first I want to get all competition out of the way.”
David pulled out some handcuffs and threw her against the table. Upon placing the handcuffs on her, he led her down hallways and into her jail cell. As he walked away, he heard her say “You haven’t solved your city’s problems in the end, David. I may be gone, but someday, the other killer will find you. He’ll kill you. And I’ll be dead. So in the end, you just screwed us both over.”
David shuddered as he slammed the jail door shut.
Chapter 3
Raymond waited in the employee’s lounge for David’s next order, guzzling coffee straight from the pot. Adelaide grimaced at the sight, snapping “For the love of Christ, man!” said the only non-Messianic member of the crew. “Are you demented?”
He stopped drinking, grinned and said “Not yet, young lady.” Laughing loudly, he drank some more.
Meanwhile, Juniper got out a chessboard and set it on the table, assembling the pieces with masterful speed and precision, as if she had played a million times. Actually, she probably had. “Anyone up to playing?” she asked.
“We play every day.” Adelaide complained, sighing and staring down the roof.
“Well, would you rather count the moments till the roof over our heads falls on us?” was the sarcastic reply.
“I’ve seen worse.” Adelaide replied with an eye roll. It was true. Having been a former soldier in the United States Army, she had seen images that would forever stay engrained in her head, haunting her in her dreams. She had been in places that actually HAD fallen on her head. She purposefully got herself dishonorably discharged by punching an officer square in the jaw, because she was so desperate to get out. Since then, she moved to Project City because it was supposed to be peaceful. When the going got tough for the town, however, she joined the police force. This job was a walk in the park compared to the army.
“Yeah, we know, Adelaide. You never fail to remind us.” Juniper sighed as she started warring against herself in Chess.
Adelaide opened her mouth to start an angry rant, but at that moment David walked into the room, looking as if he saw a ghost.
Raymond dropped the empty pot of coffee on the ground, spooked by David’s appearance. “David? You okay?”
David nodded, but he sure didn’t look the part.
“What were you doing, I mean, you seem so-“
David suddenly snapped “What I was doing is absolutely none of your business. I’m going home now, Juniper, Raymond, you stay for the night shift.”
Juniper sighed, not looking up from her chessboard. “Sure thing, boss.” She added as Adelaide got her coat on and left the room, not even bothering to remove her uniform. David raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.
“Like I said, I myself will be leaving, I need the rest.” He said to the other two. “Although I usually get most of my sleep at my desk. But, oh well.” He got his stuff together and left.
Raymond shrugged and told Juniper “Well, It’s official. David’s not himself tonight.”
_________________________________________________________________________________
David walked to a bus stop, sat on the curb and waited, deep in thought. Why did Isabel turn herself in? Who was this other murderer? And why did Isabel want to help David? The first and the last, Isabel had revealed the answers to, but what kind of fool did she take him for if she thought he was gonna trust her?
The second was the clincher. Who could possibly be a killer in this town and not be Isabel? Heck, maybe it was Isabel trying to throw David off of her trail. If that was what she was doing, she was doing a very good job at it, because now David didn’t know what to think.
Look at yourself, David. He told himself internally. You know better than to take work home with you. Just relax and deal with it tomorrow.
But how could he do that with such an urgent situation? People could die. People he cared about. David sighed as the bus came to his stop, and boarded it.
He arrived home a half-hour later, to hear that the TV was on. Feeling very anxious, he took his shoes off, tiptoed into the living room and looked on the couch. He slapped himself in the forehead as he saw Violet sitting there with a knowing glance.
“Long day?” she asked, switching the channel to something she knew David would prefer, Animal Planet.
He nodded as he took a seat on the couch next to her.
“Long how?” she asked.
“Just… long.” He replied, sighing again and stretching his legs. “So how was your day? School good?”
‘Yep.” She replied. “At least, better than yours. Report cards came in today. I snuck a peek, I hope you don’t mind.”
He groaned and said “Of course I mind. If it says ‘David Domingo’ on the address label, it’s mine. “
Violet shrugged. “Sorry, Dad.”
David chuckled. “I just remembered when you hid your report card in your tree house. I never found it until a year later.”
“Dad, I was 7 when I did that.” Violet groaned, her lips teasing at a smile.
“And eight.” David added. “So, how did you do?”
“See for yourself.” Violet walked over to the kitchen table and got the card. “I would have gotten all A’s, but my Social Studies Teacher has unreachable standards. No one got an A in her class.”
“I can tell. B minus? I should call the school and complain.” He joked.
“Yeah, please don’t.” Violet giggled. “I like not being seen as the kid of the tattletale.”
David laughed again. “By the way, how are things with J.P.? I saw his mom today.”
“Uhm, I was hoping you wouldn’t ask.” She replied.
“Oh, what’s wrong?” David raised an eyebrow. “I don’t have a young man to take down, do I?”
“No,” she said, trying to smile. “Uhm, we broke up. It was a mutual, peaceful decision.”
“Oh, no.” David sighed. “Why on earth did you do that?”
“We just… we didn’t have the dynamic of a dating couple.” She replied. “We’ll stay friends, probably forever. We just don’t think we were meant to be.”
“Yeah, I guess I can respect that.” David sighed. Suddenly, an urgent tapping was heard on the door. David ran to it, barefoot, and looked through the peephole to see Jessica standing in the rain. Concerned, he opened the door and said “Jessica? What on Earth is wrong?”“You need to come with me.” she said desperately. “I’ve got my car, I need to show you something.”
David leaned inside and said “Violet, I have to go. No matter what, stay inside.”
A mixed look of worry and fright creased her face as she ran upstairs. David got his keys and phone, shut and locked the house and ran to Jessica’s car. Unlike her other work, this was a normal commercial car. A Chevrolet Cobalt, to be exact.
Upon entering, the first question David had was “What is going on with you?” It was then when he saw the large knife cut along Jessica’s cheek.
“David,” she said, sucking in a deep breath, “I was robbed at knifepoint on my way out. My car, the one I've been working on, it’s been stolen.”
Chapter 4
David caught his breath. “What?” he gasped.
Jessica nodded grimly. “I wasn’t about to down without a fight, but he put up a better one.” She put a finger on her knife wound gently. “Got me good. Luckily, I know the police chief, so hopefully we’ll get something done.”
“I hope.” David’s face creased in an even deeper frown. “I’m not very trained in stuff like theft.”
“Well,” Jessica’s face read a bitter grin, “We’ll never know unless we try, right?”
David nodded and Jessica started her car, speeding down Torah Avenue and breaking multiple traffic laws. That they were both used to.
Jessica frowned again halfway there and told David “David, distract me.”
“Distract you?” he asked. “Why?”
“I don’t wanna get all worked up over this, so, please distract me, talk about anything.” She replied.
“Jess, you have every right to get worked up o-“
“Just freaking distract me!” she said, in a tone halfway between speak and shout.
David looked at her, shocked, to the point where he nearly crashed.
“Sorry, sorry.” She said, sighing. “Just, please, tell me anything.”
“Did you hear about J.P. and Violet?” he asked.
“Yes,” she replied. “It’s OK, though. I always kinda saw them more as siblings.”
“Really, now? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because he seemed so happy, and I didn’t want to interfere. My kid’s growing up, David; I gotta give him some more freedom.”
David was silent as he stared at the road. He realized that he was doing the opposite.
Jessica looked over at him, smiled and said “Thanks.”
He nodded. “No problem.”
Everything was silent when Jessica suddenly confessed “I’m really scared, David.”
He nodded. “So am I, to be honest.”
In a matter of minutes, they had pulled up to her shop, and David burst through a door, knocking it down.
“Uh, David,” Jessica said, “The door was unlocked.”
“Of course it was.” Was David’s deadpan reply. He looked around and saw a sight so unexpected, he fell on the ground.
“They returned it.” He said in disbelief. “What in hell caused them to do that?”
Jessica suddenly threw herself onto David, knocking them both to the ground.
“What was that for, Jessica?” David hissed, suddenly afraid.
“They’re here.” She whispered back. “I know it.”
David and Jessica lay there in a heap, waiting for something to happen. After 5 minutes of nothing, David whispered “See, you got us all worked up for nothing. Your car’s back, I’ll find who did this, and we’ll all laugh it off when I’m arresting this guy.”
Jessica sighed. “You okay?”
David nodded.
“Sorry about that,” she said, getting up and helping him up. “Let’s get out of-“The word ‘here’ was interrupted by a sudden gasp, as they came face to face with two muscle-bound men.
“Oh crap.” Was David’s reaction.
“Lights out.” was the last thing he heard before he was punched in the head.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David woke up in Jessica’s shop. He got up, rubbed his aching head and looked around. Disturbingly, he was alone. And he didn’t like that. To add to that, Jessica’s car was gone. And it was morning.
Instinctively, David ran out to his car and started the engine, but then he realized something.
I have no idea what to do, he thought to himself for only the second time in his life. He just sat in the car, stunned. He had no idea where Jessica and her car were. He decided to call her. When a gruff voice picked up and said “If you call this number again, David, she dies,” he realized that it was a bad idea.
So he drove home in frenzy, worried about who she could be, and ran inside. Violet was sleeping on the couch when David woke her up.
“Dad!” she cried out, wrapping her arms around him. “Where were you?”
“Violet, I…I…I… I’m scared to tell you.” He said, ashamed.
“Jeez, Dad, what happened?”
“Someone I know is in trouble.” He admitted.
“You mean Jessica, right?” Violet saw right through his thinly veiled story.
He nodded in defeat. “I don’t know how you’re going to react to this, but I need you to call J.P. Tell him he needs to go over to the police station. Cause that’s where you’re going.”
“Wow, Dad, that bad?” she asked grimly. David nodded. That’s when Violet got really scared. “Dad… is she even alive?”
He nodded. “For now.” He added bluntly. “So, get some stuff together and we’ll head out.”
5 minutes later, Violet had a small bag ready and had descended the stairs. “Wow, that was fast.” David said. “You sure pack light for a woman.”
Violet punched her dad in the arm playfully. “That’s just a stereotype, Dad.”
“No, seriously, your mother…” he started. It still hurt to mention her, and he was already stressed enough, but he continued. “Your mother used to pack a ton of bags. When you were a baby, we went to vacation in Hawaii. She packed everything but the kitchen sink!”
Violet giggled. “That sure sounds like Mom.”
David smiled slightly and led her to the car.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David had Violet set up in the waiting room, and went down the hallway. He went past hallways of offices until he got to the elevator. He pressed the down button, got in, looked at the buttons and pressed the one farthest down.
He went down past rows of cells, all of which were empty except one. He walked to that cell and said “I need your help after all. Can you please help me?”
“Of course I can.” Isabel said. “Let me out of this cage and I will.”
Chapter 5
Back down the hallways, she in handcuffs, he in a stressed-out demeanor. Last time they talked, he was about to kill her himself. She, however, saw it as entertainment and couldn’t wait to torture him again.
They entered the interrogation room, where Isabel took the metal chair from David after he handcuffed him. David shrugged. “Get comfortable,” he said, “Because I’m not letting you out of my sight. Even for a moment.”
“Well…” Isabel smirked. “That will make undressing, showers and bathroom breaks very uncomfortable.”
“I’m not the only officer on this squad.” He growled.
“Do I need to correct you on your own words?” she said, scowling.
“If you want an early execution, yes.” David growled.
“One one hand,” she said, holding out both hands, “I wouldn’t doubt you’d to that, due to the fact that you are on a high of lies, confusion and power abuse. On the other hand, you need me, and on that note, I need you, but neither of us knows it.”
David sighed. That last part was a lot truer than he had hoped. “Well, if I’m going to save Jessica, and protect my family, and if you’re going to get your delusional reputation back, then I say one of us needs to tell the other some stuff. Like how she knows this villain enough to harbor hatred towards him or her.”
A pained expression came over her face. “And what makes you so sure I know this man?”
“One, your face is a dead giveaway. Two, how do you know it was a man?”
Isabel sighed. “You got me. You want me to tell you about this guy?”
David nodded. Isabel sighed a second time and said, “Well, OK, but you asked for it.
“His name is Kole. That’s it, his name is just Kole. Or at least, that’s what I knew him by. I met him when I was seventeen, fresh out of Cleveland High School. Portland, Oregon. He was a bad boy, 6 feet tall, 7 feet with the Mohawk. He listened to Nirvana, Social Distortion and Bad Religion. And I was in love.” She sighed, a different sigh this time, one of longing and passion.
“He was big into crime. I refused to do any of the drugs he did, to keep a clear mind, but I never minded learning how to steal anything unnoticed from him, among other things. We had sort of a stash in our secret spot of town. I was able to graduate college early without anyone knowing my secret.
“Then Kole and I moved to Project, Colorado. To my utter surprise, he asked me if he could train me to become a serial killer. The idea of graduating from the thefts I had so mastered was a terrifying idea, but I did it. Because I loved him.” Her facial expression, to David’s surprise, showed a waver in her godlike confidence. “That was when I committed my first murder. Laura Sykes. She was a Messianic; because Kole told me I needed to have a reason for my murders, so I picked religion. Never did like it.
“When people found about it, it was almost a sick thrill. My work of art, displayed on TV for everyone to see. I told Kole that I was going to be the best killer out there. The next night, I did it again, and again, and again, for the rest of the year. That was when Kole told me we needed to focus a few years on getting a crew together and terrorizing the town in other ways.
“Every criminal that walks your streets, David, every one, is because of me. Brian Rogue, the drug salesman, I found in Denver, homeless in front of his high school. 14 years old, no parents. Reminded me so much of Kole as a teenager. Yva Lyon, my embezzlement agent, was a secretary for a local newspaper, sick of her job, angry at her life. And so the list goes. Not very important to name the others, as the first two were our right hand men, pardon the expression.
“In 2004 we started again, same as last time. Then, everything crumbled all at once when Kole left me to be captured at one of our murders. Then, you caught me, shot me in the legs, and sent me to the hospital to recover. At that hospital, I swore I would make him pay for what he did to me.
“After I confessed to my art and escaped 3 months later, myself and what was left of my crew, namely Yva and Rogue, fled town, it being the one-year anniversary of my first killing of the year, and caused mayhem on a sort of road trip. Helped me forget about Kole. But in 2009 I came back, to start again. Seems the S.O.B. beat me to it when your wife died.
“Look, I don’t care if you believe me or not. Sure, I killed nearly 800 people, but won’t admit to killing one more? That’s logic. If I killed your wife, David, I’d be bragging about it. Hook me up to any lie detector machine you want. I did not kill your wife. Unfortunately for me.”
David took a minute to register all of this. “So you believe it was Kole who was behind this?”
Isabel nodded. “Precisely. I stick to my own style of art, repetition, if you will.”
“Do you know where he is?”
“Probably in our hideout. Well, it was ours. I had to move. Shall I lead you to it?”
“You had better.” David said, growling. “And I suppose you want something in return?”
“No,” she replied. “I plan on escaping, so I doubt I’ll need anything from you. Except to keep fumbling like you have, it’s a great help to me.”
“Dream on,” he said aggressively. “You’re never going to get another taste of freedom again after this.”
Isabel ignored that minefield. “David, do you have a restroom you could use?”
David led Isabel to the door of the women’s bathroom and waited on the outside as Isabel entered.
Isabel sat on the counter, taking deep breaths. Seeing that she was alone, she dismantled the dryer, threw it against the wall, kicked all the empty stall doors open, tore the faucet off of the sink and broke the mirrors with her fist.
Then she locked herself in a stall, crumpled into a ball and started to silently cry to the tune of forsaken memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment