The Guilty
Don’t think I will ever get used to the smell, metallic and hot. This was his third victim and he promised four more.
This victim was just like the others, pale skinned, long dark hair, deep ebony eyes. All had the braided rope around their necks, all had been viciously stabbed, all were women, all had their feet and hands tied behind their backs and a long stake running through the ropes, their lips had been painted the blood red color and last but not least, all had the crucifixion holes in their hands and feet. I never understood mans cruelty to man.
I went to the autopsy but I already knew what the findings would be.. All arteries had been severed, holes in the hands and feet had been done by rusted nails. All three had been the same weight 100lb, all three had been the same height 5’ 5”, all three had been the same age 25. To look at them you would have thought they were from the same family, but that lead had petered out. They hadn’t even known each other. There had to be something, humans, highest intelligence, right! I went over the files again, shuffling the evidence as if it would be magically transformed into something that made sense. Pieces, a puzzle, what?
HE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND, WHY WAS SHE SO BOTHERED ABOUT THREE WHORES. THAT IS ALL THEY WERE, JUST LIKE AMELIA, WHORES. WITH THEIR PROMISES. WHORES, WITH THEIR PAINTED FACES. THEY NEEDED JESUS. THEY NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE PAIN JESUS FELT WHEN HE GAVE HIS BLOOD FOR THEIR SINS. IT MADE HIM SO ANGRY, THEY DID NOT APPRECIATE THE GIFT, THEY DID NOT DESERVE THE GIFT, THEY DID NOT DESERVE TO LIVE! HE WAS THE MESSIANIC AVENGER.
Something pulled these three girls together. I was going to find it but what bothered me was his promise, four more victims. The thought struck me, his number of victims, seven. Seven, take seven apart, it was used in the bible it’s significance was completion, as opposed to six, a “mal” something bad or sick.
Did it have something to do with that? After being a homicide detective for ten years, I had run into my share of religious zealots or ,nuts, whichever title fit at the time.
My eyes hurt, my head hurt, I was pissed off. They said murder was murder that wasn’t quite true, a drive by, as stupid as they were, made much more sense because, you had a general idea of who did it and why. Serial killers had their own agenda, you had to join their class to get your answers and even then, you were too late.
When the call came in, my stomach churned, bile rose, the throbbing pain in my head started to gain momentum. Victim number four. I didn’t want to look, I already knew what I was going to see. This time, there was a difference, a note, for me. My face was hot as I walked through the throng of police and detectives. One question entered my mind, why me?
SHE NEEDED INFORMATION, SHE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF HIS WORK. HE WASN’T MUCH DIFFERENT FROM HER. SHE ARRESTED THE GUILTY, HE EXECUTED THEM. HE SENT HER THE NOTE, NOT TO BRAG AS IT WERE, BUT TO INLIST HER, TO EDUCATE HER, MAKE HER AWARE OF HIM AND HIS PERFECT JUDGEMENT. THEY WOULD ERADICATE THE WHORES, THE CANCER THAT SPREAD ITS MALIGNANT TENTACLES INTO EVERY NICHE OF LIFE, . HE WOULD TEACH HER.
A note. For me, without reading the damn thing I knew it wasn’t going to enlighten me, I knew it was going to be a game, created by a sick mind, I would be expected to play, incinerate my brain and then be exposed to the derisive criticism of someone playing god. I didn’t want to play. I didn’t need this crap. Sometimes, I found myself thinking... Why didn’t god just strike these assholes dead, course, in my burning brain, I could picture one of the sleazy, bleeding heart lawyers trying to put god away, it was almost funny, almost.
The note was an education in biblical literature, it spoke of the “Samaritan whore” the “religious whore” it spoke of Rahab which obviously was a good whore, ending with a detailed explanation of HIS WORK and why HE was ASSIGNED this job. The explanation also included a name, “AMELIA” his mother, a sister? Then, a word that had so many meanings,, “porneia” (Greek), any unlawful sexual act. He narrowed it down, he was doing the work of GOD,, eradicating the earth of the filthy WHORES, he felt, the whores did not deserve the gift of life. They did not appreciate Jesus blood gift to them. And he ended all of this with the signature, THE MESSIANIC AVENGER. My headache had intensified.
I sent the note to the lab. He had signed it, I wanted to have it checked for prints and get a profile on the handwriting. Instinctively, I knew he would never leave any prints. So I sit down to eat dinner, “VICTIM NUMBER FIVE”
ANOTHER ONE, HE TIGHTENED THE ROPE AROUND HER NECK, RELEASING PRESSURE WHEN SHE ALMOST PASSED OUT. HE TOOK HIS TIME, TIGHTENING AND RELEASING OVER A PERIOD OF HOURS, HIS WORK HAD TO BE PERFECT AND THERE HAD TO BE SUFFERING, IT TOOK TIME, YOU HAD TO DO IT RIGHT IF NOT YOU WOULD END IT TOO SOON. HE DROVE THE NAILS THROUGH HER FEET, HE HAD TAPED HER MOUTH AND ALL SHE COULD DO WAS SQUIRM AND DROP TEARS. HE TOLD HER THAT WAS THE WAY JESUS HAD FELT, HE TOLD HER THAT WAS THE WAY JESUS CRIED. HE WENT INTO HIS ORATION, ABOUT THE WHORES AND THEN STABBED HER, REPEATEDLY SEVERING ALL THE MAJOR ARTERIES. HE HAD FINISHED THE SACRED WORK NOW HE HAD TO BATHE..
Another note, I sighed, put on the gloves and opened it.
Information was starting to come back on victim number four, I hadn’t received the info on number five. I spread the files on my desk and slapped my forehead.. I wasn’t going to get too excited yet, had to wait for the information on number five. If it wasn’t there, my head would split!
HIS BATH WAS TAKEN IN ICE COLD WATER, THIS KEPT HIM ALERT, HE HAD TO BE ALERT TO THE MACHINATIONS OF THE WHORES. THE WATER STUNG HIS SKIN, IT WAS SO COLD HIS BREATH CAME IN AND OUT LIKE A DOG PANTING TO COOL ITSELF, HE GRABBED THE WHIP HE KEPT BY THE SHOWER AT ALL TIMES AND BEGAN THE WHIPPING. HIS EYES FILLED WITH WATER, THE TEARS RAN DOWN HIS FACE. HE WAS PURE, HE WAS READY TO CONTINUE HIS WORK, HE EXHALED AS HE WATCHED THE RED WATER SWIRL DOWN THE DRAIN..
The news was good and it would have made me smile if the situation had been different. I spread the files out again, one thing, one thing so small, they all purchased water from the same company, (Refreshing Springs) That had to be the tie, there was nothing else. My happiness gave way to anger, I should have seen that, I should have seen that three victims ago, GODDAMN IT!!
I called my partner into the room and explained to him what I was thinking, he agreed and felt the same as me, we should have caught it.
(Refreshing Springs) was a warehouse, we entered between rows of water bottles stacked almost to the ceiling. I clutched the file pictures under my arm like a money bag.
We were informed that the boss was eating lunch and didn’t like to be disturbed. I pulled out my badge and told the secretary her boss might like to change his likes and dislikes at this time. She jumped up and went in through the door behind her chair.
The man was tall and rude, I offered an incentive to get his cooperation, an ass kicking and a visit to the station.
When I showed him the pictures of the girls, he said he didn’t know them, he didn’t remember seeing them in the warehouse and they had never worked for him, then lights went on. He said they had never worked for him but there was a girl a couple years back, said he had a picture, said her name was AMELIA. When I looked at her, I would have sworn that she and the victims had all been sisters, now, please god don‘t stop here, I told him we needed to talk to her, I watched his face go from comical to smug, he told us that it would be quite a conversation, she was dead. I wanted to slap the lips off his face, instead I asked for any info he might have, I would accept anything.
So now came the mind bending work, going through every little piece of evidence, checking out everyone they knew, friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, children. Where they shopped, where they played, where they prayed. We had to painstakingly go through all of this bit by bit. Time consuming, time, something we didn’t have.
Amelia Deschant, 25, 100lbs, 5’5”, long black hair, deep ebony eyes, ruby red lips..had been the daughter of,,, well now,,, a minister, hmm, she had also been a prostitute.. I was not surprised. The whole family had been murdered, two and a half years ago, at the time the son had been the prime suspect he had never been found.. Blood belonging to the brother had been found. I looked at his picture.. It was creepy, how much they looked alike..
THIS ONE WAS NOT WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE..HE SLAMMED HIS FIST AGAINST THE BRICK WALL.. HE HAD A SCHEDULE, A TIME FRAME, IT MUST BE KEPT, SHE WAS RUINING HIS WORK AND FOR THAT SHE WAS GOING TO PAY.. HE BEGGED FOR HIS FATHER TO FORGIVE HIM, AFTER ALL, HE WAS NOT DERELICT IN HIS DUTIES, IT WAS THE WHORE!
It was time for dinner, I just grabbed one of the leather sandwiches from the machine, dinnertime was when all of the calls had come in.
So we had, women, dark hair and eyes, small, average height, bought their water from the same company, and, that is where the similarities ended. I couldn’t find anything else, no nightclubs, no spas, no libraries just Refreshing Springs.. and still it didn't fit. still there was nothing to pull them together, just, they all drank Refreshing Springs water. Dammit my head was throbbing again. And then, a note came, without a body.
SO NOW, YOU CAN EAT YOUR DINNER IN PEACE TONIGHT.. BUT I WILL MAKE UP FOR IT. THE WHORE WAS NOT WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AND THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES. I HAVE TO DECIDE, HMMM MAYBE TWO, WHAT DO YOU THINK HUH,, TWO WOULD YOU LIKE THAT? AND I THINK I WILL MAKE THE FILTHY WHORES WATCH EACH OTHER DIE.
I didn’t know where my partner was. I was so frustrated, my brain was storming and I needed to run the idea past my partner..oh hell I didn’t want to wait, I mean there wasn’t much to lose and maybe we could buy some time.. I called my contact at the news desk.
THAT BITCH! HE THOUGHT HE COULD TEACH HER BUT,, HE COULD SEE NOW SHE WAS NARROW MINDED AND STUPID LIKE ALL THE REST. SHE WAS GOING TO PAY FOR THAT, SHE WAS GOING TO PAY, THEY ALL WOULD!
All I could do now was wait. I hoped the story had the effect I was aiming for, I had always been told most of these freaks were sexually impotent.. I hoped that he would make a mistake.. Something no matter how small, and I would get him, he could tell that to Jesus, I would get him.
She brushed the long black hair, stared at herself for a minute. She was seriously considering dying her hair..blond..red..green, she laughed. She smoothed the skinny jeans down on her petite frame and lined the ebony eyes with pencil. Blond, she would try blond. She grabbed her sweater and started for the door. Stopping in her tracks..she was afraid to open the door. This wasn’t the first time she had felt this, it seemed to be getting stronger everyday.. So strong that she had missed her acting class the other day, afraid to go, she was afraid again, an overwhelming feeling. She picked up the phone and called a friend.
HE WATCHED HER POKE HER HEAD OUT OF THE FRONT DOOR.. SHE FELT HIS PRESENCE, THAT MADE HIM PROUD, HIS FATHER WOULD SEE JUST HOW POWERFUL HE WAS. SHE WALKED OUT OF THE DOOR AND THEN THE MAN HE HAD SEEN EARLIER WALKED OUT BEHIND HER AND GRABBED HER HAND. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THEM!!!!!
My captain crawled up one side of me and down the other, no I didn’t mind being responsible for panic in the streets..yada yada yada.. Bite me. If what I did caused black haired, ebony eyed, rail thin women to take extra precautions.. I was glad, no not just glad, but, willing to take that blame..
This was the first day I had been home in a week, and I probably wouldn’t have left, if it hadn’t been for the captain threatening to take me off the case.. I couldn’t stop now, I felt the end of this, I felt the finale was coming, I had to see it through.
HE WAS FRUSTRATED, ANGRY, HE BROKE THE GLASS AND KNELT DOWN IN IT. HE CRIED AND PRAYED FOR HOURS. SHE WAS TAKING AWAY HIS HONOR! SHE WAS TAKING AWAY HIS GLORY! HE RAISED HIS HEAD TOWARDS THE CEILING AND WAILED, HE BEGGED FOR HIS FATHER TO FORGIVE HIM, BUT HE KNEW THERE WAS A PRICE TO PAY FOR HIS FAILURE. HE FINGERED THE SPIKES ON THE END OF THE WHIP AND PREPARED HIMSELF FOR THE PAIN. IT WAS FOR HIS FATHER, (JESUS WEPT)
Twenty messages on the answering machine, I turned it on and went into the kitchen. No one would ever believe a woman lived here if they looked in my fridge, a pizza box with one slice, a carton of, what I thought was fried rice or something similar. The messages droned on, why were people so long winded? I stripped off my clothes and turned on the shower, then, a message, from my partner. He was having problems, yea a lot it seemed, every time I needed him, he was gone..
The water felt so good, I made it as hot as I could stand it..the filth and grime drained off of me, but inside it threatened to overwhelm me, take me away from this world. I would take a vacation after it was over.
HE WATCHED HER, BET SHE TURNED ON THE ANSWERING MACHINE, SHE WOULD PROBABLY LOOK IN THE BARREN FRIDGE.. SHE REALLY NEEDED TO SHOP.. HE WONDERED HOW SHE WOULD REACT KNOWING HE HAD BEEN INSIDE HER HOME, THAT HE HAD INVADED HER PRIVACY, HE ALMOST LAUGHED OUT LOUD, SHE DIDN’T EVEN SUSPECT, THEY HAD ALREADY MET.. AND THEY WOULD MEET AGAIN..
Of course cleansing the body didn’t mean cleansing the mind and I couldn’t put my mind to sleep. I looked at the bottle of pills and decided against them, after slipping into my gown, I picked my clothes up and grabbed the files. I spread the files out on my bed, sat down and,, something, something was wrong..couldn’t quite put my finger on it but, I could feel it, I could feel it….
She didn’t want to be alone, something was standing over her, walking over her grave, she tried to shake the feeling. Do a normal thing, yes do her hair. The box didn’t exactly explain it, mix this, time that, strand test, how could changing the color of your hair be that complicated, anyway, she had mixed this and timed that, she just didn’t strand test.. Smiling, she wondered how she would look with green hair.
HE FELT LIKE SCREAMING, THE STUPID, STUPID WHORE! NOW WHAT DID HE DO? THIS WAS SOMETHING HE’D NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH.. SHE DID IT ON PURPOSE, HE KNEW THAT, SHE DID IT TO CONFUSE HIM, BUT IT WASN’T GOING TO WORK, HE WOULD TALK TO HIS FATHER, HE WOULD ASK IF HE COULD STILL SACRIFICE HER.. AFTER ALL BLOND WASN’T REALLY THE COLOR OF HER HAIR…
Soon as I approached the station, I felt tired and worn out, it was a love hate relationship, most detectives would tell you the same thing, I loved what I did, there was such a sense of accomplishment, when you got the bad guy, but what you found before you came to that point caused you to rethink why you did it, and it made you think about how much you hated what you might find on a call.
My partner left a flower on my desk and a note promising he would be in touch soon,, asshole, what did I need him for. Then I was told I had a temporary partner, until my partner came back and, there was another note…
HE LET HER KNOW.. MADE HER AWARE OF THE FACT THAT HE WAS WATCHING HER.. IF HE COULD BE THERE WHEN SHE READ IT..IT WOULD BE WORTH THE PUNISHMENT. HE POURED THE LAST BAG OF ICE INTO THE TUB, THEN LAID THE WHIP NEXT TO THE TUB ON THE FLOOR. THE FATHER WAS VERY EXACTING. HIS HEART SKIPPED BEATS AND THE BREATH LEFT HIS BODY AS HE IMMERSED HIMSELF…
My first reaction to the note was nausea.. The thought of him being close to me, then the anger came, that bastard had been in my house. My temporary partner stared at me, he took the note from my hand and read it..I was torn between the feeling to throw up and commit murder,, that was why I had felt so funny.. I knew something wasn’t right like he left some of his evil there..I prepared another story for the press…
HE DIDN’T GO OUTSIDE OF HIS FATHERS WISHES BUT SHE NEEDED TO BE PUNISHED.. THE THINGS SHE WAS TELLING THE WORLD.. HE WAS IMPOTENT, HE WAS A MENTALLY DISTURBED MAN, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN OK,, EXCEPT SHE SAID THAT THE FATHER WAS AN IMAGINARY GOD, AN IMAGINARY GOD CREATED BY A SICK MIND!! OH SHE WAS GOING TO PAY!!! OH GOD SHE WAS GOING TO PAY!!!!!!!!!
A month had gone by, nothing had happened and it made me nervous. What was wrong? I wanted to believe it had something to do with the story I had put out but I didn’t really believe that, in fact, I knew better.
I found some of the parishioners that had worshiped with the Minister Dechant ( that is what they called him). Most said nothing but good things…yes.. But there were the few, the talkative ones..something my job depended on. I was told the Minister had been very strict, brimstone and hellfire. It appeared his teachings centered around immorality and sins of the flesh. Guess he was blown away when his daughter decided to take up prostitution as a career choice.
The brother was considered by many of the parishioners to be (strange) is how they put it, anyway, the father resigned in disgrace. After that the family hadn’t been heard from until their home had been taped off.
No one knew why anyone would want to murder the family, they were strange but they kept to themselves.. When I asked about the brother, nothing much was known, just that, he kept to himself and he had a way of looking at you that made your skin crawl. Most said they weren’t surprised that he was the suspect. It would have been easier to investigate if it hadn’t gone cold. Now there was a new family living in the house and no remnants left of what once was…
HIS HANDS SHOOK, WHAT HAD HAPPENED, HE HAD BEEN GOOD, HE HAD TRIED, HE COULD MAKE UP FOR IT IF THE FATHER WOULD JUST SPEAK TO HIM, EVERY NIGHT HE PRAYED, EVERY NIGHT HE CRIED, EVERY NIGHT HE ENDURED THE PUNISHMENT.. HE JUST NEEDED THE FATHER TO TELL HIM WHAT TO DO, HE PROMISED IF THE FATHER WOULD TALK TO HIM HE WOULD MAKE THEM PAY.. HE STRETCHED OUT ON THE COLD FLOOR OF THE BASEMENT, HIS BODY HURT, HIS FLESH BURNED AND OOZED FROM THE OPEN SORES BUT, HE ENDURED IT GLADLY, IT WAS FOR THE FATHER…
What now.. I hated the waiting, hated the knowing I was waiting for someone else to die, hated the fact I couldn’t do anything about it. My temporary partner and I sat at the table in interrogation room 1. I hung the (in use) sign outside the door, and spread the files on the table,, what was I missing?… my temporary partner held the file with the picture of the son.. In an off sort of way he commented that the picture sort of looked like my real partner…
Oh it was a lightening strike.. A blow to the gut.. I went through all of the files, I looked at the times of death.. I tracked my partners absences…
She was tied to a chair..why? What was the man talking about? Why was he crying and calling her a whore? She focused her eyes on him.. The hair looked strange, red but, it didn’t look normal, the eyebrows red, topped a pair of the darkest eyes she had ever seen. He had on a white shirt stained with blood, there were cuts on his hands his lips were swollen and purple. She tried to speak and he hit her, her lip stung and she tasted blood. Before she could speak again he draped a rope around her neck and pulled it taught. Her breath caught in her throat.. He pulled tighter and she kicked her feet, tighter and the world spun then went dark..
He was slapping her cheeks, she opened her eyes drew in a deep breath and tried to speak again.. Again he pulled the rope going on and on about her being a whore and what she had done to their parents, what she had made him do.. She could feel the stopping of blood in her head, the beating pulse in her temple, the only thing she could think of was how angry she was.. She spit, landing blood in his face, he let go of the rope and looked at her. She saw the rage turn to confusion, just for a moment, he walked behind her and untied one hand. He grabbed her hair and called her a whore. In her anger she spit again and told him his mother had been a whore.. He screamed, pulling her across the room by the rope around her neck.. She held on, trying to keep herself from passing out again, she knew that would be the end for her.. She fought the nauseating dizziness..she held her breath and stiffened the muscles in her neck..he pushed her against the table it collided with the bridge of her nose..The searing pain brought tears to her eyes and he mistook them for tears of fear. This gave him a sudden bolt of confidence. He pulled the rope but she grabbed it, she held it with all her strength, all her might, cause she knew it meant her life.. The chair scraped and bounced over the concrete floor, the weight of it caused the tie to loosen and she slid her hand out… He was not going to kill her,, her life may end one day, but he would not be the cause,,,They tussled, she grabbed the red hair and screamed obscenities at him. She swung wildly, she cussed, she spit….. She fought for her life!
THIS WAS NOT RIGHT.. SHE CALLED THEIR MOTHER A WHORE.. SHE WASN’T EVEN SORRY FOR WHAT SHE DID, FOR WHAT SHE HAD MADE HIM DO.. HE FOUGHT HARD, SHE WAS WILD, SHE WAS POSSESSED.. HE TRIED BUT SHE WAS RELENTLESS.. HE PRAYED FOR THE FATHER TO HELP HIM…. HAD HE BEEN ABANDONED…?
I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.. All the times matched.. I circled around the back of the house, there was knee high grass, broken bottles and discarded junk all over the place. The windows were boarded up, but the boards were old, cracked and easy to pull away from the wall. It was dank and dusty inside, sun filtered through the edges of the boards we had just pulled away. It was silent, and in the filtered light of the sun the dust danced. Silently we went through each room and found nothing.. I was about to call it when I heard something like the sound of scraping, something scraping. I followed the sound..it was coming from under the kitchen floor.. I holstered my gun motioned my men to aim and keep close watch. I kicked at a rug on the floor,, it didn’t budge, it had been nailed down, it covered a square with a snatch handle. I pulled it, the door came up easily. The smell of urine and rotting food assailed my nostrils, the sound of a fight caught my attention. When we descended the stairs my partner and a frail blond woman fell to the floor, the woman had a rope around her neck, my partner held one end and the woman held the other, she swung wildly with her other hand. She swore and spit, she was like a caged cat, yes, a cat that fought to live..
This was the part of the job I loved..Tell it to Jesus, I got him.
This victim was just like the others, pale skinned, long dark hair, deep ebony eyes. All had the braided rope around their necks, all had been viciously stabbed, all were women, all had their feet and hands tied behind their backs and a long stake running through the ropes, their lips had been painted the blood red color and last but not least, all had the crucifixion holes in their hands and feet. I never understood mans cruelty to man.
I went to the autopsy but I already knew what the findings would be.. All arteries had been severed, holes in the hands and feet had been done by rusted nails. All three had been the same weight 100lb, all three had been the same height 5’ 5”, all three had been the same age 25. To look at them you would have thought they were from the same family, but that lead had petered out. They hadn’t even known each other. There had to be something, humans, highest intelligence, right! I went over the files again, shuffling the evidence as if it would be magically transformed into something that made sense. Pieces, a puzzle, what?
HE DIDN’T UNDERSTAND, WHY WAS SHE SO BOTHERED ABOUT THREE WHORES. THAT IS ALL THEY WERE, JUST LIKE AMELIA, WHORES. WITH THEIR PROMISES. WHORES, WITH THEIR PAINTED FACES. THEY NEEDED JESUS. THEY NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE PAIN JESUS FELT WHEN HE GAVE HIS BLOOD FOR THEIR SINS. IT MADE HIM SO ANGRY, THEY DID NOT APPRECIATE THE GIFT, THEY DID NOT DESERVE THE GIFT, THEY DID NOT DESERVE TO LIVE! HE WAS THE MESSIANIC AVENGER.
Something pulled these three girls together. I was going to find it but what bothered me was his promise, four more victims. The thought struck me, his number of victims, seven. Seven, take seven apart, it was used in the bible it’s significance was completion, as opposed to six, a “mal” something bad or sick.
Did it have something to do with that? After being a homicide detective for ten years, I had run into my share of religious zealots or ,nuts, whichever title fit at the time.
My eyes hurt, my head hurt, I was pissed off. They said murder was murder that wasn’t quite true, a drive by, as stupid as they were, made much more sense because, you had a general idea of who did it and why. Serial killers had their own agenda, you had to join their class to get your answers and even then, you were too late.
When the call came in, my stomach churned, bile rose, the throbbing pain in my head started to gain momentum. Victim number four. I didn’t want to look, I already knew what I was going to see. This time, there was a difference, a note, for me. My face was hot as I walked through the throng of police and detectives. One question entered my mind, why me?
SHE NEEDED INFORMATION, SHE NEEDED TO UNDERSTAND THE PURPOSE OF HIS WORK. HE WASN’T MUCH DIFFERENT FROM HER. SHE ARRESTED THE GUILTY, HE EXECUTED THEM. HE SENT HER THE NOTE, NOT TO BRAG AS IT WERE, BUT TO INLIST HER, TO EDUCATE HER, MAKE HER AWARE OF HIM AND HIS PERFECT JUDGEMENT. THEY WOULD ERADICATE THE WHORES, THE CANCER THAT SPREAD ITS MALIGNANT TENTACLES INTO EVERY NICHE OF LIFE, . HE WOULD TEACH HER.
A note. For me, without reading the damn thing I knew it wasn’t going to enlighten me, I knew it was going to be a game, created by a sick mind, I would be expected to play, incinerate my brain and then be exposed to the derisive criticism of someone playing god. I didn’t want to play. I didn’t need this crap. Sometimes, I found myself thinking... Why didn’t god just strike these assholes dead, course, in my burning brain, I could picture one of the sleazy, bleeding heart lawyers trying to put god away, it was almost funny, almost.
The note was an education in biblical literature, it spoke of the “Samaritan whore” the “religious whore” it spoke of Rahab which obviously was a good whore, ending with a detailed explanation of HIS WORK and why HE was ASSIGNED this job. The explanation also included a name, “AMELIA” his mother, a sister? Then, a word that had so many meanings,, “porneia” (Greek), any unlawful sexual act. He narrowed it down, he was doing the work of GOD,, eradicating the earth of the filthy WHORES, he felt, the whores did not deserve the gift of life. They did not appreciate Jesus blood gift to them. And he ended all of this with the signature, THE MESSIANIC AVENGER. My headache had intensified.
I sent the note to the lab. He had signed it, I wanted to have it checked for prints and get a profile on the handwriting. Instinctively, I knew he would never leave any prints. So I sit down to eat dinner, “VICTIM NUMBER FIVE”
ANOTHER ONE, HE TIGHTENED THE ROPE AROUND HER NECK, RELEASING PRESSURE WHEN SHE ALMOST PASSED OUT. HE TOOK HIS TIME, TIGHTENING AND RELEASING OVER A PERIOD OF HOURS, HIS WORK HAD TO BE PERFECT AND THERE HAD TO BE SUFFERING, IT TOOK TIME, YOU HAD TO DO IT RIGHT IF NOT YOU WOULD END IT TOO SOON. HE DROVE THE NAILS THROUGH HER FEET, HE HAD TAPED HER MOUTH AND ALL SHE COULD DO WAS SQUIRM AND DROP TEARS. HE TOLD HER THAT WAS THE WAY JESUS HAD FELT, HE TOLD HER THAT WAS THE WAY JESUS CRIED. HE WENT INTO HIS ORATION, ABOUT THE WHORES AND THEN STABBED HER, REPEATEDLY SEVERING ALL THE MAJOR ARTERIES. HE HAD FINISHED THE SACRED WORK NOW HE HAD TO BATHE..
Another note, I sighed, put on the gloves and opened it.
Information was starting to come back on victim number four, I hadn’t received the info on number five. I spread the files on my desk and slapped my forehead.. I wasn’t going to get too excited yet, had to wait for the information on number five. If it wasn’t there, my head would split!
HIS BATH WAS TAKEN IN ICE COLD WATER, THIS KEPT HIM ALERT, HE HAD TO BE ALERT TO THE MACHINATIONS OF THE WHORES. THE WATER STUNG HIS SKIN, IT WAS SO COLD HIS BREATH CAME IN AND OUT LIKE A DOG PANTING TO COOL ITSELF, HE GRABBED THE WHIP HE KEPT BY THE SHOWER AT ALL TIMES AND BEGAN THE WHIPPING. HIS EYES FILLED WITH WATER, THE TEARS RAN DOWN HIS FACE. HE WAS PURE, HE WAS READY TO CONTINUE HIS WORK, HE EXHALED AS HE WATCHED THE RED WATER SWIRL DOWN THE DRAIN..
The news was good and it would have made me smile if the situation had been different. I spread the files out again, one thing, one thing so small, they all purchased water from the same company, (Refreshing Springs) That had to be the tie, there was nothing else. My happiness gave way to anger, I should have seen that, I should have seen that three victims ago, GODDAMN IT!!
I called my partner into the room and explained to him what I was thinking, he agreed and felt the same as me, we should have caught it.
(Refreshing Springs) was a warehouse, we entered between rows of water bottles stacked almost to the ceiling. I clutched the file pictures under my arm like a money bag.
We were informed that the boss was eating lunch and didn’t like to be disturbed. I pulled out my badge and told the secretary her boss might like to change his likes and dislikes at this time. She jumped up and went in through the door behind her chair.
The man was tall and rude, I offered an incentive to get his cooperation, an ass kicking and a visit to the station.
When I showed him the pictures of the girls, he said he didn’t know them, he didn’t remember seeing them in the warehouse and they had never worked for him, then lights went on. He said they had never worked for him but there was a girl a couple years back, said he had a picture, said her name was AMELIA. When I looked at her, I would have sworn that she and the victims had all been sisters, now, please god don‘t stop here, I told him we needed to talk to her, I watched his face go from comical to smug, he told us that it would be quite a conversation, she was dead. I wanted to slap the lips off his face, instead I asked for any info he might have, I would accept anything.
So now came the mind bending work, going through every little piece of evidence, checking out everyone they knew, friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, children. Where they shopped, where they played, where they prayed. We had to painstakingly go through all of this bit by bit. Time consuming, time, something we didn’t have.
Amelia Deschant, 25, 100lbs, 5’5”, long black hair, deep ebony eyes, ruby red lips..had been the daughter of,,, well now,,, a minister, hmm, she had also been a prostitute.. I was not surprised. The whole family had been murdered, two and a half years ago, at the time the son had been the prime suspect he had never been found.. Blood belonging to the brother had been found. I looked at his picture.. It was creepy, how much they looked alike..
THIS ONE WAS NOT WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE..HE SLAMMED HIS FIST AGAINST THE BRICK WALL.. HE HAD A SCHEDULE, A TIME FRAME, IT MUST BE KEPT, SHE WAS RUINING HIS WORK AND FOR THAT SHE WAS GOING TO PAY.. HE BEGGED FOR HIS FATHER TO FORGIVE HIM, AFTER ALL, HE WAS NOT DERELICT IN HIS DUTIES, IT WAS THE WHORE!
It was time for dinner, I just grabbed one of the leather sandwiches from the machine, dinnertime was when all of the calls had come in.
So we had, women, dark hair and eyes, small, average height, bought their water from the same company, and, that is where the similarities ended. I couldn’t find anything else, no nightclubs, no spas, no libraries just Refreshing Springs.. and still it didn't fit. still there was nothing to pull them together, just, they all drank Refreshing Springs water. Dammit my head was throbbing again. And then, a note came, without a body.
SO NOW, YOU CAN EAT YOUR DINNER IN PEACE TONIGHT.. BUT I WILL MAKE UP FOR IT. THE WHORE WAS NOT WHERE SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AND THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES. I HAVE TO DECIDE, HMMM MAYBE TWO, WHAT DO YOU THINK HUH,, TWO WOULD YOU LIKE THAT? AND I THINK I WILL MAKE THE FILTHY WHORES WATCH EACH OTHER DIE.
I didn’t know where my partner was. I was so frustrated, my brain was storming and I needed to run the idea past my partner..oh hell I didn’t want to wait, I mean there wasn’t much to lose and maybe we could buy some time.. I called my contact at the news desk.
THAT BITCH! HE THOUGHT HE COULD TEACH HER BUT,, HE COULD SEE NOW SHE WAS NARROW MINDED AND STUPID LIKE ALL THE REST. SHE WAS GOING TO PAY FOR THAT, SHE WAS GOING TO PAY, THEY ALL WOULD!
All I could do now was wait. I hoped the story had the effect I was aiming for, I had always been told most of these freaks were sexually impotent.. I hoped that he would make a mistake.. Something no matter how small, and I would get him, he could tell that to Jesus, I would get him.
She brushed the long black hair, stared at herself for a minute. She was seriously considering dying her hair..blond..red..green, she laughed. She smoothed the skinny jeans down on her petite frame and lined the ebony eyes with pencil. Blond, she would try blond. She grabbed her sweater and started for the door. Stopping in her tracks..she was afraid to open the door. This wasn’t the first time she had felt this, it seemed to be getting stronger everyday.. So strong that she had missed her acting class the other day, afraid to go, she was afraid again, an overwhelming feeling. She picked up the phone and called a friend.
HE WATCHED HER POKE HER HEAD OUT OF THE FRONT DOOR.. SHE FELT HIS PRESENCE, THAT MADE HIM PROUD, HIS FATHER WOULD SEE JUST HOW POWERFUL HE WAS. SHE WALKED OUT OF THE DOOR AND THEN THE MAN HE HAD SEEN EARLIER WALKED OUT BEHIND HER AND GRABBED HER HAND. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THEM!!!!!
My captain crawled up one side of me and down the other, no I didn’t mind being responsible for panic in the streets..yada yada yada.. Bite me. If what I did caused black haired, ebony eyed, rail thin women to take extra precautions.. I was glad, no not just glad, but, willing to take that blame..
This was the first day I had been home in a week, and I probably wouldn’t have left, if it hadn’t been for the captain threatening to take me off the case.. I couldn’t stop now, I felt the end of this, I felt the finale was coming, I had to see it through.
HE WAS FRUSTRATED, ANGRY, HE BROKE THE GLASS AND KNELT DOWN IN IT. HE CRIED AND PRAYED FOR HOURS. SHE WAS TAKING AWAY HIS HONOR! SHE WAS TAKING AWAY HIS GLORY! HE RAISED HIS HEAD TOWARDS THE CEILING AND WAILED, HE BEGGED FOR HIS FATHER TO FORGIVE HIM, BUT HE KNEW THERE WAS A PRICE TO PAY FOR HIS FAILURE. HE FINGERED THE SPIKES ON THE END OF THE WHIP AND PREPARED HIMSELF FOR THE PAIN. IT WAS FOR HIS FATHER, (JESUS WEPT)
Twenty messages on the answering machine, I turned it on and went into the kitchen. No one would ever believe a woman lived here if they looked in my fridge, a pizza box with one slice, a carton of, what I thought was fried rice or something similar. The messages droned on, why were people so long winded? I stripped off my clothes and turned on the shower, then, a message, from my partner. He was having problems, yea a lot it seemed, every time I needed him, he was gone..
The water felt so good, I made it as hot as I could stand it..the filth and grime drained off of me, but inside it threatened to overwhelm me, take me away from this world. I would take a vacation after it was over.
HE WATCHED HER, BET SHE TURNED ON THE ANSWERING MACHINE, SHE WOULD PROBABLY LOOK IN THE BARREN FRIDGE.. SHE REALLY NEEDED TO SHOP.. HE WONDERED HOW SHE WOULD REACT KNOWING HE HAD BEEN INSIDE HER HOME, THAT HE HAD INVADED HER PRIVACY, HE ALMOST LAUGHED OUT LOUD, SHE DIDN’T EVEN SUSPECT, THEY HAD ALREADY MET.. AND THEY WOULD MEET AGAIN..
Of course cleansing the body didn’t mean cleansing the mind and I couldn’t put my mind to sleep. I looked at the bottle of pills and decided against them, after slipping into my gown, I picked my clothes up and grabbed the files. I spread the files out on my bed, sat down and,, something, something was wrong..couldn’t quite put my finger on it but, I could feel it, I could feel it….
She didn’t want to be alone, something was standing over her, walking over her grave, she tried to shake the feeling. Do a normal thing, yes do her hair. The box didn’t exactly explain it, mix this, time that, strand test, how could changing the color of your hair be that complicated, anyway, she had mixed this and timed that, she just didn’t strand test.. Smiling, she wondered how she would look with green hair.
HE FELT LIKE SCREAMING, THE STUPID, STUPID WHORE! NOW WHAT DID HE DO? THIS WAS SOMETHING HE’D NEVER HAD TO DEAL WITH.. SHE DID IT ON PURPOSE, HE KNEW THAT, SHE DID IT TO CONFUSE HIM, BUT IT WASN’T GOING TO WORK, HE WOULD TALK TO HIS FATHER, HE WOULD ASK IF HE COULD STILL SACRIFICE HER.. AFTER ALL BLOND WASN’T REALLY THE COLOR OF HER HAIR…
Soon as I approached the station, I felt tired and worn out, it was a love hate relationship, most detectives would tell you the same thing, I loved what I did, there was such a sense of accomplishment, when you got the bad guy, but what you found before you came to that point caused you to rethink why you did it, and it made you think about how much you hated what you might find on a call.
My partner left a flower on my desk and a note promising he would be in touch soon,, asshole, what did I need him for. Then I was told I had a temporary partner, until my partner came back and, there was another note…
HE LET HER KNOW.. MADE HER AWARE OF THE FACT THAT HE WAS WATCHING HER.. IF HE COULD BE THERE WHEN SHE READ IT..IT WOULD BE WORTH THE PUNISHMENT. HE POURED THE LAST BAG OF ICE INTO THE TUB, THEN LAID THE WHIP NEXT TO THE TUB ON THE FLOOR. THE FATHER WAS VERY EXACTING. HIS HEART SKIPPED BEATS AND THE BREATH LEFT HIS BODY AS HE IMMERSED HIMSELF…
My first reaction to the note was nausea.. The thought of him being close to me, then the anger came, that bastard had been in my house. My temporary partner stared at me, he took the note from my hand and read it..I was torn between the feeling to throw up and commit murder,, that was why I had felt so funny.. I knew something wasn’t right like he left some of his evil there..I prepared another story for the press…
HE DIDN’T GO OUTSIDE OF HIS FATHERS WISHES BUT SHE NEEDED TO BE PUNISHED.. THE THINGS SHE WAS TELLING THE WORLD.. HE WAS IMPOTENT, HE WAS A MENTALLY DISTURBED MAN, AND THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN OK,, EXCEPT SHE SAID THAT THE FATHER WAS AN IMAGINARY GOD, AN IMAGINARY GOD CREATED BY A SICK MIND!! OH SHE WAS GOING TO PAY!!! OH GOD SHE WAS GOING TO PAY!!!!!!!!!
A month had gone by, nothing had happened and it made me nervous. What was wrong? I wanted to believe it had something to do with the story I had put out but I didn’t really believe that, in fact, I knew better.
I found some of the parishioners that had worshiped with the Minister Dechant ( that is what they called him). Most said nothing but good things…yes.. But there were the few, the talkative ones..something my job depended on. I was told the Minister had been very strict, brimstone and hellfire. It appeared his teachings centered around immorality and sins of the flesh. Guess he was blown away when his daughter decided to take up prostitution as a career choice.
The brother was considered by many of the parishioners to be (strange) is how they put it, anyway, the father resigned in disgrace. After that the family hadn’t been heard from until their home had been taped off.
No one knew why anyone would want to murder the family, they were strange but they kept to themselves.. When I asked about the brother, nothing much was known, just that, he kept to himself and he had a way of looking at you that made your skin crawl. Most said they weren’t surprised that he was the suspect. It would have been easier to investigate if it hadn’t gone cold. Now there was a new family living in the house and no remnants left of what once was…
HIS HANDS SHOOK, WHAT HAD HAPPENED, HE HAD BEEN GOOD, HE HAD TRIED, HE COULD MAKE UP FOR IT IF THE FATHER WOULD JUST SPEAK TO HIM, EVERY NIGHT HE PRAYED, EVERY NIGHT HE CRIED, EVERY NIGHT HE ENDURED THE PUNISHMENT.. HE JUST NEEDED THE FATHER TO TELL HIM WHAT TO DO, HE PROMISED IF THE FATHER WOULD TALK TO HIM HE WOULD MAKE THEM PAY.. HE STRETCHED OUT ON THE COLD FLOOR OF THE BASEMENT, HIS BODY HURT, HIS FLESH BURNED AND OOZED FROM THE OPEN SORES BUT, HE ENDURED IT GLADLY, IT WAS FOR THE FATHER…
What now.. I hated the waiting, hated the knowing I was waiting for someone else to die, hated the fact I couldn’t do anything about it. My temporary partner and I sat at the table in interrogation room 1. I hung the (in use) sign outside the door, and spread the files on the table,, what was I missing?… my temporary partner held the file with the picture of the son.. In an off sort of way he commented that the picture sort of looked like my real partner…
Oh it was a lightening strike.. A blow to the gut.. I went through all of the files, I looked at the times of death.. I tracked my partners absences…
She was tied to a chair..why? What was the man talking about? Why was he crying and calling her a whore? She focused her eyes on him.. The hair looked strange, red but, it didn’t look normal, the eyebrows red, topped a pair of the darkest eyes she had ever seen. He had on a white shirt stained with blood, there were cuts on his hands his lips were swollen and purple. She tried to speak and he hit her, her lip stung and she tasted blood. Before she could speak again he draped a rope around her neck and pulled it taught. Her breath caught in her throat.. He pulled tighter and she kicked her feet, tighter and the world spun then went dark..
He was slapping her cheeks, she opened her eyes drew in a deep breath and tried to speak again.. Again he pulled the rope going on and on about her being a whore and what she had done to their parents, what she had made him do.. She could feel the stopping of blood in her head, the beating pulse in her temple, the only thing she could think of was how angry she was.. She spit, landing blood in his face, he let go of the rope and looked at her. She saw the rage turn to confusion, just for a moment, he walked behind her and untied one hand. He grabbed her hair and called her a whore. In her anger she spit again and told him his mother had been a whore.. He screamed, pulling her across the room by the rope around her neck.. She held on, trying to keep herself from passing out again, she knew that would be the end for her.. She fought the nauseating dizziness..she held her breath and stiffened the muscles in her neck..he pushed her against the table it collided with the bridge of her nose..The searing pain brought tears to her eyes and he mistook them for tears of fear. This gave him a sudden bolt of confidence. He pulled the rope but she grabbed it, she held it with all her strength, all her might, cause she knew it meant her life.. The chair scraped and bounced over the concrete floor, the weight of it caused the tie to loosen and she slid her hand out… He was not going to kill her,, her life may end one day, but he would not be the cause,,,They tussled, she grabbed the red hair and screamed obscenities at him. She swung wildly, she cussed, she spit….. She fought for her life!
THIS WAS NOT RIGHT.. SHE CALLED THEIR MOTHER A WHORE.. SHE WASN’T EVEN SORRY FOR WHAT SHE DID, FOR WHAT SHE HAD MADE HIM DO.. HE FOUGHT HARD, SHE WAS WILD, SHE WAS POSSESSED.. HE TRIED BUT SHE WAS RELENTLESS.. HE PRAYED FOR THE FATHER TO HELP HIM…. HAD HE BEEN ABANDONED…?
I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.. All the times matched.. I circled around the back of the house, there was knee high grass, broken bottles and discarded junk all over the place. The windows were boarded up, but the boards were old, cracked and easy to pull away from the wall. It was dank and dusty inside, sun filtered through the edges of the boards we had just pulled away. It was silent, and in the filtered light of the sun the dust danced. Silently we went through each room and found nothing.. I was about to call it when I heard something like the sound of scraping, something scraping. I followed the sound..it was coming from under the kitchen floor.. I holstered my gun motioned my men to aim and keep close watch. I kicked at a rug on the floor,, it didn’t budge, it had been nailed down, it covered a square with a snatch handle. I pulled it, the door came up easily. The smell of urine and rotting food assailed my nostrils, the sound of a fight caught my attention. When we descended the stairs my partner and a frail blond woman fell to the floor, the woman had a rope around her neck, my partner held one end and the woman held the other, she swung wildly with her other hand. She swore and spit, she was like a caged cat, yes, a cat that fought to live..
This was the part of the job I loved..Tell it to Jesus, I got him.
FINALE
So I ask, how does that happen, how does a suspect slip past security and become one of those that are pursuing him.. What makes a person go insane?
Amelia opposed her father, guess she couldn’t stand the constraints.. We will never know what happened that day a whole family was slaughtered. But the perp is still waiting for his father to speak to him. He is still confused by the last victim. He says he is the Messianic avenger.. And his time will come. He says he is on a mission from god and his mission is HOLY..
I am glad we have the last victim, I am glad she survived not just for her, but the selfishness of it all, for me. In the meantime I will be finding another place to live, something bad there now, (mal), 666, looks bad, smells bad, FEELS bad. I got him .. Thank you Jesus.
