Mangled

by Zachary Prescott

  “Get off the fucking road!” the man raged before pulling his bike to a halt a few inches before Sean’s knee.

  Staring down at his knee and smiling awkwardly, Sean spoke, “That was a close one mate… what say I borrow your bike for a minute or two and we’re even for trying to break my legs?”

  Looking perplexed and scoffing with disbelief, the man took off his helmet. “You must be joking”.

  Sean barely granted him another opportunity to speak before ramming his fist into his face and shoving him off of his bike to assume control of it.

  “Thanks mate!” Sean smiled and revved the motorcycle into action before speeding off.

  He wasn’t about letting his stalker get away; he would sweep every corner of the streets if he had to.

  “This will make a good morning exercise”, he thought to himself.

  ***

  Still living in the horror of his discovery and barely able to sit or remain still in a position for long, Jake paced around his room and paused momentarily as he had done for the umpteenth time to see if there was a secondary spot he might have missed, before continuing in his pacing again.

  “This is crazy”, he thought.

  He walked back to the air conditioning vent to search through once again but it definitely wasn’t there and with every realization and reminder that the sacredness of his home had been violated, he wonder how he had been so lax and reckless. There was no doubt about the doer being pretty good though.

  “The fucker disabled the surveillance cameras!” he raged and kicked hard against the already tipped table in his room.

  Distraught and unsure of what next to do, he walked over to the upside down couch and yanked off his coat before heading to the door and halting within two feet from it as a loud bang emanated from the other side. Having not expected visitors and definitely not one to entertain any at all since he moved into the building, his senses tickled with fright, forcing him to remain silent.

  The knocker continued and even harder the second time around before the long silence that soon followed.

  “Detective Jake!” the familiar feminine voice called out eventually. “Are you home?”

  Shocked and baffled at the same time, Jake held his head in his hands in worry before turning around and pacing wildly for a moment.

  The persistent voice called once again, “Detective Jake!”

  The call brought some cold chills down his spine and he reached for the doorknob hyperventilating already.

  “Sarah?” he guessed with some little bit of assurance.

  Responding in subtle tone, the voice echoed from the other side of the door. “Yes”.

  Mumbling underneath his breath in a disgruntled tone, Jake sighed. “Bloody hell!”

  Holding the door open halfway and sneaking out and shutting the door behind him before the unexpected visitor could take a peek into his house, Jake managed a thin smile not entirely depicting of all he had going on inside his head.

  “Sarah!” he sounded louder and confused. “What… how… what are you doing here?”

  Stuttering and unsure of what to ask, he waited for a response as the beautiful looking lady managed a thin smile in response and sighed.

  “Something terrible just happened and we’ve all been called back in”, she explained.

  “Apparently everyone knows where I live now”, he thought with a slight frown.

  Lost for thoughts on what possibly might have brought her to his house or how she might have gotten his address, he sought a way out from it all or at least one to help him gain some control of himself before any more bombshell would get tossed in his face.

  Clearing his throat and sighing. “I wish I could but I’m currently going through some personal issues right now… can this wait? Can I just take a ride down later?”

  Her silence did enough to tell him her response was a negative on his request. Something about her demeanor bothered him though and as much as he had his own demons to slay, he couldn’t ignore hers at the moment and he slipped his jacket on.

  “What is going on exactly?” he asked.

  She shrugged and waved towards her car, “I was on my way to work when I got the news that our killer just struck again and this time it is someone we care about”.

  Piqued in interest by the news but equally perturbed by its content, Jake agreed to follow her but upon accessing the situation of things first and whether or not it was safe leaving his house.

  “He has everything already”, he thought with a sigh. “What more can he take?”

  He would fight back but now his official business called.

  ***

  The stench from piss and what he wouldn’t doubt to be excrement filled the air, while the dirty floor smeared his previously clean boots annoyingly but none of that bothered him as he tightened his grip around his culprit’s neck.

  Shoving him hard into the wall by the collar of his shirt, Sean asked the same question for the umpteenth time, “What are the pictures for? Who sent you and how long have you been following me?”

  Remaining reluctant to speak with a stiff grin on his face and an odd mark leading from the left hand side of his chin all the way up to his ear, the young man spat to the floor and shook his head.

  “You’re on the verge of getting me pissed buddy and I assure you… “Sean held his folded fist up and breathed heavily before slowly taking it down.

  Setting his captive free but not free enough to make a run for it out the alley with a dead end, Sean took a moment to think. He had spent the past hour chasing him down and never put a plan in place for when he eventually caught up with the man taking his pictures.

  “See buddy”, he finally spoke. “I have nothing against you but I’m only doing my job”.

  Looking back around and with his clenched fists now flexed freely, Sean smiled. “I know and it is why I’m not interested in you or hurting you but I want to know who your employer is”.

  Shaking his head mildly, the young man answered, “I’m sorry but I cannot”.

  Feeling himself grow a tad frustrated, Sean rammed his fist hard towards the man’s face before missing just about enough to connect with the wall beside his frightened face. Reaching into his pants, he yanked out his badge and held it high enough for the man to have a good look at it.

  “What’s your name buddy?” he finally asked.

  Clearing his throat, the man replied, “Blake Donovan”.

  Nodding his head gently and glad they were getting somewhere, he continued, “Who sent you to tail me and why?”

  Blake seemed rather reluctant and shook his head. He looked away and towards the ground before sighing aloud in exhaustion.

  “It was easier working for his wife because she paid me more than he does but I cannot tell you anything”, he explained. “I’m truly sorry”.

  Sean nodded but felt his patience slowly begin to wear off. He searched for the camera on Blake but he had obviously dumped it somewhere.

  “You didn’t think I was going to have the camera on me did you?” Blake chuckled derisively. “Sorry, but I cannot hand over anything I have to you and yes, not even if you’re CIA… those I work for bear badges too”.

  While attempting to figure out what exactly Blake was talking about, Sean let his concentration slip before taking the hard kick into his groin and painfully crawling to the ground.

  “You fucker!” he groaned in pain while placing both hands on his crotch.

  Smiling in Sean’s pain stricken face, Blake went on a knee, “Maybe if you had led with trying to buy me on a higher price and not attempt to bully and rough me up, I might have given you what you needed”.

  Sean rolled on the ground and took another kick to his ribs before watching Blake head out the alley and make a run for the other side of the road.

  “Money always trumps loyalty”, he groaned and sat up slowly. “I’m seriously getting too old for all of this”.

&
nbsp; Sean dusted his pants and took the moment to think as he mauled through what Blake had told him about his employers bearing badges too. He wouldn’t put it past Luke to have hired him and his office was the next place on his visitation list once he found enough strength to walk out from the alley.

  “Bastard!” he cursed aloud.

  Chapter Seven

  U

  pon arriving to the blinking blue and red lights from an ambulance and several police cars parked outside the house, Jake could tell the signs weren’t ever a good one. The vultures had begun to gather as well, hoping to pick at any piece of information they would be afforded by the tragedy inside the house.

  Momentarily too stricken to move, he took a good look around the house he was about gracing for the first time and one he had never assumed he would have any business with.

  “What on earth happened now?” he asked himself, finally assuming the courage to walk ahead,

  Brushing through the crowd and waving his badge to help pave his way through, Jake step underneath the cordoning tape and headed for the door before feeling someone tug at his shirt and sneak her slender arm underneath his.

  “Shit! I forgot and left her behind!” he thought before shaking his head in guilt.

  Sarah didn’t seem to think anything of his act and followed him into the room with her arm locked with his and her face swelling with tears already.

  “I hope the Captain is alright”, Jake mumbled.

  Sarah remained silent but had begun to weep even without getting confirmation of what had happened and the graveness of the events. Jake headed for the bedroom first and paused at the sight of the heinous scene that threatened to make his stomach churn and his heart collapse immediately. Sarah threatened to spill her guts, forcing him to hurry her away from the scene and back into the living room.

  The seconds that followed were nothing short of numbing in feeling…

  Silence mixed with deafening thoughts, all centered on how it had happened and who exactly was on the loose or what sort of demon they had to find, the air definitely wasn’t the same that morning. Police officers walked around holding their breaths while the forensic team set about their business for the past hour without giving any report just yet.

  Jake found himself momentarily forgetting about his troubles back home and in his personal life, as Sarah glued herself tightly to his chest and wept softly without being consolable. He wished he could shed some tears of his own too, maybe, just maybe to give the same outward feeling and expression as others who mourned the passing of a colleague and an exemplary man.

  The living room remained sparkling clean, which was rather baffling, coupled with the fact the front door had not been forced through. Jake walked around slowly, taking in the sight and wondering what the killer’s game was.

  A man in his mid-forties exited the bedroom and approached Jake. “The room is all yours now detective”.

  Nodding his head and thanking the forensics team as they made their exit from the house, he slapped on a pair of gloves and walked ahead, leaving Sarah with another cop who helped her to some water outside of the house and away from the crime scene. She was a mess and without doubt, useless on the scene of the crime in the manner she sobbed.

  “What happened here?” Jake asked himself upon taking the first disturbing breath of air mixed with death upon entering the room.

  The bedroom was in absolute chaos and stark contrast to the living room. The bed had been overturned and the blood trail leading from the drawer indicated the killer might have had a jump on him someway but there was something baffling about the scene in entirety. Copious amount of blood resided on the bed and not just around it but in the center.

  “What is your plan exactly?” he thought to himself.

  Confused while he walked around the room with no other thoughts running through his mind other than the fact that Captain Luke might have known his killer, he felt himself step on something crunchy and slowly got to his knee to observe the object. It was a partial cover to a lipstick case and he slowly placed it in an evidence bag before walking out the door.

  Whistling towards one of the forensic team, he handed the evidence bag to the lady. “Please check what that is and give me a feedback as soon as you can”.

  She received the evidence bag and walked away just in time for Mike Rondon to make his entrance into the house, sweaty and looking worrisome.

  “I just got the call”, he mumbled. “Any clues on who might have capped the Captain?”

  Bearing a rather angry frown on his face, Jake rebuked his insensitive partner immediately. “Show the man some respect, will you?”

  Mike held his hands high and apologized. “I’m sorry… where are we on this? Any ideas what might have happened in here?”

  Jake shrugged and shook his head. He had his ideas but he needed the forensics team to bring back their results first.

  “There is a rumor that the Captain likes his broads you know?” Mike leaned over and spilled. “The man had a thing for anything with the figure eight and some gorgeous breasts”.

  Mike’s continuous lack of sensitivity finally led Jake to walk back out in bid to have another look at the police officers gathered outside the house. They were definitely mostly silent, but something odd stood out clearly, the female officers wept bitterly and seemed rather more disturbed by the Captain’s death than the men were.

  Unsure of what to make of it, he returned to meet with Mike inside the house. Mike had slowly began working his way through the room in hopes of picking up some clues as to what exactly had happened in the room.

  “What did you mean by what you said earlier?” Jake inquired.

  Mike shrugged and responded. “I’m surprised you’re the only one who hasn’t noticed this but the Captain had his hands in the cookie jar around the precinct but nobody had the guts to do a thing about it”.

  Jake felt his lower jaw threaten to fall but managed to keep up appearances.

  “Why didn’t anyone try to go to the board with the complaints?” Jake asked.

  “He was a good dude you know? Regardless of the flirting and often times crazy comments, he didn’t impose himself on any lady who wasn’t willing to get down with him”, Mike replied. “He went after the singles mostly but we never speak of it”.

  Jake wondered if the Captain’s supposed flirtatious nature had brought him some bad luck but none of what Mike was telling him seemed to make any sense.

  “Did he have someone in particular who he was into?” Jake inquired, almost sounding like he was a novice in the office.

  Mike shook his head. “From what I heard, he had one time things only and that was it… I guess the ladies dug that you know?”

  The information thus far remained nothing but tattered and crazy words he could not relate to anything. One thing he could attest to though was the possible presence of a woman in the room where the Captain had been killed and he would know better once the forensic team came back with the item he gave to them for analysis.

  Looking better and somewhat fresher, Sarah returned into the house. “I’m sorry you had to see me the way I was earlier”.

  Jake shrugged it off and nodded. “It is alright… we all are shaken by this tragedy but we will find the killer and get this crime the justice it deserves”.

  Mike looked back from where he stood and waved at Sarah. “We will find the killer Sarah… I promise you we will”.

  She nodded, waved back at him and slapped on a pair of gloves as they began covering every inch of the room for clues as to what might have happened. Jake couldn’t help but return to the front door to check things out for himself again. It was perfect and no doubt not tampered with. The windows had been shut and in perfect condition too while the backdoor had been bolted from the inside almost as though he never went out through it or even used it.

  “Interesting”, he noted to himself before returning to the duo in the living room.

/>   Slowly approaching, the duo broke apart awkwardly while Jake paid no attention to them.

  “Does any of you know if the Captain was paranoid in any way through his life?” he asked.

  Sarah shook her head while Mike did the same.

  “Why?” they asked in chorus.

  Jake pointed to the windows and then the back door saying, “The windows are sealed shut and the backdoor is bolted from the inside in a manner I’m sure doesn’t look like he wanted it ever opened”.

  Mike shrugged, as did Sarah who walked over to check the windows immediately.

  “This case keeps getting odd”, Jake noted before heading for the front door to get some air.

  Sarah ran after him and called out to him to stop. “I was wondering if I could speak with you for a minute”.

  He encouraged her to speak while leaning against her car.

  “This entire Captain business is leaving me somewhat scared of being alone for a while… do you mind we spent the night out today? Just you and I”, she offered.

  Taking a minute to think about it, Jake nodded and agreed.

  “I’ve had enough torment with my day already and a cool night would do fine”, he smiled.

  She nodded, reached for her car and got out a notepad to scribble an address on before handing it to him. “That’s a nice restaurant I know in Downing Street”.

  She waved him goodbye and returned to the crime scene immediately. Taking a minute to watch her walk away, he turned back around to wave down a cab. He would head home for the day to sort his house and hopefully wait on whatever the forensics team had taken from the house. He was no use there yet and returning to the precinct would do him no good, with the terrible mood going around within the officers upon losing one of their own.

  The cab man tuned on his radio and news of the Captain’s death aired in what the reporters were calling the murder of a sweet tooth Captain.

  “Whatever that means”, Jake sighed and closed his eyes.