Icy Stares (Guess The Killer Book 1)

by Cyrus Winters

  The man continued to walk away.

  “I said, ‘STAY WHERE YOU ARE!’”

  The man froze.

  Sal moved around the furniture.

  “Sal, what are you doing?” Nadine exclaimed, getting up.

  He glanced at her momentarily, and the perp caught him off guard, drawing his own gun and firing a number of shots in Sal’s direction.

  A bullet whizzed by Sal’s ear.

  His face squished together and he dropped to one knee. He re-steadied his aim towards the perp, but his vision blurred just a touch. White noise began to crush his brain.

  “Sal!” Nadine was hurrying over to him. “Are you alright, Sal!”

  He grabbed her arm, forcing his way back up. “Get away… Just…”

  The man was already at the entrance. Sal pushed past Nadine and ran through the lobby and the revolving doors where the man exited.

  Outside, Sal watched as the busy footpath dispersed, the man jumping across the steps to land at the bottom and continue to run.

  “Son of a bitch,” Sal cursed.

  He continued his chase, leaping across the steps as the perp had just done. Sal didn’t have as clean a fall and twisted his ankle upon landing.

  “Aarargh!”

  Sal stared down the footpath. He could still see the man.

  He was fast, but not that fast.

  Sal forced his way through the pain, one leg after the other, running as hard as he could. He watched ahead as the man reached a point in the road where cars were intersecting, and the WALK sign wasn’t green yet.

  He looked back anxiously in Sal’s direction.

  “Yeah, that’s right buddy,” Sal seethed. “I’m coming…”

  The man turned away again and tried his luck with the traffic. A car’s front hood slammed into him at slow speed, knocking him a ways across the tarmac.

  Sal was getting closer. He heard a gunshot in the distance behind him, causing him to glance back a moment.

  The man got up and hurried away limping.

  Sal reached the intersection as the WALK sign went green and made his way across.

  At the other side, he saw the man carrying on along the straight road. He was within shooting range, but with the pedestrians around he didn’t want to risk it.

  He knew the perp would have to catch his breath at some point.

  Gradually, the shops and buildings to the left of them, began to fall in size and stature. Then there was a break and a small park with tall trees opened up across the terrain.

  The perp ran into it, away from the crowds, and slipped behind one of the trees.

  Sal slowed down and began to approach slowly.

  “I don’t know why you’re following me!” the man hollered at him. “You’ve got the wrong guy!”

  Sal stopped. Raised his weapon.

  “Hello? I know you’re there!”

  Sal coughed. He then winced and made effort to keep his hands still. “You just tried to kill me. Something tells me you’re guilty of something.”

  “Fair call,” the man replied. “But what I’m guilty of isn’t something you want to be mixed up in. It could be bad. For your family.”

  “If you think you’re softening my resolve, I’m afraid you’re mistaken.”

  “So you want to shoot me then? You want to kill me? A man you don’t even know?”

  “You recognized her.”

  “Who?”

  “You know who.”

  A pause. Sal squinted impatiently.

  “I’m giving up now. I’m tossing my gun away. See…?”

  The gun flew out from the right of the tree.

  Sal advanced further. “Come out with your back to me. Your hands behind your head. And do it slowly.”

  “As you wish.”

  The man stepped out from behind the tree as Sal asked.

  Sal edged further. “You make the tape?”

  “Pardon me?”

  “Did you send Nadine the video tape?”

  “I’m afraid, I don’t –”

  Suddenly Sal was struck down from behind. On his knees, he forced his arm to whirl the pistol around, only for a metal bar to come down on his hand.

  “AAAARGH!” Sal screamed.

  The perp moved in quickly to seize Sal’s weapon.

  The figures standing over him were such a blur he couldn’t even see if the gun was being pointed at him or not.

  “Get his wallet.”

  The second man reached down and went through Sal’s jacket. The wallet was fished out.

  “Salvatore Douglas Leoncelli,” the perp read out loud. “Detective for the State Police. Address 307 / 498 Bankstown Road, Melton North. Ooh, who is this pretty girl? Is this your daughter?”

  “Fuck you,” Sal cursed.

  “If we paid you a visit, would she be home?”

  “I don’t know where she fucking is. Good luck finding her.”

  “Detective, you would be wise not to underestimate our abilities to locate people. Where you have failed, perhaps we shall succeed, yes?”

  “Who the fucking hell are you?” Sal demanded.

  Now there was no doubting the gun was aimed at him.

  The perp pressed it against his forehead.

  “Do not attempt to solve the mystery,” the perp said calmly. “It belongs to Nadine, and Nadine alone.”

  He lowered Sal’s gun, then threw it over Sal’s head into the dark.

  The pair turned and walked away from him.

  After thirty seconds or so, Sal’s vision returned. Despite waves of pain radiating across his body, he managed to get to his feet whilst his assailants were still in sight.

  Sal watched as a dark blue limousine pulled up to the side of the road.

  The second man opened the door for the man in blue glasses, before moving around the car and getting in the other side.

  Sal staggered forward, in hope of catching a glimpse of the limo’s plate as it pulled away, but alas…

  It was an act in vain.

  CHAPTER 20

  It all happened so fast. One minute Sal was coming out of the bathroom and shouting at someone, the next the two were firing pistols and chasing each other out the door. Nadine hadn’t been prepared. She didn’t act as quickly as she should have, and when she did insert herself, she’d done little more than hold Sal up.

  Nadine wasn’t sure who had fired first, even though it shouldn’t have mattered, she couldn’t help but feel Sal had handled the situation poorly. It wasn’t as though the man in the lobby was about to come and rip Nadine out of her chair, throw her into the back of a van parked outside or whatever – no. If Sal hadn’t been so gung-ho, perhaps the suspect could have been taken by surprise.

  Although he’d gained several metres before she’d got her head together, Nadine did eventually come to terms with the scope of the situation.

  “It’s alright, they’ve gone outside,” she announced to the frightened attendants at the desk. “Call the police.”

  She withdrew her weapon, adjusted the safety gauge and rushed through the lobby to the revolving doors outside.

  Sal was way ahead of her, running across the footpath.

  “Drop the weapon,” a woman’s voice barked in Nadine’s direction.

  Nadine shifted slightly and a fist came down hard on Nadine’s gun. It bounced across the concrete, discharging a shot.

  A woman on the footpath fell over clutching her leg, screaming.

  “Put her on the ground,” Taylor Shandling instructed.

  Nadine’s petite figure was descended upon by Justin, who had knocked the gun from her, and was now putting her wrists in cuffs.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” Nadine cried.

  “Hello, this is Shandling… Shots fired in the CBD area, 632 Emerald Street. One woman injured, possible fatalities. Requesting backup and ambulance services.”

  Nadine shifted across the pavement to confront Justin.

  “WHAT THE HELL???”

  Just
in stared back, expressionless. “You look cute without your sunglasses.”

  Nadine angrily stomped him in the chest and he fell over.

  Taylor seized her up. “Don’t even think about it, Nadine, I will kick your ass.”

  “You morons,” Nadine spluttered, standing with her back against Taylor. “A hostile just opened fire on Sal, I was in pursuit –”

  “Save it for McGuiness.”

  Taylor forced Nadine towards the steps, then aggressively nudged her down each of them.

  “The situation has been contained,” Justin said to the scuttling onlookers. “Medics will soon be on scene.”

  “You fucking bastards,” the shot woman hammered back at him.

  Nadine tried to look in their direction, but Taylor was pushing her the other way.

  “What are you even doing here?” Nadine demanded.

  “McGuiness has had enough of your shit tonight,” Taylor explained. “We were sent to bring you in. Just followed Sal’s GPS and it led us right to you.”

  “You realize you’re making a big mistake,” Nadine said.

  “I hadn’t realized that, no.”

  Taylor forced her across the road.

  “Sal needs our help,” Nadine tried again.

  “I sincerely doubt that.”

  She threw Nadine against the car and opened the backdoor.

  “Get in.”

  Nadine tried to squirm free.

  Taylor stood on her foot.

  “Ouch,” Nadine said wincing.

  She was pushed into the back and Taylor slammed the door shut after her.

  Nadine shifted across the seating.

  This shouldn’t have been happening. This was fucking insane.

  How did it get to this?

  Why didn’t anyone trust her anymore?

  “LET. ME. OUT,” Nadine screeched.

  To no avail. She wasn’t even sure where Taylor was.

  Nadine lowered her eyes.

  After a moment, a voice came across the police scanner.

  “All available units, we have a possible 207A in North East Hampton, on Spencer Road. The suspect is a tall white male, approximately forty years old and wearing blue sunglasses…”

  CHAPTER 21

  Sal was a man on a mission.

  How easy it would have been, for him to get stuck in the current failure. His body was weary. His eyes were tired. But Sal’s mind was alert. It was going to take a lot more than threats and a beating to keep from getting to where he needed to get to.

  After fishing his gun out of the bushes, he managed to locate the perp’s gun and picked it up using his coat, delivering it into his pocket and buttoning it up. That gun was going straight to the lab when he got back to the precinct. Sal was going to find out who this guy was.

  A couple of minutes later, Sal was in sight of the building. There were a few cops standing about the entrance, with a few more arriving on scene. None were around his car thankfully.

  Sal crossed the road and keeping his head down, went on to his car.

  Before opening the driver’s door, he became aware of a muffled thumping noise. Someone crying out for help.

  He put his hand to his holster before turning, the panic rushing back.

  Then he spotted Nadine in the back of the squad car.

  He hurried over.

  “Thank God,” Nadine gushed upon being let out. “They freaking arrested me.”

  “Come on, let’s see your hands then,” Sal said.

  He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the cuffs. They fell by the road.

  “Let’s get the hell out of here,” Nadine said.

  “Alright.”

  She kept her head down underneath the roof of the car and sprinted across the curb ninja style.

  Sal didn’t share her enthusiasm for the stealth.

  By the time he’d got to the car and put his hand in to retrieve his whiskey, Nadine had already pushed the slab to one side and strapped herself in, ready to go.

  “Sal!” she yelled at him. “What are you doing?”

  Sal got through three large gulps of his magic potion before lending her his attention.

  “That was some shit, back there. Yeah?”

  “Sal! I’m gonna knife you to death in a minute.”

  He chuckled.

  “Get in the car!”

  “Alright, alright,” Sal muttered. “Don’t shatter my windscreen.”

  He hopped in behind the wheel and closed the door.

  Put the bottle to his lips.

  “They’ve seen us, you idiot. Jesus!”

  Sal snorted. He finished what was in his mouth and screwed the cap back on. Tossed the bottle in the passenger seat. Fumbled with his keys.

  Tap, tap, tap.

  He keyed the ignition and wound down the window.

  Detective Justin Hodge shoved a gun underneath his chin and pressed the butt against Sal’s throat. “Step out of the car, Sal.”

  Sal turned to him calmly. “There’s a killer on the loose, Detective. We just had a run in with him before you showed up.”

  “I don’t know anything about that,” Hodge said. “I have orders to –”

  “Did you know what he did to your girlfriend? The lovely Nadine, back here.”

  Justin shook his head. “Try and shoot her?”

  “Twenty years ago when Nadine was twelve, our man spotted her on the way out of that building across the road. I guess if you wanted to get into his mind, you’d say he liked what he saw. He went on to follow Nadine down the road there, through the state park. He tried convincing her to drive her home, but Nadine was no fool. She told him to stay away. She was fine where she was. The bus stop was only down the road.

  “When Nadine came to, she found herself naked, tied down to a bed. She doesn’t remember much, but she remembered how blue his eyes were. She remembered that he contorted and distorted his voice to make animal noises while he was raping her.

  “Out of pure fucking luck, we just met that son of a bitch tonight. And I have his fingerprints. So if you feel like harassing us, pulling your gun out and threatening my life, I suggest you take a good hard look at yourself. I for one know, if it was me, I would know that every second I spent wasting our time, was a second I would later have to pay for. And the price, Justin, is going to be rather painful…”

  There was a moment’s pause.

  Sal felt the gun slowly retreat from his throat and back out the window like a wounded beast.

  Nadine came round from the back and rested her arms on Sal’s seat.

  Justin turned his gaze towards her.

  “Give my love to Taylor,” Nadine said.

  CHAPTER 22

  Rupert Bird – twenty-one years old, blond, muscular, smoking hot – walked into the state precinct at a quarter to ten pm. The front desk at reception was wide open with one officer stationed behind it. Rupert put his right arm across it, leaning over.

  “Hello there, sweetie,” he said grinning at Constable Beatrice Howe. “I need to have a private word with your captain. Would you be able to get her down, please?”

  “What’s it regarding?”

  “Uh… My little sister may have been abducted.”

  The chair straightened a little. The Constable’s hand dragged the computer mouse. “Your name.”

  “There’s no need to do that,” Rupert said.

  “No need to do what.”

  “Play around with your PC.”

  “Sir, I thought you just said –”

  “Will you just get the bitch down here?”

  “Sir, you need to calm down. Why don’t you –”

  “Hey ROSE!” Rupert shouted at one of the surveillance cameras. “You better come say hello! My mouth is gonna fucking go places!”

  Beatrice picked up the telephone.

  A door opened in the corridor adjacent and two burly police officers stormed out.

  Rupert stepped away from them, his arms parted in the air.

 
“What seems to be the problem?” one of them asked Beatrice.

  “It’s a private matter,” Rupert said. “Between me and your whore for a boss.”

  “Alright son, you better calm down –”

  “Fuck you. You think I’m afraid of you? I’ll knock your fucking teeth out.”

  “We’re warning you for the last time,” the second man said. “If you don’t calm down then –”

  Rupert made a move to try and run past them, but the officers leapt at him – one kicking out his feet, the other body slamming him to the floor.

  “Hold him,” the officer on his feet said. “Get his wrists there.”

  Rupert heard the sound of handcuffs descending.

  “ROSE!” he shouted. “ROSE! ROSE! ROSE! ROSE!”

  “Jesus Christ!” Rose cried running from the end of the corridor. “Get off him, would you?”

  “Mam. This fellow here is out of control –”

  Rupert forced his way to his feet just as Rose reached them.

  “We need to talk,” Rupert stated. “It’s important.”

  “Do you know this man, Captain McGuiness?” one of the officer’s asked her.

  Rose’s cheeks were turning red. “It’s fine. I have it now. It’s under control.” She looked to Rupert. “Walk with me.”

  CHAPTER 23

  It was only a matter of time. He’d been threatening to do this for a while. Why it had to be tonight of all nights, Rose could only thank God’s masterplan to fuck with her. Now it was time to nip it in the bud.

  “So how you been?” Rupert asked as they walked together. “I tried calling. For some reason it kept going straight to voicemail.”

  “I blocked you.”

  “You did? You … why the fuck would you do that?”

  Rose glared at him. “Not yet.”

  There were eyes on them. Three of her detectives walking in a line down the corridor from the opposite direction.

  They each nodded to her in passing.

  “Captain.”

  Rupert glanced over his shoulder. “So what, you’re embarrassed about me?”

  “Please don’t do this.”

  Rupert hesitated. “Fine. That’s not what I’m here for anyway.”

  Rose pushed open a door leading to the fire escape and they started descending the stairs.