James Locker- The Duality of Fate

by Martin Lundqvist

  Michael Fuller decided to contact John Dean to ask why he had not been informed about Antonio DiMaestro's mistress after all John Dean had been handsomely paid to provide him with information.

  Michael Fuller:

  - Hi, John. Something new to tell me?

  John Dean:

  - Yes, there is. Someone broke into James Locker's house and left a pretty scary message.

  - I quote “I am watching you/ JP” written in blood on his bathroom mirror.

  Michael Fuller:

  - Woo. That seems strange and scary. Do you have any clue on who did it?

  John Dean

  - None as of yet. But it did have an impact on James; he has been even more cloudy and distant than last week. I seriously doubt his leadership as well.

  Michael Fuller:

  - Well, you might be right, but there is nothing any of us can do about it now. Any more clues on Antonio DiMaestro?

  John Dean:

  - No, but I gave you all I had yesterday so I can’t see why you are calling again?

  Michael Fuller:

  - Because you missed mentioning that Antonio DiMaestro had a paid mistress, Jessica Hall, she seems quite relevant to the investigation, both as a witness and as a suspect.

  John Dean:

  - Thank you mate, this comes as news to me. But this information can be quite helpful for our investigation. Who is my source?

  Michael Fuller:

  - Forget about it man. Is no-one doing their job under James? I will contact her myself she might help me out better than you do.

  John Dean:

  - Is that wise, considering your current situation?

  Michael Fuller:

  - Well, I had to resign due to "health reasons." What is the BITCH going to do?

  John Dean:

  - Don't say I did not warn you. Oh anyway, talk to you later.

  Michael Fuller was in an awful mood when he thought about the news he got from his old team. What was going on with James Locker? How could such a sharp mind miss out the fact that Antonio DiMaestro had a mistress? What about the break-in at James Locker's place? Michael Fuller could not help but think that something was seriously wrong with James Locker and he made a mental note that he should look into it as soon as possible. After all, he was convinced that someone in the team or Antonio DiMaestro had set him up, or most likely someone in the group in conspiracy with Antonio DiMaestro.

  Michael felt very sick from the alcohol withdrawal, and he could not see anything anymore. "So much for not drinking to keep a clear head," he muttered to himself. But after speaking to that gold digging bitch Jessica Hall, he should have some drinks. One of his favourite bars in Sydney was on the same street as her apartment, and they had some whiskey blends to die for. Last time he went there he thought for a second that he had met his soul mate. Sobering up next to her the day after he had realised this had not been the case. Still, it was a good memory and since he had no obligations anymore, why should he not be drinking all night and wish for the best!

  Chapter 4: The Jessica Hall murder

  4.1 An unexpected text message

  The time was around 1130 pm on Monday the 26th of August 2013. Jessica Hall was lying in the bathtub when she got a text message. She struck the foam away from her perfectly symmetrical face to be able to read it better. It was an SMS from Antonio DiMaestro. The word was that he had been missing her a lot and he wanted to see her tonight. She was shivering from the idea. Just a couple of hours ago she had been visited by a very unpleasant and rude man who identified himself as Michael Fuller; Police detective from Central Sydney Murder Investigation department. He had looked old and ragged, but the news he brought and the questions he had asked were a lot more intimidating. Apparently, Antonio DiMaestro's wife was killed a few days ago in her home in a way that resembled a mafia hit. The ragged old man had wanted to know what she knew which was nothing and then he had been flaming her with a variety of accusations. "What right did that bitter old man have to judge her?!” She got outraged when she thought about it.

  To be honest, she did not know that much about Antonio DiMaestro. She had arrived in Sydney two years ago from the small outback city of Tamworth after graduating high school to either make it or break it. Her dream was to break through in media or acting, and she had been attending an acting school since she first came to Sydney. At first, she had been living a decent life doing some occasional modelling gigs and also some shifts as a waitress. She had dreaded the concept of serving drunken idiots to make tiny scraps of money though so she had quickly started looking for another line of work which could utilise her two strengths her great physical beauty and her elegance/ sense of fashion. She had soon decided to go into escorting to use her strengths fully. She had worked for a high-end escort agency, and her dreams had been to meet well-versed gentlemen who could appreciate her beauty and entertain her with their charming tales. She had quickly been disappointed though as most of her clients were drunk and rude assholes who just happened to be rich. They were never attractive to her neither in a physical or personal way. Making up to $1000 a night before tax however she had acquired expensive tastes and did not see how she could go back to a regular job. She had felt like a prisoner in a golden cage.

  One day however her life had turned for the better. That was the night she had met Antonio DiMaestro. He had been the perfect gentleman, and after having an excellent dinner full of charming tales, she had felt a strong connection to him and enjoyed the prospect of having sex with him. Later that night they had gone to his suite at a 5-star hotel nearby, had some more champagne and then made love all night. For the first time since she started as an escort, she had enjoyed sex, and he gave her multiple orgasms that night. What she liked even more and would never forget was the day after when he had surprised her by serving breakfast and told her how beautiful and unique she was. She had been very moved by this gesture and started crying. He had comforted her and said that her days as an escort could be over and he would love to help her if she wanted to take the step.

  The deal had been $2,000 tax-free per week and a free centrally located apartment. Antonios only conditions were that she was always available when he needed her and that she never contacted him or asked him things about his life. Furthermore, she was not allowed to see someone else as long as the contract was in place. After a while she had seen the not so pleasant sides of Antonio, as a matter of fact, she was now of the opinion that he probably was a psychopath and the sweet things he said while he was in the mood was just empty talk. Still, she followed the contract instead of walking away or second-guessing his motives as this suited her a lot better. She could live without love as she had never experienced it, and it was better to have lots of money and occasional steaming hot sex than to live with some average annoying man.

  But receiving his text now was very unsettling. Jessica had not heard from him in six weeks and since she was fond of him and felt a lot of gratitude towards him she had dearly wondered where he might be. She knew the rules of their relationship though, but it had been challenging for her not to contact him to find out his whereabouts as she had missed him a lot. Now when she was supposed to meet him, she was terrified. If what the police said was true he might be coming to hurt or even kill her. Then again the man who had visited her had been an alcoholic as she could tell he had severe withdrawal symptoms. She would not betray the man who had done so much for her just because of some disgusting old alcoholic. She put on his favourite clothes opened a box of high-quality chocolate and then lie in bed waiting for him to sneak up on her. Doing this was his favourite game, and gosh she wanted to play with him tonight!

  4.2 From the Killers point of view

  THE KILLER FELT A GREAT joy when he finally managed to hack and disable the security cameras in the building where Jessica Hall lived. Since he did not have the code for the system, this had proven to be a difficult task, but he had managed to nail it with a particular computer virus that made security came
ras overwrite their current view with a later picture. So if The Killer chose to strike at 1 am the virus would make sure that a subsequent taping overwrote this film at his discretion. If he elected to let the 1:30 AM feed replace the 1 am feed for instance then the police would undoubtedly be shocked finding out that Jessica Hall was killed although the security camera did not show anyone entering the apartment. Sure if they were smart they would eventually notice that movie was identical at 1 AM and 1:30 AM but then again what did that proves except that the perpetrator was a genius?

  The Killer was a bit disappointed that there was no security camera in the apartment of Jessica Hall. He had thirty minutes to kill before it was time to strike and he would love to watch her last thirty minutes alive. He was considering the option to talk with her before he killed her. Would that be difficult? He had chosen not to say anything when it came to Miranda DiMaestro, but it had hurt him a bit that she never knew why he killed her. Then again since he did not believe in life after death what use would his victims have, for that extra knowledge since they would lose it and everything else just a short while later? Besides, there was another reason to do it quickly when it came to Jessica Hall; if she realised he was going to kill her, she would probably scream her lungs out which would alert the entire neighbourhood of his presence.

  How did he feel when it came to killing Jessica Hall then? Before the killing, the prospect felt good. With Miranda DiMaestro he had felt mixed feelings as she seemed to be a more naïve woman who believed in the good of her husband. When it came to women like Jessica Hall however the killer saw her as the source of all corruption and evil in the world. She was not the greatest of sinners, but she was the kind of vice that nurtured the other ones. As long as there were women like her who served as the prize for evil deeds the spirit of evil would never die. Would men still turn to darkness and do horrendous crimes if they this would lead to them never feeling the touch a woman again? Most of them would not! But as long as there were women like Jessica Hall who indirectly glorified evil and corruption through gladly the accepting the spoils without asking questions, evil deeds would always seem to appeal to a lot of people. She would die tonight as a symbol for the damage her egoistical behaviour was creating in the world!

  He started the engines of his car and drove to the garage of the building block. He used a swipe key to get in and then parked the car close to the elevator in the building. He took the package he had prepared for her and holstered his silenced revolver under his coat. The lift would be the critical part he thought. If someone saw him in the elevator on the way up, he would just have to cancel his plan for tonight and proceed another night. If someone saw him when he was going down on the other hand...

  The thought made him shiver. However, since he chose the time 1 AM as the time to strike he would most likely not encounter anyone in the elevator on a Monday night. He entered the elevator, and he realised his plan was working. He pressed "27" and took the ride up. The hallway of the compound was quiet and empty. He unlocked the door to Jessica's apartment. He snuck in and moved like a shadow. When he came into her room, he could hear Jessica Hall say.

  - Oh, Antonio so you finally came, please come and warm me up. The winter has been so cold and lonely without you

  When the killer heard Jessica Hall's voice, he decided to change his plan and tell her everything before she died. He flicked the switch on the lights in the room and before she could make a sound he shoot her twice in the throat ruining her vocal cords as well as her ability to fight him. She would probably be unconscious shortly, but the killer decided to tell the petrified Jessica Hall his story anyways. When he finished talking, he said:

  - "From the bright side; you will at least die rich."

  He then put the package on top of her chest put her arms around the container and shot her in the head with one bullet, while placing the three remaining bullets in her chest. He left the apartment door open so she would be found soon and left the apartment complex undetected. When driving away from the compound, he realised that the time was 1.32 AM. He had fucked up; he certainly hoped that the cameras had not been able to detect him.

  4.3 Michael Fuller decides to confront Jessica Hall

  IT WAS 2 AM, AND THE whiskey bar was closing. In his ethanol-induced mindset, Michael Fuller felt the very frustrated feeling that everyone was plotting against him. He could understand why the corrupted mafia was against him, after all, he had been incorruptible in his quest to find the truth and bring justice to the murder victims. But why had his former colleagues turned their back on him, and most importantly who had been the mastermind behind setting him up? The questions were many, but he knew what he needed to do to get a resolution; find Antonio DiMaestro.

  Michael Fuller had the trait that once his intuition gave him a direction, he would follow it until the end with the highest level of resolve. He knew that his disinterest in listening to other opinions than his own made him somewhat unpopular among his colleagues; but why would he change? Why would the officer with the best track record in the history of Sydney give in to mediocrity? The talk about him being arrogant and never listening was incorrect though. After all, at the beginning of a new case, he needed input and was more than eager to hear to anyone, who would bring him relevant information.

  Now his intuition told him that he should confront Jessica Hall as she was the key to finding Antonio DiMaestro. She had been withholding information, he could swear on it, but he had been unable to figure out exactly what she was hiding from him. He thanked God that he had chosen to drink at the pub next to her apartment as he was in no condition to drive. As he approached the elevator to Jessica Hall's residence, he met two officers from the local district. He knew that he had met them before, but there were working a lot of police officers in Sydney so he could not place them. Due to his fame within the force, they knew him, however, so they started talking.

  Officer Mason:

  - Hi, Michael. You are having a good night from what I can see. What are you up to?

  Michael Fuller

  - Yeah, I can't complain, it has been a good night, and now I am meeting up with a friend.

  Officer Johnson:

  - Okay. Well, have fun. I heard you quit the force by the way? May I ask why?

  Michael Fuller:

  - Well, I realised that I was rich and felt like doing something else. If you had a lot of money and been doing the same job for 20 years, you might want a new start in life. What are you doing in this apartment building by the way?

  Officer Mason:

  - An old woman heard some suspicious noises from a neighbouring apartment, and she decided to check what was going on. The door was open, but no-one answered when she shouted. She did not like the concept of going in there herself, so she called the police to establish contact.

  Officer Johnson:

  - Whining Oldies if you ask me.

  Michael Fuller:

  - It is good thinking I say, but she should have walked in there herself. Someone might be dying in there from a heart attack right now for instance, and what good is a police patrol to deal with illnesses?

  Officer Mason:

  - You are right Michael

  - Well we better hurry then, this is our floor. See you, Detective.

  Michael Fuller followed the police officers with his gaze as they walked down the corridor. They entered an apartment; the apartment where he had met Jessica Hall a few hours earlier. Michael Fuller realised that if something had happened to her, he would have a lot of explaining to do if they found out he had met her earlier during the evening. He pressed the "ground" button on the elevator panel and quickly left the building.

  Chapter 5: Gentlemen: we got a serial killer

  5.1 John Dean arrives at the crime scene.

  At 250 AM John Dean arrived at the crime scene. He did not feel pleased with the fact that he was dragged up in the middle of the night. To be honest, John did not feel very comfortable at all at the moment since his wife h
ad given him a hard time explaining how he had acquired the $10 000 they needed to solve their debt crisis. He had assured her that the money was a loan from Michael Fuller who was wealthy and did not mind helping them out. But she had had several questions on this. Questions like: Why could he not show her the copy of the promissory? Why had he received the money in cash and not via bank transfer? Her suspicions were even worse for him to bear since he highly doubted the course he had chosen to take when he decided to sell out his integrity as a police officer to Michael Fuller.

  When he arrived, he was approached by Officer Mason.

  Officer Mason:

  - Good day, sir, the crime scene has been secured how would you like to proceed?

  John Dean:

  - Well, I guess you guys are not specialised in crime scene forensics so the best course of action would be for you just to guard the place until my team arrives.

  Officer Mason:

  - Understood sir. Oh and one more thing. There was a bizarre coincidence in the elevator on the way up here.

  John Dean:

  - Okay, tell me.