Fury From Hell

by Rochelle Campbell

  ***

  Walking with a hum in her throat and a bop to her step, Jennifer smiled as she thought about the winning scratch-off ticket in her satchel. Even with the remnants of her first hangover still lingering, Jennifer had taken care with her wardrobe on this special occasion. She didn’t want to pick up her first-ever big lottery winnings looking like a bum. With a pair of leggings in hot pink, a comfy cowl neck lamb’s wool pale pink turtleneck under a cable-stitched wheat colored sweater, with her broken-in light brown Uggs, topped off with a mixed autumn colored Betsey Johnson scarf swirled around her neck, she felt bright, stylish and comfortable. She smiled to herself. Even this morning’s plunge into the dangerous frightening world of her past couldn’t stop the pleasure and excitement that raced along her nerves.

  I won! I finally won!

  The bounce in her step was unmistakable and unknown to Jennifer she was attracting a lot of attention. Her stride had lengthened creating a scintillating tightening and softening of her derriere which made male and female passer-by do double-takes.

  The Fury stayed in the background observing. Joy looked good on this host. The demon decided in that moment that joy was going to be the tool that it used to motivate Jennifer. Joy had been withheld to such a great extent in Jennifer’s life that if Abatu fabricated exhilaration it probably would not be believed. However, the Fury saw that manipulating the people and things around this host to create happiness would work exceedingly well.

  The Fury settled into the cushy background of Jennifer’s mind. All of the painful memories were catalogued and known to the Fury. Now, all that needed to be done was to exorcise them but it had to be done in small doses. Abatu could not forcibly pull them out as it did before…or, stroke them. Clearly, the host did not respond well to that particular form of manipulation. This host needed help to deal with these memories. Abatu wondered what resources were available to the host in this time period. The demon knew that applying leeches were of minimal use but it may be worth a shot since its own extraction methods were not working. Yet, even with this minor setback, Abatu sighed from its own sheer happiness. Never before had it had such an interesting host! Maybe it could hold on to this one for a bit longer than normal and stave off the inevitable. The Jennifer host was, after all, a member of law enforcement. That could be an advantage instead of a disadvantage as Abatu believed earlier. This host’s mind was full of knowledge about how to properly clean a crime scene and the best way to disarm an assailant. Who better than a police officer to clean up after Abatu’s frequent feedings? Its evil countenance softened as it smiled baring its sharp teeth. Reviewing the past few days’ events, Abatu nodded to itself knowing that this host would do very well for some time to come. That was, if the demon could keep the Jennifer from the violent death that usually befell the host five to six weeks into the possession…

  ***

  Friday, November 9th, 6:00 P.M.

  “Hey…you won $1,500! Congratulations!!” said Sammy, Jennifer’s regular lotto guy who worked at a bodega a few blocks from her house.

  A blush crept into her cheeks as the pleasure she felt shone through her eyes. “Thanks man! I owe it to you. Remember? You’re the one that said I should try Win For Life again. You know I was done with it.”

  Sammy smiled and nodded, thinking to himself that winning looked good on her. “I know. Glad I prodded you into trying it. Can I prod you into something else? Maybe a couple Million Dollar Money Clip, Franklin’s Fortunes, or maybe a Silver Spectacular?”

  His gaze flicked over her and he licked his lips. As he verified her scratch-off game, he surreptitiously looked her over again. Her coffee-and-milk complexion and slender curves were alluring to him.

  “No, I’ll just take my winnings.”

  He blinked at her and tilted his head to one side. “Oh! You’ve never won this much before! You don’t know.”

  Jennifer fidgeted and looked behind her when she heard a snigger. “I don’t know what, Sammy?”

  “This amount is too big. You’ll have to mail away for it, go to Beaver Street or Resorts World to collect your winnings,” he said with an apologetic frown. “I’m sorry,” he said again. “Do you want anything else today? I have a line…” He jutted his chin to indicate the people behind her.

  Jennifer looked behind her. Two of the men finger-waved at her. The three women just stared. One with her hand on her thick hip, the other older woman had her arms crossed over her impressive bosom and the third one that could kiss a giraffe without a problem sucked her teeth and said, “Either give me that damned ticket or move out of the way already? Some of us would like to get outta here!”

  Chagrined, Jennifer said hastily, “Sorry! I didn’t realize I was holding up the line that much.” She turned back to Sammy and waved. “Do you know if any of them are open tomorrow? It’s almost 6 o’clock now and I know nothing’s open now, right?”

  She stepped out of the way and the guy behind her stepped up to Sammy but all the while the dude was smiling at her. Jennifer couldn’t get past his bad toupee and the frankfurter breath which wafted past her nose as he gave his daily numbers to the lottery agent for Saturday midday play. She took another step back while waiting for Sammy’s reply.

  “1557, 1285 and 9981? Uhm. 9981 is sold out for midday tomorrow.”

  “Damn. I dreamt that number, too. Can you give it to me for midday Sunday?”

  “Sammy?” Jennifer interjected.

  “Huh? Oh, yes. Resorts World Casino…in Jamaica, Queens? You know the new one they built a couple of years back? Their NYS Lottery customer service center is open every day and I think it’s open late, too. It may even be open now. Check online.”

  Frankfurter-breath turned fully towards her. He blew a kiss Jennifer’s way and said, “I’ll be happy to drive you…”

  With a beatific smile, Jennifer sidled away, nodding noncommittally and escaped with a final wave to Sammy who was holding his nose with one hand while tapping away furiously on the lotto machine with the other.

  Walking home with a little less pep in her step, she wondered if she felt up to a run out to Queens just to pick up money. More importantly, did she want the temptation of having so much money on her while in a live casino? With a sardonic grin, she walked the last block home, opened the front door and took the stairs two at a time and let herself into her apartment.

  Her phone rang, startling her. She juggled with her bag as she locked the door behind her while trying to answer the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Are you avoiding me…already?”

  His sexy rugged voice stilled her. She hadn’t anticipated speaking to him again so soon. Abatu came forward nudging Jennifer softly.

  “Hmm…you’re making me wonder if the cool Chad is just a façade and if you’re really a stalker with a great bod.” She dropped her bag on the sofa and plopped herself onto the ottoman.

  “So, you like my bod?”

  “Look, I know we just spoke a couple hours ago but I failed to mention something that may be important for you to know.”

  “Yeah? Okay, uhm. Okay, go for it.”

  Jennifer gulped a couple of times before speaking again. “I’m…I’m an atheist.”

  A rich baritone laugh wafted through the phone. “Oh, is that all you’ve got? Okay, I’m a sex offender. I just got out 6 months ago and I like little boys. But, I’m switching to girls while on parole.”

  Jutting her hip out, she sighed and rolled her eyes. “So not funny. I’m serious. I don’t believe in God, or anything like that.”

  “Do you go around killing people?”

  “No!”

  “Do you do drugs?”

  “Absolutely not! How could I be on the force if I did anything like that?!”

  “Well then, being an atheist is not a deal-breaker for me.”

  “Well pedophiles are deal-breakers for me!”

  “You and I both know that was for shits-n-giggles at your expense, of course.”

  �
��Yeah, whatever. I’m heading out soon and…”

  “Did you get my text?”

  The Fury nudged Jennifer again.

  “Text? What text? When?”

  “A little while ago.”

  Jennifer could hear the smile in his voice. It made her curious. Pulling the phone from her ear, she swiped through to her texts, opened his and ignored the others. It was an Instagram picture of a gorgeous bouquet of bougainvillea and white dendrobium orchids.

  “Chad, they’re beautiful!”

  “Wow, so even the tough Lady Cop likes flowers? Good to know. I won’t hold you up. Just wanted to know if you received my text so have a great Friday evening and a productive week next week, okay? And just so you know, I am very much looking forward to next Friday.”

  He clicked off before she could say another word.

  She stared at the phone with a half smile teasing the corners of her mouth.

  Oh, this has gotten very interesting…

  Fury Abatu wanted the Jennifer host free of the sweet chili sauce that was Chad this evening because it wanted to feed and feed well. Being bound to a host weakened the demon rapidly. Consuming human blood kept Abatu strong while it was on the earth plane. A large man of good height and girth would hold the Fury for a few days, maybe even a week. But, Abatu had to steer clear of men the host knew as it would cause too many questions. The skinny would-be assailant from this morning did not satiate Abatu’s blood-thirst. He was simply a meager appetizer.

  Chad was bigger and would hold Abatu over for a few days but, the demon liked the tête-à-tête the Chad male seemed to be putting on offer. Plus, he was too close. The Jennifer host’s friends would definitely recall this male if he turned up dead. Reluctantly, Abatu let the thought go that the Chad male could be the evening’s meal and retreated into the background of Jennifer’s mind once again.

  Putting the phone back in her bag, Jennifer strolled into her bedroom and head for the modest walk-in closet. She knew she needed a wardrobe update but there never really had been a need to before now.

  The Fury peeked through the host’s eyes and looked as well. Nothing was suitable for its purposes. The demon needed blouses that showed cleavage, skirts that showed the host’s legs, and shoes that would titillate men. This host’s undergarments were also lackluster; everything was practical and meant for work situations. The Fury growled in frustration.

  Jennifer sighed as she realized she did, indeed, need new clothes. Cursing her shopping phobia, Jennifer wondered if she could pay Babs to be her personal shopper. This way, she’d never have to see the inside of a store. Jennifer shook it off the pleasant thought and grabbed some gabardine palazzo pants in midnight blue and a sparkly ages-old top that she bought for a Christmas party she never attended.

  Abatu put an image of bangles, earrings and some make-up in the host’s mind.

  Jennifer pulled off her pink outfit and slipped into the soft floating pants and the shiny green, gold and red top and felt pretty. She rushed to her dusty jewelry case and pulled out the only two gold bangles she owned and the simple small gold hoops for her pierced ears. These pieces were decades old and had been a gift from her mother. Jennifer stopped wearing them around the same time Hyacinth Holden stopped being a mother.

  A memory threatened to come to the fore of Jennifer’s mind but the demon arrested its forward movement and held the memory captive. It wanted the host to have a good night without any psychological mental debris cluttering up her mind. Tonight was supposed to be all about having fun! Abatu massaged another part of Jennifer’s brain and the woman began to hum tunelessly as she headed into the bathroom. Jennifer rummaged in the bone and onyx makeup box on her vanity until she found a lip gloss that wasn’t dried out. It was a pale coral color. Digging around some more she came up empty for eyeliner but found an ancient duo-color eye shadow set in light and dark grey tones. She shrugged and smeared the lighter grey just beneath her uneven eyebrows and used the darker shade to fill in her bottom lid. She took a look at her reflection and shrugged.

  “Not as gorgeous as Babs’ handiwork but better than my usual.”

  She went back into her room and poked around in her closet until she found a black sequined clutch. She dropped the two pieces of make-up in it and strapped on her Galco ankle holster which she kept on a hook behind her clothes near the baseboard in the walk-in.

  While some women liked to carry their Rabbits with them, on a big night out, Jennifer preferred to carry a weapon, or two. Jennifer took out her gun case and looked over the selections. She was about to pick up her Glock when the Fury put the image of the stolen gun in her mind. Jennifer’s fingers immediately grasped instead the .38 squelching the feeling of dread. She slid it into her holster and replaced her gun case and moved over to the safe. After keying in her code she plucked out the right bullets and loaded the gun she knew she should throw away.

  Feeling the thrill as always, Jennifer grinned as she looked at herself in the mirror. The wide pant leg hid the holster completely.

  Jennifer exited her bedroom and grabbed her lottery ticket, badge, ID and her keys along with some cash from her work bag. She also plucked out her MetroCard. She stuffed all of the items in her little black clutch. She wasn’t sure how her phone would get in but she shoved until the bag snapped shut bulging rather unpleasantly.

  She jogged back into the bedroom and took one last look at herself in the mirror. She turned first to the left and then to the right. Her slim physique actually suited the long flowing pants and the shimmering top that molded beautifully against her slight curves giving her the appearance being more voluptuous because it was so fitted. She nodded.

  This will have to do.

  She went to the hall closed and pulled out some funky boots with a thick heel and a leather jacket with silver studs. Jennifer refused to check out her finished look because she knew she had just blown the classy look she was going for. All she needed now was a studded leather collar and her upscale Goth look would be complete. With a snort, Jennifer shook her head and headed out the door.

  However, the Fury smiled at the thought of a studded collar and memorized the image so it could influence the host to buy one in the coming days. The Fury believed the studded collar would make a delightful addition to the host’s wardrobe especially for the upcoming dinner with the Chad male.

  ***

  Friday, November 9th, 10:30 P.M.

  The dings, bells and electronic sounds of money falling into greedy sweaty hands greeted Jennifer as she walked onto the main floor of Resorts World Casino. The short forty minute ride on the “A” train didn’t dampen her spirits in spite of the wino, and the three homeless people. She had to run through five train cars to find a car free from the cheesy moldy garbage-y stink funk that is the pervasive stamp of New York City homeless smell. In fact, the ride gave her some much needed time to think about things other than the Barnes case which had very rarely strayed from her mind in the past few days.

  She knew she was on to something with the other four look-alike murders; she just didn’t know how to go about digging into those investigations without ruffling feathers. In her experience, cops were like divas — they didn’t want people rooting around behind the scenes. She wondered if that was because all cops were worried about not having done everything to the letter, or if they were just territorial.

  Sighing, Jennifer shook herself out of her reverie and turned on her cop instincts. She checked the crowd while simultaneously scanning for all of the exits. She noticed a man who did not want to be noticed. Naturally, she focused on him and drifted in his general vicinity. She noted that his dark shades hid his eyes but not his expression. He was losing…badly. His body language betrayed it. She smirked.

  Jennifer walked past him and noticed that his hair was slightly odd; it was a wig or hairpiece of some kind. The dark jogging pants and matching zippered velour jacket were nondescript but screamed of money. It was in the tailoring. The seams were perfect and almost inv
isible in the deep emerald green fabric. The soft looking velour flowed into the wide-ribbed cuffs around the man’s wrists and ankles. Pinned through the velour cuffs were gold cufflinks that had a moon and star etched into the precious metal with diamonds embedded in each cufflink.

  Who the hell wears diamond cufflinks on a velour jogging suit? Nut job!

  She was already on the other side of the room and looking elsewhere with her head and eyes but in her mind’s eye, she was reviewing her glimpse of Mr. Incognito Moneybags. Jennifer wondered who he was but in a casino, anyone could be someone with a pull of a lever. Moneybags could have just won it big and bought the expensive jogging suit in one of the casino shops. She pursed her lips and enjoyed her little mental game of identifying Mr. Moneybags.

  Just then, a woman came up to him and kissed him on the cheek. He squeezed the striking brunette and smiled up at her. Her clothes reeked of money even more than his did. Her hair was in the latest layered bob and was perfectly trimmed. The tiny mole above her lip on the left side seemed real from this distance but Jennifer couldn’t tell.

  Focusing next on the huge rock on the brunette’s right hand, Jennifer was impressed not just by its size but also by its color. It was the palest shade of yellow Jennifer had ever seen. Jennifer wished she was more like Babs and could tell one designer nick-knack from another just by eyeballing them. But she knew the rock was a diamond — only diamonds could shimmer and shine like that under the myriad of casino lights. Jennifer wondered if the rock and the cufflinks came from the same place. Mr. Moneybags withdrew his card from the machine and walked off with the pampered woman who looked as if she were purring up at him. He lapped it up like a cat with fresh cream and they disappeared into the crowd.