The Noir Evil

by Richard Paul Caird

  Both detectives became irritable as they landed in the mud in unison and looked down at their trousers independently as its mucky expulsions decorated them effortlessly. Both soon turned to greet the young officer whom Merlyo recognised as the intelligent young Dick Dave Cowles whom was renowned to have a vast intellect and literal repository of knowledge within his mind that could put the hall of records itself to shame. His uniform was immaculate even though he had been within the mud for over an hour now and he had a somewhat bookish appearance about him because his round spectacles sat comfortably upon the crest of his stubby noise. Cowles cautiously spoke quietly whilst looking at the family in the distance “Hello detectives! The two boys over there found a mutilated body in the bushes at the base of the hill and it’s…” Cowles momentarily paused before an irritated Merlyo prompted him for a continuation “Well! What is it?” Cowles then reluctantly continued “The body erm? Well! To put it bluntly sir it’s been… Well! It’s been decapitated and emasculated!”

  Merlyo tried not to show any shock within his face as he then looked at the children whom where actively observing him and his two colleagues in silence from the distance. Merlyo reassuringly smiled at them both before then casually putting his arm around the shoulder of an alarmed looking Cowles and led him towards the back of the muddied wagon. He then spoke again in a calm manner once the gaze of the scared looking children and there ever observant parents where broken “Go on, what else?” Cowles then continued in a hesitantly worried tone “It looks strangely like a mannequin that’s been dropped from the sky without a head and wearing nothing but a pair of socks! That’s only my visual observation of course!”

  Merlyo felt a cold chill go down his spine at Cowles descriptive observation and was now eager to see the macabre scene for himself, motioning with his hand as he spoke “Please, lead the way” As Cowles started to lead him to his quarry he once again appeared within the worried gaze of the children and their parents and he again smiled reassuringly at them all before he spoke to the on looking Zalewski, whom was leaning by the front of the wagon “Get there statements, thanks!” A disappointed looking Zalewski slowly trudged through the mud towards the finders of the macabre discovery, jealous that Merlyo would get to see the homicide scene before he would.

  A determined Cowles then led the tired but equally determined Merlyo through the thick tangle of chaotic bushes, mud and gloom towards the base of the unseen hill. Merlyo suddenly smelt an overwhelming stench of death and rotting flesh that was so distinctive and familiar to him that he automatically took out his handkerchief and covered his noise well before they had even reached the location of the body. Cowles pushed the overgrown bushes aside for Merlyo as they both struggled into the small clearing at the base of the hill to be greeted by the troubling sight of a decapitated body that had been sitting there for at least a couple of days judging by the decomposition.

  Merlyo immediately took out his trusty notepad and started to make notes as he keenly surveyed the macabre scene. The emasculated body of a young man whom was in his mid to late twenties lay at the centre of the grass clearing, looking distinctly out of place and wearing nothing but a pair of dark coloured blue socks. On closer inspection Merlyo then knelt down and prodded the torso with his pen to verify his theory about the skins texture but this time there was no unidentifiable homemade cleaning solution on or under the body which strangely relieved the detective. But this feeling was soon quashed when he noticed the tell-tale signs of restraint bruises around both his wrists and harsh brush marks upon his tender flesh.

  This once again showed a certain cunning and shrewdness of the killers mind in his ability to think out the events prior to them actually taking place, such as the frantically cleaning the body after a presumably prolonged torture session. This was a distinct type of killer that he was unfamiliar with because he had not dealt with this type of cunning before and had meanly dealt with murders accidental in nature which were caused by either drunken fist fights or arson for insurance purposes. This sort of killer was unknown to him and a complete oddity because of his organised behaviour and calculating efforts to eliminate trace evidence after the act of murder had taken place. This sadistic killer scared him because of this analytical way of murdering and showed a level of intellect that frightened the veteran detective.

  On closer inspection there where singe marks from burning also upon the body’s hair which further added to this theory of an alarmingly organised killer whom was actively attempting to eliminate clues. He moved in closer and noted that the penis had apparently been quickly cut off with a singular blow from a sharp instrument of unknown design, leaving a clean cut mark upon the flesh. He hesitated before he looked at the neck area because he knew that if the head had been ripped off instead of cut off like the penis had been, then it would most defiantly mean it was the same culprit who had killed the Lady of the Lake. Simply knowing this made his hand tremble above his notepad page and his heart sank ever further as he viewed the neckline of the victim because the absent head looked to have been literally torn off yet again in a violent manner. He could not logically understand why these different methods of dismemberment would have been utilised by the killer and for what hellish purpose he could only speculate at for now.

  A cold wind then howled into the corpse’s neck which created an unnerving whistling sound as it left the deceased’s body, causing the curious detective to move his head backwards in disgust. He then turned his attentions back towards the lower area of the body and used his pen to lower both of the socks to reveal what he had suspected, more restraint marks and no identifying labels of any kind on the socks. He had expected this judging from the shrewd nature of the killer but he still hoped, even with it just being a fleeting hope, that he would have left something behind for him to investigate. There was little blood on the grass under the body and it had also alarmingly appeared to have been drained of blood so he concluded that this must not have been the murder scene and that the body had simply just been dumped here after a thorough cleaning.

  All these troubling aspects where resonating deep within Merlyo’s subconscious as he continued to speculate about this most macabre of murderers. He speculated that the killer was torturing his victims and then killing them at some unknown location before elaborately going to much lengths to eliminate any trace evidence. He could still not determine if these where gangland murders of organised crime or the simple acts of a deranged mind which was violently living out a dark fantasy. The key would lie in identifying the victims of the killer and hopefully all aspects of the investigation would fall into place after this, like a giant and macabre jigsaw puzzle that simply required the correct piece to unlock its darkly sinister secret.

  After a moment of quiet contemplation Merlyo slowly then stood up as the rain started to come down harder and walked around the edge of the clearing until he stopped and knelt down, which heightened the curiosity of the keenly watching Cowles whom carefully walked over to see what he had found. Merlyo was looking at a mysterious bucket that contained some unknown liquid that smelt distinctly like lighter fluid and he speculated that the killer had attempted to burn the body, hence the singe marks upon the hair and used this in his failed attempt.

  The silently on looking Cowles then keenly spotted something else within the nearby bushes and eagerly pointed it out to the kneeling Merlyo whom then stood up and followed his finger towards a bush near the edge of the clearing. He struggled to move further within the chaotic bushes and soon discovered a dirty, blue union coat that was saturated in both water and dried blood stains. He examined it and just like the socks it unfortunately had no identifying marks upon it, once again dashing his fleeting hopes for a valuable piece of evidence that could speedily resolve to this troublesome case. After checking the area some more and registering all of the gruesome details and item locations within his trusty notepad he returned his gaze upon the mannequin like corpse that was just visible through the murky haze.
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  Gentle rain had saturated everything within its relentless pursuit of imbuing all whom viewed the macabre sight with an absolute misery. Merlyo’s silent moment of quiet contemplation was then rudely and abruptly broken by the sound of Zalewski’s voice which was apparently attempting to try and locate the murder scene that was heavy disguised by the surrounding rough foliage and mist “Merlyo!” An agitated Merlyo replied, wishing to silence his partner and continue his in depth pondering of the of the morbid homicide scene “Over here!” Soon however he realised that the ‘lost’ Zalewski was not lost at all and was attempting to lure him to another area of intense interest. Zalewski shouted again, this time louder and more audible “Merlyo! I got another body!”

  A determined and wide-eyed Merlyo then quickly moved like a man possessed as he proceeded to move back the way he had come and voice tracked his elusive partner whom was completely unseen within the surrounding bushes and mist. Merlyo struggled through the unmanageable thick bushes and mist before he then heard the alarmingly familiar dripping of water sound which had haunted his nightmares for just over a year now. This was soon followed by the distinctive pitter-patter of little feet and a child’s laughter as the detective froze in fear. He desperately looked around him as the concealing mist greedily kept its secrets from his needy eyes before he thought he saw a shadow of a little lost girl alarmingly scurry past his legs within the mist.

  The all-encompassing fog mercilessly surrounded him, suffocating his very sanity as he placed his quivering hand upon his revolver, ready to pull it out without a moment’s hesitation. He then heard the child’s feet scurry close to him and stop within the mist, so close in fact that he could almost smell the distinctive salty odour that he had become so accustomed to. He worryingly speculated that elusive lady of nightmares had now become so emboldened that she was now tormenting him from her purgatory prison within the daylight hours! The frightened detective suddenly spun around in a blind panic when he felt a hand upon his shoulder to be greeted by a shocked looking and motionless Zalewski.

  The motionless Zalewski stood there in alarm as he looked down Merlyo’s shaking gun barrel that he held to his face before his scared partner finally spoke and asked a question that Merlyo could not answer fully “Jesus Merlyo! You ok?” Merlyo immediately lowered the revolver as he heard the question that brought him back into reality and away from the shadowy realm where the Lady of the Lake resided. He simply nodded his head whilst putting his revolver awkwardly back within his shoulder holster and taking a moment clear his troubled mind. The concerned Zalewski then continued to speak, alarmed at his colleague’s obvious distress at the crime scene and willing to forgive him due to the nature of the heinous act of sadistic violence they were investigating “You take a moment to relax man ok? When you’re ready come and take a look over here, I found another one!”

  After a few moments whereby Merlyo patted Zalewski on the shoulder and apologised to him, the cautious Zalewski then led Merlyo through the thick mist and bushes until they both came out suddenly into another smaller clearing whereby he saw another decapitated and emasculated body that had this time been treated with some unknown, reddish chemical compound. Upon seeing this familiar sight he felt his heart sink because now it was silently confirmed that these two murders where directly linked to the Lady of the Lake’s. Now he worryingly knew why her haunting spectre had decided to brave the sunlight hours to torment him yet further, due to this unholy link between this trilogy of tragedies.

  This body had been here for much longer than the first and this was probably the stench that he had initially smelt earlier on and not the fresher body that wore the socks. Merlyo apprehensively walked into the centre of the small and gloomy clearing to get a better view of the victim within its morbid surroundings as both Zalewski and the newly arrived Cowles looked on with worry and apprehension. The rotting smell was overpowering within this small clearing and invaded every inch of his being, making him feel uneasy but he persisted and took a good long look at the body as the maggots could be easily seen writhing in pleasure deep within the rotten corpse as they devoured its soft and succulent tissue.

  Merlyo stood there in silence, repulsed by the morbid sight as he took out his notepad whilst the gloom actively attempted to abduct his newly found quarry within its powerful grasp. Zalewski then saw something through the heavy mist that now surrounded them on all sides and voiced this find to Merlyo “Check it out, just right of the body, hair! You see it?” Merlyo felt relieved as he looked away from the putrid mound of rancid red flesh whilst clutching his handkerchief over his nose and turned his gaze upon a lump of brown hair that was not that far away from the body. The messy dark brown hair was sticking out of the overly saturated soil and he thought that the rain had obviously washed away a thin layer of topsoil to reveal this hidden treasure.

  Zalewski and Cowles then watched in horror as Merlyo grabbed the hairy mound and slowly pulled up a dripping with mud head that seemed to be unwilling to be taken from its shallow resting place. The relentless rain cleaned away the excessive mud and they all could see in horror, a look of pure terror edged onto its twisted and distorted face. Merlyo looked at the gruesomely rotten face and it was if it was still being tormented from the nameless beyond and attempting to warn them all from going any further for fear of them either meeting the same torturous fate or losing their very sanity.

  The flesh was surprisingly in good condition and instantly Merlyo suspected that this was from the first body he had looked at and momentarily stopped as he could not take his eyes off of the tortuously hellish expression that was written into its maddening face. He then gently placed it back into the willing hole that had so reluctantly spawned such a horror into the world and was just as reluctant to take it back. The muddy water that had accumulated within the hole whilst he looked at it with his morbidly fascinated audience, instantly came up to the surface and bubbled around the head as he released it back into its saturated shallow grave.

  He looked up into the gloomy sky as the warm rain fell from bleak, dark overhanging clouds until he lowered his head once again and saw something insidious through the corner of his perceptive eye. A bushes leaves rustled nearby the edge of the small clearing and he placed his hand upon his revolver yet again as apprehension filled up within him. He cautiously started to move closer to the mysteriously moving bush as it rustled yet again and fully expected the resurgent Lady of the Lake to further alarm him with her hideous presence.

  Suddenly Cowles hand shot-up clenching a hideously hairless decomposed head that was dripping a reddish liquid from its lipless mouth. The startled Merlyo looked at it in disgust as lightening illuminated its rotten face and showed another just visible expression of sheer terror edged upon its demented owners face. Cowles then spoke excitedly and with misguided zeal “Look what I found!”

  Upon seeing such a grotesque sight Merlyo suddenly felt his stomach turn and he released his grip from his weapon and simply knelt down and vomited out a small amount of his liquefied breakfast. The surprised Zalewski immediately came to Merlyo’s aid and placed his arm around his struggling partners shoulder as he lifted him up and off the ground whilst he whispered “Jesus! You ok?” A shocked Merlyo slowly looked up to see Cowles still clutching the terrified head and the diminutive Lady of the Lake’s spectre standing directly behind him whilst pointing at the head with her rotten finger.

  He had felt her presence numerous times within his home as he drifted in and out of sleeplessness but seeing her here, in the daylight was something completely different as her true hideousness became more apparent. Her rotten flesh encompassed her entire body within a wall of thin green slime and her gaping mouth was wide open but mysteriously silent as wriggling maggots crawled out of her every orifice. Her timid size was only matched by her long scraggily dark and wet hair which was chaotically pulled down around her face, pleasantly masking some of the horror that lay beneath. She was soaking wet and wearing nothing but her dist
inctively white, stained and ripped nightie which ethereally floated around her young corpse-like and skeletonised body. He realised that he would never be free of her haunting until he caught her elusive killer and avenged her tragic death because she was now helplessly trapped within a hellish purgatory. Merlyo then reluctantly replied to Zalewski’s query of concern as he continued to look at her troublingly ghostly spectre whilst lightening illuminated the second tortured head’s eternally silent scream “Nothing a little sleep won’t fix”

  The train track cut through the snowy landscape like a pulsating vein that was pumping warm blood as a tired Eliot Ness curiously looked out of the window. He marvelled at the unfamiliar snow blanketed landscape that speedily shot by and adored how the powerful moonlight effortlessly illuminated the impressive countryside. The sleepy Ness shared the train cabin with a flamboyantly dressed old lady and a young, shy looking boy whom had both spent the majority of the journey blissfully sleeping. His pleasant thoughts about his quiet travelling companions where then disturbed by a few noisy shadows of passengers as they walked past the misty glassed and wooden cabin door.

  These passengers soon disappeared from the hallway and into the adjoining carriage as there sound dissipated and was soon once again replaced with blissful silence and the gentle rocking motion of the fast moving train. There unwelcome presence reaffirmed his pleasure at sharing this closed cabin with these two, most reliable of passengers whom where facing him. He enjoyed the silence and solitude of the journey so far and momentarily paused his pleasant thoughts as an ominously large shadow suddenly stopped just outside the cabin door, this time accompanied by no sound.