Merlyo gave a sad and lingeringly longing look at the beautifully red dressed Poppy, whom adored the vibrant colour and wore it most days to the secret rapturous applause from her many hidden admirers within the office. She only deviated from this colour occasionally to the various shades of crimson and scarlet but also wore black and white because she knew that her golden hair strikingly matched the deep red tone with dramatic effects. This calculated colour selection enhanced her beautiful porcelain skin and blue eyes that could drown any man within their unforgiving waters and leave him longing for more of this enticingly forbidden fruit. Merlyo had speculated that almost every man within the busy smoke filled office had, at one time or another, wanted to be with her romantically and had each courted her affections in a variety of different and unique ways. This made him feel lucky, special even that she had selected him above all else to pursue in such personally intimate way and with such intimate feelings of romance in mind.
He often wondered why she had selected him above all the other suitors within the office because they were many better looking catches that where available to select from and he theorised that it was possibly because of his unique tailored appearance and his amusing eccentricities that she may have found to be lovably endearing. Possibly it was his disregard for the norm of office life and apparent dedication to the implementation of a conservative way of thinking about law and order. His black and white considerations on what constituted a crime seemed a little dated in such an obviously corrupt department but this was another reason he speculated that she may have found him mysteriously intriguing.
Regardless of her initial motives for their brief romance, all his wild speculations where inconsequentially irrelevant now because she had apparently found a new object for her sought after affections. Merlyo was not jealous of this unforeseen development because he would always care for Poppy and wanted her to be happy but on certain days, especially when the Lady of the Lake had been relentless in her torment of his treasured sleep, he did long for her comfortingly restful embrace. She had a naturally calming effect upon him and soothed his restless anxieties about even the most inconsequential and trivial matters, instantly banishing them with her mere presence. He longed for her not just to eliminate such anxieties within his life but also to have her calming touch near him so as he could finally get some of the treasured sleep which constantly now eluded him.
He had recently gone to a private doctor to try and help with his insomnia and the doctor had given him some expert advice on how to achieve a restful sleep through a variety of means. He had also given him numerous powerful sleeping pills to help him but these pills where only giving him more unfulfilling light cat-naps on a more regular basis. Although he appreciated getting any form of sleep, these cat-naps where leaving him longing for that deep, tranquil and restful sleep that constantly escaped him.
Whilst he sipped his hot coffee he desperately tried to recall the last time that he had a long and restful sleep and finally vaguely recalled an evening when he was on one of his last dates with Poppy. They had once again been to there favourite haunt, the cinema, to watch yet another Boris Karloff movie rerun entitled The Mummy which told the story of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh being accidentally resurrected to ultimately exact his vengeance upon his tomb robbers. Poppy had clumsily dropped her ticket whilst holding a cardboard bucket of popcorn just prior to them entering to the cinema and he had quickly collected it to stand up to see her embarrassingly flushed with red rosy cheeks.
He had found this incredibly endearing and this was the first time that she had dropped her guard with him and showed her true self, which was a woman whom was a little afraid of her surroundings and more importantly, unable to reveal her true self. The question that always eluded him was why such a wonderfully unique woman as Poppy would be scared to reveal her true self to the world and this personality trait would continue with her as she was always rather vague when discussing her mysterious past. This apparently trivial situation within the cinema had caused him to open his heart and mind to her more so, so that she would feel more comfortable and willing to openly discuss her obviously troubling past.
He soon discovered that she was a very private person and found that resurrecting long dead secrets that had lain dormant and undisturbed for so very long, was an uncomfortable experience that she wished to leave alone. She only ever revealed to him that she never knew her parents, was adopted at a young age and that she never got along with her adopted farther. He knew not to pry into areas that he was not wanted unless he was otherwise invited and ironically, this illusiveness made her that much more attractive to him because she had made herself more of an enigma. To any detective such a beautiful mystery was just begging to get solved and he found himself endlessly speculating on her traumatic past life events. He felt that whilst they were dating he almost took on a farther figure role rather than that of a potential lover, mainly because of how she acted around him and he put this observation down to the fact she never had a good farther figure within her life. The only farther figures that she had known had either betrayed her by leaving her for adoption or disappointed her in some unknown way.
He knew that she was troubled by her past and he wanted to remain by her side to not only solve the riddle of Poppy but also to help her heal the obvious traumatic feelings of rejection that she must of suffered at the hands of her parents. He had always been a sucker for such heartbrokenly tragic tales of damaged individuals and he had a naturally altruistic longing to attempt to help such people to solve their complex issues so that they may be untimely happy again in life. On the same evening that they watched The Mummy and after the movie had finished, they had walked along the moonlit riverfront and he had alarmingly noticed that both of her wrists had been cut in the distant past.
He desperately wanted to ask her about these shocking old scars but could not build up enough courage to do so and they simply kissed goodbye and went their separate ways that evening. He had assumed that she never noticed his alarmed facial reaction to her shameful secret but in hindsight, perhaps she did see this reaction and it was not what she had expected from him. He had always regretted not asking her about this and pondered his own troubling reaction since they had broken up, speculating that he missed a golden opportunity at prolonged happiness with her because of his instinctively troubled facial expression that he exhibited that night. He still retained a special place for her deep within his longing heart that ached in a vast loneliness for both her lost love and tender affections.
This missed opportunity and past regrets where a familiar companion for the lonely detective and if he could replay events, he would have allowed her the time she desperately needed to fully open herself up to him. As fate would have it however he never got this opportunity to really get to know her well because there brief time together soon ran out. However the romantic kiss that they had shared by the riverfront and the accompanying passionate embrace, allowed him to obtain the most restfully assuring deep sleep that he had ever experienced.
The daydreaming detectives mind was then brought back into the present as he covertly watched her move from her desk and into Ness’s office with such a naturally refined elegance that he often wondered if she had been schooled in her graceful movements or had this gift been bestowed upon her naturally. There was something ethereal about her, something otherworldly, something utterly confounding that he could not quite put his finger on what is was and even today she still remained an enticing enigma that he desperately wished to solve.
He unfortunately had a great seat to witness first hand her love for Ness grow, flower and blossom as the weeks had slowly dragged on, ironically causing him to grimly watch her slowly drift away from himself and into the awaiting arms of the very person whom he had secretly asked to come to Cleveland. Nonmatter how much he tried to convince himself that he was happy for her, seeing her everyday with Ness was like a form of prolonged torture for the desperately tired and weary d
etective. He falsely convinced himself that he simply wanted her to be happy in life but this was not the truth because he wanted her to be happy but with him by her side and him alone!
These totally irrational and darkly possessive thoughts where unlike him and concerned him but he also knew that they were a natural defence mechanism that all retained within there being, ready to defend their separate owners against the hurtful rejection by loved ones. There was gossip around the office that she had been seen out with Ness on numerous occasions for dinner, around the areas of Cleveland that high society liked to frequent and had even been seen together at the very same cinema that he had taken her too. Upon hearing about this suspected sighting he had felt something deep within himself hurt, as if his sadness became physically tangibly and exhibited its resentful protest towards him for his failure to keep her precious love.
He then satisfactorily sipped his warm coffee as he then saw a smiling Poppy return from Ness’s office with a large mass of files within her hands, promptly sitting back down by her desk as a smiling Ness soon reappeared by his door and spoke to her yet again. He jealously speculated that it was probably to conclude a dinner engagement after work and he desperately attempted to read their talking lips to elevate this fear but failed.
A pained Merlyo then returned his reluctant gaze back towards his desk because it hurt him watching her being so happily content and casually relaxed with another man other than him. He then attempted to take his mind off her by looking at the open homicide file of the absent detectives May and Musil that was on their desk as he sneakily grabbed it with his left hand from around the patrician wall, cautiously keeping an eye on the busy environment to ensure that he was not detected. He then curiously looked at the steady progression of the twin unsolved homicides that he had not been assigned too, sipping his warm coffee as he did so and enjoying the distraction as it trickled down his wanting throat. He wanted to keep up to date with the latest developments and ferociously paged through the gruesome photos of the Jackass Hill homicide scenes as he tried to see something that he had not noticed before.
He then excitedly came to a wonderful revelation and discovered that the absent May and Musil had thankfully identified one of the two victims that had been discovered at the base of Jackass Hill. Mister Edward Andrassy was the name of the sock wearing victim and an instant excitement filled the detective upon reading his name, knowing that this could be the linchpin that solved all three homicides. Andrassy had been identified by his fingerprints because he had a criminal record and Merlyo was so grateful for this that he secretly thanked the deceased for this unwittingly unforeseen gift that he had sent them from beyond the grave.
The engrossed detective then took another satisfactorily sip of his warm coffee as he eagerly read on and discovered that Andrassy’s minor conviction was for being caught carrying a concealed weapon. He also soon discovered that he was not the most likable of characters and had a grim history which was colourful to put it mildly. Andrassy had regularly frequented the infamously seedy area of Kingsbury Run known as the Roaring Third and was a regular patron of its notorious bars, brothels and gambling dens alike. He was rumoured to have had lots of frequent one night stands with both men and women and was a well-known “player of hearts” within the community.
His parents where Hungarian immigrants from a once aristocratic family and they had been very concerned about the kind of debauched and deviant lifestyle that he was living as well as about the kind of nefarious people that he chose as associate with. His father, Joseph and his brother, John had both reluctantly identified the deceased remains at the county morgue whilst the Coroner, Samuel Gerber and both detectives May and Musil were in attendance. They also both stated that they last saw Andrassy four days earlier before his suspected murder date, after he left their home in the evening for a night out within the Roaring Third. He was notorious for being intoxicated and that night was no different, having already been in a confrontation with his mother, Helen before leaving in an agitated state to never be seen again.
The twin detectives had also discovered that two months earlier a middle aged man had come to their home and said he was going to kill Andrassy for “Paying attentions to his wife" Helen had gone on to say that just before he left home on his last night, he had been afraid to leave because he stated that he stabbed an Italian man in a fight and that none other than the Mayfield Road Mob was after him. All the troubled family had stated that he frequented the East 9th Street and Bolivar Road in particular and associated with a bizarre mixture of people whom were of dubious nature and questionable character.
The engrossed Merlyo then recalled May’s recent colourful remarks about Andrassy to Musil which was only made an hour before, having known the drunken trouble maker in life "Yeah! I remember him. He was a real snotty noised punk! The kind of fellow that gives a cop a lot of lip when he's being spoken too. Real grade A-asshole if you ask me and a complete douchebag!” May had gone on to describe how he had once even wanted to punch the insolent young Andrassy in the face because of his arrogantly denying attitude about his own disruptive behaviour. Andrassy became somewhat of a minor celebrity amongst the locals within the area due to this unruly behaviour and this reputation only proceeded him in the forthcoming years.
The illuminating report then focused upon a rather bizarre statement that had been reported by a married couple regarding the infamous Andrassy only a week prior to his death. They had stated that they had been at a bar within the Roaring Third when Andrassy had come over to them and remarked at how bad the man's wife looked. He went on to state that he thought that “she had female trouble” and that he was a “female doctor” whom could examine her too hopefully “fix” her of any aliments that she might have. The man’s wife could not have children and so the mentally challenged husband naively let Andrassy take his wife upstairs to examine her.
In doing so it was suspected that Andrassy may have committed sodomy upon her and it was not clear whether her husband did not protest because he did not understand what happened or because Andrassy was more intimidating than the man had suggested. Andrassy later told the couple that if he would be allowed to go home and collect his instruments he could fix her further within a month so that she could have children again but they had both declined his offer and left him alone at the bar.
Merlyo paused and sat back in his squeaky, wooden chair and thought about how his first sympathetic feelings for Andrassy where now quickly waring off now that he knew more about his ugly character. He felt guilty for thinking that his cruel fate could not have happened to a nicer character but resisted the urge to condemn the victim based on these few reports, feeling that no one deserves for their head to be ripped off whilst there still alive!
He then finished off his warm coffee and returned his gaze to the insightful report as he read about some of his associates that believed Andrassy was homosexual and while rumours abounded about his sexuality, the only thing that Musil and May found out that might give credence to his interest in men was the five Physical Culture magazines they found within his modest rented room. This magazine was aimed at young people whom wanted to better their physical appearance through exercise and Merlyo instantly put more emphasis upon the local’s comments rather than this useless find. As he read on he realised that there were too many people who claimed that he had male lovers to be completely ignored and some of his close friends had even gone on to say that Andrassy loved to smoke marijuana before a sexual encounter.
Merlyo stopped reading and thought about his younger partner Zalewski, whom loved to smoke the magic weed and regularly enjoyed asking him if he would also like to partake in a smoking session with him outside. Merlyo smiled to himself as he curiously looked across the wood and glass partition wall at his red-eyed and preoccupied partner whom was frantically completing a case report that was long overdue. He then continued to read the file papers and discovered that Andrassy had worked within a local sanatorium
and that many of the most disturbed patients resided there, instantly setting off alarms within his calculating mind and instinctively theorising that the killer was perhaps a mental patient whom, for some unknown reason, hated Andrassy so much that he tortured him before ripping off his head.
He then physically noted down this theory within his nearby notepad and tried to enforce his mind to recall it later on so that he could lure the twin detectives onto this topic and hopefully lead them onto this promising line of inquiry. He then read that Andrassy had abruptly ran off to Detroit earlier the previous summer and the reason for his quick departure was because he had angered a local oriental man whom had caught him sleeping with his wife.
A tired Merlyo sighed and rolled his eyes in disgust as he read this further bit of proof about his disreputable behaviour, curiously interested in how he had managed to survive for so long within the harsh Kingsbury Run area. He then curiously noticed that there were three photographs of Andrassy attached with paperclips at the back of the file and he carefully looked at them individually, expecting to reveal some hidden secret within their detailed imagery. The first was an unbecoming mugshot which was taken by the police after his minor concealed weapons violation whilst the other two were of a different nature entirely. The second was of him leisurely sitting cross-legged on a chair within a lavish bedroom whilst wearing a smart three piece suit and leisurely holding a cigarette within his hand. He looked confidently relaxed within his fetching attire and gave the wrong impression that he was a refined gentleman which Merlyo knew was defiantly not the case. This final photograph had something written underneath it by the distinctly bad handwriting of Musil which simply stated “Final photograph before murder!”
The Noir Evil Page 11