The Noir Evil

by Richard Paul Caird

  Over the recent years many people had disparagingly started to call him “Silver Fox” because of his ability to avoid Ness’s anti-corruption purge, and usually such a term would go down well with the individual in question, but O’Donnell hated this name because for him it represented his age. However his stern looking face was slightly more worn that Merlyo remembered and could still easily express an anger or hatred within an instant due to his unusually beady looking eyes. Kilbane was a totally different beast altogether and looked considerably more vicious than he recalled as his harshly pitted skin and mean looking face gave off the distinct impression of an individual whom was more at home within the fighting pits of Brooklyn than he was here, within this society.

  The silent Kilbane also gave the distinct impression that he was an interloper within this society and that he had no real regard for its rules or regulations because of his unnerving natural inclination to look at everything with a distinct distain and contempt. He was renowned for having a viciousness about him that could explode at any minute if just given the order to do so by his superior and accompanying master. His master stood next to him and continued to stick out his chest to arrogantly to further brandish his shiny new sheriff star at the unimpressed and unresponsive detective.

  The smoking Merlyo then glanced back at the preoccupied Gerber, losing interest in the two new attending men and was far more concerned with Gerber’s imminent findings. Gerber was now fully immersed within his macabre activities and was completely oblivious to the attendance of the two new individuals. O’Donnell then spoke again, being slightly annoyed at Merlyo’s lack of interest in him or his companion “Me and my new deputy here was wondering if you needed any help from my office on this case? We heard about the head you guys found yesterday and, well? Seen as you’re not having much luck en all, I thought it’d be a nice offer to make all the same” Merlyo looked at the sheriff in disapproval because of his slight sarcastic tone and lake of judgement with such an ill-manned and politically inept attempt at help. He however decided that he would allow him this singular ill-judged remark, putting it down to his lack of intellect rather than skilled deviousness.

  The tired detective then simply smiled back at the two before he replied with his calculated response “Thanks for the kind offer and congratulations are in order on your recent promotions gentlemen and your marriage sheriff! Bravo! Climbing the social ladder are you?” The smirking Merlyo then glanced back again at the immersed Gerber before he returned his gaze back towards the disgruntled sheriff and his deputy, realising that he would be on his own against these two foes for the foreseeable future. An awkwardly smirking O’Donnell had not been expecting such a “warm hearted” reply to his obviously thinly masked insult and then glanced across at the unpleasant looking Kilbane before he replying, enjoying the detectives confrontational behaviour “Social ladder? Hahaha! Very funny and thank you detective, you’re too kind but you have still not answered my question. Do you need help with this investigation?”

  Merlyo looked at him curiously and then after a moment’s speculation he understood that this was a show of power by the new sheriff to his accompanying lackey. The arrogant O’Donnell was now not only the new sheriff in town but also a close relation to the powerful congressman, due to his recent marriage, and so he apparently wished to apply his newly found strength for his loyal subordinates viewing pleasure. The unimpressed detective then took out his notepad again, re-opened it and pretended to inspect all the numerous complex elements about the homicide that where inconsistent. Whilst doing this he internally examined the various possibilities at why the new sheriff was here and what he wanted before he finally replied, relieving the irritable sheriff whom was now tired of being ignored “Thank you sheriff and we’ll defiantly let you know if we require your help but as far as the ongoing investigation is going, I’m sorry but I can’t comment on that. I can say however that we have some promising leads that were chasing up right now, so fingers crossed!”

  The tired Merlyo barley managed to smile and was uncomfortable discussing these matters in such a public manner, so decided to change the direction in which the conversation was going “The congressman’s daughter is quiet a catch sheriff, if you don’t mind me saying so. It must be nice knowing you’re related to such a powerful man right?” Merlyo then pretended to intensely re-examine his notepad findings once again for some lost bit of vital information as he secretly smiled to himself and eagerly awaited the irritated sheriff’s inevitable response.

  Just then a sudden gust of strong wind blew the surrounding dust, old newspapers and garbage everywhere, rolling an old rusted and noisy tin can past the crime scene and onto the nearby railway tracks. The migrating can continued to scrape its fragile metal shell against the worn down metal railway tracks as it disappeared into the gloom whilst all four men braced themselves for a few seconds as the windy onslaught quickly subsided. Then the resurgent O’Donnell finally spoke again but this time with a slight irritation within his voice “Yeah! It’s nice to have friends in high places, you should know with you being Ness’s right hand man en all, but back to the point, why don’t you just charge someone and take some the heat off of your boss? You know, do Ness a favour?”

  The reluctant Merlyo calmly replied, not wishing to show how irritated he was with the sheriff’s gun-ho mentality of arresting suspects “I’m defiantly not Ness’s ‘right hand man’ and to be honest with you, I don’t know the man at all! As far as arresting a suspect is concerned, where getting closer to making an official arrest but that’s all I can say about it at this moment gentlemen. I’m sure that you both understand the complex sensitivities involved in such a case as this” Merlyo suspected that they were both here spying for the congressman and attempting to bleed him dry of any valuable information relating to this popularised case.

  The tired detective wondered why he was even entertaining the sheriff’s questions but put down to not wishing to be appear to be impolite to the local lawman, that and his own lack of good judgement. His impaired judgement and hallucinations, like Jiggs coming to life only a few moments ago, where a troubling result of him not getting enough sleep recently. Even with the help of numerous sleeping pills and lessening his caffeine intake just prior to going to bed, the spectre of the Lady of the Lake still regularly came to him and pleaded with her nightmarish scream to be released from her hellish domain. Just seeing these two dubious characters from his past whom where at her homicide scene now brought back uncomfortable memories of the young woman’s corpse that still haunted his dreams.

  Only last night he had awoken from his light sleep to hear the familiar persistent dripping of water coming from his adjoining bathroom and he alarmingly saw a small puddle coalescing below the door. He had then quickly got up to open the door, expecting that he had a broken water pipe but was greeted by nothing, nothing out of the ordinary at all. The half awake and surprised Merlyo had then also looked down to see that the mysterious puddle was miraculously gone. This constant water dripping sound was the distinctive hallmark of the Lady of the Lake’s presence and it had lately been driving him to the very edge of sanity. Although he had reluctantly gotten used to her unnervingly persistent presence within his life, he still longed for the sanctity of a long and restful deep sleep which still eluded him to this very day.

  He always used to get good deep sleeps when he was dating Poppy and since they had their private conversation within the frozen Ford six months ago, they had met on a few separate occasions for lunch at the Wohl’s Café. The reason Wohl’s was the chosen location for their friendly lunch encounters was primarily because of its close proximity to the department and its pleasant atmosphere which was far removed from Ness’s dictatorial office. Unbeknownst to Ness they had been having these secret encounters for a while now but they were merely friends and nothing more.

  They mainly discussed work, the ongoing unsolved murder investigations and Ness’s addiction but after he had shouted at him
to solve the case the detective had been extremely reluctant to bring up the divisive issue that Poppy had initially tasked him with. They had both tentatively agreed to leave the issue alone because of Ness’s volatility and increasing paranoia about the corrupt unseen elements within the department that he was convinced were out to get him. They had both felt that it was for the best but he knew deep down that it still bothered her immensely, regardless of her constant protestations. He would now often look at the stressed Poppy from his desk and see the sorrow that crept upon her face every time the busy Ness returned to his reclusive office. He instinctively found himself growing increasingly concerned about her emotional wellbeing, so much so in fact that he had now become pleasantly accustomed to their irregular, mutually and psychologically beneficial lunch appointments. He now considered them to be the highlight of his week because he could now connect to her on a deeper level, more so than he ever could have done when they had been dating.

  He was suddenly dragged away from his happy thoughts about his lunch appointments with the troubled Poppy by an irritated looking O’Donnell whom was angrily staring at him, irritated at being ignored and patiently awaiting a response to his unknown question. Just as a hesitant Merlyo was about to ask him what the question was, the illusive Gerber suddenly appeared out of nowhere, ready to explain his findings with all eagerness to the thankful detective. The clever Merlyo then took advantage of the unforeseen situation and immediately put on his hat and quickly led a confused Gerber forcefully by the shoulder back out into the rain and away from the two troublesome on looking men.

  Merlyo then spoke to the disgruntled looking O’Donnell and Kilbane whilst he was in the safety of the rain and under Gerber’s umbrella “Sorry gentlemen, it’s been lovely catching up with you but you’ll have to excuse us, we have a case to solve!” Merlyo then forcibly led the confused Gerber further past the sheet covered victim whilst keeping his head turned away from the troublesome two as the sheriff and his deputy looked on in agitated surprise. Gerber’s small and unruly umbrella barley fit the two of them as they stood there huddled up next to one another before Merlyo looked over his shoulder to see that the sheriff and his deputy where still just standing there and observing them.

  Gerber nervously fiddled with his Gladstone bag as he was unnerved by the forcible movements that where being made upon his person by the forceful detective. Merlyo then made a point to speak in a more persistent manner, eagerly wanting the two crooked cops to leave them immediately “Gentlemen! If you’ll please leave the crime scene thank you!?” The ill-mannered sheriff and his attack dog deputy then reluctantly left the two to discuss their secretive findings and proceeded to slowly walk back the way they had come, into the rain and towards the distant and unseen small crowd. Before the confused Gerber could say anything Merlyo, whom was still actively observing the two’s reluctant departure, then whispered to the confused Coroner “Check it out! The new crooked sheriff and his equally crooked deputy! Ha! What a joke!”

  Gerber appeared to be caught off guard at his strange statement and looked around at the two disappearing individuals whilst he pushed his wet spectacles back on and squinted to get a better view. A quiet Merlyo then whispered in Gerber’s ear whilst still keenly watching their departure into the gloomy distance “Jesus! How did a jerk like that win the sheriff’s election? That’s ‘a fix’ if I ever saw one! You see Gerber, the good sheriff there married the congressman’s daughter so they were obviously sent here by him to spy on our progress! Ha! Unbelievable!” A keenly listening Gerber then turned to look at the ever closer Merlyo whom had now allowed a smirk to develop upon his face whilst pleasantly looking at the pair finally disappear within the early morning rain. Merlyo then added to his last statement with some well-chosen remarks about the two “What a bunch of grade-a assholes! Completely corrupt in every sense of the word and a pair of total brainless red-neck hillbilly hicks! The new ‘schmuck’ sheriff and his deputy ‘douchebag’! Ha! What is the world coming too?”

  Gerber alarmingly pulled back from Merlyo because he was not one to gossip or get involved in petty squabbles between colleagues and simply smiled at the detective’s abusive remarks before moving his spectacles into a more comfortable position and replying “Yes! Well? Moving on detective, have you heard any news from Zalewski’s search yet?” A still smirking and preoccupied Merlyo immediately replied whilst still looking out for the troublesome two, ensuring that they had left for good “Nope! But he’ll meet us back at the station in an hour or two I suppose. We have the full body and head from yesterday so I’m hoping that he brings in some identifiable clothes items”

  After a moments quiet contemplation Gerber then continued to describe what he had found whilst Merlyo was still adamant on making sure that the two unwanted intruders left the vicinity altogether “Well, ok? As far as our tattooed friend here is concerned, same as before detective, tortured, murdered, cleaned, drained of blood and decapitated whilst alive at another location. I’ve managed to get the fingerprints plus we have the well preserved head from yesterday which I’ve taken the liberty of photographing last night whilst under the impressive lightening within my morgue. I must confess detective that my own photography ability is truly remarkable, having the foresight to clean the head and wrap it within a white towel so that it appears to be sleeping will really enhance…”

  Merlyo then interrupted the predictable Gerber, knowing that he would go off topic if he was given half the chance “Ok! That’s fascinating but what else about this body doctor?” The awkward Gerber then continued, slightly annoyed at being cut off so quickly whilst explaining his obviously exceptional photography skills “Oh yes! Of course, I do apologise detective. Where was I? Ah Yes! We have these six distinctive tattoos and the head so I’m cautiously optimistic that we should be able to identify him!” Merlyo satisfactorily nodded in agreement as he then motioned towards his dust covered Ford in the just visible distance, and the unseen boxcar beyond “That’s not all we got! I found some initialled underpants in that derelict boxcar over there, things are finally looking up!” The on looking Gerber nodded in agreement as Merlyo finally discarded his cigarette and instantly lit himself up a new one, obsessively adoring the tobaccos calming effects.

  The imaginative Gerber then eagerly spoke with a new enthusiasm whilst he was secretly impressed with the detective’s ability of relentless tobacco intake “I was thinking that, if by any chance we can’t identify him through the fingerprints, tattoos and clothes, well! I know this is a little unorthodox but perhaps we could make plaster death masks of the heads of all the unknown victims and display them at the forthcoming exhibition?” Merlyo looked at him with a confused expression upon his weary face before he spoke again “What exhibition?” to which a smiling Gerber eagerly replied “Why the Great Lakes Exhibition of course! There’ll be thousands of people there from all over the country that can look at the faces of all the unknown victims and perhaps we might get lucky with an identification?!”

  Merlyo paused for a minute and smiled whilst looking at the insightful Gerber before he eagerly spoke again, puffing eagerly on his quickly diminishing cigarette as he did so “You know that might just work! That’s a great idea! Hell! We can add your fantastic photographs and also even create a body chart to show this guy’s tattoos!” A smiling Gerber eagerly nodded in excited agreement before the excited Merlyo continued “You’re a genius Gerber! An insane genius!” Then the excited detective surprisingly clutched the coroner’s wet head with both hands before he joyously kissed his forehead with a new enthusiasm that flowed through him.

  With this new found sense of optimism both men then strolled back to the nearby Ford and hopped inside it before Merlyo turned the ignition on and started the reluctant engines. Merlyo then looked across the train tracks at the sheeted victim as the bricks started to move because a strong wind inflated the sheet and pulled it frantically up into the air. Suddenly a heavy gust of wind inflated the dirty sheet yet furth
er until it violently blew it off, scattering the four heavy bricks a few inches from where they had originally been and sending the sheet high up into the gloomy air. The corrupted naked tattooed flesh of the malicious killer’s latest victim then appeared to stare at both men, almost as if it had life still within it and was silently pleading with the pair not to leave it in such an isolated location.

  Merlyo was startled and just held the steering wheel as he anxiously looked at the rain tap-dancing off the tattooed riddled body. He then keenly noticed the ink that had created Jiggs start to unnaturally shimmer and vibrate again, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut before opening them again because he suspected his troublesome hallucinations where yet again invading his waking hours. The cartoon character yet again came alive within the deceased man’s flesh and Merlyo could not believe what his eyes where showing him, adamant that he required a full intake of sleeping pills when he got home that night. The comical looking cartoon character’s now looked petrified as he appeared to be statically running from an unseen enemy, dropping his cigar as he did so.