The disgusted Ness instinctively turned away yet again from the almost unrecognisable disembowelled intestines because he did not wish for his men to see him in such distress because it would only further exacerbate his own internal fear. As he had his back turned away from the disturbing sight he suddenly noticed that the hazy gloom instantly broke and revealed the unruly crowds of labourers in the distance whom were being flanked by the National Guardsmen. He secretly thought that this troubling sight was possibly making him even more ill than the heartless and headless torso behind him and so he reluctantly turned to face the lesser of two evils just as the two detectives knelt down near the body.
The detectives and Gerber now quietly spoke amongst themselves as the concealing mist once again sealed them all within their grim tomb of horror, strangely creating an unnatural greenish tinge around all within its ghostly grasp. As the rain came down harder Ness could feel the merciless mud slowly seeping into his ruined shoes and socks, causing him to be finally be unable to contain his anger anymore. The dishevelled and tremblingly cold safety director then spoke whilst still holding the handkerchief over his mouth, seeing three new targets for his inner hatred of his current situation “When the hell are you all going to solve this godforsaken case!? I mean for Christ sake! How many people have to have their heads pulled off and their hearts ripped out!?”
All three men looked at each other knowingly with raised eyebrows, not surprised at Ness’s lack of emotional control because of his prolonged substance abuse. The three of them knew that this was coming and they had been lucky that it had not already happened whilst being in close proximity of the troubled crowd earlier. After a silent moment whereby none moved or looked at the troubled lawman, Ness continued with unrelenting fury in his maddening eyes “I mean for god sake! We know that Rose Wallace was a victim and she, Andrassy and Flo all knew Dolezal so why not just arrest Dolezal!? Can you explain that to me? Why is he not in jail already?!”
Merlyo and Zalewski both slowly and reluctantly stood up as the steadfast Gerber remained by his corpse, all knowing that Ness knew very well why they, and the other detectives on the case, had not arrested the man. It was simply because after many interrogations most did not believe that he was capable of performing these gruesomely, well thought out crimes. Dolezal was a sad and sorry sight of a man whom was little more than a wretch upon society, a small man whom preferred the company of the bottle to others. He was also a man whom lacked the scheming behaviour and intelligence of the Mad Butcher and this showed within his numerous interrogations by the army of detectives whom had interviewed him. Ness was further infuriated when he did not obtain an immediate answer to his question and then continued to angrily berate the men with even more fury within his crackling voice “The newspapers are basically praising the Mad Butcher’s cleverness and cunning at avoiding detection, did you all know that? Do you know what the newspapers are offering? I’ll tell you because there offering $1000 for any information regarding his capture! $1000!”
Ness suddenly took a breather to relax himself and his racing heart before he continued in a slightly quieter and less emotionally charged voice “Some speculate that the reason he leaves no fingerprints and little evidence at the crime scenes is because he’s simply playing games with us, making us run round and round in circles. These blasted newspapers even say that he’s smarter than us!” Ness then pointed through the concealing mist to their previous location which was now blissfully unseen and continued “That’s what they’re saying about us! That’s why there laughing at us, at me! They think I’m incompetent! The Plain Dealer thinks the Mad Butcher is a wealthy doctor ‘blue blood’ who kills people from the lower classes for sport and then there’s the religious zealot notion! Which has the Mad Butcher believing that he’s ridding the world of prostitutes and homosexuals because ‘God told him too!’ Then there’s my personal favourite which explains that the Mad Butcher drains the blood of his victims and rips out there beating hearts because he’s a mythological GOD DAMN VAMPIRE!? MAYBE WE SHOULD ADD BELA LUGOSI AS A SUSPECT!”
Both detectives and the coroner attempted to refrain themselves from smiling at this latest newspaper nonsense without success, further infuriating Ness whom then continued when he saw their amused reaction at his serious plight “Let me read you this lovely article I read in this morning’s Cleveland News newspaper by non-other than Merlyo’s favourite ‘Mad Butcher obsessed’ reporter, George Otwell…” Ness then began to frantically rummage through his interior coat pockets until he triumphantly produced a slightly crumpled and folded up newspaper within his outstretched hand. He then promptly opened it up whilst the three men curiously looked on and read it’s headline story word for word “Of all the horrible nightmares come to life, the most shuddering is the fiend who decapitates his victims in the dark, dank recesses of Kingsbury Run. That a man of this nature should be permitted to work his crazed vengeance upon nine people in a city the size of Cleveland should be the city's shame. Even Edgar Allan Poe in his deepest, opium-maddened dream could not conceive a horror so painstakingly worked out!”
The disgusted Ness then tossed the newspaper into Merlyo’s chest, startling the silent detective as he furiously glared into his eyes, almost willing him into a fight. Ness then continued to speak after a moment of letting these troubling words saturate their individual systems “This gentleman is what I have to put up with on a daily basis! I’ve come to the conclusion that you three are purposefully doing this to me! You’re all against me! You’re all working with congressman Sweeney to oust me aren’t you? You all want me to fail and destroy my good reputation in the process! Tell you’re loathsome and fat master that I have no intention of leaving Cleveland and I have all the intention of running to be mayor after Burton leaves office! No one will deny me my great destiny to rule this city! NO ONE!”
Merlyo, Zalewski and Gerber now all looked at each other in amazement before Gerber then decided ignore the obviously delusional Ness and continue his work in examining the latest victim. The coroner did not have time for this nonsense and simply spoke in a calm manner as he reacquainted himself with the maggot riddled torso he knelt next too “I work for the taxpayers of Cleveland sir and I don’t answer to you! Now if you’ll kindly excuse me, I have work to do and I don’t have the time to entertain your drug induced and paranoid delusions!”
There was a deathly silence after Gerber’s surprisingly defiant words rang out upon the turbulent waters which small waves could be heard continually lapping against the nearby shore. The rain then began to pour down harder and hit off the hats of the remaining standing three, they all now faced off against each other in what felt like an old wild western shootout at sunrise. Merlyo and Zalewski where now both facing an obviously enraged and somewhat deranged looking Ness and with the added sight of the sporadic angry protestors behind him in the background, this caused both detectives to think that this would have made a great photograph for the morning newspapers.
A nervous Zalewski then broke the unbearable silence and spoke whilst awkwardly smiling in a vain attempt to deescalate the obviously volatile situation “Mr Ness, Sir! I think you’re mistaken and might I say that I think that you’re slightly overworked…” but before he could finish he was suddenly interrupted by an angry Merlyo whom had simply had enough of grovelling before this self-righteous opioid addict “No! Zalewski lets tell him the truth shall we!” Zalewski looked at Merlyo in an alarmingly confused manner whilst saying a silent “What!?” but Merlyo ignored his partners meaningless attempt to calm the situation down as he pushed his way past him.
Merlyo then powered his way through the thick wet consuming mud and rain until he faced the defiantly stubborn Ness head on and spoke “It must be lonely up there on your pedestal? You should get off your high horse for once and stop taking opium so that you can face the harsh reality! And that reality is that you’re a disgrace to the department! You belittle that office that you sit in and you’re pathetic with y
our juvenile and adolescent playboy antics!”
Merlyo paused as his frantic heart pumped adrenalin rich blood violently throughout his system, as if his body thought that he was in imminent danger before he eagerly continued “Your rampant opium use is making you paranoid and delusional about the very clean cops that put you into position in the first place! I mean look at the state of you! You’ve lost it! Not to mention that you hurt the ones you love, Edna, Evaline and now you’ve even managed to ruin Poppy’s life by making her your own personal WHORE!”
The furious Merlyo wanted to punch Ness but retained his composure as he continued with his emotional charged rant “You think that you can just call on her for sex whenever you feel like? And while you live the good life with a beautifully ignorant Evaline and Edna, Poppy has to suffer in pain!? I mean what kind of man are you anyway?! Ha! Your legendary drug taking is the worst kept secret in the department and…” Before he could continue the infuriated Ness interrupted him, tiring of his baseless accusations that where alarmingly accurate “My personal life is of little to no concern to you detective…” The angry Merlyo now interrupted him whilst forcibly pointing a finger directly into Ness’s angry face “YOU MADE IT MY CONCERN WHEN YOU HURT POPPY YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
Both men starred at each other in silence as lightening now filled the sky above, instantly releasing the heavy rain that now came down in a tremendous downpour. This heavy downpour instantly silenced the abusive distant crowds as they all fled for the nearest shelter with the utmost hast. After a moment whereby both men fiercely starred into each other’s intimidating eyes with a hatred of the purest quality, Ness then broke this viewing spectacle as he slowly took off his trusty patched worked hat and ran his fingers through his already messy hair. He then looked up at the brilliantly illuminated stormy rain clouds above, that continued to stomp down their authority upon them, before he took a step forward in the rain saturated mud. His foot effortlessly sank into the thick brown liquid until it completely disappeared, leaving now only inches between the two warring factions.
The two faces of the men where now so close that they could smell each other’s breath upon one another, before Ness then quietly and calmly spoke whilst a sly smirk developed across his sinisterly deranged looking face “When will you get it? She loves me, not you! She always comes running back to me because I’m not only good in the sack but I have the money and fame too, or haven’t you figured that out yet DETECTIVE!?” The grimly serious looking Merlyo then replied to his hurtful remarks which alarmingly resonated as truth deep down within his core being “You’re a complete asshole who loves only himself! Your good days of being an American hero are long behind you, locked-up forever with Al Capone on Alcatraz. Look at you now? Always hammered on your beloved opium that you keep stashed away in your waistcoat pocket in that lovely silver art deco pill box of yours. I mean what’s that about? Are you trying to glamorise your habit or something? You’re pathetic! A sad and sorry little man who’s a shadow of your former self!”
Merlyo then proceeded to lean back and slowly look up and down at the dishevelled lawman with a distinctive look of contempt within his disgusted eyes. A shocked looking Zalewski was now joined by a curiously on looking Gerber, whom eagerly adjusted his round spectacles so that he could get a better view of this fascinatingly unique confrontation. Both looked on in a transfixed state of silent curiosity as the confrontation persisted and a confidently resurgent Merlyo spoke yet again, taking pleasure in Ness apparently uncomfortable silence “You’re certainly not ‘untouchable’ anymore are you Ness? You gave up on yourself a long time ago, just like you gave up on your poor wife!”
An infuriated Ness stood there for another silent moment to let what the insolent detective said sink in and saturate his very being before he looked closer into the assured detectives eyes and finally spoke in a sinisterly controlled tone “You’d better solve this godforsaken case soon you arrogant smuck! Or you’ll find yourself like the rest of the corrupt cops whom I sacked or like these unemployed, low-life bums over there on skid row!” The defiant Merlyo held his fist tightly because he wanted to punch Ness in his smug little face until he felt Zalewski’s hand grip his wrist from behind.
This instantly prevented his aggressive response because his partner instinctively knew what Merlyo intended to do and decided to stop him before he did something rash. The vengeful Ness saw this timely intervention by his reliable partner and hastily voiced his observations “Go on loser! Do it! Come on! DO IT! If you punch me then I’ll have you out on the street so fast you won’t even know what hit you! Perhaps getting your useless ass off this case is all we need to finally solve it!”
The only words that Merlyo could understand through his barley controllable rage like haze was “off this case” and he suddenly thought of the Lady of the Lake, immediately calming himself down and relaxing his adrenalin fuelled and shaking fist. Merlyo had to see this case through to the bitter end no matter what the cost and even if it meant sacrificing his own meaninglessly pointless life in the process. He had to avenge the tormented Lady of the Lake and save her lost soul from the hellish purgatory that she was currently confined within and upon seeing Meryo’s momentary lapse of concentration, Ness suddenly screamed at the lost looking detective “WELL!? COME ON MAN! DO IT!”
Merlyo just stood there silently as Ness’s furious salvia spattered upon his motionless face, which now expressed a surprising look of bemused confusion. He then shook his head to try and regather his erratically conflicted thoughts until Ness’s angry face slowly re-emerged through the haze of the relentless rain. Merlyo was both surprised and confused and immediately stepped back from the now in focus Ness and slid-off his hat, wishing to break away from the aggression that only a moment ago drove him to the brink of disaster.
After a brief moments silence whereby only the thunder and lightning above could be heard, a search diver broke through the turbulent waters surface and again hastily added an additional body part the already full sheet which lay near Gerber’s feet. All looked at this rude interruption from the bemused search diver as he swiftly went back on his way after seeing this and submerged himself back into the calmer depths of the Cuyahoga River. Merlyo’s lips where now quivering in fear as this fear also expressed itself upon his trembling and confused looking face whilst a newly confident Ness walked up beside him, leaned-in and whispered into his ear “Solve this case before it solves you!”
A satisfied Ness then started to slowly trudge his way back through the thick mud and back towards his beloved silver Scarab which gleamed like a lighthouse beckon within the gloom. Merlyo was still confused and preoccupied with disturbing thoughts of the Lady of the Lake as she saturated his mind as much as the rain saturated the surrounding mud. Whilst Ness proceeded to slowly wade through the uncompromisingly thick mud he momentarily stopped and shouted back to Merlyo, considering many of the harsh realities he had highlighted to him and wanting to emphasise his victory over the defeated detective “SOLVE THIS CASE BEFORE IT SOLVES YOU!”
After this powerfully charged remark he then lowered his head, took a deep breath in and slowly trudged off through the unforgiving mud and rain and back towards the unwelcoming crowd that eagerly awaited his imminent arrival. Gerber immediately turned around due to the multitude of bubbles that where causing a significant disturbance upon the turbulent water’s surface. The bubbles suddenly erupted into a full on barrage whilst they pre-emptively released their “gift” of foul odour onto the choppy water’s surface.
Suddenly two parts of a headless female dismembered torso and an accompanying burlap bag sprung up from the murky uncharted depths, as if it was patiently waiting for the prior argument to finish before making its dramatic appearance. Lightening announced its macabre entry back into this world with a flurry of successive thunderous strikes that landed upon the Cuyahoga bridges flimsy metal frame and caused a few screams of protestors to sail upon the turbulent wind. Gerber then hastily took off
his spectacles and frantically cleaned the irritating raindrops that had accumulated upon them whilst he had so eagerly watched the prior confrontation.
He wanted to get a better look at the three macabre blurry floating objects that he had just seen and quickly rubbed his eyes before he hastily put his clean spectacles back on. His weary eyes then slowly refocused upon another fresh victim and he curiously raised his left eyebrow with intrigue. It strangely beckoned to him with in all its hideously horrific clarity, sinisterly calling out to him like an otherworldly sirens call that intended to be heard by him alone.
The preoccupied detectives Merlyo and Zalewski both stood uneasily over a smelly, rancid and filth-ridden swimming pool which had accumulated all manner of garbage upon its turbulent surface. The wind and rain buffeted against their ill-fitting undercover hobo clothes as they depressingly looked into the murky depths of the pool which bottom was shrouded within an impenetrable layer of green. This long ago disused swimming pool was in such a position next to the street that many angry onlookers had already congregated together in order to view the grim spectacle of a police diver collecting numerous severed body parts.
The preoccupied diver cautiously brought them up to the surface and placed them carefully upon a dirty white sheet next to the water’s edge, somewhat reminiscent of the recent Cuyahoga River homicide scene whereby two unidentified victims’ remains had slowly accumulated over time. The dirty water that had so cleverly retained its dark secret was now giving it up to the unsuspecting world above and forcing many of the curious onlookers to attempt to identify the numerous body parts as they were laid out on the sheet. The dirty sheet was held firmly in place by a large and unsightly rusty old sealed can that had been cleverly placed there by the diver within its centre so that the macabre collection would accumulated around it, forming a circle of human tragedy that was slowly growing ever bigger as time passed. The sheet already held a grim selection of numerous muddy body parts which had all been neatly wrapped in brown paper and held together with elastic bands. Legs, thighs, feet and hands where being discovered as the nearby crowd was angrily watching this ever expanding collection of shame slowly transform into a horror amongst horrors.
The Noir Evil Page 33