by K. C. Sivils
I don’t know your name. I don’t even know why I made this message. You frighten me…but I watch. I watch all the time. There are…bad people everywhere. I don’t know for sure, but I think you aren’t one of those. Alice…at Joe’s…she seems to like you. I watch through the windows and you don’t see me. I don’t like it when people see me.
The priest seems to like you and I think he is a good man. He tries to help the street kids. So I’m going to take a chance. I know you’re a cop and cops are supposed to keep monsters from hurting people.
She paused and looked around before continuing. There is a monster in Capital City.
I didn’t see him kill the younger girl. I only heard her scream. But I saw him put the older one in his hover car. I know he’s going to do horrible things to her. Monsters do that.
Tears appeared in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. I know.
The words chilled him to his core. Some pervert, some sick psycho perverted monster had hurt her and somehow she’d escaped.
I only saw the monster from behind. He’s the same size as the taxi driver but thicker, more muscular. His hair is slicked back with lots of stuff in it to keep the wind from messing it up. He…he had nice clothes. I could see that much. A really nice coat, it was stylish and looked warm. I’m sorry I didn’t see more of him, but I did get a good look at his hover car before it disappeared into the fog.
I can tell you about it. She paused, an even more distraught expression appeared on her face. I wish I knew more about hover cars. I know this. It’s expensive and black. I think it’s a Hovertron. I don’t know what kind.
He saw me. I know he did. He’s hunting me and that’s why he killed the other girls. She paused again, uncertain if she should continue. I should leave Beta Prime. But I can’t. I lost one sister. I have to find my other sister. She’s all I have left. I tracked her to Capital City. I can’t leave until I find her. Please, find this monster. Make it safe so I can find my sister. People hunt for me. I don’t need a monster hunting me too.
The image stopped, frozen on the screen.
Her face, her hair, it all haunted me. Against my better judgment, I opened up a file I’d promised myself I would never watch again. I played the video and stopped it. Right before the perp slit her throat. I’d seen her in my nightmares over and over since that day, in one strange form or another. I looked at the image and looked back at the image on the screen.
It was possible. I hoped not, but it was possible.
My comm buzzed. As usual the thing irritated me. I fished it out and glanced at it. Father Nathan was calling. Him I would talk to.
“Father.”
“Toby’s dead.”
The news hit me hard. Another death.
“I’m sorry.” Not much but I didn’t know what else to tell the man.
“Before he died Toby identified the hover car that hit him. I want you to know so you can find who did it.”
I knew immediately what car had hit Toby.
“It was a late model black Hoverton.”
“Yeah,” Father Nathan replied, surprised I’d known the type of hover car that had hit Toby. “He said it was a Hovertron X-1100. I’m not that into cars so I took his word for it.”
I sighed. It felt like the entire mass of the galaxy was pressing down on me. “It gets worse Father. I got a tip from an informant. The driver is the perp who killed Anna and Lucy.”
Father Nathan broke the link.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Josephson sat and watched the snow accumulate on the hoverway from his hotel room. He understood Sully’s desire to keep him safe. He’d realized in his short time with the veteran Inspector just how little he really knew about being a cop let alone a detective. In fact, in many ways he was naïve. Given the fact he’d picked up how intensely Sully disliked Markeson, he began to wonder if Markeson had fudged his detective scores so he could be promoted. Young and naïve he’d make an easy scapegoat.
Sitting there doing nothing was getting old. He had no doubt Sully was up to something, working toward breaking the cases they were working on while he sat it out in the safety of a hotel in a suburb just east of the Northeast Quadrant of Capital City, the best part of town.
Fishing out his comm, he entered Sully’s number and established a link, sending his superior a short message. As soon as he hit send he realized Sully would probably just ignore him. He closed the curtain and sat down on the bed and wondered how long Sully would keep him hiding away for his own safety.
Josephson’s comm buzzed and he looked at it where it lay, on the table by the window. He reached for it and looked at the message. He smiled. Maybe Sully trusted him a little after all.
---
Alice awoke with a start. Cold air came wafting through the entrance to the sleeping area in the dormitory. Footsteps approached. Whoever was coming made no effort to hide their approach. Father Nathan’s tall form entered the room to Alice’s relief.
“I’m sorry. I’ve startled you,” the priest whispered.
“It’s okay. The children are sleeping.”
Despair rolled off Father Nathan as the weary priest lowered himself slowly into a chair next to Alice.
“Toby passed away. There was too much damage.”
Alice reached for the priest’s hand and squeezed it. Father Nathan pulled his hand away and smiled weakly as he did so.
“I came to this planet, to this parish, to help kids like these. To help build a sense of community where people take care of each other. It is one of God’s most important commandments, to love one another as we would love ourselves. And now three of the children I wanted to help are dead. Killed by some vile, evil monster who preys on those who can’t defend themselves.”
“Father, before you came, nobody cared about these kids. The people in the neighborhood would just as soon see them in prison or have them simply vanish. Problem solved.”
“Alice, you’re kind. But it doesn’t change the fact I failed those kids.”
“Father, that predator would have killed them whether you are here or not. Now, at least the others will be cared for. Toby and Anna were the oldest, weren’t they?”
“Yes,” was the sad reply.
“They took care of the younger ones. Maybe God sent you here because this would happen.”
The priest smiled at Alice’s kind words. The act revealed just how deep the lines around his eyes were, how weather-beaten his face was. As she gazed at the wounded man’s face, Alice noticed for the first time the myriad of small scars along his left jawline and the crook in his nose from being broken a few too many times.
“Alice, would you watch the children a little bit longer. I need to be alone for a bit. I don’t know how I’m going to tell them Toby is gone and that Anna and Lucy won’t be coming back either.”
“Need to pray to God?” Alice asked gently.
Father Nathan stood up and gazed at Alice, the easy smile vanishing from his face. “More like shake my fist at my Creator and vent my rage at the injustice of it all.”
Surprised by the Father’s harsh reply, Alice tilted her head to the side in puzzlement. “Is that an appropriate thing for a priest to do?”
“It won’t be the first time Alice. Probably won’t be the last either. But He understands. I’m not angry for myself.” Father Nathan turned to leave. He stopped in the entrance to the sleeping area. “They were just kids, Alice. Evil like this is beyond me. I can’t explain it and I’ll never understand why it happens. If I can’t vent my rage to God and expect Him to listen, then my faith means nothing. I need Him to listen even if He doesn’t answer or explain why.”
---
Sarah leaned against the heating unit wrapped in the blanket she’d taken from Sullivan’s place. She didn’t think he would mind. The warmth from the heating unit combined with her coat and two other blankets she’d been able to bring with her from the St. Gabriel almost kept Sarah warm. She’d seen Father Nathan return from the hospital. His body
language told her young Toby had not survived his encounter with the monster. She was glad the priest had convinced the younger members of the gang of pickpockets to stay at the church. It was too cold for them to be out in the neighborhood without the older kids to watch out for them.
A taxi pulled up and stopped, slowly setting down on the pavement beneath it. It would be Ralph, Alice’s husband. Sarah watched as Alice ran out from the dormitory and leaned over to speak to Ralph through the window. They spoke for several minutes before Alice returned the way she had come.
Sarah smiled as Ralph sat in his taxi alone. She knew Alice would win the argument. It only took four minutes for Ralph to give in and get out of his taxi. He locked it up and hurried in out of the cold, following Alice back into the dormitory.
---
The Cowboy looked down at the mess on the rug in his bedroom. It saddened him, but it was necessary. He could not take his wife and children with him. The trophies he’d taken would have to do.
He’d packed everything he was going to take and moved it to the foyer for pickup in the morning. It would be delivered to a freight forwarding company. Once he’d established himself on a new planet, he’d have his possessions and treasures forwarded to himself.
The Cowboy had finished with the financial work. His accounts had been moved, the money hidden. Since his partners intended to betray him, betray his hard work on their behalf, he’d decided they should each pay a severance fee. He’d taken twenty-five percent of their funds from the accounts they believed he knew nothing about.
The Cowboy smiled at the expressions of shock and rage he imagined on his partners’ faces when they learned about the generous “severance package” they’d given him. Of course, if time permitted, he’d tell them to their faces before he slit their throats.
Unfortunately, time was something he did not have much of at the moment. The Cowboy checked himself in the mirror and adjusted his decorative neckpiece one final time. He glanced at the chronometer chip in his left forearm.
Twenty-four hours. He was up to the challenge. He’d given himself twenty-four hours to find the special one. If he was the supreme predator he knew himself to be, he’d find his precious prey and take a trophy from her dead remains.
He slipped his best greatcoat on and checked the pockets. Everything was where it should be. He was armed and ready for the hunt. A quick check of his comm to see if his ticket was ready and to confirm it was time to leave his house for the final time.
Pausing by the door, he glanced about a final time, making certain everything was in order. He picked up his cane and pressed the metal band around the grip, testing it. Within seconds his special brand appeared, rising from the metal end piece that normally concealed. Heat and red light glaring as the branding iron reached its peak temperature. He released the pressure on the trigger and watched as the branding iron quickly cooled and receded back into its housing disappearing from view.
He opened the front door, stepped out, pulled it to and vanished into the night.
---
Brushing the snow off his coat and stomping his feet to loosen any snow or ice still adhering to his boots, Josephson looked about one final time before slipping into the little used entrance to his precinct. He walked slowly in the dark passages, not wanting to turn on any lights or use his torch. Listening for other officers on duty wandering about doing their jobs allowed Josephson to avoid anyone noticing him.
He slipped into the detective’s area and sat down in his cubicle. In seconds his computer booted up and he entered the access code Sully had given him. Thirty minutes later he had found what Sully needed to know. He’d written down the information on an old-fashioned paper pad and not his tablet. Sully’s paranoia had rubbed off on him a little bit. Josephson realized there was no way to know if his police force issued tablet had been compromised or not.
Displaying the same degree of caution he’d used to enter the precinct, Josephson made his way out. He walked the three blocks to a cabstand and took a hover cab back to his hotel.
The entire trip had taken him a little over three hours. He slipped into his room and checked it. He was alone. A quick sweep for surveillance devices verified he could talk to Sully.
Josephson pulled out the burner comm he’d hidden before leaving and entered Sully’s number. Sully’s gruff response told him he’d awakened his boss. To Josephson’s surprise, he felt a bit of satisfaction in causing the older detective some discomfort by waking him at that miserable hour of the morning.
“You better have something for me,” Sully groused.
“You are not going to believe what I found out,” Josephson blurted out. “That database is amazing.”
“Well? Aren’t you going to tell me?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Markeson pulled his hover car up to the valet in the underground parking of the government building. Without a word he left the car hovering for the valet as he entered the building, ignoring the officer on duty.
Within minutes he exited the elevator and walked quickly down the hall to the secluded, private meeting room. He entered quickly and let the door shut with a bang behind him. It was long past time he take charge.
“Glad to see everyone is here,” Markeson said briskly, nodding to the three men sitting at the meeting table.
Governor Rankin frowned at the sudden entrance by Markeson. Mayor Xue sat in silence, concern and stress etched on his face. The ever irritable and emotional Devereaux jumped to his feet and began to pace.
“You’re late Detective. We don’t pay you to be late,” the trillionaire snapped.
“No,” Markeson growled. “You pay me to take care of problems. Problems one of your own caused. If the solution of those problems doesn’t fit your neat agenda for the day, too bad.”
“Quit bickering. There’s plenty of time to point fingers later,” Rankin snapped. “Convince me this hearing is going to work.”
Markeson sat down and glared at Devereaux until the man stopped pacing and took a seat.
“Understandably, the media has been making a big deal about this serial killer, The Cowboy. Sullivan has been the Inspector of record since he caught one of the murders and I left him in charge. So, he will get the blame for not making an arrest.”
“That has nothing to do with our problem,” Devereaux protested. “This Sullivan is getting too close to our operation!”
“It has everything to do with our problem,” Markeson said quietly. “The killer, this Cowboy, is the source of both problems.”
Markeson kept his face blank as he observed the shocked expressions on the faces of his partners. “It would seem our esteemed friend killed a certain mining foreman who talked to Sullivan and couldn’t resist leaving his mark.”
The bent detective paused to let his words sink in for full impact.
“It get’s better. It turns out there have been more deaths. Three more miners died of the cough yesterday evening. That investigation is also Sullivan’s,” Markeson informed the men with a smirk.
“He arrested two guards from Mine Number Two. Both were men on our “payroll” so to speak.”
The Mayor’s face turned white at the revelation. “Have they talked?”
“No, and they won’t. Because they can’t.”
“What do you mean,” Mayor Xue stuttered.
“What do you think I mean,” Markeson replied, his tone low and menacing. “I handled it myself. The bodies will be found early today, before the hearing starts. The booking records show Sullivan brought them in. Everything points to him.”
Staring at the ceiling with the fingertips of both hands pressed together, Governor Rankin spoke firmly. “I still don’t see how this solves our problem?”
“Simple. We’re going to show Sullivan is a bent cop. He popped our boy Zeke in the spaceport so he could horn in on the smuggling. How did he know to pop Zeke? Irrelevant. He’s a cop, so he could have figured things out off world. Sullivan’s been too busy trying t
o handle the smuggling to do his real job, catch a serial killer. The two guards wouldn’t play ball so he got rid of them.”
“Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds,” Devereaux blurted out, jumping up to resume his pacing.
“Yes and that’s the beauty of it. We paint Sullivan as bent, incompetent and uncaring about the citizens of our wonderful city. Hanging the death of the two guards on him takes care of his poking around in our business and paints him as a psychotic killer himself.”
“None of this has anything to do with the actual hearing today,” Devereaux protested. “My daughter was legitimately traumatized by this madman Sullivan. Zeke was simply negotiating for a restructuring of his share of the operation, be it an extreme method of doing so.”
“Yeah, and Sullivan did us a favor by blowing his brains out,” Markeson snapped. “I didn’t spend a month following that stimhead around on the Rim Planets sniffing out his contacts just to leave him around to cause problems.”
Governor Rankin redirected his gaze to the men in the meeting room, fixing each one at a time with his hard stare. “What about his partner?”
“He won’t be a problem,” Markeson answered.
“Make this work Markeson.”
“Governor, by the time the hearing is over and the media has been filled in, the good people of Capital City and Beta Prime will be screaming for Inspector Sullivan’s head.”
“The media?” Devereaux glared at Markeson. “Not one word of what you plan on having the media tell the people is true!”
“Devereaux,” Rankin laughed cynically, “the media’s job is not to uncover the truth and report it. Their job is to tell the public what we, the elites, want the people to think.”
Some of the color began to return to Xue’s face upon hearing Rankin’s words. “Yes, it will work. The media will shape the public’s opinion. All that matters is the story be entertaining. The truth comes in handy only in the details of the telling of the story.”