Justifiable Insanity 2

by Jauwel

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental.

  © 2015 Jauwel Norfolk, VA

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the author. With exception to reviewers, magazine articles, newspaper, and radio host who have permission who may quote brief passages for public display.

  Justifiable Insanity II

  Lost in The Shadows

  Only the insane have strength enough to survive. Only the survivors determine what is sane.

  ~ Source Unknown

  Prologue ~ December 1988

  Karl Williams pulled away from Lincoln Memorial Hospital with twin infant boys in the back of a Yellow Cab; his heart was full of hate with a block of ice that no one could break. Although it was not their protocol, the nurses in the hospital supplied him with two car seats so he could take the babies home, along with two bags full of supplies for each of the boys. From everything Karl had gone through, the nurses figured he wouldn’t be thinking clearly regarding what the babies would need, but rather of the person he’d lost.

  Losing his wife, Rachel, in the delivery room while she gave birth to the twins was not what he envisioned his perfect family would be. They didn’t know that he had been saving money from each of his checks so they would need for nothing. He filled the house with enough supplies to last them for months. He wanted to make sure he did the right thing; he wanted to be a good dad and not like his father who ran out on his mom when he was three years old. For the first time in his life, he started to realize why a man would snap and leave his family behind. What did he have to live for? He wanted to run away, leave it all behind because without Rachel by his side, nothing else mattered.

  He looked back from the passenger seat of the cab into the backseat and watched both beautiful babies sleeping in their car seats. Initially, there was supposed to be one baby, now he had two, twin boys, both born healthy, with strong with fat cheeks, and all their fingers and toes plus they had full bellies. They were perfect. The nurses took very good care of them, just like a mother would her own child. Karl continued to gaze at the sleeping babies; they were beautiful. As a proud father, his heart should have been filled with joy. Instead, it was filled with anger and rage. He wanted to smile because they looked so much like her. Regrettably, the only thing he felt was pain.

  Finally, the cab reached the small apartment; it was supposed to be the loving home his boys grew up in. Right now, it was just a dark empty space, each corner drenched with sadness and gloom. However, he hoped it would be filled with happiness and affection. Karl took the sleeping babies inside the apartment and left them in their car seats on the floor. He sat down in his favorite chair and looked at them. Then he looked around the house with tears in his eyes. Every corner reminded him of the love of his life, Rachel.

  Not only did Rachel die from complications of labor after being stabbed in the stomach, but it was also said that one of the twins had caused her so much additional trauma that it assisted in her death. Her body was strong enough to endure the attacker stabbing her in the stomach while they were on their way home from the movies, but not strong enough to push out the first twin. The first twin was selfish, almost causing his brother to lose his life as well. Karl was so distraught he didn’t even bother to name the boys, so the nurses at the hospital named them something that would honor the woman he had lost. Karl preferred to call them Thing One and Thing Two.

  Even though he promised Rachel he would stop drinking, Karl went to the refrigerator, grabbed a beer, popped the top then turned the bottle up in his mouth and quickly downed the cold drink. Within minutes, he thought of a plan that would make his little family happy again. He looked at both babies, now squirming in their car seats. It was probably time to feed them.

  Karl knew what he needed to do. For the most part, he knew how to make his family right. He wanted to make sure there was someone out there that felt the pain he felt. He needed to make sure someone paid for what he was feeling. And they would. He looked at his children one more time before sitting back in the chair. Smiling devilishly, he formulated a plan that would make his world right again.

  Chapter 1

  Awakened out of his sleep by something hard hitting the wall, Dennis Parker jumped up not quite sure where he was. The last thing he remembered was seeing a familiar face before he was forced quietly out of the airport and shoved into a car; everything else was a blur. He tried to remember all that he’d seen when the car pulled off. However, he was quickly blindfolded while an older black man drove the car.

  Dennis looked around the room that he was locked in for anything that could help him escape. The smell of damp mustiness in the air severely aggravated the sinus issues that had plagued him all of his life. A dim light hung over his head which caused the rest of the room to be extremely dark, to the point that he didn’t know the time of day. One bed sat in the small, closet-like room; it looked as if it used to be a storage room that had been cleaned out. Suddenly, he heard another noise. He ran to the thick, wooden door, hoping someone could tell him where he was or anything about Razon. “Hello, are you out there? Can you hear me? Is anyone out there?” He called out, wondering if anyone could hear him.

  He could hear Dennis Parker, the father of Razon Parker, calling out from the other side of the room. He had Dennis locked in a room with only a large, wooden door and a thin mattress on a weak, wire bed frame. He knew Dennis Parker, Mr. High Society, was not accustomed to such mediocre amenities. For that reason, he wanted to make him as uncomfortable as possible. Mr. Parker was used to the finer things that life had to offer. In fact, he probably never had to struggle a day in his life, but he would struggle now. Dennis and Razon Parker would struggle for the rest of their lives.

  Banging on the door again, Dennis was hoping someone would hear him. “Who’s out there? Please talk to me? Who are you?” Dennis pleaded.

  Listening to Dennis from the other side of the door, he had to stop to think. The question rang in his head like a loud bell. Who was he? Over the years, he’d had so many different names, ranging from Jamal to Andre and from Chris to Michael. Therefore, over time, he had lost track of who he was. Honesty, he didn’t really know. What he was certain of was that Dennis Parker could answer that question for him, but for now, he would have a little fun with him.

  “My name is not important at this time. We will both have time to discuss names in the future.” He said out loud. Before his time was over with Dennis Parker, he would have all the answers he needed.

  “Well ok, that’s fine.” Dennis lightened the tone of his voice to try to reason with the man on the other side of the door. “My name is Denn…,” he started to say but was quickly cut off.

  “I know who the hell you are! Dennis Parker, age 53–occupation, architect–one son, police officer, Razon Parker. Yeah, I know exactly who you are. You and your son are the biggest criminals in the city. Maybe your son should be investigating you?” Due to there being no sound on the other side of the door, he concluded his statement. Could it be that Dennis was thinking about all the things he’d just said, trying to figure out how he knew about his life? Or perhaps he was pissing his pants, wondering how he got in this situation and if he would make it out alive. Dennis could think of a million things, but there was no way he had any idea of the things he would do to him.

  Dennis sat in the small room and listened, realizing the voice sounded familiar. He thought back to when he was at the airport waiting for his flight. He stopped at a café in the airport that sold hi
s favorite blueberry scones and hot tea. Furthermore, Dennis remembered the day was a little chilly, so the hot tea was perfect. In addition, he recalled sitting at the table reading his newspaper as he sipped his tea when someone came and sat at the table. Although Dennis couldn’t remember very much, he was aware that there was something exceptionally familiar about the man who sat down. When he started talking about Razon being in danger and showed him a video of the shoot-out at the diner, the only thing that filled Dennis’ mind was if Razon was ok and where was he. Dennis searched his mind quickly to think of all the events that took place at the airport.

  Dennis remembered the last thing he said to him before they left the airport. Before long, everything came rushing back. “Like I said, if you want to see your son alive again, you will slowly, quietly follow me. Please understand my own death is not an option, I will not hesitate to kill you and myself. I will also make arrangements to have your son killed as well as his pretty girlfriend, Captain Coleman.” Then Dennis realized he recognized the voice from the airport.

  “Are you the same man who escorted me from the airport? I would like to talk to that man.” He remained quiet; therefore, Dennis began to plead again. This time, the desperation in his voice was clear. There was nothing he could say that would prevent him from using Dennis as a method to torture Razon. “Please, let’s talk about this.”

  “Talk about what? There’s nothing to talk about?” He wanted nothing more than to open the door at that precise moment and chop Dennis into a million pieces. However, he had other plans for Dennis. Right now, he needed something and intended to get it.

  Suddenly, Dennis could hear his cell phone ring from the other side of the door. He already knew that it was Razon looking for him. Dennis was like a clock, he was always on time and always kept in contact. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been locked in the room, but he was certain that it was Razon looking for him.

  “Oh, looks like you have a phone call; I wonder who could be calling you.” He taunted Dennis, imagining that he was going crazy as a result of not being able to answer his phone. “Awww, it’s your bouncing baby boy looking for his daddy. Maybe I should just pick up the phone and tell him where he can find you. He needs to be here too.” He smirked sarcastically. On the caller ID screen, it displayed that it was in fact Razon calling. There was also an image of a cozy picture of father and son. He never had a father, mother, brothers, or sisters. Having a family of his own was something he had always dreamed of. The more he looked at the picture, the more he wanted to answer the phone and tell Razon how close his father was to death, but not yet.

  “Leave my son the fuck alone you monster.” Dennis attempted to divert King’s attention from Razon, even if it meant his life.

  He could hear Dennis crying on the other side of the door, but his tears meant nothing to him. Thus, he smiled and continued to look at the still ringing phone. There was nothing Dennis could do to make him feel sorry for him. He didn’t care if he cried. Actually, it was music to his ears. He hoped he was in pain, so maybe for the first time in his life, he could feel the pain he’d felt.

  This would make the eighth time Razon had called within the last hour, looking for his father. King wondered how Razon felt. By now, he was sure Dennis knew he never made his flight. Did he call around the airport looking for him?

  Did he check the hospitals in the area to see if anyone had heard anything of his father’s whereabouts? Just the thought of Razon lost and confused, searching for his father was enough to put a smile on his face.

  King could hear Dennis continue to call out to allow him to use the phone to call Razon. He would say anything he wanted him to say, Dennis just didn’t want to die without hearing Razon’s voice one last time. King continued to laugh boisterously at the torment Dennis and Razon must have been experiencing. Although amusing to watch them suffer, he didn’t have time to sit around; he had work to do. Now it was the time to make sure Razon knew not only who he was, but what he wanted from him.

  Chapter 2

  The ambulance lights almost blinded Razon Parker as the paramedics loaded the still unconscious Captain Lisa Coleman into the back of the ambulance. Razon tried calling his father again. After his calls went unanswered, he became even more worried. There was too much going on in his life and his two most important people were in trouble. Razon needed to be certain that Lisa would be alright. He needed to see her open her eyes and talk to him. Before the paramedics could close the ambulance doors, Razon jumped in the back with her. He didn’t want to leave her side; he had done that once before and she got hurt; it wouldn’t happen again. While in the ambulance, the paramedics moved around him as the driver took off flying down the aisle. He only understood bits and pieces of what they were saying as they checked her blood pressure, making sure she was stable before they got to the hospital.

  If he had been listening, perhaps he would have understood, but his only focus was ensuring they took care of Lisa. The only word he heard clearly was concussion. However, there was nothing concrete about their diagnosis. Quickly, one medic ripped at her clothes and began to insert an IV needle into her vein as the other took her blood pressure. Razon held onto her hand, tightly, hoping and praying she would wake up. The way the medics looked at Razon indicated he was in the way. Nevertheless, he would not leave her side. One of the medics tried to get Razon to move back a little, but after seeing the look of death in his eyes, he permitted Razon to stay beside her.

  There was nothing he could do other than look at Lisa Coleman’s beautiful face and blame himself for calling her to the diner and putting her in that situation. Her smooth, once flawless cocoa brown skin now had scratches all over it from the broken glass. Additionally, she had a deep gash underneath her left eye that was still bleeding. The medics said all they could do was keep her stable until they reached the hospital. Razon continued to hold her hand, rubbing his finger across her palm. He would give anything for her to wake up and yell at him, cuss him out, or say anything, as long as she woke up. Finally, the ambulance turned the corner and in one swift move turned around to back up to the emergency room doors.

  “Officer Parker,” one of the medics said to Razon. “We’re going to do everything we can; I want you to stay calm so we can continue to help her. I have to ask that you move aside.” Razon felt that if he released her hand, he would lose her forever. At this point, he had no choice but to let her go.

  The medics rushed her into Paul D. Tucker Memorial Hospital as the emergency staff swiftly ran to her side, checking her vitals and getting a report from the paramedics. Next, they raced her down the hallway as the nurses pointed them to the first open room where doctors were already waiting to assist her. Razon increased his speed, rushing off behind them.

  Tucker Memorial was not usually packed, but on this particular night it was. Razon pushed through the crowd of people until he could no longer see what room they were taking her to. There was nothing left to do but stop at the nurses’ station to see if there had been any information on which room Lisa would be in. As a result of assisting so many people, there was no way the only nurse there could get an answer to his question right away. Hence, Razon simply went into the waiting area, stuck in his own thoughts, and replaying the events that led up to that point. The mysterious box that was left at his doorstep with the missing items from the previous victims’ crime scenes, along with a picture of Lisa, and the newspaper clipping of her parents’ death still haunted him.

  He wondered if Smoove, Lance, or any other members of the 10th Mob crew were behind the murders. During the gunfight at the diner, Lance was nowhere to be seen. Usually, he and Smoove were inseparable. Some things weren’t connecting with the way the ambush occurred, so he wasn’t sure if 10th Mob were responsible for the murders after all. Typically, Smoove and Lance wanted people to spread rumors that 10th Mob was the most ruthless gang around, but not enough to where the police could potentially connect them to any crimes. On top of that, this didn’t seem l
ike the kind of thing he could expect from Smoove and Lance. Razon began to think about the crime scenes–how they appeared to be out of control at one point and look meticulously planned the next. Razon may not have been sure about many things; however, the one thing he was sure of was the killer was after him. Police officers could create enemies on a daily basis, and Razon was sure he had his share. At this point, there was no way to tell who was responsible.

  Before long, Razon heard familiar voices coming down the hallway, in particular, Razon’s partner, Larry Gibson, along with a couple of his fellow officers. They were there to check on Lisa’s condition. Once they noticed Razon sitting in the chair beside Lisa’s bed, their conversation became more serious and they stopped all the unnecessary chatter.

  Larry could see that Razon was overly concerned about Lisa’s well-being. Hence, it was not the way they needed to approach him; they needed to have more respect for their captain. Larry took control and told everyone they needed to calm down. Then he walked over to Razon who still had an expression on his face that read he would kill anyone that got in his face.

  “How is she?” Larry asked, hoping to hear something positive. Razon merely stared at Larry, who understood that look meant she was not doing well.

  “I want them all…” Razon started to say, but Larry cut him off.

  “We’re gonna turn the city upside down looking for Smoove and the rest of 10th Mob, even if we have to take them down one-by-one.” Larry said to Razon, but he didn’t respond. Instead, his face tightened; he could feel the tears well up in the corners of his eyes. His heart began to race and the fury began to rise in his chest just from hearing Smoove’s name.

  “I don’t want him arrested; I want him dead!” Razon spoke calmly. “I want him to see that it’s me taking his life. I want him to beg. I want him broken and crying. I want his heart to beat out of his chest right before I pull the trigger. I want him to feel what I feel every time I look at her like this.” He rubbed Lisa’s hand, hoping she would respond from his touch. Sadly, she didn’t move.