Flutter
Page 13
Next, Abigail took the shoes and grabbed a lighter and a butter knife. She lit the gas burner and heated up the knife. Roger was totally mystified.
“We are not keeping these clothes. It would be best to burn them, but we will draw too much attention. We will split them up and discard them in the morning,” she told Roger.
She then took the heated knife and made marks in the bottom of their sneakers by melting parts of the rubber soles. “Police look for distinct wear and tear marks in shoes that match prints left at crime scenes. I’m going to change these up a little. Go shower.”
Roger didn’t hesitate a second. He went upstairs, showered and went into her room. He sat on the edge of the bed until she came in from her turn taking a shower. He expected the next list of demands would follow except that the confident, demanding, controlling, deadly Abigail had turned soft again. She looked worn out and drained of energy. What have I done?
In her underwear and socks, she climbed into her bed shivering. Her head was pounding so badly, she couldn’t completely open her eyes. Roger sat down next to Abigail and tucked her in. He rubbed her back, her arms and gently touched her hair, comforting her. She closed her eyes. He grabbed a pillow and a foot blanket to lie on the floor. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her to lie with her in the bed. Roger climbed into the bed. He moved cautiously, sliding under the covers. He lay next to her, pressing his body against hers.
In bed Abigail innocently wrapped her body around his to get warmer. She threw her arms around his neck and mixed her legs in with his. She didn’t mean to tease Roger or entice him; she needed to be held to relax her racing heart. He put his arms around her torso, pressing his hands against her back. He rested the side of his face against hers and squeezed her closer. He rolled on his back and put her head on his chest as he pulled her closer. She fell asleep to his rhythmic heart beat, which raced for another 15 minutes before it slowed to normal pace. He fell asleep 20 minutes after she did.
The night brought about a hurricane of memories, thoughts, pain and emotions. Abigail’s strength had also returned after months of dormancy. She felt a painful jolt rush through her body. Her veins bulged as if they were being pumped with adrenaline and some type of super stimulus, causing heightened senses and awareness. She woke and jumped out of the bed. Her eyes were glowing blue. She wanted to scream from the burning sensation running through her body. Her skin crawled. At first she wasn’t sure if this was another nightmare. She soon realized she was not dreaming when she saw Roger shift in the bed. Roger was so tired that he didn’t awake in the presence of her animalistic fit.
Abigail ran down stairs to the bar, out the back door and into the alley. She needed air. She grabbed at her throat, her face and scratched the brick wall outside. Bursts of pain and heat throbbed in her body. She gritted her teeth as her canine teeth slightly extended. Her body rapidly shook and trembled as her muscles bulged. She clenched her fists. She was overloaded with energy and couldn’t control or release it. She threw her body against the wall and sucked in the cool air as she grabbed her head. Her eyes glowed blue. She looked up and immediately gripped her claws into the brick wall and climbed to the top of the building next door.
Thunder cracked against the black sky. She stood their grunting, breathing intensely, until she calmed down. She was still full of energy, but she and whatever was within negotiated an agreement, and she was at peace. She climbed back down and exhaled. Her eyes turned brown again. Just as she entered the side door, the first drop of rain came down crashing against her heel.
She went back into her room and slipped into the bed with Roger again, turning her back to him, falling asleep within minutes. Her heart raced for a few minutes, beating against her chest. She slept nightmare free for the first time in months. The rain came down hard and fast, just in time to wash away a significant amount of evidence at the crime scene. It came quickly and stopped after 20 minutes of pounding against the earth.
MORNING
The sweet scent of morning after a night of rain filled the room. The sun streamed through the window as it did every morning. Abigail slept like a baby after her secret late night rage in the alley and on the rooftop. She woke up and was slightly startled when she saw Roger sitting in a chair across from her, watching her sleep. He wore a shirt and shorts. He had taken another shower and returned to the room to watch her sleep.
She grabbed her head, aware of the raging headache that continued from the previous night. “Good morning, Roger.” She reached through her hair and remembered that a large section of it was cut off the night before.
Roger was frustrated, “We need to talk.” It was the first time he had ever expressed his frustration with Abigail.
She attempted to deflect, “UGH. My head hurts so badly. I need a coffee.”
Roger insisted that they speak and raised his voice, “Can we talk about what the hell happened last night?” He was upset for more than one reason. Besides the situation in the alley, his involvement in the killings and the release of the SUPER BEAST, his emotions and feelings were all over the place. He knew that Abigail must have been traumatized after the transformation. He watched her tremble and shake herself to sleep, but it took every bone in his body to resist the urge to sleep with her that night. He and his penis had a bone to pick with Abigail.
Abigail knew this was a huge burden for Roger yet replied, “I can’t talk about it right now.” She got out of the bed.
Roger stood up and grabbed her arm, “Do you even remember? Do you remember anything from last night?”
She ignored the question.
“What the hell was that!? You turned into an ‘I don’t know what that was’ thing, then you ripped those men to pieces like they were made of putty, then…”
Abigail spoke softly, putting her finger over her mouth, reminding Roger that Frankie was in his room. “Okay. Okay. Yes I remember… a lot more than you think– a lot more than I want to remember and it’s too much to talk about right now. I didn’t mean for that to happen. I don’t want to involve you in any of this. I couldn’t control it. It just happened, but it helped me remember a few things.”
“Wait. Did all of your memory come back?”
“Not all of it. There are a few gaps I need to fill in but I can’t do it here.”
Roger’s curiosity outweighed his anger, “Well, what do you remember?”
Abigail thought for a minute before she answered, “I can’t talk about it. I have to get out of here. I’m putting you, Larry and Frankie in danger.”
“How are we in danger?”
She didn’t want to scare him, but after last night, Roger was worthy of the truth, “Roger, there are others… others like me. They’re out there looking for me. They’re the ones I came here to avoid. They shot me. I remember now, and I have to go. I should be in hiding and here I am living out in the open. They are close. I can sense it.” She left the room, and Roger followed her. Abigail entered the bathroom with Roger following her.
With a concerned voice he said, “Talk to me.”
Frankie heard the arguing and was curious to see if the two were okay. He noticed Roger spent the night and wondered if they had been sleeping together all along. Maybe this is a lover’s quarrel. Then he noticed cuts and bruises on their bodies. Frankie asked, “What happened to you guys?”
They both stared at Frankie offering no answer. Frankie inspected them. Each second that passed, Frankie’s anger increased exponentially. He belted out in a voice neither Abigail nor Roger had ever heard. Frankie had almost forgotten he had it in him. “What the hell happened?!”
Roger was terrified so he answered, “We got jumped. It was my fault.”
Frankie moved over to Abigail as she inspected her chopped hair and busted lip in the bathroom mirror.
Frankie was concerned like a father, “Are you okay Abby? Come, let me see.” He reached out his hand to touch her.
She pulled away and said, “I’m fine. I’m fine.”
Roger knew Frankie would never understand if he tried to explain everything in detail, so he summarized. “We cut through an alley and some thugs jumped us. They held me down and threatened to rape her. They beat us up a bit, took our money…”
Frankie immediately picked up his phone to contact Larry, unaware that Larry would have used this as a “told you so moment.”
Frankie said, “Tell me who. I’ll take care of it.”
Roger didn’t want to lie and knew Frankie’s help was necessary, but the trouble they were in was a lot more than Frankie knew. Roger said, “Frankie, it’s more complicated than that. We’re in some serious trouble.”
Frankie asked, “What do you mean?”
Roger replied, “They were kicking our asses. This guy punched her in the stomach and…”
Abigail interrupted Roger, “Roger!” She gave him a vicious stare. She wanted him to keep quiet. It was better not to involve Frankie.
Roger cut the story short, “We… We got away.”
Frankie was dissatisfied with the abbreviated story, “You just got away huh? Yeah right. Move, Roger.” He pushed Roger aside and decided to try again with Abigail. “Abby, just tell me who it was. I’ll take care of it. What did they look like? Where did this happen? Give me some details. I’ll make some calls and take care of it. You have to tell me.”
Abigail answered, “I don’t know. We don’t know who they were. It was dark. You shouldn’t get involved.”
Frankie backed away in frustration. He shook his head. Abigail and Roger stood looking around with guilt. Frankie paced back and forth. He thought about calling Larry but decided against it in his effort to respect Abigail’s privacy concerning attempted rape. These matters are sensitive for women. Maybe this is why she is being shy. His gut told him that something else was up and just wanted them to ask for help, but he knew he couldn’t force the issue. He finally asked, “Okay. Does this have anything to do with what’s been all over the news this morning?”
Roger asked, “What? What’s been on the news?” He looked at Abigail nervously.
Frankie reached over turning on the 20 inch TV in the room. He clicked through the channels until he found the local news station. Samantha Callahan once again reported, “…between the two buildings. This is a gruesome scene. Three men were decapitated and one man’s neck was broken. The remains are spread all over the area. The police say they are collecting DNA, but as you know, back alleys are subject to a lot of night traffic, violence and loitering. There’s going to be tons of DNA out here that officers will have to sift through. Currently, they have no suspects but…”
Frankie turned off the TV. Abigail kept a straight face, grabbed a towel and turned into the bathroom to shower, shutting the door behind her.
Frankie looked at Roger with the utmost sincerity and said, “I’m not the one you guys should be hiding things from. You know that more than anything. I don’t keep secrets from you; but if you can’t tell me, I’m sure there is a good reason why. Go clean up and come down when you’re done. Get some clean sweats out my closet.” Frankie tapped Roger on the back of his head and went down into the bar.
FINCH’S HOUSE
Another sleepless night passed for Finch. “Why are you doing this to me?” was the last thing she remembered saying before Anthony’s presence left the room. He was always there reminding her of the most painful memory of her life– losing him. He knew just when to show up. It was like he sensed the hole she carried in her heart was filling up with love for someone else, and he refused to allow it. Anthony was no longer a person she dearly missed, but a being she despised and began to hate. Was he really haunting her, or was she hallucinating? She couldn’t tell what brought him to her, but she was sick of it.
There is no acceptable therapy for these things, she thought to herself. People will laugh or think I am mentally unstable. I can’t have that. She was very concerned about what others would think, knowing she was borderline schizophrenic and walking around town with a gun. She decided that going for early morning runs and marijuana would be her medication for now.
Finch put on her Adidas crops and a pink tank top. She headed out the house and took on a three mile run, finishing just after the sun came up. When she arrived at home she showered and dressed. She plopped herself on the couch and watched the morning news. She also checked email.
For breakfast, she had a GNC vanilla protein shake. As she sucked it down she received a text from Brown saying, “GET DOWN HERE ASAP! FOUR JOHNS IN AN ALLEY.” Finch spilled the shake on her chin as she read the text. She wiped it from her face and rushed into her room. She changed, grabbed her things, and headed out to the police station.
CRIME SCENE ALLEY
Brown and Finch arrived on the scene where Abigail had killed the four men in the alleyway. Both sides of the alley were taped off with caution tape. Officers parked their cars on the other side of the tape to prevent the media and onlookers from getting too close to the scene. Once, an on looker dropped a straw from a fountain soda, which was then carried by the wind into the crime scene. The straw was taken in as evidence where his fingerprints were identified. It took two weeks to resolve the matter.
Reporters, including Samantha Callahan, were on the other side of the police cars. Lead Forensics Detective Tammy and Coroner Michelle Cox were already on the scene when Brown and Finch came on. Brown had a thermos full of coffee. Finch took out her phone, ready to take notes.
Brown greeted her first, “Good morning, Alicia.”
“Good morning,” she replied. “I want you to take a look at this.” She walked them closer to one of the displaced limbs. She used a pointer to point. “Now check this out.” They move to another section of the scene. “Anything look familiar to you guys? Look at how this head was severed from the body. As if it was torn. Same tear patterns, same scratches…” They walk to another piece, “Look at this guy, torn limb from limb…”
Finch interjected, “Like the Robert Benson arm!” Her eyes lit up as she took notes into her document.
Tammy said, “I wouldn’t put that connection on the shared drive yet, but make a personal note. It’s exactly like his arm, except this victim was beheaded too. Actually, maybe Benson was beheaded and it’s sitting on a window sill in Puerto Rico for all we know.”
“Or on a building around the corner.” Finch added.
Tammy asked, “You guys have any luck speaking with his wife or with the new CEO? Did anything come up from the check of hospitals in the area?”
Finch answered, “Nothing from the hospitals. No reports of amputees that fit the description. They are all lawyered up the ass and refuse to speak but are currently preparing a statement. We should get it soon they said, but I’m sure it will be very general and elusive.”
Brown strayed away for a moment. He took a personal tour of the alley before he returned to Finch and Tammy. He commented, “This alley is a DNA buffet. There has gotta be piss, hair and blood from about a thousand John Does out here.”
Tammy responded, “And the rain last night... This is really frustrating. We’ll still swab and dust what we can and see what we can find, but we’re looking for a needle in a haystack. There weren’t any cameras directly facing this area but Chris is working on some footage from another angle we can look at later.”
Brown was excited, “Awesome! Tammy, hold this down for me. Can we get a full report in an hour? I have to follow up on something.”
“Yes. I got it. You guys are dirtying up my scene anyway.”
He smiled, “Ok, We’ll meet you in the lab.”
Sydney and Meghan got into Sydney’s Wrangler. Sydney pulled off. Meghan didn’t understand why he wanted to leave so hastily. “Where are we going?”
Brown sipped his coffee one more time before putting it into the cup holder in the center console. He said, “I’m not satisfied with a few things about that Benson case. We have a murderer on th
e loose and these fools at Chapel and Case refuse to speak. The wife of a missing armless man won’t comment, and everyone else around is oblivious? I don’t like it.”
“I agree. Someone is covering things up.”
“That’s clear to me, but why?” Brown asked.
“Oh, I’m sure there are a myriad of reasons …investors, stock prices, secrets, children, insurance. I’m sure they are shuffling their feet behind closed door trying to prepare for the worst.”
“But the connection between Benson, Chapel and Case and these random killings eludes me and the fact that people are not talking is burning me up.” Brown sipped his coffee.
“Well, people don’t talk out of fear of intimidation by someone else or if they are personally involved.” Meghan looked out the window again and asked, “So where are we going?”
FRANKIE’S PUB
Frankie made home fries, grits, turkey sausage, and omelets with chicken, tomato, onion, chives and cheese. He placed the food on three plates and entered the main floor. He placed a plate in front of Roger, one at an empty seat, and the last plate he took for himself. Roger devoured the food immediately. Frankie inspected Roger’s face as he ate the food from his plate. Roger knew Frankie was looking and thus kept his eyes locked to food on the table. He was ashamed that he was keeping such a huge secret from Frankie. Roger kept his head low. They did not speak. They could hear Abigail descend from the upper level. She came down quickly. When she turned around the corner, their mouths dropped.
Abigail cut her hair into a sexy Mohawk style with the sides low. She added dark makeup around her eyes and a dark brown pigment to her lips. The top level of her hair swooped across her face. The sides of her hair were shaved down, exposing more tattoos in her scalp. She found an old pair of sun glasses and a black leather jacket in a box in her room, so she put them on. She walked over to the men and slapped $1000 on the table in front of them. It was money she saved from tip money and wages at the pub.