“I heard about The Hacker delivering evidence to the Captain yesterday. Evidence that shows he set me up. So the sooner you stop the stupid act then maybe I can try to catch the real killer.”
Steve removed his chewing gum and stuck it to the surface of the table as he turned to look at Troy. Troy looked away to the corner of the room removing his sunglasses as he did so. It was clear they were both annoyed by Karl’s knowledge of the latest evidence.
“He fucking told you!” snapped Steve as he banged his fist against the table. Steve stood up quickly knocking the chair over behind him.
“We were meant to be doing this by the book,” moaned Troy, clearly frustrated that their game of cops and robbers had come to a close.
“For all we know you set this up! It was your plan perhaps to mislead us so you can get away with murder?”
Karl sat back in his chair as he smiled smugly to himself. Nothing pleased him more than to mess with these pair.
“You have no choice but to let me go now. Your only evidence linking me to the crime has been discredited!”
Shaking his head Troy abruptly left the interrogation room rubbing his forehead leaving Karl and Steve alone.
“Right, fine!” sighed Steve as he picked his chair back up. Slamming it upright on to the floor he slumped down into it and pouted. Much like a child having a tantrum.
“You’re free to go Karl,” said Steve. The words were clearly bitter to his lips.
“Grow up Steve,” said Karl as he departed the room.
“You know you pair remind me of children. Tell me, were you both an only child?” said Karl as he closed the door behind him before Steve could respond.
Free of the interrogation room now the charges had been dropped, Karl could once again focus on finding the real serial killer. Wasting no time he headed directly to the Captain’s office.
“Come in!” shouted the Captain from within his office as Karl knocked loudly at the door.
Taking the door handle within his hand, Karl turned it firmly as he pushed against the door itself.
“Ahh, Karl. Take it the charges have been dropped now?”
“Yes, thank you Sir. I am ready to return to duty.”
“There is something I need you to do before you resume the investigation Karl. As you know, yesterday Rivers was put back in charge of the investigation due to difficult circumstances. However, Rivers hasn’t turned in for work today. I have tried to call him at home and on his cell but there is no answer. I am growing increasingly concerned with regards to his competence. A lot has happened to him and if it was not for The Hacker’s demands he would still be on paid leave. Check up on him and his condition and let me know your honest opinion as to whether he is competent to head up the case now.”
Nodding in agreement, Karl left the Captain’s office. Karl had already been concerned over Rivers’ mental state. A lot had happened to the man, The Hacker was ruining his life. If it was not for his demands, Rivers would have been removed from the case and allowed to sort the remains of his life out.
After acquiring his clothes and possessions, Karl made for the showers. After a shave and a shower he got dressed and made his way to Rivers’ house.
The inside of the car was stifling hot as Karl climbed in. Quickly he lowered the electric windows to allow some fresh air to blow through. The sun was fierce today; heat could be seen radiating from the hood of the car.
Closing the car door behind him Karl started the vehicle up. With the electrical system now activated familiar chatter came across the police radio.
Karl looked at his reflection in the rear view mirror where he found himself looking back. He tried to imagine what Rivers could see when he was viewing one of his psychic visions but Karl found it difficult to visualise.
Karl had known Rivers for quite a few years now. They had trained together in the academy and graduated together. Since the academy they had mostly worked together in homicide. Karl had always found his partner’s gift strange and unsettling but learned to live with it. The gift caught murderers. No matter how innocent the murderer appeared or whether there was insufficient evidence, Rivers’ ability found the leads they lacked. Although he could not solve every murder, the ability was certainly an asset to them.
The drive to Rivers’ was slow and uneventful. The late morning traffic slowly moved as Karl made his way through it. Karl tried to imagine what he would find when he got to Rivers’. Largely he expected to find him a sleep, curled up in a corner of a room as he had found him numerous times previously. Sometimes the fear of visions would force Rivers to remain awake for most of the night. Eventually he would pass out from exhaustion.
Rivers had always been a worry to Karl. From his troubled childhood, the loss of his parents, his strange gift, which he knew Rivers viewed as a curse. Karl wished he could help his friend more but it looked like The Hacker had almost succeeded in beating him down. The death of his aunt and sister, no longer being fit to work, framing his best friend and partner. There was only so much a man could take…
Rivers had been through more than most people. He was strong in character and his ability aside; he was a damn fine cop. After all he had been through he had taken the case back on, but with that said Rivers was only human and had a limit.
Coming to a stop, Karl pulled up outside Rivers’ house. The street was quiet as Karl climbed out of the vehicle. The curtains to Rivers’ house were still closed. On his doorstep remained the morning paper, unmoved from where the paper boy had thrown it. Taking a deep breath, Karl closed the vehicle’s door behind him. Unsure of what to expect Karl made his way down the short path to Rivers’ front door.
Chapter 12
Raising his right fist, Karl Peterson knocked loudly against the wooden door to Ian Rivers’ house. After knocking he waited patiently but there was no response.
Growing increasingly concerned, Karl knocked again and again but continued to be met by nothing more than silence for his efforts.
Taking a step to the right Karl tried to peer through a window into Rivers’ living room but he struggled to make anything out through a single gap in the curtain.
Reaching into his pocket, Karl withdrew his cell phone. Selecting Rivers’ number he pressed dial as he brought the handset up close to his ear.Unfortunately he was met with a pre-recorded message.
‘The number you have dialled is unavailable, please try again later.’
Cursing under his breath, Karl selected Rivers’ home number instead. Hitting dial he again returned the handset to his ear.
As the call went through, Karl could hear Rivers’ landline ringing loudly within the property. After several rings and no response Karl terminated the call.
Returning the cell phone to his pocket, Karl took another look through the gap in the curtains. Still there was no movement.
Taking a quick look from left to right, Karl checked the coast was clear. For his own peace of mind he needed to check nothing untoward had happened to his friend and colleague.
Removing a couple of paperclips from a notepad in his pocket, Karl made a makeshift lock pick which he then proceeded to use to pick Rivers’ lock. After several moments of tumbling around and cursing, the lock clicked as the door freely opened into the house.
Beyond the front door all was quiet. Clothes were strewn across the floor mixed amongst mail and general trash. The air within the house smelled bad, as if the windows had not been opened in a while. Karl was sure the dirty clothes which lay around did not help with the stench. Closing the door behind him Karl walked into the front room. The front room, as the hall behind him, was a mess. Plates and cups piled up on any available surface. Pizza boxes and other food wrappers appeared to be freely discarded around the room. Behind Rivers’ couch was a large mirror that hung from the wall. The mirror itself was smashed, the glass littering the floor. All that hung from the wall now was a wooden frame with glass shards jutting out from it.
Rivers’ TV laid face down on the floo
r. The back of it appeared black with soot as if it has caught fire internally. The power cable to the television had been yanked out of the plug. The plug itself still remained in the power socket.
“Ian?” said Karl with a raised voice.
“It’s Karl, are you in?” In response to his question Karl was met by nothing but silence.
“Come on Ian, stop messing around. If you’re in let me know. Don’t want you jumping out on me scaring me shitless!” But still there was no reply.
Unsure what to make of the situation Karl looked closely at the broken mirror. Amongst the glass shards the crimson of blood could be seen smeared against the glass. As he looked closer for clues a loud smashing sound echoed around the house.
Karl almost jumped out of his skin at the unexpected sound. Instinctively he reached for his gun and withdrew it from his holster.
Karl could make out the noise of broken glass showering onto the floor followed by footsteps across the ceiling above him. Each step was met by a crunching sound as they were no doubt walking over the broken glass.
Keeping close to the wall, Karl made his way to the property’s staircase. He carefully placed his feet to avoid making a sound and giving himself away. If it was The Hacker or another intruder then Karl had already made it blindingly clear that he was there. For whatever reason though his calls had gone unanswered, even though there was clearly someone upstairs.
Holding his gun tightly in his right hand, Karl took grip of the stair rail with his left. Looking up the staircase he could see pictures that were once hung on the wall had been thrown to the floor. Shards of glass dusted the stairs making a stealthy approach next to impossible. Still Karl proceeded slowly and with caution whilst trying to remain as silent as possible.
The ceiling light swung gently over head. The light bulb was nothing more than an exposed filament and jagged glass remains.
Nearing the top of the stairs, Karl attempted to peek under the banister.
The carpeted floor was covered by discarded junk and broken glass. Bloodied foot prints stood out quite clearly against the cream carpet. Blood was also smeared across the painted walls leaving finger trails and palm prints where somebody with blood covered hands had for whatever reason smeared it around.
The hairs on the back of Karl’s neck stood on end as a chill ran down his spine. He feared for the worst as he continued to creep up the stairs.
Had The Hacker attacked or murdered Rivers? The mess was quite familiar to how he had left other crime scenes. Perhaps he was too late to save his friend. The Hacker may have exhausted his fun of tormenting Ian and decided to finish the job.
Raising his gun, Karl kept it trained on the landing in front of him as he reached the top of the stairs.
Glass crunched beneath his feet as he carefully moved forward along the landing. He tried his best to remain stealthy but there was simply too much debris for it to be practical.
Remaining as quiet as he could, Karl strained his ears to hear where Rivers or The Hacker for that matter might be. The house was deathly quiet, so quiet Karl imagined you could hear a pin drop. Even though it was so quiet, Karl could not hear a thing.
All of a sudden Karl jumped backwards as a loud ringing sound erupted. The shock from the noise caused him to lose his balance as he fell back on to the debris atop of the carpet.
In a hurry Karl got back onto his feet but any illusion of surprise had been completely eradicated now. Reaching into his pocket he withdrew his cell phone and cancelled the incoming call.
“Who’s there?” asked a weak distant voice. Karl thought he had imagined it at first as it was so quiet.
“Karl, is that you out there?” again the quiet voice asked. For all he knew it could be a trap leading him towards his doom. All alone and without backup he decided it was best to proceed cautiously.
“This is Detective Karl Peterson,” said Karl with a raised voice.
“I’m armed and we have the place surrounded. Throw down your weapon and come out peacefully or I will be forced to shoot.”
“Karl, it’s me, Rivers. What are you doing?”
“Are you alone in there?” as Karl.
“I don’t know any more,” said Rivers weakly.
“Is there anybody else in the house?” he asked but this time there was no reply.
Keeping his gun raised, Karl backed up into the corner of a wall to cover his back. Whilst keeping an eye on the stairs and landing he pulled out his cell phone and selected Captain Reed’s number.
“Sir, its Karl Peterson. I’m at Rivers’. I believe Ian to be down and wounded; also a possible intruder in the property. Please have backup on standby and send an ambulance.”
Terminating the call before the Captain could answer; Karl returned the phone to his pocket as he moved towards the room Rivers was in.
“Ian, can you still hear me?” said Karl with his back to the wall. He was now adjacent to the room where he believed Rivers to be holed up. There was the possibility somebody was in there with him.
“Ian, I need to know if anybody is in there with you. If there is please make your self known so I can hear your demands.”
“No, I won’t tell him…” a voice said quietly in response to Karl’s request.
“Won’t tell me what?” asked Karl growing more and more concerned by the second.
“Please don’t make me tell him. I don’t want to tell him…” said Rivers as he began to cry. Karl’s hand grew sweaty against the grip of his pistol as he held on to it tightly.
“Please just go away, I can’t take it anymore…”
“Ian, please calm down. I can’t hear anybody in there with you. I’m going to come into the room. Please keep low to the floor, if anything moves I’m going to shoot it.”
“Karl, no! Stay away he’s here, he’s right here. No I won’t tell him, I’m not going to tell him!”
Karl’s heart pounded loudly in his head. He felt as if his head was going to explode from the pressure he felt right now. The concern for his friend, the anger if he had been hurt, the confusion as to whether someone was there or not. As his adrenalin rushed throughout his system, Karl took a deep breath and leapt into the doorway of the adjacent room.
Bringing his gun to bear on anything that moved Karl was met by only a solitary figure curled up in the corner of the room. The figure was that of Ian Rivers.
The carpet beneath him was soaked with blood, urine and vomit. His hair was sticky with sweat and blood, his eyes raw and red from crying.
Of greater concern was how pale Ian’s face was. Large black bags hung beneath his eyes, which stood out in comparison to his pale skin.
“What the hell has he done to you,” said Karl as he lowered his gun a little to take stock of the situation.
Rivers remained quiet as his body trembled. His eyes stared aimlessly into the floor beneath him.
“It was me…”
“What was you?”
“I killed them…”
“Stop this shit Ian, you’re scaring me now.”
“I did it. I killed my parents?”
“You’re making no sense Rivers. Look, an ambulance will be here any moment just hold on a bit longer.” Karl forced himself to remain calm. Rivers was clearly suffering from severe blood loss. He had seen it before several times with his time in the force but this had been the first time he had seen one of his colleagues in this state.
“Come here Karl,” said Rivers groggily. I need to tell you something.
Worried about his friend, Karl stepped up to his friend and knelt down beside him. Being close to Rivers Karl noted his lips were turning blue in colour. He knew it would most likely be too late for him now.
“Come closer Karl…” Rivers struggled to say as Karl leaned closer to him.
In the flash of an eye, Rivers grabbed Karl by the neck and pulled him close to his face.
“Listen to me Karl. I murdered my fucking parents! He was there with me; he has always been there with me.” F
inished with his outburst he pushed Karl backwards onto the floor with one sharp push.
On his back Karl lifted his head and observed Rivers. His head now hung between his legs as a gurgling sound came from his throat.
“I told him now so you can go away…” Rivers mumbled in between panted breaths.
“Leave me alone. You’re not making me say anything else…” before he could finish his sentence Rivers fell unconscious.
Sirens could be heard growing louder outside as an ambulance rushed to the scene. Kneeling by his friend and partner Karl checked for a pulse. It was faint but he was still alive.
Chapter 13
The small emergency room smelled strongly of bleach and disinfectant. In the centre of the room was a single hospital bed where Detective Ian Rivers lay asleep.
Tubes and wires attached to his body at various places providing him with the fluids he needed as well as providing sensory information to a medical readout.
Detective Karl Peterson stood in the doorway of the small hospital room. In his hand he held a can of soda as he stood vigil over his friend and partner.
Since Rivers’ arrival at hospital he had been treated for lacerations to his feet and hands. Several blood transfusions had been required to save his life from the extensive loss of blood. The medical team had said if he had been brought in any later then he would not have made it.
Karl still thought over what Rivers had been saying; that he had done it, he had killed his parents. Rivers had told him in the past that both his parents had committed suicide; he had even seen the death certificate himself. There was no mention on there of suspicious circumstances, just that they had died by inhalation of exhaust fumes.
Was it just a result of The Hacker messing with Rivers’ mind, or was there an element of truth behind his ranting? Could The Hacker have been known to Rivers at a young age?
Rivers himself had been asleep for several hours now, sleeping off the distressing episode. Captain Reed was on his way to visit Rivers in hospital and to discuss a recent update on The Hacker case with Karl.
Mind of a Killer Page 7