The Cleansing

by Shane Crosby

  “Always keep it real, don’t you, Dub?”

  “Hey man, I’m sorry. I’m your brother. I love you. I wouldn’t tell you anything that would hurt you. And, besides, I spoke to pops earlier. He told me you were hurting over losing Jack and the other officers, blaming yourself.”

  “I’m not disputing what you’re saying. I’m just not willing to take it in right now.”

  “I understand, bro, let me know when you’re ready to talk. I’m here. I’ll come to Gochian if you need me.”

  “I’ll let you know.”

  “Now, what’s going on with the case?”

  “I’m back at less than square one.”

  “No you’re not. You have all the information you obtained from the police in Europe. You still have the information you gathered. You can still solve this.”

  “That’s true, I do.”

  “The Club, you think it’s linked to your case?”

  “I do. Sloane Navarro worked there. I still don’t know how that happened. Her profile didn’t fit the other women.”

  “She wasn’t a drugged out prostitute. She was a human being that someone should’ve loved and did. Her parents and family.”

  “Right. How did she get mixed into a bunch of throw aways? And, get this, in Europe, there was a man who was murdered in the same manner. They had bodies burned beyond recognition, too.”

  “A man? I thought your guy only went after women.”

  “We were building our profile on that MO. The man being thrown in there twisted my head around.”

  “Mine to. What about the other locations?”

  “Everything that happened with Don, I didn’t have a chance to go over everything. I don’t know.”

  “Look at this down time as a chance for you to do that. I’ll check in on you in a couple of weeks, deal?”

  “Deal.”

  In unison. “Love you, bro.”

  (Click)

  EVENING NEWS

  UNITED STATES

  Good evening. Tonight, we have the difficult task of delivering some unfortunate news to the nation. There’s been another loss for the White House and the American people. Attorney General George Briggs has died of an apparent heart attack at his home. It’s being reported that the attorney general went home to have dinner with his family. During dinner at some point he gripped his chest in pain and loss consciousness. His family administered CPR but wasn’t able to revive him. Nine one one was called and medical professionals arrived on site within minutes and began working on the Attorney General. However, their efforts were futile. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

  As you can see behind me, they’re bringing the body out now. The family’s spokesman has already asked for privacy during the family’s time of mourning. We’ll update you on any further developments.

  In other news, the US economy has been rebounding recently. The White House reports there is more money being put into Medicaid, therefore lessening the amount of money the average taxpayer will see deducted from their checks each week. As you know, the President promised to create a fund for Education to aid those who aren’t able to pay for higher education. Those persons will be able to draw from this fund to help pay for their education without worrying about paying it back. The White House says the President’s goal is to eventually have free higher education for everyone. Health care is another program the White House is passionate about. The White House has created a health insurance program that will cost American families much less and provide full coverage. When we spoke with leading economists, they agreed. There has been an uptick in government funding for the programs mentioned and others that have been a hot ticket item such as unemployment. All of these efforts combined has helped to boost consumer confidence. The US deficit is also going down white house pundits are hoping we’ll soon see a surplus like it was during the Clinton years. The sources we spoke with agree that if it continues we’ll soon be back to a healthy economy. Back to you, Mike.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  A REAL THREAT

  GOCHIAN

  Trevor

  A split-level home is the American dream, right? My dream has turned into a nightmare. Try climbing the stairs with a broken collar bone, broken leg and broken ribs. It’s not impossible, but I’ll bet you’ll regret trying. For the past few weeks, my bedroom has been downstairs. My kids are upstairs so my wife sleeps upstairs. I don’t mind the alone time. If I’m honest with myself, lately, I treasure it.

  I know I’ve beaten this drum enough to spread rhythmic tones and vibrations from here to Africa. It’s gotten so bad, my wife’s concern for my well-being has waned.

  Today, I have to face my nightmare. I can no longer sit here and wait for someone to wake me up. I’ve been jolted awake. No more living in a time before the accident. No more dreamland. It’s reality all the way. Jack’s funeral is today. I wish I were raised to be a coward. I wouldn’t have any issues with staying home and never seeing his family again. But, Jack was a great partner. He taught me a lot. I hope his family can forgive me because God knows forgiving myself feels close to impossible.

  As I procrastinate preparing myself to go to Jack’s funeral, I hear a screech come from the other room.

  “TREVOR! TREVOR! Come quick!”

  Come quick? Has she seen me lately? Broken collarbone, leg and four ribs and that’s a short list, just how quickly does she expect me to get there?

  “Coming.”

  “Look at this.”

  “What is it?”

  When she gives me the paper, it’s a note, folded neatly as if you’re giving it to your significant other professing your feelings for them. There was something different with this note. It didn’t hold sweet forget me not’s. They were unforgettable, yes, but there was nothing sweet about them.

  The note simple said, “Now you have our attention.” I knew this was a threat. As a cop’s wife, she knew it, too. I’m thinking, great. I’m more helpless then I was the day I was born. What a perfect time to receive a threat to my family. I think one of the worst things for a man to experience is not being able to protect his home. Not only am I riddled with guilt over the accident and lengths I went through to survive, but now, I have to look into my wife’s eyes and know she’s aware that I cannot protect her.

  I did what I could to comfort her. I told her to finish getting the kids ready and I’d handle the note. I wasn’t going to take any chances with my family so I put in a call into the station and asked for some officers to guard our home. By noon we had armed police officers outside, but all the security in the world wouldn’t help me sleep better any night until this case is closed.

  CHAPTER TWENTY - ONE

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  SECOND WIND

  GOCHIAN

  Trevor

  After Jack’s funeral, I’ve spent the past week in deep thought. I’ve gone over what happened up until the car crash. What did I do wrong? Could I have done things differently? No matter how much I push rewind on that movie, it hurts me to admit, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. And, I know I wouldn’t have been able to do anything to prevent Jack from getting into that car with me. The only good outcome from this is that I found out Jack had died from the impact. At least I know I didn’t leave my partner behind to die. His death is still an enormous loss for me and the guys he worked with for years, but it comforts us a little knowing he died trying to get answers for the families of our victims.

  Since the accident, I haven’t been able to pick up the file pertaining to the case that forced me to go on hiatus from the department. I’m thinking about passing everything I have onto another detective. Normally, in situations like this, that’s exactly what would have happened. Since Jack lost his life working on this case, the Captain is giving me time to decide how I want to handle things. The problem is, I don’t know which way to I want to go with it.

  I’ve been off recovering for over a month and the brass is pushing the Captain to make a decision on the case. Th
e clocking is ticking for me to man up and continue or whimp out and pass it along to another detective.

  I got up this morning, showered sat on my couch in the living and this is where I’ve watched the sun come up this morning. I’d gone from being afraid of revisiting that case to not being able to put it down. Each incident was separated into piles. I spent hours researching Club Hedonist and was able to find out it was owned by PPV Industries. I tried finding additional information about them but kept hitting a brick wall. I researched club fire within the last six months and found one called Club Paradise in Phoenix.

  It didn’t take long to see myself as the detective in this article. It sounded an awful lot like what happened to Jack and me. I wish I’d done my homework on this before I went off halfcocked like Josie Wales. I didn’t have a clue what I was getting into. I thought it was just a random gentleman’s club. I need to speak with this guy in Phoenix. I think the best approach would be to go see him in person. All he can do is turn me down.

  Last night turned into morning and morning turned into afternoon. I’ve been so engrossed in this case I didn't realize I haven't moved nor have I eaten or showered since the day before. The next move will be to get all of that done and talk to my wife about my trip to Phoenix. I called out to her but I noticed the house was unnaturally quiet. With two young children there's never a dull moment watching the Super Bowl game uninterrupted is a distant memory now. Hard to accept that it’ll be eighteen years before I’ll be able to take another uninterrupted nap.

  I ate, purchased my tickets to Phoenix and got right back to my research on this case. I was so focused that I’d become unaware of anything that was going on around me. Until, the normal chatter on TV was replaced by the news. It was Uncle Frank’s house. There was pandemonium going on around his home. The lady on the news was speaking, but I’d long since tuned out every word. My gaze was fixated on the background.

  I couldn’t sit any longer, I got up and drove to uncle Frank’s house.

  UNCLE FRANK’S HOUSE

  SOUTHSIDE OF GOCHIAN

  Trevor

  On the drive over, I had convinced myself they had the wrong house. My aunt and uncle were fine. When I arrived aunt Penelope would be outside trying to figure out what all the fuss was about. I expected to see uncle Frank speaking to the police with the authority he commanded from everyone; especially them.

  While at home watching this unfold on TV, I couldn't understand why the fire department had been called. There was no fire. When I drove up in front of his home, I still had the same thought, where’s the fire? Until, I looked up. I was met with the horror of seeing my uncle’s body strung up on the flag pole in front of his house. My beloved uncle Frank demeaned in this manner. All of his accomplishments, his reputation, his legacy trashed in one night.

  I approached an officer from my precinct.

  “Hey, Birch.”

  “Oh, Alvarez, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be here.”

  “Well, I am here. What the hell is taking so long for them to take my uncle’s body down? And, if you didn’t realize it, I’m pissed.”

  “I understand. I just got here thirty minutes ago. The fire department has just arrived. They’re getting him down now.”

  “They better do it now. If it were anyone else, they would’ve covered him long ago. Don’t make me have to sue your asses.”

  “Calm down Alvarez. I understand. They’re taking care of it.”

  “Not quick enough damnit!”

  “I’ll let them know now.”

  I walked away from Birch and just stood and looked around. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There were so many bodies outside it looked like a roach infested kitchen when you cut on the lights. Police cars were parked on both sides of the street. There were so many emergency and law enforcement vehicles you could see lights flashing three blocks away. It looked like the entire block was covered in crime scene tape. I don’t think I’ve ever really noticed how murder looks outside of a scene until now. I guess that’s when insignificant things get our attention. When it hits close to home. I was allowed access to the house and when I entered the residence, I was mortified.

  Since I’m family, I wasn’t allowed anywhere near this place, but the guys understood and they let me in. When I entered the house I almost fell to my knees in tears. There was blood all over the walls and floor. My aunt’s hand sewn rug imported from Asia looked like a cheap antique artifact. Blood had covered three-fourths of it. Their beautiful cherry hardwood floors were full of bullet holes. The walls had blood splatter on them. This entire scene tarnished my family’s memory. I used to walk through these halls seeing every part of my childhood. Our height charts, the window we broke playing baseball, the wall where our basketball goal hung and the staircase where Don broke his arm because we were trying to dunk like Dr. J. All I ever heard was laughter echoing out at me from these walls. Now my smiles have turned to frowns. These halls are no longer filled with laughter. It’s screams and sorrow I hear now.

  I went further into the house and there were three men dead. One was off to the side of the front door, the other in the hall and yet another lay on the stairs. There was blood splatter on the right side of the wall. Uncle Frank hit him but didn't kill him. He shot Frank and you could see where he fell on the stairs and that he slid down the remaining stairs. There was blood smeared on each step. The other guy fell here against the wall, fell to the floor and lay here until he got the strength to get up. A pool of blood is the telltale sign he was down here for some time. Someone else finished off my uncle right here while he was on the ground. I couldn't hold my own body weight. I fell to the ground screaming out in pain. My courageous uncle, stripped away from us in an instant. A man who lived his life with respect and integrity was desecrated strung up before the citizens of the city he loved so much. Aunt Penelope, stripped, raped and brutalized. A woman who has lived her life distinguished like the women in the colonial age prim, proper and oozing with etiquette and demanded that in return. If you were lucky enough to be in her presence, you would always come away with some words of wisdom you could take with you.

  The holes in the wall let me know she had a shotgun. She hit one of them in the gut. Someone bled and bad right through the hallway. All total there were four dead. The police found the other in a back room. He crawled there and bled out. Aunt Penelope not cut out for combat turned to run and made it to the window, jumped out but someone grabbed her when she hit the ground. Damn it! She almost made it. I can't believe this is happening.

  Caught up in the events around me I hadn't noticed the last time I saw my own family. I needed to have them found so they could be taking into custody.

  “Johnson, Pritchard please go to my house and let my wife know where I am. Don't leave them. Stay there with them until I return, please.”

  “You got it, Lieutenant. Oh and Lieutenant, we’re sorry for your loss.”

  “Thank you.”

  “We’ll give you an update.”

  “Thanks.”

  My Captain arrived and his first words were “Alvarez go home.” I let him know they’d already broken the rules by allowing me entry into the house. I couldn't leave. I had to stay there for my aunt Penelope and Uncle Frank.

  My dad called. I confirmed the news and told him not to come. He didn't need to see his best friend who is like a brother to him in the condition they left him. I told him not to allow my mom to look at the news.

  Five o’clock turned into ten o’clock and ten o’clock into midnight. I realized I hadn't heard from the two officers I sent to look after my family. Before I could make a decision to leave a detective approached me.

  “Lieutenant Alvarez.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I'm detective Jones and this is my partner detective Steiner. We’re real sorry about what's happened here tonight. I wondered if you could step over here for a moment and let us talk to you.”

  “Sure but I don't know anything. I just heard about it on
the news this afternoon.”

  “Oh we're not here about that.”

  “Then what is this about?”

  “Your family.”

  “What about my family?”

  “Your wife's car was found on Western. She wasn't in it nor were your children.”

  “I have to leave.”

  “Wait Lieutenant. Listen, you're not doing yourself any good going to the crime scene. She's not there we found her phone in the driver’s side seat. An officer will drive you and someone will drive your car home.”

  I got into the police car hoping to get home and my house will be full of noise. But, the closer we got the more that feeling of dread came over me. By the time we got in front of my house, I could see officers standing around the police car that was sent to protect us. They were talking into their radios and then I heard sirens. Soon after an ambulance appeared. My first thoughts were please don’t let anyone in my family be injured. As our car got closer, I saw what all of the commotion was about. The officer was slumped over in the front seat. It was obvious he was dead. We drove into my driveway and I immediately jumped out and ran up to my house, opened the door and started calling their names. No one answered. Strangely enough, it seemed quieter than it did before I left this afternoon.