by W L Knightly
“Keep me informed,” said Milner. “I’m getting out of here before I lose my breakfast.” With that, she was gone.
Kevin walked over. “Can we cut her down now? I can’t stand to see her up there like that.” He was clearly disturbed and gave Jake a pleading look.
Jake looked over where Gary was standing near Nina’s dangling feet with a pair of cutters. “Yeah, man. Go ahead. Get some of the officers to help.”
“Thanks. Oh, and while I’m thinking about it, that letter didn’t have anything on it. The only prints were from your boy Tanner. I found those on file from an old ID database.”
“Thanks,” said Jake.
Kevin walked over, and the other men who had overheard were already gathered around to help with the task. Kevin put on a protective plastic coat, and then he and Gary did most of the work taking Nina down. As she went limp against Kevin, Jake remembered hauling her limp little ass to the bedroom and the way she nestled against him, alive and smelling like a mixture of perfume and vodka. She had been nearly comatose then.
As they laid her directly into the body bag, he imagined laying her on her white cotton sheets, which were so clean and fresh, unlike the odor of piss and blood that stunk up the air he was fighting hard to breathe.
As Kevin arranged her hands and then closed the bag around her, Jake remembered pulling the covers up around her. Before he left, he had looked down at her and brushed her hair from her face. It was in that moment he thought of how peaceful and sweet she looked while sleeping. Nina in rare form. And it was the same now. Nina would never be unpleasant again.
“Are you okay?” asked Jo.
Her voice brought Jake’s head around like an anchor keeping him tethered to the earth. “Yeah, it’s just such a waste.” He wanted to get this asshole more than ever now. It had been hard seeing the victims, but as he looked at Kevin again, he realized it was equally as hard to see the people being left behind. The Hangman wasn’t cleansing the city of evil. He was evil. Every single person who had been taken left someone behind. Sure, some more than others, but they all deserved better.
About that time, Jake’s phone went off. This time, it was a reminder. As soon as he heard the special tone, he got a sinking feeling. “Shit.”
“What’s that? Is O’Connor bugging you again? Have you called him?”
“No, it’s worse. I’ve got to go see the fucking shrink.” He turned away and headed out to the hallway, away from the others.
Jo moved to catch up with him. “Hey, it might be good for you to go.” She shrugged as he looked up at her.
“As if I don’t have enough shit deal with. I’m calling to cancel. O’Connor is forcing this. He’s trying to save me and keep me all at once.”
“That’s because you’re special, Jake.” She put her hand on his phone to keep him from calling. “Just do this, okay?”
“Why do you care? I won’t be your problem when this is over.”
“I’ll need you. I’ll need your help.” She searched his eyes. “I’m not trying to talk you out of leaving, but only because I know you really want to, not because I want you to.”
He opened his mouth to speak, and Jo put her other hand over it. “No, let me finish,” she said. “I might need your help, and I want you to be in a good place when I call to ask for it. You’re a great detective, Jake. I just hate to see your mind go to waste.”
He put his phone down. “Fine, I’ll go. But not for me. Because I don’t need this shit. I can get by without it.”
Jo smiled. “Thank you.” She stepped closer, and before he knew it, she had her arms around him, hugging him tightly.
As if he wasn’t confused enough.
Chapter 11
Jake
Jake wanted to retire so badly, yet he found it hard to tear himself away from the case long enough to go to see Dr. Meadows. He had no idea how he would manage his time once he left the job or what he’d fill it with. He had no one. And until he met Jo, he hadn’t really ever thought about the fact that he was alone.
Before her, there seemed enough time to meet someone, to make friends, to form a circle, to enjoy life, and find a better one. One not filled with death and maniacs.
Now, it seemed like time was wasting, that there wasn’t ever going to be enough and he was going to end up totally alone. Was he okay with that?
As he walked into the empty office, the woman behind the counter smiled at him. “Good afternoon, Detective Thomas. Dr. Meadows is ready for you, but I just need you to sign in first.”
He scrawled his name on the form and then went through the double doors to the back hall that led into her office.
Dr. Leigh Meadows looked up and gave him her winning smile. She was seductive without even trying, but by the way she dressed in tight pencil skirts and her low-cut blouses, he had a feeling she was. Especially for him. “Please come in, Detective Thomas.”
“Please call me Jake.” He walked over and offered his hand. He had told her that before, even though he liked the way his title rolled off her tongue. “It’s good to see you again. And thanks for recommending I stay on the case.”
“Well, to be fair, your chief wasn’t going to let you go.” She gave him a mischievous grin, walked out from around her desk, and led him to the seating area. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thanks. I just left a scene. It will be good to take a load off.” He sat in one of her high-back chairs.
“Off your mind or your feet?” she asked as she sat across from him.
He tried to look away from her legs, but they were so tan and tempting, he had to take a second look. “Both, I suppose.”
“Why don’t we start with you telling me how you’ve been sleeping lately? There was some problems with that last time. Is there still?”
“I guess I get a little more sleep, but the dreams still come. I wake up, usually in a cold sweat, wondering if what I just experienced was real.”
“You are confused when you wake up?” She grabbed her notebook and pen off the table next to her and laid them on her lap.
“Only for a moment. Then I’m usually so relieved that I don’t care anymore. I go on about my day.” He wasn’t trying to play it off but was aware how it sounded.
She leaned in closer. “These cases you’re on, they’re bad? I mean, in comparison?”
“The worst I’ve seen since becoming a detective.” He had not admitted that out loud or to himself before.
Dr. Meadows scribbled something in her book. “That has to be hard.”
“Yeah. Especially since I was one step away from leaving it all behind, and now I’m sucked back into it, thanks to my new partner.”
“You mean your replacement? I do recall you were leaving.”
“Well, for the time being, she’s a partner. Until this case is over anyway.” He smiled, thinking of Jo.
“Your smile tells me that you’re getting along.”
Jake hadn’t even realized he was smiling. “She’s a good egg. She’s smart, beautiful, and a damned good detective.” He tapped his foot and looked out the window.
“Sounds like you respect her.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Maybe she’s the light in your tunnel?” She raised an eyebrow, and Jake pondered the question for a moment.
“Maybe. I mean, we’re just friends. There’s nothing intimate between us.” He shook his head and shifted in his seat.
“But you want there to be?”
Jake looked over to find her smiling. “I never said that.”
“No, you didn’t, but you were quick to clarify, which sometimes means that you’re taking a defensive approach when your feelings are the exact opposite.”
Dr. Meadows was way off base. “She’s my partner. We can’t have a thing, even if she wanted to.”
“So, you want to, but you’re not sure she does?”
Jake had to admit the woman was good. He wondered if it would do him any good to deny it. “I can’t say it hasn’t cro
ssed my mind, but she’s a knockout, so why wouldn’t it? But like I was saying, she’s my partner, and I’m pretty sure she’s not into me.”
“Only pretty sure? So, she’s giving you mixed signals?” Dr. Meadows smiled and scribbled in her book.
“I think we’re getting off track.” Jo wasn’t giving him any signals and never would.
“Do you? And what track would you like to be on?” More scribbling in her notebook.
Jake wasn’t sure she wasn’t doodling. He didn’t know how seriously she was taking the session since he had been sent in by Chief O’Connor.
Jake didn’t know how to respond, but after a moment, he admitted just that. “I’m not entirely sure. I just don’t feel comfortable talking about my feelings for Jo.”
“You have feelings, though. What brought those on?”
“I don’t know. I guess we just click.”
“Tell me about the cases you’re working on. You said they were the worst you’ve seen. Why not just retire like you wanted and leave Jo to deal with it? Your time should be up according to the last time we spoke.”
“He’d eat her alive. He’s a monster.”
“But you said she’s a good detective. Surely, she can hold her own.”
“I couldn’t just leave her to that animal. Besides, now it’s personal. He’s leaving me letters and taunting me. He must have thought that I’d be gone once his killing started, that he’d have a new detective that he could toy with. One who wouldn’t be able to get to him until he was ready to be caught. He didn’t like that I stayed, and now he’s taunting me to catch him.”
Jake knew the letters and leaving the needle cap behind wasn’t the Hangman getting sloppy. Perhaps he was coming to the end of his game.
“So, the Hangman is in control?”
“No.” He wasn’t sure. “Maybe. He’s in all of my thoughts, even when I sleep. I guess I can’t shake him now that he has his claws in me.”
“And yet, when you came in here, our conversation started with Jo. Was he there then?”
“No, I just got sidetracked.” He waved a hand dismissively.
“Well then, I think this Jo is a light like I said she is. You think you’re helping her, but I think she’s helping you. As for this Hangman, perhaps you’re his light in a way. If he’s taken the time to get personal with you, there’s a reason.”
“He obviously knows the local system and its players. He’s studied them enough to know their sins. I guess he thinks he knows me too.”
“Maybe it’s someone you know. I think you should keep this line of communication open with him. It’s how you’ll catch him. When you do, you’ll sleep better.”
“And you’re so sure of that? Communication? We’re not exactly texting.” Jake had no way of leaving a message of his own, other than continuing on the case.
“He’s still communicating. It’s how I get to know things. We’re not much different. Both of us use observation and deduction to see what others don’t want us to see.”
She had no idea what she was talking about, comparing her job to his. “The only time he leaves me letters is when he kills someone. He leaves them on the scene, so I’d prefer not to get any more.”
“Take the ones you have and read between the lines. He’s not talking to you without a reason.”
“Are you helping me sleep at night or trying to help me solve the case?”
“Perhaps both. But maybe you don’t want to catch this killer.”
Jake felt as if someone threw a glass of cold water in his face. “I beg your pardon? That’s a fucked-up thing to say to me.”
“All I mean is, perhaps deep down you don’t want to solve the case because it would mean leaving Jo and your job, which you obviously love, behind.”
“I’m not in love with this job. I hate it. It’s been a constant source of misery, and I’m starting to think my chief put you up to saying otherwise.”
“I can assure you that’s not true.” She let out a sigh. “And you do love the job, but you hate the ugliness of the world.” She looked up from her tablet. “And you didn’t deny that you care for Jo.”
“She sees me as a partner, so of course I do. That’s all we’ll be, though. Partners and friends. I think we’re done here. I didn’t come for you to play matchmaker with me, Jo, and a serial killer.”
“I just want you to stop denying yourself and look a bit deeper into other things that matter in your life. You’re the one overwhelming yourself when you don’t have to, and it’s because of your feelings that you’re staying on. I just want you to be more aware. It could help the sleepless nights.”
“Or it could keep me up more.” He got to his feet and held out his hand. “How long are we going to keep doing this?”
“I’d like to see you again in a few weeks. Especially now that you’re staying on the case.”
After this session, Jake wasn’t sure he wanted to spend time with the woman. He let go of her hand and stepped toward the door. “I think I’ll save the department some money. I’m good. And I’m going to solve this case and quit this job just like I said I would.”
“Oh, I have no doubts you’ll solve it. You and this partner of yours are good for each other. You’re a good team.” She walked over and held the door open for him.
Jake shook his head. The woman just wasn’t going to give up. He left without another word and went to his car. Was she onto something with the Hangman? Was he looking for Jake to be his light to lead him out of the darkness he created? Had he realized he was the monster in the equation?
Jake knew that it was ridiculous to think that a murderer could need him, especially one who had not wanted him around in the first place, but perhaps the asshole had had a change of heart. Was that the reason he wasn’t able to torture Nina more than he did?
He picked up his phone and called Jo’s number. Hearing her voice as she answered was both nice and frustrating, considering his past hour.
“Are you out of your session already?” she asked.
“Yeah, turns out the woman is a quack. Look, I know we turned in the letters, but I want the photos of the ones the Hangman has sent me.”
“I’ll make you a collage and have it hanging on the wall when you get back to the office.”
“Just have them printed, and we’ll figure out what to do with them later.” He smiled at her eagerness. “I don’t want an investigation wall in my office.”
“Don’t worry. You don’t have an office.”
“Jo, come on. I’ve already told you I don’t really agree with having evidence on the wall where anyone can see.”
“Relax. I’m just going to put them up on the new bulletin board with nothing else. I promise I won’t make a whole thing out of it.”
“You really drive me nuts, you know that?” He laughed.
“You love it. See you soon!” She hung up the phone, and Jake dropped his to his lap.
“Yeah, see you soon, Jo.” Was it too much for him to think that something positive might happen for a change?
Chapter 12
Chief O’Connor
Being out of work sucked as bad as the basketball game he had been watching for the past hour. The thing had been filmed over a decade ago, and it made O’Connor appreciate how far technology had come and how it had improved sports entertainment. O’Connor changed the channel, going through the line until he found a local report. He wanted to catch up on the news, especially since hearing about Nina Kline.
No one knows why Ms. Kline was targeted, but some are theorizing that the Hangman is out for vigilante justice from a corrupt system. If this is the case, then who is next on the Hangman’s score sheet?
The man had a score to settle all right. O’Connor just wished he knew what it was. He hoped that the media could stay on a leash long enough for Jake to solve the case.
He changed the channel back to the game, and over the roaring televised crowd, he heard a noise coming from his kitchen.
He had
been sitting in his recliner all day, and with his wife, Callie, out of town, no one should be in the house. He slowly reached beside him where he kept his gun, and then to keep from making sound, he got up without putting the footrest down. He crouched down and made his way out of the den and down the short hall to the kitchen, where he heard more noise.
“You’ve got to do better than that, Paddy.” Clay rose up from behind the fridge door as O’Connor stepped into the doorway, his gun trained on the man.
“God dammit!” He put his gun down. “What the fuck are you doing in my house?” He looked at the back door to see that it was not harmed in the least. Had he remembered to lock the damned thing, or was Clay just that fucking good? Probably the latter.
“Don’t mind me. I’m only proving to you how easy it would be to get got.” He flashed O’Connor a smirk.
O’Connor didn’t need his reminders. “Come on, like you care, Clay.” He knew better then to believe that.
Clay leaned against the counter, chewing a piece of black forest ham he’d taken from the fridge. “I can’t believe you’d say that, Paddy. We’ve known each other a long time. Most of my life, in fact. You know I’ll look out for you.”
O’Connor trusted Clay about as much as he’d trust a snake not to bite him. “Just because your father was as rotten as you doesn’t make us old pals.” He remembered the first time he’d met Clay. He had just been a kid. A little scrawny shit that kept a dirty face but had no scars from his future lifestyle. O’Connor had actually felt sorry for him once.
“You’re right. An old pal wouldn’t have sent the bastard up the way you did. But I forgave you for that a long time ago. You know it helped me anyway. I mean, once the asshole was locked up, he stopped slapping my mother around and putting his foot in my back. I was grateful to you. Did I ever tell you that?” He smiled and ate the last bite of meat.
Clay’s dad had been one of the most powerful crime lords in New York. “Glad to be your hero. But that didn’t stop you from following in his footsteps.”