Necessary Evil

by Janelle Taylor

  “I know there’s lots of women who want my man. They always come on to him and try to get him in bed with them, especially the older ladies. They don’t care that he’s married, that he has a wife and home. But I can’t imagine any of them wanting to hurt my husband in such a horrible way. The vulgar way those old bats throw themselves at him, I don’t see how he can be so nice to them, except maybe he wants the love he never got from his mama and grandma. She was crazy, his grandma was. His mama was just white trash. Sam stepped out of line a time or two, but he was always sorry and we worked it out. Of course, it was rough a couple years back, but we made it through that.”

  Dan realized the delusional woman was almost babbling, from shock and grief, but she was dropping clues. “What happened a couple of years ago, Mrs. Parks?”

  “One of those old ladies who had been putting the moves on my husband claimed he attacked her and raped her. A cop found some acid in our storage closet and decided to arrest Sam. Sure, he was at her house that day, but someone else must have come over later and did that to her. Sam said he rejected her advances, but she just kept coming on to him, so he left to avoid trouble. My Sam wouldn’t have thrown any acid in someone’s face or raped her. That’s mean and cruel. My Sam is gentle and loving, soft and sweet in the bedroom. He wouldn’t have done something so horrible. Sam used the acid to clean the sidewalk and do other man stuff.”

  “You’re saying your husband was innocent of the crime he was charged with? That the story he told you about the widow coming on to him was true, he rejected her advances? You don’t think he attacked her, but someone came over later and did it?” Mory questioned her, unable to hide the disbelief in his voice.

  “He did yard work for people who didn’t want or couldn’t do it themselves. He came in contact with a lot of people, most of them women who were home during the day while he was working. They would bring him something to drink or eat, and flirt and come on to him. They would do whatever necessary to entice him go to bed with them, and then have their husbands fire him because he turned them down. They wanted a yardman who would tend to their other needs. He told them no, but they wouldn’t listen and would be spiteful. And then he’d have to go find someone else who needed his services.”

  Dan didn’t believe her. Had she convinced herself it was true to save her marriage? “So, your husband admitted to sleeping with the woman who later claimed he raped her?” When he tried to trick her, he saw Cheryl Parks look guilty and alarmed.

  “Did I say that? No, I don’t remember saying that. Sam didn’t sleep with any of the women, that’s why their husbands or those widows would fire him. The women would start complaining about the job Sam was doing, when they really were upset because he rejected them. My husband never cheated on me. He was faithful to me always, no matter what those whores did.”

  Dan looked over at Mory. He knew his partner had heard her earlier slip and deduced she knew more than she was telling or she was in denial. They needed to pass this information along to Raymond to see if the DA. could jog her memory some more.

  Chapter Ten

  Saturday morning, July 7th

  “Mrs. Evans, I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but unfortunately, I must. It seems the man who allegedly raped you last year was killed last night.”

  The woman sitting before him bowed her head and began to cry softly. Her hands were wrinkled with age and her hair was almost stark white. Dan could still see her scarred and burned face from the mercuric acid that Parks had used to torture the elderly woman. He glanced around the room and saw many pictures of people he assumed were her children and grandchildren. It relieved him to know she had family who could help her deal with this new episode.

  “It’s that Avenger I’ve been hearing about on the news. He got him for me, didn’t he?” she asked, her voice crackling with emotion.

  “Ma’am, we’re not sure who’s responsible for Sam Park’s death, but we have to investigate every angle. He was raped and tortured in much the same way that you were before he was killed. That’s why we must talk to you. We need to know if there’s anyone you know who might have some knowledge about who did this.” He knew from her file that her husband had died from a stroke several months before she was attacked.

  “I don’t know anyone who would do such a thing. I thought I was safe from such heinous crimes. The worst thing I ever thought would happen to me was that someone would rob me. I can’t imagine anyone wanting me with all the pretty young girls out there. Thank God he didn’t do this to some teenager. I couldn’t imagine facing the rest of my life like this if I had been young when he attacked and disfigured me.”

  Mory said, “There are some evil men out there, Mrs. Evans. It’s difficult to say why anyone does something so horrible to another human being, but they do. It’s our job to stop them and make sure they don’t do it again.”

  “But you didn’t stop the man who did this to me. You let him go. Just because a police officer went to his house and found the acid without a written search warrant detailing what they were looking for, that doesn’t mean he’s any less guilty of what he did to me. It only means the officer didn’t follow a procedure. I just can’t imagine a system that sets these monsters free, when they know he did it. If I hadn’t let him come inside to use the toilet and get some water, there wouldn’t have been a reason for his fingerprints, a few hairs and some skin cells to be in here. That’s how his awful lawyer got him off.”

  Dan knew from the case file that Parks had claimed he had the mercuric acid on hand because he was going to use it to clean his house bricks and stone walkway. He also knew what that scumbag lawyer had used for “reasonable doubt”. “I know, Mrs. Evans. It’s just as frustrating for an officer to arrest a guilty party, only to have his defense attorney find a loophole in the law to exploit unfairly. I’m sorry for what happened to you.”

  “Not as sorry as I am, Lieutenant. Do you see all my pictures? I have four children and seven grandchildren. But they hardly know their grandma. Do you know why? The young ones cry when they see me. They’re afraid of me. The oldest one is ten and Joey can’t bear to look at my face. How do we comfort kids who know somebody can break into their home and do something terrible to them? It gives them nightmares if they come to visit me. I’ve become a hermit in this house, because people stare at me and whisper behind my back like I got bad ears and can’t hear them. Some even dare to ask me what happened, as if I’d tell them and it’s any of their business. I’ve had little hoodlums laugh, joke, throw rocks at me, and call me the Boogey Woman or worse. I had to lock myself away from those things or go crazy. I have my groceries delivered and one of my neighbors—God bless her kind soul—runs my other errands for me. Can you imagine going through life with a face like this? I can barely watch television or read the papers, it gives me such a headache. I’m completely blinded in my right eye and partially in the left one. The only thing I have to give me pleasure are my gardens and they’re fenced in so nobody can see me when I work.”

  “Mrs. Evans, we’re so sorry for what happened to you and we’re sorry the courts set him free. But we have to stop this killer. We don’t know what he’s capable of. Tell us about your children.”

  Dorothy Evans looked at Dan as she spoke. “None of my children would do something like this. If they were vengeful souls, they would have shot him before, during or right after the trial. They’ve had to go on with their lives and with their children’s lives. Yes, they were upset by the outcome, but I can’t imagine any of my children killing that man or the other ones. They didn’t have anything to do with it, that I’m sure of.”

  “Please tell us about them, ma’am, and we can scratch them off the list. We’ll need to contact them as a formality,” Dan warned so she wouldn’t be surprised. “We want to make sure we do everything by the book and don’t make any mistakes so this killer won’t have any loopholes to exploit.”

  “You don’t want to make any mistakes when you capture my Ave
nger, but you didn’t worry too much about making any when you were after my rapist,” Dorothy stated in a bitter tone. She paused, then went on softly, “I’m sorry. You weren’t the officers in charge of my case, so I shouldn’t be taking this out on you. If all policemen were as thorough as you two, there wouldn’t be any need for the Avenger, would there?”

  “Everyone makes mistakes, Mrs. Evans,” Dan said. “Everyone. Policemen are just as human as everybody else. We try to be as careful as we can, but sometimes we do mess up. The problem isn’t that the police make an error, but that the system says that infringes on the criminal’s rights and therefore, sets them free, regardless of their guilt or innocence. Hopefully, someday soon things will change, but we have to follow the rules that have been set now.”

  “I know you’re only doing your job. To answer your question, I have four children: two boys and two girls. We had the boys first, but I wanted a little girl badly. Then, we had the twins. Both of them live in Texas, where they went to school and married their college sweethearts. Ever since this happened they’ve tried to get me to move out there, but I’ve refused. Jack and I lived in this house since the birth of my second son. I can’t imagine living anywhere else, and it would be a burden on my kids to take me in looking like this. They love me, so that wouldn’t be fair to them. One of my oldest boys lives in Augusta and the other one lives in Atlanta. Jimmy is the oldest; he’s the one in Atlanta. He’s a tax attorney for a large company there. Bobby lives here in Martinez. He was out of town this weekend on a golfing trip he takes every year. I’m sure you’ll find he didn’t return to kill that evil man. I’ll give you their phone numbers and addresses before you leave.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Evans. We appreciate you talking to us. We know this is difficult for you and we wish it could be easier, but there’s no other way around it Nobody can appoint himself a judge, jury, and executioner. We can’t allow him to make a mistake and slay an innocent person. Thank you for your time.”

  “You’re welcome, Lieutenant. Please be gentle with the boys when you see them. They’re still upset about what happened to me—not enough to kill Parks—but angry about what happened to their momma. It’s normal to be angry he went free. Please be easy with them. They’ve had to deal with so much.”

  “I will, Mrs. Evans, I promise.” Dan hated to pour more anguish on her lingering wounds, but he had no choice. “I’m sorry to tell you, ma’am, but the news media may try to contact you for an interview. This case is getting bigger and louder with every new vic—slaying. Because of the past trial, it’s public knowledge you were Park’s victim. Once they learn the crime against you was copied on him, they’ll be calling or dropping by to add you to their news reports. They might even contact your family members for comments.”

  “I’ve seen and heard how these creeps work. They won’t get to me, and I’ll warn my children about them.”

  “I wish I had the power and authority to stop them.”

  “I know, Lieutenant Mallory, but the law is on their side. As the Avenger was quoted, Justice is blind. It’s a blessing we victims have him on our side. With Parks dead, I can finally get a good night’s sleep and not be terrified he’ll break in and attack me again. Forgive me, sir, but I hope and will pray you never catch him. If you do, who will protect and avenge people like me?”

  For once, Dan and Mory lacked an honest response.

  Sunday afternoon, July 8th

  “Sorry bastard deserved it if you ask me.” Bobby Evans angrily responded to Dan’s initial inquiry. “I was out of town, so don’t go thinking I had anything to do with it. I can give you a list of forty men who’ll swear I was with them on a golfing trip. We go up to the mountains every year and play. I might have wanted to rip the bastard’s throat out, but I would never have done that. Mama couldn’t have lived with herself if I was thrown in jail for seeking revenge because of her. But that’s the only reason why I never killed him. She’s suffered enough already.”

  “Yes, she has,” Dan concurred. “I’m sorry for the way things turned out for her, but I still have to uphold the law and do my job. We don’t know what this Avenger is capable of. He could kill an innocent person by accident. We have to stop him.”

  “Well, you’re on your own. Just like Mama was when your kind let that bastard go. I don’t know anything. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. I’d love to meet this Avenger and thank him from the bottom of my heart. I hope he continues for a long, long time, just as I hope you never catch him. If you do, I’ll pay any amount the attorneys require to find one of those convenient loopholes they use all the time to get the real guilty off. But I do thank you for being kind and gentle with Mama.”

  Dan watched Bobby as he talked and was convinced that he didn’t have anything to do with those murders. But he’d check out the man’s alibi anyway. No mistakes. No oversights. Not this time. The phone call to his brother had turned out much the same. He had been a counselor at his church’s youth camp. There was no way he could have been gone long enough to drive the distance to Augusta without his absence being noticed. To Bobby he said, “Thank you for your time. If you think of anything, please give me a call.” He handed Bobby his card and walked out the front door, Mory trailing behind him, looking tired and depressed, then angry and frustrated. Dan understood those feelings, as they plagued him at times.

  Late Sunday afternoon, July 8th

  “Please, Henri, tell me something good: tell me he’s messed up somewhere this time and left fingerprints, hair, something. Anything,” Dan almost pleaded with the medical examiner in her office.

  “I’m afraid this guy is good, too good. The only clue he leaves behind that could lead us to him is his semen, and that oversight mystifies me. As careful as he is, I’m surprised he doesn’t use a condom to catch it and take it with him.”

  Dan speculated, “Maybe it’s intentional, some kind of message or a taunt. Maybe he wants to be exposed and arrested. Maybe he’s playing a cat and mouse game with us. He probably figures no jury will convict him.”

  Henrietta said, “You could be right. Sam Parks was injected with the same potassium chloride that the others were, causing almost immediate death. He was anally sodomized and forced to perform fellatio before he was tortured with the sulfuric acid. If your killer wasn’t careful, he could have acid burns on him because it’s highly corrosive. But I have a feeling he knows how to handle it safely and didn’t injure himself. I’d say your Avenger was really pissed off at this one. Sam’s rectal tissues were torn up pretty badly. The victim struggled so hard to get loose, the ropes nearly sliced his wrists like a razor. Cut so deep, he severed a few veins and had heavy blood loss. All droplets were his.”

  “Damn! He’s got us chasing our tails.”

  “Your killer didn’t leave fingerprints or a single hair, skin or fiber sample anywhere. The semen was sent to LifeCo, but I’m sure it will be identical to the others. I’ll have a full report by Thursday. You can check with me then. The Avenger must know his victims or have a clever disguise.”

  “Why do you say that, Henri?” Mory asked.

  “Dan said there was no evidence of forced entry into any of the houses or apartments, so these men must have invited the killer into their homes. If you can figure out that angle, it might help you find your man.”

  “By the way, how are you getting these results so fast from the State Lab? I’ve heard the backlog for testing is several weeks.”

  “They work faster when it involves a serial killer, especially when he’s active.”

  “But still, you’ve managed to get results back in two weeks. That’s nearly impossible. What gives?”

  “Being a female, in this case, helps a lot, Dan.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Most of the lab techs are women. There aren’t many female ME’s around, so we can generally get our stuff pushed to the front in an emergency. It’s a well kept secret, so keep your mouth shut, or I’ll bury your results for the next five ye
ars.”

  “Ouch, Henri, that hurts. And that’s reverse discrimination.”

  “What are you complaining about? It benefits you, especially with this Avenger on the loose. Besides, men have had the monopoly for a long time. Every now and then, we women have to pull together and even the score a little bit. I only ask for a rush job when I really need it. I never misuse my friends, so they help me out when I call. I thought you’d appreciate me using up one of my favors for you.”

  “I do,” Dan emphatically replied. “I really do. We need to catch this guy, so whatever advantage we can get, I say we take it.”

  “I thought you’d see it that way.”

  “Thanks, Henri. I do appreciate you calling one in for me on this. I promise to pay you back.”

  “Yes, you will, Dan, because I intend to collect after you catch this Avenger. Have you figured out where he’s getting his potassium chloride? I called an old friend, Doctor Louis Renew, at the Medical College. He’s supposed to be checking things out over there. Here’s his name and address.” She gave Dan a piece of paper with those things on it. “He said he’d call if he came up with anything.”

  “It always helps to have someone on the inside, Henri. Even when it involves a case like this, it’s knowing the right person to call that gets the job done. Thanks again. Have you ever considered going back to the department?”

  “No way. I’m just fine where I am. There are less knives in my back and no guns pointing my way. The rules I have to follow are a lot clearer, too. I know what I’m supposed to do and how to do it and no judge is sitting up there claiming whatever I did set a maniac free. I couldn’t live with that. I know I’ll be going home at night, too, unless some drunk driver runs over me.”

  Dan smiled. “Henri, you’ll probably live to be a hundred.”

  “God, I hope not. I’ve seen what those old folk's naked bodies look like. I want to make it up on that table while I’m still good looking.”