by Caleb Meeks
Instantly, I heard feet running around. Guards barking at each other. It didn’t faze me this time though, it challenged me. I turned and headed towards the voices that were yelling at each other. One guard rounded the corner, running as fast as he could, and I dropped him immediately. He didn’t even have the time to stop, he just crashed into the wall. Two others rounded the corner after him. I kicked one of their faces into the wall and shot the other one twice in the chest. The one I kicked into the wall jumped at me, but with some strength I hadn’t experienced before, I caught him by the throat and threw him to the floor. One bullet and he was gone.
I continued along the path and went up a set of stairs. A guard ran out just as I reached the top, and I fired one bullet. He went limp, and I shoved him over the edge of the railing. I continued through the rooms, dropping guards where they stood. No one was in the rooms, other than the guards, of course. I made my way back through the hallway and to the door where I came in.
I threw it open, driven only by the adrenaline inside me. Once I opened the door, though, I saw Dominic standing in the center of the breezeway. It wiped away all of the adrenaline that had taken me over, and he smiled in relief when he saw me.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” He said, trying to keep an eye on the doors.
“Sorry, I’ve been a little tied up looking for you.” I gestured to the gun in my hand. “What happened?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I was just sitting in there with you, while you slept. I heard something, so I decided to check it out. Then all this happened. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I said, still unsure of my answer. “We have to get out of here.”
“Yeah, we-,” he stopped as a bullet flew into his leg. His expression showed shock over the pain as he landed on the ground. Guards ran in from the surrounding doors and entrances, their guns ready. I dropped down by Dominic and reached into my pocket. The cross hung in my hand, and I handed it to him. It wouldn’t do him much good, but it was what I felt like I should do. Guards ran up to both of us and locked us in their arms. At least four men had me, and three of them grabbed him. Other guards stood around us, eagerly willing to shoot if either one of us tried to escape. They lifted Dominic by his arms and carried him away. He mouthed something to me, but in the moment, I couldn’t tell what he had said. I watched as they carried him off, the small militia following behind. The four guards still held tightly to me. Once they were mostly evacuated from the facility, I dealt with the four guards who had me. They clearly weren’t anticipating me to fight back, but I broke at least three bones in each of them.
I ran forward to the entrance of the facility, where they had just taken Dominic. They were gone, though. I could see trucks speeding away in the far distance, but there was no way I could get to them. He was gone.
Chapter Eighteen.
Matthew sat in his apartment, staring at the ceiling. It had been a long day…long week…long string of weeks. He’d lost count of how long it had been. Even though he was physically exhausted, he couldn’t seem to sleep for longer than a couple hours at a time. He’d tried everything from Advil P.M. to the prescription sleeping pills he’d had for a while. Nothing worked.
This case had him on the edge of his sanity every second. Whether it was intense curiosity, or intense fear, something about it was inhibiting his ability to sleep. He just couldn’t get it out of his head. He rolled over and looked at the clock on his nightstand. It read 3:42 A.M. Every little sound he heard sent a jolt of adrenaline through his body, and even though he knew it just to be the dog in the apartment above him, or people walking on the street below him, he couldn’t help but immediately feel endangered.
Eventually, he decided to get up out of the bed. Staring at the walls in the dark was starting to get at his sanity. By then, he had counted a ridiculous number of shapes he could find in the ceiling, and he decided he should get some fresh air before he started counting carpet fibers.
His apartment didn’t have a balcony, but outside the door, there was a railing that looked out over the city. It was often where he went to sit when he couldn’t sleep. The door slid open, and the frigid air blew into the room. With everything going on in his head, he barely even noticed the temperature. He slid down the wall just outside the door and looked out over the city. A year ago, he would have had a bottle of something strong in his hand, but he’d given that up a while ago. After drinking himself into a nearly comatose state a number of times, he came to the realization that when he drank the emotions away, they came back even stronger the next morning. It wasn’t worth it. Still, that familiar urge rippled throughout his body. He remembered it well, the feeling of his body asking for a drink. It was like every part of his body ached, but not like it did after working out. It was a different kind of aching, like watching a drug addict go through withdrawals. He’d gotten good at ignoring it, though.
Even though he had tried to stop thinking about the case by coming outside, he was now thinking about it more. Looking out over the city, he just couldn’t help but think about whether he was out there right then. What happened to this guy in his life that could have caused him to end up here? He thought. Then something occurred to him, and he stood up, walked back inside the house, and closed the door behind him. He grabbed his computer of the table and opened it. If he was right, then it could be game changing for the case.
With his eyes wide with excitement, he picked up his phone and dialed Cadman. After a few rings, he picked up. “Hey Matt, is everything ok? It’s four in the morning.”
Newman had forgotten that it was so early. “Sorry Leo, but I thought you would want to hear this.”
“What’s going on?” Matthew could hear the change in his voice from dazed to excited. He could also hear him get up from bed and start walking around his house.
“If I’m right, it could change this whole case. You should get to my apartment as soon as you can.”
Without missing a beat, Cadman replied, “Text me your address and I’ll be over there as soon as I can.”
“Will do.” The excitement in both men gave them both the buzz they needed to keep going on the case.
Somewhere around thirty minutes later, Cadman had arrived at Matthew’s apartment. He knocked on the door. Matthew walked up to the door, still wearing the tank top and sweatpants he had slept in. The door opened, and Leo stood there, clearly on an adrenaline rush. “I got here as soon as I could. What’s going on?” He stepped into the room, and Matthew closed the door behind him.
“Sorry to call you so early, but I couldn’t sleep, and I was thinking about the case. I…” Cadman stopped him, grabbing him by the shoulders.
“Just spit it out Matthew.”
“I think I found his mother.” Both men stared at each other for a moment, completely in shock.
“What do you mean?” Cadman said. He heard him perfectly, but the idea of it was completely insane.
“I mean, I think I found Judas’ mother.” Newman clarified.
“Okay, start from the beginning.”
Newman shook his head, unsure of where to even start. “I was sitting outside the door, thinking about the case, and out of nowhere, I found myself asking what happened to this guy in his past that made him end up this way. It takes some serious issues to end up as messed up as Judas, and then I remembered a disturbance I responded to a couple years ago. It was at Knight’s Mental Hospital. All they said was that there was a woman going crazy, and they wanted some assistance with her. I got there, and there was a woman screaming, throwing things, normal behavior for a mental hospital. At the time, I didn’t pay attention to what she was saying, but now I realize that it may be more relevant than I had originally thought.”
“What was she saying?” Cadman asked, eagerly awaiting an answer.
“She was saying, ‘Judas, the betrayer, my son betrayed me,’ things down that vein.” Cadman’s eyes grew wide. “At the time they wrote it off as some twisted biblical psychoba
bble, but now I realize it may have been more than that. She never claimed to be a religious person, so it was odd. They told me not to put too much thought into the ramblings of a mental patient. I know it’s a loose connection, but I think it’s worth checking out.”
“I agree. At this point, it’s the closest link we have, and we’d be foolish not to at least check. Good work, Matthew. Do you remember her name?”
“No, but I have it in a file down at the station.”
“Let’s go, then.” Cadman said excitedly.
“Yeah, let me just change first.” He turned and headed back towards his room. “There’s fresh coffee in the kitchen if you want some. It’s strong, though.”
“Sounds great, thanks.” Cadman called back. He walked into Matthew’s kitchen, grabbed a cup, and poured the dark liquid into it. He could tell how strong it was just by the smell. One large swallow in, he could already feel himself more alert. He turned to walk out of the kitchen but stopped when he noticed a picture on the counter. It was an old picture, but he could tell the young kid in the picture was Matthew. There was an older guy in the picture too, probably six or seven years older. He could hear Matthew come out of the room behind him, and he turned to face him. He had quickly changed into a pair of black jeans, a grey long sleeve shirt, and a black jacket.
“Who’s this?” Cadman said, holding up the picture.
Newman looked up at the picture, and after blinking away a few emotions, said, “My brother.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you had a brother.” Cadman said, noticing the change in Matthew’s demeanor.
He smiled. “Not many people do.” They were both quiet for a brief moment. “Ready to go?” Matthew said.
“Yeah, let’s get going. You want to just ride together in my car?”
“Sounds good to me.” Matthew said, putting his normal personality back on. Cadman set the nearly empty coffee cup in the sink and walked around to the door. Both men walked out, Matthew turned and locked the door, and then they headed down the stairs. His car was parked just below the stairs. They both climbed into the vehicle, being quiet. For a little while, they rode in silence.
Eventually, Cadman spoke. “Hey, sorry about back there. It was pretty clear that it pinched a nerve, and I didn’t mean to dig up anything.”
Matthew inhaled, “It’s ok, just been a while since I’ve seen him. I don’t have a lot of visitors, so I don’t get asked about him very often. I didn’t mean to let my emotions get the best of me. It didn’t really pinch a nerve, just brought up some stuff I hadn’t thought about in a while.”
“We’re not technically on the clock yet, so it’s ok to let your emotions get the best of you. Still, I know what you mean. Were you two close?”
Matthew smiled, genuinely this time. “Yeah, very close.”
“Would you say you’re still close?” Matthew was quiet for a few seconds. “Sorry, didn’t meant to pry.”
“No, not at all, just not a question I’ve ever really thought about before. I’d say we’re still close, yeah.” Cadman nodded, and they rode the rest of the way in silence. Comfortable silence now, however.
They reached the station quickly. Not many people were there, but it was barely even five in the morning, so it didn’t shock them. Matthew sat down at a computer, clicking through files. Eventually, it popped up on the screen.
“Got it.” He said to Cadman, who was leaning against the desk.
“What’s her name?”
“Dara Williams.”
Cadman’s eyes opened wide at the possible movement in the case. “You should call the hospital and see if she’s still a patient. I’m going to grab something out of my office.”
“Got it.” With that, Cadman turned and walked toward his office. Before picking up the phone, Matthew scanned the room. The only other people in it were on phone calls, and no one seemed to be paying him any attention. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialed the phone number listed for the hospital. After a few rings, a seemingly tired woman picked up.
“Hello, my name is Kate, this is Knight’s Mental Hospital. How can I help you?”
“Hi, my name is Matthew Newman. I’m with the Police Department. I was wondering if you could confirm whether or not a patient was still in your facility.”
“I can do that for you. What’s the patient’s name?”
“Dara Williams.”
“Let me check.” Newman waited with bated breath. “It looks like Mrs. Williams is still with us.” Newman uttered a silent exclamation of joy.
“Great, is there any way my partner and I could come talk to her in a couple hours?”
“I can arrange that for you. What’s your partners name?”
“Leo Cadman.”
“Alright Officer Newman, I’ve got you both down.” Cadman walked out from his office, and silently asked if Newman had good news. He returned with a thumbs up. Cadman pumped his fist in excitement.
“Thank you so much.” Newman hung up the phone and stood up from the desk. “Let’s go.”
Both men walked out of the building, barely garnering a second glance from anyone in the room. They got back in the car and sped out of the parking lot. It was the biggest break in the case they’d had so far, and it was visible in both men’s attitudes. The drive to the facility was about two hours, but it wasn’t going to feel like it.
“I can’t believe we may actually have a lead in this case.” Cadman said.
“I know. Even though we’ve only been on this case for a few weeks, I can’t imagine having to sit with it for such a long time. It has to weigh on you.”
“Why do you think Jonathan Martin is so broken? This case has been on his shoulders for years. It does weigh on you.”
“And to think, we might be able to give him some hope soon.”
“Yeah, are you ready for this?” Cadman asked.
“I mean, it’s just a meeting. I’ve already handled her once, so I can’t imagine it being much worse than that.”
“No, I meant are you ready for a breakthrough in the case?”
“That’s a deep question.” Newman said, pausing to think up a response. “I don’t know, Leo. I don’t really think we get a choice in whether we’re ready. It’s terrifying to think about opening this case up because we have no idea what we’re going to find.”
“I know what you mean. I’m scared, too. But, this is what we do. You’ve never even worked a homicide, right?”
“Not really. I’ve done paperwork for one, but I’ve never actually been on a homicide case.”
“Well, what I can tell you is that opening up a case is always scary, and it will always be scary, but it’s the most satisfying thing you will ever do in this job. If we can actually manage to open up this case, you’ll never do another ounce of paperwork that isn’t related to something serious.”
Newman smiled. “Who knows, you might even make Captain because of this case.”
“Captain Cadman. It has a nice ring to it.” Both men shared a laugh and continued down the road. They barely even noticed the time as it flew by.
They pulled up to the facility and stepped out of the car. Walking into the office, Newman stepped up to the woman at the front desk.
“What can I do for you, gentlemen?”
“My name is Matthew Newman this is my partner Leo Cadman. We’re with the police. I called a couple hours ago about talking to Dara Williams?”
“Yes, of course. Can you just sign in for me?”
“Yeah, sure.” Cadman said, signing the sheet she put in front of him.
“I will let you know though, that when I made note of the appointment, the head psychiatrist here asked me to let him know when you arrived. He said he wanted to speak with the both of you.”
Cadman thought it slightly odd, but said it was perfectly fine to meet with him. He turned around to Newman, “What do you think the psychiatrist wants?”
“I don’t have any idea. I’ve been here quite a few times, and I’ve
never even met the guy.” After waiting for a few minutes, a man in a white medical coat walked into the room.
“Detective Newman and Officer Cadman, I presume?” The man asked. He looked to be in his fifties, wearing a dress shirt and slacks under the lab coat.
“Other way around. I’m Officer Newman, this is Detective Cadman.” Newman said, pointing to Cadman.
“My apologies. Doctor Stewart Dunn.” He reached out and shook both men’s hands.
“Not a problem. May I ask why you asked to see us before we speak to Mrs. Williams?”
“Of course. Can we speak in private?” He asked, ushering them towards his office.
“Absolutely. After you.” Cadman said. The three headed into the office. He closed the door behind them and walked around to sit in his chair.
“Now, I won’t ask what you are looking to talk to her about, because I know that is private information, but I just wanted to speak to you about Dara Williams. She’s an interesting case. For the most part, she’s fairly sociable. She may be a little slow to answer, and you may have to redirect her attention sometimes, but for the most part she will speak to you. As you may know, though, she has a tipping point when it comes to her son. As far as we know, we don’t know if this is a real person, or if it is a figment of her imagination. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that’s why you’re here, but again, I won’t pry for information. You can ask her about her son all you want, but as soon as you mention his name, that’s when she can get aggressive. We will have people on standby, since she will probably end up getting aggressive. Other than that, I don’t have any other caveats. Do you have any questions for me, or would you like to get in there with her?”