Slide the blade in. Yes. Slice. Grunt. Lick the...lick the blood. Filthy w***e. Slice. Stab her again. Cut her! Mmmm the screams. You like the screams. Slice again. This is what she deserves.
Cameras flashed. A dozen people milled about the tiny one bedroom apartment, taking pictures,carefully cataloging any minute detail. Detective Joe Stevens crouched over the mutilated corpse. He flicked on a small tape recorder. "Victim is female, appears to be somewhere in her mid 20s to late 30s. Brutally butchered. Forensics is gonna have a field day." He switched the tape recorder off and stood up, never averting his gaze from the grisly scene. He studied the corpse for what seemed the millionth time that cold December morning. It was the same scene as the night before. And the night before that one. Joe sighed heavily. He had been on the force for 15 years, and he'd seen a lot of things. But for some reason, this case really bugged the hell out of him. It wasn't the brutal, ritualized killings. Or even the way the killer seemed to completely disappear and leave no concrete evidence. It was the look on the victims' faces. For some reason, the killer chose to freeze their faces in a moment in time; the exact moment that they knew they were going to die. For the first time in 15 years, Joe turned his head from the sight.
A hand on his shoulder caused him to jump up, startled.
"Whoa, hey, buddy, you doing ok? Never seen you this jumpy."
The voice was that of Ralph Merris, his partner for more than ten years. Also his closest friend. Ralph looked at him with a puzzled and concerned look. He asked again, "You ok, Joe?"
Joe suddenly realized he hadn't said anything, and stammered out a response. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Just.."he motioned to the corpse," just this is messed up."
Ralph glanced behind Joe towards the corpse, and sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been on the phone all morning trying to calm the newspapers down. They are going nuts with this whole serial killer nonsense." Ralph took a sip of coffee.
Joe furrowed his eyebrow. "Nonsense? Fifth killing in a row. Same style, predominately female subjects ritualistically and brutally slain? Sounds like a nutjob act to me."
Ralph shrugged his shoulders. "Our job isn't to pander to media frenzy, it's to catch the wacko."
Joe stood silently for a few seconds. "Yeah, you're right. Try to keep the whole serial killer thing on the down low. Don't need to start a citywide panic or something." Joe slumped his shoulders. Ralph studied his friend closely. "S**t man, you look like you haven't slept in a week. You and Sandy..ya know.." his voice trailed off.
Joe grunted. "Eh. Let's just say I'm spending more time at the bar recently than at home."
Ralph put his hand on Joe's shoulder. "Look, buddy, every marriage has problems. You two can work this s**t out. Look, if you need a place to stay, Kacey and I would love to have you. The kids miss their "Uncky Joe" anyways. Get out of that roach motel and eat a home cooked dinner it might do you so.."
Joe interrupted. "I appreciate it man. But I just need some time alone right now." Joe looked around. "Looks like they got a handle on things here. Let's head back to the station and see what we can find out."
***
Back at the station, Joe and Ralph immediately made way to the Criminal Forensics Division. They stopped at a computer workstation where a petite brunette was poring over police records. "Morning Tiff. You got anything for us yet?" Ralph asked, setting his coffee on the desk next to the keyboard.
Tiffany spun around in her chair, grabbed the cup, and handed it back to Ralph. "You know my rule, no coffee in the lab." Ralph smirked. "You're way too uptight. Figured the caffeine might loosen you up some. Anyways, you got anything for us?" Tiffany glared at Ralph, then turned her head to Joe and smiled. "Morning Joe." Joe raised his cup silently and nodded. Ralph tapped his fingers on the desk, impatiently. "Tiff..." Tiffany spun back around to face the computer monitor. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Serial killer, yadda yadda. The thing is, we really have nothing to go on. I've been running the hair and tissue samples since the first killing, and I'm getting nothing but false matches and inconsistencies. It's like the evidence is pointing to five different people each and every time I run the stupid thing." Joe looked up from his coffee. "You think they were a plant?" Tiffany whirled back around. "Definitely. Whoever is doing this is reasonably knowledgeable on how we track and knows what we're looking for."
Ralph muttered, "Great, a CSI nut."
Joe ignored him. "Ok, well if you get anything concrete, let us know."
Tiffany smiled at the monitor. "Of course. I'll let you know right away."
***
Ralph and Joe walked down the hall towards their shared office. "I just don't get it. Five slayings and nothing to go on. This guy is just seriously screwing with us." Ralph exclaimed.
"Or girl." Joe noted.
"Yah, even though this kind of thing is statistically a male dominated past time."
Joe smirked. "Well, we have so little to go on, we can't exactly rule it out."
Ralph sighed. "Yeah, I know. But giving this "person" some sort of identity makes it easier to track the b*****d down."
"We'll get there. We're just missing something. Probably really obvious too. He's toying with us and he'll slip u.." He was interrupted by the vibration of his cellphone. He grabbed it and looked at the screen. "It's Sandy. I'll meet you in the office." He was down the hall and out the door before Ralph could reply.
***
Sandy tapped her foot impatiently. Her arms were crossed and she glared at Joe. Joe was slumped down on the couch. His jacket draped over the side and his tie loosened. They had been arguing for over two hours. Pretty much as soon as he entered the door to the house.
"Well, anything else you want to add?"" Sandy fumed.
"Look. You know I love you. I just....Look, it was some poor judgment ok?" Joe rubbed his temples. He really needed a drink.
"Poor judgment? You..you.. AGGGH!" She roared, and picked up a vase nearby, raising it over her head.
Joe didn't even flinch.
"I know. I deserve everything coming to me. I never wanted to hurt you. I don't know what happened. One second we're talking, then we're alone in her apartment and then.."
Sandy slammed the vase on the floor, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I don't want to hear anymore. She was your assistant. You were working long hours on a "case" together. How could you do this to me? After all these years!"
Joe sighed heavily, and stared at the floor. "I don't know. All this s**t. It's really starting to get to me. You don't know half of the evil, despicable s**t I see every damn day. It weighs down my mind. I can't...I just can't deal with it anymore. I need an escape."
Sandy fumed silently.
Suddenly, Joe jumped up from the couch and grabbed Sandy by the waist. "That...That's what we need. A vacation, you and me. We'll leave the kids at your mother's. We'll go on a holiday...no, a second honeymoon! We'll rekindle this whole thing, work everything out. I wanna prove that I love you."
The sudden outburst and the quick motion left Sandy startled. She stared into Joe's eyes. "I love you, but I..I don't know. These past few weeks. You've changed Joe. First your assistant, then the drinking. I just don't know.."
Joe stared back at her, his eyes growing wild with excitement. "I know I made a mistake, but it's done now. It's over. I fixed it. I talked to her, I fired her, told her we could never see each other again. Told her it was a horrible mistake that I wished to God I could undo. She's gone forever. But you and me, we shouldn't throw away what we have for one stupid little.." he stopped, when he noticed the look of pain and horror on his wife's face.
"Joe..you're hurting me..."
Joe loosened his grip. "OH, oh god I'm sorry. I just got a little over..overexcited. I'm so stressed out and..ugh."
Joe collapsed on the couch and buried his head in his hands. He spoke through the gap in his fingers. His voice was slightly muffled, but understandable. "Look, I'll give you all the time you need to get over what I did to you. But please don't give up on us. I'm at the end of my rope as it is.." his voice trailed off.
Sandy sighed and sat down next to him, putting her arm over his shoulder. "I just need time. I still love you. It'll take time to get things right again."
***
"So how'd it go with you and Sandy?" Ralph prodded, in between bites of pastrami.
Joe leaned back in his chair, pushing his plate away. "Ok, I guess. She hasn't completely given up on us yet. It's going to be a rough few weeks."
Ralph nodded and spoke again, bits of moist sandwich pounded the table, "That's something at least. But I didn't just ask you to lunch to talk about her." Ralph leaned down and removed a large manila envelope from under the table. "This came for you while you were out. I didn't open it, but it sure seemed highly suspect to me." Ralph handed it across the table to the bewildered Joe. "Don't worry, no bombs or Anthrax or anything."
Joe opened the envelope and tilted it over. A videocassette clattered onto the table. "Well this can't be good."
***
Mmmm. Hnngh. Do you see her Joe? Do you see this little w***e that I got for you. MMmmm. She slices up. Real. Nice. We love the tasty screams don't we Joe. We take them everywhere we go.
"Christ." Ralph gasped after the tape ended. They were back in their office. The tape was just 30 seconds long, but it was the most horrifying thing they had ever seen. A woman in her late 20s savagely beaten, and then sliced, cut open and dismembered, all from the point of view of the killer. While said killer narrated.
"That's victim number two." Joe sighed, and ejected the tape. "Looks like we have some more evidence."
"Christ Christ Christ. We gotta find this wackjob." Ralph stood up, stretched. "Hope I never have to see that kind of s**t again."
Joe felt sick to his stomach. For some reason, these killings were striking a bad chord that he just couldn't shake. He looked up. "Ralph, there is something really wrong about this tape."
Ralph looked at him, puzzled. "No s**t? You mean the tape where a woman gets murdered while someone narrates? Yah, I would have to agree..."
Joe held the tape in his hand. "Well, yeah. But he was addressing me. Not "the police" or, hell, even you. Just me. I have a real bad feeling about all this."
Ralph shrugged. "Hey, a lot of people know you're the head of the homicide division. It's not some big secret. The guy is just trying to get into your head." Ralph put on his overcoat. "Come on man. I need a drink."
***
Joe stumbled out of the cab, tossing a few dollars at the window. The cabbie gave him the finger and drove off. "Same..SHAME to youse..buhddy." he slurred, propping himself up against a light pole. He smelled his clothes. Grime and alcohol. When did he last shower? He stumbled to his motel room, glad that it was on the first floor. He fell face first onto the bed in a drunken stupor and immediately passed out.
***
The sun peaked out at him under the blinds. His head pounded. A constant ringing didn't help. It took him a while to realize it was his cellphone. "Uh..yeah. What?" Ralph's voice came over the other end. He sounded surprisingly sober. "Hey buddy, glad to hear you're conscious. You were still drinking when I clocked out." Ralph paused to laugh, then his voice suddenly took on a serious tone. "I know you probably feel like hell, but you need to come to the office."
Joe sat up, rubbing his temples. "It's not another body is it? I really don't wanna deal with that today.."
Ralph paused and then spoke again. "No, it's not a body. Not yet anyways. Just come in."
Joe hung up the phone and lugged himself to the shower.
***
"It's way too bright during the day." Joe complained, squinting his eyes at the seated Ralph.
"Good morning to you too, sunshine." Ralph tossed another envelope to Joe. Joe grabbed it. It was already opened. "Yeah, I already watched it. But I think you really need to see it."
Joe walked over to the VCR and popped the cassette in. He wheeled back in shock as soon as the scene came into focus. It was outside his home. Outside his bedroom window, more specifically. He watched in horror as the camera followed his wife around the room as she got ready for bed.
You see her don't you Joe? I wonder if she really loves you? I bet her blood tastes the best. I bet her screams are the best. What do you think Joe? We could carry her screams with us forever and never need another's again. We like this idea don't we, Joe?
The camera ducked under the window and switched off.
Joe was furiously pacing around, seething.
"I'm sorry man. We got it in this morning. Forensics said it could very well have been taken last night."
Joe grabbed Ralph suddenly and stared into his eyes. "Sandy! Is she..Did she!" He panicked, started to gasp for air.
Ralph grabbed his arms and pushed him away slowly. "Settle down. She is in custody right now. She was pretty confused about the whole thing. We didn't tell her about the tape. We had to reassure her that you were ok. She's a mess, but I think she'll be fine once she sees you. She's waiting in holding room A."
***
Joe barreled into the room and practically knocked his waiting wife over. She cried into his shoulder, "Oh god, Joe, I was so worried something horrible had.."
"It's ok. It was just for your protection. Just to protect you." he held her close, brushing her hair softly.
"Protect me? What's going on? Please tell me. I need to know what's going on!"
Joe took his wife by the hand, and they sat down quietly on the long bench on the side wall.
"Ok, normally I can't tell you the details of my cases. But I think this time, it's ok." She looked at him quizzically as he continued on, "There is someone out there that has killed 5 women. The other day,he sent me a videotape of one of the killings. This morning, he sent me a videotape of you. From last night. This guy was outside our house and.." his voice choked in his throat. "I was so scared that the things i had seen would happen to you, I almost lost it.." He hugged his wife close, "I could never lose you."
Sandy looked at Joe. She let out a small sob. "I'm fine. I never knew anyone was outside the house. The dogs didn't even bark..oh god, I'm so scared. I was more scared that you had gotten shot or..or..I don't even know."
They held each other for a few minutes. Joe spoke softly to his wife, barely a whisper. "I'm going to find you somewhere safe to stay. When I can't be there, I'll have a 24 hour guard posted. I promise he won't get to you!"
Joe suddenly stood up and headed for the door. Sandy called after him, "Joe? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find this sick son of a b***h, and kill him myself."
***
Joe was driving. He wasn't sure where. He had no leads. Nothing to go on. So he kept driving, and thinking. Who was this person that so wanted to destroy him completely? Something about those girls faces...the killer had arranged them in such a way to best unnerve him. Their cold, dead eyes. Frozen in fear and..accusing. It scared the hell out of him that someone could get so close to his wife, and there was no way he could stop it. He slammed his fist down on the steering wheel. "What do you want from me?!" he called out to no one in particular. Confused and scared, he continued to drive aimlessly. All he could think about was Sandy and the pleading, accusing stare of the long dead. Joe finally found a destination that suited him. He parked his car, dusted himself off, and went into the bar for a drink.
***
Several hours late, Joe stumbled out of the bar. He had pissed the day away drinking. He hadn't accomplished anything, hadn't gotten any new leads. He admonished himself, some cop you are!
He fumbled around in his pocket, looking for his phone. He was sober enough to know he needed a cab.
The phone started ringing before he could put in the cab company number.
He slurred into the phone, "Helloooo.."
"Hello Joe."
Even in his drunken stupor, he was taken aback by the voice. The cold, calculating voice. It dripped evil and malevolence.
"You son of a b***h, I'll stop you!" he raged in a drunken fury.
"You can't stop me Joe. No one can. I will keep killing, and punishing, and there isn't anything you can do to stop me. Sandy will be mine. Goodbye Joe."
Joe hurled the phone against the sidewalk, and roared at the stars. He collapsed onto the sidewalk, and buried his head in his hands. Suddenly he looked up, an almost maniacal smirk appeared on his face.
"Oh, I got you now. You slipped up this time."
He picked up his phone and tested it out. He whooped when it still worked. He called up the precinct. "Hey, Tiff? Yeah, it's Joe. You busy?"
"Umm, I can take a break, what do you need?"
"Can you run a trace on my cell? I need to know who the last person to call me was."
"Ok..wait, the killer contacted you? What did he say?"
Joe was getting impatient. "Look, Tiff. It doesn't matter. Just tell me who just called me!"
Tiff was silent a few moments.
"Um Joe, the last person to call you was Ralph...."
Joe hung up the phone in a fit of anger.
"...but that was this morning. Joe? Joe?"
***
Joe was racing. His heart was racing. In fact, everything around him seemed to stir with energy, time seemed to be moving much faster. He was furious. How could he not see it? The tapes. The constant questions about him and Sandy. He was no friend. He..he was a snake! Trying to weasel his way in...he knew all the problems they were going through! Joe clenched his fingers around the steering wheel until he lost feeling in his fingertips. With each passing second, he grew angrier.
***
Joe screeched to a halt outside the safe house. Not so safe, he grumbled to himself. Ralph knew about it too, of course. Joe unholstered his gun. He walked to the front door. No guard on duty. Must be Ralph's turn. Very convenient. Rage seeped out of his pores and he kicked the door in. Ralph come out of the kitchen, holding his gun.
He holstered it when he saw Joe. "Joe what the hell?"
"You. Sit down and shut up. Where is Sandy? What did you do to her? I swear to go if you touched her..."
She's mine
"Shut up!"
Ralph walked slowly towards Joe, his arms outstretched. "Joe, buddy, settle down. Sandy is fine. This place is safe. I'm guarding her. Nothing is going to.."
Slice her up. That's what Joe likes.
Joe pointed the gun at Ralph's forehead. "Get away from her! Don't you dare touch her!"
Sandy walked out of the bedroom, wearing a nightgown. The scene startled her, and she screamed.
You like the screams don't you Joe.
Joe called out, "Sandy! I'm coming Sandy! Ralph, I'm going to kill you, you slimy b*****d!"
Ralph tried to reach out. Joe's eyes were vacant, staring off at some unseen foe. "Joe, put the damn gun down. There isn't anyone else here. It's just you, me and Sandy." He spoke softly and forcibly.
I'm here Joe. I'm going to take Sandy. She'll be with us forever.
"I told you to shut up! No one is taking Sandy! Definitely not you!" he waved the gun around.
Ralph made his move, grabbing Joe's arm, and pushing it to the side. He tried desperately to disarm his friend. Joe fought back, shoving Ralph aside with inhuman strength.
I'll fight you for her Joe.
"Joe.." Ralph pleaded, hoping to reach some tiny light deep within the void.
She'll bleed nicely.
Joe leveled the gun again at Ralph's forehead. "I swore I would stop you. It ends here."
Sandy screamed as Joe pulled the trigger once, twice.
Ralph slumped to the floor.
We'll
be together.
Forever.
Joe turned his attention to Sandy.
Forever
Joe smiled sickly, his eyes a vacant stare.
"Hello Sandy. Joe sent me. We're going to be together forever."
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