Chapter XII: The Deepest Wounds...

Chapter XII: The Deepest Wounds...

Luxor

Hey everyone, it’s me, Luxor. Yeah, you read that right, I’m using contractions now. It’s stressful being a captain, and everyone pisses me off. Since I usually let contractions slip out whenever I’m upset, it happened so much from yelling at everyone’s incompetence, that one day, I talked to Oswald like I’m talking to you know, and he pointed it out, I didn’t even notice. Since then, I’ve just been talking like everyone else. A lot has happened in five years. My brother dying was a pain I’ve never felt before, and as someone who was devoid of emotion, I wasn’t sure how to express it. Luckily, I had Emily to console me, and then one day, she goes missing. Her going missing not only affected me, but poor Stanley Jones, he allowed his health to decline, and he ended up at a home. They cut his medical, and he wasn’t able to afford his meds anymore. I’m at his funeral now actually, he suffered a heroin overdose, no doubt supplied by those drug dealers that burned to death a few days ago, d****t, Don. So, I tried dating again, but we would date for a month or two and then they would end up ghosting me, and a few weeks after, they were reported missing too. Now I know how that poor Sandra girl must have felt, losing people she loved right before her eyes. That’s why I took her case, I’m not letting another psycho free while I’m still searching for my missing girlfriends. I have had no leads, no witnesses, I know I like solving hard cases, but damn is this tough. I light up a cigarette. Yeah, I know, but I’m so goddamned stressed, and seeing Stanley Jones being buried in front of my eyes doesn’t help. I don’t even know where to start, nobody has seen anything, there’s no trail, I’m wondering if I should just give up. But I can’t give up, there’s no case I haven’t been able to solve. I solved the hardest damn case in the country, I could solve this one. But why my girlfriends? Obviously, someone has a grudge against me. I’ve caught many a murderer, it could be any of them. Or perhaps I’ve angered Don in some way? Yes, I am fully aware of his role of being in complete charge of the system, I’ve just turned the other way and focused on my work. Perhaps I should pay him a visit. Even if it’s not him, he could maybe point me in the right direction. I tell the officer driving to stop by the prison before we get back to the station. We get to the prison and I’m cleared through, and they get Don for me.
“Luxor, how ya doin’ buddy?” Don asks.
“Hello, Don. This isn’t a social call, I have some questions.”
“Now what could I have done that you’d want to interrogate me?”
“What do you have against me?”
“Me? Nothin’. I think you’re a damn fine captain, that’s why I allowed yer promotion to go through.”
“Then why are my girlfriends disappearing? If you don’t have the vendetta against me, who does?”
“You think someone’s out ta getcha, huh?”
“Why me? I was finally understanding romantic emotion, and as soon as it starts, it’s ripped away from me! Who hates me that much that this keeps happening? If it’s not you, who else could it be? My brother is dead, and I never forgave him for burning down my apartment, but it can’t be him. It wasn’t Stanley, Emily going missing is what caused him to go downhill in the first place. This all started after I solved the Heavenly Cruise case.”
“Think it’s maybe a relative of the dead psycho?”
“Maybe! I deduced that they wouldn’t know how to get me, but maybe you’re right! I often underestimate human intelligence, because it’s rare that people are at or near my level. And, the perpetrator WAS smart enough to stay as long as possible in international waters before loading up the next shipment of people at the next refueling station. And hiding in the arctic would mean all of the meat would stay cold, that, and he would be out of anyone’s direct jurisdiction. How the helicopters managed to miss it is beyond me. Of course, the ice walls were bigger back then, and the ship was white, and I did find it frozen on the ice as well, so I guess it could have been easily missed from above.”
“Well, I’m not the one takin’ yer girlfriends on yeh. If yeh think a relative of this sicko is copying the ‘good’ pastor, I’d say start there.”
“Thanks Don, sorry I suspected you in the first place.”
“Understandable, I would have suspected me too.”
“Alright, I gotta go. Stay out of trouble, please, I heard what you did to Xero.”
“Kid had it comin’”
“Yeah, well, you’re lucky it’s difficult to determine who struck the killing blow, especially since the guards were all conveniently on break at the same time, and the cameras were off. It’s a lot of paperwork and explaining I’ve gotta do.”
“Sorry, pal. Now go get the sonofabitch that’s takin’ yer girls.”
“Alright, later, Don.”
“One more thing.”
“What? I gotta go.”
“I read about Jones in the paper, I know he was yer first partner. Sorry to hear he died from my stuff.”
“It’s whatever.” I leave the prison and head back to the station. I go over my case again: Emily Stevens, Patricia Smith, Maryann Hernandez. Patty and Mary both ghosted me a month after we started dating, not long after, they were reported missing by their parents. When I talked to the parents, they told me that she was going on a date with me, and was never seen again, and my text conversations confirm that. Perhaps it is someone within the department, keeping track of my phone records. I do remember going on a date with them the night they disappeared, but I remember taking them home, getting intimate, and the next morning when I awoke, they were gone. Emily on the other hand, we were dating longer than a month before she disappeared, but she didn’t disappear until after I had solved the boat case. So it has to be a relative of the killer I caught, perhaps working inside the department. I am going to put in an internal investigation, and try and discover any discrepancies. I check the killer’s family tree, and I cross reference anyone working within the department and find nothing, however, he does have a niece and nephew who live in the city. I found out where they live and where they work, and me and Oswald tracked them down. “Nancy Moleski?” I ask a woman who fits the description.
“Yes, what can I do for you?” she asks.
“Do you know who I am?”
“You were that cop that was in the news a long time ago for busting some cases, I don’t remember what for.”
“Does the name Mark Wilford sound familiar?”
“Yeah, he was my uncle, but we weren’t allowed to talk about him.”
“Why not?”
“Well, as religious as my family was, uncle Fred was...”
“...was?”
“He took it over the top, he took the Jesus’ body and blood thing a little too literally, and before the family knew it, he was a cult leader. So my family cut off all contact with him some time in the late 80’s, I was just a toddler then, I don’t remember much myself.”
“Do you resent that I solved the case of the missing Heavenly Cruise?”
“No, I’m glad those people were found, even if they weren’t...ugh, whole.”
“Thank you for your time. We are looking for your cousin, Todd Wilford, do you know where he could be? He was neither in his place of residence or his place of employment.”
“Oh, sometimes he’s at the local thrift shops, he volunteers there. Check around, I’m sure you’ll find him.”
“Ok, thank you for your time.” We get back in the car.
“Do you think she’s telling the truth?” Oswald asks me.
“Yes, she seemed genuine, her body language, tone of voice, reactions all seemed correct.”
“I concur. Think her cousin is the same way?”
“I hate to say this Oswald, but I kind of hope he is who we’re looking for, it’s our only lead so far.” We took a drive around the city, but gave up around eight o’clock. “Start fresh in the morning?”
“You got it, need anything from the office?”
“Nah, I’m good.” Oswald drops me off at my house and I check my dating profile online as I’m lying in bed. I refuse to give up on a love life just because my girlfriends have ended up missing. Besides, it’s been a year and a half since Mary went missing, I have to move on. I get a message from Debbie, a woman I have been consistently talking to for the past few weeks. She wants to meet tomorrow night at a chain restaurant for pizza. That’s fine, it’s only a first date after all. I ask her what time, and she says seven. Good, I can get freshened up before I have to go. She tells me what she’ll be wearing so I can pick her out of the crowd, and I told her to look for the bald guy with thick glasses, and she laughed out loud. I don’t remember what time I fell asleep, but I know that alarm is so annoying, which I know is the point, but still. I get on the bus and head to work. I spend the morning on paperwork and dealing with my officers. Around lunch time, I told Oswald we were spending our lunch break with our suspect.
“How do we know where he’ll be having lunch?”
“We’ll just ask his coworkers, I’m sure they know.” We stopped at our suspect’s place of employment, and asked the woman at the front desk about him. He is known to frequent the fast food place around the corner. We head there, and according to my memory, we find him getting ready to sit down and eat. Oswald places our order while I sit down with our suspect. “Ned Wilford?”
“Ye-yeah...” He says. “Can I help you?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Yeah, I watch the news.”
“Do you feel any hatred towards me?”
“No, you did the Lord’s work, now all those people can rest in peace. My uncle was psychotic, my parents explained the difference between what we worship, and what he believed. I still can’t believe he was a cannibal, I didn’t think he’d take it that far. I’m actually disappointed he never faced justice, but at least he’s in Hell where he belongs.”
“Yes, well...I...thank you for your time. We’ll take our food to go, sorry for interrupting your lunch.” Me and Oswald leave and head back to the station and eat our lunch. “I don’t think he did it either.”
“Are you sure?” Oswald asks.
“Positive, this man is cemented into his faith, there’s no way he could be behind this.”
“Which leads us back to square one.”
“Yup. Maybe we should take another break on this case. At least until we come up with something else.”
“Alright, it’s your case, your call.”
“I just feel as if I owe these women, that I need to get justice for them, and not just because of my emotional connection-”
“Actually, it is your emotional attachment. You really should give this case to someone else.”
“No, I can’t. It’s my fault their lives were endangered in the first place. But why?”
“Ya got me.”
“Curse my constant need to continuously challenge myself!”
“What?”
“I want to figure everything out all the time, I’m smart, I should be able to crack this case already!”
“I understand the frustration.”
“Exactly.” The rest of the day goes along as usual, and I leave at around six o’clock. I get on the bus and head home, and get ready for my date. I message her to make sure we’re still meeting and she confirms. After getting ready, I get on the bus and head to Pizza Palace. I am not sure, but I think I see her sitting down already. I approach the woman. “Debbie?”
“Luxor?” She asks.
“Affirmative.”
“Oh, good, I got it right! You look exactly like your picture.”
“As do you.”
“I’m actually relieved, do you know how many guys have like, 15 year old pictures on their profile? I’ve been on dates with guys who are way older than they said they were.”
“I was worried about the same thing. You know how it goes these days, with filters and such.”
“Well, we agree on something. That’s a good start.”
“Yes, yes it is.”
“So, it really is you.”
“Pardon me?”
“I recognize you from the news, you’re kind of famous, in case you didn’t know.”
“I’ve actually only just started noticing. I don’t talk to a lot of people. So, what do you do for work?”
“I’m a store manager, nothing fancy.”
“Are you intellectual?”
“Well, I did go to college for medicine, but I ended up burning out and I’m currently taking a break. Just a year or so, and then I’m going back.”
“What’s your ultimate goal?”
“I wanna be a doctor.”
“I’ve actually been considering doing that as my next career.”
“Next career?”
“Yes, I don’t plan on staying at my current job forever. In fact, I’ve done it longer than I originally anticipated, and I’m stuck on a hard case, and I don’t plan on leaving this career until I solve it.”
“Wow, you actually want to do multiple careers?”
“Yes, my intellect is incredibly high, I have large skill set. Currently, my skill is law, but as a child, I was interested in science. The reason I joined this career was to understand the human mind and emotions more, because that was something that had always baffled me. Why people act the way they do. Sure, I could have gone into psychiatry, but I find the criminal mind fascinating, and I wanted to be on the front lines for that.”
“Wow, that’s incredible.”
“Thanks. So, have you lived here your whole life?”
“Sure have, you?”
“Yes. Even though we were always on the road, this was always home base.”
“You spent time on the road as a child?”
“Yes, my father is, or was, a famous musician.”
“Oh? Who?”
“He was the lead singer and guitarist of Kronyx State.”
“Oh, I’ve heard of them, I’m not really a fan of their music.”
“It’s fine, neither am I.”
“Really?”
“Sounds hard to believe, but yes. I am not a fan of my father’s music.”
“Yeah, and my opinion of them definitely worsened after the drummer was all over the news.”
“Yeah, I don’t want to talk about that. So, what’s a pretty lady like you doing single?”
“Well, I just had bad taste in men I guess, I always ended up used and abused.”
“It’s a story I hear often.”
“As a cop, I’m sure you do.”
“That, and my dating life. It seems to be more common than not.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty disgusting. I just wish I didn’t feel so damn hard.”
“I cannot relate, I’m just beginning to understand, and every time I start to get into the groove, I end up ghosted.”
“Oh, that’s horrible!”
“Yeah, but what can I do but move on?”
“Well, I think you’re nice. Maybe the two of us will end up working out.”
“I sincerely hope so.” All in all, it was a pretty good date.