The unexplainable investigation - Part II

She looked at all three of us slowly and then said “It is told that the sailor, before he was hung cursed that place. He said that he had just turned twenty so that he would come back and do it all again on his twentieth birthday and he would take a victim for everyday that he was tortured.” Tim looked at me and said “Twenty years between crimes and five victims each time makes sense to me.” Mrs. Griffin looked at me and said “You think it is true Duke?” I then explained what we had uncovered that the current rash of rapes. Mrs. Griffin got up and walked over to a display case hanging on the wall. Inside it was a silver rosary and she opened the case and took out the rosary and handed it to me. “You will need this then Duke. This will sound crazy to you; it did to me when I became the head Liberian thirty-five years ago. My predecessor told me what I told you today and she gave this to me for safe keeping. I know that this is the only way to stop him. You have to wrap it around his neck to choke him. If it is not wrapped around his neck this will all go on again and again until he is stopped.”

We didn’t say anything, we just got up and walked out and headed back to our car. Linda had picked up the rosary and put it into her pocket. We did not speak until we got back into the car then Tim said “Now that is fucking crazy, Duke! A dead guy for the suspect that comes back ever twenty years to fuck five women! Come on now, really” he exclaimed. Then Linda spoke “This rosary is damn heavy but it makes sense to me. How else can you explain all these rapes over all these years?” I said nothing because I was putting together the final pieces of the puzzle. We had to know where his final victim was going to come from and we had to know when it would happen. I drove back to the squad room. When we arrived out front I had Linda take the car and park it. Then we all regrouped back in the squad room. I realized then that I was tired as hell! I looked at the clock and realized that we had been going non-stop since yesterday.

“Well, let’s say we know who the suspect is. Just for arguments sake, okay” I said. “Then our next question would be when is he going to strike again and more importantly, where is he going to strike” I concluded. Linda and Tim just shrugged their shoulders and looked at me. “Okay we had our first victim on the 12th, our second on the 14th, and then our third on the 16th, hell they are all two days apart so tonight is going to be the last one” I shouted. Tim grabbed his notes and started looking through them quickly, “shit you are right,” he said “every attack has occurred on even number of days starting every time.” “Now the big question is, where will he strike next” I said. We all turned to the precinct map with all the pins. Every time these crimes occurred the last attack happened exactly two block from the block with no attacks. That narrowed it down to four possible locations. One location was an empty lot. Nothing had been there since the warehouse was torn down. All the past rapes had occurred inside a building. The second place was used car lot that was out of business and closed. I sent a patrol car by there just to make sure that nobody was in there sleeping. It was reported as clear. The office part of the car lot had burnt down sometime. That left the medical building on 14th Street and the warehouse on 19th Street.

Okay now it was time for me to earn my pay. “Listen up people I need some help here” I said loudly “I got a serial rapist that is going to strike tonight and I need some people to help cover the two possible locations.” I did not have to say anymore. Every detective on duty was not standing in our area. “I really appreciate this guys, thanks” I said. “Now my partner, Detective Boggs with take half of you and cover the warehouse over on 19th Street. The other half will go with me over to the medical office building over on 14th Street. Any questions? Then you will be filled in on scene so let roll we do not have much time.” How in the hell could I tell them that only the victim will know what he looks like. We all headed out and it looked like the old days on TV when all the police cars come rushing out and turning right or left with sirens blaring.

I heard Linda announce that she was on scene just as we were pulling up to the medical building. We rushed to the front doors only to find them locked. I thought I saw a flashlight glare off a far wall inside the building so I banged on the glass door again, this time with my light. It made a hell of a lot of noise too. Then an elderly gentleman in a security guards uniform came around the corner and to the front door. He unlocked the front door as if he was unsure of himself but all the blue lights flashing on the cars gave him some sense of security. “What’s going on” he asked. “Anyone one in the building, sir” I asked. “Nobody tonight” he said “the cleaning crew comes every other night. And all the doctors go home at 5:00 o’clock sharp. I am the only one here at night!” I turned to the crowd of detectives behind me and said “Okay to be on the safe side I want to men covering the back of this building and two men to stay here with the security guard and stay outside the building! Nobody and I mean NOBODY is to go inside for any reason, especially women.” Everyone nodded and four of them split up and two headed for the back of the building. “Now everyone else I want over at Detective Boggs location to assist there at the warehouse on 19th Street. Now let’s roll” I yelled. In a few minutes we were all heading to the other location. I grabbed the radio and said “The first three cars go to the front of the warehouse, then one go to the each side and the remaining two cover the back.” Their response was a click of the microphone it sounded like a machinegun going off for a few seconds.

The old warehouse on 19th Street was atypical for this area. It was a combination of old dirty red brick and tan cast concrete for lintels and sills. In is day it was state of the art and sharp, but now it was just old and worn. As I pulled up in front of the double glass doors the detectives at the door nodded but held their position. I got out and as I slammed my car door is echoed with everyone else’s door slamming. “Where is everyone else” I called to the detective on the door. “Duke they are searching the second floor now in teams of two. Linda is leading one team with that retired detective and Wissmen” he responded. “Ask her where she wants some extra men our site was secured” I offered. The detective used the incident radio and advised Linda. In a few minutes she was responding “Have Duke and his people deploy in the rear, west side of the building and work their way up. We will stay on the front, east side and we will meet on the 5th floor” she directed.

I deployed my people and we began our search. The results were two drunks, passed out on the third floor, and several rats. No suspect at all. I guess I had figured wrong! I met with everyone on the fifth floor after the search. I was embarrassed but that is how it goes sometimes! I turned to face the group and said “Okay team looks like we had a practice run this time. I am sorry. Everyone clear up and return to your regular assignments, thanks for the help!” Then I turned to Linda and Tim “Well, back to square one” I said. Tim looked at us and shook his head “I could have sworn it would have been one of these two places” he said “I know I cannot be that far off.” “Well,” Linda injected “let’s go back to the office and review this again. Maybe we did miss something.”

I started to head for the nearest exit when Linda said “Shit, I have to lock up the front door. I will meet you guys at the office.” She turned and head back across to the front of the building so she could take the front stairs down. Ted and I headed on out the back door along with the remaining search team members. I looked over to Ted as we walked “I just don’t get what we missed” I said. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks and I yelled “Damn it! They were alone! We were all here!” “What” Tim said bewildered. “The victims were all alone when the attacks occurred. We were all in the building that is the difference” I said as I stared at him. “Linda” we both said at the same time. We both turned and ran back into the building.

I headed for the stairs toward the front, the ones that I saw Linda heading for. Ted headed for the stairs on the other side and headed down. I was taking the steps two at a time, calling Linda as I ran. I entered the fourth floor but there was nothing but blackness. I called Linda’s name but just heard an echo. Then I heard Ted yell that nothing was on his side either. I turned and headed down to the next level. I realized that I was getting to old to run down stairs like this but I had a bad feeling now. I should have been looking instead of thinking because I tripped and fell down the last short flight of stairs. No real damage but I had a suit that now needed serious cleaning. As I started to get up I heard someone yell, it sounded like Tim!

I bolted through the door on the third floor and I saw a faint light coming from where the elevators use to be. There were storage rooms and utility rooms over in that area as well. As I rounded the corner I saw Tim lying on the floor against the wall. His weapon was lying on the ground next to him. The imprint in the drywall indicated that he had been thrown into the wall. Something had thrown him with enough force to push him into the drywall. Then movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I turned to the right toward the storage room. There on the far side of the room stood me! I was holding Linda off the floor about a foot by her neck and I was taking her clothes off, or at least what was left of her clothes. I or he had already stripped her of everything except her panties and bra and he was now tearing off her bra! I yelled but he did not seem to notice me although I saw that Linda was not looking at me with pleading eyes. I did not waste time yelling again I drew my automatic and I fired a shot into his head. It did not seem to faze him so I ran as hard as I could and tackled him. It was like hitting a concrete pillar, he did not move at all. I fell to the floor. Now Linda was trying to say something to me but I could not make out her words.

He then tore her panties off and slowly lowered her to the floor. He turned her around and was holding her by her hair and he reached down and undid his pants. He then released his huge penis and I mean huge! He still and not spoken and he did not seem to care that I was there. Now he grabbed Linda by the waist with both hands and began to lift her up. It was obvious that he planned to impale her onto his huge shaft. I did not know which hole he was going to select though! Linda was still having a hard time speaking after being choked but she finally got out the words “Cross necklace”. I remember the old cross necklace that the head librarian, Mrs. Griffin, had given us. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out. There was no time to think about it, no time to wonder if it would work or not. He was about to ram a huge dick into my partner and that was not going to happen if I could stop it.

Once again I dove for him but this time I grabbed him around the head! As I did I took my right hand, with the rosary in it and I looped it around his neck. He screamed and released my partner and at the same time he shook me off of him. I do not know what happened then; I was flying through the air. However, I did hear screaming and it was not Linda. When I regained my senses I saw Linda lying naked on the floor. I scrambled over to her to see if she was hurt. I gently rolled her over onto her back. Her eyes opened in a daze and she said “I did not want you to see me naked just yet!” I smiled and said “I promise not to look....too much! You must not be hurt but so bad if you are worried about me seeing a great pair of tits. Hey, you shave your pussy.” She hit me on the chest and said “I said no looking!” I gathered her clothes and I helped her get dressed. As she finished getting dressed I stooped to look at the pile of ashes on the floor and the rosary laying in them.

“What are you going to put on the report” Linda asked. “No suspects have been identified and no arrests are imminent” I said. I put the rosary back in my pocket as I heard Tim call out “Am I dead or what!” Linda and I both laughed and headed out into the main area. There would be a lot of explaining to do but this is one time that I knew the good guys had won. As for Linda and me, well that is another story now.