HUSHED SILENCE

CHAPTER THREE

The blades whirred and the engine roared loudly. She watched as the pilot took the jet up and she sighed in wonder. Humans…how a man figured out the way to overcome gravity and make such a heavy piece of metal soar in the air was beyond her. She was never good at sciences. She tried, her parents knew she did but sciences were very hard. Biology was better but Chemistry and Physics? A death sentence.

Wayne used to tease her about it.

“ I would want my girl to inherit your looks, charms, resilience and patience but your brains? Nada. I don’t want her to suck at sciences like you do”

Susan had thrown a shoe at him and ran to the bedroom. He had followed her up there and they had made love. She had loved the games they played , she won all of them. It had been purely physical and passionate. But the psychological stunt he pulled on her, Wayne had won it fair and square. He had been ruthless and she still had the emotional scars to show for it.

The city from up there looked beautiful. People looked like tiny ants busy doing their own things for a living. They seemed peaceful and at ease. How ironic. People were rarely peaceful and at ease. If anything, people were evil and conniving.

Detective Carlos took out his phone and opened his gallery. His wife had sent him a picture of their little girl in a ballet dress and a big smile on her face. Beneath it she had written, guess who is ready to dance for you tonight.

Carlos had been the weird wimpy kid in his class. The kind that no one ever spared a glance or bother talk to. He had been invisible. He often wondered why people never seemed to notice him. Was it his height? Was five feet two not tall enough? Was it his face? Was the occasional pimple or two that gross? Or was it the braces? He had desperately prayed to be noticed by someone, any one. And his prayers were answered.

He had been walking in the cafeteria with his head bowed and his tray on hand when a foot stuck beneath the table and he tripped. He had landed face first on his mashed potatoes and the whole cafeteria burst out laughing.

His life after that had been hell. With constant mockery, insults and bullying from his schoolmates, he retreated back to himself and became shy and mute.

“ You can always fight back you know. If they don’t offer you respect you can always demand It from them. Be your own superhero.” Carlos looked at the new girl and sighed. He hadn`t heard her walk up to him. He was engrossed in his own misery.

“ Then what, smart ass? I am barely half their height. I can`t possibly fight them.”

Charlotte looked at him and smiled. She was used to being bullied. She was used to fighting her own battles, she was used to stomping male`s ego.

“ I am smart. And so are you. You don’t have to win the physical war. Win the psychological one. We both know these dimwits are stupid so show them they are stupid and expose their stupidity to their other stupid friends.”

Carlos had taken a picture of his bullies` scores and printed them out. He couldn’t plaster them on the school walls with the CCTV cameras and whatnot but he could always hang them in the streets and the whole town would know. His friend, Charlotte, had been pleased. His bullies had been humiliated and their parents had been furious. Such kind of embarrassment was heavy for their families to bear and they had been transferred to an out of town academy . Carlos,1 bullies, 0 .

Detective Susan tapped Carlos and asked whether that was his kid. The nod of head was all she needed. Was she bad at dating? Was she an awful girlfriend or did she just suck in bed? Everyone around her seemed to be pushing out babies and getting married while she wallowed over a man who did not even want her.

“ Why didn’t you ever tell me you are married?” she asked.

“ I guess it never came up.”

The pilot switched to manual and spoke for the first time since the jet took off.

“ Hang on detectives, we are descending in 3 minutes. Make sure your seat belts are secured.”

***

Riley hated working on a case with detectives from another precinct let alone state. They were always stuck up bitches with a point to prove or a hot shot bastard that thinks the sun rose and set from his ass. The lieutenant had called him in his office when he was heading out to MacDonald for lunch. He had said to be nice and make sure they had everything they needed.

“ You know they made the call before they took off. That is protocol but no one ever follows protocol these days. That’s nice of them. So be nice.”

Fuck protocol, he thought. The only reason they had called was to show dominance. And to ensure they knew who was the new sheriff in town. More like the new clowns in time if they`d dare ask him.

The story of the bow killer had spread fast and judging by what he had heard, they must be dumb seeing that they had failed to catch the maniac who was leaving body trails like a dog without a leash.

The lieutenant filled them in on the details of the case and sent them out to be useful. Riley instructed his junior to pull up a list of all the missing women in the last year and to print them out. One of them was bound to be among the unclaimed bodies in the morgue in Georgia. He was going to meet the detectives upon their arrival.

He stood quietly and watched as they disembarked from the jet. The first person to walk out was a man. Probably in his late twenties. He looked contented with everything about him. Riley looked at him with a lot of distaste. He hated men who pretended everything around them was doing okay. Life wasn’t okay.

He watched as the guy helped a woman climb out of the jet. she had long curvy blonde hair and she had her glasses on. She wore a chic blouse and a beautiful, grey, knee-high skirt. She filled the skirt beautifully with her broad hips and luscious legs.

“Come on,” he whispered as he made his way to the duo, “Let`s get to know the clowns, shall we?”

Susan looked at the man before her and cursed. She had heard stories from those who had worked with him and she had been stumped. They pictured him as a jerk who was in for the wins. He looked sexy, hell even she would lick chocolate off his chest if he would act right. She watched as he pursed his lips and flexed his biceps to greet Carlos. What was he doing, trying to intimidate him?

Carlos shook his hand and introduced himself to the model before him.

“ Hey, how are you doing? I am Detective Carlos and this is…”

Riley ignored the man and stared straight at the beauty looking at him. He was not known for his manners and he was not going to change his personality for anyone. Not even the Prince of Wales.

“ Detective Susan… your reputation precedes you. I wish I would say nice to meet you, but I was not born a liar.”

Carlos jaw dropped. What was up with him? He knew handsome men were always shitty but he had not thought Riley would live up to the stereotype.

He always believed that men grew old as they grew up and Riley contradicted it. Grown old, yes. Grown up? Not so much.

Susan looked at the handsome man and she couldn`t help but pity him. She had come from a humble background. Nobody ever knew that. Her parents had been living in the ghetto and she , along with her friend Maddie, had to learn how to talk s**t and how to throw a punch. She could be a bully if the need arises. She , however, was not planning on starting a childish war with an immature man when a serial killer was still out on the streets. She could demolish his stupid ego and reduce him to nothing but that energy was needed elsewhere.

“ zip up your crotch, Riley, and wipe the drool off your face. You are already ugly as you are and we do not want your saliva wetting the floor. Now, if you don’t mind, be a good little boy and take me to your lieutenant`s office.”

Carlos smirked as Detective Riley grunted and led the way inside the building. He had known Susan for a very long time but he had never heard her talk back when provoked. He always loved a woman who could fight her own battles. They reminded her of how he met Charlotte and how they had ended up getting married. Talk about marrying your best friend and your number one supporter.

Susan composed herself and descended the flight of stairs that led to the rooftop of the precinct. She knew her presence there would be opposed and that she would need to demand her respect if she wanted her work there to be flawless, and she was ready for it. One stupid killer was enough to handle and she would not allow a man`s problem with women to add on top of that.

Lieutenant Fisher was known for his hospitality but his detectives were known for their arrogance.

If Riley and any other man thought they could talk s**t to her, they had another thing coming. She was smart and could win anything thrown at her.

Let the games begin.