KILLER ADDICTION: When Murder Becomes A Habit

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

LEONARD’S REGULAR WALK home from Court House Metro Station to his apartment was typically an uneventful affair. Usually he spent it walking with his head down, staring at the pavement and doing his best not to engage with his fellow commuters. Tonight, unfortunately, was different. It was later than usual, owing to a big Mensa meeting that went on longer than it should have, and the streets were uncommonly quiet, with little activity.

Leonard was halfway home when he heard a sharp, ‘Hey, buddy! Over here!’ and looked up to see a suspicious-looking character in black sweatpants and a black hoodie beckoning to him. Leonard ignored him, put his head down once more and increased his walking speed, determined to avoid any contact and return to the haven of his apartment.

‘Hey! I’m talking to you buddy! Slow down, goddammit!’ the man snapped. Leonard increased his speed once more, this time looking across at the man who was now walking towards Leonard at speed, trying to head him off on an intersecting path. Leonard quickly calculated the angles and speed and judged that unless the man broke into a run, Leonard would make his corner and get home safe. Leonard increased his pace up to his top walking speed.

Being naïve in such things, Leonard hadn’t considered the man might have an accomplice. Too late, Leonard looked up ahead of him and in a moment of shock and realisation, saw a similarly clad man standing directly in front of him, blocking the footpath.

‘Hey man, what’s the problem? My friend here just wants to talk to you. Don’t you know it’s rude to ignore people and run away from them like that?’ he said in a smarmy, sarcastic tone.

Leonard tried to walk around the figure, but the man sidestepped and headed him off. Leonard changed direction, but the man sidestepped again, and this time stopped Leonard in his tracks. The first man arrived on the scene and flanked Leonard on the roadside of the pavement, boxing him in against the mouth of a dark alley.

‘Okay, buddy. Just take it easy, and nobody will get hurt,’ the first man said as he pulled a nasty looking handgun out of his pocket. ‘Step back into the alley and keep your mouth shut.’

Leonard did as instructed and silently stepped back off the street. ‘Okay, hand over your bag and empty your pockets,’ said the man with the g*n as he waved it at Leonard.

‘Okay, okay. Just stop waving that g*n at me. You’re making me nervous,’ wailed Leonard in a quivering voice as he opened his briefcase and handed it over, along with the scarce contents of his pockets.

‘What the hell is this?’ snapped the second man as he studied what Leonard had handed over. ‘What are you, some kind of retard? Where’s the laptop? The tablet? The smartphone? Credit cards? What are you trying to pull here? Where’s the rest of your s**t?’ the man demanded, obviously angry.

‘Look, I don’t own a laptop or tablet. I only have a desktop computer and I don’t have a smartphone. I think they make people dumber because they stop thinking for themselves. And I don’t believe in credit cards because they put people in debt,’ replied Leonard. Even in this frightening situation, Leonard still sounded smug and superior.

‘Are you trying to tell me that all you have on you is a lousy fifty bucks, a transport card, a library card, an old book, and a f*****g purple lunchbox?’ the man snapped, in a voice rising in intensity with every item mentioned, so that by the end he shouted out the last word.

‘I’m sorry!’ cried Leonard. ‘That’s all I’ve got. If I had anything else, I would give it to you, I swear!’

‘Jesus Christ! You are useless! We’ve had better scores off first-graders, you useless prick,’ snarled the second man. ‘Have some respect for hard-working muggers like us, just trying to make a living. Here’s something to remember us by, so next time you come prepared with some more valuable stuff than this crap!’ And with that, he drew back his fist and punched Leonard hard, right in the solar plexus. He doubled over in pain with the wind knocked right out of him, sagged down on to his knees and then toppled over on to the ground, whimpering and crying.

‘Shut up, you girl!’ snapped the man with the g*n. ‘Don’t be such a wimp.’ And off they went, leaving Leonard curled up in the foetal position on the ground in the alley, gasping for breath.

It was in times like these that Leonard wished for more brawn instead of more than his share of brain.