The Thorns Under Pedals

Chapter 9:

Detective Warden

I had gotten a call that woke me up from my nap a half hour ago to come to the scene where they had found two people dead. Once again I was thankful that there was a coffee shop not too far from my house so that I could grab my large cup of Hazelnut Latte with room for cream. Most times I would be able to go to the police station where there was a lobby that had a coffee maker to make some straight black coffee with creamer and sugar. There was no way I would make it through the morning without any coffee. My hours of sleep were already minimal as I was working through cases. Cups of coffee were the only thing keeping me awake.

Once I had my latte I made my way to the scene with my tools. I kept my badge in my wallet to flash at the newer officers that usually would put up resistance at first. Though I have been in the business for twenty five years and many officers knew me there were always at least one who would give him a look as if I was just a curious citizen. There was rush hour traffic in this hell of a city. The drive was slow and dragged on making a half hour drive into an hour and forty minutes.

My silver BMW slid into a spot that wasn’t far from the police officers vehicles. I ran a hand through my short blonde buzz cut before it ran down my face trying to rid myself of sleep. This was also something I did to prepare for anything. I already knew the victims were burned and that would be an unpleasant sight as well as smell for the morgue department with the on sight police. A deep breath left my lips as I opened the car door. Stepping out I was greeted by one of the senior officers that I had worked on plenty of cases in the past.

“Detective Warden.” His voice held respect but there was a hint of unease behind the man's gaze. I knew the look wasn’t from me arriving and more to do what the man had witnessed upon arriving himself. Warden was used to those looks which always appeared when he would be called. This was where his field took over from theirs and they were always willing to give it up without protest. Warden had gotten cases here and there but lately he was a very busy man with the increase in murders. Even the other detective that would have accompanied him was busy going over the past cases that had been appearing while I was going to investigate this newer one.

“Officer Jason.” I was greeting back in my groff voice. The sound hurt my ears that were not too used to my own voice. I solemnly speak unless I investigate a scene where it consumes my attention that I don’t realize that detailed descriptions of possible outcomes had left my mouth until the end where I would look at the officer(s) with me and see the sickening gaze with pale features. This time it seemed that Officer Jason was apparently going to be the one accompanying me since he gestured for me to follow him through the yellow tape around the perimeter.

“We had to move the victims' corpses from the scene. They were blocking the stairs along with some barbed wire.” I saw him shiver as the images popped back into his mind. I wondered if he would have to go back to the police therapist after this. I already knew that the majority of officers that had been on the Miss Williams scene had to after discovering the body had been mutilated before placed in the car sinking into the water washing away any evidence with it.

I nodded as I began to look around. The building was damaged more on the top floors than the first. It looked as if the building would collapse on you. “Let's start from the top. Judging from the position of the fire and our victims held back from escaping by barb wire that’s where things started.” Even though the fire probably took away any usable evidence this would lead me into the killer's mindset and hopefully see what kind we were dealing with.

After all the cases and killers I’ve put away I realized some common traits they shared in the way they thought. These traits allowed a baseline for me to start with. The more of the scene I saw I could determine if the killer was more into slashing that usual followed after a chase, torture for information or the s****l domanice it turned them on, more into mental unstability to their victims before a kill, fire being used to scar the victim if not to satisfied their pyro feeling onto a person, or were the victims a warning of sorts. Not even adding the fact that there was a category that led to serial killers that seeked the high feeling that their killing style left them in as if they were drugged.

I let my mind wander into my knowledge of each type of kills for every category we have placed them in. I made sure to even include copycats that kill without a style trying to find their own by the notorious serial killers in history or famous horror movies. You would be surprised how many beginner serial killers went that route in their first several kills until they realized what set the high in them. Officer Jason and I discussed in a clip conversation what his fellow officers had found. Any clues that could lead to finding out who this killer was. Unlike the Miss Williams case there was not much salvageable in the fire. The officers had been able to collect several syringes found on the second floor, an old bag that had once held clothes, samples of blood that were collected from a makeshift side pendulum blade, and of course the corpses. There was also a good amount of mental hospital tools saved from rooms on the first floor that had not too much of the fire come through.

Picking an abandoned building with a history of being a mental hospital made the likely chance of the killer using torturing methods. Many old buildings they had used had not been cleared of the tools the ‘doctors’ had once used though that was due to the fact many of them were broken or dull. However, that left it as a playground for the torturing style sociopath and a few slashers if ghost hunters or movie crews didn’t come by.

Warmth from the fire was still in the building making me have to unbutton a few top buttons from my shirt. Wearing a long shirt not completely by choice since it was a dress code thing for my position I had to roll up the sleeves to my elbows. I had left my jacket in the passenger seat knowing that it would be too hot for that. Officer Jason was sweating as we climbed the stairs that left to the hotter sections that were covered in flames. The leftover smell of burnt wood and metal made me cough in a fit. By the third floor up to the fourth my eyes stung and my throat burned. What was this strong smell?

“The firemen found out that the room that started the fire was covered in gasoline.” Officer Jason coughed while plugging his nose. I glared at the man for not saying so before while I did the same to my nose before heading to the room the fire had started in. Breathing through my mouth did not help the burning in my throat. The pain was almost too much even with all the windows letting the gas escape into the fresh air.

One of the female officers that came with Jason walked out of the room I assumed was the gasoline room. Her eyes glanced our way as she turned to leave down the stairs. With a respectable nod in our direction she held out two masks that would allow us to breath without inhaling the gas that could ultimitaley kill us the more we take in. Once we put on the gas masks we made our way into the room. What we found made my stomach turn.

In all my years of working in this department I have seen plenty of horrific scenes that would make any one have nightmares. Each time I had to block away my natural instincts to run the opposite direction and empty my stomach. The more times this feeling came I was able to control it until I could stand in the same crime scene without so much of a sign of disgust. Officer Jason however was pale as much of the others in the room gathering evidence through photographs since picking up the objects would just have them crumble in ash.

As detached as humanly possible I runned my emotionalist eyes from the door entrance to the left of me and worked it until I came all the way around. The room was hauntingly silent besides the clicking of cameras. Fear was still present in this room strong enough that each of us could feel it wrap around us in a thick jacket attached to us. Whoever set this up accomplished a lasting effect of leaving fear in their wake that death could not take it away. I moved deeper in the room and kneeled down to the box that was completely burnt and was fragile. The crunching of glass clicked a memory from deep in my mind.

“You said there were only two victims?” I asked which made the room of officers flinch at the unexpected sound. The words had been soft but by how quiet it was besides the crunching of glass and clicking they came out deafening. Foreign even as the ones in this room for longer than a handful of minutes had been drawn to a depression world. This caused any type of response to take a while as they were forced back and away from the dark pull that was trying to completely consume them whole.

I heard a clear throat before Officer Jason confirmed. “Yes. Though the remains of the woman victim had the odor of gas while the other we believe to be a male did not.”

I nodded the signing that I heard him. Yet my mind was working at the details before me and in the clues he had filled in to imagine the scene that had taken place. I raised up on my feet and stopped walking to what was left of a tub that only had a third of its shape while the rest was melted away. I rested my index finger on the edge that still held part of its shape. “She would have been kept in this tub until she awoke seeing the fire. Going with the height of the tubs remains and the slippery action of the gasoline she stumbled out onto the glassed floor here.” I followed the path that I could see in my mind and indicated to the others. “In a panic with the smoke around her she would have gone to the door only to find it locked. Locked with some type of code.”

I rested my hand where the female victim must have banged with all her might while pulling at the handle crying. Then I turned my head back over my shoulder seeing the burnt box in the perfect position from my angle. “The code that was somewhere held on or in the box. She would have looked this way only to now see the box that would hold her key and rush to it.” Once again I knelt to the box that was opened and found ashes of something small. “Opening the box there was a surprise waiting for her that jumped out and caused her to drop the box. Maybe some type of small creature the lady was afraid of and would panic more so. Not enough to make her forget the code but something that pushed her to want to escape.”

I looked at the doorway and saw the left side marked where the handle would be. “She had to have gotten the code and threw the door open either in fear or unconsciously growing weak from the fumes needing a strong surface to lean against.” Without looking behind me to see the room of officers' expressions or if officer Jason was following I headed out into the hallway. This part I was not so clear in seeing what would have happened but I knew that she would have gone to the stairs. Yet did she run into the male victim at this point? Had he come to the door trying to open on this side or was he on his way over? That’s when I saw the dark brown streaking that was not evenly laid on the floor. A trail left that fire could not erase.

“She met the male victim here before heading to the stairs.” I whispered. “The male seems to be unable to walk judging by the trail. He must have had to crawl with at least one leg wounded if not missing.” I shook my head as I went through the different amount of injuries in a human's leg and the amount of blood it would release. “No he had definitely lost a part of one or both legs.”

“One of the officers” Officer Jason’s voice trembled as he spoke, “found the bones of what appeared to be a foot along by the liquid metaled shape of a chain.”

My gaze landed on the room he pointed at guiding me to another screen that held emotion. Unlike the other room this one makes one shake with rage. I could see Officer Jason’s eyes narrow slightly as the emotion covered his senses. With my mask I took a deep breath willing my emotions to simmer down until I was once again calm. When I felt like I was not being held captive by the emotion I opened my eyes to inspect this room. I walked to the remains of the chain and foot he had been talking about. There was also a sizzling machete close by as well.

“He was being toyed with. The murderer left only one weapon knowing that he would have to use it to get to the lady down the hall. Either the murderer saw him as a threat or held a deeper grudge against the victim. I can't tell but they wanted to slow the guy down.” I spent a good amount of time in my thoughts before speaking my next words.

“Whoever did this knew the victims and what would set them off. Most likely the pair were romantically involved or relatives and the killer used that against them trying to get the last of their revenge if not information from one or both of the victims. The fire and syringes you mention with the barbwire stage all lean towards torture killings much like the horror series Jigsaw. Killings that would push the victims to their limits as payment for the ‘crimes’ they had committed as atonement.” I looked at Officer Jason over my shoulder to see his expression at the sad truth that left my lips. “A serial killer finding their way to their own craft. We better find the killer before that happens or we lose the edge, Officer Jason.”

Officer Jason stayed quiet as his face was ash white and his breakfast seemed to want to come back up a second time. I patiently waited for the man to gain some control after my vocal assumptions. In the times we have done this the man would always have a question or two. Once or twice his questions led to leads I had not considered in my analyzing.

Minutes ticked by as slowly the officer seemed to regain some color in his skin. I could hear his breathing exiting in a steady longer stream than before. The man had his eyes unclenched but still would not open the lids for a while. I recognized the many signs that were a cycle when telling an officer who accompanied me the details along with the clues of my assumptions. Not to say the men and women I worked with were weak in this field. That was not the case at all. Even the most experience in the department would be pale from the horrific things that killers left behind in their killings. It’s just the more you see a tiny bit each time it turns to steal until there was only a slight sign on the outside while on the inside it was always the same and never would change.

My mind was drawn back to Officer Jason when he cleared his dry throat and ran his fingers through his shaggy blonde hair. With a deep breath his brown eyes stared into mine. His voice came out as a whisper at first as his throat was working against the sickness in him but gradually grew steadily in volume in his normal tone. “If what you say is true then what information could the killer possibly want?”

“We won't know until the bodies have been identified for sure but there are multiple leads. A few and most common are these two were the lower rank that would lead to a bigger connected boss, the killer is looking for a specific person that they can’t find, or the yandere type found in some anime’s.”

“Yandere?” He asked, being thrown off with the term I used.

I nodded. “My nephew was watching an anime series that has a Yandere girl when he was visiting for the weekend. Basically a girl that tortures, harms, threatens, and is deadly to anyone attaching themselves to the person of their affection. In real world terms a psychopath who believes no one else should be around their loved one besides them and would harm if not kill those that are in the way.”

“I don’t know if I should laugh or be horrified that there are such things like that in shows to mirror real life.” Officer Jason spoke uncertainty about how to react though he did not seem surprised.

We both turned to the noise of someone opening the door. There stood a very familiar form dressed in black jeans and a button up blouse in grey. My coworker clipped high heels as she came into the room looking at the Officer and then at me. I raised an eyebrow at the expression that was across her face. Anger flamed her blue irises making a shiver involuntary crawl through my right arm. The hair on the back of my neck was also standing from just that look however I remained calm in front of her.

“Rebecca.” I greeted her.

“Luis.” She used my first name in a cold clipped voice.

The air tensed and Officer Jason looked back and forth between the both of us clearly uncomfortable about the tension that I was clueless to the reason for. “What brought you out of the office to greet me so early in the morning?” I placed a smile on my lips hoping to ease the tension with some flattery. However that did not seem to work since her response had ice spit out.

“Team meeting in an hour. Hurry up and collect all the evidence pictures here. If you had answered your phone then I wouldn’t have had to come here and retrieve you.”

Ah. The vibration that I had been ignoring must have been her calling. When in the middle of analyzing I usually ignored everything to get into the killers mind game for a clearer perspective to catch them. It was easy for me to zone out the cell phone going off in my pocket along with the amount of people that were around. Most times the calls or messages were simple and unimportant that they could wait. Seems this time it was important enough to have someone come and get me and the unlucky one was Rebecca. The woman absolutely hated being an errand girl to the team but would do so when the leader of the group asked. She was a suck up to the core to achieve getting as many position raises as she could to climb the high tower of power. With that came an attitude to those around her when they got in her way or had her doing silly jobs that weren’t in her job description. This was one of those times and it was not close to being the last. I was always receiving the attitude she threw at me and I didn’t care much for her to change.

I made my way to Officer Jason and shook his hand thanking him for his time. I did not need to leave my information to have the pictures and whatever else because he already knew it. Rebecca did not wait for me to finish the casualties that came with the police officers that worked with you on a case. I found her waiting by my car on her phone talking to someone in a sweet voice. My guess was the team lead on the other end.

I clicked the unlock button on my car key ring and silently opened my driver door while Rebecca climbed into the passenger seat. After the call ended I had already pulled out and was heading to the office. We stayed silent and I was thankful for that since she seemed to be drowning in negative energy that would explode by the smallest button unknowingly pressed. That was not something I wanted to deal with at the moment and turned my mind back on the crime scene thinking over all the details I had and still all the unanswered questions.