Hell's Detective: Murder

by N. J. Bamford

  “Terrorism,” another officer guesses in the form of a question, “People order things online all the time from other countries, so our perp may have been in contact with such a group.”

  “Nah, not with the postal offices having dogs to sniff out each package before being shipped. We would’ve been notified.”

  “It would be a good idea to have the post offices recheck the deliveries in the last five months for any suspicious packages. What about the hospitals?”

  “The local hospitals and vet offices have checked their supplies and are not missing any of their drugs. They even recounted and checked their logs.”

  “This whole thing doesn’t make any sense,” Officer Abraham concludes, closing the folder, “We’ve been on this case for five whole months and we still got nothing. Am I missing something here?”

  “The chief has ordered twelve-hour patrols in all the suburbs and to report upon switching with their reliefs,” Detective Raiden informs, “Our brothers and sisters at the Sixth and Ninth Precient are patrolling the downtown areas nearby.”

  “Yeah,” Officer Abraham replies upon seeing the young police detective looking at him, “We’ve all been given that order for the last two months, and the other precients have found nothing. Why is he reminding us again?”

  “You left your patrol to have a fight with Jenne yesterday,” Detective Raiden states, the other officers becoming deathly quiet as they sense a fight about to begin.

  “And? What are you accusing me of? I was called to check on a disturbance in the Tsudale suburb. It’s been recorded by my dispatcher. Go check the records if you think I’m lying.”

  “You left a rookie officer to continue the patrol instead of doing it yourself,” Detective Raiden points out, “You both were patrolling the same suburb the Asparsa Family Murder took place.”

  “But we had the day shift and saw nothing suspicious, and the murder took place-“

  “Anything can happen in a brief second. A rookie officer would not be able to tell if something looks suspicious enough to investigate. On top of that, what if he had found the perp? We don’t know what kind of person we are dealing with. Not only did you put the suburb you were patrolling at risk, but you also put your partner at risk.”

  “Don’t you patro-“

  “Abraham,” everyone turns to see a man in his sixties by an open office door, a serious look on his face, “I need to speak to you in my office for a moment.”

  “Yes sir,” the officer replies reluctantly, picking up the folder as he stands. He slaps it on the platinum-blonde detective’s chest as he passes him by, Raiden grasping the folder. Everyone waits for the door to close before beginning to murmur.

  “Do you think Abraham has to go apologize to Jenne,” an officer asks humorously.

  “Nah,” Raiden replies, “The chief asked me to do that.”

  “Good luck on that.”

  Chapter 4

  “Father,” a young boy calls as he looks out the window of the carriage he is in, “There’s an old road over there.”

  “Indeed, my son.”

  “Where does it lead to?”

  “It leads to a forbidden place. None venture upon it, for none wish to go to where it leads.”

  “Why not, Father? Can we see this forbidden place none wish to go to?”

  “No, my son. His Majesty forsakes those foolish enough to tread there. The lord of those lands has yet to pay his contributions to the Crusade, and any with a connection to the lord is considered a traitor to the crown. The lord is punished by excommunication, and will be exiled when His Majesty has returned victorious. Speak no more of that place. Purge it from your mind. The lord of those lands is beyond salvation.”

  The carriage passes the road in silence, the driver not once glancing at it. A few minutes later, the tall grass rustles and a young man wearing a thick cloak jumps out onto the dirt road.

  ‘A carriage,’ his eyes brighten with hope, panting heavily, ‘I’m saved! I just need to hitch a ride to London and deliver the message to His Majesty. My family will be rescued. Thank you Lord for this blessing.’

  Taking a deep breath, the young man begins to run for the carriage. His joy turns to fear as he notices a shadow in the forest. No... It can’t be! He had been so careful!

  He runs faster, but the shadow becomes larger and closer to him. In desperation as he sees more shadows coming, the young man dives into the other side of the forest, running faster than before. His lungs burn and his legs ache, but he ignores the desire to stop. Doing so means...

  No, he has to keep running. He can’t think of that.

  Suddenly, a sharp pain stabs his foot and he loses his balance. He turns around to see that he has tripped on a fallen tree branch. He falls hard onto the ground and rolls down a small hill, rocks and sticks biting into his skin mercilessly. He cries out in pain as he hits the trunk of a fallen tree, holding the back of his head as he curls up in agony. He slowly tries to get up, his entire body protesting any sort of movement and his vision blurry. He has to reach the carriage. He has to deliver the message. His family is depending on-

  A sudden snap of a twig catches the young man’s attention as he quickly turns his head in fright.

  * * * *

  The driver of the carriage slows the horses to a trot upon seeing a person walking down the dirt road in the opposite direction. He is wearing a heavy black cloak with the hood covering the upper half of his face, a black scarf covering the lower half of his face. Wearing such an outfit is a sign of a person in mourning, and should be treated with respect.

  “My condolences for your loss,” he tells the cloaked figure.

  “Thank you sir,” the cloaked figure replies, sounding so young that it surprises and saddens the driver. To lose someone while being so young...

  The driver continues on, seeing as the cloaked figure is paying no more mind to him. He speeds up the horses as the cloaked figure continues down the road. A sudden scream stops the cloaked figure, the driver too far away to notice. The scream is full of fear and pain, as if someone has seen something as frightening as their own death. A sensible person would’ve turn and flee from the sound, but the cloaked figure walks into the forest as the scream becomes a fading echo in the forest. He continues onwards, finding no source of the scream. The smell of blood perfumes the air, the freshness indicating a sudden kill. Once again, a sensible person would’ve walked away from such a warning sign of danger, but the cloaked person continues on in search of the source of the scream or the source of the blood.

  His foot hits something, which rolls and makes a clicking noise nearby. He turns his head to the source of the new noise. He bends down and picks up a scroll that has rolled into a fresh stain of blood on the ground. He looks around, but there is no sign of a body.

  * * * *

  Jenne heads upstairs after seeing her final client for the day: a family that couldn’t find their pregnant cat. It didn’t take long to find a hole that had been chewed out in the screen of one of the basement’s windows, large enough for the cat to escape. A quick search of the area leads her to finding the cat in a bush within the next-door neighbor’s backyard, proudly nursing four newborn kittens. The family had been so grateful that they paid her in full rather than in set payments as agreed upon. They even offered her a kitten of her choice once they reach eight weeks old, but the private detective declined the generous offer. Her landlord forbids having pets of any kind.

  “Oh Jenny!”

  Speaking of the devil...

  Jenne turns to head to see the landlord of the building: Jim Palme, or Marlene Palme as he likes to be called these days. He had several cosmetic surgeries in the past few years to look like a woman, yet keeps one part of him male. It isn’t because he couldn’t afford the life-altering surgery. He simply doesn’t want to. He is a man/woman with a strange taboo: a drag queen in love with women that love drag queens.

  “Good afternoon,” Jenne greets politely, “If you are looking fo
r this month’s rent, Ellisaüch has it in my office.”

  “Oh I already have it,” ‘Marlene’ replies flirtatiously, “I just wanted to see how one of my favorite tenants is doing.”

  “I am well,” the private detective answers, “I’m going to close the office early today. John is coming home with a friend after school.”

  “A friend,” ‘Marlene’ exclaims happily, “How joyful! John’s finally made a new friend! You know, I was getting really worried about that boy. Don’t get me wrong, Daisy’s a good friend and all. But John’s gotta expand his circle of friends. He needs to get out more, have fun, date-“

  “And he will in time,” Jenne cuts ‘her’ off, “John’s had a hard time making friends for years. He’s finally broken free of the dry spell, but needs to take baby steps in this new friendship.”

  “You are so right. Still, I can’t help but worry about John as if he were my own son...”

  “I’ll let him know that,” Jenne concludes their conversation and heads to her office/apartment, “By the way, about that central air conditioning...”

  “I know, dear, but summer’s already over. There’s no point in installing it now. Maybe next summer.”

  The irritated private detective refrains from sighing. ‘Marlene’ always says the same thing every year, despite the large discounts going on for central air installation around the beginning and end of summer. She may as well use her emergency car parts fund to buy an air conditioner herself... so long as ‘she’ doesn’t complain about it.

  Jenne walks away without saying goodbye, seeing that John will be home soon. She opens her door and flips the ‘Open’ sign in the window to ‘Close’.

  “Welcome back,” Ellisaüch greets as she places a file into a filing cabinet, “I take it all went well.”

  “Happily ever after,” Jenne replies, placing her pay and a file onto the desk, “Anymore come in for tomorrow?”

  “Several. I had to decline a few that had to deal with the homicides going on. Apparently, they don’t have much confidence in the police anymore.”

  “It’s to be expected. The investigation has been going for five months straight. The death rate is on the rise and the police have nothing to give to the public, leaving everyone in a panic for answers. They tend to forget that private detectives have no legal authority in such cases.”

  “Real shame. We could’ve used the extra cash for the savings account. I would like a nice bonus too.”

  “Anyway, are you going to make dinner for John and his friend or are you going to order food for them?”

  “I’m cooking,” the elder Cordovo answers as they enter the kitchen, “Take out is too greasy and loaded with fat. Kids these days are too obese because parents don’t have time or are too lazy to cook a healthy meal for them.”

  “I’ll say,” Ellisaüch agrees as she sits down, “I see more fat kids than I did ten years ago. The adults are worse, because their health is at risk and they don’t seem to care until it’s too late.”

  “There is also the fact that gyms cost a fortune along with eating at health-food restaurants and diet plans,” Jenne adds as she begins to cook, “I have been hearing that schools had to cut back on gym class due to lack of budget funds. People want the best education for their children, but they don’t want to pay for it.”

  “You can’t have everything without paying for something.”

  “So true.”

  * * * *

  “Is there anymore business we need to discuss,” a tall male student asks his fellow students sitting at their desks aligned in a rectangle, to which no one speaks up, “Very well. We are dismissed. The Extracurricular Fair is two days away, so we will meet again the day before to help with the booth setup in the gym. Have a good day.”

  John places a stack of papers into a plastic envelope before placing it into his back pack. He follows the other students out of the classroom and makes a brief detour to the Principal’s Office. He places the plastic envelope into a filing cabinet labeled ‘Student Council’ and locks it before heading outside.

  “There you are,” the young man looks up to see Richard standing by the door, “I thought you were going to be awhile with the meeting.”

  “The meeting was short today,” John replies as they begin to walk, “The Extracurricular Fair is three days away and everything is in order. Last year had been a mess and we spent days getting everything straighten out, which resulted in the clubs and activities being postponed for several days.”

  “That bad?”

  “The cheerleading squad had the recruits fill out the wrong forms and they ended up on the football team.”

  “And the football team recruits?”

  “Found themselves in the environmental study group.”

  “Aw man, that must’ve been hilarious!”

  “If you exclude the angry mob camping out at the principal’s office for a week.

  The two young men laugh as they picture that statement in their minds. They turn a corner and reach the business district of Maston.

  “So,” John begins after they had stopped laughing, “have you decided on joining an extracurricular activity or a club? Maybe the baseball team?”

  “Heh. You’re persistent. Are you like this with all the new kids or just me?”

  “Just you. All the new kids become informed too quickly about the Student Council conspiracy and tend to stay away. I try to encourage everyone willing to listen to build up their permanent records now, for colleges around here are very picky when it comes to their applicants.”

  “Speaking from experience?”

  “My sister tells me many times how hard it was for her to get into college because she didn’t have any extracurricular activities on her record. I still remember the rejection letters she got and the fits she threw because she didn’t participated in any activities in high school. I always end up reminding her that she had considered them a waste of time when she was asked.”

  “I see. Anyway, I’m going to try for the baseball team. Before you repeat yourself, I will keep my team preference a secret.”

  “Ha ha. I don’t think any of them will do anything to you. Just try to get you to switch teams.”

  “Not happening. Who is it that I have to speak to?”

  “Mr. Tress, the P.E. teacher on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He’s on vacation at the moment, but he should be back in time for the fair.”

  “I’ll look into it,” Richard concludes and looks around, “A lot of small businesses around here. I’ve never heard of this one.”

  “Many of these places are family-owned businesses that have been around for years,” John explains, “Not many corporations want to setup business in small suburbs.”

  “Were these buildings houses at one time?”

  “They’re all duplexes, some triplexes. The bottom floors have been transformed into the stores while the families live on the top floors. It’s pretty much a tight-knit neighborhood.’

  “Here we are,” the two young men stop at the corner building, “Home Sweet Home.”

  They enter through the central doorway and head upstairs. They turn right and head for the second door on the left.

  “Does your sister always close her office early,” Richard asks as he notices the ‘Closed’ sign and the hours posted on the door.

  “Not really,” John answers, “The only time she would close the office is when business is very slow. I know she had a big job last night, so she must’ve finished early. She’s pretty fast on these jobs, no matter how complicated they are.”

  The shorter young man pulls out a key and unlocks the door. They enter the office to find no one inside. A wonderful smell wafts into the office from the near the back desk. They can hear two women conversing from behind the door before they open it.

  “I’m home,” John calls happily as he and Richard enter the kitchen.

  “Welcome home,” Jenne smiles brightly by the stove, “You must be John’s friend. I’m Jenne,
John’s sister. The lady sitting at the table is Ellisaüch, my secretary.”

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Ellisaüch smiles at the two young men friendlily.

  John introduces Richard and begins a conversation with Jenne about his day. He is completely oblivious to his guest, not that Richard takes any notice.

  The taller young man stares at the two women before him and his friend. They appears as normal human women in their prime to any other human. However, he isn’t a normal human. He couldn’t see it, but his sense of smell and hearing gives his imagination the images his eyes are blind to.

  The smell of sulfur and heat, of despair and fear that perfumes the air around him that takes the oxygen slowly away from him. The sound of clinking chains and the ruffling of thin leather reaches his ears loudly. An intense heat wafers over his skin that causes sweat to blossom and a frigid cold quickly hits him that causes the sweat to freeze and goose bumps to form. The young secretary’s eyes stare at him, a hint of a sinister grin within those emerald depths. She knows. There’s no doubt in his mind. Whatever she or her companion are, they are definitely not human. And she definitely knows what he is.

  “Richard? Richard?”

  Said young man blinks and looks into the concern face of John, snapping back to reality. The shorter young man had stopped talking to Jenne and had asked a question to Richard, but didn't received a reply and became worried. Jenne and Ellisaüch are also looking at him in concern, the smell and sounds gone.

  “Oh,” Richard becomes bashful upon realizing that he has zoned out, “Sorry. Just had something on my mind.”

  “What seems to be on your mind Richard,” Jenne asks in concern, “It had to have been very serious to require all of your attention.”

  “... I can’t say for certain. I forgot what it was that was on my mind. Sorry.”

  “No worries,” John smiles, “You’ll probably remember later. Is dinner almost ready, Jenne?”