The rain frantically tap-danced off the reluctant detective’s white fedora hat as he slowly looked up at his unfamiliarly gloomy surroundings. Water cascaded from his hat as he finally tilted his head backwards which caused the uninviting desolate shoreline view to be impeded for a few more blissful seconds. Detective Peter Merlyo felt uneasy as he surveyed the ghostly windswept shoreline of Lake Erie whilst the cold twin elements of wind and rain both buffeted his already numb face.
The heavy rain was so thick that it effortlessly created a wall of obscuring haze around him which shrouded his surroundings in a gloomy grey. This relentless rain came from the foreboding dark skies that hung ominously overhead as he tried to keep his hat from blowing away in the unusually strong wind by placing his hand permanently on it. He then pulled up the collar of his double breasted trench coat in a vain attempt to lessen the icy wind’s merciless touch upon his neck but it was not to be as it continually battered him with an almost tangible anger, scratching at his numb skin that now pleaded to be freed from this turbulently unwelcoming environment.
It was so unusually windy that a group of nearby old tree’s where swinging aggressively from side to side in a mesmerising motion that had transfixed the detective for a few solitary minutes. They were making a terrible creaking sound that was somehow miraculously mixing with the distant screams of children as they enjoyed the numerous scary rides of the nearby Euclid Beach Amusement Park. This ominously sounding combination was created by the frantically expanding and contracting tree bark mixed upon the wind with that of the children in the distance, creating an almost hauntingly ghostly sound that pervaded all his auditory senses and made the child’s joyful screams turn into something less welcoming and almost sinister.
The preoccupied Merlyo was in an irritably miserable mood this foul morning after he had unintentionally broken off a relationship with a woman whom he had very much liked the previous evening. His wandering mind was permanently distracted with various scenarios of that previous evenings troublesome events and was not on the job at hand this morning. The relentless rain had long ago soaked him through whilst the cold mornings wind buffeted his unprotected face, unrepentant in its ferocity and unwilling to allow for a momentary pause of its power so that he could contemplate his situation.
He had been called here at the break of dawn because a local fisherman named Frank LaGassie had grimly discovered a dismembered female body by the windswept shore of Lake Erie. Merlyo had known of the area whereby the body was discovered but had not been here much in recent years, owing all his limited knowledge to his frequent excursions to the nearby amusement park when he was a child. He had always secretly thought that the lakes title was fitting for such an ominous looking environment and on such a bleak looking morning as this one, its name strangely resonated with the unsettling sounds which had developed upon the prevailing winds.
He was there to examine the homicide scene in its full entirety but was reluctant to come here in the first place due to how his turbulent evening had ended up the previous night. He was also irritated because he was called to investigate this homicide scene at the very last moment by the Chief of Police, George Matowitz whom he had used to actually have an admiration and respect for until he discovered how immensely corrupt he was. The local Italian mob boss called Antony ‘old man’ Milano and his notorious Mayfield Road Mob had long ago infiltrated the ranks of the Cleveland police force and now all could plainly see that the results of this one sided and parasitic relationship. Milano, and his automobile loving group, where constantly running circles around the police and had many crooked cops on the take, one of these being none other than the Chief of Police himself whom had reluctantly called him this morning with this assignment.
A women made Matowitz giggle during his preoccupied telephone call a little over an hour ago which further irritated the already miserable detective. Merlyo lacked both the focus and determination this foul morning because of his continued irritable mood at himself for pushing the relationship with his now ex-girlfriend far too quickly. He suspected that he had come on a little too strongly after a perfect night out for dinner and a movie but he did not wish for the prolonged romantic evening to end and ultimately overstepped the boundaries of good gentlemanly behaviour. He had wished to express his true emotional desire and restless feelings for her physically but he had simply not played the right hand and miscalculated her reaction to his sincere advances. She was better than that and was much classier, sophisticated and refined for his premature attempts at physical contact and just thinking about his unacceptable behaviour the previous evening made him blush.
He then looked around the surrounding desolate shoreline and felt disheartened as the persistent rain continually drenched him, knowing that he was here to seek out the tragedy of a young woman’s death and feeling strangely sad at just knowing that her unseen body was hidden there by the shoreline. As the troubled detective tried to reassert his unfocused mind back onto the tragic real world events, he simply not focus as he once again replayed the troubling events of the previous evening over again within his frantic mind. He desperately tried to establish what had caused the eventual disintegration of their beautifully fledgling relationship that was still just in its early phases of its infancy. But no matter how much he replayed these troubling events within his mind he could not find this elusively definitive answer and these chaotic thoughts where then abruptly broken by the howling wind as it blew through the nearby trees’.
The ominously creaking trees were swinging from side to side as if they were attempting to get his otherwise preoccupied attention away from that night before and towards the troublingly elusive homicide scene that he was here to investigate. The howling wind was now violently cutting through these shoreline trees and bringing with it the unsettling children’s joyous screams, oddly giving an otherworldly sound to their originally joyful vocalisations and altering them into something far more chilling. The harsh rain then suddenly changed into a light drizzle and this had the desired effect of vastly improving the view of the immediate surrounding area, which was a mixture of unruly foliage bordering a hazardous shoreline of rocks and sand. The lake itself had become very turbulent and choppy within its centre as it came into view and small waves now relentlessly hit the nearby rocky shoreline in competing acts of ferocity.
He could now thankfully see the surrounding environment again after being blinded by both the concealing bad weather and his own troublesomely preoccupied mind. The lonesome gumshoe defiantly stood there with his hands stubbornly deep within his long coats pockets and forcefully pushed all his self-accusatory thoughts towards the back of his mind. He marvelled at nature’s effortless ability at visual concealment and his own minds inability to conceal the troubling thoughts that had plagued his mind since he had arrived at this gloomy shoreline. He could then just make out two shadowy policemen in the distance whom where further up the shoreline and actively cordoning off the area with rope. He felt secretly relieved that he had finally located the area of interest that he had been so reluctantly searching for and was determined to get to it before he was once again caught by the bad weather.
Although he had now seen his elusive quarry, these two preoccupied policemen were still within a difficult area to get to because the jagged shoreline jetted out into the turbulent lake and was completely unpassable. So after a moment of quiet deliberation he determined that he would go straight through the undergrowth in order to get to this target location, adamant that he would not be denied this homicide scene for a second time. The ground ahead of him was completely overgrown with vast amounts of uncontrolled foliage and greenery as it chaotically mixed with the surrounding sand of the shoreline. The powerfully pungent smell of flow
er petals, pollen and wet soil all rang heavily throughout the surrounding air as yet another powerful gust of wind buffeted the poor detectives body.
The hesitant Merlyo then noticed that one of the policemen was talking to another man whom looked distinctly like a rod carrying fishermen, giving the detective a new impetus to get to the location with the utmost hast. He then heard the voice of one of the distant police officers whom was sealing off the area whilst attempting to get his attention by waving “Detective! Detective Merlyo! Over here!” The waving police officer was unsure if the changeable weather would take a sudden turn for the worst again and shouted once more for good measure to ensure the detectives attention “Over here! We have a young woman’s body!”
His mood was made that much more sombre when he heard those ominous words leave the shadowy policeman’s lips, briefly imagining the unseen homicide seen within his curiously creative kind. He then finally started to make his way over to the persistent voice and immediately felt his leading foot sink into the surrounding mud, making him even more annoyed and causing him to irritably groan with distain. He had taken his time to calculate that first step and internally reprimanded himself for miscalculating, not fully understanding that the visual representation upon the grassy surface was not always what it seemed. The overgrown grass and unruly foliage chaotically covered the area and created a natural and almost impenetrable barrier that had surprised the wily detective. This barrier surrounded the immediate shoreline but he was determined to get through it because he had no intention of hiking all the way back to his trusty Ford, which lay a good half an hours walk back into the unseen woods behind him.
He then started to trudge through the difficult long weeds and tangled-up bushes, taking his time to evade any other naturally occurring muddy traps that may lay hidden along the way. The chaotic environment proved to be immensely difficult and time consuming, much more than he had originally anticipated and just as he thought that he was making it through with ease, he accidentally put his foot into another large putrefying pool of deep mud. The disgruntled detective mumbled a few choice words under his breath as the stagnant muddy water saturated every pore of his sock and shoes, making his foot instantly smell like the distinctive odour of the foul puddle. He cursed his misfortune because he had only bought the stylish spectator shoe three weeks earlier but now they were both effectively ruined to him because they would always remind him of this embarrassingly avoidable situation.
He did not understand why his colleagues back within the office constantly voiced their protests about his chosen form of unique attire. They stated that he dressed ‘eccentrically’ but he simply liked to be somewhat different to his other drab work colleagues, more colourful and expressionist with his choice of clothes. Many of his work colleagues thought that his clothes looked unbecoming on him but he simply chose to ignore there obviously flawed interpretations of his attire. He even theorized that this is why his ex-girlfriend started dating him in the first place because he expelled a certain type of ‘supreme confidence’ and ‘aura of assuredness’ that he knew women found attractive.
He then grimaced as the filthy mud penetrated deeply within his new shoe whilst his light pink socks also changed colour as they absorbed the stagnantly thick liquid. He then angrily gritted his teeth together as he shamefully pulled his hat down whilst he imagined what an amusing scene the two on looking police officers where potentially viewing. He then attempted to pull his foot out of the troublesome pool of putrid mud and after much effort he finally released it only for its freedom to be accompanied by the rancid smell that was emanating from its secret interior. This surprisingly foul odour caused him to drop his foot back into the unforgiving pool as it fully overwhelmed to his nostrils and attacked his senses.
He knew from Matowitz that this murder scene contained a dismembered body and that its parts may have been left all around the area, suddenly giving him the alarming realisation that there was a distinct possibility that a missing body part could be located within this muddy pool itself! He then began to panic as he attempted to multitask and keep his hat from blowing away in the wind whilst also attempting to release his reluctant foot out of the foreboding dark pool that it now found itself trapped within. He mumbled a few more choice words to himself as he finally managed to pull his foot free from the accused pool, releasing yet more pungently foul odour into the surrounding air. He exhaustedly stood there in disgust as he took off his shoe and emptied its uninvited contents of putrid mud back onto the already overly saturated grass. He then eagerly took off his saturated sock and squeezed it over the mud pool, taking his time while doing so that he could keenly inspect the rest of his clothes.
His three piece grey suit trousers where effectively ruined as he took a moment to glance upon the drying leg with a despondency in his eyes whilst his sweaty light pink shirt was still most defiantly salvageable. Whilst he was observing himself in disapproval one of the two on looking police officers shouted again “Detective Merlyo!?” The annoyed detective replied immediately in an agitated manner because he could just hear that the two where rather amused at his current unfortunate predicament “Ok! Ok! I’m coming for Christ-sake! Can’t you see that I’ve had a little accident here!?” Merlyo then mumbled yet a few more choice words that where blatantly audible to the on looking and amused police officers as he then slipped back on his damp sock and shoe and proceed to move towards the camouflaged crime scene again.
His foot made an embarrassingly loud squelchy sound at regular intervals as he hesitantly walked on, further infuriating his already sour mood and causing the two amused police officers to snigger once more. As he slowly and apprehensively struggled his way through the remainder of the long and unruly foliage, he was surprised to see that the two officers were standing by a surprisingly less rocky part of the shoreline. The exhausted Merlyo then recognised the two policemen as he finally came through the remainder of the thick bushes that appeared to not wish to give him his freedom back.
The stern faced police officer Martin O’Donnell was much older than his colleague and his hair had long ago started to turn white. He had a distinctively scowl like expression permanently edged upon his face which gave the impression of a man whom was not to be trifled with or taken lightly. His equally stern faced police colleague was officer Robert Kilbane whom had the unwanted appearance of a brutish man whom had been within many bar brawls and fist fights in his time. His jet black hair was sleeked back with a pungent smelling hair tonic and parted the same way as his colleagues, on the right hand side. Both grim looking men had one thing in common in that they both looked to be devious in nature and there equally small eyes further added to this immediately preconceived judgement. Merlyo had seen these two individuals around the Cleveland police department headquarters before and there ill reputation proceeded them wherever they went.
Many of his work colleagues had stated that they were notorious pranksters and untrustworthy in nature, preferring to scheme and amusingly joke around rather than diligently work hard and climb the ladder of success. Others had also stated that the pair was not that bright within the intellectual arena which is why O’Donnell had never progressed above his current position even though he was rather old. O’Donnell was famed for also always stating that he wanted to become sheriff someday although many did not take this comment seriously, putting it down to one of his beloved particle jokes which somehow fed his already oversaturated ego. Others had gone on to state that they were crooked cops whom had been on the take for years already, feeding the Italian, Jewish and Irish mafia’s with all sorts of sordid secrets about their fellow colleagues within the department.
He never usually gave any credence to office gossip and preferred to keep to himself but now, upon looking at both these men closely, he could understand why many had made such judgemental determinations about the notorious pair. Merlyo then put these silent observations to one side as he saw the fisherman nervously smoke a cigarette further
down the shoreline, silently deducing that he probably needed a few moments of ‘alone time’ to take in the horror of what he had discovered there this morning. The observant O’Donnell then spoke as he saw Merlyo curiously watch the man whom had discovered the body as he frantically tried to alleviate the detectives mounting anxiety “That’s the fishermen whom found the body, Frank LaGassie! He’s a little shaken but all things considered so would I be too! Hehe!” His awkward smile was not reciprocated by an irritated Merlyo and so he quickly continued “We’ve already spoken to him and he said that he’d be happy to give you an official statement when your ready detective. He just wants a few minutes alone to smoke his cigarette. Oh! The bodies right over there!”
The pondering Merlyo then followed O’Donnell’s finger to finally see the concealed object that he had been searching for, the naked lower portion of a young female torso with the thighs still attached but cut of at the knees. Merlyo tried not to show his shock to the on looking officers as the macabre sight alarmingly greeted his reluctant eyes and so he lowered his hat and slowly approached it, whist continuing to make a squelching sound from his one foot. The two officers could not help silently smile as the wet sounds that emanated from his foot appeared to get louder with each successive step as the solitary detective plodded on towards his macabre quarry. Merlyo rolled his eyes in contempt at the two sniggering officers behind him as he then pulled his hat down lower, attempting to ignore them before he finally arrived at the body concealed by the shoreline and carefully knelt down to inspect it.
As he did so the on looking O’Donnell spoke again, adamant that he wanted the shrewd detective to have more vital information and enhance his somewhat sour reputation back at the department “LaGassie said that she looked like a piece of tree trunk stripped of its bark! Good description right? Gruesome huh detective? You ever seen anything like this before?” The silent Merlyo did not like to be disturbed whilst in deep thought and ignored his question as the resurgent icy cold wind and rain continued to buffet relentlessly against him. He suddenly had an overwhelming feeling of sadness strangely come upon him whilst he instinctively analysed the tragic scene that beckoned his reluctant gaze. The reason for this emotional response was because he could see that the unknown murder victim was not only very young, possibly late teens to early twenties at the most, but also looked as if she had been placed there only a few moments ago. This was because the tap-dancing rain not only continually cleaned away the accumulated dirt from her porcelain white coloured skin but it also showed her unfortunate youthfulness underneath.
The Noir Evil Page 1
