Gerber then used the projector to show an image of an artistic representation of an unknown man’s side and profile view which looked so vague that it was almost tangibly laughable within the silently packed room. Gerber then continued after briefly looking at the image with raised eyebrows, unimpressed with the image of a man whom may just be a local eccentric “While we all agree that the killer had some knowledge of anatomy, the medical experts here have felt that there was no evidence to establish that the murderer was necessarily a physician. After all a butcher or hunter would recognize anatomical landmarks almost as well as any surgeon would, further enhancing our determination to find the location of his abattoir. It may be a doctor’s office, a butchers shop, funeral home or even something simply like a home’s basement or derelict shack. This would be the best place to start looking for the Mad Butcher and, like I said before, find his abattoir and you’ll find him!”
Zalewski was listening so intensely now that Merlyo noticed him writing down word for word everything that the knowledgeable coroner was saying, smiling to himself as his heard his partner mumble “Abattoir!” The determined Gerber was just about to continue his analysis when the slumbering Ness loudly mumbled an audible word from the front row “Scarab” Upon hearing this slurry vocalisation the entire room now started to snigger as the attentive Cowles gentle shook Ness’s shoulder, not wishing to startle the man whom had helped him quickly ascend up through the ranks.
Ness immediately woke up and wiped the solidified saliva bridge away from his mouth before silently apologising to the irritated Gerber. All within the congested room knew that Ness was referring to the large and ugly silver Stout Scarab that now dominated the police department’s parking lot. He had bought it during The Great Lakes Exposition and had fallen in love with its airplane like feel that oozed from its every silver nut and bolt. Many had thought that the unsightly machine looked rather unbecoming but Ness had appreciated its impeccable design and skilfully crafted interior, all unique in their own beautiful way. Ness had even met the famed aviation designer at the exhibition, William Bushnell Stout and it was there, under the impressive fireworks display where he had been swayed to purchase the silver metal beast just prior to searching for Poppy.
Since then he had continually been altering it for some unknown purpose, adding more silver textured metal to its unsightly frame and incorporating various secretive curiosities within its mechanised body. He had also incorporated a mystery elongated object within the floor of the Scarab and covered it in a tightly concealing leather cover which was held firmly in place. Many of the department’s staff where puzzled by his behaviour and now even taking regular bets on how much he would alter it within any given week, further enhancing curiosity about why he was altering the ugly automobile.
The gleaming silver Scarab now dominated all other automobiles within the department’s parking lot, expressing an arrogance at the normality of the others and a ruthless disregard for any other automobile that did not live up to its undeniable standard of novelty. Ness had even recently acquired a new licence plate that had a fond childhood nickname on it “ELEGANT MESS” which further enhanced his distinctly unique reputation around the department, as well as Cleveland itself, that he was a foolish playboy whom was falling into the abyss of addiction.
Gerber then continued to speak as Ness fantasised about his next covert alteration to his beloved silver Scarab which eagerly awaited his return within the full parking lot outside “As Dr Grossman stated earlier on, the killer is probably a sexual sadist because he takes immense sexual gratification in the action of killing and this gratification is heightened with the emotional distress that is exhibited by his victims. It is believed that his victims are being specifically selected for their anonymity and I have a fear that such a deceptive individual will only be caught whilst either in the action of murdering or simply by accident”
Gerber then stopped talking but did not want to end the meeting on such a bleak note and so, whilst feeling satisfied that they were all now better mentally equipped to hunt for the Mad Butcher, he concluded the meeting “With that I would like to thank you all for coming here today and for our esteemed panel of experts for their professional opinions which have undoubtedly shed new light into the darkened mind of this depraved killer. I hope that this meeting, this ‘Torso Clinic’ has enlightened us all as to the possible identity of the Mad Butcher. I’d like to personally thank all the guest speakers for attending because I know that they all have busy schedules to keep and I’m looking forward to continue to work closely with you all to help capture this sadistically deranged madman!”
The audience then applauded the impressive Gerber whom motioned to all the accompanying professionals in attendance to stand up and join in with the appreciation from the crowded room. The nervous coroner then began anxiously fiddling with his ill-fitting spectacles as he sat down and instantly grabbed his treasured Gladstone bag which lay under his chair, immediately relaxing him with its mere touch like a comforting blanket. After a moment or two of applause everyone within the room then rushed towards the solitary door, all hastily moving towards this singular exit because they were uncomfortably hot within the stifling environment. The exceptions to this where the still barely conscious Ness whom was still slouched down upon his chair, the attentive Cowles, Merlyo, Zalewski and Poppy.
Merlyo remained steadfast within his chair because he was not wishing to partake in a “free for all” in a desperate attempt to leave the meeting room early and he also did not dare look around to see Poppy through fear of offending her with his yearning gaze. The sweating Zalewski then got up and whispered into his partner’s ear, instinctively knowing that he would be interested in her location “She’s still at the back of the room, you should go talk to her and take all the time that you need partner ok!” He then proceeded to knowingly wink and smile at Merlyo before he left with the Gladstone clutching Gerber whom was still talking about the unknown killer’s psychology to others as he left the room.
The standing Cowles then proceeded to awkwardly take’s the dishevelled Ness’s arm and put it around his shoulder in a crude attempt to get him to stand up. This only awakened the grumbling Ness whom surprisingly looked around at the empty meeting room in an almost dazed manner, apparently obvious to the goings on that had occurred within the last hour. Ness then staggered slightly towards the lonesome exit door and used the chair to help keep his unsteady balance manageable whilst the attentive Cowles closely followed him from behind. Ness then paused and whispered into the ear of the note taking Merlyo, whom was actively attempting to not make eye contact with the famed lawman “Make sure to… to show the press all those knives we took from the nearby homicide scenes because… because they’ll make for good, dramatic photographs for tomorrow mornings newspapers. Oh! And don’t forget to mention me and how I’m… How I’m tirelessly working to save this city!”
Ness then awkwardly smiled and winked at the reluctant detective whom remained silent, not wishing to converse with a man whom would not recall their conversation within a mere minute. The struggling Ness then giggled occasionally as the awkwardly smiling Cowles attentively helped him leave the room and embark upon the long and arduous journey back towards his office. Merlyo knew that Ness was referring to the press conference that was going to take place downstairs within the next hour. He was going to be there along with other detectives whom where now on the case full time and they were tasked by Ness to inform to general public on the successful conclusion of Torso Clinic meeting, thus alleviating the fears of Cleveland’s fearful population. He had no intention of answering any questions unless he was specifically asked and would display the various knives that they had discovered nearby the numerous homicide scenes in the vain hope that somebody would recognise one of the sharp implements and contact the police with valuable information.
As the last of the guest speakers and nearby detectives filtered out of the room, the preoccupied Trunk led his s
mall group of loyal followers back towards the door. All of them looked with distain at the still seated detective and as he attempted to ignore their troublesome gaze, knowing that they disliked him because of his apparent closeness to Ness. After a few seconds of silence whereby he slowly built up enough courage to turn around and look at his ex-love, he saw her alone at the back of the empty and darkened room. She was apparently preoccupied with troubling thoughts as she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, peering out of the blinds by the window with a fixated gaze towards an unseen horizon.
After a few more seconds whereby he actively debated with himself if he should approach her, he slowly stood and turned around to look at her. As he did so the failing projector flipped back some images until it stopped at the forever sleeping photograph of the Tattooed Man’s dismembered head, beaming it upon the oblivious detective whom was preoccupied over Poppy’s obvious sadness. This ominously large photograph not only masked his concern for his ex-love but also created a macabre setting for their next unpredictable encounter.
After he looked at her for some time and gave their potential encounter some more careful consideration, he was about to leave but hesitated by the door. He knew that leaving her in such a darkened place and with such a preoccupied look edged upon her troubled face was treasonous to any friendship in the extreme and so he instinctively locked the door for some privacy and cautiously walked over to her. Poppy knew that he was coming towards her but she still remained transfixed upon the outside world that seemed to be so vibrant and filled with life, a stark contradiction with the darkly macabre image that filled the adjacent display before her.
Before Merlyo reached her he stopped and hesitantly spoke her name quietly, worried that his presence may startle or scare her if she was lost within her thoughts “Poppy are you ok?” Before he could say anything else she suddenly stood up from the wall and walked directly towards him which instinctively evoked an alarmed feeling within the detective because he was unsure of her unreadable intentions. She then took his face in her hands and passionately kissed him with such immense force that the startled detective almost pulled back in freight.
Merlyo was shocked because he simply wanted to talk to her and was not expecting this behaviour from the obviously emotionally troubled Poppy but he automatically reciprocated her advances without question because he had spent many nights fantasising about her since there last dramatic encounter. After a few minutes she stopped suddenly and put her head on his reassuring shoulder, snuggled-up to next to his warm chest and started to cry within his arms. The confused detective instinctively held her and although he was a good detective, he was not good at all in such intimate situations like this and was glad that she had taken the lead and simply taken the physical comfort that she obviously desperately required. He speculated that she was in a lot of pain for a variety of unknown reasons which probably originated from the secretive past to the troublesome present, causing her immense mental anguish as a result of them being bottled up for so very long deep down inside her.
After a few more precious moments holding the emotionally trembling Poppy, Merlyo then quietly spoke as he reassuringly rubbed her shoulder and gently kissed her forehead “Hey! There, there it’s ok! Shuuuuuu, I don’t understand what’s happening to you? To us?” After a moment the emotionally trembling Poppy looked up at him, her crying had left dark mascara lines running down her pretty face and she then hesitantly replied with an uncharacteristically shaky voice “I’m so sorry I forced you out of my life Peter, but it’s just, well? It’s complicated…” She paused for a moment and looked preoccupied with numerous thoughts before she hesitantly continued “I’m Ness’s whore that’s what’s wrong! He transferred me from the department because he found out about us and gave me an ultimatum to either never come back here and contact you or I’d lose him and now…” She then smiled an irrational, sarcastic smile before she continued “… and now after a few months I’m his new girlfriend’s bodyguard!? I mean how did that happen? Haha! Basically he needed someone to look after Evaline because he’s paranoid about Polizzi hurting her, just like Capone tried to do to Edna back in Chicago. So he decided to pull a few strings and worked out a solution which involved me still working for the department but in a different capacity. He needed someone that he could trust and also someone who was skilled enough to protect her and, well?...”
She paused again as new tears replaced the old ones before continuing “Well… The sick thing is that we don’t make love anymore! It’s just raw, uncaring sex!” Merlyo interrupted her and held her by the shoulders as he looked sternly into her lost and teary eyes “Poppy, he’s using you! Just leave him! If he’s hurting you then you should just walk away!” Poppy looked at him as another tear erupted from her tear duct and swiftly followed the gradient of her fair, smooth skin and flowed down her cheek before she lovingly smiled and replied “Oh! Peter if you only knew, I can’t leave him! You simply don’t understand. It’s all very complicated”
She hesitantly paused with worry as she suddenly noticed the wandering silhouettes of Trunk, O’Donnell, Kilbane and Brown through the misty window as they walked together down the corridor outside whilst talking to each other, unaware that they were being covertly watched from within the darkened meeting room. Upon seeing them she felt a new found strength from within herself and wiped away her warm, salty tears before continuing with an assured and more confident voice “Eliot is so paranoid now because of his regular consumption of opium that he refused the mayors offer to sign a personal bodyguard to Edna unless he trusted them. So initially I accepted his offer to stay at the lake house with Edna to protect her but then he wanted me to protect Evaline and…”
Merlyo interrupted her, not believing what his ears where telling him “Are you kidding me? He’s using you for sex! I mean look at how unhappy you are? Can’t you see?” She then emotionally looked at Merlyo and desperately wanted him to give her the answer to all her problems but she knew that he could not and so she just leaned in again to kiss him but he instantly pulled back this time and forcefully spoke “Stop it! Listen I care for you deeply and it pains me to see you self-punishing yourself for something that wasn’t your fault in the past? Am I right? The cut marks on your wrists? I know you won’t tell me about your secretive past but listen! Whatever happened you wasn’t your fault ok! So stop punishing yourself for Christ sake! You deserve to be happy Poppy and this self-hatred is breaking my heart. It has to stop! It’s time to stop punishing yourself!”
He then turned and began walking away whilst speaking “I’m going to get Gerber, he’s your friend right? I think he’s got a major in psychology so if you’re uncomfortable discussing these sensitive matters with me then perhaps you can chat to him and…” When he was only halfway across the room and in front of the hot projector, Poppy grabbed his right arm and forcefully spun him around and passionately kissed him with so much force that it automatically silenced him and made him forget about the sentence he was just about to vocalise.
The ominous Tattooed Man’s photograph shone on them both as they continued to kiss without regretful inhibitions and as Merlyo then ran his fingers through her glorious golden hair he ultimately gave into her determined advances. He adored her loving embrace and voiced his admiration for her “Yours beautiful, you know that don’t you?” She was excited by this pure statement of uncomplicated love and forcefully pulled him closer to her and guided his hand away from her face and onto her warm breast, both succumbing to the lust for one another yet again. The projector continually shone the Tattooed Man’s ominous image upon the couple as they secretly held each other for what seemed like an eternity in the dimly lit Torso Clinic meeting room. He then decided to make her forget the traumatic pain from her numerous problems and make passionate love to her and she would accept his desperately needed gift without question.
As they made love they both did not see the Tattooed Man’s large eyes suddenly open up behind them, confusi
ngly watching their lustful embrace in an alarmed manner. His restless spirit was like all the other Mad Butchers victims, still trapped within this purgatory plane of existence as his eyes frantically looked around his new otherworldly prison that he now found himself trapped within. He tried to vocalise his sheer terror at not being able to move and silently screamed from the beyond the grave but no one appeared to heed his desperate pleas for help. He then started to settle down after a while because he somehow knew that he was eternally trapped within this unnatural photographic black and white prison and regretted seeing before him what he would never have again, a true love of the purist quality.
After a long period of time whereby he curiously watched the two make love he then reluctantly closed his wanting eyes because he did not wish to see what he had forever lost. The imprisoned Tattooed Man then sadly resigned himself to his tragic fate and all the horribly torturous final memories that where grimly embedded within it.
The Noir Evil Page 30
