The Dance

by James Goodman

  I tried to get those detectives to open up, but they didn’t want anything to do with me. Is that MY fault? I don’t think so. I bet she couldn’t do any better.

  He looked down at his watch and grunted in disgust. It was nearly nine-thirty. He had been waiting for over an hour and a half.

  “This is ri-God damned-diculous. I wonder what she thinks she’s accomplishing by doing this to me.”

  “Mark, I could just call you when she comes in,” her assistant offered.

  “No thanks, Tracy. If it’s all the same, I’ll just wait for her here.”

  “It isn’t like her to be this late. She eats, sleeps and breathes this job. Most days, she’s here before I am. I can’t imagine what’s keeping her.”

  She probably decided to spend the morning with TEEENA. Hell, she is probably the person who will be taking my spot.

  The phone on Tracy’s desk rang, causing Mark to jump and stare at the display. He looked away quickly, hoping she wouldn’t catch on that he was eavesdropping.

  “How did you get this number? This isn’t his— Yes, he’s standing right here but— May I ask who’s calling? But— But— please hold.” The exasperation in her voice was nearly as evident as her confusion. “Mark, you have a phone call.”

  “Who is it?”

  “She wouldn’t say. She just said she had an urgent message for you.” Tracy shrugged.

  Who the hell would know I was here? He approached the desk. “What did the caller ID say?”

  “It just says unknown caller.”

  Mark sighed and picked up the receiver. What an awful connection, he thought as crackling and popping from the line assaulted his ears.

  “This is Mark Sampson.” He held the phone slightly away from his ear to make the static a bit more bearable.

  “Yes, Mr. Sampson. There is something I think you will want to see.”

  “Oh yeah, what’s that?”

  “Do you have a pencil?”

  Mark snatched a pencil and a post-it from the desk. “Okay, I am ready when you are.”

  “Discretion with this information may work to your benefit. Can you get a cameraman without having to answer too many questions?”

  Mark rolled his eyes. Great, another wacko has managed to track me down. “I guess it depends on what you are going to tell me, now doesn’t it?”

  “Go to six-eight-three-nine-five, west forty second avenue. I think you will be very interested in what you will find there.”

  “Whoa! That’s where She—”

  “Do not finish that sentence if you hope to maintain any sort of discretion,” the voice cautioned.

  “Who is this?” Mark was suddenly apprehensive.

  “That’s not important,” she said through a giggle. “And Mark… you’re welcome.”

  “Thanks. I think.”

  “You will be thankful, and I think you will appreciate just how grateful you should be when you get there.”

  The line went dead before he could ask any more questions.

  Does she know I was about to be fired? How is that possible?

  “So, who was it?” Tracy asked.

  “Huh?” He looked over at her distractedly. “Oh, just some wacko. I think I’ll go ahead and take off.”

  “Okay, do you want me to call you when Ms. McCrae gets in?”

  He forced a smile. “Would you be a doll and give me a call if anyone comes looking for me?”

  “Sure, Mark. I have to say though, whoever that was, they must have really shaken you up.”

  He barely heard her reply. His cell phone was already in his hand as he walked away.

  “Toli, this is Mark,” he tried to keep his voice calm. “How quick can you have the van ready to go?”

  “I guess that depends on what you have for us.”

  “Ah, man this is big. I mean colossal. I will fill you in on the way over there. So, how long until you can be ready?”

  “Give me half an hour?”

  “Deal. I’ll meet you down in the garage.”

  If that was who I think it was, this is going to be interesting, to say the least.

  *****

  “Whoa, what are you doing?” Toli grabbed Mark’s arm as he reached for the door handle.

  “I’m going in.” He shrugged off his grip.

  “That’s the boss’s house. Do you really think it is smart to just let yourself in?”

  “What, were you not listening to me on the drive over?” Mark turned on him. “I told you I got a tip saying something big happened in there. I doubt very seriously that she will be able to come to the door.”

  “What if your caller was lying? Do you know how pissed she’s gonna be if you just go barging in there?”

  Mark’s shoulders slumped. He considered the words of his cameraman. The motion of his hand looked almost painful as he moved it from the door handle to the buzzer.

  “See, I told you she wouldn’t come to the door,” Mark sneered after the third ring.

  “I’m still not taking the camera in there.”

  “Don’t be such a wuss.”

  “Show me something worth shooting and I’m all over it. Until then, the camera stays in the van.”

  “Fine,” Mark barked. “Just stay close and try not to touch anything.”

  He opened the door gingerly; bracing himself for the gruesome scene he was sure awaited him on the other side. He let out a sigh when he saw the front room was unoccupied, though it wasn’t clear if it was from relief or disappointment.

  He realized he was holding his breath as they crept from room to room and had to suppress a laugh. “Nut up, big boy. This is the stuff that you live for, remember?”

  “I guess we should check the upstairs,” Toli observed, emerging from the kitchen.

  “You think?” Mark brushed by him in the hall and headed for the staircase.

  “Ass,” Toli mumbled under his breath.

  He spun around, nostrils flaring. “What did you say?”

  “Hmm?” Toli feigned ignorance.

  “That’s what I thought.” Mark grunted, the made his way up the steps. “Ah man, it smells like a hobo’s ass crack up here.” He gagged, covering his face as the putrid smell engulfed them.

  It was a testament to their determination that they made it to the master bedroom at all, let alone opened the door. The occupants of the bed quickly caught the attention of both men.

  Now, that’s not what I was expecting, Mark thought as everything in the room but the bed faded from his field of vision.

  “How long have they been here?” Toli moved closer to the bed cautiously.

  “I saw Sheila on Friday,” Mark answered absently. He struggled to make sense of what lay before him.

  “There’s no way these bodies have only been here for three days.”

  “When I got the call, I thought we were coming to see the work of The Puppeteer.”

  “Great,” was all Toli could manage.

  “What’s that?”

  “Now we have two maniacs running loose in our city.”

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Mark snapped as Toli reached for the phone on the nightstand.

  “What do you think I’m doing?” He turned his back to Mark. “I’m phoning the police.”

  “Like hell you are! Go get the camera out of the van.”

  “Mark—”

  “Don’t Mark me. We’ll call this in after we get set up.”

  “But, that could get us in deep—”

  “Shush!” Mark held up his hand with his palm facing Toli. “Just go get the God damned camera, Toli. Trust me on this one. If we call them first, there is no way we will have time to shoot this piece before they get here.”

  Toli glared at him for full thirty seconds before he stormed out of the room. “I don’t know who he thinks he is, but there is only so much abuse a man can take,” he muttered.

  Mark was unconcern with the Toli’s whining. He just didn’t understand the cut throat world of news broa
dcasting.

  Two minutes later, his camera man came back, gear ready.

  “Now, may I call them?” he asked.

  “Yes.” Mark nodded without turning away from the bed. “Right after you call the network and tell them we are going live from a double homicide.”

  Toli looked like a whipped pup as he made the necessary arrangements. When he finished his phone calls, he turned to find Mark leaning over the bed.

  “I thought you said not to touch anything.”

  “I told you not to touch anything. I have to cover up what’s left of their breasts. I don’t need any more trouble with the FCC.”

  “Have you no decency man?” Toli said, disgusted lacing his tone.

  “Yeah, that’s the other reason I’m covering them up.” Mark said. “How much time do we have?”

  “Before the police get here or—”

  “Like I give a rat's ass about how long it takes the police to get here. When can we start rolling?”

  Toli looked at his watch, “They should be calling back any second now.”

  His phone rang as if on cue. Toli activated the speaker function on his cell phone and sat it on the floor before picking up his camera.

  “Okay Mark, are you ready?”

  “Let’s do this.”

  “All right, they are just about through the introductions. We’re live in three…two…one.”

  “I am standing at the scene of a grizzly double homicide. We are at the home of the Sheila McCrae, director of our very own Fox22 News. Ms. McCrae and another woman, Tina Garza, were the victims of an act so horrendous, words alone can’t describe it. Instead, I will show you. Now, I must warn you, the images you are about to see are disturbing and graphic in nature. If you have small children in the room please ask them to leave.”

  Mark stepped to the side and with a sweeping gesture pointed at the bed. Toli zoomed in the camera until the bodies filled the viewing area of his screen.

  “As you can see, the bodies have been brutalized to the point they are almost unrecognizable. It appears as if someone has used some sort of instrument to extract their insides. The skin is literally hanging from their—”

  “Get them out of here!” A voice yelled from behind the cameraman.

  “We have a right to expose the truth,” Mark countered. “Keep rolling.”

  “Shut that damned thing off or I’ll read you your rights,” an officer warned, stepping into the middle of the room.

  “Haven’t you ever heard of freedom of speech?”

  “Have you ever heard of obstruction of justice?” the officer countered.

  “I just need five more minutes,” Mark pleaded.

  “Sir, you will leave now or I will have you removed.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” he declared, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “That so?” The officer turned to the man closest to him. “Sergeant Cook, cuff him.”

  “You can’t do that. I haven’t done anything wrong!”

  “You are being detained until we find out the extent of your involvement here.”

  “Are you really that dumb? I’ll have your badge, mister. Don’t you know we’re on live television? What’s your name?” Mark demanded smugly, stepping back as the handcuffs drew near.

  “My name is Lieutenant Reiten.”

  “Do you want to smile for the camera? The whole world is about to see how you treat journalists.”

  “That a fact?” He seemed oddly nonplussed. “How’s that gonna happen when the camera is lying on the floor?”

  “What?” Mark looked at Toli for the first time since the police had barged in. “Who told you to stop filming?”

  “Sorry, Mark. I turned it off as soon as they told me too,” Toli said with a shrug. “Maybe a trip downtown will teach you to treat people with a little more dignity… ass.”

  “Take him away, Sergeant.” Lieutenant Reiten motioned toward the door with his thumb.

  “You can’t do this to me!”

  “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney—”

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Daddy!” Julie shouted as Tom pulled into the driveway.

  He waved at her as she rushed out to meet him.

  “What are you doing here?” She barely let him step out of the car before she latched onto him.

  “I came to see you.” He squatted down to give her a hug.

  “But it’s Monday—”

  “So? You guys are out for spring break this week, right?”

  “Does mommy know you were coming?”

  “She sure does, pumpkin. She’s the one who asked me to come.”

  “Don’t you have to work today?” she asked without taking her head from his chest.

  “I have a few hours to spare. I worked most of the weekend.”

  “Hi, Tom.” Sherry popped her head out from behind the front door. “I thought I heard you pull up.”

  “Hey, Sherry.” Tom waved at her. “Where’s John?”

  “He’s over playing at Kevin’s house. Come on in. We have a few things to talk about.”

  “Uh oh, this sounds serious,” he whispered into Julie’s ear. “Do you think I’m in trouble?”

  “Why would you be in trouble, daddy?” She stepped away to look at him with brows pursed.

  “I was just teasing, baby.” Tom realized his humor was lost on such a young mind. “You want to walk me inside?”

  Sherry had called Tom earlier that morning and asked if he could stop by after work. He asked her why, but she was vague with her answer. All she would tell him was there were some things they needed to discuss.

  Does she want more money? Does she think I’m spending too much time with the kids or not enough? Maybe she’s going to let me have them for the summer. We have been getting along a lot better lately.

  He walked into the living room to find Dan sitting next to Sherry.

  “Looks like I’m not the only one who took the morning off,” Tom quipped as he sat across from them.

  “Yeah, I thought it might be best if—”

  “So, what did you need to talk to me about?” Tom interrupted. Like I give a rat’s ass about why you’re off work.

  Sherry exchanged glances with Dan before speaking. “I’ve been trying to think of a good way to tell you about this, but I can’t think of anything that will make it sound better to you.”

  Tom’s heart leapt in his chest. I guess that rules out the hope that she is going to let them come live with me.

  “Dan’s firm has an office in Las Vegas. Parnell and Associates have offered to make him a junior partner, but—”

  “But you have to move to Las Vegas to get the promotion.” Tom turned his attention to Dan. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know the kids have grown fairly fond of you.”

  “Tom, he’s asked us to go with him,” Sherry blurted out.

  “You can’t be serious. You guys aren’t even married.”

  “That’s a situation I plan on remedying soon enough,” Dan offered.

  “Sure, weddings are a dime a dozen in Sin City,” Tom scoffed.

  “I guess this means I shouldn’t ask you to be the best man.” Dan baited, raising his left eyebrow.

  “What about John and Julie. Las Vegas is no place to raise children.”

  “Yeah, a city plagued by a serial killer is much safer,” Dan returned.

  “Fuck you!” Tom shouted, jumping to his feet.

  “Daddy!” Julie’s eyes went wide.

  “Tom! Watch your mouth,” Sherry admonished. “Julie, honey, go back outside and play. You don’t need to hear this conversation.”

  “Sorry, baby girl, daddy shouldn’t have said that in front of you,” Tom added sheepishly.

  Julie looked as if she were going to cry as she left the room.

  Dan sat up to rest on the edge of the couch. “Now look what you’ve done. She’s going to
sit out on the front porch and cry. That’s some fine parenting, Tom.”

  “Sherry, you can’t seriously be considering traipsing off with this character. Your family, your job… your life is here in Tulsa.”

  “Tom, I love him and he is going to give our children opportunities neither one of us would ever be able to give them on our own.”

  “Please don’t take my children away from me. Our relationship is just now getting back to normal… ish.”

  “What do you want me to do, Tom? Turn down my promotion so you can see them for one weekend a month, and then only if you don’t have to work on a case?”

  “Why does he even have an input on this? They are our kids, not his.” Tom pointed at him.

  “He’s as much a part of their lives as you are,” Sherry replied coolly.

  “Probably more. Have you even been to one school function this year? Have you seen any of John’s basketball games?” Dan added.

  “You need to stop talking to me about things that don’t concern you,” Tom growled.

  “Oh, but they do concern me. Who do you think has been there for them while you’re off doing whatever it is you do?”

  “I would spend more time with them if she would let me.”

  “Tom, I know this is hard for you to hear, but I love those kids,” Dan made a sweeping motion towards the door. “I love them like they were my own.”

  Tom glared at him. He had better shut is fucking mouth or I’m gonna put my shoe in it.

  “Tom, you’re making this harder than it has to be. No one doubts that you love your children. This is just a question of what is best for them,” Dan said in a softer voice

  “And you think you know what’s best for my children?”

  “I know with this promotion, I can afford to give them a future you could only dream of.”

  “I won’t stand for it.”

  “We aren’t asking your permission. We are just letting you know about our plans.” Dan grunted.

  “I suppose you have already thought about how you want to handle visitation.” Tom turned his attention back to Sherry.

  Sherry’s gaze wouldn’t meet his. “Look, we both know that things won’t be the same after the move, but I promise you that you will still get to see them, Tom.”

  “Hey, I had something else I wanted to toss out here, something that might make this whole ordeal a bit more bearable.” Dan leaned back in his seat.