Waiting, A Dangerous Game

by Faizal Rahim

“I was here. I talked to Morris to gather facts. Now if you don’t mind, can you stop treating me like a newcomer? Been with you for a year now and at least you can give me that much of respect.” She looked into Rossi’s eyes. For a moment, she thought she saw Rossi smile for a split second. But she knew better.

  “What have you gathered?” Rossi asked her while he smoked his cigar.

  “The usual… I assume a body had been found judging by the circus going around the entrance although I’m yet to be told exactly what was found.”

  “Follow me.”

  With that, Rossi brought Shirley to where the Forensics Team were busy gathering any kind of evidence. It was there that she saw something covered up in a black canvas sheet. She walked over to the canvas and slowly lifted it up to look at whatever that was underneath. She went pale instantly.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  SHIRLEY WENT PALE INSTANTLY. IN her one year service with Crime Investigation Unit, she had seen quite a lot of dead bodies. What Shirley was staring at now was totally unexplainable. The only words that she could think of were creepy and gruesome. The stench from the dead naked body was overwhelming. It was definitely a woman or a young girl. The body’s been beat up so badly that it was beyond recognition. The cheek bones were totally disfigured and the jaws were barely attached to the head. Burn marks were found all over the body and dislocated joints were clearly visible. Though all these were gruesome to look at, what made Shirley pale was something totally unexpected. Shirley could not believe that the body was hairless. Hair from every part of the body has been removed. Hair from the head, the virginal region, hands, legs and even the eye brows and eye lashes were not spared. The dead body was as bald as it can be. Shirley just could not believe that someone would go to the extent of doing such an act. Shirley covered the dead body again and looked at Rossi.

  “I’m lost for words.” Shirley told Rossi while looking around to see if the Forensics Team had gathered any kind of evidence.

  Rossi did not say anything. He just went on smoking his cigar. He nodded his head towards Gabriel, an experienced member of the Forensics Team. Shirley understood and went over to him. Rossi followed behind.

  “What have you gathered Gabby?” Shirley took out her note pad to write down the details.

  Gabriel stopped what he was doing and stood up. He looked over at Rossi, who nodded his head in approval.

  “Well… frankly speaking… in Forensics term, we have found nothing. In normal terms, Medic declared her being dead for more than 3 hours although he suspects time of death to be much earlier.”

  “You mean, she was dead for long before Morris spotted her?” Shirley was still writing on her notepad without looking up.

  “Go on Gabriel. And don’t interrupt him Shirley.”

  Shirley stopped writing and stared at Rossi. Rossi gave her eye contact for a second or so before turning back at Gabriel.

  “Right… uh… where was I… as I was saying… Medic said she was dead for a long time. Looking at the condition of her body and the stench coming from her together with the open wounds, we believe, as in me and my team, we believe that she was dead for days before being spotted. We can’t be certain as of now. Proper analysis has to be done to confirm that. And another thing, as you are aware, she’s hairless. Team has been sweeping the whole area and no hair samples found. I told my team to sweep one more time but I’m not hoping for any change. Can you imagine… someone actually took the time to…”

  “Thanks Gabriel. You are free to go.” Rossi waved Gabriel.

  “Thanks Gabby.” Shirley smiled at Gabriel and sympathized with him. She turned over to Rossi and handed him the notepad.

  “What’d you think?” Rossi asked Shirley.

  “It could be anything. A dead body without hair is real creepy. We can’t say till we get our analysis report from Gabby and team.”

  “Someone did this with intention. She was killed somewhere else and was dumped here.” Rossi took another puff from his cigar.

  “What makes you so sure?” Shirley frowned at him. Rossi always told her not to assume when the evidence was scarce. She was annoyed that Rossi was not following what he preached.

  “There is one thing Gabriel forgot to mention. The old ass’s becoming forgetful. A handbag was found at the scene containing the belongings of the dead person.”

  “And…”

  “Money was intact, together with all other female stuffs.”

  “That rules out robbery as the motive.” Shirley looked around the surroundings. Everyone was so busy going on with their work. She saw Morris talking to the onlookers, probably telling them the standard answer drilled into all of them during training.

  “Everything was intact except for her ID. Whoever did this to her probably took her ID away.”

  “Did not want us to identify the victim I guess. Makes it easier for him, assuming it’s a guy, to have a fast getaway.”

  “He’s not running.” Rossi put his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a small piece of crumpled paper.

  “I took it out of the handbag. Dusted for fingerprints but no prints found just as I thought. I told Gabriel that I’m taking it.”

  “You’re what! Don’t you know that keeping evidence for yourself is not allowed?”

  “Keep what training taught to you. This is not your training school.” Rossi handed over the paper to Shirley.

  Shirley let of a huge sigh and read what was written: I AM WAITING . . .

  CHAPTER FIVE

  “I’VE GOT THE REPORT.” SHIRLEY was waving the report from Gabriel at Rossi, who was walking back to his desk after filling his cup with his favourite Italian coffee from the coffee mixer.

  “Come over to my desk.” Rossi sat down at his desk and placed a chair beside him for Shirley. Rossi was looking around the office. From his view, he could see the entire Crime Investigation Unit. To his left were the Head Investigations room and the Deputy Head Investigations room. The two rooms Rossi never liked entering. Every time some new officer screwed up in the Unit, Rossi was tasked to investigate the matter being the Chief Detective. To Rossi’s right were four Interview Rooms, one Fax and Photocopy Room and a Pantry. At the entrance of the Unit, there was a huge signboard which read: CRIME INVESTIGATION UNIT—Brains Above All. Rossi suggested the slogan to be Act First, Talk Later, but it was rejected by his Head Investigations and Deputy Head Investigations. A total of 20 desks were placed all over the Unit. One desk assigned to one officer. Rossi kept a blackboard beside his desk. Every time he had a new case, any facts leading up to the case would be pinned up to the blackboard. It helped Rossi have a clear picture and trace back his steps if he finds himself in a spot. Right now, there was only one piece of paper pinned to the blackboard. Rossi looked at the paper. I AM WAITING . . .

  “I’ve got loads to tell you. This is insane.” Shirley hurriedly sat on the chair and placed the report on the desk.

  “Proceed.”

  “Of course this report is not the finished product. Gabriel is still running some tests. He promised to let us know once everything is done. Till then, he has given us whatever he has found so far.”

  Rossi took a sip of his coffee, waiting for Shirley to give him the details.

  “Where do I start… well… the victim is believed to be in her late teens or early twenties. Gabriel has done a digital reconstruction of her face. He will be sending us her facial scan later. Victim’s been dead way before she was seen by Morris at Lake Victoria. From the wounds and bruises, estimated duration of death is about two days. Which means Lake Victoria was just a deposit place. Suspect knew Lake Victoria is having maintenance works and chose the right time. Victim was badly beaten up as we know. Weapon of choice… any guess?”

  Rossi shrug his shoulders.

  “Weapon of choice is fist.” Shirley paused to get Rossi�
��s reaction. As usual there was none. She continued, “Victim was beaten up purely by fist. Every bruise, wound and fractured bones were caused by fist. Suspect just kept on punching her mercilessly until she died. Even after she died, he just kept on punching her. This guy is sick.”

  “How do you know it’s a guy?” Rossi looked into her eyes.

  “Victim had virginal bruises. According to Gabriel, it is a clear indication of forceful intercourse. Tests confirmed that. Though no semen traces found. Based on the report by Gabriel, it seems like suspect forced himself onto her, punched her to death and kept on punching her. God knows how long he kept her under his custody. Once the coast was clear, he dumped her.”

  “What about the baldness of the deceased?”

  “I can answer that for you Rossi.” Gabriel came towards them. He looked tired and dishevelled.

  “Go on then.” Rossi took another chair and passed it to Gabriel.

  “Thanks but no time for a sit down. I’ve got the detailed report to finish. Wanted to tell you guys everything.” Gabriel looked at Rossi and then at Shirley. Both pair of eyes totally fixed on him. Gabriel cleared his throat and began, “Suspect used some kind of hair removing chemical on the subject. He practically soaked her with the chemical. Result is what you see. I am thinking he did this to buy himself some time so no hair samples can be taken for DNA testing. It must have been a strong chemical. The hair glands have been punctured by the chemical making it difficult for testing to be done. We are not able to identify whether victim was a blonde, brunette or something else. Of course hair sample is not the only thing used for DNA tests so it beats me why he had to do such an act. Traces of blood were identified and tested. Blood samples and victim’s blood matches. All the blood samples traced back to the subject. Here is the copy of the victim’s facial scan.”

  Rossi looked at the copy and passed it over to Shirley. Shirley saw the scan and noticed that victim had a beautiful face. Shirley got reminded of her Daddy covered in blood. Shirley was determined to catch the person responsible for this as fast as possible. Shirley clenched her fist in anger.

  “Emotions cloud your senses. Remember that.” Rossi told Shirley and turned back to Gabriel, “Anything else?”

  “Uh… yes…” Gabriel waited for Shirley to cool down. Shirley looked at Gabriel and gave him a smile.

  “As mentioned in the earlier report, victim was forced to have intercourse… I don’t even know how to put this to you. Forceful intercourse with victim happened more than once.”

  “Oh God…” Shirley covered her face with her hands.

  “It did not happen the way you’re thinking Shirley. Remember I wrote in the report stating that, duration of death was two days and how the suspect might have forced himself onto the victim, punched her to death and than dumped her? I was wrong.”

  “What do you mean?” Rossi leaned forward, eyes firmly on Gabriel.

  “Suspect had forceful intercourse with victim many times but only once when she was still alive.”

  “What!” Shirley was stunned. She thought she heard Gabriel wrongly.

  “Yes Shirley. Suspect had intercourse many times with victim after her death. Tests results confirm that. Last trace of intercourse was few hours ago.”

  “You mean…”

  “That’s right. He had one last intercourse with the dead victim before dumping her.”

  “Oh God… this is real sick.” Shirley could not contain her emotions.

  Rossi closed his eyes and was in deep thought. When he opened his eyes, he looked at the piece of paper pinned to the blackboard. I AM WAITING . . . .

  CHAPTER SIX

  “WHAT DO WE HAVE SO far?” Rossi put his hands behind his head and leaned back on his chair. There was no one else in Crime Investigation Unit other than Shirley and himself. In two to three hours time, the place will transform equivalent to a wet market with all the noise and activities. Rossi preferred working in the wee hours when no one was around, something Shirley took some time getting used to. Quietness helps to enhance the thinking process was his mantra.

  “In summary, victim in her late teens to mid twenties, multiple forceful intercourse, and dead for two days, baldness arriving from chemical usage… kidnapped perhaps?” Shirley looked at Rossi while flicking her pen between his fingers.

  “What do you think is the motive?” Rossi looked at Shirley flicking her pen. Shirley stopped the action instinctively.

  “It seems to be like a lustful act to me. Probably saw her as easy bait. Overpowered her in all ways possible, waited for the right time to dispose off.”

  “It all seems too easy Shirley. If it is a lustful act, why beat her to death? A simple slashing of the throat would be sufficient. Why the baldness? Why the note found in subject’s handbag? It seems like an act of vengeance with no regrets. Suspect wanted victim to be found.”

  “You mean suspect’s showing off?”

  “Be right back.” Rossi got up from his chair and walked out of the room. Shirley had no idea what just happened. She looked at his chair and replied, “OK Grumpy.”

  Shirley’s mobile was ringing. Shirley walked over to her desk and answered her mobile.

  “Hello…”

  “I AM WAITING . . .”

  Shirley went cold. She felt her body becoming numb. Words dare not come out from her mouth. What came out from her mouth next was totally unexpected. She let out a loud laughter and sat on her desk.

  “Morris, you’re an idiot.”

  “Why love… did I scare you off?” Morris was laughing with Shirley.

  “How did you know? Grumpy took the note. No one was supposed to know about it.”

  “Ah, you detectives think you’re the only ones who know everything. I have my ways.”

  “Ok Mr Sherlock. What made you call me at this hour?” Shirley was going through the case file.

  “How’s the case coming along?” Morris sounded curious.

  “Well you know I can’t tell you. It’s classified.”

  “Classified my ass. Just admit you guys have not found anything concrete yet.”

  Shirley laughed again. She appreciated Morris checking on her. It made her feel good that her friends were always there for her.

  “Well that’s classified too. Come on Morris, you know I can’t say anything so don’t bother asking. And Mr Sherlock’s yet to tell me for the late night call.”

  “I just finished my report and I’m knocking off. I thought of walking you back home.”

  “Aw… that is so sweet of you.” Shirley went over to get herself a cup of coffee.

  “Is that a yes? I can give massages for your tired body. Free of charge as long as you’re only wearing your towel.”

  “First of all, dream on. Second of all, dream on. Third of all, still dream on. That does not happen now or ever. So you can go back home yourself. I’m still with Grumpy and even if I am done here, I know my way back home. So thanks for the offer.” Shirley saw Rossi coming back with a thick set of files.

  “Anyway Grumpy is back. I got to go Morris. Thanks again for checking on me buddy.” With that Shirley hanged up her mobile and walked back to Rossi’s desk.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  ROSSI PLACED THE THICK SET of files on his desk.

  “What’s this?” Shirley took a sip of coffee from her cup. Where will I be without coffee?

  “Missing Person Files.” Rossi sat on his chair and started arranging the files.

  Shirley felt a tinge of excitement. She knew Rossi’s got a lead. The case was surely moving in the right direction.

  “Victim’s been dead for two days. I have brought all the Missing Person Files from the past week. We should go through the files and identify the missing person. Try to match the photo ID of the Missing Person File together with Gabriel’s facial
scan of subject. It will at least let us know when the victim went missing. Arrange the files according to dates and get started. I am going to check with the supermarkets, hair saloons and any other shop which sells hair removal products. According to Gabriel, suspect must have used a huge content of the product to puncture the hair glands. I am going to check the invoices to see if anyone brought any kind of hair removal products in huge quantities. If you come up with a match, visit the residence of the complainant and do the necessary. I will link up with you later.” Rossi took his jacket from his chair and left Shirley to go on with her work.

  “I’ve got a match. Where are you?” Shirley was holding onto her find from Missing Person File.

  “I’m at the Freestone Mall. I’m trying to get the invoices and receipts.”

  “Do you want me to proceed to the house?” Shirley was arranging her desk to leave for the residence of the person matching the subject.

  “Where’s the residence at?”

  “It’s at Northampton South. Do you want the details now or what?”

  “Update me by SMS. I will catch you at the location.” Rossi disconnected the call.

  Shirley started to SMS Rossi the details.

  Date of Report Made: 4th August.

  Name of Missing Person: Michelle Rogers.

  Age: 17

  Description of Missing Person: Brunette, 115lbs, 5'9 feet, Mole on left elbow.

  Date Last Seen: 3rd August.

  Residence: No. 11 Northampton South.

  Reported By: Mr Rogers.

  Relation: Father

  Shirley sent the SMS and left Crime Investigation Unit.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  SHIRLEY PARKED HER BLUE FORD in front of No. 11 Northampton South. She saw that the black Camry was already parked and Rossi was lighting up his cigar.

  “Did you get the receipts?” Shirley got out from the car. She realised that both Rossi and herself have not had the time to go home and get refreshed. I need a hot shower and a good meal after all these, Shirley thought to herself.