by Faizal Rahim
“If everything was going great, how the hell did she end up dead?’ Shirley asked.
“That’s because of you.” Morris answered.
“Me?”
“Yes bitch. It is because of you. She was a fucking brunette just like you.” Morris walked over to Shirley and slapped her. The girl screamed in fear from the sound.
“She was a brunette just like you. I invited her to my place; we talked, danced and made out. Things heated up and we were all over each other on bed. As I was on top of her, I looked at her and I did not see her. I saw your face instead of Cambria’s. No matter how much I tried to get your image out of my mind, I only saw you. I got reminded of all the times you rejected me and how you humiliated me. I felt rage building up on me. Rage, building up to every part of my body and veins. She started feeling pain and told me to stop. I could not stop as I only saw you. I thought it was you who was telling me to stop. I ignored Cambria and started giving her more pain. She begged me to stop like a pig. The more she begged the more pain she received. I could not stop myself. I felt my rage taking over me. When she begged again, I punched her hard on her mouth. One punch became two. Two punches became three. I could not stop punching her, all the while thinking that it was you who I was inflicting pain on. When my rage subsided, I could barely recognise Cambria. She was not breathing. She was totally covered in blood and her jaw was totally dislocated. I tried closing her mouth but it was in vain. Her dead eyes were staring away at me. No matter how many times I tried to close her eyes, they kept on opening again as if she was still alive. I panicked and did not know what to do. I was afraid that I was going to get caught. I was afraid that anytime, cops were going to bang through the door and take me into custody. I was so afraid to leave the house. I kept her in the house for three days without leaving anywhere. The stench coming from her rotten body made me puke a thousand times.”
“I remember you not coming for training for a week.” Shirley mentioned to Morris.
“Yes, I was thinking on what to do next. As the days went by and no cops banged through the door to arrest me, I grew in confidence. I mustered enough courage to leave the house. I walked around the neighbourhood and everything seemed fine as always. I went back into the house and looked at Cambria’s dead rotten body, her eyes still staring away at me. I knew I had to dispose of her body fast, before the stench reaches out of my house. I decided to look up the internet on means and ways of disposing the dead body. I saw lots of cases on the internet and how bodies were disposed of with various methods. None of the methods of disposing appealed to me. That’s when something struck my mind. I asked myself what if I shaved off Cambria’s head. Definitely it would be difficult to identify her when she doesn’t have hair. I went to the internet again to find out about waxing. That’s how I learnt about epilation. And the rest, you know.” Morris told Shirley.
“Why didn’t you stop with Cambria? Why carry on with all the nasty things?” Shirley asked him.
“It felt great Shirley. I realised that I thoroughly enjoyed every pain I inflicted on Cambria thinking that it was you. After epilation process, she still reminded me of you. I went on her again and again thinking that it was you. I kept on at it till I got tired of her. I disposed her off two weeks after she was dead. After disposing her off, even I thought I was done but I could not stop. I wanted to experience the joy of inflicting pain and killing you over and over again. That’s when I started looking for more and more girls. If you noticed, you will realise that all the girls are brunettes. Brunettes just like you Shirley. They all died because you rejected me. This is all your fault and you will pay for it in the most unimaginable way possible.”
“Why did you go public?” Shirley wanted to know.
“That’s because of you too. After training, I got posted to Patrol and you went to CIU. Now you detectives think you are all smart, looking down on patrolmen and behaving as though you owned the Force. I just couldn’t stand the sight of you ridiculing Patrol. Countless of times I have seen how you and that Grumpy treat Patrol. I had to teach you son of bitches at CIU that you guys are nothing. I wanted to show the world that you guys are not as smart as you guys portray yourself to be. That’s when I went public. I wanted to show everyone how incompetent you guys were. After I disposed that bitch at Lake Victoria, I personally made that phone call to you and Grumpy. How right I was regarding that. You guys are a bunch of fucking fools.”
“We almost caught you twice, don’t forget that.” Shirley reminded him.
“You didn’t catch me. You happen to be at the nightclub and at my house by circumstances and not by evidence. Every time a murder happened, I made sure it was made aware to you. Don’t forget that after committing every murder, I left a note which had clues. You guys were real dumb not to find that out sooner. I had to prompt you over the phone for one of the riddles myself so that you pigs can carry on with the investigation. So you got no right to brag on that. Even then, I outsmarted you. You guys had nuts on me.” Morris got pissed with Shirley and slapped her again.
“You will pay for Aisha and for the others as well.” Shirley spat at him in anger.
“Aisha was not intended. It just happened. Anyway I am not sorry for that too. Bitch was guiding you guys a lot. It was good to erase her from the picture.” Morris shrugged his shoulders.
Shirley kept silent, thinking of what else to say. She knew she had to keep Morris occupied in the conversation.
“Lost for words already? Are you thinking what else to ask me?” Morris mocked at Shirley.
“You accessed my diary right?” Shirley questioned Morris.
“Wow. I thought you will never find that out. I always broke into your house when you are not around. It was fun going through your clothes and smelling them. That’s how I ended up reading your diary. You wrote everything about you.”
“That’s how you gave me the bouquet. You knew that my dad was the last person to give me bouquet on my birthday. You used my diary to your advantage.” Shirley could feel heat on her skin due to her anger.
“That’s not all. The best part was watching you in your own house. I enjoyed watching you the most when you showered.” Morris winked at Shirley.
“What?” Shirley was puzzled.
Morris walked over to a nearby cupboard and opened the doors, revealing a few monitors. Morris stepped aside and told Shirley to look into the monitors. Shirley looked at the monitors which showed places Shirley recognised. The monitors showed images from her living room, bedroom, kitchen and shower areas. Shirley looked from one monitor to another. As Shirley looked at the monitors, she noticed a figure in her bedroom. The figure looked around the bedroom and entered the shower area. Shirley kept on looking at the figure in her apartment and smiled to herself. Rossi!
CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT
SHIRLEY HOPED THAT ROSSI WILL notice the hidden cameras located in her apartment. She saw Rossi checking the sink and shower areas. Morris caught Shirley’s eyes following onto something. He frowned and turned towards the monitors. He saw a figure inside the shower area. He immediately knew who it was.
“Guess who’s visiting your place. This is getting exciting, isn’t it darling? Well let’s just sit and watch what he is up to.” Morris sat down beside the girl who was still murmuring away to herself.
Shirley saw Rossi checking her shower area. She just hoped Rossi will notice the hidden cameras that are fixed in her apartment. From the footages coming from the monitor, Shirley knew the cameras were fixed in high positions.
Morris and Shirley were looking at Rossi’s actions. Rossi looked around the shower but never once did he look up to where the camera was. He left the shower area and entered her bedroom. Rossi walked the bedroom and was looking at the newspaper article that has been framed up by Shirley regarding her Daddy’s case. He seemed to be standing there for a long time.
“It seems like he
is interested in your Dad’s case.” Morris passed a comment.
Rossi after sometime moved away from the article. He looked around Shirley’s bedroom. Rossi went through Shirley’s drawers. Rossi looked around the bedroom and proceeded to the kitchen. In the kitchen, Rossi went through the cabinets and drawers.
What the hell are you doing Grumpy? Just look up the damn bloody apartment. The cameras are fixed in high positions. Just look up. Please look up Rossi. I am sure you will find something is wrong. Shirley was screaming away in her mind. On the outside, she sat composed, not wanting Morris to know what she was feeling exactly.
Morris and Shirley saw Rossi walking to the living room. Rossi had his hands on his hips and looked around the living room for a final time. Rossi walked out of Shirley’s apartment. Shirley looked at the monitors again and again, hoping that Rossi will remember something and come back to her apartment.
Moments passed, Shirley realised that Rossi was not going to come back to her apartment again. Shirley knew she was all alone now. She felt anxiety spreading throughout her and giving up seemed to make common sense to her.
CHAPTER FIFTY NINE
SHIRLEY LOOKED AT THE GIRL beside her. The girl was still murmuring away, shivering in fear.
“Who is she?” Shirley asked.
“She is someone who is going to join you in the grave soon.” Morris answered and went to check the bathtub temperature.
“I am going out. Don’t try any funny business alright. Try to keep your hands away from one another.” Morris left.
“Hey there girl, do you hear me?” Shirley called out to the girl.
The girl sat there oblivion to the situation. Shirley called out to her again. The girl still didn’t respond. Shirley tried to move her chair closer to the girl, every inch of movement causing severe pain to her wrists and ankles. When Shirley was as near as she could be, she called out to the girl again. This time, the girl slowly turned around to look at Shirley.
“What is your name?” Shirley asked the girl.
“Br… da…” The girl replied.
“I can’t hear you girl.”
“Br… en… da…” The girl was too weak to speak.
“Brenda?” Shirley asked and the girl nodded in agreement.
“Listen Brenda, I know this is all hard for you right now but trust me. We are going to get out of this mess together ok. I promise you that you’re going to be fine. All you got to do is to trust me. Can you do that Brenda?”
Brenda nodded in agreement.
“When he comes back, I am going to ask him a few more questions to buy time for ourselves. The reality is that I am going to run out of things to say to him. When I am dried up for words, he is going to come to you.”
Brenda started crying, being in fear of what was going to happen to her.
“Brenda, you’ve got to be strong. We are in this together. I need you to be composed. As I mentioned, he is going to come for you once I have nothing else to talk with him. I really need to you to cooperate with me on this.”
Brenda stopped crying and listened at what Shirley said.
“Good. When he comes to you, do not resist him. Let him do stuffs…”
“He is going to kill me…” Brenda was getting hysterical.
“Brenda, listen to me! When he comes to you, please do not resist him. Let him carry on with what he wants to do. If you resist him, that is only going to turn him into a monster. He takes pleasure from the resistance. Do not resist him. You understand that Brenda?”
“I… can’t…”
“You have to Brenda. I am going to get both of us out of this place alive. You got to trust me Brenda. Just don’t resist him. There will come a point in time where he will untie you. The moment he unties you, I want you to use all your rage against him. I want you to punch him on his balls with all the anger and strength that you can muster.”
Brenda understood what Shirley was saying. Brenda had a look of renewed determination on her face and she nodded with conviction.
“After you hit him on his balls, he will fall onto the floor grabbing his balls. You need to be really quick Brenda. The moment he can endure the pain, he is going to come after you like a wounded dog. He’s going to give you hell if he gets up again. I need you to free me before that happens. There is no way you can untie the knots in time. I want you to pull my hands and feet free from the knots as hard as you can. It may hurt me like hell and I might scream in pain but I want you to ignore my screams. Do not take pity on me when you are pulling my hands and feet. You have to be really quick to free me. You have to free me before he gets back on his feet. Are you clear on this Brenda?”
“I’m going to punch his balls so hard that they are going to land on the moon.” Brenda told Shirley.
“That’s the spirit. If you can, punch his balls all the way to Jupiter. Compose yourself now. The moment he enters back here, we are good to go alright.” Shirley told Brenda and inched herself away from Brenda and back to her original position.
Shirley never took her eyes of the door. She knew she has been staring at the door for a long time but her eyes did not want to look at anything else. She just kept staring away at the door.
The door swing opened and she saw Morris entering back in. Shirley gave a quick glance to Brenda, who nodded her head to show that she was ready. Game On!
CHAPTER SIXTY
MORRIS LAID THE PLASTICS BAGS on the floor. He took out packets of sugar and cornstarch out of the plastic bags. He went out to the bathtub and checked the temperature. He adjusted the boiling meter and poured the sugar and cornstarch contents into the bathtub. He glanced over at Shirley and then at Brenda. Brenda had her head lowered. On the other hand, he saw Shirley staring away at him.
“What?” He asked Shirley.
“Teamaster is your last name, isn’t it?”
“It’s definitely not Morris Teamaster, if that’s what you’re asking me.” Morris chuckled.
“How did you inherit the house then if you are not Teamaster?”
“My grandfather was the care taker of the house for many years. He worked for the Teamasters. The Teamasters left the country when their business went under. They told my grandfather to take care of the house till they come back again. They never came back and my grandfather shifted his family into the house. Over time, it got passed to me.” Morris explained to Shirley.
“Where did you get her from?’ Shirley nodded her head in the direction of Brenda. Shirley made sure she did not talk about Brenda by her name.
“Another stupid shit who got smitten by my charm. I saw her with her friends at the cinema. I followed her throughout the day. When she was waiting at the bus stop, I got into a conversation with her. She was flirting away like there was no tomorrow. I told her I will drop her back home and got her into my car. When she got into the car, knocked her out and brought her to my place at Lagoon Villa. I kept her there when the three of you came to check out the house on the fateful day. I managed to bring her out with me when you and Grumpy were at the basement. After that, here we are.” Morris was looking at Brenda with lusty eyes.
“Where is this place by the way?” Shirley looked around.
“You wouldn’t believe me.” Morris told her.
“Try me.” Shirley replied.
“We are inside the bedroom, at the eleventh storey.”
“Eleventh storey of… ?”
“You stay a few levels below from where we are at the moment.” Morris chuckled again.
Shirley’s eyes widened in disbelieve. She thought she heard Morris wrongly.
“We are in the same building?” Shirley wanted to clarify with Morris.
“That’s right. We are in the same building. I bought over this place and it took me months to convert this place into what it is today. No want knows
what happens inside and no one knows what happens on the outside. Speaking of which, no one is going to know what is going to happen right now too.” Morris started stripping himself until he stood naked in front of Shirley. He looked at Brenda and Shirley with desire and he could feel himself being erected.
“Leave her alone. I warn you.” Shirley told Morris.
“What are you going to do? Shoot me? I don’t see your revolver with you. Besides, I know for sure you will enjoy whatever I am going to do with her. Sit back and just enjoy the show darling.” Morris walked over to Brenda and placed his hands on her shoulders. Brenda started breathing heavily in fear. Morris’s desires grew knowing that Brenda was in fear. He slowly caressed Brenda all over while looking at Shirley’s nakedness.
Shirley kept on looking at Brenda. Brenda was breathing heavily now and she was started to tear. Shirley noticed that Brenda was losing control of the situation. Brenda, look at me! Please look at me girl.
Morris’s slow caresses were becoming rough. Brenda was screaming in pain and her cries became louder. Morris was enjoying himself totally and he was losing himself totally with Brenda.
Brenda was crying and she pleaded with Morris to stop. Her inner voice kept telling her that she was going to die. Brenda kept on telling Morris that she didn’t want to die but each time she pleaded with Morris, he only gave more pain. Brenda tried biting Morris’s hand but Morris took his hand out in time. He gave Brenda a hard slap and pulled at her hair. He slapped her again.
Shirley felt helpless looking at what Brenda was going through in the hands of Morris. She was desperate to protect Brenda. Shirley tried pulling her hands out from the knots but she felt the ropes burning away at her skin.
Morris untied Brenda and pushed her to the floor. Morris tried to go on top of Brenda. Brenda started resisting Morris advancing on her. Each time Brenda resisted Morris; Morris punched her face or slapped her.
Shirley pleaded with Morris to stop hurting Brenda but Shirley’s pleading felt on deaf ears. Shirley felt anger building inside her due to her sense of helplessness. She forced herself and pulled her hands out of the knots. The harder she pulled; the ropes ate onto her skin deeper. Shirley channelled her pain into anger and pulled away at the ropes, biting her lips and teeth. Shirley felt blood trickling down her wrist. With one final pull, Shirley released her hands away from the ropes. She yelled in pain and pulled her legs from the ropes. Shirley’s legs were free. She saw Morris trying to force himself onto Brenda. Shirley got up from the chair and limped over to Morris. Shirley garnered all her strength and gave Morris a hard kick on his groins. Morris screamed in pain and grabbed his groin. Shirley pushed him away from Brenda and gave him another kick to his groin.
