by Joe Gribble
the middle of her back he still had to fight with her to get the handcuffs on, but as soon as they sat tight, he snatched her up off of the parking lot and almost broke her arm in the process. The two Medics were watching the Police officer in shock and had stopped what they were doing, until the bigger one of the two quietly commented that he hopes he kills her. She was still wailing like a banshee as they approached the police cruiser and it took all the control Officer Bernie could muster to do the proper thing and place his hand between her head and the roof of the cruiser as she was shoved into the back seat.
Suddenly he pulled his Glock out of its holster, pointed it straight at her face and screamed at her that if she didn’t shut the hell up he was going to kill her on the way to the station. She was immediately still and Bernie slammed the door hard enough to test the shock absorbers on the police cruiser. “Bitch!” Officer Bernie screamed loudly as he hopped into the driver’s seat and fired up the Chrysler Intruder.
As the cruiser pulled out of the shopping mall with its tires screaming and smoking like hell, the smaller of the Medics said that if something did happen to the mother on the way that he wouldn’t testify as to what he had just heard. The bigger one looked sadly down at the tiny body under the white sheet and said; “Me either man! But just between us, I seriously hope he does it!”
Officer Bernie radioed dispatch, said he was bringing in the mother of the child, then ordered the Voyager to be towed to the impound lot pending investigation and after throwing his mike up onto the dashboard, and it falling back onto the floorboard by the passengers seat, the two rode in silence to the headquarters.
6.
The trial was quick and after only four days the jury, after hearing the cold facts and caught between hatred for the woman and tears of sorrow for the little girl, placed their verdict the only way they could, guilty of manslaughter. The District Attorney even had Katrina in the stand as a witness, saying she had no idea that the child was alone in the car while talking to Sarah. The residing judge stated that Sarah would be able to spend the next twenty years contemplating what she had done, and if he had had the power to do it, he would have reinstated the death penalty, especially for her. With the fall of his gavel they both walked out of the courtroom. He went leisurely to his wardrobe and she walked to the waiting van which took her to her new home, the women’s correctional facility.
And Steven? When he heard from the police who visited his house what had happened, he said that he naturally would take care of the funeral arrangements for his daughter. The officer had started to tell him the visiting hours of the county jail, but Steven had interrupted him, stating that it was something that he didn’t need to know!
The dispatcher of the police impounding lot handed the clipboard to his fellow worker and friend Jack, and said that the van was cleared from the District Attorney for Auctioning. Jack looked at the paperwork and said that it was at the back of the lot, but it had only been there for a little over three weeks. “Of course it was only a short time here!” his boss said. “Nobody even came to inspect the van because it was a cut and closed case of child murder! Hell, what was the stupid bitch thinking when she left the kid locked up in the car in weather like that?” Jack answered; “Yeah, it was a pretty horrible thing to do to that little girl!” “Anyways, with only a broken window the van at least has a good resale value!” Jack turned to go out and then asked; “But why did the husband sign off on it and simply give it to the state for auction?” The dispatcher shook his head and said; “According to the city hall information, he never came to see her, not once! They had to mail the release form to him and he mailed it back, signed, sealed, and delivered!” Then Jack shook his head and walked out onto the impounding lot, and started cursing the heat. They had had only a week of moderate weather in the 70’s where everybody could finally cool down a little and start to enjoy the summer, instead of hiding inside all day with the Air Conditioner on full blast. And then the next nearly unbearable heat wave had rolled around. Walking to the back of the lot, he didn’t even make it all the way to the van before he smelled it. He started looking around at what it could possibly be because he definitely smelled something dead and rotten, and not thinking about the van, he opened the back hatch.
7.
Janice had at the very least been lucky in one sense, and that was in the fact that she had died while she was deep asleep, but their poor dog Spook on the other hand had woken up! And as he fought for life, the hot air burning in his lungs during his last death throes before finally succumbing to the baking heat inside of his cage, he had also emptied his bowels, smearing and throwing it all over the inside of his car cage. And his cage had become his coffin as he was still in the car when Jack, still looking around and attempting to figure out what had died and could possibly be stinking so damn bad, opened up the back hatch of the Voyager. Instantly, a veritable ocean of maggots had flowed out of the van, encompassing his feet and the tarmac around them. The dispatcher heard Jack’s loud cry outside and when he looked out the window of the ice cool office, the sight he seen made him quickly turn as he hurriedly grabbed the trashcan and brought it to his face while he started to gag.
###
Thank you for reading my story. If you enjoyed it, (or didn’t and would like to make me see my mistakes so that I can improve my writing), won’t you please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer, post a link on Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Redit or Pin it, or any of the many other social media sites. Thank you! David Jensen - Author
