The Logan Files - Pain Center: The Logan Files

by Marshall Huffman

  “Lisa, please. I guess I kind of took the wind out of your sail,” she said smiling.

  “You could say that. What I want to know is how in the hell did you get that information? Only three people were aware of that detail. Obviously someone else found out. I would like to know how you came by that information,” he said.

  “John. It is alright to call you John isn’t it?” she said smiling brightly again.

  “That’s fine. Let’s not get sidetracked. How did you find out about the girls head being opened?”

  “You know I can’t tell you that. It is against every reporter’s ethics to reveal our sources.”

  “Ethics? I thought you said you were with the NPN?” Logan said.

  “Ouch. Not nice, John. I’ve heard you were a gentleman. That was somewhat beneath you wasn’t it?” she asked.

  “Sorry. I’m just pissed off. We didn’t want that bit to get out yet. We will get a thousand crank calls now. It was how we were going to weed out the nutbuckets that always want to take credit for someone else’s bizarre work,” Logan replied.

  “Nutbuckets. I like that. I do see what you mean. I didn’t ask about the whip marks all over her body. That should help some,” she replied.

  “So you know about that too. This is not good,” he said, shaking his head.

  “The other lady reporter almost let it out of the bag but you managed to sidestep it fairly well. You might get her to tell you her source. I suspect it is the same one as mine,” Lisa said.

  “If I find out who it is, I will personally kick their butts up around their shoulders,” Logan said.

  “Oooh, that’s gotta’ hurt,” Lisa said, squinting her face up.

  “You won’t use the remarks in your story?”

  “Not yet. I’ll hold off for now if you shoot straight with me and keep me abreast of the latest developments. I will only use what you say I can,” she said.

  “That doesn’t sound like something a reporter from the People’s News would say,” Logan replied.

  “Maybe you just have a bad image of us. We aren’t all that bad. What do you say?”

  “Sure. That works for me,” Logan said.

  She held out her hand again.

  They shook and she said, “I’m told you never welch on deal you shake on. Guess I’ll find out for myself.”

  “I’ll keep my end if you keep yours,” he said and headed back up stairs.

  He headed directly to the Chief’s office and went in without knocking.

  “Please, don’t bother to knock,” the Chief said, looking up from a stack of paper work on his desk.

  Logan ignored him and sat down.

  “Please, take a seat while you’re at it,” Chief Dixon said, laying down his pen.

  “It is already out,” Logan fumed.

  “Really? I was sure I put it back in earlier,” the Chief replied.

  “Not your wang, you pervert. The missing brain thing from Jane Doe,” Logan replied.

  “What? What the hell do you mean its out? Who let it out? Damn it, we just had this conversation less than an hour ago. What the hell happened?” the Chief said, half raising out of his chair.

  The smile was gone from his face and was replaced by a deep frown.

  “A reporter, Lisa McGuire, from the National People’s News knew all about it.”

  “That’s just great. How in the hell did she get that information?” the Chief demanded.

  “She isn’t telling. She knew about the whip marks but didn’t bring it up in front of the other reporters. She used it for a bargaining chip,” Logan told him.

  “Bargaining chip?”

  “Yeah. She wanted to let me know she had an inside line and unless I played nice with her she could drop the other shoe.”

  “Ah shit. What did you tell her?”

  “That I would be a good boy and keep her in the loop. We shook on it,” Logan said.

  “Great. This just gets better and better. Now the Commissioner will call when this gets out and want to know how it got out. What the hell am I going to tell him?”

  “That’s why you get the big bucks. I’m headed over to the morgue. I want to know how that leaked out. I intend to kick ass and take names,” Logan said, heading for the door.

  “Find the prick, I don’t care who it is and plug this damn leak. Dammit, this all we need. You know every basket case in the world will try to take credit,” Chief Dixon said.

  “That’s why I stalled for time on the whip marks. If that was out it would be even worse,” Logan said.

  He headed to his car and made the slow trip across town to the morgue. Snow was still blocking most of the streets except for the main arteries. Going was slow and cars were sliding through intersections on a regular basis. He finally slid into the parking lot at the morgue and stormed into Myler’s office. Myler was setting behind his desk with his feet up and his hands behind his neck. A cup of coffee was placed within easy reach.

  “Logan, longtime no see,” he said with a quick smile.

  “Don’t be funny Myler. I want to know what the hell is going on with Jane Doe.”

  “My, my, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed,” he said, picking up his cup of coffee.

  “I’ll shove the bed up your ragged old ass if you don’t tell me who the hell let the details of the autopsy out,” Logan almost yelled.

  “Whoa, back up big boy. What the hell are you yelling about? I have the report right here. No one has seen it. You are the only one that I faxed a copy too. Don’t get your shorts all twisted up. How do you know it was on our end? Maybe whoever got the fax at your end read it and told someone? Ever think of that, Mr. Ace Detective?” Myler said, standing up spilling coffee on his desk.

  “Good detective work but I think you should stick to slicing and dicing. I am the one who received the fax. I was right there when it came in. Now Mr. Smarty Pants, what do you have to say about that?”

  “So, who did you tell?” Myler replied.

  “Very cute. It had to come from this end,” Logan insisted.

  “Hell, you were here. Only you and I were in the room. We were the only ones here...son of a bitch,” he suddenly exclaimed.

  “What?”

  “Son of a bitch. Come with me” Myler said, abruptly standing up and heading out of the room.

  He stormed down the hall with Logan following right behind him. Myler flung open the doors to the autopsy room, “Kevin, Frank, get your butts over here,” he yelled at the two young men looking through a microscope.

  They stopped what they were doing and come over to where Myler stood with his hands on his hips. Logan was standing just behind him.

  “What’s up boss?” Kevin asked.

  “Boys, I’m only going to ask this once. Which one of you let it out that the Jane Doe’s brain had been removed? Don’t try to shit me. It was one of you and I want to know who it was.”

  They both looked a Myler for a second and Frank looked away and down at the floor. He seemed to have taken a sudden interest in his shoes.

  “I had a date last night. Honest. I can give you the name of the girl,” Kevin said, wide eyed.

  “Frank?”

  “I did it. I didn’t think it would hurt anything. I mean it was true. It wasn’t like I made up some big story,” he said.

  “Who did you tell?”

  “The National People’s News. You know how they are. They print all that weird shit. I didn’t give them any technical stuff,” Kevin said.

  “How much?”

  “How much?”

  “How much did they pay you?” Myler asked.

  “Two hundred dollars.”

  “Good. You’re going to need it. You’re fired. Get the hell out of this building and don’t ever darken my door again,” Myler said.

  “You can’t do that. You can’t just fire me like that. I’ve been here almost a year. I’ll go to the labor board with this,” he threatened.

  “And I’ll slam your ass in jail for
interfering with a murder investigation. I think you can get up to five years for that. I damn sure will make sure you get the maximum,” Logan said, stepping forward.

  “Bullshit. You’re just trying to rattle my cage. You can’t do that,” Frank said defiantly.

  “I have a good idea. Take the two hundred dollars and go talk to an attorney and see if I’m bluffing. Your ass will be mine,” Logan said.

  “This isn’t right. You should just give me a warning. It isn’t right to be fired for this,” he said.

  “Okay, here is a warning. You have five minutes to clear out before I have Detective Logan hall your ass down to the station and charge you,” Myler replied.

  “This isn’t right.”

  “Life is like that,” Logan replied.

  “I didn’t tell a soul, not even my date. Honest,” Kevin said as Frank walked off muttering about how it wasn’t his fault.

  “There is a valuable lesson here Kevin; I hope you learned something from it. What goes on in this building stays here. Always.”

  “I got it,” Kevin replied.

  “Good. You can go back to work,” Myler replied.

  “Dumb ass,” Myler uttered when Kevin was gone.

  “No way for you to know he would do that. He seemed like a fairly bright kid,” Logan said.

  “Damn smart. Obviously damned poor judgment. Sorry about that Logan. I take full responsibility for this,” Myler said.

  “I doubt you will have that problem with Kevin. He got the message,” Logan said.

  “Sorry,” Myler said again, shaking his head.

  “No use beating yourself up over it. We stopped the leak and that is the important thing,” Logan said, patting Myler on the shoulder.

  “I’m just glad they didn’t stay for the autopsy. That could have been a real disaster.”

  “You can say that again,” Logan replied.

  * * *

  It was the lead story on every channel. It had gone out over the wire service and now calls were flooding in to the station. Reporters began showing up at the station wanting to talk to Logan. There was something about a ghoulish murder that turned the media out in mass. The regular murders and rapes were too mundane to hold the public’s interest. Shock value sold more papers and drove up viewer numbers for news stations. Logan was hounded everywhere he went. Finally something was going to have to be done if they were going to move on. The Chief put him up in a hotel downtown that had a conference room he could work out of. A fax machine, computer, and newsfeed were brought in so he could keep in touch. They even got him a different cell phone in case someone happened to try to track him through his old one.

  They rented a Ford Mustang so he wouldn’t look the least bit like a cop. Suits were out, and he was to wear only sports clothes and a winter jacket and gloves. Back at the station they were trying to cope with the escalating throng of reporters. Just when they thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.

  * * *

  “This reporter learned earlier today that the Jane Doe found in Southside Park two nights ago not only had her brain removed but had lacerations and whip marks over her entire body. She had been beaten, mutilated and then dumped like trash along the side of the road...”

  Logan looked at the television in disbelief. How in the hell could that have gotten out? There were only two possibilities. Either Lisa McGuire had gone back on her word or Frank had sold the story for more money now that he was unemployed.

  “That prick. I should have the bastard arrested and put in the slammer,” he said out loud.

  The Chief was already under pressure to wrap this up, it would only get worse. His phone rang.

  “Yes?”

  “How in the hell did that get out?” the tense voice said on the other end.

  “I suspect it was the same guy,” Logan said.

  “I want his ass in the holding cell before the sun goes down,” the Chief said. His voice was stone cold.

  “Want me to go find him?”

  “No. I’m just letting you know what I’m doing. I have people looking for that jerk as we speak.”

  “That seems like a waste of manpower. He probably took the money and ran. This was his parting shot at us for getting him fired.”

  “He had better hope he has gone. Gone far, far away. If I get my hands on that little moron I will personally take him to the basement for an attitude adjustment,” Dixon said.

  “Damage is done. I probably should have beaten the shit out of him when I had him in my grasp,” Logan said.

  “Do it next time,” the Chief said, hanging up.

  He had no more hung up and his phone rang again. He picked it up hesitantly.

  “Yes?”

  “Logan?”

  “Who? Sorry you have the wrong number,” he said.

  “Logan. Wait, don’t hang up.”

  “Sorry, wrong number,” he said and hung up.

  The phone rang again. He had recognized Carrie Brown’s voice. How in the hell did she get this number and know where to locate him? Damn she was good at her job, almost too good. It rang several more times but he didn’t bother to answer it.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Donna Landers woke with a start. It was totally dark. All she could make out was a small orange light someplace across the void of blackness. She sat up and felt around but her outstretched arms hit nothing. Where the hell was she? The last thing she remembered was leaving ‘The Cave’, a very eclectic night club. It was a singles and couples bar that catered to the more bizarre side of human behavior. It was a place for people interested in bondage and discipline to meet and enjoy the shows. Often they were spontaneous and involved members of the audience. Donna had discovered her darker side, as she called it, after being invited by a friend to visit the club. She was amazed to find out how turned on she became watching the performances.

  Sometimes a woman would be the dominant one over another woman or a man. Other times the man was the master. Her friend, Celia, even participated and tried to get her to join in but she was too reserved. She didn’t go back for almost a month but one night she found herself standing in front of the place and she gathered up enough courage to go in.

  It had been a wild and crazy night and she almost convinced herself to get involved but once again remained only a lurker as the non-participants were called. She found herself being drawn back time and time again. She always stayed out of the shows that were intermittedly taking place but she loved to watch the performers.

  She found herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the dark side of her soul. She would find herself thinking about it several times a day and constantly at night. She began to wonder what was wrong with her and considered seeing a psychologist but decided she would just quit going to ‘The Cave’.

  That resolve lasted less than a week. She once again found herself standing in front of the door that was taking her farther down the path to a place she didn’t know if she really wanted to go but was drawn to. Now here she was in some sort of frightening predicament but not sure how or why.

  JJ smiled as he watched her with his newly installed night vision camera. The fifth generation camera provided amazing clarity and detail.This one he would experiment on a little differently. He would take what he learned from Erin and see if he could apply it to Donna.

  * * *

  Donna had pleaded with JJ in much the same way Amy had. She started off hostile but soon realized that wasn’t going to work. She then switched to being subservient and trying to reason with him. The results were the same.

  “Donna. I have chosen you for a very special experiment. You should be honored. I had several subjects I could have chosen, but I chose you,” JJ said.

  “I appreciate that, honestly I do, but I really am not worthy. I am sure there are many others that would be more interesting. I have led a rather dull life,” she tried to reason.

  “You will be perfect. Honestly, you are just what I am looking for. I want someone with little expe
rience in your world,” he said.

  “My world? No, no. I don’t really do all that stuff. I just came to watch and see what goes on. I am interested in all kinds of alternative lifestyle cultures. I don’t actually do that stuff,” she said, hopefully.

  “And yet you keep coming back. You are obviously drawn to this kind of thing. You are getting worried over nothing. I just want to do a few tests to see how you respond,” he assured her.

  “What kind of tests?”

  “Simple brain wave tests. You don’t have to do anything but sit in the chair and respond,” he explained.

  “Will it hurt?”

  “I doubt it. A small amount of discomfort may occur from time to time but I doubt that it will amount to much,” he replied.

  “Please don’t hurt me. I will never tell anyone about this. I promise,” she pleaded.

  “Of course you won’t. Stop worrying. You are making too big of a deal out of it. It will all be over shortly,” he said.

  “Please,” she pleaded, starting to cry.

  “Stop it. I hate that kind of thing,” he said harshly.

  He hated women who cried without a reason. If they were hurt sufficiently, that was one thing, but just for the possibility being hurt was stupid and weak.

  “I’m sorry. I’m just scared,” she sniffled.

  “Well, stop it. I said it wasn’t going to hurt,” he said.

  “Yes sir,” she said, trying to show she would be submissive if that was what he wanted.

  “Here,” JJ said, handing a glass through the bars, “Drink this, it will make you feel better and help you to calm down.”

  “Will it knock me out again?”

  “Donna. Just drink the stuff. It will help you to relax. That’s all,” he said, shoving it toward her.

  She took the glass, sipped a little of the liquid and then finally drank it down.

  “Good. It will only take a few minutes to make you feel better. Your anxieties will disappear and you will be more relaxed,” he said.

  Within a few minutes Donna could feel the drug starting to affect her. She felt calm, almost surreal. Everything seemed to slow down. She moved her hand back and forth in front of her face and was fascinated by the motion.