Necessary Evil

by Janelle Taylor

  “Now, it’s time for you to die, Manuel. I am your judge, jury, and executioner. I am Gracie’s avenger. I am the punishment you escaped. I am Justicia. I want you to see who did this to you. I want you to know the Avenger as well as he has known you for the last two hours.”

  Manuel felt a sting on his inner elbow as his blindfold was removed. His gaze widened in terror. It was a black palo! Then his gaze fused with a verde one filled with fierce hatred. Que demnoious! His gaze widened even more as the truth flooded his mind. Valgame Dios! It was—and he passed into Hell.

  “Couldn’t believe your eyes, eh, Manuel? I know it was a shock to see me again,” the Avenger said and smiled. “One more and I’m done, Tippi. I promise.”

  Thursday morning, August 9th

  “Seems he’s gotten tired of Friday nights, Dan,” Mory stated. “He’s striking whenever the mood hits him now. This victim was killed on Tuesday night, but his body wasn’t discovered until today. One of his co-workers, a Victor Sanchez, checked on him this morning on his way to work after Manuel didn’t show up yesterday. He’s sitting in the living room. Pretty shaken up about his friend. Maybe this time Henri can find something for us to use. The Avenger has to make a mistake. We just need to make sure we catch it.” At Dan’s grunt, Mory added, “We will, partner, we’ll catch him.”

  Dan was in a foul mood. Captain Bolton would go crazy when he heard about this one. A confrontation outside with James Starr hadn’t improved his temperament. How was Starr still finding out about these murders in record time? With Roland Daniels off the force, he shouldn’t have access to police information. Starr claimed he had received another anonymous tip. Right, and I’m the King of England. He wondered if the Captain would allow a tracer to be put on the reporter’s phone so they could determine where and from whom these alleged phone calls were coming, if there were actually any calls. He knew Starr would fight for his privacy, so was there enough just cause to obtain one?

  “Hey, Dan. Rough morning? Better than Manuel’s, I’d bet. He was beaten and cut while sodomized on both ends. Looks as if the Avenger either did or tried to videotape the whole thing. Look at how the camera is pointed this way. Harold dusted for prints, but it’s clean as a whistle. So far, no clues, I’m afraid. Sorry. The Avenger must’ve gotten himself a new glove,” Henrietta commented.

  “Shit!” Dan grumbled. “We didn’t really expect him to keep fucking up, did we? Sorry, Henri,” he apologized with a wry smile. “But I’ve been up all night and I wasn’t expecting to see a gory sight this morning.”

  The medical examiner nodded. “I doubt Mr. Sanchez was, either.”

  Dan shook his head in disgust and exhaled loudly. “So, you think the Avenger was taping himself? Why would he do something like that? I don’t suppose he left the tape for us, did he?”

  “No such luck, Dan. But Green has a wide selection of videos. From the titles, ‘Debbie Does’,” Henrietta paused for effect, “anybody, anywhere, anytime and any way.”

  Dan looked at the jumble of videotapes on the floor. Manuel Green certainly did have a wide assortment of pornographic films. Some of the labels were handwritten with only a first name on them. Homemade, or copies from friends?

  “There’s the same injection sight on his inner elbow. The ropes and such are tied the same way, too,” Henrietta offered. “It’s all the same except for the types of torture. That he gets from the men themselves. At least he’s being consistent.”

  “But how is he selecting his targets? How does he determine these are the ones he wants to attack? And why? Damnit, why is he doing this?”

  “If you knew that—”

  “I’d know who he is,” Dan finished for her.

  Thursday afternoon, August 9th

  “Greene got off on police brutality and coercion of a confession. All charges were thrown out of court. He made a videotape with Grace Inglet which made her look and sound like a willing partner,” Dan told Mory as he lifted the videocassette he had gotten from the DA.’s files. “According to his vic’s statement, she came to his apartment to collect on a bill owed to her husband. Ms. Inglet claimed that Greene had called her while her traveling salesman husband was out of town and told her that he had the money, but was leaving town himself. If she wanted it for her husband, she needed to pick it up before he left. Greene was married to her sister at one time, and she hated him because he had beaten her sister on many occasions. But her husband needed the money owed to him for a purchase he had approved on credit or he’d be in trouble with his company. She never imagined Greene would attack her. His story was that she came by asking for the money, they got to talking over old times and drinking, and she went to bed with him willingly. He claimed she enjoyed making the wild sex video that he was going to show in court to back up his testimony. She swore on the stand that he forced her to do those scenes and to be convincing about enjoying them. Said he threatened her life. After the beatings her sister had gotten, she believed him.”

  “Is that the video there? Maybe we should watch some of it and make up our own minds,” Mory suggested.

  They went to Neal Bolton’s office and watched part of the video on a combination television/VCR that the Captain had there. Grace did appear to be a willing and eager partner in the scenes that flashed before them. Grace’s voice enticed, “Cut me, Mannie, but not bad or deep. Pretend you’re raping me. That’s it, be rough. Slap me again. Harder.” Later it was, “Bite me like a sex starved animal. Chew on my nipples. That’s right. Ouch! Not so hard, lover. Why don’t you nibble on me lower?” Ever so often the tape implied it was turned off and on. Grace performed oral sex on Manuel, with him holding her head in place by the tight grips on her hair. When he would yank her head back, she would plead, “Force me to do it longer, Mannie.”

  Dan leaned forward and halted the tape when Manuel moved behind her and positioned himself against her anus, holding the camera for a perfect shot of the sodomy about to take place without lubrication. She had shouted, “Shove it into me, Mannie, hard and deep. You know I’ve always wanted—”

  “I can’t take any more of this crap,” Dan explained to the two men. He felt sick to his stomach by what had happened to Grace. The tape had driven home the man’s evil and cruelty more than a written or verbal report could do. He found himself thinking that much of the public and Andrea might be right, that they deserved not only to be punished but also to be killed. Men like these vicious animals didn’t deserve to live free and happy while their victims were still suffering.

  “Manuel had been under stakeout until the morning of his attack,” Dan muttered. “Does the Avenger know about the stakeouts? Is it a coincidence? It seems as if the Avenger knows my every thought and move.”

  “Then fake him out, Mallory, but get him. I want this maniac off the streets. Now,” Captain Bolton ordered. “I suggest you go visit Ms. Inglet and hear her side of the story. She was saying the words, but I don’t think she was enjoying it by the expression on her face and in her eyes. I can’t help but think this Mannie deserved every brutal thrust he got, but we have to stop the Avenger.”

  Mory speculated, “I wonder where James Starr was Tuesday night, and how he reached the crime scene just as we did.”

  “At least he didn’t get there Wednesday. Who knows, maybe he has one of us staked out to follow? Let’s keep our eyes open for a tail.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Thursday night, August 9th

  “Did you watch Mannie’s trial video?”

  Dan noticed how Grace spoke in a soft and quavering voice and how the embarrassed woman tried to shield her red-cheeked face from their gazes by keeping her head lowered. “Yes, ma’am, we needed to know if what the Avenger did to Manuel that night was what he did to you at his apartment. The scenes on his trial video almost matched what our crime scene told us.” Dan halted for a minute when Grace—perhaps recalling her ordeal—grimaced and covered her mouth with her hand. Tears escaped her squinting eyes. As he waited for her to com
pose herself, he recalled certain horrific things that he had done in Vietnam, things that made him cringe now, things that made him doubt he had been sane and civilized during those years in the jungle fighting Viet Cong. “Sometimes people have to do whatever’s necessary to survive. Don’t blame yourself for his evil streak. We’ve checked Greene’s file and found that his two ex-wives were granted divorces on the grounds of abuse. I understand one of those women is your older sister.”

  Grace sniffled, swallowed and dried her eyes. “Yes, Katie is four years older than me. I was always shocked and angry she took such crap from him. I kept telling her to leave him, but she wouldn’t for a long time. I understand her fear of him now. Since she’s watched the video, though, she thinks I always said that because I wanted him. Nothing could be further from the truth. That man is slime. I never wanted to sleep with him and do those vile things he made me do. He told me he would kill me, my husband and my sister if I didn’t do exactly as he said. If I wasn’t convincing enough, he would turn the tape off and beat me until I couldn’t resist any more.”

  “You only did what you had to do to ride out that storm, so don’t keep punishing yourself. I’m sorry that happened to you and I’m sorry about your sister. Maybe in time she’ll come to realize the truth,” Dan offered.

  “I doubt it. She’s forbidden her children to even call my house or speak my name. I have two nieces and a nephew who’ve been told to forget I exist. Our parents are dead, so I have no other family. Do you know what it’s like to have your own flesh and blood blame you for being a victim? It’s a living hell, Lieutenant. My husband divorced me after he saw the tape. He called me a slut and pervert, and now he’s married to my sister. You have no idea what I’ve gone through in the last two years since he attacked me and ruined my life. If the Avenger made a video of Mannie’s rape, I hope he sends me a copy. That will be the best thing I’ve seen on television in a long, long time.”

  Friday morning, August 10th

  “What have you got for me, Henri?”

  “Maybe he’s slipping, Dan. We found some hair fibers that didn’t belong to the victim or his dog—which still hasn’t been found, by the way. The hair is auburn and long. I’ve sent it to the lab in Atlanta for the detail testing required. I should know more by Monday. I wonder if your Avenger is dressing up like a woman and that’s how he’s gaining entrance into these residences.”

  “If so, he’d make a big woman, but plenty of men like ‘em that way. Maybe it’s from his accomplice. I don’t recall any of the women involved having auburn hair.”

  “It may be from a wig. We’ll know soon if it’s human or synthetic. Then again, it could have come from a girlfriend’s head and have no connection to our perpetrator.”

  “With the kind of bad luck we’ve been having, that wouldn’t surprise me at all. What’s this about a missing dog?”

  “Apparently, Greene had a dog named Blackie that he loved dearly. The dog wasn’t found in or near the crime scene. There wasn’t any blood other than the victim’s in the house, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t foul play involving the dog. The cuts on Manuel’s back were inflicted with something very sharp. And he had the same injection sight on his inner elbow.”

  “Anything else?”

  “I was hoping you’d ask that. As a matter of fact, yes, I do have something else for you.” Henri lifted an oval green object on the tip of her forefinger for his inspection.

  “Looks like a contact lens.”

  “It is, Dan. Maybe it popped out of the Avenger’s eye, got under the victim and stuck to his leg. I found it while doing the autopsy.”

  “You sure it isn’t Greene’s? Of course not, he has brown eyes. Good work, Henri. This could be my lucky break. Don’t tell anyone else. I don’t want the Avenger reading about this first mistake in Starr’s next column. I just hope it is his. He’s been too smart and clever to leave clues before. Unless he was rushed this time for some reason and couldn’t search for it, or maybe he didn’t realize it was gone until it was too late to return for a look around. Hell, maybe it belongs to someone who was in bed with him earlier, perhaps that redhead, or one of the lab boys. I’ll get on it tomorrow first thing.”

  “I don’t want to burst that happy bubble, Dan, but it didn’t have a fingerprint or smudge on it.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Considering how lenses are inserted with a fingertip, you’d think Harold could lift one. But mixed with the oils and blood from Green’s leg, it was impossible to lift a print. On the other hand, it’s possible not to leave a print if he uses one of those rubber insert thingy's. Or if he wore latex gloves to insert them. Could be absence of a fingerprint means nothing.”

  “But more bad luck for us. Maybe it was planted to mislead us.”

  “Maybe,” Henrietta concurred. “There’s another angle to consider: we don’t know if the Avenger is matching or disguising his eye color.”

  “So I can’t even add green eyes to our description list for a suspect.”

  “Best you can do is list possible green eyes.”

  Friday night, August 10th

  Dan arrived at Andrea’s condo in a wonderful mood, thinking he finally had his first real leads. As she prepared dinner and they sipped wine, he told her about the auburn hair strands, possibly from a wig, the missing dog, that might have evidence on him or in his mouth and a green contact lens.

  Andrea responded, “I wear soft contact lens, too, Dan. Believe me, you notice when one pops out. How could the Avenger lose one and not know it?”

  “Maybe he couldn’t find it under the body. It was a mess, Andi.”

  “A colored contact lens is easier to find if dropped than a clear one. Mine are gray because I have trouble with sunlight and headlights. Maybe the Avenger doesn’t need contacts to correct his vision, but he uses them for masking his identity. He’s been so careful to date, why leave behind a clue, two clues with the hair samples? Maybe it’s to throw you off his trail. Or maybe they belong to a friend or prostitute. I remember his file saying he frequently used call girls, especially ones who allowed rough sex and videos. Oh, and if that dog bit him, you may get some DNA or fibers from it. I’d put out an APB on the critter. Surely it couldn’t have gone far. Check the animal pound, too.”

  “Done it all, so fingers crossed for real clues or evidence. That bastard’s so clever, it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s tossing out red herrings. But if we’re lucky, he’s made his first mistakes.” Dan took a deep breath and admitted, “I’ve seen porno flicks before, but that tape was shocking. No wonder Greene believed he could convince the judge and jury she was willing, and a good actress. If I didn’t know better, I would believe she was in on the action from what I saw and heard. But not after meeting her. Damn, what a sorry bastard he was!”

  “You can say that again.”

  Dan smiled. “I will say one thing for the Avenger; he’s got the rest of the gang pretty nervous. Two of the five under stakeout have left town, no forwarding addresses. If the watches hadn’t been pulled, Manuel would be alive and the Avenger would be caught. With the exit of several of the bad guys, I’m not sure which way I’d rather this thing go. But I do have to settle this case soon, or I’ll go nuts. I won’t let some vigilante outsmart me and the law. Maybe his luck has run out. I sent the lens by special carrier to the State Crime Lab in Atlanta. Those boys will figure out what kind it is and who makes it. I should have lots of answers by midweek.”

  “I hope so, Dan,” she said as she dished up the stir fry. “Let’s eat. We have a busy night ahead and a busy day tomorrow with errands and shopping. I’m sorry we can’t get together with Mory and Janie, but I’ll be glad to have you all to myself for two days.”

  If the Avenger takes this weekend off like I convinced Mory and Janie to do. Forget murder and mayhem, Mallory; Just concentrate on you and Andi. And that’s exactly what Daniel Spenser did.

  Saturday, August 11th

  “That was absolutely deli
cious,” Andrea stated as they sat down on the sofa in her condo. “Mine was cooked perfectly. Thanks, Dan.”

  “You’re welcome. I’m glad you had a grill. I didn’t think to ask before I brought the steaks over.” He paused before continuing, “Maybe I should bring over some of my things for when I stay the night. You know, in case I have to rush out the next morning if I get a call. I wouldn’t want to show up at work in the same clothes as the day before.”

  “No way, Dan Mallory. Before I knew it, you’d be moved in lock, stock and barrel. This place isn’t big enough for two people, especially since I’ll need a study area soon. Every drawer and closet is stuffed to capacity. You’ll just have to carry a packed bag in your trunk. Like a Boy Scout, always be prepared.”

  Though she laughed, and the gleam in her eyes danced merrily, Dan knew she was serious. “Why are you so set on retaining your freedom? I’m not going to eat you up.”

  “I’m just not ready to commit myself to a full-time live-in partner. Be patient, Dan. You’re the first serious relationship I’ve had in many years. It’s scary. It’s a damn big step. We’ve already set a New Year’s Day Decision date.”

  “What about me, woman? I’m scared, too. I had a terrible first marriage. I almost swore off women except for pleasure here and there. You changed my mind, Andi. Hell, you changed me, inside and out. I’ve never felt this way about any woman, including my ex-wife. The more time I spend with you and the loneliness I feel away from you drives that truth home daily. I didn’t come looking for a relationship or even want or need one, but I found a bond to you. We’re good together and good for each other. I realize now that I never had that with Kristi or any other woman. Talk about scared, Andi, losing you for any reason scares the hell out of me. Realizing and admitting that scares me even more.”