IN
A MURDERER’S ARMS
It was a cold Thursday
evening in Oakland, temperatures had fallen to 15oC, Detective Lindsay
Amelia grabbed a steaming mug of coffee and sat down on the purple, faded sofa
directly opposite the fire place in her cozy apartment and for
the first time in months, she felt happy and relaxed. The most wanted serial murderer had been
arrested. Thanks to her relentless efforts and collaborative hands of her
colleagues at the Central Police Station.
She would perhaps get an opportunity to hang out with Michael at the
weekend. They had dated for six months
and yet they hadn’t had any time together apart from her parents’ golden
jubilee anniversary last July. She found herself thinking about Michael, where
could he be? What could he be doing? – Yeah, she missed him and she hated
herself for being a cop.
Michael Kropp was the youngest
and most successful entrepreneur in Los Angeles with five different boutiques
to his credit, though he inherited three from his father who had passed away
two years ago. He had witnessed the murder of his mom when he was only five,
and at 28, he still lived with those ugly memories. They were part of him,
hallucinations became part of his night life, the more he fought them, the more
he lost. He hadn’t told Amelia the circumstances surrounding his mother’s
death, she hadn’t asked any way!
Amelia decided to read
her mails before going to bed, she hadn’t gone through her “private mail” box
(as she called it) for two days. And just as she had expected, the moment she
logged in, 65 unread mails were waiting for her. As her custom was, she always
started from the bottom, going through the old mails till she read the latest.
The first mail at the bottom was from a customized e- mail account and had no
subject, this was a bit creepy, non of her friends had sent her mails without
subjects, at least not after she warned Chris her college classmate. She opened
the mail. “Holy Jesus”! She shouted at seeing the mail content; “YOU MAY BE THE
NEXT” It was written in bold red with a pirate like sign at the top right
corner of the screen.
“Who the hell sent such
an e-mail? Could there be another killer out there?” she thought, she refused
to accommodate the thought that they had caught a wrong guy and the bloody
killer was out there looking for whom next to devour. She was certain, that
Lewis was the wanted serial killer, and was right behind bars. “It is one of the
high school kids, probably”, her mind raced back to the prank one high school kid
had played on her a year ago using a customized email account. The kid had sent
an email about a murder at St Theresa College a year ago. He had even sent her
images of the crime scene showing what looked like a dead body covered in rugs
at the south end of the campus only for Amelia to find out that it was actually
a mutilated body of a dead horse. And still pondering on the whole prank, she
dozed off.
The alarm went off at
7:30 am, and that was when she realized she had slept off in her jeans and her
second mug of coffee she had made the previous night still waiting for her on
the bed side table untouched. Working days were always hectic, she always hated
the mornings. Only today, things were different, she had taken off the entire
weekend so as to be with Michael. The thought of Michael for was like therapy.
It gave that relieving sensation with her entire self. He was to fly in that
Friday evening and together they would go and watch the Simpsons at Silverbird,
have dinner at Celebrities before finally lodging at the five star Sheraton. It
was a moment she looked forward to.
His flight took longer
than he had expected – only 5 minutes late.
Michael was one man to whom time was everything, he had this belief that
a second was big enough to make or ruin his day. At the Lincoln International airport,
he found himself cursing! The town cab service he had ordered for wasn’t
anywhere to be seen. It was already 2 pm. “Bloody shit cabs” he cursed, he
wanted to be at Amelia’s place by 3pm exactly. Yes timing was everything to
him. He had planned to be at her place by 3 pm, take her to the movies by 4,
move over to KFC by 7 pm and by 9 pm, they would be in their hotel room. He
could wait no longer for the “damn cab”. He decided to get a new one. “Move as
first as you can”, he told the driver, a young man probably in his early
twenties who had no problem with speed. No wonder when Michael tilted his head
to read the guys name on the driver’s tag hanging below the rear view mirror,
he saw it – Speed. Speed Johnson, he could take you anywhere in a couple of
minutes. He had been arrested severally for over speeding and yet it seemed
like speed was part of him. Michael knew he had the right guy for the job.
Amelia couldn’t wait to
meet him again, she all of the sudden felt like a woman in love again. She was
no longer that emotionless and bureaucratic cop. She had spent almost the whole
morning going through her clothes to pick out the most suitable outfit for the
occasion. She wanted to look sexy but yet decent. She had remembered her
mother’s advice some seven years ago – “no matter how sexy you want to look,
don’t you ever forget decency”. She had eventually settled for a pink
sleeveless knee length gown that Michael had sent her on her birthday last
month, a pair of golden high heeled shoes and a marching hand bag. It was the
perfect match for her chocolate complexion. She cleaned up the house, set a new
vase of flowers on the glass table while Westlife music collection was playing
in the background, yet she wasn’t convinced she had done enough.
A soft knock on her
door startled her, she felt her heart pounce. It was a mixture of anxiety, love
and joy. She hoped it was Michael- Yes it was! She all of the sudden, felt shy
like a 14 year old girl on her first date. “Hi darling” Michael broke the
somewhat 30 seconds silence. Before she could say a word, he pulled her close
and kissed her softly. She thought that was the most romantic kiss she has had
in years. “Hhhh…hi, I missed you”, Amelia was finding it difficult to pick her
words. But she at least developed enough courage, held him by the hand and
almost dragged him inside.
“Wow, this is
beautiful”, Michael commented on noticing the high class exotic furniture in
the living room. “Thanks darling, I bought them from the best furniture shop in
town” she boastfully said while pouring two glasses of Remmy Martin. They
talked about their work, Amelia proudly told him that they had finally arrested
the most wanted serial killer – even when she knew that he already knew since
it has been on every news channel in the country. He told her about his
boutiques and his intention to open one in Oakland. “That would be nice, I
wouldn’t have to spend on my wardrobe again” she had teased him.
With Westlife’s Unbreakable playing in the background, the
scent from the fresh rose flowers on the table and the soft sun light beams
through the window curtains, Michael couldn’t help thinking about how beautiful
she looked and hoped their love would be indeed unbreakable. But hell no – she
would break him just like all the others did. “All women are the same” he
thought. He wasn’t going to let her do that to him. He would handle her the
same way he did to the others. He was awakened from his thoughts when Amelia who
had taken his bags into the bedroom came back into the living room without his
notice and from behind, she blind folded him using her palms. That’s when he
felt it, the sea of emotions in him had just been stirred, he felt that inner
desire for her, he didn’t want it this way but what could he do? Push her away
and pretend it was not the right time? No.
He wanted her desperately just the same way she did. If their love was
water, it would have flooded the entire house. He stood up as he dragged her
closer to himself, whispered into her ears, “I love you”, he tilted her head
and leaned forward and kissed her again. She stiffened, but only for a few
seconds. Her hands made their way around his neck as she pressed hard against
him, and then tiptoed and kissed him hard, he took in all the warmth her tongue
and the entire interior of her mouth had to offer. She was perhaps faster than
he had expected. “Slow down” he begged. “No, I want you baby” she whispered. They
were now in their own world. He made love to her, so softly she didn’t want him
to stop, and when he could do no more, she looked up straight into his eyes,
with her arms around his shoulders and legs tied around his waist, she leaned
forward and thanked him with yet another longing kiss.
They arrived at
Silverbird Cinema just in time to luckily pick up the remaining two seats. He
wasn’t surprised, “The Expendables”
was making its debut on cinema. Thousands had trooped in to have a glimpse of
their best actors playing roles in the same movie. His was Sylvester Stallone.
They grabbed a glass of pineapple juice and a pack of popcorn each as they made
their way past the buzzing crowd to their designated seats. Though they were way back in the hall, they
had a clear view due to the 3D setting specially arranged by the Management for
that day. Amelia thought the film
actually marched her day to day work only that they weren’t looking for killers
in the movie. Though Michael seemed to be taken in by the movie, Amelia just
enjoyed his presence, rather than the action movie and hoping that it ends soon
so she can act for him live in their
5 star hotel room. She was ready to make up for all the days she missed him.
She was awakened from her thought when her mobile phone vibrated. It was a text
massage, she hopped it wasn’t her boss trying to cut her weekend leave short.
It was her elder brother, Nick trying to warn her to be more careful and not
trust anybody – even her boyfriend! “What on earth is wrong with Nick?” she
thought. Unlike Amelia, Nick strongly believed that the killer is still out
there, or perhaps there were more than one. “Are you okay?” Michael asked. “Am
fine, it’s my brother”, she replied, concealing the details. He didn’t press
further – he never did. It at times surprised, No, worried her. Her
concentration level on the movie eventually fell below 0% and she hoped it ends
abruptly.
She was in a
gloomy mood as they drove to KFC for dinner, she almost wanted to change her
mind over the dinner but she didn’t want to spoil his date. It took them just
10 minutes to the popular restaurant. Although Michael had opted for one of the
front tables, Amelia objected, pointing towards an isolated table at the
extreme end of the room. To Michael, that seemed more romantic but to her, it
was a way of watching everything going on in the restaurant. It gave her a
clear view of the entire room but most importantly the entrance and exit doors
– after all she was still a cop, the romantic date notwithstanding. She seemed
to pay more attention on the customers trooping in and out as if looking for a
particular person, almost forgetting that he was seated right there with her.
“What’s wrong
with you, detective?” It was the first time he addressed her by her title.
“I think Nick is
right”. “About what?” She had forgotten that she hadn’t told him the contents
of Nick’s massage. “We may not have caught the right guy, or maybe there is
another killer out there” She eventually explained. They were interrupted by a
young waitress who came to take their orders. Michael ordered for fried rice and
grilled chicken and a diet coke, while Amelia only settled for a hamburger and
a diet coke. She seemed not to be hungry. All she wanted was to put all this nightmare
behind her. She all of the sudden became suspicious of everybody around her. “Sorry
for the delay” the waitress interrupted her thoughts as she gently placed their
orders on the table. They only spoke occasionally during their meal, with
Michael paying more attention on his food while she occasionally nibbled on her
hamburger. He had never seen her like this before and he wished he could change
things but there was no going back.
By the time they
got back to their hotel room, they were both exhausted. It had been a long day
for them and they had a busy week ahead. Amelia was to revisit her
investigations in the whole case, probably try and put the remaining pieces
earlier ignored. May be she could come up with a new theory about this (these)
killer(s), Christine, her best friend was wedding that same week and she
couldn’t afford to miss out. Michael had two trips to make between UAE and
Paris in preparation for his new Boutique opening in Oakland next month. They
decided to go for a warm shower before going to bed. Michael had advised that
it would help calm her nerves down. She hadn’t argued about it, moreover she
wanted to see that strong beautiful body again. Her intestines started to boil
as he threw away his clothes ready for the “bath”. He had a way of making her
weak inside, a way that she hated at times especially whenever a thought of
losing him crossed her mind. She followed him to the bathroom still looking
worried, she knew this was right, nothing in her 7 year career had turned her
upside down the way this case did. She
was a cop and cops are taught to follow their instincts after all, worrying was
perhaps part of her instincts. Michael in an attempt to get her attention off
her worries leaned forward and kissed her, she responded positively – more
passionately than she had been earlier. With the shower running down their
bodies as if to wash away their worries and sins, they made love again and when
they came out, the bed became their host right away.
When she went
back to her office the following week she revisited the crime files to check
for any missing pieces. All the five murders were closely linked to Cruiser
Lewis, the finger prints were matching except for the last murder case. No
finger prints were found on Juliana’s body or any objects in the house of the
victim apart from her (the victim’s) own finger prints. She remembered that the
body was unclad and it had been washed by what they expected to be a chemical –
results were still in the lab. Funny enough, Lewis had confessed during the
interrogation sessions that he had killed Juliana. But why was Juliana’s head
not decapitated like the other four? He must have confessed to have killed
Juliana as well so as to escape the torturing.
She was right – Or Nick was right, there were two or more killers out
there. She had to act fast. She had
earlier that morning informed her boss – the head of the investigations
department who, as she had expected, had
dismissed the possibility of another killer but after what seemed like
hours of deliberation, he had given a “go ahead” with full backing of the
entire force. The second half of the search was on…..
Detective Amelia
considered Lewis to be an asset in her second hunt, she thought he may be of
help as regards to Juliana’s murder, she was convinced beyond any reasonable
doubt that he didn’t kill her. Tuesday morning, she embarked on a three and
half hours journey to Gate Way Maximum security prison to meet with him – a man
that had given her nightmares, a man she preferred being in the grave than
in incarceration. “Detective, what can I
do for ya?” he asked as soon as he was brought into the visitors’ room. She
thought he looked like he had spent a year in there and yet it was just a week.
“Did you kill Juliana”? She was straight to business. “What the hell do you
want to hear?”, if I say no, you gonna let me out of this shit?” he barked. “It
may help ease your sentence”. “I don’t want a sentence cut or whatever you call
it, I wanna get out of this damn dungeon” He yelled back. “I have a family, 2
beautiful kids, I wanna see them again” he cried on. “Are you working with
somebody?” She could sense he was afraid. “He is my boss, he payed me for the
four, I refused to touch Juliana, she was my Ex. He strangled her himself, he
has killed and buried 4 others”. That was when Amelia remembered the four
ladies whose whereabouts were uncertain. “Who is your boss?” She pressed on. “You
want the name?, get my release papers ready”. Without any further word, he
stood up and made his way back to his cell. Release papers? That was
ridiculous, Lewis deserved this punishment, he had murdered four innocent
souls. But a more deadly and sophisticated killer was still out there. Maybe
they should consider his offer.
Back home that
evening, she was exhausted, it had been a busy day for her. She had been on the
road for about 7 hours. She decided to call Michael that evening and try to
lure him to join her for Christine’s wedding which was just a few days away,
but his mobile was off. She tried the landline but got no response as well. “He
must be sleeping” she thought, after all it was 5 minutes to midnight.
Back to office
the following morning she had discussed the possibility of releasing Lewis with
her boss. He had at first rejected the idea but finally gave in. He was one of
the most flexible bosses she had ever worked with. They had reached an
agreement to get all the necessary papers ready in two days time so as to
enable her get back to Lewis as soon as possible. They were running out of
time. She literally spent the entire day running from one law enforcement
agency office to another. It was hectic, but she was beginning to accept it as
part of her. She was however lucky to get back home in time to watch her
favorite soap - woman of my life. She
perhaps received a shock of her career when the news came in just before the
soap that “Mr Cruiser Lewis has been
found dead in his prison cell. It is believed that Lewis who was serving a life
term sentence might have been strangled to death, meanwhile two prison warders
have been arrested in connection with Lewis’s murder”…..
Amelia knew that
someone was trying to make her investigation harder but she was determined to
go to any possible heights to track down the second killer. She helped herself
to a cup of hot chocolate as she watched Woman
of my life only realizing that she wasn’t even paying attention. She
reached for her mobile, dialed Michael’s number but it was still off. She
concluded that he must have travelled out of the country for his emergency business meetings – as he
called it. This wasn’t the first time he was doing this to her but she felt it
more this time especially when she had made arrangements to go with him at
Christine’s wedding which was two days away. She prayed he calls her before
it’s too late, and with one last look at the screen, she dosed off. By the time
she woke up she realized that not only had she spent the night in the sitting
room but had also poured half of her chocolate on her white sofa. Luckily for
her, she had taken two days off to prepare for her friend’s wedding. She would
have enough time to clean up her mess and then do her shopping for the wedding.
At the wedding…….
Amelia thought
that was the most beautiful event she had ever witnessed. The gold, pink and
white colors all over the big church auditorium made it absolutely look like
heaven – to her it was indeed heaven. At this point she wished she could stay
there forever away from her crime world. From to time to time she would look
over to Christine and they would exchange smiles – smiles that reminded them of
their childhood days. Christine looked big and yet so innocent in her sparkling
white wedding gown. Amelia thought she looked like an angel. The ceremony was
going on well until that popular phrase where the priest asks whether there is
anybody who has any reason why “these two” cannot be joined in holy matrimony.
That was when the main entrance glass door was slammed open by a young man in
blue jeans, white T-shirt and a blue jacket with a hood over his head with his
right hand stuffed inside the jacket pocket. The congregation went silent –
startled so to say. Amelia couldn’t get a clear glimpse of the intruder, he was
a bit far but walking steadily to the front. Two church guards tried to stop
him, that was when his right hand came out of the jacket and damn the guards
were dead- two bullets, one for each. He hated hurting the innocent but couldn’t hesitate when they obstructed him from
carrying out his mission. Amelia panicked, he got closer seemed he was coming
for her, his eyes fixed on her. She
cursed, her weapon wasn’t here, how could she have…her dress anyway gave no
room for weapons and moreover it would have caused unnecessary attention. He
was directly opposite the Alter, looked up to the priest, he made the sign of
the cross as if to pray for forgiveness and then smiled at the groom and the
bride. Amelia reaches for her mobile, tries to dial 91..too late, he didn’t
allow her to put the remaining 1, another shot and the phone was on the flow,
scattered, so accurate the bullet didn’t even bruise her palm. By then the
entire congregation had disappeared. He knew he didn’t have much time.
“Michael, why are
you doing this?” She cried. He wasn’t in the mood to talk. He meant business.
And she could absolutely do nothing but try and talk him of his madness – a
tactic of buying herself and perhaps the entire force time, she was certain
someone must have called the cops. With the barrel now resting on her neck, she
only had one option – obey his command and move out to the black SUV he had parked
outside. Her mind raced back, she remembered what Nick had told her, how he had
warned her not to trust anyone. But how could she have suspected Michael – her
own boyfriend, the man she loved so much, how? “You won’t get away with this,
you will pay dearly”. He never said a word, she wondered whether he had gone
deaf and dumb.
“Enjoy the ride”
he finally spoke up as he asked her to enter the trunk. She couldn’t believe
that this was the man that had pretended to love her so much. “Michael Please”
she begged. He was deaf again, he pushed her in and locked it and within
seconds, they were on the road. Back in the trunk, panic gripped her the same
man she had loved so much now was trying to take away her life, her mind raced
back to the times they went out together, the times they made love. How could
she have been such a fool, she fidgeted with the trunk lock for some minutes
not knowing exactly what she was doing. She noticed he had almost doubled the
speed hitting almost everything in their way. They had been on the road for
almost 20 minutes and yet there was no sign of any cop in pursuit. Michael had
deliberately avoided the busy streets opting for abandoned paths at the
outskirts of the town. He was getting close to his slaughter house and he could
feel the urge to kill rise within him, it was an urge that he respected so
much, it was part of him. He looked into his rear view mirror and noticed a
lone car some meters away, and within a few minutes he knew he had company,
that wasn’t his problem he knew he could beat them. From the trunk, Amelia
could hear the sirens from a distance, and her hopes were revitalized. Michael
Knew he couldn’t stick to the original plan of driving right to the deserted
house across the river where he used to torture his victims to death, if he did
they could trace him easily.
He stopped as
soon as they reached the bridge, luckily enough for him, there wasn’t a single
vehicle or pedestrian in sight. He hoped he could stage an accident, drown the
SUV and then walk or better still carry her to her doom. When the car stopped,
Amelia panicked even the more, her body covered in sweat and almost running out
of breath. When he eventually opened the trunk, she gulped for as much air as
she could. Tears started flowing again, not because she knew she was going to die, but
because the guy she had loved so much was now hurting her beyond measure. “Michael
please don’t do this, You can go, disappear, I won’t come looking for you
again”. She pleaded. He pulled out his gun and pointed it directly to her
chest. “Michael, No, ple..ase..,” She sobbed. “My mother was murdered by a
Female cop and I swore to avenge her death”. He finally spoke up while pointing
at the gun and at the same time fighting back a whole sea of tears. And you
know what, I promised myself that I would only stop killing if I tortured a
female cop to death, and here we are today, baby”. She could feel the venom of
his words rising up her entire body. He was running out of time, he needed to
push the SUV off the bridge and at the same time keeping an eye on Amelia, he
couldn’t afford to take chances. He tried fidgeting with one of car doors and
then he realized he needed her cooperation, but there was no way he could get
it. Doing the two simultaneously proved abortive. He suddenly realized that
there was no need for any ceremonies, she didn’t deserve the torture, only one
bullet would be enough for her. With a firm grip on the trigger he moves even
closer to her.
“Am sorry baby”,
those were his last words to her and in almost a flash, he pulled the trigger…
By the time the
cops arrived, Amelia was sitting a few
inches away from his body, shivering like a kid who is afraid of the dark.
Michael Kropp had taken his life, he was gone. But Amelia’s nightmare was just
about to begin.
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