Cry for Me Read online

  Gene was surprised by how fast it worked. Rush had a look of surprise and pain on his face, before his body was rendered completely paralyzed.

  Gene placed Rush in the tub and used a scalpel that he purchased from a local drug store to remove the glands. He knew he needed to consume the pain of others but did not know how. He decided his best chance to soothe his burning pain was to douse it with a liquid and made the decision to remove his victim’s glands and extract the fluid contained with in and drink it. He was not able to extract any fluid from the testicles and tried boiling them and eating them. He did not like the taste and it did not cure the pain. He found no liquid in the breast tissue and was not willing to eat it. He destroyed the sinus cavity removing it to the point it was useless. He was able to extract a small amount of tears from the tear glands. He liked the taste but felt the taste would be better with out being contaminated by the blood.

  That is when it hit him. It was tears he needed. To Gene, human tears carried the pain of its owner. It was that pain that was going to cancel out his pain. To a rational person not suffering psychotic delusions this sounds absurd. But to Gene it made all the sense in the world and was his ticket to being finally pain free. He realized that removing tear glands and squeezing the tears out would not work. Blood had mixed with the tears and this affected the taste and the tears were water at this point.

  They needed to be cried out so they would contain the pain that made the host cry. He needed his victim’s to feel pain like he did. He needed them to cry for him. This would make things easier for Gene. All he needed to do is incapacitate his host and catch their tears when they would cry. It was far too messy and exhausting the other way and way too risky dumping bodies with all the police attention. He knew that “super star Rick” would get the case and decided to leave a calling card at the scene of harvest. A piece of white satin, this would keep Rick busy and he could pursue his love, Samantha.

  Chapter 8

  Detective Miller and Officer Keyes were in the war room, going over evidence and updating their time line, when they heard a knock at the door. Rick looked up and saw that it was Lynn Phillips. He could not help but notice how beautiful she looked today. He has always thought of Lynn as an attractive woman but today was exceptional.

  Her hair had been styled differently giving her a more youthful and seductive appearance. Her clothing style had changed. It was edgy, and sexy. A seductive and professional “in-command” look. Lynn normally wore pant suits to work and always dressed professional but today she had decided to throw a bit of spice into her ensemble.

  She was wearing a white silky long sleeved button blouse. A tight black skirt that came to just above her knees and black stockings with the seam that ran up the back disappearing into black high heeled shoes. Her fingernails were painted red with lip stick to match. Her eye makeup was different. Darker than usual and complemented her natural long eye lashes remarkably well.

  “Good morning, Lynn”. The words stumbled out of Rick’s mouth stunned by her radiant and alluring beauty.

  “Good Morning, Rick. Are you feeling ok? You look a like a deer in headlights”, asked Lynn. Rick began to busily grab papers pretending to organize them as he explained to Lynn that he was just tired from all the hours he has put in working on the case.

  Lynn proceeded to tell Rick that Sgt. Hallman, from the Gilberts Police Department, was in the lobby and waiting to see them. Rick and Dan went out to the lobby and greeted Sgt. Hallman and together they walked back to the war room. Once in the room, Rick could not help but notice the expression on Sgt. Hallman’s face change as he was greeted by the grotesque crime seen photos pinned to the photo board. This was Sgt. Hallman’s first time seeing the pictures of the Rush murder. He found himself holding his breath as he looked over the pictures taken showing the missing genitalia. His breath had quickly returned with a sudden gasp when he came across the photo of the victim’s head containing no eyes.

  “Sorry the décor is not a bit more inviting.” said Rick as he tried to make Sgt. Hallman feel a little more at ease. Rick noticed that Sgt. Hallman’s bald head was extremely red, obviously from a mild sun burn. Rick handed a cup of coffee to him and said, “Looks like you got a little sun over the weekend.”

  “Yeah, out canvassing the neighborhood for leads didn’t realize how long I had been in the sun. Probably should have slapped a little sun screen on my dome first” chuckled Hallman.

  Sgt. Hallman sat down and took a couple sips of his coffee and began going through some papers that he had in a large manila envelope. He began with some of the statements that he had taken from Ms. Watterson’s neighbors. Her neighbors all said the same thing. That she was a very nice person and always said hello, etc. and could not believe that she was dead.

  Hallman told Keyes and Miller that a single drinking glass was found in the dishwasher and that it had been recently washed and possibly by the offender. The glass had contained no finger prints and that an empty bottle of Bud Lite beer, containing Ms. Watterson’s prints, was found in the kitchen trash can. Hallman went on to explain that he believed the killer may have disposed of the bottle in the trash because Ms. Watterson had a half full recycling container in the garage that contained various soda and beer containers as well as empty food cans that had all been rinsed out before being placed in the recycle bin, where as, the beer bottle still contained a small amount of beer and had been disposed of in the trash. Hallman stated that he suspects the killer wore gloves because no prints were found other then Ms. Watterson’s and her boyfriend’s, Adam Bosch.

  He began to tell the fellow investigators about his interview with Bosch. Sgt. Hallman told them that Bosch’s alibi checked out and that he was at work well before and after the M.E.’s estimated time of death. Also, that he had confirmed this with Bosch’s supervisor, and several co-workers, that could put him at his place of employment at the start of the shift and various times throughout the shift, making it impossible for him to make a trip to Watterson’s unit. Hallman also stated that Bosch was clearly very upset by her death and felt his statements were truthful.

  Hallman stated the unit was otherwise immaculate and that four pieces of cloth clothes line, approx. 30” in length, had been taken into evidence and the rope was consistent to the fibers found on Watterson’s body. The rope was found lying on the floor around a kitchen chair that was placed in the center of Watterson’s bedroom. The kitchen table contained three chairs matching the chair found in the bedroom. Based on how neat Watterson’s home was kept, Hallman believed the killer brought the chair into the bedroom and tied the victim to it.

  Hallman explained that there was no outward sign that a struggle had taken place and was accordant with the M.E.’s discovery of Curare in the victim’s blood. The evidence technicians scoured the place for additional clues paying special attention to the bedroom where it is believed where Watterson was killed. They had checked the bed linens for semen or blood as well as the bathroom off of the bedroom and found nothing.

  Detective Miller began to go over in detail, with Sgt. Hallman, all of the evidence that they collected from their crime scene. All were in agreement that they were dealing with the same killer based on the satin cloth found at both crime scenes and the fact that both victims had the very rare compound, Curare, in their systems.

  Lynn Phillips returned to the war room and excused herself for interrupting, explaining that she had received a letter addressed to Detective Miller in the mail marked “extremely urgent”. She handed Rick the envelope and the first thing he noticed was that it contained no return address or post mark. Rick questioned Lynn about where she found the letter and she stated that it was in amongst the department mail received Saturday as well as today’s mail. Rick knew something was up. Someone had gone through the trouble of dropping this envelope in the Police Department mail box rather than actually mailing it. Rick found this suspicious and decided to open it immediately.

  Rick opened the envelope and it con
tained a single piece of white 8.5” x 11” paper containing print from a typewriter. “Who uses typewriters?” thought Rick. Rick began to read the letter to himself as Keyes and Hallman watched wondering what Rick had just been handed. They saw the blood quickly drain from Miller’s face as he continued read. They instantly knew that this was something huge and possibly connected to the murders.

  Rick got to the end of letter and just sat there staring at the table. Lynn was still in the room and could see Rick was very upset by the content of the letter. “Rick is everything ok?” she asked. Rick looked up from the table and looked over at Keyes and Hallman and then over to Lynn. They were all waiting for Rick to reveal what had taken him aback so.

  Rick cleared his throat, sat up in his chair and said in a low monotone voice, “It’s a letter from the killer”. The room went bone chillingly silent. You could have heard a pin drop. Officer Keys just sat looking at Rick holding his coffee cup tightly in his right hand. Sgt. Hallman slowly ran his left hand over his brow as he sat back in his chair. Lynn felt as though her legs could buckle underneath her.

  Rick cleared his throat once again and began to read from the piece of paper.

  Dear Detective Miller,

  Everyday I watch as the maggots of society feed on the pustular

  underbellies of the filth that lives in this world. All of them, masquerading as upstanding citizens, in their fancy suits and fake personalities. Who do they think they are? They are the reason I have this pain. The reason I thirst. Spewing their vile and infectious hate to all they encounter. They did this! They caused this with their sick and twisted ideas.

  You think you are the only person in this world? You think that you are the only one who matters? Well you are wrong! You are nothing! You have no control! You strut around with your badge and your gun and think you are king shit! “Look at me, I’m Detective Sgt. Miller! King shit of the Police Department! I am such as bad ass! Don’t look at me wrong or I will bust you! HA! You ain’t king shit! You’re a piece of shit who thinks he can walk over whomever he pleases and do whatever he wishes, because he wears a shiny badge on his belt with a shiny gun to match! Racing around town in your police car thinking you are king shit! I have all the control! Not you Miller! You have no idea what you are doing! Guess what, hot shot? You are going to have plenty to do! Because as long as I have this pain inside, I am going to continue to kill and right now YOU are part of the pain I feel! I am a real man! Not like your pathetic excuse for a man! Sharpen your pencil detective, because I am going hunting tonight! You can look forward to two more victims! I know how you feed on the glory. I will keep it in your precious little village. You brought this on yourself, faggot! Because of you two more people are going to have to cry!! I will consume their pain!!

  Yours truly,

  The Curare Killer!

  Miller laid the envelope down and looked at Keyes and Hallman and said, “This is legit, gents. We have never released publicly that Curare was used!” Rick turned to Lynn and told her to get him an evidence bag right away that he wanted this letter and envelope sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab to see if any prints or evidence could be obtained, or DNA lifted from glue seal strip if the killer used his tongue to seal the envelope.

  Lynn hurried out the war room and scurried down the hall to the supply room. Hallman turned to Keyes and told him to get to the dispatch room and to pull the footage from the security camera that was aimed at the mail box. Keyes sprung into action telling Sgt. Hallman that he had copies of all reports and photos in a large envelope he handed him. Miller told Hallman he would forward any information as well as a copy of the letter to him as soon as possible and excused himself. Miller needed to contact Lt. Jones immediately. He needed a game plan. He had no idea where to start but two more people were about to die and he had no clue where! It could have already taken place! He needed extra patrols and wanted to get the word out urging residents to call the police if they see anything suspicious. He hoped he was not too late!

  Chapter 9

  Gene Harrison is sitting on his balcony enjoying his morning coffee, admiring the weather on this beautiful Monday morning; He picks up the latest addition of the City Heat Gazette and begins thumbing through the pages. He stops at a headline that immediately catches his attention. “Psycho killer believed to be involved in Gilbert’s murder”. Gene became immediately enraged. The article went on to ridicule the killer and Gene felt he was being taunted by the writer. “Psycho killer? I will show you psycho killer!” grumbles Gene under his breath. He crumples the paper into a ball throwing it into the parking spot where Rick normally parks his squad car.

  Gene knows he has to act now. He is tired of not being taken seriously. He had the perfect victims picked out and knew just how to gain access to their home. He had done his homework and it was quite easy. He found his next victims by accident, at Tucker’s, the local grocery store in town. He overheard them talking to the gal behind the counter at the customer service window. Talking about how they were expecting a gentleman later in the week, to measure their basement for new carpeting, so the grandchildren could play more comfortably in the basement. Harrison followed them home casing out the house and neighborhood like he had done for his other victims. “This will be easy.” he thought. “Looks like the Swanson’s will be getting their carpet quote a few days early!”

  Gene sat in his car outside of his new victim’s house. The Swanson’s are an elderly couple that lived across from the elementary school on the east side of town. Approx. a dozen single family homes built in the 1950’s lined the south side of the street directly across from an elementary school. The school was empty. The children and all staff were on summer break. Gene was happy the school was empty. It would be nearly impossible to pull this off during school months, too many people to see him and his car. One of the reasons he picked these victims is because of the neighbors. With the exception of the Swanson’s the rest of the home owners were younger, blue collar families that were all at work during the day, making it easier for Gene to get in and out with out being noticed. One of the reasons he picked Karen Watterson’s place was for the same reason. Middle class people all going to work during the day. The only thing Watterson’s place offered that this did not was crowded street parking. Watterson’s neighborhood had several vehicles parked on the road allowing Harrison’s car to blend in. This neighborhood had very few cars parked on the street. But it would have to do. He needed to prove to that piece of shit writer at City Heat Gazette, and especially Rick, that he is in control. He calls the shots!

  Gene sat staring at the house for a few minutes while he rehearsed his game plan in his head. He soon exited the car and walked up to the house. The yard was well manicured and looked like it had just been cut that morning. Gene could smell the scent of fresh cut grass in the air and was relieved he waited until noon to go to the Swanson’s. Running into landscapers would have delayed his plans, possibly forced him to find new specimens.

  The Swanson’s lived in a light colored brick bungalow. There was a long concrete driveway from the curb-less street leading down the west side of the door ending at a detached garage. Centered on the garage door was a large cursive letter “S”. Halfway down the side of the house was a door. Leading to the door are two concrete steps with wrought iron rails on either side for handrails. Above the door was a retro 1950’s style aluminum awning that also contained a cursive letter “S”.

  Gene approached the side door and walked up the steps. There was a small round lighted button for the doorbell on the right side of the door. Gene reached out and with the corner of a legal pad he had in his right hand and pushed the door bell button. Gene heard the sound of the chimes within the house. The chimes were not the traditional “ding- dong” most door bells have. This had three or four tones and reminded him of quiet little church bells.

  Gene heard the faint yell from a male saying, “Just a minute.” Gene did not hear the sound of a dog barking and was happy. He
did not expect to hear one because on the night he cased the house he rang the door bell and hid in the front bushes to see if dogs were in the house and to see how long it took them to get to the door.

  Gene stood staring at a cursive letter “S” on the lower half of the screen door and was making note to himself how the practice of putting the first letter of your last name on the outside of the home was common years ago.

  Gene’s focus on the screen door was soon interrupted by Mr. Swanson opening the interior wood door. “How can I help you young man?” asked Jerry Swanson through the closed screen door.

  “Hello, Mr. Swanson. My name is Rick Miller. I am the job estimator from Nation Carpet and Flooring. I know I am here a few days early but we had some cancellations and I was able to get to you sooner. I hope I am not catching you at a bad time.” Gene could see the look of delight on Mr. Swanson’s face as he explained to Mr. Swanson.

  “Not all Rick. I am glad you’re here! The sooner you make your measurements the sooner we can get the install started!” exclaimed Mr. Swanson. Mr. Swanson opened the screen door and asked Gene to come in. Gene noticed how clean the house was and could smell fresh baked bread which was cooling on the counter. Gene liked a clean orderly house. It was easier to clean up when he was done.

  Once in the kitchen, Gene removed his shoes and left them on the cement steps. Mr. Swanson took him into the front room where his wife Carla was sitting watching TV. He introduced him to Mrs. Swanson and then lead the way, across the kitchen to the basement door. “Do you need me for anything?” asked Mr. Swanson.