CHAPTER XII: AND THE AWARD FOR THE...

Ryan Ecworth, the lastest victim in a series of tragic murders in our normally quiet and almost comatose little corner of the world/State/county/planet.

He was the oldest of two brothers and one sister from a local family, a star athlete who was also gifted academically. His whole family was of course here to see him receive the award, and they had all been escorted off to one of the classrooms awaiting the arrival of grief counselors who were due any minute. Grief-Stricken would be a gross understatement.

Rob and I decided to let the counselors do their work first and we set off to the crime scene, a locker room at the back of the school gymnasium. The body we soon learned from Sgt. Barton was discovered by another student in a locker at the far end of the room. Amazingly it fit, and the school principal said that these lockers are oversized because of the equipment they have to hold so they are plenty large for a body. (How convenient). Maybe not Arnold Schwarznegger or Michael Jordan, but...

As would be expected, it was a mess...blood everywhere, again the victim had been decapitated and castrated and those parts of the former him were now missing just like some of the other murder victims.

How is this motherfucker able to do this much damage without being caught, I wondered? He must use something to catch the blood and then takes it with him?

We took a back seat so to speak to the other officers already on scene and I merely tried to keep track of the facts as they discovered them for my piece for the station (TV) and Rob set about doing the same for he would undoubtedly be ultimately put in charge of the investigation going forward. Lucky him. Welcome to your new job. Good pay, lots of perks, plenty of dead bodi...uh...um..

After almost 4 hours, forensics finished...and after a lot of interviews with attendees of the event, they were all sent on their way, and so were we. I had done almost 30 interviews, Rob about the same...while the twins poked around doing God knows what. Wouldn't put it past them to stumble on or onto something or over something or whatever and SOLVE THE MYSTERY.
Hmmm.

The interviews had all proven fruitless, and nobody would even admit to having seen the murder or even knowing there had been one. SO inconsiderate.

GOOD.
Ok, perhaps not.

"Geez, guys," Dylan said to his brother Drew and to us.
"Yeh, God what a mess. I am gonna really miss him. He was a really kewl guy."

We headed back to the precinct to file Rob's report and I to the TV station to file mine and do an on-camera piece for the overnight news, and then we all headed home. Drew had gone with Rob and Dylan with me, and it was the middle of the night before we all got home...tired, upset, and HUNGRY.

Our usual pacifier meal of Pizzas and cokes and curly fries was prepared and we sat quietly and ate voraciously. No salads this time.

Eating and silently so was I think due at least as much to the evening's events as from actual hunger.

"God I am tired," Drew proclaimed.
I agreed, and so did the other two.
"BED?"
We all broke out into a somewhat subdued but a nevertheless boisterously firm cheer of approval and away we went.

Maybe one of these days, I can go to bed WITHOUT the image of a dead body in my head.

Maybe. I hope you can detect a definite lack of confidence about that and a TEEEEEENSY bit of sarcasm on my part.

I could tell all this was really beginning to take its toll on Rob, and no sooner than we got into bed than he rolled over to face me, encircled me in his arms and pulled me as tight as possible, putting his head in my neck...and there we remained until we fell asleep. Neither of us said a word except he did say "Night honey," and I said it back," and then silence. There were just no words and way too many feelings.This was the FIFTH body in a very short period of time, and we still have virtually NO idea who is doing any of this or why.

Saturday morning arrived, as the sun peeping through the drapes attested to, and we did NOT GIVE A SHIT. I for one had had enough of adulthood to last my entire...adulthood.

The last thing I mumbled before conking out was...
"If that phone so much as sniffles, I will blow its head off."
"You want my gun," Rob laughed quietly.
"I'll let you know."
"Ok, honey."
and then he pulled me even tighter and kissed me...HARD.
Felt good.
DAMN good.
But that was it and we drifted off to sleep again...UNTIL, TWIN TIME

URGH!

This time they merely crawled into bed with us, without pouncing as usual and I detected a fairly good degree of subdued in their normally rambunctious demeanor. Good, be a shame to have to...
Besides we got wayyyy too many bodies around here in truth.

"Morning," Dylan snorffled into my ear and I heard Drew doing the same to Rob.
"Morning back," we said quietly...and that was that for another couple hours as we all went back to sleep.

I definitely needed more but about 11am, I awoke and knew it was for the day. PFUI.

I tried to ease out of bed without waking anyone else up but didn't quite make it. Dylan grabbed me. 
"You getting up?" he whispered...
"Yeh, I guess so, but you don't have to," I whispered back.
"Nah, it's ok," and he scrambled to follow me into the bathroom/dressing area...where we did, and then headed downstairs to the kitchen.

Coffee first before everything even breathing began, and got ours and headed to the breakfast table where we sat, bleary-eyed and dangerous...VOLATILE AS FUCK, and still not totally awake.

No words, cause there none and none were needed.

We just sat like two malleable lumps of whatever, almost breathing, snorting fire, and...
"Hey, you two," Rob said as he and Drew went by into the kitchen and then joined us, mugs to lips like us. Okay. FOUR malleable lumps of...

We were a SORRY-ASS bunch that Saturday morning, but if you understand the context...

"I knew that sooner or later we would all get coffee'd up and the words would come, but...what words, and would they help? Explain any of this? Explain WHY?
I doubted it.

But maybe the Mystery Resolution Gods would look kindly down on us and...

Yeh, right.

"I DO NOT WANT TO EVEN HEAR THE WORD BODY TODAY. AT ALL. PERIOD," this from Drew.
"Total moratorium on carcasses," from Dylan Jr. 
"Suits me just fine," this from Rob and I knew he meant it.
"Fourthed, if there is such a thing and if not who cares."
"Nobody," Dylan whispered into my ear, and that was it until we all got up en masse and oozed into the Great Room to lick our wounds and act all self-pitying and shit. We do that REALLY well.

"Ummm," Dylan.
"NO," we all shouted in unison.
"OKOK,"
and those of us who had ANY energy at all giggled a touch.

So much for today...until the phone rang. I reached for the pistol but not fast enough.

"Lt. Ciccoletti here," and my goosebumps goosed.
"Um...uh, um, ok. Thanks."

"I for one don't wanna know and don't care," I mumbled.
"Ok," Rob replied.

"FUCK, goddamn curiousity."
He laughed.

"Forensics with an update. Ecworth was killed by a blow to the chest with a sharp instrument driven hard into his chest cavity. Death was instaneous, and the blow this time was from behind. That is a first here."
"BEHIND?" I said.
"Yeh, and that would take a hell of an effort so this dude whoever he is is strong, and from the trajectory it appears he is fairly tall too...probably well over 6'.
"Wow," Drew said.

"So what we know," I reiterated, is that the suspect is more than likely a male of above average height, and a gay basher...who we surmise was sexually molested by an adult male or at least someone much larger than he, as a child, and evidently is pretty muscular/strong.

"That's about it honey," Rob toothily grinned at me, "and now all we need is a name and a signed confession," this from Dylan, the bright one. LOL.

"Yup," Rob grinned at him too.
"NO PROBLEM, Have it by dinner,"
"Ok, which year," I said to him
"TBD."
"That's what I thought."
Drew giggled along with Rob and I.

"Really, what else do we know?" I said.
"Whatcha mean?" Rob countered.
"What we missing, overlooking?"

Quiet.
We may need to round up the posse and...

GO TO CHAPTER XIII