Five faced

“So, what's your deal? What are you, some kind of satanist freak or something?”
“What!? No, no man I told you. It's just the way I dress. How I express mys…”
“Don't lie to me freak!” Mike pounded his fist on the table.
“Alright Mike, calm down. Let's just hear him out, maybe he's telling the truth. Go on.”
Good cop bad cop. This was their favorite tactic. Mike and Rob were veterans. Almost half a century on the force between them. They had been working this case for a few months now, and were still at a loss. They needed to come up with some answers fast. The press and the public were demanding some.
This suspect definitely had an unique look. He was pale, dressed in all black, with long jet black hair, multiple facial piercings, and wore black eyeliner and nail polish.
After an hour, they both began to figure this kid wasn't the guy. It was more likely he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. The kid was scared to death.
“OK, thank you.” He breathed a sigh and continue.
“I was hiding in the bushes because I was trying to see my girlfriend. I was waiting until her parents left. Her dad said he would kill me if he found me with his daughter again.”
“Okay, but your girlfriend lives on 52 Oak Street, you were in the bushes outside of 60 Oak Street, right where Oak Street intersects with Elm Street. Now, you know that was where the jogger was picked up last week. Is that why you were there? Were you looking for your next victim?” Rob asked, already pretty certain that was not the case.
“No, no I swear. I would never. That guy, whoever is doing this is crazy. He's sick!”
He was right these murders were grizzly.
There was a knock on the door.
“Mike, can I see you for a minute.”
It was his boss Greg. The director of homicide investigation.
“I'll be right back.” He said menacingly. He was really just messing with the kid at this point. He had to have fun somehow.
“What's up?” He asked just outside the door.
“We found another body. Face removed again. It just happened. We had a patrol car go by Willow Street earlier. Nothing out of the ordinary. He pulled back around fifteen minutes later, and there she was.”
“Any leads, anyone see a car or…”
“No, nothing. But it was the same MO. She was a jogger. Blonde. Her whole face was removed, and finger tips cut off. We're running her dental records now. We better put out another PSA tonight.”
“Jesus. I better call Holly, tell her to stay inside.”
“Yeah do that. And let the kid go already. He's harmless.”
“Yeah, I know. It'll teach him to sneak into his girlfriend's house though.” Mike laughed.
He went back into the interrogation room.
“All right, you're free to go. But don't let me catch you hiding outside anyone's house or sneaking around again.”
The look of relief on the kid's face was almost comical.
“Thank you.” He said as he hurried out.
“And get a haircut…” Mike called out after him. He laughed as he shut the door.
“What, they found another one?” Rob asked.
“Yeah, same thing. I gotta get home to Holly. She's been on edge about this whole thing. Plus, she says I've been working too much lately.”
“Already, what you've only been married like four months?”
Mike laughed.
“What can I say, she loves me.” He grabbed his coat and phone.
“I'll see you tomorrow, get some sleep.”


Mike headed home somewhat dreading the conversation he was about to have. He and Holly had only been married for four months. But, for the past month, they have had more than a few arguments about his work hours.
It started out that she thought he was coming home too stressed from the day. Then it became that he wasn't coming home early enough. That devolved into Holly being sure Mike was having an affair.
Mike told her he wasn't, she was just being paranoid. But he understood the feeling. His first wife cheated on him, hence the divorce. And Holly told him her first husband cheated on her. So, she apparently now thought Mike would do the same. He always reassured her he wouldn't though. He was determined to make this marriage work. He was just hoping she wouldn't get fed up and leave him.
“Hi honey. How was your day?”
Mike walked in to find Holly on the couch reading. Maybe he could avoid the discussion tonight.
“Hi babe.” He leaned over and gave her a kiss.
“Busy. You didn't go out for a jog did you?”
“No, I remembered what you told me.” She smiled.
“Any closer to finding him yet?”
“Yeah, we're getting closer.” He lied. He liked to talk to her about work, but he really didn't want her to worry.
“Just keep the doors locked. And, please don't go out by yourself. At least not now. Okay? I don't want this psycho to get his hands on you.”
“Yes sir.” She saluted.
“Well, I'm going to bed. Come up when you're ready.”
“Alright, I just want to finish a few things up.”
After Holly went upstairs, Mike finished up some light paperwork. He didn't want to deal with it the next day.
Just when he was about to head upstairs himself, something caught his eye in the kitchen. The light caught the bottle just enough for him to see it. Holly was drinking again. It made Mike worry, because he knew Holly would self medicate when she was stressed or down. Pills and alcohol.
Mike wanted to take care of her and make her feel safe. Although they hadn't been together long, it was a whirlwind romance that moved fast. He figured he really knew pretty much everything about her. He knew her ex had treated her terribly. Abusive physically and emotionally. Holly told him all about it.
Mike actually met him once, a couple months back. He had been contacting Holly and putting her down. Telling her she didn't deserve anyone. The usual. He didn't want her to be happy.
Mike went to his house and confronted him. He tried to spin it like Holly was the crazy one, and she was contacting him. He said Holly couldn't take the fact that he left her for a better looking woman. He even went so far as to say Holly was crazy, unstable and violent. Projecting. He warned Mike to run as fast as he could. Mike had seen his type before as a cop. Abusers blame the victim. Mike punched him in the face. The guy screamed he was calling the cops. Mike told him to go ahead.
But, seeing that Holly was going into some sort of depression or something strengthened his resolve. He had to catch this guy. He had to make sure nothing happened to anyone else's wife or daughter. They all needed him like Holly did. But, this guy whoever it was was good. He had gone untraced for about three and a half weeks straight. Three and a half weeks of horror. Five young women. All blonde, athletic and attractive. The last three were joggers. The first was last seen at the mall. The second was last seen at a grocery store. This guy was seeking them out. Maybe stalking them. Kidnapping them, and murdering them, and removing their faces. All without a trace. Maybe this guy was a cop.
The next morning Mike kissed Holly goodbye, reminded her to stay safe, and headed to work early. He was determined he and Rob would make some real progress that day. There couldn't be another one.
He settled in and got straight to work. Five victims. Five attractive, blonde victims. No enemies. No reasons anyone would want them dead. All taken during the day, going about daily activities. Jogging, shopping. All murdered and found without fingertips or faces. “All their faces were skinned...That takes hate... Jealousy? Rage, vengeance?” As motives flew through his mind, a chill went down his spine. What kind of person does this?
“Mike, here we got the dental records. We've got a name.” Rob walked over to Mike's desk and read aloud the name.
“Melissa Ronan.” Mike's heart stopped.
“Melissa Ronan? Give me that.” Mike took the documents, afraid of what he may find.
“What? What do you know her or something?”
“Thats Dan's wife.” Mike's mind raced.
“Dan who?” Rob asked, not seeing where he was going with this.
“Dan, Dan! Holly's ex Dan! That son of a…”
“What, you think he did all this? You think this is the guy!?”
“Yes! He's a terrible person! He hates women. These murders took hate, rage. He has this in him. He's an abuser, he still terrorizes Holly. Holly…i have to get home, he could be heading for her next.”
“Alright go, we'll send a patrol car too. You go home, and I get going on him. He's done.”
Mike raced home, hoping Holly listened and locked the doors. He tried calling and texting her, but there was no answer.
“Holly! Holly!?” He waited anxiously for an answer.
“What!? Is everything okay!?”
Mike grabbed her, received she was fine and completely unaware of what was unfolding around her.


“Is he in there!?!” Mike headed fast and determined to the interrogation room.
“No no no. You're not going in there.” Rob stopped Mike. He had to use his full weight to stop his momentum.
“We don't need to jeopardize this investigation by risking you kicking the crap out of him. It's too personal for you. Go relax, I'll let you know what he has to say.”
Mike reluctantly took a seat. He was glad Rob talked him down. He didn't think he would be able to control himself. He sat waiting for an update.
About an hour and several cigarette later, Rob emerged.
“He said he didn't do it. He's done cooperating. He wants his lawyer. There's nothing else I can do right now. We've got CSI at his house as we speak. I'm sure we'll find enough evidence to book him by the end of the day.”
Mike sighed. He figured he could catch up on some paperwork until he heard anything else.
About five minutes in, his phone beeped. It was a notification. The night before, he installed an app on his and Holly's phones. An app that allows him to track her through GPS by the location of her phone, which seems always had. He knew it seemed obsessive and possessive, but he was a detective. He had seen too much on the job. Too many women going missing. He wanted to keep her safe. He realized how close he had came to losing her. She probably would have been the next victim. Holly didn't know about it. He didn't want to make her think he was controlling.
The message showed she wasn't at the house anymore. He told her to stay there. He didn't know yet if Dan had any accomplice. He thought the worst, and immediately got up and ran to his car.
Apparently she was on Aldrin Road. Mike knew where that was. There was nothing around. There would be no reason why she would be there. There was nothing but an old abandoned warehouse.
Mike's heart sank. He had a terrible feeling. Dan must have someone on the outside. Someone who he had to finish his business. He just knew in his gut someone took Holly. He just hoped he would get there before anything bad happened.
He pulled up on the abandoned warehouse with his heart in his throat.She was in there, and he knew she wasn't alone. He exited the car with his gun in his hands and his finger on the trigger, ready for whatever was about to unfold.
As he walked through the exposed door way, an old musty smell hit him in the face. The way you would expect an old run down building to smell.
He quietly continued up the staircase. He had heard footsteps above him when he entered. Creaking floorboards. He didn't want whoever had Holly to hear him. It might push them to react and finish the job faster.
The musty scent quickly turned into something much worse. Mike recognized it. It was rotting flesh. He instantly felt weighed down with dread.
Once he arrived to the top of the stairs, he quickly found the source of movement. He skimmed the wall along side it the room, and prepared himself to confront whoever was in there.
Right at the entryway, he took a deep breath and quickly pivoted into the room, gun pointed.
“HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD!!! DROP YOUR WEAPON!!!”
A butcher knife fell to the floor, and the figure turned slowly around. Mike's heart dropped and he lost his balance as the room began to spin around him.
“Holly!?!” The name left him in a voice he didn't recognize.
“Now you'll never leave me for another pretty little face.” She said with a twisted grin on her blood stained face.
Mike began to utter the word why, when he heard a loud gun shot go off.
Holly fell to the ground. Mike turned quickly to find Rob.
They both stood looking in shock and horror at Holly's lifeless body, and the wall of female faces behind her.

Reviews

[JoeM]

God, you had me tensing up toward the end. You are a fine story teller. Congratulations.