The Final Hunt

I was sitting at the corner of the bar, nursing my drink and getting ready to go before Maggie kicked me out as she was closing in about 5 minutes when the guy walked in.

His tie was all askew and his sky blue tweed jacket was open. His face was about 30 years old but his eyes looked about 150. He sat down like his bones had turned to mush. His hands were actually shaking and I thought that maybe he was on a high when I caught a glimpse of his shoulder harness.

He ran a quivering hand through his light blonde hair and just looked at the mirror which looked back at him. I could see Maggie debating whether to tell the guy to beat it as she was closing but there was something about that look on his face.

I was reminded of the “deer caught in the headlights” expression but this guy didn’t give me the sense of someone who shocked easy and it was a 90% bet that he was a cop and a 10% personal bet that he was a private dick or security

guy.

Maggie made her decision.

“What can I get you?"

The guy shook his head. “Anything strong and double it.” He had a deep authoritative voice. Had to be a cop I decided.

Maggie moved her 200 plus pound body and rounded up a drink. Maggie was not fat... that was muscle and bone. She stood close to 6 feet and had hands the size of a catcher’s mitt. She had her own gym and her body was her hobby. She also looked good and I had been trying for months to bring her back to my place.

She put the drink in front of the guy and he downed it in one gulp.

“One more and then I’ll be going and hopefully not dream," he whispered looking once more like a rabbit would look when the weasel was closing in.

What the hell had scared this guy who was about 5’ 9 but built with wide shoulders and a thick neck that looked like it could break my hand if I hit him there?

“You live nearby?" I asked.

He looked at me and just shook his head.

“No thank god.”

That got Maggie’s umbrage up as she thought the Fens was a fine place to raise a family. “What do you have against the Fens mister?"

"Nothing. Just the Holiday Inn down the street I guess I was referring to and it’s not the hotel in itself, just what went on there tonight.... I uh.”

He lapsed again and just shook his head.

"You’ll read all about it in the morning. Can’t keep this quiet any longer. To many people have seen the hotel room or what’s left of it. I saw it and still can’t believe it. Just sorry that I knew the guy.”

| could see that Maggie was putting it all together and I was right along side with her.

"Wasn’t that the hotel where they moved everyone when the cops closed down the building where all the murders were?"

The guy nodded and then looked at both of us. He nodded again

“Okay maybe telling it will help me but I can’t say I’m doing you any favors."

He paused and looked at Maggie and she got him another drink.

He took another gulp and then started to tell us the story.

“My name is detective Joe Haynes. Last Wednesday my partner and I were called out to investigate a series of incredible murders at the Fens Apartments over at Rollings and Stewart streets."

He took another swig. "Can’t believe its only been one week... seems more like 2 centuries. Well, when we pulled up about 10 AM, we noticed several of the K-9 squad were there but none of the dogs were moving towards the building."

"We watched one K-9 handler practically drag his dog to the main door and then just give up as that big German Shepard was having none of it and actually howled, pissed on the front door step and pulled so hard against his leash to move back away from the building that I thought he was going to break his neck.”

“l never heard of a scared cop dog" | mumbled.

Haynes looked at me. “Me neither but that should have been a real tip off for us."

“What’s going on Jake?” I asked my partner.

“Something that scared the crap out of the dogs" he said and that was the truth.”

Haynes stared hard at me as I got up and walked closer to hear better. My left ear battery just went and I was down to one ear. Maggie was leaning closer to the counter and Haynes had our full attention,

“We started to walk up the steps when the door opened and Casey kind of stumbled out. He’s short 30 days from retiring with a nice hefty pension. He looked like hell. Casey’s rock solid and seen it all. I thought I had seen it all but that day was a new one on us.”

“I thought that there was some kind of serial killer loose who was cutting up his victims and...”

| trailed off at his look.

“What are you... about 6 feet 180 or so?"

“Close enough."

“Can you imagine what kind of killer it would have to be to crush every bone in your body buddy and then stuff you into the kitchen cabinet with your head artfully placed just so on a wide saucer?"

He turned his haunted gray eyes at Maggie.

“How about finding some woman roughly your size jammed into a desk waste basket?”

Haynes signaled Maggie for his fourth one.

“Casey kind of just leaned against the wall. We gave him a moment to collect himself.”

“Its on the fourth floor #423. I think there were four people there last night but it’s hard to tell now. Excuse me gents, he said, then he leaned over and tossed his breakfast".

“That really blew us away and Jake and I suddenly were not in a hurry to check out the murder scene. The morning was a typical fall day with a nice blue sky and that just made it all the worse. We slowly walked up the stairs to the top floor.”

I was so spooked l had my gun out and so did Jake. Then we saw the yellow tape about half way down the dim hall. The building was old and the carpet was all beaten up with wall lights which were too dim and cast a lot of shadows.

We came up to what was left of the door. We heard the coroner’s crew hot on our heels and tried to stiffen up and not look like we were rapidly wishing we were somewhere else.

Jake looked at me. The door frame had been ripped off and about an 8 foot wide hole gaped at us where the door used to be.”

“After you Joe”

“I walked in and could not believe what I saw. We both came to a halt and looked up. The first victim had been pinned to the ceiling with what looked like a metal kitchen chair. It later took two guys to pull that chair out of the ceiling.”

“Are you saying that the killer was so strong that he was able to pin the body to the ceiling that was what about 8 feet or so high in these old buildings?" whispered Maggie who had now fixed herself and me two stiff drinks.

| glanced at wall clock, it was past 12:30 and none of us had budged.

"Yeah and the spookiest part is that during all the killing none of the neighbors heard nothing... no screams ... nothing. We later found out that 3 hard partying college guys were living there. Apparently they liked to play loud music and intimidated the neighbors into leaving them alone. The girl must have been a friend who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Forensics later figured the killer or killers were unbelievably strong, stood about 9 feet high as every ceiling in every room had strange looking scrapes by something edged and sharp as if the killer was too big and had to bend over to move around., and somehow was able to prevent any sound at all to be heard by the woman next door who slept through it all. No sound. Not the ripping and crashing of the front door and the door frame...not the pinning of a body to the ceiling with a kitchen chair for gods sake, not the jamming of another body into the cupboard ...nothing... no sound."

“Every hair on my neck was standing straight up by the time we had completed our look at the bodies. There was no reason to have our guns out but I sure as hell was not putting my piece away and Jake was the same."

“The dogs, he mumbled.”

“Jesus Christ on a crutch!"

"That we knew was Doc Jenkins. He walked by us staring up at the ceiling and then looking into the kitchen."

“Holy crap!"We heard and then we knew he was eyeing the head on the platter in the kitchen Cabinet.

“Wait until he sees the chick in the wastebasket,” muttered Jake to me.

"We watched Doc back his rolly polly body backwards from the living room where the waste basket body was and I’m telling you his wispy hair on his head looked like it had been set up for a lightning strike. That’s how we all felt...as if we had gone through a violent electrical storm."

"Doc slowly turned around and stared at me and Jake. His cigarette that he kept constantly in the left side of his mouth had gone out and I had never seen that happen before. His eyes were moving up at the ceiling and down at the bloody floor.”

“What’s going on here?" he whispered to us while looking at our guns.

"To see DOC speechless and not swearing every few minutes was a shock to me and Jake."

“Whatever happened here its scared the dogs shitless and they won’t even go into the building and that really makes us ready to get the hell out of here.”

“You Jake? I thought nuttin shook you but losing at the track.”

“Today Doc, I’m past shock and working on terrified. What about you Joe? He said turning to me and then quickly looking back and giving the apartment a constant scan as both him and I expected whatever it was to come back any minute and do its decorating trick on us.”

* I’m for getting out of here" I said as I headed towards the gaping front entrance.

“The rest of Doc’s crew walked in as Jake and I left that place from a bad dream.

The look on those hard asses faces was priceless and very upsetting as for them to be effected you knew it had to be real bad.”

Haynes stopped talking and all we could hear for a minute was the old grandfather clock tick tick ticking away in the far corner of the bar. After another second I shook myself like a dog knocking water off.

“You said you knew the guy. What did you mean?"

Haynes turned and drilled me with tearing gray eyes. Maggie put out a strong hand to place on his buffed up shoulder. He nodded to her in thanks and took a deep breath and continued with his disturbing tale.

"Four days later we were back again this last Sunday morning. Same smashed front apartment entrance but this time the occupant was a woman about 60 or so.

Lived by herself and liked to play her stand up piano real loud early with rousing church music about 5 AM every Sunday morning according to her neighbors who could never get her to wait for a few hours when people were awake.”

“These old buildings have a common tiny courtyard that’s formed by four buildings face to face. You can stand in the victim’s apartment and hear somebody 4 floors down working in their kitchen putting away the silverware.

The sound just carries upwards like a megaphone. The victim had her living room window wide open and that was what fronted the Well as everyone calls it. It does looked more like a well than a courtyard I can tell you. The sunlight only strikes the cobblestones at high noon and after that nothing but deep shadows. Some of the tenants would walk their dogs there but that was it.”

“We found the woman jammed into the piano with her head resting just so on the keyboard. No one heard nothing. But the apartment dogs knew something was up as every dog in the Fens was howling like mad according to the people we interviewed. Woke up their masters.”

Haynes shook his head hard at the memory.

"Well that was it. We ordered a complete evacuation of the Fens this morning and put everybody up at the Holiday Inn down the road here. I was standing out front with Jake watching the evacuation proceed when Norman walked up to us and confessed to the murders.

“Jake and I looked at the guy. He was slightly built and about 40 or so with a pot belly. His arms were scrawny and if he could lift 50 pounds I would have been amazed.

But a real funny thing happened as he stood there staring at us. One of the tenants walked by with two spaniels on leashes. Those spaniels happened to be be the closest to Norman and I’m telling you they took one whiff and put their tails between their legs and ran to the other side of their owner and twisted her up with the leashes. Those dogs had their heads down and were howling like hell and both pissing on themselves."

“So you killed the piano lady and the college party hardy guys and their chick?" said Jake as he looked Norman up and down. C’mon buddy get out of here before I think of something impolite to say to you.”

“I did not exactly kill them sir... it was the beast within my dreams which did."

“He stood there wringing his hands and rapidly blinking his eyes. He had a slight tic on his left cheek. He looked like he had not slept for a week. He was wearing a plaid greasy green shirt and had on a pair of blue chinos with a ripped side pocket. His brown hair was slicked down and he reminded me of a nerd with bad hygiene."

“What kind of work do you do?” I asked him.

“I write programs all day for software clients. But at night I need my sleep and the Well just doesn’t let you get any sleep. All those constant sounds. I asked the party guys to please stop making all the noise as I lived 3 floors above them and the Well carried the sounds to my apartment.

| close the windows and I get claustrophobic. I have to have the windows open and I tried to explain that to the woman playing her piano on early Sunday morning. She told me to get lost and laughed at me.”

“I could see Jake starting to listen."

“What’s your name sir" he asked.

“Norman Bailey” he responded with his eyes darting about and his hands clenched into fists.

“Look Norman, just to speculate, can you explain to us how you managed to prong that guy into the ceiling with a kitchen chair?"

“Its as I told you. The beast within me killed, but I loosed it from its boney lair. It stalks the halls of my mind, and when I sleep, the halls become the halls of this building. The beast is always on the hunt. At first I would dream it but nothing would happen to anyone in reality. Now when I dream the thing comes forth into our reality. Its out of my control. I can’t stop it.”

." - "י"י "א. יי4-"טס" ל-4סס זיא ויי^-\ c ו-vו וca וסvל גvסvuvaו"ל ויuס סווu , ס\9rץס ייאסוייויליי סרי

Another 20 something couple passed us and the woman was holding a small Pekingese in her arms. The dog went absolutely nuts when they neared Norman. Tried to crawl up the woman’s chest and pissed all over her. She dropped the dog and it landed at Norman’s feet.

The dog howled like a mad wolf and went running off down the sidewalk with both the man and woman chasing it."

"Jake and I watched it all happen and we both stared at Norman who stood there with an open face but I thought I caught the gleam of something in his light blue eyes. Something that looked at me with a cold assessing gaze. Something impossibly distant yet so close I could touch it.

"Jake saw it too and by god we both stepped back. I almost drew my gun but stopped myself. What the hell were we going to say to the captain that wouldn’t make us both look like idiots to our peers?"

"It comes from behind the bone door. I summon it when I am sleeping. But once free it roams on its own and kills horribly. Perhaps tonight I will finally sleep at peace in the hotel room the city has given me.”

"He smiled a wide grin and his lips pulled back almost into a snarl. He then turned and walked slowly down the street. Jake and I did not move. We just watched him shamble away towards the Holiday Inn. He had a slouch to his stride and his head was leaning forward and slowly moving side to side. It reminded me of those T Rex animations of them hunting their prey in the primeval past."

Haynes took a final gulp and set down his empty glass. He rubbed both hands on his face and then shook his head.

"About 10 PM tonight we were called to the hotel. Same MO. Door frame demolished with a huge hole in the wall. But this time it was Norman’s body we found. His chest had deep claw marks like a giant bird would make but Doc noticed that they got shallower and shallower the farther down Norman’s body they tracked like whatever was making them was pulling back and...."

He never finished his sentence. Just got up from the bar and nodded to Maggie and me and walked out the door still shaking his head.

“Sounds like the thing was dying as Norman was dying. It was the final hunt" grunted Maggie. She looked at me.

"C’mon Ryan show me your place and I sure as hell hope that you have quiet neighbors.”

END