Justin Cairns - Little Red

‘Pleeeease, pleeeeease no more……’ he cried, the tears trickled from his eyes.

‘Tell me then!’

‘God…..oh God, I can’t remember’

‘God’s not here to help today!’ he moved towards him, nail in hand.

‘Okay, shit it hurts…..mmmmmmmmm,’ he groaned, biting his lip, ‘We talked about him, what he does…..that was all!’

‘Do you admire him?’

‘What?’

The point of the nail was pushed into the skin of the good knee, the flesh ripped and blood crawled from the tiny wound.

‘No…no I don’t!’

‘Bullshit….you fucking Paedo’s are all twisted, tell the truth!’

‘I am….I swear, I’m not a Paedo, that’s wrong!’

Nathan joined them back in the room, his hand clenched the photographs. He called Richard over to him and stood by his side, their back’s to the bleeding man.

‘What is it?’ asked Richard as he noticed Nathan’s face was still.

‘I found these, he may not know anything, but I think there’s enough evidence here to do what you have to do Richard……I’ll be outside!’ he placed the pictures in his friends hand and walked out of the flat. Richard looked upon the Polaroid images, his stomach boiled and his heart pumped violently. The kids, their faces jaunt and pale, the seedy room that they stood in. Richard looked around, noticing the resemblance from the room he now stood in to the one in the photos.

His fist clenched, the head of the nail in the palm of his hand, the long point emerged from between his fingers. The hammer gave a thud as it connected with the floor. Nathan heard the screams as he leant against the railing outside, the cold air removed the sweat he had suffered from whilst in the flat. Richard gripped the monster’s head, he punched wildly at his face and throat. The weapon punctured the skin with every connection, the red liquid ejected as the nail was removed. Nathan heard each hit, he had lost count of how many were thrown at the beast. The life pooled under the body, its appearance no longer resembled a person, its black heart no longer kept it alive.

***

Jack’s mobile phone pinged as the email was received. He sat at his desk, his feet placed upon the surface. He had received multiple phone calls through the evening, all reference Doctor Lime and his formal conference. Jack had listened to copious amounts of warnings and abuse from his higher ranks. The weight all placed upon his fragile shoulders. Lime had done it, he had followed through on the threats issued to Jack. He removed his IPhone, expecting the message to display several cuss words and a notice of early retirement, minus the package. He opened the mail folder and noticed that it had come from Sally, once again she had managed to slap a smile upon his face for the second time that day. He waited as the information filtered through to the screen.

Hi Jack,

As promised, here is the report from the dental examination. X

Victim number one:

Results showed that this victim was male, the tooth size larger than that from a female. He had undergone multiple capping and fillings. The Molar’s had been removed from an early age.

The victim has been identified as Mr Oliver Breen, age 42.

Victim number two:

Results showed us that this victim was female, the tooth size small that that of a male. The teeth were well preserved and well taken care off, this indicates regular surgery and/or inspection.

The victim has been identified as Miss Rebecca Carrigot, age 40.

Jack read the information twice. The second skull belonged to the missing teacher from Abby’s school. He had toyed with the possibility. The head still held its shape and soft fleshy texture, he could see when looking at it that it belonged to a woman. Her features were the only real distortion.

‘So he kills Breen, takes his identity to filter through the teaching organisation. Works at the school and selects his victim. He then removes Carrigot from the equation so that he can take her place as a substitute teacher, once again, getting close to his selected victim……Shit!’ he spoke aloud to hear the words.

He sat up from the chair and rand Nathan’s number. He wanted to inform him of the find.

***

Lime sat at the bar, the cold bottle of beer gripped in his hand. The pub was busy, he had stood for twenty minutes waiting for a seat. One popped up and he dashed to secure it. He spied the woman as they walked past, their skimpy dresses and make-up plastered faces excited him. He attempted to appear suave and sophisticated. It wasn’t working.

‘You’ll notice me tomorrow, that I can guarantee’ the words drowned out by the music and chatter. He didn’t care, he had heard himself say it so he was satisfied. Within his mind he planned the interview, he imitated the person interviewing, picking a selection of questions to answer. The image of himself appeared clever and professional, his hair slightly combed over to one side, his glasses balancing perfectly upon his nose. The young woman, he had selected from his head to interview him, wore very little. She smiled as she slowly became lost in his gorgeous eyes, his ravishing looks drew her in, she leant forward and placed a hand on his knee. She stroked his thigh and he opened his legs, indicating for more stroking.

‘You finished mate?’ the glass collector pointed at the bottle on the table.

‘No, no I’m…..another please’ he spat, awoken from his dream.

***

Nathan climbed back into the car, his hands shook uncontrollably. Richard rocked the vehicle as he pulled himself into the driver’s seat. They sat in silence, many questions spun through Nathan’s mind like a whirlwind. Richard could sense that his friend had something to say, but the obvious killing of the weak perverted animal had stunned him to silence. He started the engine and increased the temperature of the air-con. The wind that blew through the vents began to warm slightly and Nathan un-zipped his coat.

‘I’m sorry you had to see that!’ the apology seemed sincere and heart felt.

‘I’m not’ replied Nathan, rubbing his worn face.

The headlights were switched on and the car rolled from the curb, it followed the road back on its self and headed away from the scene.

‘How many more addresses are there?’ asked Nathan, his voice sounding tired.

‘Three, you probably guessed already but we’re on route to the second’ informed Richard, shifting in his seat to find comfort. Nathan looked at the rear seats, the black gym bag of tools lay in the centre.

‘Can I ask you something?’

‘Shoot’

‘Are you intending on killing the men at the addresses, I mean, after you’ve interrogated them?’

‘Yes Nathan, that’s the plan!’ he attempted to fire a smile to the worrying man.

‘You should have told me when you picked me up!’

‘I know, look, seriously, I am sorry Nathan. If it feels like I used you then it wasn’t intended, you can get out anytime you like, I’ll take you back to the hotel!’

Nathan chewed on the idea, but the images of the children that he found in the flat flooded his mind’s eye. The photos that the Wolf took of his girls followed closely behind. He never thought the world could be such a vulgar place, a place where children are brought into with expectations of safety and multi-coloured rainbows.

‘You know, my house has this view, it’s breath-taking. The ocean sends roll upon roll of foaming white waves, they brush against the powdered sand beaches and offer a relaxing sound. I sit there with my wife, we have tried for children but it appears I’m incapable of sowing the full seed!’

‘I see’

‘I think back to the times when we sat together, discussing our lives with children, how adoption may be the answer. But now, after seeing what I’ve seen for the past week or so, I don’t think this is the place to bring children into. It’s dirty, it’s dark and seducing. How could a human being do something like that to a child?’