A Crime Thriller
CAUTION: Reader’s discretion is advised as this story contains graphic violence.
“Sergeant Major Michelle here from Team C, I have finally found a trail and now heading towards Morbis Hospital, the hospital was abandoned in the late 80s and I believe that the supposed “red-killer” must be hiding there. I have Sergeant Parker here with me, send me backup when I give my next call.”
“Roger that, Sergeant Major, we will be sending backup soon.”
Michelle gasped. It took them 18 “long” months to finally trace a lead to the infamous “red-killer”, the prime suspect of the Chappell Hill serial murder case. 20 women have been found dead, brutally tortured before finally laying them to rest. The eeriest aspect of this serial murder is that the murderer has not strictly followed any relatable pattern while making his kill save for three “eerie” evidences which directed the taskforce to coin it down as a subject of serial murders.
Firstly, all the victims seemed to have a strange smile on their face- a broad stiff grin from ear to ear which is accompanied by their bloodshot eyes, widely open and it looked as if they were still alive. Those grins weren’t the usual ones you see in everyday life when a woman laughs her heart out or when she meets a lover after a while. It was completely surreal, bizarre by its core as the forensic reports failed to comprehend the reason how these broad smiles lasted even when the victim was well dead. Many officers believed a drug was used to plaster these smiles but autopsy reports revealed that the bodies weren’t subdued by any form of drugs during the assault.
On second note, all the victims seemed to have the same type of lipstick on their face. Reports proved that they are exactly of the same brand however, yet another eerie revelation was made. The brand of the lipstick, being a local one, wasn’t doing well which eventually led it to go bankrupt and that happened almost fifteen years ago. Popular rumors started to pop out involving the owner of the lipstick brand seeking revenge on women in general for making the lipstick brand to go bankrupt. However, the newly weaved urban legend soon got debunked when the son of the owner of the lipstick brand was finally traced. He moved out of town after his father’s death (the owner) and was now involved in running a poultry business. The police interrogated the owner’s son for about one week and found he had nothing to do with the serial murders.
Thirdly, all the victims had the following sentence across their neck- “IT WAS RED”, which was deeply pierced with a pen-knife. This led the press to name the subject of their news bulletin as the elusive “red-killer”.
The age distribution of the victims ranged from 15, being the youngest victim till now, and peculiarly extended to even a woman of more than 60 years of age. The murder started off with a singular murder at the “quite, undisturbed” town of Chappell Hill but it soon found its course throughout the other towns of Texas. This was well enough to set a rampant over all the police stations throughout the state.
Over the past few months, cases involving kidnaps also had ominously increased along with one of the victims being the ex-commissioner’s 21-year old daughter causing a complete rampage. No calls or notes involving ransom were ever traced which clearly indicated that money wasn’t the real motive. So what was it then? The young girl was yet to be found with only a handful of the officers still believing in the hope of retrieving her “whole and alive”.
If this shit continues, this will cause a national emergency… Michelle signed. It had only been two hours that she got to find a possible “lead”. Locals had reported that they had noticed strange occurrences around Morbis Hospital, ranging from the lights turning on by itself in the middle of the night to the feminine whispers and cries which can be throughout the hallway which led to the belief that the hospital was haunted.
However, Michelle took this in rather a different manner. The “supposed” demonic infestation started off right a month before the first murder occurred. This led Michelle to believe that this abandoned hospital might be serving as the serial killer’s hideout. She glanced at Parker who lay snugged in his seat, devoting himself to complete silence.
“So what do you say, Red, do we have our man?”
Upon hearing this, his face stiffened a bit as he bluntly answered, “I guess so.”
“I think so too, my gut says so and my gut never lies.”
Parker remained silent, he looked pensive.
“We can finally throw that god dammed son of a bitch in jail. What does he take himself as? He had his little triumph, that little jerk… it’s now payback time. You hearing me out Red?”
She noticed Parker was still in his usual position, his lips pressed and his face stiffened. Michelle took a better look at him, she could not believe that she actually knew him since middle school as the shy nerdy boy with large spectacles and with the distinguishable feature of being a redhead. Most of the time he would sit right at the back of the corner out of everyone’s line of sight. He had always been that “quietest boy in the class”. She was always the topper in class while he seemed to be the next one behind her. It was during high school he actually proposed to her, though not technically a proposal, just called her on a date. She frantically declined the offer and to make matters worse she said the following upon his face, “You know what I really don’t have a taste towards redheads. You know what let’s call you ‘Reddy’ or ‘Red’ from now on, consider it a love token from me as I don’t really like rejecting guys directly though frankly you are not my type.” Upon saying this she noticed his eyes turned all teary, his face seemed wrapped up in what it seemed like a mixture of fear and agony or none of both. From then on she never heard anything from him until he too joined the Police Academy. Michelle passed the academy before him and coincidentally ended up being his immediate superior.
She studied Parker for some time and noticed the sharpness of his jawline and other masculine features. I guess I shouldn’t have rejected you that day. She chuckled to herself. Forget it, now it is time to get serious.
They arrived at Morbis Hospital within the next thirty minutes. The entire hospital seemed stricken with complete darkness. Michelle checked her watch, it read, 11:47 PM.
“Most probably our killer is not home yet. Hey Red, take out the flashlights.”
Parker took out two flashlights from the back trunk and handed over one to Michelle. He also picked up a club stick which laid on the back seat.
“What’s that for?” Michelle asked.
“Protection. You know he is a killer and you never know what tricks he can pull out.”
“Oh… Reddy, that killer should know he is now dealing with the best sergeant major in town. Let’s not waste our time and get inside.”
Both of them stepped in together turning on the flashlight. The air seemed like it was filled with an awkward sense of eeriness. Michelle kept her ears sharp trying to pick up even the faintest of the sounds which can prove to be crucial if they are to find their man.
“This place does gives off the creeps. What do you say Red?”
Parker just hummed, “Hmm…”
“Let’s explore the chambers, one by one to see if we can find any trail.”
They searched all the chambers in the first floor and the only things they found were some beds with stripped mattresses, tables filled with rusted medical apparatuses and some ‘dead’ equipment. The rats shrilled as the flashed their lights at them. Michelle signed. “The last thing I expect, is to see these rats engaged in the murders. Let’s check out the second floor.
The second floor seemed as desolate and “uninteresting” as the first until passed one chamber which caught up her attention.
Is that dried-up blood?
Michelle went back to the chamber and as she shone the light, she turned baffled. Dried-up blood filled the entire floor and seemed to have appeared from inside the wall.
Bingo, there must be a hidden chamber on the other side of the wall.
She called Parker who came in nonchalantly but as he saw the blood on the floor he too was dumbstruck.
“Neat huh? Well, I don’t mean by that neat which means tidy, I mean that we are close to have our man.”
“Do you think it is a good idea to investigate this area right now? Shouldn’t we just wait for the backup to arrive, like we still don’t know whether the killer works alone or not?”
“Nonsense Red, we have come this far how can we possibly back down now? And I want to teach that freaking bastard who’s the boss.”
Michelle noticed that Parker just stiffened his face while he clenched his fist tightly without uttering anything.
Michelle observed the wall very carefully and tapping on it confirmed that it was indeed a secret passage. She then noticed a large piece of what it seemed like a rope coming out of the wall, upon pulling the rope, the rectangular shape of a door appeared. Michelle pulled the corner of the hidden door with the force of her fingertips and within seconds, a secret passageway appeared in front of them. An eerie pungent smell came out from the passage and Michelle knew from her years of experience that the smell way too familiar for her to miss out.
Rotten human bodies…
Michelle heard Parker gasp as she made her way to the passage. As she lit her flashlight, it was to her dismay, she found that the entire passageway was filled with either freshly rotten human remains, severely mutilated only to be served as a feast for rats or bare skeletons of what they seemed like few decades old.
What is this place…? You got to be freaking kidding me.
Parker was behind her but she lost her focus from him. Perhaps he too was baffled with this monstrosity. There was no doubt the killer was a newbie, he must have killed people for more than few decades now and hid the bodies.
Then Michelle noticed that a streak of green-blue light was glowing at the end of the passage.
That must me it!!!
Michelle rushed towards the light and found that it was in fact a door and night was coming from the other side.
“Quick Parker, I want you to tear down the door, we don’t have much time.”
Parker did not resist her anymore, perhaps the anomaly of the situation must have raised his sense of responsibility. At first he placed at the door knob and when it seemed to have loosened, he thrust his shoulder against the door to make their way to the hidden room.
The room was brightly lit with blue, green, yellow lights and from its tidiness it looked as if was still being in use. Michelle at first thought this was the operating room upon seeing all the surgical instruments and apparatus lying neatly on the table and the equipment. But it was more than that.
At the end of the room, she saw a large self which was big enough to cover the entire wall. This portion of the room was in fact brightly lit. On the shelf rested several large jars and inside those jars rested the severed heads of several women each smiling in the same eccentric manner as all the victims of the Chappell Hill serial murders. They all seemed like staring out at Michelle beckoning her to run away.
Michelle clearly felt the deep surge of nausea as it made its way up her throat, this was a lot more than she had actually anticipated.
What sort of a killer is he…? How can he be like this…?
Michelle could not arrange her thoughts, she made an attempt to look at her watch, trying to avoid the piercing looks of the smiling faces in front of her. Her watch read 12:27 AM. Then she suddenly remembered Parker.
“Where are you Re…”
She could not make out her words as the next second a sharp blow struck her right at the crown of her head and the very next second submerged into complete darkness.
***
Michelle slowly opened her eyes, her head still hurt like hell as she noticed a thin line of blood was dripping from the corner of her blood. It took her time to realize that she was strapped in. The operating light shone right above her face.
“Oh, so you’re finally awake, nice to see that because we got a long night to spend together.”
She recognized the voice, it was Parker’s. Then he finally appeared within her line of sight. He seemed… different. She wanted to utter something but found the muscle of her mouth completely immobile, the only sound she could make were some crude whimpers.
“Well, Sarah you won’t be able to say anything, injected a drug on your cheeks which paralyzes the muscles in your mouth and the reason why I did this because tonight I will be the one who’s doing the talking.”
Michelle tried to wiggle in order to loosen her strap but it was no use.
“Sorry dear, that won’t do, you need to do something better than that to free yourself.” He chuckled. “So where should I begin… Ah yes… Let me introduce myself at first. I am Sergeant Phillip Parker, as you already know, or what you don’t know I have other names as well given to be by the press, that’s right I am the infamous ‘red-killer’, ‘red-demon’ or even ‘red-nightmare’- ooh, I like that one, or what… in whatever manner they feel like naming me in the papers, I give the least bit of shit to those. But I got another name, the name I despise the most, the name given to me by those whores back at The Red Lips, the name which even you don’t seem to care even while uttering it- RED.”
Sarah struggled to move but the grip of the strap was just too strong for her to move properly, even the slightest.
“Well, you said you wanted your man, so here I am, under your nose all this time and you were just too blinded by your own god-damned arrogance that you failed to notice that. I mean I gave you all the clues you needed to find the killer, I did your homework, even went into the trouble of writing, “IT WAS RED” across those bitches’ necks just to give you a hint that it was me all along. I mean, how more straight forward of a message do you want me to write? Or did you wish that I had written, ‘It was Phillip Parker, Sergeant of the Chappell Hill police department, partner to Sarah Michelle…’ all across their fucking bodies just to make you solve this case… Well that would have been too easy then, too god-damned easy.”
The last sentence Parker shouted was at the top of his voice, which shuddered the veins out of Michelle. She peered out at the shelf to find the smiling faces still dazed in their ever-lasting malice.
“Oh, you are curious regarding them, right? Or regarding this whole thing? Well, I was actually rooting for you this whole time to solve this case but Sarah you truly disappointed me like the day you rejected me. On top of that you gave me the most insulting nickname which I had been running away from ever since my childhood. In case you never had the brains to know, here is how it all started.
“My mother was the madam of a local brothel named The Red Lips. She would hire whores from across the states and it was a profitable business. Over the years, the clients’ preference of relieving their urges changed to the extent that we even had lesbians coming in to relieve their homosexual urges. Then one day the men demanded for a young boy dressed up as a female. My mother became agitated as over the years money and the customers’ satisfaction turned into her sole concern. Then her eyes fell on me, I was just six years of age during that time. I still remember that god forsaken day. She called me over and said that she is going to play with me only if I agree to dress up as a girl. I was super excited so I nodded saying, ‘Yes’. She called two of her whores to dress me up and put a wig on me and when I was done, she came up to me and upon curving the red lipstick across my lips, she said the following cursed words, ‘Smile my child, as here in The Red Lips, we all serve with a smile.’
“The next moment she thrusted me to the room of the clients. When I turned my head to face the clients, to my misfortune, I discovered at least six naked grown-up men peering at me with filth in their eyes and voraciousness in their mouth. Before I could react, a dozen hands overpowered me and the next moment darkness descended upon me. Within few weeks, I became the new sensation to the brothel. At times I even needed to attend seven client per day. I was forced to leave school at the command of my mother because it was money which mattered to her the most. While my mother counted her money reclined in her room, her son was left tear-stricken locked up with miserly beasts in a sea of agony and humiliation. The whores at the brothel gave me a stage name- “Red” due to my redhead. This was the name which later became my new identity and it was the through this name I got distinguished and addressed by client and overtime I forgot my own given name. My mother was blonde so I had to place the assumption the man who must have impregnated my mother, most likely one of her own clients, must have been a redhead as well. This filth continued for around three years then I thought to myself that I had had enough. One night I slipped into my mother’s room and upon covering her mouth, I plunged a pen knife through her throat. My mother tried to scream but the only thing which came out her mouth was a stream of her own blood. She soon succumbed to her death thus relieving me of my years of agony. When the police came, I was put in juvenile detention. The brothel was closed and the whores left the business but I could not leave behind my sour memories. Soon afterwards I was set free and I got to learn that a mysterious benefactor was willing to finance my future. I had no other choice, I lived in a very modest house with an old housemaid in the name of Mrs. Thomson who would visit me early in the morning and leave at night. She was in-charge of taking care of my household chores, home schooling and cooking. I was given a new name- ‘Phillip Parker’ and a new home. I used to spend the night in this dreary house all alone but this life was far more soothing to me than I was with my own mother. I stayed there until I turned 18.
“I finally resumed my formal education at the time of middle school and it was during this time I got to admire you not because of solely your looks but mostly because of your charismatic personality. At high school I thought of proposing to you but later decided to ask you on a date. You can’t imagine how much courage I had to muster just ask you that. Instead, the response I got was well enough to spring back my childhood trauma. I have seen mean and bad people but nothing can’t be matched to the foulness of your own arrogance. To my dismay you ended up topping me at Police Academy and in the end even became my superior and acting partner.
“It was after my graduation from the Police Academy, I got contacted by a mysterious person possessing a deep and gruff voice. He claimed himself in being the ‘Devil’ who had been my benefactor ever since the fall of The Red Lips. He claimed me as his ‘son’ as he declared himself in being my ‘father’. He said I was destined to do great things in life and needed to make my country proud. In order to do so, he told me the people in fault must be punished. He recounted to me how my mother and her whores treated me and said such people need to payback for their sins.”
Michelle stared at Parker in utter disbelief. Devil… what in the world is he talking about, he has completely lost it.
“A week later, after our conversation, a package arrived at my door. Its content was a box full of bottles consisting of some sort of bluish serum with at least a dozen syringes. That night, the Devil called me once more.
‘My son, have you got my little gift.’
‘What is it?’
‘Your doorway to getting your revenge…’
“The serum initially did not work as per the claim of the Devil. I was asked to inject it accurately at the location of the cervical vertebrae but initially I had problems. My first ten victims could not take the serum very well so they passed out and I could not leave them as they were so I had to take them back to the lair. The ones you saw in the passageway as the ‘oldest skeletons’ were in fact my initial experiments. The ones you see here are my finest ones and some of them also used to be the whores of my mother’s brother. Father Devil taught me how to take my revenge. He told me to redden the lips with the same brand of lipstick we used in the brothel so that they get to understand the pain, the fear and anger I felt in my old days and receive their judgements. As their lips curved into a smile being overtaken by the serum, I used to stare in delight as their hearts lost its pace and they would leave this world for good. This is the merriment I received from the works of the Devil. Do you know I happen to kill only sinners? Every head you see here are no better than the prostitutes you are going to find in the sewers. Even the ex-commissioner’s daughter, he used his own daughter as a fucking piece of shit for the rich to reach to the top and his daughter actually enjoyed the entire process. What a whore! These are some things you won’t be learning at the Police Academy.
“Then the command came to put down my arch nemesis- you! It was rather a simple technique, I just went to a payphone and called you saying that I had seen some paranormal occurrences at the Morbis Hospital and I set the date of the occurrence in such a fashion that upon hearing it you would start to believe that this event might have something to do with the entire series. And the best part is you totally fell for it and crawled into my lair bearing any defense or backup. Today your demise is not going to happen due to my malice and misdeeds but due to your own arrogance and negligence. So get prepared you slutty bitch!”
Michelle suddenly felt a sense of urgency as she tried to wriggle her way out of her straps. Her struggle seemed futile as it only added further merriment to Parker’s bitterness.
“You know sweetheart, you could have ended all this if you just had taken a good look at me. I mean come on, your killer was just behind you all along, all you had to do was look behind or in other words taken notice of your comrade. Rather you were just blinded by your own arrogance and ambition. Death be upon all the arrogant, Amen!”
Michelle started to sweat as she noticed Parker taking out a syringe filled with bluish liquid out from a box and make his way towards her.
“You know I wish we had fought crimes together for a bit longer but you know Father’s order are Father’s orders and it is best bitches like you get your right treatment…” The next second he plunged the syringe into the back of her neck, possibly at the position of her cervical vertebrae. She let out a shriek but it appeared more like a whisper.
“Now, for the finale. Since you will be gone soon, I have no one to fight against, so it is best if I leave this world as well. We were not meant to be together in this world so perhaps this may come true in Hell where we will finally be one with the Devil.”
Parker took a pen and wrote some words in a piece of paper. Next he took out his penknife and eyed malevolently at Michelle. “Sergeant Major Sarah Michelle, today I, Sergeant Phillip Parker shall grant you your ultimate punishment- seeing your comrade die in front of you before you sink to your own demise. This is the same penknife which saved me from my mother and today I shall end my deal with this world with this as well.” With these words he abruptly slashed the back of his neck with the penknife. Michelle just gave out a tiny squeal as she witnessed her comrade’s body quickly turn motionless.
He is dead… Parker how could you have done this to yourself? I know you have been through a lot but why take this path in the end?
After few minutes of silence, the backup finally appeared. Upon seeing Michelle, they dashed towards her but it was already too late. Michelle clearly felt the muscles in her face tingling.
“Sergeant Major, what’s wrong? Sergeant Major!”
Her entire body started to shake profoundly as a face began to bend and curve into that despicable smile. She glanced at the shelf.
“Sergeant Major Michelle…”
She could not hear anymore, the very last thing she felt like noticing were the gleaming eyes of the smiling faces and it felt like all of them were laughing at her. The next moment her heart felt light, it began to slowly faint, then her heartbeat grew fainter and fainter till it could no longer beat, even the faintest.
***
“Chief Conway, so you are telling me that there is no way we can control this incident before the press.”
“I am afraid not sir.”
“What do you mean by that? Two of our officers died in that shit place filled with more than 30 severed heads of women with several other bodies found in the passageway and you still think that the public is going to let us once the press releases this news?”
“I am sorry, sir, it is just too big of an incident to cover up.”
The commissioner signed, he hardly could imagine what was going to happen once the press got this news in their hands. This was going to be a total massacre once the news get released leading to the “death” of the creditability of the police force.
“Listen here chief, if you can’t control this situation, I will be making transfers and replacements and it won’t go very pretty.”
Chief Conway shuddered upon hearing this, “I… I will try my best.”
The commissioner just nonchalantly nodded scratching his head filled with red hair. “I want you to do it, don’t just try, you need to do it otherwise all of us are a goner. Say, what did you say that the backup team found a small piece of note in the hand of one of our officers?”
“Yes sir, it was found in the hand of Sergeant Parker.”
“What did it say?”
“It said, ‘The Devil told me to do so!”
Upon hearing this the commissioner’s face lost its blood. “What utter nonsense! Was he under drugs?”
“No sir, he is believed to be the red-killer himself, well, we still haven’t confirmed it yet, we are still waiting for the forensic reports.”
“When the reports come off, do inform.”
“Yes sir! Sure will do.”
“You may leave now.”
“Thank you sir.”
As Chief Conway left, the commissioner rubbed his sweat off from his forehead, he was sweating frantically out of fear and anguish. He reached for his phone and upon grabbing it, he swiftly tapped a bunch of numbers bearing a strange unfamiliar sequence. He placed the phone on his ear.
A feminine robotic voice called out, “Please name yourself and place your request and after doing so press 1”
The commissioner cleared his throat to reveal his gruff, deep voice, “A… This is Commissioner Desmond Parker speaking, it seems like my son Phillip Parker has messed up our plans. Just last night he killed himself out of excitement and the police has found the hideout which previously had the body and head of the ex-commissioner’s daughter. My son has also disclosed my codename so I also request for a new one. Please forward my message to the President as soon as possible.”
Then the commissioner pressed “1”.
The robotic requested, “Please spell out your codename.”
The commissioner said in his usual deep voice, “My name is D-E-V-I-L, Devil”
“Process completed, your message will now be forwarded to the President, thank you for your co-operation.”
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