The Demon in the Doll

Chapter 26

Hello. It's me again. Tommy Kingsley. The star of the show.

Anyway, after the football game on Friday night, I got a call from my captain. You probably don't remember her. The lady's name is Jessica Porrier, and she's not shy when it comes to telling grown men what to do.

She said, "Where are you?"

"It's almost one in the morning. I'm at home reading a book."

"No shit?"

"No shit. Why do you ask?"

"You're a single guy, and it's a Friday night. You haven't been drinking?"

"No. Not a drop."

"Don't you have a life outside of being a cop?"

I sighed into the phone. "I'm a little depressed if you want to know the truth."

"Yeah? And why is that?"

"The team has a new superstar, and I fear that he's more talented than me. His name is Buddy Griner, and he just might break all my school records."

She laughed and laughed. "Well, things are about to take an even darker turn. I'm here at a murder scene. You should see this shit show. I'm putting you and Lenny on the case."

"Me and Lenny? But we're already handling the head-without-a-corpse shit show."

"These cases are related. It's the same killer."

"How do you know?"

"Just get your ass over here ASAP. Your partner's on his way. He doesn't have a life, either."

"Well, he's married. So what did you expect?"

Anyway, she gave me the address of a popular upscale apartment complex, and I threw on some clothes and smoked a quick cigarette. I made it there in less than twenty minutes. In spite of my haste, my partner beat me to the destination. When I arrived, he was standing against one of the walls marveling at the carnage and brutality.

The unit was absolutely covered in blood. There was blood on the bed and blood on the floor and even some blood on the ceiling. And to make things even more disgusting, someone had used the victim's fecal matter to draw a pentagram on the wall behind the bedpost. But that wasn't all. The victim herself had been completely sawed in half starting from her twat and ending at her head. Her body was now comprised of two equal halves.

Lenny looked at me. "Pretty freaky, huh? That aroma of poop really adds something special to the atmosphere, doesn't it?"

Captain Porrier said, "Her heart is missing."

I said, "I bet the motherfucker ate it."

She smiled. "Well, you don't see that every day. Do you still think we're dealing with a demon?"

I shrugged and walked into the kitchen.

She said, "Where are you going?"

"Maybe her heart is in the fridge."

"We already checked."

That's when I noticed the post-it note. It was orange and clinging to the refrigerator. It would have been easy to miss. The whole damn door was covered with photos and knickknacks. The note said, Dr. Peterman wuz here. I took the paper and quietly put it in my pocket. This was my battle, and I didn't want anybody interfering when the conflict began.

I glanced at the captain. "What's this poor girl's name?"

"Elizabeth Ratcliffe."

"Do you know anything about her?"