Seven Deadly Colors Of The Rainbow [#Wattys 2016]

Testing Us

My wife and I packed a very special suitcase filled with baby clothes and other necessities. I kept it in the trunk of my car, next to the duffel which contained my change of clothes whenever I worked late.

The night was still and silent. My wife was fast asleep while I mulled over the case.

Baffling.

The one word that summarized it all. A baby on the way, a serial killer running loose and now the chief laying a ton of pressure on my head. The one thing I need right now is a lead and a good one.
I drifted off to sleep shortly after.
The next day Patrick showed up. I informed him of the case so far. He suggested we check the security tapes for the scheme Carl lived in.
A few minutes before his death a car pulled up in the garage and a figure jumped out hastily. I couldn't tell the gender but the figure was of medium build, which meant it could be anyone.

Calling Dave, I told him I needed a plate run on the tape. Within an hour we had the results. The car belonged to one John Michael, a teacher at Cromwell University.

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"What makes you think he's our guy?"

"I honestly don't. But he's the only lead we have." I was speaking to the chief. Normally we would just go and question the suspect but with five dead persons, extreme caution must be taken.

"I'm coming with you. How much men do you want down there?" Chief Darwin hardly went out in the field anymore but as I said five dead bodies.

"All of them."

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Within two hours we were by the campus. The Dean informed us that John Michael was a professor of the humanities, specifically human psychology. He was in the class and as I walked down the corridor I thought of the procedures we had in place.

All possible exits were sealed off and choppers monitored the entire campus. We had snipers positioned at various points trained at the windows in case our suspect makes a jump for it. Unless there was a secret tunnel, John Michael was only leaving this campus in a police cruiser.

We finally reached the class he was teaching at the moment. The Dean signalled to him and John Michael came strolling. He wasn't who I expected. The man was already graying, his temples and entire sideburns were ashy gray. He had a full beard and a big rimmed spectacles perched on his nose. His eyes were brown and small. He had a sense of calmness which somewhat irked me.

"The police would like to ask you some questions Dr Michael pertaining the death of Carl Buccanon."

At the mention of Carl's name the professor's eyebrows raised very quickly.
"A moment please," the professor said something to his class before closing the door behind him. "Let's continue this conversation in my office."

The Dean, Patrick, the Chief and I followed behind the professor. He wore brown elbow patches on his black jacket, a poor sense of fashion. A break came up in the hall, sort of like a four way thing. Suddenly the professor kicked up his pace a few notches and turned sharply to the left. The Dean was the first around the corner.

"Don't move or I'll blow his brains out!" Dr Michael forced us to stop in our tracks.
He had an arm choker's grip on the Dean and gun pressed along his temple.

I instantly whipped out my pistol and released the safety. Patrick and the chief did the same, our eyes trained on the mad man. The professor took a step back, then another. We inched closer but then he flung the Dean towards us, firing the pistol at the same time. I saw the chief fall and the Dean stumble and lost his balance.

The next thing I saw was nothing, the doctor had already left the scene. I tore down the corridor after him, Detective Sutherland in hot pursuit as well. The gunshot had brought several students and teachers out of the classrooms making it suddenly difficult to maneuver.

"Police! Everybody get down!" I yelled over and over.
I glimpsed the black jacket appearing from a room and sprinting down the corridor, shoving and pushing. As I ran past the room, a sound like a giant firecracker going off hit my ears. An immense heat combined with several chunks of debris blew me flat on my face, the sprinklers automatically came on.

Picking up myself I stumbled on, gun still in hand. A door was left swinging and I paused before I went it.
John Michael was opening a window to climb out.

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!" I ordered.
When he refused, I barked "turn around slowly!"

The professor was grinning, he no longer looked like an old man but a mad one. He was wet and the hair stuck off his face rather than stick to it. His gun was pointed towards me, the knuckle white.

I've seen the look of a killer one too many times for a teacher to kill me.
I fired my gun twice, the shell casings fell to the ground. The professor looked surprised to see blood pouring out of his chest, he looked at me in amazement and smiled a sick smile before collapsing.

I walked over to the body, gun still smoking when my partner ran in the room. He was soaked, his eyes shaking madly.

He saw the dead body and only could ask, "What have you done?"