Criminal Case: Grimsborough

Chapter 20: A Deadly Game-Part 2

After Jones asked her that, Marie started to ponder about the envelope that was given to her by Ramirez and she looked back to Jones and he told her, "Whoever killed Steve Wood is clearly capable of anything! Who knows what's in that envelope! We've already received one of his fingers and we found the other two in various places. What if it's even worse this time?!"

Marie placed a kind hand on her partner's shoulder and told him, "We've got to stay strong Jones. I know you're worried, but we can't get discouraged now; not when we have a killer to catch and a victim to find. For now, let's give into the killer's demands and play his little game. It's just like a game I played when I was a kid called 'Kick the Can,' only this time the can is the victim and the hider is the killer we have to protect the can from before he kicks it." And after she said those words all three men stood there staring at her in surprise thinking, you go girl.

Afterwards, Jones decided he couldn't argue with what Marie told him and she started to open the envelope. After she opened the envelope and took out the note, Marie read it and it said, 'You were so close Lieutenant Holmes, but I'll give you another hint; go to this address and you may find something or not.' After the note was read, the two officers saw that the address was to an apartment and Jones clenched his teeth and said, "I really hate being toyed with! Let's go and bust this maniac partner!" And soon the they left the station and headed towards their destination.

Once they arrived, Jones looked down at the note and then he looked around the living room of the apartment and said, "Alright, this is the address the killer told us about. The door was even left open for us this time."

"When we arrived, I noticed there was no name on the mailbox and from the looks of it nobody's in here. I'm guessing we should look around and see if our killer left us anymore "gifts," Marie said and soon the two of them started to search around the living room for clues.

After searching around, Jones gave out an exasperated sigh and said, "It's seems kind of strange. I thought for sure the latest note would lead us to another body part, but apparently there's nothing here."

"Maybe it's in that medicine cabinet," Marie pointed out and when Jones followed her line of sight he thought that it might be there too.

Soon, the female officer opened it and she started to rummage around until she found a strange medicine bottle. Jones also looked at it and he thought that it doesn't look like any prescription bottle he's ever seen. Upon closer inspection, the two of them saw that the label was faded out. Marie looked at the bottle closely and her eyes lit up when she saw that the label said formol previously before it was scratched out.

When she told Jones, his face went into shock and he said, "That the same stuff the killer used to preserve our victim's finger!"

"One thing's for sure, we need to find out who lives in this apartment. But how the hell do we do that," Marie asked herself.

Suddenly, a man about the same age as Harper came into the living room and approached them angrily and shouted, "What hell are you people doing in my house?! Get out now or I'm calling the police!"

Marie and Jones then showed him their badges and Marie said to him, "There's no need sir, we are the police and we would like to ask you a few questions."

The man apologized to them and told them his name was Tyler McAlister and he's Harper's twin brother. Just as Marie was about ask him some questions, Jones pulled her aside and whispered, "Wait a minute Marie. Besides talking to Mr. McAlister here, we also need to head back to the torture room ASAP and go over it like a fine-toothed comb. What do you want to start with?"