Detective Badass

John Doe (8)

"I was worried. When I got the call I thought he had taken you," he tightened the hug as he spoke.
I smiled into his chest, savoring this moment with him."I was actually going to tell you that he threatened me, he said he would hurt you. I told him off but I was worried about you too."
"He did?," Sonny looked down at me.
"Yeah, but I told him I'd kill him if he hurt you," I smirked.
He put a hand over his heart. "The words every man wants to hear."
I blushed lightly. "We have each other's backs. We're not gonna back down from empty threats."
"Yeah, we can't let him get to us."

I was feeling pretty good about our chances when I saw his face show up on my desktop. His name is Arthur Greenwood, age fifty, no living relatives. A guy with nothing to lose, nothing to use against him. He was in the army but was dishonorably discharged for sexual assault. This was our guy. I printed out his mug and ran to Liv's office.
"This is him," I handed her the photo.
"Are you sure?," she asked me so we wouldn't put the wrong guy in jail.
"I'm positive. Can we go get him?"
She agreed. "We're all going. Put a vest on."

We rode up in an armoured car to Arthur's house, it's was far, almost at the border of Jersey. He must have a hotel room he's staying at because the drive was pretty lengthy. Now that I thought about it, he wasn't going to be there but we'll definitely find something. I looked up at Sonny and shook my head. He gave me a questioning look, asking what was wrong, when the truck stopped. We heard a knock on the outside, we were here.
"Everyone keep an eye out. We don't know what will be waiting for us inside," Liv warned the group.
We climbed out of the truck and headed towards the house.
"What's wrong, Maia," Sonny came up to me.
"We're not going to find him here but we'll find something," I had a feeling in my gut that was warning me that something scary was going to happen. Fin kicked the door down.
"Be careful, Fin!," I shouted to him.
He nodded to me and walked in slowly. We all walked in, taking our time, taking in our surroundings. It was a messy house, garbage on the floor, dust in the air. He hasn't lived here for awhile. The stench in the air is what made me cringe, like death. I heard Fin coughing ahead of us, Sonny and the rest of us had our noses covered with the necks of our sweaters. Liv and Rollins headed upstairs and Sonny, Fin, and I were canvasing the backyard and the first floor of the house. I walked around the kitchen, it was filled with dirty dishes and garbage on the floor. When I walked into the hallway I saw the door which probably led to the basement. I blessed myself before opening the door. The strong smell wafted up in tenfold. I gagged but trudged on. I walked down the steps with my flashlight but felt around for a switch. Coming up empty I walked down carefully. I was fighting the urge to vomit when I hit the landing of the basement. I felt around above my head for a string that could lead to a lightbulb. I grabbed ahold of one and mentally prepared myself for what I was going to see.

Nothing could have prepared me enough for the horror I saw.
No amount of therapy is going to help me recover from this.
Bodies. Five bodies to be precise. Blood dried on several wounds, maggots worming out of various crevasses, and rats burrowing underneath the victims skin. Naked, bruised, beaten, and ravaged bodies of young men all under the age of twenty. I ran up the steps and pass the squad who were standing in the living room, out the door. I threw up on the lawn. My body shaking from the horror scene that was in the basement.
"Garcia, what happened?," Liv shouted to me.
"The. The basement. Don't go in the basement!," I cried out. Sonny came over to me and rubbed my back. I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and stood up. He pulled me in for a hug and I pulled him in tighter, willing this hug to spare me from the nightmares I know I'll have tonight. I was looking ahead, not daring to look back at the house, when I saw something flash on the windshield of the armoured truck. It was a piece of paper. I removed myself from Sonny and stormed over to it, anger growing. I ripped it from it's holding and opened it.
Like the little gift I left you, detective? Sorry for the mess but I didn't know I'd be having company over. Want me to end this game?
The note was followed by an address. A trap for sure but he needed to be stopped.