Tainted: Origins of a Psycho

Unwanted

March 18, 1991

Victor sat at the table reading his morning paper while his wife was preparing him a nice breakfast.  Violet was sitting in the high chair next to him eating dry Cheerios while Vincent sobbed from his crib.  He'd spent the entire night crying, so his father decided to punish him with a little isolation.

"Oh no..." Vera moaned, "I must have forgotten to get bacon from the store last night."

Victor sighed and closed his newspaper.  He was not in the mood to deal with his wife so early in the morning, but she really needed to learn to stop making such idiotic mistakes.

He stood from the table and grabbed her by the arms, towering over her small frame with a glare on his face.  "What the hell is the matter with you? This is the third time this week that you have forgotten something from the store."

"I'm sorry..." Vera answered, clasping her hands behind her back and staring at her feet like a frightened child.  "Things have just been so chaotic with the babies that my mind is-"

"Don't blame them for your stupidity!  You know good and well that I cannot go to work without my breakfast!"  His grip on her arms tightened and she winced in pain.  "I go out and catch criminals while you sit on your fat ass all day.  The least you can do is remember to get bacon from the damn store!!"

"You're hurting me, Victor!" 

"Oh, I haven't even begun to hurt you yet."  He shoved her to the floor and stood over her with his fists clenched to his side.  "Take your stupid ass to the store and get me some bacon or I'll unleash so much pain that you won't be able to walk for a whole damn week!"

Vera scrambled to her feet and grabbed her purse from the counter.  "What about the babies?"

Victor sat back down on his chair and opened the newspaper.  "I'll watch 'em until you get back."

"O-okay."  Vera stammered, walking out of the front door on shaky legs.  She was worried that her husband wouldn't keep a good eye on her children while she was away, but she was more worried about what would happen if she tried to argue with him.  She climbed in her beat up mercury and headed out to the store.

Victor peered over his newspaper at Violet, who was watching him with a smile on her face.  "Your mother is a useless cow."  He said, placing his rough hand on his daughter's soft face.  "But don't worry.  I'll make sure that you know how to treat the men in your life."

Violet responded by blowing a spit bubble.

Victor chuckled and lifted her out of the high chair, cradling her in his arms. "I have a good feeling about you, baby girl. You are going to be a wonderful daughter. I just know it."

He kissed her on the forehead and rocked her in his arms until his son's soft sobbing turned into ear piercing crying.  "Son of a bitch...." He mumbled, placing Violet back into her high chair.  "I'll be right back, sweetie.  Daddy has to go tend to your cry baby brother."

He trudged down the hallway and glared when his eyes fell on his son.  Snot was pouring from his nose and his face was drenched in his own tears.  The room was filled with the stench of his urine soaked diaper. 

Victor grunted as he examined the boy.  "Why can't you be more like your sister? She never cries this much.  Don't you know that boys are supposed to be tougher than girls?"

He placed his hand on Vincent's forehead and sighed.  "Don't worry that little pointed head of yours, my boy.  I'll make sure that you grow up to be as strong as your old man." 

Vincent stared up at his father with curious brown eyes for a moment, then he began crying again.  The urine in his diaper was staring to give him a rash, he missed his mother, and he was hungry.

Victor's frown deepened and he wrapped his index finger behind the child's neck, securing his thumb in the front.   "Or I could just put you out of your misery right now, you little shit."

He squeezed his finger and thumb together, not so tightly that it completely restricted air from entering the brat's lungs, but just enough to where it was uncomfortable.  Vincent's cries became louder, more frantic, and his father simply chuckled.  "How would I explain your death to everyone?  I guess I would tell them you died in your sleep.  No one in this backwoods town would suspect that I killed my own son."

He pressed his thumb harder onto his neck, watching as the boy's face began to turn red.  "Your mother will be devastated, of course, but she would get over it eventually.  I'd make sure of that."

His laughter grew louder until the sound of the doorbell ruined his fun.  He released his son and watched for a moment as he struggled to catch his breath, his cries becoming loud again.

"Saved by the bell..." Victor remarked before leaving the nursery. 

He pulled open the front door and grinned when he saw his partner standing on the other side.   She was wearing a tight green blouse and a pair of crisp back slacks.  Her raven hair was pulled into a perfect bun and her face was adorned in subtle make up.

She was a vision of beauty. 

"What are you doing here, Nichols?"  Victor asked, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"You were supposed to meet me at the diner for coffee half an hour ago."  She answered, "You know I can't fight crime without a little caffeine in my system."

"Sorry about that."  Victor mumbled, "I would have left sooner but-". He glanced back into the house, listening to the sound of Vincent's cries. 

A smile played on his lips and he said, "I was bonding with my son."