Stephanie Madonna: Catching a Monster

Chapter 2: Mystery killer

   After the deaths of Adam and Jenna Crow Clarksville went into a panic. We were swamped with calls from people asking what are we going to do about the deaths of Adam and Jenna Crow. The crime rate exploded through the roof. I was so overwhelmed but I had to keep my composure to give hope to the rest of the city and the department. The captain, my own father started to lose hope I could see it in his eyes. I couldn't lose my sanity not right now, somebody had to stand up and bring up the teams morrow.
   The crime rate was up and we were introduced to our first serial killer. I and Sam got a call to check out two homicides at the Lakeside funeral home. Why would somebody kill two people at a funeral home? We headed over to the funeral home expecting the normal crime scene. Dead bodies, lots of blood, and Etc. but when we arrived it was nothing like that. The bodies were fully clothed, male and female, no blood to be found, and both in separate caskets.
    "When I arrived the bodies were already like this." Trevor our forensic guy at the police department explained to me as I walked into the door. "I spoke with the funeral homeowner and he said he closed down the funeral home around seven o'clock pm. When he came back to open the place back up, the bodies were already in the caskets."  The bodies must have been dropped off here and put into the caskets.
   "Was there anything else besides the bodies?" I asked trying to wrap my head around why would somebody do this.
   "Yes, there was a note with your father's on it." Trevor replied while handing me the note.
   "Maybe next time you should start with that." I said as I grabbed the note. The note read:
"Roses are red
Violet's are blue
Many more will die
Their blood will be on you"
   "Was there a rose with the body?" I asked Trevor.
   "Yes, it's in the gentleman's pocket. Why do you ask?" He said.
   "Take it back to the department run test on it for fingerprints." I commanded him. I got closer to the bodys to get a closer look. I recognize these two. The man is a hitman for Tony Russo, and the woman is the hitman's girlfriend. I busted the guy before trying to kill a rival gangster for Tony. I recognize the girl when she came down to the department to scream at us about how her man is innocent.
   I'm pretty sure whoever wrote this note is a rival of Tony's. I guessed the guy who wrote the note, also put the rose in the guys pocket, and hopefully, he didn't wear gloves when he did it. Clarksville never really had serial killers. Only gangsters and wannabe crime bosses like Tony Russo. Tony Russo is a wannabe mobster who thinks he runs Lakeside. He has a gang of lackeys who'll do whatever he says as long as he pays them, chump change. You also have Allen "Strangle" Mosby. A former bodybuilder who now runs Moundrich with an iron fist. He has serious trust issues and will strangle anybody with his bare hands if he thinks you're untrustworthy. Lastly, there is Victor "Venenum" Alvarez, Venenum is poison in Latin. Victor runs Murderers Row. He is known to dive deep into voodoo spells, hypnosis, and has venom running through his blood. One scratch, or bite from him you'll be paralyzed forever and he's the only person who has the antidote. If you want my personal opinion, Victor is the most dangerous one out of them all. We had a couple of run-ins with each other. I always managed to get the best of every encounter, barely with my life.
   Say what you want about these men but one thing is for sure, they aren't serial killers. Just low life gangsters who want to make a name for themselves that's it. This guy doesn't want to be a gangster he wants to send a message. My main mission was to find out what message was he trying to send and why to the captain? Who wanted my father dead?
   Since Tony Russo is stationed in Lakeside I stopped by his hideout. Figuring he knew something about this new threat to "his city."  Tony hideout is his family owned restaurant. They sell great chicken fettuccine pasta the best in the city. I went there with my husband and son once a month.
   I walked into the place, flashed my badge to the guy in the front, and he took me in the back where Tony was. "Hey, Tony, how long has it been a month since the last time I saw you?" I asked with a fake smile on my face.
   "Steph, what an unpleasant surprise. Please sit." Tony said as he gestured for me to have a seat.
   I sat down and got straight to it "Tony, Carmelo Caprio, and his girlfriend were just found at the funeral parlor around the corner, dead. Do you know anything about that?" I asked. He looked shocked and horrified.
   "You're lying to me. I just talked to Carmelo last night. This is a mistake. I don't believe you!" he exclaimed while holding back tears.
   "I'm sorry but I'm one hundred percent sure that I just saw Carmelo in a casket," I said. He ignored me and reached for his phone. He put the phone on speaker, I looked down to see who he was calling and saw he was calling Carmelo. The phone rang five times and went to voicemail. He tried again, voicemail. He tried three more times until he threw his phone at the wall and just sat there.
   "Is there anybody you have a serious problem with? Anybody, you've crossed paths with?" I asked trying to get any information out of him.
   "No." he answered.
   "You have to give me something to work with. I'm trying to help you here Tony." I explained to him.
   "You want to help me? Get the fuck out of my face!" He yelled. "Why should I trust a fucking cop?!"
   "Okay, I know you're grieving right now. I'll go. Call me if you have any information and I only want to catch the guy who did this to you." I said as I laid down my cell phone number, patted him on the shoulder, got up, and walked out of the restaurant. As I reached the front door my phone started to ring, and it was Sam.
   "Yeah?" I answered.
   "You're not going to believe this. Trevor ran the fingerprints off of the rose, and the note the dumbass has his fingerprints all over the damn things.." she said sounding very worried.
   "Are you serious? Who did it?" I asked.
   "Damon Rosemary," she answered. "But Damon Rosemary died a year before you joined the police force. His parents killed him. I and my former partner were in the neighborhood. Dispatch asked if any units we're nearby. Their neighborhoods called complaining about gunshots, and yelling. We went to their house and we kicked down the door after a bullet came through the door where we were standing at. We went into the house and saw Damon in the middle of the living room lifeless with nine stab wounds in his stomach. His arms folded onto his chest while holding a rose. The bullet that came through the door was the father trying to kill himself but missed. They were arrested and charged with the murder of their own son.
   "Sam, are you joking with me right now? This not the time to be joking." I said getting slightly annoyed.
   "No! Why would I joke about something this serious?" she replied.
   "Did they ever ask the parents why they killed their son?" I asked.
   "Damon's parents were both mentally ill. His parents thought they birthed the antiChrist," she answered.
    "So, a dead guy killed those people?" I asked.
    "From the looks of things that's exactly what I'm saying." she said.
   "Meet me at Lakeside gravesite. I have a bad feeling." I said rushing to my car and hanging up my phone.

    I made it to the gravesite and saw Sam standing by a grave. I rushed over there to her. Realized she was just standing and staring at a grave. "What are you ..." I stopped mid-sentence and realized that it looks like the grave had been dug up.
   "Was this like this is when you arrived here?" I asked her. She just nodded her head. It looks like she just saw a ghost.
   "This doesn't make sense. Somebody dug up his body and then brought him back to life?" I asked and instantly thought about Victor. He's into the art of voodoo he's behind this.
   "Sam lets go! We need to go to Victor's." I said rushing to my car but Sam didn't move an inch.
   "SAM!" I yelled trying to snap her out of her trance.
   "Huh? What did you say?" She asked.
   "Come on, let's go we need to go to Victor's." I replied.
   "Okay, sorry I didn't hear you." She said as she walked to her car, looking back occasionally. Before I could open my car Sam called my name from her car window. I ran over to here car worried, "What's wrong?" I asked.
   "I just got a call from dispatch about a killing of a doctor in Clarksville general hospital. They need us now. Victor can wait." She explained.
   "Alright let's go there first then Victor's." I said running to my car.

    Pedal to the medal! I made it to the hospital in record time. I rushed into the ER with Sam behind me. Going under the caution tape. "What happened?!" I exclaimed.
   "Doctor Morgan was stabbed a total of nine times in the stomach. Placed onto the operating table, with his arms crossed on his chest, and with a rose in his jacket pocket." Trevor explained. My heart jumped into my stomach. This doctor died the exact same way Damon did.
   "OMG, this is not happening." Sam said with a worried voice.
   "What?" I asked.
   "This is the same doctor that pronounced Damon dead." She answered with a tear coming down her face.
   "What? He kills Tony Russo's hitman, his girlfriend, and now the doctor who pronounced him dead." I said. Nothing was making sense. "Wait, are you sure he was dead?"
   "Yeah, he was stabbed nine times. Doubt anybody can survive that." Sam answered.
   "Anything is possible." I rebutted.
   "Hey, Steph there was another note left with your father's name on it." Trevor said handing me the note.
   "Trevor, what did I tell you an hour ago?" I said grabbing the note. The note read:
"Roses are red
Violets are blue
They worked for Tony Russo
So do you
Few more bodys to go
Then comes you"