The Beast of 1977 (Book 1)

Chapter 19

"What time is it?" Linus moaned while driving all too slowly down the desolate highway on a day that was nearing noontime.

Fitzpatrick looked out at the passing farmland scenery and asked, "Does it really matter?"

Linus must have sighed at least three to four times since leaving the house. The man's entire body felt as if it were carrying a load of bricks tied to his heels. No matter what, he just couldn't get the fog out of his brain.

"It's hard to believe that this thing hiked almost three miles away just to eat more people."

Stirring awake from his dull stupor, Linus glanced over and grunted, "Huh?"

"I said, I can't believe the thing hiked three miles just to eat more people." Fitzpatrick replied a bit louder.

"Yeah," Linus sighed again."

"You gotta be kidding me." Alan griped.

"Whaddya mean?"

"What's with all the damn sighing? You sound like my wife whenever she wants sex from me?"

Linus shrugged and said, "We just wrapped up a five and a half month kidnapping investigation, and you're asking what's with all the sighing?"

"For Christ's sake," Alan grumbled, "it's not the first kidnapping we've ever covered."

Linus didn't bother to look over at his partner, instead, he gazed upwards into the grey, brooding sky. "What would make a person do all of that, Al?"

"Do what?"

"Kidnap, rape and kill. He even raped the guys, for God's sake." Linus shook his head in shame. "I'm sitting here trying to figure out what sort of twisted event in this man's life could have brought him to such a point."

"Who knows?" Alan groaned. "He obviously had some kind of sick fetish that needed to be fulfilled. You mentioned it yourself back at the TV station."

"And the smell," Linus lamented. "How can any normal human being tolerate having all those dead bodies in that house and not become sick themselves?"

"After a while, even the most perverted person becomes accustomed to his or hers perversion. The man was obviously tormented."

Bruin only scanned the grazing land that passed by at 33 mph.

"I wonder if Gloria saw—

"That's enough!" A frustrated Fitzpatrick hollered.

A momentary quiet took place inside the car before Linus again sighed and said, "I suppose you're gonna tell me that I'm feeling sorry for myself, right?"

"No, it's not that." Fitzpatrick huffed. "You're shitting bricks because after all these months someone or something else got that fucker before you could. We all wanted to plug a bullet in the guy, but we missed out."

Linus rolled his eyes in the other direction, hoping that he could possibly ignore his partner's rant, but it seemed that the more he tried to focus on other matters, Gloria's pale, terrified image would cross his path in stunning full color.

"Whaddya think?" Fitzpatrick looked over.

"Think about what?"

about the fur. Do you

"Who's to say?" Linus gripped the steering wheel tighter. "I can't see wolves

chuckled. "If I ever see the thing that could eat the way that fucker did last night, then I hope we never find

Linus actually wanted the creature to materialize inside his mind, but he had to sift through the dead bodies first before he could even place the image of an overgrown killer beast prowling the countryside into his

"A wolf," Fitzpatrick sniggered. "I swear that Brice gets dumber by

Linus smirked before asking, "You don't think too much of Pat,

like the kid, it's just that...well, he's a kid." Alan tossed up his hands. "An Ivy league, smarty pants, know-it-all

"Are you trying

like to play it like my wife;

Linus smiled at the remark while glancing down at the speedometer to notice for the

kids are taking our jobs." Fitzpatrick

"Is

get home in time this evening to

wanted to burst out laughing, but he restrained himself as a semi-truck roared past them on the other side of the road. The first sign of life

"I was thinking

anything. "It's a shame that you have to actually

"Yeah...it is." Linus bitterly sulked with a far off expression hanging on his face. "I hate to say this, but I

can handle O'Dea,

drowning silence took place inside the cruiser. For a few moments Linus actually

"Did you catch the body on that

one," Linus

"The black

"Oh yeah,

can see

Linus

all milling about the yard of a red and white brick house. Without uttering

greeted as he placed the radio back into the holster inside the car. "Long time no

"How are

daughters. The mother was found in the living room. Her entire skull was

"It even got the daughters,

"Upstairs...all four girls. Two, four, seven and ten," Phelps chocked. "Something just...just

found them?" Linus asked while zipping up

"The wife's mother," Phelps said. "She lives right across the street. She and the mother have coffee every morning. Can you imagine

and watched as the loudly weeping

the bedroom." Phelps murmured. "You can hardly take two steps without...it's

inside, just to see what we're dealing with." Linus said while glancing nervously over

heard you found your

we found what was left of him." Fitzpatrick snickered. "But, as it so happens,

whatever found him made its way here." Phelps rubbed his

shoulder and sympathetically whispered into the man's face, "We're sorry about Calvin,

feels like losing your own son.

"That's what we're still trying to sort out." Linus responded. "Our man kept a recording of all the rapes he committed. Last night, right after he got through with his last victim, something came up from out of his basement and

a bear." Fitzpatrick added. "He

Phelps said as he stepped away from his cruiser and led Bruin and Fitzpatrick to the

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