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 what Brice said about the fur. Do you believe that there could be a pack of wolves

wheel tighter. "I can't see wolves tearing through a wall like a wrecking ball. Maybe it's something

the thing that could eat

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

sniggered. "I swear that

Linus smirked before asking, "You

"It's not that I don't 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 kid. He's just twenty years younger than

trying to say that

it like my wife; I turn twenty-four with every passing

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

"Damn kids are taking our jobs."

"Is that

"No, I also hope I get home in time this evening to watch 'Battle of the

roared past them on the other side of the road. The first sign of life

"I was thinking about calling Linda."

Fitzpatrick said anything. "It's a shame that you have to actually think about calling

say this,

handle O'Dea, in small doses,

took place inside the cruiser. For a few

catch

"Which one," Linus glanced strangely over at

"The

"Oh yeah, she was a

can see you with

Linus grinned...and

As Linus parked the cruiser behind a coroners van, both he and Alan noticed a barrage of officers and reporters all milling about the yard of a red and white brick house. Without uttering a single word, they

back into the holster inside the car. "Long time

"How are you, Phelps?"

turning to the house to his right. "We got six dead bodies. A mother, father and their four daughters. The mother was found in the living room. Her entire skull was cracked wide open. The father was found in the basement with his guts lying all over

"It even got the daughters, too?" Linus

"Upstairs...all four girls. Two, four, seven and ten," Phelps chocked. "Something just...just tore its way through the bedroom door and got them

Linus

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

All three men looked over to a distant pine bush and watched as the loudly

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

a quick peek inside, just to see what we're dealing with." Linus said while

"I heard

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

made its way here." Phelps rubbed his face in weariness. "It broke

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

losing your

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 tore him limb from limb, literally. He left his recorder on the entire time. We can't seem to make heads or tails of

a bear." Fitzpatrick added. "He says

inside and take a look at this." Phelps said as he stepped away from his cruiser

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