The Death of 1977 (Book 3)

Chapter 25

The police cruiser slowly wheeled up to and eventually parked right in front of 909 West 7th. Both the young officer who was operating the vehicle and Mike O'Dea sat inside the car and glared on and on at the bleak, broken down old house with similar looks of dismay written on their faces.

Mike, who by then had grown a full, greying beard that would have suggested that he hadn't shaved in quite a while, rubbed his hard hands together as though he were anxious over something.

In his brown leather long coat, matching brown polyester pants and a tweed fedora, Mike took a strained gander at the rest of the drab neighborhood on that slowly approaching evening. On the other side of the sidewalk were two black men wearing black leather jackets and just standing in front of a parked car smoking and talking to each other. Mike just cut his eyes from the men as to say they weren't worth his time.

"Well, Mr. O'Dea, here it is." The young officer switched off the car's ignition and sighed.

Mike glanced back over at the house and heaved, "Yeah, a real piece of shit, huh?"

"If you ask me, they should've torn this place down a long time ago."

"Hell, they should destroy this entire neighborhood, for the love of God." O'Dea snickered while unbuckling his seatbelt and preparing to climb out of the car.

"You know, when I was here last, this house looked terrible. But now...it actually looks worse." Officer Sullivan mentioned with a sudden pale face.

O'Dea just smirked at the young man as to imply that his comment was humorous. "Hang in there, kid. Believe me when I say, you'll encounter a helluva lot worse by the time you're done in the force."

"That makes me feel secure." Sullivan sarcastically remarked.

"Look, you're a good Irish kid." O'Dea said. "We need more good cops like you out here." O'Dea then pointed out at the two men across the street. "Look at 'em, the dregs of society." He sneered. "They, and any other that suck on society's tit. I hated it when they took me off the beat. I got a chance to be out here with my nose to street. What you saw the other day inside that house was just a glimpse of real life. Your father knew that, too. He was a good cop, and he expects his son to follow in suit."

Swallowing, Sullivan remarked, "Yeah, but I bet he never saw anything like what happened the other day."

Shrugging his shoulders, Mike callously replied, "Perhaps not, but then again, the little bastards had no business being in there to begin with. You jump into Jaws' mouth, don't be surprised when you're eaten." O'Dea then reached inside his coat pocket and pulled out a fifty dollar bill which he promptly handed to the young man. "C'mon, let's go."

Both O'Dea and Sullivan got out of the cruiser and proceeded to march towards the house. With his hands inside his coat pockets, O'Dea's stride was zealous while Sullivan's was cautious if not sluggish. O'Dea paused for a moment to stare up at the radiant autumn sky and back again at the men who by then were giggling in their direction. O'Dea just snubbed his nose at the men before stepping up the stairs of the porch.

"You should've seen this porch." Sullivan said. "I think Officer Wayne said he found one of the boys' heart's outside here. He said that it was still beating."

O'Dea scanned the grimy porch where several of the wooden boards were coming loose before he stood in front of the front door. Sullivan pushed against the door's handle and stepped aside to let O'Dea in first.

Closing the door behind him, Sullivan's tongue fumbled, "I sure hope the Captain doesn't find out about this."

"Don't worry about Brickman; he already owes me a few favors. Besides, you're being compensated for this. You've got nothing to be concerned about."

The floor boards creaked and cracked with every movement the men made as they walked across causing an echo effect to rattle the silence within. There was still enough sunlight for them both to see where they were stepping. O'Dea took a minute to scan the reddish walls and floor. The smell within the house was stiff and putrid, like being inside a cold butcher shop.

"The guys did their best to clean the walls, but there was so much blood that they eventually just gave up."

O'Dea took a Polaroid camera from out of his coat and snapped a couple of shots. He shook the prints and waited for the film to develop before studying both pictures carefully and stuffing them into his pockets.

"Tell me again why you think this is so important?"

O'Dea took a picture of the floor before saying, "My boy, they say truth is stranger than fiction. This entire case has baffled everyone since it first began back in February. No leads, no clues, just speculation and people still turning up dead."

"So do you believe that these animals are still on the loose?" Sullivan stood nervously behind O'Dea.

Scanning the entire living room from side to side, O'Dea answered, "It's hard to say. If it is an animal, it's an animal that no one can seem to spot. These murders have been far too gruesome for a human to have committed. No, no, I happen to believe that something a lot deeper is going on here."

"Well, if it's not an animal, or a person, then who or what?"

to say as he whipped out his radio from his holster and took off

shut the door behind the young man before turning back around and taking out a mini tape recorder from within his coat. From there he began a methodical march around the living room that would end up leading down the

Glover residence. With the exception of the living room, the hallway appears to

poked his head inside. He then walked over to the closet to find nothing but an empty space

to contact Lynnette Glover, but came up with no results. I'm considering paying a visit to her parents' home where I am told she resides." He spoke as he

light was still shining from the hallway to see what

over. Nothing too deep, but one can surmise that due to the lack of proper upkeep this house

and on gawking about until he spotted something hiding behind the toilet. The man reached over and picked

Detective Bruin. I'm holding in my hand right now what appears to be a piece of...fur." O'Dea studied the filament from side to side

did not own a pet, and yet, they also said that they heard

and something else. And I

back up. "They were harboring an animal inside this house that night. Possibly the same animal that tore those Jamaicans apart last November. That's exactly what Linus killed. Isaac Mercer was involved with the Jamaicans prior to his death and he brought it over here, possibly to fend off Linus. But Linus shot both Mercer and the beast, and the beast got away to the Hollis Towers."

around and around inside the bathroom. "That's why that black bitch Glover

"This is exactly what could get me back on the force. Now, from what another informant told me, Charles Mercer was just released from the hospital not

ramblings were interrupted by a racket from another part of the house. The man nearly dropped his recorder to the floor before he stuffed

"Who's in here?" He called out.

But instead of an answer all that he could still hear was the thumping of something stalking about like

the bathroom, down the hallway and into the living room. He stood

"Hold it right there!" He pointed his revolver at the

by the shadows within the increasingly dimming kitchen which only frustrated O'Dea

get to your feet with your hands up!"

O'Dea could tell just by the bulky build that it

O'Dea snapped. "Okay, who are

the floor before glancing to his left and to his right. Still, O'Dea could barely see the man's face. He could tell that he wasn't wearing a shirt of any kind, and that

at, mon?" The man spoke

Turning up his face, O'Dea

and me brotha," the

"Okay, pal, I don't know why

to take a moment to reflect. Immediately he

there. I got back up outside. Make one move

here, mon."

"Who's

"Dey gone,"

Mercer, Glover," O'Dea zealously questioned. "Do you know where

an ominous chuckle that lasted nearly an entire minute before

"No, no, mon,

"Who's we?

"Little Lynnette,

"I fucking knew it." O'Dea gritted his teeth in a whisper. "Okay, just come out of there and

sat absolutely still, so still in fact that it appeared to

country for de girl. I try to get her, but she

get

"What...what the hell are you talking about? Are you talking about Lynnette? Do you know anything about the animal attacks this past summer?" O'Dea kept panting. "Listen...just come forward

"I still smell tha

"What fire are

all over me. I tried to kill 'er,

did you try

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