The Devil made me do it

CHAPTER 1

"Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done"

 

"When I see a pretty girl walking down the street, I think two things: one part of me wants to meet her, and the other part wonders what her head would look like on a stick." - Ed Gein

It was definitely not what I had hoped to hear from her so early in the morning. When I rushed there the place was already crowded with locals, Mr. Hikari was already there by the time I reached the Clinic. His bare feet and the Apron made it clear he hurried to the scene as quickly as he could. He’s a kind man; it’s possible he rushed to the alley just like I did. Dozens of known faces were already gathered around the alley. I saw Gabriel interrogating some of the neighbours. He wasn’t in uniform—perhaps he didn’t have time to put it on. Without wasting another moment, I hurried toward Gabriel. He was holding his pen against the Legal pad, he looked tensed and confused. Before I could reach for his shoulders my heart stopped for a whole minute; the red swamp is everywhere. It is not a splattered pattern; it is Fresh and I could still feel the heat from that liquid. The blood was flowing down the street. I heard the sound of an ambulance, followed by another police van pulling up. Mr. Hendrick stepped down and called out to Gabriel. For a brief moment, I locked my eyes with the Senior Officer. Unlike Gabriel, Mr. Hendrick isn't particularly fond of me. For some reason, he sees me as the spawn of the Devil. He had never said it to me before, but I didn’t need him to; his intense gaze spoke volumes. When turning towards his higher officer, Gabriel found me in a frozen state right behind him. He might not notice me amidst the ruckus happening at the moment.

"I didn't see you, wait for me here I will be back in a couple of minutes", he patted my shoulder and sprint towards Mr. Hendricks. I felt woozy, but now's not the time to put down the head, I have to find her. She has to be somewhere here, I can only imagine how terrified she must have been, judging by the sound of her voice in the call earlier.

I found her frozen and crying near the front porch of Mr. Hikari's house. It broke my heart to see her like this. She was still wearing her coat and had left the clinic unlocked. I had never seen her like this before; whatever she witnessed in the alley must have shaken her up really badly.

"Luke?" Gabriel's voice startled her, and she looked up to find me standing there. I find her sobbing on my chest, I couldn't read her emotion- Is it Fear of what she saw or is it the relief of having her best friend standing here so she could cry out loud. Gabriel caught up to us from behind, I turned my side to look at him. His face looks grim, for an experienced homicide police officer. He looked at both of us and began to explain what had happened in the alley.

I took Susan home after locking up her clinic and answered a few of Gabriel's routine questions. I thanked Mr. Hikari for his hospitality. Whatever I heard from Gabriel it doesn't sit well with me. A MURDER? I felt nauseous when Gabriel mentioned that the forensic woman was carrying a pair of severed arms in her bag.

“Can you believe it?” Susan asked me from her chair clearly petrified. I never seen her like this before; hell, I have no idea how someone might actually react in this kind of situation. Of all the places in town, why did it have to happen near her clinic? Why did it have to happen so close to her? Aren’t things like this supposed to only happen in fiction?

“My head is still spinning from all of that” I said with an awkward chuckle. I am entirely unsure of how to act in these kinds of situations. My mom would have handled it quite well; she’s great with people and has a way of seeing things from their perspective—something I, unfortunately, never managed to learn from her. All I can do is forget about the morning.

“Mr. Hendricks talked with you for like an hour. What did he ask? Is he, as usual, barking up the wrong tree?” I know that Oldman for a very long time. He and his code of some stupidity—doing by the book nonsense.

“No, No, he was just asking some formal questions. What did Gabriel say? Sorry, I wasn’t much help in that situation.”

“Hey, there is no need for you to feel sorry, everyone there felt the same. It’s so horrific to see something like that, and I can’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like to find something like that in your street, Susi.”

I wrapped my arms around her, and I could feel her body tremble from everything that had happened earlier. She’s tough; she’ll pull through.

“They are pulling a team to investigate this murder, Gabriel will be on the team, he said. And nothing else, they are too confused and terrified like everyone else”

“Luke? Is this how you felt when you saw her five years ago?” She asked the question I had anticipated someone might ask eventually—at least it was her who did. I can't forget it. I'll never be able to forget it. How could I ever forget, when I saw her blue eyes staring through me, devoid of any light?

“More or less” I shrugged my shoulder at her and smiled but she looked back at me with her puppy eyes which she uses whenever she feels pity for someone—especially me. She damn knows me very well.

It’s been five years since I last laid eyes on Mrs. Pedretti’s lifeless body. I never wanted to study physics—neither for my bachelor’s nor now for my master’s. Yet, I feel that if I hadn’t studied it, my life would have felt completely empty. I needed a distraction, something to hold onto, even if I wasn’t good at it. Maybe that’s why I never complained about it. Thinking back, I never actually complained about anything in my life. I thought feeling nothing was normal, but my family didn’t see it that way. My Father thought it has something to do with the incident, but deep down, I know I’ve been like this for a very long time. I know what they think of me, and I’m aware of how others see me. I’m not who they think I am. I have feelings which I am not good at expressing like others. I can be happy. I can feel pain. And more importantly I was terrified at that living room, I felt hopeless, I felt nauseous. No one know this except me. No one really understood me but Susan.

Our mothers know each other from church. I was never the outgoing type; she was the one who found me. She had no reason to approach me, yet she introduced herself to a boy two years younger than her. Susan feels like home. I still don’t understand why she chose dentistry; she was passionate about general medicine.

"I locked up the clinic. Take some rest for at least a week. If Mr. Hendricks calls for you, let me know, and I'll go with you."

“Thanks, Luke. A week long of rest is a luxury. I should probably resume my work from tomorrow”

“But-”

"I’m fine, I was just a bit shocked."

“That’s exactly why you need to be taking rest Susi”

“Yeah Luke, I am! I’m taking the day off today.”

Over our decade-long friendship, one thing I know for sure about Susan is that you can never win an argument with her. I walked past two patrol cars. It seems like the whole town is completely shaken up now. I opened the door and let myself inside the café. Mr. Hikari seems to be busy; filling in the town’s ladies with the grim news. I heard it was a woman, and nothing more. I couldn't shake off what I saw this morning. I can hear my heart pounding in a terrifying way, but the most unsettling part is how intensely curious I felt at the scene. Who is that woman? Is she a Local? Someone I know? And more importantly; Who did this? Who in the earth had the audacity to dump the remains in a crowded street? Who on earth would dissect a woman? My mind was flooded with questions. If someone can give a clarity on what happened; it has to be Mr. Hakari.  Susi and I have been coming to this café for as long as I can remember. She loves this place. Mr. Hakari helped her rent that clinic building; he’s always been a great help to us, including today. I've always wanted to express my gratitude to him, but the least I can do is clean the table.