The X-Man by Brian R. Lundin (100 best novels of all time .TXT) 📕

was nearly healed and only showed a slight scab. “That bitch, Mariah,” he snarled, “Put up a good fight, but she was the best fuck of all of them.”The little man looked at his small but powerful body. He stood only five feet but had well developed muscles from working out daily at Melony Fitness Center. He retrieved a tube of U-Stickem Glue from his pants pocket and sat on the bed. He squeezed out some of the sticky liquid on the back of Peggy’s picture and attached it on the blank page in the album. He lay on the bed and masturbated as the images of the women he had raped and killed flooded his mind, groaning silently he ejaculated; his small body shook as he slowly dozed off.

FADE IN: 20 January 2008-DAY
As Evetta drive to Miller’s Beer Warehouse located at 4300 south Racine Boulevard, parks while Ringo read a report.

RINGO
Peggy’s boyfriend work as a driver assistant for the Miller beer company he agreed to talk us before he starts work.

EVETTA
I think that’s him standing by the time clock, hopefully he can shed some light on Peggy
FADE IN:
Angelo was standing at the time clock smoking a Pall Mall cigarette when Ringo identified himself, the young man nodded, gave him and Evetta a disgusted look and inserted his time card in the machine.

ANGELO
I’ve told the other cops all I know

EVETTA
We know, but we need to hear it first hand, it won’t take long and anything you can tell us about Peggy will help.

ANGELO (ANGELO RETRIEVED HIS CARD AND PUT IT IN THE CARDHOLDER)
Ok, Ok, ask your questions

EVETTA
Tell us about Peggy

ANGELO (ANGELO PUT THE CIGARETTE OUT IN A RECEPTACLE BY THE BENCH)
She was beautiful, warm and kind hearted. She grew up in that apartment where they found her. Her mother was an alcoholic and her father was a recovering addict. I tried to get her to move out the neighborhood, to move in with me, I told her that the neighborhood was too bad, gangs, drugs, drive-byes, but she always said that this was her home and she knew everyone in the neighborhood and wasn’t afraid.

EVETTA
What about her husband and kids?

ANGELO
All I know is that he lives in Detroit and has the kids. I only met the kids once and she never talked about her husband.

RINGO
Any other relatives?

ANGELO
A younger sister somewhere doesn’t know where. She didn’t talk a lot about her family

EVETTA
Hobbies, interests?

ANGELO
About the only thing she really liked to do was go to the movies, two or three times a week when we weren’t together and she worked out at the Hyde Park Health Club.

ANGELO
All I know is that he lives in Detroit and has the kids. I only met the kids once and she never talked about her husband.

RINGO
Any other relatives?

ANGELO
A younger sister somewhere doesn’t know where. She didn’t talk a lot about her family


EVETTA
What theaters?

ANGELO
Mainly in the malls, River Oaks, Ford, she always said she felt safer there, is this going to take long?

RINGO
Did you’ll spend a lot of time together?

ANGELO
Mainly on the weekends, most of the time at my place in Hyde Park, I didn’t like the neighborhood where she lived

EVETTA
How long where you two dating?

ANGELO
About two years

RINGO
How did you’ll meet?

ANGELO
At River Oaks Mall, I accidentally bumped her while making a delivery. I apologized, she smiled and the rest is history.

EVETTA
Did she have a habit of leaving windows opened?

ANGELO
No, she was very careful; she would never leave a window opened even if it’s a hundred degrees outside.
RNGO
Notice any weirdoes at the malls

ANGELO
Shit, there are a lot of weird dudes at the mall

EVETTA
I know, couple more questions and we’re done, any idea who might be mad at her or would want to harm her?

ANGELO
No, she never told me about any problems at work or anywhere. I can’t shake it that if I was there with her maybe it wouldn’t have happened.

RINGO
One last question, where were you last Saturday?

ANGELO
At work damnit, I have to work two Saturdays a month, are we done? Angelo said getting off the bench.

RINGO
You nervous?

ANGELO
Shit yeah, I’m nervous. Everybody knows the first suspect for you guys is the people close to the person

EVETTA
When was the last time you saw Peggy?

ANGELO
Last Thursday, we spent the night together. I dropped her off at work that Friday morning

EVETTA
Did you ever pay attention to her underwear?

ANGELO (PUT HIS CIGARETTE OUT ON THE GROUND)
Not really, why?

EVETTA
What about panty-hose?

ANGELO (ANGELO CLOSED HIS EYES)
I don’t think she ever wore those, I remember her saying we gave her some type of woman’s infection

EVETTA (HANDING ANGELO HER CARD)
Thanks for your time, we’ll be in touch

RINGO PICKS UP THE CIGARETTE BUTT AND PUT IT IN AN EVIDENCE BAGGIE
INT: COOK COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER’S OFFICE-DR. DIXON OFFICE
RINGO
Anything on the pantyhose?

DIXON
Nope, cheap, can be purchased at any Dollar or discount store

RINGO
We interviewed the boyfriend and were told that she didn’t wear pantyhose, gave her an infection, maybe he brought them with him

DIXON (RUBBING HIS SMALL, DARK, BUT EXTREMELY CLEAN HANDS TOGETHER)
So, maybe the killer brought them with him but there was sperm found inside her could be the boyfriends, if we could get a sample of his DNA we’ll know definitely.

RINGO (HANDING THE DOCTOR THE EVIDENCE BAGGIE WITH ANGELO’S BUTT)
No sperm was found anywhere in the apartment in this or the other five similar homicides. The victims were average young working women, no money or drug involvement, they all seemingly were picked at random, didn’t know each other, what is his damn motive?” I asked more to myself than the doctor. This is the boyfriends maybe you can get some DNA off it.

DIXON
I’ll send it to the lab with a top priority, check back in a couple of days.


EVETTA
What about the bruise on her head?

DIXON
Not too severe, but it could have knocked her out for a few minutes. Hey Ringo let’s get together for a game of chess one evening at Border’s in Hyde Park, do you some good to get away from this for a minute

RNGO
You’re on, I’ll call you and thanks, doc


FADE IN:
Ringo and Evetta are on their way back to the office.

RINGO
Ain’t it unusual for a woman living alone not to have curtains in her home, especially the bedroom, was she an exhibitionist who got off exposed herself? Had a voyeur who been watching her crawled into the open window and confronted her in the bathroom? Had the killer been watching her and knew her routine, knew when the boyfriend came over and when he left? Were there other routines, common links in the other killings that we have missed? Had she had a fight with Angelo? Was Peggy a victim of a copycat? It was well document that some psychopaths followed murders reported by the media and attempted to duplicate them. Did she use drug and owed a drug dealer? I know he’s still out there somewhere stalking his next victim. I want you to stay in touch with doc. I gave him Angelo’s cigarette butt and hopefully he can pull some DNA from it and I want you to use your snitches to find out how heavily Peggy was into drugs. Dixon said we found small amounts of marijuana in her blood and the CSI crew found some at her apartment. Also see if anyone ever saw her parading around her apartment nude or half-clothed. I’ve got a funny feeling about this one. I’ve assigned Scotty to try to track down her sister and her husband, ok?

EVETTA
Yep, that’s very unusual for a woman not to have curtains in her apartment. Could be a copycat but I doubt it, too many similarities.

RINGO
How are Clarence and the boys?”

EVETTA
Good, he’s taking them camping and fishing at Starved Rock, for some male bonding. Evetta placed the folder into her large bag and looked hard at me, I knew it was mama-nurturing time.

EVETTA
Listen, you come to the house this Sunday for dinner, spend some time with your godsons and chill out, you are beginning to look terrible, do you understand me?

RINGO
Yes ma’am

FADE IN:
After Evetta dropped me off at the office I thought about what Evetta had said, I pulled a small mirror out my desk drawer and looked at myself. Evetta was right I looked terrible and definitely needed to chill, my leg began to ache. I notified the unit secretary and told her I would be at the River Oaks Bally Fitness Center if she needed me.

INT: River Oaks Bally Fitness Center
Bally Fitness Center was a state-of-the art facility located in the River Oaks Shopping Mall on the far southeast side of the city. It had cardiovascular machines, resistance training equipment, exercise classes, personal trainers, tennis courts, saunas, juice bar and a pool. I tried to get in a swim and a workout at least four times a week, even though I was not a dues-paying member, the fitness center like other businesses in the city welcomed police officer and usually gave them a discount rate or no charge at all. The black female receptionist had a baldhead, wore oversized earrings and a thin face. The gymnasium white t-shirt with Bally’s silk- screened across her ample chest displayed hard nipples. She got out of her chair and I noticed her hard and flat dark brown abdomen. She wore white snugly fitting French-cut shorts that rode high on her flanks.

RECEPTIONIST (SEDUCTIVE TONE SHE WHISPERED)
Hi Detective

RINGO
Not too crowded today

RECEPTIONIST
Not yet, just wait a couple of hours

FADE IN:
The club’s stereo speakers were pounding out Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long,” as I changed into my sweats and exited the locker room. A well-shaped, young black woman wearing an orange Lycra body suit so tight it she might as well been naked passed him, smiled and seemed to walking in time with the music. I stopped and watched her as her ass shifted back and forth. I entered a large room, loud rock music was thumping over the room speakers and Lionel Richie’s tune was tuned out, thank goodness, I never could stand Lionel Richie’s commercialized music. Twenty men and eight women who comprised the aerobic class were pumping, flexing, running in place and leaping in unison to the sensual, thumping beat of Teddy Pendergrass. I went through a sliding glass into the smaller weight- room. This room had floor to ceiling mirrors, highly polished wooden floor and smelled of sweat. There was no piped in music and the only sounds were the grunts of the men and women lifting weights. I noticed on a lift bench Hispanic women wearing a low cut sweat shirt and cut-off was lying on her back, lifting a weight above her head and humping the air with rigorous pelvic trusts, legs spread wide, feet flat on the