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

I’m always told he’s unavailable

We continued to my office when we were called into the lieutenant’s office. Lieutenant O’Shea was looking at the news program when we entered, his face was a bleak red as he paced around his desk.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Who does that black mutherfucker think he is?

RINGO
Why won’t you talk to him?

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Fuck him; I ain’t got to explain shit to him

EVETTA
That might not be a good idea, Reverend Wilson has a lot of clout in the community and downtown, matter of fact I hear the chief is a member of his church

The lieutenant sat down and sweat beaded on his forehead.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Where did you hear that?


EVETTA
That’s the word on the street

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Listen I want you two to go see him and assure we’re doing the best we can, ok? Now bring me up to date, find out anything at the M.E.’s office?

EVETTA
Well we found sperm in Cynthia White indicating she may have been raped just like the others, but we have to check that out, maybe we can get some DNA from that. Also Robin Honeywell was pregnant

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Shit, what we know about Robin?

EVETTA
Robin’s boyfriend alibi is solid, he worked a double the night she was killed and he and some other co-workers went to a promotion party at a private club and was there until 0900 Sunday, and his DNA matched the fetus. Our legs checked out her ex-husband in Detroit, he and his children were visiting his mother in Cleveland and hadn’t talked or seen his ex in months, but he also said that she liked to walk around the house naked and he had warned her about that,” Evetta said.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Who was the father of the baby, the husband or the boyfriend?


RINGO
According to the DNA report, the boyfriend was.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA (PULLING A FILE FROM HIS DRAWER)
I got a call from the FBI today and we told me that VICAP identified a February, 2000 victim in Gary who matches our guy’s profile, a young black whore named Rita Maxwell was found raped, strangled, and propped up in the bathtub, a large bloody X was smeared on the wall and there is another unsolved rape and homicide in Gary that same year of a high school girl

EVETTA
Where was she found?

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
In an abandon warehouse, a bloody X was on the wall

RINGO
This guy has been busy

O'Shea opened another file on his desk

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
Peggy Smith was twenty-five, lived at 4555 South King Drive, 2nd floor and worked at a bookstore on 51st Street. Mariah Williams, twenty-three, lived at 4920 South Calumet Avenue IST floor and worked as a barmaid at a Westside joint. Tonya James, twenty-four worked as a teacher’s aide at Willard Elementary School lived at 4635 South Wabash Avenue IST floor. Tonya James twenty- four lived at 4220 South King Drive, Its floor, and Cynthia white, eighteen, lived at 4650 South Calumet Avenue 3rd floor, and a freshman student at Chicago State University. Possible victims, Rita Maxwell a black whore in Gary, Indiana and a young Gary high school girl named Mary both raped and killed in 1999. Also I got a report from Dixon's officer and the bloody X on the mirrors in all of the Vics bathrooms contained two different blood types and are being analysis for possible DNA and just got a report of an attempt rape, vic, Louise Johnson. Louise Johnson, the oldest attempted victim at twenty-six lived alone in a house at 4916 South Forrestville Avenue and was the owner of the Black Ladies Boutique on 47th Street, could be X-Man, check it out.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA
We’ve got to catch this asshole and quick, I don’t want this investigation ran on the front pages of the Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times. Get back to work.

We left and got in the car
RINGO
Let’s take a ride to Louise Johnson place

EVETTA
On the way

Evetta removed a folder from her briefcase and gave it to me

RINGO
Louise Johnson, twenty-five, single, owns the successful Black Ladies Boutique on east 47th Street, MBA from Indiana University, mother, college professor at Westwood University in River Oaks, father deceased. Next door neighbor heard noises coming from Louise garage and when he went to investigate he observed Louise lying on the floor struggling with a little man on top of her holding a large knife, her shorts and sweat shirt was on the floor and he noticed the man wearing a condom. A pair of panty hose was tied around her neck and a rag stuffed into her mouth. He yelled at the man and as he approached the man threaten him with the knife and ran out the garage and jump over the rear fence

The block contained well-kept single-family homes. Louise house was brown brick with white trimming and was well hidden by tall oak pine trees and dense landscape, the nearest house was twenty-feet away. A decorative steel fence with a latched gate sat as a sentinel in front of the back yard, Evetta ranged the front doorbell and it was answered by an attractive, well-built woman. Evetta showed the woman her identification.

EVETTA
Hi I’m Detective Lunden and this Sergeant Ringo from the Chicago Police Department we’ll like to talk to you about the incident the other evening

LOUISE
Please come in

Louise led them into a large front room and motioned them to sit.

RINGO
What happened?


LOUISE
Well, I left Bally’s Health Club about 4:00pm and drove to my shop on 47th Street. After closing the shop I came home, did a little puttering around the house and went to the garage. I didn’t hear anyone come in and suddenly the lights went out and I was knocked unconscious. After a while, I don’t know how long, I awaken and this man was raping me, I tried to get him off me but he was too strong and he put a big knife at my throat and told me to shut up or he would cut my throat. He then put a filthy rag in my mouth and tied a pair of pantyhose around my neck and began choking me. I had nearly passed out when I heard someone come into the garage. The man got off me and I saw him run out the garage when I came to my senses I recognized George Peppers my next door neighbor who drove me to Provident Hospital. The police brought me home, took a report and processed the garage for evidence

EVETTA
Did you get a look at him

LOUISE
I really didn’t get a good look at him, but I could tell he was a small man, but strong, but I keep getting this impression that I’ve seen him somewhere


EVETTA
Let us know if you think of anything, no matter how small. In the meantime we’ll check with the hospital for additional information and is it ok to check out the garage

LOUISE
No problem

EXT: BACK YARD
The large back yard lawn was well kept and manicured and I noticed a security camera on a post aimed at the building. We passed an expensive-looking covered propane barbecue cooker as we rounded the corner. A wheeled wooded cart sat next to the cooker that contained tongs and other grilling items, we continued to the one car-garage, a garden hose was neatly wrapped around a hose holder attached to the garage wall. I looked around the yard, pots of colorful flowers lined the redwood deck and along the edges of the yard were planted flowers and a circular bird feeder hung from a tree branch. I glanced through a basement window into a room that contained a pool table, a large plasma television and other furniture. A security camera hung o top of the garage.

EVETTA
Anything on the security camera?

LOUISE
I doubt it, it’s not working

We entered the garage, a tool holder containing various tools rested in a corner. A BMW took up most of the floor space and a ten-speed bicycle hung on two brackets on a wall. A set of weights was in a box on a worktable and a Bally flyer. On the dusty cement of the concrete floor, amid countless faint impressions left by shoes, I spotted the outline of a small shoe print and a large X drew in the dust.

RINGO
Call Turner and tell him to get over here right away and tell him that we’ve got something

A half-hour later Charley Turner arrived and made impressions of the shoe print and the X.

TURNER
Seems the same size of the impression we found in White’s bedroom, a little man, I’d say about five feet, wait a second!

We watched as Turner removed some debris that covered a condom. He carefully held the condom by the rim and looked inside

TURNER
Look like sperm

RINGO
Great get it to the lab, maybe we can get some DNA, let’s see if we can get a comparison.

We walked across the alley a man was placing garbage into the can

EVETTA
Mr. Pepper?

MR. PEPPER
Yes?

George Pepper was fifty-five years old and a big man well over six feet, we identified ourselves.

EVETTA What happened with Mrs. Johnson?
MR. PEPPER
My garage is directly across the alley from Mrs. Johnson and I usually watch out for her when she comes home. Well, the night of the incident I was cleaning out some of the junk in my garage when I saw this little guy in her yard, he didn’t look like her type and he seemed to be sneaking around. I saw the garage light go on and I heard Mrs. Johnson humming some song, well anyway, shortly thereafter the lights went out and I heard what sounded like a struggle coming from the garage, I got a tire iron and went to investigate and I saw this little asshole raping Mrs. Johnson and had something tied around her neck, when he saw me he jumped off her and waived a big knife at me, but before I could crack him with the iron and he ran out hard dick and all. I helped Mrs. Johnson to her feet and took her to the hospital

EVETTA (TAKING NOTES)
Did you get a good look at him?

MR.PEPPER
Sure did, he was a little fuck, I don’t think he was five feet tall, light brown skin but well built, like someone who works out

RINGO
Think you could identify him again

MR. PEPPER
I’m pretty sure I can


RINGO
You’ve been a great help, Mr. Pepper, I’ll have a detective take you to our office and hopefully you can pick this pervert out

As we were heading to their car an excited Louise ran from her house

LOUISE
I remembered where I saw him; he’s a member of the health club

INT: BALLY HEALTH CLUB

When we arrived at the Bally Health Club an attractive black female receptionist greeted us as we approached her desk, her name tag read Julie. She was wearing a white see-through and a low-cut blouse that showed her black athletic bra.

JULIE
Hello there, here for a workout?

EVETTA (FLASHED HER BADGE)
Not today, but I’ve got a question for you, can