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

the Seal team totally decimated the fighters. Sergeant Juan Gomez sent balls of fire from his rocket-propelled weapon at the trucks. Men jumped out and others were thrown out the bed of the trucks; screaming and on fire, their torment ended in rapid firing automatic weapons. In ten minutes the trail was covered with mangled bodies and scrap metal. Moans of pain and terror came from the wounded men, some were praying and fingering prayer beads while others mouth agape could say nothing. I signaled the men to the trail and we looked at the carnage.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said impassionedly. Suddenly there was an explosion of gunfire as one of the wounded fighters yelled a holy prayer and fired his weapon towards me he only got off one shot that shattered my knee before the Seal team killed all of the wounded fighters. I slowly pulled myself out the pool and took a hot and then a cold shower, after drying myself with a clean, rough terry cloth towel, I wiped the fog from the center of the shower mirror and looked at my face again and smiled, I looked and felt a lot better.

FLASHBACK 10 Mar 2008
By night, the area between 31st Street north to 55th Street south is controlled by the 43rd Street Hustlers street gang. After years of drive byes, murders and intimidations the gang had total control of all the drugs sold in the area and made regular payoffs to the 2nd District Vice Unit. Ten years ago William “Bull” Jones a Governor in the gang was set-up by corrupt 2nd Police District Vice Officers because he refused to increase their monthly “Nut” or payoff from two thousand a week to five. Two vice-officers planted a quantity of crack cocaine on Bull and charged him with possession and intent to deliver the drug, they knew that if convicted it could result in a long prison term. Evetta and her partner, honest cops in the vice unit, found out about the set-up and broke a golden rule of any police department we ratted out the corrupt officer, They took their information to the FBI because probably the District Commander, Watch Commanders, lieutenants and some sergeants were part of the nut Bull was paying. An FBI investigation led to the arrest of many officers assigned to the district and Bull was released without charging, Evetta and her partner reward for exposing the corruption was to be transferred to other districts miles from their home, but Evetta had made a friend out of William “Bull” Jones.

INT: RINGO’S OFFICE- 5 MARCH 2008
EVETTA
I was thinking, most of the killings have taken place in an area controlled by the 43rd Hustlers, one of their governors owe me big time. I’m going to get in contact with him maybe he or his boys know something.

RINGO
Good idea, but be careful, those guys are dangerous

EVETTA
Will do

FADE IN: COMO INN
Jones met Evetta in a quiet, isolated booth at the Como Inn, an Italian Restaurant on the north side of the city.

EVETTA
I need some information concerning the girl who got killed on 43rd Street

JONES
I heard ‘bout that, what you need, mama?

EVETTA
Firstly, was she one of your customers, and did any of your guys ever see her walking around in her apartment nude or anything like that? Have there been any strange looking dudes hanging around where you do your business? Did your guys working in the alley beneath the el train see or hear anything unusual Saturday night

JONES (LAUGHNG)
God Damn mama I glad you ain’t working narcotics no’mo

EVETTA (SMILING)
I guess you are, ‘cause you know I would be on your ass.

JONES
Let me get the word out, I will hit you on your cell

EVETTA
Thanks man

JONES
Anytime, anyplace I’ve got your back

EVETTA
I going back to 45th Street for a walk around so tell your boys too cool it for a couple hours

JONES
Done mama and we’ll be watching you back also

FADE IN: 4555 South Prairie Avenue -8:00 PM
Evetta arrived at just as the streetlights disturbed the darkness. The street was quiet and there was no people on the street and very little vehicular traffic. Evetta walked around to the rear of the apartment building and noticed black hooded figures that blended with the dark buildings watching as she entered the alley and walked to Peggy’s apartment building. She entered the apartment through the rear squeaky door; in the darkness it seemed even more empty and silent. She switched on the kitchen light and sat down at the kitchen table and imagined Peggy maybe smoking a joint walking to the bathroom. “Was she dressed or naked?” Evetta though to herself. Evetta got up from the table turned off the light and turned on the dim overhead hallway light. As she walked a loose plank under the bared floor moaned under her weigh. She moved down the hall and turned off the hallway light and peered out the window where maybe the killer had entered, the open gangway was pitch black. “Why didn’t she hear the noise from the floor?” Evetta turned on the living room light and looked around, nothing appeared disturbed. She entered the bathroom situated off the hallway and looked into the tub, everything was the same. She moved closer to tub, avoiding the bloodstains and dusting powder. Evetta tried to approach it from the logistics of a killer;”How had he entered the apartment without her knowledge, unless she was in the shower and couldn’t hear him as he climbed through the window, if that’s where he entered? Did he randomly select her or did he know her? Was he a peeping tom who got excited watching and decided to have her? Did he watch her as she moved around the apartment nude or half-nude? Each of the victims had boyfriends or lovers, who occasionally stayed over, yet each victim was alone when attacked, that meant that the killer planned the attacks and put his victims under some sort of surveillance and probably surprised them. Although his killings showed signs of violent, eruptive and psychotic spontaneity, his method of selecting the victims seemed to indicate extensive planning and carefulness, leaving no clues. Like Monique said, this combination of traits indicated behavior attributed more to a psychopath than a psychotic. Evetta went back outside into the dark alley and again she noticed the shadowy figures that seemed to melt into the night. She viewed the rear of the apartment from different angle and walked into the dark gangway. She looked at the entry window and deducted that the killer had to be tall and very strong if he chinned his way up to the window or he had something to step on. She walked to the front of the apartment building and noticed the bedroom window faced south on Prairie Avenue and she could have been seen from the streets walking around in a skimpy night gown or nothing at all, her lithe body silhouetted against the bright bedroom interior light. After walking down the alley a few apartment buildings away she lost sight of Peggy’s building or the gangway. She walked back to 45th Street and turned left at Prairie Avenue. Peggy’s building set back off the street and couldn’t be seen until she was two building from it. The killer could have entered the dark gangway from the street or the gangway, hiked himself up to the window an entered the apartment. The unmark squad car startled her, it pulled up beside her before she realized it was there. Two young plainclothes officer approached, but when she flashed her badge they moved on. Evetta knew that the department needed help in catching the X-Man, a concerned citizen that saw something or maybe even Bull’s boys. Evetta returned to her car, climbed inside, and turned on the interior light. She read the reports of the police officers and detectives who had interviewed the neighbors. None of the neighbors really knew her, although she had lived in the neighborhood all of her life, but Evetta knew that this neighborhood was very mobile, people were always moving in and out and they minded their own business. None of the neighbors saw or heard anything suspicious that Saturday night according to the other detective’s interview reports, there was nothing to draw attention to anything the night of the murder or any other night. Evetta opened the envelope containing the first known victim of the X-Man. Evetta briefly glanced at the photographs of the other four victims and the photo of Peggy as a tear ran down her cheek. Evetta placed the envelope on the car seat got out her car and walked to the porch at 4525 South Prairie Avenue. She knocked on the door and in a few minutes the old woman they had saw at the garbage can peeked through a window facing the porch, Evetta showed her badge.

EVETTA (SHOUTING)
Chicago Police can I talk with you a few minutes?

OLD WOMAN (THE OLD WOMAN OPENED THE DOOR THE LENGTH OF THE BURGLAR CHAIN)

EVETTA (SHOWING THE WOMAN HER BADGE)
Hi, I’m detective Lunden and I am investigating the murder of your neighbor Peggy Smith, may I come in?

OLD WOMAN (STRAINING TO LOOK AT THE BADGE)
Be right with you

A few minutes later the woman opened the door
OLD WOMAN
Sorry I had to pee

Evetta entered the apartment and the old woman motioned for her to sit down. Evetta sat on a comfortable chair and the woman sat on a sheet-covered couch and introduced herself as Mrs. Watson.

EVETTA
Mrs. Watson did you know Peggy Smith?

WATSON
Yes, I’ve known her since she was a little girl; she has lived all of her life in the apartment next door. Terrible, terrible what happened to her, caught anybody yet?

EVETTA
No, not yet, but we’re working hard to catch them or him. We’re trying to get some background on Peggy, what kind of young woman was she?

WATSON
She was a quiet young girl and always respectful towards me and the other older people in the neighborhood. She was married for a while and had two beautiful children, but her and her husband couldn’t get alone, cause I could hear them arguing. After awhile I didn’t see him or the children, I figured they had broken up

EVETTA
Did ever see any men going to her apartment, like a boyfriend or something?


WATSON (SCRATCHING HER HEAD)
Yeah, there was a young man who would come by, generally on the weekends and I guess he must have spent the night ‘cause his car would be in front all night
EVETTA
Did you hear or see anything last Saturday night

WATSON (AGAIN THE OLD WOMAN SCRATCHED HER AND THOUGHT A MOMENT).
Now that you mentioned it I got up about two in the morning to pee and I looked out my bathroom window and I saw her and a man, he didn’t look like the guy who often spent the night, he was a short little man

EVETTA (EXCITED)
Could you see his face?

WATSON
No, he was real short and my bathroom window is setup high

EVETTA
See anything else?

WATSON (BLUSHING)
Yep, she was naked as a bedbug, no clothes on at all

EVETTA
We hear she walked the apartment naked