March 31st 2018
9:39 PM
It was a gloomy Saturday night in the greater Chicago area. The bar was empty with only a handful of patrons who hadn't gone home yet. It was dingy and dark, the atmosphere smelled of rotting eggs and subpar liquor. Cheap beer slowly dripped from the tap as the ancient jukebox hummed an unremarkable song from the catalog of bands scarcely remembered.
A melancholy ebony-skinned woman walked into the bar. She was dressed in sharp business attire. Her long beautiful legs were wrapped in pantyhose and capped off by pretty four inch heels. A black pencil skirt hugged her generous hips and tight waist. Her white collared shirt was unbuttoned, half untucked, and wrinkled. The top 3 buttons had been undone, revealing the cleavage underneath. Her hair was a mess, split ends and tangles draped in a heap across her shoulders, framing the look of exhaustion worn on her face. She sat down at the bar, head in her hand as she wheezed out her order.
"Get me a beer Marv." She ordered. "Whatever's in stock is good."
"You look like you need something stronger Suzanne." the bartender replied. "Your tab's still good if you want scotch or brandy. I even still have some of that whiskey leftover from St. Patty's day."
"You know what Marv?" Suzanne said, sitting up. "I think I'll take you up on that. Make me an Irish coffee. I'm gonna need the caffeine"
"Comin right up!" Marv went back to prepare the drink and Suzanne turned her attention to the old TV hanging from the corner.
"Our top story concerns the acquittal of Jarvis Johansson, the chief suspect in the case of the 'Sawtooth Sex Fiend.' This serial rapist/killer has been known to terrorize the city by sexually assaulting women before leaving fatal bite marks on their bodies. Dental records and DNA evidence were found to be inconclusive due to the fact that the suspect utilized a custom set of dentures, modified with the signature saw teeth, which also impeded the flow of saliva from the mouth. When asked to give a statement, Mr Johansson replied by saying 'I told y'all, I ain't the sex fiend. I ain't done none of this shit. You dumbass, bitchass, motherfuckers are gonna pay when I get out a here.'"
Suzanne let out a deep sigh and buried her face in her hands. The last thing she wanted to be reminded of was work.
Suzanne was a paralegal for the district attorney. The Sawtooth Sex Fiend case had been a major clusterfuck for the city. The police department was dealing with severe mismanagement which led to the prosecution completely fumbling the case. The DA, Herbert Meyers made things even worse. When the necessary evidence failed to materialize, he chose to appeal to racial biases as a way to get a conviction. Suzanne especially didn't appreciate that, and it signaled to the jury that the prosecution didn't have a case, leading to the acquittal. The DA's office had turned into an absolute firestorm after that, and Suzanne had already started looking into other law firms to find a different job. But that was a problem for the future. Suzanne chugged down the Irish coffee and asked for another when she was approached by an officer who had just gotten off duty.
"Pardon me miss." He began. "I saw what happened at the courthouse today, I'm very sorry...well for everything. Can I buy you a drink?"
"I can buy my own drinks." Suzanne replied. "But go ahead and sit down anyway. I could use some company." The officer sat and began to speak again.
"Name's Detective Freddy Colombo." He told her.
"Your name's Colombo?" Suzanne asked, puzzled. "And you're a detective?"
"Yeah. Ma always said I was in the right line ah work." This made Suzanne giggle.
"Suzanne Murphy." Suzanne replied. "I work for the DA, for now at least."
"Yeah...uh." The detective continued "That stuff, the prosecutor said. It was fucked up."
"I wouldn't have minded as much if it didn't cost us the damn case." Suzanne gulped down her coffee in an instant. "With the evidence being as sloppy as it is, we could have gone for a mistrial if he kept his mouth shut! Now Jarvis is free and he's gonna be out for blood."
"Don't worry about Jarvis. His type always gets their comeuppance eventually."
"What do you mean by his type?" Suzanne snapped. She was completely on edge.
"I mean he's a degenerate." The officer clarified. "It's not a race thing, I swear. I've been working the precinct for almost a decade and almost all crimes are committed by the same handful of people, people like Jarvis. Jarvis himself has been in and out of the slammer several times. He's done things like petty theft, vandalism, public intoxication, harassment. He doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself and one of these days, it's gonna cost him."
"Oh...sorry." Suzanne replied meekly.
"Don't be. You've been through a lot I can tell."
"That's no excuse." Suzanne was becoming increasingly groggy from exhaustion and the alcohol. But she still had her pride. "I'm a professional."
"Yeah but you're off duty, you can afford some slip ups."
"No I can't." Suzanne was half asleep now. "Jarvis is gonna make me pay for trying to lock him up."
"Hows about I take you home." Freddy got up, tipped the bartender, then helped Suzanne back to his car. "Jarvis won't be able to get anywhere near you with me around." Suzanne began to follow him back to the cruiser. She decided to wear his police jacket around herself to keep warm. The leather was very comfortable and it had a distinctive man smell that Suzanne happened to be crazy for. She got in the passenger seat of the car, taking her heels off and curling herself up in the jacket for comfort. That's when Freddy got a call on his personal phone.
"Hello." He answered. "You gotta be kidding me! Again!" Suzanne listened as she rested her head speculating on the conversation. "That boy's gonna get fired one of these days. Can't believe we have to put up with this." Freddy Colombo hung up his phone and turned to Suzanne. "Sorry about that, there's been a problem with the evidence department down at the precinct. We're gonna have to make a detour."
March 31st 2018
10:17 PM
After a brief drive, Colombo and his passenger arrived at the Chicago Police Department.
"Alright, I'll be back in a bit." He said. "You just wait here and-"
"No wait." Suzanne stopped him. "I wanna come wit you."
"I can't bring a civilian in there."
"Sure you can. City ordinance 262-74-J." She cited, just barely conscious. "The police precinct is a public building. Anyone can enter, provided they have a police escort." She looked up at him, a cheeky smile on her face.
"You're loopy." Freddy smiled back
"C'mon, I wanna see the evidence locker. I think I deserve to know exactly why my day was completely ruined."
"Well I guess I can't turn that request down." Freddy picked her up and carried her through the parking garage up to the evidence lockup. The woman's disheveled appearance got him more than a few sideways looks and raised eyebrows, but he clarified Suzanne's identity to everyone who asked. Those who didn't, were content with making their own judgments.
It wasn't long before the two of them had found their way to Evidence and Suzanne could instantly see why there were so many problems. The place was a total mess. Nothing was locked in any kind of secure container. Drugs, weapons, stacks of cash and jewelry were haphazardly piled on top of each other. None of the paperwork was filed away, it was simply stacked up on a dirty, unmanned desk towards the back of the room. Suzanne simply looked in awe at the mess before her as Freddy began to gripe once.
"Where the fuck is that little bastard?" He spat out. "Suzanne, wait here a moment, I gotta track down the guy responsible for all this."
As Freddy left, Suzanne decided to do something she knew could get her in a lot of trouble. She started to look through the evidence. The file on Jarvis Johansson was pretty easy to find, it was at the top of the disorganized pile of papers. Sure enough Jarvis had an extensive criminal record dating back fifteen years. It started with him being a petty drug dealer and thief in the West Chesterfield area and had a long string of misdemeanors on his record. When she got to the photographs of the Sawtooth murders however, she was shocked.
They showed something far outside the scope of the crimes he normally committed. The mutilated arms, legs, and genitals of the victims demonstrated something sadistic and cruel. It's one thing to be a selfish asshole who refuses to conform to polite society. But what she saw here were the actions of a truly twisted monster. Is that who Jarvis really was?
The photos she saw of the so-called "saw teeth" were also quite surprising but in a different way. They were composed of a mechanism that appeared similar to a retainer. Sharpened metal teeth sat on the outside, the inside featured what appeared to be sponges and cleverly designed grooves that drew saliva away from the teeth, and prevented the teeth from hurting the inside of the mouth. Jarvis hadn't even completed high school, and there was nothing in his record that indicated he was capable of designing or building such a thing. It's possible he had an accomplice but that just raised more questions. Why would a serial killer have an accomplice? Jarvis' dental records were also missing. That was particularly frustrating due to the fact that the teeth were custom made and would only fit the killer. This case didn't seem to be adding up.
Fuck! She was too tired for this. She put the file down and sat down at the desk making herself comfortable as she did so. Since she was alone, she took the opportunity to readjust her bra, which had been giving her trouble all day. She untucked her shirt and unbuttoned the rest of her buttons to expose it. It was a lacy, leopard print, pushup that she had just purchased from Victoria's Secret, size 34 DD. She also took the opportunity to lightly brush her generous globes with the tips of her well manicured nails. She shivered slightly at the sensations. It had been days since she budgeted some time for her personal needs and it felt
good.
