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
