Chapter 6

"woah, he's really insane. How could he do this?"

"my best guess is he's an accomplice, or he's being blackmailed, or he just wants to protect the killer"

"but his house? that's stretching it, don't you think?"

"at least now we've got evidence now"

"this isn't enough, let's beat them at their own game, send a copy to Sterling, if we can shake him up a little, he might lead us to the killer"

Sterling looked around before going through the yellow tape, he stared down the body before searching the trash, he felt his head with the back of his palm, his heart racing, he was about to give up when he remembered, he pushed his the trash and checked behind it, breathing a sigh of relief he bent down to pick it up

"what are you doing?"

He paused, his heart back in his throat, it was Nora. He quickly hid the knife in his clothes, turning to her

"checking for the murder weapon obviously, what does it look like?" at least he wasn't lying anyway

"let me guess, you've found nothing"

"mmm" he nodded. He was sorry, but he had to do this.

"so, forensic is on their way"

Sterling nodded "we should sweep the place still, we may find something

Nora looked at Parker, her face sullen, she shook her head as she sank into her chair, wearing a disappointed look

"what did the chief want?"

"they're taking us off the case" she slammed the papers on her desk

"what do you mean?"

"that's an odd question seeing that I was being plain…. she rolled her eyes…. someone sent an anonymous letter, that Sterling is mentally ill"

"the chief can't really believe, that right?"

"obviously she does"

"so, why is she taking all of us out?"

"she's giving the case to team two, something about our incompetence or something, that we're purposely dragging this case because we don't want new ones"

"have you told Sterling?"

"yes, he's on his way"

Sterling barged into the chief's office, his eyes fuming, he slammed the door behind him as he charged towards the chief's desk, the chief of police, Shirley Thomas, a woman in her late forties, stared at him, bewildered, she watched as he held onto her desk

"what's the meaning of this Sterling?"

"I would like to ask you the same thing, why are you taking us of this case, we've worked our asses off for this"

"and yet there's no improvement, your killer is still on the loose and the bodies keep multiplying, I'm giving the case to team two, hand over everything on it to them"

"what? You and I both know that my team is the best for this"

"that was before, now the families of the victims are questioning this precincts competence, let's not forget your little stunt with Mr. King"

"I apologized for that. Look the case is taking longer than expected, just give me a chance"

"I'm sorry Sterling, there's nothing I can do"

Sterling retreated, his steps slow as he backed away from the desk, he was about to leave when he turned back, new found courage mixed with rage filling his eyes, he slammed his hands on the desk and leaned towards her

"you are not taking my case, you here me? This is mine"

"Sterling! I wouldn't accept this kind of behavior from you, now leave before I suspend you"

"suspend me? he chuckled maniacally…. I dare you, I thought only men where power hungry, but I guess women seek control too"

"Sterling! I'm warning you, for the last time"

"Sterling, Sterling… he mimicked….you seem to be speaking when you should be listening, I said this is my case and you're not taking it away"

"that's it, you're suspended, another word from you and you'd hand in your resignation"

"on what grounds? Insubordination? his hands were buried in his hair, itching at something, he pulled out his gun out of his holster and pointed it at the chief, his eyes filled with something darker than his former rage, the chief stare at him in fear, her hands gesturing for him to calm down

"S-S-Sterling? She called out her hands shaking…. you can't do that; you've got to relax"

"not when you're trying to take my case…. he said his gun still pointed at her…. even if you're fast enough to pick up your gone, mine would be deadly, yours would probably miss"

"Sterling!" Nora screamed as she came in, her eyes widening, she went towards him and smacked his hand down, she pulled him out of the office and apologized on his behalf

"what was that? Is that how you planned on solving this?"

"she was going to give it to team two" he whined

She stared him down, still in shock "are you okay?"

"yes, why wouldn't I be?"

"well, I don't know, you were about to commit murder. Is it true?"

"is what true?"

"are you sick? As in cuckoo? she said circling her fingers on her head

"what do you mean? I'm not"

"someone called, they said you were…. well, sick. I'd talk to the chief; I think you should take some time off. Parker and I would handle it"

"but the autopsy"

"you can come for that, but you'd stay home after that, promise? he nodded…good, trust us"

She hugged him before going back into the chief's office.

The chief was leaned back on her chair, her eyes closed, she fanned herself with her hands obviously still shaken by the incident, her eyes shot opened as she heard the door open, she relaxed when she saw who it was, a sigh escaping her lips. She sat up and intertwined her hands, ready to pass judgement, Nora sensing what she was about to say, she raised her hand in an attempt to silence her.

"if you're here to advocate for Sterling, it's not going to work" attempt failed.

"come on chief, you know he didn't mean that"

"he pulled a gun at me. You know it's one thing to speak to me disrespectfully, it's another thing to attempt killing me"

"look he's going through some things right now. I promise to keep him in check from now on"

"no need, he's expected to hand in his badge"

"chief, you've known Sterling for months, he didn't mean that, plus he's our best detective"

"that doesn't mean he'd be given special treatment"

"chief…"

"…fine, whatever"

"thanks a lot chief, he'd just accompany us for the autopsy then he'd take some time off"

"no, no, no team two is still taking over that case"

"but we've worked our butts off, just give us another chance, please"

They fell into an uncomfortable silence, well uncomfortable for Nora, she held in a breath as she waited for the chief to make her decision. The chief loved Sterling so it was obvious that she would let it slide this one time, but Nora couldn't be sure, she decided to play the family card.

"come on mom, Sterling would be off the case for a while, we're very close to finding our guy, I can taste it"

"when has that ever worked?"

"I had no other choice", she shrugged.

"fine, your team can keep the case"

"yes! Thanks a lot mom…I mean chief" she said giving a mock salute.

They stared at her stitched-up cadaver, the pictures and autopsy result birthed disgusting looks, looks filled with horror. They watched Dr. Sarah explain the cause of death.

"so, what do you think killed her?"

"if you were listening Parker, you'd know"

"just tell us", she rolled her eyes at him

"fine, here we go, so the cut on her stomach is obviously what did it, it can't be the one on her neck as that's where we found her intestines"

"I don't think so, he could have slit her throat before cutting up her stomach"

"that's sick Parker"

"I'm just saying, right Nora?"

"don't ask me, she's the doctor"

"see? Well the probability of it being the stomach is higher. And get this, we found a condom there too, and the depth of the hole in her neck says…"

"…dear lord!" Nora exclaimed in disgust

"but unfortunately, we still couldn't get any DNA"

Sterling stared at the corpse, he stepped back in a daze, images kept flashing in his mind and his head began to hurt, he could hear death's voice calling, he held his head as he moved backwards, the dark images became more vivid, he's sight began to blur and he was sure he could see death's dark shadow move towards him, he could feel guilt creeping in, he wanted to end this game of hide and seek, he had to do something, he fell to the ground, the voices slowly disappearing, leaving one voice behind

"Sterling? Are you okay?" the faint voice asked. It was Sarah, they were all crouched over him, their expressions filled with concern, he nodded as he carefully sat up, he held his still banging head as he squinted his eyes.

"I'm okay, it's just a headache", he said as he stood up

"a headache that bad deserves the hospital"

"yeah Sterling, you're off the case for a while anyway. That reminds me, chief says, you must present a mental test or something, to prove that you're stable"

"whatever guys, there's a killer on the loose, I'm the last thing you need to worry about"

He shrugged Sarah's hand off and walked out of the room. Outside, he called Dr. Farleigh's office and made an appointment.

Sterling picked up the package that was left in front of his door, he didn't remember ordering anything. He stared at the package, turning it round in curiosity as he entered his home, he took of his shoes and wore his slippers, he sat at his dining table, ready to open the package when his phone rang, it was Farleigh.

"did you miss my doctor?"

"quite on the contrary smart mouth. Did you make an appointment?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "yeah, why?"

"nothing just wanted to make sure. I thought you didn't like my methods"

"well, I have no other choice. It's either that or I lose my case, or worst, my job"

"what happened?"

"I'll tell you during the session doctor, or are you trying to get my attention"

The other end fell silent, he could feel her calculated breaths through the phone, he smiled at her hesitation

"doctor? Are you still there?"

"good night, Sterling"

His smile widened as she ended the call. He went back to the package, he bit his lips, rethinking his options. He shrugged and opened it. Pictures. His eyes filled with horror, he could feel the fear mixed with his guilt seep through his veins, he looked through all the pictures, there were pictures of him. Pictures of him with the murder weapons, pictures of him at work, pictures of him with Farleigh. He spun round, checking if whoever this was, was still here, he pulled his curtain, just enough for him to look outside, there he stood, a coward, hiding in the shadows in an attempt to blackmail him, he squinted his eyes trying to see his face, he closed the curtains, failing. He scanned through the pictures and one cut his eyes, causing his heart to nest in his throat, he took it out, there it was, a picture of the killer, caught. Attached to the back of the picture was a flash drive, he hesitated before checking the contents of the flash, full evidence. The only thing the needed to get the killer, he gulped as he rubbed his face, it was a web he weaved himself in and he was to tangled to get out, he deleted the footage and threw the pictures into the fire.

He watched him open the package, a smile escaping his lips with every reaction Sterling made. He shivered when Sterling looked at him through the window, putting up his hand he waved at him, smiling. Success.