STAY WITH ME (WATTYS 2023)

CHAPTER 16. DEUCES

*Author's note: Strong trigger warning! This book contains graphic depictions of violence with some disturbing scenes involving m*rder and the use of weapons, torture, domestic violence, including mental and physical abuse, sexual situations and mature language. It may trigger certain individuals who are sensitive to this subject matter. It is marked mature. You must be 17 or older to read this book.

As I peer through the lenses of the binoculars and adjust the knob, his face slowly comes into focus. "There you are, Johnny boy. You're a sneaky son of a bitch!"
I set the binoculars down in the seat next to me, turn my stereo all the way up, and pull out of the parking lot. My mouth salivates as I drive away, making a mental note of the appointment he has just unwittingly made to sit in my chair.

Special Agent Grayson flashes his badge at the backdoor of the crime scene in Upstate New York. "What do we have here, lieutenant?"

"We have one male deceased in the living room, sir. Follow me."

As the lieutenant is walking him over to the body, he continues to brief him. "They've identified him as thirty-five-year-old Darrell Banks. He apparently lived alone and we haven't been able to locate any next of kin. A woman named Nicole Hanson escaped during the attack and called it in. She said she had met the deceased in a bar and went home with him last night. According to her statement, they were attacked by a woman shortly after they came inside. She fits the description of the suspect in the other homicide investigations."

They stop in front of the chair where the deceased is and the lieutenant hands him a pair of latex gloves. He puts them on and begins to examine the body a little closer while the lieutenant continues briefing him.

"He was found just like this."

"Where's his hand?"

"It's right over there, sir." He points over by the wall where it's marked and labeled with a bright yellow BCI tag. "It was apparently severed at the wrist and forensics said it shows signs of ligature that's consistent with being bound by handcuffs. Although, none have been found at the scene. Oh, and as you can see, he's also missing his penis. We haven't been able to locate that yet. He must have pissed somebody off or it's so small we overlooked it."

The lieutenant chuckles under his breath. Agent Grayson stops, turns around and glares back at his distasteful attempt to be a comedian. He simply ignores his unprofessional behavior with another question. "Fingerprints?"

"Eh yeah, crime lab lifted several, but they haven't come back from the lab yet."

Agent Grayson walks around the body and then squats down in front of him. He pulls the man's pants over to the side, tilts his head and then leans in closer to get a better look. "Clean cut. Very precise. She knows her way around a sharp instrument. Any other eye witnesses?"

"None besides the woman who called it in. It's pretty secluded out here, though. We have detectives going door to door."

Agent Grayson looks down at his own feet and then remarks, "so from the looks of the carpet here in front of him, we have a lot of missing blood. There should be a lot more. Did BCI remove anything from this scene, lieutenant? There must have been some sort of plastic here."

"No sir, the scene has been preserved awaiting your arrival. She must have taken it with her, along with the murder weapon and whatever else she used on the victim."