Chapter Two She Swings and he's out

Episode Two: She swings and he’s out

Spira’s house rested just north of the City, below the northern face mountain ranges that circled the city. Destiny City sat in the middle of a forest, which sat nicely tucked away in the middle of the Cobalt Mountain range. The highway didn’t even run though the city. It passed by just south of the Southern part of the Mountains. A small single lane road cuts through the mountain and into the heart of the city. This didn’t stop the thousands of people from coming to the city to see its amazing beauty and rare location. Its location has caused it to become something of a tourist spot. What was once a small town boomed into a city over night leaving the older building, made of brick and wood, to rot, as much bigger and more high tech building were built, just northeast of what was once the center of the city. The older buildings sat to the west side of the city and were referred to as Old Town, due to the number of now empty and collapsed sites. Making it the perfect home for the homeless and gangs of Destiny City.

Douglas had to travel pass all this just to get to the Newer City. The tall glass buildings, the big malls, and all the rest of that new age bull shit sat in, what was referred to as, New Town. Douglas was just fine with the mom and pop store on the corner of his block and the little roach filled pizza places across the street. It wasn’t much, but for a part of town that people have all but forgot about, it was a lot. He felt this fancy bullshit was for all of the new age people and that was far from what he was.

Old town was half the size on the newer part of the city, but it was New Town that caused an even longer trip due to the lights and the mindless pretty people crossing the street to get a coffee at the nearest Star Ducks. It was the mindless apes all over again, Douglas felt as he watched them staring at their cell phone and blackberries. Mind control in its best form.

Spira’s house was more of a manor, than it was a house; it sat on a small hill letting it be seen by the city goers below. Just as you leave the city to the north you find a huge Hospital and a single lane road that led straight to Spira’s Manor. It was the only road in the whole city that was not paved causing Douglas’ shitty car to slow down or risk breaking down. As the brown rusted hunk of junk slowly pushed up the road the three-story Manor came into view. The blue shutters looked black in the moonlight and the white siding glowed. The windows on the second and third floors sat dark, telling Douglas that if there was a crime scene, it was somewhere on the first floor where the windows were all well lit and a shadow could be seen walking about.

Just in front of the manor sat a large football field size lawn and in front of that a large iron gate. Spira put the gates in after the murder of his wife, he was worried someone else may try to take his life or even go after his millions, or at least that was what he told Douglas. The truth was completely different. The gates were placed there after his wife’s death, but not for security. It was more of a memorial for his wife, but also to keep his a very dark secret from escaping.

The car rumbled to a stop in front of the black iron gates, where the yellow crime scene tape draped across. The iron gates were made of thick iron bars and in the middle of each gate the iron bars bent in the shape of a rose in memory of Spira’s late wife. The crime scene tape was an eye sore on such a beautiful work of art. Douglas never really liked art and knew little about it, but the meaning behind the gates gave him such a warm feeling. It made him think of his own wife. A scene of his wife dancing appeared in his mind and for a second he was lost in that thought. Until a voice snapped him back to reality.
He turned to see a tall slender man wearing a blue full body suit, like a car repairman. He hesitated for a second and then handed his ID out the window to the man.

“Mr. Falco,” He said reading the ID. The man’s voice sound like Urkel from Family Matters, “Are you some kind of cop?” Douglas eyed the man for a second, as to get the point across that it was none of his business. Douglas looked into the eyes and noticed that the man’s face looked plastic and the eyes seem to show no emotion. Second past as the two stared at each other, finally Douglas reached out of the window and grabbed his ID from the man’s hand. The man stepped back with his hands up as if Douglas had pulled a gun on him.

“Hey, man sorry. Just don’t see many of those things in my neck of the woods.” He stepped backwards into the both lowering his hand to press the button to open the gate. “Go head man, their waiting for you up at the house.” Douglas did not look back up. He just turned the key and the piece of shit vehicle rumbled to a start. Slowly the car rolled under the yellow crime scene tape and towards the Manor. Behind him he could see the crime scene tape draping as the gates slowly closed, then the man stepped out into view and began to remove the yellow tape. Douglas blinked as he watched him rip it down. Why would he do something like that? The way he spoke was odd, too. Something is not right. Before he could think to do anything a horn’s cried out pulling his eyes back to the road in front of him. A car sat in the middle of the road with its headlights pointing right at him. He turned the wheel hard left and moved out of the vehicles’ way. The small black rusted car rolled past him and down the road. He tried to see who it was, but the windows were covered in dirt. Odd car for a cop, he thought just before yelling at himself.
“Great, almost smashed into another flipping car. That would have made my night complete.” He slowed the car, as he pull up to the grand water fountain, looking ahead he saw people moving about as if packing up to leave. He paused there and watched them run around. It only took a few minutes before everything was packed and everyone crawled into the vehicles. Slow like a parade the vehicles drove passed him. Some of the drivers eyed him as other stared out their windshield and paid no attention to him. He found it odd that some of the drivers looked as if they had been high on drugs and the vehicles were old and badly beaten up. One would think that the police force could afford better vehicles.

The driveway circled around the fountain and allowed for parking all the way around the fountain. Douglas pulled around and stopped in front of the door. The place was empty for all except one car that sat off in the grass.
“It’s nice to see the warm welcome.” Douglas joked as if someone could hear him. The car rumbled for a few seconds then with a disgusted thud the car shut off. Douglas stepped from the car to find a shadow standing in the doorway causing him to stop in his tracks. At first Sandra ran though his mind, but it wasn’t her. The figure was too meaty in the waist and the hair was shorter. The first thing that came to his mind was an image of a cow with sort reddish hair. Rude, but Douglas never cared much about people’s feelings.
Then again it has been a few years. Douglas wondered if the young, thin, and sexy woman, that had once driven him from his wife, was now nothing more than a mid-size house wife with two kids and nothing to do, but sit around all day watching soaps and playing on the computer. The figure moved into the light of the moon and Douglas knew right away it was not Sandra. The reddish brown short hair was uncombed and it looked as if the woman had just gotten out of bed. She walked beside Douglas and stopped, the smell of fish filled Douglas’s nostrils. Looking over his shoulder, he found her leaning in to him. She then whispered into his ear, “It’s so nice to see a washed up cop trying recapture his youth by solving crimes.” Without a pause, she walked to the car parked in the grass and crammed herself inside.

Douglas stood there for a second. The nice thing would be to forget it and move on, but that wasn’t Douglas. He turned to the car and walked over, he wanted to put her head through the window, but that may have been too much. The woman sat in the car reading a gossip magazine and seems to be waiting for someone. So Douglas did want he always did, he opened his month. He walked up to the window and tapped on the glass window. The woman looked freaked out as she rolled down the window just enough to hear what he had to say.

Douglas smiled and without a though he said, “Ma’ ma, you should thank god that I am not a cop, because if I was I would have to give you a ticket for driving with a cow in your car.”

The woman looked at him in wondered, “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I am sorry.” Douglas said in a cocky tone, “That’s your ass, not a cow. My mistake,” he smiled and bow as if ask for her forgiveness, “ you have yourself a nice night, Ma’ ma.” He stood upright and walked back to the Manor. He was not sure, but he was almost positive he heard a “Moo!” come from the car as he walked away.

Looking up at the doorway he saw a shadow of another woman. It was the smell that told him who it was, the smell of sweet flowers after a raining day. This time the feel was too strong almost as if she was covering up something. Sandra! The shadow stepped into the light to revel a thin well-shaped woman in her forties. It was still the same woman that had gotten him so hot all those years ago.

“Hey there stranger, I take it you met my new partner, Mary. She is a little bitchy, but she is a good... cop.” Douglas gave a quick smile and hid it just as fast. Cop, a farm animal is more like it.
“I am not in the mood for this,” his tone said he was pissed, but he was kind of curious. “What did you drag me out here for?” He did not want to waste any time, but it was not time that was on his mind. He had feeling for her and did not want to deal with any of them at this time, or at any time. Plus it was clear she was hiding something.

He was also still a little mad at the fact that she had left him at a point in time where he needed her most. He could still picture the day he sat on the stand being questioned by the D.A., only to find the only person he trusted had not shown up. She was all he, his kids were to upset to be at the trail. Even they were unsure of his innocent at the time.

The smell of her hair pulled him from his thoughts and back to her. He walked up to the doorway and looked into the Manor. The ransacked room was filled with clues, but he was unsure if he should say anything. He wanted to wait to see why he was here, that and things seemed even stranger now.
“Spira would be, why you are here.” She said, as she walked into the Manor waving her hand at Douglas, as if to say come in. Stepping into the welcome room he noticed her mud covered shoes. They were not police standard to march around a crime scene in muddy boots they also seemed to be pretty old and well worn. Things were getting odder by the second. A smell of blood filled the air, which Douglas found odd since the scene did not look very gory.
“We found a letter written on the closet floor in his blood.” Douglas peaked into the closet, to the left of the entranceway, and saw that the message left was now dried and mostly gone. The cement floor in the closet had helped the blood dry it faster than normal. The closet seemed odd with the unfinished floor and unpainted dry-walled walls. There was no light in the room and a wood board now covered a small vent that had once let air in the small room. Douglas stepped in and walked about the ten by twenty foot room. He looked up at Sandra and looked into her eyes for the first time in years.
“This was built to be a holding cell.” He said rubbing the rim of his hat. Sandra walked in and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“We kind of figured that as well. But if it is a holding cell, then where is his body?” Douglas looked about and nodded his head. That is a good point, where is the body?

“How did you get the call?” He asked as he stepped out of the closet and back in to the welcome area.

Sandra walked out behind him and replied, “The... Maid called it in.” He noticed it quickly, but wondered if she had noticed that he had picked up on the small pause she made before saying “Maid”. The pause told him that she was lying. Any cop knew that. Douglas began looking around for clues and quickly found at least ten more. “How much do you know?” she asked as she watched him search the room with his eyes. Douglas looked up and felt like kissing her as he stared into her eyes, but then he saw something in her eyes that he had missed before. She was hiding something, but that he already knew. Spira’s well-being was no longer on his mind because he knew Spira was not in any danger or at least it wasn’t his blood. “You know something, don’t you?” She asked as she saw him staring into her eyes. Douglas stepped over to her and pressed her against the wall lightly.
“I know that the blood in the room is not human, because of the smell of it. I know this place was not robbed, because if it was the robber left a half a million-dollar painting hanging on the wall. Plus you have been lying to me since I got here. Your so-called partner is not a cop. I could tell that by the way her fat ass fit into the car. So what is going on here? I am not sure, but I know your no cop anymore.” She pushed him away and walked over to the stairs and sat down on the bottom step.

“You’re right. I am hiding a lot from you.” It was not until that second that he saw the evil in her eyes. There was hatred hidden in her eyes and he knew it was directed at him. The reason for it was unknown to him. He stepped over the broken vases and kneeled down beside her.

“What happen to you,” he asked softly. The question seems to have enraged her, because her face turned red and he could see that every muscle in her body tightened.

“You,” she whispered in a low growl. “You ruined my life.” With all the force she could muster she grabbed hold of his coat, jumped up from the stairs and pushed him backwards. He landed on the floor hard causing the back of his head to slam off the floor. He raised his head in a daze and tried to rub the blurred vision away with his hands. His eyes opened to find Sandra pointing a gun at his head. He froze in fear as he stared into her eyes and saw nothing but hatred. It was a dark cold look that he knew to well.

“You said that you loved me!” She yelled as the gun wiggled about. “Then you left me and went back to that pretty wife of yours!” Douglas slid himself back against the wall with his right hand as he used his left hand to search the floor for something to use as a weapon.

“So I killed the little bitch!” The words snapped Douglas’ attention back to Sandra. For years he tried to find his wife’s killer, but was only able to prove it wasn’t him. It was just then, as he stared hatefully into her eyes that he noticed it was Sandra, or at least not the Sandra he knew. Something was different. “What’s wrong Douglas,” her voice began to alter tones. “Didn’t think to look so close to home, did you?” Her voice cracked to a high pitch. “I spent years trying to figure out away to get you back for leaving me. Killing your wife didn’t do it, but maybe killing a billionaire would do.” she said as she paced back and forth in the small room. “Sadly I believe Spira is out of town, or I would have left his dead body here for you to find and made damn sure you were blamed for it.”

Douglas was sick of listen to her bitch about getting even and wanted to end this fast. The faster this ended the better chances he had. It was clear from the glossy gaze in her eyes that she was high on something, or at least he was guessing it had something to do with drugs.

He jumped up to his feet causing Sandra to jump backwards in shock. She landed with half her foot off the step causing her feet to give way. She fell on the bottom step ass first with the gun still pointing at Douglas. Slowly she got up and kept talking.

“So I met some new friends and set this up.” Douglas slammed his fist against the wall and turned back to her. It was a poor attempt to scare her.
“So you got some drugged up people to help try and set me up again.” Douglas said, as he tried to fight the rage inside. “The only problem is that you forgot that I am the best and your little trick was nothing more than a waste of time.” She took a step toward him, which was a mistake. As soon as she was in reach of Douglas grabbed her gun hand and pushed it upwards. A shot rang out, as he hit the gun free. The gun fell to the ground at their feet and she quickly tried to go for the weapon. A quick knee shot to the head, as she bent down, was all it took to knock her out. He reached down for the weapon when he noticed the odd feeling of someone standing behind him. He quickly grabbed the gun and turned to find the edge of a baseball bat waiting to meet him. He should have known Mary was there due to the fishy smell.

He awoke to find himself sitting in the very same closest he had seen the message written in blood. The smell of pig’s blood filled the room with a dreadful smell. He did his best not to puck only to fail at it and blow chucks in the corner of the room. The only light came from the crack between the door and the cement floor. He crawled to the door and stuck his nose under it fighting to get some fresh air. His head was pounding due to the meeting he had with the baseball bat. He had seen a small vent on the wall before, but has unsure of where it was now placed. Searching the room blind he found nothing that could help him to escape and then he began to wonder how long he had been in the room.

Whatever this bitch is going to do next she better do it before I recover from this daze. He whisper to himself knowing that if Sandra wanted to, she could very well just shoot him though the door at any moment and there was nothing he could do about it. His stomach rumbled as he rose to his feet, he leaded on the door, as the dizzy feeling grew stronger.

“Damn bitch is going to pay,” he mumbled. Slowly he felt his way around the room again, checking for anything that may help him. He paused at the door and tried to listen only to find he could hear nothing in his condition. Trying the doorknob seemed foolish, but he tried it anyway only to find it locked. He then moved to the far corner from the door to rest. Rubbing his face he could tell that he had been in the room at least a day due to the length of his unshaved bearded. He closed his eyes for a second, planning to rest for only a second and then continue searching the room, only to doze off once more.
His mind began wondered, a scene from his ten year old birthday flicker in and out of darkness. In front of his ten-year-old self sat a birthday cake made of ice cream in the shape of a bear of some kind. Beyond that all he could see were a blur of bright colors. I loud muffle, that sounded like people singing Happy Birthday filled his ears. Turning from side to side all he could see were blurry people. Only one person stood completely clear, a young nine-year-old girl with blonde hair. She stood towards the back of the group and was singing with a cute smile that he could not look away from. Before he knew it, she was all he could see. Darkness surrounded them as he climbed off the wooden chair and removed the corny birthday hat. He tossed it to the ground, as he reached out for her hand. She did not move, instead she stared at him and as she did her face age. She went from ten to nineteen in seconds. Her blonde hair was now longer and slightly darker. The darkness around them was replaced with a sunny sky and a grass field. They sat on a red blanket as he took pictures of the clouds. He could recall the day like it had taken place just yesterday even know it was years ago. He smiled at her, as he turned the lens towards her. He wanted her to smile for the camera, but she did something he did not see coming. She slowly grabbed on to her white blouse and pulled it up and over her head reviling her well-filled bra. Blushing and starting to sweat, he moved in for a closer look. He snapped a few shots then placed the camera on the blanket. He lowered himself slowly down to his knees to meet her kiss. They kissed, as he pushed her back down on the blanket. Suddenly darkness appeared once more. The blond young woman was gone and he was worried. Worried about what he was unsure of, then he heard the gun shots. Running towards the sound me found a lit doorway in the darkness. Running to it, he knew what awaited him inside. He had been here before. Stepping slowing into the room he peaked around the corner in hopes of finding it different. There before him was a king size bed covered in blood, the very bed he once slept in. Walking around the bed and pass the wooden dresser he stopped suddenly, as he looked down found the young blond woman’s body covered in blood. His wife had been shot three times once in the head and twice in the chest. He kneeled down beside the body and cried, holding her tight.

He awoke to find a blur of white light and a smell of chemical cleaner, not a disgusting smell by far, but far from pleasant. He couldn’t recall anything that happened. While reaching up to rub his eyes he felt a bandage wrapped around his head. He then took notice to the breathing. Someone else was in the room with him. Slowly lowering his hands to his side, he opened his eyes once more to find a white ceiling above him. His vision cleared, as he stared up and when it fully cleared he slowly titled his head to look around. He only hoped that whoever was in the room hadn’t already seen him move, but Douglas knew by the sound of the breathing that the person was probably asleep. He first looked to the left due to a small stabbing pain in his hand. Looking over he saw an IV unite, “Forget the sneaking shit.” He said to himself, as he noticed the IV pumping into his body and quickly ripped it from his left hand. A stinging pain ran up his arm, but quickly faded.

He sat up and was ready to be attacked or at be least tackled back down by whom ever brought him here. Only to find the room was a normal hospital room. A small TV was hanging from the wall in front of him. On the screen he could see what looked to be a man holding a puppet.

“I ... kull you.” The skeleton puppet said, as the crowd laughed. Blowing off the puppet, he turned to see a big window was on his right and there next to the window sat a person covered by a coat, sleeping peacefully.
This is way too fucked up for even me. Hell I was a drunk for years and never woke up like this. He gave himself the once over and found no scars of any kind, at least not any new ones. He then lowered the left bar and slipped his leg off the bed. Placing his bare foot on the cold floor caused him a quick jump, which in turn caused the bed to hit the wall, just hard enough to stir whoever was under the coat. He quickly pulled his foot back up and tossed the covers over his leg. Closing his eyes, as if he was sleeping, he waited.
For a second all he heard was the television. The voices were faint, something about a Walter fart and Muster gas. He wasn’t sure, but it must have been funny since the crowd was laughing. Then he heard the person next to him move once more. The chair slide slightly telling Douglas that the person was now out of the chair. He then heard footsteps, the footsteps of pricy dress shoes, which told him that the person had walked up to the television.
“That Jeff Dunham is a real kick. Don’t you think, Douglas?” The voice quickly rang a bell, but he was more shocked that the person was talking to him. “Come, now Douglas. I have waited three days for you to wake up and now you are going to fake it. You can’t fake it with me Douglas. I know you to well. Plus only my ex-wife was any good at faking it.” Douglas fought a smile has he opened his eyes to see his old friend Dr. Spira standing at the end of the bed with his back to him.

“If you didn’t have your coat over your bald head I would have noticed you sooner.” Douglas said, as he sat up in bed. Spira laughed. His laughter sounded odd, as if he was holding it back. Listening closely Douglas could pick up a slight crack in the tone, as if a darker laugh was being hidden.
“If you were paying attention you would have noticed the six hundred dollar coat covering this bald head.” The old man pointed to the back of his head, as he continued to watch the television. “Moving on, do you recall any of the events that got you to this place?” Spira’s voice quickly turned. He was no longer the old friend. He was now the worried father type, which Douglas hated, but somehow enjoyed. Douglas took a second to think back. His mind was blurred with images of his wife. Clearing his mind it slowly came to him.
“Sandra,” the name slipped from his lips like it was the last breath of air that would ever leave his body. Spira himself froze at the name. Douglas watched, as he walked back to the chair and slowly sat down.

“I think I should tell you everything.” Spira said placing his left hand onto Douglas’ right arm. “Then you need to tell me what happen to my house.”
“You had been so busy clearing your own name you never noticed Sandra’s break down. As you tried working things out with your wife, Sandra was losing her mind. Then after you had finally cleared your name you jumped into the bottom of the bottle, but while there you missed a lot. The clues you uncovered turned to another cop, Sandra. When they went to talk to her she was gone. They believed she left town, but in fact she had not. I arrived home on Saturday night when the gun shots riddled my car. I jumped to the ground like a scared child and crawled into the house. After calling the police I locked myself in a small closet area, in hopes that I would be safe there. I heard the front door get shot open and listened, as her footsteps got closer. When then came toward the closet I watched the shadow of her feet pass by the door then slowly return. I won’t lie to you Douglas I was wetting myself. An old man like me fears death as it is. Having a crazed woman come after me was not something I rather enjoyed. The knob turned so slow it felt like a lifetime. The door swung open slowly with an eerie creak and there stood a tall shadow pointing a gun at me. I thought my life was over, but lucky an officer drove from out of nowhere and tackled her to the ground. The gun fired once putting a hole in my wall, but everyone was safe. I don’t think I have to tell you that it was Sandra that tried to kill me, but do you know why she did? She was after you. She knew I helped you get out of jail and came looking for you. After she was sent to Destiny Prison I came looking for you.” He slapped Douglas on the shoulder, “Good thing I did too. Got you cleaned up pretty fast and out solving cases. So I bet your really bringing in the cash now.” The smile on Spira’s face told Douglas that he was hoping for a good answer, but the worry look in his eyes told him that Spira knew of his troubles. Douglas leaded over and whispered for some odd reason.

“So I take it she got out somehow.” Spira pulled back and gave him a questionable look. “She did this to me, Ed. But I don’t think she wants me dead. It was more like she was asking for help. I saw it in her eyes. Something is wrong with her and she wants me to free her from it.”

Spira rose from his seat and walked to the window, staring out at the busy city he said, “So, you’re going after her then.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement. Douglas slipped out of bed and quickly back in when he noticed he was naked. “I better find your hat before you do anything else.” Spira said covering his eyes and walking from the room. Douglas sat in bed and stared at the wall, an image of his wife filled his mind, as the anger of what Sandra had done boiled within him.

“I have a score to settle”, he whispered. It sounded evil when he said it and quickly wondered if he would really have it in himself to kill anyone with his bare hands, only time would tell. First he had to answer some unanswered questions, not just about Sandra, but Spira as well.