Animals and actual beast.., p.10
Animals & Actual Beasts, page 10
Dr. Marlo sighed. “Follow me, Detectives.”
They followed her to her office, and Isaac glanced around. The large space was decorated more like someone’s cozy living room rather than an office. There was a couch, two comfy chairs, and a coffee table in the center. One wall was decorated with drawings. Some of them looked like a child drew them while others were clearly done by decent artists. Each was signed with a different name, and Isaac wondered if they were a part of Dr. Marlo’s therapy sessions.
Across the room was a dark wood desk with two chairs in front of it. This is where she led them, gesturing to the two chairs as she took a seat behind the desk.
“What do you want to know, Detective?”
Isaac and Pete each took a seat.
“For starters, it says here that Getz often expressed a desire to taste human flesh.” Isaac flipped to the page he’d glanced at before and read, “To cut off a hunk of meat and fry it up with eggs, like a human steak.”
“Madre de Dios,” Pete mumbled. Mother of God.
“Ned Getz is a lonely, pitiful soul, Detective,” Dr. Marlo said, her tone clearly stating that she didn’t share their concern. “He had an extremely troubled upbringing and now suffers from both Borderline and Antisocial Personality Disorders, among other things. And yes… during our sessions he did often show a passing curiosity in tasting human flesh. But at the time, I had no real reason to believe that he was a danger to society.”
“At that time?” Isaac repeated, staring at her closely.
“Well, I haven’t seen Ned for almost seven months now. Our work wasn’t completed. He simply stopped coming.”
“How long was he a patient of yours?”
“Four years. And he came to me via referral when a colleague moved out of the area and needed to find new placements for his patients. So Ned’s had several years of therapy.”
“Is Ned currently on any medications, Doctor?” Pete asked.
“Yes. It’s all there in the file.”
“Could any of those medications adversely affect his behavior if he were to stop taking them without a doctor’s guidance?” Pete asked, pursuing his line of questioning while Isaac continued flipping through the file.
“Certainly. One of his medications is a mood stabilizer, used to help control aggression and other impulsive behavior. If he were to abruptly stop taking it there would most likely be violent outbursts and other inappropriate behavior.”
“Did Ned ever talk about his job with you?” Isaac asked.
“Of course. He enjoys his job at the zoo very much. He said he likes to watch the people just as much as the animals. And he had a special affinity for Tum Tum the Tiger because he got to help bottle feed her when she was born. He spoke about that animal with such affection. She seemed to bring out a nurturing side of him that I believed needed to be encouraged, so I suggested he get a pet cat as a form of therapy.”
“And did he?” Isaac asked, still studying her.
An expression of unease floated over her face. “Yes.”
“Did it help him?” Isaac pressed.
Dr. Marlo hesitated. “At first it was going well. But two weeks later he told me the cat had died. It took four more sessions before he admitted to strangling the cat.”
Isaac stared at her and nodded. He wasn’t shocked or surprised by this news. “And you didn’t think that presented a danger to society?”
“In my medical opinion, no.”
“Really? When you know as well as we do that torturing or killing a pet is often a precursor to killing a person.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact.
Dr. Marlo opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. There was a tint of embarrassment to her voice when she said, “I believed Ned was a bigger treat to himself than anyone else.”
Isaac shook his head, trying hard hold his tongue. “Did Ned say anything else about the zoo? About feeding the animals?”
“Feeding the animals?” Marlo repeated, sounding puzzled.
Isaac thought of the bones found in the zoo habitats. “The bears? The lions? The tigers perhaps?”
“Apart from bottle feeding the one tiger cub, no. Ned’s job at the zoo doesn’t actually involve the care and feeding of the animals.”
“Okay. Thank you for your time, Doctor.” Isaac stood and turned for the door.
“This dismembered victim?” Dr. Marlo said.
Isaac and Pete both stopped and turned to look at her.
“Yes?” Isaac said.
“You say body parts are missing?”
“A foot,” Pete answered. “And a hunk of flesh taken from the man’s right thigh. Another taken from his left buttocks.”
Dr. Marlo’s face drained of color. She looked like she might fall over.
“Doctor?” Pete prompted.
“In our sessions, Ned would sometimes speculate about which part of a grown man’s body would make the best steak. The thigh or the buttocks.”
“Looks like he may finally be conducting a taste test,” Isaac said before turning for the door once more.
Once they were back in the car Isaac felt Pete’s eyes on him.
“You seem pissed, partner.”
Isaac shook his head and started up the car. “Just disgusted, Pete. I don’t know anything about being a therapist, but that woman clearly knew that Getz was a ticking time bomb. And yet she made no kind of effort to stop him before he went off. I mean, that’s what 72 hour psych evals are for, aren’t they? To get the patient in there and determine that they’re not a danger to themselves or anyone else. But she didn’t do that.”
“And it’s not like Getz had her snowed,” Pete chimed in. “I mean… he admitted to strangling the cat she suggested he adopt as part of his therapy.”
“Exactly. And that should have been a giant red flag for someone trained to spot the signs.” Isaac pulled out into traffic and sighed. “Let’s hurry up and get back to the house and issue an APB out on Getz. We need him found and brought in today.”
13
Back at the precinct, Isaac and Pete crested the top of the stairs and entered the detectives pit. They were heading to Lt. Gavin Hayes’ office when someone handed Isaac a report. He gave it a cursory glance on his way.
He knocked on Gavin’s open door. “Got time for an update, sir?”
Gavin looked up from his paperwork. “Always.” He motioned them in with a wave of the hand.
Isaac and Pete stepped further into the room, and Isaac held up the report in his hand.
“Just got a report from the ME’s office on those random body parts found in the grizzly and lion habitats at the zoo yesterday. None of them are a match to our victim.”
Gavin dropped his pen on the desk and sat back in his chair. “Which means there’s some sick bastard out there killing people and hiding the deed in the animal habitats at the zoo.”
Isaac nodded. “Seems that way sir. Which would suggest someone with a working knowledge of the zoo itself. Because how do you get your victims in there without being seen otherwise?”
“Good question,” Gavin nodded.
“We also went to retrieve video surveillance from zoo security. All footage from the night in question was mysteriously erased.”
“How convenient,” Gavin stated.
“Something that also suggests our perp is someone with a working knowledge of the zoo.”
Gavin nodded. “What happened with the therapist? Any luck?”
“Well, after speaking with her and getting a peek at Jon Edward Getz’s file, I’m convinced he’s our man. Or at least one of them.” That last sentence was said under his breath, not meant for anyone to overhear. But Gavin had obviously caught it.
“What does that mean? You think there’s more than one?”
He sounded slightly horrified, and Isaac realized he’d said too much. “Just keeping an open mind, sir. Don’t want to zero in on anyone prematurely. Although Getz is at the very top of my list.”
Gavin looked over at Pete for confirmation.
“I agree, sir. Based on the visit with the therapist this guy sounds like a card-carrying member of the Jeffery Dahmer club.”
“Then we need to find him,” Gavin said before turning back to Isaac. “What’s your next move?”
“I plan to issue an APB for Getz and a BOLO on his vehicle just as soon as I get to my desk. And Pete’s going to research those Lake Erie cabin rentals in Lorain. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
“All right. Get to it.”
Isaac turned for the door.
“One more thing, Lieu.”
The amount of tension he sensed in Pete’s voice stopped Isaac in his tracks. He turned and looked at his partner.
“Detective?” Gavin looked at him expectantly.
“If you can spare me,” Pete started and glanced briefly at Isaac, “and if my partner can handle things without me for 24 hours… I’d like to take a personal day tomorrow.”
Isaac took a couple of steps closer. He could feel the frown settle between his brows. “Is everything okay? Your mom?”
“Yeah, no. Mamá is okay. But I do have some urgent family business that needs my attention.”
Isaac’s frown deepened and he was more than curious. But he would never pry into Pete’s private life.
“Personal day granted, Detective,” Gavin said. “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”
“Thank you, sir.”
They left the office then and as they reached their desks Isaac looked at Pete.
“Hey, you know if you need anything—”
“I know,” Pete said, cutting him off. “Thanks for the offer. This is nothing for you to worry about though. I just need to pay a visit to my sister is all.”
“Ah, now I get it,” Isaac said with a knowing nod. “That explains the weird tension I’m sensing from you.”
“Yeah. Let’s hope I can manage to rein it in when I’m face-to-face with her tomorrow.”
Isaac grinned at him. He didn’t know much about Pete’s sister, Paulina, or the situation. Only the things Pete shared with him. But he did know that Pete’s relationship with her was tenuous and fraught with old hurts and bitterness.
“Good luck with that.”
Isaac pulled out his desk chair, but before he could sit, Lt. Engvall came rushing toward him. Isaac glared at him and Engvall stopped short, raising both hands in surrender and taking a couple of steps backward.
“I know, I know. Personal space. No touching.”
“Something I can do for you, Lieutenant Engvall?”
“Yes. You can accept my sincere apology. We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot, and now I understand why. After your defensive words in the briefing room this morning a few of the guys filled me in on your, uh… your no touch rules.”
“You touched him again?” Pete said, sounding pissed.
Engvall’s gaze bounced over to Pete, and he was obviously surprised at the level of protectiveness in Ike’s partner’s tone of voice.
“Well, it’s a classic personality clash,” Engvall said, his gaze bouncing back and forth between them. “I’m a touchy-feely person. I guess I’m just warm that way, while some other people are just… slightly… colder. But it’s okay. I mean honestly I don’t get your aversion to being touched, but I will respect it. I will not touch you ever again.”
Isaac stared at him, still trying to reconcile the almost goofy man in front of him with the insane image he’d seen of this same man in his psychic flash. It simply wouldn’t compute, and he had no idea what to think of either one.
“Apology accepted.” His tone was flat and hard and his gaze was glued to Engvall’s. Was this man an Oscar-worthy actor or had Isaac really seen what he thought he had? “We’re in the middle of a case.”
“Of course.” Engvall held up his hands once again. “I won’t keep you. But thanks for hearing me out. Won’t happen again.”
Isaac nodded and turned toward his desk, effectively dismissing the man. Engvall turned and walked away and Isaac finally sat down.
“He touched you again?” Pete repeated.
“Yeah. This morning.”
“What defensive words was he talking about?”
“I told him to keep his hands to himself. That I don’t like to be touched.”
Pete looked slightly amused. “And I see that patented Ike Taylor death stare put the fear of God into him.”
“That or the gossip I’m sure he’s heard from everyone who was within earshot at the time. I’m sure he’s gotten a whole earful about weird Ike Taylor by now.”
“Oh, no doubt,” Pete agreed with thinly disguised glee seeping through in his voice. “Which probably has him squirming right about now wondering whether or not you saw something incriminating about him with your supposed superpowers.”
Isaac looked at Pete, a single drop of ‘oh-shit’ hitting his stomach. That thought hadn’t occurred to him.
“You think?”
Pete shrugged a shoulder. “You know as well as I do that the gossip he undoubtedly got would’ve included your well-documented abilities. I mean, everyone who works on this floor has seen you in action.”
Isaac drew a deep breath and sat back in his chair. They both knew Pete was referring to the time a suspect grabbed Lt. Barton’s gun and opened fire on the fourth floor detectives section. Because Isaac had seen it all play out in a vision of the future, they were able to apprehend the guy before anyone got hurt or killed.
“Did I just overplay my hand?” Isaac asked.
“There was no way you were going to keep your abilities hidden from him, Ike. Not with him working on this floor. Hell man, this entire precinct. Everyone here at the 3rd knows what you are. They just don’t know the extent of it like I do.”
That wording struck Isaac as odd, and he stared at Pete.
“What’s that supposed to mean? They don’t know the extent of it like you do?”
Pete stared back at him, and Isaac could clearly see that he was trying to choose his next words carefully. Finally, Pete’s lips twisted and he broke eye contact, shaking his head slightly.
“Nah, I just meant, you know… because I’m closer to you, I see more. That’s all.”
Isaac’s chin lifted slightly, but he kept his gaze on Pete, suspicion and angst suddenly swirling together with that drop of ‘oh-shit’ in his stomach.
What, exactly, had his partner seen?
“Yeah. I suppose you do.”
Pete nodded and broke eye contact again, turning to his computer.
Isaac stared at him for a few seconds longer. There were any number of things, he knew. All manner of psychic weirdness was on the table here.
He thought he’d been so careful.
That was always his intention.
But the truth was that Pete could have witnessed anything from doors seeming to slam shut on their own, to grown men being frozen in mid-air.
Shit!
What had he inadvertently allowed Pete to see?
And why hadn’t Pete ever said anything before now?
Isaac licked his lips and turned to his own computer, trying to push those terrifying questions from his mind. But he glanced over at Pete once more, his mind running a marathon over the possibilities.
He got to work issuing the APB on Ned Getz and the BOLO on Getz’s vehicle. Then he spent some time working on overdue paperwork from another case and clearing it off his desk.
When that was done, he walked the paperwork into Lt. Hayes’ office. On the way back his gaze lit briefly on Lt. Engvall and he knew that there was something he couldn’t put off any longer.
“Hey, Pete. While you’re busy researching those cabin rentals in Lorain, I’m going to go take care of something.”
“You leaving the building?”
“The building, but not the premises.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll be in my car. Text me if you need me.”
“Whatever, dude.”
Pete gave him one of those you’re-such-a-freak looks and Isaac grinned as he walked away.
He took the stairs, jogging down the four flights and then out the back entrance to the parking lot.
He wasn’t looking forward to this.
In fact, a big part of him was dreading it and he wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was because what he’d seen had been exceptionally brutal. Or maybe it was because the person performing the brutal act was a fellow cop. Whatever the reason, Isaac didn’t want to do this.
But he knew that he had to.
He slid into the driver’s seat of his Mustang and relished the peace and quiet.
It wasn’t the most ideal place, but it was good for the privacy this task required. He took a few deep, cleansing breaths to steady himself. Every time he did this he could hear his Grandad’s voice in his head, talking him through it and encouraging him.
“The first step is to relax, Isaac.”
He rolled his shoulders and tried to eliminate the small knot he felt between his shoulder blades. When he felt ready, he closed his eyes and tried to reconnect with the flash he’d had the previous day when Lt. Engvall had touched the back of his neck.
“Now, bring up the memory of the vision in your mind.”
The second step was to bring up the memory of the vision. Then the third step was to freeze the vision.
Step two wasn’t a problem. The memory of it had been haunting him all day. Disjointed images of Engvall wielding the ax. Hoisting it above his head. The terrified woman about to be dismembered.
But when Isaac tried to freeze the vision nothing happened.
Step three was not happening.
The vision wouldn’t freeze. It wouldn’t stop. It just kept playing over and over in his mind.
Engvall hoisting the ax.
The horrified woman.
Blood splattered.
Flames.
Flames everywhere.
He could feel the heat of them.
Without warning Isaac was snapped out of the trance. He sucked in deep breaths and looked around, reassuring himself that he was in a safe place.
