I arrived at the scene a while after the first responders. It was messy. A woman had killed her husband to get custody of her stepson. She hated the boy so at first, it did not make sense. I saw it in her eyes, though. A certain level of rage and sadism. A picture had already formed in my brain. A woman who liked to hurt little children. Restricted because of the man. In her eyes, she could torture the five-year-old if the father was out of the picture. He was an obstacle. Did she marry him just to get the boy more easily? Yes. The answer is yes. To the most twisted questions that come to your mind.
I know it because we had monitored her for a while. We had been contracted at first but decided to take the case officially upon ourselves after a very short while. Today was the day when we were supposed to arrest her. And we did. But with a casualty. We had come too late. She had committed a crime. Her husband lay on the floor, with his head bashed in. The son was nowhere to be seen, probably in the car of an officer.
She was crying. In the middle of the room. On her knees. A very good actress, that I would give to her. I wanted to punch her. I wanted to take her by her hair and drag her down, to Hell. But instead, I just stood there and watched the show. How she asked for the boy. How everyone's face turned when she did. Most of them knew already. I had made sure of that.
She knew something was wrong, too. There were cuffs on her hands and I could see the wheels turning through the wail of tears. I cocked my head and looked out the window, away from her. Away from the gruesome human nature. She lived in a very nice house. A villa. Her husband... Well, ex-husband, extremely wealthy. The windows went from floor to ceiling. You could see the city skyline and the service road. That is where I noticed the two light beams turn up. Approaching us. A car.
As it came closer and was touched by the street lights, I got a better look. It was shiny. Something an intimidating layer would typically drive. I guessed it was one. She knew she had to cover her tracks, that something had gone wrong. That had been where her only call had gone. Mistakes. You make these when everything doesn't go to plan. Those are the best moments to catch a liar. I started moving towards the window. Slowly, to see the scene unravel. To get a feel for her defense. I could be polite but something told me this was not that kind of a person.
Every sound around me was muted. The sirens had been turned down but the police car lights remained. As I slid one of the doors open, they blinded me for a second. It was the only light source outside, in the night, besides the street lights in the distance.
''You are holding my client against her rights. She is a victim, not a perpetrator.'' the layer had gotten out of the car and was berating the police chief who had arrived with me.
I moved closer. I knew the man from someplace but could not put my finger on it. Probably a big shot layer-guy in this city. At least he carried himself that way. He noticed me but his attention stayed with the chief who patiently answered his questions. I decided to chime in. After all, I had taken over the case from the man.
''I do not think you got all of the information, mister...?'' I forced him to turn to me. I was using that voice that meant business. The one I pulled out only in rare instances, to intimidate.
''Johnson, Alicia Robinsons lawyer. And I have my information. It was a robbery. Mrs. Robinson informed me so herself.'' I saw it behind his eyes, too. He knew. It was then that I decided to toy with the man.
''No, ms Robinson must have had a slip of her tongue. Nobody broke in. She killed her husband. The staged forced entry was convincing, however, I have to give it to her.'' he was dumbstruck just for a second. Then a wondering expression passed through his face. Finally, he smiled, thinking that he had got me.
''You have no proof of that. And those kinds of assumptions can get you fired very fast. Ms?'' there was this aura about him. Invincible hubris. I decided to skip the details just for one more round.
''I doubt that. I am Linda Frost, the head investigator in the case. I doubt there will be much investigation though. You, too should probably go home and rest. This is pretty much a slam-dunk case anyway.''
''How dare you to tell me how to do my job? I am calling your supervisor. Who is your boss?'' that there. That was the question I had wanted to hear.
''Oh, you can try. He might be quite busy though, with bigger, better things.'' I passed him a document that I had retrieved from the pocket of my jacket. He looked at it and his eyes got bigger. The presidential seal did that to people. ''I work directly under the president. I only answer to him. And the people. That is the superior you should try reaching. As I said, though. I wouldn't waste his or your time on it, we have been videotaping this house for weeks.''
''Being under the president does not mean you can just tape people'' it was more like a murmur now, under his breath. All the sureness of an asshole gone.
''No, but I have a warrant and the consent of the dead husband. He was the one who reached out to my agency. He also made sure he was killed in direct view of the camera. I'll spare you the details, they are quite gory as she didn't stop at the first swing.'' now he looked into my eyes. He saw that I knew that is for sure. He was ignorant but smart. It was clear.
His last glance slipped to the house, where the wife was still sitting on the floor. She was crying, I was sure, Also eying the situation as invisibly as possible. I didn't bother to check, though. It was one of the things you just knew.
''I'll go home'' he settled on an outcome I had not expected. Maybe I had pushed my ice cold gaze too hard. But he was deflated and I could see the exhaustion of work set into his features. He put his hand up, in an apologetic manner, towards the woman. And turned out to leave with his car
''Yeah, you do that. There is nothing much any lawyer can do for her now.''
She got a life sentence without a chance for parole. I did not want to put her in the chair. It would be too easy of an exit for such a monster. It hadn't been her first time going after a child either. So, I made sure I put her in a prison that was more like hell. I put her under in one of the thought prisons. I visited her often enough there, to make sure she did not start to feel like fitting in. That was a personal case for me.
As for the lawyer, he had never taken a case he could not win. That was the reason he had turned around that day. He liked to have a spotless record. He did not mind to represent guilty parties. As long as they paid and their cases were winnable.
Hello, again! I hope you liked this one. I had two parts for this dream and I hope to write the second one either for my holiday or before it. It was quite interesting and touched upon Biological weapons. Reminded me of the tv show Altered Carbon. One that I started watching upon the recommendation of @Alexpmorris. I have to agree, it is an amazing show to watch. I recommend it for you to check out! :)
Have the best day! Today, tomorrow, and forever.
Linda