Demons Ascension - Still on the Case

[Posted by Ted H]

Google Adolph Luetgert, then come back. Guaranteed you'll never look at sausage the same after.

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[Demons Ascension - Still on the Case]

            John and Lyle waited with a bag of potato chips between them. Neither were allowed near the case anymore, mainly due to what James and John, but both were interested in what was going on in Chief Monroe's office as he and Bradford were having a closed door meeting. Other officers had been coming and going with passing interest, but only John and Lyle were actually waiting around.
            "Scale of one to ten, how angry is Monroe?" Lyle asked.
            "Six," John said.
            "Really? I had money on eight."
            "James left. That was the bigger concern. If Bradford was smart, and he is, then he'd mention that right away."
            "Seriously though, what were you thinking bringing that guy in?"
            "James is smart. He solved Meg Hart's murder when no one else could. Figured his insight would be useful."
            "He solved a murder that a backwoods bunch of idiot cops fucked up. We're not Cazenovia. Besides, he involved the two of you in that matter and you got stabbed in the stomach."
            "Yeah, it didn't go that smooth, but we solved it. The whole reason I switched majors and decided to do what I'm doing now was because of what we did back there. Bradford can't throw too many stones anyway, he used James too."
            "Yeah, I heard about it. Monroe did too. Letting amateurs get involved doesn't sit well with the chief."
            "Think he'll kick Bradford off the case?"
            "If Bradford was white, defiantly."
            "Gotta love race politics."
            "This case should've gone to Truman."
            "Who gets a heart attack at 36 nowadays?"
            "Truman," Lyle said as both laughed for a moment "Best damn homicide investigator, dead a week before some nut starts cutting people's hearts out. Four dead within two weeks. Unreal."
            "The guy ate McDonalds every day for lunch and weighed 300 pounds. It was only a matter of time."
            "Yeah, right before the weirdest set of murdering done since Adolph Luetgert. Sad coincidence."
            "Hmm," John pondered as he stuffed a handful of chips into his mouth "Isn't it our job not to believe in coincidences?"
            Just before Lyle could respond, the door opened and Bradford walked out. He looked mildly annoyed, but no worse than most people see him. "Still on the case?" Lyle asked. "Yup," Bradford said, paying no mind to him as he pointed to John. "Monroe knows about your boy," he said as John rolled his eyes.
            "How thrilled was he about a civilian trumping through all the crime scenes?" Lyle asked.
            "He's more concerned about how Blake knew where to be that night in the church. Did you ever get an answer?"
            "Not one you'd like," John said "Besides, he left. Nothing more he could do."
            Bradford grabbed the bag of chips from John. "Notice how I'm not believing you," he said as he took a chip out "Blake is gone now, but I'd bet all my earthly possessions that he'll be back, otherwise he wouldn't have taken your car. When that asshole rears his head back in this city, I want to know because Monroe has made him my personal responsibility."
            "You gonna arrest him for obstruction?" Lyle asked as John shot him a look.
            "Flimsy reasoning at best, so no," Bradford "Unless he's been tampering with evidence."
            "He's done nothing but help," John said with his best poker face "He's trying to catch this guy too."
            "Either way, he comes back, him and I become real good buddies until he decides to leave for good. If he knows something, I'll know. If he's somehow involved, I'll know. If he turns out to be a Sherlock wannabe without a clue, you bet your ass I'll know."
            "It's been four days," Lyle said as he looked into the now empty bag of crumbs "You really think this guys coming back?"
            "I honestly couldn't give a shit," Bradford said as he walked away "Now if you ladies excuse me, there's a killer on the loose and I'm convinced that he's not done killing." He pointed to a nearby officer. "Lowfield," he shouted "You have anything on that name search?"
            "FBI hasn't gotten back to us yet," Lowfield said back.
            "Call them again," Bradford said as he approached the elevators to leave "I want the names of everyone in their database with even the slightest connection to ritual murders, prioritizing for anyone with a connection to anyone or anything related to a "croal". I want it before morning."
            "Needle in a haystack," Lyle commented as Bradford disappeared into an elevator.
             "What the hell is taking you so long, James?" John asked to himself "We've got nothing on our end."