The Guardian Read Free Page A

neither. As soon as the crime scene guys get their pictures and we’re cleared by the lead investigator, just cut him down. Be careful not to disturb anything so we can maybe get some prints, check the area.” Reynolds was saying.
    As soon as the CS guys were done with their pictures, they got the okay to go about their business. They cut the man free, starting at his ankles, then, one at a time. Each wire tie cut, until all the pieces of wire had freed him from his cross. The man slumped to the ground.
    “Keep those wires, we want them tagged.” A voice from off to the side said, as the medics were going about checking the man for vital signs, the routine stuff.
    The voice, the lead investigator, Lieutenant John Halloway was walking towards the two officers. “Well, what do we have here gentlemen?”
    Reynolds was shaking his head, rubbing his forehead, “Dambdest thing I ever saw Lieutenant.
    “We just see this guy, out here, tied down and cut up like some ritual sacrifice or something. Whoever it was had left this recorder behind, running like this.” He said. He was pointing down at the device as he walked over to it.
    Halloway walked over, knelt down, looking at the audio device, “I’m sorry, really, please, I won’t do it again…..”
    He looked up at the two men, “What’s all this, any idea?”
    “We don’t know. It’s been playing the same shit, over and over.”
    Halloway stood up, looked at Jacoby. Jacoby just shrugged and said. “Just this guy we presume, or whom ever it is on that tape, going on and on about being sorry, won’t do it again, shit like that. We thought it was him, but his damn tongue had been cut out. Don’t know what the hell to make of it.”
    “His tongue was cut out?”
    “Ya and his thumbs cut off, eyes sewn shut. Some sick fucker did a real job on this guy.”
    One of the medics came over, sweating, shaking his head. “You guys aren’t going to believe this, but the guy’s dick was cut off to a two inch stub and gets this; it was cauterized to stop the bleeding. Can you believe that? They didn’t want him to bleed to death; they wanted this guy to live!”
    They all stood there looking at each other. They didn’t have to say a word. Each one of them knew exactly what the other one was thinking. “What the hell was going on and who would be sick enough to do such a thing?”
    “Okay,” Halloway was saying. “Let’s get this guy to the hospital. You people finish up here and let’s see if we can’t get the sick son-of-a-bitch that did this.”
    He wanted to know everything about this guy, who he was, where he lived, what he did for fun, work, habits, what kind of cereal he ate. Somebody had a reason for doing all of this to him and he wanted to know exactly what that reason was. If the evidence was right, he liked children; he liked them too much.
    Everyone went about his or her business. The medics loaded the lone figure into the ambulance, and they sped off, sirens blaring and lights flashing. The CS guys went about taking pictures, picking up anything and everything that looked even remotely like it might be evidence. It was going to be a long night.
    Chapter 4
    Halloway sat in his office going over the information that he had in front of him. This was a hell of a thing, even for Las Vegas. He had seen a lot of shit in his years on the streets. The city had grown to one of the fastest growing cities in the country. The city of Henderson was right behind them. The crime rate was escalating just as fast as the population.
    Of course, they blamed all of it on all sorts of excuses. There wasn’t enough manpower on the police force. There were not enough teachers. The corrupt politicians were led by a flamboyant mayor who was an X-mouth piece for the mob. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter was, with all the other stuff, it was the increasing illegal immigration population. Over crowding had proven to be a major factor in increased violence and crime. Known as