Ghosts From the Past Ch. 5

Caz listened to the radio as he drove down the highway towards Seaview. The overly energetic voice of the radio host came on as the last song ended.

We’ll get back to the music after a word from our sponsors, but first, some news out of Denton City. Former Prosecuting Attorney George Kristiansen, who has been quite vocal about his plans to run in the next mayoral race, had some scathing comments to give about the current Mayor, Mark Adams, and the Denton City Police Department.

“Mayor Adams has completely fallen flat on every single one of his election promises, most notably his promise to take a hard stance on crime,” this was a different male voice. “The crime rate has continued to grow under his watch. The most recent statistics show it’s almost doubled since his election. The police department has to take some of the blame, of course. But who is responsible for appointing its leadership? The mayor. When I am elected, you can bet there will be a shake-up at the police department. It’s time to get rid of the old, the unmotivated, and the corrupt individuals and fill their spots with officers who are ready and willing to do the job their predecessors have failed,” The voice finished, and it cut back to the station host.

Once again, that was Denton City Mayor hopeful, George Kristiansen. We’ll be back with more of today’s best hits after these messages.

Caz shook his head in disgust. George Kristiansen never had anything good to say about the police department, even when he was a prosecutor. He blamed all his courtroom losses on whichever officer had investigated the case. He had left the office to become a defense attorney, after coming just short of declaring war on the police. Unfortunately, he was more successful at defending criminals than he was at prosecuting them. He was known for getting cases thrown out through obscure loopholes. He couldn’t put all the blame on George though. Like all workplaces, The Denton City Police Department had some lazy workers who cut corners which allowed those loopholes to be exploited. Instead of being more thorough with their work, those same officers would just complain about George gaming the system and getting criminals off on technicalities. Some went as far as unofficially accusing him of corruption, saying he paid off witnesses, jury members, or even judges.

Caz began passing shops with racks of t-shirts, sweatshirts, and brightly colored novelty hats telling him he had entered the city limits Seaview. A popular tourist town, Seaview had access to, as its name suggested, the beach. In the Summer, it was a popular destination with multiple different events, festivals, and even an annual beach carnival. It was not, however, tourist season yet. All the shops, those that were open, seemed to be trying to sell last year’s leftover items before the upcoming season’s shipment came in. There weren’t many people out walking in the overcast weather though, and most appeared to be locals.

All the streets in the downtown area had names like ‘Starfish St’ or ‘Boardwalk Blvd’ and their signs had little pictures of whatever the street was named after on them. Baltimore Ave. was not part of downtown Seaview. As Caz drove, the shops and restaurants gave way to vacant vacation rentals, which then gave way to a rundown, residential area. Caz turned down a street that had a faded sign which read ‘Baltimore Ave’ attached to a leaning signpost. On 1 of the corners, there was an abandoned house with all of its windows broke out. On the corner opposite of the abandoned property, there was a house with 3 cars in an overgrown lawn, none of which appeared to be in working condition. He had to hit his brakes as 2 dogs chased a cat across the street just in front him.

Caz came to a house at the end of a gravel driveway, the mailbox had a faded ‘213’ painted on it. He pulled into the driveway and the front passenger corner of his car dipped down as he had to drive through a deep pothole filled with muddy water. He got out of his car and walked to the front door of the house. The 2 dogs who had ran in front of him earlier had given up on catching the cat, it seemed, and were now sniffing the air and staring at Caz from down the street.

He knocked on the front door. A child’s face, mostly covered by unruly black hair, appeared in the window looking to see who was on the front step. Caz smiled and waved at the girl. She grinned, showing small white teeth, and then disappeared back into the house.

A woman, with strands of white running through her otherwise black hair, opened the door. She looked to be in her late forties or early fifties with wrinkles beginning to crease at the corners of her dark brown eyes.

“You must be Detective Donovan. Please, come in,” the woman, who must be Maria, opened the door allowing Caz to step in. “Please excuse the mess, I am watching my niece’s daughter, Krissy. She leaves more destruction behind her than a tornado.”

“It is no problem Ms. Gonzalez,” Caz said, stepping over 3 action figures who looked to have been in a battle against a Barbie doll riding on top of a stuffed bear. Barbie had won. Maria moved a second stuffed bear and a blanket from a reclining chair for Caz and then sat down on the couch next to it.

“Do you have any information yet on who did this?” Maria asked as Caz sat down.

“We are looking into a few different avenues,” Caz replied. “Nothing concrete at this time, unfortunately. I am hoping you might know something that could narrow it down a little for me.”

“I’m an open book, Detective Donovan. I know my son didn’t always make the best choices, but I loved him, and I want whoever did this caught and thrown in jail,” Maria sat back in her seat.

“Thank you, Ms. Gonzalez, I am not here to judge Jackson on his past. I just want to figure out if it had anything to do with his death. When was the last time you spoke to him?” Caz asked.

“He called me nearly every day since he moved to the city. I would know if he was using again if I didn’t hear from him for more than 3 days. The past few months though, it has been every day,” Maria smiled, obviously proud of the knowledge her son had been getting better. “He called me right before he started his shift at the gas station.”

“Did he seem nervous or mention anything that seemed curious?” Caz asked.

“Not particularly. We talked about his last meeting with his sobriety group. The lesson was about making amends. He told me he had reconnected with his father and was trying to patch things up with him. And, he said he hoped I knew how sorry he was for all I had to go through,” Maria said. “I told him he never had to apologize about anything to me. I loved and will cherish every minute I got to spend with him.” Her eyes began to fill with tears now.

“I know this is hard, and I am sorry we have to speak about it, Ms. Gonzalez.” Caz told her.

“No need for apologies. And please, call me Maria. The way you talk reminds me of when we first got Jackson back. He kidnapped when he was younger you know. He was taken from us for 5 years, it was the darkest time of my life. Anyway, when he came back, he spoke all proper and respectful, like you,” Maria chuckled. “He didn’t talk normal for a long time. It was nice... for a while. I was glad when he stopped though. It was always a reminder that someone else had him for so long and forced him to talk like that.”

“Yes, I know of Jackson’s time in the Family Cult. I am truly sorry you had to live through an event like that,” Caz couldn’t help but to feel remorseful for those who were children with him. “Do you know if Jackson had any contact with anyone else from that time?”

Maria thought for a moment. “No… not that I can think of. He had been seeing a therapist when he was living with Geoff and that woman,” Maria spit the last word out. “I hate what she did, paying Jackson to stay away. It’s disgusting. But it did get him back to me, which is what both he and I wanted, so I am also thankful, even if she is a venomous bitch,” there was obviously no love lost between Maria and Kathy.

“I’m sorry,” Maria continued, “we were talking about Jackson. He had started seeing a therapist, but the state wouldn’t cover the cost, and I couldn’t afford for him to keep going. We were barely making ends meet, even with the money she would send. But I do remember Geoff told me the therapist didn’t think any contact with anyone else from that time would be healthy.”

“Okay,” Caz said. “What about recently? Did he ever mention recognizing someo - -” THWACK! An orange foam dart with a blue rubber tip hit Caz on the side of the head and tumbled into his lap.

“Krissy! What do you think you’re doing!” Maria yelled at the child who was now running away down the hall, giggling loudly and holding a bright green, plastic gun. “I am so sorry detective,” Maria got off the couch and walked toward the hall Krissy had run off to.

Caz held the foam dart between his fingers and chuckled. Krissy’s childhood was starkly different than his own and, at least partly, Jackson’s had been. He was being made to learn how to shoot real firearms when he was her age. There was no time for play as a member of the Family. It made him glad knowing this family could still grow and allow its kids to have a carefree childhood.

His phone began to vibrate in his pocket. CAPT. BRINK scrawled across the screen. “Hello?” Caz answered.

“Caz, there’s been another murder. Same M.O. as your guy. Looks like it’s related,” Captain Brink’s voice came across.

“I am on my way. Where is it?” Caz said standing up from the chair.

“Officers are processing the scene now. There’s 1 body but another got away and called 911. She was injured in the attack and is at the hospital now.”

“I will be there as soon as I can,” Caz hung up the phone. A second attack? And a witness this time, this could bring a swift end to the case if they could identify the attacker. Maybe Jackson’s connection to the Family had just been a coincidence after all.

Maria came walking back into the living room, now holding the toy gun. “I’m sorry about that, detective,” she said. “Like I said before, she’s quite a handful. Are you leaving?” She had noticed Caz had stood up.

“It is no trouble, Maria, and yes, I am afraid I have to go. There was another incident and I have to take care of it. Thank you for your time, and if you do think of anything, please call me.

“Of course,” Maria said. She led Caz to the door, “In fact, I did remember something. I mean it seems like nothing, but maybe it can help. Jackson did mention a new person going to his group recently. He said they gave him a bad feeling but didn’t know why.”

“Did he know them from somewhere? The cult, perhaps?” Caz asked, stepping out of the door.

“He told me he didn’t recognize them, but they acted like they knew him. Even called him by him name. He didn’t say anything else about them though,” Maria stood holding the door.

“I still need to talk to whoever runs the group. I will ask them about this new person. Thank you, Maria.” Caz made his way to his car.

“So proper,” Maria chuckled as she shut the door behind him.

As Caz backed out of the driveway, he saw Krissy had reappeared in the front window. She was laughing and waving goodbye with the toy gun clutched in her hand.

The sky was dark by the time Caz pulled up to the scene. The streetlamps were lit, but not much of their light made it into the alley which had been sectioned off with caution tape and officers standing at the perimeter.

There was no body, it must have already been photographed and transported to Dr. Ross’s office. Katie was taking pictures from different angles and close-ups of items next to yellow tags with black numbers on them. Dan was talking to an officer near the caution tape.

“- - so just don’t let anyone without a badge pass the perimeter and don’t answer any questions. You never know who is playing at being a reporter for all these hack news websites anymore.” Caz overheard Dan telling the officer.

“Dan,” Caz said as he approached. “Can you give me the details?”

“God, am I glad you’re finally back!” Dan said, “Sorry this is getting slopped onto your plate but it’s gotta be the same guy.” He led Caz over to a pool of still wet blood that marked where the body had been. “2 shots this time, both with a 9mm. 1 hit him in the chest and the other his hip. But still finished off with the old crimson necktie,” he said this while drawing his pointer finger across his throat.

“That does sound like my suspect,” Caz said, bending down for a closer look at the spot the body had been. “Were the entrance wounds in the front or back?”

“Both through the front. This one wasn’t trying to run away,” Dan answered.

“And which way was he facing?” Caz was looking up and down the alley now, searching for somewhere the killer may have hidden to surprise this victim.

“It’s hard to say,” Dan said. “He was face down when we found him so he must have been flipped over after he was shot. His wallet was found a little further down the alley, money and cards gone. Katie got a million pictures of the body before it was loaded up. Those can probably give you a better visual than I could. But it looks like this guy put up more of a fight than your last vic. There were defensive wounds on his hands and blood trailing away from the body. It was pretty much washed away by the rain by the time we got here, which also made it useless and pretty much impossible to collect.”

“Thank you, Dan, I am glad it was you who responded to this. You are one of the few I trust to do this properly. Even if I will have to proofread your report first,” Caz chuckled as he finished his sentence.

“And you know I’m gonna make you haha! Anyway, the scene is all yours buddy,” Dan laughed as he walked away. “Katie! The man in charge wants to talk to you.”

Katie pulled the camera away from her face and waved at Caz before taking 1 last photo. She walked over to him, cycling through the last few she had taken.

“Hey Caz,” she said as she came over, “nice of you to come back from your beach vacation and join us.”

“I know, sorry. I came as fast as I could,” Caz said. “I was talking with Jackson’s mother.”

“Only joking,” Katie said quickly, putting her hands up. “I know you never stop working. The victim is 45-year-old Nicholas Reutz. He’s a bank manager in the city. Lives in a condo downtown. I don’t see any connection or similarities to Jackson. Think your guy is just looking for opportunity?”

“It is possible. Can I see photos of the body?” Caz asked.

“Sure,” Katie answered, “just give me a minute to find them. I’m sure Cap told you but there was a second victim. She got away but got a bit cut up,” Katie was telling Caz while she scrolled through her photos. “She was the one who called 911. She’s apparently in town for some therapist conference and knew our vic. She was just catching up with him when this happened. Here they are,” Katie handed the camera over to Caz.

He began looking through the photos showing the body from different angles and close-ups of different body parts. A bullet hole in the chest, defensive marks on the hands, a bloody gash across his neck.

“Poor girl, only in town for a short time and something like this happens. Lucky she’ll be around a ton of therapists the rest of her stay,” Katie chuckled.

Caz was not chuckling, however. He wasn’t even smiling. Dread creeped its way up his spine as he looked at a picture of Nicholas’s face. He didn’t need to see the tattoo he knew would be on his arm. Now that he knew what he was looking for, Caz recognized this victim even through the death mask. Caz knew him as Eckhard Gefunden. He had been one of the Family’s blade instructors.

Caz recalled Eckhard had been an adult when he came to the Family, which wasn’t uncommon. Some people searched for groups and organizations where they felt they could belong, and some landed in the Family or other similar gatherings. He looked hard, with scars over his body and face, but he had been kind and was a patient teacher. Caz had never found out where Eckhard had learned to wield bladed weapons as well as he did, he hadn’t liked talking about his life before. And the children were taught to be respectful of their elders.

“Smile and be proud as you ascend back home, brother, for we smile at remembering you,” Caz muttered softly.

“What?” Katie asked, looking up at Caz, “I didn’t catch that.”

“It is nothing. You said there was a woman with him?” Caz said, handing back the camera.

“Yeah, apparently got away with just a slash across her hands. We found 2, 9mm casings. Dan figured they shot at her while she ran and missed,” Katie answered.

“She is my best chance of identifying a suspect. I wonder if she is still at the hospital,” Caz hoped this woman would be in a good enough mental state to recall some information. “Do you know which hospital she went to?”

Dispatch said she was taken by ambulance to St. Margaret’s,” Katie told him.

Caz dialed the number for St. Margaret’s emergency room.

“St. Margaret’s emergency room, I’m nurse Gloria, how can I assist you?”

“This is Detective Donovan with the Denton City Police Department,” Caz told Nurse Gloria. “A woman came in by ambulance with a cut to her hand. I was hoping you could tell me if she was still there.”

“She is, but it looks like she’ll be getting discharged soon, detective. The Doctor just finished up with her and we were getting her discharge paperwork together.”

“Thank you. Could you let her know I will have a squad car come to pick her up. I would like to speak to her and then we can make arrangements to get her wherever she needs to go.” Caz would gladly drive her himself if he was able to get some information on his suspect.

“I’ll let her know. Was there anything else?”

“No, just that thank you,” Caz ended the call but didn’t put his phone away. He sent a quick text to Dan asking if he could send an officer over to pick this woman up from the ER.

“Definitely a sucky situation for this chick, but could be a big break for you,” Katie said.

“I do not want to get my hopes too high,” Caz said, “most people who find themselves in a situation like this panic and are not able to process or retain the information. But yes, I hope this helps to stop this killer before they can put more deaths on my conscience.”

“You can’t take responsibility for what this asshole is doing, Caz,” Katie set her hand on his shoulder.

The phone vibrated in Caz’s hand, it was a text from Dan:

Have a car on its way now. Shouldn’t take too long, the hospital is pretty close to the station.

“Thank you, Katie. I know I am not to blame for what this person has done. But it is my responsibility to catch them as fast as possible.” Caz slipped the phone into his pocket and started for his car. The hospital was close to the department, the witness would probably beat him there.

As he drove back to the police department, Caz thought about Eckhard. He had been who taught Caz the most about fighting with blades. Caz had not been particularly fond of firearms when he was first being taught. They were too loud and not easy to conceal on his body as a child. But knives and hand to hand combat he had relished. Most of the teachers readily handed out harsh punishment and would not give praise for ‘finally figuring it out.’

Eckhard had been different. He was as gruff looking as any of the other teachers, but he spoke softly and was endlessly patient. It earned him an early impression among the instructors as being weak. Any that called him out to the training ring quickly learned otherwise. He rarely offered the challenge, but he also never turned one down.

Caz remembered watching him one night after another instructor, Jaeger Bewhärt, got drunk and called him out for being too soft on the children. Jaeger was known for his hash style of teaching. Other teachers would talk about how he was too hard on the children, but never to him. He was also known for being a hot head.

Within minutes, Jaeger had a broken wrist and a gash on the left side of his face that required 18 stitches. He was unable to teach for 2 months after.

Caz walked into the station, Captain Brink was standing, but bent over looking at Dan’s computer screen while they talked. He looked up as Caz approached.

“Caz,” Captain Brink nodded to him. “The witness just stepped away to use the bathroom, her name is Claire Evans. Dan and I were just looking into Mr. Reutz’. So far, I haven’t found anything to make me think he and Jackson Montgomery ever crossed paths.”

“They have, actually,” Caz said. "You would have to go back quite some time, and even then, it might be hard to put together. I think we should speak in your office.”

“Sure,” Captain Brink looked puzzled, which was not a look to come across his face often. “Dan, When Ms. Evans comes back have her go - -”

“Caz?” A woman’s voice came from behind him. Caz turned around and saw a young girl, about 8 or 9, wearing a white night dress. She had gold blonde hair and icy blue eyes. The room seemed to darken, except for the red and blue lights flashing against the walls.

Caz blinked and the girl was replaced by a woman about his own age. She was wearing a white dress, but it was not a night dress. Her right hand was bandaged.

“Giselle!” Caz was there, frozen in place.