Almost

“We’ve got an obvious burglary and homicide here,” began the officer. “Victim number one, and the owner of the house has been identified as Michelle Rockwell, 29 years old, throat slit from left to right, looks like the cut gets deeper as it goes on. Seems she was killed right here. Victim number two on the other hand appears to have been stabbed in the chest, abdomen, and legs an astounding number of times in the kitchen and dragged out into the living room to rest next to the first body. His name is Calvin Haines, 33 years old. There’s also a third victim who the attacker roughed up pretty bad. Alex Cumberland, yes, the Alex Cumberland. Apparently he had been dating Ms. Rockwell, but she broke up with him a few months ago and began dating Mr. Haines soon after. Mr. Cumberland discovered some of her items at his apartment and decided to bring them back to her, where he discovered the attacker slitting Ms. Rockwell’s throat. He then busted down the door and tried to wrestle the knife out of the attackers’ hands, but the guy punched him in the face pretty bad, kicked him in the abdomen a few times, quickly stole some really valuable items, and fled the scene. Mr. Cumberland then called 911 and tried to stop Ms. Rockwell from bleeding out, but the cut was too deep. Also, he says the perp wore a mask and gloves so he couldn’t get a look at the guy’s face.”

“Thanks officer. So we’re treating Alex as suspect numero uno,” said Detective Arthur Reyes to his partner, “correct?”

Detective Joaquin Whitaker snorted. His partner was always so quick to pass judgement. Sometimes it served them well. But Joaquin would rather have as many facts and details as possible before he announced his theories out loud. Although he did believe there was a lot more that Alex was hiding from the first responders.

“Why don’t we relax ourselves, Reyes,” said Joaquin with a smile, “and go question Mr. Cumberland?”

Arthur rolled his eyes. Joaquin was such a stickler for procedure. It drove him insane when they first met in the academy. Things had to be done a certain way, ALL the time. Somehow, they ended up becoming best friends. Joaquin taught Arthur the value of organization, and Arthur taught Joaquin the benefit of mellowing out occasionally. They loved each other like brothers, and each would gladly take a bullet for the other. Joaquin actually had taken that bullet a few years ago. He didn’t regret it then, and definitely didn’t regret it now. Arthur had gotten the chance to watch his twin sons be born because of it. They were turning 4 next week.

The detectives left the house, got into a squad car, and proceeded to drive to the hospital where Alex was being treated. Arthur drove while Joaquin rode shotgun.

“I know you already think he somehow did this,” started Joaquin, “but let’s question him as calmly as we possibly can. He just watched his ex get damn near beheaded.”

“Or maybe he did the damn near beheading.”

“So we’re just going to forget about the part where he got his ass handed to him? And is in the hospital we’re currently on our way to?”

“Oh come on Whitaker! I say we go good cop, bad cop on this gringo rico just like we did with the douchebag who lied about killing his daughter.”

“We only did that because he’d kept up with his lies so well that we believed him longer than we usually would’ve. And let’s not forget, the man was a literal actor.”

“Very true, I must admit.”

“And I’m not sure you want to rough up a Cumberland, under any circumstances.”

“Hey man, that family isn’t above the law.”

“Nobody is. But behaving in a threatening manner toward any civilian, our personal opinions about them aside, is against the law. We’ve got to uphold our-”

“Responsibilities as officers of the law. Gosh I hate it when you’re right,” said Arthur with a smile.

Joaquin returned the smile just as they made it to the hospital.

After flashing their badges to the nurses at the nurses’ station, one of them escorted the detectives to Alex’s room.

“Ladies,” said Joaquin, acknowledging the officers guarding the door.

“Detectives,” said one of them in response, “Mr. Cumberland is stable and conscious, so no medical personnel will need to interrupt your questioning unless there’s an emergency. Although his parents will be here soon and will demand to see him regardless, most likely.”

“Thank you officer.”

Arthur and Joaquin entered the room. They took in the sight before them. Alex’s left eye was swollen shut. Bandages were snugly wound across his naked upper body. Even with a busted eye, Arthur could see the look of despair and withdrawal on Alex’s face. For any sane person, watching someone get their throat slit was sure to be life altering. Even Arthur had to admit that he may have been too swift with his judgement. He’d only seen the look on Alex’s face on innocent people.

“Mr. Cumberland, I am Detective Joaquin Whitaker, this is Detective Arthur Reyes, we’re with the New York Police Department.” The detectives held up their badges for Alex to see as he arduously turned his head to face the intrusion.

“We understand that you’ve just experienced something extremely tragic,” started Arthur in a much softer tone than usual, “but we need to ask you questions while it’s all still fresh in your mind. We simply need you to be as honest as you possibly can be. Does that sound okay?”

Alex nodded slowly, wincing slightly.

“So, we understand that you and Ms. Rockwell used to date each other. How did that relationship end?”

“Well,” said Alex, introspectively, “I was an abusive piece of shit. I won’t even try to sugar coat it. Every kind of abuse imaginable, I put her through it. I treated her like she was the dirt beneath my shoes. And I loved every second of it. I was so sick. So disturbed. One day she had enough and fought back. That was the last day I saw her.” Alex sighed. “This was months ago. The other day, my housekeeper found Michelle’s watch. I know she never wanted to see me again, but I wanted her to know that I changed. I figured bringing her watch back and trying to talk to her would be a good start. But when I got there…” Alex trailed off. The look of withdrawal returned.

“Right.” Arthur continued. “Did you know she had already started dating Mr. Haines?”

“I had no idea. She cut all ties with me when she left. Blocked me on every social media account she had. Blocked my number on her phone. Everything... I did see his body lying next to Michelle’s, obviously. Although I tried not to…”

“Do you know of anyone who may have wished Ms. Rockwell any kind of harm whatsoever? For any reason at all?”

“Well, no one recent. Although I do remember her telling me about some psycho ex from high school who-”

The sound of Arthur’s phone ringing pierced through the air, startling everyone in the room.

“Oh my goodness,” said Arthur, “ I apologize. I thought my phone was on silent. I do really need to take this call though. It’s about my father’s blood work results. Detective Whitaker would you please take it from here?”

“Of course, and take your time. I hope Mr. Reyes is okay."

As Arthur left the room, Joaquin approached Alex’s side.

“So, as I was saying detective, Michelle had something of a crazy ex situation. He was obsessed with her. She found out that he had bugged her phone and could see everyone she talked to, every app she used, all of it. It was insane. She said he never physically hurt her, not like I did... but you never know what anyone is capable of these days.”

“That’s right,” said Joaquin, “you don’t.”

“OUCH!” yelled Alex. “Did you just stick me with something? What the hell was that?!”

A sly grin spread across the revered detective’s face. “Oh, just a little serum I concocted. I’ve been known to dabble in chemistry. In about two minutes, you’re going to lose the ability to move every inch of your body. And, you’ll probably be brain dead for the rest of your life. Right now, though, you’ve completely lost the ability to speak. Which really sucks. Because in 5 seconds, it’s going to get really painful for you buddy.”

Alex looked up at the detective in utter shock and disbelief. He tried to yell for help but all that came out of his mouth were little wisps of air. Then the pain kicked in.

“I know you can’t really hear me over the pain, but it’s time for my 'bad guy' monologue.” An ominous chuckle escaped from Joaquin’s throat as he continued. “You see, Alex, I wasn’t obsessed with Michelle. And I certainly don’t appreciate being called a ‘psycho ex’.”

Alex’s watery good eye widened in absolute terror. He knew the name Joaquin sounded familiar. The color drained from his face as everything Michelle said about him came flooding into his mind.

“I wanted to protect Michelle,” said Joaquin with fervor, “because as beautiful as she is, I knew people would try to take advantage of her. She’s so naïve. I mean, she fell for a piece of shit like you! I always knew you were scum. You and your fancy penthouse and clothes and cars didn’t fool me. Did you work hard for anything you’ve got? No! You’ve been handed everything on a silver platter for your entire life. You could’ve given Michelle the world. But instead, you chose to hurt her in every way imaginable. I’ve been keeping tabs on you from the moment she met you. Whenever people like you would hurt her, she’d just forgive them. But I couldn’t. Everyone that’s ever crossed her, has had me to politely escort them out of her life. I just had to protect her. She’s so perfect. Well, was so perfect. I recently met someone else. Unlike Michelle, she doesn’t take anyone’s bullshit. I don’t have to use all my time and energy trying to save her from assholes like you. It’s exhausting, I must admit, Alex. Oh and the assholes, with an ‘s’, being you and Calvin. Her new boyfriend. I saw him push her the other day. Can you believe it? I just had to teach that bastard a lesson in manners. But I also had to let her go. It’s not healthy to hang on to old flames when you move on, you know? I always loved her. And I always will. That’s why I couldn’t look her in the face while I did it. Those big beautiful eyes surely would’ve stopped me in my tracks. But see, you showing up was a shock. And you deciding to lunge at me was another. A decision of yours that I’m forever grateful for, as you couldn’t have known I’d overpower you. Those taekwondo lessons you took a few years ago were a waste of money I’d say. I believe I made the best of a bad situation though. It did leave less time to pretend like it was a home invasion gone wrong, however. And I still needed to get far enough away from the scene so I could meet my partner and show up along with everyone else when we got the call. I was going to get you for what you did to Michelle another day, but I think I improvised quite nicely. Don’t you think?”

Joaquin watched as his serum entered its final stage. It had kept Alex’s heart rate at a steady pace as it worked, so as not to cause the machine monitoring it to start beeping and hail the nearest available nurse.

“Now, Alex, your heart rate is about to go through the roof. But don’t worry! The hard working doctors and nurses of Lenox Hill Memorial are going to bring it down. But they won’t know what’s wrong with you for a long time. That’s the fun part! Okay, the machine’s about to do its thing. I’ve gotta play the responsible detective again. I used to want to be an actor you know? Silly pipe dream. Anyways, ready Alex?”

Tears were flowing like Niagara Falls from Alex’s eyes now. He tried, to no avail, to shake his head no. The look on Joaquin’s face was almost more terrifying than what was happening to him. Almost.

The heartbeat monitor began to beep erratically. Joaquin yelled out into the hall for assistance. Arthur, just finishing his call, was the first to rush over, but they were both ushered out of the room as doctors and nurses flooded in, ready to save Alex Cumberland’s life. But they weren’t going to. Not really.