Crypto Murders: Goddamn Shame

He finished the donut.

“Are there more?” St Kitts asked.

“I swear to God there were only the ones in the house.”

“Are there more living as well?” Darby questioned.

Archie’s face darkened. “I had two of them there….They’re behind a concrete slab and acousitc walls. That’s why it took so long and your people never found them.”

“That’s it,” Darby continued.

“Get a team to rip that house apart. Copy.”

A saw sliced into the wall where Meredith and Bao had resided. They were dirty but happy at the fact that someone had come to rescue them.

“We’re going to get you out of there, okay?”

Meredith and Bao hugged each other as the sparks from the ringsaw flew from the metal teeth sliding on metal bars.

Once they were free, they then held hands and walked with the law officers out of the building. They continued all the way up and out to paparazzi and news journalists from all over the country and the world. What had been a Delaware story had ballooned to be a full-fledged spectacle.

“I told you before. I just wanted to see them in pretty dresses and feed them excellent food. It was a passion of mine. I wanted to bring them joy.”

“You brought them death,” St Kitts asserted.

“Not all of them.”

“Okay so most of them. Goddamnit. So we don’t have to drain any swamps anytime soon do we?”

“No.”

“Do we?”

“No.”

“If we find a way that you’ve dumped a woman in a bog somewhere….”

“I’ve only told you the truth. Why would I start lying now?”

St Kitts looked at Darby. The latter started talking again.

“Everything you said…everything you’ve done is going to damn you. I don’t care if you want to be Mr. Honesty. We’re going to dig and dig....” Darby said and St Kitts held him back.

The two Special Agents looked at each other. Darby’s eyes darted back and forth and he then left the room. St Kitts sat down again.

“We have enough against you. You're going to have a lawyer assigned to you because of your indigent status. When you’re going to serve time or maybe death, you’re getting one of the two.”

“I have a question.”

“What’s that?”

“Can I see Miss Jergensen again?”

“She’s not an official in this case. She remains a civilian from now on into the future.”

“Okay.”

“Alright. Guard!” St Kitts called and Archie headed to his cell.

St Kitts gave Darby a latte.

“It’s a goddamn shame,” St Kitts said.

“What’s that?”

“It could’ve been a simple kid who was homeless, houseless, residentially challenged, whatever, this could've all been avoided. We both know he's not going to prison and definitely not getting the needle. He’ll rot away in some psych ward. He’s not going to have a future because he took away futures. Goddamn shame.”

Darby and St Kitts traveled to Kim’s house. She was still dressed and looking at notifications on her phone and news flashes on her TV. By pointing to the different people who knew better, like Kim, she could take all of her time and listen to what the Special Agents had to say. They brought her a latte, too.

“How’d you keep him honest?”

“All we had was a few short sentences. He told us about the women you saw exit the house.”

Kim nodded in agreement.

“What we’re considering is opening up a store for ex-cops to help poor old FBI agents,” Darby let the gallows humor flow.

“I appreciate both of your gratitude towards me,” Kim smirked.