Phantom Island-"Origins"-6

Byron was completely intrigued now. This was likely to turn into his next obsession case; that’s what the other law officers called it when he focused on just one case until it was resolved.

He nodded yes to Kast who motioned for Byron to follow him. As they walked, Byron began trying to picture her face. He wondered what she was like, what would her voice sound like? How old would she be? Did she have a mental problem that kept her from feeling or reacting?

As someone who had been face to face with some of the worst, he knew that trauma, a lifetime of abuse and neglect, and mental illness always played a major role in the crimes and the eerie calm the killer displayed.

Some of the most gruesome killers would remain calm no matter what. They could recite every murder and victim as though having a perfectly normal conversation about the weather.

Byron had been called in numerous times to question them himself, though not to work on their cases. They were all ready to talk about everything they had done; eager to tell their life stories to whoever would listen, though they tended to stretch the facts around at every retelling.

Byron was asked to talk to them to see what got them riled up; to help build psychological profiles for them. He was the best at reading people and finding out what really made them tick. He could work over the most professional con and make the toughest criminals cry for their mommas. The other officers always joked that he should be in charge of questioning terrorists.

He had found that the calmest of murderers tended to have just one thing that made them glitch and it was usually the victim’s identities. They had their own names and descriptions for them and mentioning things that forced the killer to relate to or think of the victims as real people always broke them.

He was wondering what would break this female when they finally arrived in front of a locked door that said “Private” across it in bold black letters.

“Here we are,” announced Kast. He opened the door and turned on the light. The room had a television, couch, coffee table, a small counter with coffee paraphernalia on it and a long fold-out table covered with files, papers, dvds and pictures.

Byron stood and took it all in for a moment before approaching the table and reaching for the pictures first.

“This is everything we have on her. The pictures were pulled from the better of the surveillance videos and made as clear as possible. I had the videos edited down to these four before I even asked you here. I know you hate these videos, so I had the excess removed and all the relevant material threaded together with the locations in text on the bottom of each. The full videos are on the table in front of you, in case you feel you need the extra footage.”

The look on Byron’s face made the answer clear. He would definitely not be needing extra footage.

Kast gave a chuckle and asked if he should start up the coffee maker.

Byron shook his head no. “I’ll take these pictures, the edited videos and the case files home with me to study.”

Typically that would never be allowed and no one but Byron would even suggest it. But no one questioned him, especially when they needed his help. He was the best at his job and therefore invaluable to them all, even if he was strange and moody. His brooding was another reason to let him take his work home. If he was home, they didn’t have to tiptoe around him here.

“Fine by me.” replied Kast. “I also made a copy of the key to this room for you so you won’t have to wait for either Kent or myself to let you in. He and I are the only ones with keys, well, besides you now. Do you need anything else?”

“No. This is plenty for a start, thank you.” said Byron.

“Good. Then if you’ll step outside I’ll lock up since your hands are full.” said Kast as he moved to switch off the light.

Byron left the station and headed home. The pictures of the Lady swirling in his mind along with all the questions he would have to find answers to.

Once at home, he went straight to the kitchen to start the coffee maker. He was thinking he’d get a shower next. It was going to be a long night in front of the tv and he had to start fresh and as clear-headed as possible.

He collected a pair of the jogging pants he always sleeps in; he has preferred them to pajamas ever since he realized how many people get caught off guard in their pajamas. He had seen people at crime scenes (victims and bystanders alike), at the station, in the hospital, and once he even saw a young girl running from the woods, toward the highway in her pajamas.

She had escaped her kidnapper and lucky for her, ran in front of Byron’s car. He had stopped the car and before he could ask who she was running from, the kidnapper ran out of the woods and straight up to them. He thought he was going to scare Byron and take the girl back with him, the thought made Byron laugh.

He had gotten out of his car, placed the girl behind himself, and told her to get in the car. The guy ran up and declared the girl to be his and demanded that Byron just stay out of his way.

Byron had simply said “no”. The guy began to attack him and Byron pulled his gun and shot him in the gut. He then recited the line he was supposed to say BEFORE firing; “I am a police officer and I am armed…blah, blah, blah.” He knew he wouldn’t be questioned or reprimanded, they needed him too much.

He had then reached into his car and used his radio to call for an ambulance and back up; not because he needed back up but because he was eager to get home and so refused to turn around and take this guy or this girl to the hospital. The other officers could handle all that.

Once they had gotten there, he had put his gun away, turned the kidnapper and the girl over, gave a brief statement and gone home.

Byron made his way into the bathroom and took a quick shower. He then headed into the kitchen, reheated some leftovers and went into the basement. He made his way over to the woman who was shackled to the far wall and removed her gag.

“Good news.” He started. “I have found a woman who suits me far better than you ever could so our time together is over.”

The woman looked shocked and relieved until he continued with; “Unfortunately, that means I have to kill you now.”

She began crying hysterically and screaming “no” repeatedly; which really annoyed him.

He covered her mouth with his hand. “Relax. I’m too tired to do it tonight so I’m going to feed you some supper and we’ll get to the rest tomorrow.”

After several long minutes of trying to feed his now ex-girlfriend through her sobbing, he returned upstairs and grabbed a cup of coffee.

He put in the first video and sat on the couch, eager to learn more about his new girlfriend.

END of Story 2-"Byron"-Part 2

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