Written by Phil Colvin, Sun Sep 13 8:47:08 US/Pacific 1998
Chapter 3
NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
As expected, the Commissioner hadn’t exactly been a great source of sympathy. He just sat Mosely down and prompted to shout at him for almost half and hour about “ignorance” and “taking too many risks.” It didn’t seem to have occurred to him once that this was a multiple murders case and that they were wasting valuable time. Finally, Mosely had got a word in and told the Commissioner that he was going to find Franks and bring her to safety, and that he’d clean up the mess no matter what. The Commissioner screamed more abuse at him, and told him the only thing he’d be cleaning out was his desk. At which point he’d almost ripped Mosely’s badge from his coat and shoved the former detective out into the hall.
Whilst the rest of the station frantically went about the task of locating their lost officer, Mosely stood alone in his office with a cardboard box slowly removing his personal effects. Sadly, he began looking through all his drawers and removing things. Old photos of himself with Annie, his family and with Gabriel. As well as the numerous books and magazines he used to read in the tedious hours on traffic duty. So many memories...so many bad memories, and so few good ones. He picked up the framed picture from his desk. Too late to phone now, he’d failed. He had wasted so many chances, this was obviously justice.
He looked up at the window in front of him. The office was carrying on, oblivious to Mosely's plight. In front of him, by Franks' desk was Frick. He was one of the old boys, had been with the NOPD longer than anyone cared to remember. He'd seen action, he'd had hard times and now he was at a desk job. Everyone knew something about Frick, and everyone knew he hated Mosely. Neither of the two men knew why. But they just didn't mesh well together. Frick was all diplomatic and self aware, Mosely wanted action and getting things done quickly, to hell with procedure and diplomacy. No doubt Frick was relishing Mosely's current plight, he'd probably even get the office once it was vacated. He'd been waiting to get it for years. osely put down the photo and strolled outside. He wanted to at least settle something, even if he did leave here a faliure.
"Hey, Frick." he said as he approached the bulky desk searget. The man grunted and continued rifiling through Franks' desk. "You know, it ain't polite to go through a lady's desk."
"I don't think the lady is coming back", drawled Frick, "So I don't see her objecting."
"I do."
"Yeah? Well you, Mosely." He kept his back to the detective the whole time. The other thing about Frick was that he had a soft spot for the ladies, espeically Franks. He'd got soem idea into his head that she had the desk closest to the front bench because she actually liked him. In truth, it was because anywhere else was in near proximity to the drunk pen. Even a bloated desk sergent was a better sight than streams of vomit.
"I'm sorry about Franks, I know you'll miss her."
"You son of a he turned around and glared at Mosely. "You think that's it? You think you can say sorry and all is forgiven? That girl is probably dead because of you!", he jabbed a finger into Mosely's stomach.
"I've lost my job and my own self respect because of it." he tried to say it as if it evened the balance. It didn't.
"Well, poor old Mosely. He loses his job and we're all expected to shed tears...you're scum."
"I was trying to give her a break, get her going places."
"You did that well enough. She's gone further than any of us yet."
"Hey! You can't just give up hope!"
"Mosely, I walked those streets before you even looked at a police badge. If she's out there in the hands of a psycho, we might as well carve out a plaque." He gave Mosely another look of digust before turning back to the desk.
"Whatcha looking for, Frick?"
"It ain't your buisiness....In fact, you shouldn't even be back here. I could have you arrested."
"So do it. Get me locked up, see if I care. I don't have anything else."
"Don't try the sympathy act." He pulled a file out and placed it on the desk. "You don't deserve it." Mosely eyed the file, it was the one on Bryce. Frick was probably getting it out for the new detecive on the case. A thought crossed into Mosely's mind.
"You know..." he mused, "I rekon that I may know where Franks is."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. And maybe I could go and save her..."
"No chance, Mosely. I'm phoning the Commissioner. You stay right here. He wandered down to the front desk and jabbed in the number of the Commissioner's office. Unsuprsingly, he demanded to see Mosely straight away. Frick nodded, put the phone down and turned around.
"Well, Mosely looks like you just got yourself a date with..." But Mosely was gone.
Mosely struggled to get through the office window. Something was stuck, and it was plain embarassing having his backside stuck in the office whilst he struggled to reach the ground. Wasn't it Knight who had said he did this once? It had to have been someone thinner. Finally, after a rather disturbing 'squelching' sound, he popped out of the window as neatly as a cork from a bottle. He fell onto the boxes below with a resounding crash. Luckily he was all right. This had been the hard part, stealign that file and photocopying the contents whilst Frick's back had been turned had been easy. Hadn't Knight mentionned something about that before? That guy was a bad influence. But now Mosely had a location for Bryce. He'd lost Franks, his job and any last ounce of self confidence. If onyl he could lose some weight, the cycle would be complete. But at last he had something back. He had hope. This address down by the quay could lead him to Franks, and right now, her safety was the only thing that mattered to him. Not because he loved her or other such nonsence, not even because he wanted Frick's friendship in return but just that for once in his stupid existance, he wanted to clean up one of the messes in his life and earn some self respect. He brushed himself down and took himself to the squad car. Luckily he still had the keys. He went for the bottle in the glove compartment and sighed. Nah, this wasn't the time. He slotted the compartment closed and put the key in the ignition.
WAREHOUSE, DOCKS
14:31
Franks began to stir. She felt her head first, still pounding. Then gradually, feeling returned to the rest of her body and she remembered who she was and what she was doing here. And then she decided, she’d probably rather be unconscious. She had remembered being hit, and then some scuffling. She hadn’t blacked out straight away, but just after those shots....It was Bryce, she knew he was here. The only other distinctive thing was the smell. It was unusual, but she couldn’t place it. Slowly, she opened her eyes and they adjusted to the gloom. The warehouse was big, she couldn’t see the walls. She was laid out on a bench, her arms and legs tied tight. She was still in her uniform, now tattered and covered to soot and dirt. There was no sign of Bryce...but he must be close, she thought. And then her thoughts turned to her other priority, escape.
Mosely sat in the front of the car outside, chewing a wad of gum. He'd been sitting here for ten minutes just doing nothing. He didn’t want to go in there right now, not until he knew things were safe. He knew he should be acting quickly, to save a life. But he was terrified he'd up again. He almost wished Knight was with him to get the ball rolling with a stupid, suicidal act...nah, maybe not. It was fast actions that had got him into this mess, so he decided it would be fast actions to save him. He checked the handgun he had found in the car's armourments compartment. Six rounds, it’d have to be enough. Now that Joshua Crab was dead, all Bryce’s former associates were gone. That meant the murders would probably stop, but if Bryce wanted to cover his tracks then Franks wasn't going to just be given a piece of cake and a ticket home. He got out of the car and put the gun in the holster. He spat the gum to the floor. Time to go to work.
Franks was moving across the floor. Although her hands and legs were bound, she found she could slide forwards on her stomach in some sort of worm-like movement. Undignified, but practical. That smell was still hanging in the air, it was so distinctive she was kicking herself for not being able to work it out. In front of her she could now see a door. Clearly defined in the gloom. She moved faster, sliding across the slick floor of the warehouse, getting closer and closer...then she stopped. Something had just stepped on her. She moved round, it was a boot. And it was attached to a leg...and she didn’t want to look any higher than that.
“Franks!”, shouted Mosely as he moved around the side of the warehouse. “Can you hear me, Franks?” This was useless, he was probably alerting anyone in there about his presence. He’d seen the door when he first arrived, but it would be pure madness to try it if she was in there. It was the sort of stupid thig that had got him into this mess....and the sort of stupid thing that usually got him out.
It was incense. Franks had remembered the smell as soon as she’d been stopped. One of Bryce’s old files had cited that he liked the stuff, it was probably why he’d got a reputation for ‘Devil worshipping’. He looked like the Devil right now. Standing on her, stopping her escape when she was so close. A grin of satisfaction on his face. She just wanted to wipe it right off, but there was nothing she could do in her current predicament which wouldn’t result in this guy doing something stupid...Then the door began to creak open. Franks noticed it, and so did Bryce.
“I know you’re out there, Detective”, he shouted, “I suggest you come in here or this place gets messy.” Slowly, Mosely walked through the door, he had his gun aimed towards Bryce.
“Let her go, Bryce”, he ordered. “Your little drug war is over, I know what you’ve been up to.”
“I understand that Jones had a few things to say about me. I’ll have to settle the score with him later. But first, it looks like I’ll have to deal with you. I will kill the girl, Mosely. Don’t doubt me on this!”
“I ain’t doubting you, Bryce. And I know you’ll understand me when I say that I’ll kill you, too.”
“In that case you’re making the same mistake they all did. They all thought they could betray me. They all thought they could steal the goods and make a profit. But I have something they don’t.”
“Killer halitosis?”
“I have my powers, Detective.”
“Oh, brother...don’t start the Devil crap with me.”
“Don’t you believe me, Mosely?” He gave Franks a kick, “If you don’t, then shoot me.”
“With pleasure.” Mosely squeezed the trigger, and then suddenly released it. Franks watched in horror as he put the gun down. That smell of incense was more intense, almost stopping her breathing.....She coughed and tried to shout by Bryce didn’t notice. he was laughing.
“I like magic, Detective. It gives me a real buzz.” Mosely was paralysed. He could think about what he wanted to do. In his head, he was taking a pace forward, picking that gun and blowing a hole through Bryce’s ugly face. But in reality, he was rooted to the spot. He was going to up again, like he had screwed up before...and with Annie. He was going to lose another person....
Tears were filling Franks’ eyes, not because she was crying but because the incense was choking her. She tried to move and squirm. Bryce’s hold was loose, if she could just kick back....She gasped as she kicked into his legs. There was a yelp of annoyance from Bryce as he lost his footing. Then he fell, right down onto her legs. The pain was enormous. Beside her, she heard something smash, a lantern or something. Bryce must have been holding it before he fell. Whatever it was, it had a bad effect on Bryce. He began reaching for his gun, Franks couldn’t kick out whilst he was on top of her. He aimed for her head, and then stopped. A loud noise resonated through the warehouse, Franks felt something soft hit her and then suddenly, Bryce slid off her....a new smell filled the air, gunpowder. She turned to Mosely, who had a smoking gun in his hand.
“Stupid wanker.” sighed the detective, “Guess his magic show is over....Are you OK, Franks?”
“Never better”, she wheezed, almost out of breath. “Are you going to untie me, now?”
“Aww, Franks. And we could have had so much fun together.” He walked over, pushed Bryce’s body aside and began loosening her bonds. Her wrists were raw and painful, but at least she was OK.
“It was the incense”, she smiled, “I think he was using it to cast a strange spell over you, or something.”
“Yeah, like hell”, scoffed Mosely, “I think it’s more likely I just dropped my gun or something. You really shouldn’t pay so much attention to this occult crap, Franks. It ain’t good for your mind.” She smiled and looked over at Bryce’s body.
“What do you think? Four and a half?”
“Huh?”
“The corpse, what do you rate it?” Mosely looked over and shrugged.
“I dunno about that. After all, once you see one corpse, you’ve seen ‘em all.”, he smiled.
NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT
17:51 PM
Two hours with the Commissioner and Mosely was all ready to pick up his box and walk out of this hole for good. But the superior officer had grudgingly admitted that Mosely had managed to save Franks’ life and ensure that no further murders would take place. Not surprisingly, he didn’t care for the Devil worship sideline. Mosely didn’t either, to tell the truth. All this Devil worshipping and voodoo crap really all boiled down to the same thing, a load of psychos going around shooting the crap out of other psychos. Quite frankly, he was glad to be rid of the case. And he’d got his job back. Nobody mentionned anything about Franks' promotion, but she didn't mind. She had decided that maybe a couple more months behind a desk wouldn't be a bad thing, and no doubt Mosely would find something more interesting for her to do than traffic reports and filing.
He finally got out of the meeting and sighed. It had been a long day, he wanted to go back to this office and fall asleep. On the other side of the station, he could see Frick. The man was looking at him, and not much else. But in his eyes there was something, a grudging look of respect from someone who'd seen it all before. But in Frick's case, it was probably just for the fact that Franks was back at the desk next to him.
Mosely sat in his office, his personal effects around him once again. In front of him was the photo of Annie. He’d got another chance, he always did. He also looked out of the window. Franks was at her desk, typing something up. He could have a crack at her, maybe he wouldn’t get knocked back....but he’d decided that wasn’t what he wanted. Some security in his life would be better. As he picked up the phone, the door swung open.
“Hey, hey!” Mosely put down the receiver and sighed heavily. Gabriel Knight just stood in the doorway looking immensely proud of himself.
“Knight, what the heck do you want?”
“It's your lucky day, Mosely. I’m here to offer my services!”
“Oh, really?” He didn't offer a chair but Gabriel invited himself in, swung the door shut and took a long look at Franks through the window before wolf whistiling.
“I tell you, Mosely. This is one heck of a great view.”
“Leave it, Knight. She ain’t going to be interested.”
“Obviously you underestimate the Knight love effect” He ran his hand through his hair, “I fancy a crack at something big....Oh momma, that’s the biggest thing I’ve wanted to crack in years.... ”
“Are you just here to salivate at my officers, or did you want something important?” He watched as Gabriel turned around and headed for the seat.
“I’m here to help you with this Devil worship thing. I know you didn’t say so over the phone, But I could tell you need my personal brand of expertise.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course it’s true! Remember the Voodoo Murders? No offence, Mosely, but you were about as useful as the fat in a ‘Miss Lovely Legs’ contest. Without my assistance, you’d probably be lying in a ditch somewhere with your internal organs floating around under Jackson Square.”
“Well, Gabe. However much I’d love to have you mess up my investigation, I’m afraid the Midnight Murders case has been solved and is now officially closed.”
“Oh yeah, like hell”, scoffed Gabriel, “I’ve heard that before.”
“No, really. I investigated myself, along with Officer Franks. We found the motive was drugs related, confronted the perpetrator and prevented him from committing any more crimes. All by using my standard procedure and none of your Schattenjager crap.”
“Mosely, it’s nice to hear you trying to do your job but now it’s time to step aside and let a man who knows what he's doing take over the reins. Now, I’ve researched devil worship in this area and found that...”
“Excuse me a minute.” Franks’ voice came from the door. Gabriel winked at Mosely and spun around in the chair.
“Well, hello there....I’m Knight, Gabriel Knight.”
“Hello Mr. Knight. I know who you are from our regrettable amount of meetings. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m Franks, Officer Franks.”
“So tell me, what’s a nice girl like you doing in a crud infested office like this?”
“I’m just here to see Detective Mosely.” She walked over to the desk and put a file on it. “Here’s the completed case file, I think you’ll find everything’s there for the Commissioner, I think this thing is wrapped up.” And without giving Gabriel a second look, she turned and headed for the door. on her way out, she stopped. “Oh, by the way. I wanted to thank you for saving my life. I owe you, Franklin.” She game him a wink and closed the door. Gabriel blinked and spun around again.
“Mosely”, he hummed, “You old dog....”
“Just get the hell out of here, Knight.”
“What about the case?...”
“Like I said, it’s solved and closed. And no thanks to you.”
“Mosely, no offence, but you couldn’t solve the puzzle page of the Picayune, let alone a multiple murder involving devil worship.”
“But I did, Knight. It’s not all about religion and crap. Some of it is just about having your head in the right place and keeping your mind on the job. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to get on with...”
“But what about me?”
“Not everything is about you, Knight.” Gabriel got up and walked to the door, pulling it open. Gabriel got up and walked out, eyeing Mosely suspiciously.
“If you need my services, you know where to find me.” Mosely nodded, and slammed the door in his face. He gave another long sigh before walking back to the desk, and picking up the phone.
If you have any comments, you can email Phil Colvin at sculder_mully@geocities.com.
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