The X-Man by Brian R. Lundin (shoe dog free ebook .txt) 📖

there’s been another one, at 4410 South King, I’ve also notified Evetta

Evetta and I arrived at 4410 South King Drive at the same time and made our way up the stairs to apartment 2B. There was a blur of activity in the room as forensic technicians, police officers and Area One Homicide Investigators attended to the business of preserving the crime scene and examining the apartment. Area One Homicide Detective Batoy gave me a copy of the preliminary report.

BATOY
Got a report from the tech he found skin under the victim’s fingernail belonged to a white man, think it’s a copycat?

RINGO
“Shit,” I said, “this city would go up in smoke if the blacks found that out.”

BATOY
Are you going to announce that?


RINGO
Hell no, not yet


Me and Evetta went into the small front room and I began reading the report as we walked into the bathroom were the victim was propped up in the bathtub her non-seeing eyes glaring at us.

EVETTA
Got word from Lieutenant numbnuts, Mr. Pepper was in the office for three hours looking at the mug book, no good but Mrs. Starks is suppose to come in later to view the mug book.

The latest murder in Chicago’s black community hit the national news that following morning and continued the entire day and was front-page news in the local papers and new shows. Over five hundred people organized by the community pastors staged a demonstration in front of police headquarters at 3500 South State Street. The growing crowd was growing edgy, taunts and accusations begin to ring out.

VOICE IN THE CROWD
The police don’t care about catching the killer because all the victims were blacks and in lived in all black communities

Another group of young blacks claimed the killing were part of a government conspiracy at genocide while some of the ministers spoke on loudspeakers claiming that white racists committed the killings. A surging crowd of reporters and news crews shoved their microphones at any police officer wearing a white shirt that indicated they were supervisors, but most of the citizens of Bronzeville were glued in front of their televisions as dour face newscasters flashed pictures of the victims across the screen and interviewed the mayor and the Chief of Police who stated that extra police officers were assigned to the community. The governor promised to assign State Police Officers to help in the investigation and request assistance from the FBI. What had been kept from the press were the thefts of each victim’s underwear. People started arming themselves, buying Pit Bulls and German Shepherds, making sure all the windows and doors were locked, installing burglar alarms and scrutinizing their neighbors.

INT: PERSHING MOTEL -420 East 39th Street - 11 October 2008
Esau Sneed awoke early he was feeling good as he turned on the television to NBC news and sat back on the bed a Irene Maudesa black female reporter was talking about the murder of Reverend Wilson and the murder of another black woman last night. He was amazed at how dumb and stupid the police was and he laughed aloud as he thought about the reverend, “Coward huh, I showed you who the coward was you black mutherfucker,” he said to the television.

IRENE MAUDESA
I’m reporting from the Special Crime Bureau and talking with Detective Sergeant, Doctor John Ringo the lead investigator on these murders, Doctor I anything new on the investigation?

Esau sat up and watches the television intently.

RINGO
I really can’t go into details, but we do have a witness and have some evidence.

Esau jumped out the bed and flopped down on a hard card table chair.

ESAU (SHOUTING AT THE TELEVISION)
What witness and what evidence?

RNGO (CONT)
The killer is very careful and he thinks he‘s clever, but like all criminals he made a mistake and will make another one


Esau started thinking about the recent murders, he relived everyone, and tried to think who could have seen him; he had been careful not to leave anything behind, he snorted a line of coke and hoped it would enhance his mind but it didn’t work. Who is the witness and what evidence? He repeated over and over and then did another line.


IRENE MAUDESA,
Thank you sergeant and good luck, Irene Maudesa, reporting for NBC news

As soon as the media had left, Lieutenant O’Shea burst into Ringo’s office.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA (SCREAMING)
What fuckin’ witness and what fuckin’ evidence you didn‘t tell me anything about a witness or evidence?

I went to the refrigerator and removed a Coke.

LIEUTENANT O’SHEA (STILL SCREAMING)
Well, I’m waiting!

I sat the coke down on my desk and took a seat.

RINGO (SIPPING THE COKE)
Well, isn’t a lot to tell, I’m waiting to interview a possible witness

The lieutenant getting redder and angrier started to say something when over the loudspeakers, “Lieutenant O’Shea Captain Patricia Woods on line two.” Pointing his finger at me, the lieutenant said, “We’ll talk about this later,” as he stormed out the office.

EVETTA(SMILING)
You certainly know how to piss him off
A few minutes later Charley Turner entered and removed a report from his briefcase, “Good news Boss, we got a print and a match from the registered letter.

RINGO AND EVETTA
Great!

TURNER
The writer is a Mariah Woodberry, thirty-five, one arrest for panhandling and one for shoplifting baby clothes at Wal-mart but he bad news is she’s homeless

EVETTA
“Shit!

Evetta was at home preparing dinner for her family when her cell phone ranged. Her husband and two boys were playing a video football game on the machine.

BULL
Mama?

EVETTA
What’s up Bull?

BULL
Might have something for you, where and when can we meet?


Evetta though a minute and looked at her family in the living room. Jacobe, eight was sitting on the pillow next to Jamare, ten. Jashaun, three was sitting in his father’s lap. Jacobe was frantically working the controls on the video game and her husband La Shaun was rooting loudly as Jashaun yelled “Touchdown,” and high fived his father.


EVETTA
What about Sarge’s Joint in Roseland?

BULL
Cool, meet you in an hour

EVETTA (WALKINGED INTO THE LIVING ROOM)
Time out, Jashaun come into the kitchen a minute please

JASHAUN
Be right back, guys, what’s up?

EVETTA
Got to go to work baby, got a call from a snitch that might have some information on the X-Man

JASHAUN
It's late babe, can’t it wait until tomorrow

EVETTA
I’d better go; it might save a young woman’s life

JASHAUN
Is John going with you?

EVETTA
He’s my snitch he might not talk if John’s there, but I’ll call him for backup

Sarge’s Lounge was located on the far south side of the city n Roseland. It was a “Police bar,” with dark paneling and an equally dark ceiling. Leroy Ellison a retired police sergeant owned the bar and most of his customers were police officers. Evetta arrived at Sarge’s Lounge at 10 pm, two men were shooting pool and a couple was dancing to the music of the 4-Tops. Two men were sitting at the bar talking with the Leroy, she saw they were both armed and assumed they were police officers.
LEROY
Hey beautiful. Guys this is Detective Lunden, I broke her in, I mean on the job. These mopes are Elton McMann and William Jarvis; they work out of the fifth district. “What your poison?

The two police smiled and nodded,

EVETTA
Nothing right now, maybe later

LEROY
It’s on the house, how is that boss of yours?

EVETTA
John is doing fine, I’ll tell him you asked

LEROY
Tell him to not forget his old friends now that he big-time

EVETTA
Will do

Evetta spotted Bull sitting in a rear booth a can of Budweiser beer sat on the table. Evetta slipped into the opposite seat.

BULL
What’sup mama?

EVETTA
What you got?

BULL
I put the word out about the broad who got whacked on 43rd Street. Well one of my guys who work the alley told me that the broad always walk around her apartment nude or damn near nude. This dude, a little dude, my man doesn’t know his name was a regular customer and he and my guy would watch this broad parade her naked ass around. The customer was a weirdo and seemed to get off watching and he had a funny sounding voice. Well on the night the broad got whacked my guy said he saw this guy hanging around the gangway. My guy had to take care of some business and when he looked around the guy was gone. He later spotted him in the room with the broad. He couldn’t hear anything but the broad, naked seemed to be trying to get away from him. My guy got distracted again and when he looked in the window, he didn’t see the guy or the broad, also he said he saw the same guy walking with the broad got whacked on King Drive

EVETTA
Think your guy could point him out from photos?

BULL
Don’t know, I asked him that. You know with all the busts I’ve had with you guys I know the routine, but he said he only saw the guy at night in the dark alley

EVETTA
What about a description?

BULL
My guy said the dude was a little guy, but looked like a weight lifter or something and had a funny voice, that’s all he got

EVETTA
Thanks, man, owe you one


BULL
Owe me nothin’ mama

Ringo was waiting outside the lounge for Evetta who got into his car and told him of the conversation with Bull.

RINGO
Good work, Evetta, let’s get the team together in the morning and see what we’ve got

The following morning, Lieutenant O'Shea, Evetta, Charley Turner and Cristy Jones met in my office.

RINGO
Let’s see what we got, want to go first Charley?

CHARLEY
We know that Robin Honeywell was about two months pregnant and William Smith, her boyfriend was the father and has an alibi as well as her husband. There were no prints or any trace evidence, just a laceration on her head that Dixon said was caused by a blunt instrument, there were signs of sexual abuse and the murder weapon was probably one of her kitchen knives, no prints. We got a partial shoe print and found a condom with sperm in the garage, sent to the lab for DNA tests, nada. An analysis of the print indicated the wearer was a small man, found an X was drawn in the dust, and cast were made and logged into evidence. I interviewed the witness George Pepper, Louise next door neighbor who said he did get a good look at the man; he was short but well built. Mr. Pepper viewed photos, also nada. Re-interviewed of Louise revealed that she didn’t get a good look at the man either but believes he’s a member of the Hyde Park Bally Health Club. Cynthia White was an eighteen years freshman student at Chicago State University and she was also raped. There was blood and semen in her bedroom and semen was found during the autopsy, also according to the Doctor Dixon there was a small bit of dermal specimen under her fingernail that suggest a hyper pigmented