The Innocents Nathan Senthil (i wanna iguana read aloud TXT) 📖

from Lolly’s victims bore 1:21”, which I’d like to point out, doesn’t come from any gun that uses a .44. And wasn’t Desert Eagle released only in 1983? But the very first robbery Lolly committed was in 1982?”

“How are you even sane? Why do you know all these facts off the top of your head?”

“Tobacco, for the first question. Because catching Lolly is the reason I live and knowing these things is half the battle, for the second.”

“Fair enough,” Nigel said. “It’s the same old 1:21” twist rate alright. But the magic was in the casing.”

“What did you find?”

“The combination of firing pin impression, breech mark, and ejector striations is unique to only one gun in circulation. Desert Eagle.”

“But you guys always had the casings. Why didn’t you figure it out sooner?”

“Because we didn’t have the technological advancement to do so ten years ago.”

“I don’t understand. You’re telling me we got the tech to track Lolly around the same time he breaks his ten-year hiatus? Isn’t that convenient!”

“No, we got the tech a few years back. But as Lolly was inactive for so long, we’d forgotten about him.”

“That’s irresponsible.”

“You know how many cold cases we have?”

“I know 40% of the murders go unsolved. Upwards of two hundred K, maybe?”

“More than 250,000 cold cases from 1980, the time Lolly started contributing to it.”

“Wow. That’s a lot. But what does that have to do with new forensic gadgets?”

“Understatement of the year.” Nigel inhaled noisily. “It’s impossible to analyze all the tiny bits of evidence every time we have a little technical advancement in forensics. I believe Moore’s law doesn’t apply only to processors and computers. Even other technologies, like our comparison microscope used in examining bullets—aka the best friend of Forensic Ballistic Examiners—has evolved exponentially in the last decade.”

“You lost me somewhere in the middle.”

“You can’t expect us to examine all the forensic evidence from every single unsolved case whenever we have new technology, can you? Forget resources, the number of times you would need to work on even one unsolved case is monumental.”

“But Lolly is not some random murderer. He is number one in the FBI’s top ten.”

“Who was dormant for more than a decade. You thought we had a team full of bodies, actively looking for Lolly?”

“I didn’t,” Joshua admitted. “Would have been nice though.”

Nigel grunted. “I don’t have time for this. Our boss works us twice as hard since Lolly came back.”

“Same man?”

“Yeah. Fucking Gregg.” Nigel sighed deeply. “So can we get back to the topic, please?”

“Sorry,” Joshua said. “Lolly’s first bank robbery was in 1982, and the Desert Eagle was not available then. How the hell did Lolly procure some gun before it was released onto the market?”

“Fuck if I know. This is all the information I have at this point. When I know something, you’ll know something.”

Joshua blew out air.

“Sorry, Josh. You want more gold, you’re gonna have to dig further.”

Dig was what Joshua did. And oh boy, did he find a goldmine!

“Say, what have you planned for your retirement?” Joshua asked Peter as he brought the lukewarm Coke to his lips.

“Nothing as of yet. Maybe fix the wobbly couch leg, paint the house, plant some roses in the garden. Maybe have a warm glass of milk, tuck myself in, and swallow a bullet?”

Joshua almost choked on the Coke. He wiped his nose and jabbed Peter on the shoulder. “How about a tour?”

“Where?”

“Detroit.”

“Anything’s better than tasting the lead,” Peter said. “Lolly’s in Detroit?”

“Could be. Not sure.” Joshua hesitated. “It’s just three days since I started working on it.”

“No problem. Tell me what you’ve got so far.”

“Nah. I need a lot of questions answered, details to collect. I’ll tell you on our way over there.”

“Suit yourself. Should keep us occupied until we drive—”

“Shhh!”

Peter nudged Joshua’s leg with his shoe. “Don’t shush me, ass—”

“It’s on!” Joshua’s frantic fingers pointed at the TV. “Turn it up.”

“Oh shit!” Peter retrieved the remote that his right ass cheek was smothering and increased the volume.

Joshua grabbed his Skoal tin from the table. His eyes didn’t leave the TV, while his hands opened the tin, plucked two pouches from within and tossed them into his mouth.

The commentator, after advising viewer discretion, announced that the video was five minutes long.

Three robbers entered the bank, which was almost empty at the early hours. They wore black T-shirts, black bomber jackets, and camo pants. Two of them ran in different directions just as soon as the swing doors closed behind their backs. The remaining one, a stocky, blue-masked demon, locked the only entrance to the bank with a device that looked like a thin wheel clamp. Then he grabbed an assault rifle strapped on his back and manned the door.

Lolly wore his famed pale green zombie mask. In his right hand, he carried a shiny silver-plated pistol with a longish barrel. A white lollipop stick poked out from the zombie’s mouth hole.

Lolly cannonballed toward the space between the cashier’s table and a confused-looking security guard. Once he was close to him, he shot the guard in the face.

Joshua shuddered. No matter how many dead bodies he had seen, it hadn’t desensitized him. He bit his teeth and uttered a small prayer. He asked forgiveness from the security guard and his family. If only Joshua had caught Lolly. Seeing that savage son of a bitch on the TV made the blood in Joshua’s veins boil.

Lolly, however, didn’t give a shit that he had just killed someone. He didn’t even slow his sprint, but angled himself toward the cashier’s table and slid over the marble floor. Without waiting to check if the preemptive strike had made a kill, Lolly leaped over the counter.

His movements were precise, aggressive, and slick,