Sadistic

Sirens flashed across the alleyway as a sea of blues and reds appeared, flashing in turn across every surface the eye could see.

Even in the shadowy darkness of yet another night shift the police squad car lit up the surrounding area like a Christmas tree as several figures moved about, busily at work.

They were working to protect and examine their newest crime scene.

There had been yet another gang-related murder in the sleepy little town of Jefferson... and a messy one at that!

Blood and bullets scattered the floor and walls as the cool night air wafted in and began to spread the repulsive stench of death.

“Where the hell is she?” came the insistent voice of Police Chief Anderson.

“Parsons! Parsons, get over here! Hurry the hell up, I haven’t got all bloody night!”

The balding man was in his mid-forties and dressed in his usually well-pressed uniform as he locked eyes on the youngest of his detectives with a frown.

Victoria Parsons glanced up from where she had been kneeling over a key piece of evidence on the floor below her and searched the sea of faces for the familiar one of her boss.

After locating him and with a heavy sigh she pulled herself up to stand and marched across to where he stood waiting for her.

His impatience could clearly be seen by the way he was standing. His hands rested on his hips and his foot impatiently tapped over and over on the asphalt road as she came to stand beside him.

Detective Parsons was plain and yet beautiful with her stunning features and natural olive complexion.

She wore her long wavy brown hair tied neatly into a singular plat which draped all the way down to her lower back and only a minimal amount of make-up.

Her eyes were chocolate brown in shade and her figure had the perfect hourglass shape to it as she waved her hips provocatively from side to side.

Standing at five feet and ten inches in height Victoria was a force to be reckoned with, even without her trademark six-inch-high heels.

Her left brow rose with question.

“Chief Anderson, what brings you here?” she enquired with a slight tilt of her head.

It wasn’t standard procedure for the Police Chief himself to attend a crime scene this late at night, not unless there was a good enough reason for him to, that is...

Something serious must have happened.

“Detective Parsons, what have we got here?” he asked, seemingly ignoring her question.

He glanced around at the chaotic scene before him with an impatient frown.

Realising that her superior obviously wasn’t in the mood for a chat, the young Detective gave him a brief rundown of their progress in what would appear to be her latest case.

“Sir, I’m afraid it’s another drive-by…” she reported, crossing her arms over her chest as she went on to explain.

“Two victims, both deceased. It appears they were cornered and gunned down here in the alleyway. No sign of the murder weapon yet but we’ve managed to locate several 38 calibre cartridges at the entrance to the alleyway…”

She paused and let out a sigh as her hands listed to rest upon her curved hips.

“My guess is that they drove by and unloaded hell on these poor unsuspecting people, though I have no idea why. They don’t look like any kind of gang bangers I’ve ever seen before. Just regular people.”

The Chief appeared to take it all in, nodding his head before he spoke again.

“Mm hmm… any tyre marks found?”

“Yeah… over here.”

The Detective gestured with a nod of her head before leading him across to where several charcoal skid-marks remained burnt into the slick road’s surface. No doubt left behind by the attacker’s car as it sped off from the crime scene only hours earlier.

Detective Parsons knelt down beside the tyre marks as she continued her report to the Chief.

“I’ve already sent photos of the tyre-marks off to be analysed by forensics. I’m hoping they can at least figure out a make or model from the impressions…”

Turning her head, she pointed off down the road, “From what I can tell, the assailants headed off down Kingschurch Boulevard headed in a Southerly direction. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine, Sir.”

Chief Anderson seemed strangely silent as he glanced off down the road in question, apparently mulling over the new information with his hands still resting casually on his hips.

He appeared to look anxious as he pursed his lips tightly together to form a thin line, apparently unable to meet her eyes for some unknown reason.

Victoria noticed this and narrowed her eyes with intrigue.

“Sir, is something wrong?” she enquired, pulling herself up to stand once more.

He let out a great sigh before turning to face her with an apprehensive expression painting his face.

It was clear he had something on his mind, but was it related to their case? Or was it something else? She couldn’t tell.

Swallowing nervously, the Police Chief opened his mouth in an effort to explain.

“Parsons, I uh… I need to tell you about something... I just received a call-”

“-Relating to this case?” she probed.

“No… no, not this case, Victoria...” he replied vaguely.

As vague as his response had been, it instantly alerted her to the seriousness of this apparent issue. He never used her first name when addressing her; found it to be disrespectful.

Something was definitely wrong.

Victoria decided to try and probe more information from him. It was clear that he was having trouble telling her whatever it was.

“Sir, you’re freaking me out here… what is it?”

Did someone in her family die?

Her mind began to race with the worst possible scenarios, but it was nothing when compared to what he would announce next.

“The call I received tonight… it was from the Asylum.”

Her heart suddenly sank deep down into the lowest depths of her chest as the world around her began to blur and darken. She swallowed away a sudden lump in her throat.

The mere mention of that place gave her a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach, one she couldn’t seem to escape.

Jefferson Asylum had been buried in the deepest, darkest part of her memory for many years and she wondered why he would be mentioning it to her now, allowing it to resurface from the depths of her already shattered mind.

Surely the Chief was aware of her connection to that horrible place!

So why would anyone from the Asylum be calling him? And why now?

What could they possibly want?

The Detective could feel her lips begin to tremble as her legs wobbled beneath her. Her heart thumped so loudly she was certain it would soon burst right through her chest.

He spoke again, this time with a softer voice.

“Victoria, I’m afraid it’s happened…” the Chief began, his expression now darkening as he looked her right in the eye.

She frowned, narrowing her eyes as she fought to process what he was telling her.

“He’s escaped.”

The young Detective instantly froze, as if his words were an ice-ray gun and he had fired upon her. She couldn’t say a single a word - she didn’t need to.

“Didn’t you hear me, Parsons?” he enquired, this time sounding a little more frantic within his tone.

“I said the sick bastard’s free, out there somewhere roaming around the place right now!”

Suddenly finding her voice, Victoria did nothing but speak her mind at that very moment. One word that summed it all up extremely well…

“Shit!”