Read Online Suicide Serial by Matthew Boyd - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Matthew Boyd
Tags: Suspense, Literature & Fiction, Thrillers, Crime, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Serial Killers, Thrillers & Suspense, Two Hours or More (65-100 Pages)
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age range don’t look anything like our suspect.”
Fingers pressed against his chin, Jake thought for a moment and said, “Let’s see. Narrow it down to Caucasians only. Good. Now narrow it to owners within five miles.”
The number at the top of the screen changed from eighty-four to seven. Jake bit his lip and continued to give instructions, “Ok, now let’s bring up driver’s license photographs of the registered owners of these remaining seven vehicles. I got a hunch our boy is still living at home with Mom and Dad and doesn’t live far from campus.”
Stacey exhaled a quiet, “Oohhh,” and started bringing up the driver’s license photos. All of them were older folks, some men, some women. The last photo in the list came up and Jake and Stacey sat in stunned silence. The photo was of a man, seventy years old, with a head full of wavy white hair. He had thick white eyebrows, eyeglasses, and a jaw line that matched the suspect perfectly. What stood out to them even more than that was the name listed under the photograph: Fredrich Gerhart Engel. He was well-known in Winchester as the Professor of Game Theory at the university and a three-time world champion chess master back in the seventies.
Stacey pushed herself back from the computer. “That guy’s a legend around here, Jake.” She put one hand on her chair and the other one on her now-cold cup of coffee. She had a look on her face like she had seen a ghost.
Jake thumbed his chin and pointed at the screen, saying, “I remember his kid now, I think. Been a long while, though. A neighbor caught him feeding antifreeze to their dogs or something like that. Turned out a lot of pet owners had animals that had to be put down because they had been poisoned. He confessed to the whole deal and spent some time in Juvie and later up in the Middleton Psych Ward.”
Jake leaned back against a desk nearby and crossed his arms. “Whole thing got disappeared, though. His old man got some big-shot attorney to toss out the criminal records since he was a juvenile. Was before my time as a detective. Hell, I was barely out of high school. Only reason I even remember it was because it was so bizarre and made the news.”
Jake looked over at Stacey, who was still sitting quietly, looking pale. “Stacey, what the heck is it? You look spooked. Did you know this guy?”
Stacey turned to Jake and pushed her chair away from the desk. She stood up, placed her hand on her forehead, and said, “Yeah. We lived next door to them most of the way through school. They were all a little strange and kept to themselves mostly, but the kid, Henry, always scared me.”
Stacey shuddered for a moment and continued, “He was about four years older than me. The kids at school used to give him hell and just generally tortured him constantly for being so…different. I remember finding Henry’s little ‘hideout’ in the woods behind his house one day. He made this little… shack…thing out of fallen tree branches and had a big tarp over it to keep out the rain. I was exploring by myself when I saw it. I was 14 years old, I think. He had strung up animal parts all over the place. Stuff that had been out, rotting, for days. There were flies buzzing everywhere. He had cats hanging by their necks and a dog’s severed head jammed on a stick right in the front. I still remember the smell, it was awful. The dog’s tongue was hanging out and its eyes were nothing but hollow holes. I screamed, and out comes Henry from inside his little shack.”
Stacey sat back down in her chair, distraught, staring out the window. “Jesus Christ, Stace,” Jake said as he tried to comfort her, “You must have been scared out of your mind. Did he hurt you?” Stacey looked up at her partner and smiled.
“No. Thank God. I was frozen in place though. He looked just as surprised as I was. After a moment, he asked me what the hell I was doing there and pulled out
Fingers pressed against his chin, Jake thought for a moment and said, “Let’s see. Narrow it down to Caucasians only. Good. Now narrow it to owners within five miles.”
The number at the top of the screen changed from eighty-four to seven. Jake bit his lip and continued to give instructions, “Ok, now let’s bring up driver’s license photographs of the registered owners of these remaining seven vehicles. I got a hunch our boy is still living at home with Mom and Dad and doesn’t live far from campus.”
Stacey exhaled a quiet, “Oohhh,” and started bringing up the driver’s license photos. All of them were older folks, some men, some women. The last photo in the list came up and Jake and Stacey sat in stunned silence. The photo was of a man, seventy years old, with a head full of wavy white hair. He had thick white eyebrows, eyeglasses, and a jaw line that matched the suspect perfectly. What stood out to them even more than that was the name listed under the photograph: Fredrich Gerhart Engel. He was well-known in Winchester as the Professor of Game Theory at the university and a three-time world champion chess master back in the seventies.
Stacey pushed herself back from the computer. “That guy’s a legend around here, Jake.” She put one hand on her chair and the other one on her now-cold cup of coffee. She had a look on her face like she had seen a ghost.
Jake thumbed his chin and pointed at the screen, saying, “I remember his kid now, I think. Been a long while, though. A neighbor caught him feeding antifreeze to their dogs or something like that. Turned out a lot of pet owners had animals that had to be put down because they had been poisoned. He confessed to the whole deal and spent some time in Juvie and later up in the Middleton Psych Ward.”
Jake leaned back against a desk nearby and crossed his arms. “Whole thing got disappeared, though. His old man got some big-shot attorney to toss out the criminal records since he was a juvenile. Was before my time as a detective. Hell, I was barely out of high school. Only reason I even remember it was because it was so bizarre and made the news.”
Jake looked over at Stacey, who was still sitting quietly, looking pale. “Stacey, what the heck is it? You look spooked. Did you know this guy?”
Stacey turned to Jake and pushed her chair away from the desk. She stood up, placed her hand on her forehead, and said, “Yeah. We lived next door to them most of the way through school. They were all a little strange and kept to themselves mostly, but the kid, Henry, always scared me.”
Stacey shuddered for a moment and continued, “He was about four years older than me. The kids at school used to give him hell and just generally tortured him constantly for being so…different. I remember finding Henry’s little ‘hideout’ in the woods behind his house one day. He made this little… shack…thing out of fallen tree branches and had a big tarp over it to keep out the rain. I was exploring by myself when I saw it. I was 14 years old, I think. He had strung up animal parts all over the place. Stuff that had been out, rotting, for days. There were flies buzzing everywhere. He had cats hanging by their necks and a dog’s severed head jammed on a stick right in the front. I still remember the smell, it was awful. The dog’s tongue was hanging out and its eyes were nothing but hollow holes. I screamed, and out comes Henry from inside his little shack.”
Stacey sat back down in her chair, distraught, staring out the window. “Jesus Christ, Stace,” Jake said as he tried to comfort her, “You must have been scared out of your mind. Did he hurt you?” Stacey looked up at her partner and smiled.
“No. Thank God. I was frozen in place though. He looked just as surprised as I was. After a moment, he asked me what the hell I was doing there and pulled out
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