The Nature of Things
Chapter 43
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE
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It had been two weeks since Justin's nightmare and things were back to normal in the Taylor-Kinney household.
Brian and Jennifer had urged Justin to get counseling and he'd started with the same therapist that Molly was using. Maya was growing rapidly and got more beautiful everyday.
Molly was spending more time with Adam and seemed to be enjoying the attention that he gave her.
Jennifer and her new beau, Tucker, were getting along fabulously, much to Justin's dismay.
Brian and Justin had plans to take Maya and Gus to the zoo over the weekend and everyone seemed excited to be spending time together as a family.
Gus loved his little sister, but was a little jealous that she got to live with their daddy. Lindsay called nightly to ask Brian to talk to his son about going to bed. Gus was determined to spend the night at Daddy's and it had been arranged for the weekend.
Everything seemed to be going as planned until that fateful night that it all ended up disastrously.
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The blood was everywhere. It covered everything. If she hadn't known where she was Angela knew that she'd think she was in the Twilight Zone. Her screams filled the air as a neighbor rushed in to find her standing over Craig's lifeless body.
Helping Angela from the room, Mr. Thomas called the police and waited with her outside until they arrived. He'd never seen anything so brutal in all of his life.
Carl was the first detective on the scene and when he saw who was lying on the living room floor in a pool of his own blood, he immediately got chills. Craig Taylor was not Debbie's favorite person, nor his. Deb had filled him in years ago on how horrible Craig had been to Justin when he first came out.
Carl called his Chief and explained the connection, but was told that he was the chief detective so he had to work it. He spent the next few hours looking over the house for evidence. It was a painstaking process due to all the blood.
Craig's body had been removed two hours after being found and Carl knew he would need to follow up with the Medical Examiner to find out the exact cause of death. His suspicion was that Craig had been beaten unconscious and wasn't even aware that he was being beaten to death.
The blood extended past the living room into the hall and office. From the looks of things, Carl assumed that Craig was first attacked in his office and tried to fight off the attacker before running down the hall. The drops of blood in the hall were in a pattern that supported the running theory.
Once in the living room the blood was more of a spatter pattern that covered the walls and the carpet. This was consistent with Carl's theory that the majority of the attack occurred here where Craig was ultimately murdered.
Once he'd made sure the scene was secure and a guard was posted at all times, Carl headed off for the Morgue.
On the ride over he called Debbie to let her know that he'd be really late getting home and not to wait up. Carl didn't give any details to her except to let her know that he was working Craig's murder. He knew he shouldn't have told her that information but he didn't want her to have to read about his involvement in the morning papers.
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The blood infused water drained too slowly for the killer's liking. The killer placed the blood covered clothes into the fireplace and sent them up in smoke. Afterwards a glass of wine was consumed and thoughts turned to the violence that had been committed mere hours before.
Craig had met his fate in the living room. The surprise was evident on his face from the moment he found the killer in his office. An argument ensued and the first move was made by Craig. The killer caught him off guard by using the lamp on the desk to knock him to his knees.
The killer's mind replayed how Craig had somehow gotten to his feet and raced down the hall. He was reaching for the phone when the candlestick struck his temple. With that first strike, he was rendered unconscious and the killer continued the assault until it was impossible for Craig to have survived.
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Justin woke to the smell of smoke and looked out back to see Brian sitting next to the outdoor fireplace on the patio. Smiling he slipped on a pair of sweats and joined his lover. They sat hand in hand watching the flames, neither speaking. After an hour they retired back to their bedroom and made love until both fell into an exhausted sleep.
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Tucker found Jennifer sitting in an overstuffed chair sleeping. The fire crackled loudly as he carried her to bed and cleaned up the wine glass and plate that sat next to her bed. Kissing her softly he pulled the comforter up over her shoulders and slid in next to her.
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Molly found herself outside of the church wishing that Adam was there. She'd spent the last hour watching the flames lick the logs in the living room's fireplace. She'd had a glass of red wine to calm her nerves and finding that she couldn't sleep had wandered out into the night.
She stared up at the church and wondered how her life had ended up this way. Her plans had seemed to have been destroyed in one single moment. Nothing was the way it should be and yet Molly knew that it was exactly the way it was meant to be.
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Ben came downstairs to find Michael sitting before the fireplace. The embers were still glowing from the fire that Michael insisted on lighting earlier in the night. Kissing him, Ben carried him back upstairs to bed. Michael did not argue, knowing that this could be the last night they ever spent together.
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Carl knocked loudly on the morgue door before letting himself in. He was already in a green gown and had put the green goo that morticians used under his nose to try to kill the stench of death.
Dr. Kay motioned him over and turned off the Stryker saw she'd used to open Craig Taylor's chest cavity. She carefully laid his internal organs out on the table while she talked.
"So far it looks like the cause of death was a blow to the back of the head. It's possible he died before all of the beating took place. As of now there is nothing unusual, but I did order a tox screen and I put a rush on it. I put his clothing in a bag. It's on the sink over there. I figured I'd let you go through the pockets."
"Thanks, Abby. Even though it looks like a text book crime, I can't help but feel that I'm missing something. Give me a call when the tox screen comes back."
"Will you be at the Precinct?"
"No, I think I'm going to head home after I take a look at the clothes. With any luck we'll find something to link someone to this crime."
"Good Luck. From what I've heard it was quite a mess in there."
"You heard right. Do you mind if I go through these here?"
"Sure, I'll sign the receipt when you're done."
Carl left Dr. Kay to her gruesome task. He opened the zippered evidence bag and poured out the contents. Looking through the contents of Craig's wallet he found pictures of Molly, Justin and Jennifer. They all looked much younger and it left a bad taste in Carl's mouth. There were sixty-seven dollars and a movie stub along with a picture of Angela. Nothing unusual.
Digging through the front pockets he found an old gold pocket watch. Looking it over Carl found an inscription. Finding a magnifying glass he read the words and almost choked on his luck.
'Casey, your time will come, Jack'
Pulling out his cell phone he hit the speed dial for the desk at the Precinct and asked Officer Johns to find out if Casey was still tightly behind bars. Within minutes he got his answer. Casey had escaped from the prison early that morning.
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