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Chapter Nine

Joseph let out a huge sigh as he sat in the chair of his desk when he returned to the station. He looked down and noticed the post-mortem examination on Shane Krong and suddenly remembered he had not read it yet. He had been delayed by the attack in the Incense Box and the tarot reading. Before he could read that report he needed to organize his notes and file a report on the attack.

Margarett Bannerman would need to be held on a 5150 to determine what was possibly wrong with her. She could be held up to seventy two hours and hopefully by then it could be determined what was wrong. He would have to issue an APB to have officers on the lookout and send someone to her current address to try and find her.

Once he concluded his reports he moved onto the autopsy and found only one item of interest. After a thorough examination the body seemed perfectly normal and the coroner concluded that the cause of death was severe blunt force trauma to the cranial region. The only other note was that there were found bite marks on the brain fragments that were recovered. The coroner thinks a mouse or some type of rodent may have gotten to the body before it was found.

Joseph convulsed as he thought of rodents in the nursing home eating the killer's body. He was surprised they did not find any when the bodies were found because if there were rodents there then one would bring its friends along to the feast.

Then an odd thought struck him. Was not the body found upright on the toilet? How did the rats get to the brain and not the rest of him? If they climbed up they would have started where the blood was dripping and worked their way up to the source. What about the security guard? Was there any evidence that mice had eaten him also?

"Hey George you got a minute?" Joseph said as he called his friend to run over his questions to see what his perspective was. He also wanted to run over a few ideas to close the case in a way that his so-called friends might accept.

Joseph felt exhausted as he arrived home that night. Marms was busy meowing and begging for attention as he closed the door behind him. As tired as he was he must obey the kitty ritual of Marms meowing a welcome, then trying to rub every inch of himself against Joseph's face, and then finally leading him into the kitchen area where Marms would be fed. Kitty ritual must be obeyed and it was kitty law or Marms would be forced to bite the legs of his disobedient hooman slave.

"You know I'm your daddy right Marms?" Joseph said after Marms had finished eating and was busy licking his lips with how delicious the food was. Joseph picked him up then changed his voice and started to talk with a baby talk he used when he pretended to be speaking for Marms. He knew it was really not Marms speaking but he did not care and still pretended anyway.

"No I'm the daddy kitty and you are my cub. As the daddy kitty I need 'nuggles,'' The word he used for snuggles and he gave Marms a kiss. "And kiddis," the word he used for kisses then he again kissed Marms who was enjoying the attention and remained still and had his eyes closed. He could hear Marms purring away and he held him next to his chest as he pet Marm's beautiful orange fur.

Joseph sat in his favorite chair and turned on the news while Marms continued to be held. He extended one of his paws as he clung to Joseph while his owner used the remote to find the channel he wanted. The story was leaked to the press about the Kronig matter and both George and himself decided how the story was going to go.

"Tonight a follow up of the murder suicide at a local nursing home that has shocked the residents there." The newscaster started with a punchy headline to attract attention from the viewers. He already knew what was leaked so it really was not a surprise to him. George and him decided to run with the murder suicide angle which was how the evidence leaned towards. There were some irregularities but any leads had been exhausted and George agreed it was time to move on.

The gruesome death of his dog would be enough to make the other protest groups disavow him from their ranks and this would end any excuse they needed to try and riot. They made sure that several pictures of the apartment were leaked with the story and were sure the news would use it. It would make the story more interesting to have the horrible pictures they could use to scare the public.

Either way he was glad to be rid of the case so he could move on to his others and hopefully get those closed quickly.

"Guess my wish came true, huh Marms?" Joseph said but his kitty was too busy sleeping to care.

"Police were called to the home of Margarett Bannerman when neighbors found her dead." Joseph jumped as he heard the name and a now woken Marms protested his treatment. It was the name of the woman who attacked the psychic today! Joseph leaned in close to make sure he would not miss any details and meanwhile Marms jumped out of his grip and sat on the floor grooming himself.

"Neighbors reported they heard a loud crash from her apartment and they called the police to check on her, but when officers arrived they found her in the kitchen with blood everywhere. It is believed that she may have been changing a lightbulb and fell and hit her head on a counter killing her instantly."

"Wait a minute, another head wound? I wonder if the damage was like Shane Krong sustained?" Joseph said to himself as he thought about it.

"In other news there are reports of at least three other people that have died by head wounds," The newscaster continued.

"Three others?!" Joseph exclaimed.

"The public fears this may be the beginning of a serial killer loose in the city." Joseph retrieved his phone and dialed George's number.

"Hello." George said, answering gruffly.

"Hey, it's me."

"What's up?"

"You watch the news?" he asked

"Not yet, why?"

"Remember that psychic you sent me to check on today? Well her attacker was found dead in her apartment. A head wound, or so it seems, and then there is a report of three other people dying because of head wounds. Call me crazy but I'm wondering if they were like Shane Krong?"

"It does sound peculiar but couldn't you also be jumping to conclusions?" George asked.

"I wanna see if I can examine the bodies just to be sure. It shouldn't be too hard to get permission because the press is already calling it the work of a serial killer. I can just say I would like to verify the bodies because I may have found a few more victims."

"I guess it couldn't hurt... oh wanna do something this weekend?" George asked, trying to change the subject.

"Sure, why not. But I'm gonna run out and get a sandwich before it gets dark."

"OK buddy talk to you later then." Joseph said as he retrieved his wallet and threw on a sweatshirt. The temperature was probably starting to drop and he wanted to be ready just in case so he was not outside freezing. He turned and saw Marms was too busy cleaning himself to care

"Marms, I'll be back." Joseph yelled and Marms stopped then laid down flat and looked at him. Joseph looked at his watch as he stepped outside and saw it was around half past six. The sky was changing as the sun began its descent over the horizon.

A couple of blocks away was a sandwich shop he liked to order from and he started in that direction. He decided to walk because it would give him the opportunity to think things over and try to get a better understanding of what he currently knew.

Shane Krong dies after he kills a security guard for some unknown reason. This may have occurred after his own dog was killed and it may relate to the security guard. While this is going on there have been numerous animal attacks. A Margarett Bannerman was bit by her dog and later tried to attack a psychic. She was found dead of a head wound along with three other people that died of head wounds also.

It might be possible that the dog tried to bite the guard and Shane saw this then wanted revenge against the guard. The psychic was bit by her own dog but has not shown any signs of unusual behavior like the Bannerman woman did. Maybe the dog was not infected like the other woman was. He made a mental note to check if the other three victims were pet owners also.

If there is a serial killer then there is a possibility he targets only people that have been bitten by infected animals. Maybe he thinks he is doing a service to stop it from spreading some infection in the animals or stop it from spreading to people.

Joseph arrived and went inside and ordered a buffalo chicken sub. He was there for only a few minutes before his food was ready and he was making his way home. He was anxiously waiting to devour the sub but his thoughts were interrupted as he heard a low growl from several dogs. He looked around and saw three doberman pinschers blocking his way forward as they snarled at him.

"Easy boys," He tried saying as he cautiously backed up but the one in the middle of the two barked loudly causing him to stop moving. They took a step forward and he retreated a step backward but he was trying not to panic because it might set them off. They looked at him with malevolence in their eyes!

Joseph looked down at his sub and sighed because as much as he wanted to eat it he knew he was not going to be able to. Hopefully the dogs would take the bait and give him a chance to escape. He unwrapped the sandwich and noticed their eyes staring at it and one even licked its lips which seemed to be a good sign to him.

He tossed the sandwich at them and then ran in the opposite direction. The dogs paused for a moment then chased after him and he was nearly bit as he jumped to climb a tree. They encircled the tree barking at him as he watched. He tried to check his pockets while holding onto one of the limbs but he suddenly realized he had left his phone at home. He briefly put it down after finishing with George as he got ready and forgot to pick it back up again. He wondered how long he was going to have to wait until they got bored and went away...

Rachael swallowed a couple of asperines hoping they took away the pain of the headache she had. It was not really bad but the pain was getting annoying since it started a couple of hours ago. She tried laying down but that did not help and soon she was up trying to find a way to ease the pain. It lessened somewhat while she was distracted but that soon was becoming a problem because she was running out of things to distract her.

Her thoughts went back to when she first met Joseph and how he became the love of her life. She stood there with his badge out looking so daring and so brave.

"Ma'am I'm Detective Namer, Fallen River City Police Department," He said and she looked at his badge and saw his name. Joseph, it seemed like an angel whispered it to her as she read it. She knew then that it was love at first sight.

How long ago was this? Months or maybe years? It did not really matter to her because it felt as if they had been dating forever since they started dating. She could picture in her mind the times they sat together on the beach and watched the sunset.

Currently they were not dating because he had wanted to marry and have children and she felt she was not ready for any of that. They decided to take a break and give each other space to see what happens next. The one thing she was sure of was the fact that she knew now more than ever how much she loved him and wanted him back. Still Cosma also loved Joseph and would sit in his lap snoring when he came over and she too seemed sad he had not been around in so long.

She wondered where Cosma was and was surprised she was not near her. It took her a few minutes to realize that she was spending the night at the vets. The vet needed to do some tests and she had to stay the night. She suddenly felt guilty that she had been spending all this time thinking about Joseph and had forgotten about Cosma.

Her headache was bothering her again and she went to the medicine cabinet in her bathroom and took a couple of sleeping pills. She needed some rest and her headache was not getting any better. She was making her way to her bedroom when the phone rang and she could feel her head throbbing from the sound. She ran and quickly answered it.

"Hello?" She angrily said then took deep breaths hoping to ease the throbbing in her head.

"Hello this is the Happy Paws Veterinary Hospital. May I speak to Rachael?" a man's voice said. She did not recognize it but just knew he was not Joseph so she was not interested in why he was bothering her. She just hoped to get the call over with so she could go to bed.

"Speaking." She replied.

"Ma'am I'm calling about your dog, Cosma. I'm very sorry but I have some bad news to tell you. An attendant just went to check on the animals we house and we found that your dog... a Cosma had passed away. We are very sorry." He said. Rachael was in shock and her headache had just become a migraine! She felt confused and her mind raced trying to understand what she was just told. Her brain felt as if someone had thrown it into a clothes dryer and now it was tumbling around. She struggled for words and felt like she was trying to put the pieces of a puzzle together to understand what was going on.

Did she not bring Cosma to the vet? So why did Happy Paws Veterinary Hospital have her? Then she remembered that a detective came and visited her today but she could not remember why. Then she wondered what she was going to tell Joseph when he next came over. How would he understand that Cosma had died.

"Ma'am are you still there?" The guy asked gently.

"I am... I just... why did she die? I don't understand. I thought this was a routine check up?" she said.

"I'm sorry ma'am I don't know what to tell you but we are going to investigate and someone should contact you tomorrow to go over any arrangements you want done with the body. Again I am very sorry for your loss." he said.

"An investigation? Make sure Joseph knows he'll want to lead the investigation himself." Rachael replied.

"Joseph Namer, he's a detective with you guys." Rachael said and the pain seemed to be going away. Her thoughts seemed to be clearing and she realized it was Detective Namer that asked her to surrender Cosma to animal control for tests. He thought she might be sick with a disease and wanted her checked out to prevent other animals from getting sick.

She wondered if she had been quicker instead of doing the tarot reading then maybe they could have stopped the disease from killing Cosma. Was it her fault that her dog had died? Her mind felt hazy again and she wondered why Joseph had sent another detective to her instead of coming himself? Was it because she had pushed him away and he felt it better not to come himself?

She felt tired and decided it was time to sleep because the sleeping pills she took were beginning to take effect. She hoped in the morning she would feel better and she would wake with Joseph and Cosma by her side. Once her mind cleared she could think things over and see if she had made the right decision concerning their relationship.

She could remember she once dated a guy... his name may have been Rob but she could no longer remember what he looked like. She had refused Joseph's offer because of her fears from when she dated Rob. Yes, she knew that was why she had pushed him away. She would give it a few more days but it was definitely time to reconsider.

The sun had long since set as Joseph remained trapped in the tree. The dog remained vigilant as he circled and it reminded him of sharks. He had not seen a soul that he could call out to to find some help. He saw a couple of cars but they never stopped or showed any sign that they knew he was trapped. He wondered if he was going to be trapped here all night.

A loud whistle pierced the air and he saw the dogs heads turn in the direction it was coming from. A second later they ran off and he saw them disappear around a corner. He concluded they were well trained so them going after him was no coincidence. Someone was either trying to send him a message or scare him away from something.

He waited just to make sure the dogs were gone before he climbed down and made his way back home. When he got near the sandwich shop he saw what was left of his sandwich laying on the ground. It looked as if something had gotten to it because it was half eaten.

He sighed deeply then entered to order a second sandwich. He could only wonder what they thought of him returning a second time but he was too tired and cold to just go home empty handed. After all how would that look to Marms?!