Let Me Out Read online

  His daughter felt surprised and said, “Nicely done.”

  “You’ve gotten far in defense and offence”, said Steven. “You’ve even started creating moves of your own which is excellent.”

  “I had a good teacher.”, said Joanna.

  Steven was carrying the new gun and said, “Don’t you want to try it?”

  “Of course.”, she said

  She took the gun by her hand and took out a dummy target to train on. She went far to set it up while her father placed a rug on the ground and put a chair on top of it so that he may sit and watch his daughter shoot the gun through his binoculars. He started giving her some information about the gun and some advice on how to use it, but he suddenly stopped as soon as his daughter fired the first shot. She shouted with excitement, “Wow! I love this gun. Did you see that?”

  Her dad didn’t reply as he remembered his nightmare and the mysterious criminal who shot his wife. His daughter shouted louder, “Dad, did you hear me?”

  He said, “Yeah, I did.”

  “What? I can’t hear you.”, she asked

  He raised his voice a little and said, “Yeah, I heard you.”

  His daughter stood up and headed towards him. He started replacing his angry facial expression with a normal one. When she reached him, she said, “Did you see that?”

  He went silent for a few moments and said, “Yes. Good shooting. As always.”

  She said, “I want to see you shooting from here.”

  “Alright.”, he replied.

  He took the gun from her hand and placed it on his shoulder. Then he took a deep breath and held it in his chest. The target was so far. He was focused, and while Joanna was looking through the binoculars, he took his shot. “Just missed the center”, said Joanna. “I admit. You’re a better shot than I am.”

  They switched places. “Concentrate”, he said. “The target is far”.

  She began to concentrate even more after he father telling her to do so. Steven started looking away from the binoculars and at his daughter. When he felt that she was about take her shot, he shouted loudly startling her. Steven laughed very hard. Joanna laughed too, saying “I was going to get a perfect shot.”

  He smiled at her and replied, “Oh I’m sure you were.”

  They both laughed, and Steven continued saying, “I told you before, always concentrate on your target and don’t get distracted by your surroundings.”

  She said, “I’ll concentrate more next time.”

  “Good.”, replied Steven.

  Joanna continued shooting for a while and when she was finished, she placed the gun back in its case. She then took out two swords. She loved fencing and swords more than her father did. She went to her father with the swords in hand and said, “Are you ready?”

  “Absolutely.”, he replied.

  He took a sword and started to move it around. His daughter’s fencing skills were far better than his. He could never beat her. During their training, Steven received a call from a friend who he used to work with before he retired. He picked up the phone that was on the chair and said, “Hello?”

  His friend replied, saying, “Steven. It’s Samuel. Remember me?”

  “Hi Samuel, how could I forget?”, replied Steven.

  And with a serious, edgy tone, Samuel said, “I’m sorry, but I have to make this short Steven. We found the killer”.

  Steven froze still. Joanna felt that something important happened. “How? Where are you?”, said Steven.

  Samuel said, “We’re at the police station. Come quick.”

  “Hold on.”, said Steven. “Are you sure? You said that no murder has been committed in six years and that there’s a big possibility that he’s dead.”

  “The killer’s in front of me right now Steven.”, said Samuel. “Stop wasting time and come quick.”

  “I’ll be right there.”, said Steven.

  As soon as he hung up the phone, he began collecting his things and Joanna started packing too and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Steven said, “We’ve found the cold-blooded killer who murdered my colleagues and committed many other hideous crimes!”

  “Really?”, said Joanna.

  “Yes. I’m going to see if he had anything with your mother’s death too!”, said Steven.

  Feelings of revenge and anger overwhelmed the place. They got into the car and drove away, being silent throughout the trip.

  Chapter Three

  The Banned Cases!

  Steven was heading home when his daughter Joanna asked, “Aren’t we going to the police station?”

  “I am. You’re not.”, replied Steven.

  “Can’t I come with you? Please?”, asked Joanna

  “There’s no need for you to come with me.”, replied Steven.

  “I want to go Dad.”, said Joanna.

  “That murderer is cold-blooded and dangerous. The police are everywhere and on high alert in-case something goes wrong. I want you to stay at home. Besides, he might not be your mother’s killer.”, said Steven.

  “Okay.”, said Joanna after being convinced.

  When they arrived home, Joanna and Lily got out of the car and Steven hurried to the police station. Joanna decided that she’ll wait for her father and thought she’d pass the time by studying and doing the research papers that her university professor had asked of her.

  Seven hours have gone by without hearing from her father! She tried calling him, but he didn’t answer. She had made him dinner so that he can eat. However, overcome by tiredness she slept on the sofa that was in the living room. At midnight, the phone rang, and Joanna woke up to answer. It was her Dad. He spoke frantically, saying “Joanna! It’s the killer. He’s coming for you! Watch out!”

  Joanna jumped up out of her place and said, “Where are you?”

  Steven said, “I’m on my way. Hide Joanna!!”

  Joanna said, “Okay.”

  Joanna hung up and ran up the stairs to the storage room next to her room which had all their weapons. When she opened the storage room door, she didn’t find the weapons. She remembered that they were still in the bags in her father’s car. She went back down and headed towards the kitchen to get a knife. She locked the doors and windows. Turned off the lights and hid. She stayed hidden with Lily. It was so silent that you could hear the ants walk! A few minutes later, she heard someone at the front door. Her heart started beating fast as the person started slowly turning the door knob to unlock the door! He pushed the door slowly and sneaked into the house. He took a few steps and Joanna was able to see that he had a gun in his hand. She was ready to get into a brawl when she heard the person said, “Joanna?”

  “I’m here.”, said Joanna, stopping after recognizing her father’s voice.

  He turned around and hugged her and said “I was worried sick. Thank God you’re okay!”

  “And I was about to stab you if you hadn’t said my name.” said. Joanna. “Tell me what happened. Did the murderer run away?”

  “It’s a long story.”, said Steven

  “Well tell it to me short.”, replied Joanna.

  “Let’s seal the doors and windows first. Then I’ll tell you.”, said Steven

  “I did that right after you called.”, replied Joanna.

  “I’ll check again.”, said Steven.

  Steven went out to the car and brought back the bags which had the weapons. He asked Joanna to store the weapons and food in his room. “We’re sharing my room tonight. The food is here so that you don’t have to go downstairs alone if you feel hungry at night.

  “Good idea Dad.”, said Joanna.

  Joanna started doing what her father asked of her, while Steven left to make sure that the windows and doors were tightly shut. Steven then went upstairs to find his daughter carrying her mattress and pillows to put them in her dad’s room. She started tidying up when Steven asked, “Is Lily still here?”

  “I’ll get her now.”, replied Joanna.

  She brought Lily
into the room and closed the door. She laid down beside her father and asked, “What happened?!”

  Steven took a breath and said, “We caught the murderer who killed my colleagues. He came clean. Then, he started saying things that didn’t make sense and said that there’s another murderer who he was working with. He said he was going to kill Detective Frankie’s fiancé and her mother. We hurried to her house to save them. But we were too late. The killer had got to them before we did, just like the guy said”. He also threatened everybody there saying the same will happen to them. When we had returned to the police station. The murderer was gone without a trace! That’s when I got worried about you!

  “What?! The killer’s still out there? How did he escape?!”, said Joanna.

  “It’s like he was never there!”, replied Steven.

  “Oh God!”, said Joanna.

  “Don’t worry”, said Steven. “We’re going to get him.”

  He kissed his daughter’s forehead and continued saying, “We’re going to pay respects to Frankie.”

  “Okay,”, said Joanna. She went on saying, “What exactly did the killer say? Did he admit to killing Mom?”

  “Listen”, said Steven. “The guy was nuts. He admitted to committing a lot of crimes, including your mother’s. He even admitted to assassinating the President. We couldn’t believe him.”

  Joanna’s expressions changed as a mixture of anger and sadness overwhelmed her. Steven continued saying, “It was obvious that he was insane. Otherwise I would have killed him then and there.”

  “What if he was telling the truth?”, Joanna asked.

  “He’s the type who goes around and blabs about his crimes. I think he’s also proud of crimes he hasn’t committed.”, replied Steven.

  “How do you know he hasn’t committed the crimes he spoke of?”, she asked. “Have you found those who did them?”

  Her dad paused, thinking for a few minutes and said, “Come to think of it, all the crimes he allegedly committed are crimes that haven’t been solved yet. He probably said that to make us believe he did them.”

  “His escape from the police station shows how dangerous he really is. That’s why I believe he actually did them.”, said Joanna.

  “Don’t worry. The truth will come out soon enough. Now, let’s get some sleep. Goodnight.” Said Steven.

  “Goodnight.”, said Joanna.

  Steven was certain that the criminal that they caught was the one who murdered his wife. He only said that to ease her anger. The next morning, the phone on the table next to Steven started to ring. Although still feeling sleepy, Steven opened his eyes and answered the phone as soon as it rang for his mind was busy thinking of the murder from last night. He said to himself, “When the phone rings for the third time, wake up and answer it.”

  “Answer it!”, said Steven to himself when it rang a third time.

  Steven found himself in a struggle with sleep. “Steven! It’s the fifth ring! Wake up!”, he said to himself.

  Joanna stepped in and answered the phone, as her father’s eyes closed once more, going back to sleep; he needed it.

  “Where’s your father?”, the caller asked.

  “Hold on a sec.”, said Joanna.

  Joanna walked up to her father and said, “Your friend wants to speak to you.”

  He didn’t answer her. As he started to wake up, she put the phone on his ear and said, “He can hear you.”

  “It’s me—Samuel. Wake up Steven!”, said Samuel.

  “I’m up. I’m up!”, said Steven. “Did you guys find anything new?”

  “Come on down and you’ll find out.”, replied Samuel.

  Samuel intrigued Steven. He got out of bed and said, “I’m on my way.”

  He hung up the phone. His daughter sat beside him and said, “What happened now?”

  Steven thought for a while and replied, “I think we’re going to the police station together this time. The killer is still out there somewhere. Then, we’ll come back and relax for a while before going to the funeral. Let’s not forget to bring the gun with us. Just in case until we catch him.”

  “Okay. I’ll go make breakfast!”, said Joanna.

  Joanna left the room, followed by Lily who was excited to eat. Steven was sitting on the bed when he started thinking, “(Is dreaming of my wife’s murder a day before we caught the killer just a coincidence? Does this mean he was honest about killing my wife? Or was it just a dream and I’m overthinking? Oh God! I’ve gone back to thinking a lot as I have before! Don’t think I’ll stop thinking. Even after I retire!)”. He went to wash his face then headed towards the kitchen. He found Joanna making breakfast, so he helped by setting their small kitchen table. They sat down to have breakfast. Silent and feeling lazy the whole time. It got quite boring until Joanna cut the silence by asking, “How did detective Frankie find the criminal?”

  “He didn’t say.”, said Steven. “He just said that he’ll file the report stating details that led him to the criminal.”

  “That’s strange!”, replied Joanna. “He must be a detective though since he solved a crime not even you could solve.”

  “You’ll be shocked to know that he’s only four years older than you!”, replied Steven.

  Joanna said, “What? I thought he had thirty years of experience.”

  Her father then stood up and said “You’ll see for yourself at the police station … Let’s go.”

  “Okay.”, replied Joanna.

  Each went to their rooms to get ready. After getting dressed, Steven found Joanna standing out the door. “I’m just going to put more food out for Lily just in case we run late. After that, we can leave.”, said Steven.

  Steven left his room and went to the kitchen. He stood in front of a cabinet which had Lily’s food. He lifted the slightly large bag and filled up Lily’s bowl. He carelessly forgot to place the bag back into the cabinet and left it outside.

  They left Lily and took the weapons-case with them and headed to the police station. As soon as they arrived, they went straight to Samuel’s office. Samuel welcomed them, and Steven introduced his daughter, “Samuel. This is my daughter, Joanna. Joanna. This is Samuel, Chief of Police Samuel”.

  “Pleased to meet you.”, said Samuel

  “Pleasure’s all mine. I’ll leave you alone.”, said Joanna.

  “Okay honey, but don’t leave the station.”

  “Okay Dad.”, replied Joanna.

  Joanna left Samuel’s office and started looking around the police station. As she did that, Samuel and Steven headed to the meeting room and on their way, Steven asked, “Where is Detective Frankie?”

  “Last time we heard of him he said, “He’s going to wish he had never been born” after seeing his fiancée and her mother covered in blood. We haven’t heard from him since.”, said Samuel

  “That doesn’t sound good!”, said Steven.

  “We’ll see what happens.”, replied Samuel.

  They arrived at the meeting room and entered. After almost thirty minutes of exploring the police station, Joanna saw a police officer running with a note in hand and shouting, “Sir! Sir!”

  She felt it was something important, so she followed him until she reached the meeting room. The officer barged into the room as Joanna got close enough to eavesdrop. “Chief! The detective avenged his fiancée!”, said the officer.

  • • •

  Everyone in the meeting room stood out of shock! The officer handed the note over to Samuel and said, “This is from the detective investigating the case”. It was believed then that Frankie had had his revenge. Samuel began reading the paper out loud as Joanna stood outside listening. It said: “Chief Samuel. A neighbor phoned and said that there is blood outside the door of one of the houses nearby. Inside the house is a dead body along with the bodies of his two big dogs lying beside him. The crime indicates that whoever did such a thing was someone who held great anger and hatred towards the victim. Yesterday, as we know, Detective Frankie swore vengeance. I th
erefore suspect that he was the one who did it. The autopsy reports of his fiancée and her mother’s dead bodies indicate that the killer used dogs that tore through the victim’s bodies. This links the two cases. However, the first evidence is that one of the dogs has its ear cut recently. We’ve previously discovered part of an ear belonging to an animal in Frankie’s fiancée’s mouth. We are currently working on matching them,” Detective Bush.

  Everyone looked staggered. They knew that Frankie is a professional and could never do such a thing. After all, there are laws. It’s not a jungle. Everyone was speechless! Samuel took out his phone and called Frankie. Steven was hoping he would answer but, unfortunately, he didn’t. “We’ll surely find him at the funeral. I’ll talk to him then”, said Samuel.

  “Yeah, there’s no other way.”, said Steven.

  “Tell Detective Bush finish his investigations quickly.”, said Samuel

  “Okay.”, replied the officer.

  After the officer left, Samuel said, “Let’s finish up meeting. We can discuss the vendetta case afterwards when we receive all the information.”

  They were sitting together and continuing the meeting, when, a few minutes later, the secretary broke into the meeting room. “Sorry to interrupt Chief, but it’s an emergency!”, he said.

  Samuel said, “Talk!”

  “It’s about Frankie’s fiancée and her mother’s case.”, he said.

  Samuel got mad and said, “Spit it out. I haven’t got all day!”

  “The morgue just called informing us that the two bodies have disappeared!”

  At that point, everyone felt that things were getting out of hand. Bodies don’t just disappear.

  “Keep this to yourself and tell everyone to keep quiet so it doesn’t get out. Especially to the victim’s families!”

  “Yes Sir.”, said the secretary.

  After the secretary left the room, Steven asked, “Who would do such a thing?”

  “I am getting really confused.”, said Samuel.

  Steven thought for a minute and said, “The killer who escaped yesterday perhaps?”

  “Bastard! But why would he steal the bodies?”, asked Samuel.

  “Maybe he wanted to get back to Frankie after catching him yesterday … and because he killed the man working with him”., said Steven.