Chapter 3: To Serve and Protect

It was going to be one of those days, Frank had three, very well developed piles of paper work to tackle, and he still had that freakish Roivas case to deal with. Frank pushed himself back in his chair and stood up to stretch. The ceiling fan above swirled the stagnant dust filled air, not really helping the situation at all. He looked at his watch, 12:35. He figured it might be a good time to go check up on Ms. Roivas and see if there was anything she had forgotten to mention the first time they met. He was on his way out the door when he heard, Legrasse, get your ass in here! Frank let out a slight sigh, it was definitely going to be one of those days.

He entered Chief Whitman's office and sat down. Whitman was a short squat, bright red haired, irish cop. Although Frank would never say it to his face, he looked more like a leprechaun than anything else. That thought brought a slight smile to his face. Legrasse, I want you to make the Roivas case your number one priority, we've got a high profile homicide here, we don't people to think we're sitting around on our thumbs here Whitman lectured. Chief, I was just about to.. Whitman cut him off. I don't care what you were about to do, I want you to head out to Roivas house and see if there's anything you missed, NOW!

Frank somehow managed to contain his hatred for the man long enough to turn around and quietly walk towards the door. Before he got the chance to leave though, Whitman barked out another order. Oh, and one more thing Legrasse, I'm putting Montoya on this case with you Frank just nodded his head in disgust. Montoya was waiting out by Frank's squad car. Frank hopped into the driver's seat without saying a word.

So, what do we know? Montoya asked. Frank puzzled over it for a moment. In a word, diddly. Montoya looked somewhat taken aback. Oh, come on, we've gotta know something Frank put the car in gear and headed towards the Roivas estate. There were no finger prints, no sign of forced entry, no sign of any kind of struggle, Mr. Roivas had no known enemies, very few people even knew who he was, not to mention the fact that his head is entirely gone, now you tell me the useful information I can get out of that Montoya sat back in his seat, silent. For some reason, Frank felt a slight unsettling feeling towards this man. Not because Montoya was replacing his partner who was out on a sick leave, or because he seemed like a cocky, pretentious, hero-wanna-be, who was in it just to give a boost to his ego, but it was something else, something deeper.

So, who was the next of kin? Montoya continued to try and make idle chitchat. Frank pushed his unsettling feeling aside. A young woman named Alex Roivas, she's a student at the University of Washington. Montoya nodded as if he had some greater understanding. Did Ed-o have a beefy insurance policy? Montoya asked in a slightly condescending tone. Frank looked him straight in the eye. Your barking up the wrong tree here, Detective, Ms. Roivas is clean, she was on the other side of the country when the murder happened, for chrissakes. Frank told him sternly. Maybe she hired someone to do it?, Hired someone to decapitate him, and keep his head? Maybe, There's some pretty twisted hit men out there Montoya, that's bullshit, and you know it

They drove the rest of the ride in silence. As they pulled up the Roivas estate. Frank still vividly remember the gruesome scene he had encountered 2 nights before. He remember the unshakable sensation that what he was seeing was not the work of man, not even the work of a beast, but of something more sinister, something pure evil. Come on now Frank, you know better than that He muttered to himself.

As they got out of the cruiser, Montoya reached down and made sure that his sidearm was loaded. Feeling a little trigger happy, Detective? Frank quipped. Hey, you can't be to careful when Montoya replied Frank noticed something wrong. When he looked into his eyes, there was something different there. Not the normal machismo, and inexperience of the Montoya he knew, something older, something that knew more. It was a frightening sensation.

Montoya asked, noticing frank staring at him. Oh, nothing man, just trying to remember something, sorry Frank had always been a horrible liar. They walked up and knocked on the door. After some erratic, hurried footsteps the door creaked open, and with it came the more horrific stench that Frank had ever smelled. Alex Roivas stood on the other side of the threshold wrapped in towels, her hand over her face.

Hello, Ms. Roivas sorry to bother you, but what is that god-awful stench. Frank said, covering his face with his collar. Ummm.. Well Alex was obviously not any better of a liar than Frank was. Why don't you step outside and discuss so you can shut the door, that stench is unbearable As Alex stepped out Frank peered inside the foyer, it was too shrouded in shadow to make anything out. Montoya spoke for the first time. So Mam, what's the deal with the smell, and all the towels? Hmm.. Yah, That's a little difficult to explain Frank was starting to get a little suspicious.

Come on lady, don't jerk us around, what's going on here Montoya said, obvious getting a little worked up. Frank put his hand on Montoya's shoulder, and whispered in his ear. Take it easy turbo Montoya backed off. Ms. Roivas, Is it okay if we take a look around? Alex froze for a moment. Just before Frank was going to question her further, the door creaked open, and Dr. Edwin stepped out in a luxurious bath robe. Good afternoon gentlemen

He shook hands with both of the cops. And you are Frank asked. I'm Dr. Edwin Lindsey, A colleague, and close personal friend of Mr. Roivas', when I heard the news of his untimely death I came to see after the house and Mr. Roivas's possessions until they can be dealt with properly The cops looked at each other, they seemed to buy it. So Mr. Lindsey, would you care to explain what that smell is? Frank asked, slightly annoyed. Ah, yes, that is quite unpleasant isn't it, Well, over the past few weeks, Mr. Roivas had a rat infestation of biblical proportions. He paid a contractor to come in a gas the little buggers, unfortunately, Edward passed away before he got a chance to pay someone to come by and deal with the bodies. So as grotesque as that sounds, there are literally hundreds of rotting rat corpses on the premises, were paying someone to come by and deal with them properly later today

Frank still didn't look quite convinced. Why didn't I smell it when I came by earlier Frank asked. My best guess would be that he had just gassed them that morning, and they had yet to begin to rot Dr. Edwin replied. Alex nodded in agreement. Now, if you'll excuse us Ms. Roivas and I have much to discuss regarding the estate, have a pleasant day. Ignoring Dr. Edwin, Montoya shoved his way past the two, opened the door and entered. God-Damnit Montoya, we don't have a warrant! Montoya walked along the small hallway leading from the front door into the foyer, to his right was a light switch, he flipped it.

Dr, Edwin and Alex screamed in unison. The foyer was a scene of unbridle carnage. It looked like a battle had raged in this room, and there had been several causalities. Pools of blood were forming in the corners, brain and bone fragments seemed to be sticking to every conceivable surface, In the middle of the foyer on a patch of lavish carpet sat a single human eyeball. Frank had yet to catch a glimpse, he was still hollering at Montoya from across the threshold, still unwilling to break his police officers code and enter the house without a warrant. Montoya stood, faced with the scene of horrible carnage and death, and surprising enough, smiled. Dr. Edwin and Alex stood behind him, they could offer no explanation for it, what really did happen was far to fantastic to be believed, so they stood there, silent waiting to see what the slightly unnerving cop had to say.

Montoya stood in silence, massive grin on his face and took a deep, swallowing breath of the air in the room. Just watching it made Alex ill. Aaah, nothing like the stench of corpses in the morning Montoya laughed at his own joke, Alex and Lindsey balked at him. Excuse me, but I don't think we've been formally introduced, I'm Detective Montoya and I'm guessing you two are the chosen, would I be wrong about that?

Alex and Dr. Edwin stared at him wide eyed with confusion, a million different possibilities flashed through there mind, none of them good. Oh, what, did you think that was just your little secret The two chosen just stood in silence, unsure what they could say. Frank had finally decided to enter the house, and he had just closed the door behind him. He froze just inside the threshold. Jesus H. Christ

he was stricken speechless by the site. He thought the scene of Edwards death was going to be the worst carnage he would witness in his career, this proved him wrong. Montoya turned to face him. It's beautiful, isn't it Legrasse? Frank's eyes formed into two ice cold slits, What the hell is that supposed to mean, detective?!.. Montoya drew his gun and fired striking Frank in the chest, he fell like a wet bag of laundry, then slumped against the door.

He then turned the gun on Alex. You must be the one we've all been hearing so much about Alex tried to inch her hand towards the revolver she had hidden under one of the towels wrapping her, she wasn't sure if she could get there in time. He's coming for you, coming for all of you, living, and dead. Montoya held the gun pointing unwavering at Alex's head. Dr. Edwin worked his hand to the back of his robe where his pistol was hidden. He managed to work his fingers around the trigger of the gun. In one smooth swift motion he brought the gun to bare, suddenly montoya eyes flashed bright green and made Dr. Edwin pause for a moment.

That pause was just long enough for Montoya to pull the trigger, it hit Alex squarely in the forehead, ripping her hand back, she fell lifelessly to the floor. YOU SON OF A BITCH! Dr. Edwin screamed, he fired twice, both hit Montoya squarely in the head, he was unfazed. He let out a maniacal laugh and then fired at Dr. Edwin, it hit him in the heart. He felt seething pain like he had never experience. He fell to the floor in a heap gripping the wound in his chest, his life leaking out of him like air escaping a balloon. The last image that he saw was the cool, lifeless eyes of alex, blood slowly seeping down her forehead. He said one final prayer for forgiveness as his life faded. As the last breath escaped his lips, the world fell again, into eternal darkness

The End

A message to the reader: I would like to apologize for ending this story so abrupt, but due to family obligation, I will be forced to devote more of my time to other things, so I just won't have the time to work on this story any further, So I figured it would be better to end it up quickly, then just leave the story unfinished, thanks a lot to the people who supplied me with positive feedback, and I hope you guys enjoyed the bit of the story that I did get to do. Thanks again
Clay