Case 3: Death Watch, Part 3
Disclaimer: Same as before. Howie Day owns the lyrics to the song Ghost, not me.
~ ~ ~ ~
Lately I've been thinking.
Lately I've been dreaming with you.
I'm so resistant to this type of thinking.
Oh, now it's shining through.
I was alone for the last time.
Before my night's vacation with you.
Alive from the first.
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you.
~ ~ ~ ~
Hal drove along through the rain, which began to abate. His confrontation with Diane's killer was only a few minutes away. After nearly a year without justice, she would finally have it, paid for by the blood of her murderer. He had left Ivy by the roadside because he couldn't bear her getting in trouble for what he was ready to do. The pistol in his waistband already had a round chambered and the safety on. At this time, his victim should be getting done with work.
He felt bad for leaving Ivy by the roadside, but that was better than her being even peripherally involved as a conspirator in Hal's particular breed of justice.
~ ~ ~ ~
You take yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
~ ~ ~ ~
"Where was he headed?" Carmen asked Ivy, after handing her a set of dry clothes. They had broken into Sally Payton's apartment to escape from the rain.
"Towards Hereford." Ivy said.
"Where in Hereford?" Carmen said.
"The ACME field office." Ivy said, "I think. He knew who killed Diane, he was absolutely sure of it."
"This is a copy of a letter I discovered on his bed just after you two left the hotel." Carmen said, and began to read Diane's words, "I tried to forward my complaints up to Holbarth, but he didn't do anything about it, officially or otherwise..."
"Holbarth! That's it!" Ivy said, "He killed her!"
"Motive?" Carmen began, "Before we talk about that, there's some dry clothes that fit you in that trunk in the corner."
Ivy went to the bathroom to change, "The question is, how are we going to stop Hal before he kills Holbarth?"
"Perhaps a ghost from the past will be enough to convince him." Carmen began, she had been looking at some pictures of Diane that were in a photo album in the trunk. She handed Ivy a red wool sweater from the trunk. She noticed that Diane wore it quite often.
~ ~ ~ ~
I know there's little use in crying.
It's more wide awake and dying then I'm used to.
I thought we'd walk these streets together .
Now I'm hoping that I'll never have to meet you.
Step aside from all this anger. And somewhere in between I can feel you.
Ask me should we try again.
I'm thinking no.
Y'know, it's not what I believe in.
It's not what I believe in.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Holbarth?" Hal said, as he spotted him walking out of the building, over the bridge to the parking garage where his car was parked.
"Yes?" Holbarth said.
"We've got some talking to do." Hal said, the pistol appearing in his right hand.
"What's this about?" Holbarth said.
"She put up those complaints that she was being stalked and harassed through her chain of command. As her supervisor you would have been the first set of eyes to see those complaints." Hal began.
"Yes, Diane Schonke did complain about it, but I...." Holbarth said.
"To hell with your excuses you degenerate PIG!" Hal began, "I pieced together what happened by a partially completed letter she hadn't sent me. She told me about being stalked and then the threatening calls. What she neglected to tell me, and what I learned, is that you didn't do anything to help her and in fact she was ready to file a complaint with ACME HQ about your conduct. But you wouldn't have it, would you?"
"Damn it! Her bitching and complaining cost me my chance at command!" Holbarth began, "I had to do it!"
"Your actions cost a young woman her LIFE! And I'm here to redress that balance, you'll pay with yours." Hal began.
"Now, Olden, you wouldn't shoot me." Holbarth began, "Your career with the Royal Marines has been a distinguished and spotless one...."
"Don't talk of honor to me, degenerate!" Hal began, "You weasel, you couldn't live up to Daddy's expectations no matter how hard you tried! But that isn't the issue, is it?"
"What?" Holbarth began.
"She ruined my career! Now I'm languishing at this rank where I'll retire...." Holbarth said.
"You're not gonna languish any longer." Hal began, "You'll meet God and may he forgive your wicked soul...."
Holbarth felt the web of deceit and political maneuvering he'd built up over the years come apart. He knew that he was going to die at his hands. He wasn't going quietly, however. He was going to give this avenging angel one last stab before the bullet tore into his brain.
"Do you know how I killed her?" Holbarth said, with a leering grin, "She was on her way home after working a late shift, with me supervising. I planned this for months."
"Keep talking." Hal began. Holbarth was walking backwards as this was going on.
"She was last to leave, as she always was. The workaholic little bitch that she was. I went and dragged her into the nearest set of bushes and said, 'You little bitch, if you think stalking is bad, try this on for size.' Yes. I ravished her that night. So if I had let her live, you wouldn't have been the first." Holbarth began.
"The medical report did say Diane showed some inconclusive evidence of being raped." Hal began, keeping the distance between them and circling right, "Maybe I'd best shoot you in the stomach and make sure you're still bleeding and alive when I throw you, weighted with stones into the river and laugh as you DROWN!"
"I'm not finished yet." Holbarth began. He knew if Hal was angry when he murdered him, he'd make a mistake when hiding the body and be convicted for his crimes.
"Then I put a single round into her head and returned the body to her car, to make it look like someone else just killed her during a routine car jacking." Holbarth continued.
"Velasquez's death was your doing as well." Hal said, "Slick, but you never really fooled me."
"Yes." Holbarth began, "Velasquez was a handy scapegoat. He had a tendency to stalk his female co-workers, but his usefulness to me was over."
"So you wrote the suicide note and shot him at his own computer. The same gun you used to kill Diane, I presume." Hal began.
"Exactly." Holbarth replied.
"Now, be prepared to meet God and have a good answer for your crimes...." Hal began, he leveled the pistol and began to squeeze the trigger.
"HAL!"
~ ~ ~ ~
You take yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
You make yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please....
No I, wanna taste you, love.
No I....no I.
No I, just wanna taste you, love.
~ ~ ~ ~
"No shit! I thought I killed you a year ago!" Holbarth shouted.
Standing before the two men, an apparition came from the fog. Even Hal was stunned. It was Ivy standing in the fog, wearing Diane's clothing. The most distinctive article was that red sweater he had bought Diane two years ago when he was in Germany.
If Hal was stunned, then Holbarth was terrified. He was unsure what to do about what appeared to be the ghost of a woman he had killed a year ago. He stepped backwards and wound up tripping over the bridge railing, falling to his death screaming towards the river below him.
~ ~ ~ ~
Standing in your shoes.
I turn and now.
You're standing bare in my doorway.
I only wish that I had been prepared.
I'm gonna have to go along with your way.
Just take the plastic camera out.
It's the pants you borrowed in the driveway.
Alive from the first.
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Hal? Are you alright?" Ivy asked.
Hal nodded, silently as they stood underneath a street lamp, right by the spot where Holbarth had just fallen to his death on the river below.
"Now she can rest in peace." Hal said.
What happened next, neither of them could really explain by reason. Hal took Ivy in his arms, tenderly. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and kissed her, warmly with tenderness as if any moment she would disappear before his eyes.
Stunned, Ivy returned the kiss, feeling the passion in it. It was several seconds before they parted underneath the lantern's soft glow. They were still in each other's arms when Ivy asked, "You were kissing her, weren't you?"
Hal nodded wordlessly. He was just as confused. Was he kissing Diane for the last time through Ivy? Or was he welcoming his new partner into his life? He didn't know quite what came over him just then.
~ ~ ~ ~
Make yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
You make yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
No I, wanna taste of love.
No I.....
I was alive from the first.
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (C.J. Sandiego, Don't be alarmed, they'll talk about the moment at the end in the next chapter.)
Disclaimer: Same as before. Howie Day owns the lyrics to the song Ghost, not me.
~ ~ ~ ~
Lately I've been thinking.
Lately I've been dreaming with you.
I'm so resistant to this type of thinking.
Oh, now it's shining through.
I was alone for the last time.
Before my night's vacation with you.
Alive from the first.
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you.
~ ~ ~ ~
Hal drove along through the rain, which began to abate. His confrontation with Diane's killer was only a few minutes away. After nearly a year without justice, she would finally have it, paid for by the blood of her murderer. He had left Ivy by the roadside because he couldn't bear her getting in trouble for what he was ready to do. The pistol in his waistband already had a round chambered and the safety on. At this time, his victim should be getting done with work.
He felt bad for leaving Ivy by the roadside, but that was better than her being even peripherally involved as a conspirator in Hal's particular breed of justice.
~ ~ ~ ~
You take yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
~ ~ ~ ~
"Where was he headed?" Carmen asked Ivy, after handing her a set of dry clothes. They had broken into Sally Payton's apartment to escape from the rain.
"Towards Hereford." Ivy said.
"Where in Hereford?" Carmen said.
"The ACME field office." Ivy said, "I think. He knew who killed Diane, he was absolutely sure of it."
"This is a copy of a letter I discovered on his bed just after you two left the hotel." Carmen said, and began to read Diane's words, "I tried to forward my complaints up to Holbarth, but he didn't do anything about it, officially or otherwise..."
"Holbarth! That's it!" Ivy said, "He killed her!"
"Motive?" Carmen began, "Before we talk about that, there's some dry clothes that fit you in that trunk in the corner."
Ivy went to the bathroom to change, "The question is, how are we going to stop Hal before he kills Holbarth?"
"Perhaps a ghost from the past will be enough to convince him." Carmen began, she had been looking at some pictures of Diane that were in a photo album in the trunk. She handed Ivy a red wool sweater from the trunk. She noticed that Diane wore it quite often.
~ ~ ~ ~
I know there's little use in crying.
It's more wide awake and dying then I'm used to.
I thought we'd walk these streets together .
Now I'm hoping that I'll never have to meet you.
Step aside from all this anger. And somewhere in between I can feel you.
Ask me should we try again.
I'm thinking no.
Y'know, it's not what I believe in.
It's not what I believe in.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Holbarth?" Hal said, as he spotted him walking out of the building, over the bridge to the parking garage where his car was parked.
"Yes?" Holbarth said.
"We've got some talking to do." Hal said, the pistol appearing in his right hand.
"What's this about?" Holbarth said.
"She put up those complaints that she was being stalked and harassed through her chain of command. As her supervisor you would have been the first set of eyes to see those complaints." Hal began.
"Yes, Diane Schonke did complain about it, but I...." Holbarth said.
"To hell with your excuses you degenerate PIG!" Hal began, "I pieced together what happened by a partially completed letter she hadn't sent me. She told me about being stalked and then the threatening calls. What she neglected to tell me, and what I learned, is that you didn't do anything to help her and in fact she was ready to file a complaint with ACME HQ about your conduct. But you wouldn't have it, would you?"
"Damn it! Her bitching and complaining cost me my chance at command!" Holbarth began, "I had to do it!"
"Your actions cost a young woman her LIFE! And I'm here to redress that balance, you'll pay with yours." Hal began.
"Now, Olden, you wouldn't shoot me." Holbarth began, "Your career with the Royal Marines has been a distinguished and spotless one...."
"Don't talk of honor to me, degenerate!" Hal began, "You weasel, you couldn't live up to Daddy's expectations no matter how hard you tried! But that isn't the issue, is it?"
"What?" Holbarth began.
"She ruined my career! Now I'm languishing at this rank where I'll retire...." Holbarth said.
"You're not gonna languish any longer." Hal began, "You'll meet God and may he forgive your wicked soul...."
Holbarth felt the web of deceit and political maneuvering he'd built up over the years come apart. He knew that he was going to die at his hands. He wasn't going quietly, however. He was going to give this avenging angel one last stab before the bullet tore into his brain.
"Do you know how I killed her?" Holbarth said, with a leering grin, "She was on her way home after working a late shift, with me supervising. I planned this for months."
"Keep talking." Hal began. Holbarth was walking backwards as this was going on.
"She was last to leave, as she always was. The workaholic little bitch that she was. I went and dragged her into the nearest set of bushes and said, 'You little bitch, if you think stalking is bad, try this on for size.' Yes. I ravished her that night. So if I had let her live, you wouldn't have been the first." Holbarth began.
"The medical report did say Diane showed some inconclusive evidence of being raped." Hal began, keeping the distance between them and circling right, "Maybe I'd best shoot you in the stomach and make sure you're still bleeding and alive when I throw you, weighted with stones into the river and laugh as you DROWN!"
"I'm not finished yet." Holbarth began. He knew if Hal was angry when he murdered him, he'd make a mistake when hiding the body and be convicted for his crimes.
"Then I put a single round into her head and returned the body to her car, to make it look like someone else just killed her during a routine car jacking." Holbarth continued.
"Velasquez's death was your doing as well." Hal said, "Slick, but you never really fooled me."
"Yes." Holbarth began, "Velasquez was a handy scapegoat. He had a tendency to stalk his female co-workers, but his usefulness to me was over."
"So you wrote the suicide note and shot him at his own computer. The same gun you used to kill Diane, I presume." Hal began.
"Exactly." Holbarth replied.
"Now, be prepared to meet God and have a good answer for your crimes...." Hal began, he leveled the pistol and began to squeeze the trigger.
"HAL!"
~ ~ ~ ~
You take yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
You make yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please....
No I, wanna taste you, love.
No I....no I.
No I, just wanna taste you, love.
~ ~ ~ ~
"No shit! I thought I killed you a year ago!" Holbarth shouted.
Standing before the two men, an apparition came from the fog. Even Hal was stunned. It was Ivy standing in the fog, wearing Diane's clothing. The most distinctive article was that red sweater he had bought Diane two years ago when he was in Germany.
If Hal was stunned, then Holbarth was terrified. He was unsure what to do about what appeared to be the ghost of a woman he had killed a year ago. He stepped backwards and wound up tripping over the bridge railing, falling to his death screaming towards the river below him.
~ ~ ~ ~
Standing in your shoes.
I turn and now.
You're standing bare in my doorway.
I only wish that I had been prepared.
I'm gonna have to go along with your way.
Just take the plastic camera out.
It's the pants you borrowed in the driveway.
Alive from the first.
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you.
~ ~ ~ ~
"Hal? Are you alright?" Ivy asked.
Hal nodded, silently as they stood underneath a street lamp, right by the spot where Holbarth had just fallen to his death on the river below.
"Now she can rest in peace." Hal said.
What happened next, neither of them could really explain by reason. Hal took Ivy in his arms, tenderly. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and kissed her, warmly with tenderness as if any moment she would disappear before his eyes.
Stunned, Ivy returned the kiss, feeling the passion in it. It was several seconds before they parted underneath the lantern's soft glow. They were still in each other's arms when Ivy asked, "You were kissing her, weren't you?"
Hal nodded wordlessly. He was just as confused. Was he kissing Diane for the last time through Ivy? Or was he welcoming his new partner into his life? He didn't know quite what came over him just then.
~ ~ ~ ~
Make yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
You make yourself a photograph and laugh at me.
Please...
No I, wanna taste of love.
No I.....
I was alive from the first.
Now I'm denied by the ghost of you.
~ ~ ~ ~
TBC (C.J. Sandiego, Don't be alarmed, they'll talk about the moment at the end in the next chapter.)