Tracking Down A Killer
Chapter 28
XXVIII
Kathleen Topolsky stepped out of the portal where she had entered it… at the quarry. She bent over Jim and rolled his face over carefully. She looked at him for a moment… then she kissed him lightly on the forehead.
"I really hope you get that second chance, Jim… for both of us," she whispered. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes and then looked at it, surprised to see that it was moist… that there were actually tears in her eyes. She hadn't realized that Jim's death had affected her this much. Maybe it was because now she knew what they might have had together… in another life. Kathleen gently laid his head back as it had been and stood up. As she turned, she was surprised to see someone pointing a gun at her. And it wasn't an alien.
"You going to shoot me, Zwolinski?"
"I might… if I find out you're an alien sympathizer… like the sheriff there."
"You shot Jim?"
"Jim is it? We're getting mighty cozy, aren't we, Topolsky? First name basis and all… What did you and Jim boy have going on?"
"Nothing, Zwolinski… nothing you'd understand… If you're going to shoot me, do it. I'm unarmed, as you can see. Shouldn't be a problem for you."
Zwolinski scowled. "I didn't come to shoot you, Topolsky. And sorry to have to admit it, but I didn't knock Jim boy there off either."
"Who did then?"
"I don't know. Maybe one of his alien pals."
"Jim didn't know any aliens, Zwolinski."
"Shows what you know, Topolsky. You don't have the nose for this that I do."
"What aliens?"
"That girl over at the high school, for one… the one who was going with a football jock… Her stepfather, for another. And then there was another girl… Courtney or something…"
"I don't know anything about them," Kathleen said.
"Well, it was a few years back, Topolsky… maybe fifteen years ago."
"And you're still holding that against Jim?"
"He helped aliens."
"Jim Valenti was the sheriff. It was his job to help people."
"He knew they were aliens."
"Why didn't I know any of this," Kathleen asked.
"You're not as good as me… not as thorough. It's that simple. I make it my job to know things." Zwolinski replaced his gun in its holder and climbed back up the side of the quarry.
"Well, whatcha waitin' for, Topolsky? You didn't think I was going to carry you out, did you?"
"You? Not a chance," Kathleen replied, climbing the side of the quarry with more agility and speed than the aging, but still kicking, Zwolinski had.
"We'll need to notify the sheriff's office so they can come and get Jim's… I mean the sheriff's body."
"Why?" Zwolinski asked.
Kathleen just glared at him without replying.
"I know you don't care who killed the sheriff, Zwolinski, but if it's all the same to you, I do. I'm going to look around here and see if there might be any clues. You can slither on back to your den. I guess there's nothing more for you to do here."
"That's where you're wrong, Topolsky. See, you're jumping to conclusions again. Matter of fact, I do care who killed the sheriff. Just 'cause he was a no-good traitor doesn't mean any alien scum can just come along and take him out. We'll look for clues together."
Kathleen frowned. "And what if it wasn't an alien?"
"Still no good. We gotta uphold the law, you know."
Kathleen raised her eyebrows a bit but held her tongue.
"You look over that way," Zwolinski said. "I'll go the other direction. We can cover more ground that way."
Kathleen nodded and headed off in the direction Zwolinski had indicated to her. She was just glad to be away from Zwolinski. He may have been a supervisor in the department, but he was a total jackass to work with, and Kathleen wasn't reluctant to let him know so whenever she felt like it.
For the first ten to fifteen minutes, Kathleen saw nothing. Slowly, she began to realize that she also heard nothing. It was eerie. There was no sound at all… not a cricket… not a bird… not even a breeze or a leaf rustling. It just didn't seem natural. A slight shiver ran up Kathleen's spine, and she looked around to make sure that no one was following her. She had a feeling… one that she wouldn't have been able to explain… that she was being watched from somewhere. She looked behind her. Then, as she turned back again, she was hit from behind and knocked to her knees.
Looking up, her head still spinning, Kathleen saw that a young woman was now standing there. She had wavy blonde hair and greenish eyes… and in her right hand, there was a length of pipe.
"Where did you come from? I just looked, and there was no one behind me. Who are you?"
The girl looked at Kathleen for a few moments without answering. Then she laid the other end of the pipe across her open left hand and stared dispassionately at the young woman she had just knocked down…
"Tess," she said at last. "It's Tess. I guess it's not going to matter if you know. You won't be leaving here with the information."
"Why would you want to kill me," Kathleen asked, trying to make conversation with the girl and perhaps give herself time to think of a way to get out of this mess. Unfortunately, it didn't look like there was much she could do. She could rush the girl, but it didn't look like this girl would be easily caught off guard. She could try reasoning… No, she could tell that that wasn't going to work. Maybe a distraction… if she had one.
Kathleen stared past the young woman standing in front of her.
"Whatcha lookin' at?"
"Nothing."
The girl smiled. "I know. You thought I'd think there was someone behind me and look back. It's an old trick… even for a stupid Earthling."
"Suit yourself," Kathleen said.
The girl looked uneasy for a moment but decided to stand her ground and take the chance that Kathleen was bluffing.
"Yeah… I will suit myself," she said, taking the length of pipe on one end with both hands. Kathleen saw it coming and tried to put her hands over her head to protect herself. There was a sickening thud. Kathleen heard it but didn't immediately feel anything. Then she felt someone shaking her. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
"Come on, Topolsky! Get up," Zwolinski said, tossing a ten-pound rock down beside her. Kathleen looked at the unmoving girl on the ground.
"Is she dead?"
Zwolinski felt for a pulse and checked the wound on her head.
"Naw… too bad. But then again maybe it's better this way. I'll be able to dissect her while she's still alive."
Kathleen looked at Zwolinski and cringed. "Alive?"
"Yeah. Don't sweat it. Aliens aren't like us. They don't feel pain or love or anything like that."
"I wonder," Kathleen said under her breath.
"What? You wonder if they do?"
"No. I wonder if you do… if you ever did."
"Not that it's any of your damn business, Topolsky, but… yeah, I did… once."
"That's a tale I'd like to hear," Kathleen said sarcastically. Zwolinski looked at her for a moment. Then to her surprise, he sat down on the rocks beside her.
"You see, Topolsky, I had a mother once… A lot of people don't believe that, but it's true… and a father… and two sisters and an older brother. I was the youngest in my family. When I was seven, I came home from school one day –I was in second grade. It was February 7, a Tuesday… and I found them all –my whole family- murdered."
Kathleen gasped and looked at Zwolinski with obvious shock and new compassion in her eyes.
"I never knew. I'm so sorry, Zwolinski. That must have been so hard on you… seven years old!"
Zwolinski shrugged. "It made me tough. It made me what I am today… driven… to find their murderers… and to avenge my family somehow."
"You think aliens murdered your family?"
"I know aliens murdered my family. I saw two of them. They killed my mother while I watched… and I couldn't help her. One of them placed his hand on her chest. The air began to glow red around his hand. Then she fell over, and the alien fled out the back door with his companion. I ran to my mother and tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't…"
"I'm sorry," Kathleen repeated quietly."
"She had a handprint on her chest," Zwolinski continued, "a silver handprint. It was burned right through her dress. The others all had handprints, too. I found them in different parts of the house… all dead."
Kathleen touched Zwolinski on the shoulder, but he moved her hand away.
"Don't get mushy on me, Topolsky. I've learned to deal with it… and it was a long time ago. Cutting these aliens up is all the therapy I need."
"I'm not so sure about that," Kathleen said.
"Listen, help me get this girl up to the top, will ya? We need to get back to the lab."
Kathleen looked at the blonde girl and at Zwolinski. She couldn't decide which one to help. She wound up taking the girl by one arm, as Zwolinski took her by the other one. Then the two of them climbed out of the quarry with the unconscious girl between them.
**********
"This is wrong, Zwolinski," Kathleen said, removing the surgical mask Zwolinski had given her to put over her face. "You just can't dissect people…"
"Aliens," Zwolinski corrected.
"Okay, aliens, then. You can't dissect living aliens… beings."
"Didn't you dissect a live frog in high school biology class ever, Topolsky?"
Kathleen looked at him. "I felt bad about it. I don't… It's not the same, Zwolinski! This isn't a frog!"
"Might as well be, Topolsky. Got about as much feelings or right to live as one."
"Frogs have a right to live, Zwolinski."
"Frogs I don't have a problem with. I don't dissect frogs, Topolsky."
Kathleen let out a frustrated sigh. This was getting her nowhere, and Zwolinski was ready to start the dissection.
"Take that little suction device over there, Topolsky, and suction out the blood so I can see what I'm doing as I cut."
Suddenly, the girl stirred and opened her eyes. She was well restrained, hands and legs securely held by straps attached to the gurney.
"Ah, you're awake," Zwolinski said. "Good! You can watch!"
Suddenly, as Zwolinski walked toward the gurney, the girl began to change. A strong light filled the room for a moment, and when Zwolinski and Kathleen could see again, the girl was gone. The straps dangled freely at the sides of the bed. Kathleen looked up in time to see a crow squeeze through a narrow opening at the top of a high window in the room then fly away. Zwolinski appeared too shocked to speak. He looked for all the world like a child who had just lost his lollipop.
tbc