The Irishman's Woman: Murder in Llanview

by LUVINGJOVAN

The Pleasure Palace

Rex stopped in the middle of the bar, his mouth agape as he stood watching his sister swinging from one of the exposed water pipes. Her blood was dripping down her body and there was a pool of it around her feet. He looked up from the pool and saw a man with a baseball cap smiling at him holding a knife in his hand. The knife was covered in blood and so was the man.

Taking a few steps backwards he stepped on the glass that Natalie had shattered. He looked down as the glass crunched under his shoes. Looking back up Rex saw the man charging at him with the knife by his side.

Rex raised the umbrella up to defend himself from the man charging him. Taking a swing at Hayes, the umbrella came crashing down on Hayes's arm that he was protecting his face with. Grabbing the umbrella with his arm he yanked Rex towards him and smiled, "Time for a little more fun Rexy…" he whined.

"Fuck you!" he screamed and let go of the umbrella. Rex punched Hayes and watched him fall to the ground. He stood froze for a few seconds before running back to the bar and picking up the phone behind the bar. Hitting the button trying to get a dial tone he cursed the storm. It must have knocked the phone lines out. He turned around in time to have Hayes lunge at him knocking him to the ground.

Rex hit his head hard on the concrete floor he knocked himself out. Hayes rose up and straddled Rex smiling at his new victim. It wasn't on the plan, but oh well he was always one to go with the flow. Standing up he put the knife in his mouth and bent over pulling at Rex's legs. He found a chair nearby and threw him in it.

Hayes saw some exposed wires out of the corner of his eye and used one of his knives to cut it. Tying Rex's hands behind his back and his feet to the chair he sat on his lap and slapped his face numerous times before Rex came too.

Rex fought the wires behind his back and around his ankles and glared at Hayes who sat on his lap, "Get off me you freak!" He hissed.
"Ahh, no, no, no Rexy boy. You interrupted my funny with the pretty Jennifer, you're going to have to pay for that."
"Jennifer! Who the fuck is Jennifer!" he screamed.
Hayes nodded to the swinging Natalie and smiled, "That's Jennifer isn't she pretty?" He whispered into his ear.

Rex felt his blood run cold at the way Hayes relished in his sisters death, "What did you do? You sick freak!"
"We had a little fun. Now you and I are going to have the same fun."
Rex turned his head away from the stench of Hayes' breath. He saw Natalie swinging back and forth from the water pipe and shut his eyes tight. "Now let's see, what should we do to the intruder? What do you think Jennifer my love?" he asked staring at the swinging corpse.

"What's that leave a message for McBain? Ahh perfect!"
"McBain! Who the hell is McBain?"
"Someone you are going to send a message to for me!" he snapped.
"Whatever dude. Just tell me what to say, and I'll say it. Tell me where to go and how to find this McBain."
"You don't need to worry about that. McBain will find you…" Hayes turns and smiled at Rex who sat there struggling with the wires around his arms and feet.

The Palace

"Start over there. That's where I found the first camera," John said pointing to the corner of the room, "Get someone down stairs to check my car. Scan my lab top and rework the firewalls on it. That son of a bitch hacked into my system. I want it traced now!" he yelled at the officers that had been rushed to the Palace.

Evangeline sat on the bed watching everyone coming in and out of the room. She watched John bark orders to the guys and a sense of security came over her. He was there to protect her, "John?" she asked softly.

John spun around and saw his Angel's tear stained face with a weak smile. Walking over to her he knelt down in front of her, "I'm sorry I yelled at you." He said placing a hand on her face.

She pushed her face into his hand, "What do I have to do. I want to help, I can't sit around here and do nothing."
"I know you want to help. But Hayes is dangerous and when I mean dangerous I am serious. He hunts his victims like they are prey and makes a game out of killing them. I can't lose you to him."
"I'm not going anywhere John."
John closed his eyes and stood up, "I want you to go to the Police Station and stay there."
"What!" She yelled calling attention to her self as she shot up from the bed.
"Evangeline please." John said, inches from her face.
"John!"
"Evangeline damn it listen to me." He grabbed her arm pulling her into the bathroom. Slamming the door he pinned her against it, "I know you're an independent person I get that I honestly do, but this isn't going to work. Hayes knows who you are and how you are connected to me!"
"What!"
"I looked your information up on my lab top after we meet at Mike and Marcie's wedding shower. I had to know how you were connected to that thug."
"Jason's not a thug." She hissed.
"Okay, fine." He said placating her need to believe that Jason was a good man, "Hayes will get you to get to me. You can't leave my sight or an officer's sight."
Evangeline crossed her arms over her chest and glared at John, "Fine can I at least go home and change?" she asked looking down at her clothes.

John blew out a deep breath and looked at her. He leaned in and laid his forehead against hers, "Do you trust me?" he whispered.
Evangeline closed her eyes and put her arms around his neck pulling him into a kiss. Pulling back she looked at him, "I do, but I just want to help."
"I know you do Angel, and I want to keep you safe. Go home and change and meet me at the station okay, can you do that for me?"
"Yes." Evangeline kissed him again and then ran her hands over his chest, "Be safe."
"With an Angel looking out for me I'll be okay." He said opening the door.

"Officer, take Ms. Williamson home. Let her change clothes and bring her directly to the station. Don't let her out of your sight. You do and I find out about it, your ass is mine!" he hissed.
John turned and waved Evangeline over. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly before handing her over to the Officer he assigned to her, "Stay with him please." He said with pleading eyes.

The Pleasure Palace

Strolling back and forth running his knife through his fingers he smiled at Rex. "So, bet you're pissed you came here tonight?"
"What's the message!" Rex screamed and tried to struggle with the wires.

Hayes scowled at Rex and walked back over to him. Shoving him backwards into the bar Rex's head slammed into the brass railing on the bar. "Shut up! You come here and fuck up my whole plan! And now you have the nerve to ask me questions?"
Hayes placed his hand over Rex's throat and squeezed it hard like he had done Natalie's. He watched as Rex struggled to say something and wheezed out, "No…." before his eyes bugged and Hayes felt his larynx collapse under his grip.

"Damn it!" Hayes yelled realizing that he had killed Rex with out having any real fun. He stood up and pulled Justice from behind his back, smiling at the bloody knife he looked down at Rex's limp body and pushed his head down and drew his knife across his throat.

Police Station

Evangeline came into the police station and stopped in the middle of the bullpen. Looking around for John she saw Nora instead. "Nora." She said rushing over to her.
"What are you doing her so late?" Nora asked hugging Evangeline.
"Can we go somewhere and talk?"
"Sure, we can use Bo's office."
Evangeline looked back at the officer and pointed to Bo's office. Walking into the office she closed the door as the officer stood outside of it. "What's going on?" Nora said seeing the nervousness in her friend.

"Tell me everything you know about the Slasher!" she said staring at her with intense eyes.
"The Slasher, Van where is this coming from?"
Evangeline paced the office back and forth and looked at Nora, "Please just tell me what you know!" she snapped.
"Fine, not much. Only what I've read in the papers really. Just that he is some sick guy named Hayes something or other. He has killed all over the country and slits his victim's throat after they are dead. Why do you want to know these things?"
"John."
" John, you're Irishman?"
"Yeah." She said sitting on the edge of Bo's desk wringing her hands.
"What about him Van, what the hell is going on. You're scaring me."

Evangeline cleared her throat and looked down at the ground, "We were together tonight."
"You were what?"
"Together Nora, don't make me spell it out for you!"
"What about Jason."
"Can we please not talk about Jason now! I can't handle him too."
"Him too, what have you gotten your self into Van?"
She stood up from the desk and looked at Nora. "I don't know Nora! We were lying in bed, he was asleep next to me when I saw it."
"Seriously stop with the vagueness. If there was ever a time for you to be blunt and get to the point this is it! So spit it out." She hissed.
"Fine! We were being video recorded. At first I thought it was John and he was setting me up to get at Sonny and Jason. But he swears he wasn't!"
"And you believe him?" she asked worried.
"I think I do?"

"What do you mean you think you do? Either you do or you don't which is it?"
"I do Nora, I do! I know he wouldn't betray what we have together. John isn't that type of man."
"You haven't even known him that long! How could you think that?"
"Nora, please I need your support right now, not your condemnation." She spat.

"Fine, what is this about the video recorder."
"This Slasher guy, Hayes right?" she asked looking over for confirmation. Nora nodded, "He bugged John's room. He thinks that he has been hunting him!"
"Oh god!" Nora said throwing a hand over her mouth.
"That's what I'm talking about. John thinks that now because Hayes knows of our relationship that I could be in danger."
"Well from what I've read about him. I could understand why John is worried. Hayes killed his fiancé in front of him."
"What! He did what!"
"He didn't tell you, that was big news Evangeline. Apparently John walked in on it as Hayes shot her."
Evangeline fell back on the desk hugging herself, "Oh god, God! That explains it." She mumbled.
Nora walked over to her and took her hands, "Explains what? What is going on?" she asked pleading
"He's…. He's…... I don't know. He sent me here to keep me safe." She said holding back tears.
"Obviously he did it for a reason, where is he?"
"If he isn't here, I guess he is still at the Palace." She said looking up at Nora with tears in her eyes.
"What are you going to do hun?"
"He told me to stay put and I understand why now…."

The Palace

"What did you guys find?" John asked coming back into the room.
"These cameras are all over the room sir. Even in the bathroom."
John ran a hand through his hair and over his face, "Did you trace where the signal was going?"
"Some place in the hotel Sir. We are hooking the cameras up now to see if we can get a picture and trace the signal."
"Good do it." John walked over to the officer working on his computer, "What do you got?"
"You're right sir, he tapped into your network. He had an echo placed on your terminal so that what ever you saw it bounced to his terminal so that he could see it too. Sir…"
"What?"
"Where you working on any classified cases?"
John looked at the man annoyed, "No, just some personal business."
"Okay. Well I reworked the fire walls and right now the system is checking for any other spy ware on the hard drive. I suggest until we find this guy you use a different terminal."
"Right." John said nodding.
"Agent McBain!" One of the officers called.
"Yes?" John spun around to a smiling Police Officer.
"We might have a location on the suspect!"

Hayes

Hayes stepped back and admired his handiwork. Two kills in one night was something new for him, but he enjoyed it immensely. He cleaned his knife and looked at the mirror where he left John a message. "Come and get me McBain, come and get me." He whispered. He picked up the rest of his knives and smiled as the pool of blood around Rex and Natalie grew and collided. That was a beautiful sight.

He stripped out of his clothes and stuffed them into the duffle back. Pulling on another dark jacket Hayes headed towards the door. He walked out of the bar and ran to his car in the rain. Starting the car he headed back to Palace to see what his lovely couple was up to. Driving through the rain he maneuvered the car through the dark streets and back into the city. He pulled into the parking lot of The Palace and saw all of the black town cars and police cars out front. He looked out of the tinted windows of his car and saw two police officers talking.

Putting the car in park he stepped out and pulled his hat down over his head. He watched as the officers came in and out of the Hotel and leaned against the car in the rain. He looked down at his hands and remembered squeezing the life out of Jennifer and Rex. He had enjoyed these kills almost as his first one. McBain was close and he had eyes on him and the vixen he had taken up with. Sooner or later he would use her to get at McBain. That is who he really wanted and the girl was going to get him close.

Hayes walked over to the officers to find out what was going on, "Excuse me can you tell me what happened here tonight?" Hayes asked one of the officers disguising his voice and pulling his hat down over his face.