Chapter 5
Eric undid Amanda's handcuffs once they got back in the apartment. Amanda didn't make a run for it as she had planned. Instead she stayed, surprised by the apartment. It wasn't as a fancy as she though it would be. It was small and a little rundown. To the left of the door was a small kitchen with a square card table in the middle of the space that left five feet of space in either direction. Where she was standing now was part of the living room. A couch was lined on the right side of the wall and a coffee table was in front of that. There was a balcony outside because they were on the fourth floor. It was also dressed with two chairs and a table with a potted flower. The TV was in between the bookcase and bedroom door. She couldn't see the bathroom but guessed it was in the bedroom. A final observation was the worn furniture Eric probably got from a thrift store. Amanda had a hard time imagining Daniel staying with Eric because the apartment was clearly a just-divorced bachelor pad.
"I'll take the couch, you take the bed." Eric instructed.
Amanda disagreed. "I'm the guest. I'll stay on the couch."
"No. Take the bed."
"The couch is fine. You should keep the bed since you have a foot problem."
"I'm trying to be nice here. Take the bed!"
"I'm trying to be nice to you! I'll sleep on the couch!"
Eric pushed Amanda in the bedroom. "Look there's nothing wrong." He shoved Amanda in and closed the door. Eric pushed a chair in front of the door then sat on it.
"Eric! Let me out!" Amanda screamed.
"No. Just got to sleep. You'll be fine." Eric said.
Amanda's childhood fear of dark, closed places set in. There was a lamp and window in the room but they were no use to her. It was night so there was no light from the window and the lamp seemed to far away to reach. "At least unlock the door, please!" She begged.
"You'll stay in the room?" Eric asked.
"Yes, I will! Just open the door." Eric took the chair out and opened the door. Amanda was kneeling at the door.
"You okay?" Eric Asked.
Stubbornly, Amanda stood up. She dusted her self off then sat on the bed. "I'm fine. You should work in a prison though. You're intimidating enough." She lied down on the bed and turned on the lamp. "Are you going to watch me sleep, warden?"
"Alright, I get it I'm gonna close the door so that lamp won't keep me up. Night." He lay down on the couch and fell asleep.
It was three in the morning. Amanda couldn't sleep. She tried everything from counting sheep to lying on the floor using her book bag as a pillow. Her mind ran around trying to figure out why Eric would let her stay. It wasn't for his reputation. The way people talked having Amanda in his apartment was an invitation to tons of bad publicity. Eric mentioned owing her. It was true that he threw her in jail and that set off a line of events that ultimately made her a serial killer and ruined her hope at ever getting a better chance at life but conversely it wasn't all bad. If she never went to jail, she never would've started heroin, she'd never overdose, get trapped and meet John. John changed her life, no matter what any one said. He was the most significant person in her life. Amanda couldn't imagine why Eric would think he owed her unless he still didn't understand how valuable the lessons John taught were even though he passed his test.
Amanda struggled to find a better position to sleep in then heard a thunk from the living room. She grabbed her knife from her back pocket. Slowly she crept out of the room. She looked left and right at the door and balcony to see if someone was trying to break in. She looked ahead at Eric and thought it was weird he wasn't awake from the noise. She was surprised to see him on the floor grabbing at his throat struggling to breathe.
Amanda rushed to his side. "What's wrong? Are you choking?" Eric opened his eyes for a second then kicked at Amanda. "Hey! I'm trying to help you out." She said. As Eric continued to trash Amanda pried his hands from his neck. Eric overpowered her and kept his hands on his neck but Amanda still got a glimpse at an odd ring around his neck. She figured he was hallucinating about being hanged. As a solution she got behind him and lifted him on the couch.
Eric gasped loudly, coughed then looked at Amanda. "Why am I on your lap?"
"You were on the floor, chocking. I thought you were hallucinating so I brought you on the couch." Amanda explained.
"Ok…um…how do I say this? I don't know what I was hallucinating but I highly doubt in required me to sit in your lap."
"Okay then get off." Amanda shoved Eric off of her. He sat next to her on the couch. "Look you may not care about your life but I kinda do. Don't die on me and don't try to hide it when you almost do."
Eric scoffed. "Fine, I'll play your game but Amanda I wasn't dying. I was sleeping and woke up on your life. Maybe I was having a lucid nightmare but I sure as hell don't remember it."
Amanda looked at Eric. "You were dying." Eric shook his head. Amanda was puzzled. She was sure he was dying. His joking smile and laugh combined with his unsettling ease proved he was sincere. Amanda back to her room as Eric lay down on the couch. Sure she claimed delusions in court but it occurred maybe she was really was crazy.
The next morning Rigg visited Hoffman on the way to work. Hoffman opened the door he looked like he was hung over. His eyes were squinted. His hair was messily spread across his face. He also seemed unable to stand on his two feet without leaning on the door frame.
"Long night?" Rigg asked.
Hoffman mumbled something then tipped over almost hitting Rigg. He tapped the side of his face to wake himself up then repeated himself. "I was up all night. Corbett wanted to stay up and I don't trust her running around alone in the kitchen where she can light the house on fire so I stayed up with her. One night and she manages to wreak havoc on the house. One night! At first I thought she was just trying to wear herself down but she doesn't stop. On the upside I did learn not to let kids drink soda after 10."
Rigg suppressed his laughter. "So you let her stay up all night and drink soda and thought she'd go to sleep? I don't get it you act like you have it all together at work."
"It's different with Corbett. If I tell her no, she'll start crying. If she starts crying I'll feel guilty and I can't take that. I'm sorry I'm just soft."
"How long are you going to keep her with you?"
"Until the end of the school year that way she won't have to worry about making new friends midway throughout the year. As far as work goes I won't be in until I can get a homeschooling teacher so I'm assigning you the John Doe of Sewers case. Okay?"
"I'm not a homicide detective. I don't think you're thinking straight."
"I know I'm not thinking straight. I haven't slept. All you have to do is go to the ME and Forensics and see what they found. Then you put together what happened. It's just like Blue's Clues. I'm going to sleep. Come back later." He patted Rigg's shoulder and stumbled inside.
Being in SWAT didn't require Rigg to visit the autopsy room so he had trouble finding it. After roaming he got to the bottom floor where autopsy was. It was a cold clean space. Two tables were centered in the middle of the room. A variety of sharp instruments were bathing in a bowl of alcohol. A hanging scale was gleaming in the back of the room. The most ominous thing in the room was a pair of large chest shears. The mere thought of having his chest cut by those made Rigg wince.
The young ME joyfully laughed. "I still haven't met a person unafraid of those shears. I'm Dr. Jan Hardy."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Daniel Rigg. Did you find anything on the John Doe?"
"Yeah and he's not a John Doe." Jan walked to a table and pulled back a white sheet. Underneath was a well rotted corpse. The stench was almost unbearable. Its hair was limp against its unusually thin, jagged face. Odd cuts also darted across the man's body. "This is Cecil Fletcher. His prints were already in our system because he was arrested of drug possession and burglary."
"Interesting. What else do you got?"
"He went missing 13 years ago under suspicious circumstances. Jill Tuck reported him. This was five days before she would have taken him to trial for assault. The only people who saw him regularly were John Kramer and Jill Tuck. They claimed to not have seen him."
"You think she did it?"
"No. There's no Jigsaw piece it's definitely his work." Jan pulled down the blanket on Cecil to his hips. She pointed out each body part as she spoke. "He died from blood loss as result from cuts. The jaggedness of his face look like knife marks. They're deep as if they we're digging in his face. These thin lines here look like scars from sharp wire. I don't know how they got there; the pattern is irregular. Lastly, his wrists. They're punctured right through the artery."
Rigg pulled the blanket up in disgust. "John was a very sick man. Even if he did lose his child, it wouldn't hurt him to be humane. Quick death is better than torture."
"Rigg, I know you don't like this but take one more look at this body. Don't you think it's a little odd that a body that was sitting a sewer for 13 years is a well persevered as this? Also that no one noticed it or a rat didn't eat at it? I think that maybe he was frozen and shrink wrapped then sometime within the last three months left out for a few days then thrown in the sewers. I sent everything I found to forensics they'll have more for you there."
"Got it." Rigg left for the crime lab. Walking up he pieced together what he knew. The John Doe was Cecil Fletcher. He went missing 13 years ago prior to an assault trial. The only people who saw him before his disappearance were John Kramer and Jill Tuck. Jill Tuck called him in and John Kramer became a serial killer. Cecil's death was consistent with Jigsaw's MO minus the jigsaw piece. Presumably he was persevered until a few weeks ago after which he was rotted and dumped in the sewer. When Kerry was still alive she always told Rigg to look for links and patterns to solve mysteries. So far the only useful link was Jill Tuck. If he was going to get anywhere she was the person to talk to.
The forensics office was dark with computers lighting the room. Rigg heard something moving around so he shouted to clarify someone was there. A squirrelly old man switched on the lights. The light revealed a room full of equipment.
"Hello, Captain Rigg. How can help you?" The man said.
"I'm working on the Cecil Fletcher case. I was wondering if you had anything for me." Rigg replied.
The man speed walked to the microscope. "As a matter of fact I do. It turns out that Mr. Fletcher was covered in topsoil. My first assumption was he was buried, dug up and then thrown in the sewer. However I looked in it and found grubs and fertilizer. The dirt was store-bought. This means one of two things he was buried in a garden or someone poured dirt on him. Guess which one?"
"Someone poured dirt on him?"
"Yes, sir. I also know who poured it. I couldn't figure out what trap Cecil was in but I did find barbed wire with traces of blood on it. I tested it and it belonged to our favorite neighborhood serial killer."
The man brought up a screen on his computer that showed the fingerprint match. Rigg instantly grinned. It was Amanda Young. Armed with his new evidence Rigg reported first to Art. Art stayed in his police office most of the time trying to gather information for Amanda's case. He wasn't offered anymore cases because of his occupation with Amanda's case. The higher ups even noticed his devotion in a bad way. Occasionally Rigg heard them discussing Art's supposed obsession with the case. Once Rigg heard Art stayed late one night then broke into the police records to get everything he could. Art was almost fired but he argued any other attorney would fall for the insanity defense. His boss agreed and he kept his job.
When Rigg came to see him Art was skimming through old newspapers and jotting down notes. "Daniel, tell me you have something I can use."
Rigg sat down in front of the desk. "The body in the sewer was identified as Cecil Fletcher. He was killed in a trap."
"Cecil? I know him. He visited Jill's drug clinic. One night he caused Jill to miscarry. No one has seen him since. What does he have to do with this?"
"Amanda Young's fingerprints were found on his body. There was store-bought dirt on his jacket and he wasn't as decayed as he should have been. I think Amanda somehow preserved the body, threw him the sewer and covered him with dirt to make it look like someone had dug him up and threw him away."
Art looked up from his newspapers. "She wasn't with John when Cecil disappeared. Cecil would have been missing for at least 10 years. How do you suggest she got him?"
Rigg shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he was keeping the body for validation or he kept him somewhere for 10 years until he died then used his body for experiments."
"John wanted to be validated for killing Cecil. So he kept him for 10 years and used his body for experiments. Then after Jigsaw died Amanda got the body and made it look like it was dug up. That doesn't make any sense, Daniel. The only thing I got out of it is Amanda's just as insane as the defense wants her to be."
"Oh my God, Art. I'm getting everything I can find. You can do me a favor by not arguing all of it."
Art laughed, "What do you think the defense is going to do to everything we say? They will watch and listen to every word. One inconsistency they'll be all over you. I have to make sure you don't slip up. You're my main help here so I need you to give me straight facts regarding insanity. If anything we have to prove she was sane. Right now we have nothing."
Rigg looked at the bookshelf on the wall. All the books were about law. Rigg took a closer peak at the books. There were books on every section of the law: family law, criminal law, human rights, immigration, etc. Rigg saw a book on common defenses and grabbed it. The book was thick and leather bound. He flipped through the pages and got to the section on insanity defenses. He skimmed through it and placed the book on Art's desk pointed to the last passage.
"What?" Art asked.
"This section here. Look it says people can be argued as Guilty but Mentally Ill." Rigg explained. "This is what we need to argue. She's mentally unstable. I get that. But PTSD and Stockholm don't cause people to kill. She did that on her own. Kerry wasn't morally corrupt. She didn't follow Jigsaw's criteria. Amanda killed Kerry for vengeance. I say if we want to win we have to say she has a mental defect but was still stable enough to kill and is still stable enough to kill again."
Art closed the book. "Daniel. This case isn't that easy. Some people already believe Amanda isn't responsible. Some people even use her as the poster child of Jigsaw's control. People think she's a hero."
"So she has supporters. I know that at least 12 people don't support her. No more matter what we present those people will still say she's guilty."
"Okay. I'll look into it but you need a break. Isn't your wife coming home today? Spend the day with her. I'll let Detective Hoffman know about the case. Come on go."
Rigg knew there was no changing Art's mind. He put the book back in place and left the office.
The homeless man sitting near the stairs looked up to the higher floor. The couple arguing in the apartment was keeping him awake. He groaned and covered his ears. Other neighbors tried to calm them. No one had any luck. The security guards even threaten to call the cops. However the man inside yelled he was a cop and was trying to control the situation. So the argument continued and the vagrant couldn't sleep.
"You better be glad I haven't thrown you off the balcony!" Amanda screamed. She pinched her index finger and thumb close together "I'm this close to doing that right now!"
"Do it." Eric taunted. "At least you'll end up in jail and I won't have to live with you anymore."
"Alright then let's go." Amanda pulled on Eric's arm and tried to drag him to the balcony. He instead fell lying on the couch and Amanda dragged his head into the couch and Amanda dragged his head into the arm of the couch. Eric fell off the couch then lunged after Amanda. They wrestled around on the floor trying to roll the other to the balcony. Eric tried to kick Amanda with his metal boot but hit the end table knocking it over. The lamp and pictures crashed on the floor shattering on the carpet.
"Now look what you've done!" Eric yelled.
"Me?!" Amanda yelled back. "You kicked the table!"
"I was trying to kick you! If you didn't move this wouldn't have happened." He grabbed a broken piece of the lamp. The thin purple plastic broke again when he grabbed it.
"Now I need to get a new one. I don't think they make this kind anymore."
Amanda teased him, "Don't worry about it. They probably have them at the junkyard right next to where you got that couch."
Eric threw a piece of glass at her. "I'm sorry my apartment doesn't hold a candle to your empty lot but at least I have furniture and a job."
"It's not my fault I don't have a job. People don't hire as many drug addicts as they used to." Amanda picked up a picture on the floor. She saw it was a picture of Eric, Daniel and Eric's old partner Kerry. He handed Eric. "Have you talked to Daniel?"
Eric was silent for a moment. He threw the picture on the floor. "No. He disappeared after I was found. He's either trying to get to me or trying to hide."
"Daniel wouldn't hide. The kid's a hero. If it wasn't for him I'd be dead, although I don't think you would mind. He killed that guy Xavier if you didn't notice." Amanda said.
"I noticed. He slit that man's throat with the hacksaw."
"Yeah. Which reminds me, I've been meaning to ask why didn't you cut your foot off? I mean it's simpler then breaking it."
"I needed my foot."
"To do what? At that time wasn't death upon you? Didn't you think that you'd never get out? I didn't scare you a little?"
Eric laughed out loud. "Amanda, you are 5'3'' and 107 pounds. You're not the most intimidating person I ever met. I mean you're only a little bigger than Daniel."
"That doesn't mean anything!"
"Alright. You want to be a big girl? Get me a lamp and some picture frames." Eric got up and handed Amanda some money. She refused to get up. "Please. You wouldn't make a crippled man do it, would you?"
Amanda laughed. "Okay. Fine. I'll get it. I hope you like pink. Don't hold your breath while waiting. Actually on second thought please do."
Amanda walked around the city for hours. She had to go buy the lamp and frames for Eric since she felt a slight guilt towards him. However she wasn't quite ready to talk to him. Amanda stayed in the city roaming. She was very familiar with the bad side of the city. She had been in every corner and alley to meet with a john or dealer. However she made a habit of only going out at night with her days spent in her ramshackle apartment. Amanda dropped by the building to find it was condemned. It wasn't surprising though druggies, prostitutes and stray animals all made a home there. The health codes were completely disregarded. The super was never seen; it was rumored that he moved out or was attacked and never left his apartment. In addition, the rent wasn't a problem. The super didn't ask and the landlord never visited. There weren't any good memories about the place but Amanda still felt a sting of nostalgia as she walked by.
Bored Amanda walked ventured into the suburban part of town. She rarely saw suburbs since she was a kid. It was cleaner and less violent. She walked through the streets feeling incredibly out of place. She kept her face hidden the best she could so no one could identify her. Halfway down the street she noticed a car parked in a driveway. It was a small black car that had a police tag on it. She looked at it and realized it was Hoffman's car.
Amanda decided to drop by for a visit. She hadn't seen or talked to Hoffman since he bailed her out and they had a lot to catch up on. John's legacy had to continue but Amanda and Hoffman always had trouble getting along. Hoffman had already established a relationship with John when Amanda joined them. John had trained him to monitor and make tests for their subjects. His work as a cop was important to him so he was rarely around after he learned everything. John ended up doing most of the work and research until Amanda came along. It took Amanda a longer time to understand the scope of John's work. She wasn't as grounded as Hoffman was. Hoffman had animosity. Amanda had too many emotions. She became attached to John and taking care of him as opposed to doing work. Hoffman on the other hand acted when he to and didn't spend too much time learning about John. They in turn hated each other for not doing the other part. Without John, Hoffman and Amanda couldn't make it working alone but when they got past their differences they made a good team. Kerry's trap wouldn't have happened unless Hoffman helped Amanda place Kerry in the trap, made the tape and dropped the key from above. Troy's trap was also a result of Hoffman and Amanda's teamwork. They both needed to help each other drag Troy in and put all the chains. Hoffman again worked the tape because his voice was closer to Jigsaw's then but another tape in when he went back in to investigate and Amanda wired the bomb and welded the door shut.
Hoffman was trying to bake a cake with Corbett when the doorbell rang. He had Corbett wait on the couch because he still didn't trust the little girl near the kitchen by herself. At the last minute Corbett reminded Hoffman he was covered in flour. He dusted off his face and opened the door. "Amanda? What are you doing here?"
"I needed to talk to you. When did your hair get white?" Amanda said.
Hoffman shook his hair. "It's flour. I was trying to bake something."
"Using your head? Never mind that. I came here because I was curious about the mystery body they found in the sewer. You know anything about yet?"
Hoffman stepped out of the house so Corbett wouldn't hear him. "I know that you did it if that's what you're asking."
"Impressed? I found Cecil buried near John's old workshop. I figured if you found it you'd remember there's other work you need to do."
"I'm not doing it anymore. John's work is over. He died, Amanda. I have other responsibilities now. "
"You mean that girl you kidnapped? The only reason she's orphaned is because you helped kill her parents. What did you tell her when she asked about them?"
Hoffman closed the door and pulled Amanda away from the house. "She doesn't even know they died. I'm taking care of her to make up for that. I'm not going to tell her until she's ready to hear it. It'll traumatize her. Unlike you I know what it's like to lose someone you really cared about. I know how terrible that feels."
Amanda was furious to hear him say that. Hoffman never really understood what John meant to her. John was her savior. He was the closest to father she ever had. To say that she didn't lose some she cared about was insulting. Taking the risk of getting arrested again Amanda slapped Hoffman. "I did lose somebody! I lost John and I could have stopped it! I was supposed to take that bullet not him. I gave everything to him and did everything for him! I chose not to take a second chance at life to be with him. John was my only family. It killed me to lose him. You say you have feelings and I don't well this is the first time I've seen them. I made a promise to John to carry work on after he died. Now I'm going to keep that promise. These games aren't over and you're either with or against me. I should warn you though, that if you're against me you shouldn't get too attached to that little girl. Betrayal doesn't go over to well with me."
Hoffman couldn't think of anything to say. He looked back at the house and saw Corbett watching him in the window like she always did whenever he left the house. Corbett was too important to him to leave behind for John's work. It really was over though. The police were watching Amanda so Hoffman was sure she wouldn't risk her freedom for that. "Amanda give up. It's over." Hoffman said and he walked away back to Corbett, his new reason to live.
