CHAPTER EIGHT || VIII || OFFICER BROOKES

Officer Loretta P. Brookes

VIII.

***

The following is based on South Beach Police Department (SBPD) radio communication (times are approximate):

· 12:16 a.m: SBPD call transmitted multiple shots fired at Blue Ocean nightclub.

· 12:22 a.m: Additional SBPD officers arrived on the scene.

· 12:25 a.m: Officers from various law enforcement agencies made an entrance to Blue Ocean and engaged the shooter.

· 12:32 a.m: SBPD S.W.A.T (Special Weapons & Tactics) initiated a full call-out.

· 12:07 a.m: Shooter contacted a 911 operator from inside Blue Ocean. The call lasted approximately 57 seconds, the details of which are set out below:

South Beach Dispatcher (SBD)

Blue Ocean Shooter (BOS)

SBD: Emergency 911, this is being recorded.

BOS: In the name of the invisible One, the highest source [in Mandaic]

SBD: What?

BOS: Praise to be Him, and prayers as well as peace be upon the prophet of Him [in Mandaic]. I'll let you know, I'm in Blue Ocean. I did the shootings.

SBD: What's your name?

BOS: I pledge my being to [omitted].

SBD: Okay, what's your name?

BOS: I pledge my being to [omitted] may Father protect him [in Mandaic], on behalf of [omitted].

SBD: Where are you right now?

BOS: In Blue Ocean. It's time.

[END OF CALL]

***

Chief Rhodes held his steely gaze while I read the transcript over and over again. I'd find him more intimidating if his uniform weren't always so wrinkled and baggy. "So what now, sir?" I asked and took a sip of my coffee. I'd been in South Beach for about a decade now. None of the officers here treated me like their equal but I was eager to contribute. "I don't understand." I muttered and placed the transcript down on the office desk, "So this guy just decided to call 911, before lighting up the club?"

Chief Rhodes clasped his hands together then cleared his throat, his voice boomed, "You mean to tell me that you don't believe that this is our guy?"

I quickly shook my head, "Definitely not!" I exclaimed. "Our guy has intelligence! Our guy has been evading the police for years now! Our guy knew how to slice open a stomach better than the best surgeons in our city!" I faced Chief Rhodes. "Why would he spend all this time running and then put himself right in our lap?" The agent nodded but stayed silent.

"Well," he said, grimacing, "It sounds like you've got a problem. The language points to Richard Winar, the owner of Blue Ocean and the alleged shooter. We think he's connected to an organization owned by his family." He slid a business card over to me.

I read the words at the bottom and then looked at the logo. A serpent with a lion's head. Weird. "The Bone Empire?" I asked, flipping the card over.

"Yes," He nodded, "The rich seem to have a little club going. They're suspected to be behind all the violence we've seen in the city. We need to nip this in the bud, and fast. So I'll have you ride with Agent Kumar."

I bit my lip and nodded, taking it in. This sounded like a bunch of conspiracy nonsense. "Are we sure about this, Chief?" I looked back down at the business card.

"Loretta, if you think you know so much, crack the damn case." Chief Rhodes straightened his posture. Now I was a little intimidated. "If not, keep your trap shut and maybe follow orders for once. You might get better at your job." He grumbled and slammed the file down onto the desk. 'CONFIDENTIAL' was stamped on the front. I opened the file. It read: 'SOUTH BEACH MURDERS'. I flipped through the pages and learned, in-depth, about each murder since 1995.

Agent Kumar sat down across from me, his voice was eerily calm, "My name is Reynold Kumar." He reached his hand out.

I shook it firmly, "Loretta Brookes, but, I'm sure you already know that." I looked back down at the file, "What do you think about this?"

Agent Kumar stayed silent for a moment then spoke, "I feel like it may be someone who's very familiar with this island." He continued coolly, "Each murder happens at newly established businesses or areas. Almost like the killer is upset with the changes in this city." I nodded. Interesting, I never thought about it that way. "What about you?" He asked.

"Me?" I sat back in my seat, "I think it may be a doctor. Or a surgeon of some kind. Especially after Patty Greenes's case." I added. "And they target hotspot areas like the club or the main block of Venice City."

"Patty Greenes, you said?" Agent Kumar snickered, "Patty's case went cold years ago, you really think that her killer is the same guy?"

"Absolutely." I spat, "Djamila was murdered exactly the same way Patty was." I bowed my head in shame. "I wasn't sure until then. I'm sure now."

"Interesting," Agent Kumar asserted, "If you're so sure, why do you think this person isn't somehow connected to the Blue Ocean shooting?" I parted my lips to speak as a beep rang out from my walkie-talkie. "10-33! 10-33! Dispatch! EMS enroute, 10-33!" I glared at Agent Kumar then grabbed the file and my walkie-talkie, making my way to the door.

Agent Kumar shouted out, "That wouldn't be smart of you Officer!" I put my hand on the door but looked back at him, "You're useless if you're dead." He finished. My hand slid off of the door and I walked back to him.

"There's shit going down and you want me to stay behind?" He nodded. "You're nuts," I concluded.

"Yeah, but you'll be alive." Agent Kumar badgered me and took the file from my grip. "Plenty of officers are reporting to that mess as we speak. We need to start connecting these dots or it'll never stop." He was right. Chief finally put me on the case and here I was, already running away from it.

"Alright, alright." I sat back down in the office chair and sighed. "What exactly is your game plan?"

"Well contrary to your beliefs, I think this guy," Agent Kumar pointed to the transcripts, "may be affiliated with the murders." I scoffed but he continued calmly, "His name is Richard Winar, married to a Betany Grohol, who is now said to be deceased. He's a ghost in our records for most of his life but once he met Betany, things take a turn." He pulled out a medical file from Ridgemaple Institution, "Three years after Richard and Betany began seeing each other, Betany disappeared. Richard was brought into the station for questioning in 1963 to which he told officers, that "the Spirit lives in 'Lady G' and Betany wouldn't stop asking questions." He paused to look at me then proceeded, "He told officers that he and 'Lady G' didn't like each other because of 'family reasons', those reasons never being disclosed. He wanted officers to 'let him kill her before any more blood was shed'." He pulled another file from his own folder and slapped it onto the table. It was a ton of newspaper clippings of murder sprees in Ridgemaple and Paloke. One in each year from 1934 to 1986. "These murders never stopped. They just move to different areas."

"Who the hell is 'Lady G'?" I stared at the newspaper clippings in awe.

"We still haven't figured that out yet but that's our next lead. So far, though, Richard may be the one to take the fall." He concluded.

"Richard? Was he even alive when these murders first started?" I prodded.

"He probably wasn't. That doesn't stop the media from finding a 'bad guy' to pin it on, though…" His voice trailed off as Chief Rhodes entered the office again.

"Loretta, would you mind giving Agent Kumar and me a moment?" He rasped.

"Um, sure, yeah." I stood up and made my way into the waiting area of the station, taking a seat on the black pleather sofa.

"Get the fuck off of me, you prick!" Ziggy bellowed as he was dragged into the station. Two others accompanied him but were silent.

I stood and then rushed over, concern and relief coursing through me. Blue Ocean was the last place I'd seen Ziggy and I hoped he didn't get hurt. He was getting arrested though. "What the hell did you do now, Ziggy?" I huffed as he swatted at the officer's hands.

"Stand down, officer." Chief Rhodes asserted as he walked out of his office. Agent Kumar silently trailed behind him, his hands clasped in front of himself. "I wanna speak to these kids." He began to walk towards the interrogation room and we all followed. "Officer Brookes, I'll speak to Ezekiel. Take these two to the waiting rooms."

I nodded and turned towards the pair, shrugging. "Sorry, guys. To the waiting room." I motioned them forward and they both groaned. I looked down at the male's hands, files were in them. "What's that you got there?" I asked.

"You would wanna know, pig." The male responded coldly.

The female's eyes protruded out of her skull, "McCray shush!" She begged and slapped his arm.

"Aurelia, if you're gonna release my name, I'll release yours too." He cursed under his breath and looked down at the papers he was holding, "Why do you wanna know?"

I drew in a breath, "I'm on your side, I just wanna know what you know so we can help each other." I motioned for them to follow me as I walked to the waiting rooms, "I wanna know what's going on just as much as you do okay McCray?" I opened the first room, "You, miss, uh, Aurelia?" She nodded, "Ah, yes, you can wait in here." I said and pointed into the room.

"How long am I gonna be in there?" She whimpered and her shoulders fell, "Officer, we didn't do anything!"

"Aurelia, just go man." McCray moaned. She rolled her eyes and went into the room. I shut the door behind her.

"I didn't do anything!" She squealed as we walked a bit further down.

"What exactly is going on then, pig?" McCray demanded, "Cause' you've got the right resources and credentials so surely you know more, yeah?"

"Things aren't exactly as black and white in this case as you think, McCray. The police are people too. We want answers just like you do. And we're gonna find them, I assure you."

He snorted. "You sound like every other cop, I hope you realize that." He grumbled as I opened the door to another waiting room.

"Get in," I said. He stepped in and I slammed it behind him. I turned on my heel and made my way back toward the interrogation room. I could hear Ziggy yelling. "This is bullshit! You can't do that! I did nothing wrong!" I heard him grunt and the sound of a punch. I froze. What the hell? I knocked on the interrogation room door and it fell silent. "Chief?" I knocked again. Chief Rhodes yanked open the door and stepped out of the room, shutting the door behind him before I could get a peek inside.

"What Loretta?" He grumbled.

"With all due respect, Chief, beating on people isn't gonna close the case." I chastised him. This isn't what I stood for and that had to be clear.

His posture straightened and he fixed himself before he spoke, "Let me do my job. Your little friend has a whole club doing some sniffing around this investigation."

"What's new?" I groaned and folded my arms. "They're drug addicts who like conspiracy theories."

"What's new is they're asking questions!" He thundered. "These kids know too much about this case, are you opening your mouth?"

I scoffed, "Are you kidding me? Do you think I'm a fool?" I threw my hands in the air.

"You don't give me any reason to think differently, Loretta." He pushed past me. "Figure out what they know and do it fast. The last thing we need is some druggies telling their druggie friends that they know who the killer is. It'll be an uproar." I exhaled through my mouth and walked into the interrogation room.

"Ziggy…?" I peered into the room.

"Hey, Lo…" He mumbled incoherently. His lip was swollen and his nose was bleeding, and his left eye was swollen shut.

"Are you okay?" I hinted and sat down. "What happened?"

He sighed, "He asked me questions, showed me pictures of people I didn't recognize, and wanted me to spill." He winced and rubbed his eye, "But I just… I just wanna smoke, Lo. I just wanna get high, man."

"And you're sure you don't know a damn thing?" I prompted and he nodded slowly. I motioned for him to leave and he stumbled out of the room.

"What do you think?" I asked Agent Kumar and Chief Rhodes, who still appeared to be in a foul mood.

"He knows something, he's just not talking." Chief huffed.

"We've got to start all the way back in the 60s." Agent Kumar eased and crossed his arms. "We need to figure out who this 'Lady G' was and who she was to Richard Winar." He concluded and then took my place in the interrogation room.

I sighed and placed my hand on my hip, "You know, I feel like whatever Richard Winar knows might have something to do with The Bone Empire. What do you think Chief?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." He looked up from his watch and stared me down, "Which means," he uncrossed his arms and proceeded, "You need to start paying attention to the nightlife more often. Keep your eyes peeled, pay attention to the crowded streets, and question everything. Anything that seems off, check it out." He turned and headed towards his office, his voice trailing off. "We need to find out the truth behind the masked killer and soon. The lives of people are on the line. Do your job, Officer Brookes." I nodded, my hands trembling at my sides. I had to figure out who 'Lady G' was and how The Bone Empire fit into all of this. I had to find the answers, even if it meant putting my life on the line.