Chapter 26


    Nearly two hourster Linus found himself face to face with Leroy Cummins'' house once again. He sat


    inside his cruiser moping over the gut-wrenching fact that there were dead human beings gathered


    inside just a day earlier.


    Upon finishing all of the paperwork that he had set aside the day before, Linus needed to escape the


    disorderly confines of the station. As luck would have it, he chose a murderer''s homestead to find


    sce.


    In his head, it was all like putting together a thousand piece puzzle in the dark; no matter how hard he


    tried to gather everything mentally, nothing seemed to connect, the emotions and memories kept


    slipping through his fingers like water.


    Linus pulled the keys out of the ignition, got out of the car and sheepishly stepped forward to the front


    door. The sharp wind seared straight through his heavy coat, leaving his chest nearly frostbitten. In


    vivid color he recalled the sights and sounds of men carrying body bags out of the home one by one.


    There the man stood at the front door of one of Cuyahoga Falls'' wealthiest former residents. He


    remained face to face with the door as if it were supposed to open at the very sight of him before he


    suddenly remembered that just about every door to the home was locked, which meant that only an


    exterior tour would have to ease his inquisitive cravings for the time being.


    He stepped down from off the doorstep and made his way around to the back of the house where the


    wind just happened to be even more spiteful than it was up front.


    Upon reaching the spacious backyard the pping of stic could be heard loud and clear. The hole in


    the wall was covered with tworgeyers of stic that were nearlying apart at the seams,


    thanks to the severe wind that was pushing against it.


    "Hey there, buddy!" A young, white highway patrolman hollered from the other side of a chain-link


    fence.


    Linus spun around to see the man hop over the fence with his right hand clutching his sidearm that was


    still lodged in its holster.


    "You can''t be here, mister!"


    Linus ever so carefully pulled out his badge from his pants pocket and held it up for the patrolman to


    see in in sight.


    "Detective Linus Bruin," he called out in a stutter. "Cypress Police!"


    The officer stared closer at the detective before removing his trigger happy hand away from the butt of


    this gun.


    "I''m sorry, sir." The officer humbly blushed, scratching his thin, blonde mustache. "I thought you were


    another reporter or another kid trying to get in there again."


    Slipping his shield back into his pocket, Linus said, "Don''t mention it. I didn''t mean to intrude."


    "You''re not intruding." The officer waved. "It''s just thatst night, after all the others left from here, we


    got some reports of some kids running around, trying to get in. The little bastards even tried to tear


    down the stic you guys put up."


    "Is that right?"


    "Yeah," the officer panted heavily. "Hey." He gazed on at Linus. "You''re that guy that—


    "I''m gonna stop you right there, Officer—


    "Oh, Officer Stamp, sir," the young man smiled.


    "Officer Stamp. I''m gonna tell you the same thing I''ve told just about everyone else that wants to give


    me kudos. I got here toote."


    "Yeah, maybe, but at least the guy is gone."


    Linus turned around to face the mildewed stic. "Just how many times have you guys been out here


    sincest night?"


    "Um, I think about maybe seven times or so."


    "Seven times," Linus gasped. "Yeah, this ce is real famous, or infamous. We kept getting calls from


    folks that live near here saying that they keep seeing kids peeking in there."


    Linus turned, cracked a cynical smirk and asked, "Folks that live near here?"


    Text ? 2024 N?velDrama.Org.


    "That''s right."


    "I suppose those same folks that saw those kids just happened to miss all those bodies that Cummins


    brought up in here these past few months, huh?"


    Officer Stamp ufortably lowered his head and mumbled, "I guess so, Detective."


    "I''m not beating up on you, son, it just...amazes me."


    Officer Stamp nced at the house before saying, "I still can''t believe that it was Leroy Cummins of all


    people. My dad bought hisst two cars from that guy. He seemed like a real nice fellow."


    "That''s what people are saying...but." Linus shrugged.


    "Um, did you want to go in there? I mean, we can tear a hole in the stic if there''s something you


    need."


    Linus paused, trying to remember why he even bothered to drivepletely out of his way in the first


    ce.


    "Uh...that''s okay." He took a nervous nce of the house. "I just saw everything that I needed to see."


    "Yep, I guessing back to the scene of a crime always haunts a person." Stamp remarked while


    taking a peek over Linus'' shoulder. "I''m still having a hard time figuring out just what in the world could


    have that big of a foot."


    Linus turned around to see the paw prints, along with traces of blood still lined in the snow on the


    ground. Every other second the spark of arge animal''s face would appear before his eyes. He had


    been trying in vain since the day before to imagine what it could possibly look like.


    Teetering back and forth with his hands in his coat pockets, Stamp said, "God help us all if that thing


    attacks again."


    "If you saw what it did to Cummins, then I guarantee that not even God himself can help anyone." Linus


    stated.


    "I still can''t believe what it did to the Sanders down the road there."


    "Were you familiar with the family?"


    "Sure was." Stamp replied with a pessimistic grin on his face. "The mother and girls were really nice,


    but the dad, Gary, that guy was a character."


    "How do you mean?"


    "Well, he would always beat on his wife, Sarah. Every so often, she would call the police on the


    asshole, but Gary had a few connections down at the station, if you catch my drift."


    Linus twisted his lips and said, "I''m afraid I do, officer."


    "Well, all I know is that those girls didn''t deserve any of what they got the other night. You think you''re


    safe, and then...then something like this happens."


    Linus exhaled before looking back at the house and then turning back to Stamp. "Tell me something,


    besides snooping kids, have you or yourrades noticed anything out of the ordinary here sincest


    night?"


    Stamp stood in ce at that very moment. He took his hands out of his pockets and folded his arms.


    He then peered deeply into Linus'' eyes as though the question had offended him.


    "I don''t know." Stamp seemed nervous to utter. "I''m not supposed to say anything about it. I''m sorta


    sworn to secrecy on the whole subject. But since you''re the one that cracked the case, I guess it''s


    okay."


    Linus braced himself, and that''s all he did. He didn''t budge or even blink. All he could do was stand and


    wait for the man to speak; and the sooner Stamp exined the situation, the sooner Linus himself


    could breathe again.


    "Last night, two of our guys were patrolling out here, just like they do every night, nothing out of the


    ordinary. Well, when they got down to the Sanders'' house, they see the downstairs lightsing off


    and on. So, they go into the house, and in the living room they said they saw a naked, colored guy


    sitting in a corner, talking to himself. When they asked the guy what he was doing there, the guy gets


    up, runs down to the basement, and...just vanishes. They couldn''t find him anywhere. Mind you, we


    don''t see too many cks around these parts, but this guy waspletely butt naked." Stamp


    eximed.


    All Linus could do at that point was continue to stand. To say that he was frozen in ce would have


    been cliché. He was drowning within himself, trying desperately toe up for air.


    Clearing his throat, Linus asked, "You say they never found him?"


    "That''s right."


    "Maybe he escaped through the opening where the animal came in."


    "That''s what they figured, too, but they remembered that the officers before them had boarded that


    opening shut before leaving yesterday afternoon. The guy just vanished into thin air, detective."


    Linus stood back and watched Stamp''s mustache bristle in the blowing wind before asking, "Would it


    be okay if I went there, just to check things out?"


    Grinning, Stamp answered, "You can go anywhere you need to, detective."


    "I''m d you said that." Linus grinned back while heading for his squad car.


    "Would you mind a littlepany?" Stamp followed. "It''s not that I don''t trust you or anything, it''s just


    that I don''t want you to be spooked all by yourself."


    Smiling from ear to ear, Linus said out loud, "Company? Hell, I''d rather you bring the entire Clevnd


    Browns'' squad with us!"


    Both men got into their respective vehicles and took off down the road. For Linus, what seemed to keep


    his foot so light on the gas pedal was the harrowing fact that he actually believed Stamp''s tale; every


    last bit of it.


    ***


    Just a few minutester, bothwmen arrived at the Sanders'' residence. Unlike Cummins'' home, the


    Sanders'' house appeared even more sinister in Linus'' eyes. He threw it all up to the fact that young


    lives were taken inside the ce.


    Both men dragged their snow burdened feet towards the home as if they were too afraid to walk any


    faster. Every so often Linus would turn around to see if anyone else was near or around the property.


    Right before reaching the front door, Linus could see the backyard where a pink swing set was located.


    All of the sudden the man couldn''t seem to move anymore.


    "Let''s get inside before the mother-in-w sees us." Stamp urged, pushing against the front door to get


    it open. "She lives right across the street."


    Linus had to snatch his brooding eyes away from the empty swings just to look at the young man in


    front of him barge his way inside.


    The moment the door opened, the stench of fresh blood stung his nose. Linus shut the door behind him


    and covered his mouth.


    "There''s nothing worse than that ''day after a death smell,''" Linus said in a muffled voice.


    "Really," Stamp asked. "Someone said that the animal took a dump somewhere in here before it took


    off."


    "I wouldn''t be surprised." Linus replied while listening to the furnace suddenly kick on. "Do you know if


    the officers came across any of the animal''s fur in here?"


    "Uh, I can''t say for sure." Stamp answered, trekking towards the stairwell. "Neither of them stuck


    around for long after what went down. Do you need to go upstairs?"


    Linus gawked strangely at the man as though his question were the most oundish thing he had


    heard in his life. "Uh, no thanks," he gulped. "That''s thest ce on earth I want to go. I''d rather see


    the basement."


    Stamp led Linus through the living room where the brown carpet was stained with blood, and into the


    kitchen where arge crack in the linoleum could be seen. Linus knelt down and inspected.


    "I wonder if Lou saw this." He murmured to himself.


    "Jesus H Christ." Stamp eximed, gazing on in amazement at the deep indenture. "Was the thing that


    damn big?"


    "For it to leave such a print, I''m guessing so, officer." Linus said without taking his eyes off of the dent


    in the floor.


    He then looked up at the brightened kitchen and the refrigerator that was littered with ''Holly Hobby''


    mas and school papers with the letter A written in red on the top left hand corner of each.


    "There''s the basement." Stamp announced, pointing directly at the door. "I bet you could find some


    more fur down there, considering that''s where it came through."


    Linus stood back up and neared towards the door while trying not to appear skittish in front of the


    young officer. He then cut on the light and immediately caught sight of more blood trails that were lined


    up and down the steps.


    "I honestly wouldn''t me you if you didn''t want to go down." Stamp stammered.


    Linus nced back for a moment to not only see the officer, but also an old, grey-haired white woman


    standing behind the man with a broom in hand and a hateful look on her face.


    "What in the hell are you two doing here?" She angrily screamed while waving her broom at the men in


    a defensive fashion.


    Out of shock, Linus slid down two of the steps while Stamp spun around and hollered, "Ma''am, we''re


    police officers! We''re just doing some investigating!"


    Holding on for dear life to the slick wall, Linus looked back down into the pitch ckness of the


    basement, hoping not to descend any further into its gaping mouth.


    "Ma''am, we are terribly sorry about this!" Linus panted, struggling to regain his footing. "I''m here on


    official business. This officer was escorting me."


    "I don''t care what kind of business you''re doing; I don''t want anyone else around my daughter''s house!"


    The woman irately yelled.


    "Ma''am, put the broom down or else I''ll have to take you in!" Stamp warned with shaking hands.


    "I don''t care anymore! You can go on and take me anywhere you want to! I don''t have anything more to


    live for!"


    Approaching the woman with extreme caution, Linus exined, "Ma''am, my name is Detective Linus


    Bruin. I''m from the Cypress Police Department. I''ve seen all I need to see. We''ll be on our way now."


    "Good, and don''te back here, ever again!" The old woman ranted while following both men out.


    "Don''t you people have any respect for the dead? First, some niggeres hiding out around here,


    and now this!"


    "We apologize, ma''am." Linus sheepishly remarked while both he and Stamp made their way outside to


    their vehicles.


    From a distance, Linus and Stamp watched as the woman mmed the front door shut, stood and


    waited for them to leave.


    "I could''ve arrested her for that." Stamp scornfully stated. "We''re police officers; we have every right to


    be here."


    "It''s all the better that you didn''t. She has every right to protect that house." Linus modestly responded.


    "To tell you the truth, I had no businessing out here anyways. This was supposed to be my day


    off."


    Stamp stood and stared on and on at the house before asking in a far off whisper, "Who''d want to live


    here anymore after what happened? Kind of reminds you of that incident that happened three years


    ago in New York with that family and the kid that went crazy with the shotgun."


    "You mean with the DeFeo''s?"


    "Yeah, that''s it."


    Linus looked over at Stamp with a glint of fatherly admiration in his eye. "Officer Stamp, how long have


    you been awman?"


    Stamp looked back at Linus and proudly replied, "About three years now, sir."


    Linus put his hand on Stamp''s shoulder and said, "My friend, as aw officer, you''re going to have


    remarkable days. Days that are going to be remarkably boring, remarkably great and remarkably


    ungodly. What happened inside that house two nights ago was remarkably ungodly. But as long as we


    get to go home at the end of the day and see our families, then everything just falls into ce."


    Linus and Stamp stood in front of their respective cruisers and stared on at the dreadful, empty home


    ahead of them, without another word being spoken.