My Darkest Knight - Chapter 4

    I came back to his office, with the cups of coffee for the both of us. I walked in Walter was just sitting at his desk. I set his coffee down for him, “Where is Beth?” I asked.
    “Who?” Walter looked up from his paper work.
    “What do you mean who? I just brought her in. She was being abused by her father.” I took a look out side his office, nothing but cops at their desks doing paper work. I turned back to Walter. He stood up and walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder.
    “Are you feeling ok, Jason?” He looked into my eyes.
    “I woke up with a hang over this morning. When I got my morning paper, I saw Beth who lives next door come out. She confessed to me, about everything. Her father abusing her, how he and his friends uses her. That she suspects that he killed her mother. So I brought her here to turn him in.” I sat down, the coffee cup still in my hand.
    “Well, you did come here, but that was 30 minutes ago. When you came in you looked like someone in a trance, or like you just woke up.” He gave me a smirk. I didn’t think it was funny.
    “You came in alone, You offered me coffee and left to get some. That was over 30 minutes ago.”
I looked at the clock and he was right. He picked up his coffee and took a sip, and almost spit it out.
    “Man this is cold, why did you take so long.” He set the cup down.
    “Look I remember coming in with Beth and stepping out to get the coffee, I left her alone with you,” I paused trying to collect my thoughts. “And, that’s all I can remember.”
Walter sat on the edge of his desk, looking intently on me.
    “And then I just find my self walking back in here, with the coffee but no Beth.” I really started to wonder, Was I sleep walking? No couldn’t have been cause then how did I drive here. Did I imagine coming here with Beth, only to come here alone?
    “Tell me Walter, did I ask for anything when I came in? Did I say anything?” I looked up at him.
    “Now that you mention it,” he started to rub his chin. “You where mumbling something as you came in you said, “Something that needs your attention Walter,” Nothing else really, once I asked if you wanted coffee you stopped, and then you said something like “take it easy” and left my office.”
    “Man this is strange, maybe I’m getting sick or something. I did wake up with a hang over, but come to think of it I don’t remember drinking last night.”
Walter chimed in, “do you ever remember going out drinking when you do?” He laughed a bit after that.
    I gave him a dirty look, “This is not a joke.” I remarked.
    “But I have a client that I need to meet with soon.” I set the cold cup of coffee I was holding down on his desk, and started to rub my eyes.
    “Maybe you should cancel the appointment and reschedule it. You have been working your self to hard lately.” He gave a short laugh. “Wish I had your job, only things you have to worry about it cheating husbands and wives. We’ve got a murder to worry about here.”
I looked up at him, my hands still on my face.
    “A murder?” I remembered the newspaper heading from this morning. “I saw that in the paper, a body was found in the park. Do you need any help with this one?”
He shook his head, no. I stood up quick, “come on Walter you owe me. How much help did I give you before on the last case? Without me you wouldn’t have known how to catch the guy. He was always one step ahead of you guys.” Walter put up his hands defensively, “look Jason, I paid you for that information. I kept you out of the papers and reports to protect you.”
    “Protect me? From what Walter, the guy got the chair. It’s not like he was going to some how come back and get revenge on me.”
    “Look you know I can’t, I paid you out of my own pocket on that last one. It’s just the department doesn’t have a budget for a retainer, you know that. Plus if you’re loosing your memory or sick, I can’t have you out there working on a case. I wouldn’t have my own men do that either.”
    I sat back down. I have been trying to get my name out there as a good Private Investigator that people would want to hire for more than to check if their spouse is cheating on them. I worked this last case with Walter just two months ago, there was a serial killer. The police were having the hardest time finding any evidence leading to anyone. The victims seemed to be chosen at random and nothing in common linking the killings. Not until I found a small clue while looking over the crime scenes.
    I would go there after the police have picked it clean. I found that it wasn’t the victims he was choosing it was the location. Nothing like a park each time or near the river, to the police the locations seemed random as well. But every time I went to the crime scenes. They all felt the same, like some sort of energy was flowing through the place.
    I started to research the different locations and found that they each had something in common they where places of power. I know strange right, but no. Some people believe that there are places of spiritual power. There where seven known spots like this in the city, and so far there had been five murders. He was doing some sort of ritual, some sort of black magic. I showed this evidence to Walter and he and I staked out both of the locations.
    He was the lucky one, he was at the location that the killer was using that night. But he wasn’t as lucky, he had shown up too late to save the victim. But he did manage to get the killer apprehended. He walked away with a good gash in his gut for the trouble thought. The killer was using some sort of ritual dagger. I didn’t get to see it the police have it locked up as evidence.
    “Alright Walter, but if you do end up needed my help. I want my recognition for helping the police, got it?” I stood up again and started toward the door.
    “Alright, Alright I got it. Don’t worry about it. Look you just go home and get some rest. Let us handle the real criminals.”
I opened the door gave one last look around, I was still looking for Beth. I gave out a sigh and walked to the elevator.