“Whats gone on here?” she asked curiously, looking at the flood of officers.
“She was murdered last night by two men” she replied unlocking her police car for the shift. She climbed into her car and threw her bag into the backseat and started the engine. She drove out of the avenue and to the police station.
It was all over the local newspapers and radios that day. ‘Serial killers on the loose’. When she arrived at the station, her boss, Ian fielding, shunned her into a room.
“Did you see anything last night?” he asked her with a worried look on his face.
“No well, I did see a car outside but I couldn’t see who was driving it.” She replied sitting down on a nearby chair.
“That’s all I needed to know. Someone will be in contact with you shortly about making a statement” he said softly as he closed the door behind him. She stood up and continued work for the day.
That evening, Joanne decided to visit her friend, Michelle, at her house. She was a friend that she had met whilst in high school. She lived in a bungalow just twenty minutes from the avenue. As she drove, she could’ve sworn that a car was following her from behind – a light blue car. She turned a corner and the other car followed suit. She panicked. She pressed her accelerator to pick up speed. She heard her heart beat faster as the other car gave chase. THUD! Her car had crashed into a lamppost. The driver got out and came to Joanne’s car.
“Are you alright?” he asked. It was a man. Joanne had hurt her neck so couldn’t be bothered to answer back. The man opened the car door and pulled her out. As she lay on the path, dazed and confused, the man pulled out a gun and pressed it to her head.
“You will tell your boss that you made a mistake about the car you saw last night. Alright?!” he shouted, “I’ve already prepared a little surprise at home for you.” He called her a taxi and drove off.
As the taxi dropped her off at home, Joanne staggered down the path. The door was off its hinges. Her mother’s car was still parked in the driveway. She carefully entered the house. No sign of a break-in. She slowly moved into the kitchen. Nothing there. After, she went into the bedroom and saw that the bed was upturned. The pillows were lying on the floor along with everything else. She was dreading what she would see next. She carefully picked up a lamp in case she would encounter an intruder. But as she walked into the ensuite bathroom, she saw something far worse. She dropped the lamp and ran out of the room. Her mother was draped across the floor lying in a pool of her own blood. Her finger had been cut off and she’d been viciously beaten. The killers had struck again but where it would hurt Joanne the most – her own flesh and blood.
Joanne ran out of the house and sat on the curb. She was struggling to take it all in. Her own mother was dead. She grabbed hold of her police badge and tossed it across the street. She couldn’t face her job no more. Quickly, she stood up and ran back into the house. She knelt down beside her mother and wept. The front door suddenly closed. Who could it be? She lived on her own. Thinking about what to do, she took hold of a cricket bat she kept hidden behind her bed and hid behind the bedroom door. She could hear footsteps across the hallway. Slow, heavy footsteps pounding the wood approached the bedroom door. Something was scraping along the floor. A weapon. Without hesitation, Joanne sprung out and hit the intruder. As she looked at who she’d hit, she realised what she had done. The person was just some random stranger with a knife. He’d come to finish her off. She took a phone from his jacket pocket. His name was Dan Coleman. As she searched through his contact numbers, she gazed at the last number. But she wondered how this person could’ve got this persons number. It was impossible. She looked again at the number. Her boss and her mothers name were on the list. How had her mother been involved in all of this? But as she looked further, she realised she knew everyone on it. They were all dead. She’d investigated their murders just weeks ago. What was going on?
She pocketed the phone and jumped into her car. Her boss could be in danger. She always carried a gun. She was a cop after all. Her boss lived just six streets away. She couldn’t let someone else die like this. Not after her own mothers death. As she drove, she glanced at a car behind her. It had been behind her for at least 5 minutes. She paced around the corner. The other car followed suit. She’d been through this already. Trying not to raise alarm, she began driving a little faster. But she was alarmed when the tyres popped and she skidded to a grinding halt. The driver in the other car shouted at her.
“Move away now!!” the man shouted running towards her. Joanne ran towards the supermarket. Suddenly, her car exploded into a plume of billowing black smoke and flames. Debris scattered everywhere. Her car had been loaded with a bomb. The other driver spoke softly to her.
“Sorry if I alarmed you. I had to do something to make you stop. I noticed the wires poking out from underneath and I couldn’t let you die” he said trying to calm her down. She ushered him off. She was no longer calm. She was terrified of what could possibly be in store for her next.
Joanne abandoned the scene to continue the journey to Ian’s house. She wasn’t going to let him die. As she approached his house, she crept behind a low wall as she saw a man at the front door. She scaled the fence and went into his back garden. She peered into the living room. They were talking and the other man had a clipboard. She couldn’t see his face because he was sitting with his back towards the window. But she could’ve sworn that she recognised the jacket…Joanne saw a gutter leading towards an upstairs window. Carefully, she climbed up the pipe and just managed to squeeze through the open window. She could now hear voices downstairs. She left the bedroom and stood at the top of the stairs. She could’ve sworn that the voices were beginning to get louder. Time was running out.
Carefully, she crept slowly down the stairs. The voices could be heard clearly.
“Is it alright if I just use your bathroom?” said a muffled voice.
“Ermm. Ok then but no funny business alright?” said the other voice. Joanne recognised this as Ian’s voice. Quickly, Joanne hid inside the bathroom closet and watched as the man entered. When she saw who it was, she could feel herself getting angry. It was her father!! He was involved in this whole story. She pulled out her gun and stepped out of the closet.
“You murdering scumbag!” shouted Joanne.
“Well, well, well. If it isn’t my dutiful daughter” replied her father feeling round his pockets.
“Don’t you even dare!” whispered Joanne. She hit her father violently with the pistol.
“I guess you think I killed your mother” said John. He stood up and placed his clipboard on the toilet.” I think that you know in your heart that I am not her killer”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore. All the people I know are dying and to see you here makes me wonder just exactly what you’re doing here” wept Joanne.
“I know who has been doing this. Why do you think I’m here?” shouted John, wanting to comfort his daughter
“To kill my boss … and me!” said Joanne. She pulled out the phone she took from the man she bludgeoned to death. “I found this on a man called Dan Coleman. All my friends and family are listed on it. Low and behold, they’re all dead!!”
“Dan Coleman…” said John. “This all fits in – Dan Coleman was an old-workmate of mine. We hated each other”
“What are you saying dad?” asked Joanne. “One of your old enemies is trying to get back at you after all this time?”
“Exactly. And that man is sitting downstairs” said John.
“We need to sort this out” said Joanne. She placed the gun into her pocket and turned towards the door. But as she did, she felt something burning into the back of her head. She turned around. Her father was pointing a gun at her.
“What are you doing?” asked Joanne.
“You should really think twice about who you trust darling” laughed John. “I am going to kill the man whom your mother slept with!”
“I can understand that. But why murder Mrs. Wilson? What has she ever done?” asked Joanne.
“Did you ever wonder just why she never answered the door to anyone? She knew all about your mother’s affair and said nothing. So a few well placed threats from me made sure she got punished!” shouted John, slamming his fist onto the sink beside him.
Downstairs, Ian became aware of raised voices upstairs. Who the hell was he talking to? Carefully, he crept upstairs.
“Why did you plant a bomb in my car? Why try to kill me?” demanded Joanne.
“You and your mother were like an inseparable pair of twins. You never wanted me. Ever!!” bellowed John. He aimed at Joanne’s Head.
“So all this has been for attention? To get back at my mother and me? You’re sick. You sick, evil man. I’m ashamed to have you as a father! And you wonder why I always went to mum for attention!!” screamed Joanne
Ian was just outside the door. He’d heard enough. He pulled out his gun and prepared to kick open the door.
“But why would you try to kill Ian? You just said you wanted to get back at me for never paying attention to you so why him?” asked Joanne nervously.
“Ha! Your boss! You think he’s all good? He’s known all about me for months and he slept with my wife! He chose not to tell the police because he’s in love with you and feared that if he arrested me, you wouldn’t like him anymore. Gullible man!” laughed John. “I couldn’t risk him lifting the lid on me”
Suddenly the bathroom door flung open and Ian stepped in. But before he had chance to stop John, he received a swift bullet into his lungs and collapsed to the ground. Joanne realised he was dead. Joanne leapt after John, who’d decided to exit out the window. He’d jumped into a car and sped off. Joanne gave chase. She couldn’t believe that her father had been responsible for all this just to get back at her.
As she gave chase to her psychotic father, she suddenly became aware of someone sat behind her. An arm wrapped around her neck and the other took control of the steering wheel. The car suddenly hit a lamppost. She hit the man and jumped out of the wreckage. She turned to the man. It was a complete stranger. A man her father had hired to kill her. She pulled out her gun and shot the man numerous times until her gun clicked to signal an ammo shortage. But as she turned round, her father’s car hit her leg, twisting it round ninety degrees. As she screamed in agony, the car sped off into the distance.
Joanne woke up. She was lying in a hospital bed – her leg in plaster. A nurse came to her.
“Hi. I’m Nurse Felton. You’ve suffered a nasty breakage. You’ll be out of action for a few months yet” said the nurse softly. Joanne sat up. She’d managed to phone the police before she collapsed. They were hunting everywhere for her deranged father. He was now classed as a dangerous criminal and a threat to the public. Everyone she knew, her mother, her boss, her neighbour, had been killed by this callous man. She’d almost become his next victim. He’d got away with it for now. There was no way she was going to let him escape. She just had to recover from her injury and set out to destroy the man who had ruined her life forever…
