On a warm spring Tuesday night, the call came in at twenty-three twenty-two to the nine-one-one station. The anonymous caller said that a man was being attacked in the five thousand block of Morgan. The screen displayed an unknown number which led the receiver to believe the call was from an unlisted cellphone. Via computer while still on the phone the emergency service personal dispatched the city police.
Every call into the nine-one-one service is automatically recorded. If the person handling the call expects something is amiss, they flag it. Because of the time of night, the refusal of the caller to identify themselves, and the rushing sound in the person's voice it was tagged with the assigned number of the pending case.
The two police cars arrived within seconds of each other to find the bleeding beat-up victim laying half on the street sidewalk and half on some property owners front lawn. Before getting out of their cars they called for the first responders. The silence because of the time of night was detaching as it added a sense of eeriness to the darkness of the cloudy night.
While one officer began securing the crime scene the other went over and checked the man out to see if he was still breathing. The officer not wanting to affect the crime scene wet the side of his finger and placed it beneath the man’s nose. His whole face and forehead were covered in flowing blood which was forming a puddle underneath him.
At first look, it appeared that someone had deliberately hit the man on the temple area of his head repeatedly. Instantly he could feel the warmth of the air coming from the man’s nose, so they knew that he was still living. Thankfully if they worked fast enough perhaps there was enough time to keep him alive. The ambulance hopefully would be transferring a live one instead of a dead body. Before proceeding he stopped to put on some surgeons gloves to protect any evidence found from being contaminated.
“The way he was attacked makes it clear that whoever was trying to rob him could have killed him. It had to be a frontal assault. If he lives perhaps, he can identify the person,” Micah Joel the ten-year veteran said. “It’s a wonder he is still breathing. No wonder he is not conscious.”
By the look at him, their first impression was that he was in his early fifties. He was of average build, had blue eyes, a touch of gray in his black hair, yet it was clear by the way he was dressed that the man took pride in who and what he was. He was not a big man only about five foot nine. They estimated his weight to be about one-eighty.
Beside him lay a bag from the local Target drug store that was five blocks away that was open twenty-four hours. Inside were a couple of over-the-counter drugs bought for someone who suffers from a lot of pain along with the sale receipt. Micah recognized that they were the strongest that could be bought without a prescription.
“My wife keeps a supply of these around for when she has migraines,” Micah said as he handed it to the other officer so he could bag it up as evidence.
The officer after putting on gloves began to search out for identification. Figuring it was a snatch and grab that had gone terribly wrong he figured that his wallet would be gone. The officer was surprised to find his wallet sitting inside the upper inside pocket in the jacket the man was wearing.
“This was not a robbery,” Micah said aloud. “Something else is going on.”
Flipping it open the officer learned that he had over two hundred dollars in cash, three credit cards, his medical cards, and a driver's license. Even in a mugging at least the cash would be gone. It instantly became clear that this was not a robbery but a deliberate attempt to kill that had gone wrong.
“Who is he,” Jose King the junior officer asked?
“Seth Peter Mathews from Everett Washington age forty-five,” Micah responded. “I wonder what he is doing down here. Have dispatch do a check to see if any Mathews are living near this area and find out if their related.”
As Jose went to the car with the man’s wallet, he was assigned to the first responders pulled up, and took over. The first thing the medics did was attach an intravenous blood substitute into his arm to make sure any blood loss was made up for. The key for them at this moment was keeping him alive. After bandaging up his head as much as they could they prepared him for transport.
Not knowing the extent of the man’s injuries under orders of the doctor they were in contact with, they slid a wooden board under his body before strapping him in. it took the two medics and two firemen to load him into the ambulance.
By the medic’s description of the victim's seeable injuries into the radio, all knew instantly that this was not an accidental mugging. The medic believed that the victim had been attacked by at least two people using sections of two by fours because they could see remnants of the wood in his head. One had hit him from the front the other from behind.
Jose finally getting a clear picture of the injured man had to turn away and depart. It was the first time since becoming a police officer that he saw such a brutal assault. Walking across the street so he did not contaminate the crime scene he bent over and brought up the contents in his stomach.
After the first responders had left the two officers looked over the area. Where he was hit was just out of the reach of the light from the streetlight and about twenty meters away from the start of the reach of the next one.
The older houses in the area had been built in the nineteen fifties so they had large lots with some very mature trees making it easy for one to hide in plain sight. With the darkness of the area, anyone could be lurking in the shadows.
Using their flashlights, they searched the surrounding area in the darkness for what they could find. They wondered if the attacker had been stupid enough to leave the weapon they had used behind. They did not find much but behind a huge blue spruce tree, they found three cigarette butts making them wonder if they had been smoked by someone who was waiting.
They bagged it because it could provide the detective yet to be assigned the needed DNA evidence to a case that to this point had little of anything.
The area where Mr. Mathews was attacked was going through a major change. As the older generation died off a new younger generation had moved in. Since the effect of the Covid virus everything had become magnified. With it, the morals and values of the area were going through a big change.
The area was now known to be occupied for the most part by those who were part of the alternate lifestyle community so the first question that came to mind was the victim gay and was this a hate crime caused by the changing populations lifestyle?
With the influx of their way of thinking and approaching things, crime had picked up in the area. It was well known that the local old-timers felt they were being pressured to move out as their kind was no longer welcome in the area.
The way the alternate lifestyle community openly talked about their sexuality and their desires to sexually make somebody their latest bitch made the local old-timers feel extremely uncomfortable. The two polar opposites of morals, principles, and standards were conflicting with each other and creating an uneasy tension in the area.
A crew of wheeler-dealers were regularly canvassing the area trying to buy the older homes to remodel and sell to this new generation who apparently were free and easy with their money. The question had to ask could this crime be related to that?
After clearing the crime scene, the two officers returned to the senior officer’s car and began writing up a report on what they had found. While calling for first responders Jose had asked dispatch to find out what they could about the victim.
Dispatch called them. “Seth Peter Mathews is an author. He writes primary Christian fiction books with a romantic twist. He is known to be conservative in nature with some liberal views if they don’t conflict with his believes. His books are quite successful as the publisher’s bio on him says each new release sells over half a million.”
“He’s married, has three adult children aged twenty-one, twenty, and nineteen. Has three brothers and two sisters who all live in the area. He is down here as the chief executor for his parent's estate who passed away recently both were taken because of complications caused by the virus,” The dispatcher explained. “He and his wife are staying at his parents’ house in the six thousand block of Morgan while he worked things out to the satisfaction of the rest of the family.”
“Have the family been informed,” Micah asked.
“His older brother has gone to pick up Seth’s wife and then they will be headed over to St. Mary’s hospital where they asked for him to be transported too,” the dispatcher explained.
Both of the police officers knew instantly that St. Mary’s was run by the Catholic church. Based on what they now knew the family’s request made sense.
“Best call the Detective on call,” Jose said to dispatch. “We both now strongly believe that this is looking more and more like an attempted murder than a mugging. Inform us how long it will take him to get in so we can meet him at the station to inform him what we know.”
As soon as dispatched acknowledged their request the radio went silent.
“The question that has to be addressed,” Micah said to Jose, “Did someone go after him because of his Christian views concerning the Lbgtq’s and their lifestyle? If they did, can it be considered as a hate crime?”
“That’s a question we will have to raise with the detective,” Jose responded. “We need to know how long he has been here and what kind of relationships he had formed while he was here.”
Micah thought about what his co-worker had said before responding, “it may go further back then here we need to know about his life on the west coast and his long-term relationship with his wife and family.”
Why do you think that?” Jose asked.
“They apparently were waiting for him, which makes it clear it was not a random hit,” Micah replied. “He went to get the medicine that someone needed. The person or persons who were waiting for him had to know that Mr. Mathews would be coming back this way.”
That was when Jose clued in on the fact that it was his wife that was most likely behind it. The problem was how do they prove it. He wondered if Seth Mathews was like his father. A die-hard old-fashioned Christian who would not bend an inch.
“Micah when I came out to my father,” Jose explained. “He took it very hard because of his Christian views. He told me that since I was an adult, that I had the right to live my life as I saw fit, but that he would never be able to accept it or approve of it. He does not believe that any man has the right or the authority to contradict what the bible says.”
“Has his view changed over these last few years,” Micah asked?
“Only in the fact he does not want to know anything about my personal life and what is going on in it,” Jose said. “As far as he’s concerned it's none of his business. When my partner and I go to visit he treats him with respect and politeness but we all know that he will never be part of the family. He wouldn’t even attend our wedding.”
“How does Manuel think about the whole situation,” Micah asked?
“He feels insulted, put down, and is quite upset that my dad won’t accept him,” Jose said. “He sees my dad as an old fool who has no clue about anything. Manuel would love nothing more than to grab his shirt and shake him until he got some common sense into my father’s thick head.”
“Sounds like your partner has the problem and not your father,” Micah replied. “Your father respects your partner for who and what he is, not for his and your lifestyle, while your partner believes it’s your father religious believes that stops him from getting total acceptance.”
“My father has tolerance, where my partner doesn’t,” Jose said in surprise. “I never saw it. We, I mean the LBGTQ community demand equality but as a group, but in general when were in a group we don’t want to give it in return.”
“That’s another avenue that will have to be explored,” Micah said. “Was Seth Mathew attacked in part because of the way he related to the alternate lifestyle group? Both your father and the victim grew up in a time where they were allowed to live their lives with their beliefs. In today’s society, most want your believes hidden unless they're woke.”
“They are part of the generation that still believes the Old Testament has value,” Micah explained. “They believe that their soul was with God before they were born because God declared he knew them before they born. That there are two sexes, and anything other is a creation of the mental and emotional thinking of those who claim their something else.”
Just at that moment, the dispatcher called for them via the radio to inform them that Detective Amos Inman was there waiting for them.
Both of them saw the irony. Detective Inman nicked named Billy was known to be a detailed man, who looked and based his cases on facts and not interpretations. He was known to be an African American who had no room for the prejudices of others. Throughout his life, he had earned the right to be respected by all nationalities and was.
A few years back some religious zealots had decided they wanted to disrespect the military funeral of a local boy who had died in service by protesting at it. The young man had escaped Vietnam with his parents and when he had grown up had joined the marines. He single-handedly had made the protest a joke by having the newspaper falsely post the day of service. They all ended up being at the graveyard a day late and were laughed out of the community.
Seth returned to his car and followed Micah back to the station pondering over their last conversation. What he had just learned was forcing him to reevaluate his partner and his father’s relationship.
He owed his father a big apology because being in the center of all of it he had never seen the whole situation in its reality. His problem was now in trying to get his partner Manuel to see it from the other side. With his new-age mentality that might be an impossibility.
It took them about two hours to explain their thoughts and reasons behind them to the detective. But it was the detective that brought up something that they never would have considered.
“Your thinking is top-notch,” the detective said, “both your directions concerning the case might be right on the money. What we have is an educated man, who has a successful career, has money, and a lifestyle that goes with it. Even the color of his skin may be working against him. Many of the under thirty community because they view themselves as being superior to all others will automatically see him because of the life he leads as being a white racist.”
“The ‘Truth’ of the society we now live in is whatever the elite and the mass media will allow you to hear and see. They control about eighty percent of what we hear. Big tech, mass media, and most ways that we humans use to communicate for the most part are controlled by them. They censor anything that goes against or tries to change their ‘agenda,” Detective Ingman said. “The two of you and I must always think and draw out the facts using a critic’s eye. Remember always to let the facts shout out because it's whats lays out the story.”
“The best lesson I learned since becoming a detective,” Detective Inman said. “Is that I had to stop explaining myself to people who only understand from their level of perception. Sometimes the worst cases are solved by learning to walk in their shoes.”
The silence in the room was frightening. All three lived daily with the fact because they wore the blue, they were marked by those who had to make an agenda out of everything. The question had to be asked was Seth Mathews the latest victim because of the woke community?
While waiting for the officers to return from being out in the field the detective had contacted the Everett police department in Washington State to ask them to do a detailed background check on the victim and his family. Asking them to find what was not on Google or Facebook.
“I have to say that this latest case is going to require your assistance Jose,” the detective said. “I want to make sure that any prejudices I might have are not reflected in what I will be seeing. I believe your familiarity with the culture will allow you to notice things that I would never perceive. Micah, I also will be asking the desk sergeant to assign you to assist me when needed.”
“Just before your shift end go back to the crime scene check and recheck it in the daylight,” Detective Inman said. “Search both sides of the street at least to the end of the block. Maybe the attackers dropped something in their getaway. The odds are that they lived locally and may have walked to that location. I suggest you change out of your uniforms and use your personal cars while you are investigating the area. Less chance of those in the know will hear about what you’re doing.”
In parting thoughts, Detective Inman added, “It might be as simple as one of the wheeler-dealers took him out because he refused to sell the place for redevelopment. After all, it has been rumored that most of the six thousand block of Morgan has been bought so it can be rezoned to allow a greater density of population. The Mathews house might be the parcel of land that his holding up the whole project. Regardless of the reason rest assured whatever was done was motivated by someone’s hate or expectations for something.”
********
Until their report came in, Detective Inman would have to see what he could learn from discussions with Seth’s family at this end. He left the station and headed over to St. Mary’s emergency to see what he could learn.
Ivy Mathews and her husband’s older brother Steven were waiting for the brain scan to be done. Seth already had his hair cut off and his head shaven so they could put the eighty-four stitches into his head. The wood splinters had been collected and bagged for evidence. Not only was his face swollen but he had two black eyes that would take a week or two before they would disappear.
Ex-rays had proven that the brain skull had been cracked but had not been shattered. How they had failed in their attempt to kill him had marveled the doctors. Looking at the x-rays the detective had to agree with their thoughts. What concerned them now was the possibility that there was pressure on the brain because of internal bleeding.
The Detective after arriving at the emergency service had gone into the non-patient area to talk briefly to the on-staff nurses at the center desk. The nurses pointed out to him who was there as part of the Mathews family entourage.
He took a few minutes to stand and observe the communication and interaction between the four people he would soon be meeting through the one way mirror. It allowed him to discern who of them was more dominant and which were submissive. Picking up the little things concerning a person gave the detective an advantage when communicating with them the first few times. The nurses also updated him on Seth’s current status.
Most believed that he would live but they had no clue what kind of life he would have because of an unknown internal brain injury. Until the blood and swelling in his brain rescinded nothing could be determined. With the damage done to the victim, the doctors believed there could be many.
The fact that the nurses felt Seth Mathews' family was acting with more indifference than concern had been brought out and discussed thoroughly. It gave the detective insights about the family that would help him in the investigation.
The MRI showed that there was internal bleeding under the skull that could directly affect Seth Mathews' motor skills. How badly he was injured would not be known for at least a couple of weeks because the brain needed time to heal.
The doctor in charge took detective Inman aside and said “We are hoping that all goes smoothly but if Mr. Mathews has a brain seizure, he might end up brain dead. If that happens the family will have to decide to pull the plug.”
“If that happens the charges will go from aggravated assault to first degree murder,” the detective said aloud.
********
Before Detective Garrett Inman walked out to the waiting area and introduced himself to the victim’s wife and his brother, he turned on his voice recorder. He would turn it over to the tech department for a voice comparison to the recorded nine one one call. He did that automatically because one out of three calls were plants created by ones involved in the crime to try to throw the investigator off the trail.
In the general conversation in the waiting room, he picked up a few things. One was that Seth Mathew’s older brother was gay and appeared to be the one handling the situation with the help of his partner. His male partner was Chinese American and would be considered a small man. He could see the cigarette box in Seth’s brother's shirt pocket. He wrote the brand down in his notebook.
Detective Inman concluded that he would have to talk to each one of Seth’s siblings one at a time to be able to establish just how his relationship was with the others.
Ivy Mathews, Seth’s wife was a five-foot-six-woman who appeared to be a genuinely nice looking middle-aged woman who was surprisingly in good physical shape. Tonight, her hair was blonde, but the roots of her hair exposed their natural black color. If she had been the one with the migraine headache it appeared to have disappeared quite quickly. He wrote in his notes a reminder to find out if she had a history of migraines.
The other female, a redhead that was comforting her seemed to have more than just a neighborly interest in her because she sat closer to her on the bench seat than what would be considered normal. Although closeness in this circumstance would be normal their physical touching seemed intimate and extreme in this situation.
The Detective learned that she was a friend from Washington State that had flown down to spend a few days with the married couple. The detective printed their full names, their description, their telephone numbers, and ages in his notebook.
He wanted to know what the real relationship was between Seth’s wife and this unknown female. Detective Inman had a gut feeling about the two females but was hoping that what it was telling him was wrong. The way the females were physically connecting was raising a lot of questions. The Detective knew that body language could provide insights where word of mouth spread lies.
None of the four seemed to have a clue about how this could happen and claimed that as far as they knew no one was out to get Seth in the area. The problem was that all four of them came across as if they were trying to sell him on how saintly Seth was. As a result, all they were achieving was raising his suspicions.
When he walked in, he had no suspects but by their conduct with each other and him, it was clear that they were hiding something. The key may be in finding out what they were trying not to disclose rather than what they were claiming. No man is a saint like they seemed to be claiming. To him they were as honest as a gay saying ‘I’m not gay I quit two months ago.
Everything one does has a basis of truth in it or hidden by it. The detective had to figure out which game the four of them were playing. Did each one of them have a motive to want to take an unsuspecting man’s life and if so, why?
The detective left after learning because of the swelling on the brain Seth Mathews would be kept in a chemical-induced coma state. The doctors believed that he had the best chance of recovery the longer his body was allowed to naturally heal.
The doctors agreed to inform him before they brought him out of his drug-induced state. Detective Inman wanted to be able to talk to him before any family members or friends got to him because they might say or do things in an attempt to confuse him further.
********
Upon returning to the station, he again contacted the police in Everett Washington and had a Ms. June Alford age thirty-nine added to the list of names he had provided them. Asking them to find out Ivy’s medical history and if she was having a sexual relationship with the name of the lady, he had just given them.
Opening the windows edge program on the computer he began to look at each one of the four suspects' Facebook pages to see if it would help to eliminate one of them. It showed their political views, their lifestyles, sexual preferences for those who promoted it, and the games they played.
Other than the general stuff there was no way to check if they were in communication with each other, but by going through their friend's list Detective Inman was able to establish that they each had listed some of the others on their friend's list thus proving that some kind of relationship existed.
At first glance the facebook pages were not revealing much, beyond the fact that Mrs. June Alford was a white Native of South Africa who had immigrated after she went to university here. He sent an official email letter out to the Facebook legal department. He wanted to get unrestricted access to everything the four had on their Facebook pages not just what they allowed the public to see.
Detective Inman stressed he needed the access because it was part of a criminal investigation and they had to include messenger, video chats, and all related things. If they had more than one Facebook page which most did this was the quickest way to find out about them.
Seth’s Facebook page was different because he had one through the publishing company and one, he had for himself. It was the personal one that caught his attention because he learned that Seth was quite vocal on the freedom of speech issue and promoted his Christian values.
A link led him to a news article where Seth’s approach to life, in general, was being attacked as been homophobic and non-accepting to this new age attitude in his approach to them. The way the article was slanted it became clear the writer had written a hack piece trying to do as much damage to Seth Mathews' reputation and life as possible.
Detective Inman then checked out the writer who worked for the Rolling Stone magazine. That magazine was the one that called the only living member of the Boston Race bombers a hero to learn that the author had been ripped apart by the mainstream because of his woke attitude.
Detective Inman saw this woke concept for what it was, just another way for some to disguise their hate of America, its history, and its society so that they could justify their actions. It had arisen from the ashes of the fight for equality by the Lbgtq’s community.
The Lbgtq’s community in its push for social equality had taught society that being in one's face and screaming with the full power of their lungs got them the notice they wanted. Now every social movement was taking it further.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Each in their own way was trying to do as much damage as possible in an attempt to get the same required attention. It took fifty years for the LGBTQ community to get accepted. Nowadays these new movements wanted it instantly.
Sad for them, it was not working. In fighting, as they saw fit, they had lost the support of society instead of gaining it. Now they were attacking the culture of the country because in most of the country their views were not being accepted.
Many in the woke community had to push their agenda down the throats of people who wanted to be left alone and allowed to live their lives as they saw fit. But sadly, individuality was no longer accepted by so many who held the mass media’s attention. If you didn’t conform to their way of thinking you were automatically branded as being a racist. It was worse and more public if you were white. There was nothing more destructive than mob mentality.
After shutting off his computer Detective Inman went home to catch a few hours of sleep with his wife who would be waiting up for him. When he came in to work the first thing in the morning, he would contact the cell phone companies and request a printout on everything available for the last six months.
********
At the crack of dawn, Micah Joel and Jose King were in their everyday clothing walking the block when they spotted a drop of blood. Using the shop camera, they photographed and moved on. About twenty feet away they found a second one. What was interesting was the direction it was leading them to, the six thousand block of Morgan.
Whoever was dropping them was running as fast as they could. The last one they found was at six three two two Morgan. Just in front of a great big construction bin full of stuff that had been removed from the house.
The container had the name of its supplier which was a local firm called Murphy’s Waste Management.
“Dispatch can you verify who lives at six three two two Morgan,” Micah asked?
“Are you thinking what I am thinking what I am,” asked Jose?
“That the perfect spot to hide the weapon used,” Micah replied. “Would be in the middle of the rubbish created from remodeling the house.”
That was when the dispatch came back to inform them that the registered owners were Jack and Anna Mathews who had been taken by the virus.
“Anyone could have dumped the weapon if it’s there,” Jose said. “The key will be figuring out how to get it legally without drawing attention.”
Micah laughed and said, “My wife’s uncle owns the waste company so maybe we got a way of getting it without a warrant.”
After returning to the car Jose watched as Micah called his wife’s uncle. While his cell phone was ringing, he turned the speaker feature on. After getting him out of bed Micah explained what the problem was. Thankfully, his wife’s uncle who was a law-abiding man agreed to have it picked up and replaced first thing. By nine that morning, the waste container would be sitting behind the police station.
With that done they returned to the station because they had to take out the tent and set it up. With the weather changing daily they could not afford to have rain wash any possible evidence away. Once there they explained to the sergeant what they learned. He dispatched a vehicle to the residence to make sure the dumpster was not tampered with until it was picked up.
When Detective Inman arrived at the station Micah and Jose had almost finished setting up the tent. He went out to talk to them and after hearing what they had discovered thanked them for the dam good police work.
*********
It was the sound of the cummings engine that caused Ms. June Alford to awaken from the few hours’ sleep she had gotten. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Ivy who was still sound asleep. She looked so relaxed and at peace. June lay there savoring the moment while reliving what had happened when they got home last night.
Last night was the second time that Ivy and she had spent the whole night together. After making slow sensual love to each other, they had fallen asleep in each locked against the other’s naked charms. It was something June knew she could get used to.
June hoped it would be the first of many because she had dreamed about them being a loving married couple for months. June was looking forward to coming home to a loving wife who was waiting for her after another busy day at the office with a glass of chilled wine in her hands.
Ivy had even thought about asking her husband Seth for a divorce but after having a lawyer review the pre-nuptial agreement, Ivy had learned that because of what was written in it she would have been left with pennies on the dollars.
That was when Ivy had produced the plan for their marriage to fall apart. It would be easy because of their differences in how they now viewed things. She would make things so difficult for Seth that he would end up wanting out of the marriage.
June had no clue as to how close that was until she had come down to see Ivy on the spur of the moment. She had seen what she learned as the foundation of her catching her dreams.
They had met over two years ago at a support group that she runs for those who had one of their children come out. Ivy was being torn apart at the time because of the religious views she had grown up with and had lived with all her life. June being a psychologist had helped many come to terms with their changing reality.
June freely admitted to herself that she had been sexually attracted to Ivy right from the start but had kept her distance deliberately because of the need to protect her license. Ivy with her slender frame, large full ripe cleavage, soft face, and warm heart had a figure that seemed to compliment her beautiful personality. Instantly June was smitten, and fellow staff had noticed her interest but admired her for keeping her distance.
No matter how much Ivy downplayed her femininity she had June going home to masturbate regularly because of the pure sensuality that effortlessly flowed out of her.
Ivy had come to the group because she needed to learn how to cope with the fact that her oldest daughter, a mini she had come out. Ivy was conflicted by the whole situation and was overwhelmed by it.
It was compounded by her husband Seth who had cut off all financial support to their daughter because of her conduct and threw her out of the family house. At that time, she had been enrolled in the liberal arts at one of the local universities and had been living at home.
No matter what Ivy tried to mediate Seth was having nothing to do with it.
As he said, “she made her choices let her live with them. I have to, but I do not have to accept them or pay for them.”
That was his point of view and she had to live with it even though both were ripping her heart apart. It was a stark reminder to all at the time that one’s conduct affects those around us.
Ingrid the eldest had gone from having it easy to staying with friends, sleeping on their couch as she rebuilt her life. Even the lesbian lover she had at the time dumped her because she didn’t want to be associated with what she saw as a loser. Ingrid learned the hard way just how hard life can be.
Surprising Ingrid had come to realize over a rough two years that she was straight as she explained it and had been influenced by the new age attitudes that many whom she associated with at university. After a few weeks of long discussions, Seth had accepted her explanation and had welcomed his eldest back into the family home. Just like any good Christian would.
Now Ingrid was engaged to a man that neither her parents were thrilled about who was well off financially. June who had always known that she was a lesbian was wondering if Ingrid were leading him down the aisle so she could divorce him in a few years and take him for half his money because that is what she had done to her husband.
Five years of a fake marriage had set her up for life. The excuse she used to get the divorce was that she had to find herself. Two years later she had come out and freely embraced the fact that she was a hardcore lesbian. Though over the years she had experienced the joys of new female lovers it was not until she had met Ivy that she understood what true love was.
During that time when Ivy was dealing with her daughter's ongoing problems, June’s and Ivy’s relationship had deepened. As soon as June had been introduced to Ivy, she knew she wanted to convert her to her lifestyle because Ivy had the gentlest inner soul she had ever seen. Slowly she had drawn Ivy into her world first by becoming the friend that guided her through the situation with Ingrid once she had completed the sessions she had agreed to.
They started meeting for lunch twice a week. June soon was changing her work schedule so that she could have more free time to be with Ivy. Thankfully at the time, Ivy was too wrapped up in her problems to notice June’s feelings.
Each time they parted June would give her a gentle hug and a soft peck on the cheek while holding on to her as long as possible to savor the sweet smell of her scent.
Soft tender kisses on the cheek over time as an encouragement evolved to full-frontal kisses lip to lip witch Ivy gladly accepted. Soon Ivy found herself responding which further confused her. The slow seduction of Ivy’s heart and mind was being won. It only drove June's desire to have Ivy as her wife permanently to extremes.
While Seth was off on his latest book tour the biggest one yet, they had become lovers. The first week he was away they had gone on that Friday to Seattle to see a touring play. Afterward, they had gone into the hotel’s bar that they had booked into where Ivy had let loose and drank a bit too much. They had a one-man-band entertaining the crowd.
With the music being mainstream it wasn’t long until June and Ivy were standing beside their bar table dancing. The bartender moved a few tables out and soon everyone in the place was jiving to the music. Just before they closed the bar June got a medium bottle of champagne and two glasses to take back to their room.
That night June could no longer hold back and became the sexual aggressor. It wasn’t long until she had Ivy half undressed. When June started feasting on Ivy’s ripe breasts Ivy responded by holding her head tight against them. June felt empowered. That was the night that Ivy lost her female to female virginity and experienced the taste of a woman’s mouth on her lower lips for the first time. June was thrilled to death when Ivy started responding in kind.
The next day they picked up from where they had ended. Ivy although inexperienced was a fast learner. The new lovers had to order in lunch and supper as neither could get enough of the other. Each was being consumed by the passions and pleasures, they were giving and receiving. June loved the sound of Ivy’s voice while in an organism. They ended up staying the weekend in the suite and only left because June needed to get home because of work on Monday.
By the time they had left the hotel June knew that Ivy was hers because Ivy had freely admitted she had never experienced such sensual and sexual pleasures in her married life with Seth.
Before leaving the city, they had gone out as a couple to purchase their first double-ended dildo. She had allowed Ivy to pick out their first toy which she had used on her for the first time last night. That was the moment that Ivy admitted she was in love with June. As far as June was concerned, she knew she had found the one she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
Last night after about an hour into foreplay Ivy had helped her strap on the double dildo before they climbed back into the master bed. Ivy had eagerly guided their new toy into her waiting and swollen lower lips. Once June was totally embedded in her Ivy whispered the words she longed to hear in her ear.
“Seth has agreed to a one-year legal separation which will end up making the pre-nuptial agreement non and void. Soon I will be able to be yours forever.”
“I am going to worship your body,” June responded, “as you have never experienced before. Tonight, I am making love to you as if you were already my wife.”
For both, the melding of their bodies together became the birth of a new relationship. In emotional and physical exhaustion, they had fallen asleep with each embedded in the other.
Just before falling asleep June whispered, “I’m looking forward to coming home to the love of my life and ravishing her like I did tonight.”
********
Seth knew his marriage was in trouble but did not know the reason. He believed that Ivy’s emotional swings were because of the early arrival of menopause caused in part because of the difficulties they had formerly had with their eldest.
Seth believed that they had come down here to try to save their marriage while he handled the settling of his parent’s estate. He was finding out the hard way that the opposite was happening. They had reached the point as a couple where they were discussing the terms of a legal separation.
June had been surprised to learn when she had arrived that she had come down to a big mess. Seth’s older brother who was gay was at war with his brother because he wanted their parent’s house for his partner and himself.
All of Seth’s sisters wanted the house updated and then listed in the market. They thought that by doing that each would get a greater share in the final split of the estate. It was Seth who got them to agree to allow his older brother John to buy it when the work was done at its new appraised value.
The problem was that Seth’s older brother thought it was all his doing because would not refer to him in his name but always called him the other Mr. Mathews as their father had done. He wanted the house sold to him as is which would be way less in value.
For John Mathews, the hate he had for his father had been transferred to his younger brother. Everything that had happened to John throughout his life good or bad was a result of his father’s and brother’s conduct towards him.
Their father had been a dean for years in the Baptist faith and was well respected in the community back in the days that the Lbgtq’s started their long fight for equality. There was no way he could accept the fact that his son was gay.
As a result, for a lot of years, the family had been estranged. To date, half the family refused to have anything to do with him or his current partner. Back then if you were excommunicated from the church no one was to have anything to do with you.
It was not until Ivy, and she had gotten involved that Ivy and John began to communicate with each other. June had often wondered if John was trying to use Ivy to destroy her relationship with her husband.
June learned the day she arrived just how far Ivy’s and Seth’s marriage had devolved. Though nothing was said publicly they were sleeping in separate bedrooms.
It had been Ivy that had called John late last night to find out where there was a drug store open late because in her haste to see her girlfriend June had forgotten to pack her prescription for the migraine headaches that she occasionally got.
Seth had volunteered to go pick some over the counter drugs just in case she had one come on unexpectedly. June was beginning to wonder if it had been John that had attacked his brother.
Ivy had suggested that he drive the car, but Seth had said since it was only six blocks it was a breeze to walk. Ivy was still on the phone chatting with John when Seth went out the door.
That was when she realized what might have happened. Quietly she slipped out of the sheets, removed the strap on, and slipped into a nightgown before going downstairs with her cellphone. Ivy had left the detective’s business card on the kitchen counter. She had to talk to the detective before Ivy got up. She had to make sure that Ivy was protected from what she suspected.
********
Detective Inman had just gotten off the phone from having a long conversation with Ms. June Alford. The fact that she had contacted him voluntarily had spoken volumes. After explaining why, she had called she had calmly and without hesitation revealed her understanding of what was going on. June had unhesitantly answered all his questions.
He now had a clear picture of the crime as it had happened. If you looked at it logically it appeared to be coming together. He had to figure out if John Mathews had the time to get from his residence to the assault scene and back again before he was contacted by dispatch.
The other thing he had to do was wait for the doctor's office to open in Washington state. Ms. June Alford had provided him with his name and number so that he could verify that she had a history of migraine headaches.
His hunch had been right. Ms. Alford freely admitted that the Mathew’s were on the verge of breaking up and that Ivy and she had recently become physical lovers but had been in love with each other but had never acted on it until recently. It appeared that both females had reasons for wanting Seth out of the picture as did John and his partner.
From what he had just learned the Detective knew that there was only one out of the four suspects that were motivated because of pure hate even though all of them had problems with Seth because of his Christian views. The question yet to be answered whose hate for Seth Mathews and what he stood for and believed was strong enough to want to kill?
June Alford had explained it well when she said,” look we all have views of what Christianity is, but it does not give us the right to judge others for practicing it as they see fit. Seth is a good man whose Christian views have not changed. Ivy’s has and that is the prime reason they were headed for divorce. Their different views about life were driving them apart.”
John Mathews had been moved up to be the prime suspect. Until everything was resolved to his satisfaction, he would continue to investigate the conduct of the four. An innocent call by one to another may have set a man on the road to death.
Detective Inman knew quite well that the chances of Seth coming back from the condition he was in was almost an impossibility. It would only take one brain seizure for Seth to end up brain dead. If his living will if he had one demanded that he be allowed to die with dignity the charge, then would be 1st-degree murder.
If his gut were leading him right Detective Inman knew that no matter what the result was that Ivy Masters would end up being someone’s loving wife. From what Detective Inman had learned Ivy was and would always be the submissive in a relationship. The only question concerning that was which sex would win?
********
June returned to the bedroom after refreshing herself in the bathroom. As she removed the nightgown from her body June once again took in the beauty of Ivy as she slept naked between the sheets.
June felt like she was about to catch the brass ring. Ivy who had been moaning in pleasure had promised to love her forever. June knew that she would never tire of being between Ivy’s legs. Her personality, heart, tenderness, and willingness would always drive her desire to get home.
June slid back into the double-ended strap-on and saw herself in the full-length mirror how she looked with an appendage sticking out as it filled her for the first time. It was a look that she could get used to. Lifting the covers, she slid under the sheets and turned her body towards her future wife and waited.
As soon as Ivy’s body moved to give her the opportunity June was on top of her guiding the appendage back into Ivy’s willing mound. Once she had gotten in as much as she could she lowered her body down on top of Ivy’s.
With tenderness and love, June started kissing Ivy gently until she began to wake up. June wanted to reinforce in Ivy’s mind that they were now where they belonged. With their bodies linked to each other physically, emotionally, and mentally as if they were one.
*********
At four o’clock in the afternoon, the team finally found the two sections of two by fours that may have been used in the attack. Somehow, they had ended up on the very bottom of the waste bin. A sample of the dried blood was gathered to see if there was a DNA match before they dusted them for fingerprints.
Most people never realize that the human fingers have naturally created body oil in between their ridges. Proof of that can be seen on a lot of peoples cellphone screen when their phone is black. It acts as a natural adhesive to anything we touch.
On the two, two by fours, they found three fingerprints and a palm print of the left hand of someone’s lower part left-hand thumb and palm. When the Detective was informed about it, he could not remember if any of the suspects were left-handed.
It had pissed him off because he knew quite well that it was the littlest of details that brought a case to a successful conclusion. He felt he had made a rookie mistake.
Detective Inman had made sure that the chain of possession had been documented and backed up. The video of the pickup of the waste bin, the ten-mile trip to get it delivered to the police station had been linked into the file on the case on the computer.
At six-thirty Jose and Micah came in to get updated on what was going on and what had happened while they were off.
The recorded phone call of the attack had been compared to the voices of the four suspects and they did not match. Detective Inman was now heading out to do a door canvas of the crime area to see if he could distinguish for himself who the person was if he came into contact with them.
The detective approached the Sargent on duty and asked, “Can you assign officer Jose to me for a few hours while I conduct a few in-home interviews this evening?”
On the way to the five thousand block of Morgan just after the normal supper hour, the detective and Jose listened repeatedly to the recorded nine one one call. Jose by the time they arrived at their destination believed he would be able to recognize the voice if he heard it.
The two of them started on the right side of the street working from corner to corner talking to everyone they could before heading back down the other side. It was a house about a forty-five-degree angle from across the street from the crime scene when they finally found the person they were looking for.
Mrs. Beatrice Karlie was a petite elderly white woman who lived in a home that she could no longer keep up. At the age of eighty-eight, she needed help just to get through her days. Like most aged adults she was at the stage of her life where she could only sleep three or four hours at the best of times.
For a lady who had lived that long she was surprisingly sharp-witted and had a good sense of humor. Having been an elementary school teacher back in the day she recognized Detective Inman right away.
When she answered the door the first thing she said, “Billy you have grown into a nice-looking man. Are your three sisters doing well?”
For a moment Detective Inman was flustered because he didn’t recognize her. “Mrs. Karlie I must apologize because until I heard your voice, I didn’t know it was you. My two older and one younger sister are all doing well. They, like my wife, will get a kick out of it when they learned I talked to you.”
“You’re here about the call I made last night,” Mrs. Karlie replied. “Let me go get my notes to refresh my mind.”
As she puttered off to get her notes detective Inman explained, “She taught all of my sisters and me grade four. The first day she met me that school year she said I know you, Billy Inman. I will not put up with any of your shenanigans in my class. I responded with a yes Mame. I learned more about life, myself, and setting goals that year than I did the rest of my life.”
“She always had her notes so you couldn’t get away with anything,” Detective Inman said with a smile. “Wait until she learns I married little Gracie who sat behind me in her class.
When she returned with her notes in hand Mrs. Karlie said, “I knew you would do well. I have watched your career through the newspaper for years.”
Before saying another word Detective Ingman opened up his cell phone gallery and brought up an image of Gracie and him celebrating their last anniversary, “Take a look at this Mrs. Karlie.”
Her eyes got bright as a smile broke her face as she said, “You married Gracie Robinson. Is she still a playful sneak?”
It took a few minutes, for detective Inman to catch her up on a few things, but when they got down to what they had come for her notes were dynamite. When reading the description in detail about the two attacker’s conduct it was like it was a step-by-step accounting about what happened. Mrs. Karlie had even recorded the time it started and when it ended.
After calling nine one one she had sat down and written a detailed description of what she could remember. What blew the detective's mind was the words, that little Johnny Mathews was always a bastard, but I never thought he would do something like this.
Detective Inman was shocked because he had never heard Mrs. Karlie utter a swear word in his life.”
“May I keep your notes?” Detective Inman asked, “and will you testify in court if need be.”
“I will need my notes in court because my memory is not the best,” Mrs. Karlie said, “if the good Lord keeps me alive until then.”
“I’ll be there to hand them to you,” Detective Inman said. “ I used to hate your dam notes but today I am very proud that you still do them.”
“One more question how can you be so sure of every little detail?” Detective Inman asked.
“My husband, God rest his soul was an avid bird watcher,” Mrs. Karlie explained. “Since his passing away I have kept a set of night goggles on my nightstand. When I heard voices last night, I used them to witness it all.”
A few minutes later Detective Inman and Jose were back in the detective’s car when Jose asked, “Do we have enough for an arrest warrant?”
“Not yet,” the detective answered. “No court judge would issue it without evidence to back her statement. Her age would work against her in court. If we can match it with blood and fingerprinting evidence, it will be a slam dunk. For now, all it does is provide proof that we're headed in the right direction.”
“You were a bit emotional with her,” Jose said.
“I was raised in a time when respect, morals, principles, and standards meant something,” Detective Inman explained. ”Seth Mathews from what I know about him stood behind them and practiced them. We learned from teachers like her that our country was like it was because of men like him. Seth is a victim of our society because that is what our society now has been taught to hate. Seth’s situation is further proof the hate always wins.”
“Are you implying that Seth’s assault was because he tried to walk his truths through his life?” Jose said.
“I’ll answer your question with a question,” Detective Inman replied. “Can you say that you have walked through your life with the values and believes you were raised in? Men like Seth do every day.”
“I don’t know if you know,” Jose replied, “I came out when I was eighteen that I was gay. Revealing that fact changed everything in my life including my relationships.”
“I see, the question I have to ask,” detective Inman added.” “Have you ever considered the fact that until you did that you were not being to be honest to yourself nor were you being honest to those in your life?”
Jose got awfully quiet. The detective realized that the statement had hit the police officer really hard for personal reasons. Detective Inman knew that many never saw the consequences of their own conduct or others as accountability was no longer required in our society.
“That’s why we rely on the facts of a case in trying to resolve it,” Detective Ingman said. “Truths can be argued but the facts of the crime cannot be denied. DNA, fingerprints, eyewitnesses, the weapons used, the reason for the crime being committed all help to paint a picture that can’t be disproved.”
“The key to being a good detective,” Jose said. “Is being able to see through all the bull shit we all create every day. Your last statement brought home a truth I never saw. Things could have turned out a lot differently if I had known that back in the day.”
“Well consider it a life lesson because seeing it will make you a better cop,” Detective Ingman said. “Mrs. Karlie somehow taught all her students that we would experience in life many things that had already happened to others. It’s how you deal with them that makes you unique.”
“So, what’s next on the agenda?” Jose asked.
“We are going to go over to John Mathews and his partner's residence to see if we can start putting a bit of pressure on them,” Detective Inman explained. “Try to get a frontal picture of them so we can present a photo lineup to our witness.”
“That I should be able to do with our body camera,” Jose said. “it’s a good thing I’m in uniform.”
“Once that is accomplished, I want you to ask them to come in and voluntarily offer their fingerprints so that we can clear them,” Detective Inman said.
“Why? Won’t that be telling them that we suspect something?” Jose asked.
“Hate is a passion. When someone commits a crime because of that it is done on the spur of the moment because the opportunity presented itself,” Detective Ingman explained. “Once it’s done panic sets in and in their rush to get away there is no thought about cleaning up the evidence so that it can’t be found.”
“Do you think the Newport menthol cigarette butts we found have anything to do with the case?” Jose asked.
“Let me check my notes,” The detective said.
A few seconds later the detective said, “That’s the brand that John Mathews had in his shirt pocket when I first interviewed the family in the emergency waiting room.”
“One of us should see if we can pick up a butt or two when we're at their house to see if the DNA matches,” Jose added.
“Smart thinking officer, Nice job,” The detective said as he started the car.
********
The detective and the police officer had just left the residence of John Mathews and his partner feeling successful. It appeared that they had ruffled a few feathers.
“When I asked to use the bathroom,” Jose said, “I found an ashtray with a couple of butts which I bagged. I used a couple of pieces of toilet paper to pick them up with and put them in an evidence bag for safekeeping.”
“Did you also notice that John Mathews is left-handed,” Detective Inman said. “His partner is right-handed.”
“Why is that important?” Jose asked.
“They found the two by four boards that were used in the attack in the waste bin,” Detective Inman explained. “One of the prints recovered was the lower left side of a thumb and part of the palm. Find out what day is collection day for their house. It might be interesting to see what they throw out.”
“Working a case is just like a jigsaw puzzle,” Jose said as if he was surprised. “You have to go through a bunch of pieces to find the right one.”
“Things appear to be coming together quite nicely, for now, it’s a wait to see what the DNA shows and that may take a week before we get the results back if I can’t get them to rush it,” The detective said.
After returning Jose to his regular duties the detective called it a day.
********
On Friday, the news came through in the wee hours of the morning that Seth Peter Mathews had passed away as a result of his injuries. The phone came to the detective at three am ruining what was a good night’s sleep.
His wife found him sitting in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea lost in his thoughts. She understood instantly that the case he was dealing with was affecting him emotionally. When she found him in these moods, she would sit down across from him and wait for him to speak.
Finally, he started, “Dear, we grew up in times that were changing. Our parents were of the seventy’s generation that experienced true freedom. For us, as African Americans, we experienced equality and opportunities in new ways and were empowered by it.”
“The case I’m dealing with brings back the same tactic’s used against our grandparents to keep the African American community in line,” The detective said. “I have to ask myself if a man was killed simply for living what he believed because he tried to be everything for everybody while practicing his faith.”
With that said the detective headed upstairs to prepare himself for the day. He had told the hospital not to release the information because he wanted to tell the four suspects themselves. Their body's reaction and responses would say a lot.
By five am he was at the station. Facebook’s reply had come in. Surprisingly, he learned a few things. John Mathews' current partner was part of the woke generation or promoted himself as being such. That put a different spin on things. Until then the detective believed that John Mathews might have encouraged his lover to participate in the crime now it could be the opposite.
What perked his interest was that the partner when not working his full-time position at US Bank had a sideline business that taught women how to defend themselves by using objects readily available in their home. He promoted the fact that even a broomstick could be used as a weapon. It helped to explain why Seth’s skull was only cracked and not broken.
Ivy’s Mathews and June Alfords surprisingly revealed extraordinarily little because of what he already knew. Ivy had spent a fair bit of time reviewing some of those private informal support groups before joining June’s group. Thus, further verifying June’s conversation with him.
June Alford’s facebook showed her commenting a lot about a woman whose very presence near her was driving her up the wall admitting the lady had her fantasizing about her. Skimming through her timeline he discovered her talking about the romantic weekend in Seattle and her undying love.
The detective and Micah were on the way over to where Ivy and June were staying to break the news that Ivy’s husband had passed away when he received the call from the state forensic office. The DNA comparison of the cigarette butts was a perfect match. There was no doubt John Mathews had been at the scene of the crime. It was the breakthrough he had been waiting for.
It was time to take what he knew to the district attorney to see if an arrest warrant could be granted. The only outstanding problem was that they had no print matches but that might be linked through the prints they obtained as they went through the booking process. To get John Mathews’ partner they might need to have a full confession.
********
Both Ivy and June took the news of Seth’s death hard. It was clear to both men that neither lady had wanted this. When detective Inman asked Mrs. June Alford if she would come back and testify to what she had told him there was no hesitation in her answer. It was a quick and loud yes.
It was interesting watching June explain to Ivy what she had disclosed and why. Ivy saw it as June telling the truth and protecting both their interests.
“I think you both should know,” Detective Inman said. “June’s honesty and straightforwardness saved the department a lot of man-hours by tightening our area of focus. As a result, we should be making an arrest within a couple of days.”
“Do yourselves a favor,” Detective Inman added, “Remember always going forward that neither of you was responsible for any of this. The person or persons we will be charging took advantage of an opportunity nothing more nothing less. I believe they would have found another time or place because their actions prove it was deliberate.”
Later after leaving the ladies Micah asked, “Why did you finish our conversation the way you did?”
“Guilt, second thoughts, emotions, hate, anger, and grief are feelings both ladies will normally be experiencing over the next few days because of what happened,” Detective Inman said. “I did not want them affecting their relationship going forward.”
“After all, as a detective, you have to understand that with every crime,” he said, “there are many different kinds of victims. Ivy and June are two of them. Was it their love for each other that started all of this we will never know? I just hope we stopped it from turning into hate because hate always wins.”