The Angel's Silence 23

It was now 6:14 AM.

The sun had risen and the rain had finally stopped.

John had fallen asleep next to Adamo.

He awoke to a damp city.

He had to get to the police station. He was supposed to be there by 7:00, but was not sure if he would make it there on time.

Adamo was still sleeping, and he didn't know what to do with him.

He decided to drop him off at his Aunt's house on his way to the police station.

He awoke Adamo, and told him of his plan. He stumbled outside, got into the passenger seat of John's truck and quickly fell back to sleep.

As he was driving, memories of his childhood flooded his head. There were both good and bad times. The small town was a nice break from big city New York.

He then arrived at his Aunt Angela's house. She looked so different from how he remembered her. It had been years since they had last seen each other. She had dyed red hair pulled back tightly in a bun, red lips and a long white dress with a floral pattern.

He then asked her if she would do him a favor and watch his new friend for a while. She agreed once she saw his sweet face. He explained to her how he found him.

"When you get the chance, you really must stop by, John. I would love to have you over for dinner. I'll even make your favorite. That is still your favorite, isn't it?"
Asked Angela

"Yes, it is still is my favorite. I'll be back around 5:00 to pick up Adamo."
Said John as he headed for his truck

It was 6:56 when he arrived at the police station. He walked in and introduced himself to everyone. No one seemed very happy that he was there.

"Who does he think he is?"
Whispered one cop to another

"Better than us, probably."
Said the other

"Hey, does anyone know where I can get some coffee?"
Asked John

"Well, the pot is in there, but no one has made it yet."
Said a woman standing by the bulletin board.

He went into the other room to make the coffee. As he was doing so, he glanced at the 13" color TV. It was left on CNN. They were talking about the recent murders.

"So Siena... Have you read the case files yet? What do you make of this?"
Said Officer Mario Moretti
He was around 5'7" and 205 lbs.
52 years of age, with Graying black hair and brown eyes. He had been with the force for 26 years. One of the most respected officers.

"I have read it, and I am almost certain that the VPK isn't working alone."
Said John

"What do you mean he isn't working alone?"
Said Moretti

"There is no way that the VPK is working with someone else. We have already cleared that possibility."

"No, it all makes sense. It doesn't seem likely that one man could get away with these murders. He would need someone watching his back, and helping to abduct the victims and dispose of their bodies. Two tracks of footprints were found near the victim. They seem to be going in the same direction."
Said John

"That doesn't prove that he has an ally. Many serial killers have worked alone. Most of them for that matter. Maybe the footprints belong to someone walking in the night. It was dark; maybe they didn't see the corpse."

"How likely is that? If they didn't see it, they certain would have smelt it. For now, let's just leave open the possibility that he isn't working alone, all right?"

There was a moment of silence. No one wanted to disagree with Moretti, but they also didn't want to disagree with someone from the NYPD. John's theory was starting to make a lot of sense. Everyone decided it best to keep their opinions to themselves for the time being.

***

Antanas was in ICU.

"When do you think he will wake up?"
Asked Elena

"It is better that he stays unconscious. It gives his brain a chance to rest. At least for the next week we hope he does not wake up.

But in all honest, we truly don't know when he will wake up."
Answered the surgeon

"Did he have any identification on him?"

Elena thought for a moment before saying,

"Yeah, he did. I think I left it in my car."

She retrieved her vehicle, and looked everywhere in it. She found his wallet, and handed it to a nurse, who proceeded to search it. She found phones numbers. One was to his house, but no one answered obviously. The other was a cell phone number. It was Dana's. They called her. She was about to answer it, when a nurse pointed to the exit. Mariya quickly ran out of the building to answer the phone.

She saw where it was from another hospital, and immediately knew something had to be wrong.

"Hello!"

"Hello? Is this Mariya Alekseev?"

"Yes!"

"My name is Ludmilla Nadezhda.

I am a nurse at Ottimista hospital.

Antanas Alekseev was in an accident earlier, and fell into a coma. There was a lot of swelling in his brain, but we have give him medication to alleviate some of it."

Mariya was in too much shock to even answer.

"Antanas? My husband Antanas was in an accident?

When did this happen?"

"He was brought in a few hours ago."

"Why am I just now hearing about this?"

"Because we did not find a number until just now, and Elena Giùgovaz claimed not to know your number."

"Excuse me? Who is Elena Giùgovaz?"

"She is the woman that came in with your husband. If not for her, he surely would have died."

"Did she say who she was?"

"Only that she was a friend of Antanas."

"May I speak to my husband, please?"

"I'm afraid that is not possible at the moment. He is still unconscious."

"Well, then may I speak to Elena Giùgovaz?"

"Yes, I will go get her."

Mariya waited while R. N. Ludmilla Nadezhda located Elena. She was very upset about what happened to Antanas, but also confused as to who this Elena Giùgovaz was. She knew she had heard that name before years ago.

Three minutes later, a voice on the other line said,

"Hello?"

"Is this Elena Giùgovaz?"
Asked Dana

"Yes, it is. What can I do for you?"

Elena was clearly nervous to talk to her; Mariya could hear it in her voice.

"I was told that you helped to save my husband's life."

She put a lot of emphasis on the word "Husband".

"I just wanted to talk to you, and learn exactly what happened to him."
Said Dana

Elena began to tell the story of what happened.

***

John was sitting at a small cluttered desk looking through piles of paperwork while sipping his coffee.

He was making notes of things that caught his attention.

Every single clue was documented.

He could feel Moretti giving him the evil eye all day.

It was very quiet inside of the police station. Everyone was concentrating on their jobs. When suddenly the silence was broken.

A young girl had come into the police station. She looked scared and nervous.

She slowly approached a woman sitting at a desk by a phone.

"Excuse me.

I need to speak with someone."

"Wait over there."

The woman pointed to some empty chairs without even taking her eyes off of the magazine she was reading.

"Please, it's important."

"I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait."

Said the woman, once more pointed to the waiting area.

John gotten up off of his desk to refill his cup, when he noticed the young girl.

She kept repeatedly asking for an officer, but was told to wait.

It wasn't until she claimed to have significant information on the VPK that really caught John's attention.

(To Be Continued)