The Beast of 1977 (Book 1)

Chapter 26

Nearly two hours later Linus found himself face to face with Leroy Cummins' house once again. He satinside his cruiser moping over the gut-wrenching fact that there were dead human beings gatheredinside just a day earlier.

Upon finishing all of the paperwork that he had set aside the day before, Linus needed to escape thedisorderly confines of the station. As luck would have it, he chose a murderer's homestead to findsolace.

In his head, it was all like putting together a thousand piece puzzle in the dark; no matter how hard hetried to gather everything mentally, nothing seemed to connect, the emotions and memories keptslipping through his fingers like water.

Linus pulled the keys out of the ignition, got out of the car and sheepishly stepped forward to the frontdoor. The sharp wind seared straight through his heavy coat, leaving his chest nearly frostbitten. Invivid 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. Heremained face to face with the door as if it were supposed to open at the very sight of him before hesuddenly remembered that just about every door to the home was locked, which meant that only anexterior 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 thewind just happened to be even more spiteful than it was up front.

Upon reaching the spacious backyard the flapping of plastic could be heard loud and clear. The hole inthe wall was covered with two large layers of plastic that were nearly coming 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-linkfence.

Linus spun around to see the man hop over the fence with his right hand clutching his sidearm that wasstill 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 tosee in plain 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 ofthis gun.

"I'm sorry, sir." The officer humbly blushed, scratching his thin, blonde mustache. "I thought you wereanother 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 that last night, after all the others left from here, wegot some reports of some kids running around, trying to get in. The little bastards even tried to teardown the plastic 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 giveme kudos. I got here too late."

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

Linus turned around to face the mildewed plastic. "Just how many times have you guys been out heresince last night?"

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

"Seven times," Linus gasped. "Yeah, this place is real famous, or infamous. We kept getting calls fromfolks 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?"

"That's right."

"I suppose those same folks that saw those kids just happened to miss all those bodies that Cumminsbrought up in here these past few months, huh?"

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

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

Officer Stamp glanced at the house before saying, "I still can't believe that it was Leroy Cummins of allpeople. My dad bought his last 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 plastic if there's something youneed."

Linus paused, trying to remember why he even bothered to drive completely out of his way in the firstplace.

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

"Yep, I guess coming back to the scene of a crime always haunts a person." Stamp remarked whiletaking a peek over Linus' shoulder. "I'm still having a hard time figuring out just what in the world couldhave that big of a foot."

Linus turned around to see the paw prints, along with traces of blood still lined in the snow on theground. Every other second the spark of a large animal's face would appear before his eyes. He hadbeen 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 thingattacks again."

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

"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 theasshole, 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'resafe, 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 your comrades noticed anything out of the ordinary here since lastnight?"

Stamp stood in place 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 sortasworn to secrecy on the whole subject. But since you're the one that cracked the case, I guess it'sokay."

Linus braced himself, and that's all he did. He didn't budge or even blink. All he could do was stand andwait for the man to speak; and the sooner Stamp explained the situation, the sooner Linus himselfcould breathe again.

"Last night, two of our guys were patrolling out here, just like they do every night, nothing out of theordinary. Well, when they got down to the Sanders' house, they see the downstairs lights coming offand on. So, they go into the house, and in the living room they said they saw a naked, colored guysitting in a corner, talking to himself. When they asked the guy what he was doing there, the guy getsup, runs down to the basement, and...just vanishes. They couldn't find him anywhere. Mind you, wedon't see too many blacks around these parts, but this guy was completely butt naked." Stampexclaimed.

All Linus could do at that point was continue to stand. To say that he was frozen in place would havebeen cliché. He was drowning within himself, trying desperately to come 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 thatopening 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 itbe okay if I went there, just to check things out?"novelbin

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

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

"Would you mind a little company?" Stamp followed. "It's not that I don't trust you or anything, it's justthat 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 ClevelandBrowns' squad with us!"

Both men got into their respective vehicles and took off down the road. For Linus, what seemed to keephis foot so light on the gas pedal was the harrowing fact that he actually believed Stamp's tale; everylast bit of it.

***

Just a few minutes later, both lawmen arrived at the Sanders' residence. Unlike Cummins' home, theSanders' house appeared even more sinister in Linus' eyes. He threw it all up to the fact that younglives were taken inside the place.

Both men dragged their snow burdened feet towards the home as if they were too afraid to walk anyfaster. 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- law sees us." Stamp urged, pushing against the front door to getit 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 infront of him barge his way inside.

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

"I wouldn't be surprised." Linus replied while listening to the furnace suddenly kick on. "Do you know ifthe 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 stuckaround 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 outlandish thing he hadheard in his life. "Uh, no thanks," he gulped. "That's the last place on earth I want to go. I'd rather seethe basement."

Stamp led Linus through the living room where the brown carpet was stained with blood, and into thekitchen where a large 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 exclaimed, gazing on in amazement at the deep indenture. "Was the thing thatdamn big?"

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

He then looked up at the brightened kitchen and the refrigerator that was littered with 'Holly Hobby'magnets 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 somemore 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 theyoung officer. He then cut on the light and immediately caught sight of more blood trails that were linedup and down the steps.

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

Linus glanced back for a moment to not only see the officer, but also an old, grey-haired white womanstanding 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 ina defensive fashion.

Out of shock, Linus slid down two of the steps while Stamp spun around and hollered, "Ma'am, we'repolice officers! We're just doing some investigating!"

Holding on for dear life to the slick wall, Linus looked back down into the pitch blackness of thebasement, 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 onofficial 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 tolive for!"

Approaching the woman with extreme caution, Linus explained, "Ma'am, my name is Detective LinusBruin. 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't come 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 nigger comes hiding out around here,and now this!"

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

From a distance, Linus and Stamp watched as the woman slammed the front door shut, stood andwaited for them to leave.

"I could've arrested her for that." Stamp scornfully stated. "We're police officers; we have every right tobe 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 business coming out here anyways. This was supposed to be my dayoff."

Stamp stood and stared on and on at the house before asking in a far off whisper, "Who'd want to livehere anymore after what happened? Kind of reminds you of that incident that happened three yearsago 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 haveyou been a lawman?"

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 a law officer, you're going to haveremarkable days. Days that are going to be remarkably boring, remarkably great and remarkablyungodly. What happened inside that house two nights ago was remarkably ungodly. But as long as weget to go home at the end of the day and see our families, then everything just falls into place."

Linus and Stamp stood in front of their respective cruisers and stared on at the dreadful, empty homeahead of them, without another word being spoken.