The Message

“Michael, these shoes aren’t going to fit” Michael Jacobs, stared at his wife Tammy, in disbelief. “You tried on hundreds of other shoes damn it, and you want those, why don’t you get another pair?” Tammy gave him a dirty look, “I want these, they match my dress, you know that Gary an Olivia’s wedding is coming up.” Mike sighed and rolled his eyes, “Yes I know, I hope they have beer at the reception.” Mike stood up and said, “I’ll see if they have those in a different size.” Mike walked up to the front counter of the shore store to the cashier. “What can I help you with sir?” She asked. Mike said, “Me and my wife were just wondering if you had these shoes in a different size” The cashier smiled at him and asked, “Okay, are they to big or to small?” Mike said, “She needs a size eight, these are a size nine and a half.” The cashier took the shoes from his hand and said, “I’ll see if we have something smaller.” He waited there for a minute and finally the cashier came back, “Sir, we do have a size eight.” He looked at her and said, “Thank you.” He walked back to his wife and said that they have them in a size eight. Tammy smiled and said, “See, I told you, they had them, don’t doubt me. Mike sighed and said in a sarcastic tone, “Okay sweetheart.” They walked up to the counter and paid for the shoes and walked out to their car. As they were walking he said, “Forty seven dollars for a pair of shoes, that’s bullshit, and besides you’re probably only going to wear them once anyway.” When they got to the car, they’re children were waiting for them patiently, Sean, the eldest age 17, Courtney, age 14, and Lily the youngest, age 10. When they got into the car, Courtney asked, “What took so long?” Mike replied, “Your damn mom, that’s what.” Tammy got in the car and said, “Shut up Mike, let’s go home I’m tired. Without saying a word the rest of the ride home, Mike started the engine and drove home.

7:25 AM The Body
Wednesday


When they got home their house was a mess, Tammy noticed they haven’t cleaned it for days, her and Mike have been busy with work. Mike is a detective for the Los Angeles police department, and Tammy is a secretary at a law firm. Her and Mike met at a club seventeen years ago, they got married then they had their three children, Sean age seventeen, Courtney, age fourteen the middle child, and the youngest Lily age ten. They were all tired from shopping all day for the upcoming wedding, “Oh..... we’ll clean the house some other time.” Tammy thought to herself, but for now, they were just to tired. When they all awoke the next morning, the kids went to off to school and Tammy and Mike were getting ready for work, when the phone rang, it was Mike’s partner, Kevin Jones. “Mike, get down to the station, we found a body.” At that moment, Mike hung up the phone, got his car keys and headed out the door.


8:32 AM

When Mike arrived at the police station, it was busy as usual, morning secretaries starting their shifts and drinking coffee, and phones ringing like an endless bells that wouldn’t stop. Mike was heading towards his desk when he was stopped by a young secretary who admired him and had a slight crush on him. “Good morning Detective Jacobs.” She gave him a nervous smile. “Captain Benson wants to see you in his office.” She said. “Alright, thank you Katie.” Mike headed down the hallway towards the elevator to the second floor, where his partner was waiting for him. Kevin was a average height man with a slight build with shirt dark brown hair. “Mike, it’s about time you got here, I was getting ready to call you’re cell phone.” “Well, you know the LA traffic.” Mike said. Jerrod Benson, a man in his late fifties with gray hair and going bald was sitting at his desk talking on the phone, when they entered. “I told you, I can’t make it, can you get you’re sister to go? Hang on, I gotta go, two of my detectives just came in, I love you bye.”He looked up at them and smiled. “Kevin, Mike good morning, have a seat.” They sat down in the chairs in front of the desk. He looked at them, both Mike and Kevin not saying a word. Benson began, “Some kids were playing in a cabin out on Victorvale Road in Redwood around 7:00 AM and found a body in the basement. One of the kids had a cell phone and called the police.” Mike and Kevin looked at each other then at Richard. “I want you two on the case.” He handed Kevin a sheet of paper. ”That’s the address to the house, get out there.”They stood up and walked out. “This house is about an hour and a half away, even more with traffic.” Kevin said. Mike looked at him and smiled. “Road trips are fun anyway, by the way I’m driving.”


10:04 AM The Crime Scene
They pulled up the rocky driveway to the cabin. A police car was parked with an ambulance. Six children and a man and a woman were being questioned by two police officers. A few people with cameras were trying to get into the house, but they were being stopped by the police. Kenny examined the crowd of people and the commotion, and then glanced over at Mike, “Well, let’s go.” he said. They got out of the car and walked toward the house. Kevin and Mike flashed their badges at the police officer in the doorway and he let them in. Mike examined the inside of the house. The exterior of the house looked perfectly in tact, a cabin house out in the country for peace and quiet. But the interior looked as if nobody had lived there for years, as if it were abandoned, dishes in the sink with maggots crawling on them, the furniture with holes and the smell of rat feces and mold. Spider webs all across the beams on the ceiling, “I’d hate to clean this place, it looks haunted.”he said. The two detectives walked down into the basement, it looked worse than the upstairs. Mold and roots of plants growing on the walls, and the smell of dirty water. They walked down a hallway to the room where the body was discovered. A medical examiner was inspecting the body, and a man with a camera was taking photos of the crime scene. The room was small, and cramped with the number of people in the room. Mike and Kevin walked up to the medical examiner and flashed their badges, “I’m detective Michael Jacobs and this is my partner Kevin Jones, we’re with the LAPD, what do we have so far?” The medical examiner looked at them. “Well, this man is a John Doe, no identification, no driver’s licence, nothing. “Wait!” Kevin said, “How can you tell if the skeleton is male or female?”The medical examiner crouched down and pointed at the hips. “You can tell that this one is a male because the pelvis is smaller, the female pelvis is larger” He then pointed at the top of the skull and said, “We can also determine the cause of death, a single gunshot wound to the head, the killer was most likely standing when he shot him, and our victim was probably sitting down or on his knees, due to the location of the bullet hole.”He walked over to a shelf and pulled out a bag with a piece of paper in it. He handed it to Mike. ”The only evidence we found was this, it’s a note. It was in his hand when we found him.” Mike looked at the crumpled piece of paper. It said:
I can feel my mind slowly slipping away. The only light I have is from a candle. I can’t tell where I am, nor can I tell who I am anymore. I think I’m slowly going crazy. I don’t know what day it is, I can’t tell if it’s night or day. There are no windows in the room. It’s dark and cold. I’m hungry, all the feed me are bred and slices of ham. They have been holding me prisoner. I’m afraid, afraid of what they might do to me, I have to get out of here, I have to escape. I hear footsteps coming down the corridor. There coming for me. I’m frightened for my life, Help me, please. G.B.
“He was being held prisoner, the letters G.B. could be his initials, or his killers initials.” He handed the note back to the medical examiner. “How long do you think he’s been dead, Mike asked. The examiner looked at the skeleton. “Um, we’ll have to take it to the lab to run some tests, but I’m guessing, six years, maybe more, judging on the condition of the skeleton.”Kevin looked at the skeleton and asked, “How old would you say he was when he was killed?”The medical examiner looked at Kevin and then glanced back at the skeleton. “I’m guessing early thirties, maybe late forties.” At that moment, Mike thanked the medical examiner for his help and headed out the door. Kevin quickly fallowed. “Where are we going?” he asked. Mike said, “To the Redwood police station.”


12:13 PM The Investigation Begins

In the basement of the Redwood police station, Mike and Kevin searched through files and documents. “What exactly are we looking for?” Kevin asked. Mike got up from the table with papers scattered all over it and began searching inside file cabinets, “We’re looking for the people that owned that house last, or do own it. It’s gotta be here” Kevin began shuffling through papers in files he found. About ten minutes pass by. “Found it, it says here that the house was bought back in 1997 by a couple named Christopher and Veronica Leeper. but apparently they don’t live there, they live in LA.” At that moment Mike’s cell phone rang, “Hello?, yes this is detective Jacobs... yes... okay thank you Kyle.” Mike gave Kevin a surprised look. “That was Kyle with the results from the lab, he said that the man we found has been dead for eight years, and he checked his dental records, and his name is Richard Adams, age thirty seven when he was killed. I’m sure the Leepers were questioned by now, I think the are behind this. LA is an hour and a half away, It’s gonna be a while, let’s go.”

Kevin and Mike were about 15 minutes outside of Los Angeles. “You know, I didn’t really want to be a cop.” Mike began, “I wanted to be a truck driver, when I was a kid my mom and dad would take me up to the store and buy me some toy trucks, I always loved trucks.” Kevin looked over at him, “I wanted to be a movie director, I realized that I could make a difference being a cop. To help make the world a better place. How’s you’re wife and kids by the way?” Mike came up on the exit ramp to Los Angeles, “They’re fine, I was shopping yesterday, for my best friend’s wedding, Tammy had to have a forty dollar pair of shoes, my tuxedo is gonna cost us two hundred and fifty six dollars, I’m the best man, me and my buddy Gary went to high school together. He met his future wife, Olivia through Tammy she was friends with her. Olivia is beautiful, nice and she’s the perfect girl for him. Sean is might be kicked off the high school basketball team, he’s failing I think two classes, Courtney has a date Saturday I don’t want her to grow up yet, she’s my baby girl, that little punk better not touch her.” Kevin laughed, “It’s a good thing I didn’t have any girls, I have a son, thank god. Mike drove into the city on the freeway, alright, let’s go to the Leeper residence.


3:45 PM The Leeper Residence
It was middle class neighborhood, nice houses, quiet. Mike parked across the street from the house. When the got to the door they heard a woman yelling. Kevin rang the doorbell. After fifteen seconds, a woman answered the door, she was a short woman with a cigarette in one hand, and a Mountain Dew can in the other. She was wearing Bon Jovi lounge pants and a Bon Jovi t-shirt. She looked at them both as if studying them. “Hello, how can I help you gentleman?” Mike flashed his badge, and she had a surprised and concerned look on her face. “Oh shit, what did my husband do this time?”Mike smiled, “Ma’am, I’m detective, Michael Jacobs, and this is my partner, Kevin Jones, we’d like to ask you and you’re husband a few questions.”She stepped back, “Please, come in.”She walked into the living room and sat down on the couch with her husband. “Chris, these officers want to ask us a few questions.” Chris looked up at them through his glasses, and turned off the tv. He was a big man with long greasy hair with a cigarette in his hand to. “How can we help you?” he asked. Kevin began, “We are in investigating a murder, there was a body found in you’re house out in Redwood this morning.” Chris had a surprise look on his face, “A body? In our house? We never use that house, we bought it for a vacation home, we’ve been trying to sell it, but we can’t find a buyer.” Mike said, “Mr. Leeper, you mean that neither of you has been out to that house sense you bought it?” Chris looked at him, “Yes we used it for only two years, neither of us has been out there sense, now we don’t want it. We bought it ten years ago. Kevin looked at them both. “The man that was found dead,” Kevin began. “His name was Richard Adams, do either of you know that name?” The Leepers looked at each other, Ronny said, “No, I have never heard of it.” Chris looked at them, “Neither have I, I’m sorry officers but I’m afraid you’re gonna have to leave, I have to go to work.” Kevin and Mike stood up, “Thank you for you’re time Mr, and Mrs. Leeper. goodnight.” Ronny escorted the police officers to the door. Mike handed a card to Ronny. “If anything does come up, here is my card, you can call me anytime Mrs. Leeper.”She looked at him, “Thank you officer, goodnight.” They got into the car and left for the police station. “I think they are both guilty.” Mike said as he was driving back to the Los Angeles police department. “You know they are, how can they not know about a dead man in there house? It’s obvious.” Kevin stared out the window, “I don’t know, I think that his wife isn’t guilty, she looked a little stressed out and depressed, you know.” Mike sighed. “I don’t know, I don’t want to think about it. I’m tired. If the killer is the Chris Leeper and the victim’s name is Richard Adams, who is G.B.?”

Ten minutes after Mike and Kevin left. Chris walked over to the phone. “Glen, it’s me, we have a problem, the cops are on to us. They know we did it.” Ronny walked back into the house, when he hung up the phone. “Who was that?” she asked. Chris looked at her. “Nobody, mind you’re fucking business Ronny, that’s all you do is bitch.” He left the room and went upstairs. Ronny stood there for afew seconds, she started to cry. She put the card in her pocket and wondered if her husband, had really killed Richard Adams.


6:28 The Jacobs Residence


“Dad, I need money for my date this weekend with Brad” Courtney said. “I know sweetie.” Mike said. “I’ve been busy today.” They all sat at the table eating their food. Tammy was in the kitchen getting the last minute food. “I talked to Olivia today Mike, she asked if they could come over for dinner, and I said yes.”Tammy said. Mike was helping Lily cut her stake. “That’s fine, we haven’t seen them for a while anyway.” Tammy walked into the dining room with an apple pie. “She said she is so nervous about the wedding. I’m happy for her, Gary is a good gu for her, she has had some fucked up relationships in the past, Paul used to abuse her.” “Mike looked over at his son. “Sean, are you gonna bring you’re grades up? If you don’t you’re fucking grounded.” looked at him. “I know dad, I don’t want to get kicked off the basketball team.” Lily was sitting at the end of the table. “Daddy?” She said. If Sean gets grounded, can I have his stuff?” Mike smiled. No sweetie, because it’s my stuff.” The doorbell rang, Mike went to get up to get it. “Sit down.” Tammy said. “I’ll get it, it’s Gary and Olivia anyway.” Gary and Olivia walked in and sat down at the table. “How’s it going Mike?” Gary said. Mike looked at him and chewing food at the same time. “I’m fine, just a little tired, I had a big day.” Gary knew that Mike’s work was sometimes hard to do. Gary is just a security guard for the museum. Mike’s line of work is different. “So Gary, are you nervous about the wedding to?” Tammy asked him. Gary looked at Olivia. “Yes, a little nervous, considering the fact that my first marriage didn’t work out.”They all talked and ate and watched tv for about an hour. When they left it was around 8:00 PM. Mike and Tammy went to bed.

1:14 AM
Thursday
Mike’s phone rang four times before he woke up to answer it. “Hello” He heard the sound of a woman crying. “Detective Jacobs. I’m sorry to bother you so late, I need to talk to you right away.” Mike sat up rubbing his eyes. “Who is this?” There was a pause. “This is Ronny Leeper. Can we meet at the Café Robina on 22 street?” Mike sighed looked over at his wife, she was asleep. “Yeah, I’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone, got dressed and left. When he arrived ta the café, Ronny was sitting in a booth in the back by herself drinking a pop trying to keep herself awake, he walked back to the booth and sat down across form her. “I’m sorry to wake you so late detective.” She began. “He’s been acting weird. She looked down at her glass. “What do you mean by acting weird Mrs. Leeper?” Mike asked. “I mean he’s not the man I fell in love with anymore, he’s changed. He doesn’t talk to me anymore, he yells at me a lot. After you and you’re partner left, he called someone, I heard him on the phone. He called somebody named Glen, and told him that the cops know they killed that man.” Mike looked at her. “Do you know the man named Glen he called?” She looked up at him. “No, I don’t. After he left for work, I was cleaning the house and I found a gun hidden in our bedroom closet. I brought it with me.” She reached into her purse and took a gun out and set it on the table, it was a handgun. Mike took it in his hand. “I’ll have it dusted for prints.” Ronny got up and grabbed her purse. “I have to get home, he’ll be mad at me. Goodbye detective, I expect to see you soon.”She walked out of the café and Mike took the gun to his car and drove home for the night and went to sleep.



8:03 AM The Lab

“Okay detective Jacobs, you wanted me to dust the gun for prints?” Mike handed the gun to the examiner. “Yes I do” Mike said. The examiner took the gun and started rubbing it with a piece of paper. “When I found out how old Mr. Adams was when he died.” He began, I checked the bullet we found at the crime scene, it was a bullet from a walther P99 handgun, that is this type of handgun, I’m rubbing it with graphite.” He waited for a few seconds, and then blew on the gun very lightly. Then he took a clear piece of tape and stuck it to the gun, covering the pints, he then took a piece of plastic looking material and took a small piece of white card and stuck it to the plastic. “We have a print, now we can run a comparison to prints in the records.” He said. The examiner walked over to the computer and he scanned the print and started a search for it. About a minute later, there was a match. “Bingo, we have a match detectives.” Mike and Kevin walked over and looked at the screen. “I knew it.” Mike said. Kevin stared at the screen. “It is Chris Leeper.” he said. Kevin looked up. “We have to go now.” They headed out the door of the lab.

9:15 AM The Chase

They pulled up to the Leeper house and rang the doorbell. “This is LAPD, open up.” Kevin said. There was a crashing sound coming in the house. “Fuck this.” Mike said. He kicked the door in and it flung open. Mike looked around and in the kitchen he saw Veronica Leeper with a knife sticking out of her chest. “Holy shit.” Kevin said in a low voice. Mike checked for a pulse. “She’s dead.” They heard a crashing sound from the back porch, they noticed it was Chris Leeper making a run for it with a gun in his hand. “Freeze Mr. Leeper!” Kevin yelled with his gun pointing towards him. Chris ran out the back door to the garage, and Kevin followed him, “I’ll go around the front.” Mike yelled. Chris ran into the garage and locked the door, Mike ran out the front door and into the driveway. Kevin heard a car’s engine start. A red truck burst through the garage door. Mike dived out of the way landing in the grass. Kevin pulled the trigger to his gun and shot out the back window, the truck pulled out of the driveway speeding down the street. Mike got up and ran for the car, Kevin followed. They got in the car and sped off after the truck with the siren on. Mike got on the walkie talkie, “This is detective Jacobs in persute of suspect, suspect’s name is Christopher Leeper. Driving a red 1992 Chevy Blazer on 13 street. Suspect is wanted for murder, he is armed and dangerous..” Mike stepped on the gas peddle, the car went faster, catching up with him. Chris headed left on a street corner. Mike followed. “He’s headed to downtown.” Kevin said. Mike gunned the engine and the car went even faster. He came up behind the truck and hit him, making him loose control for a few seconds, almost crashing into a parked car on the street. People came out of there homes and stood on there lawns to see what was going on. A police cruiser came up behind mike from turning a corner. The police cruiser followed with them. Chris swerved to avoid a dog in the street and turned up a curb and crashed into a yard just missing the house and hit a tree. Mike stopped the car. Kevin and Mike got out of the car. “Freeze Leeper! Drop the fucking gun!” Mike yelled. Realizing he could do nothing, Chris froze and dropped the gun on the ground. “Hands on the car!” Kevin yelled running toward him. Chris put his hands on the car. Mike got his handcuffs out, “Puts you’re hands behind you.” he said. “Christopher Leeper, you’re under arrest for the murder of Richard Adams, and Veronica Leeper. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney, if you can not afford and attorney one will be provided for you.”Mike walked him over to the car and put him in the back seat as other police cars arrived.

12:36 PM The Interrogation
“I killed him because... he wouldn’t tell us where he was hiding drugs. Chris said. “You got away with it for eight years Mr. Leeper.” Mike said. “Why did you kill you’re wife?” Kevin asked. Chris sat back in the chair and hesitated and started to get nervous. “I killed her because she tried to stop me. She never did mind her own business. I knew she gave you the gun, I knew she turned me in, she betrayed me, so she had to die.” Kevin stood up and walked around the room. “There is one more thing Chris, there was a note written by Richard Adams before he was killed. And it had the initials G.B. at the end of it, who is that?”Chris sat there in the chair looking down at the table. “Who is it Chris?” Mike asked. Chris looked up at Mike. “His name is... Glen Billes, he helped me hold Richard prisoner at the house.”Mike walked towards Chris. “Where does he live?” After a few seconds Chris didn’t anser. Kevin was getting impatient. “Where in the hell does he live Chris?”Chris sighed and finally he said, “He lives in east LA now. 1345 Ave F.” Captain Benson walked in the room. “You guys get don’t there and arrest that man.” Mike and Kevin headed out the door.

2:46 PM Glen Billes
Glen Billes, age 32, was sitting in his recliner eating pizza and watching tv. He was a tall skinny man with short light brown hair. He heard the doorbell ring. When he answered the door, he wasn’t shock about who it was. “Glen Billes.” Mike began, he flashed his badge. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Richard Adams. Glen backed up into the house. Mike and Kevin followed him in. Glen picked up a gun on the table and pointed it at the two police officers. “Fuck you, I didn’t kill him.” Mike and Kevin both pulled out there guns. “Drop the gun” Mike said. A few second went by, he didn’t put the gun down. “I said drop it now!” Mike demanded. “Drop the fucking gun!” Kevin yelled. “I’m not going back to jail.” Glen said with a shaky nervous voice. He fired the gun at Mike and shot him in the right arm. Glen fired at Kevin and missed. Kevin fired his gun three times, and shot Glen in the chest. Glen fell to the floor, dead.

9 Months Later California State Prison
“Do you like it here in prison?” Mike asked. Chris looked at him through the glass in the visiting room. “I’ll be here for a long time.” Mike laughed and said, “Hey, the 22 years are gonna go by fast, you didn’t get to go to you’re wife’s funeral either.”Chris sighed, “Yeah I know, I really did love her though, all I know is, she’s happy now, that’s all that matters. I answered her cry for help.”