“Y-yes,” she stammered, tears welling in her eyes. “He… He was there when they brought me to the warehouse. He watched as… as they did things…” Her voice broke, and I could see the torment etched on her face. My blood boiled with fury.
“Thank you,” I told her gently, offering a small, reassuring smile. “You’re helping put an end to this horror.”
I knew I needed more details from her, but it would have to wait. She seemed too fragile right now. If I poked and prodded, I could end up doing more harm than good. Poor thing. I wished I had a way to make it all better for her, but I wasn’t sure even time would be enough to heal her.
A message from Rabbit had me hauling ass a few blocks away. I found them crouched in the shadows outside a decrepit building, waiting for the secret meeting of Sheriff Holmes’ associates to begin.
“Ready?” Rabbit asked, his eyes flickering with anticipation.
“Let’s do it,” I replied, my pulse quickening as we slipped inside, our footsteps silent as we moved through the darkness. We knew we had to be smart, cunning -- one wrong move, and we’d be caught or worse, dead.
As the voices of Sheriff Holmes’ associates grew louder, we crept closer, hiding behind stacks of crates and machinery, our ears straining to catch every word. They spoke of their vile deeds, of the suffering they dealt in, and my heart clenched with disgust and determination.
“What happened to that little bitch from the other day?” one of them asked. “She was nice and tight.”
“Little whore ran off. Probably with that nun. Besides, she’s too broken now. Give her time to heal some. Then we can grab her again.” The men laughed and bile rose in my throat. “Once we’ve got her firmly under control, she’ll fetch a nice price.”
They talked a bit longer. Once it seemed like they weren’t going to incriminate themselves anymore, we backed off.
“Got it all on tape,” I whispered to my brothers, the damning evidence clenched tightly in my hand. This was it -- the key to bringing down the monster that had tormented so many innocent souls.
And as we slipped away, unnoticed by those who wallowed in their own filth and depravity, I couldn’t help but grin -- my Cheshire grin, fierce and defiant in the face of evil.
As we got on our bikes, I motioned to Rabbit and Carpenter. “One more stop. Got a name. Gregory Mitchell. He’s in the city planning office. From what I’ve found, he helps arrange the hidey-holes where they stash their victims.”
“Let’s pay Mr. Mitchell a visit, then,” Carpenter chimed in, cracking his knuckles menacingly.
We found him in a seedy dive bar, drunk enough to make him an easy target but still sober enough to make sense. Sliding into the booth across from him, I fixed Gregory with my Cheshire grin, the one that made people squirm and loosen their tongues.
“Evening, Gregory,” I drawled, enjoying the way his eyes widened with fear. “Care to tell us about your side gig? The one involving Sheriff Holmes?”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” he stammered, his gaze darting around the room.
“Come on,” I coaxed, leaning in closer, my voice dripping with false sympathy. “You’re in deep, aren’t you? You help him set up his little… operations. But you don’t want to be a part of it anymore, do you?”
If what I’d found was true, this man was scared shitless and wanted out. Just one problem… the sheriff wasn’t going to let him go. His bottom lip quivered, and I knew I had him.
“I can’t,” he whispered hoarsely. “He’ll kill me.”
“Or we could,” Rabbit said, his voice low and dangerous.
“Or,” I offered, my tone light and conversational, “you could give us the information we need to bring him down, and we’ll make sure you’re protected. Your choice.”
It didn’t take long for him to spill everything, revealing the location of one of Sheriff Holmes’ secret hideouts. We left him there, trembling and broken, as we headed toward the unmarked warehouse he had described.
“Be ready,” I warned my brothers, as we approached the door. “No telling what we’ll find inside.”
The horrors that lay within were worse than I ever imagined. Cages filled with terrified, malnourished victims, their eyes wide and pleading. The stench of decay and despair hung heavy in the air, making me want to retch.
“Document everything,” I commanded, my heart aching for these innocent souls trapped in this hell.
Rabbit and Carpenter moved quickly, snapping photos of the living nightmare before us. Every image captured was another nail in Sheriff Holmes’ coffin -- and I’d see to it myself that the bastard would pay.
As we led the survivors out into the night, I couldn’t help but feel a grim satisfaction settling in my chest. We were one step closer to bringing down the monster that had plagued our city for far too long. And God help anyone who tried to stand in our way.
But I had to admit, I wanted to see the look on his face when he realized we’d released all his precious victims. Now we just had to figure out what to do with them. Maybe Sister Mary would be able to help. It wasn’t like we did this sort of thing all the time. We didn’t have protocols in place, and I sure the fuck hoped we never needed to.
* * *