The screaming rattled Darryl’s nerves. He knew she would be surprised to see him, but he had hoped that once he explained why he was in Nicky’s apartment she would understand. Things did not go as he had planned.
After leaving the old man’s apartment Darryl went back to the diner. He then followed Nicky home after her shift and took note of her address. Darryl returned to her apartment the next day while she was at work. Breaking into her small apartment proved even easier than Darryl had expected; he simply pushed open a small window and quietly shimmied through it and onto her living room rug.
Darryl stalked around Nicky’s apartment, finally sitting restlessly on her couch. He was anxious and but he wasn’t sure why. When the door finally cracked open he stood and faced the entryway with a nervous smile. Nicky’s response was not what he had expected; she yelled, and then threw a candle at him. Luckily, the candle missed Darryl and crashed against the wall behind him, leaving a spidery crack where it had struck the plaster. Nicky turned and began to run back towards her front door. Darryl moved faster and grabbed her by the wrist, hurling her into the couch.
He only wanted to talk, but she was making it so difficult. Darryl wanted to tell Nicky how he felt. He needed to smile like the old man did when Nicky clutched his wrinkled hand. But now, she was just screaming, and whimpering. It made no sense, but seeing her so upset did make him feel better, so he slapped her….hard. Blood dripped from her mouth as she fell to the ground with a yelp.
Suddenly, Darryl felt immeasurably better. Nicky was crying, and pleading, “Why, why?”
“Why?” Darryl thought. Why not?
****
The massive V8 roared as the serpentine ebony car charged over the pavement. Harker’s Camaro was his pride and joy, he pampered the vehicle like a child and drove it like a wild stallion. Ostrowski tried to settle into the deep bucketed seat but the force from the acceleration made it difficult to get comfortable. She looked at her hulking partner who was currently hunkered over the leather wrapped steering wheel directing the bullet-like vehicle as it flew down a backstreet. Massive tires squealed as Harker pulled a hard turn, the rubber fought to maintain traction until the power of the giant engine rocketed them forward.
“So the old guy spent some time with a waitress while he ate lunch,” Ostrowski yelled over the roaring motor. She was nauseas from Harker’s driving but she knew that he didn’t give a flying fuck.. The car made him happy and he was more pliable when he was content.
“According to our timeline, the waitress was the last person Mr. Phillips spoke to before returning to his apartment,” Harker’s growl was almost in tune with the muscle car’s beastly purr.
Ostrowski glanced at her pad, “Nicky Gracini worked at the diner for a few months. She was originally from the ‘burbs and had dreams of becoming a singer. If there is any bigger cliché, I can’t think of it.”
“Jesus, Ostrich, how did you become such a cynic?” Harker shook his head. “Can’t a kid have a dream?”
“A dream is fine, but reality TV has made every talentless kid think their moment for stardom is just around the corner. They need to be more realistic,” she rebutted.
“Realistic? What, and become a bitter cop who hates men in authority and lives with 16 cats?” Harker chuckled.
“It’s 5 cats and I listen to you…sometimes!” She snapped. Harker’s face broke into a grin,
The squak of their radios interrupted their repartee. Dispatch was reporting a domestic disturbance at an apartment complex not far from their location. Uniforms were responding but Harker and Ostrowski were closer. Ostrowski asked for the details.
“The apartment is rented by a Nicole Gracini,” dispatch reported.
The two stared at each other slack jawed. “No coincidence here,” Ostrowski whispered.
“Nope, not a god damn chance,” Harker replied as he depressed the accelerator. The Camaro bellowed as they thundered towards the apartment building.
****
Nicky lay on the ground, she stopped counting how many times he had hit her. It didn’t matter. Her right eye had nearly swollen shut and the left wasn’t far behind. She had stopped sobbing and pleading; it wasn’t doing her any good and he clearly didn’t care. In fact it seemed as if her sobbing it was only making the situation worse. He was empowered by her cries and the throbbing in her head made it hard to concentrate on crying. She began to wish for the sanctity of unconsciousness.
At first she couldn’t register who he was, the shock of a person being in her apartment had frozen her brain. After his first blow she realized he was the creepy guy from the diner. She had always noticed he was handsome, but the way he had looked at her chilled Nicky to the core…now she understood why. The man was clearly a maniac and he was going to kill her.
Currently the psycho was stalking around the apartment muttering to himself. Nicky couldn’t hear what he was saying and she really didn’t care. The taste of blood filled her mouth and her side was aching. She had broken her ribs once when playing field hockey in high school – this felt worse.
Suddenly Nicky felt a wrenching at her scalp. He was grabbing her by her hair. The man lifted her up by her pony tail and threw her across the room like a child tossing a doll. She crashed against a small table with a yelp. Still, the darkness did not come. Nicky realized it was the middle of the day and barely anyone was home in her small apartment building. Those currently in the building were seniors and probably couldn’t hear the racket – she was doomed.
She felt herself beginning to slip as though an exhausted sleep was overtaking her, she welcomed it. Suddenly a pounding roused her. At first, Nicky thought it was the throbbing in her head, but the noise became louder, suddenly, a shouting accompanied it. It was coming from the door!
Slowly, Nicky turned her aching head towards the doorway. Standing between Nicky and the entrance to her apartment, the lunatic shook a clenched fist and yelled towards the door. The shouting from outside came again, it sounded like a threat, but she couldn’t make out the words.
Suddenly the door exploded, splintering from its hinges and frame it fell to the ground. Her savior came charging through the opening. He was huge, and it looked as though a cape flowed around him. A superhero, maybe? None of this made sense but she now struggled to stay conscious.
The lunatic shouted something at her hero but it was too late. The giant grabbed him by his neck and threw him to the ground. The madman gasped as the impact drove the wind from his lungs; he then screamed in agony while his arm was wrenched behind his back, Nicky heard the snapping of bone, her attacker shrieked.
From behind her hero she saw an angel enter the apartment, an angel with blazing hair like fire. The angelic figure rushed over to Nicky and asked her a question, Nicky tried to respond but she couldn’t find her voice. It was as though she was falling down a deep hole and the beautiful angel was growing further away. Nicky tried to call to her but it was useless, the angel was too distant. The last thing Nicky heard was the maniac crying and then the loud thud of a fist on human meat. Her hero spoke but the words were unintelligible. Nicky finally surrendered to the blissful darkness.
