THE BEAST UNLEASHED

At IPA headquarters:

The phone rings and the secretary picks' it up. "Hello this is IPA headquarters. With whom am I speaking to?"

"This is Sergeant Killian McKenzie from the Canterville Police Department could you please put me through to your Boss."

"Okay sir, please hold". She said calling upstairs. "Cap: old man Mac from the CPD is asking for you, he is on the other end of this line. Should I put him through?"

"So Mac I hope this is not one of those social calls, didn't I tell you to call an ambulance the next time you couldn't get yourself to stand up because of that bad back of yours." He said with a smirk on his face.

"Very funny Captain Fin, I assume that pun took you a whole year to prepare. I am actually calling because I need your help. This is official business so I do not want any of your rookies just bring the "A" team."

"You must have bit off more than you could chew. For the great Sergeant Mac to say that, the pride and joy of the police force. There is no shame in admitting it but don't worry everyone knows we are the best."

"That smart mouth of yours will land you in my cell one of these days." said Mac. "Okay, I am sorry. Where and when do you want us?"

"Next time dial it down a notch. Come to the Fiasco hotel right this instant and when you arrive just identify yourselves and they should escort you to me."

Captain Roger Fin and his agency had set a record amongst their peers being known to solve the unsolvable with each member handpicked by Fin himself. He immediately called for a meeting so as to choose who he would be going with. The task at hand was like trying to pick a needle in a haystack but he was quick about it. Kevin and Roy were to accompany him and hopefully they were going to help him close the case fast. Eager to get to work they packed their necessities and drove to the Fiasco hotel. At the reception they were told that the Sergeant had been waiting and they were directed to the crime scene. On their way there, prying eyes were all around and they felt like they were on a tour in a haunted house. Upon arrival Mac and Mickey said their goodbyes leaving the IPA in control.

"What am I looking at, you meatheads. And start from the top" said the Cap.

"There are no signs of forced entry. So either the victim willingly let the assailant in or the perpetrator had his own key." stated Kevin

"There is blood at the door, Roy take a sample."

"Before leaving, the old man had said the husband was found stabbed and lying on the bathroom floor. Meaning he was stabbed at this door and wiggled his way to the bathroom where he found the disfigured remains of his dear wife.

"In the bedroom, near the bed there was a scuffle. All is in disarray. It is obvious that a 5 star hotel has very meticulous workers. Their arrangement of items beside the bed is a mirror image of each other. 2 mahogany tables bear onyx lamps for those who prefer some night reading."

"We hear you but there is only one lamp that I see, or is the other one imaginary and belonging to Casper the friendly ghost."

"Exactly my point now let me finish. There was a struggle on the bed and one party hit the other with the lamp that is right there on the floor, that person is right handed but I shall conclude my prognosis at the hospital." Everyone else had left the scene so they were depicting all this at first sight and they preferred it that way.

"Scrutiny on the rest of the room avails no further evidence save for the missing sheets, any suggestions." "Since you said there was a struggle and one party received a blow from the other. Judging by the fact that the sheets are missing I would say the perpetrator was on the receiving end of the blow and after finishing up his business here, he got rid of the blood stains that were on the sheets."

Cap smiling frivolously, "Are you sure you boys are not descendants of the great Sherlock Holmes because you never cease to amaze me."

"If only. Why would I be working at a shitty paying job if I were a Holmes." Seeing the devilish stare that Kevin was getting from the Captain he quickly took back all he had said saying he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed.

"Quit your yammering and move on to the bathroom." The Devils playground it was, looking like the PG version of a holocaust. Blood all over the floor, with a beautiful woman with hollowed out eyes lying on the floor. Her dressing indicated her intentions which made Kevin and Roy shamefully drool. This was clearly the work of a heinous individual that apparently had something against women. It was a perversion in itself that the female was the main target and the male was collateral damage and just left there to die. Roy stated that there was no evidence of sexual trauma for she had no wounds in her nether region and he did not find any semen in or around her body.

The missing eyes were a cause for concern. Why would the culprit kill her and take her eyes? , was he a twisted cannibal of some sort. Lunacy not being an exact science they ruled it off as the eyes being a trophy to the killer. Zack had put up quite a fight so probability was high that they were looking for a male. The room was dusted for fingerprints but they all belonged to the husband, his wife and cleaning staff which basically meant they had hit a dead end.

"Weddings and the honeymoon's are overrated. That is why I always tell people to keep it casual. You never go wrong." said the Captain.

"No offense but not all of us are robots." said an underling.

They were surrounded by clues which led them no closer to finding the person responsible. Solving this case was proving to be a mammoth task and thus Fin was wroth with himself for accepting the job. Seeing that they had reached the finish line with no winner, they decided to go back to the start line. Before anything had happened, all was well until the perpetrator entered the room. But as to how he had done this, it was a mystery. The doors could either be opened either from the inside by the tenant or from the outside using a keycard. So the only lead worth chasing down was the latter. The keycards that could open the doors of the hotel belonged to staff being the housekeep, the minibar keep and managers. With the suspect pool so large, they had their work cut out for them but of course the higher brass would never do such tedious tasks when the foot soldiers were present.

"The staff is all yours, make sure they spill out their guts and start with that Keisha. Roy she is yours, knowing Kevin he would daydream during the whole ordeal." He let the body go to the Coroners' office for analysis.

The housekeep was interrogated being asked about each of their whereabouts but that came up empty. The Medical examiner had told them that Portia's time of death was about 8 and 9pm the previous night so everyone was to provide an alibi for that period. With nothing of fruition the minibar keep were next but nothing about them stood out, last but not least they went to the manager and he had a perfect alibi with a dozen witnesses. He gave them a gadget that registers all room entry involving a keycard so they looked at the previous days' log. It showed that there was someone who entered Room 35 at a quarter past 8 using a keycard that belongs to the housekeep. When they confronted the staff with the new development no one fessed up. This was a breakthrough but problematic still, for many of them had access to the card but no indication as to who it was. Immediately they checked if the keycard was still on hotel property and luckily it was. The manager then explained that the hotel had 5 blocks with 10 rooms each counting the bottom floor with five and the top floor with the remaining five. The housekeep had one key that could open all ten rooms per block and only a specific keycard could open the doors of a specific block making 5 keycards total. Roy and Kevin took the keycard in question dusted it for prints and used the fingerprint scanner to see if there could be a hit but alas this was another brick wall.

"One bust after another, that's just great!" Kevin said. Roy contemplating what else to do then suggested that they go to the hospital where Zack was taken. A renowned place like the Fiasco hotel having such horrors occur at their establishment would have people fleeing for their lives so the owner begged that the whole matter be hushed up. Current guests were even voicing about leaving the hotel for another that does not harbor murderers. Running away from the altercation that was brewing Kevin and Roy quietly moved away from the angry mob and went to the exit gate.

"All's well that ends well" said Kevin. "Boo hoo, just shut up and drive". Off they went to be by Fins' side at the hospital. Zack was stable but seeing him on the hospital bed having undergone a lifesaving operation and looking like a vegetable it was clear that they were not going to hear from him that day. Luckily he was stabbed but all his vital organs were still intact. He looked as though he was fit to act in a 'Die hard' sequel. A few IPA members were called to babysit the bed ridden Zack until he awoke. The Captain then got a call from the Coroner. They all listened as they were told that the fatal wound on her body was made by a blade of some sort with serrated edges. So it was established that this was not a conventional knife and it was probably homemade. But as for the eyes it was a much more delicate blade used, the edges of her cavity were not jagged but smooth. This was not the work of a surgeon or a person with medical expertise but it was an impressive job still. The coroner then said that the eyes were probably removed by a Swiss army knife and that a lot of care was taken upon removal. With all the information they had gathered the IPA called it a day and went back to headquarters.