Chapter Four
“That’s match point,” Asa declared triumphantly.
“Shit, man! Did you have to go so hard on me that time? You know, I’m not as young as you.” Derek huffed from the other side of the squash court. He was bent over with his hands on his knees.
“If I go easy on you, you complain that I’m not giving you a challenge. Whether I go hard or easy on you, the end result will be the same. I win,” Asa said without conceit.
“Cocky bastard,” Derek muttered, standing upright. “I’m going to be feeling this one tomorrow. But to be fair, you’re ten years younger than me. I’m an old man.”
“You’re only forty-six. You hardly have one foot in the grave.” Asa wiped his face with a towel.
“I suppose you’ve heard the news.”
Asa took a swig from his water bottle before answering. He had a pretty good idea what his friend was going to say but decided to play along. “What news?”
Derek narrowed his gaze. “That city councilman has been missing for over a week now.”
“That’s a shame.”
“Is it really? It just seems like a hell of a coincidence that he ends up missing shortly after you handled his daughter’s care. And, after you asked me to unearth her old school records.”
Asa shrugged.
“Look, I wish you would tell me what happened. It’s not like I haven’t figured it out a long time ago. But, you’re about to cross a dangerous line. You’re getting reckless. Those other people have already been forgotten but this man was on the city council. His disappearance won’t go unnoticed. There’s going to be a massive search.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Asa said before taking another gulp from his water bottle.
“You know what the hell I’m talking about. I’ve been covering for you but you have to stop this one-man crusade of yours before you get caught.”
“Again, I don’t know what you’re referring to.”
“Marvin Anderson, you, asshole.” Derek yelled the words making them echo throughout the hollow room. The room was private so there was no one around but this was exactly why Asa never discussed the things he did with Derek. The less his friend knew the better.
He and Derek had started their friendship when Derek was still on the force and Asa was still a resident. Derek had been the officer Asa had to report an incident of child abuse to. Unfortunately for the child in question, though Asa and his colleagues had done the best that they could, he couldn’t be saved. He and Derek had commiserated about the incident over coffee. The worst part about the whole fiasco, was the fact that the child’s father was a high-ranking officer on the police force, someone Derek had to report to.
He was able to resign with full retirement benefits and his lawyer was able to get him a deal of ten years’ probation. It was complete bullshit and had led to Derek turning in his badge in disgust but it had also led to something much darker. It had triggered Asa in a way he never expected. It awakened the beast that had lay dormant within him since the day he’d slain his own personal monster.
Once awakened, the hunger within him wouldn’t be ignored. It had to feed. He’d obsessed over it, lived and breathed it until it threatened to drive him insane with bloodlust.
As a resident, he got very little free time but when he did, he spent it stalking that monster, learning his patterns and plotting ways to make him suffer. When he wasn’t working, he thought of little else.
And finally, at the right moment, he made his move.
Asa sat in his car wondering if he’d actually go through with this because once he did, there was no going back. The first time had been accidental but this would be deliberate. He felt that if he didn’t go through with it, he would regret it. Besides, the man was a monster and monsters deserved to die.
Asa glanced at the clock on the dash of his rental car. It was just a little past ten and like monsters, this one was a creature of habit. He walked his dog down the quiet street of his suburban neighborhood. The street lights were on but most of the houses’ lights were off.
Asa slid out of his car and donned his hoodie. He followed the monster at a safe distance. His dog, however, must have caught Asa’s scent because it began to bark. Asa quickly made his move, getting behind his target and slamming the large rock he’d found earlier into the back of the monster’s head. He crumpled like a piece of paper.
The monster didn’t get a chance to scream before he brought the rock down on his head again and again until there was no movement. Asa quickly glanced at his surroundings to make sure no one was watching before grabbing the rock and running back to his car. The last sound he heard was the dog whimpering as it stood beside its dead master.
From then on, he’d gone about his regular routine as if nothing had happened, though nervous that someone would discover what he’d done. The brutal murder of a former police lieutenant was all over the news. But as time passed and no one questioned him, Asa finally relaxed. He’d gotten away with it and he finally gave himself time to reflect on what he’d done.
Did he have any regrets? None. The bastard deserved to die. He was a monster pretending to be human. In his mind, it wasn’t murder but justice. But one other thing he discovered, was that he’d liked it. A lot. More than he should have. This quest that he’d started on didn’t end with that kill. It had only just begun.
Little did Asa know however, he didn’t actually get away with his crime. There was a witness.
Derek.
Apparently, his friend had formed his own obsession surrounding the monster. But unlike Asa, he’d planned on trying to catch him in some other illegal act instead of just taking him out as Asa had. Derek had confronted him. Asa had been ready to accept his fate but to his surprise, Derek decided to remain silent. Since then, Derek had been a quiet accomplice of sorts, supplying Asa with information through the one-man private detective agency he’d formed.
Asa never went into details on the off chance that he was somehow found out, Derek wouldn’t be able to testify about something he didn’t know.
“Care to yell that a little louder?” Asa stuffed his items in his gym bag and headed toward the door.
Derek placed his hand on Asa’s shoulder to stop him. “Look, I get it. You’re on this quest for justice. But if you keep this up, you’ll eventually get caught, especially if you choose high profile people like the councilman.”
“Who says I had anything to do with his disappearance? For all we know, his mistress could have had something to do with it. That was also all over the news. Wasn’t she the last person who saw him alive?”
Derek pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Look, I get it. He wasn’t a good person but if you continue this, I can’t protect you.”
“I never asked for your protection. In fact, this conversation is boring me. As far as I’m concerned, the news of the beloved councilman has nothing to do with me.”
“Is that what you tell yourself to justify what you do? Look, you’ve never gone into great detail about why you do this but I have a pretty good idea. And, I get it. Your father—”
“Is dead and has nothing to do with this.” Asa could see where this was going and wanted to nip it in the bud. “Don’t presume to know what’s in my head and why I do what I do. It’ll only drive you crazy trying to figure it out.”
Derek raised a questioning brow. “Like it’s already driven you?”
“You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”
“All this talk of slaying monsters. It’s not normal.”
“What do you call someone who uses their child as an ashtray and puts their cigarettes out on the child’s skin? Or someone who purposely injects their child with household cleaning products just to get sympathy from family and friends? How would you label someone who sexually violates a four-month-old? Do you call them people? Are they allowed that distinction when they carry out these acts and no one gives a fuck? But, I’m the crazy one for calling them what they are? Monsters. You like to pretend you’re so much better than me because you don’t get your hands dirty. But deep down, you secretly applaud what I do while turning your nose up in public. The truth is you want me to be crazy because then you can feel better about your own thoughts. The thoughts you harbor late at night. The only difference between you and me, is that you’re a spectator with a season ticket while I’m the main event.”
And with that, Asa gathered his bag and headed off the squash court without waiting for his friend’s reply. He went straight to the locker room and pulled out a towel and soap before heading to the shower.
Derek joined him minutes later but neither man talked or even acknowledged the other’s presence until they were dressed and headed out of the gym.
Derek was the one to make the first move. “Asa, look, I don’t want you to think I’m coming down on you. It’s just…that I’m worried. I just don’t want you to get caught. Have you considered maybe seeing someone? A psychiatrist maybe?”
Asa laughed humorlessly. Psychology was one of his majors in college when he was an undergrad. What exactly did Derek think a psychiatrist could tell him that he didn’t already know? There in lay the problem with being smarter than most people he knew. Asa was aware of the fuckedupness of what he did, and he was okay with that. He had to be in order to get the job done. “And what do you think that would accomplish? Are you suggesting I should be medicated? Do you honestly think that it’s going to temper the beast inside of me? Nice suggestion, but no.”
Derek raked his fingers through his hair in apparent frustration. “Fuck you, Asa. I’m just trying to help. It’s a wonder why I put up with you.”
There were many things Asa could have said to Derek but he decided not to say them out loud. Besides, he wasn’t interested in having an argument when he wanted to get home and prepare for his date with Jamie. He glanced at his watch.
“You have somewhere to be?” Derek’s sullen tone indicated that he was still highly annoyed but Asa ignored it.
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“A date? Are you still seeing that doctor, Maria, I think her name is?”
Asa couldn’t keep the smirk off his face, not at the mention of his plans tonight but at the way Derek had eagerly grasped on to a different subject for the sake of normalizing their conversation. Whether Derek acknowledged it or not, he was not much different from Asa. But, Asa was fine with playing his friend’s little game of normalcy. “No. We never formally dated. We had dinner a few times but I prefer to be the aggressor in the relationship.”
Derek grinned. “What’s the matter? Can’t handle a strong accomplished woman with her own opinions?”
“We just didn’t fit. She was too perfect.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It can be. But as it stands, she and I are just colleagues.”
“She’s also a beautiful woman. I’m pretty set in my ways at this point in my life but I wouldn’t turn her down if she was interested in me. Your problem is, you have it way too easy with the ladies. So, who is the lady in question?”
“I’d rather not say just yet but if things go as I intend them to, you’ll know her soon enough.”
“You must really like this one if you’re already making future plans with her.”
“I didn’t say that but yes, I plan on this turning into a relationship.”
“Wow. This woman must be something else because as long as I’ve known you, I haven’t seen you date anyone longer than a few months. Now, I’m very curious to meet her.”
“I’m sure you will, eventually.
“Keeping your cards close to your chest, I see. Well, I’m looking forward to meeting her.” Derek shrugged. “Well, uh, see you at the gym next Saturday, same time?”
“I may be on call but I’ll let you know if my plans change.”
Once they parted ways, Asa headed home to get ready. He couldn’t remember a time when he’d been this thrilled to go on a date. When he was younger, he was just like any other horny boy who was interested in tits and ass but there was no one who had excited him beyond a few quick fucks. He’d been with older woman, younger women, white, black, Asian and Latina ones. Asa had skinny, fat and everything in between. Some of them he liked more than others. There were a few who interested him beyond the bedroom but like all his other relationships, they would eventually fizzle out because there was always a piece missing.
But, Asa believed he finally found it in Jamie. And if his feelings proved to be correct and she was the piece, he wouldn’t let her go.