Ryan McManus

Joker’s Wild

It’s 3.a.m, the phone rings. Detective Harrison rolls over in bed to

answer. “Hello?” he already knew what the call was about. There’s been a killer

on the loose, four victims in just as many weeks.

“Hey, Harrison, sorry to be calling at this hour but we got another one.” The

voice on the phone answers.

Tonight makes five. Harrison gets out of bed, his pale blonde hair a mess. He

walks over to closet and puts on his white button down over his tank top. He

slides into his jeans and ties his red tie tight. Looking down he holds the tie

and smiles. His wife had gotten him that tie. Throws on his holster and grabs

his trench coat. Before he leaves for the night he walks into his daughter’s

room and gives her a kiss on the forehead, then vanishes out the door like

whisper. He knew Alice would stay sound asleep, and Mrs. Johnson was right

across the hall. She usually watched her when Harrison was out on cases.

Harrison pulls up to an alley cutoff by police tape, the flashes of police

lights changing the brick walls from blue to red.

“Excuse me sir, but you’re not allowed passed this line.” a uniformed cop

said, stopping Harrison.

A brawny, older man with salt and pepper hair, and thick mustache,

walks over. Exhaling from his cigar the man says “It’s alright, let him in, I

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called him. Sorry to drag you out bed at this hour, but it seems we’ve got

another murder.”

“Its fine commissioner, I rarely ever sleep anymore as it is...So, it’s the

same as the other?” Harrison continued.

“Yeah.” The commissioner nodded. “While the murder weapon is

different, the calling card is the same.”

“He always leaves the same thing, a playing card.” Harrison finished the

commissioners thought.

“Sir, is it alright to be telling this to civilian?” the uniformed cop

interjected.

“He’s not a civilian rookie; He’s a P.I. Former officer, and best goddamn

detective this city’s ever see. Isn’t that right Harrison?”

Detective Harrison didn’t acknowledge him. Harrison wasn’t one for

praise. He didn’t care about being the best; he just cared about putting away

criminals and helping those families who were affected by someone else’s bad

day. Harrison didn’t know what made bad men tick. Maybe someone was down

on their luck and thought this might be there only way up. Maybe someone

just had a really bad day and lost their cool. He had a bad day once. Or maybe

some people were just born bad and were dealt a bad hand by life.

“So where’s the body?” asked Harrison.

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 “Right over here.” the commissioner pointed to young girl.

There she was, in her early twenties laid cold and alone in the middle of

an alley. Her white dress now stained with blood. Harrison crouches next to

the body. She’d been stabbed seven times in abdominal and chest. Her lipstick

was just as red as her blood.

“Where was the playing card?” Harrison asked.

“She was clutching it in her hand” the rookie chimed in. “It was the

seven of diamonds, if you were wondering.”

“Seven of diamonds, and she was stabbed seven times, any other links

tying her to the card?”

“Not that we know of just yet.” Said the commissioner

Harrison analyzing the body recounted the previous murders in his head.

“Victim one, Jack McAllister, was killed with an axe to back of the head.

His apartment was perfectly clean, except for a playing card, the jack of

diamonds, which coincidentally or not is also hold an axe. There were no signs

of a struggle, so that means he probably knew his killer. Victim two was Victor

Hernandez. Victor was shot in the chest after leaving from a hotel with his

mistress. Cops went through his wallet and they only found a playing card, the

two of hearts. I guess you can’t give your heart to two lovers. Victim three was

Emily Queen. Mrs. Queen was an 83 year old woman who lived alone. It took

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weeks for the police to find the body. Someone poisoned her tea with a deadly

extract from a flower. She was found with queen of clubs gently laid on her

chest. That queen is always shown holding a flower. Victim four was Edward

King. His has been the worst yet. He was stabbed with a sword and impaled to

his wall. The king of clubs was left by his feet. Now tonight a young girl whose

luck had run out, found in an ally with nothing but a bloodstained dress and

an eternal look of anguish permanently etched into her face. Five crimes all

with different victims, from different backgrounds, spanning across

generations. No motive, no common history, no evidence, no clues, except for

the playing cards.”

Harrison stood up and brining the world around him back into focus.

The commissioner handed him a piece of paper. “It’s the victim’s name.”

He looked down to see a copy of her driver’s license. Sylvia Evans.

“He’s grasping at straws now”

“How so?” the commissioner looked confused

“Sylvia Evans, S. Evans, sevens” Harrison said with a smirk.

“I’ve investigated the body and can’t find anything else out of place, I

don’t we’re find anything else tonight. Better luck in the morning

commissioner. Have a good night and let me know if any other leads pop-up”

Detective Harrison said while walking over to his car. He drove off into the cold

night, now with more worries on his mind.

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 “Commissioner, If was such a good detective, why did he leave the force?”

asked the rookie.

“Because no one can be that good without some kind of drawback.

Harrison solved cases and put criminals behind bars. But when you’re hunting

psychos, it’s not long before they start hunting you. Harrison got this note

saying his wife had been kidnapped, some asshole’s idea of sick game. He had

Harrison running around town looking for clues of his wife’s whereabouts only

to have his search end up with him finding her dead body in a warehouse on

the edge of town. It messed him up pretty bad, his daughter too. His little girl

hasn’t said a word it happened. It’s been two years, she just turned ten.” The

commissioner stared off in haunted memory.

Another week, another murder. Harrison found himself being called to

the home of George P. Wellington, CEO of Global Tech. Wellington was having

his 67th birthday party at his estate when he was found shot in his study. The

reason Harrison was called was because Wellington was found with the ace of

spades next to his body. Harrison worked his way through murmuring party

guest and to the victim’s study. The commissioner and a few officers were

standing around the body “Hell, I’m surprised you didn’t get lost, this house is

so big.”

Mr. Wellington was face down with a playing card lying over the gunshot

hole in the middle of his back. After examining the body Harrison looks around

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the room. It was unlike the others, a plant was knocked over pictures thrown

across the room. The commissioner walks over to him. “So, what do you think

same guy?”

“What makes you say that commissioner?” Harrison asked

“Yeah there’s a playing card here but there’s no connection to it. The

crime scene is a mess, there’s no specific weapon tying it back to the card. His

has no significance to card either.”

“then it sounds like this our guy, total chaos and no connection to the

other crimes, other than the card.” Harrison replied.

The rookie from the last crime scene walks over and says “We just

finished questioning the party guest, and no one says the saw anyone fleeing

the scene.”

“So that means the killer is still here.” Harrison suggested.

A standing closet started to rattle in the corner of the room. A tall thin

man with greasy hair down to his shoulders and scruff smeared across his face

fell out. He used the confusion to dash past the cops and out of the room. The

rookie ran down the hall after him, Harrison fallowed suit. The rookie gaining

close behind the man and followed him into a garden maze. They were slightly

to fast for Harrison to keep a good eye on them. But the man was holding

something in his hand, Harrison couldn’t quiet see what it was. They turned

left then right then Harrison lost them. After a few seconds of silence, a bang,

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Harrison ran towards the shot, where he found the rookie shot in the leg. He

calls the commissioner over and then sweeps the maze looking for the culprit.

The sun starts setting and Harrison calls off his search of the estate grounds.

When he meets up with the commissioner he learns the rookies injuries are

minor.

“This bastards gonna to pay, all this work and still no results. We have

six dead bodies, a wounded officer, and an overworked commissioner.” The

commissioner said rubbing his eyes.

Harrison looking off in the distance says “ I don’t think was a copycat

commissioner.” Harrison points to banner hanging around where the party was

being held. It said Happy Birthday with the Global tech logo in the bottom right

corner. A GT inside of the ace of spades.

The next few days passed without incident, until one afternoon Harrison

and his daughter come home to find the rookie cop standing outside their door.

He was using a cane and his leg was wrapped.

“Rookie? What brings you here?”

“The commissioner is missing. We came into the precinct this morning to

find this note on his desk. It’s addressed to you.” He said, handing Harrison a

red envelope.

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 “He’s been kidnapped?”

Harrison said while skimming the note. He looked in the envelope to also

find a playing card, the ten of spades. He finishes the note only to be horrified.

The last line says his worst nightmare, your daughter is next.

Harrison kneels down next to his daughter, looking her in the eye he

says “Alice, I have to go into work for a little bit, but this nice officer is going to

stay with you while I’m gone.”

She nodded with a look of concern on her face.

“Hey, don’t worry sweet pea I’ll be back before bedtime” he said then

kissed her on the forehead. Alice smiled and went inside.

“So where are you going to start your search?” the rookie asked.

“The note said: at 6p.m come to the grand hall and hear the horns of

angels. Tonight ends where it all began. The St. Gabriel opera house, that’s

where I was offered the key to the city after solving my first big case, that lead

to my involvement in a number of high profile cases. Whoever this guy is, he

happens to be a fan of mine.” Harrison said looking pissed. He pissed someone

else might die and it would be his fault, just because they knew him. He was

determined not to let that happen.

Harrison pulls up to the abandoned opera house. Most of the paint was

chipped off and almost all the windows had either been broken or bordered up.

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He walked through the iron gate, it creaks slowly in wind. He slowly pushes the

door in only to have it fall off its hinges.

“Geez, I don’t know who’s in worse shape me, or this building.”

Harrison walked inside, down the dirty red carpet and into the

auditorium. He’s only a few feet from the stage when Flash! The stage lights

burst on blinding him. His vision slowly coming back, he can make out two

shapes. One is a figure of a man. “Commissioner is that you?”

“You shouldn’t have come here is a trap!” the commissioner yelled before

his voice was muffled by some kind of cloth.

Harrison was still standing in the middle of the aisle, his vision coming

in more clearly. He saw the commissioner tied to a giant ten of spades on the

left side of the stage. On the right was a giant queen of hearts with what look

like a girl tied to it. It was Alice.

“NO!” Harrison’s face contorted with agony.

The rookie stepped out from behind a big red curtain “Its show time.”

He wasn’t in his cop uniform but in what looked like a circus clown

costume turned into a suit. It had nice crisp edges but made of multicolored

patches. The buttons were all different shapes and sizes. And the pocket had a

handkerchief that seemed to comically oversized. He was holding a cane in one

hand and a top hat in the other.

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 “Welcome to my fun house detective Harrison.” He chuckled

“You but why?” Harrison still regaining his vision

“Well you were taking too long to find me and I just had to meet the great

detective Harrison. No really you’re something else, it’s an honor.” The

madman said and politely bowed to him.

“Why are you doing this? why me?”

“Because I was tired of hearing about the great hero Harrison, the city’s

shining light, their knight in glimmering armor. SNORE! I’m not into it. You’re

out there catching bad guys and trying to give their actions meaning, but

sometimes people are just bad. There is no right or wrong, it’s just about fun.

The chaos and the screams. To see a city stricken by fear, parents locking their

doors and hiding their children, fear is power. I want to show the world you’re

just as crazy as the rest of us and no one is perfect.”

“It all makes sense now the reason there was never any struggle. Its easy

to gain access to people’s homes if you’re in a cop uniform. But how can you

stand? How did you get here before me?” Harrison asked.

“Easy enough to answer but why can’t the great detective figure it out?”

the madman said sarcastically.

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 “Correct me if I wrong but I’m going to say you shot yourself to throw

suspicion away from yourself. And you can get around faster in your squad car

with the sirens on, than I can in my car.” Harrison deduced.

“Ding! Ding! Ding!” the madman congratulating Harrison.

“Now then on to our experiment, tonight detective I offer you a choice. Do

you A, choose to kill the commissioner and save your only family left, or B, kill

your daughter and give the city its false sense of security back. Which is it?”

“You’re a mad man, you couldn’t possibly ask anyone to make that

choice!” Harrison was trying to buy some time. In a high pressure situation like

this every second counts.

“Oh but I’m not asking anyone, I’m asking you. Now choose.” His voice

changing from a childlike laugh to a tone of seriousness.

Harrison stood there for what felt like an eternity. Does he save a

longtime friend whose always had his back, or the obvious choice his daughter.

Harrison wondered what if this was a trap. What if he takes too long and he

kills them both. Out of fear of losing his daughter he says “I’m sorry chief but I

choose my daughter.”

A giant buzz saw extends down from the ceiling inching closer and closer

to the commissioner.

The madman let out a chilling cackle. “Just like that you’ve sacrificed

your city’s safety for you family. What ever happened to the greater good?”

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 “I chose now let my daughter go!”

“Alright, alight”

Alice’s chains release and she falls to the floor. She picks herself up and

runs over to him.

“Good” Harrison pulls out his custom magnum and shoots through the

commissioner’s chains suspending him in air, he falls to floor narrowly

avoiding the saw. Harrison turns and points his gun at the madman.

“Freeze or the next one is going through your skull.”

“Well you’re a buzz kill where’s the fun in that” the madman slowly

raised his hands. He pressed a button on his cane and an explosion erupted

causing part of the ceiling to come collapsing in. the madman disappeared in

the commotion. Harrison dashes over to the commissioner and cuts off his

restraints. Helping him up Harrison says “Take Alice and get out of here.”

“But what about you Harrison?”

“I’m putting an end to this tonight.”

The commissioner and Alice run for the exit, Harrison makes his way

backstage. He takes caution brandishing his gun he starts a slow sweep of

dressing rooms.

“You can’t hide forever. You need to pay for your crimes.”

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 A shot fires down from the rafters.

“You just have to be mister goodie two shoes, always making life hard for

the little guy.”

Harrison hastily climbs the latter to the catwalk, and fires off at a

shadow in the dark. He chases footsteps down the catwalk, when a figure

jumps out and tackles Harrison. He fires, the head rolls off.

“Just a mannequin.”

He gets up and resumes his chase. A door opens and he follows close

behind. He bursts out into the night air. He’s on the roof, looking out over the

city. The silhouette of the man stands in front of him. The madman smiles an

eerie grin from ear to ear, his face even more vile in the moonlight.

“This is your chance now detective. Do it, shoot me and become the hero

the whole city adores. You’ll be on the front page of every paper and I’ll go down

in infamy. A win win.”

Harrison raises his gun aiming at the madman’s chest.

Laughing the madman says “that’s the spirit. Go on show us what you’re

made of”

Harrisons finger light but firm squeezes down on the trigger. He lets out

a cry of anguish. At the last second he points his gun up towards the sky.

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 Harrison walks out of the opera house and into a parking lot filled with

cops. He sees the commissioner and his daughter being examined by an EMT.

“Harrison what the hell happened up there. I thought you dead.” The

commissioner asked.

“I’m fine, and so is he. I left him up there handcuffed to pipe.”

“You mean you didn’t kill him?”

“No, because that would mean I’m just as corrupt as him that was his

goal, to try and bring me down to his level. But I stood strong tonight and

showed him what real courage is made of. Now then commissioner, I’m taking

Alice home, she’s had a long night.”

Harrison carried his daughter upstairs to her bedroom, and tucked her

in. she had fallen asleep in his arms on their way home. He went into the

kitchen and poured himself a glass of scotch. He sat down on the couch and

before he could even take a sip, he was asleep. Alice’s door opened. She came

out of room moved his glass the table, and wrapped a blanket around him. She

curled up next to him, her head on his lap and said “I love you papa.” before

falling asleep.

Harrison’s phone vibrates; a text message came through from the

commissioner. Harrison the prison transport holding officer Joseph Carr

crashed. All passengers were found dead, except for him. Be on the lookout.

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