“Well, it’s all I can see from here. It’s too far off to see anything else, and we’re not exactly at a great angle.”
Deadblood looked over to the motel rooftop thoughtfully before bringing the grapple gun out again.
“Jesus, Champ,” Sheri groaned. “Tell me you’re not going to try it with all those cops down there.”
“Why not? Can’t hear or see anything from here. I’ll go over, see what I can see, and you stay here and listen to the scanner for any more news.” Deadblood pointed the grapple gun up to the edge of the roof, aiming for a solid looking antenna sticking out.
Sheri muttered something about him needing a fucking utility belt that he ignored, as he pulled the trigger. The grapple shot out, and anchored firmly around the antenna’s large metal base.
“I’ll be right back, Sheri. Listen for the scanner, and if there is any trouble, well, don’t shoot at them. I’d go with the freaky powers instead, or radio me and I’ll come back and help you.” He said, pretty sure that she was making a terrible face at him behind the helmet’s visor.
He gauged the distance for a second, and then leapt, swinging over to the next building and quickly planting his heels into the brick. Now all he had to do was scale the wall for ten feet or so, something that was becoming easier after his few test runs. He was up on the roof of the motel relatively quickly, and without much noise. Deadblood crept to the side of the motel where the police were gathered, just as the coroner’s van pulled up.
“Just in time,” One of the cops said, pointing towards the room on the second floor. “They’re both in there. It’s messy. I hope you’re wearing boots. Housekeeping is going to have a hell of a time cleaning this mess up.”
“Nah, they’ll just rip up the carpet, replace the mattress and call it a day,” The coroner said, unphased at the prospect of a gory scene. He’d seen so many that hardly anything shocked him now days. “They’ll have that room all turned over and ready to rent out again by tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure. It’s pretty bad. One of the worst I’ve ever seen.” The cop posted outside the door shook his head. He’d made a point to stand with his back to the doorway to not have to look any longer than he had to at the grisly scene inside. “It’s as bad if not worse than the dead hooker in the dumpter from the other night.” The coroner shrugged.
“Don’t recall. Must have been my night off.”
“Well, I saw it, and at least that one was mostly in one piece. You might need a shovel for what’s in here.”
The coroner snorted, waving him off dismissively.
“I think you cops just like exagerating. Every single one of them is ‘The worst you’ve ever seen’. I’ve been doing this for twenty years. I’ve seen it all.”
“Fine, have at it.” The cop replied, walking away from the open door, still making a point not to look back at the carnage inside. The coroner muttered something about rookies as he approached the doorway, peering in and immediately blanching.
“Holy Jesus jumping Christ shit, are you sure there are only two of them in there? They’re everywhere! All over everything!” He shouted, backing away quickly and starting back down to the van, as the cops chuckled grimly at his sudden change in attitude.
Deadblood now was glad that they had not been able to see much from the other rooftop. By the sounds of it, those girls had met an extremely nasty end, enough to shock the coroner.
Who would have done something like that? Someone who’d just been interested in making a quick buck robbing the girls for any money, drugs or jewelry they’d had wouldn’t have left such a mess behind, and even a sadistic customer likely wouldn’t have inflected enough damage to sicken the police. There had been two of them as well, surely one of them would have managed to flee or fight back if it had just been some sicko who got his rocks off snuffing out hookers.
No immediate names came to mind, but something about the whole thing just didn’t sit right with him. He decided to go ahead and get back to Sheri on the other rooftop and see if she’d learned anything interesting from the scanner, when he spotted a man hanging around across the street a little ways down from the motel, in the distance.
It was hard to see from here, but he looked pretty thuggish, like he was a member of some street gang. Was this the man responsible for the dead women in the hotel room? They always said that criminals always returned to the scene of the crime, after all.
Deadblood watched him for a moment longer, before radioing Sheri.
“Sheri, look across the street,” He whispered, crouching down and keeping his eyes on the man. “See that guy?”
“Yeah, I see him. He’s been standing there for a while now. Creepy fucker.” Sheri’s voice came across the waves clear as crystal. These helmets really were amazing, and Deadblood was glad they’d gotten them.
Almost as if he realized he was being watched, the man began to start walking away briskly, further away from the motel.
“I’m gonna follow him, Champ. No way he was up to anything good hanging around like that.” Sheri said, to his shock.
“Are you fucking crazy? Don’t follow him. Wait, I’ll be right over.” Deadblood hissed, as he made his way back across the rooftop, looking for a good place to swing across. But it was too late. Sheri had already taken the stairs down to the street, and was pursuing the man as he slipped into an alley.
