Goose City Read online

  Goose City

  By

  Linwood D. Ellsworth

  SMASHWORDS EDITION

  ******

  PUBLISHED BY

  Linwood Ellsworth on Smashwords

  Goose City

  Copyright 2016 by Linwood Ellsworth

  Cover Design by

  Linwood Ellsworth

  Cover Photo by

  Steven G. of Legacy Park Film

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Your support and respect for the property of this author is appreciated

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  About Linwood Ellsworth

  Other titles by Linwood Ellsworth

  Prologue

  “As I was going up Pippen Hill…”

  Laying on the wooden table, the dark haired young woman looked up into the bright overhead lights. She giggled. "You only paid for an hour, and it’s been two hours. Now untie me. I have other customers waiting."

  “Shhh!” said a masked man as he leaned over her. "I'm afraid I can't untie you. Also, you have no more customers. I am the last customer you’ll ever have in this life."

  "Just untie me and I won't tell Mr. Redbreast," said the dark-haired young woman trying to sound brave. "This isn't fun anymore."

  "Don't worry. Mr. Redbreast will know that I kept you longer than our scheduled time," said the masked man as his black latex gloved hand gave her left breast a rough squeeze. His behavior quickly changed from congenial to hostile. “Besides the real fun is just starting you disgusting, disease spreading whore.”

  "I'm serious, Mr. Redbreast doesn't like when a customer gets rough with one of his girls," said the dark-haired young woman nervously. "The last guy that got rough ended up in the Serenade with two broken legs."

  The masked man smiled behind his mask as his black latex gloved hand traveled from the woman's breast to her quivering flat abdomen. “You’re afraid. That's good. ”

  Her line of work required taking certain risks and deep down she knew this was her last. “Why are you doing this?” the woman asked as her voice trembled.

  “I'm doing this to rid this magnificent city of people like you,” said the man through clenched teeth as he moved his hand to her pubic region. “Now, let us begin.”

  "Just untie me and I'll leave your city," pleaded the woman as tears welled up in her eyes "Please let me go."

  The masked man placed a large knife on her quivering belly while he disrobed. Upon seeing the knife, her dark eye widened while her breathing increased rapidly. “Please don't do this,” pleaded the woman.

  Picking up the knife, he carefully inspected the blade. “The city needs to be cleansed. I have taken it upon myself to be the one to do it.”

  Removing the mask, he leaned into the light giving her a view of the last face she would ever see. It was angelic but with the eyes of the devil. Removing a lock of blond hair out of his face, he smiled, "This will hurt. I promise. By the way, you have lovely eyes.”

  He placed a latex gloved hand over her mouth and nose and held it in place. She struggled for air. The more she struggled, the more pressure he applied. He smiled madly as a tear rolled out of the corner of her left eye. He then placed the point of the knife against her left side and slowly pushed it in up to the hilt. He closed his blue eyes and sobbed heavily.

  “As I was going up Pippen Hill, Pippen Hill was dirty; there I met a pretty Miss...”

  Chapter 1

  My name is Detective Jackson "Jack" Horner of the Goose City Police Department. In the ten years I have been with the department I have never started a day like this one.

  My Monday morning started with me and my partner Dick Whittington sitting across a naked, fat Henry Emperor, the leading fashion designer in the world. With my detective's salary, I couldn't afford anything designed by the man.

  All we know so far is that Henry Emperor paid two men posing as fabric designers two million dollars after they claimed they had developed a technique to weave an ultra-light nearly invisible fabric.

  "Just a couple more questions then we'll leave you to your business," said my partner of two years, Dick Whittington, who did his best to maintain a straight face.

  Dick's an intelligent kid with a bright future as a police detective. He was a stellar two-sport athlete at Grimm High School, excelling in football and baseball. He had every major college in the country looking to sign him. However, Dick decided to join the military where he became a member of Covert Team Omega. Unfortunately, his military career was cut short due to multiple injuries sustained at the Battle of Belleilse. For his actions at Belleilse, he earned a silver cross and a gold star. Like most guys who fought at Belleilse, he refuses to talk about the battle.

  Like Dick, I also served in the military but never saw any combat action. All of my action was reserved for tavern fights. After two years of military duty, they hastily discharged me citing I was mentally unfit. Upon returning home, I discovered Goose City had become a cesspool, overrun with drugs, filled with political corruption and the rich fleecing the poor. With the help of my adoptive mother, Anne "Mother" Hubbard I joined the GC police academy and became a cop. Following in her footsteps, I dedicated myself to clean up the city.

  Let's get back to the naked, fat Henry Emperor, who was now pacing in front of us. Dick did his best to keep a straight face. I can assure you he hasn’t seen his dick in years. With his money he probably paid someone to lift his belly so he could take a piss.

  "Please ask your final questions so I can get back to my business," said Henry Emperor as he stopped pacing.

  "Do you know if they approached any other designers about this technique?" I asked as I watched beads of sweat roll slowly down his C-cup size breast.

  “I do not know,” said Henry Emperor angrily. "All I know is if this gets to the media then my image is ruined.”

  Sensing his anger, Henry Emperor's chamberlain, Lucy Locket finally jumped into the conversation. She had remained silent while Emperor recounted his version of events.

  She hid her brown eyes behind dark frame glasses and wore her black hair in a bob. The black and white d
ress she wore, most likely an Emperor design hugged every curve of her fit body.

  "Detective Horner, if word of this reaches the media, Mr. Emperor's image will suffer, both socially and financially. It is imperative that these men are apprehended."

  "We don't do damage control," I said as I looked at Lucy Locket's legs.

  "I'm not asking you to do damage control. I have people for that. All I need for you to do is your job Detective," said Emperor as he finally sat behind his desk again. "Apprehend those charlatans and punish them."

  “Their punishment is for the court to decide,” I said as my gaze went to Lucy Locket’s ample breast.

  “How right you are detective Horner,” Lucy Locket said agreeably "Please forgive Mr. Emperor, this affair has left him somewhat stressed." Henry Emperor’s pudgy face tightened.

  "No need for an apology," I said as my gaze went to her beautiful brown eyes. She still had that heartwarming smile on her beautiful face.

  "Chief Fitzwarren promised me, he would employ his finest and brightest to apprehend these charlatans," said Emperor glaring at me. "Apparently he sent the wrong two boys."

  First, he insults us by not wearing clothes then insult our ability to do our job. No one insults my ability to do my job. Getting up, I headed to the door. Stopping, I turned and said, "Put some damn clothes on."

  Standing and showing himself to me again, Emperor yelled, "I will have your badge on my desk tomorrow Detective!"

  On my way out, I slammed his door as hard as I could. I waited for Dick in the hall.

  A few minutes later, Dick and Lucy Locket exited Emperor's office. She was carrying two folders. "I apologize," said Lucy Locket. "As I stated earlier he is under a lot of stress."

  "You shouldn't apologize for his stupidity," I said. She offered that heartwarming smile once again.

  "We can continue the rest of the questioning in my office," said Lucy Locket. We followed her down the hall back to her office where we initially began the questioning before going into Emperor's office.

  Before going into Lucy's office, I said, "It's all yours Detective Whittington. I want nothing else to do with this case."

  Once we entered Lucy's office, Dick began questioning Lucy again. "Do you think these men could be working for a competitor who wants to discredit Mr. Emperor?"

  “I can assure you that Mr. Emperor has no competitors,” said Lucy Locket as she handed Dick the two folders. "Only admirers and followers."

  "What are these?" asked Dick as he opened the top folder.

  "Everything our internal security compiled about the two suspects," said Lucy.

  Once he finished looking through the top folder, Dick said, "At least we have photos of the suspects."

  "Yes, all visitors and employees are issued photo identification," said Lucy.

  Dick handed me a folder. I slowly leafed through the pages of information and said, "These guys don’t look smart enough to pull anything off and I doubt if they are still in the city."

  "If I had two million in my pocket, I wouldn’t hang around Goose City," added Dick. “If that’s the case then we may not be able to do anything.”

  "What do you mean?" asked Lucy.

  "It means they are most likely out of our jurisdiction," Dick said. "If they come back to Goose City, we'll get them. The best we can do is distribute the photos to other law enforcement agencies and ask for help."

  "I request that no outside agencies be involved," said Lucy Locket. "As I also stated earlier, if this gets to the media, Emperor's image will be ruined."

  "Asking for help from another law enforcement agency is protocol," said Dick. "The more agencies we get involved the better are our chances of apprehending the suspects."

  "Very well," said Lucy. "Detective Whittington I would prefer that you pass on any case information directly to me."

  "Under normal circumstances I wouldn't do it, but you seem trusting enough," Dick said.

  "Thank you," said Lucy as she handed him her business card.

  After leaving Lucy's office, we got onto the elevator and started the long descent from the one-hundred-thirtieth floor. Half way down we get a call. "Homicide at the Well."

  Looking at Dick, I said, "I'll take this one."

  Chapter 2

  After traveling the winding road uphill to the Well, we finally pulled into the parking lot. The Well, situated in the Gloucester section of Goose City overlooked Mulberry Lake. Once the favorite place of Goose City's socialites, it had become nothing more than a haven for teenagers who skipped school, drug users, and prostitutes. This place should have been demolished years ago, however, the people that controlled Goose City demanded that it remain intact.

  Broken glass bottles in the parking lot glittered like diamonds in the morning sun. In the middle of the large parking lot were two GCPD cruisers, a coroner’s wagon, and a forensic truck. The forensic team, dressed in white hazmat suits stood next to their vehicles smoking cigarettes and chatting with the team from the coroner's wagon.

  “This is weird,” said Dick as he looked around the parking lot. “Where’s the press? They're usually at crime scenes before we are. ”

  After two years, he still hasn’t learned that if a crime takes place in Gloucester, Banbury Cross, or St. Ives, it doesn't get aired on the six o'clock news. However if a crime takes place in Pippen Hill or Babylon, then the whole world knows about it.

  "We're in Gloucester," I said. Dick looked at me with a confused look on his face. “I'll explain it later.”

  After parking next to a cruiser, I signaled out a uniformed officer and asked, "What do we have?"

  "The victim is at the bottom of the hill sir," replied the uniformed officer. We followed him under the yellow police tape and stopped short of a retaining wall with a twenty feet drop covered in jagged rocks and thistles. He pointed to a body at the bottom of the hill.

  "Anyone been down yet?" I asked as I loosened my tie.

  "No," responded the uniformed officer. "Chief Fitzwarren gave orders to wait until you got here. There's a footpath over here that leads to the bottom."

  "I'll go and get the machetes from the trunk," said Dick. While waiting for Dick, I gave the area a once over. I discovered blood droplets and several empty Mist vials. I quickly signaled for the forensic teams to collect evidence.

  After Dick returned with the two machetes, we donned borrowed Hazmat suits from forensics. The uniformed officer led us to the footpath. On the way down the footpath, Dick commented, "Well we know who didn't take the path to the bottom."

  Shaking my head at Dick, I said, "Not funny."

  After several minutes of navigating the narrow, rocky footpath we finally got to the bottom. We hacked away the thistle until we finally reached the body of a Caucasian male lying on the jagged rocks. He wore a dingy long sleeved collared shirt, a tweed vest, dark brown trousers and boots. The back of his head was crushed and covered with blood. The victim's right arm and left leg were in positions unachievable by humans. My initial diagnosis is that all his injuries were sustained during the fall. I’m sure the forensics and the coroner's officer would say otherwise.

  Putting on a pair of latex gloves Dick searched the body for identification. “It appears as if he’s been here more than a day. He’s stiff as a board,” said Dick.

  After several seconds of rifling through the victim's pocket, Dick handed me a black leather wallet. Opening the wallet, I came across several identification cards. "Jack Wellington of the Saint Ives section. Twenty-two years old and works as an employee of Old MacDonald's Organic Farm," I said as I looked up the hill from which he had tumbled. "Why did Jack go to the Well?"

  Dick chuckled and said, "I can guarantee you that it wasn't to fetch a pail of water."

  "That is what we must find out," I said. "Do you know why there aren't any reporters?"

  "No, please enlighten me wise one," Dick said sarcastically.

  "This isn't Babylon or Pippen Hill," I said.

  "What does t
hat mean?" asked Dick confusingly.

  "The media will make Babylon and Pippen Hill appear as a rotten apple," I said. "In the meantime Gloucester, BC, or St. Ives will appear as shining jewels. We both know that to be the biggest lie on this side of the Serenade River."

  “And I thought Grimm was fucked up,” commented Dick.

  “Do you know what this is going to do to our cases in Pippen Hill or Babylon?” I asked. “They get put on the backburner.” Another unwritten rule of GCPD stated if something happened to a residence of Gloucester, St. Ives, or BC a huge portion of manpower is to be dedicated to solving the case.

  I removed a faded picture of a red haired female from Jack Wellington’s wallet. The picture was faded to the point that most of the face was unrecognizable. Turning the picture over, I discovered the handwritten inscription “To Jack, Love Always, Jill D.”

  "So why didn't Jill come tumbling after?" asked Dick as he removed a vial of Mist from Jack's vest pocket. "Looks as if Jack wanted to be a star."

  Mist was the drug of choice for the rich and poor alike. It amazed me how a person from Gloucester, St. Ives or BC would get caught buying Mist in Pippen Hill or Babylon and never face any charges. However, the seller, usually from Pippen Hill or Babylon would be convicted and sent to Green Gravel.

  "What time did you take the call?" I asked the uniformed officer as I wiped off sweat from my forehead. It felt as if I was cooking inside my Hazmat suit.