Chapter 28: Chapter 28     The race against the clock – solving the mystery

Chapter 28     The race against the clock - solving the mystery

 

 

The hours left until the execution go by…to all of us everything seems normal and boring…a day breaks and a day ends…no one but Joshua can tell what goes on in his mind…what his feelings are...Wally continues to watch the tapes out of boredom and maybe a little morbid curiosity of a police investigator. The bracelet that now lies in his desk drawer troubles his mind and bothers him in an annoying way. Every time he gets up he looks at the bracelet as if hypnotized. Maybe this cursed bracelet is a charmed bracelet…a mystical bracelet hiding a dark secret! Maybe its better that the secret stay hidden forever. His wife even caught him a few times watching the tapes but lucky for her he stopped immediately and turned his energies to her and the children.  All media channels are reminding everyone that tonight at 9 pm the execution will be performed at death row block called by the guards "the lost souls block"! Abraham feels happy and excited as he's never been in his life. He calls everyone he knows and reminds them not to forget the execution he's attending that will be aired live around the world. Eve and Gideon confirm, after a lot of hesitation that they will be present at the execution. David Stein enters Joshua's cell with a serious face while he is eating lunch. He does not take any interest in the lawyer's actions and the lawyer sits on the creaking bed mumbling in despair

"I've sent an appeal to the Supreme Court…they rejected it and announced the execution will go on as scheduled"

David waits for Joshua to scream, weep, bang his head against the wall, jump at him, try to harm himself…but nothing happens. Joshua continues to eat and doesn’t say a word! David is sure Joshua is losing him mind and cannot understand it.

"Why don’t you say something?? Shout, cry…do something for God's sake!! What can I do?"

The fork movement heading towards Joshua's mouth stops. He places it on the table, stands up and whispers softly

"Enough! Stop acting this way Stein. I know you did everything you could to help me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!! You stayed with me the whole way through and for that you should be proud"

Joshua puts his warm hands on Stein's shoulders that start to weep like a little boy who's been punished

"Stop crying, Stein! You're a good person…you're a brilliant lawyer and I'm sure you'll be famous and become one of the most sought after lawyers very soon…and you know why? Because you're a human being first…you were with me and took care of me when the whole world was against me!! Even my bible disciples turned against me, like family, friends…but I don’t blame them…you know why? Because I was the monster everyone ran away from…everyone feared"

Stein finally manages to stop weeping

"You are in my heart always…from the moment you were forced to defend me till the end…and the end is near…"

He laughs.

"Tonight at 9 o'clock".

He pushes Stein outside…

"Go on…get out…there's nothing for you here anymore… I want to be alone…actually there are two of us here…Me and Joshua the killer…Thank you. Thank you for everything stein". 

They hug in affection and Joshua wipes his teary eyes and throws Stein out

"Get out of here…I have one last request for you…don’t come to the execution…not you"

David Stein leaves with mixed feelings! The door slams behind him and he stands there looking at the iron door.

"I believe you when you say you are not the killer…I guess God wants you with him…be strong Joshua!"

The time is 5 p.m. Mickey and Wally prepare to leave the station and go home. They meet outside the station and Mickey asks

"What about you Wally? Do you want to join me for the execution tonight at 9pm in the prison?"

"Of course! I want to be there to see that monster go up in flames, even if you weren’t going I would have gone"

"OK Wally."

Mickey is amazed at the enthusiasm.

"Say, you were sure all this time that he wasn’t guilty…what happened? What turned you into a blood sucking vampire?"

"You're right Mickey! I was sure he wasn’t the killer. I really did believe he wasn’t the killer…maybe subconsciously it was hard for me to realize he was going to be executed! I couldn’t believe the day of the execution would arrive. I think he's worse than any other killer we've known…he's…he's, Joshua is pure evil…he is absolute evil"

"OK Wally!"

Mickey laughs

"Don’t play Freud now…"

They both get into their cars and drive off. The preparations in jail go into high gear and all the equipment has been check carefully and even tested on a dummy to make sure no mishaps happen in the last minutes. Wally and his wife and kids finish eating dinner and sit to watch TV besides Wally who goes into the office and opens the drawer where the bracelet lies. He puts it on the desk and sits on the chair looking at it.

"How are you today my precious bracelet?"

He caresses the bracelet like you caress a lover.

"You know, today is Joshua's last day…after 9pm tonight you won't be needing Joshua anymore…you won't be his!! You'll be mine!!"

He kisses the bracelet…

"You love me, right? You want to be with me…being a part of me?? You're my precious and no one will take you away from me!!"

His left hand fingers move slowly and hold the bracelet, caressing it gently and placing it open on his right arm. An unfamiliar sensation of submission and completeness surrounds him. He lifts his right hand to close the bracelet on his arm…his left hand fingers hold the ends of the bracelet and bring them closer! A smile of happiness appears on his face…soon it will be on his arm…but something is wrong!! He slams his left hand against the table and cries out.

"How can this be….why won't it close around my arm? What's going on?"

Wally is guilt ridden with frustration and bitterness to boot. He tries again unsuccessfully to tighten the bracelet… holds it up disbelievingly checking it from every possible direction

"I don’t understand it…How could this be? If its Joshua's bracelet why won't it fit me?"

He remembers Joshua's meaty hand as he sat across from him.

"Joshua's hand is wider than mine, then why??..."

Suddenly he freezes, his face contorts in terror as if he's met the angel of death…the frightful truth is slammed into his mind like lightning on a summer day

"The bracelet really isn't his! Joshua was telling the truth!! The bracelet really isn’t his…it's really the killer's but not Joshua's…hold on!! If that's the case…the bracelet's the killer's and the killer isn't Joshua".

Wally paces back and forth in the room. He looks like a psychotic patient having an anxiety attack

"Hold on! I saw the bracelet before I took it from José!!! Damn!! Where did I see the cursed bracelet? Who is the killer? Where did I see this bracelet? I have to remember!! I have to remember!! Damn…it must have been in one of the tapes we took from Abraham and Eve!"

Wally stops pacing and looks at his watch in fear

"Oh no! Its 7pm..I have two more hours to find that this bracelet belongs to…I have to find the killer in two hours!! God help me…I have to save Joshua!! I have to call Mickey to help me!!"

Wally runs to the phone…adrenalin slams through his mind and his body is on fire!

"Hey Mickey…you have to come to my house now!! It's urgent!! I can't tell you anything right now!"

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"OK Wally…I hope it's not something stupid!! Its seven pm…don’t forget we have to be at the jail at 9! If there's action, I'm coming…if you're kidding me…I'll burn down your house!!"

Mickey hangs up but still has doubts. He sips from his favorite flask...suddenly his lover appears semi nude.

"What's the matter Mickey? I heard you had a phone call, right? Don’t tell me you're leaving now…you promised!!"

Mickey waves his hand in dismissal and sighs

"Yeah, I have to go now…there's an emergency at Wally's…he run into something… maybe his nose got stuck in a drawer? Maybe his kids are stuck in the car? Maybe he and his wife got stuck in the middle of a fuck?"

They both start laughing…

"Maybe his brain is stuck in the toilet…anything could get stuck with him…"

The preparations for the execution continue in full force. The guards clean and brush the execution room that is located on the fifth floor of the prison, under the warden's supervision. Wally and Mickey watch the first tape tensely…Wally's wife serves them some coffee and cookies and leaves them alone. Suddenly Wally freezes the tape and jumps up pointing at the bracelet on the screen

"Did you see that, Mickey? Look…look…the bracelet is on one of the guests at Eve's party. It's one of the doctors that work in the infirmary…I'm almost sure it's…"

Mickey gets closer to the screen…he holds José's bracelet and compares it to the one on the screen. He shakes his head

"Shit!! I was sure it was the bracelet! Damn it! What time is it, Mickey?"

Mickey looks at his watch who becomes a giant monstrous clock ticking away in their heads loudly and threateningly

"It's 7:40"

On the other side of town, one of the guards looks at his watch as well who ticks away monotonously

"seven forty one…oh man…by the time 9pm arrives we'll be wiped out…what a mess…everyone's going to be there…the president, senators, the chief of police… everyone…anyone who wants his photo taken…to be seen…big deal!! It's just an execution…this is beginning to look like a circus"

Outside the prison walls a demonstration begins. People holding signs denouncing the execution are received with shouts of hatred by an enormous crowd who begins pouring in to the prison parking lot to watch the event over a large video screen who gives the execution a semblance of a rock concert! The various kinds of vendors are also there. Booths of sandwiches, cotton candy, drinks and more offer their merchandise at the electrical horror show. The night of the great bazaar of Joshua as it is called by some quick thinkers. The living room in Wally's house looks like a smoker's paradise. The room is smoky, cigarette butts accumulate on ashtrays. Coffee cups and beer bottle are strewn across the table. Mickey paces back and forth. Wally walks up to the video machine, takes out the tape they've been watching and puts in a new tape

"Don’t give up, Mickey…we've already seen 12 tapes…we only have 6 more to go…It'll be OK"

"What are you talking about? I don’t think we have time to watch all of them…its 10 past eight. I think that even if we look at all the tapes we won't find anything…you're as stubborn as a mule, Wally"

Wally doesn’t answer and quickly turns on the new tape that show's Eve in a skimpy swimming suit at the pool.

"Forget it Mickey…look who's at the pool…would you invest in her?"

Mickey approaches the screen and puts his face up to the screen checking her out jokingly and laughing

"What a body!! You're right…Can Dr. Gideon handle her? Or does he need any help?"

The both sit back down and focus their gazes on the screen. Every once in awhile Mickey fast forwards the tape and Wally grabs the remote from him and rewinds it. The first visitors arrive and enter the hall located across from the execution room. The media is already settled in and are filming ceaselessly. The guards guide the visitors in according to their importance. The warden shakes their hands pompously. One of the guards in the control room looks at his watch nervously. The time is eight twenty five

"God!! The time is standing still!!"

He watches Joshua.

"I wonder what's going through his head?! What would he prefer…that time stand still or that time…."

The guard stops watching the screen and starts talking philosophy…he looks at a penthouse magazine and then looks at the screen again watching Joshua lying on the bed. Eve and Gideon, Abraham and Michelle each leave their homes in silence. They drive towards the prison. Lawyers Stein, McCoy and Jones meet separately at the entrance to the prison and shake hands. They are amazed at the gathering of the blood thirsty crowd outside the prison as they start singing a song

"Death to the monster…Joshua to hell"

They watch each other in shame and sadness, speechless.

"What is this? A football game? An election rally? A rock concert?"

"I would define it as the vampire circus"

Mumbles Stein

"If I thought this would happen maybe its better I changed my mind and preferred he rot in prison".

They stare again at the large screen playing video clips and interviews of politicians and then enter the prison. Hoards of visitors keep arriving to the execution hall and are being led to chairs. Abraham parks his car and looks at his watch tensely as Michelle watches him secretly feeling uncomfortable under his frozen stare.

"I shouldn't have come…it looks gruesome…I was tempted like an idiot"

Michelle thinks out loud.  Mickey and Wally seem tired. They have no motivation and don’t seem to believe they can solve the mystery. Mickey walks towards the video and can barely put in a new tape. Wally's wife who's been watching them secretly for a while notices their lack of enthusiasm and storms into the room yelling

"You should be ashamed of yourselves…did you come here to sleep? Come one…keeps searching… did you forget that thanks to you maybe an innocent man will be killed? Move your asses already…come on…I'll help you!!"

Her aggressiveness makes them jump. They look at each other in worry and quickly go return to action as she hands them new cups of coffee and sends them to wash their faces.

"Oh my God Wally!! What a woman…she can be the chief of police!!"

"Oh no!! Cries out Wally"

its 8:25…if we don’t find the killer now they might as well execute us instead of Joshua!" he pounds the wall.."I can feel it in my blood, my body and brain…we're going to do it!" Both of them, along with Wally's wife charge the VCR looking like the energizer bunny! Eve and Gideon are being led into the hall to their first row seats. Politicians quickly shake their hands. The hall is full and it includes all those who wish to be seen and heard! Joshua's cell door opens and the guards walk in placing a tray full of drinks, candy and light refreshments on the table.

"Its 8:30…you have 15 minutes to finish your meal. We'll be coming for you at 8:45"

The closes and locks behind them. Joshua stares at the tray in front of him with a blank stare…his hands slowly reach for the tray…suddenly he grabs it and flings it at the camera located at the upper part of the wall. The guards, watching the screen jump up in fright as Joshua smiles nastily and lie down on his bed. Abraham and Michelle are led into the hall and to their first row seats next to Eve and Gideon. The two couples sit silently frozen. They avoid looking at each other and each seems deep in thought. Mickey and Wally light cigarette after cigarette and leave the search to Wally's wife who bounces around. They glance every so often at the screen. Mickey's eyes are focused on the floor as Wally's are staring at an imaginary spot on the ceiling. They are tired, frustrated, embarrassed and confused but a scream from Wally's wife scares them back to reality

"What's the matter? Are you crazy? What's up with you? Have you lost your mind too?"

Her face is contorted, her eyes popping out their sockets, her tongue sticks out and her body shakes like an epileptic patient. She screams again almost giving them a heart attack

"I found the bracelet"

She points to it on the screen "I swear it’s the bracelet! Come look" They fly over to the screen, eyes glued to the screen and her hand holding the bracelet. Mickey screams in excitement

"You're right!! It's the bracelet!!And Its 9pm!!"

He hugs Wally. Wally suddenly sees how everything fits together like a puzzle from hell. He plays the events back in his head…meeting Isaac's parents and their spouses, finding the body, talking to José, José's evasion regarding the bracelet, meeting Joshua, the uncomfortable sensations…the pictures in Abraham and Eve's homes displaying the couples and their friends and the bracelet on the screen worn by a mysterious figure.

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