There's a vigilante killer loose in San Francisco, and when the court system fails, he doles out his own brand of justice.
SFPD Homicide Inspector Vince Torelli is stymied by the case. The killer always seems one step ahead of him, and he makes no mistakes. What will it take for Vince to solve the most difficult case of his career, and who is the Retribution Killer?
EXCERPT FROM "RETRIBUTION"
After lunch they went to the morgue for the autopsy. The Medical Examiner, Doctor Chamberlin, had been performing autopsies for 18 years and had seen things most people could not even imagine. In spite of the brutality he had seen, each day was just another day at work. He had the capacity to dismiss the days events from his mind, a defensive mechanism he had developed over the years, and a morbid sense of humor to help drive away the memories. He was munching on an apple and writing at a small desk as Vince and Clark walked in the room. Barajas body lay on a gurney being cleaned up by an assistant prior to being taken back to the morgue.
“Hey, Doc” Vince said as he entered. “Still selling body parts on the side?”
Doctor Chamberlin looked up from his notepad and said “You wait, Torelli. You’ll see how expensive it is to have two kids in college. Gotta make ends meet somehow.”
“How’s our friend Barajas.”
“Dead, and I mean really dead. Somebody had some fun with this one. Whoever did this was very upset with this young man. Bled him out pretty good before killing him.”
“Oh yeah? How so?”
“For starters, he made 37 cuts all over the body, some pretty deep, all would have been very painful and bled a lot, but weren’t fatal. Probably would have, had the cuts been made all at once, but it appears they were made over some period of time. There’s coagulation in different stages in some of them which would indicate others were fresher, probably made after the first cuts stopped bleeding.”
“Any estimate, Doc, on how long it would have taken the killer?” Vince asked, sitting down on a chair next to the desk.
“Hard to say. I would estimate at least a couple of hours. He was tied and gagged. How does he know this, you ask? I found ligature bruising on his wrists and ankles, and residue from tape on his mouth. Duct tape, I’d say, if you asked my opinion.”
“That long, huh? Then he was tortured before being killed.”
“I’d say so. Then, after the killer tired of his little game, he administered the coup de gras by stabbing him with a very sharp knife in the heart. The blade entered just below the xyphoid process in an upward and slightly left direction into the heart. The killer then moved the knife back and forth, lacerating the heart muscle, hence causing the ultimate demise of poor Mr. Barajas.”
“Would Barajas still have been conscious at that point?”
“Probably, though very weak from loss of blood. I understand there was not much blood around the body, and since there wasn’t much left IN the body, I deduce he was killed somewhere else. I am right, am I not, Watson?”
“Good work, Sherlock. What would we poor, dull witted investigators do without the benefit of your wisdom, Doc? Clark, can’t you just feel the wisdom in this room?” Vince said, grinning at his partner, who just nodded in agreement. “How long ago did he die, Doc?”
“He was found around 10:30 pm, so I’d say he died at least 2-3 hours earlier.”
“That would make it between 7:30 and 8:30 pm last night. We know the alley was clear around nine when the beat cops walked through it, so the question is, where did the killer keep the body all that time, and where was he killed?”
Clark, who had been listening, chimed in, “Do you think the killer could have been driving around with the body all that time?”
“Nah” Vince replied. “Too much chance of something going wrong. What if he got stopped by a traffic cop? Or maybe got in an accident? No, I think Barajas was killed not too far away from where he was dumped. C’mon, Clark, let’s go check it out. Thanks, Doc. As always, your sage advice has opened a few doors.”
“As always, you are welcome. Oh, one last thing. There was a shallow cut on his cheek that didn’t fit with the other cuts.”
“How so?”
“Well, it was superficial and didn’t fit the pattern of the other cuts. All the others were made to inflict pain and blood loss. This cut looks suspiciously like the number 1.”
“Does it just look like it, or is it actually the number?”
“Hard to tell. Skin is elastic, so it’s a bit distorted, but it does appear to be a number. Don’t quote me on that, but it very well could be a sign.”
“OK, Doc. I’ll keep it in mind. One last thing, Doc. What can you tell me about the knife?”
“Only that it was large and very sharp. From the fatal stab wound, I’d say it was like a hunting knife, maybe a Bowie knife. The blade had to be at least six inches long and a bit more than an inch wide, maybe an inch and a quarter. A formidable weapon, Vince, designed to intimidate and terrorize as well as kill.”
“Thanks, Doc. We gotta go. Call me if you find anything else of interest.”
As Vince turned to leave, Dr. Chamberlin put his hand on his shoulder and said, “Hey, Vince, be careful with this one, OK? Whoever did this is pretty disturbed and extremely dangerous.”
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