The difference between the good and the best is measured by his ability to take chances. Ironically, these chances, depending on whatever they were succesful or not differenced the best and the idiots that get burned. There is always a little but of stupidity involved whenever greatness is trying to be achieved. The best kind of idiots though, back themselves up in case of failure. I had two back ups, I had my .357 magnum and I had Pat who was a phone call away. He had told Tony he took his day off, so he'd wait for me in a coffee shop not far from where I was going.
Pat had been a pleasant surprise since the Tony Cullen debacle. Although we didn't discuss it with open words, I felt that like me, he tried to make the most out of a situation both of us couldn't control. He also seemed to take a lot of pleasure in investigating. Pat rarely smiled, but his sleuthing brought a big satisfaction grin across his face, which made me also very happy. I never brought Pat anything but trouble, a smile wasn't a million dollars, but it was better than a slap in the face.
The plan was to pay a visit to Karen's parents in Olympia. The bet was that they weren't aware of anything. Obviously, Roy and Carmela weren't the goody-two-shoes that I first made them to be. That didn't necessarily meant that they were involved in the Greenwell-Winchester story. At least, not completely. My main hope was that they weren't aware of my implication in all of this. Presenting things my way could make Karen's parents say some something about their daughter that would explain a little bit more of hr involvement in the case. Karen had been a dark horse since the beginning with a strange duty to bring me into this.
The Tinsley household was exactly how I left him more than four years ago. I had been there only twice before and the place was rigorously identical than before. Whiter than a cloud, cleaner than a monastery. You could count on a single hand the yellow fibers in their blinding green yard. When I parked in front of their house, I could hear much to my dismay, that Patton, their mini-pinscher was not dead yet. That dog always creeped me the fuck out. He was like the reincarnation of the fearsome general. His face had a strange human expression, plus,he barked and humped everything that moved. Being humped by Patton was traumatic to me like getting raped by a elederly military figure. Judging by the way he jumped against my car door, he was very happy to see me again.
''Fuck off Patton'' I said, whiping him away with my foot, with a gentle but enthusiastic energy.
The mini-pinscher went flying at the other end of the yard and disappeared into the hague. The little fucker knew I meant business. Age probably helped him to take the wise decision to run away. Except for the Tinsley's little sexual deliquent, the household looked quiet, if not silent. The windows were shut despite the crazy heatwave that was washing over Seattle. I took a quick look into the garbage bin next to the porch and it was completely empty. To my rememberance, garbage day in Olympia was Monday and Thursday. We were on Saturday, so the thing must've had to contain at least a bag or two. My instinct rung the alarm, something was wrong. Patton came back with a timid pace near the porch and sat down. He looked thin and tired. I first thought it was age, but maybe the dog was hungry. Maybe it had been locked out of the house for a while. How long can a dominant dog like Patton be locked out, starving without alerting the whole State? A few hours maybe, whatever happened to Karen's parents, I had still a chance to make a difference.
I went in the backyard and immediately forced opened the basement window. They were, of course, still the same than last time. They were old windows what you could force opened by wiggling them very hard. I didn't care if any neighbors came in, no one did to my knowledge, but if they would have called me out, I would have asked them to call the cops and left. Something was going on. I slipped inside the basement, followed by Patton, who still had his reflexes together, despite the advanced age. When I dated Karen, Carmela told me he was six or seven years old already. He must've been ten or eleven now.
''Roy, Carmela, is anyone home?'' I yelled.
Patton made a run for the stairs. He seemed to be wanting to show me something. Dogs always know where to go when something's happening. My scare was that it was too late. There wasn't any smell to a fresh corpse. Not a noticeable one anyway, but to a Dog, the world was a smellfest, he would spot a rotten cheese from a mile away. I opened the basement door just to realize that the lock had been blown out with no subtlety. Gunshot, I was late to the party after all. I followed my little companion of misfortune into the hallways up to what probably was the room of Roy and Carmela. The door was locked. I took and deep breath and kicked it in, expecting not to like what I would see.
I was right. My ex in-laws were hanging from the ceiling. They were fresh and wrapped like a strange parcel. Their legs had been strapped togheter like they used to do with death row inmates when hanging was still trendy in prisons. They hands were tied with zip cuffs and despite having no hood to cover their ace, their executionner had the decency to put a blindfold over their eyes. I understood with horror that this was a lot bigger than we ever thought. The whole Seattle police department seemed to have gone rogue. This made sense, Winchester had such a strong hand held over everybody in the community, nothing short of a master scheme would've tripped him down from his solidified stronghold. No policeman was out of this now. What angered me was that I had still no idea what Karen had to do with it or why her parents had been executed like criminals in their bedroom. Their ex-bedroom, they were freshly divorced, but somehow, a grim and twisted mind figured out it would be toughtful to send them off to death toghether. I was scared to know who that mind would be. I knew all too well but didn't want to admit it.
An envelopped had been slipped in the strap over Roy's knees. I didn't catch what was written on it because of the angle, but when I pulled it out I could see ''Mike Parker''. I knew the handwriting all too well. I couldn't believe Karen would've done such a thing to her parents, maybe what was inside the enveloppe would give me a better insight on the girl I thought was inoffensive for all these years.
Mike,
I know what you're thinking. Don't be angry or sad. This is a better ending for both of them. They are better off without fighting each other all the time. I know your head is full of questions, you probably think I' m a psychopath now. You might be right, but if I'm a psychopath, the whole world is going crazy. I'm just a part of the winning team, unlike you.
Let it go Mike. You can't win this one. You're alone against an army. They have all the rights and you have none. I've been mandated for one thing. To give you another chance. People over me think you could be an asset. That's why I didn't sufer the same fate than Trevor will. This is your last chance Mike.
2020 Bullard Street
Come alone, we will be on the lookout for your brother or anyone from Tony's crew, which we also have under our control.
I love you,
Karen
I had never thought one day I'd receive a creepy illuminati love letter, if this was it. I was in the middle of a a story written by Dan Brown on a bad day. I did the first thing that was logical and slipped out of the house, not before having Patton fed. I always had a soft spot for animals. They were dragged in the worse conflicts all the time without having asked anything to anyone.
I called Pat at a pay phone in front of the nearby 7-11:
''Pat...''
''How was it?''
''Pat I need you to listen to me, don't ask questions now.''
''Sure''.
''Come pick me up at the 7-11, we need to get to Tony as soon as possible. Shit's about to go down.''
''What 'hem...sure.''
If Tony was any smart, this was his time to lighten up and take us seriously.
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