Slasher on the Loose:

Simone’s Notes:

Serial killers are not uncommon in California, and investigators working the prostitute murders were all too familiar with the names: William Bonin, Leonard Lake, Charles Ng, and the infamous Zodiac. They were also aware that a serial killer has an unquenchable thirst for murder and that the only way to end his murderous cycle would be get him off the streets. According to The Riverside Killer by Christine Keers, a task force was quickly formed and headed by Riverside Police Chief Linford L. Richardson, Sheriff's Lt. Al Hearn, Captain Bill Reynolds, Lt. William H. Caldwell, and Sheriff Cois Byrd among others. Under their supervision were 14 detectives, the largest enforcement effort ever assembled in the county. Apparently aware of the efforts police officials were taking to find him, the killer either stopped killing or found another dumping ground, which remains undiscovered to this day. Regardless, by 1989, two years since his last known murder, the killer struck again. On January 27, 1989, the body of 37-year-old Linda Mae Ruiz, a known prostitute, was discovered on the beach of Lake Elsinore. The victim's head was buried in the sand and an autopsy later revealed large quantities of alcohol in the blood. Sand was found in the victim's throat and cause of death was listed as acute asphyxiation.

A loud scream awoke half of the dogs in the apartment the next morning. Jim woke up lighting fast. Another scream followed. It sounded like… Daisy! Mrs. Lee-Wright was in trouble! “Daisy?” Jim asked in concern. “Daisy!” Then, he quickly leapt out of bed and ran straight out of the apartment to investigate. He was joined by may other men. They all found the woman in the hallway. She was trembling in complete fear. Her husband came by her side. “Daisy,” Jim said calmly to her. “What’s wrong?” The poor woman was still trembling and crying. She pointed out in deep fear. The men all looked forward. A soldier was lying face down on the floor in pools of blood. Judging by his rank, the man used to be a colonel. The men walked over to body. Brandon lightly turned it over. “He’s… he’s… he’s…” Daisy stammered out. Jim tried to calm her down. “Shhh!” he whispered to her. “It’s okay now! You’re safe!” But, that didn’t work at all. “HE’S DEAD!!!!” his wife screamed out. “HE’S DEAD!!! HE’S DEAD!!! I THOUGHT HE WAS SLEEPING!!! BUT HE’S DEAD!!! I THOUGHT HE WAS SLEEPING!!! HE’S DEAD!!!” Daisy fell to her knees in hysterical tears.

Brandon found himself in complete shock within seconds. “Uh… guys,” he said with a trembling voice. All of the other men looked up at him. “What is it, Floyd?” Mustang asked. The lt. col. swallowed hard. “You might want to look at this!” he managed to say at last. Then, poor Brandon showed them the body. All were in complete shock. The man’s penis was badly mutilated and the words, “Punishment of the Dog,” were written in blood on his chest. A deep red line was all over his neck. This could only mean one thing. “The Night Slayer’s been here!” Hughes gasped out. “But, why would she drop the body here?” Fuery asked in pale shock. “To warn us!” Floyd replied in equal shock. Daisy began crying again. Mustang regained his senses. “Wright,” he ordered. “Take your wife away somewhere to calm her down! We’ve got serious work to do here!” Jim nodded quickly. “Right!” he said. Then, the lt. turned to his hysterical wife. “Come dear,” he said softly. “I’ll go get you something to drink.” Daisy nodded as she whimpered. “Yes,” she murmured. Then, they headed back to their apartment while the men got to work on their latest victim.

The day was hectic after that. Everyone was advised to take extra caution when leaving and returning to their apartments today. Security was increased for extra measures. Daisy had to be calmed down many times to from going hysterical again. “Here,” Gracia said to her as she handed her some ginseng tea. “Drink this.” Daisy nodded as she took the glass. The woman drank up fast. “Please get me another one Gracia,” Mrs. Lee-Wright replied. “I need another glass!” “Okay,” the other woman replied. Then, she went to make some more ginseng tea. Some were afraid to leave their apartments. The investigations team was scratching up all of the clues they had on file. They still kept coming up short. Nothing was leading anywhere. Something just wasn’t making any sense here. How could a prostitute drag and a dead body all the way from a house of ill-repute? A handful suspected that she had a friend living here as well. There were some civilians living in the complex as well. But who did she know here at the apartments? And were they working together? Or was the Night Slayer working alone and just dropped the corpse here as a “safe house.” There were no footsteps at all. The floor was completely spotless. Whoever brought the body in must have cleaned the floor afterwards. Why was the body even brought to the apartments anyway? Was this corpse was a warning? If so, a warning for what?

By evening, Mustang was stressed out and decided to go out to the bar. This whole case was now beyond reason. He and his men kept running around in circles. In the end, they were stuck with the same answerless questions. The major general kept staring down in his glass of red wine. He sighed hard. “If there was only some way to…” he thought in distress. “Hey!” a voice called out to him from behind. Roy quickly looked up. Selena was standing behind him smiling. The general just couldn’t help but to stare at her. The woman had her long wavy black hair down to her lovely waist. A deep red passion flower was in her locks to push back some of her sweet hair to reveal her pretty right ear. She was wearing little black dress that revealed her perfect cleavage. Selena’s blood rose red lips begged for a kiss for a charming man. Her best feature was her artist-worked grayish-blue eyes. “Is this seat taken?” Selena asked returning him to Earth as she pointed to the stool next to him. Mustang snapped himself out of it and looked at where she was pointing at. “Oh!” the major general said quickly. “No, go ahead!” “Thanks!” the woman said. Then, Selena sat down next to her guy friend. “One cherry sherry, please!” she called to the bar tender. “Coming up!” he called. Then, he got to work.

“Oh, that’s horrible!” Selena gasped out after Mustang told her about all of the gory details of the latest victim in the Night Slayer case. “I know,” Mustang replied. “We still don’t have any leads! We all just end up back where we started.” The major general took another drink. “All we have is phone number and address written on a sheet of paper,” he went on. “It’s strange; we have twelve matches to the writing on the victims’ chests. One of the matches is you.” Selena looked a little pale at that statement. “I see,” his lady friend replied. She looked slightly worried. Mustang noticed right away. “Selena,” he replied. “What’s wrong?” The woman didn’t answer at first. She just kept looking away from him. Then, Mustang noticed something peculiar about his lady friend. Selena was lightly rubbing at a silver heart charm bracelet. On her wrist was a semi-faint scar. “Selena!” he called in concern. “What happened to your arm?” His lady friend looked up uneasily.

“I got it from a boyfriend years ago,” she replied slowly. “Oh?” Roy asked softly. Selena felt uneasy about bringing back up the subject again. But she just had to say it. So, she took in a deep breath and began.

[Flashback Begins]

Selena once had a boyfriend four years ago. He was a young lt. in the military in the Central City unit. He was very gorgeous and rich. They were young and in love. (Or so she believed.) Selena and the lt. were sleeping together on a regular basis. He promised that he would marry her, give her money, and start a family with her. Of course, she believed him because she was young and in love. Selena’s brother warned him against her. But, she still kept seeing the man. All was very great until she got pregnant. That’s when the guy’s true colors came out. He was very jealous and possessive. The lt. wouldn’t let anyone near Selena at all. She couldn’t take him like that. Things grew worse when she found out that her so-called boyfriend was married and twin girls back in the east. “So that all I am to you?” Selena snapped. “Just a sexual play-thing?” “Ha!” the jerk laughed aloud. When the woman tried to leave him, he violently slapped her in the face and called her a “slut.” The lt. even tried to deny that it was his baby and demanded that Selena have an abortion done. When she refused to do that, he paid her to keep quiet about it.

The nine months flew by quickly. Selena fought and survived on her own. Her brother helped her out. The woman gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Her ex wouldn’t stand for it. So one night, he drove by Selena’s house. The lt. quietly came up to her door. He knocked once. “Coming!” she called out. The ex lover waited patiently. Selena opened the door wide to find him. He smiled at her sweetly. The woman tried to close the door in his face, but he fought back hard and forced the door open wide. His ex glared at him coldly. “What the hell do you want?!?” she snapped. The man kept smiling at her. “I just want to take my favorite girls out for a drive just like old times!” he replied. “Come on, it couldn’t hurt at all.” Selena didn’t trust him at all, but she went anyway. Why? Naïve hope that he would change his mind about marrying her. But, that was far from it!

Selena, her ex, and the baby girl drove for miles out into an abandoned field. He stopped the car in front of the fence. The woman looked around nervously. “Why are we here?” she asked nervously. Then, the woman felt a cold barrel at her head. Fear consumed her. “Get out of the car!” his ex yelled at him. Afraid of what he would do to her, she complied. The creep marched her and the baby all the way under an oak tree. A shovel was sticking up into the ground. The lt. took the baby out of Selena’s arms and made her dig up a grave. The woman didn’t want to do it, but she had no choice but to do so. The ex watched as she dug with tears in her eyes. Once the labor was done, the lt. made drop the baby in and bury her. Both parents drove away without saying a single word. She didn’t want to go, but the lt. forced her by violently grabbing her by the wrist, cutting it, and dragging her away. Even though the lt. left her alone after that, the nightmares still haunted Selena in her dreams.

[End of Flashback]

Selena softly broke down into tears. Mustang lightly held her close to his chest. “There, there.” he said softly. “It’s okay now.” The woman still kept crying on his chest.