Free Slasherazzi by Daniel A. Kaine Page A

endure before the final blow was dealt…I shuddered and curled up into a ball. I’d seen plenty of gruesome deaths during my time on the force, but this one took things to a whole new level of sadism. How could anyone do those things to another person and not feel revolted? Just seeing the slices of flesh lying next to Fernando’s head was enough to put me off sausages for life.
    My stomach churned violently, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since the night before. I’d tried to force a sandwich down at the cafeteria earlier in the day, but I had neither the appetite nor the constitution to finish more than one bite.
    The vibrating of my phone cut through my thoughts, and it occurred to me that I should pick up the call, or turn the damned thing off. I reached over, intending to hit the power button when the room fell back into silence. Breathing a sigh of relief, I collapsed back down onto the mattress and continued my staring match with the ceiling.
    Soon after, a loud droning carried through the house. I made no move to get up and answer the door. They’d come back another time if it was that important. The buzzing came again, followed by four hard knocks.
“Alex, I know you’re in there.”
    Shit, it was Vince. Maybe he’d go away if I ignored him long enough. He knocked again, almost threatening to break the door down with each pound.
“Come on, man, I’m fucking worried about you. At least answer your phone.”
    Of course, he’d have heard about Fernando. Information had already leaked to the media, and the press was all over the photos they'd received that morning. Captain Blake had made a public statement in the afternoon and confirmed the latest victim was one of our detectives. The whole fucking city had to be aware of it by now.
    I pushed myself up with a groan, ambled to the front door and opened it. The porch was empty. I blinked twice to make sure, but nothing changed. I shut the door and turned away.
    “Wonders never cease,” I muttered and started back to the bedroom. Never would have imagined Vince could give up so easily. I took a detour to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. As I shut the refrigerator door, there was a bang from elsewhere in the house. I set the glass down and tiptoed into the hall toward the living room, where I was sure the noise had come from.
    Footsteps sounded against the wooden floor, getting louder with each passing second. They stopped only a few yards away. My pulse hammered through the vein in my neck, and I held my breath. I waited with my back to the wall, listening for any sound.
“Alex, I can see your foot.”
    Glancing down and to my left, I cursed under my breath. Those big feet were going to be the death of me one day, sticking out like nobody’s business. I grated my teeth and stepped out. “What the fuck, Vince?”
    He smirked and gave a half-assed shrug. “Wanted to see how you were doing. Been trying to call you for ages, and you weren’t answering.” His smile faded, and he lowered his gaze. “With everything that’s been going on, I was worried something might have happened to you.”
    The window at the side of the house was wide open, and he held a plastic carrier in one hand. Behind him bits of dirt lay on the floor beneath the window. The edges of his white sneakers were muddied. Had I been in the mood, I might have given him hell for trampling the flowerbed outside and trekking soil into the house. Instead, I sighed and took a step forward until our bodies were almost touching.
    “Sorry,” I said, resting my head on his shoulder. “It’s not exactly been an easy day. Just wanted some time alone to process all this.”
    Vince placed one hand on the back of my head. “I can’t even imagine. If you want me to leave, just say so.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and held on tight. The warmth of his body seeped into mine, and I relaxed into him. “Stay. Please.”
He pulled away and lifted the carrier into view. “When was the