Cupid's Revenge Pt. 01

"The stipend was actually pretty good; it started at around three hundred dollars a month for the freshman year, and added fifty dollars per month for each of the remaining three years. I had to go to summer camp for four weeks for the last two years, and I was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant when I graduated.

"I made First Lieutenant fairly quickly and was a Captain when I left the Army."

"Why did you leave? I would have thought with that much investment you would have made a career out of it?"

"Well, that was my plan. But something happened and ... well, I don't really want to get into that."

Okay, I could see a sensitive area that I should stay away from. "What about boyfriends?"

"Well, there has been a couple over the years. Frankly, I haven't met many men that lived up to what I was looking for. There was a Major in Germany but that's enough about me. What about you? Any ladies in your life?"

I blushed at that. She turned the tables on me when I wasn't expecting it. I stammered a little, even though I had nothing to hide. "Sure, there have been a few girls. I guess I'm like you. I've been married a couple of times and now I'm a bit gun shy about getting hitched again. I have a couple of - I guess you could say friends with benefits - but nothing serious."

We had a good discussion and we both felt more comfortable with each other.

The next morning we sat down together and discussed the case. I explained to her about the differences between the first two Cupid murders. She looked at me as if I might have caught on to something. I asked her about the last killing.

"Well, the MO was very similar to your second one, only two people were killed. Either the killer wanted to be seen or maybe wanted to make new headlines," replied Charlie.

She explained that the two men were coming out of a restaurant. It was a nice business district and one was shot in the neck and the other in the heart. She mentioned that, since the arrow went through the chest cavity and partially out his back, she felt the archer used a crossbow instead of a combination bow.

"Charlie, what is a crossbow and why do you think the killer used one?

"A combination bow is more of a standard bow. You hold it in your hand and pull back on the string. As you pull back, it becomes easier to pull, hence the name combination bow. A crossbow locks into place when you pull it back. You also hold them on a horizontal angle when shooting them. It's a lot easier to control and generally would be more accurate to some degree," replied Charlie.

"Look over these first two killings. Can you tell which type of bow was used?" I asked. "The arrows were a bit different. What do you think?

I watched Charlie study the pictures. Since she was a professional archer, maybe she could see something the rest of us were unable to see.

"I don't think the archer used a crossbow in the first killing. The arrow hit his neck and lodged about half way through. Considering the distance of the shot, I have to believe that an arrow from a crossbow would have gone further through the neck stopping at the quill. You know, the feather part," she laughed.

"Charlie, I don't think we're dealing with one killer. I believe we have a copycat killer. The last two killings are the same but they seem to differ from the first one."

"What? Are you suggesting there might be two killers out there. That doesn't make sense. There have been killings for three years now and only on Valentine's Day. If what you say is true, why did the first one stop and the second one start?" asked Charlie.

"I don't know; I just feel it," I replied. "The first Cupid left absolutely no clues. There is nothing to go on. In the other two murders, he let himself be seen and used a different type of bow. Why the change? I believe it's because there isn't a connection with the first murder other than a copycat killing. Why a copycat? I don't know. Most copycat murders are done by those who want attention."

"Then who are we looking for, the first killer or the second one? We have a little more to go on in the last two killings. As you mentioned, we have no leads at all in the first one," replied Charlie.

"What do we have on the third murder again?" I asked.

"Two victims, if you want to call these lowlifes victims. They were getting out of a car to go into a nice restaurant. One was shot in the neck, the other in the chest. First, the driver was hit and then the passenger. There were two other men in the back seat but neither was shot at. According to them, they saw a figure dressed in black on top of the roof on the building across from the restaurant. Just like you mentioned in the second murder."

"Did they see his face?" I asked.

"According to the investigation report, the archer was wearing a black ski mask and was dressed in black. They found a boot print again, a size eleven. No cigarette butts at the last killing," replied Charlie.

We decided to concentrate on the last two Cupid killings. The MO was very similar and we figured that this person would be the one to try again this year. We started comparing the backgrounds of the victims.

Victim year two was a pimp who owed money to the mob. Maybe it was a hit, but by who? What person would do a mob hit with a bow and arrow?

The two victims from year three were both mob lieutenants. Could it be that someone wanted them dead? Who would be willing to talk to us about it?

After we finished, I asked her out for coffee. I didn't really have anything related to the cases to talk about; I just wanted to spend more time with her. Damn! I was falling fast.

Over the coffee, we got to know each other a little better. I asked her how she liked the military.

"It was great at first. But they still have a long way before women will be fully accepted. What I hated the most -- and it was mostly the macho types in the lower ranks -- was the constant borderline insubordination. Like a guy undresses you with his eyes -- you just can't go running to the Inspector Generals' office every time something like that happens. You just have to suck it up and move on.

"Then there was one incident -- I don't really want to talk about it -- something happened that I did have to go to the IG's office. It was whitewashed and I was furious about it. It came down to one of those he said/she said deals. They told me to get a witness, for God's sake. It was beyond plain harassment. No woman, or even a man, should have to put up with abuse."

"I haven't seen too much of that here in the police force, have you?" I asked.

"No, it's really been good. I've learned to have a tough skin and to give as good as I get. Like last week, another detective gave me a leer and said, 'How would you like to have a real man?' I looked at him like he was a worm, and told him, 'Yeah, sounds good! Damn shame there aren't any of them around here.'

"The other detectives all laughed at him and he came by later and apologized."

I had fun with her and when I put my hand out for her to shake she surprised me, stood on her toes, and kissed my cheek instead.

"I could get used to that," I told her.

-------------------

We had our usual morning meeting. The captain told us one of his many stories. It seemed that they fished a body out of the river the night before and he had his mouth taped with duct tape, his hands tied behind his back and his legs chained to two cement blocks.

After the autopsy, the captain asked the coroner what the cause of death was and was told by the coroner, "It was the worst case of suicide he had ever seen."

After the morning meeting, Charlie and I talked to the captain. We told him about our suspicions and he told us to go after the latest one. He was hoping that another murder wouldn't cross his desk again this year.

Charlie and I headed out to the archery range. She wanted to show me the difference between the crossbow and the combination bow. Man, could that gal ever shoot! I guess that's what you do with a bow and arrow.

She asked me to try it. She made it look so easy that I couldn't say no. She showed me how to hold the bow and when I pulled back the string and let the arrow go the damn quill cut my wrist. I dropped the bow and grabbed my wrist. I looked over at a laughing Charlie. I told her to stop laughing or I'd put her over my knee.

"You wish," she laughed.

She was right. I'd give just about anything to get her over my knee. She did stop laughing and applied pressure with a napkin to my wrist till it stopped bleeding. It felt good with her just holding my hand.

We headed over to the clubhouse and she wrapped my wrist. She knew everyone in the place and introduced me. Everyone snickered when they heard I got cut my first time out. They were all decent enough people. We ate lunch while we were there and talked about the case.

I asked Charlie how good an archer would have to be to shoot and kill at the distance we are talking about.

"They would have to be damn near professionals. An amateur might get lucky one time out but to do it consistently, it would take a professional," she said.

There were about twenty people in the clubhouse, all archers, while we were eating lunch. I asked Charlie how many of them would be capable of making the shots we were talking about.

"None," she replied. "We have a few people who belong to this club who could make that shot, but not consistently. As far as I know, none of them have mob ties. In fact, most everyone in this club were talked to after each killing. They are mostly hunters who go out during primitive weapon season. Most are pretty nice people."

"Is there another archery club near here," I asked.

"There is one over at the country club. I don't belong but they allow me to shoot there since I won the championship two years running. It's good for their business. I'll call them and let them know that we will be coming over tomorrow."

After leaving the archery range, we stopped and questioned the two mob guys whose bosses were killed the year before. They weren't very happy to see us. They kept remarking how inept we were; not being able to find the killer. The guy named Moe was telling Charlie that she should come back alone and he would show her a good time.

"You make me sick. You deal drugs to kids and use women as if they are your personal property. Maybe we shouldn't find Cupid. Maybe you're next on his list," replied Charlie.

Moe laughed at Charlie and wasn't paying her any respect. He told her she had nice tits. He reached out to touch her breasts when she grabbed his arm, threw him on the floor, and bent his arm behind his back until he was screaming.

His buddy John started to interfere when I told him that it would be a big mistake on his part. He just stood back while Charlie read Moe his rights.

"You do realize you were assaulting an officer when you tried to touch me. I could place you under arrest and maybe get you locked up for a while," she said, as she sat on his back.

"Hey, Lady, I didn't mean any harm. It was just a joke. What if I apologize and we'll let bygones be bygones?" asked Moe.

Charlie got off his back and let go of his arm. "Maybe you should try treating women with a little respect. Next time I'll break your fucking arm and then arrest you."

After we left, I told Charlie never to get mad at me. I'd love to wrestle with her but would be afraid I would lose.

She smiled that beautiful smile. "If we ever wrestle, I may just let you win."

Damn! This girl could push all my buttons. I had to admit I loved being with her. I knew that after this case was closed that she would be going back to her old precinct.

We headed to the country club the next day. They welcomed Charlie with open arms. I thought to myself, who wouldn't? She had it all.

After a few introductions, Charlie was asked if she could demonstrate her prowess in the archery field. A number of would-be professional archers were invited to watch her demonstration.

She first used a regular bow and then a compound bow and then a crossbow. I could easily see why she was the state champion. She was fantastic, hitting the bulls-eye every time or damn close to it. Watching her made me wonder about her past. The way she wrestled down Moe and totally despised the drug dealers. I wanted the thought to leave my head. There is no way that Charlie could be Cupid. For one thing, her feet were too small. That thought alone made me laugh.

We were given a free lunch and talked with a few of the archers. Charlie told me that some of these guys could easily have mob ties but weren't that good a shot. Then she said, except for Murphy.

Lee Murphy was a state champion archer. He was number one till Charlie entered the picture. Charlie mentioned that he should be a politician. He was two-faced as hell and would stab you in the back in a minute.

"Tell me more about this Murphy character," I asked Charlie.

"He has a gigantic ego problem. He wasn't even in the country when the first murder occurred. After the first Cupid murder, he seemed disturbed. It was as though he was pissed because the Cupid killer was getting attention about being the best archer around. He just won the best archer title a few weeks before. That must have hurt his ego," replied Charlie.

I remember watching Murphy during Charlie's demonstration. He stood back and just watched from a distance. He was a limelight stealer and he wasn't in it right now. He came up to our table and said hello to Charlie. He acted overly polite. It didn't take a psychologist to see right through him. He was very jealous of Charlie holding the title for the last two years.

After talking to us for a few minutes, Charlie told me that Murphy had invested in quite a few businesses. On our own hunch, we decided to make him our suspect. Charlie had only been on the force a few years and damn near a rookie detective but I was surprised that whoever ran this investigation didn't ask her opinion. I didn't know anyone smarter when it came to archery.

After getting back to the office, we ran all the reports on this Lee Murphy. We needed to know if he ever crossed paths with any of our victims over the last five years or so. Also, we wanted to know if he knew Moe or John. They became lieutenants after the killing of their bosses last year. To us, it meant they were connected.

This Murphy character had his hands in a lot of tills. As far back as we could check, his businesses were all above board but somewhat questionable. It was hard trying to link him to anything. He sold a lot of items in the archery business. He owned an outdoor equipment store that handled guns and archery equipment as well as almost anything for the outdoors. He owned buildings and real estate throughout the state.

We went through his applications for guns and found out he sold guns to both Joe Bowery and Tony Fieaty. These were the two men who were killed by Cupid last year. He sold them their guns three years ago. Again, all the transactions were legal.

I went to his store to question him further. Charlie said she would prefer to stay at the station and keep checking the records. She said this Murphy guy gave her the creeps. Besides she knew as much about archery as Murphy did.

We checked further and found where he sold guns, albeit legal, to Moe and John also. When I questioned him about the gun sales, he said he didn't remember Bowery or Fieaty. It was too many years ago and he said he sold a lot of guns to a lot of people but that his transactions were all legal and he had the papers to prove it.

Murphy did mention that he remembered these guys, Moe and John. They had each purchased a nine mm handgun for self-protection. He then recalled that it was because the Cupid killer killed their friends, and they wanted handguns to protect themselves. When I mentioned that the two men who were killed were Bowery and Fieaty, he tried to act surprised, but I knew better.

An archery expert would have kept up with this kind of titillating story, one that the assassination was done using bows and arrows.

I asked him further about the Cupid killer and showed him a picture of the arrows that were used. He told us they were standard arrows, a good grade and were used by hunters to kill deer and other larger game.

I knew all this because Charlie explained it to me. When I asked him if he sold this type of arrow, he said he did and showed them to me. He told me he sold hundreds of those arrows every hunting season. When I asked him if anyone in particular stood out who might have bought them, he gave me a quick no. He didn't even take the time to think about it.

I asked him about the killings and how good an archer would have to be to accomplish it. I showed him photos, and documents explaining the distances. He smiled when looking at the photos like he was almost proud of Cupid's ability; not a normal reaction from someone who was so arrogant as he was.

"The archer would have to be better than good; he'd have to be great," said Murphy.

He went on to say how hard it would be to kill a moving target at these distances when considering it was nighttime and shooting at an angle off a building. It was as though he was bolstering his own ego saying only a few people he knew would be capable of making those shots.

I walked around his store and looked at the bows and arrows, but spent more time looking at all the firearms he had in stock. He had enough weapons to supply a small army.

"They're all legal," he said to me. "I have the papers on all of them."

I walked over and looked at the boots. I saw some that had a sole similar to the ones I remembered in the pictures of the murder scene.

"Best boots in the business," spoke Murphy. "It's the same kind I wear when hunting."

"A little expensive for my blood," I replied. "I usually wear government issue shoes. Get reimbursed for them. My size ten and a half is easy to find. What size do you wear?"

No one was ever told about the boot print. It was one of the things we kept quiet about."

"Eleven's my size. You ought to try a pair. They're really comfortable boots," said Murphy.

After our little talk and finding out his boot size, I asked him for a list of people he considered worthy of making those types of shots and he gave me a short list. He said he was capable but didn't put his name on my list, but he did list Charlie. When I looked at the short list and saw Charlie's name, he laughed.

*

Part 2 out very soon

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DG Hear &

Jake Rivers