The Head and the Heart

When I walked back through that old house, it was like there was a movie playing in my head. I could see Jay and I running laps and chasing each other around the house. I saw the two of us standing on furniture and the brick fireplace playing that stupid ‘lava’ game kids play. I picked up an old photo on the mantle. It was Jay and I on my highschool graduation day. Just 3 short months before I left home for college.

“Who’s there! Who- Oh Sean! You didn’t tell me you would be early! Nearly gave me a heart attack!” My mom came out holding a baseball bat.

“Woah Ma. Put the bat down… I just thought I’d surprise you… Is Jay still around? It’s been a while since he’s answered my calls and texts.” I laughed and hugged her.

“Your brother? He’s somewhere. Comes and goes as he pleases. I’ll go call him. He’ll love to see you”

He must have answered her, because within the hour Jay came traipsing in.

“Jay! Good to see you man!”

“Yeah. It’s been a while.” He hugged me back.

“How about we all go out and do something?” Mom suggested.

“I am pretty hungry.” I replied.

“Yeah, I could eat.” Jay responded.

   We ended up at this small burger joint. The meal was full of laughter, and the recollection of our favorite childhood memories. After the burgers were long gone, a decently long silence followed as the three of us sipped our milkshakes. Jay spoke up.

   “Why are you here, Sean?” I gave him a questioning look.

   “You wouldn’t have come back if not for a reason.” Mom looked down, disheartened.

   “...Fine. I read the headlines sometimes. All of these mysterious local deaths? I came to investigate.”

   “Kind of 1,000 miles out of your way, isn’t it?” He joked.

   “Believe it or not, I do care about this place. Moreso, I care about you two. I would rather not see your faces plastered in an obituary… I got approval from my boss, and I've been talking to the chief of police here. They’re letting me help.”

   “Well I am thankful. I’m terrified just walking from my car to my front door.” Mom replied.

   “Speaking of, I need to get down to the precinct or I’ll be late for my meeting.” I left the diner, and because everything is conveniently within walking distance, I took a nice stroll down main street.

Not much has changed here since I was a kid. A lot of the shops are family owned, and typically, if you grow up here, you don’t leave. I’m one of the very few cases where that isn’t true. And truthfully, I’ve always hated this place. Small town life was never for me. I got out as soon as I could.

   The doors to the station opened with a soft creak. I checked in, and the woman at the front desk pointed me in the direction of the chief's office. I knocked on the door, and another woman’s voice beckoned me in.

   “Come in… Oh you must be that big city cop that wanted in on this case.”

   “Yes ma’am. Detective Sean Wesser.”

   “Right. Well, you’ll be working under our lead detective on the case… Speak of the devil.” A detective walked in the door, his name tag reading ‘Thatcher’. We exchanged pleasantries.

   “Alright. I'm going to kick you both out of my office so you can get started. We need to catch this guy. ASAP.” We heeded her words, and we left.

   “I would catch you up myself, but that would be wasting my time, so, I hope you don’t mind homework.” He handed me the files and walked away.

   “I better get started then.” I found a relatively quiet corner, and began reading.

   “What do you think?” Thatcher came by and sat at my table, apparently hours later. I got so lost I hadn’t realized that much time had gone by.

   “This guy is good. Appears sloppy and inconsistent, but it’s all on purpose.”

   “That’s the problem we’re facing. But, he’s not completely inconsistent. The killer’s M.O.”

   “Quite the nice message. Doesn’t help much though.”

   “Believe me. We know.” I opened my mouth to ask a question. Then there was sudden chaos. Thatcher’s radio switched on. He held it up to his ear. His face fell.

   “There are two bodies this time.”

   We got to the scene; but not before having to shove through a rather large crowd of people. I recognized the victims, even after all of my time away. The Michaelson twins. They were the only set of twins around. They were toddlers last time I saw them. We waited until the forensic technicians finished their jobs to duck under the tape. The twins were sprawled out on the ground about 20 feet away from each other. One of them was at the base of a tree; it was obvious that he had bled out. The other one appeared to have been strangled- black and purple bruises around his neck. And each of their hands displayed the killer’s calling card- their middle fingers were bent out, as if flipping off the world. I could feel the cold even from where I was standing. 

   “I knew these kids. They lived down the street from us.” I said.

   “They lived down the street from everybody. The thing that’s catching my attention are these carvings”

   Our killer left a message on the skin of each victim. One read ‘GO AWAY’ and the other, ‘24 HOURS’.

   “What does it mean?” I asked.

   “I have no idea. Yet.” Thatcher replied, more determined than ever. He laughed. “Hell of a first day back, huh?”

. . .

I watched the crowd admire my work. They were gasping in awe. A smirk finds its way across my face.

I hadn’t originally planned on rescuing both of those children. I had only planned on Tommy. Or was it Elijah? Still can’t tell the two apart. Is that rude?

I had to get that cops attention. I had to get him out of my town. He’s the only one that can stop me. And I have a lot more work to do.

I have to get that cop out of my town. Immediately. One way or the other.

. . .

   “How was work Sean? Make any big breakthroughs yet? We heard about the twins.”

   “No, Ma. It’s only been a day.” I laughed.

   “Ooh, Mr. Big-City-Cop hasn’t caught the bad guy yet? Shame on you.” Jay waved his fork at me. We both laughed

   “Be nice, Jayden… Well either way, the two of us are very happy you’re back. You should stay for longer than a week. What does that chief of yours think about family, huh? A week after nearly 4 years of us not seeing you? C’mon.”

   “That’s work, Ma. Besides. I love working and living in the city. You know I've never belonged here.”

   “Yeah, I know. You’ve always had a pretty hard time growing up.” Before I could reply, my phone rang.

   “Iv’e got a possible witness to the murder this morning. I’m sending you the address. Meet me in 10 minutes.” Thatcher.

   “But I’m with my-”

   “Do you want to stay in this case?” He hung up. 

   “Go. We’re fine here.” Ma said. And I went.

   Once I got to the right house, Thatcher was already there. I walked in at the beginning of her statement.

   “I was walking home with my dog when I heard some muffled screams. I tried to follow them, but was too late. I saw the twins lying there, already dead. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw someone run into the alleyways. Looked to be running away from something. I didn’t think about it much, then I called 911 to report it.”

   “Did you see the person's face?” I asked.

   “No. They had a hood on. But I’m pretty sure it was a man. He was pretty tall. And kinda lanky. He also had a bit of a limp… I’m sorry. That’s all I can remember”

   “No, thank you. Anything helps. Have a good rest of your evening.” Thatcher said. Then we both exited the house.

   “That did not help at all.” complained Thatcher.

   “Well, if that message meant anything, we have about 16 more hours, so, let’s put them to use. Go through the clinic records. See if anyone came in with leg issues. Then get a few hours tonight. We look at it fresh tomorrow.” I got home and went straight into my old room; not saying anything to my mom or brother.

I think it’s safe to say Thatcher didn’t get any sleep either. I was up all night combing through everything I could on this person- from grainy photographs to crime scene reports. I had my notes scattered all over the floor. I managed to write down one final thought before I drifted off.

‘Were those messages for me?’

. . .

I woke up to Jay barging into the room, yelling at me about… something.

“Jay! Slow down. What’s going on?”

“Mom! She didn’t come home last night!”

“She’s probably at a friends house, Jay.”

“No. She’s not. I found this on her bed.” He handed me a note.

“‘You have 8 more hours to leave this town for good. And if you don’t, your mother will be dead before the sun goes down.’” I looked up at Jay. “‘Or, you could take her place. I’ll give you a hint. ‘The heart is forever making the head it’s fool’. The choice is yours.’” I ran around my room and got dressed as fast as I could, and I booked it to the station; Jay not too far behind. 

“It’s obviously a trap. This guy wants you dead. You can’t go.”

“If I don’t go, my mother will be killed, Thatcher!”

“I know. Which is why I can’t let you work on this case anymore.” he snatched the note right from my hands.

“Sean. Let's go. You’re causing a scene.” Jay led me back outside.

“I can’t just sit and do nothing.”

“I know. Which is why you’re gonna ignore that asshole cop, and go find mom yourself. I’m gonna go back to the house just by some miracle she comes back.”

“Okay. Yeah. We’ll do that.” I looked at a picture I took of the clue as he took off.

“Heart… Fool… The gallery!” I took off to the Barn; an abandoned barn on the edge of town which locals have turned into an art gallery of sorts over the years. Jay had commented several times on a specific painting before. 

Once I got there, I ran through the doors. My heart was pounding, imagining ways my mother could have been murdered in each section of the building. Would she be hanging from a rope, or stabbed with a rusty pitchfork?

There was not a single person there. Just paintings thrown carelessly from their easels. Some of the easels were broken; splintered off in chunks. Except one. At the end of the narrow walkway sat the very painting I was thinking of- one that portrayed a courts jester. I just had to laugh. I flipped over the large canvas, which revealed large, stenciled letters and an hourglass.

“‘Fooled ya. Tick Tock…’” With a loud yell, I throw the painting across the room, and gain no satisfaction hearing it clatter to the floor. I drive back to the house in a panicked rage.

. . .

I just had to laugh from the shadows as I watched this try-hard of a cop play right into my trap. I had no intentions of hurting his mother. I wanted to freak him out a little more before running him out... I never was one to heed my mother's rule of not playing with your food before you eat it. 

. . .

Ignoring the phone calls I was getting, I locked myself in my old room once again. My watch that had my timeline programmed into it read 2 hours. I was going to need every second. I took a moment to breathe; to refocus myself. And then I got to work.

   An hour passed. Nothing.

   Another 20 minutes. Still nothing.

   All I had was each case in front of me, in the order they happened, and their locations…

   Maybe…

   I grab a map of the town and a marker, and I draw a small dot where each of the murders took place. I take a step back. And there it is. The dots make the shape of a heart- scattered all over the map. I circle the only destination they could be.

“Of course. That’s why no one’s found her yet.” I walk down the hallway with a fierce determination and stop in front of the basement door.

Naturally, the light switch wasn’t working- it made each creaky step that much louder. I looked down. Something hit my ankle. Something else brushed by my arm. And the next second, I felt only pain. My ears were ringing. The lights turned on and that made my sudden, splitting headache much worse. I felt the wet stickiness of blood gushing down the back of my neck as I was kicked down to my knees. And as my senses were clearing, I heard a muffled shout.

“I knew you would figure it out! Just in time too. I was hoping I wouldn’t have to follow up on my word and kill our mother.” My eyes widened.

“Jay?”

“Yeah. It’s me. Please, save the shock. I’m on a bit of a time crunch, thanks to you. The brain’s not so brainy nowadays I suppose.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means… That I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, so you will sit there quietly and wait until I get to that part, okay? Oh, I also hope you enjoyed my timing. That witness of yours? I paid her off to lead your little friend on a goose chase so I’d have you all to myself.”

“You always did enjoy theatrics.” I could only stare at the gun he was so carelessly waving around as he paced. Then my eyes flitted over to Ma, who was gagged and bound to a chair.

“Anyways. As I was saying… I have waited for this for so long… I have always, ALWAYS lived in your shadow. I always got ‘You’re Sean’s brother, right?’... But how could I not constantly be in your shadow? It was always quite a big one; captain of the football team, almost perfect grades. That’s how my little clue comes into play, by the way. You’ve always hated it here. Felt like you were meant for more. Like we weren’t enough.. And with your good grades and your athletic scholarships; you could finally be free of the prison that this place was for you. And then you. Just. Left.”

“Is that what this is all about? Me leaving for college? Because that didn’t make you do all of these things.”

“You’re right. It didn’t. It’s what came after. See, the only reason anyone ever even went near me, was because you’re my brother. After you left, everyone turned against me. Bullied me. Ridiculed me. And for what? What did I ever do to those people? Then I realized: those people hurt others for fun. And they will never stop, unless someone stops them. The first one- Jack- was an accident. I just meant for a couple bruises. Maybe a sprain or two. Then, well, that didn’t end up being the case… I enjoyed it. So, I did it again, and again… As for the twins this morning; them I rescued. They were suffering just as I did, so I saved them from that suffering…

“‘The heart is forever making the head it’s fool’. Rochefoucauld- a french philosopher who was known for unveiling the worst in human nature. You brother, are the head, the fool. And I am the heart… Don’t look at me like that. Everyone’s always known you’re the smart one, and I've always been made fun of for being too ‘emotional’. Another reason why I find all of this so poetic. It’s all quite literal… I've said my piece. You can go now mom. Get ‘help’” Jay cut her loose and she ran.

“Well, I’d wager we only have a few minutes before every officer rushes through that door. And I’m sure you have plenty to say. So go ahead.”

“How could you hurt all of those people?”

“Because they hurt me.”

“And you’ve hurt me, Jay. You’ve hurt mom. I know family has always been the most important thing to you, so I know that’s the last thing you’d want.”

“Stop it.” I ignored him.

“So now what? You’ll be arrested, tried, and convicted, and spend several lifetimes in prison. If family is so important to you, why would you force me and mom to go through losing you?”

“I said stop!” He pointed a gun in my head, close to tears. Sirens could be heard coming closer from down the street.

“No matter how you decide to end this, just remember that I will always be your brother. We grew up together. In this house. We’d build forts down here while Ma did the laundry. Our roots are planted deep in this house, Jay, and for that, I’m grateful. And we’ve grown apart, sure. But that’s okay. Because we’ll always have our roots here. We’ll always be connected and have a home here. The three of us.” He looked off to the side while simultaneously lowering the gun. I took a few careful steps closer. We heard the front door slam open, and before either of us could blink, several officers were at the door of the basement. And in a panic, Jay pulled the trigger.

As everything faded, so did Jays scream.

“No! I didn’t mean to!”