7

 

"Everyone in the club says this woman was a full busty blonde before she walked into the 'John' with an Asian male," Red tells Janis who is in the restroom with Dr. Parks and Bonnie from forensics.

"An Asian male?" you can see Janis thinking things over in her head. "This morning when we were talking to Jen, she said the suspect looked just like an Asian male. She even gestured towards him."

"I got the artist composite right here," Red fumbles through the file on his clipboard. "I'm gonna show this to some witnesses," then he heads back out the door.

"This is obviously linked to our other deaths," Janis turns back to the doctor and Bonnie. "Please tell me you have something that can lead me to my suspect."

"I took the scrapings from Tina Nguyen and had it analyzed," Bonnie speaks up from behind her camera. "I haven't had the time to look at the report, but it's on my desk. I'm sure we'll have a DNA profile of the killer."

"Now that I have something I can work with," Janis has some optimism in her voice, "I'll call and have them start running cross checks."

She just finishes her phone call when Red comes back in with some news.

"I showed this drawing to all the witnesses," he tells Janis. "They all say that this looks like the guy if our drawing was Asian."

"Somehow our killer is able to swap races."

Red leans in close so no one can overhear them, "Does that mean anything to you?"

"No, but it is starting to make sense."

"What? How the hell is this making sense?"

"We're heading back to the station; get us what you find as soon as you can," then Janis heads out of the club with Red following her still in a state of confusion.

It isn't until they're on the drive that Janis starts back up, "Genetic mutation," then she says nothing, just looks ahead as she drives.

"Okay, what the hell does that mean?"

"The doctor told us about the mutated cells from our first victim. You asked me if I had special knowledge of anything alien causing this."

"Now you remember something?"

"Yeah, but it's not from another world. Mutation is not isolated to just earth, I've seen mutation happen on a number of worlds across the universe."

"You're fucking kidding me?" Red is stunned, "So you're telling me that our killer is one hundred percent human, albeit a mutant human?"

"My theory is that whatever his mutation is, it has something to do with skin. Somehow this guy is able to absorb not only the pigment of his victims but their race as well."

"Okay, I get that part," Red looks as if a light went off in his head. "That would explain why everyone saw her with an Asian male and then no one was able to account for that man afterwards."

"If I'm correct, he's moved on to a blonde haired white man."

When they return to their desks back at the station they gather all files they have on the case, but there is a different envelope on Janis's desk. She opens it to see that it is a case file for the attack they heard about from Jen- the girl from her school that was left for dead in a park.

"These notes say that there was a birthday party at the same park the day the girl was attacked," Janis tells Red.

"Do we have a list of names for the people that attended?" he asks her.

"Yeah, we even have their statements. None of them recall anything happening at the park; although they did say that they were all on the far side at the north end."

"It still wouldn't hurt to look up the names and do some follow up. Give me the names and I'll check DMV records. It'd be nice to have some faces to go with these names. You never know, some of these people may have committed a major felony in the past five years."

Janis goes over the pathology reports of the victims as well as the crime scene photos while Red looks up the names on the list of party goers. He's searching for any kind of record or picture. Then he sees it as he looks up a name in the DMV and notices a photo one of them took for an Identification Card. "Jan, come take a look at this."

When she gets to his desk he has the picture of Khalil Robinson, Red holds up the artist's drawing of their suspect and the resemblance is uncanny, right down to the patchy skin.

"I think we have our guy," says Janis.

"And I'm sure when we get that DNA test it'll match Mr. Robinson here," Red adds. "Let's go pick this guy up."

A few minutes later the two detectives are at the Robinson home knocking on the door. It's later in the afternoon; most people are getting ready for dinner so they know someone should be home. Answering the door is Mrs. Robinson with a dishtowel in her hands drying them off. "Can I help you?" she says when she opens the door.

"Yes ma'am, I'm Detective Sparrow and this is my partner Detective Burns," Janis tells the lady of the house as both she and Red show her their badges. "We'd like to have a word with your son, Khalil."

"He's not in right now. Can I ask what this is about?" She's concerned for her son.

"May we come in and talk to you?" Janis says politely.

Once inside, Mrs. Robinson brings out a platter with two glasses of ice and a pitcher of lemonade; she tells the two investigators to help themselves. Red is dying of thirst so he jumps on the offer and chugs down a whole glass of juice.

"Thank you, Mrs. Robinson. I've been so thirsty," he says to her refilled and hydrated.

"There's plenty more where that came from," she gestures to the pitcher of thirst quenching liquid.

"Ma'am, we need to ask you about your son. Is this him?" Janis had obtained a printout of the camera footage from the movie theatre; the picture is of Khalil at the box office buying his ticket. "Is this your son?"

Mrs. Robinson tells them it's her baby boy. It was a couple weeks ago when he went to a movie with some friends. Red then pulls out a photo from that same night of the first victim, "Do you recognize her at all, ma'am?"

"I'm sorry no, I can't say that I do," the worried mother looks at both the detectives. "You said you're here about my son?"

Neither Janis nor Red answers her directly. "Do you know this girl?" Janis pulls out a school picture. The girl is young and full of life. She was happy it was picture day for school, a day that she made herself up extra pretty so that it could be immortalized on film, then posted for everyone in the school to see. Mrs. Robinson shakes her head and tells them, no. "What about now?" Janis shuffles to a new picture; it's the same girl but after the incident that left her unconscious in a park jungle gym.

"Oh my god," the loving mother is shocked at what she sees. "This was the day of my niece's birthday party in the park." She looks closer at the picture; she can see the skin discoloration around the girl's mouth. She recognizes that it's the same look as her son, "Maybe this girl has the same condition." She looks for any excuse she can find to defend her only boy.

"Ma'am, think about your son; look at that picture of the girl and tell us that again," Red says a little more forceful.

"My boy couldn't have done this," she pleads with them. "His illness makes him weak and frail; this girl could've beaten him up if he attacked her."

"But not if they were making out," Janis tells Mrs. Robinson.

"Making out," Mrs. Robinson chuckles under her concern for her son. "He's never even had a girlfriend. You have to know that most girls his age wouldn't want to get near Khalil because of his skin condition. In high school it's all about image and it isn't a good image to walk around hand and hand with someone different."

"You see there Mrs. Robinson, you said it yourself," Red tells her. "You said most girls; this young lady was not most girls. We talked to her family and they all say she was the most charitable of all their kids; she even volunteered at a homeless shelter after school. That doesn't sound like a girl that's repelled by the way one looks."

"Was there anything different about your son on that day?" Janis asks. Mrs. Robinson says nothing; she just looks up at Detective Sparrow, and then looks over to Detective Burns.

"No, he was the same as he always was- weak and powerless," she says sternly. "Now if you'll excuse me; I have to get back to making dinner. My husband will be home from work soon."

"Mrs. Robinson, do you know where your son is?" Red asks her.

"No. We've encouraged him to try and have a life of his own and now that he is, we want to let him live it," she says to them as she stands up.

"When you see him again, let him know we would like to talk to him," Janis says as she places one of her cards on the coffee table next to the platter with the juice on it.

"You didn't want to tell her about the deaths?" Red asks his partner once they're away from the front door.

"I didn't want to freak her out cuz we still need to find her son."

The two are being watched as they get into their car. Khalil stands at the corner in the open, confident that he won't be recognized. He walks down the street like an ordinary guy as the unmarked cop car drives right past him. The police are on to him and he knows it. He has to stay away from home for they are sure to be back.