by Eric<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie Molinson was on edge that night for reasons she couldn\u2019t put her finger on. It was dark, it was unseasonably chilly for early June, and her infant daughter Chloe had a case of the cranks from teething and only seemed to be interested in sleeping in short bursts, saving her energy to be awake and difficult when Trixie or her husband needed to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wendell was currently on a late shift. The lack of sleep had been wearing on his nerves, and whereas he had been trying his best not to let Trixie suffer for his mood, he sometimes got short with her, or left quickly, before he had a chance to lash out. Being the detective she was, she knew more than lack of sleep was on his mind. There was stress at work, and with Wendell being tight lipped to avoid being rude or inconsiderate, she hadn\u2019t really had a chance to find out what had been bothering him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Erica was spending the night with a friend, she had no doubt they would be up for quite some time watching the late show and playing Playstation. Chloe had finally been asleep for more than an hour, and being caught up on all other household chores that Saturday night, Trixie had a moment to breathe and relax, but alone with her thoughts and not knowing what had her husband on edge, let her to feel a bit down and sorry for herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All thoughts of gloom and mood were instantly forgotten when she heard something outside, that startled her out of her thoughts. She froze. The baby was still sound asleep, and whatever it was, hadn\u2019t been enough to wake her up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sound came again. Trixie got up and went to their gun safe and rooted through it until she found a GLOCK 19 her husband had recently purchased as more modern back up gun than his old Colt Detective Special. She took the trigger lock off and loaded it, and clipped the holster to the waistband of her pants. She then went around, turning a lot of the lights off in the house and then kind of slunk around by the windows in the direction she thought she heard the noise. It was only a glimpse in the moonlight, but she saw something that startled her very badly. The sounds came again, and it seemed to be coming straight from the thing she saw. After heavy debate she went in search of her phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSleepyside Police Department. Barlow speaking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey Jake, this is Trixie.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHey Trixie, what can we do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou actually in the office on a Saturday Night? Thought that\u2019s usually when Stakeout Squad was put on a hot case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jake snorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a rare and unusual phenomenon in Stakeout Squad as of late. Boredom. We still train like crazy, but I guess the hardcore crooks wised up. Some of the stakeouts we\u2019ve been on to stay busy is stuff, that between you, me and the wall, is very beneath us. The \u2018hot stakeout\u2019 last week was on a local accountant going through a messy divorce, who was trying to mail some personal financial documents out of the country before her lawyer found them. I can\u2019t tell what a thrill it was to have six of us, in two cars, armed to the teeth trying to keep an eye on all the downtown mail boxes. Think when he saw all the men with guns, he nearly took a dump in his chinos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie giggled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe week before that we ran in three kids passing around a bowl. Think we spent an hour scrapping resin out of the pipe so that we had enough weed to bust them for possession with intent to distribute.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry to hear that. I realize it\u2019s a double edged sword. When you are busy and exciting things are happening for you as a cop, it means something bad is happening. When things are quiet, you get bored professionally. But hey. They say one of the biggest forms of flattery is working yourself out of a job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jake snorted again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI like a little peace and quiet as much as the next person, but I tend to be climbing the walls when I don\u2019t have something meaningful to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf busy is what you like, find some nice girl and knock her up. I think this last hour is the first quiet one I\u2019ve had since Chloe was born.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYeah well, finding the \u2018nice girl\u2019 who would deign to carry my demon seed seems to be the crux of the problem. Even with no exciting cases at work, we have to spend a considerable amount of time working out and shooting. Hasn\u2019t really left me with a lot of time to go looking for that flavor of unicorn. Usually I\u2019m doing pretty good if I just find a bored trollop at the Dutch Oven that wants a free drink.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie giggled again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHave faith. It will happen someday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJust not tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo look Jake, I was calling to see if my husband or Dan was in?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour husband is off with the chief and another detective on something that has them pissy and worried, but the last time any of us casually asked what was up, we were told to go back to Police Academy driving course until we learned to stay in our lane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA hot case, and Stakeout Squad was not asked to play?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had high hopes, but so far no dice. We watch things and if need be, shoot people. We were told to leave the thinking and investigating to the detectives. Lightman and Holt are on vacation anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs Dan around?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI really thought we were going to have a shootout in our office when this happened, but before Holt headed out on his fishing trip, he set Dan up on a blind date. An old friend of his came up from Texas, and he wasn\u2019t going to be around to entertain her because he had already set up his trip. So he asked Dan to give her a good night on the town. Real curvy cow girl. I told him to go for it. I thought she was a looker, and was kind of pissed I wasn\u2019t asked to take her out. Under any other circumstances, Dan might of considered it, but Holt kind of railroaded him. Told him, she had already agreed to go out with him, and was stoked. And Dan hates that so much. Thought Dan was just going to draw down, and then just go home to his cat and his Chuck Norris movies. But he agreed, but let Holt know there was going to be consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs this drama normal in Stakeout Squad?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGives us something to do. For all the movie stereotypes surrounding cops, there are two things that are universally true. A police department is going to have more drama that a soap opera. And two, cops are far and away the worst gossips in the modern world. Worse than a garden club or sewing circle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie giggled again, but then heard the noise in the distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo look. Maybe you can help me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSure. What do you need?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is just a certified Trixie hunch. But something very strange may be on our property.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSomeone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTruth be told I only had once glimpse. And based on that glimpse, I couldn\u2019t tell if it was a someone or a something. . . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot asking this because I doubt you, but what did it look like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t judge me for saying this, because I\u2019m already doubting my own memories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWouldn\u2019t dream of it. I\u2019ve heard all the stories of what you\u2019ve been up to since you were a teenager.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt kind of looked like a mummy. And it doesn\u2019t sound happy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYikes. Okay. As soon as the dispatch gets back from the bathroom, I\u2019ll tell them and our watch commander I\u2019m headed out. I\u2019ll hit the armory and check my trunk gun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThanks Jake. I really appreciate this. Don\u2019t really feel up to having my game face on for this kind of trouble, having to look after the baby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou tell Chloe not to worry. If this mummy makes trouble, I\u2019ll show it who it\u2019s daddy is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As if instantly responding to the bad joke, Chloe started to scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When Jake showed up, the night had grown chillier and more foreboding. The moon was no longer visible and it was threatening rain with bits of frigid sprinkles. Trixie had finally rocked Chloe back to sleep on her shoulder and just nodded for Jake to come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll join you in a little while. If you can just tell me roughly where you saw it, and I\u2019ll have a look around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie carefully pointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSeems to be around those trees.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight. Sit tight and I\u2019ll see if I can find it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that Jake checked each of this STI .45s, in each holster, and then got out a large Mag-Lite and roamed off where Trixie had pointed. Trixie smiled and then carefully closed the door before she or the baby caught cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jake appeared about fifteen minutes later. Trixie had set Chloe back down in her baby basket and had made him a cup of coffee, which he gratefully accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what\u2019s the verdict?\u201d Trixie asked. \u201cWe getting invaded by ancient Egypt?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t see or hear it. But someone or something was there. I found evidence of its passage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat do you think it was?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhatever it was, walked upright. I\u2019ve hunted and tracked enough to know that. But if it was a mummy, it\u2019s not here anymore. Maybe it left on maternity leave.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chloe immediately began to scream again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJake. I am seriously starting to not like you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jake grinned sheepishly as she picked up the baby again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSorry. So look, do you need me to stick around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t have to. I\u2019m not a paranoid, hysterical mother. If you think it\u2019s gone, that\u2019s good enough for me. If I see it or hear it, I\u2019ll call again, and I do know how to shoot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTell you what. I think I\u2019m going to patrol the neighborhood. Stay in this neck of the woods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you want to do that, I won\u2019t stop you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s police work, and something to do, and I won\u2019t be around for the watch commander or the dispatch to give me busy work at the office.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay. Thank you Jake. Seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo worries. Stakeout Squad is on the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As worried as Trixie was about what might be on the loose, it was a welcome worry that finally made her feel like she was getting back in the saddle again. Chloe was once again asleep, and it gave Trixie time to consider the problem from every angle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She then heard it again. It sounded different this time. When the noise stopped, she slowly got up and crept to the window. After scanning the darkness for a long moment, she saw it again. Only this time it looked different. When she couldn\u2019t see it anymore she got out her phone and called Jake directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYo,\u201d he greeted. \u201cAny more visits from Giza?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI heard and saw it again. Got a better look.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018That\u2019s good. All I found was a total beater hoopty car with a flat tire. Will probably have it towed if it\u2019s still there in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOnce again don\u2019t judge. I\u2019m doing enough of that myself. Wondering if pregnancy finally made me loose my marbles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t say a word.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie swallowed the lump in her throat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUpon closer inspection, it looked and sounded like a wolf man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDamn. Okay. Wonder if it\u2019s his car with the flat. Because if it is, he needs a Wolfman jack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chloe immediately began to scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJake, I hate you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSounds like Chloe is a smart baby with very good hearing. Doesn\u2019t like my sense of humor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJake!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight. Sorry. I\u2019ll be right there to have another look around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jake\u2019s next more thorough search brought him back to the house with a small leather pouch. Trixie had just managed to rock Chloe back to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJake, one more joke and I swear I\u2019ll . . ..\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jake just grinned but held up what he found. Trixie went to put the baby back down, and nodded to the dining room. Jake went into the kitchen and returned with a paper towel he put on the table. He then put on some gloves he used to handle evidence. He then carefully emptied the pouch on the table. It had dried flower buds mixed with some kind of powder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat is that?\u201d Trixie asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWolfsbane. Careful with that. It\u2019s very poisonous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard of that, but don\u2019t know specifics. What do people do with that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Folklore says it can protect you from werewolves and shape shifting. If you know what you are doing, it can have medicinal uses. But I\u2019m starting to suspect our prowler didn\u2019t know what he was doing, and may be in a bad way. Who knows what else is in this mess. If he\u2019s mixed this with Belladonna or Nightshade, he may be in a world of his own.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYikes. Pragmatically speaking, flying junkies can be very hard to stop with guns. May see about getting Dell\u2019s shotgun out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you need something like that, I have both a 12 gauge and an AR I can loan you in my trunk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s not hit the panic button just yet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFair enough. But I think I\u2019m going to call this in and let dispatch know there are things afoot, and I think now that we\u2019ve had two sightings, I\u2019m going to lurk considerably closer. But first I\u2019ll get these poisonous drugs off your table and bag and tag it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay Jake. Do what you need to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As grateful as she was for Jake\u2019s help, Trixie found herself wishing more and more that she could talk to Wendell. After heavy debates with herself, she sent him a quick text, and then just waited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She wasn\u2019t sure how long she had sat there thinking about the new clues when she heard noise again, now sounding like maniacal laughter. She quickly got up and went to the window. She saw it again and watched it. She immediately called Jake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI heard it,\u201d he said by way of greeting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018I saw it. It looked like a vampire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s official. This case sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chloe immediately began to scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie began to sputter, but Jake cut her off. She could tell from his heavy breathing he was running with his phone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe\u2019s trying to stay in the shadows. Do me a favor and turn your back porch light on. Make as much light as you can. If he avoids it, I may be able to get ahead of him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie ran to do as he asked, but bright lights on the porch made it hard to see off in the dark. Pacing nervously, she went to tend to the baby, finding it hard to wait. She heard some commotion outside. Then her heart stopped as she heard a gunshot. She nearly paced in a hole in the floor which was enough motion to get Chloe to fall back asleep. There was finally a knock at the front door. She put the baby back in her basket and went to get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Much to her surprise, not only was Jake there, but her husband and the chief of police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat happened?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe caught him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCaught who? What\u2019s been going on here? No one tells me anything, you won\u2019t even speak to me before you go to work, I hear strange noises, see strange things, hear gunfire, and then suddenly you are here? I\u2019m losing my mind here. Don\u2019t know if I\u2019m going to have to protect my baby from a wolfman, a mummy or a vampire?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wendell came in and hugged his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay baby. It\u2019s okay. I\u2019m sorry I\u2019ve been so short. I was hoping this case wouldn\u2019t drag out and we\u2019d catch this clown. A lot of people have seen him, and the heat was on from above to find him quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chloe began to fret. Trixie fretted, and went to check on her. Wendell nodded to invite the other two in, and while Trixie rocked her daughter in her arms, he got Jake and the chief coffee from the pot she had made and they sat down in the living room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur perp is a man named Lenny Gould. Vagrant with a record a mile long for possession, vagrancy, public nuisance, assault, robbery, petty and grand larceny and sexual assault. Complete junkie that pissed his dealers off so much, he often resorted to herbs he could get through shady New Age connections. He drifted into this area and we started getting a lot of complaints, and when we figured out who he was, after a tip from White Plains PD, who had just run him out of town, we hoped to get him before he got into real trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie took several deep breaths as she processed what she was told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI can\u2019t figure out why I saw all the things I did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe was hairier than Grizzly Adams. Bandaged up from attempting to treat his own injuries. Fanged because he lost too many fights and couldn\u2019t afford a dentist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trixie sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo he wasn\u2019t a mummy, he wasn\u2019t a vampire, and he wasn\u2019t a wolfman. So just what did we catch here on our property?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAn asshole,\u201d Jake said bluntly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chloe began to giggle uncontrollably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wendell sighed and grinned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Yep. She\u2019s the daughter of cops. Already understands the way they talk. . .\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This brought grins throughout the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell then,\u201d Trixie said. \u201cI\u2019m glad that\u2019s over. Maybe the excitement will be enough to get the giggler here to let us have a full night\u2019s sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After relaxing and enjoying their coffee for a few minutes, the cops feel back on their favorite pastimes of gossip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnyone know if Dan is still out on his date?\u201d Jake asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t heard anything, but I think even if he has a good time, Holt is on borrowed time . . .\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Eric Trixie Molinson was on edge that night for reasons she couldn\u2019t put her finger on. It was dark, it was unseasonably chilly for early June, and her infant daughter Chloe had a case of the cranks from teething and only seemed to be interested in sleeping in short bursts, saving her energy to … Continue reading What’s Out There?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":34,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-509","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","without-featured-image"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=509"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":528,"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/509\/revisions\/528"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theperpetualpen.com\/trixie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}