Read Devil of Crime Alley :: Breathe

“What’s going on here?” Foggy asked Theo noticing the police car parked outside the butchery. His mum and dad were giving a statement to Officer Mahoney. Foggy noticed the broken glass at the front and graffiti plastered on the door, the word PIG painted in a vibrant red in the centre. “Jesus Christ what’s going on?”

“Mum, dad and I were out grocery shopping,” Theo said. “When we got back, we saw this. Graffiti all over the place. Somebody broke in and took all the money and everything.”

“Oh, Jesus,” Foggy said. “Did you find out who?”

Theo shook his head. “Cops are thinking it had something to do with that Grote case of yours, you know? People mad you let a rapist and crime boss walk.”

“But that doesn’t mean…” Foggy sighed. “I knew this was a bad idea. I knew it. Look, I’ll pay the costs and…”

Theo shook his head. “No. You don’t have to Fog it’s…”

Foggy shook his head firmly. “No, Theo. I have to. You shouldn’t have to suffer because of something my firm did. I’ll find another place to crash.”

“You don’t have to Foggy,” Theo said. “Mum and I don’t…”

“I insist, Theo,” Foggy said. “Tell mum and dad I’ll be over at Matt’s tonight if they need me. Besides, somebody has to give Matt a piece of his mind and it sure as hell isn’t going to be you.”

…

Meticulous would be the word Matt used to describe Ms. Beaty’s office. Everything was in its place. He could smell the lingering smell of cleaning chemicals on the shelves and desk. A recently watered plant stood on the mahogany desk and the plain carpet almost dug into his shoes.

“She’s not here,” Matt said.

“We wait,” Elektra said. Elektra had lied in the front office by saying they were in for a couple’s therapy session.

“No,” Matt said. There was a lingering smell in the air. The smell of expensive cigarettes and gunpowder. “Someone was here recently. Someone who wasn’t here just for a chat.”

Matt focused, trying to find anything in the room that would be a dead giveaway. “There’s nothing here. Her perfume and sweat is all over the room. Somebody kidnapped her. Somebody looking for Melvin.”

Elektra stood up. “So, we find her.”

“How?” Matt asked. “She could be anywhere…”

“You, Matthew,” Elektra said. “You can track her down for us.”

“Me?” Matt scoffed. “This city is big. She could be anywhere by now. Besides I don’t even know what she sounds like.”

Elektra walked over to the table, hips swaying. She pointed at the phone on the table.

Elektra pressed a button on the phone.

“Betsy… I…”

“Skip,” Elektra said.

“Melvin,” Betsy said. “Melvin please call back. Please tell me you’re okay.” There was a softness in her voice, a desperation that went beyond just a simple patient and doctor relationship. In the background somebody slammed the door. “Who is it?” The slamming was more insistent and angrier. “Melvin please call back. I haven’t heard from you in days. Please tell me you’re okay.” The door burst open and the call cut abruptly.

“Here we go,” Elektra said. “She was kidnapped. There’s your voice.”

Elektra placed something on the machine. After a few minutes she removed it. She walked over to the door.

“Where are we headed?” Matt asked.

“Upstairs.”

Matt followed her to the rooftop. The wind dug into his body. From above the city below felt like a violent sea of lives. Voices, smells, senses washed over him. He almost felt drowned in them all.

“Find her.”

Matt shook her head. “I can’t. This is too much I can’t focus.”

“You can, Matthew,” Elektra said. “You did it when you were child.”

“That was ages ago,” Matt said. “It wasn’t at this scale.”

Elektra played the recording of Betsy’s voice. “You can do it, Matthew.”

Matt tried focusing on the sounds. Voices were almost as unique as heartbeats. If Matt focused, he was able to notice the little inflections of everybody’s voices. How they sounded when they were lying, how their temperatures and muscles changed when they were laughing. Everybody’s bodies told different stories and their emotions were the pens that wrote them. But this, this was too much.

“… my hotdog…”

Somewhere a glass shattered.

“… get your muffins…”

“… May I’m going to be late…”

The air smelt like a broth of foods and toxic chemicals.

His head was starting to ache.

“… Fuck Batman…”

Footsteps clattering on the pavement.

“… I’m a mutan…”

Cars honking.

Sirens wailing.

Matt almost collapsed on the floor. His ears were ringing and it felt like an alarm was going off in his head. Elektra rushed over to him; Matt raised a hand to stop her.

“I can’t do it,” Matt said, letting out a heavy sigh. “We’ll have to find another way, Elektra. This is too…”

“No, Matthew,” Elektra said. “You can do it. Relax, breathe.”

Matt got up.

“Listen to her voice.”

Melvin opened his ears, letting the world in again.

Melvin, Melvin please call ba…

“… Cat. I told you to look after my cat…”

Please tell me you

“… broke up with him. Jesus Steph, he’s an asshole…”

Who is…

“… the one who ate the cookies? Jack is it you…”

The sound of the door slamming