Author: admin

When Fred emerged from the alleyway his demeanour was not of a stone cold killer but someone just out for a stroll. This observation made Diabo very nervous. Diabo spoke over the radio, “Suspect as been spotted, move in”. He and Dawes got out of the car, and along with 4 other officers, weapons drawn, moved in on the restaurant. “Freeze! Fred you’re under arrest!” But Fred had other ideas, in a blur he leapt onto two the officers, throwing one through the restaurant window and knocking the other out cold with the butt of his own firearm. He then bolted back down the alley with Diabo, Dawes and the other two officers in pursuit. Fred ducked into the basement of an abandoned building as Diabo and the others charged after him. He fired off a few shots with the stolen weapon slowing down his pursuers before disappearing into the building. ‘He’s fast’, Diabo thought as he ran, ‘almost too fast’. The building was old and decrepit, a perfect place for someone to hide. Diabo motioned to the other officers to go around and cover the front.

“Shots fired!” Diabo yelled over his radio. “I have two officers down, suspect has been seen entering an abandoned building on east Pender, we are in pursuit.”The voice on the radio crackled “Back up is on the way.” “Did you see how quickly he took down Johnson and Stephens?!” Exclaimed an excited Dawes. “This is our guy, no doubt about it. Should we wait for back up or go in? What do you think?” The look on Dawes face said it all. Diabo spoke into the radio, “Dispatch, we are going in.” As he and Dawes entered the building, a sense of foreboding came over him. This was new to him, he couldn’t escape the feeling that Fred was too much for the two for them to handle. The way he took out two of his officers with such ease left Diabo with a sense of dread. He felt that Fred was up there waiting for him. Floor by floor they searched but all the found was human waste and rats. The eerie silence was unnerving like no one had been in the place in years. By the time they reached the 6^th floor, they started searching apartments one after the other. 606 was the last apartment on that floor, gently they opened the door. Like all the rest, the place was vacant. Diabo would have moved on but something caught his eye. A light under a closet door.

They cautiously entered the apartment. There was an old mattress on the floor but not much else. The two men slowly approached the doors with the light under it. The doors themselves were sliding ones. They each took a door and slid them apart. What they saw on the other side made everything worse. Drivers licences, the interior wall was littered with them. Diabo recognized the 7 from his case files but there were at least two dozen more nailed to the wall. “Jesus Christ!” Was all that Dawes could say. “Call it in, we need everyone on deck for this.” “Right away” responded Dawes, as he turned away to make the call. That’s when Diabo heard it, a thud, like a body hitting the floor. Diabo whipped around only to see Dawes on the floor unconscious with Fred standing over him, his eyes glowing red. ‘What the fuck’, he thought as he drew his weapon. But Fred was too fast, he knocked the weapon out Diabo’s hand and grabbed him by the throat. Hoisting him up like he was a rag doll. “You’re never going to stop, are you?’ said Fred, ‘You cannot stop me, his power is eternal and his revenge, never ending.” “What the fuck are you?” Said Diabo as struggled to breath. “I am a means to an end, one that unfortunately you are never going to see.” He then hurtled Diabo through the sixth floor window.

Diabo walked into the Carnegie the next morning, it was a huge building on the downtown east side. A community center, it had become a beacon for those in the area trying to get by. Shelly worked in the sexual assault center and the woman Brenda Fergie Ferguson was her boss.“ “Everybody is still in shock, Shelly was a remarkable woman with a huge heart.” I Need to ask you some additional questions. Was she having any problems with anyone, boyfriends, coworkers, regulars?” “No not at all, she loved her job and she was single as far as I know. The only thing she cared about was her job. Why would anyone do this, she was so young and bright and full of life, all she wanted to do was help her people?” Why? The answer stuck in Diabo’s throat, he knew why, it was a question many Indigenous families had been asking for years. “I don’t know but I am going to find out. Leads are slim right now but could you tell me when you last saw her, what was her mood?” “The night she disappeared, she headed out around 7pm, said she was going to grab some food and then head home.” “There’s an Asian place on Keefer St that she likes to go to, it’s a couple of blocks away.” “Thank you, here’s my card, if you think of anything please call day or night.

The next stop for Diabo was the Chinese dragon, the restaurant that Fergie mentioned. The place looked liked it was well kept and he noticed that there were cameras. As the hostess approached he flashed the badge. “Det. Thomas Diabo Vancouver PD, can I speak to the manager.” “I’m the manger Valery Cheung what can I do for you?” I’m here investigating a homicide, do you remember seeing this woman (Showing a picture of Shelly) coming in here a few nights ago Yes I do, she came in here a lot, loved the food. She’s dead, what happened!?” “We’re still investigating, do you know if she talked with anyone while she was in here.?” “It was really busy that night, but I do know that she stayed for a bit, picked up her order and left.” “ The cameras do they work ?” “Sure come to the back office, I can show you the recordings.” As they headed to the back office I could tell that Valery was visibly upset, it seemed that Shelly like many times before had left mark and that her presence would be missed.

As Valery took Diabo through the footage of two nights prior, he couldn’t help but think about Shelly’s last moments. An Indigenous woman who loved her job, loved helping people going about her day not knowing that it would end tragically. “There she is!” As Valery broke through his thoughts. There she was, on the screen like a ghost coming back to remind us that she was not to be forgotten. Everything on the screen seemed normal except for the man in the corner who was seated almost out the cameras range. “Who is that, do you know him?” “That’s Fred, he’s another regular, not very chatty.” Fred seemed to be looking intently at Shelly and sure enough he followed her out about a minute after she left. “Valery, has Fred ever been in here when Shelly was here, did he ever try and talk to her?” “Once, but she shot him down which was weird because he didn’t normally talk to anyone at all. She him told she wasn’t interested in getting involved with anyone and he seemed to back off.” “Does he come in here often?” “Yes, at least three times a week, as matter of fact he should be in here tomorrow night, he likes our Monday night specials.” Finally Diabo thought, a lead and in a few hours he could have a suspect in custody.