The Killer At The Library

Sat at her desk, Angelina Norton was studying a file for an old murder case, for her next book.
The book was based on the story of Gregory Pollicatius, a Polish Jew, electrocuted for a double murder in 1960, all evidence was circumstantial as no bodies were found, the only evidence against him, was a time sheet stamped a few minutes before the library closed.
Pollicatius pleaded his innocence until the final minutes before the switch was pulled, and he was electrocuted.

Being Polish and in Detroit in the 60s, meant too many bad feelings, so it was no surprise when the jury took only a few minutes to find him guilty.
Jobs were scarce, and itinerant labor cheap, Americans walked the streets desperately trying to get work, anything to feed their families, while these foreigners would work for a pittance, no union to protect them they banded together.
Pollicatius, had always wanted to better himself, electrician by trade, which he was doing some re-wiring, which is why he was in the library that fated night.
All these facts went against him at the trial.

"We will be closing in about 10 minutes Angelina." Patty Cross, head librarian said, as she went on her final round, checking the aisles.
"Thanks, Patty won’t be long now." Angelina replied.

Going through the old files it was obvious this was just another way of getting back at those foreigners Angelina thought.
Looking around Angelina noticed that the lights had gone out.
"Damn," she thought, "Patty must have forgotten about me."

Angelina got her cell phone out to contact her friend at the front desk.
The new phone was dead though.
"Damn, all these girders and joists are blocking my signal, guess it has to be done the hard way then."
Angelina set off, heading in the direction of where she thought the front door was, as she walked, she thought she heard footsteps behind her.
"Patty, is that you?" she called out.

No answer came back, walking slowly and listening she made her way down the darkened aisles.
All the time she could hear the steps.
"OK, Patty, this is not a joke any more, I am getting really scared now. Where are you?”

All she could hear was the breathing.
"Angelina, where are you, I can hear you, but can’t find you in the dark?”
"What a relief to hear your voice, Patty, why didn’t you answer, when I called you just then?”
"I didn’t hear you."
"Did you turn the lights out?"
"No, I was on the balcony, when the lights went out and have been trying to get to the stairs, to get down to you."
"So, you have NOT been following me for the last 5 minutes."
"No."
"Well who is following me then?”

"The only other person was that Pole, but I am sure I saw him leave, just before the lights went out."
"There is someone here, they have followed me since the lights went out, every time I stopped, they did."
"I can promise you Angelina, it is not me, I have just got here and never heard you call."

The two friends started to walk towards the door, then stopped as Patty put her hand on Angelinas’ shoulder and said:
"Whoever it is, is about 20 feet to our right and has cut us off from the front door."
"Does your phone work, as mine cut out on me ? If we can get a call out, maybe somebody can come and turn the power on for us."
"No, mine is dead, yet only a few minutes ago it was fully charged."
"That is odd, maybe if we went to the balcony, and pointed them out of the window, we can get a signal."
"It’s worth a try."

Slowly walking down the aisles, the ladies made their way to the stairs, every step they took the could feel the tensions of being followed by this stranger.
Moving up the stairs, Patty saw a shadowy figure ahead and above them on the 2nd floor landing.
"Look up there, Angelina." She said pointing to the history section, where a figure could clearly be seen moving, obviously a man by the size.
"Mr.Pollicatius, is that you ?" Patty called out.
No answer was her reply.
"Why didn’t he answer Patty ?"
"He might not be able to understand us, being Polish."
"He can understand all right, Angelina, I have heard them talking, when they think we can’t hear them."
"Let’s see if we can get a signal and call for help from this window, Patty, it should have a clear range as this is Drove park and we have a clear view."

Looking out of the window, Angelina was shocked at what she saw.
"Patty, come here and tell me I am not seeing what I think I am."
As Patty walked across to her friend, she looked out at the road, to see a dense mist, through the mists she began to see the road opposite.
"It can’t be."
"But it is, look at the signs on the shops."
"That is the old Harper shop, it was knocked down in ‘65’ and look at the guys, all got crew cuts, this mist has taken us back to the early 60s then."
"Certainly explains a lot, the dead cell phones, the coldness in here and the lights going out suddenly."
Outside in the cold dawn of the Detroit day, the heard the newsboy announce to the people walking by:
"Pollicatius to go to trial for double murder !"
"It can’t be, Patty, can it !"
"The signs are all here, Angelina, the fashions, the haircuts, building on main street, our phones not working."
"We will have to go check the archives to find out, what time we are in, Patty."

"I can tell you now, as I was just looking him up on the web,before the power went out. If he is going to trial, the date is April 13th, 1962.
Four days later he was charged with the murder of 2 ladies, although no bodies were found, and he pleaded innocence until his death."
"Without the bodies, how could he get charged though."
"Patty in those days, Polish, working electrician in the building a few minutes before the lights went out, he was as good as dead, when he went to trial."
"What about the bodies though ?"
"With a lot of new buildings going up, it was assumed, they got buried under the foundations, back then the Poles had a great bonding, all being disliked, and would help each other out."

As the ladies walked around the library, trying to find a door, and heading to the archives to see what news there was after the trial, of anything turning up.
They heard a door behind them close suddenly and a thick Polish voice, slurred by drink say:
"Pollicatius is here"


"What can we do, Patty ?" asked Angelina.

“Run now and find somewhere we can hide. It probably be best if we did not hide together maybe we can make it out of here alive.” Patty whispered back.

Angelina looked at her as if she were crazy, however before she could say something Patty took off running, which left her no choice other then to run. She could not see Patty any longer. She could hear someone running behind her and she was not going to stop and find out who it was. She started to dip right and left moving through the book cases. She thought she was safe and she was going to make it out of this dark, cold, and dank library.

Patty ran to the other side of the library, she was tripping and running into things but she kept running. She was not going to stop until she found a way out of this. She saw the shadows to the staircase to the balcony and she moved towards it as fast as her feet could carry her. She did not know where Angelina had went; she did hope she was okay and either had him the run until she could get out of here or she was hiding and he could not find her.

Chills ran down Pattys arms and back feeling like something bad was about to happen. She mentally kicked herself, of course something bad was about to happen. She was going to die and she was not ready to die. She was not married and she wanted to be married with kids then die in her bed when she was old. All that was a pipe dream now. She knew this was the night she was going to die and there was nothing she could do to save herself or Angelina.

She felt her face was wet from the freshly shed tears that were rolling down her cheeks. She could not help but to cry what else could she do, there was no way out of here, and she was stuck in here with a murderer. She started to think how he was going to kill them when she heard Angelina scream from below. Patty started shaking uncontrollably and coward in the corner near the window. This looked like a night someone would die, looking at all this fog anyone would be able to get away with what they wanted.

Patty did not know how much more of the screaming she could take. There was no one about on the streets nor in the library so no one would hear her scream but Patty and she could not do anything to help her friend. She covered her ears with her hands and started rocking back and forth, saying her last thoughts of peace. She knew she was next, which made her cry harder. Why would anyone want to hurt Angelina or me?

Just as fast as the screaming started it stopped as fast. She knew the man named Pollicatius had raped her friend before he killed her. She could hear her begging him, “No! Please don’t do this. No!” It made Patty sick to her stomach she knew whatever Angelina had just went through she was going to meet the same fate.

She could feel him coming closer to her, the shivers that ran down her body told her how close she was to death. She hugged herself and closed her eyes right before he grabbed her right ankle and pulled out of the corner to him. She started to scream and kick at him but there was no use in trying to get away from him; she knew that but she was not going to lay here and wait to die, she would at least fight die trying to fight her way out.

“Please stop. Why are you doing this to us? We did nothing to you, we will not tell that you did this or was even here tonight. Please just let us go.” She begged.

He laughed and continued to drag her towards the stairs. He was taking her back down the stairs, what the hell, was going on? She was kicking him with all the strength she had and it did not phase him. He looked over his shoulder and said, “Do not worry this will be over soon. We are going to have a little fun before you die.” He said.

He dragged her down the stairs by her ankle letting her head hit every stair on the way down, besides when she tried to lift her head up enough so she would not hit every stair. She was already feeling dizzy and she did not want to pass out and not know what was coming to her. Not that it would be any better if she was awake she thought to herself. He dragged her over to her friends lifeless body. She knew she was dead before they reached her.

Patty let a scream that would for sure wake the dead. She had never seen a dead body before and this one was her good friend, why did they have to be in the library tonight of all nights? She could not help the questions that were flying around in her head.


She kept chanting “This cant be happening.” She did not want to die here in this lonely dark library where no one knew where she was. She was just going out for a second but she just had to go to the library tonight to look up everything she needed to know so she could write her book. What she did not know was this was going to be a night just like the one that faithful night to the two woman. This cannot be copycat, then again that would be this man is a ghost and I should be able to get away from him in that case.

I knew I was going crazy now, I had been kicking and screaming the whole way down the stairs and being dragged over to where Angelina was lying in a pool of her own blood. Why would someone want to kill just for fun?

“Shut up, bitch I am tired of hearing you chant. I want it quite or I will keep you alive longer, which means more pain for you.” He growled.

Patty shut up imeditally and just laid there letting her eyes search around her as far as she could see. Mr. Pollicatius was walking back and forth as if he were searching for something, that is when I heard a noise. Someone else was in here with us oh thank god I was going to be saved. I could not have been more wrong. He had let in a man that looked like he lived in mud and you could smell him before he got a foot near you.

Patty started to gag and close her eyes when she felt someone wrap their hand in her hair and yank up hard enough to make her come up off the floor. She yelled out and was smacked across the face. Mr.pollicatius was standing over her with his hand wrapped around her hair, which meant he was in complete control. He looked down to her saying, “You will watch what happens because this will be happening to you as well.” He informed her.

What could he want me to see before I die. He was going to rape and his friend was going to rape I did not need to watch them does these vial things to me. Then I saw the man come all the way into the room kneel down beside’s Angelina and sniffed her dead body. I did not know what to think of this but I started to yell at the man, “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!” the man looked up and and bent his head back down so he could sniff over her entire body.

I was going to be sick who wanted to smell blood? Blood had a weird mettalic smell to it and he was acting as if he was getting off from the smell. He was doing just that I watched when he pulled his pants down and started rubbing himself. Pattys eyes got round and as big as silver dollars. She could not believe what she was seeing. The dirt bumb of a man was going to get himself off from her dead friend before she open her mouth to yell at him again he grabbed a hold of Angelina’s leg and pushe her skirt up.

Patty was speechless this was not happening. This was a bad dream and she was going to wake up any minute now full of sweat.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 03.03.2012

Alle Rechte vorbehalten