Suicide Serial by Matthew Boyd Read Free Book Online Page A

beside his hospital bed. He pressed the button on his bed to call the nurse and sat up in bed.
     
    The fuzzy feeling in Jake’s head was mostly gone. He gathered up his few possessions and put on a set of clothes his wife had, in her infinite wisdom, brought to the hospital for him. A dark blue t-shirt proclaimed in bold writing, “Welcome to Costa Mesas! It’s Cerveza Time!” below a screen printed Mexican gunfighter holding bottles of beer instead of revolvers. Jake carefully inspected his wounds. He was mostly bruised up with a few minor scratches.
     
    The knife had left a nasty looking cut along his side, but it was already scabbing over. He ran his fingers over his head and felt a large, painful knot on the side where his head bounced off the concrete, and another one on the back that was even worse, from the crowbar. Jake sighed, but was thankful that he hadn’t sustained greater injuries. In his years as a detective he had been shot and stabbed, but last night was the closest he had ever come to death. Jake yawned loudly and stretched his arms out wide, and then hastily pulled on a pair of his favorite jeans.
     
    There was a light rapid knock on the door and his nurse entered.
     
    “Glad to see you’re feeling better, Mr. Harris. Ready to get out of here already?” she smiled at him and brought in a wheelchair. “You know the doctor really wants you to stay with us for a least another day.”
     
    Jake just grunted as he tied his tennis shoes. “I got things to do, people to catch. Besides, you guys already have enough patients to take care of.”
     
    Jake winked at her and moved over to the wheelchair. Another minute in this place would drive him mad. The TV only got 4 channels and the food was just awful. Jake grabbed the white plastic belongings bag and set it in his lap.
     
    “Ok nurse, let’s roll. And no popping wheelies down the hallway!” Jake said, with a sarcastic smile.
     
    “Oh, please, not even one?”
     
    “Ok, but you have to promise not to drop me out of this thing!”
     
    The nurse just shook her head and rolled him to the hospital discharge exit. Waiting for him just on the other side of the automatic glass double doors was his partner.
     
    Stacey put her hands on her hips and looked out over the top of her sunglasses. She was obviously not happy. Stacey shook her head and said, “Oh, no you don’t, Jake. You know the chief thinks you’re crazy right? He told me to kick your ass and put you back in here if you tried to get out before you were better.”
     
    Jake squinted at her in the bright sunlight and carefully raised himself out of the wheelchair. Movement was still painful and his head swam for a second. He regained himself and walked over to her car door. He grabbed the handle to open it, but Stacey slammed her hand against it and pushed her finger into his chest. In an angry voice, she asked him, “Where do you think you’re going? You trying to get yourself killed this time?”
     
    Jake moved her hand away and made his case. “Listen Stace, you know as good as I do that this guy is not going to stop killing people unless we stop him. If you were in my shoes after the night I had, I’m willing to bet you would be doing the same thing as me.”
     
    Thumbing his pocket, Jake yanked out his beaten-up pair of old Ray-Bans and put them on. He had band-aids covering multiple cuts and bruises on his face. He looked like he’d gone a few rounds with a prizefighter and lost. Jake swayed a bit, still unsteady after the concussion. Stacey felt like she could have knocked him over just by breathing on him if she had wanted to. The nurse waved goodbye and pushed the wheelchair back inside the hospital. Jake gave her a little salute and turned back to Stacey.
     
    “Listen, Stace, I know you guys. I’m sure the whole force thinks I’m brain damaged or something anyway, after our last big case. But this guy went after me. He threatened my family. Help me take him down or