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36 Grimshaw Street
A suburb in Melbourne, Australia George Kinkade turned the vertical blinds that covered the lounge room window further on an angle to the left. It was the best way to get a clear view of his neighbor’s house across the road, and, at the same time, remain relatively hidden. Although, if the truth were known, most of the street knew exactly what he was up to. Over time he had gathered a bit of a reputation as the neighborhood snoop. " Sarah, come here quick. Take a look. There's a big white van outside the Blackwell's house. Looks like a removals truck or something. Do you think they’re leaving then?” He turned back to the window. "At last," he muttered. " George, come away from there. Looking out the window like that. They might see you, for God’s sake," Sarah was leaning through the kitchen door into the lounge room. Her wrinkly face bunched in disgust. George could smell the stew that had been bubbling on the cooker all morning. The smell was starting to permeate the house. " Naaa, there's no one outside…probably inside packing." " Doesn't matter, someone else in the street might see you spying like an old sticky beak. What will the neighbors think?" " Aren't we?" " What?" Sara barked from the kitchen. " Sticky beaks. Isn't that our job now we’re home all day? What about Neighborhood Watch? Someone has to do the spying on everyone else. " Really, George, you astound me sometimes. Anyhow, aren't you supposed to be out golfing today?" " Jesse couldn't make it." " That's your problem, George, not enough to do. You need something to keep you from obsessing over the Blackwell's." " Be serious, Sarah. They’re strange. They don’t talk to anybody. Didn't even introduce themselves. And have you ever seen anyone come or go from that house apart from them? And when you see them, they never say hello, not as much as a wave. They’re probably some sort of spies." " Regardless of what you might think, they do have a right to their privacy, George." " Not if they’re spies. Sarah, this is our neighborhood. We should be concerned about who is moving in here. They could be anyone. Jesse reckons they lived in the Middle East for a long time, Cairo or some place like that. You know what that means?" " No, George, I'm afraid I don't." " Just that we should be on our guard, that's all. Did you hear that noise coming from the garage a few weekends back?" " So he was fixing his car, so what?" " His car was outside in the street at the time, that's so what. I’m telling you, there's a lot of strange goings-on over there. We have to keep an eye on them, I tell you." " Really, George, you exaggerate sometimes. I don't know what goes on in that head of yours. And what's your plan for the rest of the day, holding up that wall and staring out of the window like some kind of creepy Peeping Tom? Someone will have you arrested one day or have you locked up in a loony bin." " You can't be too careful these days, that's all I'm saying." George turned away from the window, grabbed the daily paper from the coffee table and plopped back down into his favorite armchair. He always felt like a smoke after one of these little verbal exchanges with his beloved. Sarah entered the lounge room, wiping her hands in a stained tea towel, and gave him a hard look. She shook her head side to side in the negative. " Honestly, George, you sound like one of those senile old men sometimes. And take those damned cigarettes outside. That damned smoke gets in the furniture and everything." " Well if something happens I won’t look too silly then, will I?" He headed out to the backyard, issuing that parting shot in a continuous life-long domestic exchange of artillery fire. Later, as he slept in his mismatched pajamas, beside his gently snoring Sarah, a sharp intense noise penetrated his dreams. He tried to ignore it, but it was relentlessness. It was painful. He sat up in bed, straight out of his deep sleep. The glowing bedside clock told him it was 4:45 AM. He had to look twice for the actual time to register. The awful racket continued. " Cricky, what's that?" He muttered in the dark. " Good God, what's all that racket?" Sarah echoed as she shifted in the bed and sat up, too. " Don't know. Sounds like one of the neighbor’s dogs." George reached over, drew aside the heavy curtains hanging on the bedroom windows and swung open the vertical blinds to take a look outside. He was immediately overcome by an intense light flooding into the bedroom from across the street . " Jesus Christ Almighty!" " What is it?" Sarah pulled up the blanket, trying to shade her eyes. "Close the curtains. for God’s sake, I'm nearly going blind here." " Ok, OK . There…Listen, wait here, I'm going to take a look outside." " George be careful out there and don't do anything stupid." " Yea, yea," he replied. What's she think I'm going to do, silly old woman. His thoughts raced as he headed for the front door. The front hallway of his house was all lit up. Light poured in the panes of glass beside the front door and through the cracks around the door jamb. Outside, it took him a while to adjust his sight but even then he could hardly see a thing. He was in two mind's about being outside, but bugger it, he decided in the end to go investigate. The light was white and intense. It was like looking directly into the sun on a mid-summer day. " George," he heard Phil the next door neighbor call. " That you, Phil, can't see a bloody thing out here." " Yea, it’s me ,George. It’s coming from across the road, that van parked at the Blackwell's place—it’s glowing." " I knew it. I knew it. I knew it. What did I tell you, Phil? Hey, what did I tell you? There's something strange about that house and those people.” " The dog is going bananas over there. What do you think we should do?" " Well I know what I’m going to do, I'm going to call the police, that's what." " Don’t you think we should check it out first? It’s not a fire; I don’t feel any heat coming from it." " Phil, if you want to risk your life, go right ahead. But I know what I'm going to do, I'm phoning the damned police." George went back into the house to make the call. " Sure. Sure. Whatever you say, George," George always thought something spooky was going on, but maybe he's right this time. Phil turned back toward the van. He squinted into the light. Phil was still standing there watching when the light vanished, and the van quietly started and drove away from the house. "Hey, George, get out here. Get out here, Mate. The van’s leaving, it’s getting away.” " What the Hell,” George rushed out of the house. "What happened? Where did it go? Christ, what am I going to tell the police when they get here? You gotta stick by me, Mate. They’ll think I’m crazy.” ----------------------- Chapter 2 " See anything, Andy?” Toni asked her rookie partner. "
No, just a bunch of people standing over there. But listen to that dog, it’s
going crazy. Hope we don't have to deal with the Hound of the Baskervilles.” " Me too.” She checked the details on the dispatch sheet. " It’s Number Thirty-six. Quite a crowd of spectators across the street. Come on, let’s get some background before we go in.” She parked the car opposite 36 Grimshaw and got out. " Morning all. I'm Constable Toni Carter. This is Officer Warwick. Did one of you here ring this in?" "
That was me." George answered a little reluctantly, unsure about getting
involved. " As I said, I'm Constable Toni Carter this is my partner Andy Warwick. And what's your name, Sir?" " Kinkade, George Kinkade." " OK, Mr. Kinkade, do you know what's this is all about?" " No, the dog woke me up barking, and when I came outside this blinding light was blazing at us." Toni looked across the street at the house, there wasn’t any evidence of a fire, and house was dark. " Do you know the people who live over there?" " Not really, they keep to themselves mostly. They’re called the Blackwells. Moved in about nine months ago." " And what about this light you saw, what can you tell me about that?" " Not much. It's the first time I've seen anything like it. It seemed to be coming from that white van that was parked over there.” " What van, can you describe it?” " There was a big white removals van parked outside there all day yesterday up until we went to bed last night. Phil saw it too." "
Yep.", Phil agreed. " Did it unload anything?" Constable Carter asked. " Not that I saw. You, Phil?" " Naa, I saw nothing, either." " When did you notice the light?” " The dog woke me up at about four, and the light was blazing into all our windows.” " Yea I saw that, too." Phil echoed. " The dog is from the same house? Is it friendly?" " It's only a little one, stays indoors mostly. Only seen it outside a few times." " Do you know what they call it… the dog’s name?" " No, come to think of it, never heard them speak to it. What about you Phil?" " Naaa. As you said they keep to themselves mostly." " You say you saw the light shining from the van, where is the van?” " It drove away before you got here,” George said sheepishly. " Yeah, I saw it. The light just flicked off and the van drove away. George was in the house calling you guys.” " And you didn’t see anybody enter or leave the house?” Both men shook their heads. " Ok," sighed Toni. "We might as well go over and check it out.” "Ok Andy, lets go?" George turned to Phil as the officers walked away. "Well, Phil, what do you think of that, a woman officer, and she seems to be in charge, too?” He looked around to be sure his wife hadn’t heard him. "Yeah, George, I saw that, too,” replied Phil. --------------------------Chapter 3 But just as suddenly as it appeared the light was gone. For a few seconds there was a pinpoint of light inside the house itself and then it simply vanished…blipped out. There was silence as everyone stood and waited for their eyes to adjust. When the light had appeared, Toni had instinctively dropped to one knee and gone for her gun but had not drawn it. She knelt with her hand on the belt holster blinking her eyes to clear the colors playing on her retinas. " You okay, Toni?" Andy knelt beside her, his gun raised in a two-handed grip and pointed toward the house. "I’ve got us covered, but I can’t see a damn thing, just fireworks.” " It’ll clear. If there was a sniper, they would have shot already. You can put your gun away, just stay alert. Don’t frighten the crowd. Maybe it’s some kind of burglar alarm system.” The dog had stopped barking. The street was pitch black. The spectators stood silently behind them. They got up and walked cautiously up the steps to the porch. " Whatever it was, it’s dark in there now," Andy observed. At the sound of his voice the dog started barking again. " Damn." Toni hissed. "I wish that dog would shut up." She rang the bell. It echoed inside the house, but there was no movement inside. Toni turned and could see an even larger group of people had gathered across the road. More neighbors, she figured. " What do you think?" " Well, no lights on, no sound, nothing. Check the front window on that side of the house," Toni said, pointing to the right, "And I'll check this one over here." The dog continued to howl and bark. Toni retreated down the steps and moved through the shrubs to the windows flanking the railed porch. Toni could see very little in the dark even though the curtains were open. There was the outline of some furniture and other household items but that was about it. Everything seemed normal. " They’re neat, that was for sure,” she noted, "No sign of a break-in.” She glanced up at Andy who was still on the porch beside the door. "Andy, come down and check out the other side of the house through the window.” " I think the front door is unlocked,” Andy pushed and the door opened. " Wait, don’t..." Toni said. But it was too late, he had already stepped through the door. She rushed around the porch rail and up the steps toward her partner and the open front door. There was nothing but darkness beyond. His silhouette was black against the semi-dark interior. She saw a glint of reflected light on his hat band and belt. He had stopped in his tracks on the far side of the door. Then his head seemed to wobble on top of his shoulders. At first she thought he was about to faint but only his head hit the floor with a thud. The rest of his body just stood there for what seemed long seconds and then fell forward. There wasn't a sound, he hadn’t even screamed. Toni froze, her eyes frantically searching the darkness for the assassin.
She dropped to her knees and edged to the side, behind the door jamb,
and drew her
gun. " My God! I gotta get back-up," she gasped as she fumbled with the button on her communicator. "This is Unit Five-six-five, over. Officer down, officer down, Thirty-six Grimshaw street, over. I say, officer down, Thirty-six Grimshaw Street, do you read, over?" Her voice was shaking and rising in pitch as she anxiously called for a response. " This is Control, over. We read you, over. Please say again, over." " I said, officer down, damn it." " Got it, we confirm, backup is on the way, over. Do you need an ambulance, over? Do you read, Unit Five-six-five, over?" " Ambulance?” She paused. "Oh my God, his head is gone, his head is gone." She shrieked. -----------------------------------Chapter 4 Inspector Robert McQueen was waked by the ringing phone. " Damn Larsen, why can’t he just do his job?” " Bob, answer that damned phone? Can't they leave us alone for one night and do things for themselves?" These night calls really got up his wife's nose . " Yes?" he spoke into the phone knowing exactly who it was. "
Yes, Frank, what is it?" He listened and then, after a few moments, excitably
threw the bed clothes to one side and swung his legs over the side. "How
long ago?" " Five fifty-five. Right. On my way. Let the Chief Super know and of course D.I. Brownless, in case there is a hostage thing. Tell everyone at the scene not to do anything until either Brownless or I get there, OK. See you at the site." " What is it?" his wife demanded. " There's an officer down. Looks like it might be a hostage situation." " Isn't that D. I. Brownless’ job?" " Essentially, yes, but it’s one of my officers that's in trouble." " Just watch yourself out there. Don't get involved in anything you don't have to," she spoke softly but firmly. " Don't worry it'll probably be put in the hands of the specialty squads anyway. Go back to sleep. I'll be just fine. I'll ring you later, OK?" Download the entire story : CLICK
HERE to download the zip file.
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