#like there’s a woman lying dead on the road and her killers in custody so why are we talking about dreams and nightmares and psychic photos?

[gracemarkss]

trying to gather my thoughts on unruhe. something about this exchange is so vital to me…about how scully maybe isn’t as natural a seeker as mulder. about how her work as a pathologist is focused on “how” rather than “why”…whereas mulder’s profiling is the inverse. a woman is dead and a man killed her and no amount of probing the inner workings of his psyche, his dreams, his nightmares will remedy that situation. discovering the why doesn’t bring about any deeper sense of justice or peace. because really, no why could ever really explain the mundane horror of a woman’s abduction and murder. if anything, it just more starkly reveals the ugly simplicity of the human capacity for cruelty.

but i also love how later, she leans on the why. she channels mulder and his profiler brain. schnauz even picks up on it (“great. now they got you talking like sigmund freud,” in reference to him calling mulder freud during his interrogation). she asks him why he does it. why her. why this. why did his sister kill herself. why did his father do what he did. part of it’s to keep schnauz talking but it’s also another example of how she reaches for him, even metaphorically, in moments of fear and difficulty.

i also love how this episode, with its themes of unrest and strife and trouble, focuses on scully. mulder is usually the more restless character, always searching and seeking and chasing and moving. but scully is just as, if not maybe even more so. her mother’s remaining daughter. her father’s disappointment. a catholic to her bones, even as she lapses. a woman in a man’s job. who imagines a life to be a husband and kids and big sunday dinners, but who can’t stop following the mad man in the basement. who always insists she’s fine, who locks it all away, who chafes and squirms and explodes in impulsive incendiary bursts. who is always always trying.

there are just some things we don’t or can’t look too deeply into. if god is real, or why the woman in front of us is dead. scully will dig and scrape for proof and explanations for many things, but some interrogations aren’t worth the effort, or the fear of what might be found. some things just are, and they’re too big to move or change or overcome. women die because men kill them. what the hell does it matter?

[maatryoshkaa]

young god | chapter 14

chapters: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | epilogue |

word count: 5.7k

warnings: mild violence, foul language, dark themes and mental health.

description: Han Jisung’s overheard confession sends the precinct -- and the rest of Miroh Heights -- into chaos, forcing law enforcement, police, and citizens alike to choose sides. While he’s locked up, though -- making the acquaintance of a strangely familiar inmate along the way -- Jisung remains unaware of just what lengths some of the people around him are willing to go to in order to save his life. 

watch the trailer here!

14| monsters and men.

The interrogation room held a chill that seeped deep into Jisung’s bones. 

Across from him, the woman — prosecutor — that had been questioning him tapped her fingers on the table’s cold steel surface, her thinning lips the only indication of her growing impatience. They had been sitting for over an hour now — granted, there was no clock on the room’s bare walls, so Jisung could only guess — and he hadn’t spoken a single word.

“Staying silent isn’t going to help your case, you know,” the woman reminded him for what seemed like the thousandth time. She had curling brown hair and tired eyes — it seemed to Jisung like a recurring trait amongst law enforcement workers — and a thin line of a mouth. 

She had been nice enough, reading him his rights and asking questions calmly, but Jisung just couldn’t will his lips to move. He’d been absently studying the handcuffs clasped tight around his wrists with his head bowed. Kang had grudgingly called in a physician to perform first aid on the numerous cuts on his body — including the shallow stab wound above his hip the blonde man had inflicted — and after spending hours in the cold interrogation rooms the sharp aches of pain had eventually grown numb. Every word they spoke to him sounded as if it were in another language, bouncing off before they reached his ears, as if Jisung was enclosed in a muddled, soundproof bubble.

They had brought in a psychologist, too, after he’d stayed silent for an hour — a stout man with watery blue eyes whose tone was too warm for Jisung’s liking. 

“On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling?” 

“Can you tell me what’s going on in your head right now?” 

“I’m here to help you, kiddo — cooperate with me a bit.”

But another hour dragged by, and so the prosecutor had returned. 

Jisung’s mind kept wandering — to the sickly warm feeling of blood, your blood pooling onto his shaking hands, your blood drained face on the hospital cot, Chan’s feverish eyes as he’d held onto Jisung’s slack shoulders with a fatherlike sort of firmness.

Just as the woman let out a sigh of defeat, the metal door behind Jisung swung open with a screech. Behind his golden spectacles, Prosecutor Kang’s beady eyes darted from Jisung’s empty expression to the woman’s tired one and scowled. 

“He’s still refusing to talk?”

The woman nodded. Jisung felt the weight of their stares boring into his head. Kang jerked his head towards the door and the woman stood to leave as the older prosecutor took her place across the table. 

“You’re holding out longer than I thought.” When Jisung didn’t react, Kang continued with a smirk, “Though I suppose I would expect nothing less from a cold-blooded killer.”

Killer. The note of truth in the word stabbed through Jisung’s gut like a switchblade.

“Well, boy, you’re sly, I’ll give you that —” Kang narrowed his eyes, “But I’m warning you now, we’ve already gathered enough incriminating evidence. DNA from the crime scenes, CCTV footage — you’re only a couple of lab tests away from a guilty conviction, Han Jisung.”

He was lying, Jisung knew he was — lying to get him to panic and talk. Minho had long since erased all fingerprints and disposed of all evidence, after all. Jisung had watched him do it with his own eyes. 

Scowling at Jisung’s silence, Kang stood suddenly and slammed his hands onto the metal table, sending the pad and pen skittering. He leaned in closer, his voice a rancid whisper. “Talk or not, you’re not going to be leaving police custody anytime soon. I’ve seen cases like yours. You look all—innocent—on the outside—” Kang’s eyes were almost pitying, his tone condescending— “But deep down, inside? You’re fucked up to the core, and you know it, too. You know you’re a defect of society — so why are you trying so hard to pretend that you’re normal?”

Jisung didn’t realise how tightly he had been gritting his jaw until it began to ache, his clenched fists shaking white. It was like Kang was pulling every fear Jisung had ever had out of the dark crevices of his mind, forcing them beneath the harsh, burning light.

“No matter.” Kang drew back, raising his eyebrows. “You’ll crack sooner or later—just like you always do, eh?” He took off his spectacles, wiping them with a cloth from his breast pocket without taking his eyes off of Jisung. “Like yesterday morning, no? Two men dead and three comatose. Not to mention the poor girl hanging onto her life by a thread as we speak—”

At this, Jisung’s eyes flickered upwards for the first time since they had detained him. The light above him was bright and seared at his retinas, but all he could focus on was Kang’s jeering face. The older prosecutor raised his eyebrows, a flash of triumph rippling across his features.

“You haven’t heard? Or did you simply not care? An innocent young woman, and a switchblade to her heart—” Kang clicked his tongue. “The surgery isn’t going well, I heard. She’ll be lucky if she’s able to stay in critical condit—”

Jisung stood up so quickly his handcuffs banged onto the corner of the table and sent a bruising pain through his wrists. He whirled towards the door, already mapping out the shortest route from the precinct to the hospital—but Kang was onto him, rough hands seizing him by the back of his shirt and pinning him painfully against the desk with an echoing bang. He could feel the stab wound reopen beneath the bandages, a shock of fresh pain in the numbingly cold room.

“—go,” Jisung gasped out, his cheekbone crushing against the smooth steel. “Let me — need to see her, make s-sure she’s okay—let me—”

Kang’s disbelieving bark of laughter sent chills down Jisung’s spine. Jisung knew he could overpower him if he tried—but what about the officers standing guard outside, the dozens patrolling the precinct? The thought of the life fading from your eyes was enough to make him want to throw up.

“No need to pretend you care, Mr. Han—save that energy for the rest of the trial, yes?” At that, Jisung heard the metal door screech open again, and two officers’ hands replaced Kang’s on either side of his shoulders. 

The older prosecutor dusted off his hands, then fixed Jisung with a satisfied look. “You’ll be kept under custody until enough evidence has been gathered and processed to begin the trial.”

“Can I—see her? Please, you can—trail me, you can do whatever you want with me, I just—one moment—”

Kang cut him off. “You gave us nothing for nearly five hours. Even if you had, you have places to be, Mr. Han—the state prison, to be exact.” Seeing the confusion flash across Jisung’s whitened face, he continued with a savage glint in his beady eyes. “You’ll be a temporary inmate until you’re called for trial.” He glanced at his watch, then nodded at the officers, who began escorting Jisung from the room. 

Behind him, Kang called slyly, “You’ll be cohabitating with the worst of the worst—or shall I say, your own type?” He could hear the smile in the prosecutor’s voice. “We’ll see how long you last.”

━━━━━━━━

The bus ride to the prison was strangely peaceful.

Jisung caught a glimpse of the clock before he took a seat at the back. 12:00. Dead midnight. The streets were cleared, and there were nearly no cars on the road—the aftereffects of the lockdown had likely sent the citizens in a state of paranoia. Because of me, Jisung thought numbly. Because of the Mass-Murderer of Miroh Heights. Besides two accompanying officers and the driver, the shuttle was empty. 

No other inmates. Jisung was alone.

He had never really gotten used to the loneliness, though it had followed him his entire life. Each time it came back, it seemed more suffocating than the last. A voice in the back of his head told him that maybe this was how it was supposed to be. That maybe, for someone like him, he deserved nothing more.

The overwhelming feeling of emptiness began to numb his chest. Eventually the rocking motion of the bus pulled him into a cold wash of dreamless sleep. The last image he saw behind his drooping eyelids was your face.

━━━━━━━━

Jisung was woken two hours later, and they spent the early hours of the morning taking pictures and recording his information before he was given a change of clothes and finally escorted to a cell. Other inmates were waking up, some taking walks, but none spared him a second glance. They were all wearing the same stiff uniforms, with a number stamped on their breast pockets. Jisung almost laughed—for once, nobody cared who he was, who he might be. For once, he had nothing to hide.

The air smelled of dust and salt, and the inside of his mouth felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton. The prison guard motioned towards the last cell in the corridor, and Jisung stepped inside, watching the light in the room disappear as the heavy doors slammed shut behind him. As his eyes adjusted under what little patchy sunlight the barred windows let in, he realised with a start that there was another man in the cell.

“You planning to stand there for the rest of your sentence?” His voice took Jisung by surprise — it was mild, nonchalant — no hint of threats, hostility, or ulterior motives. Compared to the last forty-eight hours, it was like a breath of fresh air.

Jisung looked around the cell, not quite sure where he was supposed to go. The man chuckled and gestured across from him, and so Jisung awkwardly took a seat on the floor in front of him. The man was contemplating him with slightly raised eyebrows, and Jisung was beginning to get the feeling that somewhere, somehow, he’d seen his face before. His eyes had a familiar crescent lilt, and the corner of his lips were wide and upturned, making him look as though he were always smiling—fox-like features, but with none of the slyness. He was middle-aged, his thinning hair streaked with gray.

“You look like you could use a nap, son,” the man finally remarked, and Jisung subconsciously rubbed at his eyes. Son. Why did the word sound so strange to his ears? “What’s a kid like you doing in a place for monsters?”

Monsters. The old man certainly didn’t look like one. He looked like he could be someone’s uncle, professor, or father. He had said it lightly, almost as if he didn’t take it seriously, but the word still made Jisung’s heart sink. “Are you...a monster?” He finally asked, and the man laughed, but there was a sad edge to his voice.

“Well. That’s what they called me, ten years ago. You can make of that what you want, eh?”

Ten years ago. What had he done to earn such a long sentence? There was a brief silence, before Jisung felt compelled to speak again. It was as if the hours of silence had finally taken a toll on him now, and his tongue was beginning to burn with words and questions. “You don’t look like…”

“A monster?” The man raised an eyebrow. “Neither do you, son. But we’re both in here for a reason, no?”

“What’s yours?” Jisung was surprised at his own boldness — the man could turn on him any moment, after all. But he realised that he was already far beyond the point of caring whether or not he got hurt.

The man studied him for a long moment, and seemed to make a silent decision before finally speaking. “I...killed a man. I killed a man who had hurt someone dear to me.” He let out a deep sigh, and Jisung watched his face cloud over with memory. “A few said it was justified, but the prosecutor in charge was a stubborn one. Headstrong. The world of law is a cold one—killers are convicted without pardons, and murder is murder regardless of the circumstances.”    

Jisung swallowed a painful lump in his throat, but his voice still came out sounding like he was being choked. “I killed people who...hurt someone I loved, too,” he murmured quietly. For a moment, he thought the old man hadn’t heard—his voice was nearly inaudible—but when Jisung lifted his gaze, he saw that the man was listening intently, warm brown eyes focused on his face. “B-but in the end, I...hurt the person I loved the most. Because I couldn’t...stop.”

The man sighed. “I know.” 

This took him by surprise. Confused, Jisung followed his gaze to the corner of the cell, where there sat a stack of newspapers. The one on the very top had bold headlines that screamed, MASS ASSAULT AT LOCAL DINER. TWO DEAD, FOUR IN CRITICAL CONDITION. Just the black-and-white picture of Mia’s Diner on the cover sent a twist of nausea through his gut. “I’ve been following the case—the Miroh Heights Murders. It’s you, isn’t it?”

Jisung could only nod, exhaling shakily. “Unlike you, I...I deserve what they call me.”

They were silent for another couple of minutes, the man contemplating Jisung with that same, strangely familiar look in his eyes, and Jisung avoiding his gaze and staring at the dusty ground. He was already filled to the brim with self-loathing. The last thing Jisung needed was a convicted criminal looking at him in disgust, too—he didn’t think he would be able to take it. 

Instead, the man simply said thoughtfully, “They can—and trust me, they always will—call you what they want. Whether or not you choose to believe it, though, that’s up to you. You know what I learned, son?” Jisung finally lifted his head to meet the man’s gaze, hesitant but curious. “The more you accept those words and let them explain your past, your actions — the longer you let their voices replace your own…the more those words end up becoming your truth. You know yourself better than they do.”

Jisung looked down bitterly. Did he? “You can’t — make those excuses for me. I’ve killed people, I’m a killer, I’m a monster—”

“Are you the monster they claim you’ve always been?” The old man interrupted gently. “Or are you forcing yourself into the mold of the monster they’re making you out to be?”

Jisung was silent. The sun had changed positions while they were talking, the glare in the cell softening into a golden glow. “Why are you telling me this?” 

The man sighed, stretching. “I’ll be honest, I’m not too sure, myself. I haven’t talked this much in a while. I’ll say, though, boy, I’ve seen my fair share of monsters—been in here for ten years, and I’ll be in here for the rest of my life. You’re not one of ‘em. As a matter of fact, you remind me of...myself.”

Jisung looked over at the newspapers again. “Why were you following the case?”

“You need to find a hobby to keep yourself sane in here,” the old man scoffed. “I would usually say it’s out of boredom, but...not this time. I have a son,” he finally confessed, a softer note in his voice. He tilted his head, studying Jisung’s features thoughtfully. “He’s a few years younger than you. Just got into university, I heard. Miroh Heights. I worry...about how he’s doing.”

Jisung nodded, a sour taste in his mouth. Imagine living with the serial killer from your son’s campus. Suddenly, the lock clicked and the door swung open, revealing a guard. “Mealtime,” was all he said, and the old man stood.

Before they were escorted out, Jisung asked one last question. “What’s your— what should I call you?”

The old man thought for a moment, then smiled. “People in the town used to call me Old Yang.” He shrugged, a wistful look in his eyes. “Yang is fine.”

━━━━━━━━

Prosecutor Kang was in the middle of lighting a cigarette when Seungmin stepped outside the District 9 Precinct. The interrogations had just ended, and Seungmin had been told to stay behind and drive a couple of his higher-ups back to the law firm. Judging from the sour look on Kang’s already taut features, the questioning hadn’t gone well.

“Kim Seungmin,” Kang called by way of greeting, and Seungmin gave a curt nod. “As you may have heard, the serial killer — ah, the Han Jisung case, I should say—has been transferred to me.” When Seungmin forced himself to stay silent, Kang glanced over and gave him a clap on the back. “Now, now—don’t feel too ashamed, Kim. Everyone makes rookie mistakes. They may have assigned the wrong case to you, but rest assured — it’s in proper hands now.” 

“Is it?” Seungmin couldn’t help blurting, and instantly regretted it. Kang’s face darkened, and the older prosecutor turned to face Seungmin head on.

“Have something to say to me, Kim?”

Too much, Seungmin thought, except he could never get the proper words out of his mouth. They would bubble and foam on the tip of his tongue before his own anxiety and apprehension would push them back down hastily. “I’ve just — never understood the way you handled cases, sir.”

“Seungmin.” Kang took a short drag of his cigarette, then took a step closer. Seungmin could smell the bitter tobacco, mixed with mint, on his breath. “Allow me to share a word of advice. They won’t teach you this in law school.”

He took another drag, then continued. “Your job as a prosecutor is not to judge the defendant fairly.” When Seungmin opened his mouth in indignant protest, Kang cut him off. “If you want a smooth career...all you need to do is make sure you’re appealing to the right people. In other words, listen to what the public wants.” Kang jerked his chin; a couple of blocks down the street, the familiar flashing of police cruiser lights were illuminating Mia’s Diner. “Please the public; don’t waste a single damn about the defendant. You spent all your precious time worrying your little head over the killer’s motives, and now that we finally have him, you’re still worrying over the severity of his sentence. Murder is murder, Kim Seungmin, and actions speak louder than motives. You can show lenience towards a mass-murderer, or you can sweep his sorry past under the rug and bring closure to dozens of families. Which would make you a richer, more popular man?”

Seungmin grit his teeth, a sour taste flooding his mouth. “Is that how you got to where you are?” Everyone knew Kang was one of the most affluent prosecutors in the firm — no, in the entire city.

Kang only smiled, spectacled eyes flashing like a snake’s. “Think, boy. As far as anyone needs to be concerned, the cold-blooded killer is caught, peace is re-established, families are soothed, justice is served once again — and I come out the hero. You saw that boy’s wretched past. Even he can’t handle it. So why poke at wounds that aren’t meant to be reopened?”

Kang flicked his cigarette, not catching the way Seungmin was shaking with anger. “You think you’re being kind? Justice isn’t meant to be kind, Kim.” He shrugged. “Make up the easiest case to solve and do everyone a favour.”

Just then, the precinct’s glass doors slid open and a couple of prosecutors stepped out. Kang waved them over into one of the parked cars, Seungmin in the driver’s seat, and they sped off, leaving the parking lot eerily empty.

Yang Jeongin stepped out from the corner where he had been standing, concealed in the shadows, the confused nurse he had guilted into letting him “take a quick walk” trailing by his side.

“We best be going, sweetheart,” the old woman said worriedly, eyes darting nervously between Jeongin and the IV drip still connected to his arm. “Fresh air is good, but it’s best you don’t overexert yourself this soon.”

Jeongin nodded absently, and let her guide him back to the hospital while clutching his arm. He felt stronger, but his head was beginning to pound again. 

He glanced down at his other hand, where he had been holding out the voice recorder, and pressed END RECORDING.

━━━━━━━━

“Hey, chin up, kiddo. Look at me.”

Even though Bang Chan was sitting on the other side of the plexiglass, Jisung couldn’t bring himself to meet his friend’s eyes. He heard the detective sigh.

“When the trial starts. Plead not guilty, you hear? I know what you’re thinking, but if you plead guilty, that Kang bastard is going to eat you alive.” 

“I can’t.”

“Jisung—”

“I can’t, Chan. I’m not innocent. Shit, I — I can’t even remember half the murders they’re accusing me of, but I know my hands are bloody.”

“If you can’t remember, that factors into the investigation. A mental impairment, a handicap--” Chan was in detective mode, hands gesturing wildly as if he were moving his thoughts and theories through the air. “We need to find out why.”

“Woojin visited before you,” Jisung said in a dead tone. The police captain had been the most distressed Jisung had ever seen him, pacing the room with a locked jaw. It seemed to be a habit of his.

“Han Jisung, I’ve seen numerous murder cases before. This isn’t...right. Your sentence shouldn’t be as heavy as Kang’s making it out to be, but he’s removed both Chan and I from the investigation. We couldn’t gather more counter-evidence if we tried…” the captain looked up at him, his dark eyes troubled. “Unless you give it to us.”

The detective fell silent as Jisung repeated Woojin’s words. The younger boy’s voice was shaking with so much raw, unconcealed emotion Chan felt his own two hands clench into shaking fists. “And I won’t. So please, Chan—and tell this to Woojin, too—don’t throw away your reputations to save me. I...don’t deserve it.”

At this, Chan stood up abruptly, slamming his hands on the desk so hard the Plexiglass screen between them shook violently. “To hell with reputation. I’ve told you once, and I’ll tell you it all over again: Jisung, you don’t deserve the death penalty.” 

Jisung got to his feet, too, staring his older friend down with shaking pupils. “I don’t want to hurt anything — anyone — for as long as I live. Never really have, although I can’t exactly tell them that, can I? It needs to stop. This—I—need to stop. This needs to end — and if a death penalty is the only way to do it, I’ll take it.”

Chan raked a hand through his unruly blond hair. “Take a lawyer at least, ‘sung, haven’t they told you you have the rights to one? Hell — do it for y/n. She needs you. She needs you to stay alive.”

At this, Jisung swallowed a painful laugh. “I think I’ve learned better than anyone that in order for her to live, I need to stay out of her life. For good. She is the reason why I need to do this, Chan.”

Before Chan could respond, the timer buzzed and the door clicked open, and Jisung was dragged out of the distressed detective’s sight again.

━━━━━━━━

Fire.

That was the first thought that flashed in your head, the first word accompanied by a twinge of searing pain that pulled you ever so slightly out of the murky darkness. You were burning up, an inferno that sapped all the energy from your veins and made you want to curl up and lose what little consciousness you had just regained.

There were tiny pinpricks of light poking through your vision now, and the fire was beginning to concentrate on one area in your chest. Your lungs were aching, trying to steal back the air that the fire was consuming and as your mouth pried itself open to catch your breath your eyes shot open and you were thrust into a world of blurry white and muffled sounds.

Blinking groggily, you began to register your surroundings — a familiar white, speckled ceiling, the rhythmic beeping of a heart machine. A pinch of wires attached to needles biting into your arm. And the awfully sore, burning throbbing underneath your left collarbone.

A nurse that had been replacing the IV fluid nearly dropped the sack when she saw your open eyes. “Sweetheart? Can you hear me? Blink twice if you can hear me.”

You blinked rapidly, and she gave a sigh of relief. “I’ll call the doctor, you sit tight, alright?”

She returned with an older woman who spoke so quickly you could barely catch her words. You were lucky they didn’t have to undergo open-heart surgery—the wound was deep, but missed a major artery in your heart by a thread. Instead, you had a punctured lung they had resected, which explained the burning ache in your left side. And you had been unconscious for nearly three weeks.

You had been unconscious for nearly— 

“Three weeks?” You sat up suddenly and the nurse’s eyes bulged at your abrupt movement.

“You’d best not move too much if you don’t want to be unconscious for more,” she scolded. “You poor thing. Don’t you worry, though, sweetheart—that monster who attacked you’s supposed to stand trial soon. He’ll be paying for his sins in no time.” 

Her words only hit you after a beat of silence.

Stand trial.

Pay for his sins.

Han Jisung.

The memories came back in a violent flood—you had been woken by an echoing crash from the living room and gone back to sleep briefly. By the time you had thought to go and check, Jisung had been long gone. After a chase down dead ends under a growing thunderstorm, you had followed the muffled sounds of pain and fighting all the way back to the back lot of Mia’s Diner, where the only boy you had ever loved had been kneeling like an avenging angel over five unmoving bodies.

You had called out his name like a shout into the void.

And when he finally heard you, there had been a flash of pain that sent you doubling over. You remembered the switchblade sticking out from your ribs, how it had felt like your body was no longer your own. And you remembered the last thing you had seen before you had slipped unconscious—Jisung’s horrified, tear-filled eyes.

You had wanted to say something to him then, but the words hadn’t made it past your lips. They had echoed in your head when you slipped away, and they came back to you now.

Don’t blame yourself.

Because it was me who chose to stay. To listen. To fall in love with you — each and every part of you, Han Jisung.

And somehow, I don’t regret a single choice I made.

Your fingers absently trailed to your side, where a thick layer of bandages rose beneath the hospital’s scrubs, and found your mind wandering to a memory of Felix and Hyunjin. It hadn’t been too long ago — a couple of semesters after the three of you had first met as freshmen.

“Complexes?” Felix had repeated, and you nodded.

“It was the topic for my psych lecture today. It’s a core part of your subconscious — shaped by perceptions, emotions, and memories. It can be a fear, or a belief, but it usually has a theme of some sort, and like all subconscious influences it affects the way that people act. You know, like an inferiority complex, or an Oedipus complex.”

Hyunjin snorted. “Felix definitely has an Oedipus complex. I’ve seen him call his crushes “mommy” one too many times.”

Felix smacked the taller boy, mouth falling open in protest. “It was a joke, bro!”

The barista had rolled his eyes, pulling a new bag of coffee beans from the shelf. “Jokes always stem from truth, my friend. Anyways, if we’re talking about complexes, you can’t deny that y/n has a hero complex.” 

Felix had nodded rapidly at this, and you had raised an eyebrow. “Not that you want to be a hero or anything, but it’s like, you kinda want to save everyone, all the time. You can’t stand to see anyone suffering. I’ve never seen anyone more fitting — or less fitting, depends on how you look at it — to be a therapist.”

Hyunjin had made an amused sound of agreement before you could argue. “You remember that stray cat with a limp we found behind the shop in freshman year? She wouldn’t stop crying until we brought it to the vet. And the bird with the broken wing that crashed into the window upstairs—wouldn’t leave its side until it could fly again.” He shook his head, smiling at the indignant look on your face.

“Your complex extends to humans, too, you know,” Felix continued without missing a beat. “You walk home the little kids whose parents are at work during the winter because it gets dark early. That girl who used to get bullied by her classmates would come to Glow Cafe, every morning last semester, just to talk to you. The list goes on.” The blond journalist hummed thoughtfully. “Maybe we’ll make it a new segment in the paper: Good Samaritans of Miroh Heights.”

“Don’t you dare,” you had snapped playfully, “That sounds even more ridiculous than the damned Matchmaker of Miroh Heights.”

“You can’t save everyone, y/n,” Hyunjin had said, giving you a small, well-meaning smile. “Someone going into your field ought to know that, sooner or later. No matter how stubborn you are, no matter how much you want to.”

As if on cue, Minho’s words from the rooftop echoed in your head, sending a chill down your spine. There is little you can do for people who don’t want to be helped, y/n.

You gritted your teeth in defiance. To hell with it.

All you knew was that if there was something you were going to save, it was going to be Han Jisung’s life. 

The nurse opened the curtains, letting bright beams of sunlight cast their warmth into the room. The light was blinding, but it felt good on your face nonetheless. Before she left the room, she turned to you. “Is there anything I can get you, sweetheart?”

You bit your lip. “Can I have my laptop?” 

━━━━━━━━

Your paper was just as you remembered it — you had thought the rough draft was completed, save for a few points that needed tweaking and a few references you needed to track down and cite, but now you quickly scrolled to the bottom and deleted the entire conclusion. You had all the puzzle pieces in your hands — not just the voice recordings and notes from the final interviews, but you now had access to police statements (Chan and Woojin were one phone call away) and numerous newspaper articles. Now you knew which concepts to apply, now you had all the theories and evidence you needed.

This wasn’t just going to be a final paper.

You had to get it published as a formal case study.

By the time you had finalized your thesis and made the finishing touches, the moon was threatening to drop from inky night sky, the hues of dawn slashing through the velvet horizon. Your room was dim, but you could feel the city below — and the rest of the hospital outside your room — thrum with a sort of life, a neverending heartbeat. Your phone was still warm by your side, having made nonstop calls to whoever you could get ahold of that was working on Jisung’s case. You picked it up to make one last call.

You peeked at the clock. 5:02 A.M. “Rise and shine,” you muttered, and punched in the number.

He picked up on the seventh ring. “...ngh? Whuhsh hap’ningh?” 

“Felix,” you breathed. You hadn’t realised how much you’d missed your best friend, and his familiar, groggy voice made you smile. “Felix, it’s me.”

You heard him sit bolt upright and choke before clearing his throat, fully awake now. “y/n? Holy shit, you — are you okay? I mean, what the hell, of course you’re not fucking okay — when did you wake up?”

“This morning,” you told him. “Look—”

“Y/n, I’m so sorry. I— I don’t even know what to say. If I could go back to the day I set up that stupid blind date —”

“I’d let you,” you interrupted him, and you heard him fall silent in confusion before you continued. “Listen, Felix. If you really want to make it up to me, check your email and read the paper I’m sending over.” 

“You...want me to read over your psych paper?” There were a few beats of silence as the blond skimmed over the documents you had sent, and realisation dawned on him. “Y/n — these are — you mean —”

“Today’s Saturday. The weekly campus paper goes out on Monday. I need you to cover this story, ‘lix.” 

You heard him swallow uneasily. “Shit, y/n, I—you realise these directly contradict the local press? They’ve been throwing up story after story about how Jisung’s a — a cold-blooded psychopath, and that lead prosecutor keeps egging them on. The campus newspaper is far bigger than your average school newsletter, heck, I’ve been bragging about it since before I joined, but…” he hesitated before saying the worry that had been tugging at the back of your mind. “Will it even stand a chance?”

You exhaled slowly. For a long moment, all you could hear was your pounding heartbeat, synchronised to the high-pitched beeping of the heart machine by your bed. “We won’t know unless we try.” Your voice faltered, giving into your own creeping anxiety. “What do you think?”

At that, you heard him let out a slow, decisive breath, and something changed in the blond’s voice — a grit and determination you always saw when Felix was working on a new story, setting his mind to a challenge — and it immediately gave you a newfound surge of confidence, a feeling of assuredness you hadn’t felt in a while. 

“I think,” Felix began, and you could almost see the glint of determination flickering over his usually mischief-bright eyes, “It’s time to kick some prosecutor ass.”

[aion-rsa]

The Woman in the Window Ending Explained

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This article contains The Woman in the Window spoilers.

Twisty-turny thriller The Woman in the Window has arrived on Netflix with some distinct Hitchcockian vibes. It’s based on the bestselling novel by A. J. Finn and directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Anna Karenina, Darkest Hour), with Amy Adams as the titular woman. 

This is classic high-concept crime drama in the style of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train while the premise is reminiscent of Rear Window. Adams plays Anna Fox, an agoraphobic woman who believes she has witnessed one of her neighbors being murdered in her own home, which she views from out her window. But something odd is going on here. The murdered woman – if she even exists, is not who Anna thinks she is. Is her tenant to blame? What’s going on with the 15-year-old who lives across the street? And why is his dad so aggressive?

These are just some of the many questions that may occur to you as you are following the labyrinthine plot of The Woman in the Window.

In case you missed a bit, we break down that ending.

The first big revelation that’s key to the plot is that the woman Anna meets on Halloween night is not Jane Russell – that’s just an assumption Anna makes. As you will recall, Anna goes to her front door to shout at some kids who are throwing eggs at her house but, overwhelmed by her agoraphobia, passes out. At the door is a woman with long blond hair (Julianne Moore) who helps Anna. Anna assumes she is Jane Russell because the woman says she has just come from across the street, and because previously Ethan (Fred Hechinger), the 15-year-old kid who lives at that address, brought round a lavender soap which he says is a gift from his mother. Anna has done some research on the Russells and knows a bit about them but not what they look like.

This woman – who we discover later is called Katie – spends the evening chatting and drinking with Anna. Though Katie initially questions being called Jane (“why would you assume that?”), she later draws a picture for Anna and signs it “Jane Russell.”

Later that night Alistair Russell (Gary Oldman) comes to the house and asks if anyone from his family had paid her a visit that night. Anna lies (or thinks she’s lying) and says no, because Katie (who she thinks is Jane) has indicated that Alistair can be rather rigid and controlling (which he can). Alistair is not looking for Jane – the real Jane (played by Jennifer Jason Leigh) is presumably at home. Instead he’s after his son, who presumably has had some contact with Katie – his birth mother.

Who is Katie?

We learn that Katie is Ethan’s birth mother. When she was eight months pregnant she left Alistair and disappeared. He spent two years looking for her, eventually finding her in a “meth commune” at which point he took Ethan, and Katie went to prison. Since then the family has been hiding from Katie – only recently had Katie discovered they had moved to Brooklyn and Alistair had been paying her to stay away from her son.

Katie spends the night with Anna’s tenant David (Wyatt Russell), who says she is a bit of a nightmare. He goes to spend the next night on a mate’s sofa so as to avoid seeing her. She leaves her earring in his room.

What’s David got to do with things?

Poor old David. What we make of this character will depend somewhat on how reliable a narrator the film is as well as how reliable Anna is. Initially David seems to be an essentially nice, friendly chap, a singer-song writer who does odd jobs to make ends meet who lives in Anna’s basement and offers to help her out occasionally. Anna is fairly frosty towards him – she is fairly frosty in general – but likes him (we learn, via a conversation, in her head, with her dead husband – more on him in a bit).

David does some work for Alistair Russell but doesn’t meet Jane. He also borrows a boxcutter from Anna when he’s helping a mate moves some boxes. David shows a much darker side when he finds Anna in his room uninvited, holding his post, including a letter which indicates he’s on parole and in violation of that. David says it’s because of a bar fight. He gets aggressive with Anna and is mocking of her agoraphobia. If this is real, he’s not a good guy. But Anna has changed meds and been drinking on the meds and is susceptible to paranoia and possibly hallucinations – just because she really did see Katie get killed does not mean the rest of her view isn’t skewed.

When Anna has a melt down she tells the police that David should be in prison, that he has a history of violence and accuses him of the killing. Anna has also been sent a picture of herself sleeping which David couldn’t have taken – he has a solid alibi for the night it was taken. After that, unsurprisingly, he decides to move out. On the night Anna is planning to kill herself she is waiting for David to get the rest of his stuff before she does it. In the video she makes by way of a suicide note she makes it clear he hasn’t nothing to do with her death. But before he arrives she finds the photo with Katie’s reflection in the wine glass. When David sees it he identifies her and is able to explain who she is to Anna. However he refuses to go to the police with her.

Turns out that was a bit of an error. Later that night David gets stabbed to death by Ethan.

Who killed Katie?

That would be Ethan. Ethan, it turns out, is a serial killer in the making. His first experience was with his father’s previous assistant Pamela Nazin who fell to her death from her sixth floor unit. Did Ethan push her? Not entirely clear, but he was definitely there when she died. Ethan reveals that it took her a full five minutes to die and watching her pass was a big part of the thrill. 

Ethan then kills Katie, witnessed by Anna. We would assume that Alistair, and possibly Jane, are aware of this and send him away to something called The Wilderness Programme in New Hampshire which Ethan says is more like a prison. Rather than escaping from there, he just never went at all and has been hiding in Anna’s house all week. The sleeping photo was taken by him. When he learns she is going to kill herself he says he would have been content to just watch – he would have snuck in to say goodbye at the last minute. But after Anna finds the photo and learns about Katie she has a change of heart.

Ethan has already stabbed David and is planning on killing Anna. Anna tells Ethan she’ll go ahead with the suicide anyway – David’s death will look as if it was committed by Anna and she’s already recorded her suicide note. She pours the crushed up drugs she was preparing to use to take her own life into her glass of wine and takes a sip. But unexpectedly she smashes Ethan over the head with the wine bottle and runs rather than finishing the glass. After a chase and a fight where Anna gets a gardening fork in the face, she pushes Ethan through a glass skylight and he plummets to the bottom of several flights of stairs, dead.

Doctor Fox, your family is dead!

Before we cut to the very end, a quick recap on Anna and what the actual deal with her is. At the pinnacle of her breakdown, with Anna pointing fingers left, right and centre, accusing Alistair of child abuse, suggesting David might be the killer, Detective Norrelli (Jeanine Serralles) shocks Anna out of her psychosis when she points out “Doctor Fox, your family is dead.” 

Though Anna had claimed to be separated from her husband (Anthony Mackie), with their daughter staying with him, it appeared that every night he would talk to her – she’d tell him about her day including suspicions about the Russells, and sometimes talk to her daughter Olivia.

Turns out that was all in her head. In reality Anna, her husband and daughter were on a trip, driving high in the mountains in the snow. Anna and her husband were arguing because Anna had been having an affair. While driving a phone call on her mobile from an unknown number, which may be from her lover, distracts her from the road and she crashes the car, which results in the death of her husband and daughter. Unable to forgive herself Anna later attempts suicide. The extreme guilt causes her agoraphobia as well as her delusions that she is speaking to her dead family.

The end

Believe it or not, The Woman in the Window has something of a happy ending. Having pushed a teenage psychopath to his death through a window, Anna wakes in hospital. Nice Detective Little (Brian Tyree Henry) is there and he offers Anna a full apology – Katie’s body has been found, the Russells are in custody and even though Alistair is keeping closed-lipped, Jane Russell is not. While Detective Little has seen Anna’s suicide video on her phone he opts to give her the chance to erase it before the phone is taken in as evidence, in an act of penance.

Nine months later and Anna has made a remarkable recovery all round. She’s sold her place and is moving house, and as she departs for the final  time, she bids farewell to the ‘spirits’ of her husband and daughter that had kept her company while she was shut in there. Taking her cat with her in a carry case, Anna walks out the front door and into the world, her agoraphobia no longer present.

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The Woman in the Window is available to stream on Netflix now.

The post The Woman in the Window Ending Explained appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[thechasefiles]

The Chase Files Daily News Cap 3/28/2018

Good Morning #realdreamchasers! Here is The Chase Files Daily News Cap for Wednesay 28th March 2018. Remember that you can read full articles via subscribing to Nation News Online, purchasing a Midweek Nation Newspaper (MWN) or via Barbados Today (BT).

SHOT MAN IDENTIFIED – Police are investigating a shooting incident, which resulted in the injury of one man. This occurred around 9:40 this morning at Rock Hall, St Philip.  During this incident, 26-year-old Applon Parris of Taitt Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael received a gunshot injury to his left leg.  Parris was wanted for questioning in connection with the unnatural death of Shayne Welch Police Constable #1873 of the Royal Barbados Police Force; which occurred yesterday. As a result of information received police went to a residence at Rock Hall, St Philip where Parris was seen. He was armed with a weapon and confronted the police, and he was shot in the left leg by police and disarmed. He was immediately transported to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for medical attention. He remains in police custody. The Royal Barbados Police Force thanks the general public for their assistance in this matter.  (MWN)

POLICE IDENTIFY MAN KILLED IN RIVER VAN STAND - Police are investigating the circumstances which resulted in the unnatural death of a man between 9:30 am and 10 am today at the Constitution River Terminal, Nursery Drive, St Michael. Around 9:40 this morning police received a report of an altercation among a group of men at the Constitution River Terminal. On responding to the call, police learned that a man who reportedly suffered various wounds and injuries during that altercation was transported to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital by a private motor vehicle. Further investigations revealed that 23-year-old Kemar Gooding of Ellerton, St George was pronounced dead whilst receiving treatment at the Accident and Emergency Department of the QEH.  Anyone who can provide any information that can assist with these investigations is asked to call Criminal Investigations Department at 430-7189, Central Police Station at 430-7676, Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1800-TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station.  (MWN)

WOMAN’S BODY FOUND IN BURNT AREA – Police are investigating the unnatural death of a woman discovered around midday at Long Beach, Chancery Lane, and Christ Church. Around noon today, police responded to a report of a body found in a burnt area on a pasture located at Long Beach, Christ Church.  The body of an unidentified female was discovered lying motionless in a burnt area of the pasture. Police are continuing investigations into this matter, which is being treated as an unnatural death. Anyone who can provide any information that can assist with these investigations are asked to call Oistins Police Station at 418-2612, or Police Emergency at 211, Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477), or the nearest police station.  (MWN)

LONG BEACH RESIDENTS SHOCKED BY DISCOVERY OF BURNT BODY - Residents of the quiet neighbourhood of Long Beach, Christ Church were thrown into a state of shock today after the charred remains of a woman was discovered in an area that many frequent for leisurely strolls. It was around 11 a.m. that the Barbados Fire Service responded to a call about a bush fire, and it was while putting out the blaze that the body was discovered next to a white vehicle of unknown make and model, which was also destroyed by the blaze.  Police have not revealed the identity of the woman, but are treating the incident as suspicious.  Earl Maynard, who resides a stone’s throw away from the discovery, told Barbados TODAY he was stunned by the development as neither he nor his wife had seen anything that aroused suspicion. “We walk that area every morning. I walked it yesterday and saw nothing unusual, my wife also walked it today and she saw nothing unusual. Around 11 my wife told me that there was a fire and that we should call the fire brigade. So the fire service came up and started putting out the fire and discovered the body. We are shocked because we did not see any cars up there this morning,” Maynard said.  The former bodybuilder said the area was known for its tranquility and he did not recall any thing like this occurring in the community in the past.  “This is a quiet area up here, people come here and enjoy the area, they love the beach and they love the view and it is a wonderful place to be. So for this to happen is very sad,” he said.  “What is Barbados coming to? It is a shame with all of this violence and murders. These people need Jesus,” Maynard concluded. Another resident who spoke on condition of anonymity said he had not seen anything out of the ordinary when he went for a sea bath early this morning.  “I can’t remember anything out of the way at all. I went to the beach this morning and I walk the same way to come back and I did not notice anything at all. So seeing all of this commotion has me shocked,” he said.  (BT)

MULLIN HELD FOR MURDER - The man accused on murdering Laura Springer early this month has been remanded to prison for the next 28 days. Lawrence Anderson Mullin, of Harts Gap, Christ Church, is charged with committing the capital offence sometime between March 18 and 19. The body of the 56-year-old woman was found at her No. 21 St Lawrence Road, Christ Church home last Monday. The 58-year-old Mullin, who is employed as a bar-back, was not required to plead to the indictable offence when he appeared before Magistrate Douglas Frederick today with his attorney Destiny Haynes. The murder accused returns to the No. 2 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on April 24. (BT)

MAN GETS 15 YEARS – The court will not treat lightly the prevalence of firearm offences in this country. So said Justice Jaqueline Cornelius as she sentenced manslayer Damien LeCoursey Reveira to 15 years in jail yesterday. Reveira, of 4th Avenue, New Orleans, St Michael, was back in the No. 5 Supreme Court for sentencing, after he was convicted by a 12-member jury at an earlier session of the Continuous Sittings for the lesser count of unlawfully killing Anderson Ashby on October 9, 2010. The jury had found him not guilty of murder. Justice Cornelius said: “I cannot overstate the infinite possibilities of the devastating consequences of one handling this intrinsically dangerous weapon.” She added that Reveira had not helped the severely wounded Ashby as he lay on Belfield pasture, Black Rock, St Michael. “In fact, you left the island afterwards for Canada. A young person’s life was lost and you showed no clear remorse.” Justice Cornelius, however, said she had taken into consideration that Reveira had no previous convictions and had a low risk of re-offending. Though he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, she ordered that the 2 454 days Reveira had spent on remand be taken into consideration. The killer will therefore spend the remaining eight years and three months for the offence. During the trial, the court had heard that Anderson Ashby’s brother, Christopher, wanted to purchase a gun and Christopher’s cousin, Derek Omar Springer, had made the arrangements. The deal on Belfield pasture went haywire when someone asked: “What gine on here?” Anderson Ashby ended up dead with a gunshot to the chest while Springer fled the scene before the shooting started. Reveira later told police he had a .32-calibre gun with which he “stuck up” someone. A struggle ensued and the gun fired. (MWN)

CLOSE CALL FOR SUV DRIVER – A St Lucy man is today counting his lucky stars following an accident on the Ronald Mapp Highway yesterday. Jefferson Hinds, of Pie Corner, was the lone occupant in the SUV travelling north along The Rock, St Peter, when he struck an embankment and the car flipped. It came to a stop, wedged in Warleigh Bridge along the highway. Hinds was trapped in the vehicle and had to be assisted by passers-by Davey Forde and a visitor to the island who witnessed the accident. “I was driving past and I saw the car push up here on a side and a tourist was standing looking. I told him I just passed here. I got out and I saw him down in the car and was still strapped in,” Forde related. “I told him not to move and I asked him if he could move his feet. I told him not to release his seatbelt because I wanted a chance to assess how he was before I moved him . . . . I called another gentleman, he got up on top and the tourist and I went in and lifted him out.” Hinds, who complained of pain about the body and had to be assisted by friends while walking, was assessed by ambulance personnel on the scene and questioned by police. The incident occurred around 11:55 a.m. and attracted the attention of many curious onlookers who enquired about the driver’s condition. (MWN)

The state must protect women –Perpetrators of domestic and gender based violence “cannot act with impunity” given the devastating consequences of their actions. The stern warning was issued today by Madam Justice Jacqueline Cornelius as she sentenced St Lucian Cuthbert Joseph to nine years in jail for slashing the face of his son’s mother, Margaret Christophe, on August 12, 2014. Cornelius was adamant that the state had a responsibility through the criminal justice system and otherwise not only to protect women from this scourge, but “also to indicate that such cases will be dealt with seriously . . . . and that the excuse of rampant emotions and jealousy cannot be [enough]”. The couple’s relationship ended in June 2014, but Joseph apparently became enraged when he suspected that Christophe, who had since moved out of the home they shared, “had a man”. In a fit of jealously, the accused travelled to St Joseph were the woman was living and waited at a bus stop before boarding the bus with her and their son, who was seven years old at the time.  Joseph first verbally abused Christophe in patois before the attack turned physical when Christophe disembarked the bus at Parris Gap, St Joseph. It was at that point that he used a box cutter to chop her in the face and collarbone before ingesting a number of painkillers and attempting to slash his own wrist. While describing the incident as “a grave case of domestic abuse” since Christophe suffered extensive injuries for which she needs ongoing treatment, Cornelius ordered Joseph to compensate his victim in the amount of $10,000, which must be paid - either in lump sum or four installments of $2,500 - within two years of his release from jail.  “The court is concerned that the injuries you inflicted . . . were of such a degree that she has and will need ongoing and rehabilitative care. This exacerbated [by the fact] that she is a St Lucian [and] as such has to bear the cost of this care, as well as herself and her child,” Cornelius said, while cautioning Joseph that failure to pay could result in a further penalty. The prisoner, who has five years, four months and two weeks left of the sentence to serve, must also enroll in counselling programmes offered at Dodds prison to assist him in coping with stressful situations as well as anger management. (BT)

OH NO, MARIA: AUSTIN SLAMS FELLOW UPP CANDIDATE AGARD OVER FACEBOOK POST –A United Progressive Party (UPP) candidate is contending that party colleague Dr Maria Agard ought to have been reprimanded, at the very least, for what many saw as a highly inappropriate post on social media by the Christ Church West incumbent. Christal Austin, the UPP’s candidate for St James South, has also admitted that by not acting against Dr Agard, the party could be seen as practising double standards. The question of double standards was raised yesterday during a panel discussion at the Barbados Community College (BCC), among the parties contesting this year’s general election. Jamal Slocombe, the BCC student guild vice-president, asked why Dr Agard had not been punished for posting on Facebook, “at least I never bite out anyone’s clitoris”, while another UPP candidate, Charleston Taylor, was given the boot for a post on the same social media platform in which he called for the legalization of marijuana here, otherwise “blood will flow in the streets”. In response, Austin said she too was shocked by Dr Agard’s post, while she expressed bafflement as to why her party had yet to respond publicly.  “I, too, have to admit that I was taken aback when I saw the comment and I want to state categorically that it does not reflect on the tone, on the intentions or the directions that the general membership of the UPP [has adopted]. I know some people have been calling for some public response similar to what was taken with Taylor . . . .It does come across as a double standard, I must agree with that,” Austin, a public relations consultant, said. After Taylor’s Facebook post, UPP leader Lynette Eastmond hosted a 12-minute live broadcast on the social media platform two weeks ago, confirming that her party had severed ties with the then St Philip West candidate.  Eastmond said at the time the UPP had spoken with Taylor about his comment but he had maintained that he did not regret the controversial post. However, the party has been quiet on Dr Agard, who announced last month that she had joined the fledgling party, becoming, for a short time, its only Member of Parliament. Her move came just over two years after she was kicked out of the Barbados Labour Party in November 2015 - an action she unsuccessfully challenged in court. Yesterday, Austin told students there was much more to Taylor’s removal than the public was made aware of, and it was possible that some behind-the-scenes action was taking place regarding Dr Agard’s comment. “As it relates to Taylor there are some other things that happened behind the scenes that may not necessarily deserve to be publicized. Perhaps there was some discussion above my level with Agard and our leader, Lynette Eastmond, but I am not privileged to that information or what decision was taken,” Austin said as she again distanced her party from the remarks in very strong terms.  “Again, I appeal to you not to take that as a reflection of the body of the UPP, nor is it a sign of things to come from us because we are very mindful that mudslinging, demagoguery and gutter politics has brought a veil over the real issues taking place in Barbados and we are going to focus on handling those issues,” she stressed. (BT)

PAUL JOINS JONES IN BASHING CANADIAN DIPLOMAT - “Keep your mouth out of our business!” That was the stern warning issued by Democratic Labour Party (DLP) St Michael West Central candidate James Paul over the weekend in response to recent suggestions made by Canadian High Commissioner Marie Legault that the island was ready for a female prime minister.  The comment has been interpreted by members of the ruling party as a possible indication of support by the Canadian envoy for Opposition Leader Mia Mottley to take over the reins of Government following elections which are due here by June. And without referring to Legault by name, Paul told party supporters during a DLP St Michael North East meeting over the weekend that while he believed that Barbados will one day have a woman prime minister, it was not the place of any diplomat to be saying that the island was ready for one. “Keep your mouth out of our business  . . . . Respect the fact of who you are and where you are,” advised Paul, the tone of whose response to the Canadian diplomat mimicked that of Minister of Education Ronald Jones who had earlier torn into the resident envoy over her remarks which came during an International Women’s Day event earlier this month. In fact, Jones suggested that Legault should be recalled over her remarks. Speaking during Sunday night’s DLP meeting held at the Lawrence T. Gay Memorial School in Mottley’s constituency of St Michael North East, Paul said: “I support the day when we could see a woman prime minister who exemplifies the best of Barbadian womanhood.” However, in a further warning to Legault, he said: “Do not come down here as no diplomat trying to get on as if you are so enlightened and you could tell us down here what to do . . . . Keep your mouth out of our election.” He also assured party faithful, “we [the ruling DLP] are not in anybody’s hip-pocket, so they can’t tell us what to do”.  Paul also complained about what he saw as a “constant effort in the press” to promote the LGBT agenda. “It is as if it is orchestrated to change us,” he said, while advising the Barbados press: “Do not get caught up in their campaign. If that is good for their society, leave them up there with it.” He said, “the churches in this country need to make a stand [and] stop being so quiet on these issues.” “No wonder our young people in this country are so confused because we are sending mixed messages to them,” he added. (BT)

KEEP SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP ALIVE –Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo has made a strong appeal to stakeholders not to allow politics to divide the social partnership.  Dr Byer-Suckoo this morning told the opening of a workshop on social dialogue organized by the Barbados Employers Confederation, the Caribbean Employers Confederation and the International Labour Organization at the Courtyard by Marriott in Hastings, Christ Church, it was important to put aside political preferences when sitting around the table to discuss the country’s development. “Many at the table, for example, in the social partnership arrangement, would have their own political affiliation . . . .Indeed many have political aspirations, but at the end of the day, because of our political stability, we have to put Barbados first. For most of the time we put aside our political perspectives . . . yes we take them up again and then after the general election, we realize that exercise is done, now we have to move on to getting Barbados developed,” she said, adding that the country was too small to have a political divide. The minister said while the social partnership has had its challenges and fallouts over the past 25 years, it has still been able to oversee some economic growth in recent years, as well as a decline in unemployment and the deficit. She also identified a number of principles on which the social partnership has been built and which have been tested from time to time. These include respect, she said, which “can be a little fragile and delicate, but we must continue to work at building that respect”.  “When we come to the table we must be able to come as equals,” the minister told the gathering.  “Trust is also quite key . . . [and] if anybody is going to attempt social dialogue, you need a formal social partnership arrangement,” Dr Byer-Suckoo stressed. At the same time, she warned that the country’s political stability could be in jeopardy if it is not guarded jealously. She contended that while Barbados’ political stability was the envy of the world, there was a danger of it being lost to partisan politics. “We would see administrations change over our 51 years and before, but our Government process continues . . . our society, our community continues. That kind of political stability is something that I would encourage all of us to hold onto. It is something we have to guard jealously because if we are not careful, we could lose it,” Dr Byer-Suckoo suggested.  (BT)

BAD BLOOD: MALONEY AND MCDOWALL IN BITTER WAR OF WORDS -  There appears to be no love lost between Walter Maloney, the former president of the National Union of Public Worker (NUPW), and his successor, Akanni McDowall, who are engaged in a blistering war of words over the union’s direction. Maloney today fired a vicious counterpunch at McDowall, describing him as morally inept and stopping just short of calling him a liar and someone who pads up the numbers to make himself look good. The trigger for Maloney’ anger was a statement by McDowall at the opening ceremony last week of the NUPW’s 74th annual conference, that members had lost confidence in the NUPW under Maloney’s presidency, which resulted in thousands leaving the union.  The former union boss told Barbados TODAY his successor was unjustifiably tarnishing his legacy, even as he accused McDowall of overseeing a significant loss in membership. “When [former NUPW General Secretary] Dennis Clarke and myself left the NUPW our membership was 9,700 people. The current membership is not more the 7,500 persons. It is not more. All I am saying is that sometimes a moral ineptitude is seen in people and it is currently now seen in this NUPW leader because one must tell the truth,” Maloney said. In his address last week, McDowall contended that his executive had restored confidence in the union, which he said had been lost under Maloney’s presidency.  He said the union was at its lowest ebb in 2013 to 2014 following the NUPW’s “feeble response” to Government’s layoff of 3,000 workers.  McDowall also argued that since his tenure, which began in 2015, the union had regained nearly 2,000 members whom it had lost during the twilight years of Maloney’s leadership.  “The massive layoffs and our feeble response thereto resulting in mistrust in leadership has served to place the relevance of our organization and the movement at large under severe scrutiny,” said McDowall, who boasted the membership had grown to over 10,000 people.  However, Maloney, who led the NUPW for ten years, said contrary to McDowall’s boast, the island’s largest public sector union was currently haemorrhaging members. He blamed this in part on the union’s demand for a 23 per cent pay rise for civil servants, while stressing that the layoffs did not have a significant impact.  “The fallout as a result of the layoffs was not significantly felt within the NUPW as some people thought. But I know right now that the numbers are vastly down because people have difficulty with what is happening in the union now,” he told Barbados TODAY. “Asking for a 23 per cent increase is not a policy because you cannot attach a quantum to a policy. So what you are seeing now is that there is no movement because they are continuing to hold hard and fast for this 23 per cent increase, which any public servant would tell you is an outlandish amount,” he argued. So concerned were three former NUPW leaders about the situation at Dalkeith Road, he said, that they requested a meeting with McDowall two weeks ago to try to persuade him to change course from the “perilous course he was taking the island’s largest public sector union”. In addition to Maloney, the former president Cedric Murrell and Dennis Clarke, the retired general secretary, attended the talks, which Maloney told Barbados TODAY bore no fruit because McDowall was not inclined to listen. “We had the president in a meeting that Dennis asked for, which was also attended by Murrell, because we did not like the direction the union was going and we were hoping that we could help the NUPW pull back some of the bad publicity it was getting . . . .I left with the impression that the current president is not about listening to anybody outside those whom he thinks he should listen to. I don’t think he is amenable to listening to those who are not saying the things he wants to hear,” Maloney said, while accusing McDowall of breaching the unwritten code of respect for past NUPW leaders.  “People must be willing to be morally upstanding. If you are going to make statements, make them in a way that you don’t try to destroy people’s character. You would never hear me attack the current president, just as I am not going to attack the president that was there before me. There is an unwritten code in any organization that you don’t criticize the person who was there before you because you were not there to understand the decisions that they took,” he stressed. (BT)

DRIVE NAMED AFTER KAREN – Karen Best says she feels honoured to be sitting among the “giants” in the local trade union movement. The overwhelmed Best temporarily shelved her hat yesterday as Chief Education Officer at a ceremony to unveil Karen Best Drive in the Barbados Union of Teachers’ (BUT) housing project at Hothersal, St Michael, which is to be called Academia Estates. “I stand before you this morning very humbled by this gesture by the president and executive of the Barbados Union of Teachers to honour my contribution. Believe me when I say that my labour with this union was one of love and I always say that I am a servant leader,” she told an audience, including family, friends, and past and present colleagues. “This naming ceremony puts me in the category of some of the giants in the trade union movement, for to speak of Marjorie Marshall and John Cumberbatch, Edwena Armstrong and Carl Springer and then Karen Best in the same breath is an honour. “I would want to wish the BUT every success as it forges ahead to continue to lift the standard of teaching in this island,” she said, adding that her lone regret was that her mum passed a year ago and was not there to share in her joy. Best, the longest serving BUT president, had the vision to develop the site. She said she had a single mission when she joined the union all those years ago. “Someone said that they didn’t see any women leaders in Barbados . . . . I set out to dispel that notion, and I think I did,” she said to loud applause. Best’s vice-president and successor Pedro Shepherd said it was his mission to honour her and have her name etched in history before he took his leave from the BUT. “This morning I have decided that you must be treated like royalty with red carpet and all.  I want you to accept this honour in the spirit it is given. I want the persons who shall reside here to feel honoured to be living on Karen Best Drive, for the next few generations of teachers must never forget Karen Best, former BUT president . . . . I want persons to know of your contribution and some history to this development which is going to be named shortly,” Shepherd said. Academia Estates sits on 12.5 acres of land with the remaining lots going on the market from today. While noting that teachers would be given priority as purchasers, Shepherd nevertheless said “we cannot hold it forever”. (MWN)

AAB ANGERS STRAUGHN – Christ Church Foundation School long-time physical education teacher Seibert Straughn is not a happy man. And the disappointment of the two-time Olympian has nothing to do with his three-peat girls’ team having to share the 2018 Barbados Secondary Schools Athletics Championship (BSSAC) title with the St Michael School or his boys running second to the same opponents. Straughn is disappointed that the Athletic Association of Barbados (AAB) could find no room for two of his outstanding athletes, Hannah Connell and Josiah Atkins, on the CARIFTA Games’ 26-member team which leaves for the Bahamas tomorrow. “I am very disappointed.  The association needs to make its selections policy clear.  If you are only selecting athletes who qualify by times that is understandable. But if you are selecting outside of the times, then how could you leave out two top performing individuals like Hannah and Josiah?” Straughn said. While neither Connell nor Atkins reached the AAB’s qualifying standards, the former is the fastest schoolgirl in Barbados, winning the 100 metres at BSSAC in 11.95 seconds, narrowly missing the benchmark of 11.80 seconds. She also won the 100-metre hurdles in 15.39 seconds, off her season’s best of 14.28 at the National Junior Championships. The qualifying mark in this event is 14.00 seconds. Atkins achieved the Under-20 Boys’ sprint double at the BSSAC finals with times of 10.67 and 21.62 seconds in the 100 and 200 respectively when he beat CARIFTA selectee Matthew Clarke on each occasion. Unfortunately, he didn’t go under the CARIFTA qualifying standards of 10.55 or 21.40 seconds.  Straughn, a former chairman of the National Sports Council, who had represented Barbados at the 1991 World Championship, praised the significant development of the relay teams in the island and expressed amazement that Barbados continually refuse to select stand-alone relay teams. “If you look at our relay times and performances you would recognise that we have been making great strides in those events. Our 4x400 and 4x100 have brought some of the greatest pride to Barbados’ athletics,” noted the 1989 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 400 metres bronze medallist. Leaving out competitors like Hannah and Josiah, who can deliver in so many areas is demoralising for those athletes and others who look up to them,” contended Straughn. (MWN)

DOUBLE CROWN FOR BCC – The Barbados Community College (BCC) are the double crown kings in Massy Stores Inter-Schools volleyball. In what was undoubtedly the most dramatic schools’ finals ever, BCC clinched the knockout title with a “triple overtime” win over Christ Church Foundation boys 24-26, 32-30, 16-14 at the Wildey Gymnasium on Monday. MVP Akeel Oxley and high jumper Nathan Crawford-Wallis had looked capable of taking Foundation across the line. However captain Jherad Morris-Sealy and a host of junior national players, particularly former Foundation students Pierre Nurse and Omari Taylor tilted the game and second crown to BCC. Morris-Sealy, Akeel Stoute, Taylor and Nurse, who play Division 1 volleyball seemed in control of the game after motoring BCC to set point 24-22 in the first set. Oxley and Crawford-Wallis continued to hit the ball from a height and with venom to lock the scores at 24 and takethe opener. BCC flipped the script in the second set with libero Khadijah Gittens proving remarkably defiant in defence while Theron Durant and setter Amory Hinkson held their own for BCC to avert game and match point. On the other hand, Foundation added to the drama as rookie setter Jonathan Layne was blown at critical periods in the second set loss. Even so, Layne was able to often find Oxley even when he was in the backcourt to score some crunchers which would have impressed his uncle, former Barbados captain Elwyn Oxley, who was officiating the game. Unbelievably, looking down and out, Foundation surged from 0-9 in the decider. They drew level at 10 on a positional fault by BCC. Foundation then locked the scores again at 12, 13 and 14 before an error on a backcourt attack at 14-15 by Oxley ended the thriller. In the earlier girls’ knockout final, Queen’s College dethroned defending champions Harrison College in straight sets 25-12, 25-19. National junior player Aaliyah Durant led the QC assault and got tremendous support from fellow Barbados juniors Reanna Durant, Shanae Boyce and Janina Mayers. (MWN)

CALYPSO TENT REGISTRATION OPEN –The National Cultural Foundation (NCF) is inviting all calypso tents to register for the upcoming 2018 Crop Over Season. Registration forms are available from the NCF’s office in West Terrace, St James, and must be submitted by 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 5. (MWN)

For daily or breaking news reports follow us on Instagram, Tumblr, Twitter & Facebook. That’s all for today folks. There are 278 days left in the year. Shalom! #thechasefilesdailynewscap #thechasefiles  #dailynewscapsbythechasefiles

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This is probably one of the most disturbing murder cases in history. The fact that the victim was a toddler is awful enough but knowing  that two 10-year-old’s, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson from England, who killed and mutilated the body of the 2-year-old James Bulger, makes it nearly unfathomable.Even more disturbing is that the killers have been released from jail with new identities.

The fact that the suspects were so young came as a shock to investigating officers, headed by Detective Superintendent Albert Kirby, of Merseyside Police. Early press reports and police statements had referred to Bulger being seen with “two youths” (suggesting that the killers were teenagers), the ages of the boys being difficult to ascertain from the images captured by CCTV.

Forensic tests confirmed that both boys had the same blue paint on their clothing as found on Bulger’s body. Both had blood on their shoes; the blood on Thompson’s shoe was matched to Bulger’s through DNA tests. A pattern of bruising on Bulger’s right cheek matched the features of the upper part of a shoe worn by Thompson; a paint mark in the toecap of one of Venables’s shoes indicated he must have used “some force” when he kicked Bulger.

The boys were each charged with the murder of James Bulger on 20 February 1993,[7] and appeared at South Sefton Youth Court on 22 February 1993, when they were remanded in custody to await trial. In the aftermath of their arrest, and throughout the media accounts of their trial, the boys were referred to as ‘Child A’ (Thompson) and ‘Child B’ (Venables).While awaiting trial, they were held in the secure units where they would eventually be sentenced to be detained indefinitely.

On that fateful day, the troubled boys were skipping school and wandering around a busy mall, stealing sweets, batteries and a bucket of paint – items that were later to be found at the murder scene. Casually observing children, they were looking for a child to abduct. The plan was to lead the victim to a busy road and push him into the path of oncoming traffic.

On February the 12th, 1993. James was out shopping with his mother in the New Strand Shopping Centre near Kirkby, England.

His mother Denise was briefly distracted inside a butcher’s shop on the lower floor of the center. A minute later she realized her son had disappeared. James had been wandering by the open door of the shop when Thompson and Venables caught his attention and lured him out of the mall at 3:42 pm.

Denise panicked and headed to the mall’s security office. She described her son’s appearance and what was he wearing: a blue jacket and grey sweat suit, a blue scarf with a white cat on it and a t-shirt with the word ‘Noddy’ on it. For security, it was a routine day. They often had to announce the description of a lost child over the loudspeaker so that parents could reunite with their child at the information centre. But what started off as a lost child in the mall, turned out to be one of the most prolific missing child cases in the history of the UK.

At 4:15 pm, the local Police Station was notified.

Sometimes he ran ahead, other times he fell behind. The boys were walking around aimlessly until they reached a nearby canal and proceeded to go under a bridge to an isolated area. There, they dropped James on his head. Venables and Thompson ran away, leaving the toddler crying. A lady saw James sobbing and assumed he was just playing with the local kids.

In his utter innocence, bruised and crying, James followed the boys once again. Several witnesses saw them and later described a boy crying and older boys kicking him. No one intervened, thinking that older brothers were just fooling around and watching over their younger sibling..

At approximately 5:30 pm, after more than a two-mile hike, Venables and Thompson decided to go to the railway tracks to finish the business. Between 5:45p m and 6:30 pm, James was brutally murdered.

The assault began with the boys pouring the stolen paint from the mall into James’ eyes. They pulled off his pants and underwear, mutilated his foreskin and inserted batteries into his anus. They kicked, threw stones and eventually smashed his skull with an iron bar. When they believed James was dead, they laid his body on the tracks, covering his bleeding head with bricks and rubbish, making it look like an accident.

They left just before the train came. The forensic pathologist of the case, Dr. Alan Williams, stated that James suffered so many injuries – 42 in total – that he was not able to confirm any one of them as the fatal blow, beyond the fact that he had died before the train cut his body in half.

Police got a hold of the CCTV footage of James’ abduction. The disappearance made the evening news and calls immediately poured in. Two days later, the severed body was found lying on the tracks. When the circumstances became public, the crime scene was flooded with hundreds of bouquets of flowers. The tabloids denounced the people who had seen the abduction but had not intervened to aid him.

Three days later, a breakthrough came when a woman recognised Venables on the released low-resolution photo from the CCTV footage. The tip-off led to an arrest and the boys were taken to separate police stations where they gave a total of 20 interviews over three days.

The boys confessed and were found guilty on the 24th of November, 1993, and received the sentence that would keep them behind bars for at least until they reached the age of 25. This decision made Venables and Thompson the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history and the youngest convicted murderers of the 20th century.

In 1999, lawyers for Thompson and Venables appealed to the European Court of Human Rights that the boys’ trial had not been impartial, since they were too young to follow proceedings and understand an adult court. The European court dismissed their claim that the trial was inhuman and degrading treatment, but upheld their claim they were denied a fair hearing by the nature of the court proceedings. The European Court also held that Michael Howard’s intervention had led to a “highly charged atmosphere”, which resulted in an unfair judgment.On 15 March 1999, the court in Strasbourg ruled by 14 votes to five that there had been a violation of Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights regarding the fairness of the trial of Thompson and Venables, stating: “The public trial process in an adult court must be regarded in the case of an 11-year-old child as a severely intimidating procedure”.

In September 1999, Bulger’s parents applied to the European Court of Human Rights, but failed to persuade the court that a victim of a crime has the right to be involved in determining the sentence of the perpetrator.

The European court case led to the new Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, reviewing the minimum sentence. In October 2000, he recommended the tariff be reduced from ten to eight years, adding that young offender institutions were a “corrosive atmosphere” for the juveniles.

In June 2001, after a six-month review, the parole board ruled the boys were no longer a threat to public safety and could be released as their minimum tariff had expired in February of that year. The Home Secretary David Blunkett approved the decision, and they were released a few weeks later on lifelong licence after serving eight years.

Both men “were given new identities and moved to secret locations under a “witness protection”-style programme.”  This was supported by the fabrication of passports, national insurance numbers, qualification certificates and medical records. Blunkett added his own conditions to their licence and insisted on being sent daily updates on the men’s actions.

The terms of their release include the following: they are not allowed to contact each other or Bulger’s family; they are prohibited from visiting the Merseyside region;curfews may be imposed on them and they must report to probation officers. If they breach these rules or are deemed a risk to the public, they can be returned to prison.

An injunction was imposed on the media after the trial, preventing the publication of details about the boys. The worldwide injunction was kept in force following their release on parole, so their new identities and locations could not be published.

Blunkett stated in 2001: “The injunction was granted because there was a real and strong possibility that their lives would be at risk if their identities became known.

In the months after the trial, and the birth of their second son, the marriage of Bulger’s parents, Ralph and Denise, broke down; they divorced in 1995. Denise married Stuart Fergus and they have two sons together. Ralph also remarried and has three daughters by his second wife.

On 2 March 2010, the Ministry of Justice revealed that Jon Venables had been returned to prison for an unspecified violation of the terms of his licence of release. The Justice Secretary Jack Straw stated that Venables had been returned to prison because of “extremely serious allegations”, and stated that he was “unable to give further details of the reasons for Jon Venables’s return to custody, because it was not in the public interest to do so.”On 7 March, Venables was returned to prison on suspected child pornography charges.

In November 2011, it was reported that officials had decided that Venables would stay in prison for the foreseeable future, as he would be likely to reveal his true identity if released. A Ministry of Justice spokesman declined to comment on the reports. On 4 July 2013, it was reported that the Parole Board for England and Wales had approved the release of Venables.

On 3 September 2013, it was reported that Venables had been released from prison

  The murder of the toddler James Bulger This is probably one of the most disturbing murder cases in history. The fact that the victim was a toddler is awful enough but knowing  that two 10-year-old’s, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson from England, who killed and mutilated the body of the 2-year-old James Bulger, makes it nearly unfathomable.Even more disturbing is that the killers have been released from jail with new identities.