The one good thing about working in The Gutter is that it makes you appreciate your own home and neighborhood so much more. This place is like a wasteland. The poverty, the rampant drug use, the dealing, the daily acts of violence; they’re like a plague infecting the whole neighborhood, and it seems as if there’s no cure. The whole area is blighted…except for Prospero’s. Some says that he’s an eccentric guy trying to revitalize the neighborhood, but this isn’t gentrification. It’s just a kingpin setting up a compound for him and his posse, and everyone knows it. Prospero came in two years ago, leveled an entire block, built a lavish mansion and surrounded it by a ten foot high fence, with a gated entrance and “security” on hand. Everyone had hoped that he might share some of his wealth and help the neighborhood, but the fact is that he could care less. Truth be told; he’s the one responsible for ruining the area. This used to be a really nice area filled with decent, hardworking, blue collar families. Then the 80’s hit and Prospero seeing a market moved in and started peddling his crack. It all has been downhill from there. If you ever wanted to find out how the plague started, look no further than him. He’s the one that brought the drugs, the violence, and all the pestilence into the neighborhood. And now, he’s living it up, right in front of everyone else who’s suffering. He could have built anywhere. Why here?
I’ve heard that Prospero throws some wild parties over there, ones that last for days. I’ve often said that it would only be a matter of time before we got called out to there, and last night, my prophesy came true! It was after midnight when we got toned out for a shooting, and when we heard the address we knew exactly where it was. We waited outside for the cops to clear the scene and declare it safe. When they let us in I was not prepared for what we found. Prospero and over half a dozen of his crew lying dead on the floor, each shot execution style. All I could think was just how, no matter how rich he was, no matter how high the walls were, no matter how much security he had, he wasn’t immune to the pestilence he created. The very violence that made him the kingpin, the millionaire that he was, had arrived and visited upon his own house! Call it irony, call it karma, call it what you will; Prospero, in the end, got his just desserts. Cheese and I methodically checked each body; confirming the absence of vital signs and unofficially declaring them all dead. I’ve seen enough carnage in my years working the streets, but I’ve never saw ten people lying dead all at once. Oh boy, I hope can sleep after this, but I doubt I will.
I asked one of the cops if they had any idea who might have done this. He seemed baffled, and…shocked. This place is locked up tighter than Fort Knox. How could anyone have even gotten in here, let alone made a getaway. He said that so far they’d found no usable forensic evidence, no shell casings, and no witnesses. The only thing they found so far was a Halloween mask lying on the floor. It was dark, red, grotesque, and spattered with blood. It wasn’t much, but perhaps it was a start. Cheese and I decided to wait for the Coroner outside; I didn’t need any more of those images in my head. As soon as the he arrived, I gave him a quick report and we left. This is why I hate “Poe”ville Heights!
Two down, one more shift to go. I knew this rotation was going to be bad, but I never dreamed it would be like this. My three-day can’t get here quick enough! I’ll talk to you again in a couple of days. Till then…..
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