A fictional series based on real events that happened in Iran known as the "Spider Killings [1]". [1 [2]] [2 [3]] [3 [4]] [4 [5]] [5 [6]] [6 [7]] [7 [8]] [8 [9]] [9 [10]] [10 [11]] [11 [12]] [12 [13]] [13 [14]] [14 [15]] [15 [16]] [16 [17]] [17 [18]] [18 [19]] [19 [20]] [20 [21]] [21 [22]]

PART 17
Azadeh and Roxanne had just finished washing Yassi’s body at the mosque. It had been a grueling task. Azadeh remarked to herself that in death, Yassi resembled her more than she had during her lifetime, her body covered with cuts and scratches like her own. They had never looked so much like sisters. Except these wounds had not been self-inflicted and they had been deadly.

Exiting the mosque, a feeble and trembling Azadeh was supported by Roxanne on her way home. The older woman had been at the side of the young girl almost exclusively for the past two days. She had watched over her at the police station while she was being interrogated again and again by Ramin and other officers.

-- “No, I did not see her get into anyone’s car.” Azadeh would repeat for the nth time about Yassi’s last day, “I was at home sick with a cold. I don’t know where she was. She was supposed to go to Banafsheh Park. But I don’t know… I don’t know if she made it there.”

In between the interviews, Azadeh would sob and refuse any water or food offered by Roxanne. She felt so guilty. Why did she have to be sick that day? Why did it have to be Yassi and not her? She would have gladly switched places with the unfortunate young woman who had been her only friend since running away from Mohammad and his cruel clan. Azadeh’s only request had been that Roxanne check in on Babak, who had been left home alone when Azadeh set out in search of Yassi, after the young girl failed to return from her outing.

When Roxanne came back to the station, she walked in on a yelling match between Azadeh and Ramin. The young prostitute had suddenly remembered what Sepehr had told her on her birthday about the rumors of a serial killer targeting the likes of them in Mashad and now, after grief had given way to anger, she was accusing Ramin of causing Yassi’s death by not saying or doing anything about the killer. Ramin was naturally dismissing her accusations and telling her to keep quiet but Roxanne could see he was shaken. He was far from the cold, unfeeling law enforcement agent that she had once believed he was. It was plain to see that he was lost in the middle of this crisis, despite his best efforts.

-- “Come on, Azadeh, let’s bring you back home.” Roxanne said, embracing Azadeh.

-- “Home? What home? Yassi’s uncle was allowing us to stay there as a favor after Yassi’s grandmother passed away. Now, he will want me out of there, especially with this scandal.” Azadeh sniffled “My only concern is what will happen to my son.”

For Azadeh had no plans to reveal Babak’s true situation. As far as she and everybody else was concerned, Babak was her son, her responsibility. She had inherited him from Yassi and she would stand up for him. She owed her friend that. What’s more, she knew deep down Babak was the only thing now that would prevent her from ending her life. As long as he lived, a part of Yassi would live on with him, and Azadeh would have an excuse not to slash her wrists.

-- “Well okay, but let’s get you there for now, get some rest, spend some time with your little boy.” Roxanne advised. “I’ll be back by this evening and we will figure out something somehow.”

* * *

A few minutes after Roxanne and Azadeh had left the station, Asghar and another officer walked in with Hossein, handcuffed. Mahin was not far behind, screaming and crying that it was a travesty, that it was impossible they should accuse her husband of such a monstrous deed, that he had not even laid a hand upon her in all their years of marriage, he wouldn’t even hurt a fly. Why would he murder random women? It made no sense. She threw herself on the floor when they tried to make her leave, saying she would not get up unless they killed her or they let her see the chief of police. They finally gave in and let her have an audience with an already exhausted Ramin.

Ramin listened to all Mahin had to say. Then, he replied that the coincidence was too great. Hossein had been connected to two murders, his own tenant Fati, and now another woman, at his place of work. He had the perfect opportunity seeing that he had access to the shrine before the public was allowed in. As for his other alibi, well, alibis could be made up, especially one that was supported by Hossein’s own mother. Mahin kept shaking her head, no, no, no, it was impossible that her husband would be involved in this macabre, sick and depraved deed. She begged and begged to let him go but Ramin did not relent.

Truthfully, Ramin had arrested Hossein partly because he had no other suspect at this time and the public was expecting some fast response from the police after this aberration. But his instinct told him the soft-spoken man with the docile eyes who was now sitting in a cell for this unprecedented crime of savagery could not be the Spider Killer. It was indeed possible that it all had been an unfortunate coincidence. Though he felt sorry for this woman, he could not let it go so easily as that though.

Suddenly, he remembered Babak, the son of their late tenant Fati, the seventh victim of the Spider Killer. Last Ramin had been to Mahin and Hossein’s home, he had had to break the awful news of his mother’s death to the little boy. That scene had kept replaying in his head over the past months. If indeed Hossein had been the murderer of Babak’s mother, it would be intolerable for Babak to continue living under their roof. When Ramin asked Mahin about the child, she started stuttering, skirting around the issue.

-- “What do you mean, you don’t know, woman?” barked Ramin, a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach “He was your responsibility.And you don’t know where he is.”

-- “It’s just that… that… well, his father came to retrieve him from our custody. By force, you see…”

-- “That piece of…!” Ramin shouted “He died of an overdose a couple of days after I interrogated him in his wife’s murder. Are you telling me his ghost came to pick up that innocent child?”

Mahin did not know what to say. She saw how much worse she had made the situation by coming here. She had made everything worse. Her cowardly abandonment of Babak was being rightly punished by the Imam, she could see that clearly now.

-- “If for nothing else, I will keep your husband here until we clear up this matter. Maybe we will have to add child killer to the list of his charges?” Ramin stated to a sobbing Mahin as he escorted her out of his office. “And you also better stay put. Consider my letting you go at this moment a favor. You may be called back here to answer questions of your own.”

Mahin, speechless, walked out of the station mechanically. Her mind was in shambles. She thought of going to the Shrine to pray to the mausoleum but the image of that girl who had been shredded to pieces and left dead there made her shudder. The one thing she was crystal clear on was her husband’s innocence. How could she get Hossein out of this mess now?

* * *

Azadeh was packing her bags as well as Babak’s meager belongings, under the watchful eye of Yassi’s uncle, who did not mince words on what he thought of her, how she had betrayed Yassi and her whole family, dragging that pure, innocent girl into her dark and dangerous world. Azadeh did not reply that her uncle had never once asked how it was that Yassi could afford to keep the house and her sick grandmother all these years, when the rest of the family members could not give so much as a visit let alone contribute a few tomans to her upkeep and medical bills.

-- “And who do you think is going to pay for the burial? Do you know how much it costs to have a body buried nowadays? I have five mouths to feed at home and I can hardly afford to do that as it is, without adding on unnecessary expenses.” Yassi’s uncle bitterly said.

-- “You should have kept your dick in your pants then, shouldn’t you have?” Azadeh replied tersely.

Yassi’s uncle made as if to slap her and Azadeh waited calmly, without lowering her face or putting up her hands as protection, but looking straight into the man’s eyes with all the contempt she had in her heart. Taking a look at Babak, who was standing there eyes wide open, the man lowered his hand and simply told Azadeh to be gone by the time he got back.

Once he left them alone, Azadeh sighed deeply. She was dying to go to the bathroom, take out her favorite pair of scissors and start cutting away at her skin, anything that would take her mind off her mental pain at this moment. But she had Babak to think about now. She would be stronger than her addiction, for once.

The phone rang and before Azadeh could tell him no, Babak picked it up. He had been pestering her about when Maman Yassi would come home. He did not know what was going on and Azadeh could not bring herself to tell him the truth yet. She had simply told him Yassi was on a trip to India, the only country she could think of at that moment that sounded far and exotic enough to constitute a satisfactory answer for the little boy.

-- “Sorry Azi” the little boy said sheepishly “I thought it was Maman Yassi calling from India. It’s a man. He wants to talk to you.”

Azadeh grudgingly took the receiver. It was the administrator at the mosque. She had painfully worked out a deal with him to make several payments at a reduced rate to cover her friend’s funeral, since none of her family wanted anything to do with her, even in death.

-- “What now?” She exclaimed angrily. “Hosseleh nadaram, I am in no mood for money talks right now, so save it.”

-- “Well Azadeh Khanoom, it is about money, but not what you think. I just called to tell you, the bill has been taken care of, in full.”

Azadeh was shocked. It could not be Yassi’s family, no way.

-- “By whom?”

-- “The gentleman said he was your…errrr… your cousin. That’s it.”

-- “That’s it? You didn’t even get his name” Azadeh asked, “Oh forget it, of course, you had what is important which is the money!”

With that, she hung up. She had no idea who could have made such a generous and needed gesture. She obviously did not have any cousin who would know of her situation here in this city so far away from her parents’ home. She decided to simply continue packing. The main thing now was to find shelter for the night and she had to hurry.

Finally, it was done. Azadeh, hand in hand with Babak, took a last look around at that modest house which the three of them had turned into a home of sorts, for such a short-lived period of happiness. She did not regret leaving it though. She could not bear the thought of living with Yassi’s ghost in every room. It was better to make a fresh start. As she and Babak turned away from the door and began walking on the street, Azadeh was startled to see a man, leaning against a black BMW, wave to her.

-- “Salam Azadeh Khanoom.” Majid greeted her with a smile. “My condolences for your loss.”

-- “Let me guess?” Azadeh retorted “You’re my long lost cousin.”

In guise of answer, Majid simply smiled.

* * *

Roxanne was dumbfounded to be turned away at the door when she came to speak to Azadeh later that evening. Azadeh had been right about Yassi’s relatives. They had certainly not wasted any time in kicking her out.

-- “Do you know where she went?”

The man was obviously reluctant to give an answer.

-- ”You know,” Roxanne said in her most haughty manner, “She is a material witness to a major crime. Perhaps I should get the police chief to send some men to search the house and ask you a few questions.”

-- ”No, no, that won’t be necessary” the man quickly loosened his tongue, “I was watching from the window and I saw her and her son get into a black BMW. I believe the car belonged to a man, an officer.”

-- “What officer? A police officer?”

-- “Yes, he was wearing a police uniform.”

Roxanne wondered if Ramin had picked up Azadeh. But no, she had just spoken to him and he had said nothing about it. He hadn’t even left the station, as far as she could tell. A knot formed in her stomach at the thought of the terrible night she had herself spent not too long ago at the mercy of certain police officers, ones who could not be farther apart than Ramin in terms of their agenda.

-- “Could you describe him please?”

-- “Well,” The man scratched his unkempt beard, “There’s really nothing to tell. He was a young officer. Not bearded, you know, these young ones never are. Oh wait. Yes, the only thing striking about him was he had blue eyes.”

Roxanne tried to mask her agony at the thought of Azadeh and her little boy in the hands of that monster, Majid. Quickly, she dialed Ramin’s number.

-- “I think that young girl, Azadeh, is in trouble.”

-- “What’s happened?”

-- “Ramin khan, you have been very frank with me and now it’s my turn. Meet me at my hotel please. I have a lot to tell you.”

-- “I’ll be there.” Ramin answered, stunned>>> Part 18 [23]

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