"The Elckerlyc District Mystery- No Justice" by Elckerlyc

[esercito sconfitto]

The Elckerlyc District mystery


by Elckerlycƒ,



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No justice for the righteous (yet)


Of course it didn’t go as I wanted it. It never does with Belgian Federal Police. I had it all schemed; I guessed who the jogger was, I knew how to get close to her and I knew how to get the gang through her. In fact it had been rather easy to find out.

But as I just said; with the BFP nothing is easy. A week later I entered the station in the Elckerlyc’s district and everyone seemed to be in a nervous state of mind. All the officers and the policewomen were running around. Just as I wanted to open the door to the hoofdcommissaris’ office she rushed out. We almost collided.

“Ha, Blootbrood, right on time. I’m taking the District Force with me. We got a hint; we know where the gang is and we are going to arrest them all.”

I wanted to object, but I didn’t get a chance.

“Are you coming with us? We haven’t got much time!”

“But...”

“No buts... Are you coming with?”

I hesitated.

“If you don’t want to come, fine. Keep an eye on the station then. We are going to Mariakerke, they seemed to have a camp over there, in the ... what was the name of the street? Oh yes, the Jean Pierre Baudetlaan.”

And she turned her back on me; the rest of the force looked at me as if I was sick.

“But hoofdcommissaris...”

She turned around and looked at me in disgust.

“Listen ‘Captain’, I understand you’re too scared to come along, but save your excuses for when we return with the culprits and have our revenge.”

And she left, followed by the whole Elckerlyc’s force. They all looked at me in contempt.

When they had left I sighed and went to the reception; people needed someone to turn to if they had problems, didn’t they? But it seemed to be a peaceful day; nobody came over.

Two hours had passed, when I decided to call Ingrid, who was still at home.

“Hello honey, what’s the matter?” She answered the phone.

“I think our police force is in deep trouble,” I told her and I started to tell her what had happened.

“And you haven’t heard anything yet?”

“No, and I’m getting very worried. I think I’m going to get all the blankets I can get and go over to Mariakerke. But I want you to come with me. You never know what I will find there. I know you’re still of duty, but would you come with me?”

“Alright, I’ll be there in half an hour.”

While I was waiting I got all the blankets I could find in the station and threw them in a prisoner transport car. The car was used for carrying prisoners from the cell to the court or more probably to the jail. But it was a big van and I assumed the Elckerlyc police force would fit in it… I hoped I wouldn’t need it.

About half an hour later Ingrid arrived. She jumped in the van and we drove off. When we arrived at the address the hoofdcommissaris mentioned, there was nothing. No police cars, no policewomen, no culprits; nothing. We stepped out of the van and Ingrid and me must have looked puzzled. Suddenly I heard a faint noise coming from a bit further. We looked at each other and started to walk very carefully in the direction of the noise. In fact we were walking right into the Bourgoyen and Ingrid turned pale.

“Don’t think of it,” I told her, “There will be nobody there. The sound is probably from an animal. But we have to check it out anyway. At least I have to check it. You don’t need to come with me.”

She took a deep breath and shook her head.

“I have to get even with it,” she told me, “I’m coming too!”

So, very carefully we walked further; back-to-back, looking for signs of something suspicious, but we saw nothing. The noise however became ever stronger and seemed to be a choir of moaning. We looked at each other not knowing what to think of it. But we could never have been prepared for the scene we saw when we turned a corner and entered a clearing.

Right before us we saw the complete police force of the Elckerlyc district. They were all stark naked forming a circle with a clear centre of attention. The inspecteurs and 1st inspecteurs were tied with their backs to each other, their arms close to their bodies. They formed the circle

The two colleague-commissarissen of Ingrid were tied facing each other while they seemed to embrace the other one. Their ankles were tied to the ankles of the other and they had difficulties keeping their balance. They were standing in the midst of the circle and drawing all the attention. Being very beautiful, neither Ingrid nor me could turn our eyes away from the two women. When they noticed us they began to struggle even harder and they fell down. Ingrid was staring at them with open mouth.

But the worst was the hoofdcommissaris. At first I couldn’t find her in the pack of women, but then I looked around and immediately I saw her standing on her toes near a tree. Her wrists were tied together above her head, pulled up with a rope to a lower branch of the tree. But seeing her naked tied with her hands above her head, showing off everything wasn’t the worst. The worst thing was that her whole body was painted blue and white: the colours of the local soccer team she supported. Even her hair. Her mouth was gagged with duct tape and her eyes went big when she saw me arrive at the place.

The strangest thing however was a woman running around and taking pictures with a professional Nikon. She had brown hair and was wearing a red coat reaching the midst of her thighs and a pair of blue trousers. On her feet she wore high-heeled boots. The moment she saw us, she ran off with an amazing speed. Ingrid tried to catch up with her, but in vain. I caught a glimpse of her face and there was something familiar about it. But the moment I thought about it, it vanished.

When Ingrid returned, I was already untying the hoofdcommissaris.

“I should have listened to you,” she whispered as I untied her. She almost fell in my arms. I had to lay her carefully on the ground. While Ingrid went to fetch the blankets, I went on untying her colleagues and then the inspecteurs and 1st inspecteurs. As soon as she was back we wrapped the poor women in the blankets. Some of the women were very excited, but most of them were … well … numb. When they were all covered we brought them to the van. They were sixteen and it was crowded inside, but we managed. Then we drove carefully back to the station.

Ingrid asked the question, we were both putting ourselves: “Where are all the cars and combi’s?”

The answer came as we arrived at the station. All the vehicles stood on the parking lot and the sidewalk, blocking the entrance of the building. The sirens were howling and the lights were flashing, which attracted a whole crowd to see what was happening. We were forced to park at a distance of the station with our van. And since nor Ingrid, nor I were wearing a uniform we couldn’t clear a passage through the mob. The poor policewomen had to walk through the crowd only covered with a blanket - which could open if they didn’t carefully held it together – and barefoot. Every onlooker saw the state they were in and could tell they were naked underneath the blanket; naked as Eve in paradise. Suddenly someone started laughing and it didn’t take long before the whole crowd was laughing and cheering at the poor women. Suddenly some of the bystanders had pulled of the blanket of one of the inspecteurs. As if some sign was given, the whole crowd pulled of the blankets of all the other policewomen until they stood all bared. They all tried to run as fast as they could to the entrance, but most of them got groped and slapped on their butts. Ingrid and I only just escaped the crowd – and only in our underwear.

Inside the station, the girls found something to cover themselves. And then we waited for the crowd to leave. As soon as the mob had gone, we went outside to park the vehicles on the parking lot. Some men and women were still mocking us, but the job had to be done. When everything was finished everybody went home, except Ingrid and me. We watched the station; in our underwear and some towels and tablecloths to cover ourselves. I took the opportunity to contact my CO in Brussels. I explained her what happened. After a time of complete silence at the phone, she answered.

“If you ask me, we won’t be able to keep this quiet. I think the woman in the red coat was a journalist, so I expect this to be in the newspapers and on TV tomorrow morning. Prepare yourself for a rough time. You take over there and start a thorough investigation. You have to interrogate them all from the highest in rank till the lowest. All those who were there. The hoofdcommissaris can deal with the press. Keep in mind: don’t tell anything about those gipsies. I expect you in two days in my office here, with a detailed report of what has happened. No responsibilities shit: you are all responsible. Yes, you too. You were brought in to solve the case and it only got worse. I’ll see you in two days.”

She hung up and I sighed. I’d rather run naked through town during the Gentse Fieste than face the Colonel when she’s in a mood like this. I looked at Ingrid and I told her what my superior had told me. She came close and hugged me. It gave me some comfort and I was grateful.

Next day I told the hoofdcommissaris what my CO had told me to do. She didn’t object; she didn’t have much of a choice. I told her I was going to interview her and the two commissarissen and Ingrid was going to talk with the inspecteurs and the 1st inspecteurs. That moment, Ingrid arrived and threw a newspaper on the table, The Elckerlyc’s Gazette. The main article was taking the whole front page – well not so much text, but three pictures. One picture was showing the whole Elckerlyc corps in complete nudeness, the others focussed on the hoofdcommissaris. She got a colour when she looked at them. The article went like this.

Complete corps stripped naked and tied down.

Yesterday afternoon the complete corps of the Elckerlyc district police has been found by the reporter of your favourite newspaper in the Bourgoyen. Most of them were sitting down in a circle, while two of them were standing in the middle. As you can see in the picture, the ladies sitting down were tied with their backs to each other, while the couple in the centre of the circle was tied face to face. They were embracing each other and we think they were kissing when we arrived. One thing they all had in common: they were all stark naked. Their clothes were nowhere to be seen. A bit further stood another ‘lady’, also stark naked, but painted in blue and white, the colours of our famous soccer team. At first we didn’t have the faintest idea of who these ‘ladies’ were, but deeper investigations confirmed that all these ‘ladies’ were member of our famous police corps. We also know from reliable source that members of the corps have been found naked several times. On one occasion our reporter found two of them naked on their patrol car. In the meantime we have identified the painted lady as hoofdcommissaris Vera Denaakt.

More pictures and interviews on page 3

On the inside I found more pictures and fake interviews. I was happy they didn’t mention Ingrid, or me, as there were pictures of the arrival at the station also. At the end the reporter said they would get the truth of these execrable events. And then it came: ‘the naked truth’. Oh, my God! The pun! It made me mad and I swore we would get revenge on everyone involved.

The fact that striked me most was that not all the vehicles had returned. They could be used for worse things. But another fact was popping out: the journalist – what’s in a name – had been very well informed. One way or another she would tell me the truth, naked.

But not at that time, I was looking at the hoofdcommissaris and I started the interview.

‘Can I call you Vera?’

She nodded defeated.

‘Tell me what happened, I won’t interrogate you; you know what is at stake.”

She nodded again and started talking. From what she told me this must have been a complete organisation.

‘When we arrived, I saw six gypsy wagons. They hadn’t noticed our arrival - I thought. Immediately after we entered the clearing all the windows closed and the gypsies covered inside. The officers separated over the different wagons and on my sign they burst inside. The commissarissen waited outside to look for fugitives. But they had everything foreseen, it appeared. As soon as the girls went inside the door was closed again and nothing was moving anymore. I was going to call them back when I saw two girls behind the commissarissen. Before I could shout out at them I was grabbed myself from the back and thrown on the ground. Three girls were on top of me. I could feel how they were taking of my clothes. While one was unbuttoning my jacket and shirt, another one was unzipping my pants and the last one was taking of my shoes and socks. I could feel how they pulled down my pants and panties and … and … Well I was naked in no time. They duct taped my mouth and they tied my wrists together. In the meantime I was looking around for help, but I saw the commissarissen got the same treatment. Out of the wagons gypsy girls were coming with gasmasks, dragging my policewomen out and stripping them. In a nick of time the whole lot of us had been stripped naked. And then they tied everyone. The commissarissen were first forced to kiss each other, after the gypsies had put on a lot of lipstick. The lipstick got smeared all over their faces. The other girls were waking up, but they couldn’t do much as they were tied back to back, with their hands beside their bodies. Besides they were too numb to do anything.

And then they started with me. They waited till I had seen what they did to my subordinates. But then they lifted me up and brought me to a tree. Then I saw the paint: blue and white and I knew immediately what they were going to do. I’m a fan of our soccer team and somehow they must have known it… They painted the left half of my body blue and the right one white… they did the same with my hair. Then they pulled up my wrists and tied them to a branch above, so I couldn’t cover anymore. I was standing completely exposed and vulnerable… “

She sobbed and a tear dropped down on her hand.

“And I loved it!” and then she started crying. I went over and put my arm around her shoulders. I didn’t know what to say. After a while – when she stopped crying and got herself a bit together – I resumed my questioning.

“Are there other things you noticed?” I asked.

It took a while before she answered.

“They were fast in removing the wagons. In fact; so fast I don’t know where they have gone. And then that journalist came over. I heard her mumbling something about how great her source was and how she would get rich with these stories. And a few moments later you came in. I admit I have never been so released. I know I … hated you, but you did a fine job yesterday … Thank you.”

I looked at her.

“Don’t mention it,” I said, “It’s my job. From now on we will work together to solve this case. Thank you for the cooperation.”

Vera left the room. She had to face the members of the press. Being one of the victims of the assault yesterday, that wasn’t going to be easy. A few things puzzled me; where were the wagons, where were the missing police vehicles, how did the culprits overcome the inspecteurs?

The statements of the commissarissen were almost the same of Vera’s. They never saw the muggers coming; the moment they were lying on the ground they were stripped; they were tied together. Of course the episode of the kissing was more difficult to admit. I think it’s because they loved it. But they were also startled by the gasmasks.

There Ingrid filled in the last gaps. The inspecteurs an 1st inspecteurs were tranquilized by a gas. As soon as they entered the wagons the door was shut behind them and the gas was spread. The next thing they knew they were sitting in the buff tied to each other and still numb. The wagons had gone and their officers were standing in the centre; also naked and kissing each other. Most of them hadn’t even noticed the hoofdcommissaris until they saw the journalist taking pictures of her.

I leaned back behind my desk. Ingrid looked at me.

“I don’t like the idea of vehicles missing,” she said.

“Neither do I,” I answered, “We have to find them. I fear that something worse is going to happen. There are more things I don’t like, but there are some things that are starting to make sense. Alas, tomorrow I’ll have to go to Brussels to report to the Colonel. She won’t be happy, neither will I. But I need to see her to discuss some things. Anyway now it’s time to go home.”

Ingrid hesitated before asking me: “Are you going to your hotel?”

“Where else?” I answered while I picked up a towel to wrap around me.

“You could stay with me,” she whispered shyly.

I was completely surprised and I didn’t know what to say.

“You don’t have to…”

I took her in my arms and gave her a kiss.

“Is this enough as an answer?”

Her eyes shone, as were mine I think. We went off to her apartment.

Little did I suspect what was still coming, but that evening everything was well.


Captain Lena Blootbrood