Suicidal Justice

The playground was violated by the gruesome sight of Principal Howard
hanging lifelessly from the swingset. His fingers were jammed into the
heavy chains wrapped several times around his neck and secured with a
padlock. His eyes bulged and his lips were tainted blue. A school
desk was toppled over beneath his feet, papers strewn about and curling

around his single shoe which he must have kicked off in the struggle.
Even in death he was violating the children by committing his final
act where they played. Principal Howard had been under investigation
for the alleged molestation of several young students. He must have
cracked under the pressure and decided to take his own life. At least,
that is what the police report would say.

Detective Ryan Matthews breathed a sigh of relief as he finished
up the paperwork on the Howard case. So many victims. Would the
death of this monster bring any closure to the family? The trial
had ended with a hung jury. Many of the young victims were too
frightened to testify and the evidence just wasn't there. Howard
had been forced to retire early, but still, he deserved to have
suffered a lifetime for what he had done. Ryan should have felt
a sense of peace, but he didn't.

Ryan was a devout Catholic man. His second home was St. Mary's
Church on Main Street. Father Edwards was his closest confidant,
mentor and friend. They were childhood friends and knew everything
about each other. This gave confession more of personal touch. He
was way too familiar with the confessional booth. He often found
himself spilling his guts about cases that had deeply affected him.
Principal Howard was just one of those cases that took years off
of Ryan's life. His rage against this man and fantasies about
killing him with his bare hands was a recurring confession over
a period of months. Today would be different. He would ask
Father Edwards to once again absolve him of his sins, but this
time it would be different. The case was closed and he needed
help moving on.

He had a new case to focus on now. This one involved elder
abuse. Ruth was the sweetest little old lady that you would
ever have the pleasure of meeting. She was nearly blind and
had needed a live-in caregiver. Janine Meyers was hired for
the position by Ruth's uninvolved adult children. A simple
background check could have prevented Ruth's

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