The Guardian

clue.
    Then, just as before, Charles was hit with 50,000 volts, square in the chest and the lights went out.

Chapter 17
    Lieutenant Halloway had nothing. The few leads they did have went nowhere. It was as if this bastard had fallen off the face of the earth.
    They did discover that their mysterious Charles Radcliff had a legal past. There were numerous arrests for child abuse. He had a long list of complaints filed by parents, friends, acquaintances, and others. but never any convictions. Charles Radcliff had never done one minute of time for his crimes.
    Griffin got her warrant and took a team out to Radcliff’s house. Once inside, they discovered all the evidence they needed to justify the suspicions that Griffin had. They found the movies, the assorted toys, lubricants and a vast array of other pornographic material. They confiscated the computer, which would be gone through completely. They would find all the child pornography sites that he had frequented. It nauseated her almost to the point of physical illness at what had been uncovered.
    All the reports were there. Even though his record was expunged and those cases could no longer be used against him, they were still there. It was obvious to the normal human being the things he had done. They were just plain wrong. All they could do was wait and hope that it didn’t happen again. They would hope for another victim to come forth with enough evidence to put this parasite away. Or, did it really matter anymore?
    That was not even a possibility any more. With Radcliff’s physical, not to mention his mental state, it was likely that he wouldn’t be chasing any little boys, if not for a long time, possibly never again.
    It had been over two weeks and things had been quiet. Halloway had been given other cases that he was actively working or had assigned to others under him to work.
    The problem was, he didn’t like cold cases. Halloway didn’t like knowing that there was a vigilante out there either. He didn’t want someone who was taking the law into his or her own hands. He didn’t want someone who was playing judge and jury. It was very clear that Radcliff had gotten his just rewards, but unfortunately, that didn’t make it right. Halloway’s opinion was the piece of shit got off easy. However, that was his opinion and he had to keep it to himself.
    An interview had been set up with Radcliff to try to see just what had happened. He hoped to get a description or some other form of evidence that would put a lead on the person or persons responsible.
    That turned out to be a dead end street. The physical damage done left the bastard fairly incapacitated. The trauma of the incident turned his mind into pure mush.
    They couldn’t even get him to write his answers. He was now blind and couldn’t see to write anyway. He couldn’t answer them as his tongue had been cut out. When he did try to speak it was just a guttural, unintelligible noise with spittle running down his chin. It was useless. At first appearances, if you didn’t know the history of it, you would have this urge to feel sorry for him. You’d feel some sort of sympathy for him. However, once one learned of Charles’s behavior and past, you quickly got over that.
    Radcliff would probably spend the rest of his days in a hospital bed or in a home for the mentally handicapped. He could lie there with his memories of the sick shit that he had done. Halloway feared that this case would never be solved. You couldn’t prosecute Radcliff. At present, he was mentally incapable of standing trial. His victims would never know justice for what he had done. This was the sadist thing of all. They couldn’t undo the damage that he had done to others, creating a new breed of monster.It was a vicious cycle. It would never end.
    This vigilante would screw up somewhere. He’d make one little mistake, they all did. Then they would finally get him. It was just a matter of time.

Part Two
    A Matter of Convenience

Chapter 18
    He sat in the back of the courtroom, watching, listening. He went unnoticed as the proceedings played out in front of him. It was the same story, the same scenario. Nothing but the names of the guilty and the victims had changed. The last one had been in the papers for over a week.
    The story told of the poor man who had been brutally mutilated and deformed by some unknown madman. Who could do such a thing they wanted to know.
    The article detailed about what an upstanding citizen of