The Guardian

just like most cops in this town, his wife got tired of his never being home. She tired of his never wanting to talk about things. What was he to talk about? He swam in a river of shit every day. There was everything from finding babies in dumpsters, to bodies in the desert. The number of cold cases outweighed the ones they were working. What was he to say, “Hi honey, boy what a day, we found some little two year old today locked up in a cage with bruises and scars all over her body. She was wallowing in her own waste. The foster parents only had her for the monthly check. She was treated worse than nothing more than a house-pet, something huh? Man, you should have seen it.” That sure would make for some relaxing conversation over dinner. She also wanted to have children. However, looking at the filth around him it was hard for him to want to bring another poor human being into this world. Maybe he was selfish. He looked at all the kids who didn’t have parents. He saw the ones who were abused by the system. The educational system sucked. The School District was one of the poorest in the nation. He wasn’t going to see one of his kids go through that educational system not learning anything. Therefore, he was very reluctant to have any.
    By the time he got home at night, all he wanted to do was wash the filth of the city off him and sleep. He did not blame her. It really wasn’t her fault. He admired and respected her for putting up with it for as long as she did. It was something that he felt compelled to do. Somebody had to be out there protecting the people of this city. In some morbid way, he loved the challenge. He loves it when he finally gets the bad guys and they are punished. Therefore, she left, and he continued his quest with his fight against the evils of the city, to save as many victims as he could. You were always trying to fight the endless, never winning battle against crime.
    He turned off the lights, shrugged his coat on and left for home. He was going to try not to think about it anymore until morning, but he knew that was a wasted thought.
    The challenge had been thrown down. He would face it and see it through.
    Chapter 5
    Charles Radcliff wasn’t a normal person. He was a monster. He was a predator, an evil, vile waste of human flesh. Of course, he didn’t think so. Charles wasn’t even aware of it. In his mind, he was quite well adjusted. Charles thought that it was quite normal for him to show this affection to young boys. He was simply showing them love and affection.
    Charles appeared to be normal. He had a good paying job at the VA working in the management area. He had friends that thought the world of him and had no clue as to his sexual preferences. His appearance was clean cut, he was well dressed, and he was always in good physical health. He worked out at 24 HR Fitness three times a week to keep in shape. It was the perfect Ted Bundy syndrome.
    The fact was he liked little boys. He especially liked prepubescent, dark haired, small framed little boys. The absence of pubic hair is what really aroused him. Charles had even made sure that he himself was clean-shaven in that area. He also knew that society frowned on this sort of thing. He could not understand that. After all, he had lived through it without any problems. To him this was normal behavior. He even considered himself a child trapped in a man’s body. He felt as though he was their peer, not their elder. Regardless of what he felt or knew to be true, he knew he had to be careful with what he did and how he went about things. Society just didn’t understand.
    His behavior was very typical. They call them predators for a reason. He would hang out in schoolyards, parks and play areas, anywhere that young children would gather to play. He would work or volunteer at places that put him near children. You had to be a very patient person to work as he did. The one thing in his favor was the weak link in the chain, their parents. It seemed that no matter what the news or media had to say or the warnings that they would put out, the parents just didn’t seem to care. On the other hand, if they did they were very lax in showing it.
    The playgrounds and other areas were always full of kids. The thing was you never saw that many parents or adults. He would just sit, watch, and wait. Eventually there would be one lonely little straggler. Someone would eventually say goodbye to his friends. They would go off alone to go home