Justin looked around again and found a broken off chair leg which he picked up to use as a club in case who ever did this was still in the apartment. It was quiet except for the sounds coming in from the open windows. He cautiously made his way through the apartment down the short hall where his room was on one side and his Mom's room was on the other with the bathroom door open at the end. The doors to each room where open and the light from the midday sun shown in through the windows. He entered his mother's room to find it hadn't been ransacked like the living room. He went around to the other side of the bed where he found his mother with her hands tied behind her back and a gag in her mouth. He quickly removed the gag and untied her. She had a bruise on her left cheek where someone had slapped her with some force. When he had the bindings free from her hands and feet, he helped her to sit on the bed, looked at her in fear and shock and said, "Oh my God! What happened? Are you all right?"
Cindy rubbed the bruises on her wrists where the torn strips of cloth had bound her hands so tightly together. "Justin dear, I'm so glad you're okay." She took him into her arms and gave him a long hug holding him close. He could feel her trembling as he also held her embraced in his own arms. When her trembling subsided a bit she spoke again, "I'm okay, just a bit shook up. Go down to the lobby and use the pay phone to call the police."
"I don't want to leave you like this." Anger welled up within him that someone would do this to his Mom. "Who did this? Did you get a look at their faces?" He was rambling on and on partly in shock at what had happened.
"Justin, I'll tell you and the police everything once they get here." She was regaining her composure while he was becoming more upset, confused and bewildered. "I'll be okay, go call the police now."
Reluctantly, he got up from beside Cindy and backed out of the bedroom continuing to look at his Mom as he left the room. He quickly turned around and looked into his room to find that his room was also a mess. The mattress from his bed had been thrown against the wall, the clothes from the closet laid in heaps on the floor. The night table next to his bed was still upright. He noticed something on it so he stepped into his room to get a better look. He found a bloody bladed dagger stuck into the table top pinning a picture to the table. As he looked closer he was shocked at what the picture was of. It was a picture of Marty and him in the middle of their sex play. It looked as though someone used a high powered camera lense to spy on what was going on in Marty's bedroom. He quickly looked around to make sure he was alone, then removed the dagger and picture from the table. He stuck the picture into his pocket, then held the dagger so as to hide it from view as he ran out of the apartment and down to the lobby.
- - - -
It was approaching 1:30 p.m. and the police and investigators where still there asking questions, looking for finger prints and the like. Justin sat next to his Mom on the sofa which had been repositioned upright. Investigator Matthews finally said, "Mrs. Justice, I think that is everything. If you think of anything else or remember anything else, give me a call." He handed Cindy a business card. "Who ever did this, didn't leave any finger prints, but there is other evidence our forensic department may be able to get identification from." He got up from the wobbly chair. "We can have a patrolman stay in the area tonight to make sure you're safe."
