If you were in the New York underworld in the early 2000s, you might have heard of her. I have no clue where she went afterwards, but I just want to talk.
First, I’ll introduce myself! I was a detective in the NYPD for several years, before retiring in 2013. Around 2006 or so, I was assigned to the case of an organ trafficking ring causing people to go mysteriously missing. After months of investigation, we began to make actual arrests of the higher-ups in the ring and zeroed down to the rough location of the headquarters, the place where a certain ‘Body Mary’ conducted her grisly business.
Eventually, I got to meet Body Mary. And it was enlightening, but a terrible experience.
That day, I was ordered to investigate the pharmacy that we suspected was a front, or at the very least affiliated with her. And by ‘I’, it was just me and the backup patrols a few streets away, as the higher-ups wanted to keep the investigation discreet. So, I took the warrant and drove in my car to a rundown building in the hoods. At the front, a sign said ‘Local Drugstore’ which had been referenced several times in our reports, so I knew it was the right place. Seeing it was open, I informed the nearby patrols and stepped in.
“Welcome to our drugstore. How may I help you today?” said a beefy young black man standing behind the counter.
“Good morning, I’m Miller. A detective of the NYPD. We have a warrant to search the premises.”, I explained.
The man did nothing, except to press a singular button on his wireless earphones. It might not seem like much now, but back then that was bleeding edge technology. Sure enough, it looked pretty damn suspicious.
“And why do you intend to search the premises?” the man asked.
“We have information that you are harbouring a dangerous criminal. Now, I shall start searching the premises.”, I said. Surprisingly, the man didn’t try to stop me, instead mentioning that there were 3 floors in the building. Since there was nothing on the first floor, I walked up the stairs to the second floor and flicked the light switch on.
The first thing I noticed was how dusty the room was. It looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or used in ages, though it appeared to be a warehouse judging by the few cardboard boxes scattered around. As I walked around, I didn’t discover a single sign of any illicit activity in the area, and sighed frustratedly assuming that I’d have to go back to square one at that rate.
The next thing I noticed was a flash of blue to my behind. I reflexively pulled out my pistol and aimed it at my target, but realised it was too late as a syringe needle plunged into my back. As my vision blurred, I dropped onto the floor woozily as the girl who pulled a fast one on me unceremoniously dragged me by my feet.
An undeterminable amount of time later, I woke up elsewhere. As I gathered my bearings, I realised I was tied with thick ropes to a hard wooden chair.
I looked forward at the girl. As I noted earlier, surprisingly enough, she was a teenage girl who didn’t look any older than 18. Since you guys might know someone, I’ll add that she was a blond with brown eyes. She was wearing the same blue shirt and jeans as earlier, so she was definitely the person who got me.
“Who are you?” I asked, my detective instincts kicking in. “Are you connected to Body Mary?”
“Connected to?” she smirked. “I am Body Mary.”
I stared at her stupendously. At her age? She barely even looked threatening. Hell, she reminded me of my daughter!
“But, why? How, and why, are you doing all of this?” I asked, wanting to know as much as possible.
She sighed. “Is what I’m doing a crime? All I’m doing is cleaning the shit out of our society! And where they were useless in life, I repurposed them to be useful after their deaths!”
Looking at my shocked expression, she said, “Let’s start from the beginning.”
“A year ago, a classmate told me to meet him at a place not far from here. Like the naive idiot I was, I met him. Turns out, he and four grown men were there to take advantage of me. I tried to fight back, pleaded so much, even begged them to leave me alone. And they didn’t hear or care about anything. Nothing at all! They pinned me down and had their way as I screamed in anguish. And the worst part is, no one listened! No matter how I tried to speak out for myself, warn others, tried to do something about it, no one believed me! For how dare I accuse those esteemed men of doing anything!”
“And that’s when I learnt something. This world, our society, only trembles at might. It only looks to those in power, only bends to the words and actions of the influential. And for power, for a straight path up, one must step on every neck they can. For that is the only thing that matters. Ruthlessness above all!”, she growled, pressing her arms into a fist.
“Instead, I took matters into my own hands. I took to arms. I searched neighbourhoods, buildings, alleys, everywhere. I stalked these men and slowly hatched a plot. And finally, I gutted them like the filthy pigs they were!”, she snarled.
“I eventually found the last two in an ice factory. And that’s when I got the idea of using out their organs. They were rotten pigs in life, but in death they could be so much more. I dumped their bodies in giant vats of ice, and nicked some preserving fluid from a nearby hospital to keep those organs saleable. Who would find a petite sixteen-year-old suspicious, right?”
“That was not some preserving fluid, you stole 6 gallons!”, I countered. While I wasn’t directly involved in the investigation, word got around the station about this rather unusual case. I expected it to go on sale on the black market, though.
She tched dismissively. “It wasn’t much, anyways. I got people to bring them around for me, anyways! Now, listen!”
“After a few days of asking around at the port, I got someone. A middleman who would buy my organs and distribute them. I sold everything I could cut out of them, and dumped their bodies in the ocean.”
I vaguely remembered a case from around 10 months ago, of hacked-apart bodies washing up on the shores of Jamaica Bay. So that, too, was her doing?
“I shoved my cash in a corner of the shithole I called my room, which was a mistake. One day, my asshole alcoholic stepdad found the money. It was MY money, but HE spent it all on drugs and alcohol. And when I protested, he laid his filthy hands on me!”
“I skewered him with a kitchen knife and sold every bit that wasn’t rotting away from his addictions.”
“Ok, uh, a bit faster?”, I asked. I didn’t have patience for monologues, even incriminating ones.
“Whatever. Next, I found that the dealer was ripping me off. The real market value was TWENTY TIMES what he paid me! And if I let that go on, that would make me a weakling! A doormat!”
“So, I met up with him one day. The next day, I sold his bits to his partners. And I expanded my network more and more, employing scouts to check out people undeserving of life. The thugs, abusers and drug dealers of society. We would stalk them, see if their organs would be worth anything with their medical data and lifestyles. Eventually, my competitors ended up the same way, cut up to bits and sold for millions. I have to be RUTHLESS, to maintain this lifestyle and my bottomless profits. I have this down to a process now. My money reaches places you’ll never believe, and my goods are in demand everywhere! Now how will you get me?”, she explained.
“Natasha died a long time ago. And Body Mary was born, out of her ashes.”
“Nice story,” I said. “But why am I here?”
“At first, I wanted to exchange you for Abdul,” she sighed.
I remembered him. We busted him in a raid at the port a month ago, and roughed him up for intel. He was a loyal right-hand man to Body Mary, but we got out some vital information that helped me get this far. Even if it ended in me being tied onto an uncomfortable, rickety chair. In particular, I remembered one line he said.
“For her, money and power are her only gods. Therefore, [LOCATION REDACTED] is her Jannah.”, he divulged between ragged breaths. That was how I got around to locating the pharmacy in the area, and meeting Body Mary.
“However, I realised you pigs wouldn’t just give him up. So, I had other plans.”, she explained.
“See this?”, she asked, waving a little film photo in front of me. My stomach dropped as I immediately recognised the person in the photo.
“A- Ana? What did you do to her! I won’t let you go!”, I screamed as I wrestled with the bonds holding me.
She snorted at my outburst. “For you, since she’s your darling daughter, Ana. Personally, I prefer ‘that bitch Anastasia’.”
“Remember the guy who duped me into getting raped?”
I gulped and nodded, beads of sweat forming on my forehead.
“There’s a reason I haven’t mentioned him yet. Traitors like him deserve the worst end one can provide.”
She dug into her pocket and pulled out a small vacuum pack of some powder.
“See this?” she pointed. “Just one dose, orally taken, keeps the consumer wide awake for days. Whatever happens to them. Give that dickhead a bit of this, and he’ll stay alive and screaming for days in eternal pain as I slowly cut out every bit of him. Oh, and he won’t bleed out, because that’s too quick.”
My eyes were wide with horror at that point. I saw some pretty grisly things in my career, but this was hitting a little too close to home.
“I don’t care! What about my daughter?”, I yelled at her.
“Oh, don’t want to see anything?”, she said as she shoved some pictures back into her purse.
“Your daughter… she was not supposed to be there. But she was out with that dickhead she called her boyfriend! She made my life absolute hell back in school. No one has made the connection between my meek self in school and Body Mary, but she saw my face when we kidnapped the dumbass! So, off with us she came.”
“Give her back. Now!”, I demanded.
“Ah, you see…”, Mary trailed off as she clasped her hands together. “We did a checkup on her, and sent her organ measurements around. And as it turns out, some Emirati oil gazillionaire’s daughter needs a new heart. And guess who’s measurements fit?”
My heart sank at this news. For so long, I had held out hope that my precious daughter would be well, but that was proven false. What could I expect?”
“He promised me riches beyond my wildest dreams! Oh, and a tiny share in an oil company. I’ll be set for life, so I suppose I have to thank Romeo and Juliet down there for that.”
“Where’s the police?” I demanded. “You will be stopped!”
“Let’s just say… they were otherwise occupied. Now, bye!” she said as she opened a door built into the wall and walked into an elevator.
“No. Wait!”, I yelled as she disappeared.
A few minutes later, the police broke in to find me tied to the chair, sobbing profusely like a five-year-old child. Afterwards, no matter how hard I tried, I could never find her or my daughter.
This is a case that I never want to recall, but one that I’m forced to remember. Does anyone know where she is now? Despite retiring ages ago, I still want to know what she’s doing now. So, can you guys on the forum please help me out?