Nature of Darkness

by Robert W. Stephens

  Jenna McMahon would be no different.

  36

  A Shadow on the Wall – Part 2

  Penfield exited through the rear of his cabin in Elkton and walked to his boat dock. He sat on a white Adirondack chair that he’d placed at the far end. The sun was just starting to set, and the surface of the river reflected the reds and oranges in the clouds above.

  He reached into his pocket and removed his phone. He found the contact listing for Renee Rankin. He’d texted her a few minutes after rescuing Jenna to let her know that the young woman was safe, but he hadn’t filled her in on the final details of the investigation.

  It was still late afternoon in Santa Fe and Penfield thought she might be at her art gallery. He pressed the dial button and Angela answered a few moments later.

  “Good afternoon. Do you have news for me?”

  “A few items that I think you’ll find interesting. Do you have a moment?”

  “Of course. The gallery just slowed down. Thank God because I could use a short break.”

  “First, the farm where we found Jenna McMahon was owned by Dr. Peter Bachman,” Penfield said.

  “The doctor who treated Marcus?”

  “The one and the same.”

  “Bachman had something to do with these new killings?” Angela asked.

  “He had everything to do with them. He was behind it all. We found the faces of the women he’d skinned. The DNA matched the victims the FBI found, as well as several of the missing women they’d assumed were taken. He killed ten women in all.”

  “I don’t understand. How did he move around so much and not draw attention to himself, especially with the way he looked?”

  Penfield told her about his encounter with a man who claimed to be Dr. Bachman’s son, Timothy, only for Penfield to discover much later that Timothy had died two decades earlier.

  “If it wasn’t Timothy, then who was it?”

  “It was Dr. Bachman himself,” Penfield said.

  “I thought you saw two men at Bachman’s house.”

  “I did, at least it was meant for me to believe that. I didn’t see both men together and Dr. Bachman arrived and left by a door in the rear of his study. It was a classic case of misdirection. I didn’t notice it because I had no reason to be on the lookout.”

  “But his face was ripped to shreds by Marcus. You showed me the video of the attack. There’s no way you would have missed that when you were talking to the man posing as his son.”

  “The FBI pulled prints from the man I shot behind Bachman’s farmhouse. Dr. Peter Bachman’s prints were already in the system since he was printed for his job at Central State. They were a perfect match. They were convinced there was a mistake, so Doug had Bachman’s dental records checked too. It was definitely Dr. Peter Bachman.”

  “He had surgery to repair his face?”

  “I spoke to the medical examiner myself. She found no evidence of surgery, especially one that would have been as advanced as that one. The man needed a facial transplant. The medical community is still years away from doing work that good. Bachman also looked thirty years younger than he should have. He could have easily passed for an adult son of his.”

  Penfield paused a moment.

  Then he continued, “Jenna told us that Bachman spoke to her in the basement. He admitted that he’d made a deal. He would be made whole in exchange for doing what the darkness needed him to do.”

  “Made whole? You think he’s referring to the surgery?”

  “I don’t know. Dr. Bachman was a wealthy man and he had connections throughout the medical community. He didn’t need Marcus to arrange a surgery. He could have done that himself, yet the man lived in seclusion for years. I can only assume he was too ashamed of the way he looked to go out, even with the mask I saw him wearing during our first meeting.”

  “He used those two words specifically – the darkness?”

  “That’s what Jenna recounted. She was adamant about it. He told her repeatedly that the darkness made him do it. Bachman said the darkness told him that it would take his new face back if he didn’t kill her.”

  “Yet he didn’t.”

  “No, he didn’t, and I can only thank God for that miracle.”

  “What is the FBI’s theory on all of this?” she asked.

  “They think Bachman slowly went mad after Marcus’ attack on him. And Bachman had inside knowledge of Marcus’ crimes through all of his sessions with him. The FBI is currently looking to see if Bachman had the surgery oversees somewhere.”

  “Please give Doug my best. I know how relieved he must feel.”

  “I will and thank you again for your help. How is your son doing by the way?”

  “Good. He’s already complaining about sleeping in his own bedroom. He’d gotten used to staying in his friend’s room. Those two are more brothers than friends.”

  “Saves you the trouble of having to give him one,” Penfield said.

  “Thank God for that. I can barely juggle one kid and the gallery.”

  “Keep an eye out for him.”

  “Worried after all this talk about the darkness?” she asked.

  “I’m just concerned about his safety, that’s all.”

  “He’ll be fine, especially now that Marcus and Bachman are gone. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief.”

  “Glad to hear it. Take care. Maybe we’ll speak again someday.”

  “I hope so. Take care, Alex.”

  Penfield ended the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket. He thought about his own beliefs on the darkness. Was he crazy for thinking it existed? Yet he’d seen it with his own eyes, as had Henry Atwater and Jenna McMahon.

  Penfield wondered how the thing had moved from Marcus’ grandfather to Marcus ten years ago. He thought back to previous conversations he’d had with Atwater. The old man had said that humans might not be able to understand these entities, but they were still governed by laws.

  Perhaps the darkness needed to touch the other person to transfer to them, which explained how it had jumped from Marcus to Dr. Bachman. That also explained why it needed Penfield to bring Angela to it. Penfield had not noticed Angela’s personality change, though. Maybe Marcus had been able to keep the entity from making the leap to the mother of his child.

  Penfield tried to push those thoughts from his mind, and he watched the sun set for a few more minutes. Then he stood and turned toward the cabin. He saw Officer Catherine Drennan walking toward him.

  “I heard you were back in town,” she said.

  “Word travels fast.”

  “Elkton is a small town, but you already know that. Did you leave for a new case?”

  “Yes. A missing person’s case, but we found her,” Penfield said.

  “It’s always good to hear a happy ending to that kind of investigation.”

  “How is Officer Sexton doing?”

  “That’s the main reason I came by. He’s still in the hospital, but he’s on the mend. He wanted me to ask if you could swing by some time. He wants to thank you in person.”

  “That sounds like a plan. I’d love to see him.”

  “Do you still have that bottle of Maker’s Mark?” Drennan asked.

  Penfield laughed.

  “Of course. I’m not that big of a drinker.”

  “Pour me a glass? I just got off duty.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Penfield said, and he smiled.

  Angela walked down the hallway toward the living room. She stopped halfway there and leaned against the wall to steady herself. She’d felt sick since the day Marcus had died. She’d probably caught some flu bug on the flight. Airplanes were a notorious place to get sick.

  After the wave of dizziness passed, she continued down the hallway and entered the living room. Her son, Charlie, was seated on the sofa, watching television. She walked over to the coffee table and picked up the remote. She turned off the TV.

  “Come on, Mom. The episode was almost over. They were ab
out to reveal the bad guy.”

  “You already know who it is. You’ve seen that episode no less than twenty times.”

  “But it’s not that late and I don’t have school tomorrow.”

  “That’s right. But you have a soccer game, and it’s not my fault the league scheduled your game so early. You don’t want to be falling asleep on the field. Come on, let’s go.”

  Charlie reluctantly stood and Angela followed her son into his bedroom.

  “Don’t forget. Tomorrow is the last game for the season. Afterward, we’re all going out for pizza,” she said.

  She pulled the covers back for him and Charlie climbed into bed.

  “I’m not tired, Mom.”

  “Just close your eyes and you’ll be asleep before you know it. I promise.”

  Angela pulled the covers over him and turned off the light.

  “Read me a bedtime story?” he asked, and he laughed.

  “You haven’t wanted me to do that in years. Your stalling tactics won’t work.”

  “Goodnight, Mom.”

  “Try not to say it so sarcastically next time,” Angela said, and she smiled at her son. “Good night, Charlie. Tomorrow is going to be a big day.”

  Angela shut the door as she left the room.

  Charlie closed his eyes, but then he opened them a second later when he thought he heard a noise.

  He sat up in bed as he stared at a shadow on the wall. It was tall with three heads and terrible wings that stretched from one corner to the other.

  “Hello, Charlie,” the voice said.

  The boy wanted to scream, but no sounds would come from his mouth.

  Did you like this book?

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  Reviews are the most powerful tools an author can have. As an independent author, I don’t have the same financial resources as New York publishers.

  Honest reviews of my books help bring them to the attention of other readers, though.

  If you’ve enjoyed this book, I would be grateful if you could write a review.

  Thank you.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to you readers for investing your time in reading my story. I hope you enjoyed it. Alex Penfield and Henry Atwater will return.

  About the Author

  Robert W Stephens is the author of the Alex Penfield novels, the Murder on Maui series, and the standalone thrillers The Drayton Diaries and Nature of Evil.

  You can find more about the author at robertwstephens.com.

  Visit him on Facebook at facebook.com/robertwaynestephens

  Also by Robert W. Stephens

  Alex Penfield Novels

  Ruckman Road (Penfield Book 1)

  To solve an eerie murder, one detective must break a cardinal rule: never let the case get personal. Alex Penfield's gunshot wounds have healed, but the shock remains raw. Working the beat could be just what the detective needs to clear his head. But when a corpse washes up on the Chesapeake Bay, Penfield's first case back could send him spiraling. As Penfield and his partner examine the dead man's fortress of a house, an army of surveillance cameras takes the mystery to another level. When the detective sees gruesome visions that the cameras fail to capture, he begins to wonder if his past has caught up with him. To solve the murder, Penfield makes a call on a psychic who may or may not be out to kill him. His desperate attempt to catch a killer may solve the case, but will he lose his sanity in the process?

  Dead Rise (Penfield Book 2)

  Detective Alex Penfield has to solve a murder case before it happens. His own. Retirement never suited Penfield, but there’s nothing like a death omen to get you back in the saddle. A psychic colleague warns the detective that his own murder is coming. When a local death bears an eerie resemblance to the psychic’s vision, he can’t help but get involved. As the body count rises, the case only gets more unfathomable. Witnesses report ghastly encounters with a man sporting half a face. And the only living survivor from a deadly boat ride claims he knows who’s to blame. There’s only one problem: the suspect’s been dead for 20 years.

  The Eternal (Penfield Book 3)

  Detective Alex Penfield has put away plenty of serial killers. He never expected to protect one. Detective Alex Penfield is no stranger to crime scenes. But when he tracks down a killer, he discovers she’s in a whole different league. And this assassin is far from alone. It turns out that Penfield’s detective skills have uncovered a secret government program that’s better left buried. And the men and women of that program have put a target on his back. To survive the day, Penfield’s only chance is to trust a ruthless killer. He hopes his risky choice won’t be the last one he ever makes.

  Nature of Darkness (Penfield Book 4)

  The murders scarred him for life. Can he face it again when a copycat resumes the butchery? Detective Alex Penfield’s hope for humanity hangs by a slender thread of justice. But even slamming the darkly disturbing serial killer behind bars can’t make up for the brutal loss of his dear friend ten years ago. And he vows she won’t have died in vain when he’s recruited by the FBI to catch a vicious predator with the same blood-soaked calling card. Grimly shoving his own pain aside in the hunt for clues, the seasoned investigator is forced to meet face-to-face with the original sadistic monster. But when the pieces of the puzzle raise questions over his friend’s death, Penfield is horrified that he’s stumbled onto a grisly conspiracy.

  Standalone Dark Thrillers

  Nature of Evil

  Rome, 1948. Italy reels in the aftermath of World War II. Twenty women are brutally murdered, their throats slit and their faces removed with surgical precision. Then the murders stop as abruptly as they started, and the horrifying crimes and their victims are lost to history. Now over sixty years later, the killings have begun again. This time in America. It’s up to homicide detectives Marcus Carter and Angela Darden to stop the crimes, but how can they catch a serial killer who leaves no traces of evidence and no apparent motive other than the unquenchable thirst for murder?

  The Drayton Diaries

  He can heal people with the touch of his hand, so why does a mysterious group want Jon Drayton dead? A voice from the past sends Drayton on a desperate journey to the ruins of King’s Shadow, a 17th century plantation house in Virginia that was once the home of Henry King, the wealthiest and most powerful man in North America and who has now been lost to time. There, Drayton meets the beautiful archaeologist Laura Girard, who has discovered a 400-year-old manuscript in the ruins. For Drayton, this partial journal written by a slave may somehow hold the answers to his life’s mysteries.

  Murder on Maui Mysteries

  Aloha Means Goodbye (Poe Book 1)

  A gruesome murder. A friend framed. One detective races to stop another bloody masterpiece. Edgar Allan “Poe” Rutherford just lost his job, his girl, and his chance at a relaxing island vacation. When the brutal murder of a celebrity artist is pinned on his friend, Poe refuses to lose his best buddy to the Maui penitentiary. As he works his way down the gallery guest list, he navigates through bloated egos, heated rivalries, and more than a few eccentric personalities along the way. But he never expected the hunt for truth to reveal a second chance at love.

  Wedding Day Dead (Poe Book 2)

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  Blood like the Setting Sun (Poe Book 3)

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  Hot Sun Cold Killer (Poe Book 4)

  An old murder. A new threat. Can Poe find the killer before it’s too late? When a client asks Poe to look into a decade-old death on the beach, he can’t help but be intrigued. The police ruled it a suicide, but it’s up to him to prove otherwise. As soon as Poe takes the case, people related to the victim start turning up dead--a sure sign that he’s on the right track. But can Poe identify the killer… before he becomes the next victim?

  Choice to Kill (Poe Book 5)

  A murder close to home. A case that seems open and shut. Will Poe’s rush to judgment make his fiancé the next victim? Poe didn’t think twice when he took his fiancé’s case. After all, Detective Alana Hu had known the victim since childhood. Besides, the evidence is easy to decode: all signs point to the victim’s estranged husband. As Poe works to get the killer behind bars, he can’t help but be distracted by his fast-approaching wedding. But Maui beaches have a knack for luring people into a false sense of security, and Poe’s error could extract the highest cost imaginable. After all, you can’t have a wedding… without the bride.

  Sunset Dead (Poe Book 6)

  A murdered mistress. A wrongful arrest. Can Poe and Alana take down a killer from both sides of the law? Poe can’t stand to take another case after his last one nearly killed his wife. When he's accused of murdering his supposed mistress, he's forced back into a familiar role to prove his innocence. But can he do it from behind bars?

  Ocean of Guilt (Poe Book 7)

  A murdered bride. A suspicious groom. Can Poe catch the killer before the anchor drops? Poe is ready to dive back into his work as Maui’s top private investigator. But before he can unpack his suitcase, his sister-in-law begs him to photograph her client’s extravagant nautical wedding. Poe is confident he can handle the wedding party from hell, until he finds the bride’s dead body on the top deck.