The Lurker at the Threshold : A Horror Mystery

by Brandon Berntson

  “Can we get Newt and Duke here a raspberry twist?”

  “What’s that?”

  Macky opened his mouth to speak, then frowned. He looked at Newt. “We seem to be out. How about an orange soda?”

  “That sounds fine, Dev.”

  “Stop that!” Duke said, his face turning red.

  “I don’t think we have orange soda, either, Dev,” Millie said. “How about a lemon spritzer?”

  “Ooo,” Macky said. “That sounds good.”

  “That’s enough!” Duke shouted, turning red.

  “Is the Captain back from his vacation yet?” Macky asked.

  “Warrens?” Duke said. “Guy takes more vacations than anyone I know. Leaves the rest of us here to defend the entire city. I think the mayor went with him.”

  “He does take off more time than anyone at the precinct,” Newt said.

  “Could we get down to business, please?” Duke said.

  “How about a drink?” Macky said.

  Duke let out a sigh.

  “Millie!” Macky called.

  Millie poked her head inside again. “Change your mind about something, Dev?”

  “Give our corpu—uh—inspector here a lemon spritz.”

  “You want a splash of Tobasco in that, Duke?”

  “I’m about to scream,” Duke said, rubbing his head.

  “Not with his blood pressure,” Newt said. “Or his ulcer.”

  Duke plopped himself in one of the chairs in front of Macky’s desk. “I give up,” he said. “Bourbon. Make it a double.”

  “Coming right up,” Millie said.

  “There goes the last of my hooch,” Macky said, sounding genuinely crestfallen. “I guess I deserve it.”

  “What?” Duke said.

  “Nothing,” Macky said. “Could we quit fooling around? Tell me what you came down here for?”

  “Do you think it’s safe to drink on duty, sir?” Newt asked.

  “No one asked you, lieutenant, and the Captain’s on vacation.”

  Newt nodded reassuringly at Macky. “Captain’s on vacation, Dev. It’s okay.”

  Macky smiled.

  Millie entered and set the bourbon in a short glass with ice on the desk. Duke picked it up and swallowed it in one shot.

  “That’s the last of the whiskey, Dev,” Millie said.

  “I’ll try not to show an outward display of emotion,” Macky said.

  “Do you need anything else?” Millie asked.

  “No, Mill. Thanks.”

  “Anytime, fellas. I’m in the other room if you need me.”

  Duke took a deep breath. “Now, then,” he said. “Have you seen the morning edition today?”

  “No. I usually wait until the paperboy delivers it to Mr. Brodsky across the hall, and then I tiptoe over there and ste—I mean . . . no!”

  Newt pulled a paper out from behind his back and handed it to Macky. Macky took it and unfolded it. The headline on the top read:

  Man Slain in Shady District

  “The scoop?” Macky asked.

  “A wild animal,” Duke said. “Or something like that. His throat was torn open. His body was found last night. Around 7 p.m. Press got word of it quickly. We think it might be a wild animal.”

  “Like a . . . dog, maybe?” Cold sweat broke across Macky’s flesh.

  “Sure,” Duke said. “Dog. Even a wolf.”

  “There aren’t any wolves in Innsport,” Macky said.

  “No, there’s not,” Duke said. “But there’s a lot of things in Innsport that shouldn’t be in Innsport.”

  “Did you guys hear the howling last night?” Macky asked.

  “I told you it was a good idea to talk to Macky, Duke,” Newt said, turning to his partner.

  They all looked at one another.

  “Did Millie hear it?” Duke asked.

  “I don’t know,” Macky said. “Millie!”

  She poked her head in again. “Third times a charm, Dev?”

  “Did you hear a hound baying in the city last night?”

  She stepped inside. “I did not. I told you that. I went to bed early.”

  “Have you seen the morning paper?”

  “I don’t think Mr. Brodsky has gotten his yet . . . so, no.”

  Duke raised his eyebrows.

  “She likes to kid around,” Macky said.

  Macky handed Millie the paper. She took it and looked at the front page. She shook her head. “I knew it,” she said.

  “You’re jumping to conclusions.” Macky looked at Duke and Newt. “She’s jumping to conclusions. It could be a coincidence.”

  “Am I jumping to conclusions?” Millie asked, raising one eyebrow.

  “What are you talking about?” Duke asked.

  “Did you tell the detective, Dev?” she said. “Did you tell Newt?”

  “I was just getting to that, Millie.”

  “Would you two quit gallivanting around the subject, and tell me what’s going on?” Duke said. His jowls were turning red.

  “See what you did, Mill?” Macky said. “The whole city’s gonna know now.”

  “The whole city should know what’s going on, Dev, so they can protect themselves.”

  “She’s a little sour this morning on account of the gift I tried to give her,” Macky said.

  “Would you care to elaborate?” Duke asked.

  Millie stood with her hand on her hip, eyebrow cocked. Macky leaned back and rolled a cigarette. He lit it.

  “The Nec—what was it called, Mill?”

  “The Necronomicon,” she said. “It’s a book about the black earth.”

  “Good heavens, here we go!” Duke said. He rubbed his eyes with one hand.

  “Hey, I thought it was a collector’s item,” Macky said. “We don’t actually know if it’s connected to the death, or the hound, or . . .”

  “You’ve done it now, Dev,” Duke said.

  “Why is everybody ganging up on me?” he asked.

  “That’s why we came to see you, Dev,” Newt said. “You’re building a reputation. We thought you might know something about it.

  “Are you sure there’s no whiskey left, Mill?” he asked.

  “Positive, Dev,” she said.

  “This day’s going from bad to worse in a hurry,” he said.

  —

  “What’s the reason you’re showing me this again?”

  “I just wanted to know—” Duke began.

  “We,” Newt said.

  “Huh?”

  “We, chief,” Newt said. “You keep leaving me out of everything. I’m right here. It’s not polite.”

  “A sensitive detective has many flaws,” Duke said.

  “It’s important to be inclusive, boss.”

  “He’s right, Duke,” Millie said.

  “You know how stubborn he can be, Dev,” Newt said. “I tried to persuade him, but it took more than I thought.”

  “Did you have to buy him dinner?” Macky asked.

  “There’s that barbecue joint on eighty-second and Dartmouth. They have good brats.”

  “Savory Smoke,” Macky said. “They make their own spicy mustard, too. Why did you have to bribe him with that?”

  “Because he’s spooked.”

  “Am not!” Duke said.

  “He is, Dev,” Newt said. “Don’t let him fool you. This murder has him spooked. Got me spooked, too. And we investigated all morning.”

  “It looks like something along your line of work, Macky,” Duke said. “That’s why we wanted to talk to you.”

  “I’m flattered,” Macky said.

  “Captain is willing to compensate, too,” Duke said.

  “What did you do, call him in Bermuda?”

  “Telegram,” Duke said.

  “Paid by the police,” Macky said. “There’s a change of pace. But a motivator. You might finally get paid, Mill.”

  “I won’t hold my breath,” she said.

  “So, what’s so different?” Macky asked. “
Rabid dog. Should be easy enough to track.”

  “That’s the problem,” Newt said. “It isn’t.”

  “How so?” Macky asked.

  “You said something about a hound?” Newt said.

  “The same night I got the book.”

  “We’ve been trying to track it,” Newt said. “At least all morning. We’ve seen it, but—”

  Macky looked at Millie. She looked at him then at Newt and Duke. She frowned.

  “No whiskey, huh?” Macky asked.

  “Dry as a bone, Dev,” Millie said.

  He nodded and rolled a cigarette. “I think I might be responsible for this. Although, it’s very hard to tell. It’s early.”

  “Why don’t you tell us the whole story?” Duke said.

  Macky nodded. He puffed on his cigarette and leaned back. “Well, it’s kinda like this . . .”

  —

  “Except for this body in the Shady District, nothing convinces me they’re connected, you know?” Macky said.

  “I think it qualifies,” Millie said, folding her arms.

  “Am I doing that wishful thinking again, Mill?”

  “Bullseye.”

  “Where’s the book now?” Duke asked.

  “I gave it to Capshaw, the museum curator. He wants to study it and see if he can find anything useful in it.”

  “Maybe the smartest move you’ve made so far,” Duke said.

  “There’s a compliment in there somewhere if I look hard enough,” Macky said.

  —

  “This would be better celebrated with a drink,” Macky said. “Who wants to come with me to the liquor store? I’d like to get there before it gets too late. It’s already dark.”

  No one said anything.

  “Millie, you want to fetch us some hooch?”

  “No, Dev. That’s where I draw the line. You know that. I didn’t get hired to be a liquor store gopher. You want your hooch, you can get it yourself.”

  “Yes. I remember seeing that on your resume.”

  “So, this Mad Arab gave you the book, and you took it back to the office the next day to give to Millie?” Duke said. “And then you looked for the bookstore but couldn’t find it?”

  “Correct.”

  “And we have a hound loose in the city that’s killed one person at the same time.”

  “The shop was filled with all kinds of old books, sigils, symbol, stuff like that,” Macky said.

  “What’s a sigil?” Newt asked.

  “A symbol,” Macky said. “See, Mill, I remembered.”

  “I’m proud of you, Dev.”

  “Look, nothing’s happened. Everything’s fine. I’m betting the hound is just a coincidence. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  A greenish-blue glow came from the space behind Macky’s desk. Millie widened her eyes, and she stepped backwards. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She pointed.

  “What on earth is that?” Duke asked, getting up from his chair.

  “What?” Macky asked, turning around.

  “That,” Newt said. He pointed to the space behind where Macky was sitting.

  A greenish-blue orb was glowing in the corner of the office.

  Chapter 5

  “What is that?” Millie asked. Her eyes were wide.

  Macky jumped back. Millie had never seen him move so fast.

  He shook his head. His face was glowing with greenish-blue light. “It’s like an egg sac or something. Membranous.”

  “It just appeared out of nowhere,” Millie said. She looked terrified.

  Newt pulled his gun from his breast pocket and stepped toward it.

  “Dev,” Millie said. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Hang on a second.” Macky stepped toward it and knelt down. “It looks like some kind of . . . organism.”

  “It could be alien, Dev,” Millie said.

  He reached out to touch it and Millie shouted, “Don’t touch it! Are you crazy?”

  Macky started, let out a deep breath, and looked back. “Would you not do that, please?”

  “Sorry,” she said. “I’m just . . . watching out for you.”

  “She’s right, Dev,” Newt said. “Who knows where that thing came from?”

  “The mystery deepens,” Macky said.

  Duke stepped around the desk to get a better look.

  “Will you get me a towel, please, Mill?” Macky asked.

  She nodded, disappeared into the other room, and came back with a towel. She handed it to Macky. Macky took it, held it in both hands, so he could grab the orb without touching it.

  “Get the door for me, Duke, will you please?” he asked.

  Duke opened the door. Macky carried the thing downstairs, out the back door, and into the alley. Everyone followed. Macky threw it in the nearest dumpster.

  “Your best guess on what that was, Dev?” Duke asked.

  Macky shook his head. He threw the towel into the dumpster with the orb. Night had fallen. The clouds were dense. Not a single star was visible.

  “This is all because of that stupid book,” Millie said.

  “I sympathize with you, Dev,” Newt said. “But I’m with Millie. I wish you would’ve left that dang thing alone.”

  Macky nodded. “I’d argue if I could.”

  “I think you released some entity or something,” Duke said.

  “I read a bit from it,” Macky said. “A gag, you know? Who would’ve thought to take that seriously? There were more symbols in it than anything. I couldn’t even pronounce the words.”

  “Looks like you pronounced them fine,” Duke said.

  “You got a book of the black earth written by a madman from a place that no longer exists,” Millie said. “Now there’s a hound roaming the city and organisms appearing out of nowhere we know nothing about.”

  “It could be a coincidence,” Macky said.

  “That angle’s no longer useful,” Duke said

  “It’s the only one I got.”

  “I can’t blame you for that.”

  Macky heard nails scraping against the pavement, the jangle of a collar.

  The hound was twenty feet in front of them.

  —

  “Every hair on my body just stood on end,” Millie said, and shivered.

  “I raised a few hackles myself,” Newt told her.

  Duke and Newt looked down the alley. Newt held his gun. So did Duke.

  “This is what we were dealing with,” Duke said. “But the fun hasn’t begun.”

  “The hound?” Macky asked.

  Duke nodded. He coughed into his fist and looked at Newt.

  “Would you guys care to elaborate?” Macky asked.

  The collar jangled, the scrape of nails on pavement, moving closer.

  “We couldn’t find him, Dev,” Newt said. “That’s not surprising. After a while, it seemed obvious what was happening.”

  Macky looked at them and raised his eyebrows.

  “We tracked it all over the city,” Newt told him. “It’s smarter than you realize.”

  Macky looked at Duke. Duke nodded.

  “It’s true,” the inspector said. “That’s no ordinary hound, Macky. We couldn’t get close enough. We would see it as it disappeared around the corner. Or it would just fade into the shadows. It’s smart. Too smart.”

  “Unnatural,” Newt said.

  They’d been backing down the alley toward the office.

  Duke nodded. Macky looked at each of them again.

  “I’m scared, Dev,” Millie said.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Me, too. Let’s get out of here.”

  They turned and ran back to the office.

  —

  “What do you think, Dev?” Millie asked, once they were inside.

  “I’ll check it out,” he told Duke and Newt. “But I’m not sure what I can do. It’s my responsibility. I’ll try to clean it up. Just don’t say that to the Captain.”

  “We’re here to help, Dev,” Newt said. “We’
ll stay with you.”

  Macky nodded. “I was thinking that. You guys have tracked this thing already, but the three of us might have better luck.”

  “Four of us, Dev,” Millie said.

  He looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

  “I’m sorry I got so mad at you about the book, Dev,” Millie said. “But I’m not staying here by myself.”

  He nodded. “I get it. I think I deserved it anyway, Mill.” He looked at her and noticed her eyes were wet. She was being sincere. It puzzled him. “After everything we’ve been through, I should’ve known better. To be honest, it never felt real, that night I got the book. I thought I was dreaming. Even the fog moving in . . . the hound. Nothing seemed real. I was going with the flow. Something had a hold of me, which spooks me because that means something else is pulling the strings. I don’t like that.”

  Millie nodded. “So what’s next?”

  “Track down an elusive hound,” Macky said. “I need to see how it operates. At least we can try and prevent it from getting anyone else.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  He shook his head. “This is too dangerous, Mill. We don’t even know what we’re up against.”

  “But I have the gun,” she said.

  “I’m not sure that’s going to make any difference. Duke and Newt have guns, too.”

  “We never got a clear look at it, so we didn’t fire,” Duke said.

  “I don’t want to be here by myself, Dev,” she said.

  “I’d feel safer knowing you were here in the office, Mill.”

  “I don’t feel safe being alone. Not right now.”

  “You loaded?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Come on,” he said.

  —

  “No coat?” he asked, as they stepped into the alley.

  “My adrenaline is keeping me quite warm.”

  “Suit yourself,” he said.

  “Very funny.”

  “Huh?”

  They headed down the alley in the dark. Macky had the flashlight. Millie carried the gun. Duke and Newt were on either side, guns drawn.

  “So, what are we supposed to do?” Millie asked. “Walk until some giant dog jumps out of the shadows and rips into our entrails, licking our vitals off the ground like chunky soup?”