by Jeff D Ellis
With a shiver she woke from the vision.
***
Back at the office, Abby told the team about the vision and what she had found. The vision confirmed what they already suspected: Hammer had been abducted somewhere else and his home had been staged to frame him. They found it interesting that a woman was involved. This was the first indication that Otis Thorn might have someone working with him. The big question was: was she Human or Windigo? In the end, it was decided that this new information wouldn’t help locate Hammer or the killer, but it might complicate any rescue or capture effort.
When she was back at her desk, Abby checked the evidence log on her computer and noticed it was last touched by Jeff, so she headed to his lab.
“I’m looking for Detective Hammer’s badge. The log said you were its last stop.”
“It’s all in my report. No prints were found on the badge, gun, or notebook. I swabbed each of the items and send them to Ash for DNA.”
“Where is the badge now?”
“I placed it in our lockup. Let’s go get it now.”
The door to the lockup was ajar. Jeff motioned her to stop.
“That’s not right. It’s against all of our policies for this to ever be left unlocked.”
“Is anything missing?”
“It’ll take some time to do a full inventory, but I can check for the badge now.”
Jeff checked the boxes until he found the one labeled with the inventory code he was looking for. “The seal on this box is broken.” After looking through the box, he pulled out an evidence bag with the badge in it. “Here you go, but we are missing Hammer’s notepad. I will add to the log that you have the badge checked out.”
“Thanks! I will return it to you when I’m done with it.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“I’m hoping to track Hammer; I need something with his energy, and this would have been soaking up energy over the years he carried it.”
Jeff nodded a little uncertainly. “Good luck! I’ll send my report with the inventory to the Chief.”
David, I have Hammer’s badge and am headed to Grandfather’s to learn how to use it to track him. Jeff found the lockup open and Hammer’s notepad is missing. He’s doing an inventory to see if anything else has been touched.
I’ll tell the Chief to expect Jeff’s report. Make sure you let me know when you have a location. I need to be with you before you check out any leads.
Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dream of leaving you out of the hunt!
Time to go.
***
David rushed into the Chief’s office. The Chief was on the phone. He pointed at a chair.
“Yes, we are working the case. I know it must look bad for the police to have no leads on the Councilmember being missing. We are working as fast as we can to find the killer, but it won’t help with Prescott being missing, since there is no longer a body to be found. Everything has been cleaned up. Her being missing is much better than the truth, or do you want people to know she was eaten?” David shook his head mutely. “Okay, we will inform Detective Hammer you are looking for him when we see him. Yes, your man is also missing, but at least we don’t think he has been eaten at this time.”
The Chief hung up the phone.
“Sorry for barging in, Chief.”
Chief Knight shook his head. “That was the Chief of detectives at SPD and they are upset we haven’t delivered anything yet. I thought it was understood we need to be pushing hard to get this killer put away.”
“We’re working as fast as we can. I’m sorry for the delays I caused.”
“What do you have?”
“Abby is on her way to learn how to do tracking magic using Hammer’s badge. I also have bad news. Jeff found our lockup has been breached and is currently doing a full inventory, but we’re sure Hammer’s notepad is missing.”
“First our suspect moves Hammer right before you show up, and now our secure lockup is not so secure. It points to an inside job since no one else is allowed into our areas of the building.”
“Abby cleared everybody but Ash. She also had a vision of a woman staging Hammer’s apartment with blood.”
“The only women in our group are Gwen and Ash, and I have known them both for many years. They don’t have access to the lockup. Only Jeff and I do. Also, we didn’t have blood evidence for Cora Prescott, so that had to come from the killer.”
“What do you want me to do, Chief?”
“I will handle the security review with Jeff. I want you to stay available to follow any leads Abby comes up with. I will inform the team about the lockup after we know more.”
“Understood.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Gone?
“WELCOME. COME SIT down.” Grandfather waved his hand at the guest chair and sat in his normal chair.
The smell of burning sage filled the room, reminding Abby of her other training sessions.
“I have something of Detective Hammer’s to use. He carried it on him for years and it was a symbol of protection for him.”
“Yes, it is so. You may start with the purification.”
She stood and grabbed the sage bundle and started waving the smoke across her body purifying her aura. Once she felt clean, she sat down.
“Yes, now connect to the item like when healing someone.”
Placing the badge in her left hand, she focused on the energy she felt coming off it. The image of Hammer slumped over appeared in her mind.
“Yes, now send it your need to find him. His shield is one with him.”
Abby gripped it hard and concentrated.
“You are doing well. Feel the change when you move it in his direction.”
Swinging the badge side to side, she could feel it vibrate and feel warmer when it pointed in one direction and cooled off in other directions.
Grandfather smiled. “Yes, it is so. Go find your friend.”
“Thank you, Grandfather.” On her way out, she placed the offering of a bag of tobacco on the table by the door. It was traditional when visiting an elder, and she felt bad that she had forgotten to bring some the last time she was here.
It was always strange when he knew what she was experiencing, and never being surprised by anything. She hoped he would teach her how before she was called to replace him as the tribe’s Shaman or Medicine Man as the older members of the tribe called him. At one point, it seemed like he used the Little People as spies, but that didn’t explain the rest. It was like he could see the magic deep inside her. She knew he was Veiled, but he never hinted at what kind. For all she knew, he was one of the old gods like Coyote or Raven in Human form.
David, I’m on my way. I have the ability to use the badge to track him, but you’re going to need to drive while I do it. It’s more like a compass than a map location.
Cool! Let me know when you’re close and I’ll be waiting.
When she arrived back at the office, David was waiting outside for her and took over driving.
“Where to?”
“The magic works like a compass. We should stick to surface streets so it will be easy to make course corrections as we go. It’s pointing us South.”
David started driving towards Pioneer Square and the Underground thinking that might be close to where they were going. When they arrived, Abby indicated they still needed to keep moving south. They passed Safeco Field, and still they needed to go farther south. At this point, they were nowhere near any place they expected to be associated with Thorn or Windigo sightings. This was the land of industrial buildings and train yards. It was possible that Thorn turned an old warehouse into a hidden lab.
Abby gasped. “Something’s wrong, stop the car.”
The badge went completely cold and felt dead in her hands. David pulled over. The moment the car stopped, Abby jumped out and spun the badge in a circle trying to pick up the trail. If only she had thought about this sooner.
“Something happened to break the bo
nd between Hammer and his badge.”
“Don’t give up. Maybe something is blocking the connection.”
She shook her head. “I think we’re too late and he’s dead.”
David reached over. “Again, it could be something else. I’ll head back to the office now. There could be new leads there.”
***
Hunger woke Hammer up. He was still strapped down to a hospital bed. He felt different and it wasn’t only from being hungry. That was easy to explain since it had been a couple of days since he had eaten, or had it? Actually, he didn’t know how long it had been since he was taken. He didn’t know what time or day it was. He could hear a monitor beep close by but couldn’t turn far enough to see it.
He yelled, “Hello? Anybody there?”
The woman who had taken his blood walked in wearing a white lab coat. “How are we feeling?”
He sneered, “We are feeling hungry. What did you do to me?”
She noted his vital readings on a chart. “We gave you the modified version of the Windigo virus. So far it seems like everything is going well.”
“I need to eat something.”
“Any cravings?”
“If you are asking if I want to eat you, no. Just hungry.”
“I will see about getting you some normal food soon. I’m going to take another blood sample and after getting some results, you can be fed.”
“How soon will you know if your experiment worked?”
“I will know more after the blood workup.”
“What will happen to me if it worked?”
“That will be up to Dr. Thorn and you to work out.”
She took a blood sample and left the room.
Hammer was scared. He felt different. He didn’t feel like a monster and unfortunately didn’t feel any stronger. If he was stronger, he might break the straps holding him to the bed. What if he was a monster? He would rather die than to be responsible for the deaths the Windigo had caused. For now, he would play along with his captors and not try and escape.
“What did she do to me …”
The room went black.
***
Everybody seemed upset when David and Abby made it back to the office.
David asked, “What’s going on?”
Gwen’s face was ashen. “Chief found the person responsible for the break-in.”
Everybody was here so it couldn’t have been one of the core team. “Who was it?”
Gwen looked down. “Ash betrayed us.”
“Are we sure it’s Ash? I thought she’s worked with the team for many years.”
Gwen nodded without looking up. Her voice was shaky. “It was her. It feels like such a betrayal. I feel so stupid for trusting her.”
David patted her shoulder. “Maybe there is a reason for it, like blackmail or holding her tree hostage. Are Dryads actually connected to an actual tree?”
Perry shook his head. “We don’t know for sure. All she has ever said was needing to visit nature every so often. Dryads have never been an issue for the Marshals before.”
“Any luck finding her?”
“We put out and APB on her as a person of interest in a fugitive case. Her phone is off and was last seen here in the office.”
“Give me her address and Abby and I can check it out.”
Perry sent the address to their phones.
David felt his phone buzz. “Got it. I’ll check with the Chief before we go.”
The Chief waved them into his office. “Guess you’ve heard we found our mole.”
“We were told Ash was the one stealing evidence.”
The Chief grunted angrily. “Correct, and after some research, we also found she has been working with Thorn Technologies on some UW research projects.”
David shook his head. “She lied about that last time I saw her. Do you think she was being forced to betray us?”
“I want her brought in alive for questioning. We can find her motives at that point. Here is a warrant for searching her house. I wasn’t able to get you one for her UW lab.”
Abby grabbed the warrant from the desk. “If she isn’t home, I will have some crows stake out her place.”
“Can you have them watch now?”
Abby shook her head. “Sorry, crows don’t understand street addresses. I need to be there and call them to me.”
“Before you go, what’s the status on your search for the Detective?”
“The trail went cold as we searched. We need a non-magical lead to find him. Maybe finding Ash will be what we need, or maybe we need to focus on finding where Dr. Thorn went.”
“Ash seems to be the hot lead, so start with her.”
“Understood. We’re on it.”
***
Hammer woke up starving. Were they trying to drive him to eat anything or anyone? Where was Abby? She should have found him by now. Maybe that was for the best. If he was becoming a monster, she would be safer far away from him.
Looking around, he found himself in what could be a studio apartment, if it had windows. The last thing he remembered was being strapped to a table, but that wasn’t the case any more. The room smelled musty like a crypt, but he didn’t see the source of the smell. He was monetarily dizzy when he sat up. Across the room, his clothes were neatly folded on a small table. Stumbling out of bed took an effort. It was as if he was trying to control someone else’s body. Now he had to decide if exploring and finding food was more important than changing out of the hospital gown he was dressed in. Food was more important than a shower and better clothes. Looking around the room, he noticed an open door leading to a bathroom at one end of the room. A single door in, and a small kitchenette and bar counter to sit at along the far side. Hammer had to assume there were cameras watching his every move.
The need to feed drew him to the kitchenette in search of food. On the counter was a bowl of fruit. He opened the small dorm style refrigerator and found some strange looking raw meat.
I’m not touching that meat. Fruit it is.
Eating a grape did nothing to ease his hunger. Maybe this was a test and he failed, but at this point he would rather be hungry than eat whatever that meat was. It was time to get dressed and see what came next.
Once dressed, he called out, “I’m awake and hungry. What comes next?”
A voice echoed in the room. “Move away from the door and we can talk.”
Hammer moved to the far side of the room and sat on the bar stool. The door opened and Otis Thorn walked in. The door closed behind him with a distinct thud.
“Are we going to have a problem, Detective?”
“I won’t be a problem as long as you cure me. Am I a monster now?”
“I will need to take more tests, but going by timelines established by other subjects and your last bloodwork, you are transforming.”
“What happens now? Will I fully become a monster?”
“I don’t think that will be needed. You were able to avoid eating the flesh for now. You won’t fully transform until you eat it.”
“You mean eat someone.”
“Soon the need will grow strong enough that you will have no choice in the matter.”
“But you can give me the cure before the full transformation?”
“I hope so.”
Hammer heard his voice crack. “What happens if the so-called cure doesn’t work?”
“You will transform and only the Windigo that infected you will be able to control you.”
“What is the best-case scenario?”
“We test the cure and it suppresses the need to eat human flesh, and you go about your normal life with enhanced healing and longevity. You will need to eat meat to survive, but beef and normal farmed animals will suffice.”
“How do you stay in control?”
Thorn smiled. “Who said I’m a Windigo?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hunt for a Dryad
ASH LIVED IN the Leschi area of Seattle, off Euclid Avenue. The house w
as built on three levels and surrounded by trees. A pocket of wilderness in the big city. It wasn’t hard to imagine a Dryad living here. One set of stone steps led up to the front door, and another up and around to the back of the house.
“David, I’ll take the front door. You should go around back.”
David nodded and took the stairs to the back yard.
Abby knocked on the door. “Ash, it’s Abby. I need to talk to you.”
When Ash didn’t answer, she rang the doorbell.
Ember, can you watch the outside of the house in case Ash comes home while we are here?
Yes, Abby.
Abby saw Ember land on the roof to keep watch.
David, I’m not getting an answer. You see anything around back?
The house looks empty. I’ll come through the back door and let you in.
David opened the door. “This floor is clear. We should clear the rest of the house.”
Abby and David worked as a team to make sure they were alone in the house. There were no signs of violence or any rush to leave. They started searching in Ash’s home office.
Abby called across the room, “Any sign of Hammer’s notebook?”
“Not that I can see. Do you think we should package up the laptop? If it’s gone, she’ll know we were here.”
“I still have a USB drive that we were going to use at the Prescott office for Jeff to access her computer remotely. I’ll plug it in while you call Jeff.”
David made the call. “We’re at Ash’s house with a search warrant. Abby has the USB access device you gave her, and we want you to search her computer.”