Gray Tones: The Case of the Elevator Slaying (Gray Gaynes Book 1)

by R. L. Akers

  He flagged down the uniform, who remained just outside the entrance. "Do you know what was on these shelves?"

  The cop shook his head but promised to find out, disappearing down the hall to speak with the cleaning crew.

  Gray continued his examination, finally arriving at the floor-to-ceiling windows that formed two whole walls and provided a spectacular view out onto the city. He quickly confirmed that none of the windows could be opened. Whoever had been in this office, he or she must have left the same way Gray entered. Quite a feat, leaving this room without tracking out any blood... especially if the perpetrator had been carrying a body.

  Gray caught the ME's eye and asked, "What can you tell me?"

  The older man paused in his work. "Well, what I can't tell you is if it's human blood. I'll have to get these samples back to the lab first."

  Gray nodded.

  "But assuming it's human, our victim had AB-negative blood."

  "Just one person?" Gray said in surprise, turning pointedly to take in the copious amount of blood in the room.

  "Again, I don't know anything for certain," the ME cautioned once more. "Not yet. But assuming this isn't some animal sacrifice scenario or else an elaborate prank—if any of this came out of a human body—odds are it all came out of the same body."

  "But there's so much."

  The other man shrugged. "I estimate five to seven liters. Eight at the outside."

  Gray considered this. "So whoever's blood it is, they're definitely dead."

  The ME gave him the ghost of a smile. "Oh yes, completely drained of blood. Assuming—"

  "Assuming it's even human. I understand." Gray paused. "You mentioned this might be a prank?"

  "I'll know more after analysis of the blood," the guy clarified yet again. "But the spread of blood, the overlapping spatter from multiple directions... It could be consistent with someone deliberately splashing animal blood out of a bottle or bucket in order to make a mess... Or it could be the result of someone dismembering a body, dragging it back and forth across the room as he did so."

  Gray stared at him. "You think the body was dismembered?"

  The ME gave him a flat look, his patience eroding. "I don't think anything right now. The amount of blood in this room makes it hard to arrive at any conclusions. But..." He sighed, then crouched down and pointed at the floor. "There do appear to be tears in the carpet, gouges that go all the way down into the subfloor."

  Now that he knew what to look for, Gray could see several parallel lines torn into the carpet where the other man was pointing, each about three-to-four inches in length. "Consistent with any weapon you know of?"

  "The way the carpet is torn, I'd say a knife or other bladed weapon was dragged across in a sawing motion."

  "So not a hatchet or a meat cleaver?"

  The ME shrugged. "Doesn't appear to be."

  "Well, a body in pieces would have been easier to move without tracking blood into the hall—a little easier, at least. But... it would have taken forever to dismember someone that way," Gray objected.

  The ME didn't disagree. "The carpet is torn in several other places." He pointed them out, spread around the room. "Pretty sure each place, there are exactly four parallel gouges."

  "You think the number is significant?" Gray asked.

  "Maybe, maybe not." The examiner rose to his feet once more and carefully stepped out of the worst of the blood, coming to stand beside Gray. "Listen, Detective. The best thing you can do for me is identify some possible victims, then get me some hair or blood samples I can use for comparison. Assuming this is human blood, I can do a DNA identification."

  Gray nodded slowly. "Understood. Looks like this place will be my first stop tomorrow morning. Hopefully it'll be as easy as determining whose office this is. If that guy never shows up for work..." He trailed off at the sight of Mack in the doorway.

  The other detective's face was pale as he surveyed the scene, his eyes landing on Gray. "Another one of these?" he said miserably.

  Gray picked his way carefully through the scene, finally stepping out into the hall beside Mack. He gave him a quick summary of the details discovered so far.

  "So let me get this straight," Mack said. "Some poor jerk was murdered here, his body dismembered and drained of blood, and now the body is missing?"

  Gray smiled. "Well, not necessarily, but it's possible that—"

  "And there are claw marks in the floor?"

  Gray blinked. He hadn't thought to consider that each set of four parallel gouges might be caused by animal claws. "That seems unlikely, Mack. Don't you think—"

  "And the air smells of brimstone?" Mack continued insistently.

  "Brimstone? You mean the sulfur smell?"

  Mack shook his head and smiled humorlessly. "Isn't it obvious?"

  "Isn't what obvious?" Gray asked in exasperation. Even the ME's team was paying attention to Mack now.

  "It was the Hellhound," Mack said gravely. "The Hellhound came here to drag some poor soul to hell."

  Acknowledgments

  As always, it is my devoted proof readers who help bring a narrative not only through the writing and editing phase, but on to publication. In this case, it was the ladies in my life—my mother Ruth, my Aunt Beth, and my wife Sarah—who helped polish the rough edges of this story, then encouraged me to push it out the door.

  In addition, I'm grateful to a certain retired NYPD sergeant (who will remain anonymous) for carefully reviewing the story and assuring me I'd not made any significant blunders—then suggesting a few tweaks to enhance authenticity. Seeing as a I have no law enforcement experience, much less in New York City, his assistance was of immense value.

  Finally, I offer my thanks to you, the reader... not only for reading, but also (I hope) for recommending this short bit of fiction to others who might enjoy it. For Gray's tale is far from over, and with enough support and interest from readers, I hope to finish the other five novellas that will complete his saga, revealing the truth behind his tragedy...

  Also by R.L. Akers:

  ATLANTIS: Twilight of Mankind

  In a time before recorded history, most of humankind lives in close proximity to a single magnificent City located on the Isle of Atalas. Ruled directly by a Pantholon of twenty-three gods, society remains in a pre-industrialized state, but great strides have been made in the realms of engineering and genetics.

  In pursuit of absolute power, one of the four ruling members of the Pantholon sends his demigod son D'Akaio on a series of missions designed to undermine his rivals; as D'Akaio's fame grows among the common people, so too do the stories told about him (eventually becoming the very legends that informed Norse, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman mythology).

  Meanwhile, D'Akaio's half-sister Adana launches her own private war against the Pantholon, working with an underground resistance movement to quietly rescue the women and children who are scheduled for sacrifice before the gods.

  Events build toward a confrontation between brother and sister, even as the City and its depraved society speed toward prophesied doom.

  Read this all-new contribution to the lore surrounding everyone's favorite lost city, on sale now!

  Visit Isle-of-Atlantis.com or online retailers for details.

  Also by R.L. Akers:

  The GRYPHENS SAGA

  You've seen the big-budget summer action flicks. You've read the books, maybe played the video games. You've heard all the conspiracy theories. But this is the real world, the present day. If the unthinkable happened, if we faced an actual, verifiable threat from outside our planet...

  What would we do?

  The Gryphens Saga tells that tale.

  Blending military thriller and science fiction—with an emphasis on the science—R.L. Akers produces a well-crafted story peopled by characters you'll grow to love and hate. When the threat from outer space becomes known, the U.S. government is caught unprepared. With time running out, the military must adapt to an entirely new variety of
warfare. Pilots and soldiers must be recruited, trained, and deployed to defensive installations in orbit above North America, and technology must take a giant leap forward... with considerable assistance from a surprising source.

  But there are those who would halt these preparations: mercenaries and even traitors within the ranks. What motivates them to betray their world is unknown, but they will stop at nothing to prevent the newest branch of United States military from fulfilling its mandate.

  From the shadows of rural England to the bowels of Area 51's Groom Lake installation, from the most remote corner of our planet to geosynchronous orbit thousands of miles above, the Gryphens Saga comprises a single well-researched and believable story about humanity's real-world response to the threat of alien invasion. You won't want to put these books down!

  The Gryphens Saga consists of the novels

  Prometheus Rebound and Prometheus Revealed,

  along with the short story collection Prometheus Rising. All three volumes are on sale now.

  Visit Gryphens.com or online retailers for details.

  Visit OrbitalDefense.com to jump straight into the story!

  About the Author

  R.L. Akers loves stories. He loves hearing them, loves telling them, loves embellishing them, and loves forging them from raw materials. He is convinced that every person who ever lived has an interesting story, and he's only met one person in his life who came close to proving otherwise.

  Holder of an undergraduate degree in computer science and a master's degree in business administration, Akers has worked in software development as well as non-profit fundraising and publicity. His love for children has led him in the past to be a foster parent and a coordinator of the K-5 ministry at his church, and he currently invests time each week in the lives of local high schoolers. His interests include graphic design, orchestral movie soundtracks, and anything remotely creative.

  Akers lives in West Virginia with his wife Sarah and the four children he loves most in this world. Visit him online at RLAkers.com.

  Copyright © 2015-2017 The Orbital Defense Corps, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including the use of information storage and retrieval systems, without express written permission from the copyright owner.

  Certain stock imagery © iStockphoto.

  Cover design and internal design © 2015-2017 The Orbital Defense Corps, LLC.

  The Orbital Defense Corps™ and the ODC Roundel circle/star design are trademarks and service marks of The Orbital Defense Corps, LLC.

  The handwriting font "James Tan Dinawanao" (used in chapter 7) is the intellectual property of its respective author and is protected by copyright laws in many parts of the world.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, institutions, establishments, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination and/or are used fictitiously. Events or situations described in this book with reference to real locations, institutions, establishments, and/or actual living persons are historical, merely coincidental, and/or fictionalized with the intent to provide the reader with a sense of reality and authenticity.

  Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid, without knowledge of the author or publisher. The author and publisher claim no rights in, and expressly disclaim any liability potentially arising from, the accessing and/or use of any referenced websites. Neither the author nor the publisher guarantees, approves, or endorses the information, products, and/or services available on such websites, nor does any reference to any website indicate any association with, or endorsement by, the author or publisher.