Night Kill (Private Investigator Andrew Knight Mystery Series)

by RL Edinger

  “We have a deputy injured,” Sheriff Delsmann called on her radio. “We also have a suspect down. Send a couple of squads now.” She reloaded her weapon and looked over at the suspect; who was gone!

  “Where are you?” Sheriff Delsmann whirled in all directions with her weapon ready to fire. Her wild-eyed search turned up nothing.

  “Over here,” a voice finally said.

  Sheriff Delsmann spun in the direction of the voice. She pointed her weapon, but it was too late. The arrow drove itself with unrelenting desire into Sheriff Delsmann. She flew several feet backwards landing softly now in the pillowy snow. Sheriff Delsmann could hear a death rhythm in her ears. The pressure in her chest was crushing and she couldn’t breath.

  “Next time we meet you die.” The shadowy figure announced, turned and walked away.

  Sheriff Delsmann tried to reach for her shoulder mike, but the pain was unbearable. All she could do was watch in silence as the person faded into the darkness. Talia breathed slowly and closed her eyes.

  Chapter 2

  Andrew came into the four season room trying to balance the tray with beer, snacks, and cell phone. He put the tray and cell phone down by the edge of the indoor hot tub. It was really nice to have an indoor hot tub since they remodeled the four season room this past summer. It sure was a lot better than freezing your butt off going outside in the snow and cold if you wanted to take a dip in the hot tub.

  Andrew tossed his robe and towel on one of the wicker chairs. The soothing waters of the hot tub really felt good as Andrew slipped into it. He opened an ice cold brew and took a long, slow swig. It hit the spot perfectly. Andrew grabbed his phone when it started buzzing. It was a text message from Megan.

  “Conference is okay,” Andrew read aloud the text.

  “I felt the baby moving during dinner.”

  “Miss you and the baby terribly. When you coming home?” Andrew texted back. He took another drink waiting for Megan’s reply. His phone buzzed.

  “One week. Miss you too. What are you doing?”

  “I’m in the hot tub with a beer, but no one to share with.” Andrew typed. He pressed the send key. Andrew opened the bag of chips and had just put some in his mouth when his phone buzzed again.

  “LOL,” Andrew read Megan’s text. “Better be alone or you’re in big trouble.”

  “No worries. Better get some sleep. Text me tomorrow.” Andrew replied. He hit the send button.

  “Luv you. Later.” Megan texted him back.

  Andrew closed his phone and set it down. Andrew grabbed some more chips. As he was chewing away, his phone buzzed.

  “Doesn’t she ever sleep,” Andrew laughed. He flipped open his phone. It was Maggie and Sam.

  “What’s up?” Andrew answered the call. He listened to his aunt. “I’m just sitting in the hot tub drinking beer and trying to relax,” Andrew replied. He paused and then said, “How’s the weather in Arizona? Is Sam bored yet?” Andrew laughed at his Aunt’s reply that Sam was indeed bored, but was enjoying the nice weather. Andrew listened some more. “No I’m not working on any case right now,” Andrew said. “I’m just trying to get some rest that’s all, nothing more.” He finished off his beer. “Yes, Megan’s in Chicago for a national newspaper conference.” Andrew told her. “The baby is doing fine.” Andrew opened another beer. “Yes, I’ll have Megan call you when she gets home,” Andrew promised his aunt. “I love you too,” Andrew answered before closing his phone. He didn’t want anymore interruptions, so Andrew powered off his cell phone. Andrew tossed his phone on one of the wicker chairs. He put the beer down and reclined back against the cushioned edge of the hot tub. Andrew inhaled and exhaled deeply as he let the soothing waters take over. Finally, there was peace and quiet.

  Andrew heard the doorbell announce the arrival of a visitor and his quiet time vanished completely. Andrew grudgingly rose out of the hot tub and grabbed his robe. According to the clock on the wall it was almost eight thirty. Who would be so bold as to disturb his quiet time? The office was locked up for the night and none of his clients knew his home address. So who could it be?

  Andrew left the four season room and walked through the foyer to the front door. He already felt chilled and drew his robe closed even tighter. Andrew opened the front door.

  He saw a woman with wispy blond hair dressed in a nurse’s uniform carrying a briefcase. He didn’t know her, but of course he did recognize the man with her. It was Father Michael, his parish priest. The old priest wore bifocals and had much less hair than Andrew remembered.

  “Andrew,” Father Michael smiled at him. They embraced briefly. Father Michael, in return, introduced the woman with him. “Andrew this is Nedra Collins.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Andrew said, shaking her hand.

  “Mister Knight?” Nedra blurted out, “I want to hire you to find my son.”

  “We need to explain,” Father Michael apologized. “Do you have a moment?”

  “Please come in,” Andrew said. “Go sit down in the family room while I go change.”

  Nedra and Father Michael went to the spacious and nicely decorated room as Andrew went upstairs to change. “So much for peace and quiet,” Andrew grumbled as he went into the bedroom. He quickly took off his wet trunks and robe and threw on a pair of jeans and sweat shirt. He slipped on a pair of leather slippers and went back downstairs.

  Andrew joined his guests in the family room. He sat down on the sofa. Nedra and Father Michael were already seated in the chairs in front of the fireplace.

  “So tell me all about it,” Andrew settled back.

  “Two weeks ago my son’s girlfriend and her family were attacked,” Nedra said.

  “That was the Higgins family in the news, right?” Andrew interjected.

  “Yes,” Father Michael answered.

  “What does that have to do with your son?”

  “My son was a member of the Ravenclaw coven,” Nedra explained. “The coven consists of five clans. There are, the Higgins, Drakes, Bristols, Hancocks, and Moores. The leader of the coven is a man called Vlad Ravenclaw. Wyatt was excommunicated because he violated the governing laws of the coven. My youngest son Chad is your average sixteen year old. His girlfriend Amber is from the Bristol’s family.”

  “Did you say coven?” Andrew interrupted. “Were they witches?”

  “No, vampires,” Nedra answered.

  “Did you say vampires?” Andrew was taken aback.

  “They perform blood rituals,” Father Michael explained. “They drink human blood from donors. The church has never condoned this type of behavior. Since the murders, the rest of the Ravenclaw coven has gone into hiding. Vlad Ravenclaw believes that the clan is the target of a secret society of vampire slayers.”

  “I’m sorry but would you like something to drink?” Andrew suddenly remembered his manners.

  “Some coffee would be nice,” they answered.

  “I’ll be right back,” Andrew excused himself and went to the kitchen.

  “You said he would help,” Nedra looked worriedly in the direction Andrew had gone.

  “Andrew is a good man,” Father Michael answered. “He’s also the best private investigator I know. He will find your son, trust me.”

  Andrew returned a short time later with a serving tray with a coffee carafe, cups and cream and sugar. He set it down on the coffee table and quickly served up some for his guests. He then served himself and sat back down.

  “While I was in the kitchen, I came to several conclusions,” Andrew took a sip from his cup. “First of all, I don’t believe you’ve told me everything. Second, from the tone of urgency in your voice I get the sense that you feel your son is in danger. And lastly, you believe that your son, Wyatt, is involved somehow with the attack on the Higgin’s family.”

  “My son suffers from Renfield’s syndrome,” Nedra finally confessed. “He was receiving psychiatric treatment for the condition.”

  “I’m not familiar with Renfield’s syndrome,” A
ndrew said. “Who was his psychiatrist?”

  “Okay,” Nedra drew a deep breath. She explained, “Renfield’s syndrome, also called simply Renfield syndrome and traditionally known as clinical vampirism. It is a mental disorder used to describe an obsession to drink blood.”

  “When did you first notice it in your son?”

  “When my son was young, he fell off his bike and scraped his knees,” Nedra further explained. “He put his hand on the injuries to stop the bleeding. When I got there I saw Wyatt licking the blood off his hands. As soon as Wyatt saw me, he immediately stopped.” Nedra stopped to finally take a drink from her cup. Andrew picked up on the sadness in her voice as she continued, “When Wyatt reached puberty it became worse, almost a sexual arousal with him whenever he saw blood. He also was cutting himself.”

  “Is that when he met the Higgins girl?”

  “Yes,” Nedra replied. “That’s when he met Storm.”

  “So they brought him into the clan then, right?”

  “Yes,” Nedra said. “Jonathan, Natasha, Peter and Storm inducted Wyatt into their clan. There were others that also joined. Wyatt told me that they had agreed upon to follow the laws set forth by the coven. The members of the coven would carefully screen those who were willing to be blood donors for the coven.”

  “So what happened next?”

  “He couldn’t control his urges and sought out blood from those outside the coven,” Father Michael answered this time.

  “So he was excommunicated,” Andrew surmised. “There’s more, right?”

  “Let me explain,” Nedra said. She first asked for a refill, which Andrew obliged. She took a long, slow drink of her coffee before continuing, “After Wyatt was excommunicated from the coven he hooked up with a supposed vampire slayer by the name of Night Blade.”

  “What I heard from other parents whose kids are involved in this vampirism,” Father Michael replied, “Night Blade is trained in the martial arts, and various forms of weapons. He or she has been rumored to be responsible for several deaths.”

  “Can they identify this Night Blade?”

  “According to the kids, Night Blade wears a full head mask,” Father Michael answered. He also asked for a refill of coffee, took a quick drink and went on to say, “After Wyatt hooked up with Night Blade, he was trained to be a vampire slayer. It’s also rumored that Night Blade arranged a permanent blood doll for him.”

  Andrew sat there and mulled over all that he had learned. His head was reeling with all kinds of questions and weird thoughts. Andrew couldn’t fathom that people were actually like this. He knew about the Goth culture and that several sub cultures branched off from it, but vampires?

  “Who’s in charge of the investigation?”

  “Sheriff Delsmann,” Nedra replied. “She and one of her deputies were also attacked the same night as the Higgins.”

  “Interesting,” Andrew mused while sipping his coffee. “Well then, you’ve got yourself a private investigator.”

  Nedra jumped up and rushed over to Andrew. She bent down and threw her arms around him in a tight hug which almost made him drop his cup. Andrew’s face flushed.

  “Okay, okay,” Andrew said patting Nedra on the back. “You can let go now.”

  “I’m sorry,” Nedra apologized and sat back down.

  “Stop by the office tomorrow and I’ll have you sign the papers,” Andrew said standing up. Nedra and Father Michael followed suit. Andrew walked them to the front door. They said their good byes. Andrew closed the door.

  He immediately went to his office and turned on the computer. As soon as it was up, Andrew typed in vampirism. The search engine came up with more than three million hits. He was shocked to say the least. Andrew clicked on the first one.

  “Sanguine (or Sang) - a vampire feeds specifically off of the blood of others, and cannot achieve satisfaction through any other feeding methods,” Andrew read aloud. He quivered at the thought that people actually drank human blood.

  Andrew continued, “Psychic Vampire (psi vamp) is a vampire that feeds directly upon the vital energy of a being, and cannot achieve satisfaction through the intake of blood. Psi feeding methods can be long ranged or up close. Hybrid vampires are vampires that require both blood and vital energy to satisfy their needs.” Andrew turned on the printer and sent the information to it. He next typed in Renfield’s syndrome. Once up, Andrew clicked on the link and started reading it. “Renfield’s syndrome is traditionally known as clinical vampirism, though not currently categorized as a mental disorder used to describe an obsession to drink blood. The term was first coined by Richard Noll, and is named after Dracula’s insect-eating assistant, Renfield, in the novel by Bram Stoker,” Andrew shook his head. Things were really getting near the edge of bizarre here. For him things were black and white, good or bad, right or wrong, there were no gray areas. Of course it was possible that he would have to open up his mind when it came to this vampirism subculture. Andrew continued reading; “People who suffer from this condition are primarily male. The craving for blood arises from the idea that it conveys life-enhancing powers. According to Noll, the condition starts with a key event in childhood that causes the experience of blood injury or the ingestion of blood to be exciting. After puberty, the excitement is experienced as sexual arousal. Throughout adolescence and adulthood, blood, its presence, and its consumption can also stimulate a sense of power and control. Noll explains that Renfield’s syndrome begins with autovampirism and then progresses to the consumption of the blood of other creatures.” Finally Andrew searched for a description of ‘blood doll’ to have a better understanding. Within minutes he found a multitude of hits. Andrew selected one and read, “A blood doll is a mortal who freely lets vampires drink from them. Frequently found as members of subcultures such as the Goths, blood dolls seek a perverse thrill from the ‘kiss’, but their tendency to actively seek out vampires to give it to them means that they unwittingly walk a very thin and dangerous line with their lives.” Andrew shuddered at the thought that people were actually willing to do this. He had read all he needed to. Andrew sent the information to the printer, shut down the computer, and headed off to bed. The first order of business tomorrow would be to touch base with a courtesy call to Sheriff Delsmann. Hopefully she would be able to help him by providing answers from the investigation. Andrew flipped back the covers and climbed into bed. He recovered himself and after finding that ‘comfort spot’, drifted off to sleep. Soon Andrew was snoring away some where off in a deep sleep.

  Sheriff Delsmann walked into her office with the morning paper and a cup of coffee in hand. She sat down at her desk and put the coffee cup down. Sheriff Delsmann grimaced a little when she opened the paper. The reason was, splashed across the front page were the words ‘The Vampire Murders’.

  “Great,” Sheriff Delsmann lamented. “Just great!”

  She folded the paper up and tossed it into the recycling bin. Sheriff Delsmann spun around to the credenza where her computer was and turned it on. While waiting, she stood up and glanced out the window down at the street in front of the building. A red AC Cobra came to a stop in one of the parking spaces. She saw a well dressed dark haired man get out with a briefcase. He quickly jogged across the street and into the building.

  Andrew stopped at the service window in the lobby of the sheriffs’ department building. The deputy on duty recognized Andrew.

  “Good morning Mister Knight,” she said.

  “Good morning,” Andrew answered. “I have an appointment with Sheriff Delsmann.”

  “Here’s your visitors pass.” She smiled and handed him the clip-on ID badge.

  “Thanks,” Andrew said, as he clipped it to his lapel. She buzzed him in.

  Andrew took the elevator to the fourth floor and when the doors opened, he exited into the large detectives’ room. Usually the guys in the division greeted him with smiles and handshakes. They were always glad to see him, but today it was different. There were no smiles or handshakes. A
ll of the guys looked grumpy, and grudgingly as they were doing their work.

  At the far end of the room was the office of the sheriff. Andrew had worked with the previous sheriff, Sheriff Ackerman, for several years. He didn’t know what the current sheriff was like. Andrew had done some checking on her before he came here today. Sheriff Delsmann, Talia, had been a detective with the Chicago police department for twenty years. She was a highly decorated, police officer.

  Andrew knocked, and immediately opened the door. The woman seated at the desk looked to be close to his age or a bit younger. The slender African American woman with straight black hair motioned for him to come in. Andrew did just that and strode up to her confidently and they briefly shook hands.

  “Please be seated Mister Knight,” Talia gestured to one of the chairs in front of her desk. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “Yes, that would be nice.”

  “Could you bring Mister Knight some coffee,” Talia buzzed the intercom.

  “So tell me what I can do for you,” Talia settled back and unbuttoned her dark blue blazer. “Or is this just a courtesy call?”

  “Direct and to the point,” Andrew smiled.

  When the receptionist entered with his coffee, she smiled and said, “Good morning Mister Knight.”

  “Good morning Jenny.” Andrew smiled back. She was the only one smiling.

  “Please leave us alone, Jenny,” Talia seemed to chastise her.

  “I’ve been hired by Nedra Collins to find her son, Wyatt,” Andrew announced.

  “Well as you know I cannot share any details of our investigation,” Talia replied harshly. Andrew detected a note of disgust in her voice as well. She went on, “All I can say is that Wyatt Collins is a person of interest.”

  “I can get a look at the crime scene?”

  “No,” Talia shot back. “Besides I don’t see how it will help you locate the boy.”

  “Is there evidence linking him to the crime?” Andrew asked. He continued, “What about professional courtesy?”