Solomon didn’t answer. He unzipped the body bag and put his hands on his hips defiantly, waiting for Charlie’s reaction. He didn’t have to wait long.
Charlie lowered his chin to his chest. “Christ almighty…”
This was the fourth body this week Solomon had been able to smuggle out of the morgue and bring to Charlie. The actual number of victims was now in the nineties, but the police were no closer to discovering the identity of the killer. Morale and optimism throughout the city were at an all-time low. People were turning against the police out of fear and confusion. The department was doing its best, but had no answers, and no amount of political spin could fool the people anymore. Despite the best efforts to keep the brutality of the murders under wraps, it couldn’t be done. The gory truth had been leaked out for all to know.
Charlie, usually able to provide a dark humour wisecrack or two, now had a look of utter disgust. “That poor girl.”
Solomon gave his friend a pat on the arm. “I know. But that’s why I had to bring her. I need to know if you can help.”
Charlie sighed and pulled his glasses down from where they had been pushed up onto his head. “Ok…looks like similar wounds to the others. Thank you for bringing me the others’ autopsy files to view, by the way. Just right for bedtime reading.”
That’s the Charlie I know, thought Solomon grimly.
“Bruises match the outlines of fists, some resemble hickeys. Whoever this guy is, he’s really messed up. Same gouges in the hands, consistent with the other victims. But…hang on…” Charlie adjusted the overhead light. “Fuck. You see this?”
“Yes.” Solomon nodded. He had no desire to see it again.
“Her hip bones have been completely snapped. The front part of her groin looks sunken, destroyed. The tops of her thighs… The skin has been rubbed raw. Constant, rapid, forceful contact. You can see the muscle under the skin tears coming to the surface. He’s raped her so hard, her body has caved in. At a guess, she died from organ shut down during, and for her sake, I hope she was unconscious from shock long before then. But her death didn’t stop him. He kept going post-mortem.”
Charlie leaned closer for a moment but then stood up. and removed his glasses. With a shudder, he wiped his eyes with the heel of his palm. The exact thing Solomon himself had done earlier.
“Charlie, look. There’s been no semen. No bodily fluids except for hers. No hair fibres. No skin under the fingernails. No traces, again and again. How is this possible? This many victims, the perp always makes a mistake somewhere. Please, tell me you can find something. Give me something. Anything. We’re closing in on one hundred women. Some of them little girls. The chief has taken all of us off the case and handed everything over to the new task force.”
“Task force?”
“Yeah. None of us at the precinct have seen any info on the latest victims. The task force took over about three weeks ago now. This case has gone far beyond anything normal. The federal police, senior detectives, forensics, hell, even psychologists have banded together to form a specialised team to wipe this fucker out. But that’s all hushed. We—the regular beat walkers—know nothing anymore. News doesn’t filter down the way it used to. The only thing we were told is about the corpses being kept from the families because more testing needed to be done.”
“So, you knew the bodies were still available and you managed to smuggle her out,” Charlie said, indicating down.
Solomon nodded. “With the bodies piling up, I got word from an informant that the city morgue spill-over was going to the Women’s Hospital. I haven’t got long before someone notices she’s gone. Thankfully, no one stopped me when they saw the badge, but if I don’t get her back soon, I won’t even have that for long. Charlie, I can’t keep hitting brick wall after brick wall. Something has to give my way. Before the task force took over, I felt like I was on to something, getting closer. I’m sick of cases being taken away just when I’m on the cusp of finding that last key piece of the puzzle. If I have to colour outside the lines on this one, I will. Look at her. This guy has to slip up somehow. Please help me. Please!”
“Ok! Ok. Hang on.” Charlie pinched his nose, taking a breath. When he placed his glasses on again, he was set. Stern. Focused.
“The thing I have seen, the only exactly consistent thing, is the hands,” Solomon offered as a starting point. “They are always damaged in some way, with holes in the wrists. Maybe it’s a ritual.”
“Ritual?”
“Yeah, maybe satanic.”
“Wait…what? Are you serious?”
“It’s just a theory, but hear me out. Jesus was crucified. The holes in the wrists and all that could be the scourging. Look, maybe I’m reaching but that’s the best I’ve got. I told you we were desperate!”
Charlie looked unconvinced.
A buzzing phone in his breast pocket startled Solomon to attention. He pulled it out and looked at the caller. Holding a finger up at Charlie, both as an apology and to tell him to give him a minute, he jabbed the answer button. “Hello? Yes, this is Solomon Crane… What? Right, I’ll be right there.”
Solomon hung up, his mind in a fuddle. “My daughter’s just been taken to hospital.”
*
The ward was bright and white, and signs all looked the same. Someone asked if they could help, but Solomon just shook his head. He took a breath and tried to focus. There it was, the sign indicating the direction he needed to go to find Abigail’s room.
“Abbey!”
Solomon’s wife sat beside the bed and two nurses were busy checking monitors, vitals, a number of other things he didn’t really have time to think about. All of them turned to him and gave him a hushing gesture. His wife took care to rise slowly and walk over to him, giving him a quick hug. He took her by the hand and led her into the hallway.
“I got the call and I rushed over. What the hell happened?” Solomon asked.
Kat sighed and dug for a tissue in her bag. “She wasn’t feeling too well this morning, but she said she was tired. She perked up after breakfast, so I dropped her off at school. I guess she only lasted a few hours, and then her teacher said she started having trouble breathing and her body temperature dropped. The school thought it might be an asthma attack.”
“But she doesn’t have asthma.”
“I know, but they didn’t know that. They don’t think that now, after finding her bruises.”
Solomon felt his heart freeze in his chest. “What bruises?”
Kat lowered her voice. “Sol, she has bruises between her legs. Her inner thighs. Her bum. She’s in a coma. The doctors, they just don’t know if…”
Solomon felt his back hit the wall. His world had been obliterated. It couldn’t be true, but it was. His baby girl. He had been so focused on protecting others, he had completely missed Abbey being at the mercy of this…fucking thing. Then it occurred to him. “Her hands. Was there anything on her hands?”
“No. Why?”
“Has she…” He gulped, not even wanting to think this thought, let alone say it aloud. “Is there any sign of actual penetrative assault?”
“No. Thank god.”
“I need to speak to her.”
“Why? What’s going on?”
“She matches some details of the cases I’ve been working on. She might be the only witness. She can help me catch him.”
“No.” Kat put up her hand, closing her eyes. “No, no. Stop right there. Did you even hear me? She’s in a coma. Do not let me hear that you are thinking of this fucking case when your daughter is lying there in this state!”
Solomon grabbed Kat by the arms. He had to make her see. “This thing, this fucking Shadow Killer. He’s done this. He’s had his hands on our baby. She survived! No one else ever has. This is our one chance to catch this son of a bitch. He could be back. If he got her once he could again.”
“Maybe if you spent more time at home like you promised, this fucking piece of shit wouldn’t have got our baby in the fi
rst place!” Kat’s shouting turned heads toward them. She wrenched out of his grasp. When she covered her face with both hands, he realized how he must sound. He put his arms around her and brought her close, and Kat sunk into him, bursting into tears.
Keeping his voice calm, he spoke into her ear. “You’re right. I’m so sorry. I wasn’t there and I should’ve been. I let him get to her. But, honey, I need to fix this. Please, when she wakes up—and she’s going to wake up—I need to speak to her.” Solomon raised Kat’s face to look at him, her eyes swollen and red, her face as defiant as before.
She pushed him away and adjusted the bag on her shoulder. “Get out. Don’t come back. You wanna go and play cops and robbers with this psycho, go right ahead. You knew Abbey wanted you and you kept her waiting. Always the job. Always the fucking job. Now she is lying there, maybe dying, and you know what? You still only care about the fucking job! I’m through.”
Solomon tried to speak but she had moved into the room and slammed the door in his face. He could’ve barged in anyway. Forced her to listen to him. Screamed at her. But the unnerving fear that she was right, weighed him down. Also, it wouldn’t have helped Abbey, seeing her parents like that. If she was resting, that was the best place for her. Oh, God, what the hell will I do if I lose her?
He had nothing left. Nowhere to turn. No answers. Calen’s words sprang into his mind. He didn’t want to know. He would never catch this man because he didn’t believe. And it was true. He didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Everything he had valued, everything he had trusted meant nothing compared to the beautiful soul that lay in that bed. He’d thought he was helping, uncovering the case. All those nights and days away from her. He thought it would be worth it, to rid the city of such a force. But nothing was worth this.
He would take it all back if he could.
Solomon dialled a number he hadn’t even thought about for the longest time. “Pops, can I come see you?”
Chapter 28
Calen’s Request
“Night Mother, thank you for seeing us,” Koha said to the ground. He knelt beside Calen, who had requested an audience with the Night Mother, which she had granted. He planned to ask for permission to leave. Koha waited for several seconds before sharply nudging Calen with his elbow.
Calen cleared his throat in a hurry. “Thank you for seeing us.”
“Your presence is always appreciated. What is it you seek?”
Koha again waited for a few seconds, before rolling his eyes and giving Calen a shove. “Um, Night Mother, I need… No. I would like…yeah. I would like to ask you if, well… If I could—”
“You wish to be absolved of your responsibility.”
Koha lowered his gaze a touch. The even way she had put it was like a cue ball had dropped into his stomach. There was no emotion in her voice. It would’ve been better for her to get angry.
“Yes. I want to go to school. I don’t want to keep killing vampires and stealing.”
“And a fine goal that is, young Calen. There is none here that I wish to feel trapped in any way. If you feel that way, by all means, feel free to go.”
Koha looked up, surprised, and Calen said what he himself was thinking. “Really? Just like that?”
“Of course. I can only assume you have organised a place to reside, and garnered enough to pay your tuition?”
It was then Koha looked back down. It was all he could do to shake his head. Of course it wasn’t that easy. Obviously, Calen could go. But then what? The Night Mother would never keep anyone here by force, but Calen had to realise that even just at the moment, there was nothing he could do and nowhere he could go.
“Well, no. I was going to ask if I could borrow some. And when I get a job I could pay it back?”
Oh for…
“Do you think I hide a treasure chest under this chair, Calen? There is a reason we live the way we do. We have very little, except the bond of brotherhood. We steal what we can from the dead. It is not much, as you know. We barely have enough to keep us fed, let alone healthy, armed and warm. And you think to come to me asking for the little we have, taking the very food out of one of your brother’s in arms mouths, for you to live your life? Your chosen path, away from us?”
The Night Mother, again, did not seem angry. Her response was flat. Yet Koha could almost see the white-hot shame emanate from Calen’s body. “You are not the first to request to leave. And you will not be the last. I have rejected no request. Yet all but one have died after leaving here. It has broken me to see their fate after they no longer have my protection. But it is their choice.”
“I just figured if Duntroon could do it…” Calen started.
“Ah,” the Night Mother sighed. “So the one that managed to thrive is your inspiration? Duntroon. My first student. Koha’s mentor. To this day, he is the name that the blood-drinking scum fear. To be like him is a goal I encourage, but Calen, he truly is the best for a reason. A human like him comes along once in a generation. Look up to him, by all means. But if you think to follow him into the world, I’m afraid, like others, you will find it your undoing. Even he has had to do things on the outside to survive that he never would have dreamt of.”
“You still speak to him? Could he help us now?”
“I have spoken to him on occasions throughout the years, when he was in close proximity to a flame portal. But it has been the longest time since we last spoke. Longer than any other. Just over twenty years, by my count. I am beginning to fear the worst. But we are becoming side-tracked. Your request has been granted. It is up to you whether you take the offer. We have little to live with, therefore we have little to give. Our very survival here needs anonymity. If you stay, you are welcome to leave anytime. However, should that be your choice, you can never return to us.”
Calen nodded and thanked the Night Mother for her time, before shimmering out.
“Koha, stay.”
“Yes?”
“I have news, which you must hear. I believe the beast is close to its target. In fact, it may have already acquired it.”
“What? How?”
“I have been studying the murders and have found that recently, there have been a handful of victims that share a common thing, the St. Therese’s School at Mascot.”
“Wait, that’s where Calen was.”
“Yes. The teacher that showed kindness to him? She worked there and now she’s dead. Another teacher has been found dead. A young girl has recently been taken to hospital from there. By themselves they do not add up to much. But the murders have stopped, have you noticed? No new bodies have been discovered, where the media was reporting four a day at one point. Put them together, and I think the beast has lead us to where she is.”
“Who is it? Which one? The young girl?”
“That, I do not know. It could be. We need to find out. Go to the hospital tonight. Mark her bed. Protect her. Even if she isn’t the target, the demon will return to finish the job.”
“Night Mother, if the killings have stopped, isn’t that a good thing? Of course we have to find it and save her, whoever it is, if we can. But does this mean the cops will stop interfering and we can get this done quicker?”
“There is no time to be lost, Koha. The authorities will keep the investigation going for as long as possible, because the people are frightened and demand answers. What they don’t know is that this is only the beginning.”
“What else is coming?”
“If the demon truly corrupts this female, if she lets him in, all those who have been touched by it will rise again. Slaves to its evil power. Continuing its work of killing women. A plague will infest the city. The vampires will overrun Sydney, and the humans will be wiped out within weeks. Make no mistake, Koha. The enemy we face is not solitary. Its name among others, is Legion.”
For we are many, Koha finished silently. He readied himself. “I won’t fail.”
Chapter 29
Old Friend
Father T
homas opened the door of the church even before Solomon reached it.
“Pops!”
“Solomon,” he said, extending his hand and then embracing him. “It’s been too long.”
Solomon nodded and clapped his old friend on the back.
“I was wondering if you would ever drop by,” he said, leading him inside his office and offering a chair. “You sounded so defeated on the phone. What’s happened?”
Solomon found himself spilling out the whole story. When he finished, Father Thomas, once known only as Tommy Simpkins, looked as downcast as he’d expected.
“I never knew your daughter went to this school. Solomon, I find myself at a loss. I want to ask both why have you come to me, and why haven’t you come to me earlier?”
“Pops, I’m at a loss. I don’t know what else to do. I don’t know why I’m here. I’m trying to make sense of something that I just can’t understand. I can’t fight what I don’t understand.”
“And what’s that?”
“Evil. That’s all I can describe this as. And now my baby is caught up in this. I was blind. I turned my back on her and never realised. I was trying to help. Trying to do my job. New bodies are being found every night. Every day. And now, my own child is the one who could die.”
Solomon took the hand Father Thomas offered. “I was told by a witness that I would never solve this case because I didn’t believe. I dismissed it. But then he disappeared. I’m no closer to solving this. I feel useless. And I keep thinking back to another time when I felt like this.”
Solomon looked up and Father Thomas nodded. “I don’t believe God will mind me saying that I would’ve quit for her too.”
Solomon had met Thomas in the seminary, oh, more than ten years ago now. Solomon had always wanted to help people, and joining the priesthood was something he truly felt as a calling. After years of fulfilling study on his way to becoming a deacon, he met Megan. She had been a member of his old parish and was the first real challenge to his faith. One he failed. His affair with her lasted over four months.
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