Branded by Lust: 4 (Night Seekers)

by Holt, Desiree

  Chapter Five

  Ric Garza sat at his high-tech computer terminal downloading the photos Rebecca and Logan had sent and uploading them to the big screen on the wall. Swiping one of the surface computing keyboards, Ric put the photos in place one at a time, tapping the interactive keyboard again to enlarge them. What he saw made him want to vomit and he considered himself a pretty hardened lawman. He thought by this time he’d be used to the gruesome shots of a corpse after the devil beast had finished with it. But magnified more than a hundred times and up on the wall in living color it was every nightmare come to life.

  Sophia Black Beltaire, standing behind him, was talking on her cell. When she disconnected the call she pulled a chair over and sat down beside him.

  “That was Craig. He got the final reports on the killings in Maine from the state police. Bobby Lacroix sent him copies of everything.”

  “I’m sure there wasn’t anything new,” Ric commented as his fingers tapped keys.

  He knew Bobby was the lead detective on the spate of Chupacabra killings that Sophia and Logan had just worked on with the staties. Two other killings had nearly muddied the waters and thrown the state police off the track. But Sophia and Logan had managed to make them see the truth. Other than that the only thing they’d accomplished was to put everyone on alert for future forays by the beast and give closure to the families of the victims.

  But as in every other geographical area where the Chupacabra had killed, the beast they’d killed was apparently only one of many. And they had no idea where it would strike next. Or how many there were.

  “Any word from his scientists?” Ric asked.

  “Nada. Or actually I should say too much and not enough.” She shook her head. “It seems every time we give them remains to analyze they come up with more strange results than before. I’m telling you, Ric. The brain that concocted these creatures—if indeed that’s what happened—has to be severely twisted and evil.”

  “If that actually is the situation there has to be an endgame,” Ric pointed out. “Maybe if we could figure that out we could discover who might be doing this. It’s bad enough to think there might be dozens of these creatures all over the world popping up now and then killing randomly and at will. But for someone to be deliberately creating them?” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It makes me sick to my stomach.”

  “And Chloe is sick with worry that Melinda might be in the clutches of some kind of mad scientist.” She sat back in her chair and looked up at the screen. “God. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to looking at these bodies.”

  “That’s the damn truth.” He lifted a small cordless microphone from the keyboard tray and pressed a button. “I’ve got the pictures Rebecca and Logan sent up on the screen. You guys better come take a look.”

  Although each of them had personally seen the destruction the beast could wreak on a body when someone close to them had been killed, it was important for them to compare photos as each fresh kill occurred. They weren’t just looking to compare bodies. They were desperately looking for something that would give them a clue as to how the beast escaped without a trace except for that faint lingering aroma of turpentine.

  By the time everyone had gathered—most of them with fresh cups of coffee from the huge machine kept going at all times—Ric had also pulled up shots from the other kills on the screens to either side of the main one.

  “Those the ones from Montana?” Dante Martello asked. The former Chicago detective stood directly behind Ric.

  “That they are.” Swiping his fingers, Ric mixed and matched the photos until he had the ones he really wanted front and center. “No question about it. These are all the work of the same demented creature. If I placed these photos one on top of the other and lined up the bodies every puncture wound, every slice down the midsection would align precisely.”

  “If we could just figure out where these things came from.” Sam Brody’s voice was laced with frustration.

  Ric knew exactly how he felt. How they all felt.

  “Craig called,” Sophia told them. “His lab guys are working round the clock in shifts dissecting and analyzing every part of the bodies we’ve given them.”

  “Anything yet?” Sam asked hopefully.

  “Not much. They’re trying to separate the different strands of DNA they’ve found. But he said whoever’s creating and breeding these creatures has a real twisted mind. It’s almost as if they threw a bunch of animals in a mixer, hit the switch and this is what came out.”

  Chelsea Roland moved up to stand beside Ric’s chair and pointed at one of the pictures. Ric was interested in what she’d have to say, which up until now had been very little. She was the quietest of the group, but because she’d lost her sister to the Chupacabra she had been the most sympathetic to Chloe and her worry about Melinda.

  Now she studied the pictures, tilting her head to look from different angles.

  “Is anyone noticing the same thing I am?” she asked.

  Rich shrugged. “I think we’re all looking at how every puncture wound and slice matches so well.”

  “That’s what I mean. I’ve seen wild animal kills before. I even took some natural history courses in college. Many of them might kill in a pattern but not with this kind of precision. It’s almost as if it’s been programmed into them.”

  “That’s what Craig said too,” Sophia said. “If indeed a madman is creating them, his scientists have found a way to program their brains. Which is a very frightening thought. How have they found a way to do this and what else have they programmed into its brains?”

  No one answered her, the silence lying heavy in the room as the nightmare possibilities ran through their minds.

  Finally Ric cleared his throat. “Okay. Logan and Rebecca are meeting with the sheriff and one or two others this afternoon. Seems the sheriff somehow had a come-to-Jesus moment. They requested everything we got in so far on the DNA testing and any other pertinent reports from the lab. They’ll call after they’re finished and catch us up.” He swiveled in his chair to look at everyone. “Meanwhile, let’s pull up all the files on our terminals and go over everything bit by bit again. Maybe we’re missing something.”

  Muttering to themselves, the rest of the team sat down at their computers and soon keys were clicking as fingers flew over them.

  * * * * *

  Logan greeted the men at the door and waved them into the house. He led them into the kitchen where Rebecca was waiting. Mugs were set out on the counter next to the oversized coffee pot along with spoons, sugar and creamer. When everyone had a full mug and seated themselves at the table, Rance Danvers took a thick folder from the briefcase he’d carried in with him, opened it and spread its contents out on the table. Then he cleared his throat.

  “Here’s everything from the ranger’s killing,” he said to Logan and Rebecca, “along with those from Julie and Wade’s killings and their neighbor. I included the lab reports this time too.” He rubbed his face. “I don’t apologize easily, Logan, but that’s what I’m doing now. I just hope we catch this…whatever it is before we lose anyone else.”

  “Not any more than we do,” Logan told him.

  Rebecca was already sifting through the photographs, sharing them with Doug and Ford. Even thought Ford had filched copies to pass along to Logan this was probably the first time he’d really studied them. Matt too. Logan noticed a sick look on both faces.

  “There’s no way to soft-pedal this stuff,” Rebecca told them in a soft voice. “The first bodies I saw were my little nephews and I don’t think I’ll ever get that image out of my mind.”

  Matt lined up a selection of the crime scene photos, one from each location, and frowned as he studied them.

  “Problem?” Logan asked.

  “Just trying to get a feel for the type of location where the killings occur.” He pointed to one of the shots. “For example, this house looks like it’s out in the middle of nowhere. And here.” He pointed again. “And
here and here.”

  Logan nodded. “You’re absolutely right. The beast never comes into a crowded area. It’s almost as if, like everything else, it’s programmed to hunt only where it can’t be easily seen. Homes surrounded by acreage. Houses at the far end of a street at the end of town, far away from any of the others. An isolated spot by a river or a lake.”

  Rebecca picked up the thread. “The cases we just worked in Maine were like that. Aroostook County is much like this area here. Wide-open spaces with farmhouses or fish camps and nothing around them. And in the winter when snow covers the potato fields there’s practically no activity.”

  “Also,” Logan added, “unlike some of its previous kills, it now only attacks solo individuals. If there are two or more people, even if they’re out on snowmobiles or horseback, it seems to know to stay away.”

  “Because the other person might shoot it during the attack,” Ford guessed.

  “Yes. Which is some pretty advanced thinking for a creature like this.”

  “As Logan said, that wasn’t the case in earlier killings,” Rebecca told them. “You know Logan’s brother and sister-in-law were killed together and my twin nephews were killed at the same time. But we believe the beast has reassessed since then and now looks for solo prey.”

  “How is that even possible?” Doug asked.

  “Here’s another question for you.” Rance Danvers leaned forward on his elbows. “From what I read on the internet, this thing, whatever it is, never used to attack humans. Lonely animals. How do you account for the change?”

  “I’ll answer that. I’m a late addition to the team so I had a lot of the same questions.” Rebecca blew out a slow breath. “This is going to sound like something from an alien world, and we’re basically going by what our boss’s researchers have found from dissecting the bodies we’ve been able to deliver to them. But there’s been a lot of advanced work in artificial intelligence in the past several decades. Especially in this century. Scientists and neurologists have worked with computer experts to develop chips to implant in the human brain to repair damage to neurons and receptors.”

  “And,” Logan added, “it includes something called reflex programming. Doctors use it in people with nerve damage to learn to use certain muscles again. But these nuts are programming the chips to send certain signals to the devil beasts to behave in a certain way.”

  Ford picked up on it at once. “So you think someone’s creating chips with signals and information and implanting them in the brains of these creatures.”

  “Yes. Improving on whatever kind of brain they start with to program the Chupacabra to behave in a certain manner. To act specifically in specific instances.”

  “Jesus.” Doug blew out a breath. “This sounds like something out of a science fiction movie.”

  “I only wish.” Logan swallowed against the sudden bad taste in his mouth. “It would make life a lot easier. If you look at the reports I put out for you, it will give you an idea of what our lab scientists have come up with so far. It will tell you what strains of DNA they’ve identified so far, the kind of chips they’ve found implanted in brain tissue, things like that. Ford, I’ll print out a copy for you before you leave.”

  Ford looked at the copy Doug handed him and his eyes widened. “Holy shit!”

  “Uh huh. They’re still trying to identify how the chips are programmed and what kind of signals they give. We’ve got a long way to go on these, folks.”

  “Someone’s taken what was meant to be a scientific boon for health and perverted it,” Rebecca told them. “I’m not new to this and it still scares the hell out of me. Which is why it’s so critical to identify possible targets.”

  “We’ve got a hell of a lot of miles to search out here,” Rance pointed out. “Even if I put everyone on my staff on it with the two of you it would take us forever.”

  Rebecca shook her head. “We thought that at first in Maine. Aroostook County is two thousand square miles, at least three fourths of it sparsely populated.”

  “So what did you do?” Ford asked.

  “We actually got lucky. We kept tightening the size of the area where we searched and identifying possible targets. We discovered it never widened its hunting ground beyond a certain area. The beast struck at one of the targets and we killed it. At least that particular beast. But we can’t keep relying on luck. Too many more people can get killed.”

  “Damn straight,” Logan told them. “We have to figure out how to be more definitive in our search.”

  “But how is that possible?” Doug wanted to know.

  “When we got back to our home base,” Logan said, “we pulled out everything from the other killings we’d been investigating since Night Seekers was formed and studied them. It took us awhile but we finally figured out that not only does the beast kill in threes, it also kills within a specified radius. There have of course been some minor deviations from this pattern but at least it gives us a place to start.”

  “So.” Rebecca leaned forward and unfolded a map of the county the sheriff had brought. “Show me here where the ranger’s body was found.”

  Danvers took a pen from his pocket and made a mark on the spot.

  “Okay.” Rebecca held out her hand for his pen then drew a wide circle around the mark. “I’d need something a lot more accurate than eyeballing it to be correct but this is approximately the area we need to concentrate on.”

  “Isolated ranches,” Logan added. “Homes on the edge of town with no neighbors around and trees that give it some privacy.”

  Rebecca nodded. “In Maine we actually had one that was an anomaly but it turned out to be a killing faked to look like the Chupacabra had done it.”

  “We need to divide this into sections,” Ford spoke up. “We can each take a section and start searching.” He looked at Logan. “Does that sound like a plan to you? I think you and Miz Black are in the best position to give us guidance on this.”

  “The first thing we’d tell you is to take the heaviest artillery with you that you’ve got. Anything close to an assault rifle. Something that could take down a bear. Because this beast defies anything else you know about creatures.”

  “We also need to look for caves,” Rebecca told them. “Rock caves, ice caves, any place where the beast can hide out between its forays. Look for the carcasses of small animals. That’s how it usually slakes its thirst between human killings.”

  Danvers and his two men looked at each other.

  “Everyone here hunts,” he said. “If what my guys have isn’t enough I’ll make sure they get what they need.”

  “What about notifying people in the area?” Doug wanted to know. “I don’t want to start a panic but people ought to be aware of what’s happening.”

  “About that.” Logan exchanged a look with Rebecca. “I know this will really sound like something from weird science fiction, but there are indications this…thing…can also assume human shape.”

  Danvers slammed his hand down on the table. “Wait a minute, Logan. That’s just damn impossible. I’m going along with this because of what I dug up on the internet but changing to human form? That’s fucking impossible.”

  Logan shook his head. “Go back to your computer, Rance. Start looking up stuff on shapeshifters. It’s an unbelievable thing to get your mind around, but no more than some of the other stuff going on in the world today.

  He saw the skeptical expressions on the faces of Doug and Ford.

  “I know it sounds farfetched but the scientists we have working on this have done tons of research on the ability of certain species to shift and we think they’ve been able to re-create this as they breed these beasts.”

  I could show you but what would you think if I suddenly turned into a wolf here in this room?

  “Plus,” he added, “people that we questioned about previous victims had mentioned things like a new handyman who showed up on someone’s farm from out of nowhere. Another time someone said the man who was killed
had picked up a stray dog. In both cases the handyman and dog were nowhere to be found. Not even their bodies.”

  A heavy silence fell over the table.

  “Look,” Rebecca said. “We have to tell people something. What we did in Maine was warn them to be very wary of strangers, to be careful of wild animals invading their property and to always arm themselves before opening their doors or leaving their homes. Can you at least go along with that?”

  For a long moment no one said a word. Then Doug turned toward the sheriff.

  “Rance, whatever we do or don’t believe, we can’t ignore what’s in front of our eyes or take a chance with people’s lives.” He looked at Logan.

  “We need a map that has all the ranches and isolated homes on it within this circle. Also houses on the outskirts of towns that are in isolated situations. And we should travel in pairs. No one out there alone.”

  Danvers blew out a breath. “That’s still a lot of area to cover.”

  “We can do the same thing we did in Maine. Assign sections, use snowmobiles and never search alone. Rance, you can use guys in patrol cars to hit the outskirts of the towns. They’ll know who’s in the most danger. The rest of us can partner up.” He looked at Rebecca and grinned. “How are you at riding a horse?”

  “A horse?” She blinked. “I’ve done some recreational riding. Why?”

  “Because there may be some places more accessible to us on horseback. We’ll see. Okay, everyone. How soon can we get this show on the road?

  “Unless we have a sudden crime wave we should be able to start out first thing in the morning,” Doug said. “Leave a skeleton crew to handle anything that comes up.”

  “I’ll tell the night patrols to be on the lookout for anything strange,” Rance put in. “Anything at all. And to call it in before they do anything. That way we can get started.”