Necropolis PD

by Nathan Sumsion

  “Greystone is a total hard-on-inducing, drop-dead gorgeous bombshell, you knucklehead. She drives half the office crazy wishing she had a body of flesh. I thought there was something wrong with you that you weren’t drooling all the time or walking around with a permanent boner.”

  “I thought it was just a dead thing, you thinking she was so stunning.”

  “She’s really a bowzer, huh? That’s disappointing.”

  “No! She is beautiful. She just evidently looks different to me than she does to everyone else,” I say, feeling dirty for saying it. Greystone is my . . . Well, she’s my friend, I guess. It doesn’t feel right to talk about her that way. “Look, I’ve always thought she was attractive, but I figured it wasn’t appropriate to dwell on it. I mean, I’m like a stray dog you guys have adopted. What good would it do to pine after her?”

  Ms. Greystone? I think. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.

  “Please leave me alone, Detective.” I hear her think back, followed by a sensation of a door slamming shut in my mind.

  I sigh loudly. “I’m so confused.”

  Marsh shakes his head ruefully. “I still can’t believe that’s how you’ve always seen her.”

  “So how are you supposed to look?” I ask him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, do you have a glamour on?”

  “Nope. What you see is what you get, kid,” he says proudly.

  “I guess that makes sense. No one would choose to look like that on purpose.”

  I see his fist coming just in time to roll with it as he punches my shoulder.

  “What does this mean?” I ask him, switching back to a serious tone again, while rubbing feeling back into my shoulder. “The seeing through glamours?”

  Marsh considers silently for a moment. We hang on as the carriage rounds a corner, and I recognize the sound of the bridge leading back to the precinct.

  “We’re going to have to speak to the captain.”

  What was it Frank said? What are vampires, Jake? They are demons that have taken over some poor soul’s body. But is that true? Will letting the captain know I’m a Seer be a death sentence?

  “Marsh, are you sure we have to? Didn’t Greystone just say Seers were hunted down and killed?”

  “I’m sure she exaggerated. You’re alive, aren’t you?”

  I shrug. Barely alive.

  “Oh!” Marsh says excitedly as the carriage comes to a stop. “Tell me quick. The captain. What does he look like?”

  Hesitantly, I say, “Bald. Veiny. Red eyes. Gathers shadows around him. Kind of short.”

  “Holy shit, Green!” he laughs as he opens the door. “You might want to keep that to yourself from now on. He doesn’t look that way to me at all!”

  Great. I’m not going to die at all in the next few minutes or anything. Everything’s going to be fine.

  “Let’s go talk to the captain,” I say, resigned.

  Chapter 33

  Marsh knocks on the captain’s door, then opens it and walks in without waiting for an answer. I follow nervously in his wake. The captain’s chair is behind his desk but facing away from us. The back is tall enough that we can’t see if he’s sitting there or not. It is facing the large window behind his desk, overlooking the city under a dark, cloud-covered sky.

  “Captain, need to talk to you,” Marsh says to the back of the chair.

  The chair slowly spins around. Radu is there, after all, his hands clasped below his chin, fingertips touching in a steeple over his lips.

  As if on cue, as my worry rises, the door behind us swings closed on its own.

  “Please, Detectives, entrez. Do come in,” Captain Radu says, his tone dripping with displeasure.

  Marsh just stands there, looking smugly at the captain. He appears to be in no hurry to speak. I glance at him uncertainly, but he ignores me.

  Great. I guess it’s up to me then.

  “Captain, what do you know about Seers?” I ask.

  One eyebrow arches slightly. He lowers both hands to clutch the armrests of his chair, and he leans back a bit. “What do you know about them, Detective?”

  “They see the truth of things. They see through glamours. Detect lies.”

  I pause.

  “Go on,” Radu encourages.

  “They were thought to have been killed off. You guys, well, supernatural creatures, I mean. You killed them all off. Thought they were a danger.”

  Radu nods. “Yes. Continue. This has bearing to the case why?”

  “Well, because I think I am one. A Seer, I mean.”

  He doesn’t blink or react in any way. I stand uncomfortably, waiting. Marsh looks amused.

  “Yes, obviously you are a Seer, Green,” Radu says with no emotion as if I’d told him the sky is blue. Well, cloudy in our case.

  “You knew?” Marsh and I say in unison.

  “Of course, I knew. I could smell it in his blood when we first met. I have tasted the blood of enough Seers in my time to recognize its scent. Had I not known he was a Seer, I would have killed him immediately to protect the existence of our city.”

  This statement does not put me at ease.

  “Given the situation we are experiencing, I thought the presence of a Seer would be to our advantage. We have traditionally slaughtered Seers in the past to protect against the knowledge of our existence becoming widely known. Detective Green here is already in our city. There’s no reason to keep knowledge from him now that he is here and cannot leave.”

  I can’t decide whether to be relieved or terrified right now. “If you’ve known all this time, why didn’t you say something, sir?” I ask.

  He stares impassively. “As I’ve said, I’ve met many Seers in my time. And while it is a natural gift that is passed down through family lines, merely having the gift is not enough. Plenty of Seers went mad with their insights, or ignored them, or misinterpreted them for their convenience. Not all Seers have the same sorts of abilities. I suppose someone can explain it to you at some point in the future.

  “You needed to understand what you can do. I have been waiting to see if you would be able to put it to use or not. And you have definitely proven yourself more pragmatic than many of your ilk. You tend to accept things at face value, without prejudice. I believe you will make a valuable, permanent addition to the squad.”

  He pauses, weighing his words. I don’t know why he bothers choosing his words carefully; it’s not like he’s been anything but blunt so far.

  “We will need to take care that news of your gift does not become too widespread. Many still fear Seers, and rightly so. People with your gift were responsible for hunting down and exterminating many of our kind. There are still those here who remember those times and were directly affected by them. You could be killed simply for being who you are, which is ironic since that is what your kind did to us down through the ages.”

  I nod dumbly. What is there to say? I’m not responsible for what my ancestors may have done. It’s a stupid reason for someone to hate you. But what can I do other than just try to prove them wrong?

  “Well, we’ve managed to figure out that I can see through these glamours you guys use. I can I hear lies told. Most of the time.”

  Radu nods. “You’ve figured out that what you see isn’t necessarily what the rest of us see?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “That’s what drove many of you Seers insane, seeing things that no one else could. Seeing doors where others saw none, for example.”

  I knew it! I’d shout out loud if it wouldn’t attract attention. I’d shout in my head, but I think I’ve done enough to upset Greystone.

  “But the more pressing question: are you feeling insane, Detective?”

  “I’m standing next to a hulking corpse, I’m friends with a ghost, and I’m talk
ing to a vampire. Even you have to admit, that’s a little crazy.”

  I see a corner of Radu’s mouth twitch. That’s probably as close to a smile as I’ve ever seen on him. “Very well, Detective Green. I’ll accept that you aren’t currently insane. And you should accept that you will see things differently from the rest of us.

  “Out of curiosity, which one of you finally figured it out? You being a Seer I mean? Detective Meints has known for the better part of a week now.”

  Marsh scowls at this. I’m too embarrassed to admit that I didn’t figure out, Frank had to point it out to me.

  Finally, Marsh nods his head towards me. “The kid started asking questions about Seers. He connected the dots.”

  “I see,” Radu says. “So, we have established that you are a Seer. What now?”

  “What now?” Marsh repeats back, confused. “We thought you should know . . . what you already know, I guess.”

  Well, here goes nothing.

  “Actually, I do have something to bring up,” I say, swallowing nervously. How do I talk about this without revealing Frank?

  Radu sits up and cocks his head curiously. “Detective, your heart rate just elevated. You’re nervous. No, scared. What is it?”

  “I think I know who is committing these murders.”

  “What the what?” Marsh exclaims, turning on me. “And you’re just saying this now?”

  “Yes, Detective?” Radu prompts.

  I’m having a hard time saying it, but I finally force it out. “It’s a demon. I mean, I’m pretty sure. A demon.”

  Marsh is staring at me with his mouth hanging open. Twice in one night, I should write it down. He speaks to the captain while still looking at me. “Uh, captain, I swear I didn’t know he was going to—”

  Radu waves his hand to silence Marsh. “Hush, Marsh. Vas-y. Continue, Detective Green.”

  “I’ve been doing some digging on my own, and I’m pretty sure that a demon is doing these killings. He’s forcing the spirits out of the bodies somehow.”

  “A demon. Interesting,” the captain says, deep in thought.

  “Heh. A demon. Right, kid. See, like I told you earlier, there’s no such thing as demons.”

  “Of course there are, Detective,” Radu interrupts, leaning back in his chair. “And I fear Detective Green might be on to something here.”

  “What’s that now?” Marsh asks, confused.

  “Demons do exist, I can assure you. We are just overlooked, immune from their attention. Or at least, I had assumed so for centuries. But if you are correct, Detective Green, this would explain a lot.”

  Marsh’s gears are still spinning, trying to wrap his head around this revelation. Captain Radu leans forward in his chair, pinning me with his gaze. “But what this doesn’t explain is why Detective Green’s heart rate jumped as he prepared to explain this to me. What else is there?”

  I really wish I could run out of here and never come back. My head spins trying to come up with a convincing lie. I can’t tell them that I’m terrified I might accidentally say something that reveals Frank’s true nature, and then he’ll persecute me to death in retaliation. I can’t say anything that even leads suspicion to Frank. But I do have another worry, close at hand, that may help me to conceal the truth of my concern.

  “Well, sir. Vampires . . . aren’t they— Well, aren’t they demons, sir?”

  A flurry of thoughts pass through the captain’s eyes, but he relaxes and leans back again. “I am beginning to see the problem here. You fear I am a demon. And a demon is responsible for the killings. You fear that I am somehow involved or wish to keep it a secret and that I will work in some way to silence you.”

  He stares at me intently. I try to speak, but can’t, so I just nod instead.

  “We are sometimes referred to as demons, or our bloodthirst is attributed to unholy forces. But I assure you, Detective, I am not a body housing a demon. I want to solve this series of murders and bring it to a stop.”

  I have a hard time reading the captain sometimes, but this time I can tell he is radiating absolute sincerity. Not to say he isn’t dangerous or that he won’t kill me if he decides to. But he doesn’t appear to be working against us.

  “This is crazy,” Marsh mutters.

  “Detective Green is correct, we may be looking at a demon here. So, what does that mean to the case?”

  I think about this for a minute. I’ve been mulling over some possibilities ever since I had my conversation with Frank.

  “I don’t think anyone on our squad is a demon, sir,” I explain. “I think I can recognize them or spot them.”

  “Seriously?” Marsh asks. I’ll admit it, I feel a little smug seeing Marsh trying to keep up with things for once.

  I nod and continue. As I was able to sense something off with Frank, maybe I can look for similar oddities around others to flush them out. “But I think someone may be working with him. I don’t know why, but someone has removed those files from our file room. I think we need to figure out who is working against us on the team before we can make any progress on tracking down the killer.”

  Radu stares at me intently. “Yes. This makes sense. How do you propose to do this?”

  The way he asks it makes me think he already knows the answer. But I answer anyway. “I’ll need to ask them.”

  “You are going to interrogate the fellow members of your squad?” the captain asks.

  “Yes,” I sigh. “I’m going to ask each of them—one at a time, point-blank—if they stole the files.”

  “Detective Green, if the wrong person finds out that you are a Seer, your life could be in great danger,” the captain cautions.

  I look over at Marsh. He nods back at me. “Don’t worry, kid. I’ve got your back.”

  “Let’s do it,” I say.

  Radu grins, a genuine smile, exposing sharp fangs and making his eyes blaze red. It’s terrifying.

  “I’ll start calling them in,” he says eagerly.

  Chapter 34

  I’ve had some long days recently, but none have felt longer than today.

  We have a plan. Captain Radu will call in each member of the squad, and we’ll confront each of them individually. Marsh will do the questioning, and I’ll read their responses and ask any necessary follow-ups. Radu will glower menacingly.

  I’m supposed to know if someone is guilty. If I think someone is guilty, I’ll let Radu know afterward, so we can try and confront him while his guard is down. The captain is pretty confident he can tell when I’m lying since I’m still living—something about the scent of my sweat and the rhythm of my heart—so he’ll make sure I don’t frame anyone. And that’s apparently all the evidence we need.

  Greystone floats through the door without knocking. She doesn’t say anything and avoids my gaze. Radu called her in to help. I want to talk to her, but I can tell she really doesn’t want to speak to me right now. Sighing, I resign to put it off until later.

  “Who’s first, captain?” Marsh asks. He starts to lean against the captain’s desk, catches Radu’s expression, and quickly changes his mind. We have three chairs set up, one facing the other two. Radu will oversee from behind his desk. Even with the large piece of furniture between us, he feels uncomfortably close.

  “You are, Marsh,” the captain says, ominously.

  “Eh, what?”

  “Before I drag the whole squad through this, a squad of men I have personally vetted myself and trust absolutely, I want to make sure neither of you is obfuscating the truth. Detective Green, start asking him questions.”

  Marsh turns to me, crosses his arms across his chest, scowling. “Yeah, kid, knock yourself out.”

  Great.

  “Detective Marsh,” I begin. I glance at Greystone, but she is still determinedly avoiding my gaze. No help there. “Did you take any files from the s
torage room?”

  Marsh meets my gaze without flinching. “No.”

  “Do you have any involvement with the murders that have been happening around town?”

  “Just trying to find the bastard that did it.”

  “Are you a jackass all the time, or just around me?”

  “It’s all for you, buddy.”

  I glance at Captain Radu and see him scowling. I hastily ask, “Any other questions?”

  “That depends on how truthfully you feel he answered,” the captain replies, his eyes boring into mine.

  My mouth is a little dry. “Well, he answered the first two questions honestly. The last one, he wasn’t telling the truth on that one.”

  “Heh,” Marsh chuckles.

  “Very well, Detectives. Let’s begin. Since we’ve already had him in here, let’s bring in Armstrong first. Ms. Greystone, if you would be so kind?”

  She nods and floats out. I move over to the chair next to Marsh. I open up a notebook, grab a pencil, and doodle nervously while I wait. After an incredibly long stretch of about thirty seconds, Greystone returns followed by Armstrong.

  Armstrong stops on the threshold of the office and eyes us suspiciously. He stares at me a little longer than everyone else.

  “Captain. What’s this?”

  “Enter, Detective Armstrong. Have a seat. These detectives have some questions for you.”

  He grumbles as he walks over to the seat. “Want to try and blow my cover on something else now?”

  Armstrong sits down, folds his arms across his chest, and stares expectantly at me.

  Marsh gets his attention. “We’re going to ask you a couple things, Armstrong. Just tell us the truth, and you can get out of here.”

  “The truth, is it? Are you sure that’s what you’re after?” He glares at me accusingly.

  “Calm down, Armstrong. It ain’t like that,” Marsh tries to placate him.

  “Really? Maybe you can explain what it’s like then.”

  “Look. You know the storeroom? You remember those files that have gone missing. You the one that took them?”