A police photographer was snapping away pictures when Ren noticed me coming up behind her. She stood to meet me before I could clearly see the body.
“Sorry again for interrupting your fancy dinner. You look great by the way, but next time I’d choose a different belt,” she spoke with little clouds of breath in the falling snow.
I turned so she could see the guns at my back. She smiled and nodded at the guns, pushing a stray lock of hair back behind her ear in a constant battle to keep it out of her face since she refused to tie her hair back or cut it shorter.
“That explains the belt. Down to business. The body was found four hours ago. It took forever for us to get through channels and get a team out here. Then it was over an hour before they called me in, once they finally realized this matched up with the Jacob killings. And it took me over forty-five minutes to track you down. Anyway, forensics have already done all they can with the crime scene. After you take a look everyone can pack up and go home. . . . Look, the body has some of the same marks of the other Jacob victims. But, this one is different. Very different. No one has ever seen anything like it. Its, well . . . creepy.” She shivered with a fleeting glance behind her, over her shoulder.
Okay, for Ren to say its creepy means it’s something I really do not want to look at. Great, just great. Here I go again. Why can’t the psycho murderers ever kill nicely?
“Well, let’s take a look and let everyone else get in out of the cold.”
Ren nodded at me then stepped out of the way. I’d just noticed then that all of the officers were standing away from the body looking out towards the street. They all also looked a bit green. That was not a good sign. The photographer rushed past me. He fell to his knees emptying his stomach in the alley.
Oh, that is sooo not a good sign.
I stepped closer to the body. The corpse’s smell of rotten watermelon grew as I got closer. My shields had filtered out the smell from a distance, but I had to make them stronger to keep out the smell that close. It took me a few solid minutes to understand what I was seeing. It looked like a naked blow up doll that had been massively over-inflated and left in the snow. Blank eyes were open and staring up at nothing with a look of frozen horror. The right arm was missing. The remaining stump looked like a creamy blood colored balloon. Bite marks covered the body in little raised bumps.
Ren knelt next to the body pointing at it with her pen. “Each bite has sealed over. The mouth and nose have been sealed shut by some sort of thick waxy substance. The eyes have even been sealed to the open eyelids. As far as we can check, every opening whether wound or orifice has been sealed. Then it was like the body was liquefied inside. Here, look at this.”
She tapped her always gloved finger against the shoulder of the body. A rippling wave shook through the entire body like shaking a filled water balloon. Creepy, weird even, but not something that made me feel sick. Why didn’t it make me sick? It was disturbing to me that the scene was not bothering me like it did everyone else. What’s wrong with me? Does the body simply look so inhuman I don’t care? Am I getting too used to the carnage of death?
I stepped around Ren to the head. I had to kneel down in the snow to see the branding burn behind the left ear. That was one of Jacob’s marks all right. So what in the hell did this? The right side of the neck had three holes in it. Something with three large fangs had torn into the neck before the wounds sealed over.
“What bit the neck?” I asked pointing at the wounds.
“No clue. I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it.”
Not that I’m an expert or anything.
I touched the skin lightly. Ren didn’t stop me. She knew my shields worked better than her own gloves did. I wouldn’t get anything on me, and I couldn’t contaminate the evidence. Even through my shields I could tell the skin was thin and tight under pressure.
“What now?”
“Now we let the coroner crew take the body back to the morgue for an autopsy.” She stood up motioning a group forward.
The crew was wearing HAZMAT suits like they had in the movies about a killer virus.
Why in the world are they dressed like that? I know I haven’t been to many crime scenes, but is it normal for them to wear those? And if they need them, what about the rest of us?
They placed a body bag on the ground next to the body. Each of the yellow plastic covered men took up a place around the body. With a signal they began to slowly lift.
The body was stuck to the ground. I saw the tear form on the leg an instant before the body ruptured. Reeking fluid flooded the ground at our feet. Ren gasped as the milky-red liquid was coming at her. I used my shields to lift her up out of the way. Liquid crashed against my shields, never touching me or my heels. The smell of rotten meat and outhouse filled the alley, overtaking the rotten watermelon smell of the corpse. It was strong enough that I had a hard time blocking it even with my shields. Others couldn’t block out the smell at all. Officers began to get sick all through the alley.
“Get bio-hazard containment up right now!” One of the plastic covered men yelled. “Everyone clear the area!”
Don’t have to tell me twice.
Ren was floating in the air with the help of my shields. I willed her over to me. Once we were far enough away not to have to walk in the mess I put her down.
“Thanks, that was . . . disturbing.” She looked green.
* * *
It took over three full hours to clean up the mess. Afterwards everyone that was in the alley was transported to the hospital to be checked out for contamination. One of the doctors was afraid it was a biological agent that liquefied the girl and he had contacted the CDC. They were afraid that the remains had become contagious and forced everyone to be examined. Because of my shields, Ren and I were completely clean. But, it took me threatening -- almost violently so -- to arrest the doctors for obstruction of duty as well as unlawful detainment, before they allowed us to leave. It was one in the morning when Ren pulled up in front of my apartment building.
“Do you have plans for today? I want to go ask Douglas Adams some more questions,” Ren said. She still looked a little green.
Douglas Adams was the vampire I’d followed out the 104th floor window of the Dark Towers a while back. He’d been caught on tape raping one of Jacob’s victims before they killed her.
“What time do you want me to meet you?”
“How about nine? That way we can both clean up and try to get a little rest.”
“Okay, I’ll meet you at your office then.”
With that I left the car and went inside. The ever vigilant Charles waited for me by the elevators as always. Charles was a wall of a man in his long red coat that made him look like a bellhop on steroids. His time was spent as a door guard.
I don’t think he ever sleeps or takes a break.
He rode up with me to my apartment. I told him goodnight and left him in the elevator. I used the key card to unlock the doors then opened them.
When the doors were half opened the light in the entryway came on. I looked inside for Mary, but didn’t see her. What the hell is going on?
Mary was my seventeen-year-old live-in housekeeper. Emmy had found her for me. When we first met, I’d almost shot her thinking she was a werewolf. Since then we’ve become good friends.
I closed the doors and made my way in. As soon as I passed the archway into the living room the lights turned off in the entry room. Sounds came from the kitchen. Is Mary still up at this hour?
I opened the door to the kitchen slowly. The smell of freshly baked brownies drew me into the room. Mary stood over the oven in her pajamas and fuzzy bunny slippers. Her thick and wavy red hair was tied back into a bun that she’d covered with a tied kerchief. She was fanning a pan of steaming brownies.
“Welcome home. I woke up and wanted a snack. Would you like a fresh brownie?” Mary was all smiles as always.
“Sounds
great, smells even better.”
Mary set the small kitchen table for our snack. Sometimes she was almost too efficient. It was like she knew just when I was going to be home, and whether or not I would be hungry. Almost like she was psychic, or could she be a psionic? Should I ask her to get tested?
“There was a call for you tonight from a collection agency. They said you were past due on your payments. Something about a vacation you took last year. I just told them you were out. Not that it is any of my business, but have you ever looked at the mail at all? The pile just gets bigger, and I haven’t seen you open any of it.” She sat a large chunk of brownie and a glass of milk in front of me then sat down with her own.
“Mary, Emmy told you that I had an accident that messed up my memory right? Well I just don’t feel right going through the mail. It feels like I’m looking through someone else’s private life. I suppose that there are bills to pay though. Do you know where my checkbook is?”
“I placed it on your desk earlier. I also sorted out the mail as best I could. The top of the stack is anything that looks like a bill.”
“Mary, what would I do without you?”
“Suffer I suppose.” We both laughed and ate.
“What is the deal with the lights in the entry room?”
Mary had to swallow before she could speak. “Oh that. I told Charles about the night we first met. He installed a motion detector on the lights in the entry room while you were out. That way there is always a light on when you come home regardless of the hour. We can change the program if you want.”
“No it’s fine, I just didn’t know you’d done it was all.”
Mary cleaned up after our snack and went back to bed. Not quite ready for sleep, I went into the bedroom, reluctant to start on the bills. In my old life paying the bills was a problem. There was never enough money to go around, but now I had the money. This would be different.
I sat down at the desk. The mail was in a neat stack on one side, the checkbook and a pen in the center of the desk. On the other side was a notepad with a note on it.
Out to lunch, see you at the meeting tonight. Kieran Grey.
Under that was another note in a different handwriting.
Thought you might need to practice your signature, Emmy.
Sure, alright. Come to think of it, I’ve never really paid attention to my handwriting in this body.
I opened the pen. Instantly my signature looked just like the writing from the old Kieran without practice.
Thank goodness. Okay, now for the bills.
It took longer to open the envelopes and sort the mail then to write the few checks I had to. I was done in under ten minutes.
Bills aren’t as painful when you have money to pay them. Speaking of, I never paid off the student loans from my old life. I wonder if I should? Oh well, I’ll ask Emmy about that later.
I stripped completely, then went to bed. It was just habit to sleep au natural now. The beds in the apartment were all made of some sort of expensive custom made memory foam. I’d found out that my bed alone cost over eight thousand dollars by the time you added shipping and taxes. I’ll admit that it was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept on. Even though I had never paid eight thousand for a used car, much less a bed. The bed was finally becoming familiar enough to me though, that when I woke up, it felt like home.
Chapter 3
Mary woke me up in time to get dressed and eat before meeting Ren. I wore my low-rise hip hugger jeans with a grey thong peeking out; boots with a half-shirt covering my bra and baring my midriff at the same time, along with my guns covered by my leather jacket. Nothing fancy. I was just going to interrogate a vampire. Not really a reason to dress up.
Wait a minute! It just dawned on me. I’ve never driven since I became Kieran.
I had to ask Mary where my keys were. She told me that all of my keys are with the valets in the parking garage next door. If I knew which of my cars I wanted, I could just call down and they’d have it waiting for me out front by the time I got there. I didn’t know what I even owned for cars.
No better time to find out then now.
The guys in the parking garage were surprised that I didn’t just call. They don’t seem to get many visitors in person. I found out that I owned more than a dozen vehicles in the garage. I even had others in storage elsewhere.
It’s like my oversized closet, just how do I decide what to drive?
They had security monitors on each vehicle in the garage. I got to sit down behind their desk as they switched the views on the monitor for me, letting me see each car I owned. They all acted like I was some spoiled rich girl who never paid attention to what I owned. I however felt like a kid in a candy shop. We flipped through four different sports cars, and then it showed a street racing motorcycle. I own a superbike, cool. Always wanted a street bike. The next car up made my jaw drop. It was a McLaren F1.
“That one, I want to drive that one!” I pointed at the screen.
“Right away Miss.” One of the valets took off for the elevator.
It only took three minutes for him to drive the fancy ground hugging silver sports car to the entrance. The scissor style car door cycled straight up instead of opening out like a regular car door. The valet climbed out offering his hand to help me get in, so I took it. The fancy thing about the McLaren was that it had three seats. The driver sat in the middle of the car instead of on one side or the other.
The driver’s seat felt like it was custom made for me. Right above the steering wheel was a small TV instead of a rearview mirror. I had drooled over pictures of this car in my old life, now I owned one. I thanked the guys and drove off into the city. It drove even better than I had imagined. I was in love with the car all over again.
* * *
It was just before nine when I reached the police station. I parked my fancy car in the visitor’s lot and went in. The desk sergeant was waving to me as I came through the door.
“Officer Grey! Detective Michaels is already in the interrogation room. She wanted me to send you straight to her when you arrived.”
“Thank you.”
I wondered for a second how he knew who I was, and then I remembered my badge hanging around my neck. It was the same as wearing a giant name tag. There weren’t many GCP field officers openly walking around the city, most of them worked undercover or away from the public at least.
The hallway outside the interrogation rooms was filled with officers, uniform and plainclothes. They were all staring through a two-way mirror. I quietly joined them. Ren was inside screaming in the face of the vampire I’d caught jumping out of the high-rise downtown. She would scream at him, he would snap his fangs at her. It didn’t seem to be going well.
“Hundred bucks says no one can get him to talk.” It was the small officer in the same brown suit that had begged me to spare the life of the rookie that had shot at me back at the hospital a couple of weeks ago, after sexually harassing me.
“I’ll take that bet,” I announced.
Everyone in the hall turned to look at me. Then they all moved hurriedly away from me once they saw who I was, like I had the plague or something. The brown suit’s eyes grew wide when he saw me. He started shaking a little.
I guess he’s afraid of me. Gee, I wonder why?
“Stay here, I’ll be back for my money shortly.” I sauntered past him dragging my finger across his chin. It was an evil thing to do, but it was fun to tease him. I swore he was choking down a scream.
I entered the room as the vampire tried to bite Ren again. It was shackled to the reinforced metal chair that was bolted to the floor. There was no way he could stand up, or get close enough to bite, but it didn’t stop him from trying.
Ren looked exhausted. She was covered in sweat. The look she shot me was not a pleasant one.
Did I do something wrong?
“Finally, you’re here,” she growled at me in a disgusted tone.
“I’m sorry? I thought you said
nine, its only ten ‘till. Did I have the wrong time?”
“No, sorry. I started without you. This stubborn son of a bitch won’t talk. I’m just about to start beating him.”
“Go ahead. Remember the Council said that anyone that stood in the way of catching Jacob was fair game. We can beat him until he is a bloody pool, and no one can stop us.”
“You maybe. I’m still a cop. I have rules to follow.”
I took off my coat hanging it on the chair across the table from Douglas Adams. I had an evil grin on my face. “Then allow me to influence him a little.”
Ren shrugged her shoulders then took a seat in the chair I’d hung my coat on. I strolled slowly towards the vamp -- knowing full well that we had an audience in the hallway. He just stared at me with a look of fear on his face. When I was next to him I placed my hand on his shoulder. He cringed under my touch. I slid my hand back and forth over his back and shoulders, giving a good show to all that watched.
Okay, perhaps I’m enjoying this a little too much. I’ll admit it is fun to tease someone like this. So, I have a little sadistic streak in me. Doesn’t everyone?
I leaned in close to whisper in his ear. I kept my voice low so no one else could hear me. “You are already dead.” His eyes went wild. “Either you answer my questions and I kill you nicely, or I just wait until dark and turn you over to the Council and let them have you. I am fully authorized by them to kill you, and I will. One way or another, you will die before the next sunrise. Choose your death.”
He jerked and struggled to get out of the chair. I placed both my hands on his shoulders pushing him down with my shields against his inhuman strength. He turned to look up at my face.
“I’ll never talk!” he spat at me.
I whispered in his ear again. “You just did. See, it’s not hard. Just tell me what I want to hear. Tell me about Jacob. Tell me who all is with him, where he is hiding, tell me everything.”
Revenge's Web (Kieran Grey Psionic Hunter) Page 2