by Howard, Paul
White scrapped a trace of something from under the fingernail of the index finger of the left hand. He gently took the glob and put it in the tissue. The two of the looked at it closely; it was a blue, slimy material. Sam’s eyes widened with horror.
“Is that what I think it is?” Sam asked.
“Ectoplasmic residue!” White replied. He looked up at the coroner’s examiner. “I want complete forensics on these fingernails. Extra special attention, and get the lab results to me right away. Understood?” The examiner nodded. A uniformed officer came into the room and looked around.
“Is there an Inspector White in here?”
Sam raised his hand and said, “Yo!”
He pointed to White. The officer approached them.
“You got a call from Captain Brawly,” the officer reported, “He says you’re to check in with him as soon as you finish here. And he means quick, he’s got the Chief with him.” White nodded, Sam looked at him with a frown on his face.
“What did we do now?”
Chapter Fourteen: Freezing Darkness
The Chief sat at Brawly’s desk and quietly read the report on the Morrison case. Without reaction or expression, he kept flipping the pages as Brawly, White, and Josephson sat across from him patiently. When he had read enough he switched off the tablet and drummed on it with his fingers. Little beads of sweat formed on his balding brow. He finally looked up at Brawly.
“This is a goddamned mess, Fred.” he softly exclaimed. He looked at White with steel-gray eyes that looked like they could strike a man down, and had been known to on occasion. “I agree with your assessment of Lisa Warren, White. You have her under twenty-four hour surveillance?”
“Yes, sir.” White replied.
“I’m not sure of what good that will do,” the Chief added, “If Morrison does show up, what could we do about it? He’s a spook so our weapons are useless. Even if we hauled him in with sheer numbers, he would go into this remission thing and walk right out through the walls of the jail!” He gestured with his arms in frustration.
“They call it Phase 2.” White replied.
“This thing is a powder keg waiting to blow up in all our faces,” the Chief said, “If the press gets a hold of this we could have a panic. Everybody would catch hell over it.”
He looked at the desk top thinking to himself.
“How could a thing like this happen?” he asked. “Two prisoners smuggle his body right out from under the noses of Corrections, Phoenix infuses a monster and makes him invincible.” He sighed.
“All our asses are in a big sling here. He’s already killed three people in two days. What does Phoenix say about this?”
“They say it was sabotage,” Brawly said, “White thinks his sister was behind it, and so do I.”
“What does Bell say about it?” the Chief asked.
“We haven’t been able to reach him,” Brawly replied, “They say he’s ‘indisposed’.” The steel-gray eyes flashed at his statement.
“Indisposed?” the Chief snapped. “We don’t know what that means do we?” The three of them shook their heads as one. He took a long sigh and folded his hands in front of him. “We’ll continue the surveillance on Lisa Warren since she’s our only chance at locating him,” the Chief ordered, “Jacobson; you’re going to be in charge of that.”
This really surprised White, his first thought was that he had really angered the Chief and was facing reassignment. He concealed his disappointment, but Brawly knew what was on his mind.
“We need Phoenix to get involved here,” the Chief continued, “We don’t know how to stop him, or destroy him. We’ve got a monster loose in this city. Phoenix is the only chance we have of finding a way. White, you’re going up there. I want you to make sure that this scientist, Dr. Bell, gets himself un-indisposed.”
“Yes, sir,” White responded, “I’ll take the next shuttle up there.” The Chief looked directly into his eyes and stood up.
“You’ll go up to the helipad and have them take you straight to John Wayne,” he ordered. “You’re going in the Department’s Shuttle. I want Phoenix to see an LAPD black and white landing in their port so they know this is official, and we mean business!”
White’s eyes beamed with approval and he let a hint of a smile cross his lips. “Yes, sir!” he replied. The Chief looked them over with calm determination on his face.
“Let’s move gentlemen,” he said, “The fat’s in the fire and every second counts!”
*****
White felt encouraged by the Chief’s understanding of the crisis, taking a cop’s approach to the problem and facing it head-on. He was also very pleased by the Chief’s order to use the Department Shuttle. On approach to Phoenix, White had the flashing blue and yellow landing strobes turned on to increase the effect.
The overall impact of a black and white pulling into Phoenix went as planned. Many employees could feel the hackles at the backs of their necks tingle as the ship pulled up to the port. An official party was there to greet White as he got out of the shuttle. He brought two uniformed officers in his entourage to follow-up on his investigations. This also had an effect on the people at Phoenix.
If they didn’t realize the severity of the situation before, White was determined to make sure that they realized it now. Declining all non-essential accommodations, including a splendid lunch, he set straight to work on his task; serving a subpoena for all data files concerning the Morrison infusion and all subsequent matters arising from it.
He then interviewed Knott and the Security Chief of Phoenix. He had also intended to interview Valby, who had just been infused, but relented when he saw the state of his disorientation.
Finally, he demanded a personal interview with Dr. Bell himself, which was granted, but to him alone. No officers could accompany him to the Executive Suite. Once he got there, he understood why.
He was ushered to an elevator with guards posted at the door. After going up thirty stories, he found himself in the lobby of a reception area which was completely deserted except for Dr. Bell’s personal secretary. A woman with dark brown hair in her fifties, she rose from her desk and greeted White warmly as he came off of the elevator.
“Inspector White, I am Gloria Brooks. Dr. Bell’s personal secretary.”
They shook hands and she led him to a pair of chairs in the lobby. He sat down and she took the other one. Her manner was very direct and it struck him as somewhat odd at first.
“Before you meet Dr. Bell,” she began, “There are some things that need to be explained.”
This statement intrigued White and he nodded expectantly. She folded her hands in her lap and leaned closer.
“Dr. Bell has always led a fastidious lifestyle. Every day after breakfast he would go to the spa on the lower level for a personal workout. Calisthenics.
“Four years ago, during a strenuous routine, he felt a sharp pain in his head and collapsed. It was a massive cerebral hemorrhage. He was dead when he hit the floor.”
White gasped with astonishment. He had never heard anything about Bell’s death, nobody had.
“As per his instructions,” she continued, “He was given the longest-term infusion possible: ninety-two years. It was his order that no one be told about it. Only a handful of his most devoted staff are aware of it.
“He is now at the last stage of Phase 2 remission. The stress of the murder, the wrongful infusion, the tampering, and the security breach brought the remission on. He is aware of the situation, and is gravely concerned about what is happening down there on Earth. That is why he has agreed to give you an audience, even under these circumstances.”
White frowned and began to bristle at her suggestion. “Give me an audience?” he snapped indignantly. She cut him off at once, completely unfazed by his reaction.
“You should prepare yourself for what you are about to experience. The lights in his office are turned on, but you won’t see them. You will be in darkness unlike anything you have ever
experienced before, and don’t ask me to explain why. Only the dead understand these things, and they never tell.” She stood up and turned toward the door twenty feet to her left.
“He will see you now.”
White got up slowly and walked to the door. He stopped in front of it and looked over his shoulder at her. She smiled gently and gave him an encouraging nod. He looked back at the door and touched the handle. It was freezing cold to the touch, but there was no sign of condensation on it. He drew his hand back quickly with a reflex action.
A terrible feeling of trepidation came over him. He turned back to Gloria; she could see it in his eyes.
“What…” he said, but it trailed off.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said, “He won’t hurt you.”
He turned back to the door and gathered his courage. He knew it was childish, but he couldn’t help the feeling. He reached for the handle and opened the door.
The inside of the office was dark, or at least it seemed to be. Even the light from the lobby didn’t seem to penetrate it. Unseen hands closed the door behind him as soon as he stepped inside. A feeling of bone-chilling cold took hold of his senses. This was unlike any darkness he had ever experienced; darker than darkness. It was like a palpable sensation of loneliness and void. Not part of the real world he had just stepped out of. As if light was only an illusion, warmth a forgotten dream.
It made him feel as if he would never sense it again. But there was more; an incredible, soul draining emptiness, like an endless void. His instincts told him to turn and leave at once, but he felt transfixed. As if he couldn’t move, even if he wanted to. He felt so alone. They were playing a cruel trick on him, he thought. He was alone.
So alone.
“Dr. Bell?” he called through chattering teeth. He became aware that his knees were quaking. He was shivering all over. Forcing himself, he spoke again.
“I’m Inspector Leonard White of Los Angeles Homicide.”
The darkness did not answer. Was it deepening or was it his imagination? He couldn’t be sure of anything anymore.
“Can you hear me?” White asked. “Won’t you please speak to me?”
Then he felt it.
A presence. There, in the room with him. He was not alone; there was someone in front of him. A deep voice answered, as if from the bottom of a long cavern. Not quite human, but it had been once.
“How may I help you, Inspector White?”
It was Bell, White could sense that. He wondered if the voice was all that remained of him now.
“I think you know why I’m here, Doctor,” White replied, “I have seen the Interpol report on the murder that occurred here last week. The murderer’s name is John Morrison. The man you infused. He is a serial killer. One of the worst we’ve ever executed.”
The presence seemed to increase but didn’t feel any closer. “How many did he kill?” Bell asked.
“He was convicted on thirty-four counts but there were more...” The cold was getting to White, it was worse than the time a pilot took his helicopter above the inversion layer and exposed him to a temperature change from ninety degrees to twenty below in less than ten seconds.
“Why did he kill all those people?” Bell asked. The question puzzled White.
“I don’t know.”
“Did you ever ask him?”
“No,” White replied, “It’s wasn’t my job to ask why. I didn’t care. My duty was to stop him. I don’t have the luxury of looking for those answers. I just try to save innocent lives. That’s why I’m here. No one has ever had to stop an ecto-criminal before.”
He suddenly felt alone again, as if the presence had vanished. There was no answer from the darkness. He forced his knees to move and took a step into the blackness.
“Doctor?” he shouted. “Doctor! He has killed four people in just two days. There are three hundred sixty-five days in a year! How many years has he been infused for?”
“Seventy-five years.” The presence could be felt again, but it was different somehow. White softened.
“At two killings a day, how many murders is that, Dr. Bell?”
“Fifty-four thousand, seven hundred eighty-seven.” the darkness replied.
White was now shivering uncontrollably. He could not stand much more. The muscles in his chest were so tight that he could hardly breathe. Then something seemed to move in the darkness, it deepened his sense of dread. It seemed almost right in front of him. Goose pimples erupted all over him so badly that it made his hair hurt.
A blue mist formation appeared in the frigid air a few feet in front of him, turning into a pair of eyes. His mouth dropped open at the sight and it frightened him at first. Then he looked into them. They contained only kindness. It calmed him and his shivering decreased.
“It is difficult...to be in this world just now,” Bell explained softly, “What little you see takes all of my concentration. You see, I am near full remission...he sighs, as if in pain!” The cold deepened and the eyes seemed to fade. White took a step back. The eyes looked at him again.
“What do you wish to know?” they asked.
“Is there any way to kill him?” White asked.
“Killing? Is that all The Law can do? You already killed him once. There is only one death to a customer.”
“Can we destroy him then?” White asked.
“That is the same as killing him,” the voice replied, “The answer is the same: no.” White gasped in frustration.
“Then we’re screwed! So are fifty thousand people, Dr. Bell.”
“I said you couldn’t stop him,” the voice replied, “But perhaps an ecto could, to a limited degree. You cannot harm him because he is an ecto. For the same reason, he cannot harm other ectos. In his full physical form during Phase 1, he can be physically restrained from killing by someone like us...but...”
“But?” White asked, taking a step toward the eyes.
“During Phase 2, he could be imprisoned within an airtight room or container.”
“In the same state as you are now.” White suggested. The eyes moved closer to him.
“That is correct,” Bell replied, “But you would not be able to keep him there for long. In Phase 3 he could pass through any physical matter. Even an ecto could not hold him.”
White began to grope in his thoughts, thinking that there had to be a way.
There had to be a way!
“You know more about this science than anyone, Doctor. Isn’t there a chemical or an electrical field, or something...”
“Nothing.”
The presence changed once again and the eyes were gone. White could no longer feel him at all.
“It is time...” the voice uttered again, this time it sounded like it was coming from the other side of the universe. “He sighs, as if in pain!”
“Dr. Bell?” White pleaded. “Please help us!”
A faint gasp came from the darkness. White felt nothing but freezing cold and loneliness.
“I can see it…” the voice said. It was different from any voice White had ever heard before. He began to feel like Dorothy pleading with the Wizard.
“Doctor! We need your help!” he shouted, but he knew it was no use.
“Go now...I can tell you nothing...”
The door behind White opened, as if by unseen hands. The light drew White toward it by instinct. The next thing he realized, he was standing in the lobby. The same unseen hands closed the door softly behind him.
His knees quivering, White became aware that the freezing was more than only a sensation. Just as his balance was about to fail him, Gloria put her arms around him and helped him into a chair. He sat down, cold and shivering, hunched over and gasping to catch his breath. She quickly put a cup into his hands.
“You had better drink this,” she said, “It’ll help.” He looked up at her wordlessly
“It’s brandy. You need it. You’ll be alright in a few minutes. Just try to relax and drink that. It will pass.”
He gulped down the brandy and tried to regain himself. He looked up at her after he finished the drink. “What was that?” he asked weakly. “I felt a cold...like...like…”
“Like the grave,” she suggested, “He’s moved to Phase 3. You touched him...” White swallowed hard, he could feel the liquor in his chest. The warmth began to return to his limbs.
“Federal law doesn’t allow ectos to work on Phoenix.” he reminded her once he could collect his thoughts. “Why wasn’t Dr. Bell’s death reported to the authorities?” Gloria smiled reassuringly before she answered.
“Because he didn’t wish it to be known.”
“But it’s the Law.” White objected.
Her eyes burned into him like an errant schoolboy. “On Phoenix,” she scolded, “Gordon Bell is the Law!”
Chapter Fifteen: Backfired
The marine layer had come far inland on that night, causing the vapor lights of the tarmac to glow with a green halo. The shuttle came down through it, like a black and white ghost, as it descended on to the pad. Sam watched it through the plate-glass of the passenger area with a troubled expression on his face. It seemed as if the people inside the shuttle took an eternity to come out.
As White emerged down the ramp and Sam headed for the door to greet him. This was not going to be a happy homecoming for either of them. He stiffened as White approached him. One look at Sam, and he knew something was wrong.
“Sam, what’s happened?” he asked.
“Larsen’s dead.” Sam replied.
White’s face went blank. It was like suddenly getting hit with a club. The death of a brother officer was hard; a member of your own detail was like losing family. He followed Sam into the terminal and they sat down together.
“It was on the stakeout this morning about three a.m.,” Sam explained, “Woods left the car to take a leak. He wasn’t gone for even a minute when he heard three shots. He ran back as fast as could and found Larsen lying in the front seat. He’d been strangled. His neck was snapped through.”