by J W Kiefer
“The window,” Tzedakah said urgently.
Panther-like, he moved to the large picture window and peered through the curtains.
Outside, a rather average-looking middle-aged Caucasian man with dirty blond hair was standing in the parking lot staring intently at the door to their room. At first glance, no one would consider this man a threat, but the same sense of danger that had jolted him out of his rest intensified.
Another man came walking up to stand next to the first. He was a tall African American man who looked to be about thirty. He was fit and muscular and wearing jeans and a tight sports T-shirt. Neither man acknowledged the other but simply continued to stare at the door as if they were waiting for something.
Like something out of a zombie apocalypse movie, people of all ages, ethnicities, and genders streamed into the hotel parking lot. Before long there were about thirty of them congregating in front of their door. Just like the first two who had arrived, none spoke or acknowledged each other, but simply stared at the door. They seemed docile, but he could not shake the now screaming feeling of dread.
“What the—?” he asked out loud.
Jeremy stirred and propped himself up and looked around groggily. He rubbed his eyes attempting to force the sleep away. “What’s going on?”
“Be quiet,” Jared hissed with more venom than he intended. “There are about thirty people milling around outside in the parking lot.”
“Huh?” Jeremy shot out of bed instantly awake. “How long have they been there?”
He stumbled across the room, the fear that had been rising in his heart turning into full-on dread. As soon as he reached the window, he quickly drew back the curtain and his eyes went wide with terror. “Oh, crap.”
“You know what’s going on?”
“Yeah, I think.” Jeremy pulled on his coat. “You see that aura emanating from them? Like a red stain in the air around ’em.”
Aura was perhaps the wrong word to describe what he saw. Each person seemed to have tendrils of smoke flowing and moving about their bodies. The smoke writhed and contorted and was attached to each person like puppet strings attached to marionettes. The stain did not engulf the people but snaked its way into their souls.
“We need to move before they attack,” Jeremy said, his eyes searching the scene.
Tzedakah drew Jared’s gaze upward into the night sky. It was a clear night but in one area of the sky, the stars were blotted out by a large dark shadow. He did not need Tzedakah to know that the huge shadow blocking the stars was the tendrils’ source. “I think I found the puppet master.”
Jeremy looked up and grimaced.
“Can this night get any worse?” he growled. “I know. I know. You don’t need to tell me who it is. I can sense his filth all the way in here.”
Jared was about to tell him that he had no idea who it was that was out there when he realized that Jeremy was not talking to him. Tzedakah spoke the word “Dominion” into his mind. Confusion clouded his features as he tried to make sense of what it meant.
“Does Dominion mean anything to you?” he asked Jeremy.
“Yeah,” Jeremy said as he frantically checked the locks on the door for the tenth time. “A nasty bugger of a demon who enjoys contorting and bending people to his will. Honestly, most demons don’t bother will full-blown possession because it draws too much attention. Most prefer influence and manipulation. You know, intense thoughts or desires that you know you shouldn’t have but can’t seem to get out of your head? Suggestions. This guy likes to use straight-up possession. And trust me, unlike most demons, he is powerful enough to control more than one person at a time.”
“How many people?”
“A lot. I’ve run into him a few times over the years, but I usually just steer clear and stay out of his way.”
Jared frowned.
“What’s up?” Jeremy asked.
“Tzedakah says that only a few of the people out there deserve death,” Jared said, relaying the sword’s message. “That means we’re going to have to try to do this without hurting them too much.”
Jeremy smiled ruefully. “Well, at least that answers the question of whether you are just an ‘executioner for the universe.’ Of course, I’m pretty sure that Dominion will not be so considerate of their wellbeing.”
As soon as the words left Jeremy’s mouth, he noticed movement in his peripheral vision and turned just in time to see ten people charging toward them. “Crap.”
Jared was already on the move. He threw himself through the large window, shattering it, just before the first wave of drones reached their door. He took out the two closest to him with quick jabs, punching them so hard they flew spiraling away into parked cars. Jared winced, hoping that he hadn’t done them permanent damage. Before he had time to dwell on it, he was engaged by the second wave.
The remaining eight from the first wave hammered on the hotel room door while the next ten advanced on Jared. Tzedakah glowed even brighter as they rushed to overwhelm him with the sheer force of their numbers. Jared punched and kicked, trying his best to pull his strikes.
An Asian woman struck him in the face with a force that was certainly not human; his head flew backward, knocking him into a man who was trying to drag him down from behind. His head hit the man’s forehead with a sickening crack.
Hands clawed at his clothing, pulling him in every conceivable direction at once as the mob attempted to drag him to the ground. But he managed to stand his ground and he kicked another attacker’s feet out from under him. The man fell backward and was consumed by the horde.
Jared heard a loud crash. Jeremy was shouting. Behind him, the motel door had given way.
Jeremy!
With a flurry of punches, Jared sent his attackers tumbling to the ground like dominoes.
Crashes and grunts came from the broken window of the hotel room as Jeremy fought for his life. Jared turned and ran in the direction of the fighting, but he did not get far before a drone reached out and caught his foot. He went sprawling to the pavement. He hit the ground and flipped himself over, but it was too late.
The drones piled on him grasping at him with hands far stronger than any human. He felt himself being pinned to the ground; his sword hand forced out to the side by three possessed people. They grasped at his fingers, pulling and tugging trying to remove the sword from his grip. As the horde covered him, he could hear Jeremy screaming. He would never get to him in time.
Thirty-Four
It took her about fifteen minutes to arrive at the apartment complex where Jared had lived. As she got out of her car and headed toward the officers at the edge of the crime scene, she wondered if anyone had removed his stuff yet. She’d been so out of it, she didn’t know.
The officer at the edge of the tape saw her coming and he raised it for her as she approached. It was Officer Hernandez. She thanked him for the assist, and his eyes were soft when he looked at her, filled with pity and remorse. Oh, how she hated that look. She headed up to the crime scene as quick as her feet would go.
When she reached the third floor, she was greeted by yet another officer. This one was younger than Officer Hernandez and he did not recognize her at first. He leveled her a stern look. “Sorry, ma’am, but no one is allowed down this hallway unless they are police personnel.”
Barely restraining an eye roll, she mustered up all her professionalism and flashed her badge. “I am Detective Campbell, so I guess that qualifies me as police personnel.”
The officer gazed down at the badge. “Sorry, Detective. You can go through.”
“No problem. Has CSI arrived yet?”
“Yes, ma’am, they are in the apartment waiting for you.”
“Thank you, Officer...” She paused to read the man’s name tag. “Steveson.”
Dana pushed past the man and made her way down the hallway to where the other officers were congregating. As she passed Jared’s door, waves of emotion surged over her. She could imagine that this was all jus
t a bad dream, that Jared could come barreling out of his door carrying a cup of coffee for her and asking about the crime scene. But that would never be.
The door to the crime scene was open. Inside, CSI technicians searched the room for evidence. The smell hit her before she even stepped into the room and she immediately knew why everyone was wearing masks. The stench of death permeated every nook and cranny of the small apartment. She grabbed her mouth to keep from gagging. The girl must have been dead quite some time for the place to smell so bad.
One of the men quickly came over to her and handed her a white dust mask. “Here, take this. It does not completely keep out the smell, but it does help a little.”
She took the small mask and quickly put it over her face. The officer was right about it helping to lessen the strength of the stench of death. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” the man replied. He was a Caucasian man of about forty and of average height with short dark brown hair that had a bit of salt in it. She could not see his entire face, as it was hidden by the mask he wore, but his eyes were bright blue. Since his face was covered, it took her a minute to recognize that he was Dr. Hudson the coroner.
“Doctor Hudson, where is the body?” she asked. “Does it look like a homicide?”
“Yeah, third one tonight actually.”
“Third one?” she asked curiously. “Where were the other two?”
“Across town. It’s been a busy night. Hell, it’s been a busy last few weeks. I feel like I haven’t slept in a month. The other one appeared to be a robbery gone wrong. The clerk was shot and killed, and the young man we think was the robber was found dead outside the store.”
“That’s strange. Does it appear to be gang-related?” she asked as they made their way to the bedroom.
“Not sure. All of the money was still there, so whoever killed him was not interested in the money. He was stabbed by what appears to be a sword or edged weapon of some kind. Detectives Handley and Winder are there. Once the body gets to the morgue, I will examine it more fully. This one here was also stabbed to death.”
“By a sword?” Dana asked incredulously.
“Looks like something smaller, a hunting knife possibly. Of course, I won’t know until I get the body back to the morgue and examine it.”
The stench of the decomposing corpse made it through her mask, and she gagged again.
“You okay?” Doctor Hudson asked.
She waved his question away. “Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just really strong.”
He nodded. “The body has been here for a while. From the rate of decomposition, I would say at least five days, possibly a week.”
Dana approached the small bed. The entire area was covered in dried blood and she could make out quite a few nasty looking wounds on the girl’s body. The young woman was naked and intertwined in the bedsheets as if in the middle of an amorous encounter that had all gone wrong. Her eyes were still open, and Dana couldn’t help but feel that they were fixed on her. It unnerved her, but she refused to show it. She gazed into the woman’s lifeless eyes and knew full well who had done this to her.
“I think I am going to have to call the FBI and let them know we have another Stalker body on our hands,” she told the doctor.
“That’s what I was thinking as well. Of course, I won’t know for sure until I get her back and examine her more closely, but I would wager a week’s pay that the wounds on her body will match those of the other two.”
“Shit. If the press gets wind of this, we are going to have a panic on our hands. I am sure he has moved on since no more bodies have been found and this one looks to have been killed around the same time as the others, but that won’t stop locals from panicking.”
Her mind raced as she looked at the girl. Hadn’t Steve stayed at Jared’s house right before they had decided to go to the city? Come to think of it, the other bodies appeared right around the time he had mysteriously shown up, as well. Was it just a coincidence? Her detective mind did not believe in coincidences. Of course, she had no proof that Steve was involved, but too many coincidences pointed in his direction.
“You okay?” Doctor Hudson asked, knocking her out of her thoughts.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, unclenching her fists. “Let me know what you find after you have examined the body more closely.”
She made her way out of the small bedroom past the bustling CSI technicians and out into the hallway where she was finally able to breathe again. They had been at it for hours, but she knew that they would not find anything. They never did with the Eastside Stalker.
God, if it’s Steve killing these girls, how is he not leaving any evidence behind? she wondered. She knew that he was smarter than he let on, but she found it hard to believe that he could be some genius serial killer. But isn’t that what people say about every genius serial killer? She pulled out her phone and dialed the captain. Either way, she would find out, and if he was involved, then she was going to kill him.
As she walked down the hallway, she didn’t notice the eyes that watched her from Jared’s apartment. Steve had been observing the unfolding scene since the police had arrived. What was happening to him? First, he had been so careless that he had almost allowed Jared to walk right up on him while he was dispatching his second victim in Binghamton. Then Jared had stumbled on to him after the show in the city.
Now the police were right across the hall, admiring more of his work. He really did need to control his impulses. Otherwise it was only a matter of time before one of the cops got lucky and he’d be caught.
He cracked the door a little wider just in time to see Dana pass by with her phone to her ear. She stopped only a few feet away from where he was watching. Damn, should he close the door and let the whole thing blow over, or go out and feign ignorance?
Steve cocked a smile. Of course he was going to go out and talk to her. It wasn’t his style to sit back and skulk in the shadows, regardless of what the papers said about him. Sure, he liked to stalk his victims before he killed them, but not for the reasons the papers suggested. No, he liked the hunt; it was exciting. The more daring the kill, the more of a thrill he got out of it.
Happily meditating on his favorite subject, he moved his fingers as if flipping a knife, and was surprised to feel the cool weight of a knife. He held a thin shiny ebony blade. It was sharp and beautiful as all such tools are. There was no handle attached to the blade, and to his amazement, it seemed to grow in his hand like a shadow growing in the fading light. He pointed it away from himself, and with breathtaking swiftness, it elongated until it struck the wall directly across from him. It hit the wall with such force that it cut through the drywall, and did it without making a sound.
As quickly as the knife materialized, it was gone. Dissipated into the shadows.
Well, that’s new, he marveled. It never seemed to amaze him just how powerful he was becoming. Nearly every day he discovered some new ability.
So many possibilities! If he could master this new gift, he would never again have to worry about the police tracing a murder weapon back to him. Impulse control be damned; he could kill people from a distance with such a knife. Of course, there was no fun in that. Now, tormenting them before going in for a close kill—that had potential.
He swung the door open and stepped out into the breezeway. Dana’s back was to him, so he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned up against the door. Surprisingly, he made no sound as he moved. In fact, even the noise from the door swinging open had been muted. It was as if some strange sound suppressing cloud surrounded him. Mere feet away, Dana still hadn’t noticed he was there.
“Okay, Chief, I will keep you up to speed on the investigation. I guess my hiatus is over. You’re going to need everyone on this if we are going to keep one step ahead of the press.” She turned, and her eyes met Steve’s. “Sorry, Chief, but I gotta go.”
She hung up and lowered her hand to the duty weapon on her hip. Never taking her eyes from Steve�
�s, she dropped the phone into her jacket pocket and turned to face him. Her dark brown eyes bored into his ice blue ones, giving away far more than she had intended to. He smiled at her warmly, but his eyes did not mirror that warmth.
“So what’s going on?” Steve said, breaking the silence but not the tension. “Binghamton’s finest have been here making a terrible racket ever since I woke up. I finally decided to crack the door and steal a peek when I saw you walking by on your phone.”
His easy smile was disarming, and Dana’s resolve cracked a bit. Maybe she was wrong about him. After all, they had grown up together and were practically family. Maybe she was just being paranoid and allowing the grief of Jared’s loss to cause her to look for boogie men in every shadow. This was Steve, after all. He may be a bit of a jerk, she thought, but he’s not a killer. Her hand dropped from her weapon.
“The maintenance man found another dead girl,” she told him.
“Really? Any connection to the other two girls?”
Dana locked eyes with Steve, and suddenly the full weight of her emotional and physical exhaustion hit. Steve reached out to steady her, but as soon as his hand touched her shoulder, a jolt of anger surged through her, dispelling the weariness she was feeling. She batted away his hand.
“Don’t touch me,” she growled, her eyes flashing with fire.