In Darkness Transformed

by Alexis Morgan

  “Now that’s some serious motivation. Maybe I’ll cheat and use the siren and flashing lights to clear the way.”

  “You do that, Deputy.”

  ELI WAS WAITING by the narrow river that snaked through the park. When he spotted her, he pointed toward a vacant picnic table some distance from where several mothers sat talking as they kept a wary eye on their children playing on the climbers.

  She smiled as she walked by. She knew all of them and had gone to high school with three of them. Now that they’d seen her with Eli, she’d lay even money on getting a phone call that evening to ferret out all the details. Such was life in a small town.

  Eli had picked up on their curiosity. “I take it you don’t often have lunch in the park.”

  She plunked the grease-spotted bags onto the table and set down the box holding the pie with more care. “Not with a man, I don’t.”

  Eli looked oddly pleased by her response as they sat down on opposite sides of the table. She set out two paper plates and added two plastic forks. “The pie is peach, my personal favorite.”

  Eli slid the pie closer to his side of the table. “I still have to see whether or not you earned a piece.”

  “Fine, be that way.” She peeked into the first bag and then handed it across to him. “That one’s yours, the fries still hot as requested.”

  He popped one into his mouth, his eyes sparkling with good humor even though his expression remained serious. “Fine, you can have a piece of pie. A big one if the burger is as good as it smells.”

  “It is.” She spread her own lunch out on the table. “Also, the shakes are made by hand, not pumped out of some machine. Ronnie, who owns the diner, packs a lot of great flavor into everything he makes, but it comes at a price. I’ll have to run an extra mile, maybe two, to burn off the calories.”

  She bit into her cheeseburger and moaned. “It’s worth it, though. I should limit how often I eat there, but I can’t resist his cooking.”

  Eli studied his own sandwich. “I can see why. I might even stop back by after I grab what I need at the grocery store and pick up something for dinner tonight. I’m tired of my own cooking.”

  There was the opening she’d been waiting for. “So you don’t have any other family?”

  Or a girlfriend?

  Not that she was going to ask that last question. It was none of her business. Really. Still, maybe he’d volunteer the information. Eli waited until he finished another bite of his sandwich before answering.

  “Nope, no other family. I didn’t even know Martin all that well. It had been some time since I’d even seen him. As far as I know, he never left the mountain at all if he could avoid it.”

  “So you had visited him at his cabin sometime in the past?”

  He nodded and stuffed several fries into his mouth. Was he that hungry, or was he avoiding answering her questions? Maybe her interest didn’t sound as casual as she’d hoped. Time to do some sharing of her own.

  “I’ve lived in Ridgewick my entire life except for when I left to get my associate degree in criminology. Even then, the college was less than a hundred miles from here.”

  “You never wanted to do any traveling?”

  She couldn’t very well tell him that she’d visited another world a bunch of times. “I’ve always wanted to visit Europe someday or maybe the beaches in Mexico, especially when the rainy season hits. I love living here, but I do get tired of gray days.”

  After dipping a fry in a puddle of ketchup, she asked, “How about you? Done much traveling?”

  His gaze shifted to some point off in the distance as if he was no longer seeing the Cascade Mountains that served as a backdrop for the town. “I’ve seen all the hot spots—Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria.”

  Looking pretty grim, he sat there in silence for a full minute. Then he blinked and was back with her. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to blank out on you.”

  “That’s okay. I’d already figured out that you’d been in the military.” She decided not to press for details about what that had entailed.

  Eli pulled out a large pocketknife and flipped open the box that held the peach pie. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for dessert.”

  She had to wonder how sanitary the blade was, but at least he wiped it down with a napkin. Considering some of the places he’d been, he’d probably gotten over any squeamishness he might’ve had about germs. Regardless, she wasn’t going to complain. Ronnie’s peach pie was worth the risk of consuming a few cooties.

  Her eyes about popped out of her head when she saw the size of the piece he carved out of the pie. “Make mine about half that size.”

  His grin took years off his age. “I won’t argue. That just leaves more for me.”

  Even with the smaller portion, she was seriously stuffed by the time they were both done eating. While Eli carried their trash over to the garbage can, she opened the file folder and quickly reviewed its contents before pushing it over to his side of the table.

  It didn’t take him long to go through it. “You’re right. There’s not much here.”

  “I’m sorry the descriptions are so graphic, but I figured you’d rather read it for yourself instead of me glossing over the details.”

  He nodded as he went back to the beginning to read it again. “These crime scene photos were taken about a mile from the cabin. I pass that rock formation when I go running.”

  She studied the pictures. “That sounds about right.”

  “Did you know the guys who found Martin?”

  “No, they were just up there on a day hike when they stumbled across the body.”

  Eli was still studying the report. It had to be hard to see someone he cared about described in those terms. Maybe he’d seen worse in combat, but that didn’t make it any easier.

  He frowned and glanced up at her. “The coroner thinks Martin had a heart attack, and the damage to his body happened afterward.”

  Now they were treading on dangerous ground. “That’s what his notes say.”

  Something in her comment must have sounded off to Eli. “You don’t agree?”

  Great, now what could she say? That she suspected it had been her crazy cousin or some other alien out of his head with the light disease who had killed Martin? She settled for a portion of the truth. “It’s probably the cop in me, but I prefer answers to be more cut and dried.”

  Eli started to close the folder but then stopped to study the report again. “I find it odd that he describes a few of the cuts almost as if they were made with a blade rather than animal claws.”

  She hoped she managed to school her expression before he looked up to see what she thought about the possibility. “I’m sure if that was the case, the coroner would have said so more clearly in his report. Besides, I’m sure he knows the difference between the marks left by knife blades as opposed to bear claws. For sure, if there’d been any hint of that, the county sheriff’s department would’ve investigated it as an assault or even murder. Instead, they closed the file, calling it death by natural causes.”

  He grunted in what might’ve been reluctant agreement and handed the file back to her. “Thanks for sharing the findings with me. No matter how it happened, Martin deserved better than to die alone like that. I hope he went fast and didn’t suffer.”

  “Me, too.”

  She checked the time. “Well, I’m back on the clock. Thanks for lunch, especially the pie.”

  “It was my pleasure. I haven’t met many people here in town yet, and it was nice having someone to talk to other than myself.”

  As they made their way back to where they’d parked, she wished she knew what he was thinking. Her gut feeling was that he wasn’t done wondering about Martin’s death. If he chose to pursue it on his own, there was nothing she could do to stop him. On the other hand, there wasn’t much left to investigate. The scene itself wouldn’t tell him anything after everyone had trampled through it, Martin’s body had been cremated, and there were no e
yewitnesses to the actual death.

  He reached past her to open the car door. She couldn’t remember the last time a man had done something like that for her. She also had to admit she’d enjoyed having someone new to talk to over a meal, someone who was both handsome and interesting. Maybe that’s why she blurted out, “Call me the next time you come to town, and we’ll do this again. It’ll be my treat, pie and all.”

  “I’ll do that. Thank your dad for getting the report.”

  “I will.”

  She was about to drive away when he stopped her. “I almost forgot. Did you and your dad find any trace of the guy who attacked you when the two of you were up on the mountain to pick up your ATV?”

  Had he been tracking them? Damn, she should’ve known he would’ve done something like that. At least she didn’t have to lie about what they found. “We didn’t see anyone while we were up there. We did find the service revolver I’d lost. Other than that, things were quiet.”

  “That’s good.”

  “How about you? Have you run across any sign that he’s been back?”

  He looked at her with a warrior’s eyes. “Not yet.”

  Before she could warn him to leave any further hunting to her and her father, Eli walked away. A chill washed over her as if the sun had suddenly vanished behind the clouds. If Eli and her cousin crossed paths again, she knew right through to her bones the encounter would quickly turn both violent and deadly. Tiel would attack with everything he had, his illness driving him to kill anyone he saw.

  In contrast, her heart insisted Eli was a born protector with a capacity for great gentleness. She’d learned that firsthand the other night when he’d worked so hard to calm her fears and then treated her injured ankle even if he’d been a bit grumpy about it. But watching him fight her cousin proved he was the kind of man who would defend his home and the people in it with his last breath. However, even if he’d vanquished his foe once, that was no guarantee he’d be the victor in a second encounter. The thought of Eli bleeding out on the mountain like Martin had done made her physically ill.

  Before she could warn him to leave the hunting to the authorities, meaning her and her father, Eli was already in his truck. Not sure what to do, she drove back to the police station. Maybe it was time to talk to her father again.

  6

  Eli was almost to the grocery store when he abruptly changed his mind and pulled over to the curb. Fresh supplies could wait. Right now, he had too many questions with no satisfactory answers. While he was reasonably sure Safara hadn’t actually lied to him about what happened to his grandfather, he was just as sure she hadn’t told him the entire truth. The police report had been pretty cut and dried, and he couldn’t fault the cops for reaching the conclusions they’d drawn.

  But then they hadn’t been the ones up on the mountain crossing swords with a maniac. While Eli couldn’t prove that the two incidents were connected, his instincts said they were. Or maybe he just had blades on his brain because he spent so much time working out with his grandfather’s collection. Regardless, he wouldn’t rest easy until he found some answers. If he couldn’t get the complete truth from the local authorities, he needed to get online and look for other cases similar to Martin’s. If there was nothing to be found, then he’d accept that his grandfather died of natural causes and move on. He just wished he believed there was nothing to find.

  Either way, this wasn’t something he could research on his cheap cell phone, and the dial-up Internet service at the cabin would take forever if it was even working. There had to be a better option. Then he noticed a sign with an arrow pointing down the next side street. Huh, who knew a town the size of Ridgewick could afford to have a library of its own?

  The place wasn’t very big—no surprise there—but it did have a bank of computer desks running along the length of one wall. Even better, most were currently unoccupied. He was about to sit down at the closest one when he noticed the petite, gray-haired woman at the front desk was trying to get his attention. So much for flying under the radar. He veered off his intended course in her direction.

  “Did you want something, ma’am?”

  She offered him a friendly smile, and her unusually pale eyes twinkled with good humor. “I just wanted to let you know that you’ll need to log in to our computer system. I can give you a temporary number if you’re just passing through town.”

  “Actually I live close by, so it would probably be easier if I got a regular library card.”

  “I can help with that. If you have your identification handy, it won’t take but a minute.”

  He pulled out his brand-new driver’s license and handed it to her. It still jarred him to see his picture on it but with a different last name. Eventually he might get used to being someone else, but he hated living a lie. When she handed him both his license and a library card, she asked, “By any chance, were you related to Martin Jervain?”

  “Distantly.” Another easy lie. “Did you know him?”

  “Yes, I did. Martin was a bit of a grouch.” She flashed Eli a smile to soften the comment. “He stopped in here regularly to read the magazines and newspapers we carry online.”

  It almost sounded as if she really missed the old man. It was a relief when she tactfully changed the subject. “Are you familiar with our catalog or would you like me to give you a quick overview?”

  He could probably figure things out for himself, but it would save time if she aimed him the right direction. “I’d appreciate a few pointers.”

  “I’ll show you how to log in, and then we’ll go from there.” After hitting the high points on the programming, she asked, “Is there something in particular you wish to access?”

  “I wanted to read some local newspapers if that’s possible.”

  “It sure is. We get physical copies of a few, but you can access most of the papers that are published in the state online.” With a couple of clicks of the mouse, she brought up the right menu. “This should get you whatever you need. If you want a copy of an article, just hit this button. It will print out on that machine over there.”

  He waited until the librarian returned to her desk before starting his search. At first he didn’t have much luck until he figured out what keywords to use. After that, things got really interesting. An hour later, he walked out of the library with copies of a dozen different articles about incidents dating back as long ago as four years.

  Interesting that most of the attacks happened in Western Washington in the Cascade Mountains. There were also a few in Oregon, and even a couple in Northern California. It was too soon to tell if the locations formed a pattern by dates or locations, but he was definitely onto something. He was sure of it.

  Maybe he’d learn more from studying the kind of terrain where the attacks occurred. For now, he’d do a quick run through the grocery store and head back home.

  AFTER PUTTING THE groceries away, Eli dug out Martin’s big atlas. Opening it to a topographical map of the western states, he stuck a sticky note on the spot where Martin had been found along with the approximate date of his death. Then he did the same with the rest of the cases he’d discovered. Once he had them all marked, he made notes about any similarities he’d found, no matter how small or odd.

  There was a significant delay in finding the bodies in at least two-thirds of the cases. Considering the rough terrain where the deaths occurred, that wasn’t too surprising. Another commonality was that all of them had been found in or near the mountains. Most were close to one of the volcanoes that dotted the landscape, which probably wasn’t significant. After all, there were five of the snow-cone-shaped peaks in Washington State alone.

  According to reports, all the bodies had severe damage caused by animals. Again, no surprise there if the victims remained undiscovered for any length of time. Most of the cases were written off to natural causes. The rest were still open, but the investigations had gone cold due to the lack of evidence. In those cases, the coroner reports had indicated th
e bodies had a few unexplained injuries that could’ve been caused by a sharp blade.

  Once he’d sorted through all of the available information, Eli stared at his notes and the map. Now what?

  The soft patter of raindrops on the roof caught his attention. He glanced outside and was surprised to see how late it was. There wasn’t anything else he could accomplish today. Thanks to the rain, it was doubtful there was much of a trail left to follow from where Safara had been attacked, but he wouldn’t know for sure unless he went looking. However, even if all the markers hadn’t been washed away, it would be impossible to see them in the darkness. Come morning, though, he’d start the hunt for both answers and the enemy.

  JUST AFTER SUNRISE, Eli finalized his plans for the day. He’d start his search where he’d first found Safara and see where the trail led from there. He stuck his pistol and extra ammunition into his jacket pocket along with his waterproof flashlight. He started out the door, but at the last second went back inside and dug out the scabbard for the broadsword. Once he fastened it around his waist, he slid the heavy blade into place. Stupid, maybe, but it felt right to go on the hunt armed with his enemy’s weapon of choice.

  The rain had stopped by the time Eli headed out, and the sun finally put in an appearance. He quickly found the spot where Safara had fallen and knelt down to study the ground. The distinctive tread of his combat boots was easy to pick out, as were the other footprints that belonged to Safara and her father. He’d already noted them the day the pair had come back up the mountain to retrieve her ATV. There was no sign of any new activity, so he moved on to where he and the whack job had crossed blades.

  The ground where they’d fought remained churned up, but it was difficult to pick out many details beyond that point. The other guy had bolted in the direction of the trees off to the left, but Eli hadn’t seen where he’d gone after that. He’d been too busy trying to coax Safara into trusting him to know for sure if her attacker had kept going in a straight line. Only one way to find out.