Souls of the Reaper

by Markie Madden

  This is so frustrating! She mused as she drove through the early-morning traffic. Cars were inching along the city street, and the delay tried her patience. Horns blew with a shrill sound that hurt her ears. When she could finally see the source of the commotion, Lacey saw a vehicle in one of the angled meter spaces, half in the spot, half out in the street. Thinking someone had broken down, she flipped the lights on and took up the lane behind the other vehicle. Carefully watching traffic, the got out of her car and walked to the sidewalk.

  Lacey could see nothing in the empty space between the car and the curb that might have prevented the driver from pulling all the way into the parking spot. She could also tell no one was in the vehicle. The doors were locked, and there didn’t seem to be anything amiss. There was no way of knowing which business the driver went in, and she didn’t have the time to check them all. She did, however, notice that the parking meter was blinking “Expired” on its face, telling her that the driver either didn’t put enough debits into the meter, or else didn’t pay at all.

  She got back into her car and called dispatch. She explained to the woman where she was, and to send out a Parking Enforcement Officer to tag and tow the vehicle immediately. Though Lacey was certain something like this had happened before in her city, it might be another symptom of the insanity that was spreading throughout Dallas. And, it was another reason why Lacey and her team had to get to the bottom of this case, no matter what it took.

  Lacey strode through the doors of the Major Crimes Unit. Almost immediately, Kazz appeared.

  “Good morning, Lieutenant.” She fell into step behind her supervisor.

  “Are you here early?”

  “Don’t you know I sleep in one of the empty cubicles?” Kazz deadpanned, causing Lacey to stop walking to look at her. Then, the younger woman laughed. “Kidding. No, I was early. I’ve got this neat little app on my phone that tells me what the fastest route to work is, and it usually works well. But I guess this morning, it was too fast.”

  “There’s an app for that!” They said it in unison, then looked at each other, laughing.

  “Don’t worry, though.” Kazz shook her blonde hair away from her face. “I haven’t clocked in yet. Thought I’d go grab some coffee and chill in the break room. I need to check my social media anyway.”

  Lacey waved at her, continuing to her office. She tossed her keys on the table and sat at the desk, booting up the laptop. She logged herself as on duty, and pulled up the current case file. Then, the phone rang.

  “Anderson.”

  “Lieutenant, dispatch. I have a call for you. Sounds like it might be in your area of expertise.”

  “What have you got?”

  “Cherri Glenn, 26 years old. Claims she was assaulted by a male Reaper.”

  Lacey went on full alert. “Where?” Her voice was a demand.

  She took down the address and left her office in a run. “Kazz!”

  “Lieutenant, what’s wrong?” The younger woman came out of the break room.

  “Let’s roll. Have you seen Colton yet?”

  “Not yet, sir.”

  “Call him. Give him this address and tell him to meet us there.” She handed her tablet over as they walked. Kazz was on the phone in an instant.

  “He’s on his way. Lieutenant, where are we going?”

  Lacey stepped in the elevator and jammed the ‘down’ button with more force than necessary. “To a young woman who says she was assaulted by a Reaper.”

  17

  There are crimes of passion and crimes of logic. The boundary between them is not clearly defined. ~~Albert Camus

  Though she knew it would be almost impossible to force her way through morning rush-hour traffic, Lacey put on the lights and siren. From the passenger seat, Kazz leaned forward in anticipation and cursed at other drivers who didn’t move out of their way fast enough. Lacey smothered a smile at how similar Kazz and Colton were in certain ways, yet so different in others.

  “I can’t believe these people.” The young woman was clearly frustrated. “They act like they’ve never been taught what the lights and siren means!”

  “Oh, they know what it means. They just don’t give a rat’s ass!” Lacey threaded the sporty car into a space between two other cars that should have been impossible. Horns honked and middle fingers were flipping in the air. Lacey hit the siren switch, changing the tone from the standard, long, up and down sound to the shorter bursts designed to be more attention-grabbing. The quick whoop, whoop made people on the sidewalk take notice, and look in their direction, but those in their vehicles didn’t even glance their way.

  When they finally arrived at the apartment complex, Lacey was as wound up as Kazz looked. Colton stepped out of his truck as Lacey parked in a loading zone and flipped up her ‘on duty’ sign in the front and back windows of her car.

  “This our guy?” Colton asked, walking to greet them.

  “We’re about to find out.” Lacey was grim.

  They had to buzz the apartment to gain access to the foyer. The security on the outer door seemed to be a decent system. Lacey filed that away as the trio rode the elevator to the twentieth floor.

  Badge in one hand, Lacey rapped on the apartment unit’s door. “Dallas Police.”

  The door was not equipped with a peephole. Lacey heard the deadbolt flip and the door opened, revealing a security chain. “Can I see your ID?” The woman’s voice was soft, and sounded like she’d been weeping.

  Lacey held up her badge to the door crack, then stepped aside so Colton and Kazz could do the same. The door closed, and there came the sound of the chain being unlatched. Cherri opened the door fully and gestured for them to come inside. Lacey noticed the bruises encircling the young woman’s wrist.

  “I’m Cherri Glenn.” She sat in a comfortable-looking recliner, leaving a long sofa for the three officers to sit. “Thank you for coming.”

  Colton and Kazz both looked to Lacey. “I’m Lieutenant Anderson, this is Detective Scarber and Officer Moss.” They each nodded at the girl as they were introduced. “Can you tell me what happened, Cherri?”

  “It’s all kinda fuzzy. I remember going over to the Magnolia.” Cherri referred to an upscale movie theater on McKinney Avenue that included a full service restaurant and bar. “I’d planned to meet some friends there, because we were all group dating?” She made the comment into a question. “Well, we arranged to meet at seven for dinner, then we were going to catch a 9pm show. We waited in the restaurant until a few minutes before the movie started. But, my boyfriend never showed.”

  “What’s his name?” Colton asked.

  “Michael Johnson. He hasn’t even bothered to call today, either, and that’s not like him.” Cherri bit her lower lip.

  “Cherri,” Lacey brought the victim’s attention back to her. “Tell me what happened.”

  “I drank a little bit before the movie,” the young woman admitted. “I was kinda pissed Mike didn’t show, you know. Then I had another glass of wine during the movie. I wasn’t driving, so, you know, I didn’t think it would hurt anything.”

  Lacey smiled and nodded, encouraging her to continue. “Did you leave the theater with your friends?”

  “We all said goodbye out on the sidewalk. It’s not far from here, and it was a cool night, so I was going to walk rather than grab a cab. It was a nice night.”

  Lacey, knowing from other interviews knew when Cherri began to repeat statements, it meant that this was where her memories were getting fuzzy. “So you walked home? Right along McKinney?”

  “Yeah, that’s right.” Cherri picked up her electronic cigarette from the coffee table and inhaled deeply. “I mean, it’s a few blocks from here.”

  “What time was this?” Colton picked up the thread of the questioning.

  “Um, I don’t know.” She shook her head. “Maybe a little after eleven? Most movies are about two hours, right?”

  “What do you remember from the walk home?” Lacey made notes in he
r tablet.

  “I got stopped at the first crosswalk. It’s not very clear.”

  Kazz cleared her throat. Lacey looked at her, one brow raised. Kazz tipped her head in the direction of the victim. Lacey nodded. “Can you do something for me?”

  Cherri looked at Kazz uncertainly. “Okay.”

  “Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. I want you to close your eyes and put yourself back to last night, when you said goodbye to your friends in front of The Magnolia.” The victim looked like she thought Kazz had lost her mind. “Believe me, this works. It’s called a cognitive interview. Go ahead, and remember that you’re safe here now.”

  “Okay.” Cherri closed her eyes.

  “What are you doing?” Kazz asked.

  “I told my friend Lisa to text me when she got home, so I’d know she was okay. Then I started walking up McKinney.”

  “Don’t open your eyes. What do you hear?”

  “Cars. Music from the bars.”

  “You stopped at the crosswalk?”

  “Yes.” Cherri’s hands moved unconsciously to her chest.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I had my e-cig in my bra. My outfit didn’t have pockets and I don’t like to carry a purse.”

  “So, you smoked. What next?”

  “The light changed. I stepped off the sidewalk. I guess I was a little wobbly. The man behind me took my elbow to steady me.”

  “What did he look like?” Lacey demanded.

  Cherri’s brows furrowed like she was confused. “He, well, he was taller than me. Slender. Dark hair, dark eyes. He sounded cultured, refined. I think we talked a bit as we walked.”

  “What happened next, Cherri?” Kazz’s voice was soft and almost hypnotic.

  The woman shook her head. “I don’t know.” She was clearly frustrated. “All I remember was waking up this morning.”

  “Okay, it’s okay, you’re safe now.” Kazz soothed the victim.

  “When I woke up, my hands were over my head. I had a headache and I couldn’t remember what happened. At first, I thought Mike, you know, was playing some sort of kinky game with me.” She blushed. “But he wouldn’t have left me tied up like that! I called out to him, but no one was here.” She looked down at her bruised wrists.

  “How did you get free, Cherri?” Colton asked, keeping his voice calm. But the redness of his face told Lacey that he was furious. She could see his biceps trembling.

  “One of the cloth scarves was barely tied. It was loose enough I could slip my hand out. I left them tied to the headboard and I called the police.”

  “Did you do anything else, Cherri?” Lacey leveled a serious gaze at the young woman. “Take a shower, anything like that?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I watch a lot of cop shows, I know they always tell you not to do that if you suspect assault.” Her voice cracked at the last word. “So, I just got dressed and called for you guys.

  Lacey put her tablet down on the coffee table and looked seriously into Cherri’s eyes. “I’m going to need to take you to the hospital. You seem to know what that means. If you’ve been raped, we need to collect evidence. And if not, wouldn’t it be nice to know the truth?”

  “Yes. Yes, I know.”

  “It’s not going to be easy. But we’ll be with you through the whole thing, okay?”

  She nodded and let her breath out in a sigh. “Okay.”

  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Lacey hated hospitals. The virus in her system, which enhanced her senses and her physical abilities, also hard-wired her to seek out prey by the scent of their blood. She could walk into the cleanest hospital on the planet but still smell the blood. Even at the cop shop, surrounded by so many humans, she could catch the coppery scent of their life’s blood flowing through their veins. She hissed in a breath before she crossed the threshold. She saw Kazz do the same. The young officer was a Shifter who could turn into a dog, a predator animal, and so she was wired in a similar way: to hunt. Just like Colton.

  “We make quite the trio, don’t we?” Kazz whispered it to Colton as they walked some distance behind Lacey and Cherri. “A Vampire, a Werewolf, and a Shifter walk into a bar...”

  Colton snorted, but continued their conversation in low tones. Lacey could hear it, but it was below the range of human hearing. “Yeah, that would be some lame joke.”

  They grinned at each other, and Lacey thought once again how similar they were. With a little bit of polish, Kazz will be an excellent officer. Not only that, but she would make an excellent detective. Lacey made a mental note to ask the younger woman if she would be interested, but she had a feeling Kazz would jump at the chance. She seemed to enjoy police work, and so far, she made Lacey proud. The cognitive interview techniques the woman employed as she questioned Cherri was something spectacular. She intended to discuss this in more depth with Kazz once they returned to the station. But first thing’s first. We’ve got to take care of this vic first. I wonder if Dr. Matthews would be upset with me if I called on him twice in as many days?

  As it turned out, Lacey didn’t have to. They ran into the doctor as Cherri was getting signed in to the emergency room at Medical City.

  “I thought you were off today?” Lacey asked with eyebrows raised.

  “I was. At least, until someone called in sick.” Niall looked tired and even more gaunt than usual. “And surprised to run into you three again so soon.”

  “We have a possible vic.” In quiet tones, Lacey explained what happened to Cherri.

  “If she was assaulted last night, if he--” He broke off and looked around furtively. “If he took her soul only last night, we might be able to track him through her.”

  “That was my thought as well. I was going to call you, after we got her ready to go back.”

  “I’m not the sole doctor on today, but I’ll make sure that I see her. Do you think you can set something up with Doctor Dilorenzo soon? It might be that I can test her here, as long as I can have a quiet place to work. But I think he should be along.”

  Lacey nodded. “I’ll give him a call. As soon as she gets to a room.”

  “Thank you.”

  She walked over to where Colton and Kazz stood, protectively guarding the young woman, but at a discreet distance to where she was answering all the questions asked of her by the elderly woman who was registering her. Colton nodded at her. “Was that Doctor Matthews? I wasn’t expecting to see him.”

  “I wasn’t either.” Lacey didn’t want to talk to Marcell at the moment; she was still feeling a bit awkward around him after their dinner date. “Can you give Doctor Dilorenzo a call, see if he can come and meet us here?”

  “You think she, you know...” He trailed off, taking the media blackout seriously, and wouldn’t elaborate with so many other people around them.

  “Doc’s going to see if he can test her here. Assuming he can find a quiet place to work. And we’ll have to get her consent; she’s not a prisoner, so we can’t force her into taking a hypnotic.”

  “Right. And speaking of, that was some magic Kazz used to put the whammy on her, wasn’t it?”

  “It’s a useful interview tool. I’ve seen it used in the past. Though, I didn’t know Kazz was so skilled in it. Let’s talk about this later.” She noticed the older woman directing Cherri to the doors leading into the back. “Call him. And wait out here. I don’t think she’d feel comfortable with you in the room during this.”

  She motioned to Kazz and followed Cherri back to the emergency room nursing station, where a nurse met them.

  “You can wait in the waiting room if you don’t mind,” she said to Lacey and Kazz.

  Lacey flashed her badge. “I do mind. We’re staying with her.”

  The nurse raised her hands in defeat. “Whatever you like. This way.”

  She led the trio to one of the exam rooms often used for rape victims. It was in a quiet corner of the ER and had its own bathroom and a shower facility installed. The nurse handed Cherri a
pair of loose-fitting scrub pants and scrub top that snapped at the sleeves. She began to explain the process of removing Cherri’s clothing, to preserve evidence.

  Lacey interrupted. “I don’t need her clothes for evidence. Just her undergarments will suffice. She’s not wearing the same outfit she wore during the assault, so I know there won’t be anything on her clothing to help us.”

  “As you wish. Doctor Matthews will be in to see you. Please don’t take a shower or anything before he comes in.”

  “I won’t.” Cherri’s voice was timid.

  Once the nurse left, Lacey turned to her. “I know the doctor who will be seeing you. He’s very sensitive, and he’s gentle with assault victims.” She hesitated, wondering if she should keep to herself the fact that the doctor was also a Reaper. But during her interview of Cherri, she got the impression of strength and intelligence from the young woman. But the examination, which in itself was quite violating, plus the fact that Dr. Matthews would have to try to see if her soul was intact, led her to be honest with the victim. “There’s something else. Doctor Matthews is a Reaper. I know he’s not the one who hurt you. But he is the only one who can help us find the one who did.”

  “Do you trust this man?” Cherri asked in a small voice.

  “Implicitly.” As soon as she said it, Lacey realized it was true. “We’ll explain more when he gets here. But first, I must ask you not to discuss what we’re going to tell you. It will likely frighten you, and if it gets out to the public before we’re ready, it may cause a panic.” That’s an understatement. “Do you understand?”

  “Yes ma’am, I understand. It must be super important if you need to tell me that. Like I said, I watch a lot of cop shows.”

  “Yeah? What’s your favorite?” Lacey was trying to get the young woman to relax as much as possible.

  “Well, I watch a lot of the police procedural type shows, but I prefer the true crime stories. For a while, I thought I might want to be a profiler.” She began to strip out of her clothes so she could put on the scrubs.

  “Did you see the one they recently did on Jack the Ripper?” Kazz asked from the corner, where she’d been a silent witness to the conversation.