by Ali Vali
She nodded and headed out to the row of cars. The keys she’d taken had Ford stamped on them, and luckily it was the second car she tried. Now she just had to sit and be patient.
“Eventually you’ll realize how close you were.”
* * *
“Make sure you check every single one of them and cross-reference the list,” Sept said, agitated that she’d been kicked out of the building. They’d announced over the seldom-used intercom that communicated to every room in the building for everyone to meet in the lobby. They’d spoken in three different languages to be sure, and it’d taken ten minutes for the group of over twenty to come down and instantly startle from the number of police waiting on them. The service they worked for had sent the supervisor to make sure there weren’t any strangers in the group.
“They’re all ours,” the woman with the clipboard said. “We’re only missing four, but one of those is home with the flu.”
“Two are downstairs,” Sebastian said, handing over the ID badges he’d recovered before they’d been tossed out. “Where’s this woman?” He pointed to the last name with no check mark next to it.
“Rosario is one of my best,” the woman said, waving one of the men over. “Have you heard from Rosario?” she asked him in Spanish.
“Her car’s here, so she must still be in the building,” he replied, and Sept understood enough to get what he’d said.
“Can you show me her car?” Sept asked in bad Spanish.
He nodded and seemed to understand the urgency as they ran to the parking structure. On the way he told her Rosario was his cousin, and not here legally. She might not have come out for fear of deportation, but Sept could give a crap about that. If she was right, Rosario didn’t have a care in the world left.
“That one,” he said, pointing, and she held him back and pulled her weapon.
“Get back, and see if Will’s available to come down here,” she said to Nathan as they backed away. “She’s still either in the building or in there, but she’s still here.”
Will came via the elevator and checked the bottom of the car, making everyone stand back as he jimmied the door and trunk. “It’s clear, but there’s something for you,” Will said, holding up a card with a gloved hand. The name embossed on the top was Gretchen’s, which meant it had come off her desk.
Clever girl, Detective, but as always too late.
Thank you for the thrilling night, but you owe me one.
Whoever shall I pick to make up for your early arrival?
So many choices, and so little time left in the game.
Hunter
“I thought we had this place cleared?” she asked. It was maddening to have been so close and allow this bitch to thread the very small opening of escape.
“We did, but if she was in the trunk, we didn’t open any vehicles,” the woman who’d led the uniformed officers through responded.
“The rest of them are clear, Sept, if you want to open them and check,” Will said.
“Open them up.” The cops present started for the row of cars. They’d opened the first two when the first explosion rocked them into taking cover. That was followed by another one, and Sept saw debris falling from above. “Get everyone out.”
“I’m staying put,” Will said. “If those are the only two, then I’m heading up once the smoke clears and I can see what I’m doing.”
“Why put the damn things out here?” Nathan asked as they made their way down the ramp to the street.
“It’s a diversion. We can’t take our eyes off anything out here and the other crime scene,” she said, then doubled back and stopped Will. “Are you sure there’s no devices in the office with the bodies?”
“We checked it, and cleared it, but if you’re going back in, I’m coming with you. I’ll leave someone here until we’re ready.”
“Okay,” she said, pointing to all the possible exits out of the garage. “Nathan, have all the ways out covered, then stay here until every inch of every car that’s in here is searched before it leaves.”
“Got it.”
“I’ll be back as soon as George’s done with the scene upstairs.” She headed back, and the team was still outside waiting for the green light to reenter. “Where are Jennifer and George?” she asked Gustave.
“Jennifer wasn’t leaving Chloe, and George wasn’t leaving without the two of them, so they’re still up there. It’s a good thing too.”
“What do you mean? If anything, Jennifer should be torn apart.”
“Chloe came to—she’s not dead,” Gustave said, which relieved her.
“Let’s head up. Try and get our Santeria whisperer over here. We were dodging exploding cars at the garage, so I haven’t called him.”
“Francois volunteered to pick him up,” Gustave said, following her inside. The office was still dark, lit only by the candles, and the EMTs were waiting in the hall since Chloe was wrapped in Jennifer’s arms.
“Chloe,” she said, sitting in a chair close to where the couple was on the floor. “I’m so happy you’re okay, and I’m sorry this happened to you.” Chloe smiled, and Sept saw the tears still falling. She’d never forget the fear she’d experienced when Perlis had her tied down.
That night as she’d watched Nathan and her brother-in-law Damien waiting to die with her, all she could think of was the people she’d leave behind. Her parents and siblings had already lost so much, and she had so much still left to do. They’d all survived, and even Damien had found himself a path back from the pain of losing Noel and Sophie. He was living with his parents and would be back at work in another month.
All that paled when she thought of leaving Keegan alone. The possibility still haunted her some nights.
“This can wait, Sept. She’s been through enough already,” Jennifer said.
“I know, but we need to respect the folks who didn’t survive.”
“It’s okay, sweetie. She’s right. I don’t know how much I can help you, though. I was preparing for a case I’ve got tomorrow when Gretchen came in with a hooded creep with a gun.”
“Was it a woman?”
“I never saw her face, but I’m pretty sure it was. She had us sit in my visitors’ chairs and moved behind us. For like ten minutes she just stood behind us and said if we turned around she’d kill us.” Chloe seemed not to want to glance at the bodies, and Sept placed her hand on her shoulder and nodded. “We both flinched when we felt a jab at the shoulder. I thought she’d stabbed me, but I woke up when Jennifer touched me.”
“I don’t have the words to express how happy I am you made it. Anything else you remember, Chloe?”
“Before I was out like a drunk on Bourbon, she kept repeating numbers and what sounded like instructions on what she was doing.”
“Repeating the instructions?”
“It was strange. I mean, obviously she can kill, but she doesn’t seem to have a stomach for it.”
“God help us all if she gets any more comfortable.”
* * *
“Captain, we need a search warrant,” Nathan said as the bomb guys walked back into the garage to get to the floor where the cars had exploded. “Do you want me to start the process?”
“The cleaning crew is all here, so call them over and have them give consent. That should get us started without having to wake a judge. If one person refuses, then we get a warrant for everything in here,” Sebastian said.
“One more thing, sir.” Nathan waved the uniformed supervisor over. “We need to run the plate of every car in there. We found stolen cars at a couple of locations, so it’s probable one’s here too. We might need more bodies out here to get through all this faster.”
“Good call, and I have to say, I’m glad I partnered you with Sept. You two make a good team.”
“Thank you, sir. Sept’s been a great teacher and an even better friend.” Nathan moved away and contacted an ADA to put them on standby, then took the time to text Sept and tell her what was going on. The radio on
his belt came to life, and the NOPD bomb unit called to report.
“Two cars got blown to shit,” the guy said. “Looks like the devices were attached to the gas tanks for extra pop. The team’s checking the others, but nothing up here is drivable after the ones that were set off.”
“Can I send people in to run all the plates?” Nathan asked.
“Stay put, and we’ll walk the lot and radio them in. Once we do that we can send the wreckers in to start clearing this place.”
“Thanks, and make sure you don’t miss any floor.”
“We’ll start at the top and work our way down. A couple of my guys will check as we go, so make sure you don’t send anyone up here. These calls are getting nuts.”
“You aren’t kidding,” Nathan said and read the text he got. “And add opening the cars to your list. Our perp might still be on-scene.”
“That’d be some shit.”
“If it’s true, though, you can go back to playing solitaire at work.”
* * *
“Jennifer, how about you take Chloe and have the EMTs check her out?” Sept said, placing her hand on Chloe’s shoulder.
“If George can spare me, I’d rather take her to the hospital to get checked out,” Jennifer said from behind Chloe, a spot she’d taken to better hold her, turning Chloe away from the bodies so close by.
“Go ahead, and I’ll take care of this,” George said.
“One more thing, Chloe,” Sept said, and Jennifer’s expression became even more concerned. “I identified Gretchen Harrison, but do you know who the man is?”
“Let me get her loaded up, and I can help with that,” Jennifer said.
“Wait,” Chloe tried to turn around, but Jennifer held her. “Who is it?”
“Please, baby,” Jennifer said.
“Who is it?”
“It’s Roger, and I’m so sorry,” Jennifer said and held Chloe as she sobbed. “You know he would’ve done anything to keep you safe, and it looks like he did.”
“Come on, Chloe. Let’s get you out of here,” Sept said, helping Chloe up and holding her until Jennifer took over. “Roger who?” she mouthed to Jennifer.
“I’ll be right back,” Jennifer said and walked Chloe out, stepping back in quickly and telling them who Roger was, what he did, and what he meant to Chloe. “He was her oldest and dearest friend.”
“If Chloe was a target, I can understand Roger,” Sept said as another team member took pictures for George. “What’s Gretchen doing down here?”
“Sept, they radioed that Dr. Munez is coming up,” someone yelled from the hall.
“I don’t know, but this is a first,” George said. “The two bodies, which should’ve been three, is a definite escalation. Thank all that’s holy you figured this one out and got one out alive.”
“That’s what doesn’t make sense to me, though. Why take a chance that I would figure it out before she was done? All this elaborate gory show takes time, and if I interrupted her with Chloe, there’s no way she got out clean.”
“How do you figure?” George asked as one of the techs started dusting for prints. The phone was full of blood, as was the door, but all of it was completely smeared.
“The two dead bodies downstairs that were found. Hunter must have been posing as the one woman who wasn’t here tonight, and killing two people before you come up here to kill three more would’ve potentially gotten us called out sooner.” She stepped behind Chloe’s desk and covered the open files with paper from the copier on the credenza. The techs had taken all the necessary pictures of the scene, and she didn’t want to take the chance anyone would see sensitive information.
“Hello, Sept,” Julio said as he entered. The first sight of the slaughter made him reach for the beads around his neck. “Just when I think it can’t get any worse than the last one,” he said, tapping his chest rhythmically with the fist he held the beads in.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your continued help, Julio. These scenes can get overwhelming pretty fast, but you haven’t given up on us.” She waved him to a spot by the desk where he’d be safe from stepping on anything. “Not that the orishas have led us anywhere, but what’s all this mean?”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Julio said, his eyes moving from one altar to the next.
“It’s like the others with the circle and stuff in them.”
“There are two altars, but the things on them represent Ibeji, one orisha. They are the divine twins but are seen as one entity. That’s St. Cosme,” he pointed to the altar by Roger, “and that’s St. Damain.” He pointed to Gretchen’s.
“I think even my mother who’s a good Catholic hasn’t heard of some of these saints,” she said as the techs finished around the bodies. “What else?”
“See how they both have the numbers two and four on their feet and the number eight on their foreheads? They’re the same on both, but it’s definitely Ibeji, and why he was picked makes no sense to me.”
“Sounds like the twins are male and female, and that’s what we’ve got.”
“That’s right, but why a third one?” Julio pointed to the altar that would’ve been Chloe’s. “Please tell me this one lived.”
“She did. This is her office, and I got here before she was killed. Unfortunately we found two more downstairs.”
“That’s good to hear, and the rest is right as well. The red and blue candles are their colors, and the dolls usually placed wear one of each color with white. The little bananas are their favorite, along with the candy.”
“And what path do they walk, or what do they protect?” she asked.
“Nothing. They have no path but to be playful and curious. Their followers believe them to be universal in nature, the first twins ever born in the world, with Chango and Oshun as their parents.”
“No warnings of death and war this time?”
“People who’ve had twins follow Ibeji, as do those who’ve lost one and the other child lived. The respect shown for the life of the child lost protects the other one from following them to the grave.”
“You have no clue what this one would’ve been?” The empty circle suddenly became more interesting, since the other two were the same type of murders. “Some other of the orishas associated with them?”
“Their parents are highly regarded orishas, but one legend says Oshun shunned them, and Yemayá, the mother of all living things, raised them. Maybe this is what this altar is for, but I can’t be certain since that’s not the way of the followers.” Julio bent to study the statues. “They must’ve searched for these because they’re not common.”
“They both look male.”
“They are, and they were actual twins who died Christian martyrs. If I remember correctly, they were skilled doctors who were born in Arabia and died in the Roman province of Syria in the third century.” Julio closed his eyes as he spoke, as if the answers were printed on his eyelids. “The orishas, though, are mostly seen as male and female, but I’ve heard of them as identical males or females.”
“Thank you, and if you get any other ideas about the empty altar, please call me.”
“Do you mind?” Julio asked, and opened his arms. When she shook her head, he embraced her and recited something she didn’t understand. “It’s nothing but a prayer of protection,” he said when he finished. “You must remain strong and know we all pray for you.”
“Thank you, and I need you to be careful. This killer has ways of finding people connected to this case or to me, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Matilda insisted I stay with her, so don’t worry. And if I’m needed, you know where to find me. Maybe you should come talk to her.”
“I will if I get the chance.”
“Do you have a history of twins in your family?” Julio asked as what almost seemed like an afterthought.
“My brothers Jacques and Joel are twins, but not identical. Since they look and act nothing alike, no one ever believes they are.”
He stared at her and took a few breaths, as if trying to decide about something. “Matilda said something about you that made no sense.”
“Can you tell me? At this point I’m about to go sit with one of those psychics in the Quarter for answers.”
“She said identical twins will come to you,” he said, and smiled. “I’d hoped she meant Keegan and any children you might have, but you never mentioned anything like that. Perhaps she picked up on your brothers, or on this.”
“If she says anything else, let me know, and if the name and address of the killer pop into her head, make me your first call.”
Chapter Thirty-one
“One of the cars that blew up was reported stolen,” Nathan told Sept after she finished upstairs and met him by the garage. “The bomb guys are still working through it, and the cleaning crew was allowed to drive away once everyone had agreed to have their vehicles searched. A unit checked on Rosario, the missing custodian, and she’s really missing.”
“Where and who was the car stolen from?” It was after three in the morning, and the thick clouds threatened rain, cooling the temps down.
“You won’t believe it, but it was stolen from the same lot as before by the Hilton. Gustave went in search of security footage.”
“All the other cars belong here?” The few drops that fell made her and Nathan seek shelter right inside the parking structure.
“I don’t know about belong here, but they haven’t been reported for any reason.”
“Any jump out at you from this list?” she asked, and he handed it over. They both glanced up when a report of a shooting and possible homicide came through. “It’s not like there’s not enough going on.”
“Hell. I’d love for us to be responsible for only one possible homicide instead of all this shit. Whoever got that call are some lucky bastards.”
