by John O'Riley
“Excellent. Keep me apprised.” Ben turned abruptly to walk away.
“Will do, Chief,” Alex said to his retreating back.
Josephine put the journal back into the evidence locker and left with Alex. When they arrived at Yellow Tale’s Fish and Chips, the far corner of the parking lot containing the gated dumpster was secured with crime scene tape and a couple of police officers. Howie was one of the two assigned and his friendly, brown eyes lit up when he saw Josephine approaching. His brown hair was chopped in a crew cut and he had a muscular, solid frame. Josephine sometimes made him peanut butter kiss cookies as she knew that was one of his favorites. Seeing him reminded her she hadn’t baked a batch in awhile and she made a mental note to do so. There were several people in the department who loved them.
“Hi, Josephine. How are you?” Howie greeted her.
“I’m great.” Josephine centered a warm smile on him before gesturing at the dumpster. “Except for the pile of bodies.”
“CSI hasn’t arrived yet.”
“That’s great news. No one has mucked up the readings then,” Josephine said. “Thanks, Howie.”
Howie grinned and nodded in acknowledgement. She and Alex stepped past him to view the dumpster which reeked. Josephine couldn’t see the dead bodies but the odor was more than enough evidence. Josephine began her scans and immediately recognized a severe lack of psychometric energy.
“There isn’t much left for me to see,” Josephine announced.
“Somebody wiped it clean,” Alex commented.
Josephine’s brows furrowed with concentration. “Not exactly.”
Alex threw her a questioning look but refrained from further discussion. He knew she had work to do. After several long moments of silence, Josephine turned to center a grave look at him.
“The reason there wasn’t much to see is because their energy was drained. It was the two construo letalis curses that did this. They’re feeding to gather their strength.”
“That’s not good. Do you know when they might attack you again?” he asked.
“I couldn’t pick up much at all on the curses. The reason they chose these guys is because they generate dark energy. All of these victims are men and they’ve all been in prison at some point in their lives for assault and/or murder. Some people have a mental state that makes them a dark energy generator,” Josephine explained. “The curses engaged each individual in a fight so they would produce maximum levels then drained them.”
“I didn’t think it was possible to kill someone that way.” Alex regarded her with horror.
“It normally isn’t possible but the curses have mutated to develop this ability.”
“Do you know where they are now?”
“I’m afraid not. We’ll need to think of a way to lure them out of hiding.”
Josephine’s eyes widened with astonishment and dismay when she picked up traces of dark energy all around her. She opened her psychic receptors and tried to locate the source but this just made her dizzy as she picked up hundreds of them. Josephine squeezed her eyes shut and strained to focus ahead of her on just one piece. Alex sneezed and she flinched at the sound and sensed more particles of dark energy exploding near her. She opened her eyes and took stock of her surroundings.
“Bless you,” Josephine said in a distracted tone.
“Thanks.”
She stepped away from the dumpster and tried to find anything out of place. She was only five feet from Howie. He turned and grinned at her.
“Did you solve the case?” he asked.
“This is one of my challenges, I’m afraid.”
“Darn.” Howie peered more closely at her and his expression became sympathetic. “You look tired. Are you all right?”
“I think she was reading something but it wasn’t coming from the dumpster,” Alex surmised.
“You’re right.” Josephine glanced at him then swept her gaze across the parking lot. Surprisingly, many people were bustling in and out of the fast food restaurant. “I can’t figure out what I picked up. It was so strange.”
“Tell me,” Alex said.
Howie listened in with rapt attention as well.
“It was very disturbing. There were dark energy particles all around,” Josephine explained. “It was like there were hundreds of them. I couldn’t find the source and then I just lost them. I think they’re so small I can only detect them sometimes.”
Howie turned to sneeze.
“Bless you,” Josephine said.
“Thanks.”
Josephine gasped with dismay as a terrifying idea formed in her mind. “No, it can’t be.”
“What is it?” Alex asked.
“We need to take a trip to the hospital,” Josephine said. “The construo letalis curses are the least of our problems.”
“Before we go, I need to get a latte at Yellow Tale Fish and Chips,” Alex said.
Josephine eyed him with incredulous disbelief. “We just discovered a major crisis and you’re wanting a coffee?”
“You won’t want to be around me if I get a caffeine withdrawal headache.”
“I thought you weren’t going to eat there ever again,” Josephine said.
Alex hesitated. “It’s a drink so it doesn’t count.”
“Detective Riley, could you get me a caramel latte?” Howie called out as he dug out his wallet to get some money.
“Sure thing.” Alex turned and waited for the officer to hand him a ten-dollar bill.
“I’d like a large.”
“No problem.”
As Alex and Josephine walked towards the entrance to the fast food restaurant, Alex threw her a questioning look.
“What would you like to drink? My treat.”
Josephine cocked a bemused brow at him. “I don’t think so. A dumpster full of corpses killed my appetite.”
“Suit yourself.”
Soon, Alex was behind the wheel of the police car driving Josephine to the hospital.
“Do you care to explain what this is all about?” he asked.
“I think the Valituras unleashed some sort of virus mutated by dark energy into the air. I’ve picked up on it several times but thought I was imagining it because the impression was gone so quickly and whenever I tried to scan for it, there was nothing,” Josephine said. “But I think the concentrations of dark energy is stronger now.”
“Why aren’t the curses gobbling up the stuff?” Alex asked.
“I don’t think they can access them because they’re free floating particles.”
“Why isn’t anyone sick if it’s everywhere?”
“I think everyone’s been infected and that it’s a slow-acting disease. It didn’t occur to me before but EVERYONE has been sneezing. It isn’t allergies,” Josephine hypothesized.
“I haven’t seen YOU sneeze.”
“I was but it stopped. No matter how virulent a sickness is, there are always those who become immune.”
“This is scary stuff.” Alex gripped the steering wheel in a viselike grip and his jaw clenched. “Are you sure about this?”
“It’s just a theory.”
“Who am I kidding? You’re always right.” Alex lapsed into a tense silence for a long moment. He heaved a burdened sigh. “How much time do we have?”
“I don’t know. The good news is that it’s a slow-acting virus so we’ll have plenty of time to figure this out.”
“No one’s going to figure out how to stop a plague created by dark magic,” Alex said.
“Before we jump to conclusions, we need some evidence. If I can find someone infected by a larger concentration, I’ll be able to confirm it with a scan.”
“Don’t you think the doctors would notice something like that?”
“There’s no equipment that can detect particle-sized dark energy,” Josephine explained.
When they arrived at the hospital, they made their way to the lobby and halted in the middle of the large room. The receptionist, a brown-haired woman in
her twenties, noticed them and shot them a questioning look.
“Are you getting anything?” Alex asked.
“This may take awhile,” Josephine said. “I need to get closer to the patients.”
She stepped up to the counter and saw the name tag pinned to the woman’s shirt.
“Hi, Meg. I’m Josephine O’Connor, an enforcer and this is Detective Riley.” Josephine flashed her badge then pocketed it. “I’m going to need to search the building for a possible escaped convict.”
“Do we need to evacuate or anything?” Meg asked.
“No. I need you to stay calm. Don’t report this to anyone. I just need to be completely certain that this facility is clean and then I’ll be on my way,” Josephine said.
Meg set two visitor’s badges on the counter. Josephine and Alex both secured them to their shirts and stepped down the hallway. Josephine halted occasionally to perform a deep scan. By the time they reached the third floor, her head and body ached with fatigue and strain.
“Are you all right?” Alex regarded her with concern.
“I’m fine.”
“You look exhausted.”
Josephine threw him a reassuring look. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
She positioned herself near the wall and reached out with her hand to steady herself before activating her psychic receptors in another penetrating scan of her surroundings. Pain immediately flared up in her body but it was tolerable. The particles of dark energy were everywhere and it terrified her. After several seconds, she found a larger cluster and began walking towards the source. She stumbled as fatigue made her limbs weak and she almost fell flat on her face. Josephine caught herself and let go of the scan.
“I think this is too much,” Alex said.
“I sensed something up ahead. We have to keep going.”
“All right.” Alex’s expression was concerned as he stepped beside her down the hallway.
Josephine performed another deep scan for just a second to get her bearings on the dark energy. Pain flared up in her body and dizziness assaulted her sensed for several seconds. She finally stood in front of a closed door and knew that she’d reached her target. Josephine pulled out her badge and Alex did the same with his. She opened the door and found a man in his mid-forties seated in a small waiting room. He wore a blue tee shirt and jeans and had brown hair with flecks of gray mixed in. He did a double take when he realized his doctor hadn’t returned.
“I’m Enforcer O’Connor and this is Detective Riley. We need to ask you a few questions,” Josephine said in a crisp, businesslike tone.
“Okay.”
“What’s your name?” she asked.
“Darryl Monroe,” he said with trepidation.
“You’re not in any trouble,” Josephine assured him. “I’m investigating a possible crime. Why have you come to the hospital today?”
“I’ve been sick for about a week. I thought it was the allergies but I’ve been getting light-headed and dizzy periodically and almost had an accident on the way to work this morning.”
“Did you think you had the allergies because you were sneezing a lot?” Josephine inquired.
“Yes, exactly.” Darryl regarded her with an expression of dread on his face. “Am I dying?”
“I really can’t say for sure. Did the doctor take a blood sample?” Josephine asked.
“Yes, I’m waiting for the results of the medical scan.”
Doctor Winslow arrived and Josephine introduced herself and Alex. She briefly explained the purpose of her visit.
“Mr. Monroe has a mutated version of the Whooping Cough,” Winslow explained. “I performed the scan twice just to be sure. I haven’t seen that virus in a long time. If it’s been mutated by dark energy, that would explain how it resurfaced again.”
“Have you been sneezing a lot?” Josephine asked.
“As far as I know, everyone has been suffering with allergies.”
“I suspect it’s not allergies.”
Winslow peered at her with dismay. “If that’s true,every single person may be infected. Everywhere. There’s no chance that we can quarantine this virus.”
“I think that was the intention. The Valituras must have released the virus over a month ago,” Josephine said.
“How did they do it without getting caught?” the doctor asked.
“It could have been introduced in stores and hotels in the ventilation system. Since no one showed symptoms until weeks afterwards, it would have been easy to infect people without drawing attention to themselves.”
“The whooping cough is very infectious. With just a few key locations in some major cities, it would have spread like wildfire. The first stage is sneezing and most people don’t realize what it is,” Winslow said.
“Because the virus was mutated by dark energy, it may attack its victims in an entirely different way than its original form,” Josephine advised.
“I didn’t even detect any dark energy. Are you sure about this?”
“Did you scan him for dark magic?” Josephine regarded the doctor with concern.
“Yes, that’s part of the standard protocol.”
“Have you tried using the treatment for Whooping Cough on this man?” Josephine asked.
“Not yet. I have it here.” Winslow held up the short, white wand in his hand.
It had a rune-like symbol etched on the top and near the handle to identify its purpose.
“Go ahead.”
Winslow’s patient was still seated so he pointed the wand and activated it. The magic wasn’t powerful enough to create visible light but Josephine could sense it. Winslow frowned as he kept the wand pointed for a long moment then stopped.
“I’m afraid it’s not working on the virus,” the doctor said.
Darryl’s face blanched. “Am I going to die?”
“It’s a very slow acting virus. There will be plenty of time for the hospital to find a cure,” Josephine said in a soothing tone.
Darryl didn’t look convinced and Josephine’s heart tugged with sympathy.
“We’ve seen some cases of this virus. No one’s become bedridden from it and we haven’t seen it become serious. There’s one patient who we came in a week ago and she’s perfectly healthy as of yesterday with just some sneezing. She’s staying at home so she doesn’t infect everyone but now we know it’s too late for that.”
“You might want to take a blood sample from me. I think I’m immune. I’m sure I had the virus up until a few days ago,” Josephine said.
Hope flared in the doctor’s eyes as he let her know he’d be right back for the sample. After Winslow had the blood he needed, Josephine explained that he might have an antidote in the hospital records in the form of a potion. Winslow was familiar with it and advised that there were some doses already made in standby because of the Valituras threat. Unfortunately, the potion didn’t seem to make any difference against the virus whatsoever. Josephine placed a call to Ben Nutter to explain what she’d learned.
“This is bad,” Ben said. “And I mean really bad. This is a pandemic. If it wasn’t for you, no one would know about this virus until it actually started killing people. I wonder what that potion was for that you discovered since it doesn’t work on the virus.”
“Maybe there was more than one virus released,” Josephine suggested.
“That’s just terrific,” Ben grumbled.
“If there’s a second virus, we don’t have to worry about it because we’ve already got the cure ready,” Josephine pointed out.
“That’s true.”
“I’m reporting this to the CDC. I’ll need you to file an additional report right away. Come back to the station,” Ben said.
“Will do.”
Chapter 19
Josephine found it difficult to concentrate with the looming threat of the mutated whooping cough virus hanging over her head. It had been two days since the discovery she’d made at the hospital. All of her friends and family had tested po
sitive for the mutated virus dubbed DV-2 by health officials except for Mark and Helen who were immune because of their white magic. She worried that the second stage of the virus would be swift once it started. The staff at the CDC kept assuring the public that the virus was so slow to act that there would be plenty of time to find a cure. Josephine wasn’t so sure about that. The hospital and medical clinics were flooded with patients testing for DV-2. Josephine and Alex were in the police cruiser with Alex driving when Josephine’s cell phone rang.
She glanced at the caller ID before answering. “Jake, please tell me you’ve got good news.”
“I do, actually. Alice finished another claro mentis with Lucius. He recovered a memory when he was in college. He had a girlfriend who liked to exchange messages to him in code. Two of the codes were used in the book. Apparently, the journal is divided up into twelve or more sections and as we speak, he’s decoding what he can and writing down the translation for us.”
“That’s great news! Alex and I will be right over,” Josephine said.
She told Alex and he drove over to her house, parking in the driveway. They joined Jake, Alice, Helen, Mark, and Lucius at the dining room table.
“What do we have so far?” Josephine asked.
“The third section of the book talks about the DV-2 virus and another one that is faster acting. The fast acting virus was the one that you found the potion antidote for so that’s why it was never released. Unfortunately, I never discovered the cure for the DV-2 virus. It was programmed to act slowly and target the alveolar sacs in the lungs. Most victims will begin to feel fatigue after they’ve had the disease for about three weeks but not realize anything is wrong until it worsens. As the infection progresses, the victim will have less and less ability to take in oxygen,” Lucius advised.
“It’s like suffocating,” Jake said.
“That’s terrible. Most people have been infected for at least two weeks already. We don’t have a lot of time like the CDC thought,” Josephine said.
Jake sneezed. “I haven’t felt overly tired.”
“I have,” Alice said.
Everyone turned to scrutinize her with expressions of concern.
“You look all right,” Helen said.
