by West, Shay
“I like blues and rock and roll.”
She scrutinized him for a moment. “I can see that. I bet you even play guitar, don’t you?”
“I used to.”
Eli gritted his teeth. It was an innocent comment, but the wave of bitterness that washed over him made him want to throw his whiskey glass across the room.
“Did I say something wrong?”
He shook his head. “You want to talk personal? I’ll give you personal.” He met her gaze and continued in a flat monotone. “I haven’t touched a guitar since I divorced my cheating ex. Do with that what you will.” He gulped his drink, threw a couple of twenties on the bar, and left.
After he got home, he felt guilty about leaving Ava sitting alone at the bar. He picked up his phone, ready to call and apologize, maybe try to explain, but he set it down without dialing her number.
I don’t care what she thinks.
He knew the voice in his head was full of shit, but he didn’t argue. The last thing he needed was to become distracted by worrying about what Ava might think. Nothing could come of their growing bond except the inevitable closeness that comes from partners working gruesome murders. Ava was off-limits. Best just to forget about her throaty laugh, gorgeous brown eyes, luxurious hair he wanted to wrap his hands in...
Eli shook his head. Even if they could date, he knew what the inevitable conclusion would be. All of his relationships ended badly. He really didn’t care to even try for another, somehow believing this time around would be different.
His phone buzzed. He ignored it, figuring it was Ava. When it started buzzing its way across the coffee table, he picked it up with a growl.
It was Captain Platt.
“What took you so long to answer?”
“Thought you were someone else I didn’t want to talk to.”
Long pause. “How much have you had to drink tonight?”
“More than I probably should have, and not as much as I wanted.”
“You better sober up quick. We got another body.”
***
The scene was all too familiar: reds and blues flashing, officers questioning witnesses and keeping gawkers from corrupting the crime scene, Sherry kneeling next to a dismembered body, Ava speaking with witnesses, yellow tape cordoning off the whole thing.
Eli walked to Sherry. He could feel Ava’s eyes boring into his back, but he refused to turn around. The only thing in his sights was the body of a young woman splayed out in a grotesque fashion on the sidewalk.
“Here we are again,” Sherry said as he knelt next to her.
Eli pulled on a pair of gloves. “Tell me about her.”
“Name’s Vanessa Parkins, twenty one years old, out for the evening celebrating her birthday, left to walk a couple blocks home. Another partier found her.” Sherry pointed to a young man rocking back and forth at the periphery of the crime scene.
“Cause of death?” he asked.
“Same as all the others. Blunt force trauma to the head.”
“Anyone see anything?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
Sherry shook her head. “Not a thing.”
“What’s missing from this girl?”
“Only the heart.”
“Hey, well, that’s good news.”
Sherry raised her eyebrow. “No need to be sarcastic.”
“Sorry. My night of drinking was interrupted for this.”
“Why don’t you go walk the scene, do what you do, while I finish up here.”
Eli knew a dismissal when he heard one. He stripped off his gloves and put them in the side pocket of his jacket. He did as Sherry suggested, letting his mind go blank, just surveying the scene and playing out what most likely happened.
Vanessa exits the bar, a little unsteady on her feet. She wobbles down the sidewalk, thankful she only lives a few blocks away. Her phone buzzes, so she grabs it from her purse, fingers flying across the screen as she sends a text or checks her Facebook status. She doesn’t even hear the perp come up behind her.
A voice shouting his name brought him out of his vision. He turned to find Ava running at him, holding something in her hand, smiling triumphantly. As she gets closer, he sees Ava holding a bloody cell phone.
“You’re not going to believe what we found!”
***
Eli leaned forward in his chair. “Is this for real?” he asked for the second time since seeing the image on his computer screen.
“Apparently our victim was taking selfies to celebrate her big night and ended up catching the perp as he came up behind her,” Ava said.
The image on the computer was crystal clear, not like looking at surveillance cameras at banks or ATMs. The killer was in full view, walking just behind and to the right of Vanessa. Eli frowned.
“What the heck is he wearing?”
Ava shrugged. “I wondered that too. Looks strange.”
“You know what it reminds me of? Those guys at the Renaissance festivals.”
Ava nodded. “I can see that. Just simpler, like something a peasant would wear rather than royalty.”
Eli barked laughter. “Our killers are wannabe medieval dudes?”
Ava gave a small half smile. “It’s no stranger than your alien theory.”
“Let’s see if we can ID this guy.”
“Tomorrow. I’m so tired I can’t even see straight. Besides, in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re the only ones here.”
He checked his watch. “Don’t you mean today?”
She waved him off. “Whatever. I’m going home for some sleep and a shower.”
Eli hated waiting, but he knew the tech wouldn’t come down to the station until morning. He emailed the photos, along with a message in all capital letters to get on this case ASAP, before heading out for the remainder of the night.
His nerves buzzed as he drove through the empty city streets. He knew it was only a matter of time before he would finally have a name for the person terrorizing the citizens of his town. He smiled grimly when he pictured the man in the interrogation room. I’ll get the information about the other killers from him.
In addition to being able to visualize a crime better than anyone else, Eli also had the ability to scare the hell out of suspects during interrogation. He was tall and broad-shouldered and used that size to his advantage. He had been able to crack even the most stoic of suspects.
He was too wired to sleep when he got home, so he logged onto the computer to search for images that matched the clothing the killer wore. He was convinced they were dealing with some sort of medieval cult that operated in various cities across the United States.
When his search proved fruitless, he checked the various news outlets to see if they had reported anything about killers stealing organs. The internet was both the savior and curse of detectives everywhere. It was difficult to hide a crime when everything people did was photographed and slapped on a social media site in two seconds; plenty of criminals had been apprehended from such behavior. But on the other hand, it was difficult to sift through the garbage to find the nuggets of truth. And it was difficult to keep certain details of crimes out of the hands of the media.
Eli’s eyes widened and his blood turned to ice. A headline in black and white from London, England jumped from the webpage:
Butcher Strikes Again!
His hands shook as he scrolled down the page, eyes darting left and right as he skimmed through the article. It was lacking in details, but at first glance, it certainly looked as though the killers had gone international.
CHAPTER 12
“DID YOU NOTIFY the FBI?” Captain Platt asked.
“I called them before I called you,” Eli answered.
Eli shared a look with Ava. They had arrived at the precinct well short of daylight. He hadn’t hesitated calling the FBI, and then his captain, after he had finished reading the article. The FBI assured him they would do everything in their power to obtain records of any murders that matched the MO of the Butch
er.
Butchers, is more like it.
He had always hated giving names to killers; it gave them a type of fame that Eli found highly inappropriate. Murderers didn’t deserve to have even their birth names known by the masses; only the victims deserved such treatment. Much as he hated it, it did make it easier to refer to them by a name other than just “killer” or “perp”.
“While we wait for them to get back to us, I want you two scouring the web for any more stories like this one.” He gestured angrily at the London article. “Hopefully they have some footage of the killers or some other evidence.”
“That won’t help us catch our killers,” Ava said.
Platt fumed. “There has to be some sort of connection between the Butchers. If we can identify just one, it might be enough to lead us to a family or a cult or some shit that we can use to nail the other Butchers.”
Eli was taken aback. His captain was usually careful with his language in front of women.
“If there’s anything, we’ll find it,” Eli said.
“You better, or the body count will just keep piling up. I’ll settle for nailing one of the bastards. I don’t care what country he’s from,” Platt said.
The detectives left Platt’s office, the latest news of international murders re-fueling their energy. They spent the next several hours at their desks, combing through news sites from around the world, exclaiming when they found something they thought matched the MO for the Butchers. They flagged the pages and sent the data to the FBI so the Feds could search more thoroughly in their databases.
“I found at least a dozen news stories describing bodies with organs missing,” Ava said, leaning back in her chair, stretching her back.
“Same here. Gah, I need to get out of this chair!” Eli said, rubbing his stiff neck.
“Let’s go get lunch. Your treat this time.”
Eli snorted as he stood and followed his partner to the elevator. As was his custom, he stared at her legs while they walked.
“Can I ask you something?”
Ava smirked. “If I said no, you’d ask anyway, wouldn’t you?”
He shrugged and grinned. “Why do you wear skirts? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in slacks?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and arched her eyebrow. “This is your big question?”
“Just curious, is all.”
“I’ve always worn them. Nothing deeper than that.” She laughed her sexy throaty laugh. “You look disappointed.”
“I guess I was expecting some sort of story.”
“You mean like this?” She pursed her lips, then smiled. “I use my legs to get ahead in this male-dominated world.”
“I never thought that! It’s just strange. I mean, what if you had to chase a perp down in those heels?”
“I bet I can run faster than you in these heels than you can in your own shoes.”
Eli wanted to call her out, but was actually afraid she might be right. And losing a foot race to a girl in heels was something his ego couldn’t handle.
“Where are you taking me for lunch?” she asked.
“There’s this great deli down the street.”
“Sounds perfect. I’m starved.”
The nondescript sandwich shop was situated between two large office buildings that overshadowed the tiny deli. There were a couple of bistro tables out front and a neon sign that said “Open” hanging in the window.
“How did you find this place? I would have passed by never knowing it was here,” Ava said.
Eli hesitated before answering her. “My ex and I used to come here.”
“It’s a cute place,” she said in a neutral voice.
The shop was dim and cool, with about a dozen small tables lining two walls. Eli led the way to the counter. He handed Ava a menu.
“What do you recommend?” she asked as she read the choices.
“What do you like? They have fish, burgers, eggplant, and antipasto salad.”
“I love eggplant,” she said, handing back the menu.
“Did you guys decide?”
Eli turned to the bored teenager behind the counter. “We’ll take two of the eggplant sandwiches and a couple of sodas.”
He paid for the food and led Ava to a table in a corner away from the door. It was peaceful, quiet, and far away from the table where he and his ex used to sit. When he had suggested the sandwich shop, he hadn’t really thought about his ex at all. Sitting here in their favorite eatery didn’t bother him as badly as he thought it would.
Maybe I’m finally getting over her.
They passed the time chatting about the case, taking special care to keep their voices low. It wouldn’t do to have a customer overhear evidence the police were keeping quiet. They hadn’t released what specific organs were taken from the victims and they had yet to mention they had a snapshot of one of the killers.
The same bored teenager brought them their steaming sandwiches. Eli didn’t bother to wait until the sandwich cooled before taking a huge bite. The marinara sauce and melted cheese seared his mouth. He took a gulp of ice-cold water to cool the half-chewed food in his mouth. Ava covered her mouth and giggled.
Her eyes closed as she savored the first bite. It didn’t take her long to adopt Eli’s method of cooling the hot bite of sandwich by drinking cold liquid rather than waiting for it to cool.
“You’re right. That was the best sandwich I have ever had,” she said.
“I’ve had pretty much everything here and not one thing is short of superb.”
“I believe it.”
Just then, both of their cell phones buzzed. They shared a look, then headed back to the office.
***
“What do you have for us?” Eli asked Charlie, the tech who was running the facial recognition program.
Charlie looked crestfallen. “I wish I had good news for you. But the face came back with nothing.”
Eli held his temper in check. “Anything that was even a partial match?”
“Not even close.”
Another dead end.
Eli walked to Platt’s office to break the news.
“Charlie finished with the photo. Dead end, Captain.”
Platt sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder if all the evidence in this case will lead to dead ends.”
“Maybe the FBI can come up with something. With these murders happening across the globe, there have to be other pictures, other prints, maybe DNA evidence.”
Platt smiled. “You just hate to admit this one might be more than you can handle.”
Eli snorted. “No case is more than I can handle. I’ll nail the bastards.” He stood to leave, a grim smile on his face. “I’ll nail them all.”
CHAPTER 13
TANI AND KEENA spent a week at his family home on the edge of the sea. Keena forced a smile whenever anyone spoke to her, but Tani could tell she was putting on a show. Her eyes had no spark, her forced laughter no joy. Tani missed his partner and friend.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked while they sat looking over the bluffs.
She shook her head, but refused to speak.
“Please, what is troubling you? Maybe I can help.”
“Can you make my family accept our decision the way yours has?”
Her voice broke and she turned again to face the sea, wind blowing her hair back from her delicate face. He hated seeing her so despondent, but he didn’t know what to say or do to make things better. Guilt twisted his heart. His family had been nothing but supportive and loving about their decision to leave the monastery, going so far as to accept Keena as a member of the family.
Would you rather they turn you away?
He reached out and took her hand in his, heart breaking at the slight tremble he could detect. Was it fear of the intimate contact or despair over the loss of her family? Tani didn’t say anything, merely held her hand, praying to the gods to bring her comfort and peace.
Tani couldn’t say how long they sat there
, but it was long enough for the storm clouds to come toward the bluffs where they sat. The clouds were black and purple, ominous and swollen with rain and bad tidings. He had lived most of his life on the sea and a storm like this could be deadly.
He knew he should run back to the house, but he couldn’t tear his eyes from the clouds. They moved slowly across the ocean and caused it to swell and undulate faster, the waves crashing against the granite cliffs far below where the pair sat holding hands as though they alone could oppose the storm.
A shout from behind brought him out of his stupor.
“What are you two doing out here? Papa is bringing everyone to the storm cellar.”
Tani turned and nodded at his mother. He followed her to the eastern side of the house, still gripping Keena’s hand with his own. His father stood at the entrance, holding one of the doors open.
“Will we be safe down here?” Keena asked softly.
“My family has weathered many a storm in this cellar. We’ll be fine.”
His other siblings sat in a corner playing a game of checkers.
“Want to play a game?” Tani asked Keena.
She shrugged, but didn’t refuse. He found the family’s second checkers set and set it up at a low wooden table. They sat on the floor on woven mats, facing one another. Tani set up the board, letting Keena choose her pieces. She chose to be Royalty, leaving Tani to be the Peasantry.
Keena jumped when the wooden doors rattled in the growing wind. He smiled, trying to put her at ease, but her eyes never lost the sheen of terror. Soon the sound of wind-driven rain drowned out the creaking of the cellar doors.
“Can the water get down here?” Keena asked.
“The steps may get a little damp, but that’s about it. We’re safe in here; I promise.”
Tani’s mother dished out a dinner that consisted of dried bread, tart cheese, and salted pork. Keena didn’t have much of an appetite and merely nibbled at her meal. Every time the wind rattled the doors, she jumped.
“Will this last much longer?” she asked.
Tani smiled sadly. “A storm this size usually lasts all night.”
“Why don’t you try some of this, my dear?”
