by WL Knightly
He picked up his phone and dialed her number, and she answered with an enthusiastic tone. “Did you change your mind?”
She had wanted him to go to Club Taunt and have a little voyeur fun. “No, I’m not going to put you at risk for a little kink.” He looked around and was glad that Lizzy had stepped away and even Max was out of earshot.
“Then you should at least let me have a little fun. I’m used to getting my freak on, and it’s been a while since I went to the club for some fun. Please?”
“I tell you what. I’ll let you give me a safe word, and you can show me some of the toys in your box. But I can’t make any big promises, and nothing is going in the backend.” He hadn’t wanted things to get too carried away, or for her to get the wrong idea of his preferences.
She giggled, and he thought he heard the sound of clapping hands. “Awesome. I’ll be waiting.”
He laughed, trying to keep his voice low as Max walked back into the room. “I’m taking off a little early, so you won’t have to wait long.” His nerves were already going crazy with anticipation, and he couldn’t help but wonder what he’d gotten himself into.
He hung up the phone, got up from his chair, and walked around his desk as Lizzy walked back into the room. “I’m going to call it a day, I think. Get a jump on the weekend.”
“I know it’s boring looking over the reports, but the piles aren’t going to get any smaller.” She looked down at the floor and back up again, and it was then that he noticed how tired her eyes were. He hated to bail on her, but she still claimed to be over it, and he was over the fucking reports for sure.
About that time, Louisa stuck her head in. “I need you out here now. All of you.”
Darek could hear the distress in her voice and wondered what could have done her that way. She’d seen some shit on the force, but this looked like she’d just seen a ghost.
Darek hurried out with Lizzy and Max behind him, and he was surprised when he came out and saw a man standing on the other side of the front desk with two women, all of whom were bloody and dressed in blood-stained bed sheets. The man held a large yellow snake, and that alone had most everyone in the place freaked out.
Lizzy covered her mouth, and that was when the stench hit Darek’s nose too. They smelled like death, and upon closer look, the women had symbols carved into their foreheads.
“What the fuck is this?” asked Max.
Every officer in the room had their hand palming their guns as the wild-eyed man took a step forward. “I am Ophi. Ruler over the sign of Ophiuchus, the snake-bearer Serpentarius. I have come to turn myself in.”
“Ophi?” Darek tried really hard not to make a face. “And you’re responsible for the zodiac murders?”
“I am the leader of the zodiac cult. The trueborn ruler of the stars and all the heavenly realms. I am earth-walker of my people and dream-bringer to my followers.” At that moment, the women behind him fell to their knees and bowed down, leaving everyone standing around them with slack-jawed stares.
Lizzy and Darek exchanged a look, and then he turned to Darius across the room and another officer. “Cuff them. Call the zoo to remove the snake. Then bring him into processing. I want them hosed off before they reach the interrogation room.”
As the man stood still and held out his hands to be cuffed, Max walked over and got Darek’s attention. “He didn’t admit to being the killer, just the leader of a cult.”
“That’s all we need for an arrest at this point. We’ll figure the rest out, but I agree. He needs to be taken for questioning. Looks like we’re going to be here a while, gentlemen, so I hope you didn’t have any plans.” She looked at Darek with a smirk and then walked back to her desk.
Max sighed. “I guess I should call the boys and tell them I’m not going to be able to join the poker game.” He walked to his desk, plopped down in his chair, and got on his phone.
Darek knew he had to call Raven, and he decided to go down the hall and do it so Lizzy wouldn’t overhear. He was trying to be more careful since his last slip up. He made his way down the hall, rounded the corner to where he could have a little privacy, and dialed her number.
“You just can’t wait, can you?”
“Hey, Rave. There’s been a hitch in my plans. I’m not getting off early.” He hated to deliver the bad news, but she was a big girl.
She sighed. “It’s okay. I’ll wait.”
“Rave, it could be late. Into the morning late. Some nut bag came up here and claims to be the leader of the Zodiac cult. We’re sending him through processing and questioning. He has two disciples with him too, so no telling how long this is going to take.” He cringed just thinking about the late night.
“So, what am I supposed to do? Sit around here and not have any fun?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry too. I know you’re worried, but if the whacko who is responsible for the murders just turned himself in, I guess I’m safe to go to Taunt.”
He wasn’t sure how to tell her how wrong she was. “Look, we haven’t processed this idiot, and I’m not sure he’s the guy. He seems more like some freak from outer space than the leader of a real cult, and we don’t even know if he’s really involved. If that’s true, you shouldn’t go out. Especially to a club where you met two of the victims.” He couldn’t believe that she’d risk it.
“Fine! But I might go to my friend’s house again. I’m no worse off there than here all alone, and there is a lot more fun.”
“Okay, just be safe.” He heard the phone click and knew she was upset with him. His jaw tensed, and he put the phone away and went back to the office just in time to see Lizzy come out.
“There you are,” she said. “I was just about to go looking for you. They got them deloused, and the leader is on his way to the interrogation room.”
“Great, I can’t wait to see what else the nut has to say.” He turned and walked down the long hall that led across the building to interrogation.
“Darek, this is big. I mean, the man just walked in and handed himself over. I know he’s nuts, but so was Manson, so was Jones, and all the other cult weirdos. You heard what he said. He has followers.”
“Right, and if we’re lucky, he didn’t pull a Manson and have all of his disciples do all of his dirty work for him. It will be much easier without the multiple killer theory.” Knowing what he knew, he doubted the man had any connection to the Zods, and all he had to do was call everyone and find out.
“We already know that there seemed to be multiple murderers involved. All of the inconsistencies are now explained. I feel this in my bones, Darek. It is what I was waiting for. This man is in my callback stack, so I had a feeling already about him from the questionnaire.”
He stopped just outside the door they had to go in. “Did you happen to look into this Ophiuchus nonsense?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I just did before I came and found you. A quick search told me that it is indeed a recently discovered sign that falls between Scorpio and Sagittarius. It is, in fact, the snake bearer. There are many who claim that while Ophiuchus is a constellation, the zodiac wasn’t designed to support every constellation in the sky.”
“Always some asshole wanting to change everything,” he mumbled as he opened the door.
The man, Ophi, who obviously wasn’t using his real name, sat clean and clothed in county orange behind the table with a sly smile that made his skin crawl.
Lizzy stepped around Darek and into the room where she stood looking down at the man. “State your name, sir.”
Darek walked in and stood behind her in time for the man to answer. “I am Ophi in my homeland, and Ophi to my people.”
“Do you have another name?” she asked.
“I’ve been called by many names.” He raised his hands out like he was some kind of messiah and then placed them back on the table where he was chained.
Darek looked over at Lizzy as if to say I told you so. “And where is this homeland you spea
k of?” asked Darek.
The man lifted his chin and gave a cocky grin as if he thought he was better than anyone in the room. “Barnard’s star. It’s part of the constellation Ophiuchus.”
Lizzy had already lost her patience, judging from the irritated look on her face. “You do realize we have your fingerprints and are running you through the system, sir? We will find out who you are. If this is a game, you’re playing—”
“This is no game. I’ve come so that your world might be purged of the unclean and the unworthy. Soon, the end will come, and when I bring you home with me, not everyone can come.”
Darek had a feeling they would never get a straight-up confession from the man, which meant he didn’t know dick about what really happened. Not in the slightest. “So, you’re here to play judge and jury.”
He looked down his nose at the two of them. “We do not use those human words.”
“Ophi, are you responsible for the deaths of anyone you deemed not worthy enough to go home with you?” Darek pulled out a chair and sat down to meet the man eye to eye.
“You are asking if I killed a man who committed suicide? Another who died in jail? And a poor old lady bludgeoned in her bed?”
Lizzy leaned forward like he was about to confess everything. “And the others, yes.”
“My influence is everywhere, you see. I’ve had to leave my mark to be heard. To be understood, and I promise, dear ones, I can lead you. I can teach you.”
Darek held up a hand. “Easy, there. I’m not here to be recruited, and I don’t want to go live on some Barnard’s Star with you and your followers. What we’re trying to find out is how many of the Zodiac victims are you taking responsibility for?”
“All of them. They all had to die for my cause, as will you, Detective. You’ll die too because you are not clean.” The man stared at Darek like he could see into his soul and see all of the ugly there.
But Darek knew better than to look fazed. “I’m content to let my own God judge me, thanks.”
Lizzy looked at the attorney, who still looked like he’d rather be any place else in the world. “That sounded like a confession to me, and since he said he was here to turn himself in, I’m afraid we’re going to keep him.” She turned back to Ophi, who smirked at her.
“You think you’re pure too, don’t you?” Ophi asked Lizzy.
Darek glanced over and could tell that Lizzy was prepared to hold her own by the challenging look in her eye. But the man continued.
“I’m sure you’ve committed atrocities in the name of justice, just like all the rest of your pig friends. But this time, my people will cleanse the world of you too.”
Lizzy stood from where she leaned against the table and patted Darek on the back. “Let’s get the guard to take him down. We’re going to finish processing and find our new guest a nice cold cell.”
She turned to walk out, and Ophi raised his voice. “You can lock me up, you can kill me, but you can’t stop what I’ve already set into motion. I’m immortal to my people, and through them, in here or out there, I’ll live on.”
Darek let out a long breath and knew he’d have to interview the two women next. If Ophi did have his own cult following, there was no telling what kind of shit they’d have planned now that their leader was behind bars. If he could believe anything that was coming out of the man’s mouth, it was that more people were going to die, whether they were related to the zodiac murders or not.
Chapter 12
Corey
A week into his new life, Corey had to admit it was easy to get used to it. He looked across the store at Brandy, who used her charm on every customer who came in and still managed to sneak glances at him.
He’d caught her looking at him a lot, actually, especially since they’d kissed the other day. He had totally expected her to do more, seeing that she had been the one to be forward in the first place, but she left it at that, and after a little bit of kissing and heavy petting through their clothes, she got up, made them some coffee, and put on a movie.
Knowing she’d already had one asshole in her life who abused her, he didn’t want to try and pressure her into anything, and especially since he had a feeling if he did, he’d have to answer to Justin. He thought about the way she’d talked about her ex, and how she never saw him again. He wondered if the guy was buried somewhere in Justin’s crawl space, hidden away like all of his illegal guns. He still couldn’t believe the size of the arsenal and wondered if Justin was actually one of those crazy people who built bombs and did hits on abortion clinics.
He remembered when the man’s crazy extended to tales of Big Foot being a government experiment gone wrong, and he told the guys at camp all about it. He smiled at the thought and went back to work stocking lures and those squishy fishing worms with varieties like lemon pumpkin, huckleberry, and watermelon. He may as well have been stocking food or candles.
Once that was done, he headed to the back for another stack of boxes to unload. On the way, he passed two older women, one who gave him a narrowed stare and the other who offered a smile. They worked on the floor, and both had been avoiding him like the plague. He’d learned the other employees’ names as well, though they were long forgotten, mostly kept to themselves, and thankfully each had a name tag in case he needed to know. There were only about eight total, including Justin, and he had a feeling that was to keep a close-knit circle around what was really going on in the back room with the occasional personal gun deliveries.
The one employee he did remember was Erma, who worked the gun counter and had the build of a linebacker and the face of one too. She stayed in her area for the most part, and most days when he walked by, she was busy reading a book. Today was no different. He breezed past her counter, rolling his cart behind him and fully expecting her nose to stay buried. Instead, she lifted her head and gave him a hard look. “Are you to the ammo yet?”
“No, I just finished lures. I’m going back for more.”
“Well, light a fire under it, boy. We don’t have all day here.” She gave him a sour look and returned to her book.
He didn’t think he had to answer to her or explain himself, so he kept going, avoiding her angry stare as he walked through the double doors to the back room.
He wondered if they all resented him for showing up and living upstairs, and he wondered if he should just get back on the road and get back to reality, no matter how ugly it was. He should focus on the killer, on figuring out who and where they were.
But the truth was, he liked having the escape. He could almost put the horrible things he’d done out of his mind and endure the head fuck it had dealt him. He hated to think of himself as a victim, seeing how he’d killed Alan, but in a sense, he was. They all were. They were all pawns in the game. Thinking of it as such made it easier too. As if he’d only been in a game world when he’d pulled that trigger, and now he waited patiently for another zombie to come around the corner after him. What would anyone else have done in the same situation? They would have done whatever it took to survive and get to the next level.
“That’s the fastest I’ve seen you move,” said a voice from behind, and he snapped back to reality to find he’d almost stacked the entire pallet and worked up a sweat.
He kept his eyes turned away from her. The reality was still too fresh, haunting his thoughts. He didn’t want her to see that, to see what killing had done to him. “I guess I’m in a groove.”
“I like it; seeing you sweat.” She gave a little giggle and walked around to stand closer.
He felt the frustration building inside of him. He couldn’t drag her into any of this shit, and that included being close to her. “Don’t you have to watch the front?”
She folded her arms. “That almost sounds like you don’t want me around.”
He had to be very careful in how he continued. He had those thoughts in his head, and he didn’t have to take it out on her. “It’s not that. I just didn’t think you got to leave the post.”
It threw him a bit off-balance, and he forced a smile, feeling most of the tension leave him. She was like the sun parting the dark clouds of his mood. “Someone is going to see.”
“Let them,” she said with a shrug as she threw her arms around him and brought her mouth down hard on his.
He moved his hands down to her ass and ground his hips forward, the bulge in his pants grinding against her leg. He wanted her so badly, he wondered if they could slip off to the trailer or maybe even behind a few boxes. He hadn’t been with a woman in some time, and he wanted her so badly he could taste her.
“Come out with me tonight?” she asked.
He didn’t expect that she’d want to be out in public with him. “Like a date?” As she nodded, he shook his head. That would never fly. “Justin will have my head.”
She sighed and relaxed in his arms. “Then just come and hang out at the bar then. It will be fun. I promise.”
“Which bar, and will Justin be there?”
Excitement lit her eyes like he’d already said yes. “It’s called The Sissy Bar. I’ll send you directions.”
He chuckled. “The Sissy Bar? Seriously? You want me to hang out in a place called The Sissy Bar.”
She gave him a sideward look. “You know what a sissy bar is, don’t you?”
“No, but I’m not sure I like the sound of it.”
She slapped playfully at his arm. “A sissy bar is a backrest on a motorcycle seat.” She looked at him like that was supposed to mean something.
He shook his head. “Sounds like a bar full of sissies.”
She pulled her lips in tight and tried not to laugh. “I wouldn’t walk into the bar and say that to anyone. Could you imagine someone calling Justin a sissy? The place is anything but, and no one else really thinks anything about the name because the owner’s name is Sissy.”
