The second thing I discovered about Erika was the fact that she utilized her other senses a great deal. She would stop, stoop down and sniff the ground, or pick up a lump of dirt to test its texture between her fingers. And I am very sorry to say that several times she even brought the sense of taste into play. No matter how beautiful Erika was, watching her lick dirt definitely made me think twice about kissing her.
That was when I noticed little Timmy scurrying around the area. He walked towards me and placed a small, golf ball sized, black metal ball on the ground just in front of my feet. A quick scan of the area revealed a few other similar devices around the crime scene. He pressed a button on the little remote in his hands, and a tiny red light on top of each of the balls started to glow. The lights appeared to indicate the devices were powering on as they accompanied an odd static sound. It was like a wall of white noise. I was standing just inside of the perimeter and Timothy was just outside of it. He waved his hands in air and appeared to be mouthing, “can you hear me”. I assumed he was trying to be funny, so I answered appropriately.
“Are you practicing to be a mime?” I asked.
Timothy started nodding and a huge smile crossed his face. He gave me an overly enthusiastic thumb up before turning away and heading uphill towards the van. I realized then that the static was blocking out the sounds of our surroundings. While I had never seen something like this outside, I did recognize the concept of a noise sound barrier. I have encountered similar things in high-end office buildings. They claim it’s the ultimate in high tech privacy. It does make it harder for a ninja to overhear industrial secrets, that’s for sure. Feeling as though I should do something, I walked over to let Freddy know that the static machine was up and running.
“Just so you know, Timmy turned on some kind of a static wall thingy.”
Freddy gave me a slight frown, “Are you referring to the sound barrier?”
“Sound barrier, sure, let’s call it that,” I replied.
“By erecting the barrier, we prevent others from eavesdropping on our conversations. We will now be able to speak freely within its borders. The technology was initially invented by the military…” Freddy tried before I cut him off.
“Yeah, good to know. I gotta check on Kara. I’ll let you get back to your stuff,” I said as I walked off.
Kara was crouched down next to the body, waving her hand over its chest in a clockwise motion as she mumbled. She had her eyes closed and the wrinkling of her brow let me know that she was concentrating. Thanks to the weird vocabulary and her adorable Irish accent, I couldn’t quite make out what she was saying, but the last few words sounded a lot like “skarat kazz kazoo”. Personally, I thought it lacked the subtle charm of Hocus Pocus, but who was I to judge. After a few moments, I noticed a slight green hue around her hand. It was so faint as to almost be imperceptible. She then circled her hand counter clockwise over the body, causing small motes of light, almost like flakes of dust, to jump from her hand to the body. After a few more moments the motes jumped back from the body to her hand and she stopped moving. She looked up at Freddy, who was now standing next to me, before she spoke.
“I’m not sensing anything,” she frowned.
Freddy cocked an eyebrow at her before he replied, “Are you saying that there is insufficient residual energy left over for any type of identification?”
“I’m saying that there isn’t any magical energy here at all. Not even trace amounts. Whatever happened to this guy, it striped him bare,” she said.
“That is very odd. Perhaps once we get the body out of public view, you will be able to use some more invasive magical probes. There is always the chance that a masking spell of some sort was placed on the body in order to interfere with our investigation,” Freddy said, scratching his chin in contemplation.
“I’ll check again once we get him into the van,” Kara nodded.
I knew I was going to regret asking, but I figured someone should.
“So Kara can’t detect any magic on the body and obviously he’s dead. So why do we think he was immortal?” I asked.
Freddy looked at me shocked, forcing Kara to cup her hand over her mouth in order to contain her giggle. She obviously knew what he was about to say.
“I thought I made that perfectly clear in our pre-mission briefing, Mr. Chang. The Keepers of Lore have records of Dirk Camalon dating back over five hundred years. In fact, as part of my undergraduate work, I had to study seven different types of supernatural beings with the capacity to live indefinitely. Mr. Camalon…”Freddy was saying.
“Okay, okay, no need for another college flashback. I just wanted to make sure that this was a case for us. According to my car, there is something big blowing in the wind. I just want to make sure that we aren’t wasting our time on small potatoes if there are bigger things afoot,” I stated.
“Yes Mr. Chang, you also mentioned that at my briefing. And as I said then, we have received no intelligence regarding a mysterious end of the world event in the DC metro area. The only major threat currently reported is in Chicago, and as you know, Team Five is dealing with that. While I appreciate your enthusiasm, I think it is best if we just focus on the case that we have in front of us,” Freddy said.
I nodded at Freddy, mainly to placate him, and then he wandered off to talk to Danny. Kara was still kneeling by the body, or Dirk Camalon if you prefer to give the stiff a name. She looked up at me, showed her pearly whites, and waved me down. I could never resist the smile of a beautiful woman. I crouched down next to the body, across from her.
“Yes ma’am?”
“Are you just a pretty face or are there actually skills behind that façade,” Kara smirked.
“What did you have in mind,” I grinned.
The smile on her face faded as her expression got serious.
“I was thinking that with your assassin background you might be able to tell me what killed him,” she said.
“Way to kill the mood,” I quipped.
I wasn’t a big fan of the fact that everyone knew I used to be an assassin. But I had no one to blame but myself. My life had taken me down a dark path and I would always have to live with that. At least at the moment, it seemed that those skills could be useful. For the first time since we arrived, I took a long hard look at the body.
Let me start by saying that Dirk, the deceased, was a very large man. While it’s hard to guess an accurate height while someone was lying down, I would say that he was easily over six and a half feet tall. His weight looked to be well north of three hundred pounds and his belly led me to believe that he never met a meal that he didn’t like. Upon closer examination however, I could tell that there was a tremendous amount of muscle beneath the blubber. It suddenly occurred to me that he looked a bit like a sumo wrestler in physique. In case you were unaware, deceptive to their appearance, sumo wrestlers are very fast and very strong. A lesson I learned the hard way.
Dirk had dark black hair and an olive complexion. There was a Mediterranean feel to his appearance and if I were to guess, I would say that he looked Greek. He was wearing a light brown windbreaker over a tan collared shirt. Dark brown corduroy trousers ran down over his big black boots. His outfit came across as very practical. As if he wanted to be ready for anything at a moments notice. Overall I got the impression of a man who craved adventure, like a hero plucked from a pulp novel. Oh how I imagined the stories he could tell.
I looked down at the wound in his chest, reaching my hand forward to peel the jacket back out of my way. Kara stopped my hand before I could touch him.
“If you don’t put a glove on first, Freddy will go nuts,” she whispered.
She held out a pair of latex gloves and I accepted them. I snapped them onto my hands before pulling his coat aside. I could tell that a thick blade was used to pierce his chest. Reaching for the top button on his shirt, I stopped and looked up at Kara before proceeding.
“Is it all right if I open up his shirt?” I asked.
> “Of course Bruce. Do you want a moment alone?” Kara smiled.
I replied with a sarcastic “HA-HA” before unbuttoning his shirt. The blood around the wound had dried, forcing me to peel the fabric off of his skin. Once I had a clear view, I could tell that the blow was struck just left of center, through the heart. The cut across Dirk’s chest was easily two inches wide, thick in the middle, and tapered down to the ends. It was a double-edged weapon, and judging from the size I would say…
“Broadsword, if I were to hazard a guess,” I told her.
“Broadsword?” Kara questioned.
“Yeah, old English type, right through the heart. There should be a similar sized exit wound on his back. The blade went straight in, and if Dirk’s size were anything to go by, I would say either he was fighting a giant, or they didn’t stab him until he was lying on the ground. I don’t see any other defensive wounds on the body, even superficial ones, which makes me think that he didn’t fight back. Assuming that Dirk wasn’t suicidal and would have tried to defend himself, I would guess that they immobilized him beforehand.”
I looked at his wrists and ankles, checking for rope burns or other marks of restraint. When you hold someone down, especially if they are fighting you, there is often bruising. As I didn’t find anything, I looked back up at Kara.
“I don’t see any signs of restraint, so unless they used a magical net or something that you can’t detect, I don’t think they held him down. Maybe he was drugged or under a sleeping spell or something,” I tried.
“All that from a cursory glance,” Kara smiled.
“Like you said, I was an assassin,” I frowned.
Kara looked like she was about to apologize for something, but I stood up and wandered off. My past wasn’t her fault. At some point I needed to just accept my evils and move on. If only it were as easy to do as it is to say.
I decided that I would walk over and see how Danny was doing, when I noticed Freddy heading in the same direction. I leaned against a nearby tree and just listened to their exchange.
“There ain’t a damn thing here. Either they psychically cleaned the area when they were done or he must have been killed somewhere else,” Danny said.
Freddy sighed heavily before he replied, “Thank you, Daniel, let me know if you notice anything else out of the ordinary,” Freddy said as he turned to walk away.
“Is it unusual to find no psychic energy at a crime scene?” I asked.
Both Freddy and Danny looked over at me, slightly startled, as if they didn’t realize I had been standing so close. Freddy regained his composure and took a step closer to me before speaking.
“In the case of a violent death, especially one with links to the paranormal, there is a very good chance that an impression will be left on the ethereal plane. This same phenomenon is also responsible for most haunting. You see a ghost is basically just…” Freddy tried.
“Okay, okay, tell me about ghosts later. If Dirk was killed somewhere else and then brought here, would there be any sign of that on your ether plane?” I misspoke on purpose.
“Ethereal Plane,” Freddy corrected, “And it is likely that a small ripple might still be present from the dead body alone. Although the impression would be very slight and easy to miss,” Freddy finished.
“Danny,” I said, looking in his direction as I did, “Is there a chance that the impression was so small that you missed it?”
I could see a bit of anger building on his face. The ego you see is very fragile, and I probably should have phrased my statement a little bit better.
“I didn’t miss shit. There is nothing here,” Danny replied.
I ignored Danny’s anger and continued on my line or reasoning.
“So there should be psychic whatnot and magical voodoo stuff in this area. But both Danny and Kara are getting nothing. Doesn’t that mean that someone had to wipe this area clean? To cover their tracks?” I asked.
I didn’t really know what I was talking about. Psychics and magic were far from my expertise. But I assumed that any smart criminal would make an effort to remove any evidence that would point to them. Freddy nodded his head before he spoke.
“That is a logical assumption Mr. Chang, why do you ask?” Freddy questioned.
“Are those easy things to do?”
“Both would require a very skilled practitioner. I would need to do a bit of research if you would like detailed descriptions on how it might be done,” Freddy said.
“I was just thinking that it might narrow down our suspect list if we only look for people capable of removing these markers,” I said.
“A very good thought Bruce, and something we will look into,” Freddy said as he patted me on the shoulder.
He stood there for a moment, before the silence made him feel awkward and he wandered off. I looked over at Danny, who was still showing me an expression that was less than friendly.
“So, you’re pretty powerful I take it?” I asked him.
“I am one of the most powerful natural talents that the academy has ever seen,” he stated.
“Can you scan the cops minds, up the hill, to see if they know anything that they didn’t share with us?”
“Are you asking that to be a prick? Because you know that I have to tell you that they would feel it?” He replied angrily.
“Like with me in Dutton’s office?” I asked calmly.
“Yes,” he sneered.
“Calm down Danny, I’m not trying to pick a fight. I just want to have a better understanding of the abilities this team has to work with,” I said.
His anger subsided a bit, but it was clear that I had pissed him off. One thing was for sure, the kid had a short fuse. I found myself wondering which was going to cause me more trouble on this team, Freddy’s people skills or Danny’s temper? Time will tell I guess.
“So is the problem that your telepathy is too powerful? Is that why I felt your mental probing?” I asked.
His nostrils flared as he took a couple of deep breaths through his nose. He was trying to contain his anger, and for that, I was proud of him.
“It’s just difficult to control, okay,” Danny stated.
“But you can learn to control it?”
“Are you just trying to piss me off?” he asked.
That was when Freddy walked back over to us, a look of worry on his face. It was probably best that he ended our conversation. While I hadn’t intended to upset Danny, it was clear that I struck a nerve. His control issues were a sore subject, and now wasn’t the time to discuss them.
“Is everything alright gentlemen?” Freddy asked, his British accent thick.
“Everything’s fine, we’re just getting to know each other, right?” I said.
“Right,” Danny answered through clenched teeth.
“Good, good. There is no reason for us to be fighting amongst ourselves. You see, the key to teamwork is,” Freddy started.
Luckily Erika arrived at that moment and interrupted his rant before we all had to listen to his definition of teamwork. She had a look of frustration on her face, and it seemed clear that she wasn’t bearing good news.
“I’ve been over the entire area and it’s pretty trampled. I couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. Sorry, but if there was something here, I think our uniformed friends inadvertently destroyed it before we arrived,” Erika said.
Freddy nodded and looked back over the scene. Kara seemed to be done looking at the body, as she stood up and made her way over to us. I smiled at her as she arrived, hoping to convey that there were no hard feelings over the assassin comment. She gave me a cautious smile back before Freddy stole her attention.
“Kara, is there anything else you need from the scene?” Freddy asked.
“I’m good. Once we get the body into the back of the van I can go over it with a fine toothed magical comb,” Kara smiled.
Freddy then looked over at Erika and Danny.
“I’m done,” she said.
“Me t
oo,” Danny followed.
Pulling his phone from his pocket, Freddy hit a few buttons and waiting for the other party to answer.
“Timothy, we are finished in the area. Please bring down the gurney and the paperwork for the body,” he said before hanging up.
After a couple of minutes I saw Timothy trying to keep our motorized gurney steady as he drove it down the muddy hill. I met him halfway, and helped maintain the balance on the incline. Once Shaw saw the gurney, he instantly started storming down the hill towards Freddy. We got the gurney to the bottom of the incline at about the same time Shaw arrived.
“And where exactly do you think you’re taking that body?” he shouted.
Freddy stepped up, grabbing the piece of paper Timothy held in his hand, and looked it over quickly before handing it to Shaw.
“Detective Shaw, as you can see from this court order, the US Park Police must immediately release the body of Mr. Camalon into our custody. I think you will find that everything is in order,” Freddy smiled.
“I’ve had the ME truck waiting up the hill for half an hour. When were you planning to let me know that you were taking the body?” Shaw asked.
“I apologize Detective Shaw. But I am letting you know now,” Freddy said.
“Thanks,” Shaw replied sarcastically.
“Detective, as Mr. Camalon’s body is quite large, and the hill is a little muddy, we would greatly appreciate it if some of your men could assist us in getting the body up the hill,” Freddy said hopefully.
Shaw slammed the court order into Freddy’s chest before he replied, “Your body, and your problem.”
And with that he turned and made his way back up the hill. Freddy held the crumpled piece of paper in his hand, a confused look upon his face. He was learning the hard way why it was important to make friends with cops from other departments, for moments exactly like this.
G.H.O.S.T. Teams: Book 1 - Magic Page 3
