"It is," Enrique said. He did not explain further.
"The paramedic vanished, and was found later partially eaten," Lehane continued. "So were her brother and eventually her lover, Lou Grainger, who we briefly suspected as the man behind it all, because of his connection to the same prison gang as the biker. Up until then, I thought we had a handle on things. We didn't."
Enrique fondled his cigar. "I can sympathize."
"Okay, then it exploded and spiraled out of control. We got hookers and con men and bikers and nurses and bodies of tourists lying in the desert half eaten. The cops are about to go public, they're so scared. Even more bodies turned up in the last couple of days, and none of us could figure any way to connect them back to Gordon. But then it hit me. The connection wasn't Roger Gordon…it was you."
The room went silent and the temperature seemed to drop by twenty degrees. Enrique's features remained flat and blank, but Lehane heard a sharp intake of breath.
"Enrique, when my man Whiz told me that he found out you had chartered a plane from Roger Gordon, I asked him to cross reference every name we had so far with yours. He did. We got a match every time."
"Is that so?" Grey smoke rising, empty eyes.
"Some people had actually come to your show. The police found concert tickets in their pockets and purses when they itemized the contents but we just hadn't made the connection yet. Some knew someone else who died. As for the others, a few were killed while nursing or guarding Roger Gordon or his victims, but it all still traces back to you one way or the other."
Enrique leaned back in his chair. "Did you tell the police any of this, Mr. Lehane? It would be most inconvenient for my career if they knew."
"No, not yet."
"And yet you came here to meet me, unarmed and alone?" Enrique caught himself. "No offense, Ms. Hammer."
Sandy smiled, a bit bitchily. "None taken sexist pig."
"Enrique, I haven't gone to the cops because there's still too much I don't know," Lehane stood up and leaned forward with his knuckles on the table. Castle shifted position and adjusted his aim. "And if you lawyer up on them or leave the country, I may never get the answers I need."
"You want to know what happened to your wife."
"Yes."
"You care about all these people who have been killed, but the truth is you are a man of singular intent, Mr. Lehane. Once you have the scent of something you cannot or stop hunting it."
"Mike Castle appears to have done a thorough job."
"Castle is good."
"Yes."
Enrique sighed again. "I still have trouble believing a man of your…talents would come here unguarded. Am I being too suspicious?"
"I said Mike was good, not great." Lehane decided on the truth again. "And no, you're not being too suspicious. If either of you makes a wrong move Pops will drop you on the spot."
"Pops," Castle swore under his breath. "I knew it. The windows."
"Sure," Lehane said, quietly. "Parabolic microphones on the roof across the way so that Whiz can monitor our conversation, Pops on the roof with a sniper scope and instructions to fire if you harm us. Even if you got away with killing me, the world would still have a record of it. Touch us and you're toast, gentlemen."
Enrique forced a dry laugh. "That's better, Lehane. Now I remember why I wanted you to work for me."
"You asked for me personally, didn't you?"
"Yes, in fact I paid Charlie Spinks double for bringing you in to run the team. My only condition was that he not let you know. Please don't be angry with him."
"I'm not, because he said it. I just wasn't listening closely enough." Lehane turned to Castle. "By the way, put the gun down, Mike. You just look stupid, now."
Castle's hand wavered a bit. "Mr. Diaz, he could be bluffing."
"Pops," Lehane said, softly, "light him up."
Castle looked down in annoyance at a small bright dot over his heart, evidence of the laser-sighted weapon on the opposite roof. He reddened and lowered his pistol, then dropped back into a padded chair. "Fuck me."
"No thanks, we already did." Lehane turned back to Enrique. "Now it's your turn. Why did you come to interview me about what happened in Iraq? Ask me all those questions about Ali Basra? What do you know about all this?"
Enrique motioned to Castle, who got up with shoulders slumped and trudged across the conference room to the nearly invisible private elevator. He touched a button on the wall and whispered something. Sandy looked at Lehane, puzzled. He shook his head in return. A few seconds passed, the elevator pinged to announce a new arrival.
"You are partially correct, but I am only half of the connection you seek, Mr. Lehane. I promised to explain, and I will. But for now, please allow me to introduce our guest. Don't talk, if you please, just listen."
TWENTY-FOUR
Lehane's first impression of the frail, old person who exited the elevator was of a wild shock of untamed white hair with three legs. The man was stooped from arthritis and used a polished, wooden cane with an ornate gold sculpture at the top. His fingers were curled like talons, and walking seemed torturous. He carried a thick brown binder under one arm, but would not allow Mike Castle to take it or support him as he crossed to the conference table. Enrique surrendered the head of the table and moved closer to Lehane. No one spoke until the man, whose gravitas was undeniable, was comfortably seated.
"Put that out," the man snapped, peevishly. "I have asthma."
Enrique examined his Cuban cigar wistfully before dousing the tip with a splash of cold champagne. "Pardon me, Professor. And thank you for coming here today."
"Mr. Diaz, every academic is a whore at heart. Therefore, your generous donation to my department at the university is thanks enough. Shall I begin?"
"One moment, please." Enrique faced Lehane. "Jeff, Professor Kilani is one of the world's foremost experts on the superstitions associated with Islam and the Arab world. Without giving him any of the details of the film project we may be taking on together, I asked for his help and requested that he join us today to give an overview of one particular section associated with that topic, assuming you and your associates will bear with us."
Catching on, Lehane nodded. "We're all ears."
"That is good, sir," Kilani said, dryly. "Because my students often hold that I am all mouth." The tiny professor sat down and opened his accordion file. "It would probably be most efficient to let me cover the particular topics you've asked about before interrupting me with a host of well-intentioned but ignorant questions."
"Certainly," Enrique said. He fought down a smile. "Please proceed."
"It is my understanding that you people are interested in making a horror film, and that the plot requires some specific behaviors on the part of the antagonist, yes?"
His eyes pierced Lehane, who lied smoothly. "Yes."
"You probably want a demon. Let me start with the subject of the Jinn, or Jinni. As you may already know, this Arab singular eventually led to the French word "genie" and likely the Roman "genius." The feminine is Jinniyah, and the creature is also called the Div and Raksha in the ancient Guebre-land. The creature is also the Rakshasha or Yaksha of old Hindu superstition. You see, the old world allowed for a great deal of linguistic overlap.
"The Jinn was unknown to the Greeks, who instead had the Daimon, a family which separated, like the Jinn and the Genius, into two categories, the good ones called Agatho-daemons and the bad, known to them as Kako-daemons. Now, the concept of the 'daemon' shall play heavily into what we discuss at the end of my boring little speech. Incidentally, the field knows little about the Jinn amongst the pre-Moslemitic or pagan Arabs. The later Moslems made him something of a supernatural anthropoid created from a magical, secret fire."
Kilani looked down. "Anyway, if you are so inclined, read the Koran chapters, 15 27; also part of 12 and learn that Jinn are not of this earth or like mankind with the exception of Jan bin Jan, who was converted by Prophets and became subject to death and ete
rnal judgment. Is everyone with me so far?"
Jinn. Zombies. Demons. Lehane felt hollow ache growing in his stomach, although his mind remained intrigued. Is this really about some supernatural force, and not just someone who believes himself possessed?
As if reading his mind, Kilani continued. "Please remember that from the same root as Jinn comes "junun" also known as madness meaning, possession or obsession. And likewise, "majnun," which is a madman. Therefore, other conclusions are possible."
Sandy Hammer spoke. "So our man could simply be crazy?"
Kilani looked annoyed at being interrupted. "I suppose so. In a manner of speaking, there may be little difference between total insanity and possession, if you see what I mean."
"We do, professor," Enrique offered. "Please go on."
Kilani looked down again "According to R. Jeremiah bin Eliazar, Adam was excommunicated for one hundred and thirty years. Within that time frame he coupled and had more children in his own image. There are also references to this in versions of Genesis. Now, for our purposes please note that in Arabic these offspring were Mazikeen or Shedeem. In other words, his progeny became what we now know as the Jinn's. By the way, during his translations of several vital documents, Sir Richard Burton noted that Jann is usually taken as the plural form of Jinni."
"Do you rely on Burton often?" Enrique was not just being polite, he was clearly fascinated.
"We simply must," Kilani responded. "Burton has no peer. Now, other classes of Jinni include the Ifrit which is pronounced Aye-frit or the feminine Ifritah, likewise the Marid or Maridah. These are all beings who hate humans with a passion. I feel quite sure you can make use of that in your screenplay, yes?
"Also remember that the Jinn are invisible, unless they choose to inhabit a human body, which I will get to later. This is because their real world is another dimension which is nearly parallel to the human world. Oh, but they are far more powerful than us. They are nearly immortal. Jinn existed in the pre-Muslim mind as creatures of the desert, and they are even mentioned in the Holy Koran. In fact, as I just mentioned the Jinn were once a locus of the worldview held by the Arab people and revered as something akin to Gods who inhabited the world around two thousand years before Adam and Eve.
"The tradition says that there are five orders of Jinn. First and lowest we have the Jann, who have but limited powers, then mere Jinn, which are ape-like creatures who pre-dated man. After them, however, come the Sheytans, who are quite terrifying, hideous daemons. Your monster could easily be one of these."
Enrique shrugged. "Possibly."
"Or perhaps one of the Ifrits, who are evil Jinni that stalk the earth because they died violently? If that doesn't suit you, then we could explore the Marids, who are the most powerful of creatures although not always the most feared. However, you see, the closer we get to human, the more benign the beast is thought to be.
"Since you are planning a monster movie, allow me to read this section from The Thousand and One Nights. It describes the sighting of a lower class of Jinn, of the Sheytans, which was also called an Ifrit: "The caravan... came at last, at the fall of a certain night, to a column of stone to which a strange being was chained, one half of whose body was visible and the other half deeply hidden in the ground. The upper half seemed to be that of something of monstrous birth imprisoned there by some infernal powers. It was black and large as the trunk of an old and naked palm-tree; it had two great black wings and four hands, of which two were like the taloned feet of lions. A shaggy covering of rude onager-tail hairs moved savagely upon the terrible head, while under the roofs of the sockets flamed two red eyes, and a third shone immovable green like that of a tiger or a panther, between the twin horns of the bull-like brow."
The professor looked up with a bright grin. "I rather like that for your creature. Rather ghastly, wouldn't you say? Primitive imaginations doubtless ran wild in the empty desert."
Enrique made a steeple with his fingers. "Yes, indeed. That might work very well, although as you know we are more interested in a creature which might be found in Iraq, especially since the war there."
"Of course, of course," Kilani said. "You did mention that. I'm getting old and rambling on, aren't I? Still, allow me to finish this section and I will see if I can accommodate you."
"Fair enough," Enrique said. He sipped some water while the professor continued holding forth.
"Truly evil Jinn are called Dev by the Persian people. The most powerful were referred to as Narah, a word which signifies males, although there are said to be females as well. Now, for the purposes of your story please note that there is one low caste of Jinn which is called Gul or Ghul. Obviously, this is where we derive the word Ghoul in English. These are very evil daemon. The Ghul stalk their prey in desperate solitude. They are creatures resembling at times both human being and animal. The Ghoul always lives in or around a cemetery or place where there are dead bodies. This is because they feed on the dead. Now, that definitely fits the guidelines you gave me."
Enrique sat back in his chair and did a reasonable impression of an excited film producer. "That's what we need, then. The ghoul is perfect for us. Can you logically follow that thread and end up somehow in present day Iraq?"
"Certainly," the professor said. "We are discussing daemon of the Islamic world, after all." He cleared his throat. "May I have some water?" Enrique poured him a glass and he continued.
"The ghoul takes a great risk when taking a physical form, be it animal, human or other, because it then becomes governed by the laws of nature. It can be stabbed, shot or otherwise hurt and like the body it inhabits, a Ghoul will die if it does not escape the host in time. Because of that fact, it cannot and will not remain in a body for very long, a few days at best. Plus, the flesh it inhabits will begin to rot away like any other dead body, because the being that inhabits it is really not of this dimension."
"It eats the flesh of the dead to survive, and takes the form of the dead while doing so." Lehane bought time, rubbed his temples. "So you're telling us it is a kind of… zombie?"
"One could look at it that way, although it must change form every few days to continue to exist. That is not true of the zombies we find in the voodoo traditions."
"What can we do protect ourselves?"
If the professor noticed the way the question was phrased, he chose not to react. "As for the Jinn, they are said to fear iron and steel and also to despise salt. In some verse of the Koran people wear amulets, bracelets or ear rings marked with the names of God, magic squares, or a group of magical signs called 'the seven seals' to protect themselves. Primitive people urinating, pouring water out or drawing water from a well, especially at night, will chant 'Bismilahirahmanirahim' which means 'in the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.' Passing a cave, an Arab will whisper 'Izn ya Mubarakun' or 'your permission, ye blessed' to tell the Jinn they are passing."
Lehane shifted in his chair. "Let me be a bit more specific, professor. If you ran across one of these Ghouls you mentioned earlier, how would you go about killing it? I mean, it's already dead, right?"
"Oh, most certainly." Kilani shuffled his papers. "Let us shift directions a bit and pursue this Ghul concept into India."
"India?"
"For your purposes, yes. Just follow me for a bit and you'll see what I mean. And remember, the ancient world had tremendous cross-pollenisation and acculturization. The traditions and religions and superstitions spread like wildfire along the trade routes. Why, in fact many scholars believe Jesus to have studied Buddhism in India during the lost years. Joseph Campbell once did the most extraordinary lecture on that very topic."
"Professor," Enrique prompted, gently. "The ghouls of India please."
"Certainly, I beg your pardon. First, you might consider a being which sounds in one form very much like a semi-human version of the Ifrit I described from A Thousand and One Nights, the Rakshasha. Often when seen the Rakshasha is nearly seven feet in height and looks a bit like a human tige
r. Oddly, it is often extremely well dressed in silk and gold jewelry. These are shape-shifters, very powerful wizards and masters of deceit. They hate all other forms of life and are very cruel. They prey on infants and dead children, and if one sees through their illusions they are filthy, blood soaked beasts with fangs and claws."
Enrique wrote something down on a pad near his ash tray. "Next, please?"
"You need a creature that is drawn to corpses, devours human flesh, walks at night, and can move from body to body rapidly, yes?"
"Yes, Professor Kilani," Lehane said. To his own amazement he was beginning to believe they were on the right track at last. "That is exactly what I'm looking for."
"Hmm, yes. Well, the Pisacha is a vampire-like creature. It haunts crossroads and cemeteries, but if memory serves it only drinks blood. The Churel would suit you, it is a fearsome beast that is the revenant of a woman who died in childbirth after breaking religious taboos. She can be beautiful when she wants to be, to seduce men she will later kill and eat."
Lehane thought back to the testimony of the young physician whose lover had been carried away. "I think this monster is more likely to favor inhabiting a male. Don't ask me why."
Professor Kilani pondered for a moment. "Well, then our creature could be merely called The Bhuta."
Lehane felt goose bumps crawl across his exposed forearms. "Excuse me, what did you say, professor?"
Enrique interrupted. "Could we be more specific to Iraq proper, professor? I realize that the Islamic world was huge…"
"No," Lehane said, sharply. He raised his hand, palm out. "I want to hear more about this thing called the Bhuta."
Enrique sat back quietly. "Please, go on."
Professor Kilani continued. "Well, you see, the daemon Bhuta is certainly a ghoul first and foremost. However, Bhuta is also a term that applies to all of the demigods, daemons and undead in the Hindu pantheon. It has many, many manifestations. The Bhuta is the ghost of a man who was tortured and killed, generally a man of high status who was executed as a common criminal."
Daemon: Night of the Daemon Page 18
