《True Blue》


 Casebook One: The Demonblade; Chapter One-One: The Diner

    The first thing that struck me as we entered the dark, nearly-deserted diner was the smell ¨C above the normal old food odors was a strong smell that I couldn¡¯t quite place, a kind of oily smoke with a hint of chocolate and something bitter to it.


    My partner, Detective Dina Genovelli, noticed my puzzled expression and smirked: ¡°That¡¯s a combination of cheap marijuana, wrapped up in a mid-priced cigar wrapper, with some of the tobacco left in, and cheap air freshener trying to mask it,¡± she informed me.


    She had a knack for ¡°reading¡± people, gauging what was on their minds, which was one of the reasons I was more than happy to be assigned as her partner. She, however, had made her displeasure at being ¡°saddled¡± with ¡°the rookie¡± more than abundantly clear.


    I nodded acknowledgement of her comment ¨C if I had ever encountered this particular mix of scents before, I had no memory of it.


    The one light on in the room illuminated a table where a uniformed officer sat with a very dirty-looking young man and another man in an apron who I took to be the diner¡¯s owner. The uniformed officer rose and approached us; his badge read ¡°Parsons.¡±


    ¡°Detective Genovelli, and ah?¡± he said, as he approached us.


    ¡°Daniels. Detective Nathan Daniels, Officer Parsons.¡± I replied, extending a hand. He shook my hand.


    ¡°Right this way ¨C youill definitely want to talk to Derrick ¨C the homeless guy - as he saw some of what happened. Ray, the owner called it in; he only saw the aftermath and ¡­ he¡¯s still a little shaky.¡±


    ¡°That bad, huh?¡± Dina replied.


    ¡°I only saw part of it,¡± Parsons responded with a shudder. ¡°But, it¡¯s even worse ¨C let them prepare you before you look at it yourselves. One good thing is that it is outdoors so the smell is not as bad as it could be. The coroner is about three minutes out, and the CSU guys should be here any second now.¡±


    She placed a hand on his shoulder and quietly asked: ¡°Which of you was smoking?¡±


    Parsons considered his reply for a second, sighed, and then said: ¡°Ray, the owner, offered. Neither of us turned him down after seeing the alley.¡±


    She met his gaze coolly for a few seconds, but then softened and replied: ¡°I¡¯ll decide whether to report you or not after I see the scene. I remember my first call ¨C serial killer, eight years back. Never liked the taste or smell of weed but had to belt back two gins to deal with it.¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything, but the relieved expression on his face spoke volumes. He introduced us to the two men ¨C an apparent witness, and the guy who owned the shop and had found our witness cowering inside.


    ¡°Now, before we begin,¡± Dina told the two men, ¡°Ray, when this case is over ¨C but not a moment sooner ¨C one or more officers from Narcotics will pay you a visit. You had best tell them who your supplier is when they ask.¡±


    The store owner met her gaze levelly: ¡°I understand,¡± he said, his voice subdued. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    She addressed her next comment initially to Derrick: ¡°I have been told you have the more interesting story, so I¡¯m going to get Ray¡¯s first, and then yours, OK?¡±


    Both men nodded, and Ray immediately began: ¡°I arrived at twenty-five past five AM, give or take a few minutes, as usual, to prep for a six-thirty A.M. opening,¡± he narrated. He had clearly been through this process before, I thought.


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    ¡°I found Mister Nixon here,¡± he pointed to the man Officer Parsons had identified as ¡°Derrick,¡± before continuing, ¡°Cowering behind one of my ovens. I was initially very concerned but soon realized he was absolutely terrified of, well, everything, and I took¡­ steps to calm him.¡±


    He flushed slightly at this, and I realized he was referring to the ¡°cigar¡± in question.


    ¡°By that time, officers Parsons and Hill were here ¨C I called them when I noticed a broken window, before I found my guest or¡­¡± he shuddered before finishing the statement, ¡°before I looked out into the alley.¡±


    I had taken out my notebook and begun writing this down as close to word-for-word as I could as soon as he began to speak. I nodded at him after writing this down, and he continued.


    ¡°As he started to calm down, I realized he was afraid of something in the alley out back. One of the officers ¨C I am sure they remember which one it was, but I do not ¨C went with me to look into it. I wish to God I hadn¡¯t. I have never seen anything so ¡­ so ¡­ well, I have worked at the slaughterhouse and it wasn¡¯t¡­¡± he simply could not continue after this. I saw tears welling in his eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, Ray,¡± my partner said. ¡°I think we¡¯ve got enough, unless you can recall any details that might help us out later.¡±


    He nodded, still unable to speak, and got up from the table, his legs a little shaky. Parsons offered his arm for support.


    ¡°Now, Mr. Nixon ¨C Derrick,¡± Dina began, ¡°I hear you saw some of what happened?¡±


    The man took a deep breath and was about to speak when the door to the alley opened and another uniformed officer ¨C Mike Hill, who had attended the Academy with me, poked his head in: ¡°Sorry to interrupt ¨C the CSU guys just got here and the coroner¡¯s guy said they are trying to find a spot to park. The bad news is that the press got wind of this. I have got enough guys to keep them back for the moment, but sent for a few more¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh dear,¡± Roy replied at this: ¡°A lot of reporters make my shop their first stop of the day, one of the papers being a block down. If I¡¯m not open, I guess that¡¯s news.¡±


    Dina pursed her lips. ¡°Do what you can to keep them away ¨C if this is as bad as it sounds, we¡¯ll have them assuming a serial killer right off the bat and we do not want that¡­¡±


    ¡°Got it, Detective,¡± Hill replied and ducked back outside.


    ¡°OK, now Mr. Nixon?¡±


    This close, the man¡¯s personal stench overrode the smell of the ¡°cigar¡± used earlier. A very unpleasant mix of dirt, sweat and rot, the latter made worse when he spoke. I held off asking him if he¡¯d been to a dentist recently ¨C it was quickly clear he hadn¡¯t, possibly ever.


    ¡°Yeah, well, see, I was making my, ah, rounds, see,¡± he began. Dina glanced at me and rolled her eyes, impatient for him to get to the point. ¡°This alley is good, see, there¡¯s three food places that dump stuff, see? The last one closes up around one AM, so that is when I try to hit it, see? Sometimes, see, they give me leftovers at that one if I catch ¡®em while cleanin¡¯ up, see?¡±


    He paused for a second, took a sip from a glass of water nearby and resumed: ¡°I come here, well to the alley, see? And see two people there. At first I think someone is hogging my turf, and I go to threaten them, then I see the knife. Biggest dam knife I ever seen. Looked like was on fire, see? Never seen nothin¡¯ like it before. Then I see guy with knife ¨C his eyes¡­ they was glowin¡¯ like a cat. I kid you not, glowin¡¯ like a cat! And the girl, see, she was ¡­ she was cut open already, see? I had to get away and found a door that pushed open, so I hid here until Mr. Ray there, see, turned up. I thought it was cat-eye guy comin¡¯ for me, but he looked in alley after hearin¡¯ my story and he puked over everything. And that¡¯s it, that¡¯s all I know, see?¡±


    My partner glanced over to see if I had gotten all of that down. I nodded, and she replied: ¡°Yes, I ¡­ er¡­ see. I guess we need to take a look at the scene now, Rookie,¡± she addressed me. ¡°And, if what they are saying is true, I hope you did not have a big breakfast¡­¡±


    ¡°I did not,¡± I replied, then added: ¡°but isn¡¯t breakfast the most important meal of the day?¡±


    ¡°Not if you¡¯re wearing it,¡± she replied and moved toward the alley door.


    I considered her words for a moment, and then joined her as she pushed it open.


    We had been told the scene was bad. Neither of us had any real idea just how bad until that moment¡­

 Chapter One-Two: Carnage in the Alley

    My partner and I had responded to a call at a diner off of Park and Main.  The owner had found a homeless man - I guess ¡®unhomed¡¯ is what we are supposed to call them now - hiding in his kitchen.  When he confronted this man, he found that he had witnessed an assault in the alley outside the diner.  My partner and I had just questioned both men and decided it was finally time to face what was out in the alley.


    Little numbered cards were scattered around like confetti after a parade. One of the guys from the Medical Examiner¡¯s office was standing to one side talking quietly to one of the CSU guys as the rest of the Crime Scene Unit team moved around, snapping pictures and placing additional numbers every once in a while. The other M.E., a woman, was examining the largest pile of remains.


    However, none of that registered immediately ¨C instead, what we saw at first was a scene of utter carnage ¨C bits of blood, bone and flesh everywhere, the largest piece an intact skull, the smallest appearing to be a finger segment.  Taking a deep breath, I allowed my eyes to lose focus and let my other senses envelop the scene.


    I heard Dina ask: ¡°Damn, rough one, eh Rookie?¡±


    I nodded, as my attention was drawn to something. ¡°Hey, has anyone looked at that metal can over there?¡± I asked. One of the CSU guys turned, glared at me, and then looked at the can I indicated, frowned, and walked over to it.


    ¡°Hmm there¡¯s a splash¡­ wait, that¡¯s ¡­ it looks like a thumb print¡­ a huge, bloody thumbprint¡­ Seville, bring the camera and a big bag¡­¡±


    Another CSU investigator hurried to his side, snapped a few pictures of the can, and then slid the lid into a bag. As the lid came off, the one who called to him suddenly looked pale. ¡°Dear God, tell me that¡¯s not what I think it is¡­¡±


    The two people from the M.E¡¯s office hurried over there, and the woman looked at him first, shook her head, and then looked over at me: ¡°How on Earth did you know?¡±


    I was spared having to answer by Officer Hill: ¡°He just does that. It¡¯s why we called him ¡®Holmes¡¯ at the Academy ¨C also probably why he made detective so fast. Oh, congrats on that Nathan,¡± he added.


    ¡°Thanks, Mike,¡± I acknowledged. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it ¨C but what did you find?¡±


    After directing the guy with the camera to take three pictures of the contents of the barrel, she asked for a pair of tongs. Someone passed them to her, and she used them to pick up a large piece of ¡­ well, it looked like meat from where I was standing. She turned it around slowly, before sliding it into an evidence bag. ¡°It¡¯s a heart ¨C I think a human heart. And it looks ¨C now I can¡¯t verify this until I¡¯ve gotten it back to the lab, mind you ¨C but it looks like someone, or something, took a goddamned bite out of it.¡±


    A moment of silence passed through the alley as we all realized what she¡¯d just said, and then my partner chimed in: ¡°Any other signs of ¡­ dentition?¡±


    ¡°Impossible to tell ¨C everything is such a mess. Might have more once we get it all back to examine properly. Only thing I can say ¨C if these are bite marks, the biter has a human jaw structure but is unusually large.¡±


    ¡°Great, so we¡¯ve got a possible giant cannibal on our hands¡­¡±. One of the officers said.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t make that ¨C or any other ¨C assumptions just yet,¡± the M.E. warned. ¡°Though one thing that puzzles me - Davis, can you verify this? There doesn¡¯t seem to be enough blood here, not for this kind of ¡­ butchery.¡±


    A thin, nervous-looking young man with sandy brown hair and thick glasses rushed forward, pausing to introduce himself as ¡°Alan Davis, Blood Splatter Expert¡± before reaching her side.  He looked around the scene, took a few measurements, waited for the CSU guys to finish with a round of photos at one number, then crouched down to near ground level and scanned the alley. Then he stood up and nodded: ¡°Yep ¨C about one third of what you would expect from this kind of attack.¡±


    ¡°So,¡± Dina replied, ¡°You think the body was killed elsewhere and dumped here?¡±


    He walked around, pointing at various marks in the alley as he replied: ¡°Impossible to say for certain, but I don¡¯t think so. The injuries to what we can see of the hands suggest defensive wounds.  The splatter patterns seem consistent ¨C see, the victim was, most likely, attacked here; tried to resist her attacker, who removed her hand first, and then cut into her torso, with the wound that probably killed her. Then he began hacking the body apart. It all happened very quickly ¨C so quickly that I have to believe a machine of some sort was employed. Even at the height of an adrenaline-fueled rage, a human with a very good knife could not possibly do this much damage this quickly ¨C and most knives would be too blunt to cut up bone like this without a lot of time hacking. But the splatter is consistent with the injuries we can see ¨C only it doesn¡¯t cover ¡­ well, enough real estate to match up exactly. It¡¯s like something drained her of blood either before or during the attack.¡±


    I jumped in at this point: ¡°Our witness claimed that the perp had eyes that glowed like a cat¡¯s and a huge knife that also seemed to glow. Is there some kind of machine that would match that description?¡±


    Davis shrugged and turned to the woman who seemed to be his boss. She looked thoughtful for a second before answering: ¡°Not that I know of, but I suppose it gives us a starting point to look into. You sure the guy was not high on something? I have heard drug users describe human eyes that way, though the glowing knife is a new one ¨C might have to take some photos at night and see if any lights shine in here that could cause it?¡±


    I nodded, taking in the information. I heard some kind of scuffle back at the entrance to the alley and turned to look. A woman was arguing with the officer trying to keep onlookers out of the alley.  Something about her held my attention ¨C perhaps the red hair, tied back in a neat ponytail, or her bearing or her perfectly symmetrical face ¨C she seemed to trigger a memory or awareness of some sort, but I could not quite place it.


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    ¡°Oh dear. We¡¯ve got trouble,¡± I heard my partner mutter beside me. ¡°That¡¯s Tara O¡¯Malley, crime reporter. And if you keep staring at her, she might catch fire¡­¡±


    Without thinking, I replied: ¡°That¡¯s never happened before¡­¡±


    My partner turned to give me an odd look: ¡°Every time I start thinking you¡¯re OK, Rookie, you say something truly weird like that.  Turn away from her ¨C she¡¯s just bad news all around. I think she has got some bulldog DNA and some incriminating photos of key politicians.¡±


    I cast one more glance at the reporter, logging her features into my memory. I would have to ponder my reaction to her later ¨C we had a very brutal murder to worry about right now.


    I realized one of the CSU guys was addressing us: ¡°We¡¯re going to be here for a while ¨C lots of photographs to take and measurements to make. I think it¡¯s safe for the morgue to take the body parts, but then you guys will, frankly, only be in our way until we¡¯re done.¡±


    My partner nodded. ¡°The only real lead is the partial on the trash can lid, right?  That and the ¡­ bite marks. We''ll take those back for analysis and leave the rest to you.¡±


    She then turned to me: ¡°Rookie, you¡¯re with the M.E. guys. Help them gather the ¡­ bits. I¡¯ll see if we can get a hit on this print.¡±


    Without waiting further, she walked back to our car ¨C she had left her tablet there, refusing to carry it into a crime scene for some odd reason.  I assisted as well as I could ¨C even locating two body pieces they almost missed ¨C and, honestly, was beginning to feel a little ill, when I heard: ¡°So, who is the new guy?¡±


    Though the voice was definitely feminine, it had an edge, a toughness that many men cannot pull off convincingly. I turned and my eyes met the bright green eyes of the crime reporter, who had evidently gotten past the officer at the entrance to the alley.


    ¡°You are not supposed to be here, ma¡¯am,¡± I replied. ¡°But I¡¯m Detective Nathan Daniels.¡±


    ¡°Daniels,¡± she said, clearly deep in thought and ignoring the first part of my statement. ¡°The beat cop who helped with that kidnapping three weeks ago?¡±


    I was surprised at the recognition. ¡°Actually, yes,¡± I answered.


    ¡°That was good work ¨C and thanks.  The girl you helped save is my niece.¡±


    ¡°That does not change that you aren¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°Actually, I am ¨C the Chief of Detectives okayed it.  Sampson over there can confirm. Was hoping I¡¯d get a chance to thank you personally, you know ¨C but didn''t expect you to be cute¡­¡±


    It took me several seconds to regain my composure, as that was one comment I hadn''t anticipated.  For some reason it made me feel a little warm and disoriented.  ¡°We¡¯re in the middle of an investigation here¡­¡± I finally stammered.


    ¡°I see that. Any details you can give me?¡± she asked, a sweet smile on her face.


    ¡°Someone is dead. We¡¯re looking for probably one, possibly multiple killers.  Right now, that is literally all we know for certain, so that is all you get.¡±


    She changed tactics: ¡°I hear you replaced Henry Jones and are working with Dina Genovelli. Is she really as tough on rookies as I hear?¡±


    I was spared having to reply by: ¡°Not as tough as I get with nosy reporters messing up my investigations¡­¡±


    The reporter turned to face my partner, a challenging smile on her face: ¡°I have full authorization from¡­¡±


    ¡°Stow it, Red. I know you¡¯ve got connections and flaunt them ¨C Rookie here told you everything we know for sure. We¡¯ll issue a statement later, once we have something more concrete.  Please don''t go making up details ¨C or even covering the ones you can see here, without clearance from those who have actually seen it. Could cause a panic and we don¡¯t need that. Also, I have three brothers - big brothers - who don''t care about connections, don¡¯t wear badges and hate people interfering with my work.¡±


    The two women locked gazes. For a moment I actually expected one or both to burst into flames. Tara¡¯s smile never wavered as she replied, finally: ¡°Was that a threat?¡±


    ¡°Not at all ¨C just a ¡­ public service announcement. I am a public servant. They¡¯re very protective of their baby sister, is all, and you had best keep that in mind,¡± her words dripped honey and venom. It always impressed me when she pulled that off.


    Tara pulled out a card from her purse. ¡°Well, you have my number Detective Genovelli, but you,¡± she added, turning to me. ¡°I doubt you do. Please call me when there''s anything you can release to the press ¨C or if you have got any details you would like to share on the Dannon kidnapping.  And yes, I can keep discussion limited to that case alone if you wish. Perhaps over a drink?¡±


    I accepted her card. She brushed her hand against mine and I felt that odd awareness of familiarity return, and then she turned and walked away. As soon as she reached the end of the alley, Dina grabbed my arm and pulled me off to the side. ¡°You aren¡¯t thinking of names for your first born already, are you?¡±


    I gave her a blank look, completely clueless as to what she meant. ¡°Either that girl saw the way you looked at her before and is a better manipulator than I ever gave her credit for, she is sweet on you, or both. My money¡¯s on both.¡±


    I was still puzzled ¨C this seemed to make some sense, but I just couldn¡¯t piece it together.


    ¡°Wow, she really got you flustered boy. First time he met her, she almost did that to Jones too, but he was still married then and sent me to meet with her instead.¡±


    It suddenly hit me: ¡°You think she¡¯s ¡­ interested in me?¡±


    ¡°I can tell you are interested in her. Either she is good enough to pick up on that and fake her own interest, or the feeling¡¯s mutual. I would place odds at fifty-fifty. But it¡¯s never good for cops to get involved with the press.  Just never ends well. Oh, and I came back here to tell you we already sort of got a hit on that print.¡±


    She gave me a lot to think about there ¨C but the last bit stuck out: ¡°Sort of got a hit?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s some odd ¡­ distortion to it. Like it was inflated or something. Matches two thumbs and three other fingers on file as a result.¡±


    ¡°So, five possible suspects?¡±


    ¡°Four ¨C one died about a month ago. I''ll take the guy on the north end. You can take the professor at City College and the guy I think may be our best lead, a janitor who lives near here. Then, unless we get a confession from someone, we meet up and visit number four together ¨C he¡¯s a biker and suspected member of an outlaw gang.  Don¡¯t think either of us should approach that one alone. I have sent the info to your phone. Let me know when you¡¯re done with your guys.¡±


    I took out my phone and checked ¨C the two addresses she sent me were in walking distance. ¡°Sounds like a plan. Good luck.¡±


    ¡°Good hunting, Rookie,¡± she said, heading for the car. ¡°And stay away from that reporter ¨C she is dangerous.¡±


    I realized she was right ¨C even now I had trouble keeping my thoughts away from her pair of bright green eyes. But now that I knew that ¡°odd awareness¡± to be physical attraction, I felt I could handle it.  Still, better safe than sorry: ¡°I will,¡± I promised.  Of course, that was one promise that I had an immediate, almost instinctual awareness that I could never keep.

 Chapter One-Three: A Well-Armed Office

    We had a few leads on the alley butchering case, and my partner, Detective Dina Genovelli and I had split them up to pursue.


    The first lead I had was a janitor named Malcolm Fischer, who proved unlikely ¨C according to the woman he lived with, he was out of town for a funeral and not due back for two days. I logged this info, left my card just in case, and continued on to the home of one Doctor Anton Andreiopov ¨C a man with more letters after his name than some alphabets contain.


    A woman with close-cropped blonde hair answered the door. At first glance I thought she was an older woman, but seeing the way she moved, and recognizing the smell of stale cigarettes clinging to her I looked again and realized she was maybe in her mid or late twenties, but heavy smoking and a hard life had robbed her of youth and any chance she had ever had at being truly pretty.


    She spoke with an odd accent I could not quite place, beyond ¡®Eastern European¡¯ and asked me the nature of my business. I showed her my badge and asked if I could speak to the doctor.


    She looked at the badge, looked at me, looked back at the badge, and then stepped aside, showing me a small sitting room. ¡°You will wait here. I see if he busy.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am.¡±


    I moved over by the indicated seat but remained standing, looking around the room. One wall of the room sported what seemed to be a medieval tapestry. The scene was unusual though ¨C apparently it depicted some form of gladiatorial combat. In a glass case in front of it lay a sword bearing an unmistakable resemblance to the one the central figure in the hanging carried. I moved closer to examine the weapon and heard someone clearing their throat behind me.


    I turned and saw a very fit-looking man in his late forties giving me a grave look. His gray eyes showed no emotion, but his lips were pursed in a worried line. ¡°Good morning detective,¡± he said.


    ¡°Good morning, sir. You are Doctor Andrieopov?¡±


    ¡°I am Professor Anton Andrieopov. And your name is?¡± he asked, extending a hand while the expression on his face remained fixed.


    ¡°Daniels,¡± answered, accepting the hand. ¡°Detective Nathan Daniels.¡±


    As we shook hands, he cast an appraising glance over me. The ritual completed, he jumped in with: ¡°And what leads you to interrupt my studies on this fine morning, Detective Daniels?¡±


    He spoke with an accent almost identical to the blonde woman¡¯s, but much fainter.


    ¡°There was a murder last night, According to AFIS, a fingerprint found at the scene matches yours.¡±


    He visibly relaxed at this. ¡°Ah good ¨C thought this had something to do with that parking ticket,¡± he said, his mouth smiling but his eyes remaining cold, distant. ¡°Last night? At about what time?¡±


    ¡°Preliminary investigation suggests sometime between midnight and two AM. We will know more details in a few hours.¡±


    ¡°Ah, then I¡¯m afraid I have no good alibi,¡± he replied sadly. ¡°From eight to about midnight I was at a party for one of my graduate students ¨C his paper was accepted, and he will be getting his doctorate in a month. There was a good amount of alcohol flowing. I ¡­ have no memory of what happened between my departure from the party shortly after the stroke of midnight and my arrival here at about two AM.¡±


    I jotted this down on my tablet. When I looked up, he said: ¡°Walk with me.  Jenna? Get some iced tea out and glasses and put them in my study.¡±


    I hadn¡¯t realized he¡¯d switched to Russian until I found myself answering in kind: ¡°Thank you sir, I appreciate the gesture.¡±


    He started, and then laughed. ¡°Ah! You speak a civilized tongue!¡± For the first time, his eyes showed emotion ¨C amusement. ¡°Either you learned as an adult in the Ukraine or had a teacher who grew up there but spent much time here. Unmistakable combination of accents.¡±


    Unable to think of a better response, I said: ¡°You have a good ear.¡±


    He smiled broadly at this: ¡°Yes, I can tell a man¡¯s origin from his accent, if he speaks the mother tongue. Good game for parties, no?¡±


    I laughed. ¡°I suppose it is at that.¡±


    We began walking through his house. ¡°In case you wonder, Jenna is my sister. Youngest of three. Only arrived here two weeks ago and still looking for her own place.¡±


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    Now that he mentioned it, I could detect a definite family resemblance. I could also tell that he shared her tobacco vice but favored a pipe over cigarettes. The room he led me into held a large glass case. Inside, an old dress form held an ancient military uniform. ¡°My grandfather¡¯s,¡± Doctor Andreiopov commented, as he saw my gaze fall to it. ¡°He died fighting against the Bolshevik rebels. They refused to bury him in it, so it came to the family. That¡¯s one of the guns he used too, firing pin removed, of course.¡±


    I made appreciative noises as I studied the uniform. A hole in the chest suggested it was worn at the time of death. Other damage had been repaired but this ¡°badge of honor¡± remained.


    We then moved into another room, one clearly meant as a library. Full bookshelves lined the walls, but the room was dominated by a score of glass display cases. Something about this room felt ¡­ off ¡­ to me. I unfocused my gaze and let my other senses take in the room as my host spoke: ¡°This is my room of armaments. I find the most fascinating part of history to be studying ways men found to kill each other. I suppose it¡¯s a bit morbid, but it shows the darker side of human creativity.¡±


    I had to admit he had a very good point. He moved to one case near the center: ¡°My crowning jewel ¨C I cannot properly pronounce its Indonesian name, but it translates roughly as ¡®Demon Blade.¡¯ Legend claims it is wamphyri ¨C blood-drinker.¡±


    I snapped back to full awareness at this. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. It claims a man giving this blade its grim feast gains tremendous strength and invulnerability. Even, if he makes enough sacrifices to it, immortality. Of course, that¡¯s all just superstitious nonsense but I find it fascinating, don¡¯t you?¡±


    A thought hit me: ¡°Can you account for the blade¡¯s whereabouts last night?¡±


    He started at this, and then laughed. ¡°Why you ask such a thing?¡±


    I smiled. ¡°The scratches here, and here¡± I said, pointing to marks on the case, ¡°show this was opened recently, probably in the last twenty-four hours. If someone heard of this legend¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah!  I see, yes ¨C you are good. But those scratches? Once a week I clean all of my weapons except the two that would be damaged if exposed to air ¨C the club over there and that ancient boomerang. Yesterday was that day. The ¡®Demon Blade¡¯ was secure in its case last night.¡±


    I nodded. He showed me a few of his other weapons, but my attention kept coming back to this odd knife ¨C it looked to be a little over a foot in length. The blade appeared to be copper and carved with wicked serrations that would leave truly nasty wounds. The hand grip was carved to resemble a leering, demonic face, and two small gem-chips gave it bright red eyes. In the dim light of an alley, I was certain this blade would appear to glow. I quickly made a note of this and then followed the doctor into his office.  He took a seat behind an enormous mahogany desk and poured two glasses of iced tea.  I accepted one, added a squeeze of lemon but then passed on the honey, cream and sugar offered (he only added the honey to his). ¡°How long have you had that, ah, ¡®Demon Blade¡¯?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That? Oh, my sister brought it. She found it in, of all places, an antique shop in Djakarta, shortly after her husband¡¯s death during their honeymoon. Tragic, really.¡±


    ¡°Wow. I can well imagine,¡± I replied.


    ¡°The shopkeeper was reluctant to sell it until she mentioned I collected such antiquities. Then he parted with it for a ridiculously low price and now it is centerpiece of my collection.¡±


    ¡°It is quite impressive. You are absolutely certain it was here last night?¡±


    ¡°Well, as I was not here all night, I cannot say with absolute certainty, but I am confident that, if it left its case, I would know.¡±


    Something about the way he worded his reply struck me as significant. I logged it away for future reference.


    ¡°But, I have papers to grade ¨C term ends tomorrow. I hope your lab reports the victim died before midnight or after two so that I can be cleared as a suspect ¨C but if not, I am Russian and thus no stranger to false arrest.¡±


    Though he smiled jovially as he said this, his eyes had returned to the cold, lifeless state they first showed.  I simply laughed lightly at this and said I hoped so as well.


    ¡°Now, Jenna will show you out. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to call.¡±


    ¡°Would it be possible to take that knife in for analysis?¡±


    He suddenly grew very cold: ¡°Only if you present me with a warrant.¡±


    I nodded: ¡°Fair enough. Oh, one thing, that legend ¨C how often does the knife have to¡­ ah¡­ feed for the bearer to gain power?¡±


    He relaxed slightly: ¡°The legend says it must feed once per lunar cycle to maintain enhanced strength and other benefits ¨C but to grant true power, true immortality, it must take seven victims in as many weeks.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like the perfect recipe for a serial killer,¡± I commented.


    He looked pensive. ¡°Why it does at that. Now, Detective, while I enjoyed this meeting ¨C even more as I got a chance to exercise my mother tongue,¡± he said, slipping back to English for what I suddenly realized was the first time since our initial greeting, ¡°I have matters to attend to, and I suspect your investigation calls to you. I have no plans of leaving this city, let alone the state or country, until the major history conference two months from today in Atlanta, so you know where I will be ¨C or you can contact me at my office ¨C Jenna can give you my office hours.  Good day, sir.¡±


    His sister escorted me out, handing me a paper with his office number on it in the process. I thanked her in Russian and she brightened up a little, before closing the door behind me.


    I walked slowly away and noticed that the window to the doctor¡¯s office was open slightly. I closed my eyes, listening and I heard his sister¡¯s voice say: ¡°¡­was careless.¡±


    Then he made a comment that I could not catch all of because he closed the window in the middle of the first word. With the window closed, the house seemed remarkably sound-proofed.


    I took out my tablet and recorded this detail on it, not sure at all what it might mean, then leaned back against the railing around the building, considering my next action.

 Chapter One-Four: We Meet Again

    As I stood outside the home of Doctor Anton Andreiopov in thought, my mind replayed the conversation we had about the case, history, and a bizarre artifact called The Demon Blade.  My thoughts, however, were interrupted by a familiar voice asking: ¡°So, is Doctor Andrieopov ¨C or one of his staff ¨C a suspect?¡±


    I spun around and just barely avoided meeting the gaze of reporter Tara O¡¯Malley. ¡°Are you following me?¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Not ¡­ not this time. My regular photographer is dating the woman who owns the coffee shop there,¡± she pointed out a small caf¨¦ across the street. ¡°He saw you go in there and called me.¡±


    ¡°And you hurried over¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course. Now, were you just with a suspect?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°At this point in the investigation, we have no suspects. Someone in that household is currently a Person of Interest. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    She gave me an odd smile. ¡°And am I a person of interest?¡±


    I suddenly felt warm, and gave the only answer I possibly could, ¡°Ma¡¯am, not in this current investigation, no you are not.¡±


    She moved closer. I could smell her perfume ¨C a mix of chemicals that brought a memory forward, one that took almost a full second to connect: ¡°Honeysuckle,¡± I said, not realizing it was aloud.


    ¡°Wow, you have an amazing sense of smell, Mister Daniels.  Or may I call you Nathan?¡± she asked. There was an odd trill to her voice.  I found it very stimulating, and more than a little disturbing.


    ¡°Detective Daniels is fine,¡± I replied. My voice seemed odd to me, slurred somehow, and maybe slightly higher pitched than normal.


    ¡°So, keeping it all business, then? Can I buy you a coffee? I would love some details on how you helped crack my niece¡¯s kidnapping¡­¡±


    For almost a full second, I considered the offer - if I actually liked the taste of coffee, I probably would have. Instead, I replied: ¡°I am supposed to contact my partner, and then meet up with her to continue our investigation.¡±


    ¡°Think I could come along?¡±


    ¡°I seriously doubt she would approve¡­¡±


    ¡°But you would like me to, wouldn¡¯t you?¡±


    I looked at her. The thought had crossed my mind ¨C but the thought I stated next trumped it: ¡°We are going to visit a potentially dangerous person of interest. You are a civilian. Whether I wished you along or not, it would be too dangerous for you to come. Also,¡± I added, allowing myself to smile, ¡°I think Detective Genovelli might be even more dangerous to you than any suspect.¡±


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    She looked like she was about to argue the point, then smiled back: ¡°I suppose she is at that. You take care. And call me some time ¨C either about a case, or just ¡­ to talk.¡±


    She smiled again, then turned and crossed the street to the caf¨¦ she mentioned. I felt a brief urge to follow her, and another urge to just watch her walk. I tore my eyes away, took out my phone, and dialed my partner¡¯s number. While waiting for her to answer, I glanced towards Tara and found her glancing back at me. She waved, and then went inside the shop.


    ¡°Genovelli,¡± I heard.


    ¡°Ah, yeah, it is Daniels. Just finished with the Professor ¨C the other lead was a dead end ¨C out of town all day yesterday and today, due back tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°We will still have to talk to him when he returns, at least to make sure his alibi holds. What about the Professor?¡±


    ¡°I think he knows something, but he is ¡­ cagy.  Don¡¯t think he''s our guy ¨C maybe but doesn''t seem likely ¨C but I do think he is somehow connected.¡±


    ¡°Just a hunch?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, just a hunch, nothing concrete¡± I confirmed. ¡°What about yours?¡±


    She sighed: ¡°Have not met him yet. Wife was home, got me an appointment to see him. Should be called in any minute now. You want to grab a uniform and go over to question number four?¡±


    ¡°You think you''ll be tied up there for a while then?¡±


    ¡°I¡­ just a second.  Hmm ¨C need to talk to the blood splatter guys ¨C if our killer could have done what he did from a wheelchair, this guy''s a suspect ¨C otherwise he''s definitely out.  Meet you at the donut shop a block from the target¡¯s place ¨C get me my usual coffee and a bear claw. Should only be twenty minutes now.¡±


    ¡°Gotcha.¡± Something told me I should mention Miss O¡¯Malley turning up but instead I just said: ¡°See you in twenty, then,¡± and broke the connection. Casting one glance at the caf¨¦ my reporter had vanished into, I sighed and glanced around. The streets were unusually clear for this time of day, about nine AM.  I had nine blocks to travel. I took a deep breath and set out at a light jog.


    As I reached the donut shop in question, I could see her car about two blocks away. I placed her order, and got myself a jelly-filled donut, then stepped outside just as she pulled up.


    ¡°You already got the order? What did you do, fly here?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I answered, ¡°I just jogged.¡±


    She gave me one of her ¡°what planet are you from, anyway?¡± looks, and then took the beverage from my hand and waved me to get into the car.


    As I was fastening my seatbelt, she finished her first sip of coffee and said: ¡°One of our uniformeds called me a block out ¨C saw our suspect go into Halloran¡¯s.¡±


    I took a moment to recall everything I knew about this bar ¨C I had never been there myself. James Halloran had been a cop, but before that he had belonged to a motorcycle ¡°club¡± ¨C more of a front for organized crime than anything else. He joined the force after witnessing a murder and deciding not only did he not want that life, but he also needed to make amends. When he retired, he opened a bar that serves as neutral ground for all of the motorcycle gangs in the area. Now in his late seventies, the man was still an impressive physical specimen, but one positively dwarfed by his two sons (and bar co-owners), twin brothers named Dan and Dave ¨C all three of them qualified marksmen with ¡°concealed carry¡± permits. There was rarely ever any trouble at the bar ¨C unless an active-duty cop walked in.


    Which, of course, was just what we planned to do¡­

 Chapter One-Five: Halloran鈥檚

    Following our last lead in the brutal alleyway slaughter, my partner Dina Genovelli and I were about to visit a biker bar called ¡°Halloran¡¯s.¡±


    I went inside first, both of us knowing the reaction a woman was likely to get walking inside this place. It took my eyes a moment to adjust to the dim lighting ¨C and in that time one of the patrons managed to size me up: ¡°You carry yourself like a cop. We do not like your kind ¡®round here. Beat it.¡±


    I narrowed my gaze and focused on the speaker ¨C once clearly a mountain of a man, a large portion of his muscle now ran to fat ¨C but he was still very powerful-looking. His once-black hair was shot through with gray and his face showed signs of wear due to abuse more than age.  He stepped towards me, clearly expecting me to back down.


    ¡°We are looking for one man, a man we only wish to talk to ¨C no arrest at this time, just talk. His name is¡­¡±


    ¡°We?¡± I only see one a¡¯yuz,¡± the man snarled at me, almost in my face now.


    Dina¡¯s voice cut in at this: ¡°That is because I had to steel myself to put up with your stench, Raph.¡±


    ¡°Dina Genovelli?¡± the man replied, chuckling. ¡°¡¯Less you¡¯re here to give me and the boys blowjobs, grab your rookie and get that cute little backside out of here, now.¡±


    A ghost of a smile on her lips, Dina patted her sidearm: ¡°How about Smith here gives you a blowjob and I save Wesson for the first of your punks who tries to follow suit?¡±


    The man she called Raph ¨C I vaguely recalled his rap sheet ¨C Raphael Marcotti, several counts of assault and battery, a few for disturbing the peace, and one, dismissed, on suspicion of possession ¨C laughed. ¡°For a broad, and a cop, you are OK, Dina. But we ain¡¯t seen your guy so just move along.¡±


    ¡°I did not tell you the name of the¡­¡± I began, but again he interrupted me.


    ¡°Does not matter son, we ain¡¯t seen him, capische? Now scram ¡®for someone breaks up that pretty face of yours¡­¡±


    I glanced at Dina; she sighed and nodded. I stepped closer to Raph. ¡°We need to speak to Samuel¡­¡±


    He moved to push me back as he started to interrupt me; with a single fluid motion, I grabbed his arm and spun him around, pinning his arm behind his back and pulling him up against me. ¡°Do not do that,¡± I warned, then finished my earlier statement: ¡°We are looking for Samuel Innes. We have been told he is here, and we need to talk to him.¡±


    Raph struggled briefly, and then laughed, looked at me and said: ¡°Damn, kid, you been eatin¡¯ crates o¡¯ Wheaties or somethin''?¡± Then he turned to the bar and added: ¡°Sammy, it¡¯s all right ¨C just don¡¯t let ¡®em take you out of here and we¡¯ll all be OK.¡±


    Another large man rose to his feet. I had never seen anyone with a tattoo on their face before, but Samuel Innes sported one ¨C a lightning bolt that ran from the left side of his mouth up to the center of his bald head. He must have stood nearly seven feet tall and weighed over three hundred pounds.  Raph whispered: ¡°You can let me go kid, we¡¯re OK, unless you try to take him out of here. Then we got issues.¡±


    I nodded and let the old man go. ¡°Samuel Innes, is there some place we can go ¨C in the bar ¨C to talk quietly?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± his deep baritone answered, ¡°Booth in the back corner.  Follow me.¡±


    I turned to Dina, who shrugged and moved to follow him. As she did so, there were two wolf-whistles from a nearby table.  She patted her sidearm again ¨C and someone at another table let out a wolf whistle, followed by: ¡°That one¡¯s for the gun, babe, not you¡­¡± followed by laughter.


    My partner ignored them after that and followed the behemoth known as Sammy to his proffered booth.  He sat first, and then pointed for us to take the opposite side. I slid in next, and Dina followed suit.


    ¡°Make this quick ¨C I rode into town two hours ago and just wanted a drink before facing the old lady.¡±


    ¡°Just rode in? Where were you last night, between midnight and seven AM?¡± I asked.


    He seemed to go pale at the question, but then countered with: ¡°Uh, why?¡±


    Dina answered: ¡°Because we have evidence suggesting a man matching your description was present in an alley about two blocks from your house last night during that time period.¡±


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    ¡°My house? At that time? I was about ten miles from there most of the night.¡±


    ¡°Got witnesses?¡± Dina countered.


    He glanced around the room, looking defeated, sighed, and quietly answered: ¡°None who¡¯d testify under oath, ¡®leastwise not without some kind of immunity deal.¡±


    Dina rolled her eyes and let a frustrated sigh escape her lips as she asked: ¡°You were engaged in something illegal?¡±


    ¡°Me? No ¨C not a chance. But I can¡¯t vouch for the guys I was with.¡±


    ¡°You were muscle?¡± she said, nodding.


    ¡°It¡¯s what I¡¯m best at,¡± the man-mountain replied proudly, stretching and cracking his knuckles to emphasize the point. While they talked, I glanced around the room. Most of the patrons cast occasional glances our way but kept to their own affairs, but one man seemed to be staring intently at us ¨C no at me. He stood out - first, he had a slim frame, barely looked strong enough to handle a bike. Second, he was the only African American face in the bar. Third, and perhaps even more distinctive, instead of the leathers or denim and chains sported by most of the bar¡¯s patrons, he wore a business suit, not perfectly tailored but still a fine-quality outfit.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t vouch for your whereabouts at that time, we¡¯re going to have to ask you to not leave town until our investigation is done.¡±


    ¡°Man, I¡¯ve got obligations ¨C I¡­¡±


    ¡°A woman died in that alley.¡± Dina replied coldly.


    He froze for a moment. ¡°You want me on a murder rap?  No way. No frickin¡¯ way. Ain¡¯t goin¡¯ down for murder, never, less¡¯n I did it ¨C and I didn¡¯t. I swear it. I¡¯ll find some guys who can prove I wasn¡¯t around. Give me to sundown.¡±


    Dina laughed. ¡°I know your crew. You¡¯ve got until sun up tomorrow. Then we have to haul you in if you don¡¯t have a more solid alibi.¡±


    ¡°Only time I ever killed anybody was an accident ¨C and it ended my boxin¡¯ career.  Won¡¯t do that again, not ever. I¡¯ll prove I wasn¡¯t there; you mark me.¡±


    She met his gaze for several seconds, before nodding: ¡°I think we can do that. But if you make even an effort to skip town, several warrants will surface, I can guarantee it.¡±


    ¡°Hey, I got a kid on the way. Ain¡¯t doin'' nothin¡¯ to keep him from havin¡¯ a father. Hated visitin¡¯ mine in the pen.¡± There was genuine concern in his voice.


    ¡°I think we¡¯re done here.  Tomorrow at dawn you had better have your alibi set in stone, or you will be sitting in a ten-by-ten room.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, man, I got it¡­ Thanks.¡±


    Dina glanced at me, nodded towards the door and rose to her feet. ¡°Glad you¡¯ve been cooperative,¡± she told Mister Innes. She then walked toward the door, ignoring a few more catcalls. I tried to follow in her footsteps, but the man in the suit grabbed me in passing. ¡°Nathan Daniels?¡± he asked.


    I felt a cold chill as he said my name. I stopped and turned to face him. ¡°Yes ¨C Detective Nathan Daniels,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You made detective!  Excellent! I knew you would make something of yourself¡­¡± his voice trailed off as he met my gaze. ¡°You don''t remember me, do you?¡±


    I tried to look as contrite as possible as I shook my head. ¡°I was your public defender before someone took an interest and bought you a high-end attorney.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Uh¡­ Price - Michael Pryce, right?¡± I replied, finally relaxing.


    ¡°Yeah! Mikey,¡± he answered, grinning. ¡°Man, I have got a client here but ¡­ we should exchange cards, get together for drinks some time or something¡­¡±


    ¡°I don''t drink.¡±


    He laughed. ¡°Wise man. Anyway, here, give me a call.¡± He handed me a piece of cardboard with raised lettering on it. I nodded, slipped it into my pocket and hurried to catch up to my partner.


    Something in Mr. Pryce¡¯s demeanor did not sit right with me ¨C hours later, I realized what it was ¨C the whole time we talked, he seemed to be fighting to hold back laughter.


    I found Dina on the sidewalk outside, talking to a uniformed officer. She nodded as I approached. ¡°Yeah, I want you to make sure someone has eyes on this guy twenty-four seven. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s guilty of our murder but ¡­ I don¡¯t know. Until we can prove he isn¡¯t, he needs to be monitored.¡±


    The uniformed officer nodded and pulled out his phone to contact dispatch. Dina turned to me: ¡°What was the delay?¡±


    ¡°Michael Pryce recognized me.¡±


    ¡°Pryce? The Public Defender?¡± she replied, her eyes wide.


    I nodded. ¡°You know my background, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah ¨C ran with a gang for a few years until you realized they were dealing with child prostitutes on the side, turned them in and decided to do a full one-eighty with your life. Read your file twice, kid.¡±


    I laughed lightly. ¡°Looking for reasons to turn me down as a partner?¡±


    ¡°Damned straight. I had one true partner, and nobody will ever take his place. You are just a rookie I''m showing the ropes to, nothing more. You''ll move on to be someone else¡¯s partner when we''re done, and I''ll get a new rookie to train.¡±


    I nodded, well aware of her views. Desiring to change the subject, I asked: ¡°So, you think he''s clean?¡±


    ¡°Sammy? Of our murder? Probably, but there¡¯s always a chance he¡¯s playing us. Let¡¯s go have a talk with the lab boys and see if they¡¯ve got any more leads to follow. Otherwise, we may have to chat with your professor again.¡±

 Chapter One-Six: Complications

    Interviewing witnesses had turned up plenty of interesting facts but no solid leads on the alley slaughter case, so we returned to the police Crime Lab to see if they might have some new information for us.


    The lab boys did, indeed, have something new for us ¨C but it was not as helpful as we had hoped. You know it is a bad sign when they open with: ¡°These numbers don''t seem to make any sense at all.¡±


    Dina frowned at this: ¡°So, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Donald Seville, the tech we were talking to at the time, replied: ¡°We have got a couple of possible digital reenactments - but they only make sense if our guy somehow changed his height and weight during the attack.¡±


    Dina and I exchanged glances and she asked: ¡°So, what, two attackers?¡±


    ¡°Possible but ¡­ the numbers don¡¯t seem to suggest it unless¡­  Well, here, see what we¡¯ve got,¡± Seville replied. ¡°Davis, get over here ¨C they may have questions for you.¡±


    Allen Davis rushed over as Donald loaded some files onto a nearby computer. ¡°Here is scenario A,¡± he said, turning on a video.


    Davis narrated: ¡°Here, this generic female form, is our vic. She walks into the alley and sees someone ¨C we suspect it¡¯s someone she knows, or someone she just feels is not a threat.¡±


    Seville chimed in: ¡°Right ¨C there is surprisingly little evidence of defensive wounds on ¡­ the pieces we recovered.¡±


    Davis resumed: ¡°Now, see this figure ¨C we used a male form because most killers like this are male. We have no evidence actually suggesting the gender of our suspect.  Anyway, this figure approaches her. We believe they had some kind of casual discussion for several seconds ¨C some of the items disturbed in the alley suggest it. Then this happens.¡±


    The image on the screen showed the man suddenly plunging some kind of blade into the woman¡¯s side.


    ¡°From the bits recovered, we¡¯re ninety five percent certain the first blow was a killing strike, entering between the fourth and fifth ribs on the right side, puncturing both a lung and her heart. Death was not instant, but definitely quick. Then things get interesting, judging from the backspatter¡­¡±


    The image on the screen drew the knife back from the wound ¨C and seemed to inflate.


    ¡°This spray pattern on the wall shows the swing shifting mid-arc.  It really doesn¡¯t make a lot of sense.¡±


    Dina replied: ¡°So we¡¯re looking for The Incredible Hulk?¡±


    Seville answered with: ¡°I doubt it. He was created by gamma radiation and the radiation levels¡­¡±


    Dina glared at him and he stopped. ¡°Tell me you did NOT go back and check radiation levels?¡±


    ¡°Did not go back, no but we have a Geiger counter in our gear,¡± he replied, sounding a little wounded. He turned to me and added: ¡°We managed to help solve more than a few poisoning cases by identifying radioactive isotopes in the victims,¡± by way of explanation.


    ¡°Could some kind of ¡®super steroid¡¯ cause this?¡± Dina asked.


    ¡°Unlikely but I¡¯ve got some guys looking into it. Now, this is the last move we are one hundred percent sure of ¨C after that we have a series of speculative attacks. There are so many cuts ¨C and so many pieces ¨C we can not be absolutely sure of the order. Want to watch a few?¡±


    Dina looked at me and I shrugged. ¡°Just one, unless you think it¡¯ll help with the investigation to watch them all.¡±


    He reached for the play button and Dina suddenly stopped him: ¡°Wait ¨C could the attacker have made that swing from a wheelchair?¡±


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    Seville and Davis exchanged a glance, and then Seville sat down and began typing numbers. I was impressed by the speed at which his fingers flew across the keyboard.


    ¡°To make the initial swing, he would either need a highly customized wheelchair, or an elevated position,¡± he said finally as he ran a new video sequence.


    The first bit showed a man in a regular wheelchair ¨C the knife swing was low, hitting the target''s waist. Then he raised the chair up a foot and things matched up fairly well.


    ¡°If you ignore the question of ¡®how did the chair get this high,¡¯ it works,¡± Davis chimed in. ¡°But, for the remaining blows to scan properly, he¡¯d need to get up out of the chair ¨C and be close to seven feet tall.¡±


    ¡°Two of our potential suspects are close to seven feet tall, and a third uses a wheelchair,¡± Dina replied.


    ¡°Then he could be your guy ¨C but if he¡¯s got the power to break bones with a mere knife, like this guy did, you¡¯re going to need a lot of back-up.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°The damage to the hard and soft tissues is more consistent with some sort of power tool than with a human being swinging a bladed weapon.¡±


    I spoke up at this point: ¡°Do we have any details on the weapon?¡±


    ¡°Some ¨C either two weapons were employed, or one was a double-edged knife or sword, roughly twelve to fifteen inches long, with one edge serrated and one smooth. It also appears to have a distinctive tang on the hand guard ¨C here is one possible shape,¡± Seville replied, pulling up another file.


    My eyes widened as I looked at the image. ¡°Could you cross-reference that with Malaysian or Indonesian weapons?¡±


    ¡°What, you¡¯ve got an idea?¡± Dina asked, impressed.


    ¡°Starting to get one. Never saw it out of the sheath, but Doctor Andreiopov collects weapons and recently acquired a weapon from a dealer in Djakarta with a similar hand-guard to that one.¡±


    Davis was keying stuff into his tablet and looked up: ¡°Definitely not a traditional Malaysian design ¨C looks almost Mongolian. But I did find a reference to something like that, recently sold to a collector in Djakarta ¨C a weapon with the prosaic title of ¡®Demonblade.¡¯¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what Dr. Andreiopov called it¡­¡±


    Dina turned to me and said: ¡°Looks like your instincts were right ¨C he is involved. Let¡¯s get someone to cross check your professor with our victim and our other suspects ¨C perhaps some kind of collusion is involved?¡±


    Seville said: ¡°We will see what we can do with this additional data. Maybe we can make some sense of this after all?¡±


    ¡°Ah good, you guys are still here,¡± a new voice interrupted. We turned to see the female CSU agent from the alley - according to her name tag, she was Doctor Karen Giles: ¡°We have got an ID on the victim, just came through. She was a suspect in a hit-and-run a few months back or we wouldn¡¯t have gotten a hit so fast on her partials.¡±


    She handed a folder to Dina. Skimming the first page, my partner mused aloud: ¡°Linda Marshall, nineteen ¨C would be twenty tomorrow. And a student at ¡­ hmm¡­ Nate, what college does your professor work for?¡±


    I was about to say I did not know, when I remembered the card that his sister gave me. Pulling it out, I read: ¡°The Renner Institute. Assistant Dean of European History.¡±


    ¡°Well, the coincidences are just piling up here ¨C she was not just a student at the Renner Institute, but a history major as well¡­ Thanks, Karen,¡± she added, nodding to the other woman.


    ¡°This is too strange a case for me not to be interested,¡± Doctor Giles replied. ¡°Glad to help. Keep me informed, OK?¡±


    Dina smiled at her. ¡°Yeah ¨C still on for bowling Saturday?¡±


    ¡°Unless another body turns up, you know it. You coming along too, Nathan?¡±


    Not expecting the question, I jumped and looked over at her. Bright blue eyes met mine, with an odd expression I could not identify peeking out of their depths. ¡°Not likely ¨C I ¡­ do not bowl,¡± I replied.


    ¡°We could teach you¡­¡±


    Dina stepped in: ¡°We have got a suspect to go interview, Karen. You can flirt with my rookie later¡­¡±


    Karen laughed. ¡°Was I that obvious?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to get in line behind his new reporter friend,¡± Dina said, glancing at me to see my reaction.


    ¡°Not Tara?¡± Karen replied, an edge of ice in her voice.


    I was feeling distinctly uncomfortable suddenly, and not really sure why. ¡°I think we had best be going¡­ Oh, and speaking of Miz O¡¯Malley, she ran into me outside the professor¡¯s place ¨C apparently it¡¯s right by a coffee shop her photographer frequents.¡±


    Dina gave me an odd look, and then sighed. ¡°We need to hurry then.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s probably interrogating our suspect as we speak. Though, on the bright side, if he¡¯s our killer she might tick him off enough to become victim number two¡­¡±


    Though Karen seemed to agree, somehow that did not seem to be much of a bright side to my mind¡­

 Chapter One-Seven: Second Meeting

    Evidence in the alleyway butchering case was steering us back towards Professor Andreiopov, a man I had talked to earlier.  After I mentioned that the reporter Tara O¡¯Malley knew I had visited him, Dina decided we had to rush off immediately and hopefully beat her in talking to the man.


    In the car, I turned to Dina and asked: ¡°Why do you and Doctor Giles hate Miz O¡¯Malley so much?¡±


    ¡°For one thing, she is annoying ¨C always popping up when not needed, inserting herself into the investigation. For another, due to not checking her sources out once, she almost got Karen fired ¨C this was about the same time you started with the force. Big mess, made a lot of news, ruined a few careers. She finally printed a retraction and issued a formal apology but ¡­ well, it¡¯s hard to get over that.¡±


    I decided I would need to look into that a bit more on my own. ¡°The Professor is Russian-born and currently lives with his sister. He seemed open and friendly ¨C especially when he learned I speak Russian, but¡­¡±


    ¡°You speak Russian?¡±


    Distracted by the question I hesitated for a moment before giving my reply: ¡°Yes. Russian, English and Spanish,¡± I didn¡¯t mention the two other languages I have found myself conversing in ¨C one I later learned was Polish; never did learn what the fifth was ¨C for some reason it seemed going into these details would lead to more questions I did not want - or, honestly, know how - to answer.


    ¡°I saw Spanish in your file, and English is obvious but there was no mention of Russian ¨C where did you learn it?¡±


    ¡°Growing up,¡± I replied. ¡°Hung out with some kids from the Ukraine ¨C the ones that ultimately got me into the gang, in fact.¡± It might have been the truth ¨C I honestly do not know ¨C but it made sense; she simply nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯re here. You should have mentioned that ¨C additional languages can always help an investigation.¡±


    This time, Dina rang the doorbell. Once again, Jenna answered, but this time she greeted us with: ¡°He is busy at the moment.¡±


    ¡°Busy with a pretty redhead?¡± Dina asked.


    Jenna¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A reporter, yes.¡±


    Dina gave me an ¡°I told you so¡± look, and then turned back to Jenna: ¡°I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t mind us intruding. I can flash a badge if you wish?¡±


    ¡°Already saw his,¡± she answered, nodding at me. ¡°Come in, wait here.¡±


    Dina looked at me, I shrugged, and we did as requested.


    Glancing around the entryway, Dina suddenly grabbed my arm and hissed: ¡°Do you have your tablet or a camera handy?¡±


    I followed her gaze to a spot on the floor near a wall. A tiny, red-brown smear was visible there. I nodded and took my phone out, snapping two quick photos before I heard Jenna¡¯s footsteps returning. I realized she favored one foot ¨C her left ¨C and logged this information away.


    ¡°My brother is happy to meet with you, and Miss Omahlie wonders what took you so long,¡± she informed us. I found her pronunciation of Tara¡¯s name amusing.


    Dina shook her head, nodded at the apparent bloodstain, and, after I nodded affirmative, set out to follow Jenna.


    I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing my other senses to run over the room, and realized there was a second drop of liquid near my feet. I dropped down to tie my shoe, as I did so, I slipped out a sample tube and collected the now-mostly-dry spot. Glancing through the door, I saw another halfway between this room and the kitchen. That was all I had time for before I realized how far ahead of me the two women were, and I rushed to catch up.


    Dina glanced at me, and I mouthed: ¡°found another; bagged it.¡±


    She mouthed back: ¡°Should have found them the first time!¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    I nodded, as Jenna opened the door to Professor Andreiopov¡¯s study.


    The Professor stood to welcome us: ¡°Ah, today I am visited by two beautiful women ¨C and one of the few civilized men I have found in this city, for a second time. I truly am blessed.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯m Detective Dina¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, Officer Daniels¡¯ partner and mentor. I was told you would probably show up soon,¡± he interrupted.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Tara added, smiling, ¡°and I was waiting until you got here to ask him for details on one of his students,¡± she checked her cell phone before continuing, ¡°a Linda Marshall¡­¡±


    ¡°Why, so you could show off to my partner?¡± Dina replied coldly.


    ¡°She was the victim, right?¡± Tara answered, still smiling but with a touch of ice in her voice.


    ¡°We can neither confirm nor¡­¡± Dina began to recite like a parrot.


    ¡°Can it, Dina¡­¡± the reporter interrupted.


    Ice in her voice, my partner replied: ¡°Detective Genovelli¡­¡±


    ¡°Detective. I have more friends in the state crime lab than you have ¡­ well, probably, friends. You do not need to confirm it, though I¡¯ll probably cover you in a more favorable light if you do¡­¡±


    The Professor laughed: ¡°Ladies, please sheathe your claws.¡± To me he added, in Russian: ¡°It is always fun to watch them fight ¨C from a distance, but close up? Too much collateral damage.¡±


    I smiled and was about to reply, when I got an incoming text message beep on my phone. I noticed Tara make an odd movement at that same moment, and, on a hunch, passed my phone over to Dina.


    ¡°Tara, may I see your phone?¡± I asked innocently.


    She started, and for a brief second her composure was gone. Then it recovered, and she asked: ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because I believe you were just texted a time of death, just as we were¡­¡±


    Dina flashed a predatory grin: ¡°You can either comply with my partner¡¯s request ¨C and help us plug a leak at the state crime lab ¨C or you can refuse him and be charged with interfering with an investigation. Your call ¨C I am happy with either outcome.¡±


    Tara sighed, walked over, and placed the phone in my hand; she managed to brush her fingers along mine in the process, and I felt an odd rush of warmth course through my body at the contact. I thought I covered my reaction well, but a sudden gleam in her eyes suggested otherwise.


    I focused on the phone. ¡°Password protect¡­¡±


    ¡°Try D514,¡± Dina suggested. Tara paled at this as I typed in the combination. The lock screen vanished and a text screen identical to the one on my phone appeared. ¡°Same message,¡± I informed the room.


    ¡°Pity. Ken¡¯s good.  Pretty easy on the eyes too,¡± Dina muttered. ¡°Hope he does not get fired over this¡­¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°If you promise to not print anything about this investigation until we tell you to, I will not,¡± my partner replied. ¡°Otherwise, he¡¯s on report¡­¡±


    Turning to Professor Andreiopov (and not wanting this conversation to go any farther), I said: ¡°By the way, sir, if you can prove you got here at two AM, you are off the hook. We¡¯ve got the time of death at approximately three AM.¡±


    ¡°Will my security logs be sufficient?¡±


    ¡°If there is video¡­¡±


    ¡°I will go get them. Please keep the ladies from killing each other ¨C there are some objects in this room that it is a bear to get bloodstains out of,¡± he informed me, then rose and hurried out.


    As soon as he was out of the room, Tara said: ¡°If I can have my phone back, I¡¯ll see if I can get my editor to hold the story I already filed, OK?¡±


    Dina glared at her as I passed the phone back, trying my best to avoid direct contact with her.


    A few seconds later, she came back with: ¡°We¡¯re in luck. Give me your email and I¡¯ll forward a copy to you two, but the editor hasn''t passed it to typesetting yet.¡±


    ¡°What kind of a story do you have already?¡±


    Her assurance ¨C and smile ¨C returned immediately. ¡°You mean you don''t know? This is the third killing!¡±


    We were about to ask for more details when the Professor returned with a CD in his hand. ¡°This disk covers eight hours - should be the entire time in question. I have not looked at it myself, though.¡±


    Dina took the disk from him: ¡°Thank you, sir. We¡¯ll be in touch, one way or the other, after we review this.¡± She then turned to Tara, ¡°and you we will need to talk to, outside ¨C Now!¡±


    Tara smiled: ¡°Of course ¨C I¡¯ll be back later to chat with you about your student, if you don''t mind, Professor?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!  Do you need Jenna to show you the way out or¡­?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯re good. Thank you for your time, sir,¡± I replied. I had managed to move over by his window, and casually opened it a crack before turning to head out.

 Chapter One-Eight: A Picture Forms

    As soon as we were outside, I focused all of my concentration on the open window. I barely heard the discussion between my partner and the reporter. In Russian, Jenna confronted her brother with: ¡°The reporter knows of the other two¡­¡±


    ¡°Do not worry my dear,¡± he replied. ¡°Even if they could guess, they wouldn''t believe the truth. I still have trouble with it myself. We are safe, at least for now.¡±


    ¡°They must die¡­¡±


    ¡°Next week ¨C we must wait. We must be patient¡­¡±


    I heard them walking out of the room as they spoke; anything they said after that was too faint for me to make out.


    Returning my focus to my two companions: ¡°So, since I could not get any information out of either of you, I ran a search on the national unsolved murders database.  Found two that match ¨C one in San Diego two weeks ago, the other in Iowa last week.¡±


    Dina looked ill. ¡°The national database? You do know the FBI is going to swoop in and take this case from us now, right?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked, puzzled.


    ¡°Any hits returned by a search in the national database get flagged to the FBI Serial Crimes division. We may have twenty-four hours before they come in¡­¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t they have to be invited?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Not if the serial crimes crossed state lines - only if they are local. Didn¡¯t they teach you anything at the academy?¡± This was Tara teasing me, not my partner. I glared at her then turned back to Dina and gave her a questioning look.


    ¡°She¡¯s right. They¡¯ll want this one. If we¡¯re lucky, they¡¯ll let us take point on it. If not, they¡¯ll push us right out.¡±


    Tara glanced between us, then smiled: ¡°Guys, let me help you with this one ¨C I have got some contacts and information you don''t, and you have access I lack. Promise me an exclusive when it¡¯s over and I promise I won¡¯t let anything leak until then.¡±


    Dina gave her a look that almost had a physical impact behind it and was about to say something very nasty, but I held up a hand: ¡°Wait ¨C I have an idea, and she¡¯s probably right. She can help us.¡±


    ¡°You would think that,¡± Dina replied. ¡°Let¡¯s hear your thoughts though ¨C assuming you are thinking with the ¡­¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± I interrupted. I was about to continue then another thought hit me: ¡°You said this was national¡­ What if it¡¯s international? Would that affect the FBI¡¯s involvement?¡±


    ¡°Possibly, why?¡± Dina asked.


    ¡°Just a hunch ¨C Tara, could you check for similar murders in Djakarta, two, maybe three weeks before the San Diego one? And the travel time between them?¡±


    She gave me an odd look and took out her phone. ¡°I¡¯ll look into the travel times,¡± Dina offered, ¡°but you had better have a good explanation.¡±


    A few seconds passed, and then Tara gasped: ¡°Yes ¨C it does not completely fit the pattern, but is exactly two weeks before San Diego. An antiques dealer just back from his honeymoon was found butchered like the local ones. Hmm¡­ Interesting¡­¡¯


    ¡°Travel time is approximately thirty hours by air, anywhere from six to ten days by water,¡± Dina interjected. Then turned to Tara: ¡°What¡¯s so interesting?¡±


    ¡°Pure tabloid journalism ¨C mentions a string of murders ten years earlier, similar to the antique dealer¡¯s, and wondering if someone called the ¡®Bayside Butcher¡¯ came out of retirement.¡±


    Things were coming together in my mind at this point ¨C but the picture was one I really did not like or feel that I could share ¨C quite yet.


    Dina took the phone from Tara ¨C who yielded without a fight this time ¨C and ran through the article, and then followed up with several of the linked ones. ¡°It has to just be a coincidence, right?¡± she said as she handed the phone back.¡±


    ¡°Or a copycat,¡± I suggested. ¡°Is there any way we could track the travel patterns of our Professor and his sister?¡±


    ¡°His sister?¡± both women asked me, shocked.


    ¡°From something Professor Andreiopov mentioned, I think the antique dealer was her husband¡­¡±


    ¡°The FBI could do that, but we would have to go through mountains of paperwork¡­¡± Dina answered after a few moments of thought.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Give me fifteen minutes,¡± Tara volunteered.  ¡°I can call in some favors¡±


    Dina glanced at me and, under her breath, said: ¡°OK, maybe bringing her in was not the worst idea ever¡­¡±


    We walked towards our car while Tara paced up and down the sidewalk. Twice I saw Jenna glancing out of different windows, her eyes following us intently.


    Dina began playing around with her own tablet, while I remained mired in my own thoughts.


    Finally, Tara walked over to us. ¡°I have some news but need to wait on a few faxes. The Professor¡¯s sister arrived in San Diego, at least according to her passport, the day before the murder there. Oh, and the Professor was in Baltimore at a conference when the Iowa one took place, so he¡¯s out for that one¡­¡±


    ¡°How did she arrive?¡±


    ¡°Apparently via a cruise ship, why?¡±


    ¡°Six to ten days ¨C if this follows a pattern, our killer struck during that cruise¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, you¡¯re suggesting she¡¯s our seven-foot-tall psychopath with the strength of a drill-press?¡± Dina asked me, one eyebrow raised in an unspoken question.


    ¡°Maybe ¨C probably used some kind of tool or something if so¡­  Though a murder on ship would be noticed and cause problems at port but a disappearance might not,¡± I prodded.


    ¡°You checking this or should I?¡± Dina asked Tara.


    ¡°Already on it.¡±


    ¡°We need to pull credit card info for the Professor and, if we can, his sister.¡±


    ¡°Need a warrant or probable cause¡­¡± Dina warned.


    ¡°You need that,¡± Tara said. ¡°I ¡­ have my own resources ¨C and have already called them. They¡¯re faxing his info to my office already but, other than the passport, I haven¡¯t found any evidence the sister even exists, beyond having physically met her¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± Dina mused. ¡°Interesting.¡±


    We both turned to her as she supplied the following thought: ¡°Three known victims were female. All four had brown hair and were roughly the same size and even similar builds from the pictures I¡¯ve found, even the antiques dealer.  All three women were also open, known lesbians, and one has a number of prostitution charges on her record.¡±


    ¡°There was a disappearance on The Pacific Star. A woman who worked in the ship¡¯s hair salon and was under investigation for solicitation, an Andrea Baker. Pulling up picture¡­ oh wow¡­¡±


    Tara turned her phone towards us: aside from a slightly different hairstyle, she was almost an exact match for the student ID photo we had for Linda Marshall.


    ¡°Our killer clearly has a ¡®type,¡¯¡± I mused.


    Tara walked over to my partner and held the camera up beside her: ¡°A type very similar to you, Detective Genovelli¡­¡±


    I had not noticed ¨C had not even considered it before ¨C but there was a definite similarity. Dina was a little shorter and stockier, and had a slightly darker complexion but could have been a close relative of Miss Marshall.  ¡°Can you find pictures of the other victims?¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s the girl from Iowa, Christine Vrbancek.¡± The girl in the picture had close-cropped hair and a much larger nose but still definitely fit the type.


    Dina beat Tara to the punch with: ¡°And meet Carole Maclin.¡±


    ¡°If you want to set a trap,¡± Tara said looking at the picture on the tablet, ¡°you¡¯ve definitely got the right bait¡­¡±


    Dina raised both eyebrows at this, clearly considering the idea.


    A different thought came to me though: ¡°Can we check for any unsolveds in Baltimore at the same time as the Dubuque one? Maybe something the police did not release details of for being too horrific?¡±


    ¡°What, you suspect two killers?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Brother and sister, perhaps working together on some, separately on others.¡±


    Dina started activating windows on her tablet, and said: ¡°You know we don¡¯t have enough even to get a warrant, let alone hold them¡­¡±


    ¡°Do they know that, though?¡± I replied. ¡°They¡¯re expecting Miss O¡¯Malley to go back and interview them. Why not give them the impression that we¡¯ve found evidence linking one of them to at least one of the murders and plan an arrest tomorrow? Maybe they¡¯ll slip and give us something actionable¡­¡±


    ¡°Or maybe they will decide once a week is not enough and try to take me down?¡± Dina finished for me.


    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to be used as bait in a trap, yes¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡­ oh dear lord¡­¡± she held up the laptop ¨C there was, indeed, an unsolved murder. The police had not released any details but not only the picture of the victim, but her name as well showed a stronger connection between two victims than we¡¯d seen so far: Elaine Marshall, an anthropology student, was, according to the article, survived by her twin sister Linda, a student at The Renner Institute.


    ¡°Just got a text from the office,¡± Tara interjected. ¡°The faxes arrived. You guys want to follow me?¡±


    ¡°No, you go in and interview the Professor like you planned before we arrived. Let slip that we plan to make an arrest tomorrow, hint that it¡¯s one of them we hope to arrest, then find a way to get out quickly.¡±


    ¡°And what will you two do?¡± Tara asked.


    Dina: ¡°I think we need to put formal requests to Dubuque, San Diego and Baltimore for their files,¡± Dina suggested. ¡°Once we do that, we¡¯ll head to your paper and wait for you.¡±


    ¡°Hmm, OK, I¡¯ll text you when I¡¯m headed that way, then?¡± again from Tara.


    ¡°Sure. You have got our cards, right?¡± Dina asked her.


    She patted her purse and smiled.  ¡°Good hunting. Never actually worked with you guys before¡­¡±


    Dina pulled me toward the car before I could reply. As soon as Tara was at the door to the Professor¡¯s house, she hissed: ¡°Bringing her into this was a bad idea, but it¡¯s working out well so far. We just have to keep a handle on things¡­  Come on.¡±


    I followed her into the car, and we sped off.

 Chapter One-Nine: Burke and Adamsky

    We now had solid potential suspects in the Andrieopovs, and just needed conclusive evidence to solve not just one but a potential string of murders spanning several countries.  We were going to spend some time at the station house and then go to try and meet with reporter Tara O¡¯Malley at her office after she helped us lay a trap for our suspects.


    As we entered the station house, the man at the front desk called us over. ¡°Was just about to call you guys ¨C we just had some Feds show up, nosing around about the Marshall murder.¡±


    Dina cast a dark look my way, then turned back to him: ¡°What did you tell them?¡±


    ¡°That they would need to talk to the Captain or wait for you two to get back.¡±


    ¡°And they are with the Captain now?¡±


    ¡°Yes ¨C oh wait they¡¯re coming out.¡±


    We both glanced over at the door to Captain Jancowyk¡¯s office. Three figures emerged, two in matching dark gray suits, the other in a police Captain''s uniform. First out the door was a large, powerfully built man of mixed racial descent, and a slender, graceful woman with blond hair and bright blue eyes followed hard on his heels, bringing up the rear was the bulk of the Captain himself. I always wondered how he made it through that door ¨C or managed to pass the annual physicals, for that matter


    ¡°Daniels, Genovelli ¨C glad you are back. In here now.¡±


    The two agents ¨C if nothing else, the almost matching suits gave them away ¨C turned and followed him back inside as we hurried to comply with the bellowed order.


    Once inside, he asked me to close the door, and offered the one open seat to Dina. She declined so I remained standing as well.


    ¡°How far have you two gotten on the Marshall murder?¡± he asked.


    Dina nodded to me to answer. ¡°Sir, we have identified five persons of interest. One we ruled out, one is trying to put together proof of his alibi as we speak, and one is out of town. We have talked to the other two with little resolution. We have also discovered a possible link to four other murders and a disappearance.¡±


    Both agents jumped slightly at this. ¡°Four?¡± the woman said, clearly surprised.


    ¡°Hold it ¨C introductions first,¡± the Captain insisted. ¡°Detectives Dina Genovelli and Nathan Daniels, meet Special Agents Lynn Burke and David Adamsky.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve met,¡± Dina replied, nodding at them.


    The woman ¨C Lynn Burke, obviously ¨C smiled back at her. The larger Adamsky glowered at her but offered me his hand. Lynn appeared ¡­ at least friendly. Something in Adamsky¡¯s mannerisms made me think he was used to being in charge though. He was also one of the few people I had met ¨C outside of that biker bar, at least ¨C larger than the Captain, though his mass had far more muscle behind it than bulk.


    I accepted his hand, and offered mine to Agent Burke, who accepted before she spoke again: ¡°We were aware of two similar murders ¨C and recent access to our database suggested a link to this one but four?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we take this over to our desks and compare notes?¡± Dina offered.


    The two agents exchanged a glance, and then Adamsky nodded.


    ¡°Sounds like a good idea,¡± Burke replied, rising to her feet.


    The Captain waved us all out and returned to his never-ending mound of paperwork as the four of us filed out.


    As we approached our desks, Dina informed them: ¡°So far, all we have is a trail of breadcrumbs ¨C very bloody breadcrumbs ¨C that we are not quite sure where they lead.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you are a little farther along in some points than we are,¡± Burke replied; Adamsky glared at her.


    ¡°Is this some kind of a competition,¡± I asked innocently, ¡°or are we supposed to really be working together?¡±


    Adamsky turned his glare on me but both women smiled slightly. Dina answered: ¡°Probably six of one, half a dozen of the other¡­¡± and Burke laughed. Adamsky¡¯s glare deepened.


    Dina broke the tension with: ¡°Has the lab given you guys everything from last night?¡±


    ¡°No¡­¡±


    ¡°Then I will call down for a copy. Would you mind running down and grabbing it ¨C that¡¯s faster than waiting for a fax¡­¡±


    I knew the lab preferred e-mail over faxing but figured she had some angle, so agreed.


    Adamsky spoke for the first time, his voice a deep bass that I felt in my bones: ¡°I will come along, if you don¡¯t mind?¡±


    I cast a quick questioning glance Dina¡¯s way, and she flashed a faint smile telling me this was exactly what she had hoped for. ¡°Not a problem, sir,¡± I answered.


    As we headed out, Adamsky spoke again: ¡°Surprised they do not just email it¡­¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re weird. You know techies, right?¡±


    He nodded: ¡°Silly squints,¡± he replied, then resumed his silence. I wondered if this was as close as he ever came to a bonding moment.


    In the lab, Seville greeted us: ¡°Was just about to go off shift when Dina called down. Pity the email server¡¯s on the fritz ¨C again.¡±


    He slid me a folder with one hand and a scrap of paper with the other. I passed the folder over to Adamsky and scanned the paper as surreptitiously as I could at the same time. ¡°She also said keep you two here as long as possible¡±


    Seville glanced over at my companion then his eyes widened: ¡°Wait, Adamsky ¨C David Adamsky? Tight end for the Ohio Buckeyes five years ago? Also the guy who broke the Cincinnati Strangler case two years ago?¡±


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    After giving Seville his likely patented stare, the FBI agent replied: ¡°Yes.¡± He was clearly quite the chatterbox.


    ¡°Man ¨C pity about that blown knee¡­ You were great. I graduated the year after you. Buckeyes forever, eh?¡±


    Adamsky looked a little uncomfortable at this and Seville changed tactics: ¡°That was some fine detective work in Cincinnati, too ¨C I owe you a debt of gratitude in fact; one of the victims was my cousin. Glad that monster was stopped.¡± He held out a hand. Agent Adamsky reluctantly enfolded Seville¡¯s hand in his own and shook it gingerly ¨C and then released it as if it were some kind of stinging insect.


    ¡°Say, we put through a few more potential digital reenactments of the murder; we have figured out the order some of the ¡­ bits ¡­ were removed in. You guys want to look?¡±


    I did not really want to, but understood the ploy and glanced over at Adamsky.


    He sighed: ¡°Probably a waste of time,¡± he replied.


    At that point one of the section clerks interrupted: ¡°Officer Daniels? Were you expecting a file from Baltimore?¡±


    I am not sure who was more surprised by this ¨C me or Adamsky. ¡°Detective Daniels - and, yes, but it was supposed to come upstairs.¡±


    ¡°Well, it came through here, Detective Daniels¡± he replied, handing a small stack of printouts to me.


    Adamsky reached for them, and then shot me a questioning glance. ¡°Number four,¡± I answered and handed them over.


    As he took them, Seville asked: ¡°Number four what?¡±


    ¡°We believe that last night¡¯s death was the fifth in a string of murders.¡±


    ¡°This guy¡¯s serial?¡±


    I pointed a thumb at Adamsky: ¡°That¡¯s why the FBI¡¯s here.¡±


    ¡°Ah! Come on, then - let¡¯s go see those videos, eh?¡±


    I started to follow when Adamsky placed a gigantic hand on my shoulder: ¡°This victim was her sister?¡±


    ¡°We believe so, yes,¡± I answered ¨C and felt my phone vibrate. I closed my eyes for a moment, tuning in on the signal (a handy trick of mine, and one that does not always work correctly) and saw the message in my mind. Tara was heading to her office. I knew I would need to give her an explanation of why we would be running late ¨C and noticed the men¡¯s room. ¡°If you will excuse me, I need to make a pit stop.¡±


    Both of the men with me nodded and I went on in while Adamsky continued to skim the files and ignore Seville¡¯s attempts at small talk. Clearly our techie was a fan of the FBI agent, and clearly Adamsky did not like having fans¡­


    As soon as the door closed, I sent back a reply: ¡°FBI here.¡±


    ¡°Then highlights: professor was in San Diego, Baltimore, Djakarta. Only record of sister Djakarta, San Diego then here.¡±


    I sent back a simple: ¡°Thanks¡±


    Then she threw me off: ¡°Dinner sometime?¡±


    I surprised myself by, instead of immediately rejecting this, typing back: ¡°Maybe when case over. Ask then.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t wait.¡±


    I looked at my reflection in the mirror as I shut off the phone and asked: ¡°What am I getting myself into?¡±


    My reflection did not answer, so I flushed the toilet, washed my hands and rejoined my companions in the hall.


    Somehow Seville had gotten hold of the photos from the Baltimore file. ¡°Definitely similar but not the same ¨C looks like there is some hesitation here, see?¡±


    Adamsky nodded, visibly impressed.


    ¡°Almost like a follower or disciple, not a normal copycat,¡± Seville mused, and Adamsky started at this. His gaze met mine and I nodded.


    ¡°Great. Some sort of cult then?¡± the bass rumbled through the room.


    ¡°It may be worse than that,¡± I added. ¡°We have some indications it started in Djakarta.¡±


    ¡°International cult. Just what we needed. Just a second.¡± He took out a smart phone ¨C the thing looked absolutely tiny in his hands ¨C and typed in something, then waited a few seconds for a response. ¡°We will have to skip those videos. Need to talk with Burke and your partner.¡±


    While he played with his phone, I took mine out and sent Dina a quick note that I¡¯d gotten some info from Tara. She sent back that she had too, and I put my phone away again, just as Adamsky did the same with his. Without saying another word, he handed me the Baltimore file and headed back upstairs. I thanked Seville for his time and started to follow. ¡°Hey, Adamsky,¡± Seville called out, ¡°I meant it about that beer ¨C whenever you''re off duty, just let me know and I¡¯ll buy you a few.¡±


    Adamsky just grunted in reply.


    When we reached Detective Genovelli¡¯s desk, both women smiled at us. ¡°I told her everything I could. Also got a call from Sam Innes ¨C he¡¯s got two guys who can vouch for him, one can even provide a video, but insists on being anonymous and the other requests immunity. I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s being as honest with us as he can and isn¡¯t a serious suspect in this case.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she put him on speaker. I could hear the desperation and frustration in his voice, but the video should be sufficient, even if it is anonymous,¡± Burke offered.


    ¡°Video! The CD¡­¡±


    Dina glared at me: ¡°What CD?¡± She gave a barely perceptible shake to her head, and I immediately covered with:


    ¡°The one I left on the dashboard ¨C when we parked in the sun. I had better get down there before it melts;¡± turning to the FBI agents, I added: ¡°Personal stuff. Be right back.¡±


    Burke laughed, and Adamsky just nodded authorization. I hurried off as if in a panic. Once out of sight, I slowed down, got a drink of water, paced back and forth for about a full minute, and then returned to the squad room, after making a mental note to compare stories with my partner before saying anything else.


    ¡°So, is your cousin safe?¡± she asked when I walked in.


    Fortunately I am a quick study and figured out what she meant instantly: ¡°I think so ¨C didn¡¯t see any melting at least. Have to check when I get home to be sure. It¡¯s under the seat now.¡±


    ¡°Good. I¡¯ll have to watch that with you later. He¡¯s such a good kid.¡±


    ¡°Six,¡± I said. She almost laughed.


    I hadn¡¯t noticed that she had left the room, but Burke rejoined us at this point. ¡°Just got off with Langley. They want us taking point on this ¨C but also are contacting Interpol and the Indonesians to see if this thing is even bigger than we realize.¡±


    Adamsky gave a satisfied nod, as if this was the news he had been waiting all day for.


    ¡°Well, you have got all of our files,¡± Dina said.


    ¡°Plus the Baltimore one,¡± I added, and she gave me a questioning look. ¡°They sent it downstairs for some reason,¡± I continued.


    ¡°Right, probably not the same guy but definitely connected,¡± Adamsky added. I suspect it was the longest sentence that had ever exited his mouth.


    A moment of tense silence followed, and then Dina said: ¡°Well, with that, I think we have done everything we can for the day.  I think I will knock off early ¨C you guys can get in touch with me if you need anything further, right?¡±


    Burke nodded. ¡°Thanks for all your help, Dina. As always, it¡¯s a pleasure working with you.¡±


    ¡°She has given us everything then?¡± Adamsky rumbled.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Burke responded, though her  tone perhaps suggested she suspected otherwise.


    ¡°Well, give us a call if you need anything. Can I give you a lift anywhere, Nathan? Oh, I have got a better TV set up than yours ¨C we could go watch your cousin at my place?¡±


    I was about to say that I had some paperwork to do first, but then saw the look in her eyes, and replied: ¡°You know, that sounds like a great idea.¡±


    ¡°Wait,¡± Adamsky said, grabbing my shoulder. He seemed to like grabbing my shoulder. ¡°You are new. We do not have your contact information.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± I replied and took out one of my cards. He buried it in his palm and then nodded to me, making it clear I was dismissed.


    I hurried out of the squad room.

 Chapter One-Ten: A Mysterious Call

    Leaving the Crime Lab, and our two FBI representatives behind, I joined Detective Genovelli in her car, and I asked: ¡°So, exactly how well do you know both of our ¡­ guests?¡±


    She chuckled. ¡°That is a pair of stories as different as they are.¡±


    ¡°OK, then, am I going to have to pry, or is it none of my business?¡±


    ¡°Neither. Just figuring out how to say it. Ok. Adamsky first. Remember how I said my first case as Detective was a serial killer?  That is where I met him and his former partner, Les¡­ no, Leo¡­ Leo Maxwell. Seemed like a nice guy but also one of the smoothest manipulators I have ever known. He was ¡®good cop¡¯ to Adamsky¡¯s ¡®bad cop.¡¯ They stole the case from us, pretty much literally. Maxwell got us to do most of the work ¨C Adamsky actually did make a few important logical connections though; guy is as sharp as a tack ¨C then managed to take all of the credit, even over his partner. I think he was Adamsky¡¯s ideal partner, actually ¨C smart, outgoing, loves the limelight. You may have noticed the big guy just does not like being the center of attention, ever? He is the senior officer, but Burke does all the talking.¡±


    ¡°Seems there is something you are not telling me there?¡±


    ¡°Not really, just working up to it. See, he is smart, but he¡¯s also a bit of a loose cannon, or at least was back then. Our perp almost failed to see trial because of him.  If I hadn¡¯t seen the whole thing, I would have sworn Adamsky used some kind of weapon; difficult to believe bare fists could do that much damage to a guy, even from someone that big¡­¡±


    I nodded at this ¨C he did seem the type ¨C and she continued: ¡°If I had not pulled my gun on the guy ¨C though, frankly I am not sure it would have done more than annoy him - we would have been dragging our perp off in buckets. Case was almost dismissed over police brutality.


    ¡°We have worked together three more times since ¨C each time he has been a little calmer, but he has also been a lot more laconic, telling me less and less.  Almost got me in a gangland shootout as a result the last time. Granted I have been exacerbating, since the less he gives me, the less I give him back, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah, so there is a bit of a rivalry there, alpha male stuff?¡±


    She laughed: ¡°Well, in case you missed it, I am not male but, yeah, pretty much.¡±


    ¡°And Burke?¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°That one¡¯s a bit more complicated¡­ And we are almost to my place.¡±


    ¡°You are being evasive ¨C and we are three blocks away¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I am,¡± she sighed. ¡°How much of my background do you know?¡±


    ¡°I know you joined the force eight years ago, made detective within two years ¨C faster than any female officer before or since ¨C and are the most highly decorated active officer in the city.¡±


    ¡°So, you don¡¯t know I originally planned to be a lawyer, then?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°OK. Well, I did. Was all set to begin law school even, when dad got ill. Cancer ¨C one of those nasty ones that keeps you alive for a few years ¨C just long enough to drain your bank account ¨C and then kills you.  Painfully.¡±


    ¡°I am so sorry,¡± I replied honestly.


    Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    She nodded. ¡°Well, anyway, during his illness, we went bankrupt. Could not afford law school anymore, so instead I signed up for classes at the police academy, hoping to work for the force part time and use my income to go back to school. Instead, well, I wound up where I am today.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°OK, but where does Burke fit into this?¡±


    She sighed and considered her words for a moment before answering: ¡°I met her my senior year in college ¨C she transferred in from out of state due to her family relocating. She was also pre-law but hoping to go into enforcement. We ¡­ well, we spent a lot of time together.¡±


    There seemed to be some nuance of that statement that I was missing. ¡°And?¡±


    ¡°A LOT of time¡­¡±


    ¡°So, you were good friends?"


    ¡°Geez ¨C for a bright guy you can sure be dim sometimes¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, I can,¡± I admitted, and she let out a nervous laugh.


    We spent nearly a minute in silence, then, as she pulled the car into her parking spot, she said: ¡°We were lovers.¡±


    It took me a few seconds to process that: ¡°You are gay?¡±


    She sighed again. ¡°Yes, but I do not like to make a big thing about it.¡±


    ¡°Understood. We all have our secrets.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is not so much a secret as ¡­ it just does not seem as important to me as being a cop, a detective is. THAT is what I am ¨C not a gay cop, not a woman cop, a cop. Nothing more, nothing less.¡±


    I smiled. ¡°I think I understand. That is also why you are so protective of your former partner ¨C he saw things that way too, right?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°You know, if you can learn to keep your mouth shut around the feds, we might just work out as a team.¡±


    I felt a sudden surge of pride at this for some reason. Then her phone rang.


    ¡°Genovelli.¡± She answered.


    I thought I recognized the voice at the other end and concentrated on the call, listening in.


    ¡°The reporter said you think my sister was involved in this murder?¡±


    I was right ¨C Professor Andreiopov


    ¡°Andreiopov?¡± she asked, as much for my benefit as to verify his identity.


    ¡°Yes. Was she right?¡±


    Dina hesitated for a moment, and then answered: ¡°My partner might have given her that impression, inadvertently. We are not allowed to comment on an ongoing investigation, though.¡±


    ¡°I understand but¡­ I am afraid such suspicions may be valid. I do not feel safe talking on the phone ¨C could we meet somewhere tonight, and I could give you some information on her that might help you?¡±


    She gave me a wide-eyed look at this. ¡°How about right now?¡±


    ¡°No, nyet, not good. She would wonder where I am going. I have a book club tonight, at eight. Down at the bookstore on twenty third street. You know the place?¡±


    She took a second to consider, then replied: ¡°Yes; though I have not been there in years, I grew up in that area.¡±


    ¡°Good, good. Meet me, nine thirty, in the parking lot beside the store.¡±


    Then the line went dead.


    ¡°That was our professor. Seems he wants to turn on his sister¡­¡±


    ¡°Sounds ¡­ off to me, somehow,¡± I replied, recalling the conversations I overheard earlier.


    ¡°Me too but I cannot let this go by if it is legit.¡±


    ¡°Should we tell our friends from the bureau?¡±


    She looked at me: ¡°You are joking, right?¡±


    I had not been but now that she pointed it out, I had not been, probably should have. ¡°Of course. Let¡¯s go see that security video¡­ er¡­ video of my cousin.¡±


    ¡°I hope they do not look into your background,¡± she said as she got out of the car.


    I laughed. ¡°Yeah, not too many kids given up for adoption as infants and raised in foster care have cousins, do they?¡±


    ¡°Have you ever tried to locate them?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Them?¡±


    ¡°Your birth parents?¡± she clarified.


    ¡°About the only thing I never tried was a DNA analysis,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Now THAT would be a needle in a whole field of haystacks, wouldn¡¯t it?¡± she replied.


    ¡°Unless there¡¯s something really unusual in my genetic structure,¡± I replied.


    ¡°It would have to be something hereditary at that,¡± she added. I nodded.


    ¡°Well anyway, let¡¯s go in and give this a look. If it clears him¡­ he still could be guilty of the other ones¡­¡±

 Chapter One-Eleven: Meetings

    I had never been in Detective Genoveli¡¯s apartment ¨C or, for that matter, any woman¡¯s apartment that I can recall ¨C before so had not known what to expect. It was clear she did not keep her place as neat as she kept her person ¨C in fact, it looked like she cleaned the place once a week, whether it needed it or not, and then spent half the week elsewhere.  Some dust everywhere, a pile of unopened mail, and some dirty dishes in the sink.


    She had not been wrong about the television though ¨C it was a gas plasma set at least forty inches across. Much nicer than my fourteen-inch unit and part of a sound system better than those at some of the clubs I have been to.


    She hit a remote, and while things powered up, told me she was getting a beer and asked if I wanted anything. "Water,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You want bottled, flavored stuff, or tap?¡± she asked, tossing her hat on a counter, and setting her jacket on the back of a chair.


    ¡°Tap¡¯s fine,¡± I replied. I was impressed by her television ¨C the colors were exceptionally vibrant. She came back into the room with her hair untied, a bottle of some microbrew beer in one hand and a large glass of ice water in the other.


    I had not realized she had such long hair ¨C I was used to seeing it tied up in her cap and had never seen her off-duty before.


    ¡°You always saw me as one of the guys, didn¡¯t you?¡± she replied, apparently noting something in my facial expression.


    I laughed: ¡°Yeah, actually.¡±


    ¡°I am probably more like a guy than half the men on the squad,¡± she laughed.  ¡°Come on, let¡¯s see that video.¡±


    She pointed to a chair, and I sat as she slid the disk the Professor had given us into a slot in the wall of electronics beneath her television. I felt an odd, sharp pain as she picked up the remote and started pressing controls, but it passed quickly.  I noted the brand of the controller for reference.


    Soon a grainy image appeared on the screen, with a time stamp in the corner. The video began at eleven PM. At almost exactly midnight, his sister left the house. Dina fast-forwarded through the next two hours of blank footage ¨C his camera was on a stationary mount ¨C and then, just before one AM, he returned home, clearly not completely sober, and not alone, though we could not make out any of the woman¡¯s features. The woman left about an hour later, and Dina was about to turn it off when I waved her to wait. She complied and fast forwarded it again until the door opened.  The professor¡¯s sister came in, holding a package of some sort.


    A package that dripped some kind of fluid ¨C a fluid that splashed up against the two areas where I¡¯d found the trace that I suddenly remembered I had not yet given to the lab.


    ¡°Six hours of video in ninety minutes. Gotta love technology,¡± Dina said, indicating the time stamp on the screen as the video ended. ¡°Though it does seem, more and more, the good doctor¡¯s sister is our killer, somehow.¡±


    ¡°I still have that sample of ¡­ well, probably blood, that we picked up at his place. That should give us everything we need to bring her in if it matches.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, except we still do not know how they died¡­¡± she reminded me.


    ¡°Well, there is a legend around that knife I mentioned, that ¡®Demonblade,¡¯ that claims if you sacrifice a number of people with it, you gain great power and possibly immortality¡­¡±


    ¡°Silly superstition,¡± Dina scoffed.


    ¡°Yes, but what if someone believed it and sought to earn immortality?¡± I countered.


    She let out a low whistle. ¡°That might explain a lot of what we have seen,¡± she answered.


    After a short pause for both of us to consider everything so far, she asked: ¡°Want a ride back?¡±


    ¡°No ¨C you would have to either drop me off a few blocks away or check into the garage. I should just be able to walk in without alerting our FBI friends¡­¡±


    ¡°Now you¡¯re thinking like a cop,¡± she replied smiling. ¡°I guess I should grab a shower and then dress to meet our Professor tonight, eh?¡±


    I was about to say you have got over two hours when I realized she had not told me what time the meet was: ¡°When are you meeting him?¡±


    ¡°He said nine thirty outside a bookstore near where I grew up¡­¡±


    ¡°Chandler Books?¡± I asked.


    She started. ¡°You know more of my file than you told me!¡±


    ¡°Not exactly ¨C just that you lived near twenty third and it is the only bookstore I have found there that¡¯s been around for more than five years. I read a lot,¡± I answered.


    She laughed: ¡°Let me guess ¨C you are into science fiction stuff?¡±


    Most of what I read was actually psychology and sociology material, with a scattering of history, but I did break it up with bits of all manner of fiction, so nodded a reply.


    ¡°Noticed there seem to be three types of guys ¨C those who are into sports, those who like science fiction, and those who do a bit of everything. Figured you were one of the second.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°I will try to meet you at about nine fifteen, OK? There is a gas station on the corner there, I believe?¡±


    ¡°It closed down last month, but you do not drive so meeting there might not seem too odd. Suspect a lot of gangs do it.¡±


    ¡°All right then ¨C nine fifteen,¡± I agreed. ¡°See you then,¡± and headed out.


    A block from the station house, I saw a car approaching that felt important, somehow and made an effort to conceal myself. As it passed, I noted that Agent Adamsky was at the wheel. Did not get a look at the other person in the car, but was fairly certain it was his partner.  I soon made it to the lab and handed over the samples.


    I was heading back out of the building when I almost literally bumped into Tara heading in. She seemed excited about something, and even more so when she saw me.


    ¡°Nate! I have got something. Come on. If your partner¡¯s here, get her too¡­¡±


    ¡°She is at home,¡± I replied. ¡°What do you have?¡±


    ¡°Walk with me,¡± she answered, turning on her heels and striding out. I quickly caught up with her, and was about to prod her for more information, when she asked: ¡°You ever have a Cuban?¡±


    ¡°A cigar?¡±


    ¡°No, a sandwich! This place is amazing. Come on, I will buy you one.¡±


    I frowned and was about to reject the offer when she added: ¡°The booths are very quiet.¡±


    I nodded and followed her inside.  She ordered for both of us ¨C surprising me by ordering a strawberry milkshake for me ¨C and led me back to a booth in the corner of the dining area farthest from the door. She slid in first, and then waved me to join her. With a small amount of trepidation, I slid in beside her.


    ¡°This is nice, isn¡¯t it?¡± she asked, smiling.


    I looked around and nodded. The place was a little shabby looking but clean and the d¨¦cor was not unpleasant. Then I felt her hand on my knee and realized she was referring to something other than the building. I flushed slightly before regaining control. ¡°If you are just going to f¡­¡±


    She interrupted me with a laugh: ¡°Not just flirt, no,¡± she answered. ¡°I have some news, and copies of the credit card receipts,¡± she patted her bag.


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°What kind of news?¡±


    ¡°One moment,¡± she said, and nodded at the young man bringing over our food and two drinks.


    I accepted both drinks, passed her the cola, and then asked: ¡°How did you know about these?¡± Indicating the milkshake.


    She laughed. ¡°You are not the only one good at detective work,¡± she answered enigmatically. The young man returned and set two plates with unusual looking sandwiches on them before us, and then moved away from the table. ¡°And here, look these over.¡±


    She handed me a pair of documents. I was halfway through the first when she said: ¡°Oh, wrong ones ¨C these are the English versions.¡±


    I started, then glanced at the papers I had been reading ¨C Russian.  I almost laughed as I took the translations from her. They were not perfect but close enough. Both showed arrest records for our siblings of interest ¨C he had been arrested three times for being a part of organized protests in different Russian cities ¨C all three times in his teen years, before getting his first degree. She had been arrested once and sent to a mental facility for violent behavior. The documents did not go into details, but I noticed one of the doctors mentioned had a familiar name.


    ¡°So he was some kind of political dissident?¡± I mused aloud.


    ¡°Not exactly ¨C the group he was with? It is a religious group, something like our Westboro Baptist Church,¡± Tara answered.


    I knew I had heard the name but was drawing a blank. She could tell by my expression and added: ¡°They believe all of the world¡¯s problems stem from us turning away from God. Our boy is dead in military actions? The price we pay for allowing homosexuals free reign in our society. Hurricane trashes a major urban area? Punishment for not permitting prayer in schools.  That sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°Ah. So, he is a bit of a ¡­ zealot?¡± I mused, barely recalling the word.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± she nodded, took a bite of her sandwich and sipped on her soda before continuing. ¡°And his sister has a history of both violence and possible delusional behavior. Was in and out of institutions ¨C Russian institutions, many of them worse than our prisons, if my sources are accurate ¨C most of her life until she fell under the care of a Doctor Lhang.¡±


    ¡°And he would be her late husband, I take it?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°He inherited his family¡¯s antique business when his father died,¡± she commented, as I looked up from the paper. ¡°He decided it was more lucrative and dropped out of the medical profession ¨C signed her release papers, flew to the family holdings in Djakarta, and married her.¡±


    ¡°And all of this happened at about the same time her brother was given permission to emigrate here,¡± I added.


    ¡°Almost the same day,¡± she informed me. I glanced at the dates listed and nodded.


    I took a bite of the sandwich ¨C ham, Swiss cheese, pork, pickles and mustard. Not a combination I would have considered on my own, but good.  Then I noticed another scent to it and took another bite; salami.


    She noticed my reaction and smiled: ¡°The secret is the salami ¨C a lot of places do not put that in there, but I think it makes the sandwich.¡± She then took a sip of her drink.  After another bite and sip, she added, ¡°a lot of places also add mayonnaise as well; it is even an option here, but I really never liked the stuff,¡±


    ¡°It is pretty good,¡± I admitted, and smiled at her. Suddenly, without warning, her lips brushed mine. I felt an odd sensation, like fire coursing through my veins, and wondered if I might be becoming ill.


    She quickly backed off and slid away from me in the booth. ¡°I should not have done that,¡± she said, blushing slightly.


    ¡°Then why did you?¡± I asked, truly puzzled.


    ¡°I could not help it ¨C I have been wanting to since the second time I ran into you today,¡± she admitted. ¡°I am sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be, I was just ¡­ surprised. Confused.¡±


    ¡°Confused?¡±


    ¡°I did not expect that, not at all¡­¡±


    ¡°Was it good though?¡± she said, looking up at me through her hair. I realized I was blushing slightly at this, though I could not figure out why.


    I realized that, in addition to making me feel odd, I had also felt happy. ¡°Yeah, I ¡­ I guess it was¡­¡±


    She slid back closer, and took another bite of her sandwich, trying to hide a smile beneath it. I felt confused, but also like that fire was returning. I barely heard her reply: ¡°I am glad.¡± Then she leaned against me, and I felt slightly dizzy. Again, I wondered if I were falling ill.


    ¡°I don¡¯t usually do this,¡± she said into my ear, ¡°but there is just something about you¡­¡±


    I turned towards her to ask what she meant, and she kissed me again. This time, I felt myself responding, my lips returning the kiss. The experience was pleasant but frightening, like I feared I could lose myself completely in it. After what seemed like hours ¨C or less than a second ¨C I broke off the contact. Her eyes met mine, and her smile lit up her face: ¡°Don¡¯t worry ¨C that is all I want for now,¡± she said. Then, quieter: ¡°At least until the case is over¡­¡±


    I felt an odd mix of relief and pleasure at this thought and surprised myself by replying: ¡°Good. Me too.¡±


    I felt her kiss still burning my lips as I took another bite of my sandwich. We finished eating in silence, then she turned to say something to me when another voice interrupted us: ¡°Detective Daniels! Twice in one day ¨C getting to be a bit of a habit, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I glanced up at: ¡°Mist¡­ no you prefer Mikey, don¡¯t you?¡± I asked the lawyer that I had run into earlier.


    He smiled at me: ¡°Yes, yes I do. And I know your companion, Miss O¡¯Malley ¨C we go back a ways.¡±


    ¡°Hello, Mikey,¡± Tara replied, sliding slightly away from me. ¡°Always a pleasure.¡±


    ¡°Mind if I join you two?¡±


    ¡°Actually we just finished¡­¡± I answered.


    ¡°Have you tried the yemitas?¡± he asked. ¡°They are excellent here¡­¡±


    ¡°They are,¡± Tara replied, ¡°but I¡¯m trying to keep my figure. I think I should be heading out anyway. Walk me to my car, Nathan?¡±


    I noticed the time ¨C almost nine O¡¯clock. How had we spent so long here ¨C it seemed merely minutes? ¡°Sure, I need to be somewhere soon.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I can give you a lift?¡± both of them offered simultaneously.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, it¡¯s not that far and easier to walk than drive. Lots of one-ways.¡±


    ¡°This city has a lot of them,¡± Mikey Pryce replied, smiling. ¡°We will talk some other time, then. You still have my card?¡±


    I patted my pocket as much to verify it to myself as to prove it to him, and he nodded. ¡°Then I won¡¯t keep either of you. Have a good night.¡±


    He moved off to another table and we left ours. Tara paid for our sandwiches and drinks at the front counter, and we left.


    She had parked just down the street ¨C almost in front of the precinct building. I made sure she got into her car; I had the feeling she wanted me to kiss her again ¨C and must admit to having a similar desire myself ¨C but knew my partner was waiting for me and abstained. I watched her drive off then took a deep breath and broke into a run. A block from the gas station I slowed to a fast walk and arrived two minutes later than expected. ¡°You¡¯re late, Rookie,¡± Dina chided, stepping out of the shadows of an abandoned pump.


    ¡°Ran into some acquaintances who tried to monopolize my time¡­¡±


    ¡°Our FBI buddies?¡±


    ¡°No ¨C the lawyer, Mr. Pryce ¨C and Tara.¡±


    ¡°Surprised you made it at all then,¡± she replied. ¡°Anyway, you stay here ¨C there are some good lines of sight out of here, and it is very easy to stay hidden ¨C also easy to come out at a run, or take a careful shot if things go south. I will try to lead him here if I can, get his statement if I can''t. If he wants to go to the station, I will call you to get my car ¨C that¡¯s it over on the corner there ¨C and you bring it. Got it?¡±


    I nodded.  ¡°Sounds like a good plan. Should I wait where you did?¡±


    ¡°Unless you can find a better spot, yeah.¡±


    ¡°Good luck.¡±


    ¡°You too,¡± she replied, flashing a smile at me. I could tell she was a little worried, but knew that would never slow her down, let alone stop her.


    I glanced around. This was a very creepy place for a late-night meeting. I relaxed and allowed my senses to spread out over the area. I heard the sound of a man sleeping fitfully within the building behind me, smelled alcohol above the other, regular scents of the city, and was almost deafened as a motorcycle blew by, going well above any safe speed for an urban area. I sighed at this but remained in the shadows watching.


    After a few minutes, people started leaving the bookstore. Most headed to a nearby bus stop, but a few went into the parking lot and drove off. Soon Dina was alone there, with three cars nearby and no other signs of life.


    As the bus pulled up to the stop, Doctor Andreiopov emerged from the store, whistling something that sounded like classical music. He watched the others board the bus, and then walked into the parking lot. ¡°Detective Genovelli?¡± he called out.


    I heard her reply in the positive, and he walked towards her location. I had to concentrate to hear what was said past this ¨C which was good ¨C as it meant I had a slight advanced warning when things, predictably, went south on us.


    ¡°You said you wanted to tell me something about your sister?¡± Dina asked.


    ¡°Yes, though she felt it might be more instructive to show you¡­¡±


    Suddenly one of the cars slid to the side, as if pushed by a tremendous force, as a large figure ¨C one that seemed to grow larger as it approached my partner ¨C shoved it out of the way in what seemed a casual manner!


    This figure approached my partner with preternatural speed and, as I saw the knife in its hand, I knew I could no longer afford to hold back. Even from here I could see that her eyes glowed slightly and that the blade - the Demonblade - reflected that light.


    My partner calmly reached for her gun, but I knew she would never get it out and disengage the safety in time ¨C so I had to drop everything to focus on speed and defense.


    The flesh on the arm that intercepted the knife blade, mere inches from my partner¡¯s shoulder, was dark blue. The impact staggered me ¨C nothing had ever hit me that hard before, at least nothing I could remember, and the knife drew blood.


    I had never seen my own blood before; when the almost-but-not-quite human voice of the attacking giant asked me the very question that I had been considering asking it: ¡°What are you?¡± my response was actually a reaction to the color of my own blood ¨C ¡°Indigo.¡±

 Chapter One-Twelve: Revelations

    OK, I should step back a bit. My real name is not Nathan Daniels; in fact, I have no clue what it is.


    Four years ago, a friend ¨C a retired photojournalist whose name I am not at liberty to reveal - found me. He was hiking in a forested area of Wisconsin and stumbled on some metal wreckage that he claimed covered nearly an acre of land. At the center of it he found a figure dressed in what looked like a U.S. Air Force jumpsuit ¨C but the man had dark blue skin and was barely breathing. As soon as he dragged this figure away from the wreckage, the figure woke up ¨C and spoke in Russian. When the photographer said something in English, the figure immediately and effortlessly shifted to that language.


    That figure was me ¨C together we spent the next three months trying to figure out who, or what, I was. Finally, he decided I needed an identity of some sort, and looked into people who had gone missing recently, trying to find someone with a promising future who was most likely¡­ well, not coming back. With his background, Nathan Daniels was perfect ¨C an orphan who was also a former criminal seeking to go straight; to do good in the world.


    The fact that I can ¨C unless I need to push my speed, strength or defenses to their limits ¨C alter my physical appearance in any way I desire, within certain limits, made this much easier; with a few weeks of practice, and the aid of several of his contacts throughout the government, the underworld and (perhaps ironically) law enforcement, I managed to become Nathan Daniels, took his spot at the Police Academy, even graduated at the top of my class. But exactly what I am, nobody really knows. We are not even exactly sure of the limits of my abilities ¨C I only recently discovered my erratic ability to tap into cell phone signals.


    We do know that I am nearly impervious to harm, however ¨C I have taken a forty-aught-forty shot to the chest from five feet and just been knocked over. We also know I am incredibly strong ¨C but the thing I was facing seemed even stronger.


    ¡°Well, Indigo, you bleed so you can die¡­¡± it said. I realized it was speaking Russian.


    The knife had drawn my attention ¨C this was a mistake. The thing shifted its position as if to strike with it again ¨C then swung the other fist at me, connecting with my chin and sending me flying a good thirty, forty feet!


    ¡°Wow, I felt that. My turn,¡± I replied, and lunged forward. It was fast, but I was ready for it this time ¨C as it tried to intercept my blow with the knife, I ducked low and slammed into its stomach with my head. This time, it flew up and back, crashing solidly into a wall, several feet above the ground.


    ¡°You¡­ hurt me!¡± it bellowed as it pulled out, leaving a vaguely man-sized crater in the brickwork and dropped to the ground, landing catlike on its feet. It charged me ¨C this time there was no finesse, no tactical concerns, just outright aggression. I dodged easily, and then realized it was barreling past me ¨C and directly towards my partner.


    Using my own momentum, I launched myself forward and impacted with the monster¡¯s back, sending us both crashing to the ground.  It threw me off with some effort, and in the light from a nearby streetlamp, I could make out its face for the first time ¨C though oddly bloated, and the eyes were more cat-like slits than human orbs, it was definitely recognizable as Jenna.  It also seemed to be a little smaller than it had been ¨C was damaging it weakening it?


    I did not have more time to pursue the thought ¨C it was on its feet and swinging the knife, the Demonblade, at me again; I barely blocked the blow. It was not as hard a blow as the first one but still very impressive, and a second gash appeared on my arm.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Then a gunshot rang out in the alley, and it turned away from me, hissing in pain.


    Dina stood there, gun held in her only slightly shaking hand, taking another bead on the creature. It roared and slapped a nearby car ¨C sending the vehicle sliding toward my partner. I leapt to intercept it, and the behemoth itself took a huge leap ¨C in a different direction. I managed to keep the car from hitting Dina, but the thing that had attacked us was now gone. I scanned the area briefly, saw a figure on a nearby rooftop that might have been our perp, and then heard: ¡°OK, Rookie, you have got a hell of a lot of explaining to do¡­¡±


    I laughed nervously, verified that no more vehicles would be flying at us, and then shifted my appearance back to Nathan Daniels. ¡°Yeah, I suppose I do at that,¡± I replied.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t happen to see where the professor went when that thing attacked, did you?¡± she asked as I turned to face her.


    I glanced around ¨C he was gone without a trace too.


    ¡°No, I was too focused on ¡­ well, on his sister.¡±


    ¡°Typical guy. Even if you do have blue skin and ¡­ oh screw it. What the Hell just happened here?¡±


    I sighed, and told her my origin, or at least what I knew of it ¨C though I left out the speaking Russian part.


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a lot to digest. But I am glad you are ¡­ well, whatever you are," she said, "I would not be here talking to you otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Maybe ¨C notice, though, it seemed to grow weaker the longer I fought it? And when you shot it, the thing just fled.¡±


    ¡°So maybe pain saps its strength or something?¡± Dina mused.


    ¡°We are in completely alien territory here,¡± I replied. ¡°Anything is possible¡­¡±


    ¡°Do you think that is what you are ¨C an alien?¡± she suddenly suggested.


    I blinked. ¡°Yes, that is a possibility. My best guess is I am the result of some secret government experiment though. But anything is possible.  I might even be related somehow to ¡­ well, the Andreiopovs.¡±


    Dina nodded. ¡°Well, on the bright side, we have confirmed at least one of them as the killer ¨C and found out how, more or less, she did so much damage to the bodies. How do we let the FBI in on this? I do not think we can do the collar, even with your ¡­ abilities ¡­ on our own¡­¡±


    I had been thinking the same thing ¨C I could barely handle that ¡­ thing on my own, and there might be two of them¡­


    ¡°My place is closer than yours. Let¡¯s get off the street and just talk things through, figure out our next move in private ¨C I suspect the local police will be here very soon. Not only was that fight far from quiet, but you did also discharge a gun¡­¡±


    ¡°In THIS neighborhood? Nah, we have got ten minutes at least ¨C but I do not want to be out in the open without a good story when they do show,¡± Dina replied. ¡°Your place it¡­¡± She suddenly stopped ¨C her phone was ringing.


    She checked the caller ID, frowned, said ¡°Burke¡± with a puzzled look on her face, and answered the call.


    ¡°Genovelli. Yeah? No, I had to go out to ¡­ meet a friend. Why?¡±


    It took a supreme act of will to not listen in on the other half of this conversation.


    ¡°You want to meet? But¡­ What? Yeah, you are right we did too.  But¡­ Wait, yeah, give me a second.¡±


    She covered her phone and looked at me: ¡°She has information Adamsky did not want to share with us ¨C stuff he was not sure of before we found Baltimore. Wants to meet with me and compare notes. Also suspects we didn¡¯t tell them everything.¡±


    ¡°She is right but¡­ wait ¨C are you thinking we should let them in on all the details?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. I think we ¨C not just me, both of us ¨C need to meet her and hear what she has to say. Then we can decide how much more to tell them.¡±


    I considered this for a moment. ¡°I think that is our only option at the moment. I do not know if I can take Jenna on alone in her lair¡­and do not know how deep into this her brother really is.¡±


    ¡°You will not be alone ¨C though if we could get both of them to back us up¡­¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s do this then.¡±


    ¡°Still there Lynn? Yeah, I can be at my place in ten. You¡¯re already there? Even better, yeah ¨C see you soon.¡±

 Chapter One-Thirteen: Confessions

    A supposed meeting with Professor Andreiopov had turned into an ambush by the monstrous thing that Jenna Andreiopov could become thanks to the mysterious Demonblade.  If I had not had a little secret of my own, it would have been the end of my partner and possibly myself.  Instead, my partner now knew that I had superhuman abilities and that I had accidentally given myself a ¡°superhero name¡± based on the color of my blood - Indigo.


    We were heading to her apartment to compare notes with FBI agents Burke and Adamsky, who had been sent to take over our case as it now looked to be a serial killer.  Burke had been waiting outside of Dina¡¯s building, and there was, so far, no sign of her partner.


    Dina unlocked the door to her apartment and Burke followed her in; I trailed behind a few steps, keeping an eye out on the street. Don¡¯t know what I expected to see ¨C and I did not see it so it did not really matter ¨C but felt I needed to stay as alert as possible.


    ¡°So, you said there was stuff Adamsky wanted you to hold back from us?¡± Dina began.


    Special Agent Lynn Burke nodded. ¡°Only a few details ¨C but when your lab guy mentioned one killing looked more like a ¡®disciple¡¯ than a ¡®copycat¡¯ some things started falling into place.¡± She seemed to want to continue but could not find the words.


    ¡°Right ¨C you suspect it is all some kind of cult thing then?¡± I offered.


    ¡°More or less, yes,¡± Burke answered, her eyes closed as she gathered her thoughts. ¡°It seems to follow a cycle as well ¨C about a dozen killings, most of them a week apart, about once every ten to fifteen years, all bodies brutally torn apart. The earliest records we found come from Mongolia, from the early seventeenth Century, from a report found in a missionary¡¯s house.


    ¡°All of the killings have a few common factors: First, most, if not all, of the victims could be viewed as, well, sinners ¨C usually sexual deviants by the mores of their time, though some are outright criminals as well. Second, they all bear similar injuries in addition to being torn apart ¨C injuries consistent with the third common feature.. just a second.¡±


    She began rummaging around in her purse, until she found a packet of photographs. She then pulled one out and passed it to Dina.


    Dina gave a low whistle and passed it to me: ¡°Look familiar?¡±


    ¡°Definitely ¨C the ¡®Demonblade.¡¯¡± I replied.


    ¡°You guys have that name? Wow ¨C you are farther along than we had expected. Have you stumbled on any of the legends around the thing?¡±


    Dina and I exchanged a glance ¨C we had just lived through at least one of them!


    ¡°It is supposed to grant great strength and immortality, or something like that,¡± I offered.


    ¡°Yes, the Strength of the Righteous to punish transgressors and send them to Hell ¨C at least that is how the oldest legends word it," she informed us. "More recently, a belief that feeding the blade fresh human blood grants more than strength wound up attached to the blasted thing, but that is the gist of it.¡±


    Dina looked at her: ¡°And you did not tell us this because?¡±


    Lynn paused for a moment before answering: ¡°Adamsky believes it is true, at least to some degree, and was afraid you would be more likely to lock him up than look for the person using it, if we said so.¡±


    Dina looked at me and barely kept back a laugh. ¡°Earlier this evening, I might have. But then¡­ Nathan, do you feel safe in telling her?¡±


    ¡°Do you trust her?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Almost as much as I trusted my former partner ¨C and at least as much as I trust my current one.¡±


    It took me almost a full second to realize the importance of what she said ¨C she has accepted me as her partner! I was thrilled ¨C I enjoyed working with her and she was a very good cop. I looked at both women briefly then said: ¡°Perhaps I should ¡­ show her?¡±


    ¡°Set the scene first, Rookie.¡±


    ¡°Right. This afternoon, after we left the station, Dina received a call from one of our top suspects¡­¡± I began.


    ¡°A Professor Anton Andreiopov?¡± Lynn offered.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I replied. ¡°He claimed ¨C how did he word it?¡±


    Dina stepped in: ¡°He said that he thought we suspected his sister, and that we might be correct. He wanted to meet with me in a private location to turn over some evidence.¡±


    ¡°And you did not inform us?¡± Lynn asked, without a hint of surprise in her voice.


    Dina shook her head, and replied: ¡°I had no idea what¡­ No, you take the story Nathan.¡±


    ¡°Right ¨C we arrived ahead of the planned meeting, found a spot where I could observe in secret, and she waited for the Professor to arrive.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°When he did,¡± I continued, ¡°He made some comment about his sister wanting to show her the evidence ¨C and then¡­  Something attacked her. Something huge, a giant brute that bore a striking resemblance to his sister. This thing ¡­ it was incredibly fast, and could move cars around with little effort.¡±


    The fact that Lynn didn¡¯t seem too surprised by this suggested there was even more the FBI hadn¡¯t told us than there was that we had not told them. Instead of questioning my account, she turned to Dina and said: ¡°How¡­ how did you survive it?¡±


    ¡°Rookie saved me. That thing was fast ¨C he was faster¡­¡±


    Lynn turned to look at me ¨C and took an involuntary step back. I had turned off my disguise, and stood there, my blue skin and amber-pupiled eyes on full display.


    ¡°Dear God ¨C what¡­ what are you?¡± Lynn asked ¨C she showed more shock and curiosity than fear, I noted.


    ¡°To be honest, I am not exactly sure. As far back as I remember, I have always been like this ¨C very fast, very strong, able to alter my appearance at will. Oh, and I can fly.¡±


    Dina almost gave herself whiplash turning her head to face me. ¡°Fly? You didn¡¯t tell me that one!¡±


    ¡°Did not have a reason to before,¡± I answered. ¡°That, and the way you drive, your car moves faster than I do in the air, at least when I have to worry about maneuvering.¡±


    ¡°Like when flying around buildings?¡± Lynn offered.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I admitted.


    ¡°So, we have got our own ¡­ thing ¡­ to face theirs?¡± Lynn finally said.


    ¡°He has a name ¨C and a ¡­ nom de guerre as well, I suppose,¡± Dina said.


    ¡°A battle name?¡± Lynn replied, slightly amused at the idea.


    ¡°Indigo,¡± Dina said.


    ¡°That is the color of my¡­¡±


    ¡°It''s what they know you as, it¡¯s your name when you¡¯re not being Nathan.¡±


    I met her gaze, and realized she was not going to budge on this. I sighed. ¡°Fine. I am Indigo.¡±


    ¡°Two things here,¡± Lynn interjected. ¡°First, you said they¡­ You suspect the doctor and his sister are both involved?¡±


    ¡°Yes ¨C he kind of led us into a trap ¨C or what would have been if, just like his sister, I had not been much more than I appeared to be.¡±


    ¡°Good point. Now the second one ¨C how ¡­ versatile is your ability to alter your appearance?¡±


    ¡°I cannot change my actual weight and can only make limited changes to my size, but my features beyond that¡­ well¡­¡± I closed my eyes and concentrated, felt my flesh sliding around, rearranging itself, my clothes now binding me in some areas, far too loose in others.


    Then I opened my eyes and shifted my thoughts to my throat, and asked Lynn in her own voice: ¡°How is this?¡±


    She gasped, then composed herself quickly, walked around me once, looking up and down, then smiled: ¡°You are several inches taller than I am but otherwise the resemblance is remarkable. Where did you come from?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know¡­ Wisconsin. I was found there a few years ago. I really ¡­ I have made some promises and cannot say anything more about that right now, not without checking with a few others first,¡± I replied as I felt my body revert to what was almost my natural form ¨C that of Nathan Daniels.


    Lynn looked pensive for a few seconds, then nodded. ¡°I do not think Adamsky will take this well, so if we are going to move we may have to do it without him¡­¡±


    ¡°Or without me,¡± I replied.


    ¡°True. Do we want to confront Andreiopov in his home ¨C assuming he is still there?¡±


    ¡°He might be off balance from our earlier meeting ¨C I doubt he would have left town. He is very proud of his collection of antique weapons,¡± I answered.


    Dina nodded. ¡°Yeah, I saw some of it ¨C not a great place to confront him if he wants to resist arrest but definitely not a place someone could easily just abandon either.¡±


    ¡°Now here¡¯s the important question,¡± Lynn interjected: ¡°Do we have any means of tying him or his sister to the murders that would stand up in court?¡±


    Dina and I exchanged glances, then she answered: ¡°Aside from two possible blood spatters, everything is circumstantial.¡±


    We both shot her a questioning glance, and she gave me an odd look before saying: ¡°The ones you dropped off this evening ¨C before you almost abandoned me for your red-head?¡±


    ¡°Ah! Right! The ones we found at his house!¡± I could not believe I had forgotten that. Then again, it had been a very busy night¡­


    ¡°Call your lab, see if they have found anything. I have to make a few calls of my own, then we can start discussing strategy,¡± Lynn said.


    Dina nodded and I took out my phone ¨C only to find it had been shattered in the fight.  She shook her head, and then said: ¡°Your arm!¡±


    I looked down. My left sleeve was a torn ruin. I could not figure out why she was so excited.


    ¡°You were bleeding ¨C heck, I thought I saw bone in one of those gashes,¡± she added.


    ¡°Ah! One of the benefits of being a shape-shifter ¨C I can knit my flesh and bone back together, given time. It takes a lot of stamina and it will probably be tender for a while,¡± I answered ¨C though I could not recall ever suffering an injury like this before and was not sure exactly how I knew it.


    She considered this for a moment. ¡°Of all your tricks, Rookie, this may be the one that impresses me the most,¡± she said after a while, then took out her phone and called the lab.


    Turned out one of the samples was too dry for any quick results but the other one they were confident they¡¯d get a DNA match from soon ¨C maybe two days. ¡°We don¡¯t have two days,¡± Dina replied.


    I could hear the response even without concentrating: ¡°Then call the guys on one of the CSI TV shows because they are the only ones who could get a DNA match back faster than that.¡±


    ¡°Even if you have a sample to compare it to?¡± Dina inquired.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± The tech at the other end replied, curiosity evident.


    Dina replied: ¡°The victim from last night ¨C we think it is hers¡­


    ¡°We can check some antibodies, give you a ballpark ¡®Maybe¡¯ or ¡®Definitely Not¡¯ in fifteen minutes, then. But if you want something more concrete, two days minimum.¡±


    ¡°Fine ¨C then ballpark it and get back to me ASAP," was Dina''s response.


    ¡°Got it, Detective,¡± I heard before the connection went dead.


    She sighed. ¡°I hope Lynn¡¯s calls are going better¡­¡±

 Chapter One-Fourteen: The Lair of the Beast

    The sun was just coming up when all of our calls and discussions were over.  The lab had found a possible match between our victim and the blood collected at the Andrieopov home.  Adamsky had been read in on the full situation and had made some suggestions to tweak our strategy.  Oddly, he did not seem phased at all upon learning what I was capable of.


    In front of Andrieopov''s home, a black sedan pulled upm Three figures piled out of it ¨C Special Agents Lynn Burke and David Adamsky and Detective Dina Genovelli. They walked up to Professor Andreiopov¡¯s door and knocked. The doctor himself answered the door and invited them all into his study. Without waiting to see if they followed, he headed there on his own.


    The other three did, indeed follow him, and once in the study, Dina introduced her companions to him.


    ¡°Ah, I see. Are you here to make an arrest then?¡±


    ¡°Maybe. Is ¡­ is your sister home?¡±


    ¡°She is in her room, resting. She had a very taxing evening.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine,¡± Dina answered sourly.


    ¡°Since we are playing verbal games, I suspect you have nothing but circumstantial evidence?¡± he suddenly said, his eyes showing a mixture of challenge and amusement.


    ¡°I am not at liberty to comment on that. Could you go get your sister?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t I go get the knife instead? You know it caused the killings, right? You take it, let us go ¨C we will leave town, leave the area, be destitute, homeless for a while ¨C should be suitable punishment ¨C and we will swear never to mention ... Indigo.


    ¡°Hmm ¨C tempting offer,¡± Dina answered. ¡°I am not sure my partner would agree though¡­ He is pretty much a law-and-order type.¡±


    ¡°And you are willing to take occasional liberties?¡± Andreiopov replied, his smile wider. ¡°Is that why he is not here with you?¡±


    ¡°No, this is a federal case. Crossed state lines. I brought the FBI here as a courtesy. You will have to convince them that your plan is sound.¡±


    Lynn looked at him for a moment, then answered: ¡°Can¡­ can we see the knife?¡±


    He opened a drawer in his desk. Inside was a portable glass case, holding the Demonblade. He slid it across the desk. ¡°I would advise against opening it. It¡­ you know what it can do, right?¡±


    Lynn looked up and met his gaze. ¡°We have an idea, but perhaps you could enlighten us?¡±


    ¡°It ¡­ talks to anyone who holds it. Tells them their darkest desires. Promises them the world if they just give it a sacrifice. Only a person of very strong will can resist its siren song.¡±


    ¡°So we take the knife, the killings end, and you and your sister vanish?¡± Lynn said after studying the case for a moment.


    ¡°Yes, that is my offer.¡±


    Adamsky¡¯s voice suddenly boomed through the room: ¡°No!¡±


    Everyone turned towards the source, who stood dramatically framed in the doorway to the room. Adamsky continued, in his typical laconic fashion, with one more word: ¡°Baltimore.¡±


    The Russian winced. ¡°I had hoped that had gone unnoticed. You have figured that part out too? Curse that sister of mine. If she had not used the blade on her disgusting husband, she would not have needed those other kills. I can be discreet - if I wish to¡­¡±


    Suddenly the dagger vanished from the case and appeared in his hand. Power flowed visibly into him, and he grew, bloating slightly, his eyes flashing deep red. ¡°You should have taken my offer ¨C now you will all die¡­¡±


    He leapt up onto the desk ¨C as I dropped my Adamsky disguise: ¡°Not today, Andreiopov,¡± I announced, grabbing his arm and spinning him around just as I had done with the biker earlier.


    He laughed. ¡°Then you do not know ¨C I am not Andreiopov ¨C he died years ago ¨C I am The Demonblade!¡± He managed to twist around slightly, my grip not as firm as I had hoped ¨C and his eyes flared up.


    A bolt of flame shot forth from his eyes and erupted into a ball of blistering heat against my skin.


    I pushed him away and dove behind a display case. Lynn and Dina had also sought cover.


    ¡°He shoots fireballs?!¡± Lynn called out in shock.


    Dina, from just outside of the room, called out to me: ¡°Can you shoot fireballs?¡±


    The creature calling itself Demonblade laughed and ran out of the room, into the main hall. ¡°No, I cannot ¨C can you?¡±


    ¡°Hey, I''m not the blue-skinned shapeshifter who can juggle trucks, am I?¡±


    ¡°Good point¡­¡±Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Maybe if we go after him from three different directions, we can catch him off guard?¡± Lynn offered.


    ¡°Better plan than we had,¡± Dina replied. ¡°On the count of three we spread out and try to box him in?¡±


    ¡°Agreed.¡±


    ¡°One¡­ two¡­ three¡­¡±


    We all moved in different directions, each heading to where we expected to find him ¨C right in the center of his collection.


    He stood there, beside a broken case, a large weapon ¨C one I later learned was called a morning star ¨C in one hand, the Demonblade in the other. A faint orange aura surrounded him, like the shadows of a fire.


    He roared his defiance at us: ¡°Come on, all of you. One at a time or all at once. I am The Demonblade!¡±


    He was much larger than he had been, the eyes still glowing orange, the face twisted into a bestial mockery of Dr. Andreiopov¡¯s.  I considered reaching for my gun but decided my own physical abilities were more of a threat to this thing and took a step towards him.  As I did so, two unexpected things happened at the same time: first, a shot rang out from a fourth direction, grazing The Demonblade¡¯s arm and causing him to turn away and see the real Adamsky, who had just arrived.


    Second, something massive crashed down through the ceiling, landing heavily on top of me and forcing me to the ground.  It took all my strength for me to rise to my feet under the weight of Andrieopov¡¯s sister, now bloated and twisted with power, but not so much as she had been last night, nor as much as her brother was now.  She held a meat cleaver in one hand and a large chunk of wood, probably torn from the floor above, in the other.


    ¡°You pay for interference!¡± She bellowed in a roar that only held traces of her voice.  She swung the cleaver at my head.


    I dove under her slash and rose up, striking her in the chest and sending her flying back into a case full of antique armor; glass and pieces of armor scattered around the room at the impact.  At that moment I felt an impact against my back, and I went tumbling across the room to land at her feet, just as she regained her footing.  My back was in agony, I later learned from his morning star, I forced myself to stand just as she tried to bury the cleaver in my shoulder.  The impact hurt almost as much as the spiked head of the morning star had but failed to pierce my flesh.  If my form were not somewhat fluid - a benefit of being a shapeshifter - my left arm would have been at least dislocated, if not severed by that blow.  I knew there was no way I could take both of them on alone.  Fortunately, I heard several gunshots around me and could hear most of them slamming into The Demonblade''s hide. Unfortunately, I knew the bullets were at best a distraction, the equivalent of biting flies to him.  Glancing back, it seemed the other three were keeping him off balance and disoriented.


    During this momentary distraction I felt something hit me and shatter - the wooden object the sister had been wielding was now reduced to splinters, and the cleaver struck my head.  My ears rang but again it did not pierce my flesh.  I realized that, as long as we were fighting both of them, our best bet was a stalemate, so I had to remove one of them from the fight fast.  A slap against the side of my head made the room spin for a second, but then my thoughts were clear enough to see a course of action.  I dove forward, slamming my head into her stomach, and wrapped my arms around her waist, and then set out to do something I had never done before; I rose to unsteady feet and leaped into the air.


    I have a limited, clumsy ability to fly, but had never attempted it before carrying a load, let alone one as heavy as the one I was straining to lift at the moment.  I felt us slam into the floor above, and then into the ceiling above that.  As we soared almost straight up into the air, I felt my burden grow lighter - initially I thought maybe I was just getting better at flight, but then realized she was getting smaller.  It seemed the farther away from the knife she got, the less power she was able to draw from it.


    I was looking for a secure place to leave my passenger when suddenly her weight surged and I felt something dig deep into my back, felt a trickle of blood, and cried out, releasing her - as she fell to the ground, I saw that she now held the ancient knife.  She was falling too fast for me to intercept - and I was not quite sure I wanted to - until I saw she was headed down to a busy street where several people were standing around pointing up and just watching the show we were putting on.  I groaned, and focused as much energy on speed as I could manage.


    She crashed to the ground almost two full seconds before me, mercifully not landing on any bystanders but shattering a large section of sidewalk, and I could tell the shrapnel had caused a few, hopefully minor, injuries.  She had risen to her feet, only slightly injured by the fall, and had begun brandishing the evil weapon at the screaming crowd.  As she swung at one person - I did not have time to see if it was a man, a woman or a child - I managed to slip in and get my uninjured shoulder up under her arm. I heard the knife clatter to the ground and heard her swear in Russian.  In the same language I replied that, not only did I not know who my father was but also did not know my mother.  The response seemed to make her pause for a moment.


    That moment was all I needed - putting everything I had into speed, I slammed into her, painfully hard (for both of us), and forced her back to slam into a wall hard enough that I felt that impact as well; the wall almost gave way.  She was dazed, giving me the time I needed to run back to the fallen knife and launch myself into the air.


    I heard the knife, or something acting through it, singing into my brain, making promises of power and control.  ¡°If you know who and what I am,¡± I growled at the weapon, ¡°maybe we can talk.  Otherwise just shut up.¡±


    I was high enough that it was beginning to be difficult to breathe; I shifted position, relying on momentum to keep me moving for a short while, shifted everything out of speed and into strength, and using gravity itself for leverage, hurled the weapon as hard and far as I could.  I heard what I thought was a sonic boom, as I began falling Earth-ward.


    I enjoyed the feeling of a free fall until I was close enough to see the ground rising up quickly enough to pose a threat, then split my energy evenly between speed, strength and toughness and shot back toward the battle on the street.


    Andrieopov''s sister was still very large and very angry but not as monstrous as she had been.  I felt fatigue creeping in and knew I could not let it take me; I bounced her head off the wall, knocking a small hole into said wall and, at least temporarily, knocking her out cold, and then hefted her unconscious body, and raced back to the house where my partner and the two FBI agents and the thing that was once Andreiopov were fighting.


    The professor was handcuffed with two sets of cuffs.  ¡°Took five bullets after the knife vanished just to knock him out, and he¡¯s not even bleeding,¡± Dina informed me.


    ¡°About the fifth weirdest thing I¡¯ve seen.,¡± Adamsky added, feeling unusually verbose.


    Burke considered this for a moment. ¡°Considering, ah, Indigo here as number two?¡± she asked, and he nodded.


    ¡°You met something weirder than my partner?¡± Dina asked, incredulously.


    ¡°Indigo knocks the guy in New Orleans who claimed to be Frankenstein¡¯s Creature down to third.  I think that mummy in Atlanta was still the weirdest¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Adamsky elaborated eloquently.


    ¡°You guys really are like the X-Files,¡± Dina commented.


    Adamsky gave her a blank look and Burke said: ¡°an old TV show with two FBI agents investigating monsters.¡±


    Adamsky shrugged at this, while I made a mental note to see if I could find this show as I had no memories of it.

 Case File Two: Artificial Angel

    Commentary on Case Files One and Two:


    I still remember being in the room when the fist episode of our show aired.  Even the two veteran officers - one of them the real Mike Hill - who kind of knew what was coming, had reactions to the moment when we first see Indigo that ¡­ were just amazing.  Made me fall in love with my craft.  That may not be dad¡¯s best adventure, but it was his first one, and introduced one of his few recurring enemies.  This next story introduces an infrequent ally - as well as ¡­ ah, don¡¯t want to give too much away, now do I?  This was used for episode five in Season One - the second story based on Dad¡¯s actual adventures and is one of my personal favorites; it was also the first episode where the studio had begun to believe in the show and actually increased our effects budget.  I hope you enjoy it too.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

 Chapter Two-One: Sort Of a Robbery-Homicide.

    I did not witness this myself for some time, but had heard it described from enough people who had seen it to be able to visualize the situation, or at least most of it.


    The scene was a busy street immediately off of a main thoroughfare.  People were going about their business normally when a slight glow appeared in an alley - an alley always located conveniently out of the range of any working surveillance cameras on the street.


    When the glow subsided, a figure was visible - this figure appeared to be an extremely beautiful, almost androgynous man - except that he had skin that appeared to be made of living gold, soft blue eyes with no visible pupils, long flowing hair that fell below his shoulders, and broad golden wings sprouting from his back.  He wore a backless white robe, and spoke in a voice described as ¡°musical and relaxing,¡± speaking of peace and love, speech peppered with what he claimed were Bible quotes (some were, some were fabrications, most were close but inaccurate, at least when later compared to the three translations I managed to check).


    Somehow, during his ¡­ more of a presentation than a sermon, really, most of those who stopped to listen had their wallets and other small valuables stolen, and few realized it until much later.


    Why did a homicide cop get involved in this, you ask?  Exhibit A:  Mary Louise Warner, aged eighty seven, who suffered a fatal heart attack at the third sighting of the golden ¡°angel¡± that called itself Solarr - and yes, it did trill or roll the ¡°r¡± at the end whenever it gave its name, so that it was doubled.


    My partner, Detective Sergeant (promoted only a week earlier) Dina Genovelli and I had been called into the Medical Examiner¡¯s office.


    Doctor Kendra Latimer sat across from us.  ¡°Even though this looks like a textbook cardiac arrest, I believe it was either accidental or intentional manslaughter,¡± she said as she slid a file across the desk.  ¡°And the perp appears to be a freaking angel.¡±


    ¡°A what?¡± My partner exclaimed


    ¡°Yeah - have you read the witness accounts?  Over six feet tall, golden skin that shines with an inner radiance, large golden wings - Wings! - long golden hair and he always dresses in white or red backless robes with sandals on his feet.  After seeing how you two and that weird blue guy took out that murderous giant about two months ago, I asked the chief to send you down here to look into our ¡®killer angel¡¯.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I spoke up at this point: ¡°do we have a map of sightings of this ¡­ being?¡±


    ¡°Vice does.  They were treating it like a scam artist until this happened,¡± the Doctor replied.


    I glanced over at Dina: ¡°If I am not overstepping?¡± She waved for me to go on, ¡°then I believe our investigation needs to start there.  Thank you for bringing us in on this, Doctor Latimer.


    ¡°Just find this guy, and if it was intentional, bring him down.  If not, do what you can to help keep it from happening again,¡± came the reply.


    After a few calls, we discovered that Detective Aram Barakagian was leading Vice¡¯s investigation, and headed over to his office.  Aram was a brown haired man in his early thirties; he had a normally Stony face that showed little emotion, and large, sad-looking brown eyes.  His office had a list of all the reported sightings of this angelic being - including the little tidbit about what it called itself, and we were beginning to see the start of a pattern, as it seemed to be appearing within a limited radius.  Near the heart of that radius was an address that felt important, somehow, but I was drawing a blank.  I mentioned this to my partner and the Vice detective, and Dina said ¡°that would be either the two, three or four hundred blocks of Hawthorne, right?¡±


    Examining the map I had to agree.  She did a quick search of incident reports and let out a low whistle


    ¡°Rookie, you may be on to something - look at this.¡±


    I moved over to her side and looked at the computer screen: ¡®Explosion rocks Cyberdyne Technologies Lab.¡±


    According to the report, one week before the first sighting of this Solarr, there had been a  explosion in one of their medical research labs.  No serious injuries were reported, but close to a million dollars worth of equipment and some ¡°tissue samples of a classified nature¡± were reported as destroyed..


    Dina skimmed the article, and then turned to Barakagian: ¡°Did you guys talk to either of the people named in the article - the researcher in charge of that lab, or the company CEO?¡±


    ¡°Uh, no.  We thought the connection was a little too tenuous,¡± he admitted.


    Dina sighed.  ¡°Okay. Rookie, you call their offices and see if we can get a meeting with this, ah, is his name really Doctor Adam Tinker?  A bit on the nose¡­. Anyway, you look into that and I¡¯ll see if I can find a way to connect with the guy who ran that particular lab, Doctor David Mendel.¡±

 Chapter Two-Two: Working the Tech Angle

    After discovering a possible link between this mysterious Solarr and a company called Cyberdyne Technologies, I was tasked with setting up a meeting with their CEO, a Doctor Adam Tinker.


    My first call went through a complicated phone maze and ended up with me talking to someone in their Public Relations department, who took down the station¡¯s address, promised to send me a bunch of fliers, and promptly hung up.


    My second call did not care much better, as I wound up being disconnected before I got to talk to a human.  It did give me some time to look into the past of this CEO, at least.  At the age of fifteen, Adam Tinker had begun taking college level classes, and way paying for them with a series of prosthetic devices he designed - when he was twenty-one, he had a pre-Med degree, a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics, electrical and mechanical engineering, a Bachelor of Arts in computer programming, and a PhD in computer design and engineering.  That was the year he started Cyberdyne, Limited, with a grant from his father''s medical device firm.  When he was twenty-four, he spun Cyberdyne, Limited out into its own company, now called Cyberdyne Technologies, and bought the three one seven Hawthorne Street building as his corporate office.  When he was thirty-three, his father died, leaving Adam a third of his original company - and Adam used his profits from Cyberdyne to buy out the rest.  I would have dug for more, but at this point I was disconnected.  I decided to make one more attempt, and then just go over to Hawthorne in person if it did not work out this time.


    After bouncing around for a full minute, I finally got a person: ¡°Good morning, you have reached the office of Doctor Adam Tinker, Cyberdyne Technologies International.  This is Karen Pohl, Assistant to the Executive, speaking.¡±


    ¡°Hello Miz Pohl,¡± I began, ¡°This is detective Na¡­¡±


    ¡°If you are looking for a donation, I can connect you to Public Out¡­¡±


    ¡°No!¡± I said, perhaps a bit too forcefully.  ¡°Er, I am not calling for a donation.  We were hoping to be able to set up a time to talk to Doctor Tinker about the explosion in one of his labs about a month ago.¡±


    There was a brief pause and then: ¡°Let me place you on hold and I will see what I can do for you.¡±. Before I could react, tedious piano music replaced her voice.


    I resumed my research - next month Doctor Tinker will celebrate his fifty-fourth birthday; currently he is the nineteenth wealthiest man in the United States and roughly number fifty in the world, his company has two manufacturing sites in the US as well as three overseas, and corporate offices in three countries, plus two large research centers.  Doctor Tinker was also recently diagnosed as having a degenerative tissue disorder and has already had to replace one leg with one of his own prosthetic devices.  Just as I read that, Karen came back on the line. ¡°Are you still there, Detective?¡±


    ¡°Still here Miz Pohl.¡±


    ¡°Miss Pohl,¡± she corrected, ¡°Doctor Tinker will be in his office from three to five PM today but has to be out by a quarter past five.  He can meet with you at any time in that range at our corporate office on Hawthorne Street, Three One Seven, East Tower, seventh floor.  What names should I have ready for the ID badges?¡±


    ¡°Detectives Nathan Daniels and Dina Genovelli.¡±


    ¡°Oh!  You are Dina¡¯s new partner?  We went to high school together!  Have not seen her since Professor Moran¡¯s funeral last month.  Well, I¡¯m sure you have other matters to attend to and I know I do, so, unless there is some other pressing detail I will let you go?¡± She asked.


    ¡°No, we should be there a little after three. Thank you,¡± I replied and ended the call.


    Dina had found me while I was on hold and wrapped up in my research into Doctor Tinker.  ¡°Forgot that I knew his personal assistant.  Probably should have done that call and left the other to you, as Mendel was a cagey one.  But he¡¯s willing to meet us at a coffee shop a block from his apartment in twenty minutes, so we need to get moving.¡±This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    On the way to her car, I filled her in on how my calls went.  She shook her head.  ¡°Man, she was terrified to talk to me at that funeral. She took my high school boyfriend from me and was worried I would still hold a grudge.  Told her the truth - that I let her take him because I was realizing I was not interested in boys and had been trying to find a way to let him down easy anyway.  We had a good laugh over that, and then she offered to introduce me to her apartment mate... Still have not answered her on that one.¡±


    The area Mendel had us drive to was pretty rundown.  It was near the waterfront, and consisted of a mix of buildings that had once been warehouses but were now converted into low-income housing units, and buildings that had been warehouses but were currently condemned.  The coffee shop was the nicest - and newest - place in a five-block area.


    Doctor Mendel stood out like a sore thumb in that coffee shop - he was a disheveled man, probably in his fifties.  He had wavy, light auburn hair in desperate need of meeting a brush or comb, a slightly yellow complexion, bright blue eyes, and some massive scarring on the left side of his face.  The way he held his left arm, I suspected the scarring continued down at least to his shoulder, and he was missing part of his index finger on that hand.  He was, however, also dressed in a very nice suit, probably from a named designer, but I don¡¯t follow such things, of a dark blue fabric.  His white shirt was open at the collar, and he wore an old tie but had clearly made no effort to tie it, so it just draped around his neck like a limp red noodle.


    The others in the shop were a mix of college students and down-and-outers who probably spent their time panhandling when not sitting in the coffee shop.  As it had just started to rain as we parked, there were a lot of the latter inside, avoiding the downpour.


    Mendel rose to greet us.  He had a slight lisp, but otherwise his voice was strong and firm, as was his handshake.  ¡°You are the detectives?  Sit.  Can I order anything for you?¡±


    ¡°Small hot black coffee for me,¡± Dina said.


    ¡°Just a water,¡± I added.


    With his uninjured hand, Doctor Mendel snapped his fingers and a pretty woman with dark skin and hair and shockingly pale eyes hurried up to the table: ¡°A small hot black for the lady, a water for the gentleman and a small plate of scones for the table, please.¡±


    ¡°Right away sir,¡± the woman - Melanie, according to her name tag - replied and hurried off.


    ¡°You had some questions about August fifth?¡± He said, as soon as she was out of earshot.


    ¡°Why, yes that is correct,¡± Dina replied.


    ¡°May I see your badges?¡±  Mendel asked.


    Dina and I showed them, he nodded. ¡°Definitely not with the press then,¡± he said and pulled a small device out of his pocket.  As he turned it on, I felt an excruciating headache; it took most of my concentration to hide the pain and I am sure I missed a lot of what was said as a result


    When Dina cast a questioning look at the device, he said: It is kind of a white noise generator.  If anyone is trying to listen in electronically, all they will hear is a hissing and popping sound.  Can¡¯t do anything about manual snoops.  Yet.¡±


    Melanie came back and I downed my water in one gulp before she had served the others.  ¡°Sorry, thirsty,¡± I apologized.


    ¡°Can you get my partner a milkshake of some sort?¡± Dina said as she took her coffee.  I gave her a grateful look.


    Melanie handed Doctor Mendel his drink and said: ¡°It will be right up.¡±


    As she walked away, Mendel leaned in and said: ¡°What do you know of the Human Genome Project?¡±


    We both gave the same answer: ¡°Not a lot, really.¡±


    He just nodded, then took a moment to collect his thoughts. ¡°That was an attempt to map out all of the details of human DNA.  My division was involved in this at the start, but for a small research lab, until Tinker bought us up and added us to his portfolio.¡±


    He seemed lost in thought for a moment, with a faint smile playing on his lips, before he became serious once more and resumed: ¡°In those early days it was fun - using cutting edge tech to try and continue our little project.  It did seem odd, sometimes, that he showed no interest in our little group turning a profit - he enjoyed working alongside us, it seemed, and he had enough other teams that pulled off the big-ticket items regularly that none of us were particularly concerned.


    ¡°At least, not until we had our first ¡­ well¡­ breakthrough, about six months ago.¡±

 Chapter Two-Three: Meeting Mendel and Solarr

    Doctor David Mendel was telling us the story leading up to the explosion a few weeks ago, an explosion that nearly coincided with the appearance of a winged golden man who gave the name ¡°Solarr.¡±  If Mendel¡¯s skill as a scientist was close to his skill as a storyteller, he was bound for great things.  Eventually¡­


    After telling us that his lab, originally part of the Human Genome Project until Doctor Adam Tinker, CEO and owner of Cyberdyne Technologies, had bought the entire group.  Things moved slowly for them until six months ago when they had experienced some kind of breakthrough.  After announcing this, Mendel finished his coffee and waved Melanie, our server, over to order another.  As soon as she walked away, he resumed his tale:


    ¡°We were working with some small, relatively simple animals when Doctor Li managed to somehow grow a miniature human arm on a cat.  It was disturbing, yes, but it also showed where our technology might lead - if we could grow limbs on animals, maybe we could grow entire organs.


    ¡°At first, Tinker himself seemed more excited at the potential of this discovery.  We could potentially use stem cells to ¡®clone¡¯ organs for accident victims, or individuals suffering from some types of illness.¡±


    I should have made the connection between this and Tinker¡¯s degenerative condition, but my head was throbbing so much I could barely keep the others from seeing my pain.


    ¡°Cloning organs?  Aren¡¯t there laws about that?¡± Dina asked.


    ¡°No, the laws are about cloning humans, not specific organs.  Adam - Doctor Tinker - had lawyers research the subject before he brought us on, hoping our research would go that way.¡±


    ¡°Ah, a fine distinction but the kind of thing lawyers love,¡± my partner said, a little bitterly.


    ¡°Exactly.  We first did organ replacements in animals and found a rejection rate about one third of normal tissue rejection.  When we grew human organs on animals, the organs often failed before they could be harvested, and one of our monkeys had a lethal reaction but otherwise the research was very promising, and we were on the verge of setting up clinical trials when something went wrong.  The computer records were lost, along with a lot of tissue samples, some specialized equipment, and, most tragically, our research animals so we were unable to piece together exactly what went wrong.  But an explosion trashed our lab and left me on medical leave for a few months.¡±


    ¡°So you have no¡­ uh, sorry, is something wrong, Rookie?¡± Dina said, her attention suddenly turning to me.


    ¡°Just a bad headache,¡± I replied.  I ¡­ well, I think I need to step outside for a bit,¡± I replied, as I noticed the rain had just stopped.


    Concern was clear in her eyes, but she just waved for me to go.  I later found out that she got very little of use from Mendel, but also that she felt he was holding back on something, just that she couldn''t figure out what¡­.


    Once I was outside of the shop, the headache dropped down to a manageable level.  I took a few deep breaths, and then heard something odd, a strange rush of air.  Focusing my attention on it, I tracked it to a position a few blocks from where I was.  I started jogging that way.  The odd rustling stopped, and a strangely musical voice began welcoming ¡®weary wanderers¡¯ to ¡®hear the Blessed Words¡¯ - and, yes, it did make those words sound capitalized when this voice said them.


    I rounded a corner and saw a crowd gathering in an alley nearby.  Glancing around, I could tell that the alley was just outside of the range of any obvious cameras.  I slowed my pace, sent a quick text to my partner, and joined the growing throng.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    The figure they were watching so intently was a beautiful being - androgynous, tall, muscular, with long golden curls surrounding a classically beautiful face.  Its skin really did look like it was made of solid gold, as did the broad wings behind its back.  Its voice was nearly hypnotic, and it sounded almost as if every line were sung, not spoken.


    It gave its name as Solarr, and it spoke of peace and love and began reciting what sounded like Bible verses.


    And that was when things went sideways - a man near the front of the crowd interrupted his spiel: ¡°But that is not the actual verse!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, sir?¡± Solarr asked, arching one eye in surprise.


    ¡°Reverend.  Reverend James Mason.  My sermon two weeks ago was on that very verse!¡± He challenged.


    Solarr simply gazed at him wordlessly.  The Reverend swallowed hard enough for me to hear about twenty feet away, and pulled a Bible out of his pocket, flipping through, most likely to the verse in question.


    As he stopped his search, the golden being frowned, and jumped into the air.


    This sudden movement broke whatever hold Solarr had on me, and I glanced around to verify that nobody was looking in my direction.  Seeing that all eyes were on either Solarr or Reverend Mason, I then darted away as fast as I could without drawing attention to myself, and, once out of sight elsewhere, reverted to my natural state.  Indigo then followed Solarr into the air.


    Solarr was gaining speed slowly; I could accelerate much more swiftly than he could, but it seemed its upper end was higher than mine.  I called out ¡°Solarr!  Wait!¡±


    My simple cry startled it, and Solarr stopped in midair, its wings still flapping, but now casually, to maintain its position. ¡°Who are you?¡± The musical voice asked.


    I replied: ¡°I am called Indigo.  Why did you flee like that?¡±


    It hesitated for a moment, and then answered: ¡°I have not been taught how to handle a challenge like that.¡±


    ¡°Taught?  By who?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I am not supposed to answer that,¡± it replied.


    I reached its side and hovered in the air beside it.  ¡°Why do you do this, gather people into alleys like that?¡±


    ¡°They will listen.  I must spread the Word.¡±


    ¡°You know that a woman died at one of your rallies,¡± I asked.


    It looked at me blankly, considered for a moment, and then asked: ¡°what does that mean? Died?¡±


    It was my turn to stare in surprise. ¡°You don''t know what death is?¡±


    ¡°I know the definition of the term but I do not understand it,¡± the golden being replied.


    A strange thought came to me, and I asked: ¡°how old are you?¡±


    ¡°If I understand the query, I became aware eighteen days ago, and first came into being five days before that,¡± came the answer.


    ¡°Can you tell me where you first, ah, became aware?¡±


    It looked at me for a moment and then flapped its massive wings.  A blast of air sent me tumbling away, and it shot straight up into the air.  Doing some quick mental calculations, I realized that I would not be able to catch up to Solarr and watched it for as long as I could.  It vanished into the clouds.


    I sighed, found a secluded spot below, returned to the ground and shifted into my Detective Daniels form.  Taking out my phone, I was about to text my partner when I heard her voice behind me: ¡°Thought you might like this spot.  What happened?¡±


    ¡°Other than Indigo and Solarr meeting, I¡¯m really not sure.  I think Solarr is some kind of artificial life form or a machine though.  It seems oddly naive but very intelligent and talks in an oddly formal manner.¡±


    ¡°Do you think Tinker and Mendel had anything to do with making it?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t know enough to even guess, but I do suspect it, especially since he claims to be twenty-three days old...¡±


    ¡°Twenty-three?  The explosion was twenty-two days ago; I think we have some new questions for Tinker when we meet him in three hours,¡± Dina replied.  ¡°Come on, Rookie, let''s grab some lunch.¡±


    ¡°I just hope I don¡¯t have to fight that Solarr thing - he seems both child-like and incredibly powerful, a very dangerous combination,¡± I mused aloud.  Dina either ignored me or just did not hear the comment.