A Life for a Life

Jess and Charlie left Abhainn and turned right like Eamon told them. Five minutes of walking led them past a small strip mall to a big parking lot. At one end was a single large building set back some distance from the street. It looked like an old grocery or department store, though long since closed down, and there wasn’t even a shadow of a sign hinting at what store it used to be. The two inspectors drew their weapons and cautiously approached.

Since Eamon hadn’t mentioned going inside the building, they made their way around it towards the back. Here there weren’t any street lights to see by so Jess pulled out a penlight from her back pocket and scanned the area. Concrete stretched from the building out about twenty feet, then turned to a grassy field that was too dark to see beyond. There were no signs of life, not even street cats or rodents moving the grass.

There was a strange feeling in the air though, a darkness Jess and Charlie both felt. Charlie stopped in her tracks and visibly shuddered.

“I’m sorry, Jess. I don’t think I should go any further. There’s so much dark energy here that I think it might overwhelm me if I continue to try to sense it. If I shore up my shields as strong as I can, I might be able to get closer, but I won’t be able to sense anything. It’ll take a few minutes though.”

“No problem. I’m going to take a closer look. Take as long as you need,” Jess assured her. She slowly walked forward, shining the penlight back and forth across the ground until she came across a large dried stain on the concrete. In the dim lighting it could have been anything, oil from years of semi-trucks parking there perhaps, except Jess knew it wasn’t. Even through her shields she could sense dark magic. Cracking them the slightest amount allowed her to see a familiar black haze as well. Jess didn’t doubt that the stain was blood.

They had found the crime scene.

It was a large pool of blood, more than anyone could lose and survive. Jess walked all the way around it, careful not step too close where the black magic haze might touch her. So far she hadn’t been affected by the black magic hazes like their witnesses were, but she didn’t want to find out what might happen if she actually touched it. Even being near such dark magic was making her skin crawl. She tightened her shields as much as she could, but it still felt weak to her. They had been so busy running from one crime scene to the next that Jess’s energy levels were low, and that affected her magic.

“Suck it up,” Jess told herself. She forced herself to continue analyzing the pool of dried blood, noting slight disturbances in the stain, as if the killer caught the body as it fell and lowered it to the ground himself. It was while staring down at these disruptions in the pattern that something Eamon said clicked in her mind.

Eamon told them that the man holding the knife stabbed the other one while saying funny words, and then the blue ghost rose out of the body. He also hadn’t said anything about the one on the ground being shriveled up. In fact, he had been quite clear that it was a man, but it was dark. He wouldn’t have been able to tell that from a shriveled and dried up corpse like the ones they were finding.

All the previous autopsies suggested something sucking all the fat out of the victims and then death by stabbing. Maybe in this instance, their killer had tried it the other way around. Except the body of Marcus Gabriel was as mummified looking as the rest of them.

Jess’s musings were interrupted when Charlie rejoined her. She stared solemnly down at the pool of blood. Jess told her her thoughts.

“If Marcus Gabriel started coming around after being hit in the head, the killer could have panicked and stabbed him,” Charlie suggested.

“And then tried his spell anyway to see what happened? That’s possible I suppose. It may have worked if Marcus wasn’t dead yet, so the killer got his blue ghost.” Jess’s phone buzzed and she pulled it out to see a text from Riley. She had finished the autopsy the day before and went in early this morning to finish analyzing her findings. She wanted to let Jess know that the knife used on Marcus Gabriel was not the same knife used on their previous victims. Jess passed along the information to Charlie.

“Maybe that’s why he got rid of the knife under the dumpster,” Charlie said thoughtfully.

“You mean it didn’t matter what he used to kill anymore?”

“Exactly. I think he stabbed Gabriel first, then used whatever spell he has to pull the life out as it was already dying. Then somehow he collected it in the bottle to use later.”

“To use later? Jesus, this guy is all sorts of twisted,” Jess said with disgust. Charlie made sounds of agreement. Jess sighed and pulled out her phone to call it in.

The two of them stood to the side of their second crime scene in less than twenty-four hours while CSU processed the scene and collected evidence. After a while they decided to go home to get cleaned up and meet back at the office in an hour.

*

Jess felt moderately better after a shower and a triple shot latte when she walked into the pen an hour later. For once she beat Charlie back in so she sat down to boot up her computer while she waited. It was still fairly early and the pen was quiet when Matt walked in.

“Morning Matt,” Jess said with a yawn.

“Hey. I heard you and Charlie found our primary crime scene this morning. Care to share?” Matt asked, eyes narrowed.

“Tip from a witness, through a friend of mine. The witness is just a little kid though so I’d like to leave him out of things as much as possible until we have to,” Jess told him. Matt nodded.

“I’m okay with that. But a phone call would’ve been nice.”

Jess winced. “Sorry, Matt. It was on my to-do list, I swear.”

“Uh-huh. Well, when I did hear about it, I stopped at the scene on my way in. Doesn’t look like there’s much to go on other than the blood, but then I’m just human. Did you guys pick up anything?”

Relieved he didn’t make a bigger deal out of her oversight, Jess didn’t hesitate to answer him. “Not really. I saw more of that black haze I keep seeing around people, but I still don’t have any idea what it means. As for Charlie, the place had so much black magic build-up that she had to close down all of her senses just to protect herself.”

“Is she alright?” Matt asked with real concern. Jess smiled.

“She’s fine, Matt. Like I said, she protected herself.”

“Good, that’s good.” Matt picked up a pen off her desk and fiddled with it like it was the most interesting toy in the world. Jess’s smile broadened.

“How did dinner go last night between you two?”

Matt started. “Oh, yeah, um, fine. It went fine. We just stopped for a burger on the way to her place. I mean, I was just giving her a ride home, not going to her place or anything. Not that I wouldn’t mind...I mean...we were just talking, that’s all.” A blush worked its way up the detective’s face as he stammered. Jess couldn’t help chuckling.

“Relax Matt. It was nice of you to take her home. I don’t think she knows many people in the area yet so I’m sure she appreciated a little company over dinner.”

“Right, yeah,” Matt answered, still pink. Charlie chose that moment to walk in, causing Matt to jerk up and trip over his own feet. Charlie raised her eyebrows.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Matt looked like his tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth, so Jess took pity on him.

“Nothing, I was just telling Matt how we found the crime scene this morning. CSU is still working on it but they should be about wrapping up I think.”

“Good, I’d like to take Kelly there after everyone else has left. She might be able to sense something.”

“Kelly?” Matt asked. Charlie was explaining about her friend when Kelly walked in.

“Ah, speaking of which,” Charlie said. “Good morning, Kel. Are you ready to go?”

“Sure.” She gave Charlie a hug, then turned to Jess and Matt. “Good morning. Early start today, huh?”

“You could say that,” Jess said with a grimace. “So, did you learn anything from your jaunt across the city yesterday?”

“Nothing super helpful,” Kelly told her regretfully. “I could sense the imbalance everywhere and I think it’s stronger towards the east but I couldn’t pinpoint it down. Whatever is going on is messing up the magic in the whole city.”

“I believe it,” Matt said. “I spoke with some officers I know this morning and they say that it was like a full moon on Halloween last night. Everyone was getting calls left and right to break up fights, respond to car accidents, and handle what they assumed was public intoxication incidents. It’s getting out of control out there.”

“Did any of the incidents involve magic?” Jess asked.

Matt shook his head. “No magical attacks like we’ve seen before, if that’s what you mean. But I know for a fact that a few people arrested are warlocks. They just didn’t use any magic.”

“Maybe the others weren’t human,” Charlie mused.

“Come again?”

“You’ve got a point there, Charlie. Plenty of half-humans and non-humans that look human live all over the city trying to blend in. I wonder if they could be affected in a different way and we just didn’t see it before now,” Jess suggested.

“Look, I know that faeries and other creatures exist, but are you saying that they live with us in this world? Not only the witches and vampires we’ve been told about?” Matt demanded.

Charlie winced. “Yes, but it’s not real common knowledge, Matt. I wouldn’t go telling everyone you meet.”

“Unbelievable,” Matt muttered, his jaw clenched. “No wonder the world is going to shit.” Charlie frowned at his reaction but Jess ignored him. A lot of Norm cops figured it out sooner or later, it was a hazard of the job.

“I wonder if I would see the black haze around them,” Jess continued on, tapping her chin.

“You see a black haze?” Kelly asked, speaking up. Jess explained what she saw around the freak-out victims and what it did to Sara after taking off the magic-dampening bracelet. Kelly appeared thoughtful for a moment before responding.

“I bet that’s residue from the souls being ripped out of their bodies before their time,” she told them.

“Residue, like ghosts?”

“Similar but not sentient in any way. If the souls are being ripped out before their time, it could cause a sort of fracturing. Eventually the part that makes a person who they are will move on, or sometimes become a ghost, but maybe this process leaves behind bits and pieces that are floating around. At some point they come into contact with a living entity, like your sensitive witches, and it goes after it like an animal dying of thirst goes after water. It can’t help it, but it does it anyway.”

“Will these pieces float around forever?” Charlie asked.

“I’m not sure,” Kelly answered, spreading her hands. “My gut says no. I think they’ll eventually dissipate on their own if we can stop the killer from creating anymore, but it’s hard to know for sure. It would help if I had seen or felt them myself.”

“Maybe the crime scene will give us some more clues,” Charlie offered.

Jess bit her lip. “Are you sure that’s safe? I mean—Charlie, you said earlier that you couldn’t even drop your shields because of all the dark magic.”

“And I still won’t,” Charlie assured her. “But Kelly’s magic is a little different. Her only affinity is for the dead so she can basically filter out everything else and just focus on that.”

“I should be fine,” Kelly added.

“Okay, well I’m sure you know what you’re doing. But I’m coming with you just in case.”

“Me too,” Matt said. When Jess raised her eyebrows at him, he shrugged and added, “It couldn’t hurt to have someone there who won’t be affected by any indirect magic, good or bad.”

“You may have a point.” They were getting ready to leave when her cellphone rang.

“Hold that thought,” she said, lifting a finger. Jess answered the phone and the others watched as she frowned while listening to whoever was on the other end. After a short conversation she hung up.

“That was Chloe. She said she met up with Sara again at the diner and the two of them figured out something. They’re on their way in to talk to us about it.”

“Why don’t you and Matt stay here to talk to them while Kelly and I go to the crime scene?” Charlie suggested. “We don’t have any time to waste and we can divide and conquer a little this way.”

“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea for you two to go alone,” Matt said. Charlie glared at him.

“We are two experienced witches and I’m a cop with a gun. We can handle ourselves.” Charlie’s tone left no room for argument. She gave him a frosty glare and Jess wondered if she was pissed about his reaction to supernaturals living among the humans. There may have been a story behind that but it would have to wait.

Jess had an uneasy feeling herself about Charlie and Kelly going alone, but she knew she needed to support her partner on this one. “Charlie’s right, Matt. Besides, there shouldn’t even be anyone there except another cop or two guarding the scene.” Jess turned to Charlie. “But keep your shields up and call me if you find anything.” Charlie gave her a salute and she and Kelly left.

It was about half an hour before Chloe and Sara showed up. Charlie and Kelly should have reached the crime scene by then but so far Jess hadn’t heard from them.

After offering Chloe and Sara coffee or water, which they declined, Jess led them to a small conference room where the four of them could sit comfortably.

“How are you guys feeling?” Jess asked.

“Cut-off from the world, if you know what I mean. But I don’t feel like I’m going to go crazy again, so bonus there,” Sara replied. Chloe nodded in agreement.

“We’re working very hard on this case. As soon as it’s safe we’ll let you know when you can take those bracelets off,” Jess promised.

“Oh, we don’t blame you, we know y’all folks are trying your hardest. We’ll be fine,” Chloe assured her.

“Okay, so what did you want to talk to us about?” Jess asked. Matt pulled out a notebook and pen from his pocket to take notes.

“Well, here’s the thing. We’re starting to think we both might’ve met with some of those people who got killed and maybe that’s why we were affected,” Chloe began.

“You said you recognized the journalist,” Jess said slowly. Chloe nodded enthusiastically.

“Right, and Sara thinks she saw one of the ones on TV come into the diner where she works too.” Photos of all the victims had been released to the media in an effort to identify them. So far nothing useful had come in.

“I printed his picture off the internet. I’m sure I saw him a couple of times come in for a coffee to go.” Sara pulled a sheet from her purse and handed it to Jess. It was their first victim, an unidentified male.

“But neither of you recognized any of the others?” Matt clarified.

“Well no, but we’d only need to touch that unnatural dark magic once,” Chloe pointed out.

“True, but these people were still alive at the time,” Jess noted.

Chloe wasn’t to be persuaded. “It can’t be a coincidence, though, can it?”

“No, I don’t think it’s a coincidence,” Jess said with a shake of her head. “Thanks for telling us about this. This could be helpful. We’ll let you know if anything comes of it.” The women took that as their cue to go and stood.

“Good luck, detectives. Let us know if there’s anything else we can do to help,” Sara said. Jess didn’t bother to correct her: that she was an inspector while Matt was a detective. There wasn’t much difference, beyond bureaucratic labeling. Jess and Matt thanked the two women for coming in and escorted them to the front door.

“Y’all take care of yourselves, you hear?” Chloe said on their way out. Jess smiled and promised her that they’d be careful.

“Do you think they’re right? Could this be the key?” Matt asked her as they made their way back to her desk. Jess was sending Charlie a quick text asking how it was going as she thought about his question.

“I’m not sure. It would mean they were affected before the act took place and that doesn’t make sense to me. Imbalance can’t cause harm before it occurs. I think it’s something else,” Jess answered. More people had arrived for work and Matt looked around with interest when one of her fellow inspectors was slowly walking past with a small black disk hovering in the air in front of him. Probably something spelled to activate when you touched it.

“So what do you think it is, then?” Matt asked.

“I think,” Jess began slowly, “that our killer has a relatively small hunting ground. He may be dumping the bodies all over the place to try to confuse us, but he’s getting his victims all from the same area—near Sara’s diner. Kelly even said she thought the imbalance was coming from the East and the diner is in that direction. So is the crime scene we found this morning. Maybe he thought we wouldn’t notice because several of them were homeless and they move around a lot. That means if we could find some connection to that area, we might have a chance at catching him.”

“That’s a good theory.” For a while they threw around possible ideas for a connection in the area of Sara’s diner that they could look for, but it was a long list. Their most likely theories were he lived or worked in the area so Matt started making some calls to get property records for every business and house within a two-mile radius. Neither of them held out hope that it would be a short list.