A Life for a Life

Jess was checking her phone for a message from Charlie (there wasn’t one) when Captain Fontaine walked straight to her. It was unusual for him to be in the pen as he tended to call people up to his office. Jess watched him approach.

“What’s up, Captain?”

“Where is John?” Jess glanced at her neighbor’s empty desk.

“I haven’t seen him yet today, why?”

“He solved the light bomb case. It came from one of the more extreme radicals of the Humans First party. John arrested the guy last night,” Teddy told them. The Humans First party was a small but widespread faction of people who thought all witches and warlocks were supporters of the devil and were plotting to overthrow the government or some such nonsense. WISP had a whole task force set up in Chicago for watching members of the Humans First party, with at least one or two inspectors in every major city in the United States, Seattle included.

“I didn’t even know he was working the light bomb case. He didn’t mention it.”

“He wasn’t the lead inspector or anything, just one of several people I had looking into various groups around the city, mostly background stuff. John noticed we had a man in lock-up for a drunk and disorderly with known Humans First ties so he thought he’d wander down and ask a few questions. It didn’t take long before the drunk was boasting about how proud he was of a fellow First member for trying to take out the whole department. John passed the information along and the tactical team went after the First member. The guy was barely in cuffs before he was confessing and there’s plenty of evidence in his house to back up his story.” Teddy was drumming his fingers against the desk, distractedly telling them the story while his gaze continued to roam around the pen as if he might spot John at any moment.

“Has he said why there were two bombs?” Jess asked, curious.

“Yeah, he did. The Humans First Party is going for a new angle to recruit more people. They’re now saying humans are the true light in the world, evidenced by vampires hiding in the dark. The second bomb was supposed to be delayed until the evening, when it might have taken out some vampires after the day shift assumed it was safe. I guess someone screwed up.” Teddy narrowed his eyes, looking angry at the thought someone was trying to actively take out his agents.

Jess shuddered. “I hope they all rot in jail.”

“Oh, they will. With the evidence in this guy’s house, we’re going to take the whole party down.” Teddy’s face was a determined even as he continued glancing around the room. There was still no sign of John.

“Isn’t that a good thing?” Matt asked, looking confused. Jess understood his confusion because the Captain seemed way too irritated given the news he was imparting.

“Of course it’s a good thing,” Teddy snapped. “The problem is that I just found out this morning after reading a report John must have left on my desk late last night. A case like this, protocol states he should call me no matter what time of day it is and inform me directly. I received calls from three reporters this morning before even knowing what was going on. John knows better than that.”

“What about the lead inspector?” Jess leaned back in her chair with her hands laced behind her head. It was unusual for John to fail to report his findings directly. He was itching for more interesting cases and this would have been a serious feather in his cap to argue his point.

“Malak Hishnaw,” Teddy affirmed. “I talked to him and he said that John had told him that he would handle letting me know. Hishnaw has no idea why John failed to do so.”

“Probably thought it’d be funny to get John in trouble,” Jess said under her breath, but Teddy caught it.

“What does that mean, Inspector?”

“Nothing, I’m sure it was just a miscommunication.” She had no proof Malak was anything but a straight arrow inspector, except all her senses told her so. Sometimes secrets really were restrictive. Jess went on before he could question her.

“Or maybe John just forgot? He has seemed a little distracted lately,” Jess offered but without really believing it. By the look on the captain’s face, he didn’t believe it either.

“He’s not answering his phone, either. I can’t decide if I’m pissed or worried about him,” Teddy admitted. Jess frowned and checked her phone again. Still no word from Charlie. They’d been gone almost an hour and a half.

“I’d go check on him but I think I need to get back to the crime scene,” Jess said. Teddy waved a hand.

“Go. I’ll send a car to his house and keep you informed if we find him.”

“Thanks, Teddy. Matt, you ready?” At his nod, they headed out.

They were silent for the car ride, but it wasn’t long before Jess pulled into the parking lot of the abandoned building and parked next to two WISP issued vehicles. Jess assumed one belonged to the patrolmen assigned to babysitting the scene and one was checked out to Charlie temporarily.

“Looks like they’re still here,” Jess noted.

“Then why isn’t Charlie answering us?” Matt asked, frustration evident in his voice.

“Let’s go see.” They made their way around the building to the back where Jess had found the blood the night before, but there were no signs of life. Free-standing poles tied together with crime scene tape were placed around the dried bloodstain, the loose ends of the tape blowing around in a slight breeze. Jess’s gaze roamed over the loading area and the field behind it, not seeing Charlie or Kelly anywhere.

As she turned back towards the building, a figure emerged from the shadow of the building, coming from the same direction Jess and Matt had. Jess whipped out her gun, seeing Matt do the same from the corner of her eye, but lowered it when she recognized the newcomer.

It was John. He raised his hands.

“Whoa Jess, it’s me,” he said. Jess pointed her weapon at the ground but didn’t put it away.

“John? What are you doing here?” He raised one shoulder, giving her a sheepish grin.

“I was just curious. You know I don’t get the interesting cases so sometimes I like to check out the crime scenes after they’ve already been processed. What’s going on? Why are you back here?” John walked closer but Jess put up her hand, halting his progress. She opened her shields and looked closely at her coworker.

The purple of his aura was even darker now and Jess could detect the faint black haze she had come to recognize so well in this case. Even without her extra senses, Jess could also see dark circles under his eyes and he looked like he’d lost weight that he couldn’t afford to lose in the first place.

“The captain is looking for you, John. You were supposed to report to him about the light bomb case,” Jess said cautiously. John grinned, but it looked forced.

“Yeah, I should have done that. I meant to, but I got distracted when I heard about your crime scene and forgot.”

“What are you really doing here John? Where are Charlie and Kelly?” Jess asked, raising her gun slightly but not pointing it directly at him. His aura was stressed, but he still didn’t seem like the killer. She had seen murderous auras before and they were more red or blue, depending on whether the motivation was rage or clinical derangement. Something wasn’t adding up here.

John’s shoulders slumped and he finally lost the slightly maniacal smile on his face. He spread his arms out, showing he wasn’t armed.

“I can explain, Jess. I think I know who your killer is and I came here looking for some kind of proof.”

“You know who it is? And you didn’t tell me?” Jess asked, incredulous.

“I was hoping I was wrong,” John admitted. John’s words ran together as he hurried to explain.

“It’s my uncle. Remember the one I told you about who vouched for that burglary case? Well when I went to confront him about it, I saw something that didn’t seem right. A spellbook, sitting on his desk. My uncle is a welder with low-level sorcery in his blood. He can manipulate metal a little, but he’s never been strong enough to ever even try anything else and he’s never cared about spellbooks before. When I asked him about it, he said it was just a curiosity, something he came across in an antique shop.”

“People can pick up new hobbies, John.”

“It just didn’t seem right,” John repeated. “I know my uncle. He doesn’t care about books. And then I heard a little bit about the kind of person you were looking for: someone who lost a loved one within the last year, looking tired and drained, not powerful enough to be pulling this off successfully. My uncle lost his wife almost nine months ago to breast cancer and he hasn’t been the same since.”

“I thought: it couldn’t be him,” John pleaded. “My uncle is a good person and so was my aunt. She would have never wanted this. But I kept going back to his house to visit him and he’s looked worse and worse every time.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s our killer, John,” Jess said with a frown. “Plenty of people have health issues after losing their spouse.” John nodded but continued to look miserable.

“That’s what I kept telling myself, too. But Jess, the timeline matched up perfectly. He was nearly catatonic the first few months after she died, but then, about six months ago, he seemed hopeful again. Even though it was clear his health was going downhill fast. My family thought that maybe he had been diagnosed with his own deadly disease, but it just made him happy because it meant he would be joining his wife soon. And then I heard about this crime scene you found.”

John took a deep breath, nearly trembling as he tried to continue.

“Jess, my uncle owns this building. He was going to repurpose it into a part shop and part store where he could sell some of his work —he makes magical objects for a living— until his wife got sick. Now it’s just been sitting here for two years and no one ever comes by. And he knows that.”

“John,” Jess said firmly, “do you know where my partner is?”

“I just got here after you. I didn’t even know anyone was missing.”

Jess ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head at the idiocy John had displayed with his actions. She glanced at her phone. Still no message from her partner. Charlie had been out of contact for over two and a half hours. Jess decided to call the captain.

“Fontaine.”

“Teddy, it’s Jess. I can’t get a hold of Charlie. She was supposed to be checking out the crime scene with her necromancer friend, but I’m here now and she’s nowhere to be found. The patrolman that’s supposed to be guarding the scene is missing too, even though there are two cars parked out front.” Jess sounded calm and professional, but on the inside her stomach was rolling.

“Okay, I’ll find out who was on patrol and get someone to trace both their phones. Call you right back,” Teddy promised and hung up. John and Matt were watching her so she told them what the captain said. John nodded and pulled out a flashlight, wandering off to inspect the area near the building, while Matt shifted anxiously back and forth. Jess watched John turn the corner, out of sight, when her phone rang.

“Yes?” she said into the phone until she heard John shout in alarm.

“John?” Jess called, slipping her phone in her back pocket and dashing around the corner, only to be brought short. John was kneeling next to the patrolman’s body, feeling for a pulse. He looked up at Jess with grim eyes and shook his head.

“Shit,” Jess cursed, pulling her phone back out. The captain was still on the line.

“Jess? You there? What’s going on?” Teddy’s voice came at her as she brought the phone up to her ear.

“I’m here. We’ve found the patrolman, Teddy. He’s dead,” she informed him soberly. She could hear him cursing on his end.

“His name was Tom O’Neill. Single, nice guy.” His voice was equal parts sad and angry.

“I’m sorry Teddy,” Jess was sincere, but they had to focus. “What about Charlie? Did you trace her cell?”

Teddy cleared his throat, acting the professional once more. “Yes. To a small piece of property in North Bend. We’re working on tracking down the property owner information now.”

“Okay, hold on a sec,” Jess instructed, raising her eyes to John.

“What’s your uncle’s name, John? Does he have property in North Bend?” John gulped and nodded.

“Peter Anders.”

Jess relayed the information to the captain.

“John is there with you?” Teddy asked.

“Yeah, I found him,” Jess said without a trace of humor. “The suspect is his uncle. Confirm that the property is his. I’m heading there now to find Charlie and Kelly. Hopefully our guy hasn’t killed them yet. Send backup to meet me there.” Teddy agreed to send her the address and Jess started sprinting to her car. She called over her shoulder.

“Matt, stay with the officer and protect the scene!” She barely heard him yell back, “Be careful!” as she rounded the corner and ran to her car. Jess was sliding behind the wheel when John opened the door and sat in the passenger seat.

“I’m going with you. I know the best way, so we’ll get there faster,” he told her. Jess raised her eyebrows but didn’t waste time arguing. She didn’t fully trust John anymore, but her senses told her he wasn’t lying now, and she did trust them.

Ignoring all the speed limits and following John’s directions, it only took Jess about thirty minutes to reach the turnoff to Peter Anders’ property. While driving she received a text from the captain confirming John’s uncle’s property was the same one they traced Charlie’s phone to. He also said backup was on the way, but Jess knew she would get there first.