Authors: Ben Hopkin
Tags: #General Fiction
Getting a team together had been a bit of a rough ride. Something about the fact that cops seemed to die every time Darc gathered a group of uniforms together seemed to be a problem. Honestly, Trey wanted to tell them all that it was only an issue if you didn’t stay right beside the big guy. Then the worst that would happen is that you would get a swarm of snakes biting you. Or bloody corpses dropped on your head.
Bunch of wimps.
In spite of all that, they were able to get some of the best guys in the precinct. Even with all the bad press, Darc was still something of a celebrity amongst most of the really good cops. And some really wanted a chance to work with him.
So now, here they were, gathered around the City Hall Plaza. It was an area that had seen some real growth since City Hall was moved here from the old building after its completion in 2003.
The new City Hall was a study in glass and concrete, a massive structure that was designed to be “green.” Literally so, in the case of its roof, which sported a lawn. Something about having landscaping on the top of a building creeped Trey out, even though it was supposed to help deal with rainfall in a natural way.
But sometimes nature was weird. That was all Trey was saying.
Regardless, here they were, surrounded by what seemed to be every freak in Seattle. This idea of the Mayor’s to get everyone out for a big Halloween bash was a good idea in theory, but what it really meant is that everyone in what was a pretty freaky city already had an excuse to get their freak on.
It might not be San Francisco or Los Angeles, but today they were at least giving Portland a run for its money. There were scantily clad nurses, multiple species of animals and every nursery rhyme character you could think of, which was pretty much par for the course. But then you had the more bizarre costumes that were coming out in increasing numbers as the day progressed. Some were so strange that Trey couldn’t identify them. Or didn’t want to.
“Explain to me again why us being on a protective detail is better than us catching a killer,” Trey said to Darc for what felt like the twentieth time.
“There is no logical explanation for it,” Darc responded. It was a variation on the answer he’d given Trey since he’d started asking the question earlier that morning. The fact that Darc was still answering said more about his level of frustration than anything else he might say or do. Darc wasn’t one to repeat himself.
“The Mayor’s not due to arrive until later on, right before the parade,” Trey said, nodding toward the direction where his Land Rover was parked. “Maybe we could…”
“Until Edward Hoffman is located—”
“I know, I know… there’s nothing else for us to do.” Trey looked around the square. “I just feel so useless here.”
It wasn’t like the party atmosphere wasn’t affecting him. Trey found himself tapping his foot to the music, wanting to grab a bite from pretty much every vendor here. Hell, he wanted to go home and grab a costume. That was a part of the problem. He totally wanted to be here. And felt absolutely guilty about it.
Maybe it was a Catholic thing. Had to look for the angst in every situation.
“Hey, look,” Trey said, tapping Darc on the shoulder and pointing up toward the stage that had been erected for the event. “The Mayor’s about to get up.”
It was the start of the event. There would be a costume competition and some games going on throughout the afternoon, leading up to the parade. That was the final official part of this shindig. The celebration would go well into the night, but the Mayor wouldn’t be a part of any of that. Once the parade was over, they were done protecting him. Maybe they could get through this thing and then get back to their real jobs.
Whatever. At least they wouldn’t have to run the risk of getting blown to smithereens out here. That was always a plus.
* * *
Mala rushed into the school building. Her heart was thumping, but not for the same reason it had earlier on.
When Mala had seen that the number coming up on her cell was from the school, her stomach had clenched in anticipation. All she had been able to think was,
what had Janey done this time?
And then when she had heard the principal’s voice on the other end of the line, it had seemed to just confirm her fears. At least until he had started talking.
“Ah, Ms. Char… I’m sorry…
Dr
. Charan, I have Janey here in the office with me. She’s not in trouble,” he had hastily added. “But I think she needs you for something.”
“Is she okay?” Mala had asked, her fears turning in another direction.
“Oh, she’s fine,” came the response. “She just drew me a picture—”
“I’ll be there in five,” Mala had interrupted.
And now she was running down the hallway of the school, trying to remember which way it was to the principal’s office. Next time she needed to park in front. She’d come in from behind and had gotten turned around twice. How in the hell did the kids find their way around in here?
Finally she got to the main office. The receptionist waved her through, giving her a knowing look. Mala wanted to stop to correct the woman’s obvious misperception, but she had no time for that right at the moment.
Bursting through the door to the principal’s office, Mala took in the fact that Janey’s drawing had no blood on it. Her heart rate immediately lowered, and she managed to give a wan smile and a weak wave to Mr. Killarney.
The picture was of Mala, a phone and a car. Not a bad distress signal for a girl who didn’t speak.
“She came in and gave me this picture,” the principal said, shrugging his shoulders. “I figured that it was best to give you a call.”
“Yeah, I think that was the right choice,” Mala responded, moving closer to Janey. “Is everything okay?” she asked the little girl.
Janey frowned and pulled out another picture. It was a drawing of Seattle, with a big pentagram drawn over its surface. There was a big red circle drawn around one of the points of the figure. The one that was right over the City Hall Plaza.
Where Darc and Trey were right now.
There was also the drawing of a man, with lines pointing out from him to multiple other people, all of whom were placed on the map next to one of the points of the pentagram. The victims of the crimes.
Mala opened up her phone and took a picture of the drawing, sending it off to Darc. Then she grabbed Janey’s hand. The little girl looked up at her and smiled her radiant smile. For all the concern that was raging inside of Mala, Janey appeared perfectly calm and collected.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Killarney, but we have to go.” She held up a hand as he stood and began to open his mouth. “Right now.” Then she was out the door and speeding back down the hallway, Janey at her side.
There were probably ten different school regulations she was breaking right now, not the least of which was pulling Janey out of school without signing her out first. But now was not the time to worry about formalities. Besides, it was twenty minutes before the end of the school day, anyway.
Janey had drawn the circle in red. And from Mala’s experience with those drawings, she could guess what that meant. Trey and Darc were in danger, and they might not have any idea.
Mala could only hope they would get there in time to help.
CHAPTER 24
Darc pulled out the phone, staring at the picture Mala had sent. It was one of Janey’s, obviously, but the information it communicated was like an electric shock to Darc’s system.
It showed the connection of the killer to each of the victims, but it showed something else. There was a line that had been drawn between the killer and the location right next to where Trey and Darc were standing.
City Hall.
But Janey didn’t see patterns in terms of geographical constructs. She saw relationships. There was a relation between this area and the person for whom they were searching.
Every piece of this case seemed to point back to the Waterfront Project, which pointed back to the government of the city. City Hall was home to the City Council and the Mayor’s office.
It was also home to the office of the Mayor’s assistant, Bradley Moore. Bradley Moore, who was also a Freemason.
The scene in the Mayor’s office and the one with the APA were related after all. There was a reason the APA’s murder had not been on one of the points of the pentagram. It had been unexpected.
They had
both
been unexpected.
Which meant that the top of the pentagram, the most important point, was still unused. There was still something that was supposed to occur here. Something big. The largest of all the events so far.
Darc began sprinting forward, pulling out his gun as he ran.
Behind him, he heard Trey swear and begin yelling out to bystanders, “Seattle PD. Clear a path.”
The cries of alarm and the frantic scurrying of the crowd around them was peripheral noise to Darc. The most important thing right now was to get to Bradley Moore’s office.
Why hadn’t he seen the link before? What was it about this killer that his movements were so hidden? The emotional intuition that Janey demonstrated somehow pierced whatever disguising fabric of misinformation the perpetrator was using.
Now, this entire block of people was in danger.
Darc knew, without having to consult the drawing any further, that this event would surpass all the others. It was designed mathematically to do so. This was the pinnacle, the apex, the endgame of a madman.
And Darc had missed it all.
He pushed into the building, sprinting up the huge staircase that led up to the Mayoral suite of offices. The sound of Trey’s footsteps right behind him echoed through the cavernous building.
Rounding a corner, Darc came to Bradley Moore’s office.
The door was ajar.
* * *
When Trey saw the assistant dude’s office door standing slightly opened, he was expected to see a body spread-eagled on the floor. He’d expected to see blood splashed everywhere, with freaky symbols and all the other bells and whistles they’d gotten at every other crime scene.
What he was not expecting was a gun pointed in his face.
And now Trey found himself in the middle of a Mexican standoff. Darc was standing just inside the doorway with his drawn gun pointing at Bradley’s head. Bradley’s gun was pointed right back.
And Trey, as usual, was caught flat-footed. Seriously, you would think by now that he would know that anytime Darc thought it was a good idea to have his gun drawn, Trey should too.
Right now, the phrase live and learn didn’t just sound like a platitude. It sounded like a really good coping strategy.
“Good to see you, detectives,” the assistant said, his cool tone at odds with the sweat beaded on his brow. “I was expecting you, but I have to say, it took you a while.”
“Yeah,” Trey shot back. “We stopped for snacks.”
“Right,” he said, giving Trey a look that attempted to be nonchalant but failed miserably. “I forgot. You’re the funny one.”
“You think I’m funny? Someone should call my girlfriend. She’s not so sure about that.”
“In the end it’s a lot simpler this way,” the assistant continued, as if Trey had said nothing. “If you had come when I was afraid you would, I would have had to stall. Now…” He shifted the gun in his grip. “Now you can’t do anything.” The gun shook in the man’s grip as a drop of sweat dripped down into his eye, making him blink.
“Can’t do anything about what?” Trey asked.
“You know, it’s interesting,” the assistant murmured, almost as if he were talking to himself. “It seems like I would be more scared.”
Trey wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but the level of trembling in Bradley’s hands was not shoring up the assistant’s statements. To Trey it seemed like everything the man was saying and doing was some kind of elaborate showpiece. Something designed to entertain, to distract. Hell, maybe the guy was trying to convince himself. It couldn’t be easy to have two detectives in your office, one with a gun pointed at your head.
“The killings,” Darc spoke, his voice free of inflection. “They were leading up to today. What happens today?”
“The end of Seattle as you know it,” the assistant answered and took a deep breath. He then lifted the gun, placed it inside his mouth and pulled the trigger.
The shot was echoing through the small space before Trey even had a chance to react to the gun moving. And then all was heat and sound and blood and brain matter.
It would be a long time before Trey would be able to forget that image. It felt like it was now indelibly imprinted in his mind.
But there was another issue that was far worse. An issue that forced Trey to come back from his surprise, horror and ringing ears and keep moving forward.
Something bad was about to happen in Seattle, and they had just lost the only person who could help them figure it out.
* * *
Janey was having a good time. Well, she had been for a little while. But now she was getting nervous.
They had passed by the place where the parade was lining up. There were all kinds of floats. There was one that was all green, for the Emerald City, which is what some people called Seattle. There was another with lots of flowers all over it. Janey thought that one was really pretty. One had a bunch of trees with huge circular saw blades stuck in them and lumberjacks with chainsaws.
There was music, food, people dancing and lots and lots of costumes. There was one person… Janey didn’t know if it was a boy or a girl… who was dressed exactly like Popeye. She thought it was funny. Popeye thought the person was a stinking copycat.
But they couldn’t find Darc and Trey. Mala had talked to so many policemen, but none of them knew where they were. They had been here and then they ran off.
Janey understood. Sometimes Darc did that, and when he did that, Trey followed him. It was just something they did. Other people didn’t understand, but that didn’t matter, they did it anyway.
And Janey wasn’t other people. She knew why they ran. It was for things that were important. It was always because they were saving someone or helping someone or catching someone.