Chapter Text
Chapter 4: It is all in the evidence…
Elisa stared at the claw yet again, Ori was pulling something else too out of the box. It was another object wrapped in plastic and it appeared to be a sort of tiny figurine, a piece of rawhide string was attached to it and it looked very old. He sent her a tiny grin. “I have managed to get stuff from many of the previous murder investigations, when a case goes cold evidence is thrown out and like I said, some places money can buy almost anything”
She had to wonder where he got the money from, but chose not to ask. “Are you aware of the fact that things have changed this time? He left written text and as far as we know he haven’t done that before.”
Ori’s eyes got wide, he looked absolutely corny like that. “Really? That is exciting, I have looked at every one of the murders and he haven’t done that in any of them. What sort of text?”
Elisa sighed, “I am not really supposed to tell you but it was written in latin, sinners for eternity.”
Ori stared at the laptop, she could almost see the activity within his brain. “Alright, it was written in the orphanage right? It had to do with the murdered priest and nun?”
Elisa nodded. “The priest had a red A written on his forehead”
Ori seemed to tremble with excitement. “Oh, the sign of shame, I bet those two must have been chosen for a very specific reason, and the killer wanted to make sure that everybody knows about it. He isn’t some random killer, that is for sure”
Elisa cocked her head. “We too have come to that conclusion, but the artefacts you have found, I can bring them to a lab for testing?”
He nodded and removed a third and last item from the lunchbox. “Yes, of course. I will be more than willing to be of assistance, it is truly a great opportunity for me.”
Elisa stared at the thing he held. It was a piece of cloth, very smooth and it held a deep amethyst colour which was just gorgeous. Something appeared to have been written on it but the piece was too small to see what it really was. Ori smiled, he looked very proud. “This was found in the hand of a victim, a guy murdered in Hungary in 1953. It is some sort of extremely tightly woven fabric but none of the experts I have been in contact with have been able to identify it. It is just too nice, nobody is able to weave cloth of such a quality anymore”
She had to admit that the tiny piece of fabric was extremely soft and it was shiny too. Some sort of silk? She would have loved to have a gown made from something like this, it would have caressed every curve like a lovers touch. “Are you willing to cooperate with the police from now on? Share your information and your contacts?”
He nodded. “Well, some of my contact may prefer to remain anonymous but I can communicate with them yes, if this killer can be caught I would love to be a part of it, even if it is only a tiny one. I want to know how he does what he does, I mean, hanging people from all sorts of structures like that, it takes strength”
Elisa didn’t want to think about it, it made her cringe. “Good, here is my number and you already know my email. Please do contact me the moment you find something new”
Ori grinned from one ear to the other, he seemed to practically beam with pride and Elisa couldn’t help it. “You live with your mom now don’t you?”
Ori frowned, “Yes, why? How do you know?”
Elisa had to make a vague explanation. “Uh, just intuition I guess, a cops sixth sense, call it whatever you like”
Ori smiled. “I live with my mother, and her sisters, I always have.”
Elisa managed to keep the smile, poor guy, he probably lived in a household completely overruled by femininity. She got up and took the lunchbox. “I will notify you the moment we know something.”
He grinned even wider, eyes shining with thrill. “Great, I am looking forward to it, a lot!”
She didn’t doubt that, and as she left the table she realized that she in fact did like this guy, not in a romantic way but the way you like someone who possibly can become a friend. She just hoped that this wouldn’t cause him any sort of problems. She found a taxi and returned to the headquarters, feeling both excited and confused. It was no doubt about it, all these murders were connected but it wasn’t possible, no person could go on for that long! It had to be like a master teaching an apprentice who then takes over and trains yet another one, but why? Why these victims? She just wished that she knew. She told Thor of everything and sent the things she had gotten to Judith, she would transfer it all to a good lab for testing. Maybe they would get lucky this time.
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Bard had finished two cups of coffee, but he had also gotten a new glass of brandy and he stayed relaxed and slightly tipsy. The world seemed to be a nice place there and then and he listened to Thran telling of some of the more odd cases he had encountered. The feds had used him as a profiler in many cases and Bard was astonished by the fact that he had reached this far career wise at such a young age. Thran was speaking of the job as a professor, it was apparently very interesting but also challenging for he got all sorts of students and some were not what you would describe as cut for the job.
Faramir returned after a while, he had sent a report to his boss and had to go back to the station but promised to give them a heads up warning if something happened. Bard just nodded and Thran sighed and stared at Faramir’s back as he exited the lounge. “I think we ought to make the most of the day right? I haven’t been to this city before, is there anything I ought to see?”
Bard shrugged. “Oh. Plenty, but it depends on what you do find interesting.”
Thran tilted his head and smiled again, a very sweet smile which sent a shiver down Bard’s back. “Surprise me, there has to be some place you see as special?”
Bard nodded and got to his feet. “There is, do follow me”
He waited for Thran to retrieve his jacket, then they left the hotel and Bard stopped a taxi. He wasn’t so sure about this, but he hadn’t been there for many years now and everything could have changed for all he knew. The taxi stopped after a while and Bard paid the driver. They were outside of a park, it was rather small and not very well maintained. The trees hadn’t been taken care of for years and the fence was rusty and old but it had a sort of charm and Bard was glad to see that nothing had been changed. Thran stared at the huge old elms and oaks and the paths which were covered with a thick layer of dead leaves. “You used to go here with Sophia?”
His voice was soft and Bard felt a knot form in his throat. “Yes, she lived not far from here when we started to date, this was where we…”
He had to swallow again. “This was where I proposed, where she told me she was pregnant, where we discovered what we were feeling for each other. “
Thran was smiling and there was a gentleness in his eyes, “Thank you for sharing this with me.”
Bard took a deep breath. “If there is any place in this city which holds magic, which holds some sort of hope it is this park. It is like a bridge to the path, to happier days”
Thran nodded. “I used to have a place like this too.”
Bard turned around, puzzled. “Really?”
The tall blond looked down. “A sanctuary, a hiding place where I was myself, not just my father’s tool. It was an island, in the middle of a river. It wasn’t large but it was like a world of its own, at least to me. Nobody knew I was there, and I loved that place so much.”
Bard found that fascinating. “You have chosen to study the human mind but I feel that you probably have an even deeper connection to nature? Am I right?”
Thran nodded. “Yes, I prefer the woods to the city streets but alas, I don’t have time for hiking that often. My dad was furious with me, I refused to go hunting with him, I cannot stand the thought of some innocent creature being slaughtered just for pleasure”
Bard had to send the blond a wry grin. “You accuse me of being sensitive? You are just as much of a softie”
Thran laughed. “Yes, guilty as charged, I have never liked hurting others, not in any way. I am too afraid of confrontations, perhaps I was trying to figure myself out when I started studying psychology.”
Bard grinned. “Yes, I guess we all are trying to find out who we truly are”
Thran touched one of the trees with reverence, there was something distant within his eyes. “These trees were probably saplings when the city was founded, and they have survived until now, in spite of everything.”
Bard frowned. “Yes, you are right”
Thran smiled slowly. “Tells me that as long as you dig your roots in deep enough nothing will be able to rip you up”
Bard had to laugh. “Hail to the steadfast?”
The blond laughed too. “Exactly”
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Bard took aim at a part of the city where many artists lived and performed and they walked instead of driving. He hadn’t really felt the pulse of the city for a while and it was yet early so there wasn’t any sort of danger in walking. The blocks they passed by were dominated by huge office buildings and Bard had some stories about most of them. One of the most famous buildings of the area was a small skyscraper with a very odd past. Bard explained that the architect had been thinking of sailboats when he made the drawings but he failed to remember that a building built like a sail also works like a sail. The structure had been finished for little more than three months before it had to be evacuated, the foundation was cracking and windows exploded since it was trying to twist with the wind. The entire thing had to be remade and wind breakers installed. That in turn caused new problems since it created a nasty wind tunnel effect and if there was anything stronger than a mild breeze the neighbourhood was haunted by a ghastly howling sound. The building and the wind breakers and the narrow streets around it acted like a sort of flute and it almost drove people mad. Thran was laughing and obviously having a good time and Bard found that he enjoyed this, guiding this man through the city he after all knew like the back of his own hand.
He remembered small things he thought he had forgotten, like the guy who had gotten drunk and believed that he was King Arthur, stole a cab horse and rode through the streets looking for a dragon to slay. It was the first time Bard had been in a pursuit which involved a rider and not a car. Thran told Bard of all the absolutely ghastly posh people he had had to meet when he was his father’s representative and they were both grinning and having a good time. They stopped here and there, admired some statues, an old church, a historical building. Bard didn’t think of the case at all, his mind was elsewhere. He hadn’t really felt so at ease with someone for a very long time. Thran had some of the same warmth and compassion he had seen in Sophia but he was also very confident and Bard felt that Thran perhaps could be a very domineering person if he needed to be. There was great strength in him, not only physical but also will power and stubbornness.
Bard showed Thran the city museum, then the great concert hall which was famous for having burned down on the opening night of a very infamous opera. The building had been rebuilt to look exactly like the old one and still strange things were said to happen there. They visited the street market and Bard bought some roasted chestnuts and suddenly he remembered having done that exact same thing when he was trying to woo Sophia. He felt himself blush and he had to pretend to be interested in some ghastly scarfs hanging from a street vendor’s booth.
Thran was enthusiastically telling about Legolas and his interest in archery and martial arts and the two men ended up discussing football and other sports. They had the exact same preferences when it came to sports and they stopped at a restaurant and had some more food. Bard discovered that he was hungry again, odd really, where had the hours gone? They had some very good stew with garlic bread and wine and then they walked off again. It was getting dark and they walked through the main park, Bard knew of a good bar not far from there and it had some very nice beer. Later on he didn’t really remember what had happened but suddenly it was closing time and Thran was paying for their drinks and more or less hauling Bard out the door. Bard didn’t want to leave, he felt so darn good and everybody was so darn nice and he wanted to dance! Thran was laughing, a very friendly sound. “Bard, it is time to return to the hotel, there is yet a day tomorrow”
Bard just shook his head but he was tackled and Thran hailed a cab and hauled the dark haired man into the back seat before telling the cab driver where to go. Bard was quiet in the cab, until they almost reached the hotel, then he got sentimental all of a sudden and he was almost in tears when they stopped. Somehow Thran managed to get Bard inside and through the foyer without anybody really noticing that one of the two tall men was absolutely wasted. Bard almost collapsed in the elevator and he was trying to sing as they walked down the corridor towards the suite. Thran was just laughing the whole time and Bard had a blurry memory of Thran tossing back drinks as if it was water and yet he wasn’t even visibly tipsy. The man had to have a stomach made from titanium or something like that.
Bard was elegantly placed in a chair and Thran used the kitchen to brew some coffee. Bard managed to drink a huge cup, then Thran more or less forced him to drink a whole gallon of water. The result was that Bard felt stuffed and it wasn’t enjoyable at all. Thran patted him on his back. “Do you think you can undress without any incidents or do you need help?”
Bard grinned, he felt amazing still, everything was floating and the world was wonderful and here he was with this gorgeous man, why shouldn’t he be happy? “ I can…hick….manage”
He got up and tried to kick his shoes off and he almost ended nose first in one of the huge marble tables he had admired earlier that day. Thran had a wry grin on his face. “No, you don’t, come here”
Thran sort of manhandled the dark haired man over to the bed, then he got the shoes off the by now happily humming cop. Getting the shirt off was a bit more tricky, Bard felt as if he suddenly had grown some extra arms and they were in the way. But he had Thran so close and he could smell the after shave the blonde used and it was the best scent he had smelled ever, or so it seemed. Bard buried his face within lose locks of silky hair and if this wasn’t heaven then it was pretty darn close. Thran managed to get his pants off and now he was left in his boxers and a t shirt, normally Bard was very shy but now he didn’t care. The bed was massive, so wide four people could have slept in it without it ever getting crowded, and it was soft and very comfortable. Thran pulled him up into the bed and Bard giggled. “Are you gonna try to seduce me?”
Thran smiled, but there was sadness in the eyes. “No, you are drunk, you are tired and it would be very wrong”
Bard made a grimace. “Why? I….hick….I think…I think I am in love….”
Thran rolled his eyes. “Listen to yourself, it is the liquor speaking. I am not going to take advantage of someone who clearly isn’t thinking straight”
Bard pouted. “You don’t like me….”
Thran looked as if he was about the do a face palm. “Oh but I do Bard, I do like you very much, perhaps too much. “
Bard beamed. “You do?! Hick! Great, for I want to…I want to kiss you”
Thran had to push him back, very gently. “No Bard, if I am gonna kiss you it will be when you are sober and aware of what you are doing.”
Bard almost groaned. “Not fair, I need….I need….something”
Thran shook his head. “Yes, a good night’s sleep, and tomorrow you will need a lot of aspirin I bet. You are gonna be more hungover than ever before.”
Bard was starting to get sleepy, odd, he had felt so energetic just minutes before. “No I won’t, I never get hang overs.”
Thran sighed deeply. “But this time you will, you drank like a camel at an oasis.”
Bard tried to pull Thran down to him, God the man was so beautiful, like an angel. “ I want you”
The words were a mere whisper but Thran did hear and he did push some strands of dark hair out of Bard’s face. “I know, and believe me, I do want you too, but I want to get to know you first, to be a friend before I become a lover. I have done the mistake of rushing it before, I won’t do that again. You deserve better than to be just another one night stand for you will loathe yourself tomorrow if we do go too far and then everything will be lost. Is that what you want?”
Bard blinked, it was so hard to keep his eyes open. “Nope, I…I really…like you”
Thran saw that the dark haired man was about to fall asleep and he caressed his hand gently. “I like you too Bard, believe me I do. Sleep well my friend”
Bard just drifted off and Thran pulled the covers over the man very gently. He had enjoyed a wonderful evening and he had a small smile on his face when he got rid of his own clothes and climbed into the bed on the opposite side. He had never believed that he ever could feel trust again, but perhaps this handsome investigator in fact was the one he had been waiting for his whole life. Time would show. Thran shut off the lights and went to sleep too, he had been drinking as well but he was used to it, his body could handle it. He had to grin before he drifted off into the realm of dreams, Bard had an almost boyish charm when he forgot about being a cop and a father, his enthusiasm for the things he cared about was contagious and Thran had started to realize that Bard was one of the most decent men he had ever met. If this could grow into something real he would welcome it, but he wouldn’t rush it, if this was the start of something serious he wanted it to have solid foundations, and sheer primitive lust was not it.
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Elisa was early that morning, she had rushed out of bed and she ran to the office as if her soles were on fire. The artefacts could possibly be identified already for they would have been prioritized due to the severity of the case. She was so excited. Thor was already there, delegating tasks and Elisa logged into her computer and saw yet another row of emails. She sighed and shook her head, that people never understood that the police needed real stuff, not detailed descriptions of last night’s bad dreams. Then she saw a mail from Erestor and her heart jumped, had he cracked the encryption? She felt her hand shiver as she opened the mail. “Call me right now!” That was all it said and she blinked, he had never asked her to call him before and she found her phone and dialled the number shown on the screen. She held her breath and a smooth voice answered. “Elisa, I did crack the encryption but there is a password, any idea of what it may be?”
She cussed, shit! A password? What in heck’s name could that be? Mr Carpenter had been the least exciting person she had ever come across so it was likely that the password was something equally systematic. He had probably been too smart to use birthdays and such, what could it be? Then she remembered the note Bard had received and an odd feeling gathered within her chest, may be? She took a deep breath. “Try the Fibonacci numbers, the first eight of them”
Erestor could be heard working on a keyboard and then she heard a pling and Erestor gasped. “It worked, it was the right password, what the heck Elisa?”
She swallowed. “Bard got a note from the killer, with those numbers, one could almost believe that…no, that is too far fetched….or is it?”
Erestor suddenly sounded very tense. “Ah, I am gonna send over the entire content of that thing, but be warned, you are not gonna like this”
She saw that an email arrived, with files attached. “Okay, I have received it. Thank you Erestor, you are our saviour”
He could be heard chuckling before he did hang up and Elisa turned to her computer, what could be so bad about these files? She wasn’t some rookie, she had seen it all before. She believed that for exactly twenty seconds, then she abruptly got up from her chair and ran towards the bathroom.
When she returned fifteen minutes later there was a crowd gathered around her desk and Thor was in front of it, he did look very worried. “Elisa? What is wrong? If you are ill please do tell, we cannot have anyone running about being contagious now”
Elisa gulped, she felt tears burning in her eyes. “No, I am not sick….it is the files, from the memory stick. My friend managed to break the encryption and the note Bard got, it was the password. I did take a look at it…”
Thor turned around, stared at the gathered crowd. “Back to your desks, now!”
The others obeyed but very reluctantly and Alfrid sort of hovered there for a while and he didn’t return to his own desk until Thor sent him a rather strict glare. Elisa reawakened her computer and the first image appeared again, Thor went pale, then he went green and then she saw how the veins on his forehead sort of swelled, he was grinding his teeth together and she knew that this was his way of controlling strong emotions. “Elisa, don’t take another look at this, we have experts for this sort of…horror. I will call the guys at VICE, they have proper training”
Elisa swallowed, she gathered all the files into a folder and sent it to Thor, her heart was still hammering. “Fred said that such tidy guys usually have skeletons in their closets, well, in this case that is the understatement of this century”
She felt like she needed to wash her eyes with chlorine or something like that, her hands were trembling and she had such a hard time imagining that something like this could be real. She remembered something from a book she once had read, the real monsters are the ones who lives among you, unseen. The writer of that book had to have been clairvoyant or something, it fitted, oh God how it fitted.
Thor sent her a soothing glance. “Go do something else, get it off your mind. Bard is coming back today, and the profiler with him. I bet he can help if you feel you need it, you got a nasty shock”
She tried to smile. “Thanks, I…I may do just that”
Thor smiled and she sat down at her desk again, slowly. The dark screen in front of her felt like a black hole, like an enemy she until now had regarded as a benign friend. She just hoped that this guy was some deviation, that he was the only one of the victims with such…tendencies. If not then by all her grandmother’s curses, the killer deserved a medal.
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Bard woke up very early, and he felt as if his head had been transformed into a lump of lead. His tongue was stuck to the roof of his mouth and there was a charging battalion of heavy machinery revving up their engines inside of his skull. God he was so dizzy, and thirsty! Now he did understand what the soldiers caught in the middle of desert warfare were battling every day. He felt as if he could drain an entire swimming pool all on his own. Then he remembered and cringed, sweet Jesus, he had tried to make Thran kiss him?! How drunk had he really become? Judging from his current physical state he didn’t want to truly know, he had to have been totally wasted. He lifted his head with some effort, Thran was sleeping soundly on the other side of the bed, he had kicked off the covers and laid there on his belly, clinging onto his pillow, the silvery golden hair looked like a halo spread around him and Bard wished that he could have swallowed for the sight was just wonderful. He had a hard time understanding how anyone could be so pretty, so perfect. The profiler was very toned and muscular and yet lean like a cheetah.
Bard remembered having been in a good shape himself but that was before…he really had let himself go now hadn’t he? He let his head drop to the pillow and drifted off again. The next time he woke up he was laying on the edge of the bed and someone was holding his hair back, a bucket was placed underneath him and he felt just horrible. Another warm hand was rubbing his back and he whimpered as a bout of really nasty nausea raced through him, how could he have been so fucking stupid? First he literally offered himself up like some slut and now he was puking his guts out in front of the kindest most attractive person he had met in a very long time. Couldn’t someone just shoot him and put him out of this darn misery?
Thran was humming softly. “Relax, get it out. You started to gulp while you were asleep, I dragged you onto the edge of the bed, I didn’t want the ones who clean these rooms to get a nasty shock.”
Bard couldn’t answer, he just kept retching and felt like the most miserable wretch there ever where. Thank God that Thran had resisted last night, or else things could have become very awkward indeed. Bard almost sobbed. “You must think I am such a hopeless individual”
Thran kept rubbing his back and God, it felt so good. He was heaving for air and he was trembling like a leaf in the wind. “I think you are a very dedicated and loving person who has pushed yourself way too far for much too long, I think you are very lonely in spite of it all”
Bard sort of broke down, tears started to run down his cheeks and now he was really sobbing. Thran was there with a soft cloth, wiping his mouth and chin. “It is alright, you haven’t wept for her now have you? Let it all out, let loose. You need it”
Bard tried to fight it but by now it was like trying to stop the Niagara falls with a spoon and some tape. He was clinging onto the sheets as if they were a life raft, gasping for air between his sobs and then Thran grasped him and pulled him into a tight embrace, held him against his own body and Bard just wept like a kid, allowing the sorrow to vent itself for the first time. Thran was humming, stroking his hair, pulling the covers up around them since Bard was trembling still and he didn’t mind the smell of sick and the clammy sweat which covered Bards body now. “Sshhh, just let it happen, don’t fight it. You need this so much, everything will be better afterwards”
Bard slowly regained control and stopped trembling but he was so so embarrassed for having collapsed thus. “You…I am not some …crybaby”
Thran continued to stroke his hair. “Of course not, you are too strong for your own good, keeping all emotions jailed up inside the way you have is a soul killer, I hope you know this?”
Bard sniffled. “I do, now”
He got some tissues and blew his nose, Thran had already seen him puking so he didn’t have much more to hide now had he? “You are too kind to me, I don’t remember half of what I said yesterday and the half I do remember makes me want to hide in a deep black hole”
Thran laughed and it felt so darn good just leaning against that strong warm body, the warmth was so blessed, he was cold and he tried to relax against Thran, to soak in as much warmth as he could. Thran chuckled. “If it is any consolation I was thinking exactly the same as you were but I wasn’t as drunk as you. No, I do find you very attractive and I think I do share your feelings but such things should never be rushed. “
Bard sighed. “I agree. I was completely knackered wasn’t I?”
Thran laughed and gave Bard’s hair an affectionate tug. “Utterly, you had at least six beers and I lost count of how many shots and drinks. If you hadn’t been skinny as a greyhound it wouldn’t have been so bad”
Bard scoffed. “Right, but you do have a talent for manhandling puking guys, or have you trained?”
Thran was grinning. “Both, Legolas was at home for a few weeks two years ago, he brought his best friends from school and they found this funny looking bottle in one of the pantries. It was opened and it did smell good so they drank it all. That night I had to tend to not one, not two but five puking kids at once. Darn, it was a nightmare”
Bard remembered when a bout of stomach flu had turned the entire family into a bunch of toilet seeking zombies. In the end the kids had won the right to the bathroom while he and Sophia had found some old buckets. It had been a terrible stinky mess and he could laugh at it now but back then it had been rather horrible. He felt that the nausea had all but disappeared and he wished that he could have lain there forever but he couldn’t. It was getting light outside. “Let me guess, it was some sort of wine?”
Thran nodded. “A very heavy port the chef used in some dishes. He had sweetened it and thus camouflaged the taste of alcohol.”
Bard could hear Thran’s steady heartbeat and it was such a calming sound, he was relaxing more and more. “I bet the parents weren’t that thrilled?”
Thran shrugged. “I told them the truth, that they had been raiding the pantry. Nobody blamed me thank goodness. They were old enough to know that you shouldn’t just drink anything you see just because it looks cool.”
Bard moaned, that was exactly what he had done last night. He vaguely remembered a sort of umbrella drink with a ghastly blue colour. “Did I drink….?”
Thran grinned widely, gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze. “Yes, I think you even had what the barkeep referred to as “A crazy monkey” You were a sight for sore eyes, that was for sure. A wonderfully jolly and festive drunk”
Bard groaned. “Oh God, don’t remind me. I feel like an utter moron”
Thran did fidget with his hair. “You were dancing too, well, in some primitive tribes it would perhaps be classified as dance. It looked more as if you were trying to snake your way into some way too tight clothing”
¨
Bard had to laugh, oh Jeez, Thran was funny and somehow it didn’t feel as bad anymore. “I bet you haven’t done blunders like that”
Thran let out a snort. “No? Be glad you weren’t there to witness what I can only describe as the most silly moment in the history of mankind”
Bard giggled. “Do tell, you have awakened my curiosity.”
Thran leaned back into the pillows, one arm around Bard still and it felt so safe and so good he could have cried even more. It had been cathartic, he felt renewed somehow. “I was nineteen I think, and a hopeless romantic. I had fallen head over heels in love with this guy and I had written a love poem for him. To make the story short, I got royally drunk one evening and started reciting the poem to one of the statues in the park behind dad’s mansion. I didn’t know that the security guards had placed microphones everywhere and that they in fact heard the entire thing. For the next weeks I only went by the codename “Romeo”. God, I was close to leaving for good”
Bard frowned. “Ah, didn’t they know that you were…you know?”
Thran sighed. “The poem was such that it wasn’t possible to know the gender of the person in question, they thought it was some girl and I was teased, oh sweet lord how I was teased.”
Bard had to grin. “Wonderfully embarrassing yes, the sort of thing which shapes your entire future”
Thran chuckled. “Indeed.”
Bard swallowed. “I am thirsty and hungry too oddly enough. And I need a shower, a cold one”
Thran sighed. “It is so darn tempting to just stay in bed here with you but we cannot, there is work to be done”
Bard managed to get out of the bed without it getting too awkward and he missed the skin contact right away. He drank a huge glass of water and then he made use of the fancy bathroom. After a very refreshing shower he felt like a new man yet again and he sat down to just relax as Thran showered and prepared for the day. The blond put on some dark clothes this day and it made him look more like some high end lawyer than a psychologist but Bard didn’t mind. Thran would have been just as stunningly handsome wearing nothing but old burlap sacks. They had a swift breakfast, Bard got some aspirin and then they were ready to go. Bard checked his phone, there was a text message from Thor and it made him tense up again. “Elisa’s friend has cracked the encryption, the Shrike knew the password. It is extremely unpleasant, be warned”
Bard swallowed hard and showed it to Thran. The profiler got a hard expression within his eyes. “Thor has been in the police for decades, if he says it is unpleasant then I fear the worst!”
Bard was glad Thran was sober enough to drive, the traffic wasn’t that bad yet and they got to the station in record time. Bard hesitated before he entered, he just knew that this would be a hellish day, in many ways. They saw that most of the officers already were out working. The crime scenes they worked on now were not the typical type and required a lot of work. Bard remembered the chapel, the crucifix alone had to weigh in at several hundred pounds, how had that been removed? The office was rather quiet, the normal chatter was reduced to a quiet murmur and Bard saw that Thor gestured towards them the moment he saw them. Thran patted Bard on his back. “Don’t worry”
Bard took a deep breath of air, it was easy to say. Thor opened the door and let them inn, he was a bit pale and Bard did notice that there was a person sitting by the window, seemingly working hard. He had seen the man before, a stocky but rather handsome fellow with thick golden hair and a neat beard. Wasn’t he working for the VICE division of the county police force? Thor sighed. “Bard,Thran, Elisa got the files earlier this morning.”
Bard cleared his throat, he still felt hungover but it wasn’t as bad as it had been. “Mr Carpenter was hiding something?”
Thor nodded towards the man by the window. “This is Mr Fili Durinson, Bard, I think you may have met?”
Bard tried to remember. “Yes, uh, but it was long ago”
Fili just nodded politely, he had the sort of face which made you instinctively trust the guy but the eyes were serious and Bard remembered the text message. “ He hid…?”
Thor stared at the floor. “ Take a look, just one mind you. Most of the stuff was…graphic”
Fili turned the laptop towards them and Bard felt his gut sink towards the floor. Thran gasped audibly and Fili turned the laptop back again, he tried to smile. “I am used to this, I can watch this without losing my cool but I have to admit, it is the worst I have ever seen”
He had a light voice and it was trembling slightly. Bard did understand why. Thor sat down by his desk. “I want you two to go to Mrs Carpenter again, try to find out if she knew, if she suspected anything. At least let her know the truth in a gentle manner.”
Bard swallowed hard. “If she knew naught then this will…”
Thran continued. “Devastate her!”
Thor nodded, his eyes dark, he looked ten years older than the day before. “Yes, but you are a psychologist, maybe you can help shed some light upon this…perversion. Make it more understandable, help her cope”
Thran smiled, a soft smile. “I can try, but it will still be a terrible shock.”
Bard frowned. “Where is Elisa, a woman’s presence may soften the blow somehow?”
Thor ran a hand through his hair, he grimaced. “I sent her off, today she is gonna work with the animal police, collecting baby bunnies from some hoarder. She needs something else to think about”
Bard nodded. “Understandable.”
Thran did throw a glance at Fili, the man was lost in the files again and Bard realized that the profiler found the investigator puzzling. Fili did notice that he was being stared at and looked up, smiled slightly. “They call it emotional detachment. If I truly started to get involved with what I see every day I would go mad. My predecessor shot himself, the guy before that threw himself out in front of a freight train. It is a hazard which comes with the job”
Thran nodded. “I see, you guys do have counselling available?”
Fili nodded. “Yep, twenty four seven, nobody would last more than a few months without it”
They returned to the garage and this time they used one of the police cruisers, luckily one which was rather new and shiny. Showing up in Bard’s old wreck wouldn’t exactly look good. Thran stared at Bard, his face was closed off. “We have stuck our hand into a nest of vipers Bard, I can sense it.”
The investigator nodded, the things this would unleash…Thran continued. “Let me do the talking, just add in what you feel is needed. I know how to deliver bad news, and I do know how to decide whether or not someone is lying.”
Bard swallowed, he felt dizzy again. “I cannot believe that she would try to hide something like that, if she knew then….”
Thran smiled, it was an ominous smile. “Did you see her home?”
Bard nodded, “It was pristine, like a commercial from some furniture and accessories shop”
Thran nodded sternly. “Exactly, to some it is more important to protect the façade than to do the right thing.”
Bard felt depressed all of a sudden. “I cannot believe that about her, she didn’t seem like a person smart enough for such deceit.”
Thran took a deep breath. “Don’t underestimate women, it is the most common mistake of all.“
Bard had to smile. “If you say so.”
He wasn’t looking forward to this at all. The traffic was heavy now and they ended up in a grid lock which lasted for several minutes, some idiot had tried to change lanes and lost control of his car. Bard was swearing and Thran looked stressed too, the police radio suddenly buzzed to life and Bard grasped it. “Yes?”
Stella’s voice could be heard. “Car 12? Turn on the radio, channel six, you won’t believe this. Thor is going apeshit in here! It just started, a certain someone has breaking news apparently.”
Thran and Bard stared at each other, eyes narrow. Bard turned on the radio and they immediately heard the voice of Lobelia Sackville, Bard grinded his teeth. “The county police have revealed that the murdered Mr Carpenter in fact was involved in a ring of child abusers, pedophiles and perverts. A spokesman from the police force claims that the evidence gathered is “Disturbing” and “Graphic”. Could it be that the Shrike in fact is doing our society a favour by removing such filth from our streets?”
Bard turned the radio off, he was pale and Thran had closed his eyes. “You have a mole in your department”
Bard hit the steering wheel, hard! “Goddamn it, Fuck! Let us pray that Mrs Carpenter isn’t listening to the radio.”
Thran was narrow eyed. “Elisa opened the files rather early right?”
Bard nodded. “She is in at eight, probably even a little earlier. “
Thran seemed to be thinking hard. “It takes time to prepare to broadcast something like that, the so called “spokesman” must have spoken to Lobelia right after Elisa opened the files.”
Bard stared at Thran and his eyes shot lightening. “Alfrid, it can only be Alfrid. He is seated only ten feet from her, and he is the lousiest weasel ever born, I bet it is him!”
Thran sent him a wry grin. “I won’t bet against you, but please, floor it, use the lights. I don’t like the idea of Mrs Carpenter hearing about this from someone else”
Bard nodded and put on the sirens and the lights, they sort of zig zagged through traffic and when they arrived at the Carpenter’s the driveway was blocked by cars and there were people everywhere. Apparently many had showed up to comfort the grieving widow and Bard sort of swore, rather badly. “Damnation, is the entire neighbourhood invited?”
Thran sighed. “Looks like it yes, but we have got to do what we came for anyhow. Ready?”
Bard cringed. “As ready as I will ever be”
They exited the car and walked up to the house, there was a distinct sound of very loud voices and they did sound angry. Bard felt a surge of panic, he was armed but what was really going on? Then they heard the sound of a woman crying and another one screaming and Bard knocked on the door, rather hard. He knew he had his gun ready hidden under his jacket, something was definitely off in there. It was the daughter who opened the door and she let out a gasp and looked relieved. “Mr Bowman, thank Goodness, we need help!”
Bard ran past her and into the living room, several people were gathered there, most looked scared or rather shocked and Mrs Carpenter was weeping, she had a large bruise on her cheek and a huge rowdy man stood in front of her, obviously very upset. Two other men tried to calm him down but to no prevail. The man was almost foaming at the mouth and he was spewing out the worst row of accusations Bard had ever heard. It was obvious that he believed that the late Mr Carpenter had molested every kid in the area, his own included. Mrs Carpenter did look as if she was close to a heart attack and now her daughter tried desperately to get the man to step away from her mother. Bard let out a roar, and the people got aware of him and the tall blond guy behind him. “Everybody, get out or we will be forced to use drastic methods. We need to talk to the widow, privately”
The huge guy was obviously still angry, he glared at the two. “As if you twats can do anything useful? The police is bought and run by sick perverts like this bastard, it is all a cover up.”
Bard felt a need to roll his eyes, there was always someone like that in every bloody town or neighbourhood. Someone completely convinced that everything was a conspiracy and that the only reason he or she wasn’t succeeding in live was that everybody else was out to get them. Bard just stared at the guy with a cold expression on his face, he had learned from countless fights. “Do remove yourself from this property sir or answer to the law. If you have harmed this lady you may be prosecuted for assault.”
The man sneered and turned around, pointed a finger at the shivering woman. “I am leaving, but this ain’t over yet, if I find out that your filth of a husband has ever touched my daughter I will sue you all, for all the bloody money in this state!”
The man sort of pushed his way out of the room and Thran shooed the remaining crowd out as well before he closed the door. Bard sat down and looked at Mrs Carpenter, she was shaking and crying and she looked ten years older than before. “Are you alright ma’am? Do you need a doctor?”
She sobbed. “No, I…I am unharmed, it is just a bruise, he is…he is the neighbourhood bully I am afraid, he has no brakes and no social intelligence at all”
Bard tried to smile, tried to calm her down. “You can press charges if you like? That sort of rude and terrible behaviour ought to be punished”
She gasped and shook her head. “I don’t dare to, no, I cannot. Please, tell me, is it true? Did my John really do these terrible things?”
Bard looked at Thran with a helpless expression within his eyes and the psychologist sat down and took Mrs Carpenter’s hand, holding it gently. “I am afraid so, we have a lot of evidence, even film. I am terribly sorry ma’am, I know this must be a gruesome revelation for you”
She sobbed again and her daughter looked mortified. “I…Oh God, I didn’t believe it when Mr Benson came bursting in here, claiming that John had been…”
Thran caressed the hand, in an almost hypnotic rhythm. “Most people with such tendencies are very good at hiding them, you wouldn’t have seen anything unusual, he was probably extremely good at pretending to be someone very different from who he really was.”
She closed her eyes, looked small and grey and old, very old. Like someone who has given up, “John…he never was …very eager if you catch my drift. Once a month, the lights off, he wasn’t very vigorous. I thought it was because he was raised by very conservative parents, and I accepted that. I too was raised in such a manner and I was happy to submit to his ways.”
Thran smiled, he was so angelic the poor woman couldn’t take her eyes off him. “Do not blame yourself in any way ma’am, it wasn’t your fault at all. Nothing you did would have changed him”
Mrs Carpenter burst into tears once more. “Oh God, what will everybody say now? What will they do? We will be….Oh I am scared, they will think I knew!!”
Bard gave Thran a quick nod. “Ma’am, I think it would be smart if you and your family do go on a vacation, for a few weeks, until the worst commotion dies down.”
She just gasped. “Yes, I can…I can go to my parent’s farm, we will be safe there”
Bard nodded calmly. “Good idea Mrs Carpenter, as soon as the funeral is over you go there, for as long as you need to”
She still looked devastated and Thran gave her hand a final squeeze. “The investigators have taken your husbands computer, but is there something else here which could be of interest? Somewhere where he stored stuff?”
Mrs Carpenter shook her head but the daughter looked as if she suddenly remembered something. She frowned. “ I think I know of something, I saw dad hide a box once, I didn’t think any of it back then but now…”
Her mother looked shocked. “A box? What sort of box?”
Sandra tried to choke a sob. “A shoe box, I think I can find it”
Bard got tense, he swallowed. “You can? Show me, now!”
The girl got up and Bard followed her into the basement of the building, it was filled with the typical basement content, old furniture, spare tires, boxes with discarded clothing. It did smell of mothballs and gasoline and Bard had to grimace. Even here everything was tidy, he didn’t even see spider webs. Sandra walked over to a huge shelf leaning against the back wall, it was made from solid wood and had to be extremely heavy. Upon it stood several really massive objects, they looked out of place. Why would a man like Mr Carpenter collect engine parts? From what Bard could see it was parts to the engine of a thunderbird or another muscle car. Sandra made a grimace. “Those car parts belong to dad’s brother Freddy, he passed away three years ago and he stored them here because his wife couldn’t stand the smell of oil. Mom have asked dad to remove them over and over again but he said the parts reminded him of his brother”
Bard frowned. “How did he die?”
Sandra shrugged. “Of a heart attack, during a car race, he got too excited and they said his heart almost exploded. He was a sour Grinch of a man so I can’t say I miss him.”
She started to push at the shelf and incredibly enough it could be moved, sideways that was. “It is placed on small wheels, but it is heavy as fuck. Mom cannot move it at all”
Sandra bent down, close to the floor was something which looked like a small ventilation shaft and it was clogged with insulation. She pulled it out and then she reached in. Bard cringed, he remembered having stuck his hand into a hole in a wall like that as a kid and found a nest of black widows. He hadn’t gotten bitten oddly enough but he had a slight case of arachnophobia still. She pulled out a shoe box, it was white and closed and she handed it over. “Here, I never had a close relationship with dad, neither did Steve but he was my dad. It is terrible to hear that he was such a twisted person”
Bard took the box and smiled at the girl. “Thank you, this may be nothing but it can also be something important.”
She sighed, “I just wish for it all to go away, for things to go back the way they were. Everything is ruined now, our lives will never be the same again. How could he? How the fuck! Could he do this to us?!”
Bard shrugged. “I do not know, and that is an honest answer”
Sandra stared down at the floor. “Dad didn’t know that I knew of the box, I saw him hide it while I and Steve were playing hide and seek, I was in the closet over there, It makes me wonder what he would have done if he had seen me…”
Bard didn’t really know what to say, he just gave her a small pet on her back, to cheer her up.
They returned to the living room and Thran was speaking to Mrs Carpenter with a soft soothing voice, the woman seemed less upset now and she was sitting up straight again, there was life in her eyes yet again. Whatever Thran was doing, it was working. Bard showed Thran the box but he didn’t open it and they bid the grieving widow goodbye and offered to place an officer on the street outside as protection, it could be that it would be wise. Mrs Carpenter looked as if she by now was ready to fight for her remaining family and she wanted to leave the house and stay at a hotel until the funeral was held. Bard couldn’t do anything except praise her for thinking fast.
The two men walked to the car and Thran looked thoughtful, he was obviously deep within his own mind and he didn’t speak until they sat in the car. He turned around and looked at Bard, his eyes rather hard. “She didn’t know, I am one hundred percent sure of it. She was oblivious and I pity her, her entire world has come crashing down.”
Bard nodded. “Her façade has been broken, I bet they will sell the house and move elsewhere rather fast”
Thran nodded. “Yes, the neighbours will regard them as pariah’s from now on, she is innocent, so are the kids but they have been living with a true creep and it won’t be forgotten.”
Bard sighed, “I was afraid I would have to pull my gun on that guy, he was almost rabid!”
Thran sent him an odd glance. “I can understand him on some level, he thought his kids had been molested. But he did overreact and I don’t think Mr Carpenter would try to touch any of the neighbourhood kids, it would be too risky.”
Bard made a grimace. “Yes, god knows for how long he has been doing it.”
Thran stared straight ahead of them. “Most of those who actually go as far as we saw Mr Carpenter go starts off early and then it escalates. They need more and more to get off, to feel just as much as before and they end up…as monsters”
Bard shuddered, he remembered the image they had seen, it still sent shivers down his spine. He had of course known that this problem did exist and seen some ugly shit too but what Mr Carpenter had been doing was just…No, he didn’t even want to think about it. If anyone had even looked at his kids like that he would have gone berserk, of that he was dead sure. He held the box, stared at it. It could hold anything, something completely irrelevant or something nasty. Suddenly he felt a strong urge to toss it away, as if it contained a bomb or something else harmful. He swallowed and Thran saw his distress. “I can open it, it is alright Bard”
Bard felt himself breathing hard. “That image…what sort of a person…I just cannot fathom how anyone can do that to a kid?!”
Thran sighed and took the box. “A good question and one without any good answers I think. I would like to be realistic and define it as a sort of psychological deviation, as a disease of the mind. I want to be rational but it can be hard when faced by something like that. I am not religious in any way Bard but that…that which we saw today can only be described with one word, absolute evil”
Bard held his breath. “Agreed!”
Thran pulled the lid of the box, and Bard half expected that something would burst from it, like a jack in the box. Thran looked into the box. “It is papers, just that, It looks like recites and some sort of lists”
Bard bit his lower lip. “Oh God, that can be important”
Thran lifted one of the papers, using his pen to avoid touching it. “Bard, this is a list of his associates, there are at least twenty names here. Goddamn it, I just knew it, he couldn’t be some lone wolf.”
Bard gasped and turned around, staring at the list. It was printed on cheap paper and the names were very clear, addresses and phone numbers listed next to them. He felt a need to giggle hysterically. “Oh Jeez, this is wonderful. The guys at the precinct will love this, I bet VICE too will demand some quality time with these people. We have just uncovered an entire secret club or something”
Thran was biting his teeth together. “Bard, this will be very ugly, I hope you are aware of that? Some of these people are resourceful, others may have influence. They won’t accept being charged with something like this without fighting back”
Bard sneered. “They can shout and scream all they like, if we find evidence that they are guilty then I bet the jailors will find the most solid cells there is and throw the key into the sewer”
Thran nodded. “Yes, but let’s go. We need to share this with the other’s”
Bard started the car and they drove off, he felt shocked but also elated, almost giddy. The lists, they would be able to save many children if all of these people were like Mr Carpenter. The traffic was terrible and Bard had to concentrate on driving the whole time, Thran was reading through the lists and he looked very intense the whole time, he was almost shivering. They both jumped in their seat when an intense sound shattered the silence, it was a phone and Bard recognized the melody as the fifth symphony of Beethoven. Thran swore, his voice sort of empty. He pushed the button and Bard heard his voice turn into ice and steel. “I have said it before and I will repeat, do not call me again! I will not take you back, and I want nothing to do with you at all!”
Bard had never heard anyone sounding that cold before, it was almost frightening. He heard a voice coming back from the phone, smooth and pleading. “But Thran, remember how good we were together? We can be like that again, I can change, I promise. Remember that night on the beach? I can do that again, you loved it didn’t you? I can suck you off so good every day, I swear I won’t do any silly things again”
Thran rolled his eyes and Bard saw that his knuckles were white, he was obviously absolutely furious” Lindir, if you call me again I will make sure that you stay the next years in jail. Do you hear me? I won’t take you back, ever!”
The voice became whiny. “Oh, you have someone new haven’t you? Some new boy toy? Does he know what a jerk you are? You have a shitload of money, you ought to share it but no, all for yourself and that brat of yours”
Thran was obviously close to exploding and Bard pulled over. “This is the last warning Lindir, you stay clear of me and my family or I will use my influence”
The voice had become hard now, there was something shrill within it. “Fuck off Thran, you will regret this, oh by every fucking God there is, you will regret it!”
There was a click and Bard took the phone from Thran before he smashed it against the dashboard. The blond was shivering and Bard laid a hand on his arm, it felt like touching a tree. The muscles were so tight Bard realized that this had affected his friend more than he would have guessed possible. “You can press charges, threats were delivered! “
Thran took a deep breath, then one more. “Bard, I am not so sure that those threats are just idle.”
Bard stared at him. “Are you kidding me?”
Thran smoothed his jacket, adjusted his tie. “No, I fear that he may do something stupid, did you hear his voice?”
Bard frowned. “Uh, yes, why?”
Thran sighed. “He was hoarse, short of breath, the words were a bit staccato, he was high Bard, I bet he owes money for drugs, maybe a lot of money. Or else he wouldn’t be this desperate”
Bard cringed. “Shit, you are safe here but do you want some sort of protection for your son? I can get a bodyguard for him, I know some ex army guys who are both discreet and skilled. “
Thran nodded, vigorously. “Yes, please, yes. Lindir knows way too much about me and my son, I am afraid I let a snake into my lair when I fell in love with him”
Bard did nod. “Afraid so yes, I will make a few calls when we reach the station”
Thran smiled, there was genuine gratitude in his eyes. “Thank you Bard”
The investigator just grinned back. “Nothing to thank me for, it is a pleasure to be of help”
---------------------------
When they reached the station it was chaos everywhere, reporters had laid the station under siege and many were shouting and trying to get a photo of everybody leaving or entering the building. Bard swore as they drove into the garage, he had been afraid of something like that. They entered the office and Bard saw that Elisa had returned, Judith too was there and she looked very excited. Bard walked over and Thor appeared in the doorway, he did look very tired. “Did you see the shitstorm, did you? God’s hairy balls, I have never witnessed such madness!”
Bard had to cringe. “Yes, it almost blocked the access to the garage, I didn’t know that there were that many reporters in this city”
Thor pulled at his beard. “Oh now they are gathering, like hungry vultures over a rotting carcass. That fucking Sackville woman has unleashed a nightmare, how are we to investigate diddeli squat with that horde outside of our doors. The mayor demands that I address the public, but we have nothing to show for”
Bard handed over the box. “Now we do, in here is a list of names. You can call me a frog if it isn’t the names of Mr Carpenter’s partners in crime”
Thor just gaped and then he started shouting orders, the room was filled with people within two minutes blank and Judith and Elisa hauled Bard and Thran into an empty office in the corner. The officer who had owned it had retired two months ago and nobody had been able to remove the smell of his favourite food from the carpet yet. Thor had suggested that they refurnished the entire room. The man had been of Swedish origin and was fond of a certain Swedish dish known as surstromning, or in plain English sour herring. He had dropped a box of the horrible goo onto the carpet and the smell had been so bad the washing lady had used a hazmat suit when she was trying to clean the room but it hadn’t helped even a bit. Bard saw that the two were extremely eager and he waited.
Judith was almost jumping up and down. “The artefacts, the labs have looked at them, I cannot even start to explain this but they are…mysteries”
Bard sat down. “Okay, what do you mean by that?”
Elisa looked both thrilled and sceptical, all at the same time. “They are old, bloody old”
Thran looked intrigued. “And they were found with victims?”
Judith nodded. “The first was found in a victim actually, embedded in his breastbone. It was a claw”
She showed them a photo and Bard whistled. “Damn, what sort of animal has claws like that? It looks as if the dead guy must have taken a very overrated vacation at Jurassic park!”
Judith swallowed. “The claw cannot be identified, it is from some unknown species.”
Thran looked close to laughing. “Don’t tell me we are looking for a freaking dinosaur or something?”
Judith looked a bit helpless. “All the lab could say is that it is a creature of considerable size, way larger than any carnivore we know of today. But here is where it becomes genuinely creepy”
She took up another photo, it was the figurine and it was freed from the plastic wrapping. Bard saw that it was a female form but the head was that of an animal, was it a lion’s head? Judith was a bit pale. “This is the goddess Sekhmet, an Egyptian deity. She was associated with the goddess Ma’at which is the deity for justice. “
Bard frowned, he felt an odd tingling at the back of his neck. Judith continued. “She is also associated with the Goddesses Hathor and Bast”
Thran raised his hand a bit. “The one with the cow’s head and the one with a cat’s head?”
Judith nodded slowly. “Yes, protective deities, dedicated to fertility and family. Sekhmet is a warrior goddess, she has many names and is always portrayed as a lioness. The most feared predator of ancient Egypt”
Bard frowned. “I thought they would use a male lion for such a strong deity?”
Judith shook her head. “No, they knew that the king of beasts is nothing compared to the queen, a male lion just fuck, sleep and chase off other males. The females does the killings!”
She stared at the two men. “Sekhmet was also known as “the one for whom evil trembles” “Mistress of the terrible” “Lady of killings” and last but not least” She who maims” The claw guys, it belongs to some sort of feline!”
Bard had to laugh. “Don’t tell me the Shrike is really some old Egyptian Goddess? Please, we are not part of an episode of the twilight zone.”
Judith held up a picture of the cloth. “This is a piece of the fabric only priestesses of Sekhmet were allowed to wear. The Egyptology department of the Smithsonian is going nuts right now as we speak, they will be fighting like mad wolves over these things.”
Thran scoffed. “So, what is it you are saying?”
Judith shrugged. “I think that the killer could be a devotee of Sekhmet, someone belonging to the old Egyptian religions. It is the only rational explanation”
Bard sighed. “A crazy murderer who kills because some lion headed deity demands it?”
Judith looked helpless. “If you have a better explanation I would love to hear it!”
Thran looked slightly uncomfortable. “No, it doesn’t fit the situation, it doesn’t feel right. I have investigated serial killers before damn it, this is no madman, no psychopath. This is a person who does a job, and that is it. There is no more emotion involved than when my gardener trims my lawns.”
Judith sighed, she looked like a beaten person. “So, now what?”
Bard got up. “We go and see what Thor wants us to do, I bet the lists can provide us with hour upon hour of work”
Elisa nodded but there were shadows in her eyes. Bard knew she already had started to doubt her own sanity, it wasn’t good. She mumbled. “It has to be a sect then, surviving since the days of old Egypt, making sacrifices? “
Bard touched her arm gently. “Listen, don’t think about that now ha? We have a lot of possible suspects out there, people who need to be investigated, to be questioned. We have a shitload of work ahead of us”
Elisa just smiled vaguely, there was darkness in her eyes.
---------------------------
Bard was leaning against the wall, his head hurt like hell and he was almost seeing double, the day had brought more work than anybody could have guessed. The lists had been long and lo and behold, the other victims killed in their city had all been on them. Bard had never believed that people, seemingly ordinary citizens could hide such secrets. The construction worker had helped build a secret room within an old bomb shelter underneath an abandoned school. The social worker had access to records of kids who were vulnerable, who could disappear without anybody really bothering to ask why. The janitor had access to an incinerator, the one they used at the school, to burn garbage. Small bodies were easy to burn. The lawyer helped create false papers, keep them out of danger, prevent anybody from getting suspicious. It was terrible and then there were the other names, almost thirty in all. It had been a sort of club, with secret meetings and a coded language.
The officers from the VICE division had been working like mad, and the lists and the information on the memory stick had resulted in the discovery of the hidden rooms. Others did deal with this now, Bard and his team were investigating the murders and it was getting harder and harder to find the will to go on. The priest and the nun, they had also provided children for this gang of disturbed people and if the children did survive the two of them made sure that their victims fell silent forever. There had been more deaths at that orphanage than normal but since there wasn’t like an epidemic or something, just some very sick kids passing away nobody reacted. It was so disgusting and horrible Bard had felt like crying the entire day.
The only good thing was that he had managed to get a hold of one of his former friends who were working as body guards and he had been more than willing to protect Thran’s son, he had given off the contact information and soon Legolas would be protected all day long. It felt good knowing that he had managed to at least solve one problem.
Fred reported that Mrs Carpenter had found a hotel and stayed there using her maiden name, by now the media were all over the case like a swarm of blowflies. Thor tried to keep the cards tight to his chest, they didn’t want the suspects to be warned of what was happening and flee so he feared that names would be leaked. The lists were therefor kept locked up within his desk and the digitalized copies were on his computer only, behind a password protection.
The first people on the lists were hauled in that afternoon and nobody had any chance to think of the artefacts.
Thran became very useful now, he and Faramir would sit with the suspects and pretend to be just two people sitting there waiting for someone and they did observe a lot and Thran managed to determine whether or not the suspects were involved in anything illegal rather easily. A few of the people on the lists were not guilty of abuse or anything, they were victims themselves, people who were being blackmailed into helping out and some didn’t even know what they had been involved in. These unfortunate souls were let loose but they soon found those who had participated. Most did confess when they were shown photos and film showing themselves and their victims and Bard knew that the trials would take months. The evidence was too disturbing for an ordinary jury, they would need specialists and where could you find a lawyer willing to defend this sort of criminals? Bard knew that if these culprits ended up in an ordinary jail they would last perhaps forty eight hours tops, child molesters were the absolute lowest of the low in a prison and everybody hated them.
He was so tired he was seeing double when he and Thran drove back to the hotel that night, it was very late and he was aching all over. He had been so fucking tense the whole day. Ori had mailed Elisa with yet some cases from as far away as China and Bard wondered how the hell the nerd managed to find this shit. But it was obvious, the shrike was a global phenomenon, there had even been a murder on Greenland of all places, in 1931.
Thran ordered dinner to be brought to their room and they ate in silence, both too tired to do anything except getting the food down and then Bard got some pain killers and found the bed. He fell asleep the moment he laid down, overwhelmed by emotions and anxiety.
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He woke up with a start the next morning, he heard Thran speaking to one of the hotel staff and he heard that he thanked the man for something, then he ordered a large breakfast and Bard moaned. He didn’t want to get up, but he had to. He had slept like a log and he had felt safe there, with Thran by his side. He got up and took a warm shower before getting dressed. Thran was already ready for the day but he did look tired and worried. He was holding a newspaper in one hand and he pointed at it. “Bard, look at this.”
Bard could read the headlines from the other side of the room, the fonts were war sized. “Angel of wrath!” it said and “Vigilante killer on the loose”
Thran tried to smile. “Thor called just a few minutes ago, they have informed the other police forces of our findings, all the murder cases are being reopened, they want to check if the victims had done something criminal”
Bard yawned, it was Thursday and that meant that he would get to go and meet the kids in a little over a day. Now it felt like a small glimpse of sunshine within an otherwise dark and rainy day. Thran pointed at the table by the door. “The hotel staff have left some coffee there, go ahead. Breakfast is coming soon.”
Bard felt his nose shiver, the coffee did smell divine. He poured a cup and noticed an envelope on the table, it was for Thran but he saw a logo in the corner which made him frown. It was the logo of Sophia’s doctor and he turned around. “What is this?”
He felt something akin to anger, what was Thran doing? The blond made an odd gesture. “Listen, I know I am way out of line here but what you told me about her, I just cannot make sense of it. I think something must have been missed, some diagnosis or something. I just wanted to take a look at her files, I hope I haven’t offended you?”
Bard swallowed, some part of him was angry, hurt even, but his more rational side told him to rein it all inn. Thran was just trying to do him a favour and he managed to smile. “It is alright, go ahead. Maybe you can shed some light on why she did what she did”
Thran looked relieved. “Thanks, it was eating away at me, I hope I can be of use to you, help you find some peace”
Bard felt moved. He reached out and Thran took his hand, it felt good. “I am grateful, even if you find nothing”
The breakfast arrived and Bard ate a lot, he was truly hungry and when they drove off to the station he felt as if he was ready to burst. He wasn’t shocked to find that the station still was under siege, there were reporters everywhere and many camera crews and they had delegated some of the interrogations to other stations which were less profiled. The newspapers and the TV channels and the net was buzzing, by now people had added two and two together and the resent arrests were both shocking and disturbing. Everybody were working very hard, and by now they all knew that this was some sort of vigilante but how did he know of everything? How could he possibly have known of the horrors these people were creating? Some very seasoned and well trained special officers had entered the hidden rooms and they did find several bodies, the youngest were probably not more than a few months of age, if that old. The rooms were described as torture chambers and Thran had to spend much of the first shift of the day trying to help traumatized officers overcome the shock.
Camera crews from news stations all over the state descended upon the station, many more came from other states , some foreign stations too demanded that the police did release more information. Thor still kept his cools, refused to say even a word until the proper protocol had been followed and Bard and Elisa had to sit there going through the files with interviews and interrogations to see if there was something the other officers had missed. Thor had asked Leonard and Albert to do some of the interrogations, they worked well together. Duke was commanded to guard the entrance, he wasn’t to let anybody in and for once he did his job well. Carrying a gun sort of brought the tough guy out in him. Fernando was helping with the final examinations of the chapel and the loft, he didn’t have a sense of smell left and didn’t mind rotting blood. The other officers on the team had more than enough to do and the entire station was caught in an atmosphere of mixed horror and determination. They had unravelled something absolutely horrible and as the day went by the number of kids having been abused or killed or both rose to alarming levels.
They found evidence hidden several places, many of the suspects had caches of stuff and Bard felt sick to the bone. Seven had been killed until now, the Shrike never killed more than eight, so there was a good chance that it had moved on, whoever it was. Bard hoped it had, the mere idea of a person who was able to do such things to a human being, even a bastard like Mr Carpenter, made him aware of the fact that it wasn’t someone he wanted to come face to face with. It was almost the end of the shift before Thor started getting emails from police stations all over and then the feds.
They had been digging deep and fast and so far it seemed that at least two thirds of the victims indeed had done rather ghastly things. Not all of the deeds were violent though, one man had tricked several older people of all their savings, leaving at least one very old widow to die alone in absolute poverty. Another man had been given permit to transport toxic waste and he hadn’t used the money to safely store it in underground bunkers but dumped it all in a river.
The result was that an entire village had to move away, more than half of the citizens ended up with strange diseases and most died. A woman had been working for a local church, trying to convert children the parents feared were homosexuals. Several had died under her care, she tortured them and nobody had protested at all, believing that the deaths were a result of Gods wrath. Thor was dark eyed when he told them of these findings, the Shrike was after evil, of any kind and Bard remembered what Judith had said and something deep within, some instinct, told him that the Shrike wasn’t done yet, that it never would be done.
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Claude Dougal had been a prison guard for almost twenty years and he had worked in the maximum security part of the jail for the past five. He was a huge guy, muscular and tough looking and even the worst of the prisoners usually submitted when he showed up. He had a reputation for having put several men in hospital and in his eyes the inmates of this cellblock were just a waste of air. They were vermin and he had no compassion for any of them, these were murderers and rapists and they were kept in their cells twenty four seven. Some were on death row and he wished that they all could be hauled off to be finished off. He was grunting as he moved along the row of doors, it was early and most were asleep still, he had been pulled out of his daydreams by a red light on one of the panels. It meant that a cell door wasn’t properly closed and that could spell trouble.
He saw the door in question, it was locked but he did notice that one of the bars which usually slid into deep holes within the walls had remained in the unlocked position. The system was old and needed repairs, this happened often and didn’t really mean anything as long as the other five bars did slide the way they should. He gave it a kick and then he smelled it, the unique and heavy scent of blood. He froze, grasped his gun and listened carefully. Nothing, the cell was quiet and he felt the hairs stand up at the back of his neck. Something was watching him, cold calculating eyes without any compassion were evaluating him and he felt as he had when his grandmother had hauled him up to the alter of their church, explaining that if he didn’t fear God he would burn forever in brimstone and flames. He had almost pissed himself and now he felt his knees shiver. He opened the hatch and looked in, let out a howl of horror and backed away from the door, ran desperately for the guard room and the alarm button. What he still saw with his inner eye was the text written on the wall underneath the body, with blood. This was the work of the devil, he was sure of it and he just prayed that he wasn’t counted on the list of souls to reap. The words had been bold, large, and yet elegant. Donum enim est iuvenis sagittarius.