Darkened (7 page)

I was sitting in my office on Thursday morning going over all the information I had on Stephen Wilkin
s, hoping a lead would appear out of thin air. Cop came in.

“We gotta DB in a motel room on Seventh,” he said.

That was only two blocks over from my body dump. I hope we didn’t have a serial on our hands. Then again, that is the wrong side of town. It isn’t unusually to find murder victims there, but it was odd to find Human/Other murder victims so close together.

“Alright, boss. Is Al there yet?”

“He’s on his way.”

“I’ll meet him there.”

Cop walked out, and I grabbed my keys and followed.

The Lonely One is a cheap motel in one of the bad parts of Atlanta. When I arrived at room fourteen, I put on my gloves since Al wasn’t there yet. Even though he didn’t dust for fingerprints, he did look for residual magic, and I didn’t want mine mixing with the killer’s. The woman was laid out on the bed like she had been posed. There was a butcher knife sticking out of her chest and blood covering the bed. The killer had used what I would presume is her blood to write in Angelic script on the wall. I took out my notebook and began translating the message.

And, the first Lord looked at his images and said, “From this day forth, none shall harm nor cause harm toward my beloved children. For the punishment will be banishment from the Kingdom.”

There was another symbol that I didn’t recognize so I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of it. It was most likely a proper noun. All of the Angels had a specific symbol that was theirs alone. No two Angels had the same name therefore they didn’t have the same symbol. A lot of the more well-known Angels’ symbols are in our database so I’ll check it when I get back to HQ.

Her purse was leaning against the lamp on the side table so I opened it and found her wallet. Her ID was inside. Amber Lambert. I’ll have to hunt down her next of kin.

“Angels. Just what I don’t want to deal with,” Al said as he walked in.

“Hey Al. It’s most likely a Fallen. Statistically, ninety percent of the Fallen on Earth are here because they killed a Human.”

“Hence the scripture on the wall,” Al added.

“Yeah, he’s probably pissed about his banishment so he decided to kill another Human as a result. The First Lord won’t be too happy about this.”

“I read once that he has a group of assassins
whose sole purpose is to eliminate Fallen that kill any more of his children.”

“Well, I hope I find this bastard before they do. What info can you get for me?”

He was feeling around the body.

“The killer was definitely an Angel. I think he might have had intercourse with her prior to her death. His magic is very strong arou
nd that section of her body. Although, he didn’t actually kill her with his magic. The butcher knife is what killed her and there was no magic involved. Now that I can feel his magic in full force I’m sure he is the same one that killed our dumpster drop.”

“Can you tell me who he is?”

Usually, he can tell me some information on the person themselves.

“Sorry. I’m not seeing him. It’s probably because he didn’t use magic to actually kill her. My gift associates the death to the magic that was used to produce the death. Since magic wasn’t used
, I’m getting nothing. But, this is definitely Angel magic. If the writing on the wall didn’t give it away,” he said.

“Can you give me a close proximity of TOD?”

“Yeah, I’d say she’s been dead maybe twelve hours or better so that puts her death sometime last night. You’ll have to wait for Chris to get a more specific time.”

“Alright. Thanks Al. Let me know if you find out anything more once you’ve tried your spells.”

“I will, Avery, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for any more results.”

“Gotcha.”

With that I left. I know Al will take samples back to his spell room and try different spells in an attempt to find the killer, but usually he knew who did it right off the bat. This was really starting to piss me off. 

I checked Amber’s apartment, but didn’t find anything of use other than her parent’s number so I called and gave it to Cop. The neighbors weren’t any help and neither were her coworkers at Sassy Scissors, the salon she worked at. The only thing I could find out was that she was single and liked to hang out at Halo on her days off. That seemed to be the hot place for everyone to hang out. They said she was supposed to go there Sunday night since it was lady’s night and she didn’t show up to work on Monday. They said it was weird for her to just not show up without calling.

I had snatched a pic from her apartment. She was pretty. She had auburn hair about the color of mine and from what I saw of her she was probably about my height, five six or so, and about my weight. I’d put her at about one twenty since she didn’t look as muscular as me. The pic showed that her eyes were hazel like mine too.

I wish I could find something to go on. I don’t even know if she went to the club with anyone or not. A call to Halo put me in touch with Greg Castellan, the manager. He agreed to email me the security files for Sunday night, but their data was automatically deleted after ten days so I wouldn’t be able to see if Stephan Wilkins was at the club the night he disappeared.

After several hours of video footage, all I could determine was that Amber Lambert did arrive at the club on Sunday but I wasn’t able to find her leaving. Which meant that she most likely left through an exit other than the front entrance.

The guy at the front desk of the motel said the room had been rented late Sunday night by a woman meeting the vic’s description, but he couldn’t remember anyone being with her. Did she check into the room to get away for a few days and someone broke in and killed her? Or did the killer coerce her to rent the room then keep her there for three days before killing her? More questions without answers. So far the only lead I have is that the killer is an Angel.

We have a database where all Others residing in the greater Atlanta area give samples, but in an attempt to protect their privacy it doesn’t list what species they actually are. But, if you have a name or a magical sample, you could compare it to the samples given. I know Al compared the sample he took from the crime scene to those in the database as soon as he got back, and since he hasn’t called me, there obviously wasn’t a match. I think I need to go see my friendly neighborhood fence/tattoo artist. He knows everything about the goings on in Atlanta, especially if it involves Others. I’m sure he’ll be able to tell me if there are any Fallen in town and where I can find them.

I walked into Bloody Ink just after sunset. The ditsy receptionist was behind the front desk.

“I need to see Craven.”

“He’s with someone right now. I’ll let him know you’re here,” she said as she picked up the phone.

That was a lot better than she used to be. She used to look at me like I was taking time out of her busy schedule by trying to see her boss.

A few minutes later
, a blonde chick walked out from the back and exited the building. Craven was right behind her. I would guess she was his meal for the night. From what I knew he mostly drank bagged blood like the majority of the Vamps, but I know he likes to take it from the vein every once in a while too. I’m sure he doesn’t have a problem finding donors either. He was very attractive with dark hair and hazel eyes. He wasn’t a very large man, but by the way he carried himself you could tell he would be someone to have on your side in a fight.

“Hello, Angel. What a pleasant surprise. Come on back and we’ll talk,” he said as he looked me up and down.

I have read that feeding directly from the vein tends to raise a Vamps sex drive for a short period during and after the feeding. I don’t know if he had sex with the blonde
, but he was definitely still in the mood. He didn’t stop looking at me the whole way back through the tattoo shop and into the storage room behind it. Once in the storage room, he hit a button on his key fob, and a section of the wall opened up revealing his office. He motioned for me to enter and placed his hand on the small of my back as he followed right behind me.

“Please tell me you are here because you have missed having me as a lover and wish to try again,” he said once he was seated behind his desk.

We had sex a couple of months ago. I hadn’t been with anyone for a long time, and he was the one who offered without strings attached so I gave it a try. He wasn’t a bad lover by any means, but like I told Temmy, I don’t really feel comfortable with casual sex. Unless I got hard up, I won’t be trying it again with him. I knew there could never be a real relationship with him and that’s what I really want.

“Sorry, Craven. I’m actually here on business.”

He looked disappointed. “What business would this be? I have yet to find your Demon.”

Oops, I forgot to tell him
never mind on that one.

“I’ve already killed the Demon. What I need to know about is
Fallen.”

“What about them?”

“I need to know if there are any in town, what their names are, and where I can find them.”

He started to laugh. “Surely you’re joking.”

I just looked at him with one brow raised.

“Obviously you’re not. Have you heard of the club named Halo?” he said.

“Of course I’ve heard of it. Who hasn’t?”

“Then I would suppose you have heard of the band Darkened?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you need no more information on the Fallen in Atlanta.”

“Wait. Are you saying one of the band members is a Fallen?”

How could I not have heard of that?

Craven laughed again. “Not just one, Angel. They all are Fallen. I would have thought you of all people would know that.”

“What is that supposed to mean? How am I supposed to know every
Other in the greater Atlanta area? Do you know them?”

“I have met them once or twice
, but we don’t run in the same circles. Why are you now interested in these Fallen?”

“A woman was murdered by an Angel last night. I figure it was a Fallen. The locals would be my first guess.”

Damn. I was kissing on a possible murderer a few nights ago. I think I might be sick.

“As I said I do not know these Fallen very well
, but I would be willing to bet they are not your killer. They have lived in this town for the last decade and have made themselves well known. They would not jeopardize that for the murder of a Human.”

“You never know. It could have been a crime of passion. You said they have lived here a decade?”

“At least.”

Then they probably gave a magic sample when they first got here. I’ll check with Al to make sure he cross-referenced it to confirm or eliminate them as suspects.

“Thanks, Craven. As always you’ve been a big help,” I told him as I got up to leave.

“Won’t you stay and visit with me for a little while, Angel. I find I am desperately in the mood for your company tonight.”

“Sorry, I’ve got some Fallen to talk to.”

“Very well, come back when you can stay longer,” he said as he looked me over again.

I left the shop as quick as I could. Like I said, he was a very attractive man and my libido seemed to be reacting to his.

As soon as I was back in my car I called Al and asked him to check if there were samples and cross-reference them with the killer then call me back ASAP. He told me he had already finished a reference of all the samples in the system, but he would look them up by name, and if there was a sample, he would test them individually. I started making my way to Halo while I waited for him to call back. If I was lucky, one of the band members was the killer, and I could take him out and be home for dinner. Of course things are never that easy.

Just as I pulled into Halo’s parking lot Al called me back.

“I looked up the names of the band members
, and there were samples on file from each of them. I checked, and none of them are our killer,” he said.

I sighed. Of course it couldn’t be simple.

“Alright. You have their names on you?”

He told me the names and I added them to my notebook. I told Al thanks and headed for the front entrance of the club. There was already a line
, and it was only nine-thirty on a weeknight. I skipped the line and went straight to the bouncer. It was the same one that stopped me the other night.

“Avery Tywella, Human’s Rights task force,” I said as I started to open my badge.

He didn’t even bother to look at it. Before I was even finished talking he was opening the door for me. I guess I must have made an impression the last time.

I went to the hallway leading back stage, and again, told the guard on duty my name, and before I could open my badge he, too, was opening the door. That was weird. Security usually gave me the hardest time. Well, I certainly wasn’t going to complain about things going my way. I walked into the corridor that lead to various rooms. I had only been in one before so that’s the one I went to first. I really didn’t look forward to talking to Jared, and I was hoping I could talk to at least one of the others before I was forced to confront him.

As luck would have it, Luke was in the room playing video games again. He glanced over as I walked in then took a double take. He was extremely good looking with blonde hair and blue eyes but something about him screamed “geek” to me.

“Hello, Luke. My name is Avery Tywella. I’m with the Human’s Rights task force
, and I would like to ask you a few questions,” I said in my professional voice as I opened my badge and showed him.

If I was lucky, he wouldn’t remember me from the other night. I’m sure Jared has a different woman each night so it would stand to reason their names would be quickly forgotten.

“Avery. Yeah, sure, you can ask me questions. I didn’t know you were with the HR task force. Does Jared know you’re here?”

“I haven’t had a chance to talk with Jared yet. I would prefer to start with you since we’re here.”

We were the only people in the room so it was as good a place to conduct the interview as any. I took a seat on the couch next to him
, and he immediately moved further away. I resisted the urge to smell myself. I didn’t see why he would move over. It wasn’t like I sat that close to him.

“Uh, okay. What do you need to know?” he asked.

I started off by showing him a picture of Amber Lambert.

“Do you recognize this woman? Her name is Amber Lambert.”

He reached out, grabbed the very corner of the picture and pulled it to him to look at it.

“No. She doesn’t look familiar
, and the name doesn’t ring a bell.” He looked at the picture then back to me. “You know, she kind of looks like you. Not as pretty though. Is she missing or something?”

“She was found murdered in a motel room this morning.” I showed him the picture of Stephen Wilkins. “What about him?”

I could tell he recognized him immediately.

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s Stephen. He handles the lighting and sound board for the band. Is he dead too?”

“Yes, he was found in a dumpster over a week ago. When did you see him last?”

“Uh, I think he stopped by almost two weeks ago with a friend of his. They talked to Jared about something. I’m not sure why
, but his friend filled in for him the last couple of weekends.”

“How well did you know him? Did he hang out with the band after the shows?”

“Not too much. He was at a couple of parties that were thrown at the house, but we usually go our separate ways after a set. He seemed like a pretty decent kid. I think he had a crush on Jared, but never did anything about it to my knowledge.”

That was what his mom pretty much said. I took notes on what he said then pulled my cellphone out and recalled the picture I took of the symbol on the wall. I had tried to look it up but couldn’t find any known symbol in our data base. I showed him the phone.

“Do you recognize this symbol?”

“Uh, yeah. It’s a person’s name.”

Was he purposely trying to be evasive?

“Whos
e name is it?”

He looked at me for a moment and was about to answer when I saw a shadow form in the light coming from the doorway behind me.

Luke said, “Jared.” As I heard the man, himself, start to talk.

“Hey Luke, I heard Avery was here.” I turned to look at him. “Oh, there you are. What are you doing in here?” he said while standing in the doorway.

Gods he was just as good looking when I was sober as he was when I was drunk. He wasn’t wearing any liner tonight and his hair wasn’t as spiked up. It actually fell partly in his eyes. He, also, wasn’t wearing solid black. He instead had jeans and a t-shirt on, and Gods did they look good on him.

I could tell by Luke’s response that the symbol was Jared’s name so I looked back at Luke.

“Thank you for your time, Luke.” I pulled out one of my personal cards and laid it on the couch between us then picked up the picture of Amber he had laid down. “If you can think of anything else, give me a call.”

I held out my hand to shake his, but he didn’t take it so I shrugged, got up and walked over to Jared.

“Jared, I would like to ask you some questions regarding an investigation I’m currently working on for the Human’s Rights task force.” I showed him my badged.

He just looked at me for a moment before saying, “Sure Avery, come back to my office.” Then he motioned for me to go first out of the room.

Once in the hall, I let him guide me to a door further down the corridor. He opened the door, and I walked in and had a seat in front of the desk while he sat behind it.

“Would you like something to drink?” he asked.

“No, thank you. Would you prefer me to call you Jared or,” I looked at my notes then back at him. “Mr. Damascus during this interview?”

“Oh, I think we know each other well enough to be on a first name basis. Don’t you?”

I ignored his innuendo.

“Alright.” I pulled out the picture of Amber and showed it to him. “Do you recognize this woman?”

He looked at the picture for a moment before answering.

“She doesn’t look familiar.”

“Are you sure? Maybe a groupie or a one night stand?”

He looked me in the eyes. “I don’t do one night stands.”

I raised a brow. “Surely, you don’t expect me to believe that.”

“It is the truth.”

“You’re saying that if I wouldn’t have stopped things the other night, you would not have had a one night stand with me?”

I didn’t really want to bring the other night into this
, but he was blatantly lying to me.

“Oh, it would have lasted longer than a single night,” he said as he looked me up and down.

“Okay, maybe she was a two or three night stand?”

I was purposely not picturing him hot and sweaty for three nights straight.

“I remember every woman I have been with, Avery, and I’m telling you that I was not with her.”

“Very well,” I showed him Stephen’s photo. “Do you recognize him?”

So help me Gods if he tells me no, I’m going to punch him.

“That’s our sound board guy, Stephen. Did something happen to him?”

“He’s dead. As is the woman. Both were last seen here at Halo. Why did Stephen’s friend cover for him last weekend?”

“He went on vacation. His friend lives in Tennessee
, and he was supposed to leave to go see him almost two weeks ago. He brought Kyle in to sub for him until he got back. When was he killed?”

“The same night
he was last seen here. Why is it that his boss at Leon’s Coffee knew nothing about this vacation?”

“I had gotten him a job as DJ before and after the show on the nights we performed. He said he was going to quit the coffee shop since he wouldn’t need the money anymore.”

I nodded. “Were you romantically involved with Stephen?”

It made sense. Stephen was gay and had a thing for Jared. Jared turns around and arranges for him to get a better paying job.

“You sure are concerned about my love life. Perhaps there is an ulterior motive,” he said with small grin.

“I notice you didn’t answer the question.”

“No, Avery. I am not romantically attracted to men. I knew Stephen was interested, but he knew I was not.”

I nodded and looked at my notes.

“Do you know why anyone would want to kill him?”

“No clue. He was a good guy.”

I pulled up the picture of his symbol on my phone and showed it to him.

“Do you recognize this symbol?”

He looked at it then back at me. “Why do you have my name on your phone?”

“It was written in Amber Lambert’s blood on the wall of her crime scene.”

“Was anything else written?”

“That is classified information. Do you know why anyone would kill a woman who was last seen at a club you work at and then write your name in blood on the wall next to her?”

“I have no idea, but I would very much like to know.”

“So would I. Is there any other information you can think of regarding these murders?”

“No, I don’t know anything else.”

“Are there many people who are familiar with your Angelic symbol?

“Yes. In the Kingdom I was very well known, and we place our symbol on almost everything we own.”

He reached inside the neck of his shirt and pulled out a necklace with a pendant of the same symbol. The necklace looked similar to one my mother had left me. I kept mine in a jewelry box at home though. Maybe my mom knew an Angel once upon a time.

“Other than the members of your band, are there anymore Fallen in the area that you know of?”

“Not that I have heard. Perhaps the person who killed these people was just trying to blame it on a Fallen.”

“Or perhaps another Fallen has a problem with you, is killing people and trying to place the blame on you.”

“I assume you have already checked my magic sample and verified that I am not the killer.”

“As well as the other four band members.”

He nodded.

“Alright.” I pulled out one of the generic cards that has the number to the station on it. “If you think of anything else, call this number.”

“And you can call me if you need to talk to me. I must say that I have wondered why you haven’t called me already.”

Okay, I need to nip this in the bud.

“I am sorry, Jared. You seem like a nice enough person
, but I am not interested in you in an intimate way.”

“You seemed to be pretty interested in me Saturday night.”

“I also seemed to be pretty drunk Saturday night, and now that I’m not, I am also not interested.”

“I see.”

“I do thank you for the flowers though they were lovely.”

I got up to leave. I would find one of the other band members and interview them.

“What flowers?” he asked.

Was he kidding? I turned back to look at him.

“The flowers you sent me.”

Does he send flowers to so many girls he can’t remember who he sent them to?

“I didn’t send you flowers. Maybe it was one of your other admirers.”

I gave him a look like he was mental.

“You didn’t send me flowers that had a card that said ‘Can’t wait to see you again. J’? That seems like quite a coincident since you are the only man
I’ve made out with recently whose name starts with J.”

“I assure you I did not send you these flowers. Although I will send you flowers if it would make you interested,” he said
with his brows raised.

“Ha ha. I suppose the delivery guy gave them to the wrong girl. Although
, he did ask for me by name.”

Jared was looking at the picture of Amber on his desk then he looked at me.

“When did you say this girl went missing?”

“Sunday. But
, she wasn’t killed until last night. Do you remember her?”

He shook his head. “When did you get flowers?”

I sighed. Like he didn’t know. “Sunday.”

“Is it a usual occurrence for a delivery guy to show up at your door?”

“It isn’t a usual occurrence that I get a delivery. But no, all deliveries are supposed to be checked in at the main desk and a security personnel delivers them to the tenant.”

“What did this delivery guy look like?”