Chapter 1
San Francisco
“Jimmy, what’s the deal?” Natalie Boyce said, gazing out the window at the darkened buildings flying by. I just want to go home, she thought, growing increasingly impatient. She fiddled with her keys, twisting the key ring around her index finger, letting one key drop at a time until it made a jingle against the others.
“Hold your horses, Nel, no rush. I’ll get you home soon.” James glanced back at her in his rearview mirror, “That page I just got...”
“Yeah, what about it?” she said cutting him off.
“It’s a 911 from my contact. I need to go to the Santiago Apartment’s. We’ve got a body on our hands.”
Nel’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. She loved finding bodies, and looking at bodies. Her dream as a child was to grow up to become a pathologist. She grew somber, and whined, “No more work! I just want to go home.” It had been a long day at the office. She had spent the entire day with ONE, ONE witness who had vaguely seen a murder. Hours of erasing, and redrawing, while the small, shrewd woman said “that’s not right...more like...I don’t know....”
Jimmy continued, breaking into her thoughts, “We need a photographer.”
The Santiago Apartments were housed in an old Victorian mansion on the $50 hooker side of town. There had been rumors of exorcisms taking place in the lobby of the building in the early 1900’s.
Jimmy pulled his Audi a8 in front of the building, stopping only inches shy of hitting a man cloaked in black standing in the rain with his face completely hidden by a large black fedora. The moon slithered behind a dark cloud, leaving the buildings nearly hidden to lurk in the darkness.
“Hey Gabe, where are the cruisers?” Jimmy said casually stepping out of the car, offering his hand, and pulled it back to the pocket of his slacks when it was ignored.
The man in the fedora, looked up, meeting Natalie’s gaze, “Coming when you’re finished.” he spoke, evenly, and firmly, with a voice free of accent. “Who’s this?” he continued.
“Natalie Boyce. Photographer for the crime lab.” she stepped forward introducing herself.
He nodded approvingly, “Gabriel. Follow me.”
Gabriel turned on his heal and lead them towards the daunting Victorian building, with his long, black, leather trench coat billowing out behind him. Gabriel is at least six-feet tall, Natalie surmised, with piercing green eyes - the kind of eyes that can see right through to the core of someone’s being. She felt uncomfortable being around someone like that, but at the same time, found it quite enticing.
The three of them ascended one flight of stairs with the fifth step and the landing creaking moaning under their weight. Reaching the second floor, the building seemed to grow darker, and even though the moon had returned and was shining brilliantly in through the window behind them, the hallway retained a surreal reddish glow, sending chill’s down Jimmy’s spine.
A janitor was pushing his cart slowly down the hallway, moving with the agility and speed of a man in his late seventies. His hair stuck out in a rough silvery fringe under his dirty blue cap. They waited patiently at the top of the stairs until the janitor pushed his cart to the end of the hall and turned the corner. In a swift movement, Gabriel began to walk down the hall, making no sound, nor leaving no trace of his presence on the freshly mopped floor. Gabriel paused in front of the first door on the left, and reaching out an ashen white hand, he slowly turned the knob.
Natalie walked forward from where she and Jimmy had remained at the top of the stairs almost hypnotized, and beckoned for him to follow. Without hesitation, he followed as if he was a well trainedwell-trained puppy.
There was a smell coming from the apartment of rotting meat. The kind of smell you would expect to find at a butchers office, or in the apartment of Jeremy The stench coming from the room was almost repugnant, and even just standing in front of the open ebony door, Jimmy had to cover his nose with his beige shirt collar.
The apartment was dank, dark and dimly lit with a single desk lamp emitting a yellow glow. The room had very little decoration and furniture.
Jimmy stepped in front of Gabriel, who had remained motionless since opening the door, and loosened his cornflower blue tie to make it easier to pull his shirt over his nose, “Is this it?” Jimmy inquired.
Gabriel gave a single nod, with a lock of hair falling into his face.
Natalie began photographing the apartment with her Nikon digital camera, starting with the left side of the room, and working counterclockwise. It was a small flat, she observed, with the living room functioning as a bedroom. Snapping a photograph of the round table, clean aexccept for an old black and white photograph, and keys, she continued making her way to the bathroom.
“You know Gabe, or whoever you are, I am not really sure what we’re....” her voice trailed off, as her gaze fell on a shoe protruding from the nearly closed bathroom door. Stepping closer, Nel pushed the door open with her toe.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed, falling back onto Jimmy who had come up behind her.
“Oh my God.” he put a hand over his mouth.
“I’m afraid God is not the answer to this one,” Gabriel responded softly from the shadows.
On the white tile floor, laid the corpse of a woman on her side, with her rash covered arms out-stretched, reaching for her head which was lying four feet away, staring up at them with snow-white eyes.
“Her name is Elaine,” Gabriel began, “She was labeled as a Satanist because she attended anti-capitalist rallies, but her friends say she attended church, and read the bible.”
Natalie looked at the silver cross still attached to her headless neck, and then her eyes wandered to the severed head, and white eyes looking up at them “How did she read the bible if she was blind?”
“She wasn’t blind.”
“Jimmy, what’s the deal?” Natalie Boyce said, gazing out the window at the darkened buildings flying by. I just want to go home, she thought, growing increasingly impatient. She fiddled with her keys, twisting the key ring around her index finger, letting one key drop at a time until it made a jingle against the others.
“Hold your horses, Nel, no rush. I’ll get you home soon.” James glanced back at her in his rearview mirror, “That page I just got...”
“Yeah, what about it?” she said cutting him off.
“It’s a 911 from my contact. I need to go to the Santiago Apartment’s. We’ve got a body on our hands.”
Nel’s face lit up like a Christmas tree. She loved finding bodies, and looking at bodies. Her dream as a child was to grow up to become a pathologist. She grew somber, and whined, “No more work! I just want to go home.” It had been a long day at the office. She had spent the entire day with ONE, ONE witness who had vaguely seen a murder. Hours of erasing, and redrawing, while the small, shrewd woman said “that’s not right...more like...I don’t know....”
Jimmy continued, breaking into her thoughts, “We need a photographer.”
The Santiago Apartments were housed in an old Victorian mansion on the $50 hooker side of town. There had been rumors of exorcisms taking place in the lobby of the building in the early 1900’s.
Jimmy pulled his Audi a8 in front of the building, stopping only inches shy of hitting a man cloaked in black standing in the rain with his face completely hidden by a large black fedora. The moon slithered behind a dark cloud, leaving the buildings nearly hidden to lurk in the darkness.
“Hey Gabe, where are the cruisers?” Jimmy said casually stepping out of the car, offering his hand, and pulled it back to the pocket of his slacks when it was ignored.
The man in the fedora, looked up, meeting Natalie’s gaze, “Coming when you’re finished.” he spoke, evenly, and firmly, with a voice free of accent. “Who’s this?” he continued.
“Natalie Boyce. Photographer for the crime lab.” she stepped forward introducing herself.
He nodded approvingly, “Gabriel. Follow me.”
Gabriel turned on his heal and lead them towards the daunting Victorian building, with his long, black, leather trench coat billowing out behind him. Gabriel is at least six-feet tall, Natalie surmised, with piercing green eyes - the kind of eyes that can see right through to the core of someone’s being. She felt uncomfortable being around someone like that, but at the same time, found it quite enticing.
The three of them ascended one flight of stairs with the fifth step and the landing creaking moaning under their weight. Reaching the second floor, the building seemed to grow darker, and even though the moon had returned and was shining brilliantly in through the window behind them, the hallway retained a surreal reddish glow, sending chill’s down Jimmy’s spine.
A janitor was pushing his cart slowly down the hallway, moving with the agility and speed of a man in his late seventies. His hair stuck out in a rough silvery fringe under his dirty blue cap. They waited patiently at the top of the stairs until the janitor pushed his cart to the end of the hall and turned the corner. In a swift movement, Gabriel began to walk down the hall, making no sound, nor leaving no trace of his presence on the freshly mopped floor. Gabriel paused in front of the first door on the left, and reaching out an ashen white hand, he slowly turned the knob.
Natalie walked forward from where she and Jimmy had remained at the top of the stairs almost hypnotized, and beckoned for him to follow. Without hesitation, he followed as if he was a well trainedwell-trained puppy.
There was a smell coming from the apartment of rotting meat. The kind of smell you would expect to find at a butchers office, or in the apartment of Jeremy The stench coming from the room was almost repugnant, and even just standing in front of the open ebony door, Jimmy had to cover his nose with his beige shirt collar.
The apartment was dank, dark and dimly lit with a single desk lamp emitting a yellow glow. The room had very little decoration and furniture.
Jimmy stepped in front of Gabriel, who had remained motionless since opening the door, and loosened his cornflower blue tie to make it easier to pull his shirt over his nose, “Is this it?” Jimmy inquired.
Gabriel gave a single nod, with a lock of hair falling into his face.
Natalie began photographing the apartment with her Nikon digital camera, starting with the left side of the room, and working counterclockwise. It was a small flat, she observed, with the living room functioning as a bedroom. Snapping a photograph of the round table, clean aexccept for an old black and white photograph, and keys, she continued making her way to the bathroom.
“You know Gabe, or whoever you are, I am not really sure what we’re....” her voice trailed off, as her gaze fell on a shoe protruding from the nearly closed bathroom door. Stepping closer, Nel pushed the door open with her toe.
“Holy shit!” she exclaimed, falling back onto Jimmy who had come up behind her.
“Oh my God.” he put a hand over his mouth.
“I’m afraid God is not the answer to this one,” Gabriel responded softly from the shadows.
On the white tile floor, laid the corpse of a woman on her side, with her rash covered arms out-stretched, reaching for her head which was lying four feet away, staring up at them with snow-white eyes.
“Her name is Elaine,” Gabriel began, “She was labeled as a Satanist because she attended anti-capitalist rallies, but her friends say she attended church, and read the bible.”
Natalie looked at the silver cross still attached to her headless neck, and then her eyes wandered to the severed head, and white eyes looking up at them “How did she read the bible if she was blind?”
“She wasn’t blind.”
posted by squishedlizard | 3:30 AM
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