“Stop searching in others for what only you possess.” Her anger boomed. “Out of your heart spark the fires of fearless confidence, yet it is now ignored by your embryonic brain. Warrior, the belief in oneself is more powerful a tool than the broadest of prayers.” She left his mind with the reverberation of laughter as the only evidence of her visit.
Alek’s eyelids fluttered open. “She is right. I am the Immortal Warrior of Tartarus. I haven’t time to doubt myself.”
He cleared his mind and stared at the speckled gray pavement between his feet.
Eva, I know I have the power to find you. I am the protector of this realm. Now, I am your protector.
The heat within his chest flared in response.
Eva, descendant of the great Oracle Pythia, I will find you. I will save you. Together, we will restore my home and rid this realm of evil.
The fire beneath his lungs roared to life, and the feeling of urgency exploded inside him. He rubbed his open hand on his chest and smiled. “Eva.”
Ten
James sat on the edge of his desk and studied crime scene files and photos while he waited for Schilling. “Where the victim was last seen and where her body was found are within blocks of each other.” He studied the images again before settling on the conclusion. “How did we miss this? It’s so obvious.”
He fished in his pocket for his phone and dialed Schilling’s number. The voicemail picked up after only a couple rings. “Hey, it’s me. Found something you should see. I’m waiting for you at the precinct.” He ended the call and flagged down the nearest detective. “You seen Schilling anywhere?”
“Uh, yeah. He’s in with the captain.”
“Thanks, man.” He stuffed his phone in his pocket and headed down the hall.
Before he rounded the corner to the captain’s office, his phone chimed. He cleared the text message icon, and slipped it back into his pants.
Schilling’s voice grumbled into the hallway. “He tattooed her and sliced up her body. This is the real thing.”
“Shit.” Captain Alvarez let out a big puff of air. “We’ve got to put this one down fast, Schilling. Can’t have the city panicking.”
“I know. We’ll keep the lid on it and get a solve.”
“And what do you think about your new partner? Cases like this come with a lot of attention. Think he’ll be able to handle it?”
They sat in silence for a moment, and James waited for Schilling’s response. “He’s already working on some theories. He’s got the head for it…”
“But what?”
“He’s young and not too into making friends.”
Captain Alvarez chuckled. “From what my predecessors told me? neither were you.”
“Rookie mistake number two. I learned.”
“I’m telling you, Graham is straight out of Gotham. You haven’t seen his military record. We’re lucky he chose to join the force.”
James loudly cleared his throat before turning the corner.
“Graham, perfect timing. I was just about to tell your partner here the good news. I’m putting you both as lead investigators on this case.”
“That’s great.” Schilling stood and shook the captain’s hand.
“Yes, thank you, sir. We won’t let you down.” James stepped forward and gave him a firm handshake.
“That’s what I like to hear. See that you don’t.” Captain Alvarez sat back in his cushioned chair and took a sip from his coffee mug.
“Then we’ll be getting back to it.” Schilling led them out of the small office and down the hall.
“I noticed something,” James said as he followed his partner to the parking lot. “Our victim was last seen around two in the morning downtown at a late night pizza joint. At some point, between her leaving her friends and getting back to her apartment on campus, our perp grabbed her.”
“Right, I read the file. Her roommate said that she never made it home, but they found her car at the school. No one in the area heard anything that night, and there are no cameras in the vicinity. So we don’t know if the car was dumped there or if she drove and was abducted between her parking space and her front door.”
They reached the car, and James climbed into the passenger seat. “It also says that her body was found two days later barely two blocks away from where she was last seen. All three of those places are too close together not to mean anything. He may not have killed her near there, but that’s where he likes to hunt.”
“We need to send out a report telling everyone to call us if anyone goes missing within a five mile radius of where he dropped her body,” Schilling instructed.
James pulled out his phone and typed up a precinct wide e-mail. “It’s sent. I hope we don’t hear anything, but I doubt he’ll stay away for long.” He let the rest of the ride continue in silence.
The car bounced over potholes as they drove into the parking lot of the medical examiner’s office. “I’m close to mixing something up and filling those holes my damn self,” Schilling grumbled and pushed himself off the seat.
“Jesus Christ.” He used the back of his sleeve to wipe sweat from his face. “I’m sweating buckets out here, and I haven’t even walked ten feet. Fall needs to kick it into gear.”