Murder in Misery (Spook Squad) - By Ashley K. Broome
This one is for my Mom
Who taught me that no matter how different I was from other people that I was still perfect the way I am and I should never change.
With special thanks to Erika Guidry
Keegan tucked a long dark lock of hair behind her ear as she crunched on a piece of ice and watched as her mother puttered around the kitchen. It always felt like the closer it got to the holidays, the more time they would spend in the kitchen talking about family. Most of the time Keegan would just sit and listen to appease her mother because being estranged from everyone in your family other than your mother wasn’t as easy.
She still knew what her sisters and brother were up to. Every visit to her mother’s home, she was informed of the new goings-on. It made Keegan wonder if her mother did the same to her siblings about her. Or was it different because she was different? After all they’d cast her out. She did not just drift away into her own world like some siblings do when they start their own families. They all still lived around Misery and kept in contact with their mother but Keegan hadn’t actually seen or spoken to her siblings in about ten years.
Today her mother kept going on and on about how none of her sisters or her brother bothered to visit her anymore, at least not as much as Keegan tried to visit. And Maria Morne was not a woman you ignored. Not if you didn’t want her showing up on your front doorstep while you had company over.
“Why can’t you do something about that, Keegs? I know that I had to have raised one of you right. Apparently I did an okay job on you because you’re the only one out of all my children who takes the time to visit me regularly. So why can’t you call your brother and sisters to tell them that their mother misses them and she would like to see them, hm?” Maria tapped a spoon on the edge of the gumbo pot and set it on the counter before spinning around a pinning her daughter with dark brown eyes. “And while you’re at it, how about you ask them when I’ll ever get grandchildren. I won’t be around forever you know.”
Keegan muffled a snort of amusement in her glass of ice tea. “I know Ma, but I’m not going to be the one to tell my sisters to get busy with making the babies when they don’t even talk to me in the first place. It’s not like they’re going to take the time to actually listen to anything I say.”
“So I guess now isn’t the right time to tell you that your brother is stopping by this evening?” Maria pointed out with a wave of her spoon.
Keegan planted her hands on the tabletop, ready to stand up and march right out the front door. “You better be joking with me, Ma. We both know that if Gordon is here Jamie will be in tow and I am not dealing with her. Not on my one night off. All I wanted was to come see you before the craziness of the holidays started. I wanted to spend some time with my mother before they all monopolized your time and I lose the opportunity to do so.”
“Honey.” Maria moved to sit across the table and grabbed Keegan’s hand and tugged her back down. “It’s a good thing that I am just messing with you, otherwise you would have just run right out on me and left me to my lonesome tonight. We both know it’s not always your brother and sisters who have the problem with who you are. David? I don’t even want to get started with that man. You and I both know that Jamie already thinks you hate her, so she’s guarding herself from you. You put up walls just as much as they do.”
Keegan sputtered at the look her mother sent her, “Maybe if the first time I met Jaime she hadn’t asked me why I was alone and proceeded to go on about how I could fix that, then maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t think I hated her. I’m sorry and I know that everyone has their faults, even me, but I don’t like the way she acts around Gordon or the way she treated any of us. She’s so” Keegan motioned as if she were strangling the air, “controlling. Plus, she’s a bitch.”
Maria muffled her laughter in her hand. Keegan grinned, “I see I’m not the only one who has fallen victim to that line of thought.”
“Shush up, Keegan.” Maria rolled her lips together trying to hold back the laughter. “I’m not supposed to be the bad guy here. You are. I am supposed to be the supportive mother.”
“I know they love me Ma, or that they did.” Keegan shrugged, “I just feel like they don’t miss me as much as I miss them.”
Maria smirked before standing from the table and attending her gumbo. “Maybe if you weren’t alone, you wouldn’t miss your family so much.”
“Ma!” Keegan smacked a hand down on the table. She had just about had it with the way this evening’s visit was going. It was supposed to be a night off from the SIU so that she could kick back, relax and get a nice hot free meal.
“I’m just saying. If I don’t have the ability to nag the majority of my children about grandkids then I will nag who ever I can about still being single at twenty-eight while the rest of your siblings are married.”
“I’ll get married when the time is right. Until then,” Keegan answered with an eye-roll, “whatever happens, happens.”
“You don’t have time for anyone but that squad of yours. That’s who you’re married to,” Maria muttered. “You love them more than you love your own family.”
“Oh Mom,” Keegan stood up to do something to reassure her mother that her way of thinking was just not true, but then her phone started playing the Ghostbusters theme. Keegan grimaced as her mother turned around as if to say, “See I told you so!”
“Detective Morne,” Keegan answered before she was digging through the drawers in the kitchen for a piece of paper and a pen. She settled on a pen and a paper napkin to scribble on, “What’s the address? Mhm, how long has homicide been on the scene? Right, well they are going to have to wait a little bit longer. I’m right outside of town so I’ll be there in about twenty and tell Cassidy he can shut his trap and be patient.”
Keegan set her phone in the holster on her belt and pulled her hair back into a tight pony-tail before she turned towards her mom with a pleading look on her face, “Save some gumbo for me?”
“Talk to your brother and sisters and then maybe I’ll freeze half the pot for you and drop it off at your place tomorrow.”
Keegan rushed towards her mom, pressing a kiss to her cheek, “You’re the best Ma. I love you.”
“I know you do sweetheart.”
Keegan stood just outside the bright yellow police line with her hands resting above her hips. Her jacket fluttered with the gust of wind as she shifted her belt and gun to a more comfortable position. Lost in her self, Keegan ignored the loud hustle and bustle of uniformed cops trying to hold back the reporters who were itching for a new story along with the neighbors of the murdered who were hoping for a juicy piece of gossip that they could share with their friends.
Keegan stared up at the two story house and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath to center herself and she opened her senses to what was around her. The house was unobtrusive, almost tucked away in a copse of pine trees. Two white cars sat innocently in the driveway and decorations for the holidays were dotted around the yard. The only thing that stood out was the gas lights along the driveway that were still burning bright during the daylight.
Shaking her head clear she darted up towards the yellow police line and an officer held out a hand stopping her, “Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to step back.”
Glancing down at the man’s name badge before she pulled the lanyard holding her badge out from the folds of her coat Keegan gave him a grim look, “Officer Bayard, I do believe they are expecting me.”
“Oh sorry Detective Morne, I didn’t realize that had called SIU in,” He lifted up the yellow tape and allowed her to duck beneath it and pass into the territory only cops were allowed. She paused at the foot of the front steps. Her muscles tensed from the echoes of what had happened in this house. There had been so much terror and pain. It lingered behind the scene like scars. She could taste the panic harsh and sour at the back of her throat.
Willing herself forward and into the house she brushed passed detectives rushing out of the house and out of sight of reporters. She listened to the sound of retching for just a moment before she felt her mind being pulled towards what had happened. The screams, the sounds of furniture overturning and glass shattering assaulted her ears. The loud crack of bone and the crunch of someone stepping on glass tore the breath from her lungs.
“I thought they were joking when they said they were sending someone from the spook squad over. A family was murdered, besides that there isn’t anything abnormal about this.” Detective Cassidy spat out as he wiped the corner of his lips clean. Keegan took a moment to really look at the man. He stood a few inches shorter than her self, balding and he wouldn’t stop fidgeting as if he would rather be anywhere else but here.
Keegan couldn’t help the spark of anger that shot up from her chest and pulled her face into an angry glare, “I hope you’ve been wearing gloves Detective. You and I both know that the only reason SIU would have been called in to a crime scene this early on would be if your victims were known supernaturals.”
“Oh f*ck, you’ve got to be kidding me,” He growled out as he headed back out the house muttering to him self, “This day just keeps getting better and better.”
“Morne! Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to head up here and decided how we should handle the bodies?”
Keegan looked up the stairs to see Matthew Hollis staring down at her with dark rimmed eyes. His hair was a mess and his jacket was tugged off kilter. There were only a few times she had seen the seasoned investigator so disheveled. Those times usually were the crime scenes that sent even the most grizzly of men to their wives and family in search of comfort.
As she moved through the living room her eyes took in every detail she could manage. The fabric had been ripped on the couch and some of the stuffing protruded and littered the floor around it. A recliner lay on its side, scratches on the floor from where metal moved angrily against wood. Pictures had fallen from the wall, frames splintering with its glass shattering across the floor leaving happy memories a distant thought.
A cool breeze filtering through the room sent papers dancing along the floor. Following the movement, Keegan saw the haggard window. Spikes of glass stood out from the window frame and broken shards of glass covered the wooden floor before the window. That had to be how the killer got into the house. Unafraid of leaving evidence behind as he climbed through the window and tracked tiny pieces of glass along with him, marking the path he took.
Gripping the stair rail she rolled her eyes at the man, “I just had to get the usual trash out of the way Hollis.”
“Cassidy giving you trouble again?” He asked over his shoulder as he led her towards the main scene.
“I think it’s because I’m taller than he his,” Keegan shrugged and grinned at the smile she got out of him. They stopped just outside the door to what looked like a nursery. There were bright wooden letters spelling out the name Connor.
“The baby is missing,” Matt muttered, “We put out the necessary info to units and the Captain has us processing the scene while the rest of the precinct is searching.”
“Do you have any idea of how long he’s been missing?” Keegan asked softly.
“Not sure until we get a time of death,” Matt answered reluctantly. Keegan nodded focusing on the door in front of her.
Matt stopped her as soon as she put her hand on the door handle. She looked up curiously at him and watched him swallow before explaining, “Before we go in there I just want you to know that it’s not pretty. A couple of the guys barely made it out the door before they were sick.”
Keegan stared into earthy brown eyes and rolled her lips together, “I can handle it.”
“I wasn’t saying you couldn’t,” Hollis shrugged, “I was just saying that it’s okay if you need to get out of the room for a minute. No one is going to think anything of it, especially when there is a kid this young involved.”
Keegan stopped Matt from opening the door, “Who called it in? A neighbor?”
“A neighbor called in and reported that there was a lot of noise and what sounded like screams. Dispatch advised the caller to remain in their location, away from the scene and officers would be there within a matter of minutes. The first officer to the scene was Officer Rickie. He checked for a pulse and when he found none he secured the scene.”
“So emergency medical has not come through here? Or anyone else besides us for that matter?” Keegan closed her eyes trying to fight off the curl of nausea brushing against her belly from the coppery tang that tainted the air.
“It’s just been us who have come through here,” Matt confirmed.
“All right,” Keegan nodded, “Let’s do this.”
Opening the door Keegan froze in her steps. The light blue room had been spattered red. The echoes of what had happened earlier grew louder, more incessant. She rubbed on her ear trying to ignore the lingering echoes. Inching her way into the room she stepped lightly. Spare shoe covers had been set out right inside of the entry way and she gratefully grabbed a pair and slipped them on over her boots before she pulled a pair of gloves from her jacket pocket and over her fingers. She breathed lightly ignored the iron taste of blood in her mouth. The smell, she couldn’t even comprehend it. She didn’t want to understand what comprised that scent. Death, blood, fear, panic all wrapped into one room.
She stared at the hand that was peaking out from beneath the nursery bed that was covered in blood. She squatted and traced the bite marks and cuts with her eyes. Standing she moved around the crib and took in the damage that had been done the delicate skin at the neck. The flesh was a mangled mess. Strands of long blonde hair had been matted down into the wound and bits were torn from the scalp.
Ignoring the turmoil in her stomach Keegan moved the woman’s lips so she could get a better view of her teeth. Her canines were distended, the inside of her mouth bloodied as if she had been hit in the mouth and her teeth cut in the fragile lining of the mouth. Following her gut instinct, Keegan gently opened the lids of her eyes and the bright cat-like amber flashed up at her. She was a supernatural.
Moving on, she walked the path that had been cleared for investigators towards the second victim’s body. A man lay curled into him self as if he were protecting something. She exchanged the gloves she had used to examine the woman and pulled on a fresh set. She prodded at a large gash on the forearm and frowned. The gash wasn’t a gash exactly. It was a deeper set of bite marks. She leaned forwards and grimaced at the way the back of his neck had been gouged at. Moving his head she let out a sigh. His throat had been scratched at until there was nothing left but blood. She exposed his teeth and frowned, his teeth appeared normal. She opened his eye lids and a deep blue stared up at her. He was human.
She looked up to the group of detectives who had crowded together in the doorway and then back to the male victim’s body. “You’ve gotten the photos? I can move his body?”
The room went silent. The clicking of cameras, the techs lifting any finger print they could find in the room stopped. She felt her heart beating in her chest as she waited for an answer.
Finally Doctor Sarah Biggerson, the medical examiner answered her. “The positions have been noted and photographed. You can move him and I’ll document what needs to be documented.”
Closing her eyes, Keegan braced her self for what she was afraid she may see curled up in the man’s arms. It didn’t matter that everyone else thought baby Connor was missing. Something inside of her was saying that baby Connor wasn’t missing. The way this man was laying, curled into himself, his head tucked into his arms. That was a protective pose. He was protecting something other than himself if he left that much of his neck, even the back of it, exposed. It was too vulnerable of a pose. Anyone supernatural or familiar with the supernatural wouldn’t have done that.
Bending down Keegan grasped the arms in her hand and tugged. He was still in rigor, frozen until enough time passed. Almost everyone in the room grew tense as she tugged the arm again and grimaced at the state of rigor. She looked up for permission to pull the limb out of rigor as well as she could manage and Doctor Biggerson nodded. With steady hands she worked until the muscles popped and crunched. She maneuvered the arm until she could see the bundle of bloodied green blankets.
“I need a tech,” Keegan’s voice was almost a whisper but Dr. Biggerson and a crime scene unit tech crouched beside her. His camera clicking away as she and the doctor worked to document this as well as they could. As soon as they moved his body away from the bundle Keegan pulled back the blankets.
She heard someone run from the room, the tell-tale sound of someone emptying their stomach in the hallway. Connor lay wrapped in his father’s arms. His face was spattered with blood and his clothes soaked down to the skin. There was a claw like gash crossing across his chest and out of nowhere Connor let out a mewling cry.
Her reaction was immediate. She pulled Connor from the protective hold and towards the nearest bathroom. She grabbed the towels from the rack and wrapped the baby in them. It didn’t take more than a few moments for paramedics to crowd the living room and wrap the infant in blankets as they carried him from the house and out to the ambulance barking out orders and radios crackling.
All the crime scene techs and detectives stared after the paramedics as they rushed from the house and into the ambulance.
“How’d you know?” Detective Hollis’ voice cracked as he spoke. Keegan could feel the guilt for not knowing the baby was there the entire time, for not doing something for him earlier. Every minute he spent wrapped in his father’s arms was another moment that he stepped closer to death.
She could already feel death beckoning from the corners of the room. As soon as they whisked the child from the room death followed Connor to where ever he was going. One of the worst things about being a necromancer was finding a victim on the edge of the living and the dying. It was even worse finding a baby, who had not had the chance to experience life give in to the bliss that death offered.
“I didn’t,” Keegan rolled her lips together, trying to stave off the tears, “Certain supernatural species have been known to sacrifice everything in order to save their children. The way he was curled up meant one of two things. He was trying to protect himself or he was protecting someone he loved. He wouldn’t have left his neck exposed like that if he was protecting himself, not if he and the woman had been together very long. The question is, why did they die and who or what did Connor need to be protected from?”