Detective Lilly St. John scrolled down through her emails. There was the usual collection of messages from her sister, who probably needed another loan, and a group of in-house memos from the squad. And some prankster with a macabre sense of humor. Killer@Yahoo - DEAD BODIES. She hit delete without bothering to open it. Instead of deleting, it spawned another thirty messages, all the same.
"What the hell?"
"Exactly. You really need to open that one," came a voice from behind her.
Lilly swiveled her chair around. Ginger Blue was leaning against the wall with that obscene creature she called Bones, perched on her shoulder.
"It's a matter of taste, not obscenities," said Ginger as she pushed away from the wall, her long black coat swishing around the heels of her knee-hi red boots. "Bones is my partner, the evil to my almost good. It works for us."
Lilly sighed, she'd forgotten that Ginger Blue could read her thoughts. She had no idea why Ginger had chosen to be her guardian angel, nor why she could actually see and converse with her, but sometimes on this job, the why didn't matter, only the results. And Ginger Blue had saved her ass more than once. You can't beat a partner like that.
"Since you're here, I assume this message has something to do with demons and angels?"
"Not everything is about the supernatural. There is an evil that exists without us. Human beings have freedom of choice," she nodded at the computer screen. "That one has chosen to walk the path of evil. You're going to need some help, that's why Bones and I are here. And you'll probably need one of your computer experts in here for backup. Unless, of course, you've got the smarts to work that diabolical piece of equipment by yourself."
"I'm about as familiar with computers as Bones," said Lilly as she picked up the phone to call in Oscar, the force's cyber cop. Five minutes later he came striding into the room.
"You gonna introduce me to the lovely redhead in the corner," asked Oscar, pushing his Stephen King glasses up the bridge of his nose for a better look.
"He can see you?" asked Lilly.
Ginger Blue shrugged, "Happens sometimes. Apparently he's a believer."
"Got that right," said Oscar. "You've gotta believe when you float around in cyber space and see the inhumanity that exists. There has to be forces of good and evil at work or we'd all be lost in the void."
"Oscar, this is Ginger Blue. The creature on her shoulder is Bones. His toothy grin is worse than his bite," Lilly added as Bones grinned at Oscar.
"Interesting. You don't see a lot of imps around. And what would you be, Ginger?"
"At the moment, I'm her guardian angel."
"I've seen her work, she needs one."
"I'm in the room, you know," said Lilly. "Are you going to help us out or not, Oscar?"
Oscar plopped into the chair and started clicking away at the keyboard.
"I've attached a feed to my own computer. I can copy whatever's in the email and I've got enough firewalls in place that if there's a virus, we won't lose any evidence that might be there. Are we ready to open this?"
Lilly nodded, and Oscar clicked the mouse to open the file. A scene began to boot up on the screen.
"Oh, my god. Is there any way to tell if this is real or staged?" asked Lilly.
"See the time stamp in the corner? What you're seeing is being sent in real time. And it certainly isn't pretty. No wonder you've got an angel for backup."
Lilly stared at the screen. There was a woman bound to a chair, dried blood caked on her ravaged face. She was already dead, so why send a picture? Why taunt her with the body?
"Oscar, can you tell where the feed is coming from?"
"Whoever's sending it knows what they're doing. I've gotten hops through Sweden, Australia, and about a dozen cities in the US. No way to pin it down. Can you tell from the video where it might be? If they want you to investigate, they've gotta be here in the city."
"There's something about that crime scene...I know it from somewhere."
"Past case you didn't solve?" asked Ginger.
"It's got to be solved. I don't forget the ones that are open."
"Copycat?" asked Oscar.
"Could be, but why?"
"Because it's Rosebud," said Oscar.
"Rosebud? He's dead. I shot him myself," said Lilly.
"I scanned through your old cases and this video is an exact duplicate of the last crime scene pictures from the Rosebud case. Except there's no rose in her hair."
"If that's the last crime scene, we'll find the body in the Baines Building. Oscar, if this is a live video feed, will you be able to track the video back to the computer that's sending this?"
"Might work, if he's stupid enough to use his own computer as the point of origin."
The Baines Building squatted on the outskirts of the city. Falling into disrepair, it had been abandoned to the homeless and the druggies. Useful only as a shelter from the weather for those without a roof to call home.
"Gloomy sorta place," said Oscar as they eased their way into the building.
Bones bounced up and down on Ginger's shoulder, his grin casting a demon glow around the room.
"At least someone feels at home," muttered Lilly.
"Don't knock it," said Ginger. "We all feel comfortable in the dark. It's where we hide our secrets, all those black thoughts we don't want anyone else to know we have."
"Okay, enough with the dark and creepy," said Oscar. "You guys are freaking me out."
"Around this next corner is where we found Rosebud's last victim. If our perp is doing the copycat thing, that's where we'll find the body," said Lilly.
The woman was posed in the middle of a gymnasium sized room with an overhead spotlight shining down on her. Placed around the room were four other victims in various stages of decay.
"Looks like he's been busy. But I don't understand why he waited to contact me until he had the fifth body placed. If this killer wants to play with me, why wait until now?" asked Lilly.
"Why wait until now, she asks?" echoed a voice from out of the shadows.
Lilly knocked Oscar to the floor and sprawled on top of him as a shield. Too late to wish she hadn't brought him with her. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for the speaker, but the shadows around the edge of the room kept him hidden.
"The high and mighty Lilly St. John, Queen of detectives. Not feeling so brilliant now are you? I'll wager you didn't even call for backup. Not the great and wonderful Lilly St. John. You always were predictable. Rosebud had you jumping through hoops, but catching him wasn't good enough for you. No...you had to kill him."
"You're Rosebud's wife, Miranda Meade, right?"
"You have such a need to be right, don't you?"
"Look, it's me you want, so why don't you let the kid go?"
"I ain't a kid," said Oscar.
"What's the matter Ms. St. John? Did you drag someone into the fray and now you're feeling guilty? Well, it's my party and the more guests, the merrier. I might even let him live long enough to tell about the glorious demise of Lilly St. John."
"Well, if you're going to kill me, why don't you come out of the dark and get it done? Or are you afraid that I might shoot you first? That's what your chicken shit husband did. He hid in the dark, playing hide and seek until I shot him. Howard was whimpering like a baby just before he died."
"Shut up, you bitch," screamed Miranda as she stalked into the light. My husband was no coward. Rosebud kept you chasing your own tail for six long months. It was pure dumb luck that you caught my husband."
"Yeah, dumb on his part, lucky on mine. He left the clues for me to follow, same as you did. And what makes you think I don't have backup with me?"
Miranda cocked her head, listening for sirens, "There's no one out there or they would have been SWAT-teaming in here the instant you hit the floor. There's only you and me, and that useless kid you brought along."
"Well, she's got you there," said Ginger Blue.
"So I didn't call for backup. I didn't figure on the killer still being here. I came to investigate a possible crime scene, not trap a murderer. Besides, what are you here for if you're not going to back me up?"
"Who the hell are you talking to?" asked Miranda.
"My guardian angel. She doesn't seem to think I need her help. Now, if you don't mind, I'm tired of lying here on this filthy floor. I'm getting up."
"Well, toss your gun over here before you do. Take it out of the holster nice and easy. Wouldn't want you to get an itchy trigger finger before I have my fun. So, you've got a guardian angel who doesn't want to help you? I guess she figures you should have called in some backup, too. But then, you're just the type of cop who likes to go it alone and hog all the glory. Maybe she's just getting tired of saving your ass," laughed Miranda.
Lilly slid her gun across the floor, then stood up, keeping her body between Oscar and Miranda. She let her eyes wander around the room, taking in the various victims. There were no roses on any of the bodies. Oh my God, she thought. Ginger Blue nodded her head, while Bones turned somersaults on the floor.
"Your husband wasn't Rosebud. You were," said Lilly.
"Give the lady a big fat booby prize. You killed an innocent man," snarled Miranda.
"If you were Rosebud, what the hell was your husband doing here at the crime scene?"
"That fool found out what I was doing. He started placing the bodies around town so they could be found. He's the one who put the roses in their hair. He wanted them to be found so they could have a proper burial. He wanted their families to have closure. Stupid man nearly got me caught."
"Why didn't he just go to the police and tell them what you were doing?"
"He thought it was his job to protect me. After all, I was his wife, that's what a husband was supposed to do. Protect his family."
"Your husband took the fall for you, why start this shit all over again? You were in the clear."
"Because of you and what you did to him. You didn't have to shoot him. Do you know why he was here that day? He came here to kill me. Howard couldn't live with what I was doing anymore. He thought killing me was the only way to protect me from you."
"Then it's your fault he's dead, not mine."
"The fault is yours. You should have known he couldn't be responsible. That he wasn't smart enough. None of the evidence pointed to him being the killer."
"That's where you're wrong. All the evidence pointed to him. We found his fingerprints and DNA at all the crime scenes. There was no way we could have known he was covering for someone else."
Miranda shook her gun at Lilly and swaggered closer, "It doesn't really matter whose fault it was. I've decided to kill you and that's what I'm going to do. Unless your guardian angel has decided to get off her butt and help you out."
Bones did a little jig on the floor, then stamped his foot, opening a portal. The odor of brimstone cascaded into the room followed by the specter of Howard Meade.
"Miranda, what are you doing? Haven't you killed enough people already?" asked Howard.
Miranda stepped back, "What the hell's going on? How'd you do that? What kind of tricks are you pulling?"
"It's no trick. My guardian angel's sidekick roams the bowels of hell. He thought you might like a visit from your husband," said Lilly as she eased in closer to Miranda.
"Miranda, you've got to stop this madness. I've taken your place in hell for what you've done. If you keep on killing, I won't be able to save you," said Howard.
"I don't need you to save me. Why can't you get that through your thick head? I am what I am, and I don't intend to change for you or anyone else. And if I go to hell, at least I'll have plenty of company. You're a fool, Howard."
"Heard enough, Howard?" asked Ginger Blue.
Howard nodded his head, "I couldn't believe that was her true nature. Even in hell, I couldn't believe that she was so committed to evil. There's really nothing I can do to save her, is there?"
"I'm afraid not, Howard. Would you like to ascend now? You don't really belong in hell, you know. What she did wasn't your fault and your taking the blame won't save her soul."
"I understand that now. I loved her, I always will, but even my love isn't enough to change her or save her. Can you really arrange for me to leave this place?"
"The arrangements are already made," said Ginger. She lifted her arm heavenward and made a circular motion that opened a second portal. Light shimmered down on Howard, then lifted him up toward heaven.
"Who the hell are you" asked Miranda pointing her gun at Ginger.
"I'm her guardian angel," said Ginger, nodding towards Lilly.
Lilly used the distraction to charge into Miranda. She knocked her off-balance, sending the gun skidding across the floor. They struggled until Lilly finally subdued and cuffed her.
"Hey, Oscar, you want to call in the troops?" asked Lilly.
"You've got it," said Oscar punching the buttons on his cell.
"I killed an innocent man, Ginger," said Lilly.
"Yeah, but you didn't know he was innocent."
"Doesn't make me feel any less guilty."
"It wasn't your fault Howard didn't come clean about what was going on. He's the one who pointed a gun at you. He chose not to put the gun down. Howard was so intent on saving his wife that he couldn't see the reality of his own situation."
"How could he love someone that evil?"
"Love blinds people, his sense of honor tied him to that blindness. Howard felt honor bound to save his wife and he saw you as the dragon that was trying to slay his princess."
"I still killed an innocent man," said Lilly.
"Forgive yourself. God enjoys throwing curve balls at the good guys now and then. It helps keep them on their toes," said Ginger as she and Bones faded into the shadows.
Copyright ©2006, Sandra Seamans All Rights Reserved