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Joined: December 31, 1969, 08:00:00 PM
Location: Kaukauna, Wisconsin (USA)
Murder Most Foul
By:
Michele Dutcher
Buzz Buzz Buzz. The phone alarm inside William’s skull was going crazy so he pulled his right earlobe to turn it off. He looked at his wife.
She opened one eye. “What time is it?”
“Two A.M.”
“Good night,” she hissed, pulling a pillow over her head.
Buzz Buzz Buzz. William tapped his cheek. “Go ahead.”
“Hey there, Buddy, this is Carlyle. We need you down at Pike Street Market. There’s been a 187 an overhead loft.”
“Pike Street? I’ll see you in a few.” He got out of bed and reached for his pants when he saw Kate sit up and tap her cheek.
“Yeah, this is Kate. What’s up?” She listened intently to the words inside her head. “Pike Street Market, right? Yeah, I’m freaking psychic. On my way.”
Will and Kate looked at each other. “Now why would they need a cop and a diplomatic liaison at two in the morning?”
They suddenly looked at each other and said in unison: “Skekko!”
“I’ll drive,” said Will.
*****
Kate Boling was the cultural liaison between the United Nations and the alien birdlike species called The Byna. On their planet the dinosaurs had continued to evolve at a steady rate, eventually gaining self-awareness and wings, living in cities that clung to the cliffs surrounding deep fjords.
Most of the new settlers had assimilated easily – but there were a few like Skekko, a female, who seemed to have a weak moral code. Coming from a good Bynaian family, however, she had influential connections that made prosecution difficult. Her suite of rooms overlooked the Public Market in the megatropolis of SeaTac.
Kate and Will thoroughly examined the body.
“It’s one of the strangest murders I’ve ever seen,” said Sergeant Carlyle. “The assassin seems to have killed the victim, disemboweled her, and then actually fried her entrails. He ate them right here at her kitchen table next to her dead body.”
“How did the killer get into the apartment?” asked William.
“There were no signs of a forced entry – and no one was caught on surveillance coming or going,” replied the Sergeant.
Kate’s face began to pale and she tugged on Will’s sleeve to take him aside.
“It’s the same M.O. as the other killings.”
“The other killings?”
“There have been killings of Bynas in Southampton and La Paz, with no forced entry, no suspects. The entrails were fried and eaten in the same way.”
“When it’s not a break-in, the killer is usually someone who lived with the victim. But I know Skekko, and she lived alone.”
“Except for her Dinie,” replied Kate, giving a nod towards a dog-sized dinosaur watching everything from a doorway leading to a second bedroom. He looked like a miniature Spinosaurus, with slightly bigger arms. He seemed to be acutely aware of the entire goings on. “That thing has been here the whole time.”
“I’ve never seen one of those in the flesh. Look at those teeth!”
“Yeah, they came in with the fifth wave of ships. A man is to a monkey as a Byna is to a dinie. They’re pets…the step before the Byna on the evolutionary ladder.”
“But they’re docile, right?” asked William. “I don’t like the way its eyes follow me.”
“Well, a dinie doesn’t have the intelligence to use a knife and fork. This murder was done by a creature with intelligence.”
“A creature? – you mean a human or a Byna don’t you?”
“I’m not sure, William. There are tales in the Byna’s collective memory about sentient beings, vapor creatures, who would…”
“Detective Boling – you need to see this,” said the Sergeant’s voice from the second bedroom.
As William and Kate entered the room they noticed four large square wooden boxes.
“We noticed heartbeats coming from those things,” said Carlyle.
“Good job, Robert.” Will pushed open the lid to one of the boxes and inside was an egg the size of a picnic basket.
“I’ve seen these boxes,” said Kate. “They are used by slavers to transport and hatch the Bynaian eggs. Feathered babies become the servants of the highest bidder.”
“That has to be illegal,” said Sergeant Carlyle.
“The Bynas haven’t been here long enough to work their way into our laws,” said Kate. “It’s definitely immoral.”
“Skekko must have been selling them,” said William. Everyone stopped for a moment to think. “What do we do with them now?”
Kate became adamant. “We can’t leave them here. We’ll need to take them with us to the embassy.”
William picked one up, but the dinie blocked his exit. “The eggs are mine!” it shrieked.
“Are those things supposed to talk?” William asked Kate.
“No – it’s impossible,” she answered. The dinie was baring its teeth as well, its claws slashing the air. “It’s possessed!” shouted Kate to the others. “Kill it!”
Before anyone could move, the dinie rushed towards the detective, slicing William’s left arm with his talons. Kate grabbed William’s laser-pistol, decapitating the pet.
Suddenly a fog hissed out of the body of the dinie, becoming what could only be described as a demon. It towered over the humans with glowing red eyes and needle-like teeth. “We’ll meet again, cop,” it promised before filtering through the wall.
“What was that?” gasped Carlyle.
Kate drew a deep breath before answering. “There’s a myth about an ancestor that was chased by a vapor demon up a cliff wall where he found refuge inside a cave. He made his home there, eventually growing wings so he would never be in danger again.”
“That spirit thing probably wanted those eggs so he could murder and eat them when they hatched – the way it ate poor Skekko.” William shook his head. “We’ll have to start checking those pets when they come through customs – to see if they’re possessed.”
Sergeant Carlyle looked worried. “What happens when these mist demons run out of their natural prey and start in on humans?”
“I guess whoever’s left had better learn how to fly,” said William.
The End