The Cactus Killer (The Inglewood Chronicles) (10 page)

“
No, nothing so simple like
that. This is where he talks about injecting his followers with
‘Holy Water’ to make them invincible in the upcoming war with the
daemons.”

“
You mean to tell me all
those men we found were injected with some sort of
concoction?”

“
I will be most interested
to hear what Dr. Tello discovers from the body we were able to
bring back.”

I looked at the clock and
it was almost eight in the morning. The doctor had emailed everyone
this morning and asked for us to meet in her autopsy at Full Moon
General at nine to go over everything. She had the two bodies from
the mine attack, Hector Alvarez, and now our John Doe from Elephant
Butte. I was really hoping that something of value could be found
from one of them. The deeper we got into this, the more the idea of
Warren Tucker out there operating as he saw fit scared
me.

The rest of the morning
sped by and soon we were heading down to see the doctor. We were
met by the entrance by my dad, Chaz, and Billy. Apparently the
mayor was already here and being briefed. We hopped on the next
elevator and soon were in the basement and being let into
autopsy.

Dr. Tello’s had popped up
when we entered. “Gentlemen, lady, I am very glad you were all able
to make it this morning. As I was just going over with the mayor,
we have some very disturbing events happening.”

I saw Argent sitting in the
corner and I am pretty sure I’d never seen the man so distressed
looking in my life. “Are you okay mayor?”

“
Vic, what Dr. Tello is
about to share with all of us cannot leave this room.” He then
looked at Liz and sighed. “This might be most troubling to you in
particular Ambassador Swansea.”

I was confused by that, but
no time like the present to get a mystery solved. “Well doctor,
what did you find?”

She walked up to Alvarez,
“The werewolf was drugged with wolfsbane, injected in the back of
the neck. He would never have struggled. The cactus was inserted
next followed by the gunshots. Each bullet was silver.”

That all made sense; the
wolfsbane drug is like chloroform to werewolves. And of course
silver was used; its properties are toxic to most of the
supernatural world.

Next, she walked in between
the dead bodies from the mine attack. I noticed they also had scars
on them, but not to the extent of the monster or guy we found
yesterday. “These two and our green friend shed the most light.
Where you see the scars, right underneath are ports used in
chemotherapy.”

“
Did all these guys have
cancer then?”

“
No, it was not used for
that. Instead each was injected with something. I think these two
over here were just starting, as the chemical compound did not have
time to turn them green. The last body had experienced numerous
injections and his body was breaking down by the time you found
him.”

Dad walked over and got a
closer look at them. “Just what were they injected with
Donna?”

“
Callum, they were injected
with a mixture of silver nitrate, mercury, and vampire’s
blood.”

“
What?” Everyone turned to
Liz and if it was possible her face was even whiter than
normal.

“
I am very sorry, it
appears whoever was doing this to these gentlemen was using
vampire’s blood as the main ingredient.”

“
What caused them to go
green?” Chaz was examining the John Doe on the end.

“
That would be the silver
nitrate; it responded to the chemicals in the body and caused the
green hue.”

“
Is that musky scent I keep
picking up from this shit?” It had been at every scene so far, so
it would make sense.

“
Yes it is sheriff. That
seems to be another by-product of the mixture.”

“
As you all can see, our
serial killer is trying to create an army to wipe us all out.”
Argent had finally stood up and was walking back over to the group.
“Ambassador Swansea, I feel you may need to get the rest of your
council involved. This is reaching code red levels.”

“
I was just thinking the
same thing mayor. The use of vampire blood in such a way is an
abomination. Something must be done quickly.”

I took my eyes off the
scene before me. “Doctor, is there anything else you found?
Anything that might point towards a base of operations?”

She considered my question
for a moment. “I’ve been thinking about this most of the evening.
You would need medical supplies and a stable place to keep the
vampire blood. An abandoned hospital would be the most obvious
choice but even an old refinery would have the necessary facilities
if you had your own supplies.”

“
Thank you for your time
doctor. This definitely gives us something to work
with.”

We all filed out a little
more uneasy then when we arrived. On the elevator ride back up, Liz
filled the three Alphas and Billy in on the documents discovered at
the church.

“
So I am guessing that this
Holy Water is what Tucker is calling the chemical he’s injected in
those guys?”

“
I think so dad, but I have
one question. Not one of those boys looked like the monster in El
Paso. So either most people aren’t compatible with such a mixture
or is it possible that he’s changed the formula?”

“
This is just getting
worse. Chaz, Callum would you come to the office with me? We need
to get in touch with as many Red, Black, and Silver Alphas as we
can from here to California. We need to snuff this guy out of
whatever hole he crawled into.”

“
While you guys do that, I
will head back to the office. Hopefully Jacobs has something from
her meeting with Sheriff Munoz. Plus, Ambassador Swansea can use
the office phone to maybe get a conference call going or
something.”

The three Alphas left and
before the three of us went over to the office, I pulled Billy
aside. “My gut tells me this guy is close. I want you to go up to
Truth or Consequences and get a hold of as many condemned building
notices as you can. If anyone asks, just tell them we are looking
for a spot to buy to expand the silver mine operation.”

“
You got it boss. Do you
need anything else?”

“
Don’t be afraid to put
some feelers out if you come across anything suspicious. But do not
engage anyone; if needed, call me and we can make the run
up.”

I gave him a pat on the
back and he was off.

“
Will he be
okay?”

“
Don’t let the act fool
you, he is a good investigator. I think our best chance to locate
this guy just drove off.”

We hopped into the Mustang
and headed over to the office. I would set up the conference line
for Liz and then meet with Jacobs to go over everything she learned
from Munoz. I hoped today would be the day we caught our first big
break in all of this.

When we pulled into the
office, the lights were all still off. Jacobs’ car was here, so
that seemed a bit strange to me. I pulled into the parking spot and
when we got out, the musky smell was here too. Not as strong, but I
picked it up. I pulled Roscoe out.

“
What is wrong
Vic?”

“
That smell is here. Make
sure you got that tanto out at all times.” She nodded and pulled
hers from the scabbard.

We slowly walked into the
office and followed the scent. I picked up blood too and I knew it
was not going to be good. I kicked the door open to Jacobs’ office
and lowered my gun. She was sitting on her chair with a piece of
cactus stuck to her face. I counted five bullet wounds to her
torso, plus numerous slash wounds.

“
Vic, you should turn
around.”

I did and stuck to the back
of her door with a knife was a note, written in what looked like
blood. It simply said ‘We’re watching you.’ 

It had been two days since
I resigned from the office of sheriff. Dad had taken over and my
oldest brother Bernard, took over as the detective. I had gone to
Argent’s office the afternoon after Talia had been
murdered.

“
Why are you doing this
Victor?” He looked at the badge lying on his desk.

“
Mayor, I don’t plan on
bringing this guy in peacefully. There will be blood on my hands
after this is over and I’m not going to taint the position. Maybe
down the road I will regret my choice, but today, I regret not
being there with Talia to put a bullet in this bastard’s
head.”

Talia’s family was against
a big funeral, so it was a very small and private affair. In fact,
Billy and I were the only ones there who weren’t directly related
to her. I almost got the feeling that the family blamed the
department for their loss. No one said it outright, but the chilly
reception was all that was needed to convey the message.

Liz continued to stay at my
house, saying there was no reason to move to another safe house.
Billy also came over each day. He had given my dad a copy of all
the abandoned factories and hospitals within a three hour radius.
He also gave me a copy.

“
She was my friend, Vic. I
know we both don’t like excessive force, but right now, I want
nothing more than to see this guy’s lifeless body in the autopsy
room.”

I promised him that I would
not give up until I ended this. I was sitting out back on my deck
and reading each condemned building notice. It was a cool evening
and the sun had just set, so I wasn’t surprised when Reno popped
out and sat down too.

“
Find anything good
yet?”

“
There is an abandoned
hospital outside an old reservation on the state line. I was
thinking of taking a trip down there.”

“
What are you waiting for
then? Tonight seems like a good night to cut loose.”

He was right, no better
time than the present to get a move on things. “You think Liz and
Phil will be up for it?”

“
Oh, I think they can be
easily persuaded.” He headed back on in. I put the address into my
phone and went back in as well.

“
We are going to check this
place out tonight I suspect?”

Liz was sitting at the
kitchen table when I entered. “Yeah, I think it is time to stop
sulking and get back on the case you hired me for.”

“
I agree we should go, but
you cannot be reckless. I know your friend’s death is hard, but she
would not want you to get yourself killed either.”

“
I don’t plan on dying
tonight. I’d never forgive myself if I didn’t finish
this.”

“
Good, then let us get
ready. I hope, for once, we can take the fight to them instead of
the other way around.”

She was right; we were
waiting for them to mess up and always on the ropes with their
moves. Warren Tucker was a dangerous man and we had given him
enough time. He had shown no regard for life, including other
humans. There may not be anything at this hospital, but we couldn’t
go in casually, we had to be ready for everything and
anything.

When we were all prepared
as well as we could be, we loaded up into the cars. Reno and Phil
had a pretty sweet Tahoe which also doubled as an armory. All sorts
of guns and blades were laying in the trunk and
backseat.

“
Take your pick Vic, we
have plenty.”

“
Thanks Reno, but my gun
and my blade will do. I’m going to dance with the girls that
brought me you know.”

Reno laughed at me while
him and Phil made sure everything was loaded and ready at a
moment’s notice. Liz picked up a Desert Eagle that was almost as
big as she was. She must’ve seen the look of amusement on my
face.

“
It is not polite to judge
a lady by her gun.” She turned to her guys, “Let us get a move on.
I do not want to keep anyone waiting.”

Everyone nodded and soon we
were headed down the highway. We followed the road to El Paso, but
got off at the exit before the state line. Another fifteen minutes
later and we were the only vehicles for miles. We continued through
the old reservation and once we exited on the other side, we saw
the abandoned hospital looming in the distance. It was obvious at
first sight it hadn’t seen patients in awhile. The road itself
turned to dirt and boards and broken windows dotted the whole
building.

When we pulled into what
was left of the EMT entrance, you could see the doors had been
broken down. When I got out of the car, I took in my environment
and caught the familiar smell that had been haunting me this entire
time.

“
They were here, it has
faded pretty well, but the smell still lingers.”

“
That sucks, I was hoping
for some action.”

I rubbed my face, I wanted
to bust some people up too. However, it was worth taking a look
around. I was about to suggest that when my phone rang. I didn’t
recognize the number, but I answered anyway.

“
You are certainly full of
surprises, sheriff. I am so glad I found a new sanctuary before you
came knocking here.”

It was a man’s voice, deep
and a bit off, that is the best way I can describe it. “Rev. Tucker
I reckon?”