Hollow Nights (Deziel Book One)

Early Start

For Katie, waking up to a phone call from work was never a good sign, especially when it was one o'clock in the morning. The erupting ring of the mobile rattled her eardrums, forcing her eyes open. She stumbled forward, grasping it and answering with an exhausted; "Hello?" The low, seemingly disturbed voice of her brother, the Police Commissioner, responded statically. 

      "Katie," He said, almost whispering. "I understand that it is your first night back from Brazil, but there is something you must see. Come down to 24 Queen Street ASAP." With that command, the call died. Katie found herself driving down the Aquinas Highway, dressed in a plain brown t-shirt and denim jeans, heading as fast as she could towards the destination. The engine of the black Commodore came to a whirring halt as she approached 24 Queen Street. Blue and red lights emitted from the two police cars stationed outside the apartment complex. The moon shone bright and full above her long, lush brown curls as she departed from the car. 

    Her brother was waiting out the front, looking the palest she had ever seen him; almost as pale as the moonlight. Seeing her approaching, he forced a small smile to be printed on his thin lips. 

    "Hello, Katie." He gave her an awkward hug. "I'm so sorry for the late notice. We only got the call an hour ago."

    "It's fine." Katie shrugged it off, annoyed at the fact that she didn't have time to tie up her hair, which whipped at her face in the ferocious wind. "What did you want to show me?" Katie was the force's finest forensic analyst, even though she didn't really work at the force itself. It helped that she was the Commissioner's sister. He would often call her onto scenes that others would struggle to analyse. She had a keen eye, he would always argue; more than our previous forensic investigator. They came to a pine door, blue paint peeling away, the number fifteen in faded gold at eye's length. 

The Commissioner opened the door. 

The first thing Katie saw was the sign, drawn in flesh and blood, resembling an upside-down crucifix. Immediately, Katie knew that this murder was the subject of a criminal who had killed five people across the nation in the past two months. He, or she, had an obsession with symbols, especially the ones that were considered anti-religious. She stepped forward, further entering the apartment. To her right, sprawled out along the couch, was a naked, beheaded man. The head was leaning in the body's arm, tucked underneath the armpit. Blood stained the torso and genitalia, the wall, couch and floor. The blood was already brown and sticky, flies licking away at the exposed flesh that once sported a head. Before she could say anything, another voice came behind her. She turned, seeing a teen, no older than sixteen, leaning against the wall opposite the body. 

    "He's been like that for at least six to seven hours." The boy said, staring at the body through the tuft of black hair that covered his left eye. His body was slim, yet strong, shown through the hardened chest revealed by his low cut, white shirt. The vest he wore was tore and made of black leather, his denim jeans cut halfway up the right side. "Seems like the killer had a thing for the Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Katie could see a hint of admiration in his serious, hazel eyes. 

    "Excuse me?" She questioned. 

    "The head, resting under the arm. It just screams of the headless horseman. Or rather, some modern depictions of it." The boy appeared at her side, never taking his eyes off the scene. "The inverted crucifix, a common symbol of the anti-christ. Oddly enough, it is said that St. Peter chose to be crucified in this way. He believed he was never to be compared to Jesus. Still, Peter is said to be the first Pope. Odd, isn't it, that a religious symbol can be considered demonic if it was changed slightly. It could mean that religion is led by greedy demons...No offense." He smirked at Katie, baring his sharp, white teeth. She just glanced at him, perplexed, her mind fluttering away with the amount of information he knew. How did he come up with all those deductions in an hour? 

    "Who are you?" They were the only words she could muster in her astonishment. His eyes rippled with pride, boasting of the intelligence he held in his psyche. He seemed somewhat familiar to Katie, but from where?

     "I'm the teen who helped your brother with those High School murders while you were sunbaking in Brazil. Name's Deziel." He offered her his hand, which she shook cautiously. "Back to the scene, shall we?" He walked to the centre of the room and observed the inverted crucifix painted on the wall. 

     "Some are calling him the next Jack the Ripper, even though he also targets men. However, the media have dubbed him Ichabod Crane, after the protagonist of Sleepy Hollow. I find it ridiculous they name him that. Then again, I guess the name, Headless Horseman is just as crap. Hm, no signs of forced entry, no locks broken, the door is still in one piece." 

      "Any motifs?" Katie asked. She felt inexperienced compared to Deziel, who seemed to be able to discern everything at one observation. 

       "None." Deziel crossed his arms, a look of the outmost concentration on his lean face. "Although, there is one thing missing." 

        "What is it?" 

       "A Bible."