Page 16 of Shadow of Death
Still drying his hair, he took his Glock from the shelf and made his way to the bedroom, setting the handgun on the bedside table.
Amy was already in bed, curled beneath a sheet, damp hair stretched out on a towel on her pillow. She had turned the lights off and tuned soft music on the clock radio.
He curled up next to her and reached for her.
Then discovered she was sound asleep.
He smiled. That kind of thing could happen when you worked endless hours in a row. A couple grew comfortable.
He didn’t think they had let go of an iota of the excitement they shared in being together. He found her extraordinarily beautiful. And sensual.
But it would take him some time to get to sleep.
And there was no way in hell he would wake her now. Because they would have their private time together, time that allowed them to savor what was beautiful in life—after watching so much of what could be so horrendously ugly.
He eased down at her side and pulled her against him.
And eventually, sleep did come.
“This room has never been this busy...this fully occupied,” Dr. Adler told Amy and Hunter as they stood with him at the doorway to a large room where a half-dozen medical examiners and their assistants were busy working at silver-toned gurneys throughout.
“Anything yet that might help us?” Hunter asked.
Adler nodded grimly. “I believe we do. At least, we’re connecting bodies with names. Sad, but still better than not knowing. Wondering is crushing.”
“Yes, it is,” Amy agreed. “But—”
“So far,” Adler said, “it does appear the victims starved to death, or in a few cases, perished due to heart attacks or heart failure. There were very few broken bones, considering the circumstances. This all leads me to believe they were lured or brought to the caves and forced down into the pit and left with the bodies of those who came before them to suffer the same fate.”
“Is that why some resorted to cannibalism?” Amy asked.
Adler frowned. “No, that’s one of the strange anomalies here, and we’ve only just begun our work. Normally, we wouldn’t have started until morning but due to the circumstances, we called an all-hands-on-deck and began the minute we had the bodies back here and washed. No easy task, I assure you.”
“I saw some of the corpses,” Hunter said. “They were gnawed on by something; and I couldn’t help but assume it was another human being since a creature couldn’t have crawled out, either, and the bite marks were not those of rats.”
“No, no, you were right. But we haven’t found a fragment of an ounce of human flesh in any of the stomach contents of the victims thus far.” He winced. “With those victims...the gnawing was done before death, before they arrived in the pit.”
Amy winced inwardly.
“They weren’t bitten because someone was starving to death?” she asked.
Adler shook his head.
“Thanks,” Hunter said. He turned grimly to Amy. “We’re dealing with a very strange puppet master again. Someone who has convinced others terrible things must be done in preparation for the coming Apocalypse.”
“A religious fanatic?” Adler asked. “I’ve had a body or two drained of blood because of a so-called vampire cult, but biting is new for me.”
“Oh, I doubt the head man—or woman—is a fanatic. I’m imagining someone with a goal in mind—but someone charismatic who can sway and manipulate others. And I’m hoping we will discover a link between victims.”
“Lists of those we’ve identified with approximate dates for their deaths and causes are ready for you at the reception area,” Adler said.
“We’ll be teaming with local agents and the police and start immediately,” Amy told him.
“I hope you catch this monster. Before you find another mud pit,” Adler said.
“I’m hoping there isn’t another one out there already,” Hunter said.
He looked at Amy; they silently agreed they needed to go and get to work. There was little more they could discover at the morgue now. They knew Adler would keep them up to date on any discovery.
