Page 37 of Shadow of Death
“Okay, so, go back a little over three hundred years ago in Salem, Massachusetts. They hanged people for being witches. But they never had any proof against them—they justbelievedthere were such things as witches. You know about that, right?”
“Sure. We studied it in school.”
“Well, they didn’t just hang witches in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They hanged Quakers—for worshipping a little bit differently. Thankfully, it all stopped and we entered what we call our Age of Enlightenment. Several of our Founding Fathers, born Puritans, became part of that Age of Enlightenment and wanted to make sure no one ever had a fight, or got a little scared, or even wanted someone else’s land and claimed they were a witch. That’s why we have a separation of church and state and—”
“The inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!”
“Yep, that’s it,” Hunter said.
Brian smiled just as they pulled into headquarters. Then he looked at the building apprehensively.
“It’s going to be okay,” Hunter told him.
The boy nodded and opened his car door. He stood tall and straightened his jacket. He looked back at Hunter.
“I’m going to help in any way I can. And I’m going to make my mom and dad help. I mean, if my mom...”
“We’re going to go on faith right now,” Hunter said. “As far as your mom and dad, we’ll work on them and do the very best we can.”
They started walking toward the entry when Brian suddenly stopped and turned to Hunter.
“What is it?”
“I—I heard people talking. Your people. And they were talking about Mateus. They were saying he had been shot—”
“Yes, he was shot.”
“But...” Brian paused, wincing. “They couldn’t find him. His—his body.”
“Not yet. We will.”
“I just realized... I think I know where they may have put Mateus!”
7
“We’re still doing tests,” Dr. Linda Barton told Amy. Barton was a no-nonsense woman. Her hair was neatly clipped short, hugging her face, and if she was wearing makeup, it was minimal. She was an attractive woman with a dignified manner, probably close to fifty and not at all the kind to shrink from age, but rather a woman who would always accept it with determination and growth.
“Blood tests?” Amy asked. “She is going to be all right?”
She hadn’t gotten much out of the young woman on the way to the hospital as she sat by her side in the ambulance, holding her hand and trying to keep her calm. Magda had sworn again and again she wasn’t evil; why had people thought she was evil? Yes, she was a stripper. But the club was legitimate. They did not sell the girls! Dancing was getting her through college.
Dr. Barton nodded. “Blood tests, urine tests. Right now, I believe a drug was slipped into her drink. We hear date-rape drugs a lot, but technically a date-rape drug is anything that makes a person more pliable and unable to defend themselves against sexual assault. Alcohol can be considered such a potion, and we all know that human behavior under the influence of too much alcohol can change. But I believe this woman was hit with either Rohypnol, a tranquilizer, and/or GHB, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid—also known by its street name ofeasy lay—just before she left the club where she works.” She paused and shrugged. “I know the place where Magda dances. I picked my husband up there after a bachelor party for another of our physicians here. He said it was fun and totally aboveboard, and that’s the general perception. Yes, girls dance to excite and please men—but the place is owned by a couple, and the wife is an ex-stripper who made her way through to a law degree by stripping and married a customer. They wanted a legit club. Anyway, whoever did this must have been at the club. Magda is doing well now. I’m more worried about her physical response to the mental pressure she’s suffering now, rather than what was in her drink and what was done to her. I understand her would-be murderer was shot just seconds before the knife fell. Anyway, she wants to talk with you again—she seems to need you. And I believe she will be fine physically and sure as hell won’t forget this. But with the help of some good therapy, she can get by it. Whatever the combo of drugs, we’ll flush them out of her tonight. Of course, I know it’s important you speak with her further, and... I’ve heard more about her vitals than what happened, but I watch and read the news. I’ve been hearing about the horrible events occurring, and you need to get out there and catch the monsters doing all these awful things.” She hesitated briefly again and then rushed on with, “Mike Adler—Doctor Adler, the medical examiner—is a friend. And he’s told me about some of the victims discovered in the pits. I have to say, I am so grateful this girl has come to me—and not Mike.”
“We’re grateful, too,” Amy said.
“You saved her. You shot and killed a man. You’re a heroine.”
“Dr. Barton, I’m sorry, I shot a man before he could kill someone else, but I’m never happy about taking a human life.”
“Of course not. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to infer... I’m not a bloodthirsty person, quite the opposite, of course, but Magda has been doing a lot of murmuring...ranting, really. They intended to kill her and cut out her heart and eat her flesh?”
“That’s what we’re hearing,” Amy said. “Agents are out there scouring the area now for the rest of the group. We’ll get to the bottom of it.”
She was confident and determined. And she believed her own words. She knew they would get to the bottom of it because neither she nor Hunter nor many others would stop until they did.
She just didn’t know how long it would take. Or how many more might die before they stopped the “horsemen” from running rampant against them.
“May I see her now?” Amy asked.
