Sacred Evil (Krewe of Hunters) Read online

  “Captain Tyler? You’re certain you saw the woman who was killed?” Jude asked.

  “Oh, yes, her picture has been all over the news.” Captain Tyler smiled, seeing Jude Crosby’s frown. “Pete’s Appliances, up on Reade Street. He keeps the news on all the time in his shop-front window,” Tyler explained. “They’ve been blasting that girl’s face over the airwaves all day.”

  “Can you tell us, please, about when you saw her last night?” Jude asked.

  Captain Tyler nodded gravely. “She was walking up Broadway. I asked her for change, or for a dollar. She was rude. I think she said that I was an old junkie. I have never sold drugs. I took some drugs. I was in the jungle. It was the only way to stay in the jungle.” He shook his head. “They say she was ripped up bad. I’ve seen men living and breathing and running into battle, and then their young bodies literally blown to bits, their limbs here and there. But they are saying that the girl was gutted… She wasn’t nice, but I hope she went quickly.”

  “Captain Tyler, would you come with me to the station?” Jude asked him. “I’d like to get your statement down on paper.”

  “Statement?” Captain Tyler said, confused.

  “Yes, everything you have to say can help us,” Jude told him.

  Whitney looked at Jude, frowning. He couldn’t believe that this dignified old man, down and out as he was, had hurt anyone.

  “But—”

  He glared at her fiercely. So much for cooperation; this was his case.

  Captain Tyler nodded, looking at Whitney with a smile. “Free hot coffee, even if it’s bad,” he said.

  “I’ll get you good coffee,” she promised him. “And, are you hungry?”

  Captain Tyler was hungry. Jude seemed impatient, but when she started into the nearest coffee shop, he muttered and eased past her, buying Captain Tyler a large coffee and an Italian sub, and paying for it himself.

  At the station, Jude moved through the offices, pausing only briefly to rattle off a few names in introductions she couldn’t possibly remember. He directed her to one door while he directed Captain Tyler in through another door. She found herself in a small room behind one-way glass. She saw Jude sit Tyler down, and he asked the man his first name. It was Michael. As Jude politely laid out the lunch and waited for Michael Tyler to eat, an older man joined her in the room, offering his hand. “I’m Deputy Chief Green. I know that they call me D-Chiefy behind my back, and I answer quickly to Green,” he told her, his tone pleasant and easy as he studied her. “And you’re the first of the feds?” he asked.

  She smiled, offered her hand in return and told him, “Yes, I’m the first of the feds. I’m Whitney Tremont.”

  “Well, glad to have you. I spoke briefly to Agent Crow. He said not to be fooled by your size, that you’re as strong as a diamond. Is that true?”

  She arched a brow. “Well, I’m not sure about that. I’m fascinated enough by what I do to walk boldly into the fray.”

  He nodded with a small smile. “Jude met you at Blair House?”

  “Indeed.”

  “You and your team will be all right there?”

  “It’s beautiful. We’re grateful for the lodging,” she said.

  “Well, we’re glad to have any and all help on this one. We have to nip this thing right in the bud,” he said, turning to watch through the glass. She thought that he might be one man who had been raised to the right position; he had an easy manner about him, but he watched the proceedings with sharp eyes, and she didn’t think that he missed much. He’d done an assessment of her, she was sure, and he’d probably come to his own conclusions, with or without comment from Jackson Crow. But then Jackson and Angela Hawkins did have an edge over the rest of the team. Jackson had been an agent for years before becoming head of their team; Angela had been a cop in Virginia. She, on the other hand, had been sought out because she’d refused to doctor film that she’d taken of an actual ghost—because it hadn’t been doctored to begin with! And Adam Harrison, who had put them all together, had been fascinated with her abilities with film and video, and her background, perhaps. However, after they had proved themselves with the Holloway case, they’d all received training, and she was confident in the training she’d received.

  However, a man like Jude Crosby would consider her too inexperienced and too young and maybe even, eventually, too emotional; maybe she was, in a way. A way that she hoped stood her well. Emotions came along with instinct and intuition, and she and the team relied heavily on intuition. When she watched Captain Tyler, she was still somehow convinced of his innocence. The man’s hands shook, perhaps due to Parkinson’s or something, but she was certain that he wasn’t on drugs. She wasn’t sure what she expected; she had never conducted an in-office police interview. The only interviews like this that she’d ever seen had been on television. But Jude was never rude to the man. There were none of the softly spoken questions followed by yelled accusations or hands beating on the table that she had seen on television shows. He just asked Captain Michael Tyler to remember everything about the night and his meeting with Virginia Rockford.

  He grew very serious, though, leaning forward as he asked, “Captain Tyler, after Miss Rockford passed by you, what did you do? What did you see? She must have been murdered right after she passed you. If you saw or heard anything else, we need to know.”

  Whitney was surprised when Tyler paused like a man who did have something to contribute. He shivered—or trembled—and then shook his head.

  “I’m not always…right. You know, I mean…in the head. I hear explosions when they’re not happening. I see…I see enemy faces in a crowd. I’m not always—right.”

  “That’s okay. I understand. But anything you saw or heard or thought that you saw or heard will help me. Anything.”

  “A man,” Captain Tyler said.

  “What did this man look like? Did you see him with Miss Rockford?” Jude asked.

  Tyler shook his head and closed his eyes. He seemed to be in pain. “I’m not sure he was real. He seemed tall in the night, but it might have been his hat. He wore a tall hat. And—and a cloak. And he was carrying something. A bag. Like…”

  “Like a backpack?” Jude pressed.

  “No. Like an old doctor’s bag,” Tyler said.

  Jude sat back a moment, and then asked, “Did you see the man with Ginger Rockford?”

  Tyler said, “No. I saw him under the street lamp. I saw him from a distance—he was down Broadway when the young woman was telling me I was a junkie. I’ve never been a junkie. I didn’t see his face, but I did see that he looked strange—as if he didn’t belong there. As if he had…stepped out of the mist from some other time.” He winced again, and gripped his trembling hands together. “I told you—I go to the hospital now and then, but…when I’m on the street, I see things.”

  Jude nodded. “Thank you. Captain Tyler, can you still write?”

  “Yes.”

  Jude passed him a legal pad. “Please, write down everything that you thought you saw. We deeply appreciate your help.”

  Tyler looked at the pad and held the pencil awkwardly for a moment, and then started writing. Jude waited patiently with him, and then excused himself while Tyler set about finishing his task.

  Jude entered the small chamber where Whitney stood with Green.

  “He’s not our killer,” Jude said.

  “No,” Green agreed. “From my experience, this man wouldn’t be capable.”

  “You’ve introduced yourselves, I presume?” Jude asked. “Deputy Chief Nathaniel Green, Whitney Tremont.”

  “We’ve met, thank you,” the deputy chief said. “What do you think about the man he saw? Sounds like the image of the Ripper. Do you think that the media is going to cause everyone out there to start seeing men in stovepipe hats and cloaks, carrying medical bags, around the city?”

  “Probably,” Jude said wearily. “But I still wanted to talk to Captain Tyler myself. We believed that he was in the area, and so it was im
portant to know what he had to say. He’s not the killer. From what he’s said, it’s looking more possible that we do have a psycho out there who wants to be the new Jack the Ripper.”

  “Ellis Sayer called in right before I joined Miss Tremont. He’s talked to Angus Avery, the director on the film Miss Rockford was working on at the site. He’s arranged to meet you at the old diner up in Soho… He should be here in the next half hour.”

  The deputy chief nodded. “Sayer also told me that you’ve set up a meeting with the task force in the morning—let’s hope it’s a quiet night.”

  “Let’s hope. We have anything from Forensics?”

  “We will soon.”

  Jude started out of the room, and then paused. “Sir, do you think we could get someone to—”

  “I’ll get an officer to see if we can get Captain Tyler into a shelter for the night. He may refuse our help, but I’ll offer what we can,” Green said.

  Jude nodded. He sighed, as if he’d forgotten to pick up a brick he had to carry around his neck.

  “Agent Tremont?”

  “Sir,” Whitney said to Green. It was nice to meet you or it was a pleasure just seemed wrong under the circumstances.

  “Good to have you here, Agent Tremont,” Green told her, and she thanked him.

  Once again, she had to hurry to catch up with Jude. He was already moving through the building.

  She realized quickly that he didn’t intend to ditch her—brick around his neck or no, he’d been given his orders regarding her federal involvement along with the rest of the team, and as long as she didn’t get in his way, she’d be fine. He simply assumed that she’d follow at his speed.

  And so she kept up. She was at the passenger’s side of his car again before he could open the driver’s side.

  She buckled in silently. As they pulled out into traffic again, she realized that he glanced at her.

  “You heard him, of course.”

  “Captain Tyler?”

  “Yes.”

  “Of course. I hear very well, Detective. Young ears, you know.”

  She thought that he almost grinned. “I’m not sure exactly what insights the specialty of your team might provide, but I don’t believe that the ghost of Jack the Ripper has come to murder people in New York City.”

  “I don’t believe that, either,” she assured him.

  “But you do believe in ghosts,” he said. Lord! She’d heard that tone often enough.

  “I believe that, frequently, by looking at the past, we can understand what’s happening in the present,” she said evenly.

  He made some kind of snorting sound that was almost beneath his breath.

  Whitney held her silence.

  “Ghosts,” he muttered after a minute.

  She turned to stare at him. “Do you have any religious beliefs, Detective? Are you an atheist?”

  She thought his jaw hardened, but it was difficult to tell with him. He hid his emotion well—unless he meant for it to show.

  “Do I believe in God? Yes, I suppose I believe in a higher power.”

  “Hmm.” She allowed herself a small sniff.

  “And what does that mean?”

  “Crosby—Irish. I’ll bet you grew up Catholic,” she said.

  “Tremont—French? Hmm. New Orleans. Catholic—Baptist, voodooist, vampire Buddhist…Wiccan?”

  She shook her head, offering him a smile with just a slight edge. He wasn’t happy that he was saddled with a small woman. She was also a woman of mixed heritage who came from a city known for its alternative beliefs—voodoo, mumbo jumbo, as some thought. “Obviously, my background is mixed,” she told him. “But, you see, my point here is that anyone who grew up Catholic, or in many of the Christian religions, already acknowledges a ‘holy’ ghost in the Nicene Creed. Most of us worship a higher, unseen power. Most people worldwide have some kind of faith in an afterlife, and if we can believe this without seeing what lies beyond, why does it seem so ridiculous that the energy that was life can stay behind?”

  His eyes were on the road ahead of him. She saw the muscles in his face twitch. He didn’t believe that energy stayed behind.

  “Hell,” he said, glancing her way, “if you can solve this case with ghosts, just go right on and be my guest.”

  Whitney smiled, not responding. There was something she liked about him, despite his curt manner with her. He had a good strong jawline and steady eyes. She thought he probably hit a gym now and then and she wondered if he spent time with a punching bag—he had callused knuckles.

  “Angus Avery…I know the name. He’s not as big as a Spielberg, but he’s not an unknown,” Whitney said.

  “That’s right—your expertise is film.”

  “Yeah, I’m good with it—you wait and see,” she told him. “I worked with some excellent people—filmmakers from several of the major educational channels. I’d intended to make documentaries. Eventually, I would have found my own projects.”

  “But you woke up one morning and decided you wanted to be an FBI agent?” he asked.

  She looked over at him. He glanced her way, but his attention was for driving.

  “I like where my life has gone,” she said. “And even you will like Jackson Crow and some of the others.”

  He laughed. “Even me?”

  “You’re not pleased to have me hanging around.”

  To her surprise, he was quiet for a minute. “Sorry. It’s just that Monty—my partner—was like another half of me. We had a situation under control, and some idiot vigilante walked in and one man wound up dead and my partner may never walk again. You’re fine. In fact,” he said, and he grinned broadly, glancing her way again, “I think I’m happier to have you than whoever they might have assigned me. You’re a guest of the city police. You won’t be trying to second-guess me.”

  “I may be.”

  “Still, you’ll have to bow to my decisions—I’m lead.”

  “I’m sure the task force will all bow to you,” Whitney said.

  He swerved slightly, avoiding a taxi that didn’t seem to realize that there were lanes on Broadway. A few minutes later, in Soho, he pulled into a spot that had looked too small for the car.

  “Diner is up there, on the corner,” he said. He took her elbow, directing her toward the end of the street. Keeping up with him meant long strides, and she took them.

  They entered the touristy diner, which was decorated in red plastic and chrome with old movie posters on the walls. Looking around, Jude pointed down a row of glitter-red plastic booths.

  “Is that him?” he asked Whitney.

  She looked. A lone man was sitting in one of the middle booths. He was on his phone, and he’d doodled all over the napkin at his place setting. He had dark hair that was swept over his forehead in a strange way—hair transplant, gotta keep young, Whitney thought—and gold-rimmed glasses and he seemed to be thirty-five or so.

  “I think so,” she said. “Directors don’t have their pictures out there all that often, and I don’t think he’s been nominated for an Academy Award yet.”

  Jude edged her ahead of him and she walked toward the booth. “Mr. Avery?” she asked.

  He looked up and waved a finger at her, pointing at his phone. She held still politely.

  Jude did not.

  He flipped out his badge, and reached for Angus Avery’s phone, snapping it shut and returning it.

  “Sorry, Mr. Avery. I know that time is money in your line of work, but time could mean someone’s life in mine. I’m Detective Crosby, and this is Agent Tremont.”

  Avery took the closure of his phone with little more than a frown, but he seemed perplexed by Whitney’s appearance. “Agent?”

  “Agent Tremont is with a special unit of the FBI, Mr. Angus,” Jude explained, urging Whitney into the booth and taking the seat beside her. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” he said.

  Angus Avery nodded, and then shook his head sadly. “Hey. This is horrible. But, I have to tell you, I
think it’s almost my fault.”

  “You killed Miss Rockford?” Jude asked.

  “No! No, of course not!” Avery protested. “No, no—I should have stayed away from that location. I should have shot anywhere else in Manhattan—or Brooklyn, the Bronx, New Jersey or Hollywood, for that matter. It’s that damn location. It’s haunted—and it’s cursed. And God knows—the creature haunting the place might just be Jack the Ripper—the real Jack the Ripper!”

  He leaned forward. “Don’t you understand? Jack the Ripper left London and came to the United States. And when he did, that’s where he lived!”

  4

  Film people.

  Great. He couldn’t help it, he glanced at Whitney.

  She smiled. “Surely, Mr. Angus, you don’t believe that Jack the Ripper has lived all these years and that he’s just starting out to murder women again? At age one hundred plus.”

  “I knew all about the history of the location. I just doubted all that mumbo-jumbo ghost stuff, just the way you do.”

  “I heard something about the location this morning, but I don’t really know much about it,” Whitney said. She smiled at him. “I went to the film school at NYU, Mr. Angus. I loved living and working up here, but somehow, I never learned about the location you were using for the film shoot yesterday.”

  “Well, let me tell you about it,” Avery said, leaning toward Whitney.

  Maybe the young woman would turn out to be an odd asset, Jude decided. Angus Avery seemed to like her. She was encouraging him to talk. He did believe—gut feeling—that the movie had something to do with it all. Maybe her background was going to be a good thing.

  “The building they just tore down had no history. The Darby Building. It was an ugly old thing—built in the 1920s. No character, no class whatsoever. It should have been torn down. But what was on the site before—that’s where all the trouble comes from.”

  “And what was there before?” Whitney asked. “A friend of mine told me that it had been some kind of spiritualist church.”

  “An offshoot group of some whacked-out folks—now, I suppose it would be some kind of nondenominational thing—started out building a church. Plain church. Simple pews, no statues, no stained-glass windows. They began in the 1840s, but it was too close to St. Paul’s and Trinity to make the powers that be happy. Anyway, it became a ‘home.’ But it was a home for believers. I think it spent about twenty years becoming an old-fashioned halfway house for the homeless, immigrants, addicts, you name it. But by the end of the last decades of the nineteenth century, spiritualism was coming heavily to the fore, and along with spiritualism, you had devil worshippers, pagan cults and all that rot. So, imagine, you’ve got the House of Spiritualism here, and the Five Points area just blocks away. Slums and a cesspool. So. They start to clean up the Five Points area, and where do you think the real crackpots are going to come? Why, right over to the House of Spiritualism.”