Destiny

As Maya settled down on Liam’s black leather sofa, Liam handed her all of the reports about the deaths. Although each murder had internal organ ruptures, there were gradually less organs ruptured. The newest victim had no changes to existing organs, but an extra organ had suddenly grown and burst. The cause of death was listed as internal bleeding. The victim was found near a warehouse owned by EMIM (Environmental Marketing In Merchandise). There were prints found on the wall near the body that were still being run through the system.

If the deaths had been caused by magic, then no one she knew could have committed the crime. As a psychic, Maya had met nearly everyone in the magical community here in Tallahassee. She was sure none of them had the power to cause spontaneous organ failure. That meant that the killer was someone new to the area. The kind of power it took to murder people with magic was not something you could keep hidden from people with the Gift for very long. The fact that the killer had messed with their organs, as opposed to using elemental magic or psychic force, meant that they were a rogue healer.

“So?” Liam’s voice broke into her thoughts.

Maya straightened the papers and placed them back in their folder. “I’ll definitely need to examine the bodies, but it looks like, if this was magic, it was healing magic gone wrong. The only reason a healer would inflict harm on the human body, was if they weren't entirely sane. Or, perhaps if someone was controlling them, so we’ll see if I can pick up on any energy left behind. Then perhaps I can track them. Finding things is my Talent after all.

“Alright.” Sighed Liam. “I’ll speak with the captain tomorrow and try and get you into the morgue. Thanks for offering to help, this case has so many dead ends and yet more bodies keep showing up at an alarming rate.”


After speaking with Captain Malcolm, who was an old friend of Liam's father and agreed to bring Maya in as a consultant, Liam decided to check the lab to see if they had turned anything up.

At the lab only one set of fingerprints had matched ones they had on file. They belonged to a boy someone had filed a missing persons report on three years ago. Raphael Johnson, the photo in his file showed a scrawny blond-haired, blue-eyed, boy of thirteen. He would be sixteen now, and a possible criminal, though he was still a minor. Liam decided to check with EMIM and see if there was a legitimate reason for Raphael to be near that warehouse. Perhaps he worked for them -in which case he would be returned to his parents- if he didn't, he was definitely a prime suspect.




Liam glanced suspiciously at the EMIM employees as he entered the main office building. He had managed to arrange a meeting with the CEO. Tobias Donovan, about the deaths of his employees. The group was very fanatical about the protection of the earth. Liam wouldn't be surprised if the murders took place from within the company. The employees shot him strange looks as he entered the elevator.

Tobias was an imposing older gentleman. His hair was still black in spite of the creases around his eyes and mouth and his brown eyes had a reddish tint to them. He was seated behind a large metal desk, looking through some papers when Liam entered his office.

"Lt. welcome! I understand that you have some questions for me? He spoke without looking up.

Liam glanced suspiciously around the sparse office, "Yes, I was wondering if you had any enemies or angry employees, that could be responsible for the recent murders?"

Tobias chuckled, "There are quite a few companies and government agencies who aren't fond of me, but my employees have no reason to complain. And I doubt that a feud between my employees would have resulted in 8 deaths"

Liam studied the CEO, although he hadn’t yet looked up from his papers, he seemed sincere. "Alright, I expect a list of those people who ‘aren’t fond of you’ faxed over to the station this evening then. Thanks for your time."

At the door Liam paused and reached into his pocket for the picture of Raphael Johnson.
“Oh, I almost forgot, have you seen this boy? He would be sixteen by now. I was wondering if he worked for you?”

Tobias looked up and hesitated before responding. “ I don’t think so, but if you leave the photo here I can ask Louise in HR.”

“Certainly, I have another copy at the office.” Replied Liam as he set the photo on Tobias’ desk. “It’s an unrelated case but one of your employees spotted him near the crime scene and he’s a missing person.”

Tobias studied the photo. “I’ll tell Louise to make it a top priority. Will that be all lieutenant?”

“Yes, thank you for your time.” Nodded Liam. As he turned to close the door behind him he saw Tobias throw the photo in the wastebasket.

When Liam got back to his office he hung his jacket on the coat rack and dropped into his chair. He groaned when he noticed the pile of reports on his desk. He hated this case.

*Is Tobias Donovan so important that he can’t be bothered to take a photo down to his HR department? Or is he somehow involved in Raphael’s disappearance?*

He picked up his phone and dialed Maya. Surely she would be back from the morgue by now.

He relaxed back into his chair when Maya answered the phone.

“When I examined the body there was definitely an aura there, but twas almost like there's more than one."

"More than one murderer?" questioned Liam.

"Perhaps." Maya replied. "It's almost like the energy used here is the kind that is normally used by healers. It's overlaid by a much darker energy though, something I've never felt before. It's similar to the feeling I get when someone is possessed by a spirit."

Liam scowled. "Possession? With healing magic? Sounds like we won’t be able to convict anyone.”

“Whether we convict anyone or not, this person needs to be stopped.” Reasoned Maya. “Somebody is trying to rearrange people’s insides. The question is, who would want to change the insides of a human? Why? and who would have that level of power?"

“How the Hell should I know?” Liam muttered.

Maya sighed. “Ye’re not supposed to Liam I’m just filling you in on what I’ve found so far. I’ll be investigating the supernatural community tomorrow. Whoever is doing this is controlling a Healer, and a powerful healer at that. This could be some sort of ritual killing. Using Healing magic to kill like this...it twists your soul. Not only of the person controlling the Healer, but the Healer themselves is no doubt suffering a lot of psychological damage. Hopefully someone has noticed something that will offer a clue."

“Hopefully.” Agreed Liam. “I’m going to investigate the crime scene tonight. There’s something funny going on with that company.”

There was a silence before Maya replied. “Alright, but be careful Liam. I have a bad feeling about it.”