The Blood Priest

Miami: 1976

The long hours poring over case files was showing the fruits of its labour in Detective Daniel 'Madman' Mavis. His nine o'clock shadow and croissant like posture all showing the marks of a man with no control over his obsessive nature. The sick freak he was hunting had been gifted the name, 'The Blood Priest' dubbed as such because his victims were always found painted from head to toe in crosses of their own blood. Some kind of cult thing, like the Manson family times a thousand maybe. Or maybe it was a single perpetrator, carrying out some twisted religious crusade. Daniel reached into his shirt and pulled out the cross necklace he always wore under his clothes, grasping it tightly. The small, smooth wooden pendant provided a simple comfort, the lord was with him. He hoped it was also with his first partner Tyler Hadish, who was a victim of the Priests spree. Poor Hadish, he was a good man.

"Mavis, everything okay?"

Daniel broke from his train of thought and looked up to the determined, spry young man who was his new partner. Colby Pratchett, recently baptised into the rank of Detective, bright eyed, bushy tailed and determined to make a difference in the world.

"Yeah, fine." Daniel cleared his throat, hoping to get rid of the lump that had formed there thinking about Tyler, "What do you need?"

Colby perched himself on the edge of Daniel's desk and lowered his head, speaking in a whisper, "I wanted to run something by you, wanna go grab some food?"

"Sure." Daniel replied in a distracted tone, he slipped his jacket on and followed Colby out, who was balancing a small pile of casefiles in his arms.

They took Daniel's car, a second-hand Chevy Impala. The upholstery was a little worn from the many nights Daniel had slept in it on stakeouts but other than that, it was still in pretty good condition. He took his cross necklace from around his neck and hung it over the rear-view mirror as he did every time he drove. Colby reached over and tapped it lightly, so it swayed as the car pulled out in the street. "Big on religion?"

"In times like today, I don't how you can't be." Daniel replied. They pulled out onto the main road and Colby awkwardly fiddled with the radio dial to cut through the dense silence, eventually settling on a station fearlessly flaunting disco music. "What kind of music you listen to, Mavis?" Colby inquired casually. Daniel drummed his fingers on the steering wheel rhythmically watching the traffic whizz by, "I like classical, I guess...helps me think clearer."

"Hm, me I like something with a bit more life to it, something I can dance with my lady to, you feel me?" Colby chuckled dryly, expecting the same from Daniel but he got no reply of any sort. "So, no lady huh?" Colby could feel the conversation sinking like a sack of bricks, but he wasn't one to give up easily. Daniel sighed heavily before responding, "I used to, she's not around anymore."

Colby sat forward in his seat, "Oh man...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to...what happened?"

"She died. She was killed." Mavis's tone put the conversation to bed. Colby considered trying to apologise but decided the situation was more or less impossible to salvage so fell into awkward silence. The golden sun was falling low, soon to be replaced by the cool, brisk winds of the night.

The car pulled off the main road and passed along by the beach. The waning sunlight shimmered off the surface of the water like an ocean of diamonds, lapping tenderly at the honey-coloured sand. Daniel pulled the Chevy into a parking spot near the beach and let himself slump back into the leather embrace of the chair.

Daniel gestured vacantly somewhere in the direction behind them, "There's a uh, a small diner just behind us. Decent food, better view, if that's good with you."

"You had me at decent food." Colby smirked.

The aforementioned diner was a small typical American style place with red and white striped booths and big glass windows lining the front of the place so there was a beautiful view of the beach while you dined on burgers and fries. The diner was nearly completely empty, the odd soul occupying a few booths scattered around the place, the earthy aroma of coffee emanating around and the rhythmic mouse-like scratching of cutlery scraping plates. It was quiet enough that when Colby's stomach loudly gurgled like a clogged sink drain, he grew slightly red in the face and retreated into the nearest booth. Daniel immediately ordered a black coffee, but Colby had to send the waitress away 2 different times while he weighed up his options. With Daniel's 15 years in the police, a skill that had been a huge help in him becoming a detective was being able to notice the smaller details about people. Where their eyes would go when they answered a question, did they have to occupy their hands? Or in this case were they salivating like a malnourished dog standing outside a deli? What Daniel called 'tells' was what he was observing in his new partner. There wasn't a particular reason to do it now other than keeping the skill sharp...and killing the quite frankly absurd amount of time the man was taking to choose a meal. Colby finally slapped the menu done with a prideful grin and waved the waitress over. He ordered a cheeseburger and fries with onion rings and a coke and as the waitress fluttered away, he looked out the window, spying the passers-by, evening runners and dog walkers and the like. Daniel noticed the whole time he did this he twisted and fiddled with a wedding ring on his finger.

"You're supposed to be dieting, right? Joint effort with you and the wife?" Daniel said casually as he cradled the warmth of his cup. Colby looked aghast, "How- yeah...how do you know that?"

"You were practically drooling over the menu. Not a particularly odd thing to do if you were maybe in a 5 star, 'years salary spent in one night' kind of restaurant but a fast food joint? Figured you haven't been able to do so much as sniff anything like this in a while. Then the fiddling with the ring often suggests infidelity but you don't strike me as the type, you're staring out that window like you expect your wife to be out there, ready to catch you breaking your little pact. Sound about right?" He glanced casually from his coffee to his gobsmacked partner, Daniel's face suggested he didn't notice that he'd blown Colby's mind.

"Holy shit." Colby muttered

"Language."

"Sorry. Yeah, you got it. Every part. How the hell- I mean how'd you do that?"

Daniel took another sip of his coffee; they were only miniscule ones and he seemed to hardly be making a dent in it. "It's something I picked up over the years. You make enough mistakes, and you'll learn a hell of a lot from it."

"A lot of mistakes? We are talking about Madman Mavis here, right? I told my pals from the academy I was working with you and man. You're their hero man, mine too! People used to talk about you like you were an urban legend or something," Colby laughed, fondly reminiscing. "You're just kind of a legend is what I'm trying to say."

Daniel suddenly looked pale, and he slid his coffee down the table away from him, "I'm not a legend. Trust me, I've made some real mistakes."

Over the next half hour, Colby grilled Daniel with hundreds of questions about his career, listing off specific case examples on his fingers and navigating the tiniest of details that even Daniel had forgotten. He came across as something of a fanboy, the word fanatic even crossed Daniel's mind at one stage. While he thought Colby was perhaps a bit much, he did find himself taking a liking to the young detective. His bright eyed naivety and endless supply of optimism reminded Daniel of himself during his early days, when he felt like he was taking on the whole world of crime, and he was gonna win too! Of course, Daniel thought, that wasn't the case, or he wouldn't be here sitting with Colby instead of Tyler. Damn it, Tyler.

"Hey." Colby waved a hand in front of Daniel's face, and he jumped like he'd been woken from a dream, "You ready to go?"

"Sorry, I was somewhere else. Yeah, yeah I'm ready."

The last fleeting golden rays of sunshine had disappeared from the horizon now and the moon came creeping among the stars. The duo got back into the Chevy and Daniel, still thinking of Tyler, took the cross hanging from the rear-view in his hand for a few moments; he then shook his head and twisted the key into the ignition and pulled out onto the road.

"So, was that all you needed?" Daniel asked casually.

"What do you mean?"

Daniel turned onto the main road they'd arrived on, "You said you wanted to run something by me, it sounded more serious than asking about my career highlights."

"Oh ...right. Yeah, there was this other thing." Colby looked to the case files he'd left in the car at his feet and awkwardly started fumbling through them. Something in the way his face had changed seemed to darken the whole atmosphere in the car. "It's about the Blood Priest."

Daniel snapped his head over to his partner and almost swerved out of the lane, hurriedly rectifying his mistake to avoid an accident, "You have something?"

"It's more of a theory. I need you to promise me something."

"Okay."

"For the time being, this stays between us. I mean it, I need your word on this." Colby looked nervous, a bead of sweat even trickled down his pasty brow.

"Yeah, fine, just us."

Colby gulped and averted his eyes to the road, trying to find the right words, "I think the Priest might be a cop."

The Chevy screeched to a halt as Daniel pounded the brake with force akin to dropping a cinder block on it, "What the fuck, Colby?"

"Look- I know it sounds crazy but"

"I'm saying this to look out for you. Be very very careful with the next thing you say." Daniel jabbed a finger at Colby as he said this, his jaw clenched and his eyes carrying a darkness that made Colby feel slightly terrified.

"Like I said, it's just a theory, but it makes sense." the young detective stammered.

"Have you told anyone else about this? The Sergeant? An officer? Answer me, kid!" Why was Mavis getting so erratic? Colby thought to himself, I know his history with the Priest but...he's acting crazy.

"No," he responded, "I wanted to run it by you first."

Daniel sighed and laid his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes for just a moment, "Good." he said as he started the car again and headed down the road. They pulled in from the second exit when they came from the precinct, Daniel took the fourth. Colby looked back at the road signs and then to his partner, "Detective? Where are we going?"

"I need to show you something. Keep going, tell me what you have." Daniel drummed his fingers on the wheel, anxiously watching passing cars and eyeing the traffic lights as he listened to Detective Pratchett fumble through the file he had in his hand. "Look, we've been stumbling through the dark with this guy since the beginning. He stuck to a pattern, killing low level thugs and dealers. Did his whole creepy blood symbol thing. But never anything we can trace, not a single thing. 8 bodies in what are the odds of that? I think he knew what he needed to cover up because he'd been trained to look for it!"

Daniel snorted, "That's it?"

"No, because then he broke the pattern." Daniel's heart sunk as he realised where Colby was taking this. "He broke it when he killed your partner, Detective Hadish" Daniel didn't say anything, he turned off the road again to a single lane branching off away from the city. Colby continued, "You kill a cop, that's a major pain in the ass for any killer or criminal because once you do that, you're sending the entire force on the hunt for you. So why would he do that?"

"I don't know, Pratchett, why would he?" Daniel's voice was icy and stern. His face had lost the traces of agitation and panic, he seemed almost lifeless now.

"Because he somehow knew you two were getting close to catching him or...knew Hadish was getting close at least." Colby fell into thoughtful silence. His eyes staring into nothingness as he went over every angle of his theory again and again. There was something nagging at him in the back of his mind, an instinct. Telling him he missed something. He looked to Daniel, almost unrecognisable with his current demeanour and the road ahead. Wherever they were was certainly remote. In fact, he hadn't seen a single car since he turned onto this road. His eyes locked to Daniel... then to the cross swinging limply around the rear-view.

"Stop the car, Daniel."

"I can't do that, Pratchett."

Colby's heart was pounding, his mouth drying, his words barely escaping his lips, "Stop the damn car...please." Daniel turned his head to Colby in a manner that was owl-like. His stony expression made Colby's stomach turn, "I'm sorry, Colby." And before he had time to react, he felt Daniel grab him by the hair and he drove Colby's head into the dashboard. Detective Pratchett went limp and a nasty gash on his forehead started dripping blood onto the floor mat.

A shovel submerging into dirt and re-emerging burdened with earth. The sound brought Colby round but the dirt being thrown and hitting him in the face was what properly woke him. He opened his eyes, but his vision was blurred and doubled. He could make out some trees ahead and felt cool blades of grass brushing against the end of his nose. Someone was standing a short distance away digging a hole. He moved to stand up but winced as he discovered both his hands and legs were bound behind him. He let out a groan as the restraints cut into his skin and the digger turned to him.

"You're awake," Daniel said, "Shame, I didn't want you to have to suffer."

Colby fought animalistically to break free, "Let me go you sadistic little freak!" he screamed at Daniel to which his partner gently replied, "You know I can't." before turning back to the digging.

Colby took a breath to calm himself before trying again, "Look, let me go man, I know you don't want to kill me. I won't say anything, I promise." Daniel ignored him which made Colby's blood boil and his anger quickly resurfaced, "I bet you felt so damn clever this whole time, carving up a trail of bodies and being paid to investigate yourself. Who knows how long you could've done this, covering up your own crimes, but I figured you out. You know why? Because this, this whole system you think you have, is the most insane, hare brained goddamned stupid thing you could've decided to do."

"Language." Daniel muttered, throwing aside the shovel, and clambering out of the hole, seemingly satisfied with its depth. He walked over to Colby and sat down on the ground next to him. He looked up at the stars with a forlorn look on his face, "Tyler was my best friend, you know? I met him at the academy, and we were inseparable. Best man at my wedding, godfather to my...was...was going to be the godfather to my son." Colby looked up; his anger momentarily forgotten.

"Your wife, she?"

Daniel nodded, "Her car broke down on her way home from work. I'd been trying to convince her to take early maternity leave but my Marisa; there was no changing her mind. She got stuck in the middle of nowhere, no cabs coming by there." Daniel clenched his fists, "I had a voicemail from her, I could tell she was scared and right before she hung up, she says this car is coming, that she'd ask them for help." Daniel looked down to his bound partner, "Next time I saw her was at the morgue, Colby."

"Jesus, Daniel."

"Tyler didn't want me to be the one to investigate, but she was my wife, how can I not? Didn't take me long, guy was an idiot, nice and easy trail to follow. He was a nobody, figured maybe Marisa's purse would have a few extra bucks, kept telling me he didn't mean to kill her. I meant to turn him in, I want you to believe me on that, but seeing him try and weasel away from what he did. I shot him, kid."

Colby's breathing was getting ragged as the reality of the mortal danger he was in was really starting to set in. "I'm sorry about your wife, Daniel. But you can't expect me to believe that justifies what you've done."

"I'm not expecting you to understand. Tyler didn't either. But Marisa was a good person and there's no justice with scum that could kill someone like her walking free as a bird."

"That's why we have the LAW, we have a system." Colby pleaded. Daniel rose to his feet and dragged Colby over to the hole flinging him over the edge and down into its depths.

"I believe in law, Pratchett, but I'm governed by a different set of rules now." Daniel unholstered his gun. Colby winced and started yelling for help but there was none to be found.

"I think you'd have made a real good detective. You found me out faster than Tyler did at least."

The smell of the gun smoke still lingered in the air by the time Daniel had filled in Colby's grave and packed the shovel away. He hadn't marked Colby with the blood cross, just like he hadn't with Tyler, that was only for those that walked the path of the devil. He figured he'd have to lay low with his work now, one partner found dead and another disappearing all in less than a year would inevitably raise questions. He got into his car and turned the key in the ignition. The chevy hummed to life. Daniel thought he'd be alright either way. He reached up to his cross and grasped it tightly. How couldn't he be alright? He had the lord with him.