Bill had to duck his head to enter the apartment, but he probably ducked as he went through most doors. Doors simply weren’t made for someone who stands six foot eleven in bare feet.

“Nice place,” he said as he glanced around. I got the impression that Bill memorized the room with that quick glance and I was secretly glad that I straightened up before he came. Bill Townsend wasn’t a man who missed much in his life. He was very aware of his surroundings at all times. Eli was wrong when he said Bill wouldn’t remember the color of the carpet after he walked out of the door.

“Have a seat,” I said, gesturing toward the dining table. He spotted the two tea cups and gave me an inquiring look. I added, “Eli is getting cleaned up. He will be out in a moment.”

“Eli is your husband?”

“Yes.” Helios and I were married by Zeus more than six hundred years ago, but I didn’t need to tell Bill that part of it. At least, not yet.

“So what do you know about these murders?” Bill asked as he sat.

“Maybe a lot.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that this morning?” He glared at me with an expression on his face like he was going to slap me in cuffs any second.

I was saved from answering when Eli stepped out of the bedroom. He wore blue jeans and a yellow golf shirt that set off his hair, perfectly. Immediately, Eli gave Bill a winning smile and stretched his hand toward the detective. Bill stood and was taller than Eli, but Eli looked bigger because his shoulders were much broader and he was just flat built better. Bill looked like he needed to eat more often. “I’m Eli Morning.” Bill didn’t say anything about the difference in last names. Eli Morning is my husband, but when we were married, people didn’t change their names to match their spouse’s.

“Bill Townsend.”

“A pleasure,” Eli said. Then, “Can I get you a beer?” as he opened the refrigerator.

“Sure. Thanks.”

“Glass or bottle?” Eli asked.

“Bottle is fine.” Eli nodded and reached in to remove three bottles of beer.

I watched Bill take mental notes regarding Eli. Yes, Eli had very long hair, but no one would accuse him of any degree of femininity. Bill looked at Eli’s hands, at his eyes, at his shoulders, like he was trying to decide from appearances alone what Eli did for a living. Bill was used to reading people and Eli threw him. Eli was a mystery and Bill didn’t like mysteries.

Bill started the conversation with, “That hair. You a rock star or something?”

“No. Computer consultant.” That’s always safe.

Eli sat at the table and Bill sat with us. “Your wife tell you what’s going on?”

“Yes. You are investigating some mysterious deaths. Although wire services are keeping quiet about them.”

“Mysterious deaths, you say? I think they are murders,” Bill said, watching Eli’s reaction the way a predator watches his prey.

“Why do you think that?” Eli asked. Who was interrogating who? I watched the two of them carefully.

“Call it a hunch. I’m not a psychic like your wife, but I get hunches,” Bill said.

Eli nodded and said, “A lot of people do.” The atmosphere subtly changed to one of hostility.

I dove right in to prevent whatever these two were inadvertently starting. “Bill, this could be very dangerous for you to continue investigating.”

Bill jerked his eyes in my direction and said, “I’m a cop. It’s my job to investigate. It’s my job to protect people from maniacs. You know something, so you had better start talking. You got me all the way over here just to tell me to back off? Waste of time.”

“Bill, wait...” I said.

“What, Athena? You have a psychic moment when you saw me die while investigating? I believe in what you do, but not enough to hide from the bad guys.” He stood up and made a couple of steps toward the stairs. Not really leaving, but indicating that he was in a hurry.

“No, I didn’t have a psychic moment. Bill, listen. I am fairly certain I know who is behind the murders and if I am right, you can’t win against him.”

“Now, you have my attention. I suggest you start talking before I run you in for obstruction.”

“Bill, please sit down...”

“No, Athena, you give me a name and I will go out and get this guy. That is the only way this will play out.”

I glanced at Eli and he made a gesture indicating I should continue.

“I don’t know what name he is using now.”

“But, you know what he looks like?”

“Yes, but...”

“No, buts. You come with me to look at a few hundred mugshots.” He grabbed my upper arm, pulled me out of the chair, and began escorting me toward the stairs. It is one of life’s big mysteries how someone holding onto your upper arm can have so much control over your movements.

“Bill, please. You have to listen to me...” I said, but he didn’t listen to me.

Eli was suddenly blocking the stairs and he said, calmly, “Let go of the lady.”

“Move out of the way, Red.”

“My name is not Red,” Eli countered, his voice calm.

“You are both under arrest.” He reached under his jacket, presumably to remove his gun. The shoulder holster was empty. Bill did what everyone does when they expect to find something in a certain place and it is not there. They look in that same spot again and then in other places. Bill looked for the gun in every pocket.

“I have your gun,” Eli said after giving Bill a few seconds to look.

“Big mistake.” Bill said, his face a mask of anger.

“Please, Bill,” I said, placing a hand on his arm to get his attention. “You are a detective and you know this is a lot more than simply getting a name and running around arresting people with that name,” I told him. “We have important information and you have to listen to us. Please, let me tell you what I know. I don’t need to go to the station house so you can force me to talk to you. I am perfectly willing. Just give me a chance.”

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

Bill let go of my arm. “Every second we waste is another second closer to someone dying.”

“Then, don’t waste any time with your cop show theatrics,” I told him. “I said I would help you and I will.” I turned and went back to the dining table. The creaking floorboards behind me let me know Bill and Eli were following me.

Eli offered Bill the gun, grip first. Bill immediately pointed it at Eli. “You’re under arrest for obstructing an ongoing police investigation,” Bill said.

“Oh, for pity’s sake!” I shouted. “Bill, you can’t be serious.”

“Do you want my help or not?” Eli asked him, his eyes never shifting away from Bill’s. Two predators, walking round and round each other, sizing each other up for any show of weakness. I’ve seen men on a battlefield do the same thing before they start to fight. Gladiators circled their opponents before attacking. In a modern-day boxing ring, the referee gave the combatants a chance to face each other before the fight began. The warrior spirit never changed.

“Why did you take my gun from me?” Bill asked, his voice low and angry.

“To get your attention,” Eli replied.

“You got my attention, all right.”

I stepped between Bill and Eli. “Bill put the gun away. You don’t need it. If you listen to what we have to say and you don’t like it, you think we are crazy, or you don’t think our information is good enough, then you can arrest us both and we will go quietly. Hell, I’ll even open the car door for you. Just give us a few minutes to tell you what you came here to listen to. You are treating Eli and me like we are the bad guys and we aren’t. We are trying to help. Isn’t that what you wanted from me earlier today? My help? What the hell is wrong with you, anyway?”

Bill almost visibly wilted in front of me. He put his gun in his shoulder holster and said, “Sorry, Athena. This case has me spooked, I am not embarrassed to tell you. Completely spooked. And I got bupkis. Nada. Nothing. I don’t even know where to start. Now, you tell me you know who it is. That is the first... anything... solid I got in over a month of investigating. I can tell you something I don’t tell anyone else. The crime scenes have absolutely no clues left behind. Nothing. Short of a confession, I don’t know how to proceed.”

Bill stood in the living room for about three seconds then he came back to the table and sat, again.

I said, “If the people responsible are who I think they are...”

“People?” Bill pulled out his notebook and a mechanical pencil.

“Yes. It is probably my nephew and my half-sister. Maybe two nephews and two half-sisters.”

Bill’s face changed to a neutral cop face. The face that says there is nothing going on inside the head, but I knew differently. I didn’t need any psychic abilities to know that Bill’s brain was buzzing at high speed. But, he wasn’t going to let me see that part of him that was scared and confused by my statement.

“What is your nephew’s name?” Bill asked.

“He may be using a different name and I don’t know what it is. Originally he was called...” I hesitated. I wondered how much I should tell Bill. How much would he believe? I suspected Phobos was Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac Killer, the one who killed the Black Dahlia, Marilyn Sheppard, and many others.

“He was called...?” Bill prompted. “I’m a cop. I know how to find people who are using an alias.”

I decided to just plunge right in. At some point, Bill would either believe us or have us committed. “Phobos. His name was Phobos.”

“Phobos? Just Phobos? He is your nephew, Phobos. Phobos is a first name or last name?”

“Both.”

“Phobos Phobos?”

“No. Just Phobos. Where he was born, people typically only had one name. Bill, I also said he isn’t using that name anymore. I am not sure what name he is using.”

“How do you know he is using an alias?”

“Most people in my family are.”

Bill tossed his notebook and pencil onto the tabletop. “Athena, you have given me nothing. Just a bunch of riddles.”

“Riddles only because you don’t understand the answers,” Eli said.

Bill glared at him for a moment before saying, “Okay. So, you think your nephew, Phobos, is behind the killings. Why?”

“He delights in blood,” I told him.

“What does that mean? More riddles, Athena. Next, you’ll tell me he has a brother named Deimos.”

“He does,” Eli said.

“Right. What mother would name their kids Phobos and Deimos? I suppose they are twins, right?”

“Yes, they are,” Eli said.

“And they were named after the two moons around Mars.”

“Actually, it is the other way around,” Eli told him. I saw Bill’s deep frown and he was shaking his head in the negative.

“This isn’t working,” I told Eli. “He isn’t going to believe us.”

Bill leaned forward, so he was a few inches closer to me. “I’ll believe you when you start telling me the truth instead of this mythology crap. Phobos and Deimos. Right. Like I am just supposed to believe that ancient gods are still creeping around. Next, you’ll be telling me you are the real Athena and he is Adonis.”

“Adonis was a Roman mortal, so no. We are...” Eli started and I interrupted him.

“Bill, I know this is a lot to take in. For the sake of argument, say we are right...”

“I have heard of wild geese before, but this takes the cake. You’ve had your fun at my expense. Thanks for the beer. I am out of here,” Bill said. He rose to his feet, crossed the room in about four strides, and paused at the top of the stairs. “Athena, I am done with you. You and your psychic weirdo shit needs to stay out of police work and stay away from me. I didn’t expect you to lie to me. I thought you were different.”

I listened to his footsteps all the way down the stairs and jumped when he slammed the front door hard enough to rattle the windows upstairs.

“That went well,” Eli said to me.