Chapter Two
Half eaten baked beans and fish planks lay forgotten in a Sally's Diner box. Files and paperwork littered the desk as Frank sat with his feet up on the worn, wooden desk. Lazily he munched on a hush puppy. A thousand clicks of the keyboard and he still hadn't found a one of the women who'd visited him the night before.
"Frank! What have I told you about doing that, man?" The longer they worked together the more Detective Marcus Bradshaw felt like Frank's mother.
"They were getting stale." The lanky private eye flashed a charming smile. Marcus raised a dark, disbelieving eyebrow; his caramel-mocha features contrasting with his maroon shirt.
`"What are you searching for now?" Marcus pushed Frank's feet off the desk.
"Just looking into an old, missing person's case is all." He tapped the right arrow key. The young, beautiful girl who stared back at him suddenly came to life on the screen. Her blue eyes pleaded for help. The screen blinked, the image of a crow appeared in the center. Its' glow lasting long after the background had faded. Frank's face paled as the computer died. A single sheet of paper slid onto the tray below the printer.
"What's wrong, Frank, you look like you've seen a ghost." Marcus turned around from putting a file in the cabinet.
"Uh, your computer is acting crazy. You need to get someone from the tech department over here." Tapping the monitor Frank grabbed the paper and walked out before Marcus could quarrel at him-again.
Back out in the fresh, ghost-free air, surrounded by the living, Frank read the missing person's read out.
Name: Mandy McGraw DOB: 3-25-1988
Height: 5ft. 7 in. Weight: 135 lb.
Eye color: Blue Hair color: Brunette
Distinguishing Marks/ Tattoos: None
Address: 219 Wide Creek Blvd. Los Angeles, Ca *****
Notes:Body found 9-21-1999 in Javier's Orchard orange grove. Coroner's report shows one GSW to the liver, sexual assault, body also found with vanilla extract on her collar bones.
Frank read the single sheet twice trying to figure our where it fit into the picture. He knew there were crime scene photos and he was sure that he didn't want to see them. He sat in the musty, old car for several minutes, Mandy McGraw's name rolling through his mind. At times like these he sought advice from Dante. Frank cranked the Oldsmobile's engine and aimed it toward the south side of town.
Scene Break
Three prostitutes and two thugs sat waiting to be booked as Darryl grabbed his jacket and walked out; a file tucked in the dark fabric. Cops milled around the station. The veteran detective opened the door to his Dodge Intrepid and started to get in. Out of thin air Eric appeared.
"Hey, Darryl." The dark figure greeted the tall, athletic black guy. Startled, Darryl reached for his 9mm. He swore
"Draven, man, you gotta stop doing that." Eric's grinning face became somber under a gruff look from Darryl.
"Sarah said you were looking for me." Eric toyed with the spot light on the car door.
"Yeah, get in. We'll talk on the way." Darryl pulled his dark-slack legged self into the Dodge. Eric hopped in gracefully. Darryl handed the thin, manila folder to his sidekick. The Dodge melted into afternoon traffic easily. Weaving across six lanes they were quiet as Eric read.
"Are you sure about this?" A dark cloud had descended over the two.
"Juarez was one of Top Dollar's gang in the early days. That's where he developed a taste for blood; also where his arrest record begins, but nothing in the last fifteen years. Not even a parking ticket." Darryl Albrect clenched his jaw in frustration. Just about the time he thought that night was over, something came back to remind him. The detective could only imagine how Eric felt.
"Since he split from the gang he's been fingered for the assassinations of three mafia bosses in Canada and in Europe. Every time a mob boss gets killed, young women turn up dead." Darryl pulled onto the street where Eric lived.
"When did he resurface in Detroit?" Eric clenched and unclenched his fists.
"Three days ago Organized Crime caught wind of a meeting going to happening sometime in the next few weeks." Both men looked out the window. Lost in thought they sat in silence.
"Thanks, Darryl." Eric left the file on the dash board; its' disturbing contents hidden, but not forgotten.
Scene Break
Frank sat in an empty chair, sipping coffee and flipping through Dante's tattoo portfolio. He was trying to decide between two of them; a flame or a barbwire tribal rose. Then again there was a nice Celtic cross where he could get Kevin, his son's name, below it.
"Thanks, Dante, I love it." A tall blonde in a crop top and tight jean smiled as she looked at the pink butterfly on her shoulder in the mirror above the chair.
"Come back and I'll put stars around it for you." The stocky, young man gladly accepted a hug from the blonde. After she slinked away Dante ushered Frank in.
"How goes it, Brother?" Dante offered him a chair. Designs and photographs of tattoos hung along the walls.
"Going good; it's kinda hard to get used to the night visitors, but I deal." The detective ran his hand across his dark, burred hair.
"So, I take it you're on another case?" For a man with bills Frank did a lot of pro bono work.
"Yea, they came in fours last night." Over a pot of coffee he described the young women who had paid him a visit.
"They said, Find the Crow. Find the Crow. I have no idea who or what that is." Frank shook his head and sighed. People walked down the sidewalk past the tattoo parlor. Some of them glanced at the dancing flames around the name; Dante's Inferno. Thoughtfully the young artist cleaned his station. Finally he spoke, a troubled expression pulling on his brow.
"Are you sure they said 'Crow'?" Dante pulled up a rolling chair to sit on.
"Yep, the Crow; even shattered my mirror in the shape of one so I'd remember." A chill ran up Frank's spine at the thought.
"I've heard of the Crow. In ancient times they believed a crow carried souls to the other side. Sometimes something so tragic happens a soul is allowed to come back; to set right what went wrong." It took a minute to process the information.
"But that doesn't explain why they want me to find this character." Frank couldn't figure out where to begin to search for the Crow, but he knew he had to.
"Did they give you any other clues?" Dante asked, stroking his goatee.
"Not so far." They always came back until they had satisfaction. Poor Gus was afraid to sleep at night because of the ghosts, and Simon.
"Let me know how this turns out. Granny Marta didn't like to talk about the Crow, she said it was unfair." Frank had met Dante's grandmother once. She was a petite lady with a soft voice, but she didn't take any sass.
"Give my regards to Granny Marta." With that Frank stood up to shove off.
"I will." Dante slapped his friend on the back before he left. Once outside Frank debated whether or not to pay Marcus another visit so soon.
Scene Break
Clouds gathered over Detroit and threatened to rain. Heat and lake humidity made Sarah miserable, but Eric's loft was better than going home. Darla was painting the bedroom and she didn't want to help. Eric had been sitting on the window sill for nearly an hour. He hadn't said a word.
"Are you gonna talk or what?" The girl dragged her feet as she walked over to the steps and sat down.
"I have a lot on my mind, Sarah." The usually solitary figure sat like a stone gargoyle on the bay window's sill.
"It's about that meeting with Darryl ain't it?" Sarah pulled a loose thread on her Chuck Taylor tennis shoes. Since Eric had lost Shelly and begun his unlikely career as a dark hero, Sarah had been his link to the outside world.
"Yes, it is." That's all Eric wanted to say. He continued to stare out the window.
"What about it is eatin' you" She was nothing if not persistent.
"This one's real evil, Sarah. Darryl has evidence that links Juarez to Top Dollar's crime ring." Eric ran his fingers through his dark, wavy hair as if trying to brush away unpleasant thoughts. He unwound his slim, but muscular frame and began to pace the room.
"Was he there when you and Shelly were, um, you know, killed?" Sarah didn't like to think of that awful night and the bastards who took Shelly away from them.
"No, Juarez had already become a mafia hit man by that time. Thing is, he leaves three women dead every time he carries out a hit. These women are suffering, I can feel it." Eric stood in front of the window, his frame blocking most of the dusty light coming in.
"You gonna find this guy or what?" Sarah demanded incredulously. Anger had risen in her face. It was a feeling they both understood.
"I plan on it." Eric answered calmly.
"Then why aren't you gone then? Why aren't you out looking for this guy?" Sarah shouted.
"I don't know. This one is different. The time isn't right." Eric threw his arms wide in the open loft. Sarah clouded up.
"Sarah, I can't explain it, but the time isn't right. Juarez is here for a mob meeting. There's still time." For a moment Eric and Sarah were locked in a stare down. Sarah backed down first.
"Fine, just let him get away." Angry and confused she stomped off for home. Eric settled back down on the window sill to ponder the situation.