Case 26: The Summoning
The two men groaned and broke apart as the phone rang and JJ answered.
"Jensen." This time King didn't even pause at hearing the wrong partner on the phone.
"Ramirez found a body in the old crypt in the cemetery, a freshly murdered one that is." King explained.
"We'll be there shortly." Jensen said before hanging up, sighing.
"Great timing." David whined, breaking into a moan as a firm hand slipped into his underwear.
"I said we'd be their shortly, doesn't mean we can't finish." JJ grinned, kissing the other deeply and moaning when David mirrored his earlier action.
The two detectives arrived around half an hour later and they were only a three minute walk from the crime scene and they took the car.
David hadn't bothered with his uniform, picking a form fitting pale blue sweater that made his eyes stand out even more, JJ nearly jumped him.
Walking through the dark graveyard they weaved through it and down into the crypt, whistling as he looked it over. He saw the many items that he knew well from his study of voodoo and witch craft. He knew it better than most even in New Orleans.
"This is pretty good stuff, someone really wanted to make this ritual work." JJ said as he looked over the body, a pentacle carved into the young mans chest.
They got to work and found a goblet with what was most likely blood in it and a locked chest. While David found the victims ID JJ worked on the chest and found a pendent and a vial, both appearing to be filled with blood.
"The victim is Simon Armstrong, he's a student at Cooper High School."
JJ hummed but he wasn't paying attention as a book caught his eye. It looked as if the cover was made from human skin. David appeared at his side and nearly shrieked as the book opened its singular gold eye.
"The book is the Necronomicon, a very powerful book of rituals that you really shouldn't mess with." JJ grimaced. "Any original copy is old and made out of human flesh so when it heats up the skin retracts and the eye opens. It's just glass Doll." He explained and watched as the man relaxed with a deep breath.
"There's something on the cover so lets get this to Grace and I'll talk with an expert about it." They gathered everything up and sent it all onto the lab with an officer before talking to the two girls that the men had found wondering the cemetery just after the body was discovered.
"Good evening Ophelia, Elvira. Would you happen to know our victim Simon Armstrong?" JJ spoke smiling at the two girls he'd bumped into in the darker, more spiritual areas of Grimsborough.
"Evening JJ." Elvira, a beautiful young teen in a Lolita style black outfit with everything making her look like a happy Goth.
"Hey JJ." Ophelia however was much more nervous, holding her self and shifting in place but still managed a smile for the detective. "I met Simon through another friend, Steve, Steven Crowe. They were way into the Satanic shit and were going on way to seriously about this ritual thing. I never thought they'd go through with it." She finished, falling meekly.
"It was a ritual for eternal life." Elvira interrupted. "I don't get why they were so obsessed with life, it's boring." She huffed and JJ chuckled, and David saw Ophelia relax a little.
"Can't agree with you there Sugar." Green eyes glanced over to the blue clad detective and Elvira giggled.
"Well finding your soul mate would change that." She agreed with a bright grin. "Anyway all bloody rituals are to do with life in some ways. They wouldn't back off so I told them what they wanted to know and as I predicted it all went horribly wrong, those things aren't easy." JJ nodded once to the girl's words, indeed they weren't. Most rituals took days some even months and every stage had to be done perfectly.
"Thanks for the information girls, anything else?"
"Yes, I think the Librarian Constance cursed Simon, you may want to speak with her." Again he thanked Elvira and they turned away to look around the cemetery it's self.
They found a medallion and a trash bag that were both out of place and they took them back to the station.
The medallion was handed over to Grace and JJ looked through the bag and found a bloodied knife and that was also sent to their red-headed angel.
JJ then got the pictures of the crime scene that had been taken of the crime scene and David drove them home. The red-head dropped a kiss to full lips and said he'd be back soon.
He walked through the streets, arriving at the typical house for the area, gothic, though this one had more occult apparel.
He knocked on the door and waited until it was answered by an elderly man with thick grey hair and a pink scar across his cheek.
"JJ. What can I do for you?" Alcott smiled at him, always happy to see a fellow enthusiast.
"Alcott, I was hoping for some help with my case. It's a pagan ritual but I'm not entirely sure what for, I knew you'd recognise it." The elder man held out his hand and JJ gave him the photos. He leaned against the wooden post on the porch and waited as the man looked over the evidence.
"The ritual is suppose to return the memories of a previous life, some say it is the first step in gaining eternal life but that is just a legend as far as I can tell." He handed the back. "Though it wasn't preformed correctly, someone rushed the end." JJ nodded his head and thanked his friend before taking his leave, he needed sleep before he got back to work and it was already three in the morning.
Getting home he found David already in bed and happily joined him.
The next morning found them all congregated in the Chiefs office giving reports.
Grace started.
"I analyzed the blood and found out that the blood in the cup is your victims and at least a week old. Now the blood in the vial belongs to one Steven Corwe and the one in the pendent belonged to one Ophelia Lincoln. The knife you got is the murder weapon and has a black hair attached, not the victims." She reeled off from her clip board. "Also the powder of the necronon-nerco-."
"Necronomicon." JJ interrupted.
"Thank you. Is an anti-psychotic, someone is on prescription meds, I'm still working on the medallion."
Nathan took over. "The victim fought, not enough to get a good sample but it was mixed with Iron Oxide, a primary ingredient in tattoo ink, so your killer has a tattoo." He finished with a smile.
"And I've got some great news." Alex was bouncing in place. "The goblet is a limited edition replica of Pezulu's cup, it was offered as a give away for the 666th show of Beyond The Veil and everyone has a serial number." He finished with a grin.
"Great work Alex." JJ grinned. "I talked with Alcott and found out the ritual one was suppose to be one for regaining the memories of a previous life but somebody rushed the end."
"You know Alcott Milton!" Alex burst out, eyes wide.
"We're friends, both of us study the occult." JJ shrugged and chuckled as Alex nearly had a fan boy melt down.
"Turner!" The computer geek jumped back to attention as the Chief levelled him with a cold stare.
"Sorry." They chuckled at the squeak that came out.
"Anyway, if he keeps a record he might tell me who it belongs to." JJ shrugged and Grace produced the goblet, handing it over and the detective quickly found the serial, scribbling it down before dragging his partner along.
Alcott lead them again to Steven Crowe or as he would say Langelus who was deranged. JJ didn't doubt that he could possibly remember his past life but he was also completely detached from reality. He was more concerned with the ritual than with his supposed friends death.
There was a reason the rituals weren't done, normally the only reason to attempt them was either a complete disregard for life, a lack of knowledge or deranged. JJ studied them out of curiosity but would never try them and he knew few who would even contemplate it.
After dealing with that they went to speak with the Librarian.
"Keep your voice down or Constance will get mad." David advised only for an near but still quiet screech to reach them.
"David Jones! Keep your voice down!" An elderly dark skinned woman popped up and JJ took an instant dislike to her, though noticed the necklace she wore that had it's origins in Voodoo.
"Hello Miss Bell, how are you?" David asked, smile becoming tight.
"I was doing well until I saw your delinquent face among my book." She almost snarled and JJ felt anger boil in his chest. He slung his arm around the elders waist and pulled him close, green eyes dark and haunting as he looked at the woman.
Constance took a step back, her face paling to a sickly pallor.
"We came to speak with you about a book, The Necronomicon, and the fact you may or may not have had something against Simon Armstrong." JJ said with a deceptively calm smile that made her shiver.
"He snuck in here and stole it from my book vault, my precious books." She looked mournful at that.
"So what curse did you use? And why didn't you report it?" The red-head levelled her with a glare that made her flinch and back away, looking meek as she curled into herself.
"Bad luck, and it's a special book, it couldn't be in the wrong hands." She stared at the ground.
"It was, and now a young man is dead because of it and that's on your head."
They ended the interview there and JJ was almost shaking in place with rage at the woman's idiocy and obsession.
David reached up and gently cupped his lovers jaw before placing a sure kiss on his lips and felt the younger relax into him, strong arms curling around his waist. They were interrupted by JJ's phone.
He gave his love a smile before pulling it out and looking at the Caller ID raising an eyebrow.
Alex shrieked and jumped nearly a foot in the air when someone grabbed his shoulder, ripping his headphones off to see a laughing Southerner behind him.
"You evil bastard!" He clutched at his heart, trying to get it to slow as he breathed deeply.
"Then maybe I shouldn't give you this?" JJ held up a book and watched with satisfaction as brown eyes widened, staring at the copy of the Beyond The Veil Anthology and the geek, slowly reached forward with shaking hands and took the book reverently, opening it slowly to see the signature on the inside.
Alex slowly put it down before leaping forward with a happy squeal and nearly knocked the bigger man backwards as he wrapped him in a hug, thanking him over and over again.
"Your welcome and now I need you to do some work for me." Alex let go and stepped back, nodding rapidly.
"Elvira found this and gave it to me, it's the victims phone. Let me know the moment you've got something." Alex took the phone without hesitation and got straight to work, soon revealing that the killer had a scar.
David caught him as he was going down the stairs.
"Grace finished with the medallion, the killer is female." He said as they went down the stairs.
"Ophelia. She's on anti-psychotic for schizophrenia. The meds cause her to have black outs." JJ sighed, suddenly feeling heartbroken. He pulled out his phone, dialling Judge Hall.
Telling Ophelia what she had done had been one of the hardest things he ever had to do, watching her break down as she realised she'd killed her friend and didn't even realise it. JJ wondered weather it was sickness or demons which was why he'd talked to Judge Hall and gotten her enrolled in his fathers psychiatric hospital in New Orleans.
He'd just gotten back from taking her there and letting Elvira know. All he wanted was to fall into bed. He found David on the sofa watching Chicago fire and chuckled, dropping down beside him, head in the elders lap and Dorian hopped up onto his master's chest.
He fell asleep without a care, happy to be home.
