Chapter 1

A quarter moon hung low on the horizon when the patrol car turned onto the street. Cruising slowly down the street, it paused at the entrance of each alley. Officer Joe Morrison was at the wheel of the car. The bar crowd had already gone home and the streets were clear of traffic. The searchlight on the patrol car banished dark and illuminated that which did not want to be seen. Joe’s partner, Jim Strom, operated the searchlight. They’d checked out a dozen alleys already and hadn’t seen anything more interesting than two cats fighting.

Bored, Jim said, “Let’s get some coffee.”

In the shift briefing, the Sergeant had given everyone strict orders to keep their eyes open for anything suspicious on their patrol that night. They were to check all of the alleys and investigate anything that seemed out of the ordinary. The Sergeant confirmed the rumor that a serial killer was on the loose. Licking his lips, Joe thought about coffee.

He said, “Just a couple more and we’ll head over to the diner.”

When passing the next alley, Jim noticed a strange shape on the ground when he had shined the spotlight in that direction. It wasn’t so much the shape as the placement that bothered him. Usually things didn’t get dumped in the middle of an alley, but off to the side. This thing was in the middle.

Jim said, “Back up a minute.”

Joe backed up the car and Jim shined the spotlight on the mass. They couldn’t tell what it was. Jim asked, “You think we should check it out?”

“I guess we’d better,” answered Joe. He backed up and then went forward to pull into the alley. They’d driven twenty feet into the alley when the headlights showed them the body. Joe thought about the paperwork and wished they hadn’t found it.

Swearing softly, Jim called into the dispatcher their location and what they suspected. Joe parked the car. Leaving the power on, he turned on the lights atop the car so that others could find them. He waited for Jim to finish reporting into the dispatcher before getting out of the car.

A rat, smelling blood, stuck its head out to investigate and then scurried away when it saw the activity. The two cops stepped in front of a patrol car with their hands on their guns as they approached the body. The flashing lights lit the scene in bursts of blue and white. Joe knelt down by the body and shook his head at the mess he found.

Jim looked over the shoulder of his partner at the body. He should have checked the rest of the crime scene, but a cursory glance had convinced him the alley was empty. Jim stood up and reached for his walkie-talkie to call in their find. He stepped away from his partner and headed towards the car not particularly wanting to look at the ugly scene any more than was required to satisfy his doubts.

“Who was killed?”

“Some homeless fuck,” answered Jim startled by the unexpected voice behind him. A fraction of a second later, Jim was flying through the air. He hit the wall with a resounding thud. The thought crossed his mind that they’d allowed the killer to sneak up behind them and he was fully convinced that he was about to die.

When he landed, he looked up at the figure leaning over him. A gold medallion around the neck of the robed man seemed to glow in the dark. His stomach sank when he realized that his assailant was a Druid.

The Druid, eyes flashing with anger, held his staff so that the hook was positioned over the pistol. Jim’s hand was unable to reach the handle of his gun. It was just as well. No one would believe that he’d had to shoot a Druid in self-defense.

Hearing the noise of Jim hitting the wall, Joe turned and saw the Druid. The gold medallion around the neck of the Druid was clearly visible. Dismayed by the scene, Joe said, “Oh, shit.”

The Druid said, “Don’t insult the dead. I asked who it was!”

Realizing that he had thoroughly angered a Druid, Jim knew his career as a cop was about to end. He might as well start filling out applications as a security guard at the local malls since that was as close as he’d get to being a cop.

Resigned to his fate, he said, “I don’t know who it is. It’s a homeless guy.”

Having made his point and gotten the information he desired, the Druid backed away and looked around the alley. He spotted a baseball cap a dozen feet from the body. He walked over to it and crouched down to examine the hat. The inside of the baseball cap was lined with foil.

In a voice filled with anger, he said, “It’s Mad Hatter. This is one of his hats.”

Another voice sounded in the alley. “I’m surprised to see you here, Harry.”

Joe put his hand on his gun thinking that for a dark alley in the dead hours of the night, there were a lot of people appearing out of nowhere. He glanced over at his partner wishing he’d at least get out his flashlight and illuminate some of the shadows.

He asked, “Who is it?”

Happy Harry turned to face the location where the voice had come from. It was dark and he couldn’t see the speaker, but he knew with the certainty of his gift that he wasn’t in danger. Harry stood and leaned against his staff.

Believing he knew the identity of the man, he said, “Come out here where I can see you.”

“I’ve always considered you to be a happy sort of person, Harry,” said the man as he stepped out of the shadows. He pointed at Jim as he added, “Throwing cops around? That’s not your style.”

Having his guess confirmed, Harry said, “Ed Biggers. I should have known. What are you doing here?”

Realizing that the situation had just become very complicated, Joe grabbed his walkie-talkie to report that there were now two Druids at the crime scene and that the Police Chief should be informed.

“I was called to come here,” answered Ed walking over to the body. He knelt down and examined the area. Applying his gift, he searched the area for anything that didn’t ring true. The entire area looked blank, as if it had been erased.

“What do you think?” asked Harry.

Disturbed by the damage done to the body, Ed said, “This looks bad, real bad.”

The sound of footsteps echoed from the far end of the alley. It sounded like three people walking together. Ed stood up and watched the dark without concern. Three red-robed Druids, walking side by side, appeared when they reached the limits of the headlights of the police car. They were not smiling.

Ed greeted them. “Hello, Victor, Jimmy, Harold.”

From his position on the ground, Jim watched as the number of Druids gathered in the alley grew to five. Awed by what it suggested, he said, “Oh, shit. This is a fucking disaster.”

Victor Markovich, a red-robed Druid who worked for the ATF, said, “Hello, Ed. I haven’t seen you since that land scam in Atlanta.”

Jimmy Lee, a red-robed Druid who worked for the INS, said, “It looks like we have a mess, here.”

Harold Powell, a Federal Marshal, looked over the area using his gift. Shaking his head, he said, “He wasn’t killed here, but I don’t see where the killer went. This is strange.”

Victor knelt down and examined the body. Disgusted by the sight, he took in the orderly pattern of puncture marks. He said, “He’s been stabbed repeatedly, but it doesn’t look like it was done by someone out of control. It looks almost intentional.”

Harry looked down at Jim and asked, “How many have there been like this?”

Knowing better than to withhold information, Jim answered, “He’s the fifth. We’ve had one a night.”

Shoulders sagging, Harry walked over to the body. Looking down at it, he said, “Gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to the victim. He was called the Mad Hatter by the folks on the street. They called him that because he lined his hats with aluminum foil so that the mind readers couldn’t listen in on his thoughts. Basically, he was harmless. He was a scared paranoid, running from his fears rather than confronting them. He’d been in a hospital until last week. They released him when they ran out of beds.”

Ed put a hand on Harry’s shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, Harry.”

“Nothing anyone could have done.”

Sirens sounded in the distance. Jim stood up and dusted off his uniform so that he would be halfway presentable by the time the Police Chief arrived. He stared at the five Druids gathered in the alley and shook his head. The shift had started like any other. Now he was in the middle of something big and all he wanted to do was get out of there.

He mumbled, “We should have gone for coffee.”

Harry pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his nose. He hated losing one of his people like that. The idea that four others were dead as well made him angry. He stood and walked over to Jim.

Staring at the man, Harry said, “You and your partner are going to be helping us from now on. You’re going to put on rags and guard one of the homeless hotels until this gets cleared up. Do you understand me?”

“Sure,” replied Jim thankful that it wasn’t something worse.

A squad car pulled into the alley, its lights adding to the cacophony of colors. One of the cops got out. Jim could hear on his walkie-talkie as the other cop was reporting into the dispatcher confirming that they were at the crime scene, and that five Druids were present.

The cop approached Jim and Joe. When he started to say something, Jimmy Lee raised a hand and shouted, “Quiet.”

The Druid stood in place for a second with his head cocked. Pointing towards the end of the alley, he shouted, “There’s someone down there.”

Jimmy took off in a run towards the end of the alley. One of the other Druids had followed on his heels. Before they had covered a dozen steps, automatic gunfire broke out shattering the silence. Bullets strafed the area where the Druids had been gathered. They scattered, but the only cover afforded within the alley was the two police cars thirty feet away.

Ed headed for the police car, grabbing Joe as he ran. He found himself behind one of the cars with Harry and two of the three cops. The officer who had just arrived was face down on the ground ten feet from the car.

Harry felt his stomach where there was a dull ache. His hand was wet and he was sure that he hadn’t pissed himself. He said, “I think I’ve been shot.”

“Me, too,” said Ed. There was an odd gurgling noise in his chest. He fished around in the pocket of his robe and pulled out his cell phone. He hit the speed dial for the house.

Joe was holding his side as he said, “Shit, shit, shit. We should have gone for coffee.”

“Oh God, Joe. Are you okay?” asked Jim looking at the ashen face of his partner.

There was a lull in the gunfire. Harry peaked around the end of the car as another round of bullets tore into the body of the car. He pulled back after seeing that one of the other Druids was lying on the ground in a pool of blood.

Angrily, he said, “Someone is targeting us.”

Expecting a reply, Harry was surprised when Ed didn’t say anything. He looked over at Ed Biggers finding that he was slumped over by the side of the car; the cell phone on the ground by his open hand. Hearing a noise of someone talking, Harry picked up the cell phone.

“Who is this?” he asked.

“Mary Gold. Who is this?”

“Ed has been shot. We need Kelly,” answered Harry as the world began to swim in front of his eyes. He twisted his head as if to align it with the moving ground. Before falling over, he said, “Make sure she’s protected.”

Hundreds of sirens broke out from around the entire city. The cop in the car had done his job before succumbing to a hail of bullets that had struck the windshield of his car. The blackness descended and Harry never heard Mary Gold say that Kelly was already in the area.

Harry woke. For a moment he was confused, but then he opened his eyes to find Kelly riding him. She was hunched over and looked very uncomfortable. Her movements were awkward. Taking in her posture, he realized that it wasn’t a natural position. Following her right arm down he saw that she had a hand wrapped around Ed’s member. Her left hand was wrapped around the cop’s.

Harry grunted, “Take care of Ed.”

“Come for me,” said Kelly. Her voice was strained.

Harry started lifting his hips to increase the stimulation. It helped a little, but he was still a long way from coming. He complained, “What a horrible time not to suffer from premature ejaculation.”

Kelly laughed, but didn’t allow her laughter to interfere with her riding him. It did have the effect that it relaxed him. Soon he was reaching his peak, and came within her. As soon he was done, Kelly climbed off him and settled on Ed’s lap.

She held out her hand and said, “Here’s a little souvenir for you.”

“Thanks,” said Harry as he accepted the bullet that had been in his abdomen. It was a horrid piece of metal and would have been the death of him if it hadn’t been for Kelly. Seeing that she couldn’t ride Ed and help the cop, Harry stood up and moved the cop closer to Kelly. She smiled at him for his consideration. He turned away to allow her to provide her service to the Goddess, undisturbed.