Organreapers
Organreapers
Organreapers
R EAPERS
S HAY W EST
Booktrope Editions
Seattle, WA 2014
COPYRIGHT 2014 SHAY WEST
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of the few trees planted along the sidewalk. The night was warm,
much as it would be back on his world.
Tani crept quickly and silently, moving behind the man, who
didn’t even turn around. He could barely hear Keena as she followed
close behind, ready with the magical stones that would open the
gateway back to their home world.
He tightened his grip on the club in his right hand. The man in front
of him walked through some deep shadows. Tani lunged forward and
brought the heavy wooden club down on the back of the man’s head.
* * *
Eli took a minute to examine the victim. The man was lying face
up. His skin was covered in blood and there were several deep wounds
to the abdomen. His chest was opened wide, like he had undergone
open-heart surgery. Eli carefully turned the body, so he could see the
side and part of the back.
“Large gaping wound to the chest and a single wound on the
posterior side of the back directly above the kidneys. Can I assume
there’s another slash mark on his right side?” Eli asked.
Sherry nodded, but refused to say another word.
Eli peered into the chest cavity and hissed in revulsion.
“Are you kidding me? The perp took the man’s frigging heart?”
“And both kidneys.” Sherry covered the victim’s body and
rolled easily to her feet.
“Who knows about this?”
“Just us.”
“Let’s keep it that way. Make sure the press doesn’t get wind of this.”
Eli pulled his gloves off, grimacing as he wiped his sweaty palms
on his slacks. Working crime scenes in the summer was the worst.
He left to find the first officer on the scene, so he could get the names
of the next of kin. He needed to call and tell them their loved one
had been brutally murdered.
It’s gonna to be a long night.
* * *
The alarm blared and Eli shoved it off his nightstand, anger
elevating his heart rate when the annoying peal continued unabated.
He forced his body to move despite the wave of nausea that rolled
through his midsection. He couldn’t afford to be late, not today. He
had a half dozen witnesses coming to the station to be questioned
about the gruesome murder from the night before.
He stumbled to the bathroom, fighting his rebellious belly. He
quickly showered and headed to the kitchen. Eli grimaced at the
empty bottle of whiskey on the counter, grabbed it, and tossed it into
the recycle container. He opened the fridge, hoping to find something
that was even remotely appetizing. The random condiments and
half-empty jar of jelly mocked him.
10 SHAY WEST
Eli grabbed his keys and badge off the side table before leaving
his tiny house. The shrubbery and rose bushes in the front needed a
good trimming and the yard was mainly dandelions, their cheery
yellow heads irritating him more than the alarm had.
There had been a period of time when he thought he had it all.
Promising career, gorgeous wife, a big house in the suburbs. He’d
wanted to be a detective for as long as he could remember and he
worked toward that goal with a tenacity that would propel him to the
top of the academy and through the ranks to become one of the best
detectives in the city, probably the whole country. His peers often
joked that he was psychic or had some kind of sixth sense when it
came to dealing with crime scenes and perps.
When he had come home early one day to surprise his wife, Vicki,
he hadn’t expected to find her in bed with another man. And he damn
sure didn’t expect that man to be his neighbor.
And with one swift stroke, his perfect world came crashing down
around his ears.
Eli refused to listen to Vicki when she pleaded with him for
forgiveness. He went straight to the lawyer and filed for divorce. His
wife ended up with half of everything, including his paycheck. Even
though the financial assistance was temporary, he still felt the pinch.
They sold the house in the suburbs, split the meager proceeds, and
he moved into the city. He considered renting, but rent was sky high,
so he looked into other options and was surprised that he qualified
for enough to buy a small house.
He walked around the house to the carport, shoved his key in
his used SUV, and gunned the engine. The bright light of the new
day hurt his eyes, even through the aviator sunglasses he always
wore. He pulled into the light traffic that was typical for this time of
day and headed for the precinct. Eli stopped by a coffee shop close to
the office and grabbed an espresso and a bagel. His stomach protested,
but he knew he would need the energy to tackle the day.
Questioning witnesses was his least favorite part of his job. Well, his
second-least favorite part. Filling out the endless amounts of paperwork
was worse.
* * *
ORGAN REAPERS 11
“It lives.”
Eli grunted at Detective Janice Connors. He took a large swig of
coffee and a huge bite of his bagel.
“You would look like this if you’d been on that case last night,”
Eli said.
“From the sounds of it we have a real sicko on our hands.”
“You’re telling me. I’ve never seen anything like it. Gunshot
wounds, stab wounds, beatings...” he shook his head. “But this. This
is something beyond anything I’ve ever seen.” Eli rubbed his face.
“By the way, captain wants to see you.”
“Do you know what about?”
Janice smiled, a twinkle in her green eyes. “Oh gee, I remember
him saying something about a new partner.” Janice said as she turned
back to her work.
Eli stared at Janice’s back, unable to believe his captain was
going to saddle him with a new partner. He preferred to work alone,
did better work when he was alone. He groaned and walked to his
captain’s office, knowing that it was better to get this over with. As
he got closer, he could see someone else in there with Captain Platt.
Whoever it was, they had Platt laughing.
“You wanted to see me?” Eli asked, refusing to look at whoever
it was Platt wanted to saddle him with.
“Eli Robins, meet Ava Aguilar.” Captain Platt tilted his head in
the direction of the chair facing his desk.
Eli turned and surveyed the young woman sitting in the chair.
She was tall, but still shorter than him, with long dark hair pulled
back in a ponytail and brown eyes so dark they looked almost black.
Her skin was a lovely shade of mocha. Unlike the other detectives on
the force, she wore a skirt. Ava met his look with a little smirk on her
face, clearly not intimidated.
He turned to face his captain, but the man spoke before Eli had a
chance.
“I don’t want to hear a word about this. You need a partner and
you will work with Ava or I’ll suspend you without pay, understood?”
Eli met Captain Platt’s icy blue eyes and he knew he couldn’t
push on this. He’d been given a long rope after the divorce, but he
was close to choking on it.
12 SHAY WEST
Without a single look back, Eli left Platt’s office and headed for
his desk. The witnesses would begin arriving any minute. He glanced
through the folder and ignored the clatter of Ava’s high-heeled shoes
as she strode up behind him.
“What do we have for today?” she asked.
Eli turned to face her and was annoyed to find that same smirk
on her face.
“Questioning witnesses. Why don’t you just sit here and read the
file to get caught up while I handle the questioning?”
Ava crossed her arms. “Gerald Forbes, dead from multiple stab
wounds and blunt force trauma to the head. Heart and kidneys were
removed, no other evidence found at the scene. Did I miss anything?”
She raised an eyebrow.
Eli grunted and motioned for her to follow.
“Follow my lead, got it?” he said.
“Absolutely.”
Eli hated that smirk. He couldn’t tell if she was mocking him or
if she looked like that all the time.
He burst into one of the many private rooms set aside for questioning
witnesses and took note of the way the man inside nearly jumped
out of his skin. He looked strung out, maybe doped up, Eli couldn’t
tell. But the way the man wrung his hands and moved his eyes about
the room told Eli that he knew something. And it was his job to find
out what.
“Chad Daniels? Sorry to keep you waiting. I’m Detective Robins and
this is Detective Aguilar. We’re going to ask you some questions, okay?”
The man sitting at the metal table nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah,
okay, I guess.”
“You know why we’re here, don’t you?”
“Because of that guy I found.” Chad ran his hands through his
shoulder-length brown hair. “I wish I could get those images out of
my head, ya know? How do you guys do it?”
“Do what?”
“Look at dead people all day?”
“Believe it or not, we spend most of our day sitting at a desk,
attached to the phone or computer tracking down leads. Why don’t
you tell me everything?”
ORGAN REAPERS 13
“Well, I was walking home from work and had my head phones
on like I always do. It was late, about midnight, maybe a little later. I
didn’t hear anything, but I remember seeing a bright light out of the
corner of my eye, but when I looked up, it was gone. I thought it was
just me, ya know? Late night, whatever. Anyway, I walked toward
where I thought I saw the light and that’s when I saw him. Saw the guy
just lying there on the ground covered in blood.”
“And that’s when you called 911?”
Chad nodded.
“Did you go near the body at all?”
“No, no. I stayed back. No way am I getting close to a dead guy.”
“And you don’t remember seeing anyone in the area or hearing
something out of the ordinary?”
Chad shook his head. “Just that weird light. Like I said, I had my
headphones on.”
“Okay, Mr. Daniels, we’ll be in touch if we have any further
questions.”
Eli left the room, followed closely by his new partner. He stopped
outside the adjacent room where another witness was waiting to be
questioned. He opened the file and glanced at the man’s statement.
Eli narrowed his eyes.
“This guy claims he saw a light, same as the last one,” he said.
Ava frowned. “Is there any construction going on in the area?”
Eli stared at Ava, grudgingly admitting to himself that she was a
quick thinker. “We’ll follow up on that. Any other ideas?”
“What about ball parks?”
“None in that area, as far as I know, or at least not close enough
that the witnesses would see the lights. Besides, midnight seems a
little late for a ballgame.”
Eli walked into the room and questioned the next witness much
the same as he had the first. Other than a few minor details, their
descriptions were the same: they didn’t actually witness the murder,
didn’t see anyone leaving the scene, and they both saw a light.
The rest of the witness accounts were similar. By the time he finished,
Eli was frustrated. He had hoped to gain something he could use,
something he could sink his teeth into, but the only strange thing was
the light they all claimed to see.
14 SHAY WEST
* * *
The drive to the medical examiner’s office was brief. Ava sat in
the passenger seat and kept quiet, which was just fine by Eli. His
head was pounding and the last thing he wanted was to talk.
I need a drink.
He parked a few blocks away from the medical center, knowing
he’d never get a spot any closer. He stopped by the small coffee shop
in the lobby, hoping the dose of caffeine would make his headache
disappear.
“You want one?” he asked.
“I don’t usually drink caffeine this late, but what the hell,” Ava
answered.
Eli glanced at her. “You don’t look like a detective.”
Ava gave a small snort before sipping her coffee. “Thanks?”
“You look more like you should be working at Bloomingdale’s
or something.”
“And you look like you belong in a gutter.”
Eli blinked slowly. Ava met his gaze and didn’t flinch. “Yeah,
well, guess I can’t argue with that.”
ORGAN REAPERS 15
Eli led the way to Sherry’s office. It was a trip he’d made so many
times, he could do it in his sleep. While he walked, Eli emptied his
mind, a trick he had learned while in the academy. Things came to
him while he was in this state, flashes of insight that often led to
collaring a perp. His colleagues called it a psychic ability, but Eli knew
it was just letting his subconscious take over.
He pushed his way through the double doors and spotted Sherry,
dressed in blue scrubs, gloves covered in blood.
“Sherry, Detective Ava Aguilar. Detective Aguilar, Sherry,” Eli said.
Sherry nodded at Detective Aguilar. “So you’re saddled with
this guy, huh?”
“He’s growing on me.” Ava glanced at Eli, wearing her little half-
smile. “You know, sort of like a fungus.”
Sherry’s laughter echoed in the cold room. “I think we’re gonna
get along fine.”
“If you two are finished, can we talk about the dead guy, please?”
Eli asked, pointing to the corpse on the table.
“The victim died from blunt force trauma to the head. The perp
cut the organs out post-mortem,” Sherry said.
“Anything else?”
“Nothing much. Other than the organs missing, there’s not much
else to report, at least until the autopsy is completed.”
“Why would someone take organs?” Eli mumbled to himself.
“What about the black market?” Ava asked.
Sherry shook her head. “The organs have a short life span unless
the right equipment is used. To remain viable for any length of time,
they would need to be kept on ice and transported to a medical facility
immediately.”
“So how long are we talking here?” Eli asked.
“The kidneys could last the longest, maybe thirty hours under
good conditions. The heart, only about six.”
“So someone could have taken them for transplantation purposes
and done the work in the middle of the night,” Ava said.
“Not likely. If anything was done without proper hospitalization,
the person probably wouldn’t survive.”
“Could the lights have been from a helicopter or something?”
Sherry asked.
16 SHAY WEST
“It would have made a hell of a racket and kicked up a lot of dust.
None of the witnesses reported anything like that,” Eli said.
“Should we contact the hospitals in the city in case someone shows
up with a kidney or a heart and wanting a transplant?” Ava asked.
“It’s unlikely that would happen. The process of organ donation
and transplantation is highly regulated. A doctor would never take
an organ in a chest of ice and transplant it into a patient without
knowing the details of where it came from. Most of the time, the donor
is brought to the recipient rather than just bringing the organ to be
donated. Then there’s the issue of MHC matching. I doubt that your
perp would know your victim’s DNA sequences,” Sherry said.
“But it’s possible?” Eli asked.
“I suppose, if he worked at a lab or had access to the database.”
“We’ll need to check that angle. Maybe we have some vigilante
taking organs to save some poor soul he deems more worthy.”
“I’ll check and see if the victim’s DNA is registered in the
database and if he happens to match anyone on the organ wait list,”
Sherry said. “And it might not be a bad idea to alert local hospitals
that they could be dealing with black market organs.”
Ava nodded. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Hey, Sherry, call us if you find anything, okay?”
“Sure thing, Elliott.”
“You know I hate that name,” he said as he exited the room.
* * *
ELI PARKED CLOSE to the crime scene. There were still techs walking
around, gathering evidence in the light of day. Yellow tape encircled
a large area. Eli ducked under the tape and walked to where the man’s
body had been located. He could hear the crunch of Ava’s footfalls as
she followed close behind.
“I’m going to do my thing. Why don’t you walk around and see
what you can see, something I might miss?” Eli said.
He stood and gazed at the spot where the victim’s body had lain for
hours before being found by the witnesses. The ground was stained a
reddish-brown color from the blood. A lot of blood. A picture played
out in Eli’s brain, part of the process he used to feel out a perpetrator,
get inside his head.
A man stalks the victim, following his every move, staying in the shadows,
waiting for the right moment to strike. The victim walks into a large area not
illuminated by the dim streetlights. Now is the perfect time. The perp
lunges forward, hitting the man on the back of the head with a heavy object.
The victim falls to the ground, probably dead without ever having seen the
face of his attacker. The perp, without waiting for the man to die, cuts open
the chest cavity, removing the still-beating heart from the man’s body. He
rolls the victim over to remove the kidneys, then rolls the man onto his back.
The perp walks away with his equipment and the man’s organs, disappearing
into the dark.
Eli walked to the investigator working the scene.
“Did you guys recover a weapon? Or any kind of surgical or
cutting tools?”
The man shook his head. “We searched a ten mile radius and didn’t
come up with anything. Whatever the perp used, he must have took it
with him.”
ORGAN REAPERS 19
* * *
“You lost one of the gateway stones? How could you be so careless?”
Keena stood with her head hanging down, shame coloring her
face. The Master of Prophets’ anger was justified; losing one of the
gateway stones was reckless.
“It was just the one stone, Master Kelhar,” Tani said.
“And if every one of you Harvesters loses a stone, what then?”
Master Kelhar asked, slashing at the air with his hand.
“I can go back, see if I can find it—”
“It is too dangerous. That world will have their authorities in the
area and you might be captured and interrogated. No, I will have
our mages craft you another stone. But if you lose one of them again
20 SHAY WEST
you will be stripped of your title and put out of the monastery, is
that understood?”
Keena nodded, relief nearly making her knees buckle. She had
been sure she would be asked to leave.
Would that be such a bad thing?
Keena left Master Kelhar’s study before he could see the tears fall
down her cheeks. She didn’t notice if Tani followed or not; her heart
and mind were too heavy to even care. Being a Harvester was all she
had ever wanted. When she passed the examination and physical tests,
her heart swelled from the happiness coursing through her. She ran all
the way to her family’s home, nearly scaring her mother to death
when she burst through the front door. The whole family had been
so proud, but most especially her papa.
“You bring us much honor, my daughter,” he had said, touching
his forehead to hers.
She had only been a Harvester for a couple of moons; her partner
Tani had been one for nearly two years. She had been thrilled to be
paired with someone so experienced. Tani had never missed finding
the target, one of the few in the monastery to do so, making him a
legend on their world.
The first couple of targets hadn’t bothered Keena much. After all,
the targets possessed things people on her world required for life.
She thought it was worth it.
But the job began to take its toll. One target had had a small locket
containing a picture of what Keena presumed to be her daughter
around her slender throat. Guilt slammed into her like a fist and she
had fallen to her knees next to the woman. Though she tried to control
her roiling stomach, she had vomited as she watched Tani open the
woman’s body to retrieve her insides.
When Master Kelhar came to her and Tani for the latest Harvesting
she had nearly refused, anxiety causing her to shake. Tani finally took
note of her behavior, but waited for Master Kelhar to leave before
broaching the subject.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into me. Instead of seeing bags of flesh
carrying something our people need, I see someone with children, a life
of their own. I wonder what their family does when they see the body,
ruined and broken.”
ORGAN REAPERS 21
Admitting her feelings had been one of the hardest things Keena
had ever done. But her anxiety was allayed when Tani admitted he
was beginning to have second thoughts about his duty as a Harvester.
“How have you done it all these years?” Keena asked.
“I don’t know. Didn’t think about it much, I guess.”
“And now?”
Tani shrugged. “Same as you. What makes our people so much
more worthy of life that we take someone else’s?”
Keena nodded. “Yes, that’s what I keep thinking. The people we
kill have families, people who love them.”
“I know, but what are we to do?”
Keena had been unable to answer then and she was unable to
answer now. She only knew how wretched she felt at the thought of
having to steal some stranger’s life. Part of her hoped Master Kelhar
would revoke her privileges as a Harvester despite how disappointed
her family would be at being forced to live as ordinary peasants once
again. Keena would welcome it.
And she thought Tani would as well.
Though he was ten years her senior, she had been in love with
him from the moment she laid eyes on him. He wasn’t what she had
pictured as the man she would fall in love with. Tani was quiet and
reserved in contrast to her bubbly nature. He was dark where she
was light, in skin, eyes, and hair. The one thing that brought them
together was their duty as Harvesters.
But over the last few moons, she had grown to understand her
silent partner. He was kind, loved his family and wanted the best for
them, believed in the Prophets with an unrelenting fervor, and had a
soft spot for animals. Each day made Keena’s feelings grow stronger.
She wasn’t sure if he returned them or not. He was so difficult to
read. He was as reticent with her as he was with everyone else. But
she often caught him staring at her when he thought she wasn’t looking.
It made her stomach do flip-flops, but she couldn’t meet his eyes in
moments like those. If she was mistaken and he saw the naked hunger
in her eyes, but didn’t return her feelings, Keena thought she would
never be able to face him again.
“Don’t worry about losing the stone. You know Master Kelhar
likes to throw his power around.”
22 SHAY WEST
“IT’S BEEN THIRTY-SIX hours. What do you two have for me?”
Eli glanced up at Dean Platt. The precinct captain was standing
with his arms crossed over his chest, brows furrowed.
“Nothing yet, Captain.”
“Fill me in on what you do have.”
“A whole lotta nothing. No one saw anything, no fibers or prints,
nothing suspicious on his computer or phone. It’s like a killer randomly
targeted this guy and vanished into thin air.”
Captain Platt rubbed his face before pounding his fist on Eli’s
desk. “We need something. The press is hounding me for a statement.
What am I supposed to tell them?”
Eli shook his head and threw his hands in the air. “I can’t give
you what I don’t have.”
He looked up as Ava approached.
“I just spent the last few hours checking with area hospitals. No
kidney or heart transplants in the last week. The medical examiner
confirmed that the organs would be useless by now. If someone did
take the organs for the purpose of transplantation, the window has
closed,” she said, and she sat on the edge of Eli’s desk.
Eli raised an eyebrow. Ava’s position afforded him an excellent
view of her legs, which he admitted were killer. He’d never understood
that term until now. Always been an ass man. But Ava’s legs made him
want to change his mind about his favorite part of a woman’s body.
“What if the perp didn’t take them for transplantation?” Captain
Platt asked.
“That still leaves us with nothing,” Eli said as he leaned back in
his chair with his hands linked behind his head.
24 SHAY WEST
“It’s not like you to not have some idea rattling around that giant
head of yours,” Platt said.
“My head is not giant,” Eli said.
“Between your Afro and your ego, it really should have its own
zip code.”
“Don’t be hating on a brother’s hair, now. Just because you’re a
little light up top…” Eli rubbed his own hair.
He stood and motioned Ava to follow. “Let’s go back to the victim’s
work place, see if there’s anything we might have missed.”
“Bring me something, Elliott,” Platt yelled after him.
“You know I hate that name, Captain,” Eli shouted over his shoulder.
Eli threw on his jacket as he and Ava walked to the elevators.
The weather was supposed to be in the mid-seventies, but he had
lived in Colorado his whole life and knew the temperatures could
change on a dime.
“Do you really want to go to the victim’s office again or did you
want to get away from Platt?” Ava asked as they drove out of the
parking garage.
“Little of both, actually. Platt can be a real bear when the press is
breathing down his neck. Guess I don’t blame him. I’d hate to have
to deal with those vultures.”
“Oh, they aren’t so bad if you know how to handle them.”
“And I suppose you know how to handle them?”
Ava shrugged. “I’ve had my share of interviews. My old precinct
had me give press conferences whenever they could. Captain said I
looked better in front of the camera than anyone else. Said I had a
way with the reporters that made them back off.”
“Now that’s something I’d love to see.”
The university where Forbes worked wasn’t far from the precinct.
Traffic was light at this time of day and they made it with minimal
conversation. Eli was shocked to find he wanted to ask Ava something,
anything, so he could hear her rich, smooth, throaty voice. His ex had a
high-pitched voice that he’d found cute when they first met, but had
grated on his nerves as the years wore on. He had never said anything
to her; he wasn’t completely nuts. Just tuned out most of the time when
she spoke.
Probably why she cheated on you, asshole.
ORGAN REAPERS 25
sites, but they aren’t supposed to use the university computers for
that kind of stuff. Danger of viruses and Trojans and all that. Gerald
was one of the few who actually followed that rule. Work computer
for work only. The man was practically a saint.”
Eli checked the computer and found nothing out of the ordinary.
The only thing on the hard drive not related to Gerald’s work as an
IT tech was a personal calendar filled with everything from doctor’s
appointments to his volunteer time at the local homeless shelter.
The man really was a saint.
As he and Ava walked back to the car, Eli’s blood pressure crept
up as the images of Gerald’s ruined body flashed through his head.
The man worked hard, kept his nose clean, hell, even volunteered to
feed homeless people, for Christ’s sake. It didn’t seem fair for someone
to kill poor Gerald, let alone steal his organs.
“I don’t know about you, but I want to nail the son-of-a-bitch
that killed Gerald,” Ava said as she yanked the car door open.
Eli smiled grimly as he opened his door. “Damn right.” He paused
before he got in. “Hey, why don’t you drive back to the precinct. I need
to do my thing.”
Ava raised an eyebrow. “Your thing?” She left the door open and
walked toward him around the front of the car.
“Yeah, my thing. I disappear into my head and it helps me get
deeper into the case.”
She bit her lips, clearly holding back a smile. “I see. Well, I’d be
happy to drive while you do your...thing.”
Eli got into the passenger seat, ignoring her comment. It felt weird
to not be behind the wheel, but he couldn’t be distracted and drive at
the same time. The last thing he needed was to take out some innocent
pedestrian or smash into a van full of nuns.
As Ava drove, Eli leaned back against the seat and closed his
eyes. Now that he knew a little more about the victim, he thought his
magical brain might regurgitate something that would help him
crack the case.
Gerald got ready for work, dressing in his usual drab slacks and shirt.
He drove his nondescript car to the university, parking in the same spot he
did every day, walked to his desk and began his usual routine of helping
students and staff retrieve email passwords, access the common drives, save
ORGAN REAPERS 27
damaged hard drives. After a long day behind a computer, Gerald left for
the evening, eager to arrive at his destination: the homeless shelter down the
street. He smiled for the first time that day, relaxed and happy to be helping
someone in need. After working several hours, he went home, heart and soul
filled once again so he could work another day.
As Ava pulled into the parking garage, Eli had to admit that he
had nothing. For the first time in all his years as a detective, he had
no gut instinct as to who had killed Gerald Forbes.
C HAPTER 4
THE NEXT FEW WEEKS passed without any leads in the case of
Gerald Forbes. Frustration and badgering from his Captain caused Eli to
drink more than usual, which, of course, meant pounding headaches
and angry outbursts. Not even his sexy partner could distract him.
The case gnawed at him and, even though he would never admit this
to a living soul, it worried him. Most nights ended with him tossing back
a few too many drinks. Each time the phone rang, his heart rate would
skyrocket, certain he was getting the news of more victims. When the call
finally did come, it wasn’t from his Captain; it was from Ava.
“You awake, Elliott?” she asked.
“Don’t call me Elliott. I hate that name,” he said automatically.
“I don’t see why. Elliott is a perfectly nice name.”
“My ex used to call me that. She was the only one who did.”
Ava was silent for a moment. “I see. Well, get your ass down to
the station. I found something you’re gonna want to see.”
Ava refused to elaborate, so Eli was forced to drag himself from
his warm bed and move his stubborn body through the usual
morning routine, though several hours earlier than he was used to.
Why did she have to call so early? His mouth was dry and his tongue
covered in a slimy film that made his stomach lurch. Though he
wanted to scrub his mouth with something akin to a chainsaw, he
settled for his toothbrush, brushing so vigorously he was surprised
he didn’t draw blood. He gargled mouthwash, hoping it would be
enough to kill any remaining halitosis, so he could speak to people
without them dropping dead.
The sunlight hurt his eyes, even through his aviators. He wanted
to go right back inside and crawl into bed. Instead, he trudged to the
ORGAN REAPERS 29
car and slammed the door, regretting that decision when his head
nearly exploded from the noise.
When the pounding in his head settled to a dull throb, Eli put
the car in gear and headed to the precinct. The crawl of traffic and the
idiocy of the other drivers put him in an even fouler mood; something
he didn’t think was possible on this particular morning.
Eli decided to skip his morning coffee and breakfast sandwich. His
stomach felt as weak as a newborn kitten and he wasn’t about to toss his
cookies in front of his new partner. And the idea of eating a greasy
bacon and egg sandwich really didn’t sound appetizing in the least.
He grunted when his fellow officers called out greetings. They
knew enough to leave him alone with his misery. It wasn’t like this was
the first time he had come into the office grumpy and hung over.
“Whatever it is that made you call me at this hour had better be
good,” he said to Ava as he walked up to his desk.
“Oh, it’s better than good. Although I suppose that depends on your
definition of ‘good.’ ” Ava said, using air quotes on the last “good.”
Eli merely looked at her without blinking.
She sighed. “Come with me.”
He followed her to the large whiteboard that contained all the
information they had gathered thus far pertaining to the murder of
Gerald Forbes. The first thing Eli noticed when he got close enough to see
it was that there were a lot more papers up there than he remembered.
“What’s all this?” he asked.
“These are other cases with an MO similar to our Mr. Forbes.”
“That’s not possible. I checked and there were no other cases that
matched.”
“No other cases in this city. But I contacted the FBI on a hunch and
found the mother lode.” She tilted her head to the side. “Well, not the
mother lode exactly, but at least a few cases that might shed some light
on ours.”
Eli looked carefully at each of the pictures, his mind absorbing
the details despite his hangover: four other people, scattered from coast
to coast, all missing organs, none with any physical evidence, and all with
witnesses claiming to have seen a strange flash of light, some before
coming across the bodies, some afterwards.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
30 SHAY WEST
* * *
“You’re probably right. Well, I’m going home for a few hours’ sleep.
You coming?” Eli asked as he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.
“I want to contact the FBI and see if they can help us compile a
complete list of murders that fit our killer’s MO. I have a sinking
feeling we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg,” she said, pointing to
the pictures of the five victims taped on the white board.
Eli gave a half wave as he walked away. Part of him wanted to
go back and ask if Ava wanted to come back to his place and have a
drink. But he ignored that voice in his mind and headed for the elevators.
He continued the fantasy of Ava coming back to his apartment
for a nightcap as he drove home. It felt strange to be thinking about a
woman in this way. He hadn’t even been interested in sleeping with
a woman since his ex left. There hadn’t been anyone but Vicki. She’d
been his dream from the moment he had laid eyes on her. The woman
had been so out of his league as to be in another solar system, but he had
pursued her anyway, despite her trying to keep him at arm’s length.
Even though he could grudgingly admit that the job had kept
him away more often than not, she had known what she was getting
into when she agreed to marry him. Eli was pretty sure that was why
he hated her so much. She knew what marrying him meant, and she
still had the nerve to weep and say that he wasn’t there for her, that
she needed a man who was around more, who could put her first,
blah, blah, blah. Her inability to take responsibility for her choices
made him swear off women. What was the point if the next one who
came along would leave him eventually as well?
And yet here he was fantasizing about undressing his partner
and carrying her naked body to his double bed. He shook his head,
knowing he was too exhausted and couldn’t afford to be this distracted
while driving home.
As he pulled into his driveway, Eli was surprised to find his
headache gone and his wits sharp. Even though the new evidence
didn’t seem to lead anywhere, Eli knew it was only a matter of time
before he cracked this case wide open.
C HAPTER 5
boys his age did, simply because he wasn’t healthy enough to run and
play. But the money his family enjoyed from Tani’s being a Harvester
meant that Meevo was able to get the best care. His love for this
brother fought with what he knew in his heart was right.
What would Meevo want you to do?
“How much coin do you have?” he asked.
“More than our families would see in several years,” she said
excitedly.
“I have about the same.” Tani thought quickly. “Pack one bag
with clothing, food, and water. We need to be able to move quickly.
Meet me in my domicile as soon as you are ready.”
Tani left Keena’s home and hurried toward his own. The men
were situated on the other side of the monastery from the women.
Great airships floated above him in a sky of purest blue, but he
didn’t stop and watch like he usually did. This wasn’t the time for
dawdling and indulging in a favorite pastime. He and Keena were
about to do something that had never been done: rebel against the
Masters of the monastery.
He threw open the door to his domicile, not even bothering to
close it behind him and ran to his bed, where he kept his knapsack.
Tani tossed it on the bed while he rummaged through his trunk to
find breeches and tunics. He shoved the garments into his knapsack.
Tani was so engrossed in his packing that he didn’t notice the
elongating shadow of someone walking through the open door. The
floor creaked behind him.
“That was fast, Keena—”
The words died in his throat as his eyes met those of Master
Kelhar. The man wore robes decorated with gold embroidery as befitted
his station. His grey hair was close-cropped and his face was a mass
of wrinkles. While most of his features were those of an old man, his
steely grey eyes could stop a grown man in his tracks.
“Going somewhere?” Master Kelhar asked, looking pointedly at
his knapsack.
Tani tried to speak, but his throat was locked up tight. He hoped
Keena wouldn’t come walking in right at that moment.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were planning on going
somewhere.” Master Kelhar’s eyes bored into his own.
ORGAN REAPERS 37
“I was thinking of going out to the hills after this trip. Just thought
I’d get a head start on packing.”
“I see.”
Kelhar stared so long, Tani feared he was about to be taken into
custody. It was only with great force of will that he kept from
fidgeting like a child caught stealing candy.
“You do realize you’re late?”
“No, I had no idea. As soon as Keena arrives, we will come to
the Harvesting chamber.”
“Be sure that you do.”
Tani barely managed a nod as Kelhar turned and swept out of
the doorway. As soon as the Master was out of earshot, Tani ran to
the open door. His heart sank when he saw one of Master Kelhar’s
personal attendants standing under the shade of a large plum tree
with a clear view of Tani’s residence.
He shut the door and cursed under his breath. There was no way
he and Keena could run away. Panic made his heart race, and his
mind refused to come up with a solution. All he could think of was what
the young girl on Earth would look like just before he took her life.
A knock on the door made him jump and gasp. With shaking hands
he opened the door and sighed with relief when he spotted Keena
standing with her knapsack over her shoulder. With an anxious look at
the guard, Tani grabbed her arm and yanked her through the open door.
“What’s wrong with you?” she asked, rubbing her arm.
“Master Kelhar was here not two minutes ago. And he left a guard
standing watch.”
Keena’s eyes widened. “He’s never done that before. Why would
he be checking up on us?”
“We were late. He came here to find out why and saw me packing.
I told him I was planning a trip into the hills once we returned, but he
didn’t believe me.” Tani sat on the bed and put his head in his hands.
“We have to do something, distract the guard. I can’t kill a little
girl, Tani, I just can’t.” Keena’s voice caught in her throat as the tears
fell down her cheeks.
“What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to distract
the guard? If I distract him so you can leave, what about me?”
“I didn’t mean for us to distract him…” Keena tossed her pack
on the bed next to Tani.
38 SHAY WEST
“Who else is there? It’s not like we can tell someone else what
we’re planning and ask them to help us out.”
Keena’s shoulders shook as she sobbed into her hands. Tani
patted her back, unsure of what to do to comfort his friend. His stomach
roiled; he feared he would vomit. All their plans had been for naught;
they would have to go through the gateway and harvest the organs
or suffer the consequences.
“We had better go, or Master Kelhar will send the Enforcers,” Tani
said.
Keena stood and stared at him with eyes devoid of emotion.
Tani’s heart ached. This trip would change her forever, and not for
the better, he feared. What about what it’s going to do to you?
Tani ignored the voice and walked toward the front door on
wooden legs.
“Tani, wait!”
Keena was standing at the single window that faced the back of
the house. She had always been jealous of his view: a large aqua lake
surrounded by tall grass on this side and a forest of pines on the
opposite shore.
“Grab your stuff and follow me,” she ordered.
Tani wanted to tell her to stop, to think about what she was doing,
but he grabbed his own pack and ran to the window. She already had
one leg over the sill and in seconds was invisible in the tall grass. Tani
tossed his knapsack out the window and followed, praying to the
gods that no one would notice them crawling out the window.
He could hear his heartbeat in his ears as he followed Keena. It
was the first time he could remember her ever taking charge. Most of
the time she followed his lead. He wondered how she could move so
silently. Each step he took sounded to his own ears like dry grass
crunching under the hooves of twenty oxen.
In moments, they reached the lake. There were a number of people
walking along the sandy shore, rowing in small boats, or fishing off of
the pier. An airship cast a large shadow as it drifted lazily over the
lake. Tani could hear the hissing from the steam engines as it passed
right overhead.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
ORGAN REAPERS 39
“We could either circle the lake until we get to the woods, which
will take time. Or we can grab a canoe and row across. We will be
exposed, but we can make it to the safety of the forest faster.”
“You want to steal a canoe?” His voice rose. Tani didn’t relish
the thought of losing his hand.
“We’re already in trouble for leaving the monastery. Stealing a
boat hardly seems much worse,” Keena said.
A quick glance down at both of her hands gave away her fear,
though she was trying to act brave. Tani hated to admit it, but she
was right. Leaving the monastery meant a worse punishment that
losing a hand. Rebellion against the Masters meant treason and
death, same as it would for the King.
“If we’re going to do this, let’s get it over with.”
Tani took the lead this time. He spotted an empty rowboat and
walked toward it like he belonged on that beach, not hurrying,
gazing at the sky, looking perfectly normal and at ease. He glanced
back at Keena. She had her head down, but matched his pace.
Several people glanced up at them as they passed. Tani waved and
gave a quick greeting before moving on.
When he got to the boat, he threw his knapsack on the bench,
grabbed Keena’s, and tossed it in beside his own. He helped Keena
in and jumped in after her, giving the small boat a little push to get it
off the sand. Tani grabbed the oars and rowed awkwardly. It was a
skill he had never managed to master, though he had spent plenty of
time living near water. His father had tried to teach him, but Tani
just never seemed to get the hang of it.
Keena sat across from him, her back straight and her hands
gripped together in her lap. She kept her gaze on the forest.
“Are you okay?” Tani asked.
Keena attempted a smile, but it barely curled her lip. “I’ve always
been sensitive to the water.”
Tani groaned. Now she tells me she gets seasick. “If you need to vomit,
just lean over the side.”
She gave him a withering look. “I’m fine. You just worry about
getting us across the water without capsizing the boat.”
Tani ignored her jab at his rowing skills and focused on trying to
use smooth, even strokes to propel them through the water. His arms
ached, but he didn’t stop, fear driving him to push despite the burning.
40 SHAY WEST
* * *
Tani wished he could see in the dark like the forest cats. Kelhar’s
men could be creeping up on them right now, swords drawn, eager
to slice them across his and Keena’s soft, white throats.
When a branch fell on his head, he squealed in fright and jumped to
his feet, breath coming in gasps. He glanced up and laughed when he
spotted two round eyes staring down at him.
Blasted owl.
He kept watch until he estimated that half the night had passed.
His eyes tried to close on several occasions, but he refused to give in.
Sleeping meant dying if Kelhar’s men came upon them. When his
turn was drawing to a close, he shook Keena’s shoulder to wake her.
Keena yawned as she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Tani
reminded her to stay awake as he lay back against his knapsack. It wasn’t
the most comfortable pillow, but exhaustion eased him into sleep.
* * *
Tani awoke the next morning before the sun. He could see Keena
in the distance standing with her back against the rough bark of a
pine tree. She was shivering and stomping her feet, breath coming in
puffs of grey air.
“What are you doing so far from the fire?” he asked.
“I was too drowsy, so I stayed away. The cold helped me stay
awake. I hope we don’t have to do this for the rest of our lives,” she
said miserably.
“I don’t think that will happen. As soon as we find somewhere
we can settle, we’ll be able to relax.”
“How long do you think Kelhar will look for us?”
“I doubt he will put that much effort into it. It’s not like he can’t
get others to do our job.”
“I’ve been thinking of that all night,” Keena whispered.
“Best not to. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
Keena stared at him over the remnants of the fire.
“What if there was something we could do about?”
C HAPTER 6
ELI IGNORED the throbbing in his head. For once, it wasn’t caused
by too much booze. He’d had a few drinks before bed, but nothing that
would be considered over the top. This headache was brought on by the
flashing red and blue lights and the discovery of another body.
“We gotta stop meeting like this.”
Eli turned to face the medical examiner, who had just arrived.
“Sherry, please tell me it’s not the same MO as before.”
“Wish I could, but it is the same as the others. Only this one is young.
Her name is Molly Simpson and she was on her way to a friend’s house
only three houses down from where she lives. A man walking his dog
found her in the bushes right about the same time the friend’s mom
called Molly’s mom to say she never made it. The parents got to their
daughter’s body before the cops arrived to cover it up.”
Eli winced as he imagined what that scene must have looked
like. He pulled on a pair of gloves as he walked up to the body. She
wasn’t even a teenager, probably didn’t even have breasts yet. She’d
probably never even kissed a boy.
And now she never will.
He had seen his share of dead bodies, children included, but this
was worse than anything he had ever seen or, hopefully would ever see
again. Her body was covered in blood and her chest cavity was opened
wide, the white of her bones in stark contrast to the red-black blood.
“It’s not just the heart and kidneys this time. Her lungs are missing.”
“Yes. Seems the perp took a little extra this time,” Sherry said.
Eli bent over to get a closer look at the wounds in the victim’s back.
“Looks like this was done by an amateur,” he mumbled.
ORGAN REAPERS 45
“You noticed that too, eh? The cuts are ugly, and I mean ugly,
compared to the last victim. It’s like the perp was in a hurry and didn’t
do things as neatly.”
The theory sounded good, but Eli’s gut told him there was something
more to it than the perp getting careless. This looked like it was someone’s
first time slicing up a body. The cuts on the previous victim had been
clean, almost like the bodies he had seen Sherry handle. But this poor
girl looked like she had been hacked by some freshman in an anatomy
course. Pieces of the lungs had been left behind, as had most of the
branches off the aorta.
“Where’s your new partner?” Sherry asked.
“Talking to the poor guy who found our victim. She has a niece about
this age. I thought it would be easier on her not to have to see this.”
“You’re getting soft in your old age,” Sherry said as she nudged
him with her elbow.
Eli grunted as he stood, pulling off the latex gloves. He spotted
Ava under the street lamp, questioning the first witness to the scene.
Eli hoped the man was able to give them more information than the
previous witnesses. While he waited for her to finish, Eli wandered
around the crime scene.
The girl had been killed about as far away from the first victim
as was possible in the city. Mr. Forbes had been killed on a dirty street
corner near a busy university; little Molly had been killed practically on
her doorstep in a nice quiet neighborhood. He walked back to Sherry.
“I still can’t believe that no one has seen a damn thing with any
of these crimes. Did you find anything on her body, fibers, anything
out of place?” Eli asked.
Sherry smiled. “I didn’t see anything. But a cop pulled a partial
print on a can of soda that was found right next to the body.”
“Do you really think the perp would be that clumsy?”
She shrugged. “Anything’s possible. You always say killers make a
mistake at some point. Maybe this is some point.”
Eli watched as the girl’s body was loaded onto a gurney and into
a waiting ambulance to be taken to the medical examiner’s office. A
crime like this one allowed no one to rest.
“You’ll never guess what our witness saw,” Ava said as she
approached.
46 SHAY WEST
“A bright light?”
“You’re the big winner. Other than that, he didn’t see or hear
anything. No strange vehicles in the area, no strangers hanging around.
It’s like our perp is a ghost.”
“I don’t believe in ghosts. Our perp has just been careful up to
now. Sherry said they found a partial print on a soda can.”
“Please tell me we got that lucky.”
“We won’t know until we run it. But it’s the only thing we’ve got
besides the light and that weird little stone you found.”
“This is good news.” Ava raised her eyebrow. “So why don’t you
look happy?”
“I don’t know. Why would the killer all of a sudden leave a soda
can at the crime scene? There hasn’t been so much as a hair at any of
the others. So, what, the killer decides to have a drink while he’s
chopping up a kid? No.” He shook his head. “Something about this
doesn’t make sense.”
“You think we’re dealing with another perp that likes to chop
people up? That’s out there, even for you.”
“All I can do is work with the evidence we got. This crime scene
doesn’t exactly match any of the others. The only thing in common is
the missing organs.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Right, the planets are all in some weird
alignment that makes people go crazy and butcher bodies. The
crimes have to be connected. We just have to figure out how.”
* * *
corpse. In a fit of rage, he ripped the tubes from her body, the fluids
splattering on the floor. He turned off the machine that had been
circulating her life-blood. The gears ground to a halt, groaning and
moaning a lament for the poor dead girl’s soul.
He stared down at the girl’s face and his shoulders sagged. She
would never see another sunrise, dance at the Spring Festival, know
the joy of being courted, or hear the laughter of her children. Kelhar’s
stomach clenched when he realized he would have to tell her parents
they would never watch their only daughter grow up.
Master Kelhar gripped his robes and swept from the room, ignoring
his attendants as they followed closely behind. Lamps dotted the long
hallway at irregular intervals, creating circles of light surrounded by
shadows. His footsteps echoed on the rough stone.
He arrived at General Prixa’s quarters in short order. Master Kelhar
rapped sharply on the door. At the muffled invitation, he went inside.
Prixa was in his nightclothes, rubbing the vestiges of sleep from his eyes.
“Have you found them?” Kelhar asked as he poured himself a
cup of black tea.
“No sign of them as of yet.”
“You do have all of your men out looking?”
General Prixa raised his eyebrows. “Not all of them, no. I won’t
leave the monastery defenseless on account of a couple of runaways.”
“I need those two back here. They are the best Harvesters we
have. The last pair destroyed the organs they retrieved; now a little
girl lies dead in the medical chamber.”
“I have men out looking and some are situated at the homes of
their families. They are two young people with no skills. They will
try to contact their families eventually. When they do, my men will
bring them back here to you.”
“You had better find them. I refuse to let more of our people die.”
Kelhar left without a backward glance. Deep down he knew Prixa
would do his job and find the deserters, but he was furious at how long
it was taking. No one had ever left the monastery. Kelhar couldn’t
understand why these two had left. They had had everything: plenty
of money, prestige for themselves and their families, the respect of
everyone in the Kingdom.
Why would they flee?
48 SHAY WEST
Whatever the reason, it didn’t matter. Tani and Keena had gone
against the directives of the monastery, something that demanded
the highest punishment. He would regret their deaths more than that
of the attendant he had had put to death for allowing them to escape.
As he walked back to his chambers, Kelhar was intercepted by
one of the physicians.
“I have another patient for you, Master Kelhar.”
“Tell me the details,” Kelhar said.
“It is the son of one of the highest houses. He was brought in last
night complaining of pain in his back and belly. Our devices detected
imminent kidney failure, Your Holiness.”
“Did you take a sample of his blood?”
The man nodded and handed him a small vial. “He only has about
twelve hours, a day at most.”
“I understand. I’ll find his match and send a Harvesting team
within the hour.”
Master Kelhar left the doctor and headed for an anteroom just
off the Harvesting chamber. He took the vial of blood and placed it
into a small opening just big enough to hold the tube. Kelhar spun
several dials, the machine hissing to life as water moved through the
interior. The blood in the vial slowly disappeared into the Detector.
In moments, a white strip of paper about a foot long and covered
in black marks unfurled out of a thin slit. Kelhar took the paper and
walked to a second device. He placed the strip of paper into a slot on the
side of the Revealer. The paper moved slowly through the machine.
Kelhar readied the viewing panel while he waited for the Revealer
to finish working. The white strip of paper disappeared and in moments,
a distorted image appeared on the viewing panel. He expertly turned
some dials, the movements almost imperceptible. But the image cleared
until a face was revealed. Kelhar moved the dials so that the face became
an entire person. He hit a button and a piece of paper with the face of
the donor slid out of a panel on the front of the machine.
He reached down, grabbed a lever, and slid it one notch to the left.
The image shifted to that of an aerial view of a city. A few more notches
and the viewing panel revealed an exact location of the donor. Once
again Kelhar printed the information.
ORGAN REAPERS 49
“You grew up on the ocean and yet you could barely get us
across the lake in the canoe?” she teased.
“Like I said, I never cared for it.”
“I’m sorry I’ve caused so much trouble...”
“It wasn’t just you. I didn’t want to take any more lives either.”
“But it’s like you said. Leaving the monastery didn’t make a
difference. We won’t be killing anyone, but the others will. The people
of that world will continue to be killed and mutilated, all so we can
extend the lives of our own people.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
Keena shrugged. “I don’t know. But I feel like we need to do
something.” She stood and paced back and forth in front of the fire. “It’s
something inside of me that won’t be denied, like a voice that just won’t
shut up. It keeps talking and talking and no matter what I do, I can
hear it. We come swooping down on the people of Earth, steal their
organs, leaving behind battered bodies, and come back here with no
one the wiser. It’s not fair and it’s not right. We can tell them the truth,
make them understand. Maybe figure out a way to close the gateway.”
Tani watched Keena as she ranted and walked, unwilling to
interrupt her. He had never seen her this worked up, but he had to
admit he felt the same way.
But that doesn’t mean I want to run off and get myself killed trying to help.
Keena finally sat down. Tani watched her for a time, but she refused
to look away from the fire. She rocked back and forth, humming under
her breath. Tani continued to sit by the fire long after Keena fell asleep.
Her words plagued him. Am I a coward? He risked his life every time he
went through the gateway, yet he had done it countless times. He
had rebelled against the monastery, something no one had ever
done, at least not that he knew of. Does that make me brave?
Tani shook his head. He needed to deal with one challenge at a
time. First, locate their families, then figure out what to do from there.
C HAPTER 8
ELI AWOKE to the sound of his alarm. For the first time in months,
he was wide-awake, not hampered by a hangover. Not that he had
stopped drinking altogether; he just hadn’t been over-indulging. He
actually whistled a catchy tune while in the shower, one he’d heard
on the radio on the way home the night before.
He decided against eating breakfast at home, so he could get to
the office sooner. The Starbucks by the station had a drive-through.
He could get his coffee and a breakfast sandwich in one stop.
The radio was blasting so loudly he nearly missed his phone
ringing. He turned the volume down before answering.
“Yeah?”
“Hey, partner. We got another victim.”
Eli’s heart sank. “Where?”
“The old cement factory off Broadway and Twelfth.”
“On my way.”
Eli left the radio off, good mood deflating like a kid’s busted balloon.
This serial killer was seriously pissing him off. This guy thought he
could come into his city and kill people? Eli shook his head. The killer
didn’t know who he was messing with. Eli had the highest arrest rate
on the force; it was only a matter of time before this perp would be
behind bars.
He pulled up to the scene of the crime, his good mood from
earlier completely gone. He spotted Ava and Sherry kneeling next to
the body.
“Talk to me.”
“White male, aged thirty-five, missing both kidneys,” Sherry
answered.
56 SHAY WEST
She burst out laughing. “Did you just make a joke? I think you
just made a joke!”
“It makes as much sense as anything else,” he said disgustedly.
“Until an eye witness describes a tall grey dude with large black
eyes, I’m going with a sick human doing the killing,” she said as she
walked away.
Eli smiled as he watched her. That woman’s got a fine pair of legs.
Unwilling to be distracted by his beautiful partner, Eli walked back
to his squad car, eager to head to the office to see if the print lifted
from the soda can from the previous crime scene matched anything
in the database.
* * *
press is having a field day with this. They’re calling him ‘The Butcher.’
The phones have been ringing off the hook, wondering if we’re even
looking for this guy. And all I can say is ‘no comment’ because I have
nothing to tell them!”
Platt jumped up from his chair and paced the room. Eli had
never seen Platt this angry.
He’s not just angry; he’s scared.
That alone was enough to make Eli’s skin break out in goose pimples.
Captain Platt was as stoic as they came and had seen the worst of the
worst. Yet this case had him acting like a rookie out of the academy.
“What do you want me to say? We’ve cross referenced every case
from across the country, the print came up with nothing, there’s been
no other evidence other than the stone Aguilar found and the white
light the witnesses claimed to see. There is no common factor that
connects the victims. Would you feel better if I made something up?”
“Of course not!” Platt snapped.
Eli kept silent, letting Platt calm down.
“I’ll issue a statement telling people to be alert for strangers in
their area. Since the killer doesn’t discriminate, we’ll have to warn
against anyone going out alone.”
“We’ve figured out there has to be more than one killer, maybe
even one for each victim. Maybe we can use that to our advantage,”
Ava said.
“How?” Platt asked.
“Ask the public for help. With this many victims and that many
killers, someone had to have seen or heard something. Seems
impossible to keep crimes like this quiet.”
Platt nodded. “I’ll make a plea to the public to come forward with
any information. Get me a list of all the cities where victims were killed.”
“Will do. In the meantime, we’ll keep working, trying to find
anything that will lead us to the perp,” Eli said.
Platt took a seat behind his desk. Eli noticed dark shadows
under the man’s eyes, like he hadn’t slept in days.
Eli left the office, followed by Ava. He had never wanted to
collar a perp as badly as he did this one. It wasn’t just the fact that he
was butchering victims and stealing their organs; it was because he
was good enough to make Eli doubt his abilities as a detective.
ORGAN REAPERS 59
Eli and Ava spent the next four hours poring over all records
pertaining to the victims. He hoped something would magically
appear; something they had missed the other three or four times
they had looked at the files.
“There’s nothing here. We’re wasting our time,” Ava said as she
tossed a folder down on her desk.
“What do you suggest we do?”
“I don’t know. But I do know this is a waste of time.” She held a
stack of papers in her hands and shook them fiercely.
Eli leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head.
“You’re right. But I have to feel like I’m doing something. I’ve never
gone this long with no leads before.”
“Me neither. It’s frightening how many victims are piling up.”
Ava leaned forward on her elbows.
Eli leaned forward, matching her posture.
“I’m starting to believe it will take a miracle for us to catch these guys.”
C HAPTER 9
blame her. His stomach churned as he wondered what his own family
must be going through. Kelhar’s Enforcers, if they were on horseback,
would be in Maris already, perhaps as early as yesterday. His family
might already be out on the streets, or worse, taken captive.
The rest of the afternoon passed slowly. The Enforcer on horseback
rode back and forth a dozen more times, but no one else approached.
Tani watched the windows and front door like a hawk, hoping to spot a
curtain moving, a shadow passing, anything that would indicate the
house was occupied.
If Keena’s family wasn’t here, where were they?
They ate a cold supper of dried bread and cheese. Tani noted
that they had enough food for another day, two if they ate sparingly.
We’re going to need supplies. Back at the monastery, they would be sitting
down to dinner with their fellow Harvesters, then perhaps a game of
chess or a book by the fire. Tani shivered as the night settled in,
chasing away the last of the day’s warmth. Can’t risk a fire.
“The Enforcer is due back any minute. I’ve been timing him and
he’s gone between fifteen and twenty minutes before he comes around
again, plenty of time for me to go explore. You stay here.”
Tani waited for Keena’s nod before leaving their hiding spot. He
walked hunched over, trying to make himself smaller. He stopped
every so often, listening for any sound or voice coming from the house.
There were lamps lit in several rooms.
The Enforcer will return soon.
Tani walked boldly to the mansion. He slipped through the front
gate, closing it softly behind him. The largest of the windows on the
first floor had the curtains parted. Tani put his hands on the sill and
peered into the house.
All of the furniture was there as though waiting for the family to
return from an evening out. There wasn’t a lamp or doily out of place.
The only thing missing was Keena’s family.
Knowing the risk of being caught, Tani went to the front door
and turned the knob slowly. His heart raced and his breath caught in
his throat. The knob turned easily and the door opened silently. Tani
hurried inside and closed the door behind him.
He walked quickly through the house, skin prickling in the eerie
silence. The house should have been full of the noises of people: idle
62 SHAY WEST
“It was worth it. Your family is at your Nana’s house. One of
your brothers carved a note on the side of his dresser.”
“Mama’s not going to be happy about that.”
“I don’t think she’ll ever get a chance to see it,” Tani said gently.
“You’re right, of course.” She forced her voice to cheerfulness.
“When can we leave?”
“After that scare, I won’t be able to sleep. We can walk through
the night if you’re up for it.”
“I can do it if you can.”
Keena handed Tani his pack and shouldered her own.
“Where does your Nana live?”
Keena smiled. “You won’t believe it.”
C HAPTER 10
near the cheerful blaze. When his stomach gave a loud rumble, Tani
reached for Keena’s pack and grabbed a small piece of dried meat.
He was glad they would be able to get some fresh food. He craved
vegetables and fresh meat.
I wish I would have thought to bring my bow.
He wasn’t too hard on himself. After all, he hadn’t even had time
to grab food or water before he and Keena had fled the monastery.
He was just glad Keena had had time to pack provisions.
Tani told Keena he would take the first watch. She didn’t offer a
word of protest as she lay back against her knapsack, snuggled in
her cloak next to the fire.
He had every intention of staying awake, but his mind and body
betrayed him. His eyes slipped closed and he slept until the sun
came up.
* * *
“I still can’t believe I fell asleep,” Tani said when he and Keena
awoke the next morning.
“We were both exhausted.”
“An Enforcer could have come across us in the night and captured us.”
“We’re fine. Let’s just focus on what we need to accomplish this day.”
Tani continued to silently chide himself as they approached the
village. He had put them in danger. It can’t happen again. His anxiety
rose as they walked down the street into the small village. There
were few people out and about at this early hour and none were on
horseback. That doesn’t mean there aren’t Enforcers here.
Keena reached out and timidly touched his arm. “We should be
able to get some food once the vendors open. In the meantime,
maybe we could stop at a bathhouse? We could both use a bath and
a clean change of clothes.”
Tani couldn’t say no to the eagerness in her eyes. If there was
one thing he had learned living with two sisters, it was that girls hated
to be dirty. A quick glance down at his own travel-stained clothing
revealed that Keena was indeed correct about the two of them needing
to wash up.
ORGAN REAPERS 67
* * *
ORGAN REAPERS 69
Keena nodded and smiled. The father reached out to take the
hands of his wife and Keena, the rest of the family taking the hand of
the person sitting next to them. Tani found himself holding hands
with Keena and one of her sisters.
“Gods most high, we thank you for this food that will provide
nourishment to our bodies. And though you know my most humble
requests before my lips can utter a word, I ask that you keep watch
over my sons and bring them safely home to their mother and me.
As always, we give you thanks for everything.”
The end of the prayer signaled the beginning of the meal. The
younger girls kept up an endless stream of chatter while the bowls
and platters of food were passed around. It reminded Tani so much
of home that he had to swallow hard several times against the tears
that threatened to fall.
He kept his attention on his plate and simply listened. There was
a tension in the air that the younger girls seemed oblivious to, but
Tani could feel it growing as the food on his plate shrank. The time
was drawing near when he and Keena would have to tell her family
what they had done.
Keena’s father sent the younger girls into the kitchen to clean the
dishes from the meal, while gesturing for Tani and Keena to follow him
out the back door. When Tani noticed that it was only the three of them
retreating to the backyard, his anxiety rose. He and Keena had left the
monastery so quickly; they hadn’t really had a chance to discuss the
repercussions of their actions or how their families would react to
the news.
Keena’s father took a seat on a log that had been carved into a
make-shift chair. There was no other place to sit, so Tani and Keena
stood facing him. The man didn’t speak, simply moved his eyes
between Tani and Keena. Each time their eyes met, Tani wanted to
bolt like a frightened animal.
“I think it’s time you tell me what you are doing here.”
Tani glanced at Keena and swallowed hard. Now that he was
standing here, he had no idea what to say or even where to start.
“Ummm, I—ahem—well, what I mean is we…that is to say—”
“Papa, we left the monastery,” Keena blurted out.
Keena had her head down in shame, unable to meet her father’s eyes.
72 SHAY WEST
“That much I figured out when the Enforcers came and threw us
out of the manor. What I want to know is why.”
Tani wiped his sweaty palms on his pants, mind whirling to
come up with an explanation that would satisfy the angry man.
“We just couldn’t do it anymore, Papa. You don’t know what it’s
like, having to kill and butcher people…” Keena’s voice trailed off
into a sob.
“Why now? You’ve been a Harvester for many moons.”
“They wanted us to kill a child! She was the same age as Nyna.”
“Would you have killed the girl if your sister had been the one in
need of the precious organs?”
Keena opened and closed her mouth a few times, tears streaming
down her face. “That’s not a fair question. It wasn’t Nyna in need—”
“But it was someone’s sister, someone’s daughter and you condemned
them to death by your foolish actions.”
“I’m sure the monastery sent someone else—”
“Yes, and they are still living in a nice mansion with plenty of
servants while we were thrown into the streets like common criminals.
You should have seen your poor mother’s face when the Enforcers
threw her dresses into the dirt…”
Tani simply stood while Keena’s father berated her. These were
all things that had crossed Tani’s mind as they fled the monastery, but
he held onto the belief that his and Keena’s families would understand
why they couldn’t go on killing.
“The girl we would have killed had a family too. What of them?
Do they mourn any less for their loved ones than we do?” Tani asked,
anger burning in his chest.
“I do not care about the people from the other world. I only care
about the ones from this one.” He glared and crossed his arms. “Perhaps
if I talk to Master Kelhar, he will take you both back.”
Keena shook her head, blood draining from her face. “I can’t go
back there, Papa. I can’t start killing again.”
“Don’t you see what our duties are doing to her?” Tani put his
arm around her shoulders. “Have you ever taken a man’s life, ripped
into his still-warm body, felt his blood running down your hands? I
don’t want to ever feel that again.”
ORGAN REAPERS 73
“We can’t stay here. As angry as your father is, he may call the
Enforcers and make us to return to the monastery,” Tani said gently.
Keena met his eyes and his heart hurt at the naked agony he saw
there. After some coaxing, he finally got her to stand. He kept
himself between Keena and the house, as though his presence would
somehow shield her from further emotional pain.
The pair walked back through town. Tani wasn’t sure what to do
now. He was terrified of going to see his family, certain they wouldn’t
want to see him. They probably hate me too.
“We still need to find your family,” Keena said, as though reading
his mind.
“I’m not so sure I want to.”
Tani sighed loudly, knowing he had no choice. He led the way
through Maris, taking short-cuts and back alleys toward the mansion
his family had acquired after he had become a Harvester.
It was clear the manor was deserted even before he got close
enough to see through the windows. There were no lamps lit to ward
off the growing shadows as the sun went down. He spotted an Enforcer
sitting in the shadows in an alley.
“There’s an Enforcer watching the house,” Tani whispered.
“Do you want to get a closer look?”
Tani shook his head. “This Enforcer isn’t on the move. I don’t
want to risk being caught.”
“What if they left a message like mine did?”
“I think I already know where they are,” Tani said.
* * *
Tani’s eyes filled with tears as he walked down the dirt path that
led to his old family home, the one on the bluff overlooking the sea.
He could see smoke rising from the chimney and his Mama was
taking clothing off the line. There didn’t appear to be any Enforcers
in sight, so he moved forward cautiously. His heart sank when he
realized he would probably meet with the same kind of anger and
bitterness Keena’s father had shown.
His mother turned and put her hands to her face. She dropped
the shirt she held and ran toward Tani. Just as his mother flung herself
ORGAN REAPERS 75
at him, he noticed the door open. His father came out, all smiles, and
shouting into the house to bring the rest of the family.
Keena’s father was all smiles at first, too.
His father grabbed Tani in a bear hug while his mother stood
nearby, wringing her hands and mussing with her apron, all while
staring at Tani like she hadn’t seen anything so amazing in her whole
life. His two older brothers mussed his hair and punched him in the
arm, making him wince after about the tenth blow. His two sisters gave
him shy hugs, the kind reserved for a relative you only see every few
years. Isn’t that what you are to them? Tani wished he hadn’t been chosen to
be a Harvester, that he could have stayed on this plot of land overlooking
the sea and been part of their lives.
Little Meevo stood off to the side, patiently waiting his turn. Tani
bent down and let the tears fall when Meevo wrapped his arms around
him and squeezed. Tani moved back and stared at Meevo, relieved
to see the boy had some color to his skin and his eyes looked bright.
“Have you been taking it easy?” he asked.
Meevo rolled his eyes. “I’m not a baby. The apothecary says the
herbs are working and that I can do more now, as long as I stop when
I’m tired.”
Tani smiled as the lad ran off to help with the evening chores. It
wasn’t that many years ago that Meevo would have been bundled
up in a quilt and sitting off to the side. Tani used to get frustrated at
watching his brother sit while he helped clean fish, chop wood,
mend nets, and the hundred other chores that needed doing. Now
he’d give anything to see Meevo taking it easy rather than hauling in
arm-loads of firewood.
He met his father’s eyes. “Papa, we have something thing to tell
you—”
His father waved him off. “There’s plenty of time for that. Have
you eaten? Mama can re-heat the stew we had for supper.”
“We ate already. It’s important, Papa. Something’s happened.”
“Come on inside and we’ll talk.”
Tani followed his father into the house, all while trying to answer
the incessant questions of his brothers and sisters and keep an eye on
Keena. He spotted her with his mother, who had taken the distraught
girl under her arm. Tani couldn’t hear what they were saying, but
76 SHAY WEST
whatever it was brought a slight smile to Keena’s face, and for that,
Tani was grateful.
The family home was just as he remembered it: cozy furniture
with just enough wear so that you didn’t feel uncomfortable sitting
on it, and yet not so fancy that you dared not let your full weight press
into the cushions, a cheerful blaze in the hearth, vases of fresh flowers
scattered around.
“You two sit and I’ll bring us some tea.”
Tani smiled gratefully at his mother, hoping their good mood
would remain after learning that their son had left the monastery.
His father shooed the two younger children out of the room, allowing
Tani’s older sister and two brothers to remain. His mother returned
with tea and a lemon crumble cake. She poured tea and dished out
the cake, giving Tani a few more moments to collect his thoughts.
“Whatever you have to say, son, it’s okay. Obviously something
terrible must have happened to force you to leave the monastery,”
his father said, after everyone had enjoyed a few sips of tea and
eaten some cake.
Tani put his empty plate on a side table and cradled his cup of tea.
“Keena and I refused to do our duties as Harvesters and ran away.”
Keena sat still as a statue, eyes on the plate in her lap.
Tani took a deep breath. “Master Kelhar wanted us to take the life
of a child.”
His father shook his head and his mother raised her eyes to heaven.
“I was under the impression that the Harvesting was for adults
only,” Tani’s father said.
“So did we. But even killing the adults got harder and harder.”
Tani met his parents’ eyes. “I’m sorry I let you down. But we just
couldn’t do it anymore.”
“We’re doing just fine back in our old home,” his mother said.
Tani could see disappointment in her eyes, but he was grateful
for her words. He had loved seeing his mother in fancy dresses and
having her every need attended to. Guilt gnawed at his belly as she
walked outside to finish her work of removing the clean clothing
from the line. Keena followed to lend a hand.
She used to have servants to do this for her.
ORGAN REAPERS 77
“I know where your thoughts take you, but do not fret. It’s true
that we miss some of the things from life at the manor, but it is also
nice to come back to a simpler existence. It is a lot of work to maintain
proper airs when dealing with rich folk. Everyone knew we were
only afforded our station in life because of you; they always kept us
at arm’s distance, since we didn’t come from old money.”
Tani nodded at his father. “I just wish things had gone differently.”
“Taking a life is never easy, son.”
“So you’re not mad at me for leaving and getting you thrown
out of the manor?”
His father laughed. “I admit I wasn’t happy at getting tossed into
the streets, but I figured there had to be a good reason. To tell you the
truth, I never did like the idea of you killing folks just so others here
could live.”
Tani stared open-mouthed at his father. “Keena’s father disowned
her for leaving. I prepared myself for the same thing.”
“For some folks, losing money and prestige matters more than
doing what’s right. I’m glad you’re not one of those.” His father winked.
“Me too, Papa.” Tani sighed. “What about Meevo’s care?”
“You don’t worry about that. Your Mama and I were not careless
with the gold you sent. We saved most of it and have more than
enough to keep Meevo healthy.” His father leaned in close with his
eyebrows raised suggestively. “Now tell me about Keena.”
C HAPTER 11
ELI STARED at the white board that contained the evidence compiled
from all of the cases involving the removal of organs. His heart sank
when he realized he and Ava would need another white board if any
more victims surfaced. Thirty-five so far. How many more will die before
we can catch the perps?
He could no longer deny that there were multiple perpetrators.
Unless Sherry and her fellow medical examiners who had worked on
the other cases had suddenly—collectively—lost the ability to tell
time of death, too many of the crimes had occurred on opposite ends
of the country, simultaneously. The thought of a group of people
working together to butcher innocent people sent shivers down his
spine. It was difficult enough for one person to hide their involvement
in a crime; it was impossible for multiple people to keep quiet. Someone
always talked or bragged.
Until now.
Eli stared at the lines drawn from the photographs of the victims
leading to their age, occupation, marital status, blood type, what car
they drove, where they shopped, anything and everything, so he and
Ava could try to find something that connected them to one another.
Because if these killers are seeking people at random, we may not ever
catch them.
Admitting that to himself was enough to make him want to grab
a bottle of whiskey and swig the entire thing. He had never failed to
catch the bad guys. I’m damn sure not going to start now.
“You know, staring at that thing all day won’t make anything
new magically appear.”
ORGAN REAPERS 79
Eli gave his ever-optimistic partner a sour look. “You never know.”
“How many times have you gone to the fridge for something to
eat, found nothing, checked the cupboards, found nothing, and yet
still returned to the fridge and looked again, just hoping something
delicious was waiting for you?” She leaned back with a smug look
on her face.
“I never have anything in my fridge, so I never bother looking in
there.”
She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. My point is still valid. There’s
nothing here we haven’t gone over a hundred times. It’s time to get
out of here.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
“Want to stop by O’Doules? My treat.”
Eli met her smirk with a grin of his own. “I’m never one for turning
down a free drink.”
* * *
“Oh, don’t be such a spoil sport. I’ll start if that makes you feel
better.” She stared off into space for a minute, and then met his eyes.
“I hate watching girly movies.”
Eli laughed. “Okay, that’s not exactly personal.”
“I figured if I did anything more than that you’d bolt out the door.”
“Fair enough. I’m not surprised by this information. You don’t
peg me as the sniffly, crying movie type.”
“I also love country music.”
“Now that I didn’t expect. I pictured you listening to Lady Gaga
or something.”
Ava leaned back and laughed the throaty laugh that made Eli go
weak in the knees. “I can’t even name a song she sings.”
“Me neither. Her name just popped into my head.”
Ava took a long, slow sip from the drink the bartender sat down
in front of her. “What about you?”
“I like blues and rock and roll.”
She scrutinized him for a moment. “I can see that. I bet you even
play guitar, don’t you?”
“I used to.”
Eli gritted his teeth. It was an innocent comment, but the wave of
bitterness that washed over him made him want to throw his whiskey
glass across the room.
“Did I say something wrong?”
He shook his head. “You want to talk personal? I’ll give you
personal.” He met her gaze and continued in a flat monotone. “I haven’t
touched a guitar since I divorced my cheating ex. Do with that what
you will.” He gulped his drink, threw a couple of twenties on the
bar, and left.
After he got home, he felt guilty about leaving Ava sitting alone
at the bar. He picked up his phone, ready to call and apologize, maybe
try to explain, but he set it down without dialing her number.
I don’t care what she thinks.
He knew the voice in his head was full of shit, but he didn’t argue.
The last thing he needed was to become distracted by worrying about
what Ava might think. Nothing could come of their growing bond
except the inevitable closeness that comes from partners working
gruesome murders. Ava was off-limits. Best just to forget about her
ORGAN REAPERS 81
* * *
The scene was all too familiar: reds and blues flashing, officers
questioning witnesses and keeping gawkers from corrupting the crime
scene, Sherry kneeling next to a dismembered body, Ava speaking
with witnesses, yellow tape cordoning off the whole thing.
Eli walked to Sherry. He could feel Ava’s eyes boring into his back,
but he refused to turn around. The only thing in his sights was the body
of a young woman splayed out in a grotesque fashion on the sidewalk.
“Here we are again,” Sherry said as he knelt next to her.
Eli pulled on a pair of gloves. “Tell me about her.”
“Name’s Vanessa Parkins, twenty one years old, out for the evening
celebrating her birthday, left to walk a couple blocks home. Another
partier found her.” Sherry pointed to a young man rocking back and
forth at the periphery of the crime scene.
“Cause of death?” he asked.
“Same as all the others. Blunt force trauma to the head.”
“Anyone see anything?” he asked, already knowing the answer.
Sherry shook her head. “Not a thing.”
“What’s missing from this girl?”
“Only the heart.”
82 SHAY WEST
* * *
Eli leaned forward in his chair. “Is this for real?” he asked for the
second time since seeing the image on his computer screen.
“Apparently our victim was taking selfies to celebrate her big night
and ended up catching the perp as he came up behind her,” Ava said.
The image on the computer was crystal clear, not like looking at
surveillance cameras at banks or ATMs. The killer was in full view,
walking just behind and to the right of Vanessa. Eli frowned.
“What the heck is he wearing?”
Ava shrugged. “I wondered that too. Looks strange.”
“You know what it reminds me of? Those guys at the Renaissance
festivals.”
Ava nodded. “I can see that. Just simpler, like something a peasant
would wear rather than royalty.”
Eli barked laughter. “Our killers are wannabe medieval dudes?”
Ava gave a small half smile. “It’s no stranger than your alien theory.”
“Let’s see if we can ID this guy.”
ORGAN REAPERS 83
His hands shook as he scrolled down the page, eyes darting left and
right as he skimmed through the article. It was lacking in details, but at
first glance, it certainly looked as though the killers had gone international.
C HAPTER 12
bistro tables out front and a neon sign that said “Open” hanging in
the window.
“How did you find this place? I would have passed by never
knowing it was here,” Ava said.
Eli hesitated before answering her. “My ex and I used to come here.”
“It’s a cute place,” she said in a neutral voice.
The shop was dim and cool, with about a dozen small tables lining
two walls. Eli led the way to the counter. He handed Ava a menu.
“What do you recommend?” she asked as she read the choices.
“What do you like? They have fish, burgers, eggplant, and antipasto
salad.”
“I love eggplant,” she said, handing back the menu.
“Did you guys decide?”
Eli turned to the bored teenager behind the counter. “We’ll take
two of the eggplant sandwiches and a couple of sodas.”
He paid for the food and led Ava to a table in a corner away from
the door. It was peaceful, quiet, and far away from the table where he
and his ex used to sit. When he had suggested the sandwich shop, he
hadn’t really thought about his ex at all. Sitting here in their favorite
eatery didn’t bother him as badly as he thought it would.
Maybe I’m finally getting over her.
They passed the time chatting about the case, taking special care
to keep their voices low. It wouldn’t do to have a customer overhear
evidence the police were keeping quiet. They hadn’t released what
specific organs were taken from the victims and they had yet to mention
they had a snapshot of one of the killers.
The same bored teenager brought them their steaming sandwiches.
Eli didn’t bother to wait until the sandwich cooled before taking a huge
bite. The marinara sauce and melted cheese seared his mouth. He
took a gulp of ice-cold water to cool the half-chewed food in his mouth.
Ava covered her mouth and giggled.
Her eyes closed as she savored the first bite. It didn’t take her long
to adopt Eli’s method of cooling the hot bite of sandwich by drinking
cold liquid rather than waiting for it to cool.
“You’re right. That was the best sandwich I have ever had,” she said.
“I’ve had pretty much everything here and not one thing is short
of superb.”
“I believe it.”
ORGAN REAPERS 87
Just then, both of their cell phones buzzed. They shared a look,
then headed back to the office.
* * *
“What do you have for us?” Eli asked Charlie, the tech who was
running the facial recognition program.
Charlie looked crestfallen. “I wish I had good news for you. But
the face came back with nothing.”
Eli held his temper in check. “Anything that was even a partial
match?”
“Not even close.”
Another dead end.
Eli walked to Platt’s office to break the news.
“Charlie finished with the photo. Dead end, Captain.”
Platt sighed. “I’m beginning to wonder if all the evidence in this
case will lead to dead ends.”
“Maybe the FBI can come up with something. With these murders
happening across the globe, there have to be other pictures, other
prints, maybe DNA evidence.”
Platt smiled. “You just hate to admit this one might be more than
you can handle.”
Eli snorted. “No case is more than I can handle. I’ll nail the bastards.”
He stood to leave, a grim smile on his face. “I’ll nail them all.”
C HAPTER 13
TANI AND KEENA spent a week at his family home on the edge of
the sea. Keena forced a smile whenever anyone spoke to her, but Tani
could tell she was putting on a show. Her eyes had no spark, her forced
laughter no joy. Tani missed his partner and friend.
“Is there anything I can do?” he asked while they sat looking
over the bluffs.
She shook her head, but refused to speak.
“Please, what is troubling you? Maybe I can help.”
“Can you make my family accept our decision the way yours has?”
Her voice broke and she turned again to face the sea, wind blowing
her hair back from her delicate face. He hated seeing her so despondent,
but he didn’t know what to say or do to make things better. Guilt
twisted his heart. His family had been nothing but supportive and
loving about their decision to leave the monastery, going so far as to
accept Keena as a member of the family.
Would you rather they turn you away?
He reached out and took her hand in his, heart breaking at the
slight tremble he could detect. Was it fear of the intimate contact or
despair over the loss of her family? Tani didn’t say anything, merely
held her hand, praying to the gods to bring her comfort and peace.
Tani couldn’t say how long they sat there, but it was long enough
for the storm clouds to come toward the bluffs where they sat. The
clouds were black and purple, ominous and swollen with rain and
bad tidings. He had lived most of his life on the sea and a storm like
this could be deadly.
He knew he should run back to the house, but he couldn’t tear
his eyes from the clouds. They moved slowly across the ocean and
ORGAN REAPERS 89
caused it to swell and undulate faster, the waves crashing against the
granite cliffs far below where the pair sat holding hands as though
they alone could oppose the storm.
A shout from behind brought him out of his stupor.
“What are you two doing out here? Papa is bringing everyone to
the storm cellar.”
Tani turned and nodded at his mother. He followed her to the
eastern side of the house, still gripping Keena’s hand with his own.
His father stood at the entrance, holding one of the doors open.
“Will we be safe down here?” Keena asked softly.
“My family has weathered many a storm in this cellar. We’ll be fine.”
His other siblings sat in a corner playing a game of checkers.
“Want to play a game?” Tani asked Keena.
She shrugged, but didn’t refuse. He found the family’s second
checkers set and set it up at a low wooden table. They sat on the floor on
woven mats, facing one another. Tani set up the board, letting Keena
choose her pieces. She chose to be Royalty, leaving Tani to be the Peasantry.
Keena jumped when the wooden doors rattled in the growing
wind. He smiled, trying to put her at ease, but her eyes never lost the
sheen of terror. Soon the sound of wind-driven rain drowned out the
creaking of the cellar doors.
“Can the water get down here?” Keena asked.
“The steps may get a little damp, but that’s about it. We’re safe
in here; I promise.”
Tani’s mother dished out a dinner that consisted of dried bread,
tart cheese, and salted pork. Keena didn’t have much of an appetite
and merely nibbled at her meal. Every time the wind rattled the doors,
she jumped.
“Will this last much longer?” she asked.
Tani smiled sadly. “A storm this size usually lasts all night.”
“Why don’t you try some of this, my dear?”
Keena looked up at Tani’s mother and took the mug of steaming
liquid from her hands. Keena sniffed at the cup and smiled.
“My mother used to make me warm milk and nutmeg...” she
cradled the cup as she sipped.
“Give your father some time. He’ll come around. We can go visit
after he’s had a chance to calm down,” Tani offered.
90 SHAY WEST
She smiled and sipped at the drink. Before she had even finished
the mug, her eyelids drooped as she fought the effects of the warm
milk. Tani’s mother helped her to lie back against a stack of pillows,
and covered her with a blanket against the growing chill.
“She’ll sleep through the rest of the storm.”
Tani smiled gratefully at his mother and lay back against his own
pillows, knowing that if he slept, it would bring the ending of the
storm that much faster.
* * *
The next morning, Tani’s father led the family out of the underground
shelter. Tani steadied his heart for the damage he knew this kind of
weather could bring. He’d lost count of how many times his family
had had to rebuild their home because it couldn’t withstand the heavy
winds and rain. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the structure
still standing. Most of the windows were blown out and the roof was
badly in need of repair, but seeing the home sitting in the usual place
filled him with hope.
Keena walked up beside him and took his hand in hers. He met
her eyes and was taken aback by what he saw there: a steely resolve that
had been missing since they had left the monastery. It was the same look
he had seen when she had refused to go on any more Harvesting trips.
“While I slept I had a vision, sent from the gods, I’m certain of it.
I know what they wish us to do.”
She met his incredulous gaze with a small smile and squeezed
his hand. The pair stopped short of reaching the house.
“What was the dream...er, vision you had?”
“The gods want us to stop Master Kelhar.”
“Did they say how to do this exactly?”
“We have to destroy the gateway.”
Tani ground his teeth at her short answers. “How?”
“They did not tell me that. But I do know the gateways were never
meant for what Master Kelhar uses them for. I knew the gods would not
accept the murder of innocents even to save our own people.”
Tani didn’t know what to say. He’d never considered himself a
religious man by any means. He believed in the gods, tried to do what
ORGAN REAPERS 91
he thought they would want, but who could ever tell what gods
wanted from lowly people? And here his partner was telling him she
had spoken to the gods and had a direct line to what they wanted.
“You don’t believe me.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that exactly...” he stammered.
She laughed for the first time since leaving her parent’s house.
“It’s okay. The gods told me you would be hard to convince.”
Tani started walking again, his brain whirling with what Keena
had just told him. Was it possible? His heart raced at the thought of going
up against the monastery. They had money and power, something Tani
was short on at the moment. But a small fire burned deep within his
soul at the thought of the gods wanting to use him and Keena for
their purpose.
“The gods said we have to move quickly. Are you with me?”
she asked.
Tani shrugged. “I guess so. Just wish we had a little more to go on.”
“We will have to trust the gods.”
C HAPTER 14
Ava gave him her characteristic smirk as she spotted him. He made
sure to suck in his gut and walk as though his muscles weren’t burning.
“You’re just in time.”
“Charlie’s done already?”
Ava nodded. “Uh-huh. And the computer agrees with you. The
pair that did the killing in Delhi is the same as the ones in London.”
He wanted to celebrate this news, but instead he sat heavily on
his chair, wind gone from his lungs.
How could the victims, thousands of miles apart, be killed by the same
two people within a matter of hours?
C HAPTER 15
* * *
The pair said their farewells amidst hugs and tears from Tani’s
family. Meevo stood off to the side, refusing to take part. Tani called
to him, but Meevo ran into the house and slammed the door.
“He’s going to miss you terribly,” his mother said as she gazed
at the closed door. “He took it so hard when you left last time.”
ORGAN REAPERS 97
“I’m not sure. Hopefully the gods will make their plans known
when the time is right.”
For the first time since leaving the monastery, Tani knew he was
doing the right thing. And it felt good, better than having all the money
and prestige in the world.
* * *
Suddenly, the alarm bells pealed out across the monastery. Doors
opened as Harvesters, acolytes, and priests exited their homes, wondering
what was going on at such an early hour. Tani heard the door to Keena’s
domicile open and the woman run out.
It’s now or never.
He bolted from the side of the house and through the open door.
He ran to the small chest of drawers first, knowing that’s where
Keena had kept the stones. He rummaged through the clothing and
other odds and ends, but didn’t see any stones. Panic set in when he
realized the woman could return at any moment.
Tani searched the trunk at the foot of the woman’s bed, digging
through books and assorted charcoal pencils. At the bottom of the trunk
he spotted a black velvet bag tied with a slender piece of ribbon. He
hefted the sack in his hands, mouth widening in a grin. It felt about the
right weight and he could hear several things clinking together in
the bag. He shoved it in his knapsack, then closed the trunk.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Tani turned around; the occupant of the house filled the doorway.
Her face was red and her hands were balled into fists.
“I know you! You’re the one who ran away.”
“I was just looking for something Keena said she left behind,
that’s it. Just let me see if it’s here and I’ll be out of your hair. I don’t
want trouble,” Tani said as he backed away.
“There’s a reward out for you.” The woman advanced slowly,
like a predator.
Tani couldn’t look away from her feverish eyes. He knew he should
be coming up with some sort of plan for escape, but all his brain could
manage was to gibber and shriek that he was about to die.
Suddenly the woman’s face went still as stone and she slowly
toppled forward. Tani stood there stunned as she hit the floor, long hair
splaying out like a fan around her head. He looked up. Keena stood in
the doorway holding a large rock in her hand. She tossed it aside and
hurriedly stepped over the body.
“Help me get her inside!”
Tani ran to the woman and checked for a pulse. He was relieved
to feel the steady flow of blood through her neck. He grabbed her by
the arms and dragged her out from in front of the doorway. Keena
peeked outside, then shut the door.
102 SHAY WEST
ELI STOOD OUT on the back porch and turned the steak with one
hand while he drank an ice-cold beer with the other. The setting sun
was on the opposite side of the house, bathing the backyard in cool
shadows. He bobbed his head in time to the music from the stereo he
kept in his shed.
“Smells good.”
He turned to smile at Ava. She had bugged him about dinner until
he had finally given in, on one condition: that she come to his place and
he would do the cooking. She hadn’t given an argument, merely smiled
her half-smile that he’d come to find irresistible and said she would be
bringing the wine.
Eli flourished a pair of tongs. “It’s an old family recipe. Take raw
animal flesh and cook to perfection.”
“I’ll keep it secret.” She sat in one of his patio chairs, legs crossed,
wine glass in hand. Instead of her usual skirt and blazer, she wore
shorts that came down to her knees and a button-down, cap-sleeved T-
shirt. Ava and his ex couldn’t have been more opposite. Where Vicki
had been light, Ava was dark. Vicki had tended to wear clothing that
was very short, very tight, and very revealing. He had wanted to say
something, but she’d been so touchy about the subject that he’d kept his
mouth shut and put up with the stares she got while in public. She’d
figured it was because they thought she looked good. Eli hadn’t had
the heart to tell her they weren’t staring out of appreciation; they
thought she looked ridiculous. His ex would have been more attractive
if she had worn something more age-appropriate that covered more
skin than it showed.
104 SHAY WEST
He left Ava sitting outside while he went in to start the oven broiler
for the garlic bread. He opened the fridge and grabbed the bowl of
salad he had chopped earlier in the day. On a large tray he placed the
salad, bottles of ranch and Italian dressings, two plastic plates, forks,
and napkins, and carried it all out to the back porch.
“You set the table while I get the garlic bread,” he said as he ran
back into the house.
He grabbed an oven mitt from a drawer next to the stove and
pulled the cookie sheet piled with bread from the oven. He shut the
broiler off and put the pieces into a bowl, hissing as he burned his
fingers on the hot bread.
Eli brought the bowl out to the patio and grabbed the steaks
from the grill, inhaling deeply. If there was one thing he knew how
to do, it was grill a good steak.
Vicki never ate meat.
His wife had become a vegetarian after they married and had
tried for years to get Eli to swear off meat, but he had refused. She
wouldn’t cook meat for dinner, so Eli ended up cooking for himself
rather than eat her tofu fake meat crap. She would wrinkle her nose
and eat in the kitchen by herself, saying it made her sick to see him
eat the flesh of helpless animals.
“So it didn’t make you sick when you weren’t a vegetarian a few
months ago?” he asked one night.
“I have grown to realize that eating animals is wrong. I just wish
you would support me in this.” Vicki had refused to look at him.
“I support you just fine. I just ask that you support my decision
to continue to eat meat. I’ve never once tried to tell you to stop being
a vegan, have I?”
“You just don’t understand.” That was her usual way of ending
an argument she had no hope of winning.
Eli’s eyes widened in surprise when Ava picked the biggest
steak on the plate. She didn’t say a word, just raised her eyebrow as
though daring him to say anything. He kept his mouth shut and
speared the second steak off the plate, though it wasn’t much smaller
than the one Ava had chosen. He passed the bowl of salad, letting
her have the first helping. She got a large pinch of greens and placed
it on her plate next to the steak.
“Save some of that for me, will ya?” he teased.
ORGAN REAPERS 105
* * *
Eli and Ava arrived at the crime scene. Both wore their street
clothes rather than taking the time to change. She had her badge and
gun, which she displayed prominently in case the officers on scene
failed to recognize her without her customary skirt.
106 SHAY WEST
Sherry had yet to show up on the scene. Eli walked over to the
body and was surprised to find it fresh. As though the victim had
been killed only moments before. It was a male, mid-thirties, dressed
in running shorts and shirt. His body was splayed out in the middle
of a jogging path, but one that wasn’t well-used. Most people in the
area chose to run in the new park built just down the block. But
those that preferred to run in near-solitude still ran in this old park.
It wasn’t maintained like it should be and there was a lot of overgrowth
and weeds choking the area.
Upon closer inspection of the body, Eli found the man’s lungs
and heart were missing.
“Just like the others,” Ava said.
He stood and sought out the officer who’d been first on the scene.
“Any witnesses?” Eli asked, already anticipating the answer.
“Just one. She was running in the area and heard the man scream
out, so she called 911 as she ran over here.”
Eli did a double take and shared a glance with Ava. “She actually
heard the guy scream out? That’s a first.”
“What about a flash of light?”
The cop shook his head. “She didn’t mention anything.”
Eli pulled Ava off to the side. “Go talk to the woman and ask her.
I’m going to scope out the area. Keep your ears open. I have a feeling
our perps are still around.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Just a hunch.”
Eli walked back to the body and looked for footprints or any other
sign that someone had been in the area dismantling a body. The killers
certainly were good at hiding their tracks, but Eli had tenacity and a
burning desire to catch them. As he walked in larger circles away from
the victim, he spotted a partial track, a bent piece of grass, all leading
away from the body. He walked bent over and nearly bumped into the
man who stood up right in front of him.
The man didn’t hesitate. He took off running and Eli bolted after
him, yelling for Ava, hoping she was close enough to hear. The man
he chased was dressed like the other Butchers: trousers, boots that came
to the knee, and a shirt that tied at the neck. The man had a knapsack
on his back that flapped with every jump and stride. Eli smiled when
his own strides brought him closer to the perp.
ORGAN REAPERS 107
Eli took out his gun and yelled at the man to stop, that he would
shoot. The man kept running and didn’t look back. He was running
with purpose, like he knew exactly where he was going.
“Stop or I’ll be forced to shoot!” Eli shouted again.
Eli fired once, aiming for the man’s leg. The man gave a cry and
fell, tumbling head over heels until he finally came to rest on his
stomach. He tried to rise, but Eli was there, placing a foot on the
man’s back, forcing him back down.
He heard someone crashing through the trees. Ava broke from
between two trees, her weapon drawn. When she saw Eli had the
perp on the ground, she turned to survey the surrounding area.
“Did you spot the second one?” she asked.
“He was the only one I saw.”
“If they always work in pairs, there could be anoth—”
Her words were cut off by a brilliant flash of light directly ahead.
That’s where the perp was heading!
“Eli, what is going on?” Her voice sounded strained.
“I have no idea.” Eli bent down and forced the man to his back.
He smiled at the terror he saw in his prisoner’s brown eyes. “But I’m
going to find out.”
C HAPTER 17
THE PERP’S WOUND had been seen to and he was sitting in one of
the interrogation rooms. Eli watched through the one-way glass. The
man looked like a wild animal caught in a trap. His eyes darted
everywhere at once and it appeared as though he was about to cry.
“How long are you going to let him sit in there?” Ava asked.
“Until he’s ready to break down.”
“It looks like he’s ready to do that now.”
“The longer we wait, the better. He’s not going anywhere.”
“I hate this part. I wish we had some machine we could hook
him up to that would read his thoughts and just tell us everything
we need to know.”
“Where’s the fun in that?” Eli asked with a grin, and walked into
the room.
The man sitting at the table looked up, but couldn’t meet Eli’s
eyes for longer than two seconds. He’s totally freaked out.
“I’m Detective Robins; this here’s Detective Aguilar. You know
why you’ve been brought here?”
The man nodded, but didn’t say a word.
“This will go a whole lot easier if you just tell us what we want
to know. Now that we have you, it’s only a matter of time before we
get the rest of your group.”
The man merely sat in the chair, trembling, breath hitching in his
chest.
Eli slammed the photo of the most recent victim on the table in
front of the perp. “You get your jollies cutting people up, man?”
The man at the table refused to look at the picture. His eyes were
squeezed shut.
ORGAN REAPERS 109
* * *
“I found him. He’s responsible for one of the ones from Tokyo. I
bet there are others, but this is the only one we have footage for.”
Ava handed Eli the grainy surveillance footage.
“There’s the other killer. Damn it, I wish we could have caught
him too.”
“You and me both.”
“Has the lab finished with the guy’s DNA yet?”
Ava shook her head. “Not yet. They said tomorrow at the earliest.
Charlie finished with the facial recognition software and came up with
nothing. He gave Satrick’s picture to the FBI to see if they can get
anywhere with ID’ing him.”
“I’ll talk to the Captain and see if he wants to give this guy’s picture
to every news station in the city. It might generate some leads.”
“What’s up with that name he gave us? What was it? Slatick?
Sutick?”
“Satrick. I don’t know. Probably a name they take on once they
join the cult or something they use if they get caught, to keep us off
the trail.”
“Something about this has my skin crawling.”
“I agree. It’s the most bizarre case I’ve ever worked, that’s for sure.”
Ava got up from her desk and updated the white board with the
current information they had about the perp in their custody: name,
approximate age, weight, description, contents of his pack.
“I want to get a closer look at the stuff he had in his bag.”
Eli got up from his desk and went to the evidence room. He checked
out the evidence bag containing the man’s pack and all of the contents
and took it back to his desk. He and Ava donned gloves and carefully
opened the brown paper bag.
The first thing he grabbed was the black bag containing the surgical
instruments. Eli unrolled it and laid it out on the table. He took the
pieces out one by one, turning them over in his hands, looking for
identifying marks.
“Do these look strange to you?” he asked Ava.
She whistled softly. “Do they ever.” She took the scalpel by the
black wooden handle and held it up to the light. There was still dried
blood on it. Her eyes tightened as she handed it back.
ORGAN REAPERS 111
“Look at this.” Eli help up an old saw. “It’s like something an old
Civil War doc would have used. Not all shiny and streamlined like
they use today.”
“The only other thing in here is a cloth with some dried bread
and cheese.”
Eli took the bundle. The cloth looked old and hand-woven. The
bread definitely didn’t look like something you’d buy in the store,
but the cheese could be a hunk of cheddar.
“Check to see if anyone has brought a sample of this to the lab.
And if they haven’t, bring them some.” Eli handed her the bundle of
cloth and food.
Eli walked back to his desk, eager to add this latest bit of evidence
to the white boards. Between the clothing the killers wore, the medical
tools, and the food, Eli wondered if they weren’t dealing with some
sort of cult that was obsessed with living in the past. When Ava got
back, he shared his idea with her.
“Like Amish gone wild?” She frowned and nodded. “I can see
that. You know what it reminds me of? Something you’d read in a
fantasy novel.”
“You mean like Lord of the Rings or something?”
“Yeah. I mean, look. You have the clothing, definitely medieval/
fantasy. The pack with food kept wrapped in cloth? The old tools?
It’s like we’re in a movie.”
“Except that stuff isn’t real. We have to solve this crime in the
real world.”
“I’m not saying that this is a fantasy come to life.” She leaned
forward. “Have you ever heard of those guys that play Dungeons
and Dragons?”
“Yeah.”
“What if we’re dealing with a group that is playing their own
made-up version of Dungeons and Dragons? Maybe they even have
a King and Queen or something they take orders from.”
Eli wanted to tell Ava she was being ridiculous, but it didn’t
sound all that far out of the realm of possibility if he considered all of
the evidence. Occam’s razor stated that the simplest explanation tended
to be the right one. In this case, Ava’s idea was the only thing that fit.
112 SHAY WEST
“If this is true, there has to be some sort of online presence that
ties them all together, helps them to coordinate their attacks. And
they must be a tight-knit group of people since not one has come
forward to claim the large reward,” Eli said.
“I’ll start checking to see what I can find,” Ava said.
“Contact the FBI with this theory. If anyone can find out information
about a covert website operating internationally, they can.”
Eli walked back to the interrogation room to look in on Satrick.
The man still sat at the table, but he didn’t look as frightened as he
did before. If Eli had to put a name to the look on the man’s face, he
would have to say it was resolved.
We got you, didn’t we? It’s only a matter of time before we find the rest of
you and bring your organization down.
C HAPTER 18
AS ELI LAY in bed, his mind wandered to Ava. Better than thinking
about the murders. He stared at the ceiling and reminisced about their
steak dinner from days ago. He wanted to ask her to come over again,
but every spare moment had been taken up with the case. Eli went back
and forth between calling it a case and calling it cases. With more
murders popping up on the FBI’s international radar, it just didn’t feel
right calling it a single case anymore.
Eli thought about the killers and their ability to be in two places at
once, killing and butchering their victims. It was a scientific impossibility,
but no one had come up with a theory to explain the video footage of
people showing up on opposite sides of the globe with no way to travel
between the two scenes fast enough.
Could the times of death be wrong?
He had spoken to Sherry about it several times, to the point she
had started saying that the times of death were accurate every time
she spotted him coming. She had checked the reports from the FBI
and didn’t find anything that would lead her to believe the times of
death could have been mistaken.
Either the times of death are wrong or these killers can disappear from
one county and reappear in another.
His mind wandered to the bright light he and Ava had seen after
they had apprehended Satrick. If he hadn’t seen it for himself, he
would have been able to blow off that evidence as not actually being
evidence. But Eli was fairly certain he was of sound mind and he
couldn’t deny what his eyes had seen.
The more he thought about it, the more he liked Ava’s theory of
some sort of gaming community gone rogue. Everything fit.
ORGAN REAPERS 117
Why are you obsessing about something that can never happen? Eli didn’t
have an answer for the voice in his head. He liked thinking about Ava
and liked spending time with her, but a relationship was out of the
question. Maybe that’s why, the voice said in a sneaky whisper. He had to
admit it made a sick sort of sense. It was safe to fantasize about Ava.
They would never go any further than being partners, never go through
the awkward process of dating and chatting about their hopes and
dreams and fears and blah, blah, blah, never have to take the chance of
opening up and trusting someone again.
You’re a real head case.
The credits rolled and he was still wide awake. With a sigh, he got
up off the couch and made his way back to the bedroom. He bypassed the
bed and headed for the closet. He figured if his brain was going to be
uncooperative in letting him sleep, he might as well get some work done.
The drive to the office took half the time it usually did. Eli enjoyed
driving the city streets late at night. It allowed him to move about faster
and it was so much more peaceful. No honking horns, endless traffic,
people on bikes that didn’t follow the rules of the road, pedestrians who
shuffled along like zombies through crosswalks as they typed away
on their damn phones.
He could spot lights on in the precinct building. There was usually
someone around, even at this late hour. There was always paperwork,
interrogations, stake-outs to plan. Lots of detectives preferred to do
some of their work at night without the distraction of a full building.
It was easier to focus when you were the only one in the office.
While he waited for his computer to boot up, Eli went to see Satrick,
hoping that spending several nights in a holding cell would loosen the
man’s tongue. Satrick wouldn’t be at the station much longer. The Feds
were coming to take him first thing in the morning. Despite having
no identifying information and only circumstantial evidence, they
were moving forward with the prosecution. Although it galled Eli to
have his killer taken away, he knew the Feds had jurisdiction because of
the murder in Tokyo. He hoped there was more physical evidence that
would link Satrick to that murder; he didn’t think a grainy picture
was enough to prosecute.
Satrick lay on the cot facing the wall. It was clear to Eli that he
was fast asleep. He watched the man for a moment, trying to figure
out a way to make him give up his secrets.
ORGAN REAPERS 119
The more he thought about this case, the more his gut instinct
said there was something majorly wrong about everything associated
with the killings. The only way the evidence made sense was if there
were an international killing group. But such a group didn’t make
sense. In all his years as a detective, Eli had never encountered anything
remotely like this. Hell, I’ve never heard of anything like this.
Satrick squirmed and mumbled something in his sleep. Eli moved
closer to the bars of the holding cell, hoping Satrick would say something
that could be used against him.
“No, don’t...”…incoherent mumbling… “just go, Lawnce. Get the
organs back.” ...more mumbling... “Failed”… anguished cry... “Tell
Sarah I love her…” ...a groaning mumble...
The man quieted down and fell back into a deep sleep. The words
Satrick spoke were already jumbling together in Eli’s sleep-deprived
mind, so he decided to watch the video footage.
As it ran, he wrote down the names, guessing at the spelling as best
he could. Eli wrote them down on the white board with “partner?”
written next to Lawnce’s name and “wife/girlfriend?” next to Sarah. Get
the organs back where? Cops had scoured the area and didn’t find any
sign of the other man from the Tokyo photos. Eli assumed this would
be Lawnce. He drew a line with a question mark linking the name
with the photo.
Eli rubbed his eyes. His body was exhausted, but his mind was
buzzing with this new information. He sent an email to the FBI agent
he had been in contact with and told him about Satrick talking in his sleep
and offered to have Charlie copy the video footage and send it over.
Knowing he needed some rest, Eli wandered into the bunk room
and fell onto one of the bottom beds and was asleep as soon as his
head hit the pillow.
* * *
Eli woke up feeling like he’d been up half the night drinking. His
mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton and his eyes felt as though
all of the fluid had dried sometime in the night. He rubbed his eyes,
trying to get the tears flowing. He stumbled to his locker and grabbed
120 SHAY WEST
his small toiletries bag. After he brushed his teeth and splashed his
face with cold water, he felt almost human. He wished there was
something he could do about his hair. Eli tried to floof it up on the side
he’d slept on, but it was no use. Eli scrambled in his bag for a black
rubber band and pulled his hair back into a low ponytail. He hated
wearing it like this, but it looked better than his lopsided Afro.
He walked to the Starbucks by the precinct and picked out a couple
of coffees and breakfast sandwiches. He ordered a latte he remembered
Ava ordering once. Geez, you remember her crazy coffee order? You got it bad.
The precinct was buzzing with activity by the time he returned.
Though these bizarre murders took up much of the task force, there
were still plenty of normal crimes to deal with: burglaries, rapes,
attempted murders, murders that didn’t involve missing organs, one
case of arson, and a kid who thought it would be hilarious to bring a
black plastic rifle to school. Eli wished he were on one of those mundane
cases. Something straight forward, easily solved. He was beginning
to think the Butchers would continue to kill and disappear and never
be caught.
Ava was at her desk. Eli noticed the dark circles under her eyes; her
hair was pulled back rather than hanging loose like she usually wore it.
“Long night?” he asked while handing her coffee and a sandwich.
She nodded as she took the coffee and breakfast. “Couldn’t sleep.
This case is driving me crazy.” She sipped the hot beverage, eyes
closing as she enjoyed the drink. Her eyes flew open and she gaped
at him “What have you done with your hair?”
“I slept here at the station and didn’t shower, all right? The hair
has a mind of its own.”
“You slept here?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came back down here to have another go at
our prisoner before the Feds take him away. He talked in his sleep.”
Eli showed Ava the footage. Her eyes regained some spark of life as
she drank her latte.
“Lawnce? That doesn’t sound normal. More like something you’d see
in a Shakespeare play or something. At least Sarah is familiar,” she said.
“I added them to the board. If Lawnce is indeed the partner, we
at least have a name to go with the face.”
ORGAN REAPERS 121
“Still doesn’t help us. I bet if we look up the name with every
possible spelling, we come up empty. It’s like these people don’t exist.”
“Someone has to know who they are, who they really are. If we
keep bombarding the news channels and the internet with the
pictures, someone is bound to come forward.”
“When does Satrick leave?” Ava asked.
“An agent is supposed to come get him in a few hours. Why?”
“Just thought we could question him one last time. Maybe throw
out those names and see how he reacts.”
“Sounds good to me.”
Eli and Ava walked to the holding cell where Satrick was being held.
He was wide-awake and sitting on the edge of the cot, eyes straight
ahead. He didn’t turn around when the pair approached the cell.
“The Feds will be here soon to transport you to a maximum security
facility,” Eli said.
Satrick said nothing and continued to face the wall.
“I sure feel sorry for Sarah when she finds out you’ve been captured
and will likely get the death penalty.”
Speaking the name had the desired effect; Satrick turned to face
Eli, his eyes wide.
“What do you know of my Sarah?”
“Only what you spoke about in your sleep last night. And you
also gave us the name of your partner. Lawnce, I believe it was.”
Satrick stood and paced his cell. Eli watched and didn’t say a
word, knowing that if he interrupted whatever was going through
Satrick’s mind, the chances of the man letting something slip dwindled.
“I don’t want to die here. Please, you must let me out, so I can
return,” Satrick said as he continued to pace.
“I can’t do that, but if you tell me some information I may be
able to get you a deal.”
“A deal?”
“A lesser sentence, maybe life in prison instead of death. Maybe
this Sarah person can come visit you.”
Eli didn’t dare tell Satrick that if Sarah was involved with the
killings, she would likely be prosecuted.
“Only Harvesters can come here. Sarah isn’t a Harvester.”
Eli’s skin crawled at the word “harvester”.
122 SHAY WEST
TANI’S BREATH left his body in a whoosh that left spots dancing
before his eyes. No matter how many times he had done this, it took
some time to shake off the effects of coming through the gateway.
This place terrified him. Everything was big and loud and stinky, the
complete opposite of his own world.
“You have all five stones?” he asked, not wanting to get stuck here.
Keena nodded as she placed the five grey stones in her knapsack.
He led Keena away from the gateway site to an alley between
two buildings that seemed to disappear into the sky. It was as dark here
as it had been on his own world, but the false lights made it seem bright
as day. Tani wished he knew the names for such things. The only training
he had received was in the proper removal of the precious organs.
“How do we go about finding the people we saw in our vision?”
Keena asked.
“I don’t know. Let me think.”
Noises came from the darkness of the buildings around him, noises
he couldn’t identify. He felt like a trapped animal and wanted nothing
more than to run until he found an open space filled with grass and
trees. This place made him feel smothered.
“You new here?”
Tani turned and spotted someone crawling out of a large, damp
object covered in a blanket. The man coughed and spat a gob of green
goo on the ground. Tani winced. He didn’t have the training of the
apothecaries, but he knew when someone was ill.
“You can sleep here, but just keep yer hands off my stuff.” The
man stared at them through a mop of grey hair.
ORGAN REAPERS 125
Not knowing what to say, Tani merely nodded. The old man,
seemingly satisfied, crawled back into his blanket cave.
“I’m cold,” Keena whispered as she moved closer to Tani.
“Me too. Maybe we should walk around. That might help us warm
up and give us an idea of what to do next.”
Tani moved deeper into the alley, wondering what the strange
assortment of items were beneath his feet. He found that if he didn’t
keep his eyes on the ground, he was most likely going to end up falling
on his face. Though he didn’t spot any more people, he saw many of the
strange dwellings placed along the sides of the enormous buildings.
“Is that a fire over there?”
Tani looked in the direction Keena pointed and sighed in relief;
here was something he recognized. There were other people standing
around some sort of large bin with flames coming out of the top. The
pair approached timidly, but when no one shouted at them to leave,
they rushed forward and rubbed their hands over the welcome heat.
“Never seen you two around,” a young man said.
“We’re new here,” Tani answered, remembering what the old
man had asked them.
The young man nodded, but didn’t push for details. A woman drank
something out of a sack. When she caught Tani staring, she offered him
what was in her hands. Tani took it, nearly dropping it when the weight
hit his hand. Thinking it was water, he took a large swig.
The others around the fire burst out laughing as Tani doubled
over with a coughing fit that turned his face an alarming shade of red.
Keena pounded him on the back while laughing along with the others.
When he caught his breath, he smiled and thanked the woman, and
handed the container to Keena.
“It’s like the spirits we drink back home.”
She took a small sip of the beverage, her face scrunching up as the
liquid hit the back of her throat. Keena handed the container and bag
back to the old woman.
The group stood in silence around the fire. No one asked him and
Keena questions they couldn’t answer. The strangers seemed content to
merely let the pair into their midst without having to know everything
about them. Tani wondered if this was typical of people of this world or
just unique to this group. He wanted to ask them about this place, what
the strange things were all around, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.
126 SHAY WEST
Slowly, one by one, the strangers left the fire, each seeking their
own place to sleep for the night. Tani’s throat tightened when he
realized that he and Keena had nowhere to go. They had fled their
world without thinking about what they would do once they got here.
The old woman stopped and turned. “You guys got somewhere
to sleep?”
Tani merely shook his head, not trusting his voice.
“Figured as much. They’ll have some cots over at the shelter. It’s
only a few blocks from here on State Street.” She frowned when Tani
didn’t answer. “Just follow this street until you come to State Street,
then turn left. The shelter is a few buildings down.” She pointed to a
green sign at the intersection of the strange black road.
Tani nodded, unwilling to admit to her that he couldn’t read the
words on the sign she had pointed to. She turned and continued on her
way. He watched her until she disappeared into the darkness. He
fought the urge to beg her to stay, to show them where the shelter was
or describe what it looked like, anything but leave them alone here.
He glanced at Keena and took her hand in his when he saw a single
tear trickle down her cheek. Knowing she was as frightened as he was
made him feel brave. He pulled her away from the comforting blaze
and into the unknown.
They walked in the direction the old woman had pointed them.
Tani didn’t know how much distance a block covered, but he turned
at the next street, hoping he was guessing right.
When he and Keena had walked many streets over, he realized he
probably hadn’t gone far enough. They moved up one more street and
backtracked, hoping to come upon the shelter from the other direction.
Frustration and a twinge of fear settled over him when he didn’t spot
anywhere that looked like people were still awake. He walked until he saw
the fire, further away than when they started. He moved away one more
street, sending a prayer to the gods that this would be the correct way.
Do they even worship gods on this world?
His footsteps faltered. It was something he had never considered
until now. Can my gods hear me on this world? The thought of his prayers
going unheard and unanswered made Tani feel more alone than ever.
“I think I see light,” Keena said.
ORGAN REAPERS 127
Tani spotted the strange lamps this world used. They didn’t flicker
the way fire or oil lamps did. The light was steady, and whiter than
anything he had ever seen. Curiosity warred with trepidation as they
approached the building. There was a sign hanging in the front, but he
couldn’t read the words. Hoping he wasn’t walking into someone’s
home, he opened the door.
He blinked at the sudden brightness. The lamps of this world were
somehow attached to the ceiling with the light coming from something
that looked suspiciously like glass.
“Can I help you two?”
Tani turned to face the short, stout woman standing before them.
She looked them up and down suspiciously.
“An old woman at the fire told us to come here,” Tani said, wringing
his hands.
“I’m Mrs. McCready. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your cots.
As we go, I’ll explain the rules.”
Tani followed closely behind, not wanting to miss any of the rules.
Where he was from, breaking rules carried a harsh punishment.
“You can stay one night at a time, you have to leave by nine in the
morning, no funny business.” She glanced back and waggled a finger right
under Tani’s nose. “You’re expected to help cook the meals, but you’ve
already missed the evening one, so you’ll have to help cook breakfast.”
His stomach chose at that moment to give a loud grumble.
Mrs. McCready stopped and turned around, a small smile on her
face. “I’ll see if I can find you something to eat before you sleep.”
She led them into a large room filled with cots. Tani had never seen
so many people in one place. Not even the monastery had half so many
people. The room echoed with grunts and snores and the creaking of
bodies moving about on the cots.
“Here’s one you can have and I’ll find another—” she stopped
when she noticed the pair had stopped.
Tani felt Keena’s body go rigid when Mrs. McCready suggested
they wouldn’t be sleeping next to one another.
She walked up to Keena with a warm smile on her face and took
her gently by the hand. “You’re safe here. They just need a place to stay,
same as you.” She patted Keena’s hand, noticing her look of terror was
still there. “But I’ll see if I can find two cots close together of that makes
you feel better. Just remember what I said; no funny stuff.”
128 SHAY WEST
Tani wanted to ask her what “funny stuff” meant, but she was
off and walking along one wall toward an area in the far corner. Tani
sighed in relief and he felt Keena squeeze his hand when she spotted
two empty cots side by side.
“You can put your things under the bed. There’s a bathroom there.”
She pointed to a room with a small amount of light coming from it. “I’ll
see if I can find you a snack from the kitchen. Not going to promise you
anything, since the kitchen help is usually pretty good about cleaning
up every scrap of food.”
Tani sat on the edge of one of the cots, easing his knapsack off his
shoulders. He should have told Mrs. McCready that they didn’t need
food; he and Keena had rations enough for a few days. Still, better to
save what little they had for an emergency.
“What do you suppose is in that room?” Keena asked.
Tani shrugged. “She called it a bathroom. Maybe it’s like the
bathhouses back home?”
Keena’s face broke into a smile. “I could use a nice bath before bed.”
The pair walked to the open door and stopped. Nothing about
this room looked anything like a bathhouse. There was a white basin
attached to one of the walls. Tani moved closer and puzzled out how
one was to keep water inside when it had a hole in the bottom. He
moved one of the silver knobs and jumped back in surprise when water
poured out. He moved the knob back to its original position and the
water stopped.
“What does the other one do?” Keena asked.
Tani turned the left knob and gasped in surprise when he noticed
steam rising from the water pouring out of the spout.
“Where does the hot water come from?” she asked, getting on
her hands and knees under the sink.
Tani got down next to her. “I think it is moved through these
pipes. It’s similar to the steam engines. See?” He pointed to the pipes
disappearing into the wall.
“But where does the water come from? I didn’t see a lake when
we walked up.”
“Maybe they have an underground cistern or a well.”
Keena nodded slowly as though unconvinced. Her eyes widened
when she spotted the second piece furnishing the bathroom.
ORGAN REAPERS 129
Tani followed her gaze and moved closer to the strange white
contraption. It didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen. It had a round
part and a second part that was taller, but more of a rectangular shape.
He noticed a silver knob on the top corner of the rectangular part. He
lifted the lid and gasped when he saw that it was filled with water.
“Perhaps this is the wash basin, and that is for something else?”
Keena suggested, pointing to the sink.
“It certainly looks more like a wash basin we’re used to seeing.”
“Wonder what that knob does?” she asked.
“What are the two of you doing?”
Tani and Keena stood quickly. Tani withered under the gaze of Mrs.
McCready. She no longer looked warm and inviting. If Tani had to guess,
he’d have to say she looked disgusted. She had a small plate of food that
she set down on the edge of the strange contraption that held hot water.
“I asked what you are doing. We don’t allow drugs here and if
you are one of those who eats and then throws up, you can just leave
right now.”
“We’ve never seen one of these before,” Keena blurted out.
The old woman blinked slowly and crossed her arms over her
chest. “How can you not have seen one of these before?”
Keena looked at Tani, but he didn’t know what to say.
Mrs. McCready’s face looked anything but warm and inviting. “I want
to know who you are and what you were doing in front of the toilet.”
What is a toilet?
“We’re from far away and we are used to different rooms than
this,” Tani stammered, hoping he sounded convincing.
“Think I was born yesterday? There’s nowhere in this country
you could be from where you wouldn’t know what that was.” She
pointed to the toilet.
Suddenly her eyes narrowed. ”Your clothes...” She turned and
exited the room.
“What do we do?” Keena asked.
Tani left the bathroom and followed the sound of Mrs. McCready’s
voice. She was speaking very fast and sounded frightened and angry at
the same time. Tani noticed she had something next to her ear.
“What is she doing?”
Tani shook his head. “She’s speaking to someone, but I don’t see
anyone. Maybe the thing in her hand is somehow alive?”
130 SHAY WEST
Mrs. McCready came into the cot room and came straight for them.
“I’ve called the authorities. No sense trying to run. You two will stick
out like sore thumbs, so they’ll get you eventually.”
Tani noticed she carried a knife in one hand and the contraption
she had been speaking to in the other. He didn’t have to know much
to figure out she’d somehow gotten in touch with the Enforcers of
this world.
“We don’t want trouble,” he said as he grabbed his knapsack from
the cot.
Keena followed suit and did the same, her eyes wide in her pale
face. Tani grabbed her hand and turned to run.
He’d forgotten about the rows of cots and nearly tripped over
one containing a large sleeping man. He ran for the door, ignoring
Mrs. McCready’s shout to stop.
At her cry, several sleeping forms sat up, rubbing their eyes,
wondering what the commotion was about. When they caught sight
of the two strangers running through their midst, they stood, as though
unsure what to do.
“Stop them!” she yelled.
Tani felt arms grab his knapsack. He lunged forward, hoping to
throw whoever had grabbed him off-balance, but he was held fast.
Keena shrieked from behind him. Tani turned—she was struggling
against a large man who had her in his grip.
“Easy there, little lady. I won’t hurt you. Just stop fighting me.”
Keena bit him on the hand. The man bellowed and dropped her.
She hit the floor like a sack of potatoes. She scrabbled on the cement
floor, trying to regain her footing. Tani struggled against the arms
holding him, urging Keena to get to her feet and run!
Someone else grabbed her by the feet. A second man held her
arms down, pinning her to the floor. Tani stopped moving. The arms
that held him fast wouldn’t budge. His captor was smart enough not
to have his arms near Tani’s mouth.
“What they done, Missus?”
Mrs. McCready looked triumphant as she pointed to Keena and
Tani with the knife.
“I think we just caught the people the cops have been looking
for. The ones they call the Butcher.”
C HAPTER 21
ELI PINCHED the bridge of his nose. “Okay, Charlie, tell me that again,
but try using words actual people know.”
Charlie rolled his eyes. “Okay. I took your guy’s DNA and ran it
through CODIS. Nothing came up. On a hunch, I ran his DNA through a
program that researchers use to match DNA ethnically for experiments.
My wife works for a lab that uses this software all the time.” He held up
his hands when Eli looked annoyed. “Anyway, I took his DNA and
ran it in this special software. It came up as not matching anything in
the database.” He was perched on the edge of his chair.
“And that means what exactly?”
Charlie groaned and slouched in his chair. “You really aren’t
getting this? His DNA doesn’t match any known ethnic sequences. You
would match African-American sequences more so than Asians or
Caucasians. Ava here would better match Latino populations. This
Satrick fellow should match one of the Caucasian populations. But he
doesn’t. Not even close.” He raised his eyebrows and held up his hands.
Eli went cold. Satrick looked like any typical white person with
dark brown hair and light brown eyes. There was nothing to suggest
that he was anything other than someone of European descent.
“You’re telling me that his DNA profile has nothing in common
with any Caucasians?”
Charlie looked smug. “I’m telling you that he doesn’t match any
ethnicity on this planet.”
“It’s not possible...”
“Oh, it’s possible. I ran the test several times just to be sure.
That’s why it took so long to get back to you.”
132 SHAY WEST
“What about the tests on the food he had with him?” Ava asked.
“Still waiting on that. I handed it over to the local university. Figured
it would be a fun project for budding researchers. I told the professor
in charge that this was part of a murder investigation, so hopefully
they’ll have something within the week.”
Eli leaned back in the chair and put his hands behind his head. This
new information rocked him; and he didn’t like to be rocked like this. In
his world, the perps left a trail of evidence that he followed, eventually
putting two and two together and catching the bad guys. The perps
did what they did for predictable, if sinister, reasons, but it was all
part of what was normal for him.
Nothing about this case made sense, nothing at all.
“Charlie, have you told anyone else about this?” Ava asked.
“Only my wife. I had to have her check my work to make sure I
hadn’t screwed something up royally. The last time I ran the guy’s
DNA, she did all the work and confirmed everything I just told you.”
“Did she have any theories to explain this?” Eli asked.
“None that you’ll want to hear.”
“Try me.”
“Most of the ideas are preposterous, okay? Just keep that in mind.”
Charlie put up his hand and counted on his fingers as he listed them off
one by one. “He is genetically engineered like Kahn, time traveler like
the Doctor, from another planet—”
“You’re right, those are ludicrous,” Eli said. “And what the heck
does time travel have to do with doctors?”
Charlie laughed.
“The ideas may be out there, but it’s not like we have anything
better,” Ava said.
“The genetically-engineered theory isn’t so far out there, not like
the other two. If places can add genes in to our food, can’t they do
some weird stuff to people?” Eli asked.
Charlie shrugged. ”Probably. But my guess is it would be awfully
hard to do. Working on human beings is a lot harder than plants.
Besides, genetically modified food only has one gene, maybe a few at
most, that are changed. To alter a human being’s DNA to the point
that it no longer matches anything in the databases?” Charlie shook
his head. “Seems pretty impossible.”
ORGAN REAPERS 133
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that. I bet they have all sorts of crazy
weapons that we couldn’t begin to imagine.” Ava gave him that
sideways smile of hers. “But you’re not buying it.”
“Nope. Not buying it at all.”
“Then what do you think’s happening?”
“I honestly don’t know. But I’m going to work like hell to find out.”
* * *
Tani begged Keena not to resist as they were forced from the
shelter and out into the street. It was difficult to walk with his hands
fastened behind his back. There were more of those strange contraptions,
with flashing blue and red lights, surrounding the building. Men and
women wearing blue uniforms of some sort stood staring as he and
Keena were brought out. Their eyes held anger. Tani cringed against
the man walking behind him.
Suddenly Keena screamed out and thrashed against the man
trying to put her into the conveyance. He shouted to her to relax, that
everything was going to be okay, but she was in full panic mode and
he could tell his words were doing nothing to calm her fears.
“What the hell’s wrong with her?” The man forced Tani to turn
around.
“She’s scared of your contraption.”
“Contraption? You mean the patrol cars?”
“Yes.”
The man gave him a strange look. “Hasn’t she ever been in a car
before?”
“No. Neither have I.”
The man rolled his eyes and spoke into a device attached to his
shoulder. “Looks like we got us a couple of dope fiends. Something
hallucinogenic, maybe PCP. They’ll come clean after a couple days
of detox.”
Tani had no idea what the man was talking about.
The Enforcer managed to get Keena into the conveyance. He
slammed the door and she continued to thrash around for a moment.
Then she sat still as stone, slowly rocking back and forth, staring down
ORGAN REAPERS 135
at her feet. Tani wanted to go to her, hold her, protect her, but he was
being forced into the body of another contraption and told to watch
his head.
The door slammed shut and all was silent. He turned to get a look
at Keena, but all he could see was the top of her head. One Enforcer
had both of their packs and loaded them into a brown bag of some
sort before handing the package over to yet another Enforcer. Tani had
never seen so many in one place.
Two men in blue uniforms got into the conveyance in front of Tani.
The one on Tani’s left turned something and the machine roared to life.
Tani could feel it vibrating. He listened for the hiss of steam, but there
was nothing but a rumbling coming from the front. The Enforcer on
Tani’s right pushed buttons on a small device located between the two
men. The man on the left gripped a black wheel and when he moved his
hands, the contraption began to move, slowly at first, but gaining speed.
Tani’s breath hissed between clenched teeth. The steam conveyances
on his world could not go nearly this fast; in fact they moved slower
than a galloping horse. He thought a horse would never be able to catch
up to this conveyance.
He turned and the contraption carrying Keena was right behind
them. She still sat with her head down. Tani faced front again and tried
to focus on what was to come. He didn’t know anything about the
punishments in this world. It was entirely possible he and Keena would
be put to death before they could find a way to shut down the gateways.
The thought of dying scared him, even though he’d been taught from a
young age that death was nothing to fear, that when a person died they
were taken up into the home of the gods, there to reside for all eternity.
Yet he didn’t want to die, especially not on a world of strangers with
terrifying machines that sped through an even more terrifying landscape
of metal and darkness. We have to tell someone who we really are.
Instinct told Tani to keep quiet and observe for now, that the time
wasn’t right to speak of who he was and where he and Keena came
from. Telling these strangers the truth went against everything he’d been
taught at the monastery. Secrecy was necessary, the priests always said,
never let them see you, and never tell them anything if you are caught.
To Tani’s knowledge no one had ever been caught. Or if they
had, the priests kept it very quiet. Still, Tani thought he would notice
if a fellow Harvester suddenly stopped showing up for meals or training.
136 SHAY WEST
At least I know what this is called now. The elevator doors opened
and Tani was pushed forward into a room teeming with Enforcers.
Though not all of them were dressed in the blue uniforms, they still
carried themselves with authority. The same looks of anger and disgust
met them in this new place. Tani hung his head in shame, though he
wanted to shout at these people that he had only done what he was
supposed to do. Surely the fact that he and Keena had changed their
minds and refused to ever Harvest again should count for something.
“Put ‘em in a holding cell. Robins and Aguilar will want to question
them,” one of the Enforcers said.
Another Enforcer took him and Keena to an area where one wall
was nothing but bars. Tani noticed someone asleep on a bench along
one wall. There was another of the strange basins like the one he had
seen in the bathroom of the shelter. The metal confinement devices
were removed and the door slammed shut behind them.
Tani took Keena’s hand and led her to a bench opposite the
sleeping man. He sat next to her, still holding her hand. Tani couldn’t
say how long they sat in that cage, but his stomach grumbled and his
bladder became more insistent as the minutes passed. Tani didn’t see
anything that resembled a chamber pot anywhere. His eyes rested on
the strange water basin against the wall.
Maybe that is its purpose?
Tani blushed when he noticed all the people walking around the
cage. Back on his world, relieving oneself was something done in
private. He wasn’t sure he would be able to do anything with all of
the people watching.
The need to empty his bladder became unbearable. It was either
ask where a chamber pot was, assume the basin was for that purpose,
or allow his bladder to empty on its own and be stuck in wet clothing.
Rather than ask the Enforcers, Tani chose to ask the other occupant
of their cage. He stood above the sleeping form and cleared his throat.
When that did nothing, he gently shook the man’s shoulder.
“Wha, wha’s happenin’?” The man rolled over and blinked a
few times before covering his eyes.
“I need to ask you a question: what’s that thing over there?”
The man turned his head and looked in the direction Tani was
pointing. He screwed up his face and rolled back over, mumbling
138 SHAY WEST
under his breath. When the man didn’t move or say anything else,
Tani grew more insistent.
“Please, sir, I need to know if that is the place where I’m supposed
to relieve myself.”
The man turned part way over. “Relieve yourself? You mean
take a piss?”
“I guess so,” Tani stammered.
“You must be drunker’n I am.”
Tani had no idea what the stranger was saying, so he kept this
mouth shut.
“If’n you gotta take a piss, just go to the toilet and do it.”
“Right here in front of everyone?”
“No one out there gives a crap ‘bout you takin’ a piss.” The man
rolled back over.
As the situation with his bladder was becoming dire, Tani decided
he would have to relieve himself in the strange basin. He stood there,
relief warring with humiliation as his bladder emptied. It felt like it
took forever. Tani stared at the wall until he was finished.
“What, you ain’t gonna flush?”
Tani turned toward the man on the bench. “Flush?”
“Geez, kid, you really need to lay off the sauce. Push that little button
on the side.”
Tani moved back to the basin—toilet—and hit the button. He stepped
back in shock when the water swirled in the basin before disappearing.
He put his face close to the basin, hoping to get a closer look at where
the water went. Must be a collecting basin beneath here.
“Now what are ya doin’?”
Rather than tell the stranger he was wondering where the water
went after he flushed, he left the basin and sat back down next to Keena.
She must need to relieve herself as well. She didn’t respond to his questions,
so he took her and led her to the basin, explaining how to use it. Tani
gulped when she undid the laces on her pants, not seeming to care that
he was facing her. He turned around, shielding her as best he could
from the stranger on the bed. He needn’t have bothered; the man was
facing the wall and snoring louder than before.
When she finished, Tani demonstrated how to flush the toilet. For
the first time since their capture, she showed signs of life. She moved
closer just as he had and watched the water as it swirled and disappeared.
ORGAN REAPERS 139
Tani shook his head, wondering how this man had a likeness of
Satrick. Of all the things the detective could have done, this was the
last thing he expected. I wonder if they showed this to Keena? He prayed to
the gods that she would keep silent.
“Nothing to say? Just tell us how you know him and his partner,
Lawnce.” Robins placed another piece of paper on the table that clearly
showed that man’s face.
This was something the monastery had never mentioned. They
always seemed worried about capture, but these people had means
of taking someone’s likeness and putting it down on parchment. Tani
wondered if it was some sort of painting or drawing. He had always
been amazed by the talent of artists on his world, able to create such
beautiful works of art. But this was somehow different, as though
someone had captured Satrick’s and Lahnce’s likeness without the
use of canvas and paints.
“I bet your partner in the other room is spilling her guts as we
speak. If she gives us what we need, she’ll get the deal, not you. You
could end up going down for the whole thing.”
Tani didn’t know what Robins was saying, but the spilling of guts
was something he understood and it was usually something that
happened following torture. The thought of these people opening up
Keena’s tender belly and pulling out her innards was more than he
could bear. Maybe they use innards for some sort of ritual?
“Please, don’t hurt Keena. You don’t have to torture us.”
The detective’s eyes widened. “Who said anything about torture?”
“You said she will be spilling her guts.”
The dark-skinned man blinked and gave a strange bark of laughter.
“Not literally spilling her guts. It’s an expression that means to tell
someone all your secrets.”
“Then why would you say such a horrible thing? Where I come from,
the spilling of guts is only done as the harshest form of punishment.” Tani
couldn’t believe he was chastising an Enforcer.
“And where exactly are you from?” the man asked.
Tani shook his head.
“I suppose the priests told you to keep quiet if you were ever
captured?”
Tani’s mouth opened and closed, but no sounds came out. How
does he know about the monastery?
ORGAN REAPERS 141
“Is it the priests that make you steal organs?” the man asked.
Tani lowered his head. Satrick must have told this man everything!
“Since you seem reluctant to talk to me, I’m going to go see if I
can get your partner to talk.”
Before Tani could protest, the detective exited the room.
C HAPTER 22
ELI LEFT THE SUSPECT in the room. He still didn’t know the man’s
name, but at least he knew the name of his partner. Keena, he had called
her. He opened the door to the room where Ava was questioning the
female suspect and motioned her to come out into the hallway.
“You get anything?” he asked.
Ava crossed her arms and glared through the one-way glass at
the suspect as she sat at the table. “Not a damn thing. She just sits
and stares at the table. Didn’t even say anything when I showed her the
picture of Satrick.” She glanced up at Eli and narrowed her eyes. “What
the hell are you smiling about? If you got something, just say it.”
“I know her name is Keena,” Eli said, nodding his head. “He knows
about Satrick and Lawnce, so I am willing to bet he knows the rest of the
killers. You should have seen how he reacted when I mentioned the
priests. Whoever they are, they sure have this guy spooked.”
“Charlie better be able to tie them to some of the murders, or else
we’ll have to let them go. Just dressing funny isn’t going to be enough
to hold them.”
“I know. And if we let them go we lose our best chance of getting
information.”
“What makes you think they’ll be any more forthcoming than
Satrick? He hasn’t said one word to the Feds and I doubt he ever will.”
“I don’t know. My gut’s telling me there’s something about these
two that’s different.”
“Do you want to take them back to holding or question them
some more?” Ava asked.
“Why don’t we put them in a room together and see what happens?”
Ava grinned. “I like the way you think.”
ORGAN REAPERS 143
* * *
Tani smiled in relief. Seeing Keena unharmed and with her guts
still inside her body made his knees go weak. Despite the assurances
of the dark-skinned man that she was fine, Tani felt better having
seen for himself.
The man called Robins left the room. Tani managed to move the
second chair next to Keena’s.
“Did they hurt you?” he asked.
She shook her head. “The lady said they have Satrick in custody!
Does this mean he will be put to death?”
“I don’t know. These strange people could be capable of anything,”
he answered in a low whisper.
“I wonder if Satrick is here. Maybe they would let us see him.”
“This place is so big, with hundreds of rooms, probably like this
one. Or maybe he is in a cage like we were earlier today. But I doubt
they will let us see him. The Enforcers on our world don’t allow criminals
to visit with family or friends.”
“Do they know?” she whispered, eyes widening in alarm.
“The dark-skinned man named Robins asked about the priests
and organs. They must know.”
Keena’s shoulders sagged. “Then we committed treason for nothing.”
“Not for nothing. I have a feeling they don’t know as much as they
led us to think. If they did, they would be asking about the gateways,
the stones, how to close them, wouldn’t they?”
Keena met his eyes and some of the fire returned to their depths.
“That’s true. The only thing the lady mentioned was Satrick, asking
how I knew him, where the others were. Some of the words she said
were strange and I didn’t know what they meant.”
“My detective said much of the same. Only he mentioned priests
and organs, so Satrick must have said something to them.”
“What will they do with us?” Keena asked, voice cracking under
the strain of trying to keep from crying.
“I don’t know. I wish I knew more about the criminal systems
here. The priests should have taught us more of this world. Didn’t
they ever think one of us might get caught?”
144 SHAY WEST
“They must not have. I don’t think Master Kelhar would send all
those Harvesters if they truly thought they would ever get caught.”
“I suppose you’re right.” Tani sighed. “We must decide what to do.”
“What can we do, locked up in here? I don’t even have the gateway
stones,” she said miserably.
“I don’t know, but we better think of something, or else the people
of this world will continue to die.”
“The man and woman are the ones from my vision. Surely the
gods mean for us to tell them the truth?”
Tani shrugged. “I don’t know. But if the gods mean for the dark-
skinned man and the pretty woman to help us, surely they would
have sent them visions of us?”
“Maybe they cannot hear the voices of our gods,” Keena said,
sounding horrified.
“Perhaps not. Maybe that is why the gods need us. To be their
voices to these strangers.”
* * *
Eli wanted to tell her she was being ridiculous, but he couldn’t
make the words come. Tani and Keena spoke of things that didn’t exist
on planet Earth. The arresting officers told Eli about the pair acting
strangely when they were being placed in the vehicles and when they
got into the elevator. The cops thought they were on drugs, but Eli
wasn’t so sure.
“Guess this also blows my military theory.”
“If they were in the armed forces, they would have never spoken
about stuff like this. People from this world know we have cameras
and microphones in the interrogation rooms,” Ava said.
“But since they aren’t from here...” Eli left the sentence hanging.
“Exactly.”
“I wonder if the Feds ever got anything back from Satrick’s
psych eval?”
Ava shrugged. “I’ll go find out. You keep an eye on our friends.”
* * *
* * *
at the end of the tunnel. If these two could tell them about the killings,
he could close the book on this case and hopefully move on to one a
little more normal.
Ava sauntered up holding a folder. She handed it to Eli without
a word. He skimmed the pages and sighed in disgust.
“Satrick’s fine?”
“According to the experts he’s not delusional at all.”
“Wonder if they would change their tune of they could hear these
two talk.”
“Did you see the last bit?” she asked pointing to the folder.
“Yeah, bastard passed a polygraph.”
“Passed a polygraph and admitted to killing twelve people.”
“At least he’ll be standing trial. I was afraid he’d avoid punishment
by using an insanity plea.”
“If he’s sane, then so are these two. Wonder how many people
they killed?” Ava asked, staring at them through the one-way glass.
“I have Charlie working on matching them with any footage we’ve
got. Hopefully he’ll have an answer for us sometime in the next
few days.”
“In the meantime, let’s get to work on these two.”
Eli opened the door to the interrogation room. Tani and Keena
sat upright and stared at the table. Eli had seen frightened people
plenty of times in his life and these two were definitely afraid.
Afraid of us or someone else?
“Have you two decided to talk to us?” Eli asked.
Eli didn’t miss the look Tani and Keena shared.
“Speaking to you goes against everything we’ve been taught.
We’ve risked much to come here,” Tani said.
He wanted to push the young man into saying more, but Eli
knew the best course of action was to remain silent and let him speak
in his own time. Patience was not his strong suit, but rather than
blow this chance, Eli forced himself to stand still.
“If we tell you what we know, will you guarantee our safety?”
“I can guarantee you won’t be hurt, but you must understand
we can’t simply let you go. People have been killed and that means
someone must be punished,” Eli said.
“Is Satrick going to be punished?”
150 SHAY WEST
Eli hesitated. He’d never gone against his captain’s orders before
and he didn’t plan to start now. He had an impeccable record and he
intended to keep it that way.
And yet every instinct he possessed told him there was more to
this case than a bunch of mental patients running loose, stealing
internal organs from unsuspecting victims. If there was even a slight
chance that Tani and Keena were telling the truth about being from
another world, Eli had to hear them out.
He grabbed Ava by the arm and led her back to the interrogation
room. He positioned his chair so that he was nearly nose-to-nose with Tani.
“Listen and listen carefully. My boss doesn’t believe you are from
another world; he thinks you have a disease.” He tapped his head, hoping
Tani got the idea. “You have to tell us what we need to know, and
quickly, or else we have orders to hand you over to the same people that
have Satrick. If you confess everything to us, we can help you.”
“Tani, we have to tell them everything! Perhaps they can find a
way to shut down the gateways,” Keena urged.
“Gateways?” Eli asked weakly.
“The priests on my world possess a machine that opens a doorway
to this world. They are convinced it was sent by the gods for us to use
for this very purpose: to Harvest organs to keep our own people alive.”
“Where are these doorways?” Ava asked.
“All over the place. However, the gateway stones allow us to
travel back from anywhere.”
“So all we need are these stones to shut down the gateways?” Eli
asked.
Tani shook his head. “It’s not that simple. Shutting down one
gateway still leaves many more open all over the surface of your world.
I don’t even know if it’s possible to use the stones to close a gateway.
We’ve only ever used them to travel back home.”
That explains how they were able to travel between two places on
opposite ends of the globe so quickly!
Eli stood and paced the room. His mind was whirling with this
information. It was crazy and yet it made a strange sort of sense. The
evidence matched with what these two had just told him, and yet his
mind fought against the impossibility of it all. Gateways between
worlds? Impossible!
ORGAN REAPERS 155
Eli walked to the corner of the room, trying to shut out their voices.
It was a crazy plan, letting the pair go. They would be recaptured
quickly—they stuck out like sore thumbs in their clothing. Eli wanted
to go back in time and pretend he had never heard what these two
had to say. He felt bad that they had defected from their world, but
at the same time, they had killed people, how many Eli didn’t know. He
had to be the voice of victims on this world, not give up his career
for a couple of people that were most likely crazy.
“You’re not seriously considering handing them over to the
Feds, are you?”
He turned to face Ava. ”What else are we supposed to do? If we
defy orders, we’ll be arrested, as will they in short order,” he said,
waving his arm in Tani and Keena’s direction.
“Stop thinking like a cop, dammit! No one at the FBI will ever
believe them. They’ll be locked up and probably sentenced to death,
or to life in a mental ward. In the meantime, we’ll be stuck with dead
bodies piling up. You say you want to speak for the victims? Then
dammit, do it!”
“How can I speak for the victims if I’m in jail?” he snarled.
“If we help them, there won’t be any more victims.”
“And who will stand trial for the ones already dead?”
Ava looked away.
“That’s what I thought. We have more than seventy victims,
Ava. Seventy!” He grabbed her arm for emphasis. “What about justice
for them?”
“I know, I know, and I don’t have all the answers, but I do know
that these kids are the best chance we have of preventing another
seventy!” She wrenched her arm out of his grip.
Eli covered his face with his hands and groaned. Why did I have
to get stuck with such a head-strong partner? His gut and his head were
at war and the head looked like it was going to win out.
“We came here hoping to find someone to help us stop Master
Kelhar. The gods sent us both a vision, a vision of you both, and the
gateway machines on fire. Please, help us.” Tani’s eyes were frantic.
Eli looked between Tani and Keena. They were both younger
than he and Ava by about a decade. He knew they wouldn’t fare
well at the hands of the Feds. Does it matter? They killed people!
ORGAN REAPERS 157
He shook his head, trying to shut up the voice. The victims’ faces
paraded through his mind as though asking if letting the two go
would be fair to them. They had never asked to be assaulted and their
organs removed. Eli had grown up knowing that there was right and
wrong and wrong was to be punished at all costs, no exception. But
here was Ava asking him to go against everything he held dear for
the sake of two strangers who were most likely out of their minds.
For the first time that he could remember, Eli had no idea how to
proceed with a case. And that scared him almost as much as the thought
of another seventy victims.
C HAPTER 25
Platt waved his hands. “Fine, just make sure you have your
confession by the end of the day. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Captain.”
Eli left the office, surprised his plan actually worked. Platt usually
didn’t put much stock in polygraphs, said they were too easy to fool.
But Eli figured that since these people weren’t from here and didn’t
know about the test, they wouldn’t be able to control their bodily
functions enough to fool it. Satrick seemed to fool it.
It was the only explanation that made sense. Satrick had somehow
been able to fool the machine into thinking he was telling the truth,
keeping the Feds from digging any deeper. Eli thought that it was
something the killers must have been trained to do in case they were
ever captured. The closer he got to the interrogation room, the more
the idea blossomed in his head. I can’t believe I almost fell for their
bullshit story.
He found Ava in the interrogation room. An officer already had
Tani hooked up to the machine. The young man sat there with his
hands in his lap looking like he was about to take his last breath.
“The machine won’t hurt you. It has the ability to pick up when
you’re lying,” Eli explained.
“Everything I’ve told you was true. Why would I lie?”
“I had some time to think about that when I was seeing the captain.
See, I think you and the others that are a part of your strange group are
trained to lie when captured. But this machine will get to the bottom
of everything.”
Eli ignored Ava as she tried to get his attention. He’d exaggerated
the usefulness of the machine, but he hoped Ava would keep quiet
about it. If the suspects didn’t know he was lying about what it could
do, they might let something slip.
Keena sat in the corner, head down, hair hanging over her face.
Perhaps we need to question them separately again.
He walked over to Ava. “Maybe you should take her and question
her again in a separate room.”
She shook her head. “I want to see her reactions to the questions
we ask. You focus on Tani and I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Eli nodded. Her idea made sense. The two were obviously close.
If Keena reacted to something Tani said, it might give him an angle to
work. How am I supposed to work with the kind of story they’re feeding me?
160 SHAY WEST
When the technician indicated the machine was ready, Eli began
questioning Tani.
“State your name for the record.”
“Tani.”
Eli sighed. “Please state your full name.”
Tani frowned. “That is the only name I have.”
He tried a different tactic. “What was the name you were given
when you were born?”
“Tani.”
“Come now. No one uses only one name. Isn’t it true that Tani is
the name you took after becoming a killer?” Eli didn’t try to hide the
anger in his voice.
Tani shook his head. “No. It is the name I have always had.”
“So you’ve been a killer all your life then?” Eli leaned forward to
see the lines on the paper coming out of the machine.
“No, of course not. I have only been a Harvester for two turnings
of the seasons.”
The lines ran straight and true, barely moving from the center
line. Eli looked at the technician who merely shrugged his shoulders.
“How many people have you killed since becoming a Harvester?”
Eli decided to go for the jugular.
“Five.”
Eli sat back in his chair, stunned that the young man had revealed
that bit of news so quickly.
“What were their names?” he asked softly.
“We never knew their names, only what they looked like.”
The lines didn’t deviate in the slightest. Eli continued to question
Tani on things he had mentioned: the priests, the gateways, the organs,
being from a different world. Tani never hesitated before answering.
“Are you sure this thing is working right?” Eli asked.
The technician raised his hands. “As far as I know.”
“As far as you know?”
“Want me to try a different one?”
Eli shook his head. “No. Let me try something.” He faced Tani again,
patience wearing thin. “When I ask you if your name is Keena, answer
yes, okay?”
Tani didn’t say a word, just sat there looking miserable.
ORGAN REAPERS 161
“But the gods are perfectly okay with killing someone? Most
religions I know of don’t look too kindly on murdering people,” Ava
said disgustedly.
“The priests believe the machine was given to us for this very
purpose. Master Kelhar believes the gods want him to save the lives
of our people at all costs.”
Ava turned to face Eli. “Can you believe this?”
“Tani, didn’t your priests ever consider the possibility that this
machine of yours was simply meant for visiting and not killing?” Eli asked.
“This is one of the reasons we came here for help.”
“How do these machines work exactly?” Eli asked.
“We do not know. Master Kelhar found the scrolls and got the
machines working again.”
“Is it some sort of magic or do you have technology like ours?”
Tani shook his head. ”We don’t have technology like yours. Our
mages can perform some of what you would call magic, but it’s mainly
used in healing and speaking to the gods.”
“Well, forgive me for saying this, but it sounds like your priests
have been talking more to devils than to gods if they have convinced
your people that killing is perfectly fine,” Eli said, his temper flaring
once more.
“They would never do such a thing,” Tani said looking horrified.
“Since you never questioned them until recently, how can you
be sure?” Eli asked, satisfied at seeing the look of doubt that crossed
Tani’s face.
Eli was at an impasse. He had questioned the suspect and wasn’t
entirely convinced he was telling the truth. Tani said he didn’t know
the names of any of the people he had killed. Unless Eli could get
him to confess to specific murders, he’d be forced to hand him and
Keena over to the Feds—the very worst-case scenario—to let them go.
Part of him wanted to do that and be done with it. He needed to focus
on finding real evidence, not wasting his time listening to stories.
“I’m going to speak to the captain. We need to give Charlie the
time he needs to see if he can match these two with any of the footage
we have thus far and to do the DNA analysis. I’m not handing them
over to the Feds until we have chance to nail them, Eli said.
“I’ll go push Charlie. I’ll start looking through the photos and
see if I can find anything.” Ava left the room.
164 SHAY WEST
Eli turned to face Tani and Keena, placing his hands on the table
so that he leaned over them. “Your time is running out. I’m taking you
back to your holding cell for now, but when I return from speaking to
the captain, I want to hear the truth, not some cock-and-bull story about
being from another world. My patience with you has reached its limits.”
Eli took the pair back to the holding cell. It grated, knowing that
if he couldn’t get them to confess or if Charlie couldn’t tie them to a
victim, he’d be out of options.
At least if they’re in the custody of the Feds, they aren’t running free.
C HAPTER 26
* * *
Cees glanced at his partner, Saxon, making sure the man placed
the five gateway stones safely in his knapsack. He wanted to leave this
166 SHAY WEST
“Well, ‘Case,’ ” the man said, waving his hands in the air, “I don’t
really care what your name is. It’s illegal to look in through windows.”
“We didn’t mean to cause trouble. We just wanted to find our
friends.”
“So you said.” The man sighed. “Come on inside and take a look
around. It’s a little late to be waking someone up, isn’t it?”
Cees followed the man into the building. His eyes never stayed
still for more than a moment, searching for their targets, but also looking
for possible escape routes if it became necessary. While it was possible
to use the gateway stones inside a building, they worked better when
used out on the open. There were few areas in this place where the
stones could be used safely.
If I have no other choice, I’ll use the stones in here.
“If your friends are here, they’ll be in the sleeping room.”
The man led them to a large common room that held dozens of
people. He couldn’t tell at first glance if Tani and Keena were here.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
A woman stepped into the room and pointed right at Cees and
Saxon. She held something in her hand. A weapon of some kind? If it
was, it didn’t look very dangerous. She placed the object in her hand
against her ear.
“Yeah, I need officers at 1267 State Street immediately. There are two
more people here that match what the police are asking about on TV.”
Cees had no idea what she was talking about, but her demeanor
spoke volumes. In three strides, he was right in front of her. He tore
the object from her hand and placed it to his ear. Strangely, a voice
came from the device. Cees threw it to the ground and stomped it to
pieces, almost certain it had to be inhabited by demons of some kind.
“Hey, you can’t do tha—”
Her protest ended in an indignant squawk as Cees pushed her
into a chair. He leaned in close. Saxon had the other man held against
the wall.
“I need to know about two people that might have been here
recently. They are dressed like me, a male and a female.”
The woman nodded. “The police came and got ‘em.”
“The police?”
“Yeah, for the murders they done around here.”
170 SHAY WEST
“WHAT DID the captain say?” Ava asked as Eli came back to his desk.
“He’s agreed to give us until tomorrow. If Charlie can’t connect
these two with any crimes, we have to let them go,” Eli said as he sat
down heavily in his chair.
“What about giving them to the Feds?”
Eli snorted. “Just got off the phone with them. The feds don’t want
Tani and Keena unless we can get some hard evidence. Said they have
a tough enough case against Satrick with only the video footage. There
has yet to be any DNA evidence linking Satrick to the murders we
know he committed.”
Ava jumped a little as he slammed his fist down on the desk. His
frustration was at peak levels since this whole thing started with the
murder of Gerald Forbes all those weeks ago. He hated the idea of
having to let the two suspects just walk out of the station.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and Charlie will have something, just
enough so we can hold them a little longer, question them more.”
“You don’t think we’ve talked to them enough? You really want
to hear more of their crazy story?”
“I think we have to. We owe it to the victims. If there’s even the
slightest chance they are telling the truth, we have to help them or the
murders will just continue.”
It was hard to meet her eyes, like deep pools waiting for him to
jump in. It was getting hard to deny his attraction for her. Maybe she
would quit.
He shook his head. He would never ask that of her. Besides, if
she quit, he’d never get to look at her killer legs every day.
“Care to fill me in on the joke?”
172 SHAY WEST
They would just have to agree to disagree about whether or not the
two were telling the truth.
Eli’s phone rang just as they entered the police station. It was Charlie.
“What do have for us?” he asked, heart racing.
There was a long pause on the other end. Eli’s heart sank.
“I wish I had good news. The computer didn’t come up with
anything matching your two suspects. And their DNA matches Satrick’s
as far as ethnicity, but nothing in our database, which is what I expected.”
So that’s it then.
He stormed up to his office, ignoring Ava as she tried to calm
him down. He hated letting suspects walk, especially ones he knew
were guilty.
Captain Platt was waiting at his desk.
“Charlie just told me the news. You gotta let ‘em go, Robins.”
“Yeah, I know,” Eli said through clenched teeth.
“That doesn’t mean you two can’t keep an eye on them, see where
they go. Who knows, they may lead you to the compound where the
others are hiding out,” Platt said over his shoulder as he walked back to
his office.
“Gee, hours alone in a car with you. Sounds great,” Ava said with
a smirk.
Eli thought hours alone in a car with Ava wouldn’t be all that
bad. He could spend hours staring at her legs and smelling the musky
perfume she always wore.
He went to evidence and got their knapsacks. Everything had
been placed back inside.
“We put all of their stuff back inside. I have photos of everything
though, just in case something else shows up at another murder,” the
man behind the counter said.
“The only thing in common with the other cases is the food we
found in Satrick’s pack and the strange stones,” Ava said as she turned
one of them over in her hands.
“Be careful. Maybe getting human germs on it will render it
useless for our visitors.” Eli laughed.
“You’re a riot.” Ava put the stone back in one of the packs and
shoved it into his arms.
174 SHAY WEST
She walked up with the pair, giving him a dirty look as they
passed by. He wished he knew what to say to make everything go
back to the way it was before the strange pair had told them they were
from another world.
As they walked to the elevator, Eli had to laugh, as it was clear Tani
and Keena went from terrified to curious in seconds. They whispered
together and shrugged when they encountered pretty much everything
between the holding cell and the elevator.
Either they really are from another world or deserve an Oscar for their
performances.
* * *
Tani exited the elevator with Keena in tow. Freedom loomed in the
form of a large set of glass doors. And it had never looked so terrifying.
He glanced back at the detectives standing by the elevator. The woman
looked like she felt bad, but the dark-skinned man had a face made
of stone.
Putting on a brave face, Tani exited the building into the harsh light
of day. He shielded his eyes and blinked back the sudden moisture.
The sunlight seemed twice as bright in this world. Maybe it’s all the
light-colored material on the buildings and underfoot.
It looked as though each enormous building was covered in glass
that reflected back the sun a thousand-fold. There was some sort of trail
that led off in two directions that ran parallel to the black area where
the strange metal beasts moved in strange patterns.
Tani stood with his back against the door, avoiding the throngs
of people moving back and forth in front of the building. He had never
seen so many people, not even on festival days. Most simply walked by
with their heads bent, staring at things they carried in their hands. Some
had similar devices against their ears and were talking loudly as they
walked. A few of the passers-by stared, which made Tani nervous.
He followed the grey material underfoot until he came to an area
where it intersected with more of the same material. Tani glanced at
the paper in his hand and threw up his hands in defeat.
“How is one supposed to find their way with so many roads all
intersecting at once?” he said as he turned in circles.
176 SHAY WEST
Keena wordlessly took the paper from his hand and frowned.
She looked back the way they came, then faced forward again. Suddenly,
her eyes grew large.
“The name on that blue sign is the same as on the paper. See?”
Tani took the paper and slapped his forehead. “It’s like the old
woman at the fire.” He pulled Keena along down the street indicated on
the map. “Remember the shelter? The old woman told us the shelter
was on State Street and we found it once we saw the sign. It must have
said ‘State Street.’ ”
He took her hand, hoping she couldn’t feel his trembling from
fear. This world was terrifying, but he needed to be strong, to figure
out a plan. They couldn’t return home; they’d surely be captured the
moment they got back. And yet the thought of being stuck here was
almost worse than the thought of death at the hands of the Enforcers.
Tani looked at the paper again, wondering how they would know
they were close to the shelter. The woman had written things in their
strange language and he couldn’t read any of it. There were also
numbers written at the top. He wondered at the significance of them.
He glanced at the buildings, shading his eyes. He noticed most
of the people walking by wore something over their eyes. Protecting
them from the sun? We will have to see about obtaining some for ourselves.
He also saw numbers above the doorways to the buildings and
noticed they seemed to go up as he and Keena made their way forward.
Tani glanced back down at the paper. If the number the woman
detective wrote down corresponded to the number on a building,
they needed to keep going.
“I’ll watch for the numbers, you see if you can find a shop that sells
something like what the people are wearing on their faces,” Tani said.
Tani wished for a breeze as they walked along. He and Keena
walked in the shade as often as they could, as it gave them some relief
from the sun. His stomach gave a loud growl and he wondered if there
was a glade or meadow nearby where they could stop and have a bite
to eat. He didn’t know how far down the shelter was. It could be two
buildings down or a hundred. There were some tables and chairs
outside a pretty building decorated with bright lights.
He led the way to one of the tables under the shade of a large
tree. Keena took her knapsack off her back gratefully and grimaced
as she sat back against the back of the chair.
ORGAN REAPERS 177
“I don’t believe it! It’s a device that actually dries hair,” she said.
Tani mumbled a reply, losing interest. He moved down the street
and peered into another window. This one held an array of colorful
items Tani couldn’t begin to identify. There was nothing on his world to
even compare. The woman behind the counter was bedecked in jewelry
that covered her arms, ears, and neck. She even had things sticking out of
her nose. He grinned when he spotted a display case holding what
appeared to be the eye shades the people of this world wore.
He moved back to Keena who still had her nose plastered against
the glass watching the women get their hair cut. “Come on, I think I
found the eye shades.”
Tani opened the door to the building, the tinkling of the bell
startling him. The woman gave them a warm smile as she walked
around from behind the counter to greet them. She wore a long flowing
skirt of bright purple fabric and a shirt so red it made Tani think of
fresh blood. He swallowed against the bile rising in his throat. She
jingled when she walked, much like the door when it opened.
“Welcome! Is there something I can help you find?” she asked.
“We are interested in purchasing some of those eye shades,” he
said, pointing to the display case.
“We have many to choose from. Let’s see if we can find the pair
that fits your aura.”
Tani had no idea what an aura was or how the eye shades would
match up, but he was certainly glad he had picked this establishment;
he didn’t want to call attention to himself by having his aura mismatched.
The woman grabbed several pairs of the eye shades and had him
and Keena try them on while looking into a mirror on the glass counter.
She shook her head and placed the pairs back in the case, mumbling
to herself before retrieving another pair for each of them. When she
was satisfied, she clapped her hands and led them to another part of
the counter.
“Alrighty then, with tax it comes to $89.86”
Tani reached into his pack and grabbed his coin sack. “I do not
know how money works here, but I have this.” He spilled out gold and
silver coins onto the counter.
Her eyes hardened and she lost her friendly smile. “Is this some
sort of joke?”
ORGAN REAPERS 179
the steps when the two thugs made their move. Eli parked the car
and he and Ava got out, hands close to their firearms, but leaving
them holstered for now. They were too far away to hear what was
said, but it was clear that Tani and Keena were terrified.
Eli signaled to Ava to take the right while he approached from
the left.
“You will come with us quietly or we have orders to terminate
you,” the man with long hair was saying as Eli walked up.
“Everything okay here?” Eli asked.
The long-haired man turned slowly. “This is none of your concern.
I have been sent to retrieve these two.”
“I heard that part. I also swear I heard you say you were going
to kill them if they didn’t come with you.”
“I have my orders.”
“From who?”
“It is none of your concern. These two will come with us now.”
He reached for Tani’s arm.
Eli stepped between the two, forcing the big man to let go of Tani’s
arm. The two stood nose-to-nose, neither one willing to budge. The
man’s eyes were cold and dead; he would kill the pair and leave without
ever thinking twice about it.
“No one’s going anywhere until we have some answ—”
Without warning the long-haired man shoved Eli against Tani,
and both fell down in a heap. Eli heard Ava cry out, and a thud as
she hit the ground. The two men ran down the street faster than he
expected from someone their size. He untangled himself from Tani.
“You two,” he pointed at Tani and Keena, “stay here.”
Eli took off after the two men. Ava followed closely behind him.
The crowd parted for them easily, as the two running had already
cleared a path. They had too much of a head start. We’ll never catch them.
He called into the station and informed them of the situation,
urging them to talk to Charlie and get the pictures of the suspects Ava
had sent with her cell phone, and to have officers in the area on high alert.
Eli kept up the pursuit in case the perps changed direction, easily keeping
them in sight, but unable to gain any ground. His radio squawked as
officers called in their locations, zeroing in on the two men.
ORGAN REAPERS 183
ELI RELEASED TANI and the young man slid to the ground. Keena
cried out and ran to him. Ava was standing with her hands on her
hips, glaring at Eli.
“Don’t be pissed at me. I’m tired of this bullshit about another
world.”
“Keena just said she could prove it to you,” Ava said.
“Okay, fine. I’ll play along. What do you need for this gateway
activation ceremony? Some hash? Maybe a little peyote?”
Tani stood with the help of Keena. “All we need are the stones.”
“Shall we do it right here in the middle of the sidewalk?”
“We require a large area that is clear of trees and buildings. It’s
possible the stones will work in a crowded area, but I’ve never tried it.”
“Fine. We’ll go to the same place the perps used. It’s not far from
here,” Eli said as he opened the door to the car.
He slammed the door much harder than he needed to. They
were wasting time on this fool’s errand, time they could be spending
looking for evidence to nail these two to the wall.
Ava’s phone rang. Eli could only hear half the conversation, but
it was clear that she was speaking to the captain, and his angry voice
coming out of the phone indicated he was thoroughly pissed off. She
tried to interrupt a few times, but finally just sat back and nodded
and said mmmhmmm a lot and hung up.
“That was the captain, and he’s not happy about losing the two
thugs. He’s got several patrols searching all the nearby buildings.
He’s convinced the flash of light is a trick to distract us so the perps
can hide somewhere, then escape when we aren’t looking.”
“That sounds like a rational theory. Did he say anything else?”
ORGAN REAPERS 187
Her eyes were sad when they met his. “There have been a couple
more murders. One in Detroit and another in India somewhere.”
Eli faced the front, too angry to say anything. Even though the
victims weren’t in his town, he felt responsible somehow, like he had
failed them. The two in the back seat should be on trial for the lives
they took, and yet here he was, babysitting them and keeping them
safe. Who’s going to keep the victims safe?
“Unless we can stop Master Kelhar, the killings will continue.
You must believe us.”
“I believe you about that, just not about the other crap.”
He glanced at the two in his rearview mirror and saw Keena wipe a
tear from her eye and clutch her pack to her chest even harder. I refuse
to feel sorry for these murderers.
The ride to the empty lot the perps disappeared from didn’t take
long. Eli parked the car and exited, his senses on alert in case the two
men were hiding in the area. There were several patrol cars nearby,
and he could hear the muffled sound of voices coming from the
nearby buildings as the officers searched them from top to bottom.
“All right, show us what you got,” Eli said as he leaned back
against his car.
Tani looked around at the other officers and whispered, “Are you
sure you want us to do this in front of all of them?”
“Why shouldn’t they know?”
“Your kind doesn’t seem to do well with strange phenomena.”
I can’t believe this kid is being sarcastic with me.
“Just send the officers to an adjacent building or something,” Ava
said.
“Don’t get irritated with me,” Eli said, his own temper flaring.
“I just want to see this, to finally have an answer, and here you
are, being your usual stubborn self.”
“I’m being stubborn?” he asked incredulously.
“You could easily send those officers away. You’re just being
difficult about it.”
“I just don’t—”
“Please, stop! We risked our lives coming here to find help, and
all we found is mean people who would rather lock us up than listen
to what we have to say. If you don’t help us, the murders will continue,
I promise you that,” Tani said, coming between him and Ava.
188 SHAY WEST
Eli had to give the kid props. It took guts to stand up to someone
that stood taller than you by about a good foot and a half. But Tani
refused to back down, meeting Eli’s gaze with a glare of his own.
“Fine, I’ll send them across the street. Happy now?” he shot at Ava.
“Thrilled,” she said through clenched teeth.
He made a call with the radio ordering the cops to a building
across the street. Most of them got into their vehicles and drove out of
the vacant lot, but he could still hear some in the buildings, searching
for the perps.
It’ll have to do.
He leaned back against the side of the car and crossed his arms
over his chest. “Do your thing.”
Keena glanced at Tani, who gave her a slight nod. She opened
her pack and took out the five stones.
“It’s just like the one I found,” Ava whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” he asked.
She glared at him. ”I don’t know. Don’t people always whisper
when stuff like this happens?”
He laughed. “I honestly have no idea. This is my first ‘stuff like
this’ I’ve ever done.”
Keena arranged the stones on the ground, checking the markings
before she placed it in a circular pattern. She stepped back.
Suddenly, a flash of brilliant white light nearly blinded him.
* * *
Cees and Saxon nodded. Kelhar could see the relief plain on their
faces. He had never known Cees to be afraid of anything, not even that
time he had taken on a dozen armed men who thought he would be an
easy target to rob. Kelhar smiled. Those men had been in dire need of my
healing services.
Master Kelhar walked back to his chambers, his silent attendants
following close behind. He was disappointed Cees and Saxon had been
unable to bring Tani and Keena back. Fear gnawed at his belly, making
him walk faster than his usual sedate pace. He wasn’t sure what damage
those two could do, but he didn’t want to find out.
If we can’t bring them back, we’ll apprehend them if they dare return home.
C HAPTER 30
Part of him didn’t think it was fair that he was being forced to
rethink everything he thought he knew. The world was centered in
reality and yet he had just peered through a portal into another world.
“What was it I saw through the gateway?” Eli asked.
“Probably the machinery that powers it,” Tani answered.
Eli nodded like it made perfect sense even though he had no
idea what Tani was talking about.
“Why don’t we get out of here and go get something to eat? I bet you
two are starving,” Ava said as she walked up behind Tani and Keena.
Food. That was simple enough. Normal. It took several tries for
Eli to open the door.
“Maybe I should do the driving.” Ava came around to the driver’s
side of the car.
Eli nodded and let her into the driver’s seat. It spoke volumes as
to his state of mind that he was agreeing to let her drive. He always
drove; it was his thing. Eli knew he’d never be able to navigate out of
the empty lot, let alone in busy traffic.
“How the hell are you so okay with this?” Eli asked when they
got onto Federal Blvd.
“I already mostly believed them. Besides, you should see my
yaya when she’s—”
“Your who?”
“My yaya, my grandmother. Anyway, she practices what you
call voodoo.” She glared at Eli when he laughed uncontrollably. “It’s
not as weird as you might think. She didn’t sacrifice any chickens or
anything, but she always had holy water and incense and would
pray to the saints every day.”
“And what about you?”
Ava grinned. “I pray to the saints, but I don’t use the water and
incense, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I guess I just always pictured it as some dude with dreadlocks
running around with voodoo dolls, cursing people and hurting them,”
Eli said.
“You’ve obviously seen way too many movies. Most people that
practice voodoo are praying to God for the same things everyone else
does: health, long life, prosperity. They just go through the saints rather
than speaking directly to Him.”
192 SHAY WEST
“I can see why you had an easier time believing them.” He shot
her a glance from the passenger seat. “Hey, you wouldn’t ever, I don’t
know, curse me or anything would you?”
She turned slowly and smiled, but it never reached her eyes.
“Don’t piss me off and you’ll never have to find out.”
Eli wanted to laugh, but his partner was dead serious. Don’t piss
her off. He noticed that during the exchange the two in the backseat
hadn’t said a word.
“You two are awful quiet back there,” he said.
“We do not mean to be rude with our silence. We just didn’t
understand most of what you were saying,” Tani said.
“I can’t imagine how strange this must all be for you,” Ava said.
“You have no idea,” Tani mumbled.
“So what’s the plan?” Eli asked.
“I thought we’d stop by the store, grab some food, and go back to
your place for dinner and conversation. A very long conversation,” she
said while glancing at Tani and Keena in the rearview mirror.
Eli directed her to a small local market close to his house. He hated
shopping in big stores. All the people crowding the aisles made him
want to scream in frustration. He instructed Tani and Keena to stay
in the car.
“Why can’t we bring them with us?” Ava asked.
“They stick out like sore thumbs. Until we can get different
clothes for them, it’s best to keep them on the down low.”
“Let’s stop by my place and grab something for Keena. I’m sure
she’d rather wear my stuff than your old sweats and T-shirts.”
Eli agreed and they walked through the store in silence, both trying
to absorb what had happened in the empty lot. That, and it wouldn’t
do to have the few customers in the store overhear their conversation
about gateways to other worlds.
“So what are you thinking for dinner?”
“What are you in the mood for?” she asked.
“I’m more worried about what those two eat.”
“The food in their packs looked normal enough: dried meat,
cheese, and bread.”
“Why don’t we feed them something they’ve likely never had
before? Really impress them,” Eli suggested.
ORGAN REAPERS 193
He led the way through the aisles, hoping the store would have
all of the ingredients. He really didn’t want to stop by another store
on the way to Ava’s. He was anxious to get Tani and Keena alone so
they could talk about their story. Their true story.
Ava followed quietly while he grabbed the ingredients. Thankfully,
the store had everything he needed. He took the heavily laden basket to
the counter.
“Ah, Mister Eli, long time no see.”
Eli greeted Mrs. Hinsung. She looked to be about a hundred years
old, but had the energy of a toddler. She was always here when he came
in. He wondered if she ever took a day off. Mr. Hinsung would be
wandering around, stocking shelves or in the back office working the
books. With as few customers as he saw in the store, Eli was worried he
would come by one day and it would be all boarded up.
“Been busy keeping the city safe,” he said as he took items out of
the cart one by one and laid them on the counter.
She glanced around him and smiled at Ava before glancing back up
at him with a knowing wink. “You no tell me you have lady friend.”
“Mrs. Hinsung, this is my partner, Ava Aguilar.”
“She too pretty to be a police officer.”
“That’s nice of you to say, Mrs. Hinsung,” Ava said, blushing.
“This a lotta food for two people,” Mrs. Hinsung noted as she filled
a paper sack.
“We’re having some of the other detectives over to the house to
discuss the case we’re working on,” he said.
“You work that case with the Butchers, yes?” Mrs. Hinsung asked.
“That’s the one. We think we’re close to making a break.”
“Good thing, too. Streets not safe.”
He paid the bill and handed one of the bags to Ava. “Thanks,
Mrs. Hinsung. See you soon.”
“Next time I see you with lady that’s not partner. You need a
nice lady.”
Eli groaned inwardly as he waved good-bye over his shoulder.
“She’s sweet,” Ava said as they walked to the car.
“She’s a busy-body.”
“Oh, she’s just a nice old lady who worries about you, is all.”
Eli grunted in lieu of a response.
194 SHAY WEST
When they reached the car, Eli and Ava handed the bags to Tani
and Keena, then climbed into the car. Eli took the driver’s seat this time.
He felt he had enough control of his mental state to drive to Ava’s.
He kept the talk light, wanting to wait until they arrived at his
house to really delve into the deep stuff. Ava didn’t live close to him
at all, so it was quite a drive to the other side of town. Should have
thought about going there before we went to the store.
He stayed in the car and watched as Ava ran up the steps to her
building. He loved the old homes in this area of town. Most, like
Ava’s, had been converted into several apartments, but they still had
the original stonework, moulding, windows, and other items that
gave them character. Eli’s house wasn’t as old as these, but it wasn’t one
of those cookie cutter homes either. Vicki had nagged him to move into
a house in one of those new subdivisions, but he’d refused. He hated
how close together the houses were, and there was no yard to speak
of. Most only had dirt and rocks. He liked a home with character,
with a yard, mature trees, and flowers.
Ava returned in moments wearing jeans and a T-shirt and carrying
a rather large tote bag filled with items.
“How did you get all that so quick?” Eli asked as she got in the car.
“It’s my get-away bag.” At his look of confusion she continued.
“I always keep a bag packed with clothes and overnight stuff just in
case, you know?” she raised her eyebrows suggestively.
“Ah, I see.” He scratched his chin. “Do all girls have one of those?”
“Beats me. All I know is this little bag has saved me from the
embarrassment of not having a toothbrush or clean underwear.”
Eli turned around at loud whispers coming from the backseat.
At first glance, it looked like Tani and Keena were arguing about
something.
“You two aren’t fighting are you?” he asked as he turned the car on.
Tani shushed Keena and cleared his throat. “We were wondering
what those things on your face are called and where we might obtain
some of our own.”
“You mean these?” Eli asked reaching for his sunglasses.
“Yes. We assume they are to protect your eyes from damage from
the sun. We tried to buy some, but the woman said we needed to go
to somewhere called a bank and get the right coin.”
ORGAN REAPERS 195
“They’re sunglasses and they are not only to protect from the
sun, but they also look cool,” Eli said as he looked at his reflection in
the rearview mirror.
“What does one’s appearance have to do with the temperature?”
He couldn’t help but laugh. It’s like talking to toddlers or something.
Adult toddlers. “We’ll get you some tomorrow.”
Eli took the highway back to his house, shaving off some time.
He kept glancing in the rearview mirror to see Tani and Keena’s
expressions as they drove on the elevated roadways. Their eyes were
big and they held hands the entire time, whispering and pointing out
the windows.
How strange this must all seem to them.
Now that he had seen the truth first-hand, he saw their reactions
through a different set of eyes. They were genuinely scared and awed
by this world and probably wished they had never come here. But come
here they did. They came to find help to stop the people on their world
from ever coming here to kill again.
But they killed people.
Eli didn’t want to listen to that voice in his head. That voice was
Logical Eli, the one who didn’t believe in fantasy worlds and such
nonsense. That Eli wanted to see the guilty punished.
But New Eli thought perhaps the world wasn’t quite that black and
white. He didn’t deny that Tani and Keena had killed, but they had also
sacrificed a lot to come here, that much was evident from their interaction
with the two men who were here to take Tani and Keena back.
Whoever sent those men doesn’t want these two on this world.
That made Eli wonder if it was indeed possible to somehow shut
down the gateways and prevent any more people from being killed.
C HAPTER 31
WHEN HE ARRIVED at his house, Eli put the groceries on the kitchen
counter, then went in search of something for Tani to wear. Eli was much
taller and broader than Tani, so anything he had would be much too big.
It’s either that or the kid goes naked. He joined the others in the kitchen.
“I’ll start dinner. Ava, why don’t you show these two how to work
a shower? Tani can use the one in my room and Keena can take the
one in the hallway. Oh, and check in the hall closet. I think I have an
extra toothbrush.”
Eli unpacked the grocery bags, wishing he could be there for Tani
and Keena’s first introduction to modern plumbing, but the curry dish
he was making needed to cook for about an hour, so he needed to
get it started. He grabbed a beer from the fridge, and set to work on
chopping the onions and mangos.
In a few minutes, he heard water running from both bathrooms.
He had a large hot water tank, so he wasn’t worried about them running
out of hot water. Ava came into the kitchen with a smile on her face.
“You should have seen those two! I had to explain how to use most
everything. Poor kids. Only thing they knew was the bar of soap.” She
laughed. “They think you’re some sort of royalty since you have this
huge house all to yourself and a magic storage area for hot water.”
“Should I make them bow?”
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you that. Have another one of
those?” she asked, pointing to his beer.
“In the fridge. Help yourself.”
He busied himself with dinner, trying to formulate a plan of action
in his mind. He had about a million questions he wanted to ask and not
a lot of time to ask. There was still the little matter of the continuing
ORGAN REAPERS 197
“I always knew there was something you weren’t telling me,” Eli
said as he sat down at the table.
The four sat in silence. Despite the questions milling around his
head, Eli couldn’t speak. It was as though there were too many things
happening, and his brain couldn’t make the necessary adjustments
to make his mouth work.
Ava clapped her hands and rubbed them together. ”So, why
don’t you tell us about where you’re from.”
“A place very different from this,” Tani said as he looked around
the house. “This place is loud and everything is so big. The loudest
things on my world are the steam engines.”
“Steam?” Eli asked. “We used to use steam-powered engines.”
Tani gave a small smile. “Maybe our worlds aren’t so very different
after all.”
“Hang on. I need to get something.”
Eli jumped up from his chair and went to his office. He came
back carrying his laptop.
“I thought some visuals might help us to understand things a bit
more.” He opened the computer and invited Tani and Keena to gather
around. “This is called a computer, and with it I can access information
in other places, on the other side of the world even.”
“How is such a thing possible? To send messages long distance
we have to use pigeons,” Tani said.
“It uses invisible waves that travel through the air and bounce off
satellites that are high above this planet.” He shook his head at the look
of confusion on Tani’s face. “Never mind, it’s not important.”
He brought up a Google search page, typed in some keywords,
and chose to view the images. Eli smiled as Tani and Keena gasped.
“That’s very similar to what we have. Only ours is bigger and
doesn’t seem as streamlined.”
The next half hour was spent looking at pictures of various steam-
driven machines, medieval pictures, Victorian era pictures, modern day
photos depicting things like motorcycles, airplanes, rockets, space
ships, and other things that were totally foreign to Tani and Keena.
When the timer went off, signaling dinner was ready, he and Ava
went to grab everything from the kitchen. Eli turned the oven on to
heat the naan and Ava grabbed the salad from the fridge. Eli took a
ORGAN REAPERS 199
big whiff of the mango curry chicken soup and sighed in contentment.
This had always been one of his favorite meals, but living alone meant
he tended to make microwave dinners or grill a steak as opposed to
cooking large pots of anything.
“I hope you like this. I’m guessing you probably have never had
anything like this,” Eli said as he brought the pot of soup to the table.
He went first, putting a large spoonful of rice in the bottom of a
bowl, followed by a couple ladlefuls of the soup. He heaped salad on
his plate followed by globs of Ranch dressing. He watched as Tani
and Keena took their first bites and smiled when their faces broke
into grins.
“I don’t think I’ve had anything quite this good,” Keena said.
“The main spice is called curry. Well, technically it’s a blend of a
lot of spices,” Eli said.
Eli ate until he thought his stomach would burst. He glanced
into the pot and smiled when he spotted a few dregs of soup left and
a few bits of rice clinging to the pot. He and Ava brought the dirty
dishes into the kitchen. Eli filled the pots with water and put the rest
of the dishes in the dishwasher. He grabbed a soap cube, placed it in
the container, and started the machine.
“What manner of device is that?”
Eli glanced up at Tani who was standing in the doorway of the
kitchen. ”It’s called a dishwasher. It uses hot water to clean the dishes.”
His mouth dropped open. “You mean you do not wash them by
hand?”
“Some of them we do. Some things will get damaged in the
machine.”
“But why use it at all? Wouldn’t it be faster to wash by hand?”
Eli shrugged. ”I suppose in my case it would, but the machine
uses water that is much hotter than human hands can touch and that
gets the dishes cleaner than just doing them in the sink.”
“Your world is full of wonders.”
“Wait until you see the washing machine,” Ava said as she
grabbed another beer.
“A what?” Tani asked.
Eli and Ava spent the next several hours showing Tani and Keena
the various technological wonders around the house: the microwave,
200 SHAY WEST
washer and dryer, TV and DVD player, the BBQ outside on the patio.
Each thing Eli and Ava showed the pair led to tons of questions,
explanations, and comparisons to their own world. The four went
back to the table. Ava flopped down into one of the chairs.
“I hate to break this up, but it’s getting late. I’m going to head
home,” Ava said, yawning and stretching.
“Are you sure? We haven’t even started talking about the gateways
yet,” Eli said as he took a seat.
Ava waved her hands. “I’m sure. I can hardly keep my eyes open.”
Eli stood. “I’ll take you back to the station to get your car.”
“Nah, it’s all right. I’ll take a cab. You guys stay and talk. There’s
still a lot of ground to cover. You can catch me up in the morning,”
Ava said as she grabbed her phone from her purse.
Eli knew he should do the chivalrous thing and protest, but truth be
told, he wanted to stay and talk with Tani and Keena. They had barely
scratched the surface of the similarities and differences between their
two worlds, let alone discussed the gateways and how to close them for
good. He continued to show Tani and Keena pictures on the internet
and barely heard Ava shout good-bye when her cab arrived.
“Do your people have a King, someone who makes the decisions?”
Tani asked.
“Some countries do, but it’s mainly just for show. Our government
is made up of several groups of people who work together to make laws.”
Tani frowned. “That seems rather complicated.”
Eli barked laughter. “You have no idea.” He met Tani’s eyes. “Time
to tell me about the monastery.”
Tani nodded. “The monastery is the one thing that can override the
King, but no head priest has ever gone against the King. Until the scrolls
were found pertaining to the strange machinery. It had always just
been there in the basement. It was unlike anything anyone had ever
seen. No one knew what it was for or how to run it, so it just sat there
collecting dust and myths.
“It took years for the priests to copy what was written on the delicate
scrolls to the books to be archived in the library. But it was Master
Kelhar who took an interest in them. He holed up in the library for
weeks, barely eating and sleeping, cross-referencing the scrolls to earlier
writings and our Holy books.
ORGAN REAPERS 201
“I can’t remember exactly, but it was many years after the initial
discovery of the scrolls. That was when he started recruiting the
Harvesters.”
“Who does the actual transplantation of the organs?”
“Master Kelhar mostly.”
Eli leaned forward. “How does he have the knowledge to do that?
On this world it takes a team of specially-trained surgeons to do
such a thing.”
“Some of the machinery in the basement is used for keeping a
body alive while the organs are being replaced. I’ve never witnessed
the surgeries, so I don’t know how it works. But he claims the gods
gave him the knowledge to transplant the organs.”
“Doesn’t that seem fishy to you? What if someone came to you
and said they had a dream and could all of a sudden build a rocket
ship. Would you believe them?” Eli asked.
Tani shook his head.
“And yet your people believed this Master Kelhar about the
surgeries. He was able to perform the extremely difficult surgeries just
fine by having some sort of dream?”
“Of course not. It took him many surgeries to perfect the technique.
But once he did, he was able to save people who would otherwise
have died.”
“He practiced on the patients?”
“Of course. How else was he supposed to learn?”
“Doctors on my world practice on cadavers prior to working on
a living being.”
Tani looked horrified. “It is against everything we believe in to
desecrate the bodies of the dead.”
“But you have no problems practicing on the living?” Eli asked,
his anger returning.
“Master Kelhar said it was the will of the gods,” Tani said in a
small voice.
Eli stood. ”Well, you’ll have to excuse me, but I think your gods
can go screw themselves.”
C HAPTER 32
ELI STARED at the ceiling as the alarm blared. He reached over and
turned it off. Didn’t even need to turn the damn thing on. He hadn’t slept
the whole night, but he didn’t feel as groggy as he knew he should.
His mind was alert and churning through the information from the
previous evening. He was divided between wanting to know more
about Tani and Keena’s strange world, and wishing he’d never heard of
it. The more he heard about Master Kelhar, the more he wanted to
travel to that world and put a bullet in the man’s head.
So many deaths lay at his feet.
He hopped in the shower and scrubbed his skin as though trying
to erase what he had heard from the previous night. He wasn’t sure
how to proceed with the case. According to Tani and Keena, there were
dozens of killers back at the monastery. He knew it was impossible
to get them all and bring them here to serve justice. And what was to
stop Master Kelhar from training more?
Eli was afraid Tani was right; the only way to stop the head priest
was to destroy the machines that ran the gateways. But how? Destroying
the machines meant traveling to Tani and Keena’s world and planting
some sort of explosive. Which meant that whoever planted the bomb
wasn’t going to be leaving.
By all rights it should be Tani and Keena who planted the bomb,
but if they were right about their punishment, they would be put to
death. They deserve it for what they’ve done. Eli didn’t want to listen to
that voice, but he couldn’t help it. Regardless of how much he liked
them, that didn’t change the fact that they had killed five people. He
had a job to do and the law to uphold.
Maybe Ava has some brilliant plan up her sleeve.
204 SHAY WEST
The three of them ate every bite of food, much like the night before.
Eli took the dishes to the sink and groaned when he remembered the
dishes in the dishwasher were clean. For some reason, he had always
hated putting away clean dishes.
Screw it, I’ll leave them for when I get home.
He ignored the other voice in his head that said he would be even
more irritated coming home to a sink full of dirty dishes. Eli stood for a
moment trying to decide if he wanted to bring Tani and Keena with him
or leave them here. Captain Platt will go ballistic if I bring them.
“Okay, you two, here’s the deal. I have to go into the office today
and I can’t take you with me, so you’re going to have to stay here
until I get home.”
“We understand,” Tani said.
“I suppose you can’t read my language, can you?”
Tani shook his head.
“Reading’s out of the question. Guess you guys can watch TV.”
Eli showed them how to work the remote and how to move through
channels using the satellite guide.
“Since you can’t read, you’ll just have to pick something and
watch.” He shrugged as he handed Tani the remote.
He showed them where to find the stuff to make sandwiches for
lunch. Eli opened the cupboard where he kept the chips and other
assorted snacks.
Eli left, hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake. Guess there’s no
way for them to burn the house down. As he drove to the office, he dialed
Ava’s cell phone.
“You better be on your way to the office,” he said when she answered.
“Give me a break, Robins. I’m already here.”
“One of these days I’ll beat you.”
“Not likely. How are our two visitors?”
“Fine. Full of breakfast and coffee. I showed them how to work the
TV remote, so that should keep them busy until I get back home.”
“Oh, God, Eli you didn’t!”
“What the heck else was I supposed to do? They can’t read, so
giving them a book was out of the question.”
“Anything would be better than giving them the remote. Can
you imagine what they’ll think of us when they get a load of our
entertainment?” She groaned.
206 SHAY WEST
“You acted like you were going to say something, then changed
your mind.”
“I just had an idea, is all.”
“And that idea would be?” she coaxed.
Eli hesitated.
“With all we’ve been through, you seriously think you can’t tell me?”
“I just thought that maybe we should bring the captain in on it.
Maybe even the FBI. I hate knowing the truth and having to keep
quiet about it.”
“We can’t tell them. The last thing we need are a bunch of trigger-
happy fools with the ability to travel to another world.”
“I know, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you the idea. But it
doesn’t feel right to keep this information from the captain.”
“The captain would lock us up in the loony bin.”
“Not if we had Tani and Keena open a gateway,” Eli said.
“I suppose that would convince him.”
“Maybe we should wait a few days before we bring the captain
into it. Talk more with Tani and Keena, find out more about how those
gateways work. Maybe we can find a way to stop Master Kelhar; and
no one else even has to know about the other world,” Eli said.
“Sounds good to me. I’d rather keep this a secret if we can,” Ava said.
“Want to come by again after work? I can grill up some burgers
or something.”
“Sure. So fill me in on what I missed last night,” she said.
“Over lunch. I’m starved,” Eli said.
They walked across the street to a little diner. It wasn’t Eli’s favorite,
but he didn’t feel like walking very far. While they waited for their
order, Eli told her about the discovery of the gateway machinery and
Master Kelhar’s misguided idea of what the gateways were supposed
to be used for, making sure to keep his voice low so the others nearby
couldn’t overhear.
“Maybe he really had some sort of vision,” Ava said before she
took a huge bite of her club sandwich.
“If he did, I doubt it was from a benevolent god. More like from
a devil. Or he was eating some herbs that made him go nuts.”
She shrugged. “You could be right. It’s not the first time some
wack job made a lot of people think he was speaking for the divine.”
208 SHAY WEST
The more Eli thought about it, the more sense it made. The guy
had to be completely off his rocker. Normal, sane people didn’t come
to other worlds and kill others to steal their organs.
“If they would just take the organs from their own people, they
wouldn’t need to come here for them,” Ava said.
“Tani and Keena are more horrified of cutting up a dead body
than they are of killing someone for the organs they need.”
“That’s messed up.”
Eli didn’t argue. He finished the last bite of his French dip and
soaked his fries in the remaining au jus.
On the way back to the station, Ava made him stop at a gas station.
She went to a rack of cheap sunglasses and picked out a couple of pairs.
“Figured Tani and Keena would like them.”
He’d almost forgotten their fascination with the sunglasses he
and Ava wore. Everything fascinates them.
The afternoon passed quickly. Eli kept his eye on the clock, eager
to get back to his house. He hated leaving Tani and Keena alone for
this amount of time. There was no end of trouble they could get into.
After he finished the endless pile of paperwork pertaining to the
enormous case, he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair and
headed to the elevator.
“Ava, I’ll meet you at my place. I gotta hit the store on the way
home,” he called out over his shoulder.
“Want me to bring anything?”
“Grab some beer!”
He stopped at Mrs. Hinsung’s store on the way home, dodging
questions about Ava while he paid for his groceries.
“Ava and I are just partners, Mrs. Hinsung. It’s against policy for
us to see each other, even if we wanted to,” he explained.
“You been alone too long,” she said, giving him a motherly frown.
“I like alone. Good-bye, Mrs. Hinsung.”
Tani and Keena were sitting on the couch watching Independence
Day on TV. They were riveted to the screen, and jumped when the
alien shoved Brent Spiner against the glass of the operating room.
“If you watch too much of that, it will rot your brain,” he said as
he walked by.
Tani stood and approached. “Is this based on real events?”
ORGAN REAPERS 209
“No, not here here,” he said indicating his house, “but here in the US.”
Ava’s mouth formed an “O” and she winced. “I see.”
“You don’t think it’s a good idea either,” Tani accused.
“It’s not that I don’t think it’s a good idea; it’s that it’s not possible.
You don’t have the proper documentation,” she said.
“Can’t you find some? Or make it? Your people can do so many
wondrous things. You have people traveling the universe and meeting
aliens, why can’t you get us the materials we need to be able to stay
here?” Tani asked.
“Eli, what’s he talking about ships and aliens?” Ava asked.
“Obviously something they saw on TV today,” he said, pinching
the bridge of his nose. “Unless you have proper documentation, you
just can’t stay here. You would end up in jail or on the streets, with
no way to buy food or—”
“But we have coin, lots of it.”
“But it’s not the same thing as the money we use here,” Eli explained.
“Can’t we trade our coin for some of what you use?” he asked
desperately.
“Possibly, but not enough to live on your entire lives.”
“Why can’t we just go find a small plot of land and build a house?
We won’t bother anyone and I swear we won’t kill anyone.”
Eli looked at Ava helplessly. I wish our world was as simple as that.
“Why don’t we go out on the patio while Eli gets dinner ready? Do
you two want a beer?” she asked as they passed by the fridge.
“If it is like coffee, it must be good,” Tani said.
“It’s better than coffee, trust me.”
Eli watched as they walked outside, hoping she could explain
things a little better so the two would understand. He felt awful, like
he’d just broken it to them that there’s no such thing as Santa. They don’t
even know who he is.
Eli mixed the ground beef with a packet of onion soup mix and
shaped chunks of it into patties. He turned on the oven for the fries and
chopped the salad. When the oven was warm, he went outside to turn
on the grill.
Ava was showing them her driver’s license and explaining to them
about birth certificates and social security numbers. Tani and Keena
nodded, both looking dejected.
ORGAN REAPERS 211
“DO YOU SEE these markings? These stand for the five elements:
fire, water, earth, air, and spirit,” Keena explained.
Eli picked up one of the stones from the table and examined it.
He could see that each of the five had different symbols on it. The one
Ava found was this one here.
“What is this one?” Eli asked.
“That one is fire.”
“It’s the same as the one we found on one of the crime scenes,”
Ava said.
Keena’s cheeks turned red. “I dropped one of the stones just
before going through the gateway.”
“I imagine Master Kelhar wasn’t very happy about that,” Eli said.
She shook her head.
“So you just place these in a circle and that’s it? A gateway
opens?” Eli asked.
“You have to put them in a specific order around the circle, but
yes, that’s all there is to it,” Keena said.
“Could I use them, or is it something only someone from your
world can do?”
“I think anyone can do it. The stones do the creating, not the person
who places them.”
Eli glanced at the clock and he groaned. It was past eleven at night.
I need some sleep. “I think it’s time to call it a night.”
“I agree. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Ava grabbed her things from the
side of the couch and left, closing the door softly behind her.
“Can I ask you something?” Tani asked timidly.
214 SHAY WEST
“That’s where Keena and I were kept? The place with bars?” Tani
asked.
“Sort of. You were only in a holding cell. Jail would have a whole
bunch of rooms with bars. You might spend several months to years,
but you would eventually get out.
“Now if you do something really bad like kill someone, you will
go to a bigger jail, called prison, for a very long time. And sometimes
you can get what we call the death penalty.”
“How are people put to death?” Tani asked.
“Something we call lethal injection. They strap you down and inject
drugs that make you sleep and you never wake up.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad. I would rather that than to be hanged,”
Tani said.
“Dead is dead, son, no matter how it’s done,” Eli said.
“I suppose that’s true. I saw a hanging once.” Tani shuddered. “The
man’s neck didn’t break when the trapdoor opened. He dangled there
and choked to death.” Tani looked panicked. “I can’t die like that, at
the end of a rope.”
“If Ava I have anything to say about it, neither of you will die.
We just need to figure out a way to destroy the machines on your world
and see to it that you two can go back there without the specter of
death hanging over you.”
* * *
his stomach felt as though it would empty itself, and his heart raced.
When they had left home, they hadn’t thought everything through;
they just wanted to do what was right.
Please, gods, help us find the way.
Keena sat up. “I got your shirt all wet.”
“It’s okay. Tomorrow I’ll have Eli show me how to use the dryer.”
Keena tiptoed out of the room, and he saw the light turn on in the
bathroom, then the sound of her blowing her nose. He was surprised
when she returned to the room he had been sleeping in rather than hers.
Without a word, she crawled into bed with him and snuggled next
to him. His body responded to her closeness. He swallowed heavily and
tried to get his mind off how smooth her skin felt against his, how her
hair smelled like something he’s never smelled before—something
called coconut—and how what they were doing was very wrong.
“Keena,” he croaked.
She put a finger against his lips. “I’m not asking for anything but
to be near you. I just can’t be alone tonight.”
Tani nodded, hoping she wouldn’t notice the obvious physical sign
of his feelings. If she did, she gave no indication. Soon, her chest rose and
fell with the regular rhythm of sleep. Tani smiled at her slight snore.
He hoped his eyes would close, but sleep eluded him. His mind
churned with the implications of what Eli had told them. If they
couldn’t stay here, they would have to return home. And that option
put them in harm’s way.
Maybe we can escape the monastery, hide out somewhere.
He sighed as his throat tightened. Master Kelhar had sent Enforcers
to bring them back, which meant he had no plans of letting them go. He
would have the gateway room under guard. They would be captured
the minute they returned home.
If we are captured, how are we to destroy the machinery?
C HAPTER 34
“The lovely Agent Dagget just wanted to let me know they are
going forward with the trial against Satrick, and that he knows Tani
and Keena are staying with me.”
“I wish there was something we could do for Satrick,” Ava said.
“I know, but that’s out of our hands. The only ones we can help
are Tani and Keena.”
“How are we supposed to do that? I’ve been wracking my brain
and can’t think of anything where those two don’t end up dead at
the hands of that head priest guy.”
“I think I have an idea, but I need to work on it a bit more, iron
out some details before I tell you.”
Ava raised an eyebrow. “Knowing you, it’s crazy as hell.”
“And dangerous as hell. But it just might work.”
Eli refused to say anything more about his plan, mainly because
he wasn’t one hundred percent certain what he was going to do, but
as the day passed, a plan solidified in his mind. I just hope everyone
will agree to it.
“You two, my office.”
Eli had been so lost in thought he hadn’t heard Captain Platt
approach. He stood and followed Platt into his office. He heard Ava’s
footfalls coming right behind him.
“Close the door,” Platt ordered.
Ava complied before taking a seat in a chair in front of Platt’s
desk. Eli wiped his sweaty palms on his slacks. His captain looked
irritated. Better than supremely pissed off.
“You still got those two kids staying at your house?”
Eli cleared his throat. “It was for their protection, until we catch
the two thugs that tried to kill them.”
“Since when is it your job to take in strays? Wait, not strays, suspects
in a murder investigation!” Platt slammed his hand on the desk.
Okay, now he’s supremely pissed.
“They’re just kids with no money, no ID. It just didn’t seem right
to leave them out on the streets.”
“Kids, right. Well, in case you forgot these ‘kids’ have killed people!
We may not be able to prove it, but we all know it’s true.” He looked
between Eli and Ava.
“It’s not permanent, just until we catch the two guys that disappeared.
Then they can return to the shelter.”
220 SHAY WEST
“The thugs that disappeared. That reminds me, the cops on scene
said you ordered them to search the buildings across the street. Did
you see the perps in those buildings?”
“No, sir, but I didn’t want to take any chances that the perps
were hiding over there and we ended up missing them.”
“Really? That’s strange. One of the cops reported seeing a strange
flash of light just moments after you ordered everyone to leave. Now,
call me crazy, but it seems from my end that you wanted to be alone
with those two murdering kids, away from prying eyes.”
Eli swallowed, trying unsuccessfully to get some spit in his suddenly
dry mouth. “How long have you known me?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just answer the question.”
Platt raised his eyebrow and placed his hands on the desk. Eli
knew he was pushing it.
“Sixteen, maybe seventeen years.”
“And in that time have I ever done anything out of line?” He waved
his hands as Platt rolled his eyes. “Okay, let me rephrase that. Have I ever
done anything way out of line? Anything that would jeopardize a case?”
Platt pursed his lips and exhaled a long, drawn-out breath. “No.”
“I am asking you to trust me, to trust us,” he pointed to Ava.
“There’s something going on here that I can’t tell you, but Tani and
Keena are at the center of something, well, let’s just say, unusual.”
“So unusual you can’t tell your own captain?”
Eli sighed. “All I’m asking is a few more days. Then we’ll explain
everything.”
Platt stood staring at him for so long Eli feared he had gone too
far. But when Platt sat down heavily in his chair, Eli knew he’d won.
“I’ll give you a few days. Only because nothing about this case
makes any sense, but my gut is telling me that you’re right about one
thing: there’s definitely something unusual going on.” He pointed a
finger at Eli and Ava. “But don’t push your luck. Unusual or not, we
still have a job to do and killers to stop.”
Eli left the office, sighing in relief. The captain was giving him a
lot more leeway than he would have any other detective on the force,
and Eli knew it. He hated taking advantage of Platt, but he had to
keep an eye on the big picture. Focusing on finding evidence on Tani
and Keena would be a waste of time. And the killings would continue.
ORGAN REAPERS 221
“I CAN’T BELIEVE they did this in broad daylight,” Ava said as they
drove to the crime scene.
“Bastards are getting bolder,” Eli said, swerving between cars,
blues and reds flashing.
The murder happened on the other side of town in one of the
suburbs. Eli flew past dilapidated buildings, most of them abandoned.
Roofs were caving in, windows broken, weeds and vines choking
fences and yards. There weren’t many people out and about on the
cracked streets and sidewalks.
He saw the flashing blue and red lights near an over-grown field.
He spotted Sherry Abeyta climbing out of the white coroner’s van.
She moved through thick weeds that were almost as tall as she was.
In moments, she disappeared from view.
“Shall we?” Ava asked.
Platt hadn’t given them any information about the victim, so Eli
had no idea what they were about to walk into. But he knew what
they would find: someone with their chest cavity splayed open, the
white of the ribs peeking out from red flesh, their belly opened from
sternum to navel, various internal organs removed with surgical
precision, blood soaking the ground, glazed eyes and the stench of death
over the whole mess.
He pulled on a pair of nitrile gloves as he moved through the
thick weeds, Ava following close behind. He heard muffled voices
coming from the left. He pushed the brush aside and winced when
he caught sight of the body.
It was a young boy, maybe eight or nine. He’d been blonde at
one time, but his golden locks were saturated in crimson. His mouth
ORGAN REAPERS 223
was open, like he had died screaming. Eli swore he could still see
terror in his brown eyes.
“Christ, it’s another kid,” Ava said from behind him.
Sherry glanced up at the detectives as they approached, and Eli
winced at the anger in her eyes. “Damn it all to hell, Eli, why haven’t
you two caught these sons-of-bitches yet?”
“We’re doing all we ca—”
“Like hell. Word is you’ve got two of them staying at your place!
That’s not the Eli Robins I know,” she said as she continued to examine
the body.
Her words stung. “You do know me, Sherry, and if I tell you we’re
working on it, you can bet your ass I’m working on it.”
“Well, do it faster. I’m tired of coming to crime scenes like this.”
Sherry had been a coroner for more years than he’d been a detective.
Eli imagined she’d seen the worst of the worst. For her to say she was
tired of it spoke volumes.
“Ava and I will nail the bastards or die trying.”
Sherry sighed and rubbed her face with the crook of her arm. “I’m
sorry, guys. I didn’t mean to take it out on you.”
“It’s all good. Believe me, we’ve had enough of this case too,” Ava
said, kneeling down for a closer look.
“As far as I can tell he’s only missing his heart. His abdomen and
back are intact,” Sherry said.
“Any other evidence?” Eli asked.
“None that we could find. Just like the others.”
Not surprising. “Let us know if you happen to find anything,” Eli said.
He and Ava walked back to the car, knowing there wasn’t anything
more they could do. Sherry would call if she found anything, as would
the CSIs on the scene. Eli knew they wouldn’t find anything, not so
much as a single footprint. Like it matters even if they do.
Any footprint, fingerprint, or DNA they happened to find wouldn’t
match anything in the databases anyway. Only Ava and I know the
truth. He didn’t talk as they made their way back to the station. The
plan he had earlier for stopping Master Kelhar was no longer going
to work. There was another important piece he needed to add into
the mix. It was necessary, but it was going to complicate things.
I just hope everyone agrees.
224 SHAY WEST
“Don’t forget the part about the guy that wakes up from that
thing called coma and finds his wife with another man,” Keena added.
Eli bent at the waist laughing. “You guys watched a soap opera?”
“I don’t understand what that show had to do with soap,” Tani
said, clearly confused.
Eli had to sit down at the table. He laughed until his sides hurt
and tears fell from his eyes. The looks of utter confusion on the faces
of his guests only made him laugh harder.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, it’s just...” he trailed off as more
laughter burst forth. How long has it been since I’ve laughed like that?
“I am not even sure I can explain what soap operas are. But they aren’t
real either. Well, I guess they are kinda real, but just way more dramatic.”
“Tani and I want to help with the meal tonight,” Keena said.
Eli smiled and shook his head. “Tonight someone else is going to
do the cooking and will bring it to us. Come here, I’ll show you.”
He beckoned them closer while he opened his laptop. He punched
in the URL for Pizza Hut and rubbed his hands together greedily.
“I already know you two like meat, so I figured we’d get a pizza
loaded with everything.”
Eli chose the size, sauce, and toppings while Tani and Keena looked
on in awe. He added a large order of breadsticks and a bottle of Coke.
He had an account, so check-out was a quick affair.
“Now we wait for them to bring it to us,” Eli said.
“You have people that will bring you food?” Tani asked.
“Isn’t it great? I use this website a lot, actually. It’s easier to order
a pizza than to cook when it’s just me.”
“Just you? But I thought you and Ava...” Keena trailed off.
“We’re partners at work and that’s all. That’s not to say we’re
not close because most partners are, it’s part of the job; but we aren’t
together like I think you’re thinking.” Eli gave the two a knowing
glance. “What about you two?”
“Oh, we’re not...I mean, we’re partners, certainly, but...” Tani
stammered.
“I just assumed when I heard you talking in the room the other
night.” He shrugged. “Well, you know.”
“We were just talking. It is forbidden for unmarried people to
do...” Keena flailed her hands.
226 SHAY WEST
kid at the door. Eli juggled the two large pizzas, breadsticks, and Coke.
His stomach gave a loud rumble as he caught a whiff of the pizza
wafting through the cardboard box.
He placed the food on the counter and grabbed some paper plates
from the bottom cupboard. Just then, Ava arrived, her arms loaded with
six packs of beer.
“Perfect timing, partner,” Eli said as he side-stepped the open
fridge door.
“That’s me! I always arrive when the food’s ready,” she said as
she put the beer in the fridge.
She came back up with four bottles of microbrews. Eli was normally
a MGD drinker, but since working with Ava, he found he liked the fancy
crap she tended to drink.
Eli laughed at the looks of ecstasy that passed over Tani and Keena’s
faces when they bit into the moist, gooey pizza. They ate so fast, Eli
feared they would choke to death. He couldn’t blame them; it was
hard to eat slowly when the food was this good.
Tani and Keena giggled when they took their first drink of carbonated
beverage.
“You gave the kids Coke? They’re gonna be on a sugar high,”
Ava scolded.
“It’s not like it’s a school night,” Eli said taking a huge bite of a
breadstick slathered in marinara.
Ava laughed and put her hand over her mouth to prevent
spewing food all over the kitchen table.
After dinner, the four sat at the table. Eli knew they were waiting on
him to begin, as this was his show, but he wasn’t sure how to broach the
subject. What he was going to ask them to do would be dangerous.
He took a deep breath and began speaking.
C HAPTER 36
gateway, but not the writing that describes it, Master Kelhar will be
able to repair or rebuild it. Then we’re right back where we started.”
“What you ask is impossible. The scrolls and books are kept in
Master Kelhar’s private chambers,” Tani said.
“That’s why we need you two to come along on this little trip
through the gateway. We need to find Master Kelhar and steal the books
and scrolls. The fastest way to do that is to have you both lead the way.”
“Eli, can you hear yourself? Taking these kids on a job like this?
It’ll never work,” Ava said.
“That’s only because we’ve never done anything like this. But
it’ll work. It has to.”
“This is a very bad idea.”
“Do you have anything better? Because if so, I’d love to hear it.
We’re out of options and out of time.”
Ava opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again, shaking
her head. “If we’re going to do this, we need a solid plan.”
Eli nodded and got up from the table. He came back with several
pieces of printer paper and some pencils. He handed them to Tani
and Keena.
“I need you guys to draw the monastery. Every detail. Outside and
inside. This is important. I need to know the location of doors, windows,
trees, bushes, anything that can provide cover, where the Enforcers are
stationed, how many people occupy the monastery, everything.”
“We will try our best,” Tani said, taking a pencil and beginning
his drawing.
Eli turned to Ava. “We’ll need to get our hands on some explosives.”
“Oh sure, let me just run to the corner market and get some.”
“I’m serious, Ava. If we’re going to disable the gateway machinery,
we have to blow it to kingdom come.”
She reached across and took his hands in hers. He didn’t quite
know how to respond, so he left them there. She had a look on her face
he couldn’t decipher.
“What I’m about to tell you, you can never repeat, nor ask me
anything about it, nor ever ask me to do anything like this again.
Understood?”
Eli swallowed and nodded, unable to make a sound.
“I can get the explosives.” She held up a finger when he opened
his mouth. “You can’t ask, remember?”
230 SHAY WEST
* * *
Eli looked over the pictures of the monastery. If Tani was right
about the dimensions, it was big, bigger than he expected. Damn, it’s
gonna be hard to cover everything. Eli rubbed his grainy eyes, wishing
there were another twenty hours in the day. “Hey, it’s getting late.
Why don’t we finish this tomorrow?”
“Great plan. I can hardly keep my eyes open,” Ava said.
“You okay to drive home?”
“I’ve driven way more tired than this,” she said, as she got up
from the table. She smiled as she looked down at Keena and Tani,
both with their heads on the table.
“I’ll get these two to bed. You head out. See you at the office
tomorrow.” He yawned so hard his eyes watered.
He woke up the pair asleep at the table and waited until they
shuffled to their rooms before turning out the lights and heading to
his own room. He quickly brushed his teeth and pulled off his shirt.
He contemplated taking a shower, but decided to wait until morning.
He removed his pants, placing his gun on the bedside table. He crawled
under the covers and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
C HAPTER 37
would be calling with any solid leads. Part of Eli wanted to tell the
public the truth: that soon they wouldn’t have to worry anymore about
being butchered in the streets, that he and his partner had everything
well in hand.
They’d lock me in the nut house.
Ava walked up beside him. “Tell me this is gonna work.”
He looked down at her and smiled. “It’s gonna work.”
She breathed deeply and let out a sigh. “I’m going to go do something
normal and mundane and having nothing to do with other worlds. I’ll
see you at your place with the goods.”
Eli busied himself with the endless amounts of paperwork that
accompanied the job. He hated not being able to put all of the information
he and Ava had obtained in the last few days into the file folders.
Normally, they would be about four inches thick by this point in
the investigation.
Even if he and Ava were successful in shutting down the gateways
for good, no one here would ever know about it. The victims’ families
would blame the police department, tell them they weren’t doing their
jobs, demand they do something. There would be the occasional news
broadcast with Platt asking for information, and a few leads would
trickle in, but none would pan out. The cases would all go cold.
Ava left the office before he did. “See you later. Save me a beer
or four.”
Eli found endless tasks to do, telling himself he wanted to complete
them before going home. But a small voice in his head giggled and
accused him of being afraid. Once he had the explosives in hand,
there would be no turning back.
You’re scared of being on another world.
That was the real kicker. Sure, he was afraid of dying, the same
as the next guy. Not that he obsessed about it or anything, but he wasn’t
at peace with the idea either. He’d never been religious or even
spiritual, so the idea of death was a scary void of unknown.
But setting foot on another world was something that made his
brain go lalalalalalala, like little kids with their fingers in their ears,
ignoring their parents. The thought of being left behind made his blood
run cold. Is their world even in the same galaxy? The same universe? He’d
never been good at physics, so these thoughts of other worlds were
enough to make his head want to explode.
234 SHAY WEST
“It’s not your fault. We don’t belong on this world any more than you
belong on ours. We’ll find a way to elude Master Kelhar’s Enforcers.”
Eli clapped Tani on the shoulder. “Maybe we can come up with
some way to help you guys while we finalize the plan tonight.”
“That means we’ll be leaving soon,” Keena said.
“The sooner we destroy the machines, the sooner we can stop the
killings,” Eli said.
The three sat outside trying to enjoy the cool evening, each lost on
their own thoughts. Eli smiled when Tani and Keena’s hands found one
another’s again. Those two couldn’t fight it even if they wanted to. Eli took a
swig of his beer and hoped Ava would return empty-handed. If she
came with the explosives, it meant they would have to go through with
his fool plan. He was fairly certain it would work, but he’d never
planned anything like this. Raiding a suspect’s home was a walk in the
park compared to this.
When his stomach gave a loud rumble, he decided to introduce
the pair to the culinary delights of Thai food. He called in an order
and walked back outside, leaving the sliding glass door open so he
could hear the doorbell.
“Does it hurt going through the gateway?” Eli asked, taking a
swig of his second beer.
“It tingles a bit, but no, it doesn’t hurt,” Tani said.
“Are you alert when you come out the other end?”
“There’s a bit of time to acclimate, but it doesn’t usually take long.
Why do you ask?”
“If there are guards in the room, we’ll need to act quickly. We
can’t afford to be disoriented.”
“I wish I could tell you there wouldn’t be any, but there will. I
can’t say how long yours will last.”
Eli sighed. It wasn’t what he’d been hoping to hear, but at least
he knew what to expect. He and Ava would need to be on high alert
as soon as they passed through to take out any guards who might be
in the room. Who are you kidding? There’ll be guards.
The doorbell rang. He jumped up and grabbed his wallet from
his back pocket. He handed the smiling delivery guy at the door some
cash and told him to keep the change.
236 SHAY WEST
He brought the food into the kitchen and opened the various
containers, sniffing each one before he put it back on the counter. He
grabbed some paper plates and plastic silverware out of the cabinet,
knowing he wouldn’t want to wash dishes tonight.
He hollered at Tani and Keena to come load up their plates.
“Aren’t we going to wait for Ava?” Keena asked.
“Ava is getting us something very important that we need for
our journey. I’m not sure how long she’ll be, so I figured we’d eat
now. She can eat when she shows up.”
The food was hot and in large quantities, which was just how Eli
liked it. He even liked it leftover. It was the only thing he really liked
as leftovers. Most everything else he would just throw away, knowing
he’d never eat it the next day.
He showed Tani and Keena how to use chopsticks. Surprisingly, the
two picked up the trick rather quickly, much more quickly than he had.
They deftly maneuvered the wooden sticks to pick up slices of beef and
broccoli dripping in sauce, and popped everything into their mouths.
“I will miss the food of this world,” Tani said as he sat back in his
patio chair.
“Perhaps you two can start a restaurant.”
“We couldn’t make the food without the spices. Perhaps we can
improvise with what we can find on our own world,” Tani said.
“I can send you with spices and recipes to help you get started.”
“That is most generous,” Keena said as she shared a glance with
Tani. “Do you think we could really do it?”
“Absolutely. Here, I’ll show you some recipes and gather a bunch
of spices together.”
Eli spent the next hour copying recipes onto new sheets of paper
and gathering the spices. I can always buy more. Tani and Keena smelled
each one, trying to figure out if they had something similar on their
world. With a grin, Eli grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Ava,
hoping she got it before arriving at his house. He knew it would add
time to her already busy evening, but he didn’t want to leave the two.
Besides, I still have a lot more recipes to copy down for them.
Tani placed the spices and sheets of paper inside his knapsack as
though he was dealing with something delicate that would break if he
wasn’t careful. The trio watched TV while they waited for Ava. Eli
ORGAN REAPERS 237
checked his phone every ten seconds, hoping for a text to let him know
she was on the way, but it remained silent. He tried to lose himself in the
program about life at the bottom of the ocean, but he was too distracted
to enjoy it.
Ava finally arrived around nine. Eli met her at the door, knowing
that if she had managed to obtain the explosives, she would bring
them inside rather than leaving them in her car. She was lugging two
large tote bags. She handed them both to Eli and gave him a withering
look before going back out to her car and grabbing her purse and a
smaller plastic sack. He put the bags on the floor.
She shoved the plastic bag in his hands. “Next time you get the
urge to grow a flippin’ herb garden, don’t pick the night I have to get
explosives, m’kay?”
Eli held up his hands. “They aren’t for me.”
He gave Tani and Keena the plastic bag. “I had Ava grab you seeds
for all of the herbs in the recipes I gave you. The spices in the containers
won’t last forever. This way, you’ll have a steady supply of herbs.”
“You’re giving them spices?” Ava asked incredulously.
“We are going to start a restaurant with the recipes from this
world,” Tan said excitedly, brandishing the pieces of paper.
“Isn’t that against some interstellar law or something?” she asked.
Eli rolled his eyes. “It’s just some herbs and spices.”
“Right. Until the land is overrun with basil and oregano.”
“Just imagine what a pretty-smelling world that would be.”
She rolled her eyes and didn’t say anything else, which was fine
by Eli. Maybe what he was doing wasn’t the best thing, introducing
a plant species to an alien world, but if it gave Tani and Keena a little
hope, it was worth it.
Eli retrieved the bags with the explosives from near the front door
and brought them into the kitchen. He carefully opened the top of
one of the bags and whistled. He was no expert, but what Ava had
brought seemed very complicated.
“I know I swore never to ask, but Ava, geez, where did you get
these? This was done by a pro.”
“Yes, they were,” she said.
Eli raised an eyebrow. “And that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
238 SHAY WEST
Eli hated not knowing, but she had kept her end of the bargain
and he wouldn’t push her about it. There were three of the devices,
each complete with a digital timer. He placed the one in his hand
carefully back in the bag.
He looked at Ava, Tani, and Keena, the ones who would share in
this adventure with him. They looked at him expectantly and he didn’t
know what to say. Should I be giving them a pep talk or something?
“I was going to wait and use the gateway in the morning, but I
think we stand a better chance if we hit them at night.”
“There will be fewer people in the chamber during the overnight
hours,” Tani said.
“That’s what I figured. Okay, let’s go over the plan one more time.”
C HAPTER 38
ELI DROVE through the dark city, the street lights flashing a rhythm
over the windshield. No one spoke. He knew each of them had to come to
grips with what they were about to do, and no amount of idle chatter was
going to make it better or easier. He didn’t even bother with the radio.
He drove them to the same abandoned lot where he had first seen
the gateway. It seemed fitting somehow. The car entered the lot with
a soft crunch of gravel beneath the tires. He sat in the car after coming
to a stop, wanting to make sure there was no one in the area. It wasn’t
an area known to be frequented by the homeless, but that didn’t
mean there wasn’t one or two lurking in the darkness.
Ava exited first and stood by the side of the car with her arms
crossed over her chest as though warding off the cold. Or fear. She
tried to hide it, but Eli could see it in the tightness around her eyes,
the stiff way she walked. I’ll get us both back alive.
He opened the door; the creaking sounded much too loud in the
quiet parking lot. Eli went to the trunk and grabbed the tote bags
containing the explosive devices. Tani and Keena stood to the side.
Eli handed one of the bags to Ava and she slung it over her shoulder.
He took the second and laid it on the ground.
Eli handed Tani and Keena each a small handgun he’d taken
from his personal collection. He and Ava had fought about it, but Eli
refused to send the pair into danger without arming them. If one part of
the plan failed, Earth would be in danger of more murders. Eli wanted
to ensure that didn’t happen.
“You two remember how to use those?” Eli asked.
In unison, both cocked their weapons and pointed them at a broken
light pole. Eli smiled. They hadn’t had time for target practice, so he
240 SHAY WEST
would just have to trust their aim. He grabbed two shotguns from the
trunk and tossed one to Ava. She caught it with one hand. Impressive!
He grabbed a couple of flashlights, gave one to Tani and kept
one for himself.
“Everyone ready? Stick to the plan. Remember, the most
important thing is to destroy the machines.” He looked meaningfully
at Ava. She nodded once.
Keena took off her pack, grabbed the velvet bag containing the
five gateway stones, and emptied them into her palm. She placed
them on the ground one by one. Once the last one was in place, a
brilliant flash of light erupted in a circular pattern. Keena picked the
stones up and put them back in the velvet bag.
Tani and Keena passed through first. They had warned that the
passageway would only stay open for a few moments. Eli took a deep
breath, glanced back at Ava, and plunged into the light.
* * *
“The machine is set for your town. When you are ready to return
home, push this button here.” Tani pointed.
Eli nodded. “Get going. When you finish burning the scrolls and
books, come back here. If you don’t return within the hour, I will set
the charges and we leave.”
Tani and Keena ran to the window, opened the shutters, and climbed
through. Eli tried to figure out how long it would take the pair to make
it to Master Kelhar’s library based on the map Tani drew. If all went
smoothly, it should take no more than a few minutes to get to the
room. The part that would take longer was searching through the
scrolls and books to find those pertaining to the machinery. I hope an
hour is enough time.
Regardless, he and Ava would set the explosives to detonate in
one hour. If Tani and Keena were unsuccessful, he hoped the wrecked
gateway room would deter any further traveling.
C HAPTER 39
TANI PEERED out the window. Seeing the coast was clear, he leapt
to the ground and turned to help Keena. He needn’t have bothered;
she made the jump as easily as he. The two made their way silently
along the side of the building, keeping to the bushes whenever
possible. Tani wasn’t worried about being spotted at this time of
night. What worried him was what was going to happen once they
reached the window leading to Master Kelhar’s personal library.
Tani had no idea if the room was guarded. He sent up a prayer
to the gods that they would find the library empty. The other uncertainty
was the location of the scrolls and books that Master Kelhar had used to
figure out how to run the machinery. He had no idea where to look
for those. He only hoped he and Keena could find what they needed
in the short hour they had to look.
His heartbeat and breathing sounded much too loud to his ears.
Deep down he knew no one could hear him unless they were as
close as Keena, but he still tried to breathe shallower.
Tani ran his hand along the rough surface of the red bricks. He
glanced up when they passed underneath the large windows leading
to Master Kelhar’s private chambers.
There’s a lamp lit!
Tani reached back and grabbed Keena’s arm, willing her to be
silent. Their eyes met in the darkness. Tani was quite certain the same
fear he saw in her eyes was mirrored in his own. They had to move on.
Staying here paralyzed with fear used up precious time. He moved
forward slowly, eyes glued to the lighted window.
Suddenly, a shadow moved to the window. Tani grabbed Keena
and pulled her against the side of the building. He could tell by the
244 SHAY WEST
silhouette reflected on the grass that it was Master Kelhar. The only
time he’s awake at this hour is if he has a patient.
Tani’s heart sank. If Kelhar was awake it meant that he was
awaiting the return of Harvesters with the needed organs. Eli and Ava!
There was nothing he could do to help his friends other than to
complete the mission. When the shadow moved away, he pulled Keena
forward and hoped they wouldn’t run into any more surprises.
* * *
Master Kelhar took a deep breath of the cool night air. He had once
enjoyed the mornings, but he found that he rather enjoyed the darkness
more as of late. It held so many mysteries and a beauty all its own.
He walked back to his ornate oak desk to await the arrival of the
Harvesters. His desk was covered in half-opened scrolls and old musty
books. Kelhar stroked them, unaware he was smiling as he did so.
They have brought me so much power. Kelhar knew it was wrong to
think such things, but pride swelled in his chest just the same. I’ll do
anything to protect that power.
He picked up the scrolls and books littering his desk and placed
them in the cabinet to the left. He grabbed a delicate gold key on a
piece of leather and turned it until he heard the soft snick of the lock
engaging. He placed leather cord around his neck. Kelhar smirked
when he pictured his young patient waiting for him in the surgery room.
How very ironic that the very machine young Tani despises is the one that
will save his brother’s life.
* * *
* * *
* * *
Tani sighed and pulled apart, running his thumb across her
cheek. “We’ll get out of this. We will run away, far away. We’ll open
that little restaurant and raise our kids and live happily ever after.”
She smiled. “I like the sound of that.”
He led her to the door and turned the light device off before opening
it. They exited the library into a dark hallway. He could barely make out
the various cabinets and pillars displaying various religious artifacts.
He could see a light coming from a room at the end of the hall. It’s
the surgery room.
The doors to Master Kelhar’s quarters were closed, but Tani could
see a sliver of light underneath. He paused, unsure of where to go. If the
scrolls aren’t in his library, they have to be in his quarters. He pulled Keena
along, hugging the wall.
The door to Master Kelhar’s quarters opened. Tani dropped to
his knees, sending up a prayer to the gods that the pillar would hide
him from sight. He could hear Keena breathing heavily by his side.
He squeezed her hand.
Master Kelhar exited followed by his two attendants. He went
across the hall to the surgery room, dressed in black robes that fit his
body more tightly than his ceremonial ones did.
Tani met Keena’s eyes and hoped she could read what was in his
thoughts. She closed her eyes and tears trickled down her cheeks. Once
Master Kelhar was out of sight in the surgery room, Tani leapt up, ran
around the pillar, and made for the door to Kelhar’s quarters. He opened
the large double doors and closed them as soon as Keena was inside.
“Look for something locked. A cabinet, desk, anything. And hurry.
He could return at any moment,” Tani said.
Tani frantically searched the room, trying to be as quiet as possible.
He rifled through drawers, not really believing he would find anything
that was unlocked.
“Tani, I think I found something.”
He ran to a large oak desk. Keena was bent down trying to open
a drawer.
“It’s locked and I can’t find a key anywhere,” she said.
“He’s probably got it with him.”
Tani thought for a moment, knowing the hour was dangerously
close to being over, and made a decision. He grabbed a heavy marble
ORGAN REAPERS 249
statue off Kelhar’s desk and smashed it against the lock until the
wood gave way. He yanked the drawer open and grabbed the scrolls
out, shoving them into Keena’s hands.
“It’s them, Tani, I’m sure of it.”
“Take them to the hearth.”
He followed her, his arms loaded with scrolls and several books
that were at the very bottom of the drawer. Without hesitation, he
threw everything into the fire, watching for a moment as the paper
curled and charred. Keena threw her armload in.
“Let’s get back to the gateway chamber,” Tani said.
They opened the double doors, peering into the darkened
hallway. Tani led the way, turning to the right to head back to the
library so they could go out the window.
He could see the light from the surgery room from the corner of
his eye. It beckoned to him. Ignoring Keena’s whispered protests, he
turned to the left and padded silently toward the open door. He could
see shadows moving around.
Knowing he was getting too close, but unable to help himself,
Tani peered around the edge of the doorway and his breath caught
in his throat.
Meevo!
C HAPTER 40
* * *
Eli jumped as the doors opened. He stared at the man striding into
the room. Master Kelhar, I presume. The man looked at the two dead men
and glared at Eli.
“Are you responsible for this?” he asked, eyes blazing in anger.
“Sure am,” Eli said with a smirk. “Also responsible for that.” He
pointed to the steps where the two Harvesters were sitting.
252 SHAY WEST
“Everyone dies in their own time, Kelhar. It’s not right to kill
living people to steal their organs.”
“The gods decide what is right.”
“Back to that again.” Eli rolled his eyes.
“They speak to me. I feel it in my bones that what we do is right,”
Kelhar said, gripping his robes over his heart.
This dude is batshit crazy. “Even some of your own people think it’s
wrong! If the gods want you to do this, surely they would have come to
them as a burning bush or something to get them back on the right
track,” Eli said, pointing to Tani.
“It is not up to me to question who the gods choose to speak to. But
Tani and Keena should have trusted me and my connection to the gods.”
Eli barked laughter. “This is the problem with religion. All it takes is
for someone in power to claim they are speaking for a divine entity and
everyone is just supposed to follow them? We’ve had guys like you on
my world and I guarantee they are rotting in the pits of hell for what
they did.”
Kelhar shook his head sadly. “You will never understand.”
“I’m glad I don’t.”
Kelhar held out his hands. “You want to blow up the room, then
please, don’t let me stop you.”
Eli blinked slowly, wondering what sort of trick this was.
“No, I mean it. If you honestly think that what you’re doing is right,
then by all means, blow up the room.” Kelhar grinned. “But you’ll be
taking all of us with you.”
C HAPTER 41
ELI HIT HIS KNEES, choking and gasping, trying to shake the
afterimages masking his vision. He heard Ava next to him cursing in
Spanish. Are we home?
It certainly sounded like home. The sound of heavy traffic reached
his ears, as did the cacophony of honking horns. He wiped his eyes
trying to get a better view. Wherever they were, it wasn’t the vacant
lot they had left from.
“Where the hell are we?” Ava asked.
“Beats me. I’ll let you know when I can see again.”
Eli stood on wobbly legs and blinked, his vision slowly returning.
He spun in a slow circle, trying to get his bearings. The buildings looked
like they hadn’t been lived in for years. The sidewalks had weeds and
grass growing between the myriad of cracks. He didn’t recognize any of
the buildings and the street signs were too far away to make out. Most
of the streetlights were dark, lending to the eerie landscape.
“I think I know where we are. Looks like the east side of town.”
Ava shrugged. “I did a drug bust here once.”
“Well, we can’t go wandering around with our guns.” Eli grabbed
his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed Sherry’s number. “Hey, I
need a huge favor.”
* * *
“I can’t believe you won’t tell me what you two were doing nearly
twenty miles from where you left your car,” Sherry said.
Eli shoved the two shotguns in the trunk and closed it. “You wouldn’t
believe me even if I told you.”
258 SHAY WEST
“You don’t think I’ve seen some pretty weird shit in my line of
work?”
He shook his head. “Not like this.”
“Fine, have it your way. But next time you need rescuing, I
might not be so inclined to drop everything and come running in the
middle of the night.”
“We really owe you one, Sherry,” Ava said.
“Yeah, yeah.” The coroner got into her car and drove away.
Eli unlocked the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. He put
the key in the ignition, but hesitated before turning the key. He sat
back against the seat, breath leaving in a gasp.
“Hey, you okay?”
He looked at Ava and shook his head. “Tani’s brother is going to
die.”
Ava’s eyes were filled with sympathy. “It wasn’t your fault.”
“I know, but the kid still hates me.”
“He’ll get over it.”
“I wish we could check up on them or something, you know? I
hate not knowing if they’ll really open a restaurant and get married
and have kids.” He threw up his hands helplessly.
“At least we solved the case. Well, sort of. That’s something anyway.”
Yeah, something.
He started the car and pulled out of the abandoned lot, heading
for home.
* * *
Eli blinked, willing the sun to take a hike and come back in a few
hours. When it continued to cheerfully blaze through his window, he
threw the blankets off and headed for the shower. The hot water did
little to help him shake off the exhaustion. Nor did it help to wash
away the memories of the past night.
As he drove to the office, he wondered what he was going to tell
the captain. Eli didn’t want to leave Platt in the dark, but without proof,
the captain would never believe the truth. But if he didn’t tell the man
what really happened, he would be plagued with the case going cold
ORGAN REAPERS 259
* * *
Tani held Meevo’s hand, tears running down his cheeks no matter
how hard he tried to stop them. His brother looked so tiny in his bed,
like the quilt covering his failing body was eating him alive.
His father came in and rested a hand on his shoulder, giving a
small squeeze of comfort.
“It’s all my fault, Papa. If I hadn’t refused to do my duty, Meevo
would be alive.”
“My son, you know how your little brother loved all living things.
Do you think he could live with knowing that his life was only possible
because someone else lost theirs?”
Tani gazed into his father’s sorrowful eyes and shook his head. It
hurt to admit the truth. He wanted to hate Keena for shooting Master
Kelhar and he wanted to hate Eli and Ava for destroying the machines.
But as he looked at his brother, kind and gentle Meevo, the hate drained
260 SHAY WEST
slowly away, like the water after a heavy rain, leaving behind an
emptiness that would take time to heal.
The household stayed in mourning long after Meevo’s passing,
each one feeling his absence and the loneliness that comes with it.
Tani helped around the house, mainly just to keep from thinking
about his brother.
But as the days passed, he missed Keena. She had returned home,
her father and mother willing to take her back after word spread about
Master Kelhar’s connection to something dark and dangerous. Most
didn’t want to believe their beloved priest would actually be connected
to the dark gods.
That also made it easier to say good-bye to his brother. The dark
arts were forbidden, but most especially to priests. The monastery
had changed since the explosion and the talk from the Enforcer and
two Harvesters who had witnessed Kelhar’s downfall. The surgery room
had been cleared of all the equipment and the Harvesters sent home.
One day Tani awoke to the sun shining on his face. For the first time
in a long time he smiled, eager for what the day would bring. As he
worked in the fields, his thoughts turned to Keena and the treasure he
carried in his knapsack. He hadn’t even told his family about the
priceless gift from Eli and Ava. The more he thought about it, the more
excited he became at the thought of opening a restaurant.
When he came in from work that day, he brought his family together.
“I have something to tell you,” he said as he pulled the spices
from his pack.
E PILOGUE
NOVELS
Portals of Destiny Series
The Chosen (Book One)
Shattered Destiny (Book Two)
Resigned Fate (Book Three)
The Mad Lord Lucian (Novella)
ANTHOLOGIES
Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior
Horror in Bloom
Battlespace
Ancient New
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