Ian and Molly walked down the street together, and both of them were greatly enjoying it. Although they were complete polar opposites, to the eye of anyone on the street they appeared to be a perfect match. They even looked quite opposite: Ian tall and dark, Molly petite and fair. Her soft-spoken voice would chime in a shy, girlish giggle as his resounding bass would relate some exciting or funny story from his college days. There was so much different about them externally, but within they were exactly alike: true kindred spirits. There was only one difference between them on the inside…2
She was a funker, and he was a crusader against funk.3
For three years, ever since the death of her mother, Molly had been a practicing Wiccan. Ian had been appalled when he first found out, but a calm denial had moved him to pass it over. A funker could be quite useful as a part of ESPER, as long as they weren’t working against them. Plus, he normally could feel if someone had funk about them, and Molly seemed as clean and pure as roses. As soon as his self-imposed exile was over, he would take her back with him to the little town of Colony Hills where ESPER made its base and see just how well this would work out. In all Ian’s other relationships, becoming aware of the force Ian and his friends called Funk had spelled disaster. In this case, that problem was already solved.4
“Hey, Ian.”5
Ian flushed. His grip on Molly’s hand tightened just for a moment before he let it entirely go.6
“Phil,” he growled upon seeing his old friend at the entrance to the Newport Historical Cemetery. Without missing a step, he walked by him and muttered, “Follow me.”7
Phil, not used to being ordered around (especially since Ian had left) was obliged to obey, if for no other reason than that he had important business. They walked on together in silence for several blocks.8
“Well,” Phil finally said, “aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?”9
“Who, her?” he answered, nodding his head to Molly. “I have no idea who this is.”10
She huffed at him for a moment until he recanted. He did so by flashing a deadly glance at Phil before he grunted, “Phil, Molly. Molly, Phil.”11
“Nice to meet you, Phil,” said Molly, extending her white, slender arm. Phil refused her hand, and she eventually drew it back with a glance at both her odd beau and the strange company he held.12
“We have a job, Ian,” Phil said instead. Ian kept looking ahead as he answered.13
“Is a six-month vacation too much to ask?”14
“Yes. We need you.”15
“You’re my equal, if not my superior, in every way. Why can’t you do whatever it is?”16
“It’s a geographical thing. The call came from Newport.”17
“Good. Now that you're here, see if you can’t deal with it without butting in on my time off.”18
“There’s one more reason why we need you,” Phil pleaded rather unpleadingly. Ian looked at him now, squarely, waiting for his response.19
“That being?” he said.20
“The manner of funk involved. It’s pure black.”21
Ian thought about this for a moment. After a moment and seemingly against his will, he let out a low growl.22
“None of us back home are equipped to deal with it. We need you, Ian. A man’s life is at stake.”23
Phil had never seen anything quite like Bellevue Avenue before. They walked on in silence down the long street lined with gates and crowned with trees. Behind each gate, at the end of long arched driveways that spewed out between them, were multitudes of the finest houses Phil had ever seen. These were the Newport Mansions, straight out of the Gilded Age, each brilliant white or with fine masonry done by expert hands, all resplendent in their unmatched architecture. Phil was doubly surprised when Ian walked through one of the gates and led them up to one of the largest houses on the street.24
“Welcome to Bridgeview,” said Ian as they entered the two huge main double doors. “I have a little deal running with the Newport Preservation Society. As long as I play caretaker, I live here for free.”25
“There’s got to be more to it than that!” Phil scoffed. “You’ve got the whole place to yourself as long as you play handyman? You’ve never even touched a hammer in your life. What’s the real deal?”26
Ian smiled. “What do you think?”27
“This place is funked.”28
Ian laughed, and said, “You hit the nail on the head… Oh, not that I would know how that is.”29
“So what’s the story?”30
“A hundred years or so ago, the butler went spastic and laid into the whole family. This place has been deemed unlivable due to the severe funk ever since. The Historical Society heard about me and hired me to document the haunting. That’s what pays my bills.”31
“That’s interesting. But if we take this case, you’ll be set. No more bills, ever.”32
“Is there a resident spook at the IRS?”33
“No. I don’t mean no more money taken. I mean lots of money given.”34
“We’ve got someone who wants to pay?”35
“Remember how I said someone’s life is at stake?”36
“Yeah.”37
“Well, our client has put the entirety of his estate at our disposal to help prove him innocent of murder.”38
Ian didn’t wait a minute to think before he answered. “We’re not detectives,” he said.39
“We’re funk detectives. Maybe you’ll change your mind if I give you the particulars.”40
Phil must have gone on for about an hour about the case in his usual irritating timbre and endless explanation. Ian thought he got the same trinkets of information several times over the course of the narrative, just rearranged to make the whole thing seem overly verbose (and therefore, according to Phil’s mind, professional). The boring parts were drawn out, and the more interesting parts were quick and concise.41
“I’m going to kill you if you don’t cut to the chase,” Ian finally blurted.42
“All in all, it boils down to this: Mr. Frederick Stiles of Newport, an older, independently wealthy bachelor who lives on Newport’s illustrious Ocean Drive, has decided to take to cruising and deep-sea fishing. He buys a 36’ cabin cruiser, the Port o’ Call, and employs it at his leisure for about three months before tragedy falls. “43
“What do I care what he named the damn thing?” Ian cried. “The chase, man, the CHASE!”44
Phil looked disdainfully at him for interrupting his masterfully crafted monologue and continued. 45
“Apparently, an island off the southern coast of Newport was declared a No-Man’s Land years and years ago by the United States govornment. This didn’t stop the old man from docking there at their fully-functioning marina and spending the night at a full-service bed-and-breakfast.”46
Ian’s left eyebrow raised ever so slightly. 47
“It boils down to this: Mr. Stiles is currently being held at the Newport Police department, in lieu of being transported to the Adult Correctional Facility in Cranston. The manner of the slaying was so horrible and brutal that Rhode Island is considering the death penalty. Ms. Virginia Vallaincort’s head had been ripped in half, and the remainder of her body had been punctured repeatedly and finally blown apart with several shotgun blasts.”48
Molly almost swooned. Her eyes were definitely bulging more than she ever remembered them to bulge before.49
“And we’re defending this bastard?” Ian said. Phil once again cast a disdainful look at him.50
“The island should have been completely abandoned, yet there was a whole town there, including Ms. Vallaincourt. Not only that, but according to Mr. Stiles, Virginia Vallaincourt had ceased being Virginia Vallaincourt by the time she was murdered.”51
“Sounds like she was a damn bloody pulp in-freakin’-stead!”52
Phil flashed him yet another dirty look.53
“Alright,” Ian whined, “fine. Get on the phone. Get Rich and Steve up here, pronto. Got it?”54
“Got it.”55
“Good.”56
The sun rose early. Phil had never slept so well as in that old Victorian four-poster, but the pounding on his door at sunrise signified the end of that blessed repose. 57
“Get your lazy butt out of bed, joker. We’ve got stuff to attend to.”58
"There was no funk in here. I slept like a baby."59
"There was no funk because I'm here. Let's go."60
Less than an hour after Ian had disturbed Phil’s slumber, the two of them had already gone to get Molly and the three of them were on their way to the police station.61
“Stay cool,” Ian instructed. “I’ll lead the convo. You guys are just here to look pretty ‘till we get in.”62
The police station was relatively large to be in such a small town, but Ian noted to Phil how, with Summer and the tourists it brought, that place was just as busy as the LAPD. They stormed through its front door like they owned the place, and strode right up to the desk where two officers sat watching them.63
“We need to speak to Mr. Frederick Stiles,” Ian said in as commanding a tone as he could without giving the officers incentive to want to toss him out in the street. They were taken aback by this suddenness, but only for as long as that suddenness had been. They instantly regained their composure and stared him down. One spoke.64
“You need what now?” The other took on an even more stern appearance than his companion and got almost up in Ian’s face.65
“Who are you?”66
“Ian McDermott,” he boldly replied. “I represent Easton, Silverman, Phillips, Easton, and Reynolds. We’re investigating the Stiles homicide on behalf of the estate of Mr. Stiles.”67
“Mr. Stiles,” the second officer said with scorn, “has already been fully investigated. He’s being shipped off to the ACI tomorrow pending his trial.”68
“It’s no longer a matter of guilty or innocent. We’re trying to prove that Mr. Stiles was insane at the time of the murder so power of attorney can take control of his estate.” Ian adjusted his specs like a pro as he finished his flawless spiel. Actually, it was probably far from being logically flawless, but neither officer seemed to take notice. That was the trump card Ian was playing, and it seemed to work so far.69
“Alright,” said one. He turned to the other, who, although seemingly unwilling, stood up and fumbled with his keyring. 70
“They can’t go, though!” the officer said as he turned to face the others. An almost accusatory finger was raised and pointed at Phil and Molly, and he tried to put on as stern a face as possible. He wasn’t really sure what to do, but this was his way of justifying letting Ian pass. Ian had it in for him, though.71
“Officer, that girl is my secretary. She gets paid seven dollars an hour to type things and make phone calls. She I can do without.” Molly looked hard at him here, and it was hard to stay in character for a moment, but she didn’t want to throw off Ian’s superb performance and thus kept her mouth shut. She would have to have a talk with him later, though.72
“This,” Ian continued, “is my business associate of seven years, on the other hand.” Ian turned to Phil as he said this, waving a frantic hand toward his friend. Here was another trump card: both he and Phil looked a full decade older than they were. “He has been with me through thick and thin for all this time, and I refuse to leave him behind. Besides, there needs to be a qualified witness to the affair.” The officer was wary, but eventually let all three of them through.73
“Visitors,” he called as they entered the cell block. Inside one of the cells, the prostrate form of an older man could be seen unraveling itself from a thin woolen blanket and sitting up to face the three newcomers. On seeing them, his eyes widened and he stammered:74
“Are y-y-you…?”75
Ian stepped forward while Phil fell back with the officer to say a few words and keep him occupied while Ian revealed the truth to Mr. Stiles.76
“We’re ESPER, at your service.” Mr. Stiles’ face brightened immediately.77
“We have to discuss privileged information,” Phil was simultaneously telling the officer.78
“Oh, no,” was the reply. “You’re stretching it already.”79
Phil leaned in. “Breach of privileged information is a breach of constitutional right,” he growled, hoping he would later be able to find that in the Constitution to back himself up. “You will leave us alone, or you will find yourself faring rather poorly in trial.” Once again, there was probably nothing legal to solidify the arguments, but that didn’t matter when the policeman decided to give them their space.80
“Ten minutes,” he said, and left instantly. Phil and Ian wasted none of that time getting to work, and Molly observed everything with interest.81
“Phil, black noise, now,” Ian ordered, and Phil pulled a small digital recorder out of his pocket. He hit the play button, and an almost inaudibly high-pitched sound came out of the speakers. 82
“This makes sure they aren’t listening in,” Phil said when he noticed Molly looking at him. Ian turned to the prisoner and got started.83
“We’re here to help you, Mr. Stiles,” Ian said. “I’m Ian McDermott. This is my associate Phillip Allen, and the lady is Ms. Molly Watts.”84
“Pleased to meet you,” Mr. Stiles replied timidly, like a beaten dog. He held a hand out for Ian to shake. Ian noticed from the grip that the man was shaking horribly, and even before he took the hand he could observe a marked tremble. The older fellows’ bloodshot eyes darted around the room, and his skin was flushed and red from the bottom of his bare feet to the top of his balding pate.85
“Now then,” Ian began after the split second it took him to assess his quarry, “let’s get down to business. We currently have the Newport Police’s description of the incident. You were found on Bowen’s Wharf, a partially sunken boat behind you upon which was found the decimated body of Ms. Virginia Vallaincourt. Also found on the boat was the shotgun that had been used. The police found you with more than a dozen weapons on you, including a bloody hatchet. Now, I’m sorry, cap’n, but this is pretty damning evidence, don’t you think?” Molly looked like she was about to cry out in shock, her eyes widening at every detail.86
“Please,” said Mr. Stiles, pleading with Ian, “let me tell you the whole story. You must listen to me, as much as it pains me to recount.” His eyes brimmed with eager tears, and the look on his face of fear was one that could not be argued with. Ian looked to Phil, who nodded that the man should continue. Ian urged him to go on.87
“I first bought the Port O’ Call at the beginning of last month, and until I took her out this past weekend I’ve been fixin’ her up. On Thursday she was finished, so I took her out on Friday for her first trip. I started at the Newport Yacht Club and circled Newport counterclockwise, then turned back and went clockwise back to my rented mooring.”88
Ian was already reeling. I didn’t ask you the damn name, he thought, but didn’t say it.89
“Now, there’s an island off of Brenton Point that shows up as a No-Man’s Land on my sea charts, and it looked completely deserted when I was outbound. As I came back, though, there was a village there. It was dark by then, and the thought of some hidden town only to be seen under cover of night caught my fancy. I docked at the marina and went exploring.90
“I found that this No-Man’s Land was actually Noman Island. The first person I questioned about this said it was a common mistake on many sea-charts, and this accounted for the low population and the even lower number of visitors. 91
“Well, I was quite intrigued by the island, and decided to stay. I stayed at a bed-and-breakfast on the island rather than in my yacht to get the full effect of the visit. The place had a nice dining area that doubled as a common area for the guests. There was only one other guest, a lady my age whom you’ve already named, drowning her sorrows in a marguerita and some prime-time sitcoms.”92
“Ms. Virginia Vallaincourt,” Phil said softly.93
“That’s right,” Mr. Stiles replied. “We spent the better part of the evening together. Then, just as we were getting ready to split up for the night, she told me that she was afraid of something. Afraid of the island. She said she didn’t want me to leave her alone.”94
“Anything in particular, or just the island,” Ian queried.95
“Not in particular, but whatever it was, I figured it must have been really bad for her to be acting the way she was.”96
“Which was?”97
“At first, it was like she was just really anxious to get up and go. Then, it was like she was having fits, almost.”98
“Are we talking, like…” Ian thought a second before continuing. “Emotional or spasmodic?”99
“Spasmodic, I guess you might say.”100
“My God…”101
“So, as it progressed, I figured whatever it was must really be pretty bad. I felt it in me, like something sick and awful was hanging over Noman Island. I invited her to leave with me, and she did.102
“There was no logical explanation for it, but I felt like if I didn’t escape from Noman Island soon, and in secret, I would never be able to leave. She and I snuck out to my boat, and do you know, although no one saw us, it just seemed like if anyone did they would have done something absolutely horrible to us! They were all roaming the streets, like they were looking for us, but they didn’t find us.”103
Ian got a noticeable chill, and Phil snapped his attention to his friend, thinking he’d had a flash. 104
“I’m okay,” Ian explained. “Just a chill… But a bad one. Go on, Mr. Stiles. You must be getting to the crucial part of the story by now.”105
“I am. Mr. McDermott, I had my people contact you when I came to the realization that my death was certain if someone didn’t prove I was innocent, and that no force on earth would try to do so. I am alone in this world: friendless, without family, and without an heir. Only the fact that I am not penniless kept me going all his time. Really, I could care less whether I live or die. But after what I’ve seen, I understand the importance of a group like ESPER, and I’ve made the arrangements already that the whole of my four million dollar estate be left to you.”106
Ian buckled, but caught himself. He flashed a grim look to Phil, who had not told him this amount (although he had obviously known it). He turned then back to Mr. Stiles and took on his air of business once again.107
“Alright, sir. We need to get to the point here. What have you seen exactly that did this to you?”108
The older man braced himself, his inner turmoil obvious. After a moment, he spoke again.109
“On the water, just as we rounded Brenton Point, Virginia became very odd… Distant… Speaking to herself in… in a horrible, empty whisper. I tried to talk to her, but she was unresponsive. When we finally reached the Marina, she was having another fit. I radioed ahead to the harbormaster, and I asked him to call me a rescue. I tried carrying her out of the boat, but she started fighting me. She almost tossed me in the bay, and she started trying to claw my eyes out. I fought her back, but she was stronger… So… So strong… I… I…”110
The man curled his legs under him to sit Indian style on the concrete slab that was his present bedding. Burying his face in his hands, he started a muffled tirade. Ian, Phil, and especially Molly could do nothing but listen in stunned silence as he recounted the horrible happenings of that night.111
“I broke her neck,” he whimpered. “She was… she was almost… Rabid… Feral… Trying to kill me. I picked her up, but she hit me and I dropped her. She fell. Fell and… Oh, oh God, forgive me…” Here, he let out a loud, low sob. “Her neck snapped backwards, and… and her skull shattered.” The man was almost hysterical as he continued. “B-b-but sh-sh-she g-g-g-got… She g-got… She…”112
Ian stepped closer and laid a hand on the man’s shoulder. 113
“She got up again, didn’t she Mr. Stiles?”114
“Got… She… She got up… And there was fire in her eyes. She couldn’t… Couldn’t hold her head straight, her neck was broken so bad… Covered in blood and bone… She was… But she… But she was…”115
“Easy there, Doc,” Ian said softly.116
Mr. Stiles took some deep breaths and tried to regain his composure. He looked at Ian earnestly, at the point of a breakdown but holding it in as long as he could. 117
“She wasn’t… Like she wasn’t real anymore… Definitely not Virginia…”118
FLASH that awful bent face those staring eyes the blood and the blood and the FLASH119
“She was… The noise… That awful noise she was making…”120
FLASH the sound like the breathing of a raging inferno and the shrieking of of what he didn’t know FLASH121
Ian started shaking, but he moved to hold Mr. Stiles’ also-shaking hand. The man continued.122
“She… She tried to bite… To bite my face. Her mouth… Her jaws… Opened… So wide… So impossibly wide… She lunged at me, and I grabbed… Grabbed and… Oh God, oh God, oh my dear God…”123
Ian tightened his grip.124
“She, she fell, and, and I had finished the job that her fall had started. But… But she stood up… Her head was… She stood. I grabbed for my shotgun… I… I shot her… Both barrels… But I had to reload, because she just kept coming…”125
“Godess,” Molly said, and held on to the cell bars.126
“I had stolen some weapons on the island, to help me get away. I had some camping gear, too. It took everything I had… Finally, when there wasn’t enough of her left to move, she stopped coming for me…”127
“Oh, my dear Godess,” Molly said again, crying unabashedly.128
“I killed her, Mr. McDermott. I killed her and mutilated her…”129
“Probably not,” said Ian. “I’ll do my best to prove that. No court in the world will probably accept it, but at least you’ll have peace in knowing that you didn’t really kill her.”130
“There’s no longer any peace for me, Mr. McDermott,” he said, then rolled over and said no more.131
PART TWO132
Molly glared at Ian with a spark of interest. Here was yet another of his many and varied talents.133
“You can sail, too?” she asked.134
“It’s in my blood,” he answered, not once taking his eyes off the clear blue sea ahead or his hand from the helm. The port of Providence loomed into view.135
“Yeah,” said Phil into his cell phone, “we’re in sight now... What’s your ETA?... Okay, we should be there by then... Take it easy.” He abruptly snapped the phone shut and stored it in his coat pocket.136
“They took the bus from Logan. They should be getting there about the same time as us.”137
“They should have come into T.F. Green,” said Ian.138
“That would have been thirty bucks more expensive,” said Phil. Ian eyed him warily.139
“We have four million at our disposal. Did you fly them coach, or did you have them shipped in the cargo hold?”140
“Relax. I just want to use the money wisely.”141
“Who made you the accountant?”142
“Me, Mr. I-Owe-Every-Bank-In-America-And-At-Least-One-In-Every-Other-Country-Five-Thous
“My credit isn’t that bad.”144
“You can’t even get an ATM card.”145
“Granted. It’s the college’s fault.”146
“Granted. You didn’t have to…”147
“Hey!” Molly interrupted. “Relax, guys. Look, we’re coming up on the Port.”148
Ian radioed in and went through what he would have called “all the Rigamarole.” Eventually, he was cleared for landing, and he pulled The Maelstrom in to port. The argument was forgotten. In its place came another one about how lousy the boat was, but that didn’t last long before the bus pulled up to the port office.149
“There they are,” Ian said, pointing. “Rich and Steve will appreciate the Maelstrom a whole lot more than you, I’m sure.”150
“Rich and Tim,” Phil corrected. Ian turned red and had to refrain from snapping Phil’s neck like a twig.151
“Steve! I said STEVE! You moron! You know Tim isn’t ready yet!”152
Phil set his jaw. “You’re the moron, and if you keep it up, Tim’ll never BE ready.”153
“This is no good,” Ian fretted.154
“It’s been three years since the incident at the Montega house. I think he’s fully rehabilitated by now.”155
“Let’s just hope so. It’s too late to send him back or trade him off, and we need the manpower, so we can’t just leave him out entirely. I still wish you had gotten STEVE, though.”156
“We’re losing Steve,” said Phil, and Ian got livid again. Phil continued despite his friend’s fuming. “He’s too easygoing for this. He’s seen some stuff that I’m sure conflicts with his nature. He’s breaking down… Falling off...”157
“It’s because he’s easygoing that he’s strong,” Ian argued, then: “Forget it. Here they come.”158
Bearing one duffel bag each, Rich and Tim disembarked and came toward the docks. On seeing their friends, they waved and ran over. 159
The Maelstrom sailed off as soon as they had said their hellos, leaving the safe wooden pier for the unknown that lie ahead. The two black-coated young men had joined the also black-garbed occupants of the unknown boat that had come in to harbor and then sailed off. Anyone who saw it figured these five strangers were up to no good.160
It wasn’t a very large boat. The Maelstrom was only a twenty-three footer, but five could easily ride in her and she slept four comfortably. Ian forced the three men to crowd into one bunk while the other was given solely to the only female crewmember. Ian spent the night on deck, under the stars, alone. He could see every one clearly.161
The next morning, those below were awakened to the sound of waves being cut by the ship’s broad wooden hull. The day was relatively uneventful, and spent in sailing back and forth around the southern point of Aquidneck Island, of which Newport was the bottom third. The island in question came into sight several times, and each time it was obviously not populated. Ian took this time to explain the story to the others, while Phil threw in the occasional clarifying word or Molly the statement of shock or horror that emphasized the grim tale. Finally, it began to grow dark again.162
“Get ready, lady and gentlemen. We’re going in.”163
Just as Ian said this, he pointed on to the distant horizon, where night was already black. There, in the darkness beyond, was the island. Very plainly a No-Man’s Land during the day, nighttime had brought a new luster to the island. Whereas, during the day, nothing could be seen at all on that small landmass, the growing dark revealed the reflection of lights in the growing mist.164
“During the day we just didn’t get close enough to see anything,” said Molly as she collapsed the compact looking glass she had been peering through. She turned to the others.165
“When it was light out, we never actually went up to the island to see if it was deserted or not. We should have.”166
“If we had,” said Rich, “it not only would have been deserted then, but deserted when we came back tonight.”167
“If there’s anything we’ve learned from being ESPER’s, it’s that the Darkness never shows its face until you’re not ready. If we had gone earlier in the day, we would have been ready, and nothing would have happened.”168
Ian looked at Tim, who had been responsible for that last explanation, and nodded. Then he looked Molly in the eyes.169
“This is not going to be fun. I didn’t even ask you if you wanted out.”170
“I don’t,” she said. “I’d go anywhere with you.”171
Ian smiled. This was going to be a rough trip.172
The lights in the mist were revealed as lights from windows as the Maelstrom approached. The closer they got to the island, the more lights the small group of adventurers could see. It seemed to be a small town full of colonial-era houses, like most of Newport. A large open area filled the midsection of the island, crowned by a tall brick church with magnificent stained-glass windows. The opposite side of the island was lined with a tall evergreen forest.173
The side they approached from was the side on which the town’s harbor sat, and they pulled into it just after seven o’clock. The entire night sky had become twilit indigo, and the stars were still very visible, as was the large, bright, waning moon.174
“That would have been full not more than a few days ago, maybe when Mr. Stiles came to the island,” Phil noted. He pulled out a notepad and pen and began to write.175
“Put that away for now, Phil,” Ian warned. “If this place is what we think it is, then all these people already suspect us and will be on our case from the start. We don’t need to draw any more attention to ourselves.” Phil persisted a moment, the slipped the pad back into his pocket.176
“This place is already…”177
FLASH they were coming all of them ripping tearing eating their flesh it was over FLASH178
Tim stopped mid-sentence and doubled over for a second. Rich moved to steady him, and Molly took a step in and asked if he would be okay. Ian, on the other hand, turned a knowing glance to Phil.179
I told you, he mouthed. Phil saw, and scowled, but he knew the truth.180
Tim would never successfully recover from his possession.181
They finished their walk down the docks and made their way to the harbormaster’s office. It was deserted, however, with a sign reading “GONE TILL MORNING. FEEL FREE TO DOCK.”182
“Awful nice of them,” Ian said. “I don’t remember Mr. Stiles saying anything like that. It’s almost as though we were expected.”183
“But not quite enough to be really suspicious,” said Rich, building on the conversation of earlier. “I hate that.”184
“I think we all do,” Tim joked. “If they want us to go nuts, they should just ask.”185
“That’s how they do it, I guess!” Rich laughed.186
“Cut your B.S.. We’re on business. You guys are getting paid for your time.”187
Ian looked sternly at them, and neither of them looked back. Sometimes Ian had a tendency of going over the edge in his leadership. He was still right, though. A cool four million dollars was enough to have Mr. Stiles and Phil and Ian and Ian’s new little girlfriend ask them to parade around standing on their heads. 188
“Right, right,” Rich apologized. “Sorry, man.”189
“No problem. Just remember, a guy’s gonna die if we can’t provide some hard evidence for his case.”190
“Right,” Tim agreed. “Sorry, buddy.”191
“Alright, then. Let’s go.”192
They came into the town center, the grassy commons area in the middle of the island. Old-style houses loomed on all sides and then disappeared off into the darkness behind, and before them stood the great church. A sign read:193
“Noman Episcopal Church194
pastor Rev. Eric VanLunden, D.D.195
Sunday worship 11:00 AM196
Interpretation for the Deaf197
Library and Hall of Records198
Please Visit Us!”199
It was standing next to a fountain in the middle of which was a stoneworked Madonna and child. No one was on the streets, but the lights were on in every house in the square, and many beyond, except the church. There looked to be a tavern attached to a bed-and-breakfast, and it was alive with bustling guests. It wasn’t exactly the way Stiles had described it, unless this was not the place, but it was worth a look.200
“That’s dumb, Ian. Where are you going?” Phil looked at him with one upraised eyebrow.201
“The tavern.”202
“Why?”203
“Info.”204
“We’re here to find info, not be given info. Do you really think they’re gonna freely throw it down? Yeah, we’re a bunch of freakin’ monsters. Stiles? Yeah, we know him. We drove him nuts a few days ago.”205
“Settle.”206
“I’m not going to settle. You want me to put away my notepad, but you’re going to walk right into the hornet’s nest, and lead us all there with you?”207
“Yeah. Watch and learn, joker.” Ian went in the tavern.208
Vendelek’s Tavern was a very small public house, but it was large enough probably to fit every adult male in town. By the look of it, they were all here tonight. The barmaid was a busty wench, in the traditional style, whose name was very obviously Annie from the way people kept shouting it at her. Vendelek himself was a burly, shaved-headed man with a thick, red goatee who stood in one corner continuously wiping the bar counter down. This much became apparent in the first ten minutes, but not much more came to light that was of any importance. 209
“Except, of course, that we’re definitely not wanted here,” said Phil after Ian related these thoughts to him. 210
“Don’t be silly. We’re the life of this party.” He took off his duster and handed it to Tim. Tim could feel the heavy weight the coat held hidden.211
“Ian!” Phil hissed as Ian walked into the crowd.212
“What are you doing!” Rich cried.213
Ian sauntered right up to the counter in the seedier corner of the tavern, making sure to draw attention to himself (and hopefully, he thought to himself, away from his companions). He plopped down on the one available stool in the middle of a group of hardened sailors and slapped a five-dollar bill onto the counter. 214
“A ginger ale, please,” he said loudly. A little too loudly, thought his friends. Ian was putting on a show.215
“Ve hain’t got none,” said the man Ian had identified as Vendelek, stopping his counter cleaning and bending low into Ian’s face. “Ve only has ze hard drinks.” His voice had a harsh, choppy Baltic tinge to it, and he looked the part. Ian could smell the Vodka on his breath from the narrow gap the bartender had put between them.216
“That’s too bad. I’d rather be sober and able to think intelligently. I’ll just take my five dollars somewhere else.”217
As he stepped away and grabbed for the bill, the man who had been sitting next to him clamped a hand down over it. This is exactly what Ian was looking for: a fight.218
“What’re you sayin’ ‘bout folk who do drink, mate?” the man grumbled hoarsely, his eye warily drifting around Ian and the three heads the man probably saw him as having in his current drunken state.219
“I’m just saying,” said Ian, “that a stranger in town can’t go letting his guard down by getting drunk. Who knows what kind of shady folks live around here.”220
“These is all good folks, see!” the man growled at Ian, pulling harder on the bill. “An’ we can prove it. Can’t we, boys?”221
A group of large sailors gathered around Ian, grumbling and growling almost exactly like the man who was wrestling Ian for his fiver.222
“We can, that,” said one. “Jes’ give us a chance, see?”223
“This is just my point exactly. See, I’m not drunk, and therefore, I wouldn’t do anything so foolish as to pick a fight with men such as yourselves. Plus, if I was drunk, I would probably lose.”224
“Oh, aye, aye, I sees,” the man said, letting the bill go so abruptly that Ian’s arm snapped back. “So’s ‘e thinks ‘e’s better than us, aye?” The situation was escalating rather nicely, thought Ian.He was the only one who thought so.225
“I just would rather be in control of myself, able to think clearly and intelligently. You know, stuff drunks can’t do.” He smiled. “Oh, now, I don’t mean any of you good folks…”226
“Well it certainly seems like you meant us!” the man cried, and swung at Ian.227
The five walked out of the bar, slowly and silently. Ian straightened his shirt and put his duster back on.228
“Well,” he said, “if they were anything besides regular people, they didn’t show it.”229
“You could have gotten us killed!” Phil cried. “Not to mention we aren’t undercover anymore!”230
“It was all for a purpose. I was gauging them. I just knocked out four sailors and a bartender twice my size with little to no difficulty. There’s nothing funked about them.”231
“Somethin’ gives,” Tim said. “Now, why would it be like that? I mean, we know this place is funked. How is it that normal people live here at night, and during the day it just all goes poof?”232
“Who knows?” Rich moaned. “This whole thing stinks. We’re in deep crap now, Ian.”233
“Don’t question me. I know what I’m doing. You watch. I’m a master of sentient personality, and if I know people, and I know funk, I know what’s going to happen next.”234
“What’s that?” Phil cried. “What, are we all going to be murdered by some vengeful drunken sailor?”235
“You know, that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard all day. We’ll be fine.”236
“You better hope so, Ian!”237
Ian and Phil had a moment of silence and staring, but then they seemed to just move on. The crew followed the two as they started walking down the street toward the old church.238
“Hey, mister!” cried a little boy. “Don’t go near there!”239
The sudden appearance of the little boy had been enough to get everyone’s blood pumping, and Molly even let out a little scream that only lasted for a split second. Everyone turned to look by the corner of the church where the boy was, but he scampered off before they could get a worthwhile glimpse. In a second, it started to rain heavily.240
“Crap!” cried Tim. “We need to get out of this!”241
“I don’t want to go in there if it’s gonna be like this out here!” Molly cried, pointing to the church. Ian agreed.242
“Have you all got your radios?” he said loudly over the now roaring rain. When everyone nodded or mumbled assent, he continued. “Good. I’ll stay here and check this place out with Tim. Phil, go back to the boat and man her. We might need to get out of here quickly. You others, find shelter and I’ll call you with what we’re gonna do when I figure out exactly what that is.”243
“What? That’s a dumb plan! We can’t break up!” Rich waved his hands around as he spoke, frantic after hearing Ian’s strange idea. “Are you trying to get us all killed, or what?”244
“I can’t even sail!” Phil shrieked.245
“Just pull the ship free of its moorings so we can escape quickly when we need to. And Rich: you need to stop this crap. I’m on top of things.”246
“I hope so,” Rich responded with doubt.247
They split up as Ian had intended them to. He was taking Tim because he knew that would be best. Tim harbored a secret that even he himself did not know: at the Montega mansion three years ago he had brutally murdered a man under the direct control of funk. Ian knew this never would really leave him, and had been careful ever since of what he did with him. Now, he was watching him directly because he didn’t trust him alone with the others on this funk-dominated island.248
“Not even a flash yet, boss,” Tim said softly as they entered the church. Ian kept looking deeper into the darkness to adjust his eyes as he listened, and as he answered.249
“You’re right. I think this whole thing is a big damn trick, and any moment now the whole island is going to disappear and we’re all going to drown in the Atlantic.”250
“Oh, well.” It was times like this, when Tim responded “Oh, well” to the prospect of dying a horrible death, that Ian wondered whether or not he was all right.251
“Let’s just pay attention to the details. We’ll see something. I’m sure of it.”252
They went deeper into the building, and the darkness began to take shape as the inside of a sanctuary as their eyes adjusted. In silence, they stepped softly through the cold, dark, stone rooms of the church.253
“Here,” said Ian, pointing to a wooden door on which was a wooden sign. “Noman Hall of Records. If this is all put here by funk, it’s rather lavish, don’t you think?”254
“Lavish indeed,” responded Tim, to which Ian’s first thought was I don’t think he knows the word ‘lavish.’ Ian took a deep breath and stepped into the chamber, Tim following closely behind.255
They came into the record area, where tall bookshelves held folders in every sort of disarray imaginable. It looked as though it had not been kept up for years. File cabinets lie open, papers were strewn about, and in every corner was a copious amount of trash. Ian boldly walked toward the “V” section and pulled open a cabinet.256
“V-blah blah, v-blah-blah…Vallaccia, Vellacho… Voila! Vallaincourt.” He pulled out the folder and began to rifle through its contents.257
“Marcus, Anthony, Sarah… Bang… Here’s Virginia Vallaincourt.”258
He slipped the three paperclipped pages out of the folder and dropped the rest on the ground.259
“Blah blah, blah blah… Bang, here we go. Died in 1936.”260
“1936? What the?”261
Ian looked up at Tim, who was reacting with a combination of interest and mild fear at this revelation. Ian read again.262
“Virginia Vallaincourt, born 1877, died 1936 at the age of fifty-nine.”263
“What did she die of?” Tim asked. Ian looked down for a moment and then back up.264
“Uranium poisoning,” he related with a bewildered look on his face.265
“I told you not to come here,” said a familiar voice from the shadows.266
“Oh, man, oh man, oh man! I wish Ian wouldn’t do this to us!” Rich was scared more than aggravated as he looked uneasily around him. He and Molly were standing under the extended eaves of a storefront, trying to keep out of the rain. Another barfight had seemingly occurred, involving the same sailors as from before, and all together they stormed out of the tavern. This was just across the street from where Rich and Molly had parked themselves, and the resulting tinge of worry was extensive.267
“They’re going to eat us alive,” said Rich. Just as soon as he finished saying it, he and Molly both doubled over as…268
FLASH269
“Hey, there, sailor! What’re ya doin’ out in this here storm!” Phil looked off the Maelstrom and into the harbormaster’s shack, which was now mysteriously occupied. The four large sailors that were there, although not the same as the ones in the tavern but every bit as frightening and drunk, looked back at him almost hungrily. Rather than responding, he ducked under cover.270
“This is going to be a long night,” he mumbled under his breath. Suddenly, a bad feeling overtook him.271
FLASH272
Ian moved faster than Tim could see, whirling around the room and over a table that stood between he and the boy. As he tumbled over it he dragged it down with him to provide himself cover. Tim decided to forget trying to watch and hurried out himself, although staying away from the boy was more difficult for him since he chose not to scale the furnishings. The boy, although not in any way threatening, had just been the subject of a really horrible flash involving death, cannibalism, and lots of blood. All in all, the boy was rather unpleasant to them at the time being regardless of the fact that he was not currently engaged in eating them.273
Ian left his spot and bolted past Tim, turned around and grabbed him, and pushed him on ahead.274
“Go find the others! I need to get back in that record room!”275
“Why! Come on!” Tim urged him, frantic.276
“Go, dammit!” Ian gave one last push before turning to meet the boy, who was slowly following them out of the chamber.277
“Fzzzzzzttt… Comeffzzt Ian! Come infzzzzttt! What’s going ffffzzzt??”278
Ian couldn’t respond to the radio immediately since he was currently engaged. Trying to get around the town records with that awful little boy slowly in pursuit was not the nicest or most relaxing of tasks.279
He pulled out as many of the records as he could, and in almost every instance, the deaths recorded were between the dates of 1938 and 1941. There were only two or three exceptions out of hundreds that he looked at. Also, “uranium poisoning” was the major cause of death in most of the cases he had time to look at. 280
Finally, the boy had him cornered.281
“What’cha doin’ here, mister?” he asked.282
“Nothin’ much, there, freak. Now get the hell away from me.”283
“Don’t say that, mister. Hell’s a bad word.”284
“That’s where you’re from, though, isn’t it?”285
“Maybe.” The boy started humming Ring Around the Rosies. 286
“Ian! Ian, come in, for God’s sake! Are you all right!”287
Rich was calling Ian with as much urgency as could be possible in a human being. Tim had found he and Molly and had told them of Ian’s last known state. Now, everyone was worried.288
A scream from the docks broke their concentration. It was a hoarse scream, like it had come from a voice that was not used to screaming. It was a little high-pitched, but it was definitely a man, and it was very annoying. Obviously, it was Phil, and at this realization the three members of the group that were together trembled before realizing that they weren’t alone anymore.289
“My name is Johnny Levitz. I’m seven.” The little boy held up nine fingers.290
“I know you can count. Stop BS-ing me.”291
“I know you can count… I know you can count…”292
“Stop that.”293
“Stop that… Stop that.”294
“You are one ignorant little bastard. I know you aren’t a seven-year-old kid.”295
“Ignorant little bastard… Ignorant little bastard.”296
Just then, the ignorant little bastard jumped at Ian.297
The three made it to the docks where the group of sailors were on board the Maelstrom.298
“Look, now, where the ‘ell is ‘e?”299
“’E’s got’s ta be aroun’ here somewheres.”300
“We’ll find the li’l blighter.”301
They tried to work their way around the harbormaster’s shack and out of sight of the men who were looking for them and the men who were looking for Phil. Without warning, a dark figure jumped at them from the shadows behind the shack.302
“Get back here!” came Phil’s sharp twang. The others followed the command and ducked behind the shack with him.303
Fzzzzzt Guys! Come in!304
“Hey!” Rich cried softly into his handset. “Where are you?”305
Burying a body. Let me just finish up here and grab some paperwork and I’ll be right back with you.306
“Gotcha. Over and out.”307
Wait… Oh… Oh my God! No!!! Fzzzzzzzzzttttttttttttttt308
“Ian!” Rich screamed, regardless of who was after him. The men on the boat turned their attention toward the shack and started lumbering over.309
“Great, now you did it!” Phil scolded, but Rich looked back at him in disbelief.310
“Ian’s as good as dead, and you want me to keep quiet about it?!”311
“Oh, Ian!” Molly cried, also unintentionally loud. “What happened to him!” 312
“It’s a radio, not a television! I have no clue what happened to him!” Rich was angry, but it was out of fear for their mutual friend.313
“They’re coming!” cried Tim, looking over his shoulders at the sailors who had now progressed to shambling from lumbering. The group of investigators jumped back, starting with Molly and Phil, and turned to run. Rich lasted a bit longer before he fled, but Tim stood watching his attackers until Rich came back for him and grabbed him, pulling him away.314
"Are you okay?" He yelled over some roaring sound that was completely untraceable.315
"They... What are they!" cried Tim in response. Rich, unable to answer, kept running.316
As soon as the docks were behind them and they came to the town square and were surprised to see all of the men Ian had fought in the bar... Lying twisted and dead on the ground. Their faces were changed to such an unholy parody of humanity that they could only barely make out the sailors they had been avoiding. Death lay heavy on their features, as though they had been dead for a very long time already, but their bodies were broken and carved up, some not even lying there in their entirety. 317
"Ian's been here," Phil mumbled before turning around with a start. 318
"Here they come!" cried Rich as he noticed the group of sailors moving unnaturally toward them. 319
"What's that!" cried Tim, looking above. A dark shape was moving up the outer wall of the church belfry.320
"Look out!" Molly shrieked. "It's jumping!"321
The sailors were on them now, and Molly was right that the shadowy figure above had turned around and was preparing to hurl itself from above. There was nowhere else for them to go. Feeling it finally necessary, Phil pulled out a small deringer that until now nobody knew he had. The quick crack of its report and the brief flash it caused made more than one of the other ESPER's leap. The shot thudded into the foremost sailor, who shuddered a moment but kept coming.322
The shadow above leapt with a fierce, deep yell, and the full weight of it a second later crashed into the same creature. The creature sapped the entire force of the fall and seemed instantly broken in half, a loud and sickening series of cracking sounds as proof. Dark folds of a thick coat flapped around the new attacker like whisps of black smoke, and a wide-brimmed hat was thrown from its head. A bright glint of moonlight caught for a second on a long steel blade, and the head of the creature rolled away. The glint occured twice more, and two more heads fell from the shoulders of the remaining beasts. These continued walking straight, moving slowly by the others without paying them any heed.323
As you have probably now determined that this figure was Ian, so too should the other ESPER's, but it wasn't until all this was finished that they did. The figure in black stood, sheathing the long silvery katana beneath the heavy duster.324
"Ian, are you okay!" Molly ran to him and embraced him as she said this. Ian looked down at her and smiled.325
"I am. And now, Frederick Stiles will be too." He pulled the papers he had taken from the church and displayed them to the group. "Now let's get the hell out of here."326
PART THREE327
The Maelstrom sailed back from the darkness, and slowly the rising sun dispelled that darkness to a bright red glow. Before their very eyes, the island of Noman faded into a bleak brown protuberance jutting out of the sea. The nightmare was over.328
"Truly over, now," said Ian as he recounted what he had learned in the hall of records. "Pre-World War II, the United States government was experimenting with nuclear weapons in the middle of the sea. They were too far away to do damage to Newport, but the little island of Noman went completely unnoticed. It was right on the edge of the fallout radius and thus everyone on the island suffered slow, painful deaths from Uranium poisoning. Obviously, this created enough emotional energy to hold on to the events and replay them on the island, growing stronger and stronger as time passed until finally able to manifest physically, as we've seen here tonight."329
"Well, at least that'll never happen again, then, right?" Molly asked.330
"Hopefully not," Ian said, and Phil chimed in:331
"Karmic remnants like that aren't really intelligent creatures, they are simply programs created from the leftover energy of such horrible events. Everything we heard anyone say tonight must have been something they had said to someone in real life being replayed because similar circumstances had arisen."332
Ian remembered the little boy responding that he might have come from Hell, and didn't entirely follow that line of thinking. As a matter of fact, he didn’t believe a word of what he was saying. Karmaic remnants were something regular ghost hunters and paranormal investigators believed in. ESPER was different. ESPER didn’t have to theorize about Funk… They knew about it. Everything he had just said was a lie. He thought he knew the truth, but if what he thought was correct really was, he didn’t want the others to know it.333
"And we have the paperwork to release Mr. Frederick Stiles," he said after a moment's reflection. "The police can't try him for murdering a dead body."334
"The body's gone, though," said Rich. "I mean, it would have to be. Plus, they don't have any way to tell that this is the same Virginia Vallaincourt that was murdered, or even that that was her real name anyway."335
Ian pulled out the photograph that had been paperclipped between pages in the report. Rich said a light "Oh," and fell silent.336
"I got this, too," he said, pulling another folder out, "for my own peace of mind." The name at the top of the tab read "Jonathan Levitz."337
"Who's that?" asked Molly.338
"Oh, just a friend." He smiled and brushed the dust off his hands.339
"What do you mean, he's gone?" Ian growled at the same cop from before.340
"He's been moved to the ACI?" Phil asked.341
"He's been moved out of this world," the lieutenant who had given them a hard time before said. "The state initiated the death penalty for him."342
"What!" Ian now screamed at the policemen. "How can that be? He hadn't even had his trial yet!"343
"An emergency trial took place last night, and he was shipped to Providence for execution this morning."344
Another policeman stepped in. "We don't have any more information."345
"You'll have information, or..."346
"Sir, please," the first cop chimed, "we don't want to have to arrest you. We know nothing else."347
Ian and Phil stormed out of the police station, and the others were waiting for them beyond the chain-link fence that surrounded the lot. 348
"What happened?" Molly asked as the group moved to join them.349
"Nothing." Ian scowled. "Absolutely nothing."350
"What about Mr. Stiles?" Tim asked.351
"Drop it, Tim," Phil said, stopping to turn violently on him.352
"Nothing?" Rich exclaimed.353
"Nothing," Ian repeated.354
"What about the money?" Tim said. Ian and Phil both looked more than a little agitated by this, and although she didn't know the whole story so did Molly.355
"A man's life or four million dollars. Which is worth more?" Ian snapped. Tim put his hands up defensively and backed back into the group.356
After a while of walking quietly down the street, Phil looked at Ian.357
"Permission to speak freely?"358
"Out of anyone here, you are the last person who needs my permission to speak."359
"I just don't want to get attacked."360
"I left my sword in my other jacket."361
"Here's the way I see it."362
"I know exactly how you see it, and I don't think we should discuss it in front of the others." From this, Ian got quite a few looks of disdain. He looked past Phil and raised his eyebrows. "Yes, I mean you," he growled to the entire group. Then, turning back to Phil, he said, "Are you staying?"363
"For a day or two."364
"I need you longer than that."365
"A week's all I can pull. I do need to get back to work."366
"A week is fine. We've got alot to deal with."367
Of course, there was no way Ian was going to discuss his thoughts in front of the others. They couldn't get involved in what he knew was a whole lot worse than any of them might have expected. Sure, they had seen some stuff tonight that even Ian had never expected, but behind it all, he knew there was more. There was a whole lot more. And that "more" was "more" of the darkest kind possible. All the signs pointed directly to it, but Ian could only think and rethink it over and over again. The speed of the trial, the fact that it was called in secrecy in the middle of the night, the fact that the police were trying to cover it up, and the fact that everything that had happened had come down to this...368
Someone was trying to frame Frederick Stiles, and they used that island to do it.369
...and they had succeeded. 370
"Yeah," Ian breathed as the group walked on in silence back to Bridgeview. "This is a job for ESPER."371
Adding your comment: