The Broken Heart Curse

By Elizabeth Samedi

In the year 2065, a young man, with extraordinary spell making gifts from the other Gods saves mankind from Satan’s rule.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483528144

Book preview

9781483528144

Chapter 1

With his hands on his hips and a perplexed expression on his face, Detective James Jackson stands in the living room of Wendy and Henry Stiles trying to figure out what to make of the unusual drawing. After brutally killing two people, instead of fleeing the house, the murderer or murderers took time to draw hearts on the white carpet. And these hearts don’t mean love.

No, these hearts have a zigzag line though the middle signifying a broken heart. It is one of the strangest things he has ever seen in the forty plus years he has worked in law enforcement. Shaking his head at the sickness of the bloody scene, he looks up from the floor to his new team of young officers: Kelsey Green, Tammy Gears, Daniel Bullock, Jack Tanner, and Rich Hutton. They were huddle in a group near the stairs whispering in hushed voices. And from the looks on their faces, he could see they are afraid.

Who wouldn’t be frightened by what was going on upstairs in the master bedroom? In all his years of being at murder scenes this one was by far the worst. "Okay, guys, it’s time to get to work. I’m going outside to see if the lab is finish with the preliminary tests on the blood. While I’m gone, Kelsey and Tammy I want you to video the kitchen and basement. After you are finishing filming the inside then I want you to go outside and get some footage of the property.

Rich and Daniel go dust the kitchen and then do the basement. Make sure you do all the windows and doors. Jack, when the finger printing is done take pictures of everything those guys filmed and printed. I want lots of shots of those bloody hearts on the carpet. And when I get back, all of us will go upstairs to process the master bedroom."

Once out in the cold November night air Jackson takes matches and a cigarette out of his shirt pocket and lit it. Takes a deep drag and blows out the smoke. His wife, Trina is going to kill him when she finds out he’s smoking again. At crime scenes and nights like this, he needs something to calm his nerves. One or two cigarette won’t kill him. Officer Sloan opens the gate for him. As he, pass by the young officer he says, Dr. Whittles and his team should be here soon. You can let them in but tell Whittles to wait for me before doing any work.

Okay, Detective, Sloan answers while closing the gate. Across the street in front of the house, one of those new labs floats above the curve. It looks like big bubbles floating in the air. He is not impressed with the design and likes the old, square ones better. At the bubble window, he throws the cigarette butt on the ground before knocking on it.

The head lab technician, Noel Spencer turns towards the window. There was a time when he would have just walked into the lab but last year the state passed a law forbidding non-lab staff from entering the bubble, he meant lab or whatever they call this thing.

Their decision annoyed him for several reasons. The most important is he has to wait longer for results. And now he has to stand outside in the cold. He hates being out in the cold. He pulls the collar of his coat up and waits while Noel ignores him and continues his conversation with an attractive young lady, name Monica Steadman. Monica shakes her head and points to something on a piece of paper. After several minutes, Jackson puts another cigarette in his mouth, lit it, and then knocks again. Finally, the two look up at him and then Noel, who is smiling, holds up his hand asking him again to wait.

That bastard is enjoying his new position of power, he thinks ramming his fists into his coat pockets. He wants the lab results now so he could call Judge Cameron Watson, who is the only Judge, Cameron’s also his friend, he knows who will issue a warrant for him at this time of night. His gut instinct tells him that none of the blood is Wendy’s but he desperately wants the lab to tell him that he is wrong.

Blowing smoke out of his nose and mouth, he taps on the window again. Noel ends the conversation with Monica, comes over, slides the window back, and says. Sorry, Detective, there are many, many cases that need my attention tonight. He wants to strangle the man. Instead clenches his teeth, biting into the cigarette butt and calmly wait as Noel continue. The results are in. None of the blood in the living room and master bedroom belongs to Mrs. Stiles.

Damn, he mutters under his breath. The results are what he expected but he’s still disappointed. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth and blowing smoke into Noel’s face he asks. Whose blood is it? Noel coughs and fans the air in front of his face. Mind you this is just the first round of testing. And we still have to do many more tests to know for sure but for now it looks as if the blood belongs to Henry and Jennifer. Noel takes a quick look behind him and whispers, From what I heard, these deaths aren’t natural, and if you ask me, I think you’re dealing with the black arts and you better call Justin Maurice Pettyford…

Before Noel can finish his sentence, Jackson blows more smoke into Noel’s face and then steps back from the window. At the curb in front of the Stiles home, he stops and finishes smoking the cigarette. Before throwing the butt down a water drain he glances across the street at the offending medical structure before going back though the gate, leaving the bubble lab and Noel behind in the cold night.

When he got back inside the house, he hears voices coming from the kitchen. Sticking his head into the kitchen door, he sees his new partner of two years, detective Aaron Michaelson. Aaron is talking to medical examiner, Dr. Eugene Whittles. He could hear a little of what they were saying. We have to find a way to get Professor Pettyford to come to our meetings. Justin really likes Jane so maybe she can get him to come.

As Aaron talks, Dr. Whittles occasionally nods his head and plays with the small hairs on his face. The hairs look as if they will one day become a very funny beard. Detective Jackson clears his throat to get the men’s attention and then asks Dr. Whittles if he could have a word with him out in the hallway.

They speak briefly on the murders and after promising the Dr. to be done in a couple of hours, Jackson heads down the hall to get his team. When he reaches the end of the hallway, he stops and Noel’s words come back to him. From what I heard, these deaths aren’t natural, and if you ask me, I think you’re dealing with the black arts and you better call Justin Maurice Pettyford…,

As much as he tries to deny the mess upstairs isn’t normal he still has to deal with the fact that two young people are dead. And going upstairs can no longer be delayed. We’re done down here! It’s time to go upstairs. We need to finish and then get out of the way so Dr. Whittles and his team can do their job, he tells them trying not to notice his voice is a little shaky.

After the team has taken pictures, recorded videos, and finger printed the room, they stand huddled next to the foot of the bed staring up at the blood flowing from the ceiling. It flows to the bed, but doesn’t touch it- and then back to the ceiling. Police are used to messy crime scenes and with the murder of two people you would expect to see blood everywhere. On the walls, floors and bed but the room is clean. And if it weren’t for the pool of blood above the bed, there would be none. Dear God, help us. This is bad!

Hi Dad, Officer Jane Jackson calls from the door. In unison, his team turns in the direction of Jane’s voice. With looks of thank God you’re here on their young and scared faces they waste no time moving away from him and the bed. And after telling him that they are going to get some coffee, they quickly leave. He can hear the sound of their fading footsteps as they run down the hall. Hi Jane, what are you doing here?

Working, why else would I be here!

You’re supposed to be off today. And I don’t have any messages for you to take to Justin Pettyford.

Well, I decided to come in anyway. So don’t have a cow. And how do you know you won’t have a message for me to give Justin later? She says acting as if the two of them spoke about Justin all the time. Her father didn’t know much about the man she loves but someone must have told him or he finally figured out she likes Justin. How’s your mom?

Okay! When I stopped by the house earlier she was cooking dinner.

Was Junior there?

Yes, he was helping mom cook.

He gives her a knowing look because he should send her home but he knows she’s not going to go. Come over and take a look at the hearts on the bodies. Do they look the same as those on the others? While walking into the room she puts on a pair of gloves, comes over to the bed, looks at the marks, and then says, "from a distance they appear to be the same marks that were on the bodies of Tim Hindaway, Michael Yasmin, Jon Gooding, and Sarah Thomason.

They are also similar to the ones downstairs on the living room floor. It is an object spell but I have never seen anything like the blood before." Jackson nods his head in agreement with his daughter’s analysis on the situation. It is too bad Tim and his family is dead. He and Tim had gone to the same high school and although he saw Michael, Jon, and Sarah around town there was no personal relationship with them as there was with Tim.

Turning to look at her, this is the worst one yet, especially with the river of blood and those marks on the floor, he says. There was no training in his elementary class in the black arts on what to do when a crime scene has a river of blood in the ceiling. And tonight, when he was done writing his reports he was going to let the people, who had degrees in paranormal psychology and no appreciation of old fashion work take over the case.

Jackson likes to think of himself as an old-fashioned policeman. Dealing with this new aged paranormal police work made him uneasy. To keep from embarrassing himself by saying so he moves closer to the king sized bed and starts making notes on the murders in his notebook. Jennifer lay face up on the bed with her eyes open. There are small drops of blood around the corners of her eyes and mouth. Henry’s body lay face down at the foot of the bed on top of the sheets. His right arm is draped over the side of the bed and his right hand touched the floor.

He carefully lifts Henry’s arm by the wrist and looks at the fingernails. There was no visible sign of blood or skin under the nails. He observed Henry must have recently had his nails manicured because they were perfectly trimmed and had a shiny polish on the surface. He laid Henry’s hand back the way it was, leans over and looks under the bed. Underneath the bed is as clean as the rest of the room.

Straightening up and going to the foot of the bed to get a better view of the two lovers he made a note in his book that he could not come up with a reasonable explanation on how the killer carved the broken hearts into their flesh. He also wrote down his conversation about the hearts with Dr. Whittles who said they could be part of the post death syndrome.

He is sixty-eight years old, has worked in law enforcement for forty-one years, and has seen many dead people and knows there is no such thing as post-death syndrome. The hearts are perfect. It would have taken someone a long time to make that many perfect cuts. He prayed to God Henry and Jennifer were dead when the killer starting cutting into their flesh. After staring at the hearts for a few seconds, he went back to the other side of the bed to get a better view of the ceiling.

In his notebook, he drew a picture and made notes on the blood river. How it flowed upward from about midway above the bed, nearly touching the bodies before reversing its course back toward the ceiling. He stood watching it for about five minutes before noticing there was something in the blood.

Suddenly he is frightened. His heart rate increases. Any Christian would recognize and fear the image he saw. Jane, come take a look at this. Tell me what you see, Jackson says. Jane goes to her father. Take a look at what?

He whispers in her ear. It’s in the blood. Jane looks up at the ceiling. At first she doesn’t see anything. And then she tilts her head a little to the right and sees it. It is a door in the shape of a cross,’ she says in a shaky voice before continuing, why is it upside down? I’ve never seen anything like this before.

I mean, I have seen upside down crosses but not like this. Too afraid to speak, Jackson shakes his head in agreement. Neil’s softly whispered words, You’re dealing with the black arts," creeps back into his mind. He quickly dismisses Neil’s unwanted opinion. He’d had enough of this night.

After making a few more notes in the notebook, he flips it close, puts it in his shirt pocket, and then asks. Does anyone know where Wendy Stiles is?

No, Dad, she glances at her father and then asks, do you want to send a car to her father’s house?

No! Judge Ronald Hendrickson will never let us on his property without a warrant. I’ll call Cameron later. Is your group meeting tonight, he asks. She is shocked! She had no idea her father knew about their meetings. Some of the young police and medical staff met once a week to discuss current events. Most of the time they have nothing important to discuss and then the meetings become a party.

Maybe she should ask him to come tonight but quickly decided that it might not be a good idea. He would be socially uncomfortable around people who he says wants to take his job. Instead, she smiles and asks, What do you know about our meetings, old man?

Her father smiles and gives her that look he always gives her that says he knows a lot more then she thinks. But he only says, tell Junior to be ready because I’ll be handing the case over to him soon. I don’t know what is going on here and until we do you all be careful and stay alert.

Okay dad, I’ll tell everyone. When the meeting’s over, I’m going to see Justin. Give him an update on what’s happening, she says leaving the room before he loses his temper and starts yelling at her about discussing the case with an outsider. Her dad considers anyone not working directly with him an outsider. Out in the hall, she takes off the paper shoes and gloves and puts them into the trashcan next to the door.

Her father’s strict when it comes to following the rules. And she is always kidding him about being stuck in the old days but tonight she’s proud of him for willing to change. Hey, old man, you sure you don’t want to come to our meeting? He turns towards her and sees a sparkle of mischief in her eyes.

As her father, he should say something to her about Justin but now isn’t the right time or place. He’s known all along that sooner or later, Jane was going to fall in love. But he’s not ready to give up his little girl and wish it wasn’t so soon. When she attended the police academy, he and his daughter didn’t have much in common. Especially with her love of all things black arts but now he can laugh at how she got them pass those days. She helps keep him up to date on new gadgets, like that new EyeVision she talked him into buying.

The EyeVision is a small chip that is implanted into the retina so you can watch TV or surf the internet. He had the device removed after walking into walls and doors while watching his favorite shows. Working with her these past three years has also forced him to learn something about spell making and the black arts. Not tonight, Jane, I have to finish here and then call Cameron. And besides you young folks don’t need an old dog like me hanging around, he says.

Okay, dad, l won’t push you but you have to come one day. We young folks can use your wisdom, she says, looking past him to the horrible scene in the bedroom. Maybe, I’ll come to the next meeting, he says with a smile as she walks away.

Turning back towards the bed, he takes out his notebook and phone. As he moves around the room taking notes he dials Cameron’s number and just as the maid’s about to say hello he hangs up. Cameron will definitely want to know more details before issuing a warrant. It will take weeks for the lab to finish.

He doesn’t have that kind of time. There is a way that he can get the warrant without delay. Jane is Cameron’s goddaughter and would do anything for her. He dials Jane’s number. The phone went immediately to voice mail. He leaves a message asking her to call him. An hour later, the crime scene has been processed. On his way out the gate Jackson tell Officer Sloan after the medical staff leaves not let anyone on the property without first checking with him.

When he drives by the house, he sees Detective Michaelson, Dr. Eugene Whittles, and the chief medical examiner, Shawn MacMann walking over to the bubble lab. He and Shawn have worked and personally known each other for more than thirty-five years.

They got together for dinner once a week at Shawn’s house or at his home. And usually the two of them would spend most of the time drinking and complaining about being around young people with degrees in paranormal psychology who likes to quote the new laws. While he’s waiting at a light, Jane calls. He briefly tells her what to say to Cameron.

When the light turns green, he slowly glides the car into the left-lane. It’s been a long night and he’s exhausted and feels old. It’s nice to be on his way home to his wife, a hot bath, and hopefully a hot dinner.

Chapter 2

Jane walks out of the supermarket pushing a shopping cart loaded with groceries. It’s late and she is not happy that she’s parked on the four hundredth floor of the parking lot. The Mega Market building is always crowded and now it’s even worst because of the festival. Tonight, it seems everyone in town is here. A grumpy shopper nearly knocks her over leaving the store. The man rushes by her and she gives him a nasty look as the wind suddenly starts to blow harder causing her heart to beat faster.

She tightens her grip on the handle of the cart. It didn’t happen often but a few people have died from being blown off buildings. Even though there is four inch, thick safety glass panels surrounding the building she still didn’t feel safe. When the wind is blowing too hard the stores rent magnetic boots that grip the steel floor. Moving away from the busy door, she pushes the button on her wrist to call her car. In less than five minutes, the car pulls up and stops, the door opens as another gust of wind rushes past her.

When she is done loading the groceries, she takes off the magnetic boots, pays the fee, and gets in the car. As she ease the car up behind a van loaded with tourists and the flashes from their cameras nearly blinds her. She smiles. If she is going to have her picture taken by a stranger then she might as well look happy. Someone in the van waves at her and she smiles and waves back as she dials her godfather’s number. Sandy’s pleasant voice came on the other end of the line. Hello, Sandy, it’s Jane! Can I please speak to my godfather?

Good evening, Jane. I’ll tell him you’re on the line, Sandy says. While waiting for her godfather she quickly peeks at the navigation screen. Traffic on the highway is back up all the way to the Gilmore Bridge. It’s going to be a long, slow drive home she mutters as the cameras flash again. The tourists are still taking pictures when the happy voice of Judge Watson come on the line. Hello Jane, darling, how’s everyone?

We’re all okay. Marcy is going to have the baby any day now.

That’s good to hear and don’t forget to call me when the baby comes. Is there something you need, honey?

Tonight, Henry and Jennifer were killed

Oh, my God, what happened? She could hear genuine regret in his voice. We’re not sure yet, but when I left the Stiles home, the team was still going over the crime scene. Dad wants a warrant for Wendy and Judge Hendrickson. He said to tell you that he would call you later with more details. Godfather, I really hate to give you bad news on Daphne’s birthday and then run but I’m on my way home from Augusto’s Shopping Palace.

Thanks sweetheart for calling. I’ll call your dad myself because I need more information before I can issue a warrant. And tell your mom that Daphne says hello.

I will and give Daphne my love. Tell her I hope she likes my gift.

I am sure she will love it and don’t forget about our dinner date next week.

I haven’t forgotten godfather and enjoy the birthday party, she says pushing the button on the navigation panel to end the call. Turning on the radio to drown out the happy cheering of the people in the van the light turns green and she smiles and heads left as the people in the van goes right.

After getting home late for the start of the meeting, Jane is in the kitchen pouring coffee from the coffee pot into a blue and white ceramic coffee server. Next she taste the cheese and garlic dip to see if it’s okay. It’s perfect. She puts the dip and chips on the tray beside a plate of sandwiches. She smiles because she can hear Dr. Whittle’s and Aaron’s loud but friendly voices coming from the living room.

Aaron’s teasing the Dr. about the way his new beard looks. Aaron tells the doctor that the new hairs in his beard look as if someone has taken a marker and dew dots all over his face. She covers her mouth with her hands to keep from laughing out loud. After a few moments,