Rising Moon

By Kevin B Fowers

Detective Ryan Cross of the Archer City Police department had a great life. He had a wonderful wife and three amazing children and a job he loved. His life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a wolf attack while they are camping and he still has no idea how to deal with her not being there. While he is still trying to adapt to being

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Fowers
• Release date: Feb 13, 2021
• ISBN: 9781087949932

Book preview

RISING MOON BOOK I

by Kevin Fowers

PART ONE

PART 1

1

Prologue

Upon arriving at a five story building on the corner of Scranton and Bosworth in downtown Archer City.  I took a deep breath, looked up at the five-story building, exhaled slowly and pushed through one of the wide front doors. I checked the directory in the lobby for Doctor Annabelle Klein, the psychiatrist I am supposed to go see was on the fifth floor. A woman doc, huh? Should be interesting. I took the elevator up to the fifth floor and her office was all the way down at the end of the main hallway.

I opened the door and was greeted by a lovely receptionist who asked me my name and when I told her Ryan Cross she asked for my insurance card. After she’d made a copy of it, she said that all too famous line:

The doctor will see you now.

The inner office was marked with a discreet brass nameplate. The room was small and held two over-sized blue chairs with a modern looking table and a homey lamp between them and a grayish recliner opposite them. I’d only just gotten comfortable when the door opened and the doctor walked in and sat in the other chair.

Doctor Annabelle Klein was a very beautiful woman, originally from one of the Polynesian Islands, she had thick black hair that sat just above her shoulders and she had very pretty dark eyes as well.

Doc look, I really don’t know why I need to be here, I’m not crazy or anything like that. I crossed my hands in my lap to remind myself to stay calm.

You know Mr. Cross in my line of work when someone says they’re not crazy that usually means they have problems they need to work through.

That may be so but I just want to get back to work.

I understand, but until you complete the required number of sessions, I can’t sign the paperwork to let you go back to work.

Since you put it that way doc, I guess I am here for the duration.

She flipped open a thin manila file folder and scanned through what must have been the initial information I’d given them over the phone. So you’re a detective? Have you always had an anger problem?

No actually I used to be a pretty calm guy; I never let anything bother me too much.

And when did that change?

It all started about two years ago when my wife and I decided to take our three kids camping for the week. We packed up the trailer and headed to our favorite spot deep in the Macdougall Gate woods. The woods are nestled against the Granite Mountains. The forest is old and really dense, so not a lot of sunlight got through. When it rains the woods would take on an almost eerie feel because the moisture would get trapped and fog would weave it’s tendrils through the trees. We had made it a point to go camping there at least once a month during the summer months. This particular trip was in late July, it was a beautiful day and the temperature was a cool 75 degrees, the perfect weather for camping. I had heard a news report on the radio about some campers reported seeing some wolves in the area where we were headed. My wife, Lauren, was concerned that we might come across them.  I told her not to worry about it and that we need to make sure and not leave any food out. That seemed to make her feel better and we continued on to our camping spot. Hindsight what it is, as it were, I would have turned the car around or at the very least I would have picked a different spot to camp.

What happened on that camping trip Detective?

Call me Ryan, Doc

Alright, now tell me Ryan, what happened to you and your family on that camping trip.

Doc you wouldn’t believe it even if you had seen it yourself

Ryan, you won’t know if I believe you unless you tell me.

You do have a good point there, doc.

I took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. I should have listened to my wife, doc. I should have listened to her. It all started on the third day of our week long camping trip.  We hadn’t seen any wolves for the past three days, we hadn’t even heard a single howl either. I thought we were safe. Late that evening I was woken by some rustling outside of the tent, I lay there for a couple of minutes wondering if I had actually heard something.  Then I heard it again so I decided to investigate it.  I grabbed my Sig Sauer Nitron 1911 from its holster and climbed out of the tent, as soon as I stood up I was face to face with the biggest wolf I had ever seen. He stood his ground and snarled, I knew I had to keep the thing away from the tent and my sleeping family. The wolf growled low in its chest and then leapt at me. I said. I  could  feel  my  heart  hammering  in  my  chest  as  I relived that awful memory. "I only had enough time to get off one shot and unfortunately it wasn’t a good shot; the bullet only grazed the wolf’s side, so its forward momentum didn’t even slow down. It tackled me and pinned me to the ground. Its cold yellow eyes looked into my eyes and fought to keep me pinned as I struggled to get free.

The wolf’s teeth snapped in the air just inches from my nose; I barely managed to twist away from him. Then it sank its teeth into my right shoulder and neck tearing skin and muscle away from the bone." I lowered my head, trying to control my breathing.

Ryan, do you need to take a break?

Yeah, that would be good Doc. I need a break from reliving my past anyway.

Take all the time you need Ryan.

I stood up and looked at Annabelle, If it’s alright with you Doc, I’m going to step outside for a few minutes to clear my head.

Go ahead, I will be here when you get back.

Thanks Doc.

I walked outside, put my hands on the hand rails and took a deep shaky breath. Images of my past came flooding in and it was hard to keep things straight.

Chapter One

She was sitting in her office working on some paperwork when she heard the You’ve got mail alert, she put the paper work down and pulled up the email. Before she accessed the email she rubbed the tiredness out of her emerald green eyes. She considered herself athletic, her face was rounder than she would like, but her small nose and full lips made up for it. Just like always, the email was encrypted. She typed in a few keystrokes and she had access to the email.

Angel,

Here is your first assignment, I need you to eliminate the enclosed target. Remember Angel, you are on the Lord’s errand and you will have your place in Paradise for your diligence.

Name: Kassidi Warner

Age: 27

Occupation: Senior Lab Technician at Securities Tech Lab Inc.

Location: Mountain View Hotel; Room 313

Continue purifying the masses!

- Diego

He always signed off the with the closing that he’d used for years. Her full lips curled at the corners into a small smile and shut her laptop, It was time for the office to close for the night anyway. She swung one leg over the seat of her hog and kick started the engine. It purred to life and she headed for home to get ready for the night’s activities. She loved to ride her motorcycle and have the wind blow through her long black hair that had streaks of red in it; oh the freedom she felt.

As soon as night fell she showered and put on her Avenging Angel outfit which consisted of knee high black stiletto boots and a black oriental embroidered tunic that hung to her upper thighs and the front plunged in a V-neck to just below her breast. She tied her hair up in a tight bun and headed out to do the Lord’s work. She parked her Harley Heritage Soft Tail motorcycle in a parking lot a few buildings away from the Mountain View Hotel and walked back to the hotel. As soon as she walked in she noticed every guy that was in the lobby turned their heads towards her and checked her out from head to toe which is what she wanted. A small smile stole across her face as she was use to the male attention her appearance garnered. She ignored them all and headed towards the hotel bar. She sat down and ordered herself a rum and coke and started to look around at the crowd that had gathered there on a Tuesday night.

A couple of minutes later she saw her target in a corner booth having an intimate conversation with her date. She watched them discretely for the next few moments trying to decide the best course of action. Angel decided to move to an empty seat at the bar that was right next to the table that her target was sitting at. She made sure that the gentleman friend that was with her target was checking her out as she sat down on the stool and sipped her rum and coke. She made it a point to glance over at her target and the guy that’s with her every few minutes; and she even buys them both another drink. When they found out that it was Angel who bought them their drinks, they invited her to sit with them. After flirting with him for another few minutes, and finding out that his name is Robbie Fergusson, Angel starts flirting with Kassidi as well.

As soon as night fell she showered and put on her Avenging Angel outfit which consisted of knee high black stiletto boots and a black oriental embroidered tunic that hung to her upper thighs and the front plunged in a V-neck to just below her breast. She tied her hair up in a tight bun and headed out to do the Lord’s work. She parked her Harley Heritage Soft Tail motorcycle in a parking lot a few buildings away from the Mountain View Hotel and walked back to the hotel. As soon as she walked in she noticed every guy that was in the lobby turned their heads towards her and checked her out from head to toe which is what she wanted.

Robbie answered the door with his shirt already unbuttoned and said, Hello there you sexy thing, come on in we’ve been waiting for you. The music in the background was low and seductive.

Well I had to get the good stuff. She held up the bottles of rum and coke.

Angel walked in and showed Kassidi what she had brought on her way to gather the glasses and ice from the small table in their room. She strategically starts pouring all three drinks with her back to them. Then she glanced over her shoulder and sees that they were distracted by each other so she emptied a vial of white powder into both of their drinks. She stirs it in quietly and then turned to hand each of them a glass. Angel had both of them sit down.

The couple sat on the bed with their drinks and while they  drank them, she began to move her body sensuously to music.  Kassidi mentioned she was feeling light headed and Angel knew that the drink was doing what it was supposed to do. She wrapped her arms around the woman’s shoulders and helped her lay down.

It looks like you have had a little too much rum and coke, my dear, just lay here and relax.

But I wanted to have some fun. Kassidi says in a slightly slurred voice.

Angel strokes her hair, Don’t worry. There will be plenty of fun to be had.

Robbie leaned over and said, I’m not feeling so well.

I’m sorry, lover. She said with a smirk

She touched his shoulder then took a step back and placed a roundhouse kick to his jaw, knocking him out. His limp body fell back against the headboard with a thud. She looked down at him and smiled

We can’t have you interfering now, can we?

She looked over at Kassidi as she pulled the black gloves out of her evening bag. She slid them on and  reached down, pulling her twelve inch dagger from its sheath inside her right boot.

Now Kassidi, you have the privilege of being the first victim in a long line of victims as I single handedly kill all of the Moon Changers and end this abomination.

With that she climbed on to the bed, stripped Kassidi of all her clothes and straddled her naked body. Angel looked down at her victim with disdain and plunged the dagger into Kassidi’s chest, burying the entire blade. Angel then raised her head and hands to  praise to her God as blood flowed out of the wound. She patiently carved the words Moon Changers must die into the woman’s chest. The blade that it was carved with has silver in the blade so like the one before the wound always turns red as it blistered. She stabbed the dagger back into the hole in Kassidi’s chest. Her hands slid through Kassidi’s blood. she used it to write on the bathroom mirror, This isn’t the end! She pulled off the bloody gloves, and washed them and the glasses in the sink. When they were safely stored back in her boot she yanked the drawers out of the nightstand and dumped their bags out onto the floor, throwing clothes everywhere, smashing the rum bottle and glasses to throw off the police. She paused at the door to admire her handiwork and then says to herself. One final thing

She pulled the dagger from Kassidi’s body and saw that the message carved into her chest had cauterized at the edges. She wiped her bloody dagger on Kassidi’s shirt and then slid it back into its sheath. A quick glance in the bathroom mirror confirmed that she still looked flawless, but her message had started to drip down the glass. She walked calmly back to her motorcycle, hopped on, and headed home

Chapter Two

3 am and I was woken by my cell phone at full volume belting out the words to American Woman by Lenny Kravitz. I sat bolt upright, grimacing with the all too familiar pain in right shoulder and neck. I gently touched at the area trying to wake up. I grabbed my cell phone off the end table and touched the answer button.

This is Detective Cross.

Hey partner we’re needed down town… Ryan, there has been another one.

Are you sure Frankie?

Yeah, the M.O is the same as the other two.

Alright give me the address and I’ll meet you there.

I grabbed a quick shower, toweled off and brushed my teeth. My beard,which only covered my chin, could fend for itself. I dressed and clipped my detective badge to my belt. I checked my Sig Sauer Nitron 1911, chambered a round, and clicked off the safety before sliding it into its holster. I stopped in front of the mirror in the hall. I haven’t ever been a tall man; I stand only 5’8" and I weighed a solid 200 pounds but what I lacked in height I made sure I made up for with strength, grit, and determination. I took a quick look at myself and wondered for a moment if I should grow my hair out to cover the scar on my head. It can be seen clearly since I usually sport the bald look.  I shook the thought out of my head and ran out the door.  My black Jeep Wrangler burned down the highway towards the scene of yet another murder in a string of horrific murders, all in the downtown area.

The responding officers already had the crime scene taped off when I arrived at the Sunset Inn. I got out of my Jeep and approached the crime scene.  I saw my partner Frankie Storm talking to one of the crime scene techs. For about the hundredth time I admired her ability to carry off the short brown hair that is barely long enough to cover her ears. She had bright green eyes, olive skin, and a smile that when you saw it you just couldn’t help but smile back. Frankie is a couple inches shorter and about half my weight, but Frankie is no push over; she has just as much grit as her partner does.

I went under the crime scene tape and walked over to find out what exactly happened here.

Hey Frankie, what do you got?

Looks to be the same M.O as the other ones. Killed one, the other is left alive.  The victims are a Mr. Jasper O’Connor, age twenty-seven and a Mrs. Jackie Rosenguard age thirty. Both married, just not to each other.

We assume they were here for romantic reasons; the responding officer tried talking to Mrs. Rosenguard but she couldn’t remember anything about that night. She said the last thing she remembered was meeting Mr O’Connor at the hotel bar. Hopefully the evidence we collect will shed some light on what happened and why.

Let’s see the body and the rest of the crime scene.

Alright let’s get to work, partner.

Frankie and I walked into the hotel room where the murder had taken place.  The body was found in the same position and the same location as the victim at the other crime scene that my partner and I had investigated. I could smell the same perfume that I’d smelled at the first crime scene. The man had been stripped of all clothing and the phrase Moon Changers Shall die carved into the victim’s chest. The weapon was still unaccounted for just like in the other case.  The rest of the hotel room had been ransacked, I did notice that there was water, broken glass, and a few rose petals on the floor next to the table. On the mirror in the bathroom, written in the victim’s blood the message This isn’t the end!

Frankie look at this. I pointed at the glass and the rose petals

Looks like the victims were here for romantic reasons.

I think so too. Have the Crime Scene Investigators dusted for prints yet?

She pointed at two plain clothes officers. They’re just getting started now, Ryan, but I doubt they’ll find any.  After all there weren’t any at the other scene.

Let’s hope they find some here. What about witnesses?

Well the gentleman at the front desk told the responding officers that the maid who was servicing the rooms on this floor saw a woman with black hair that was pulled up in a tight bun, knee high black stiletto boots, and a black oriental embroidered tunic that hung to her upper thighs and the front plunged in a V-neck to just below her breast leaving as she entered the room next door.  When she came in here to clean she found the bodies. She thought that both of them were dead but then the woman moaned. The maid hurried the woman out of the room, and notified the front desk. When the manager was notified he called us.

The question I have is why  no one heard any screaming or any scuffle at all? I don’t know about you Frankie, but I would be making a lot of noise if someone was carving up my chest.

If the puncture wound was inflicted first, he wouldn’t have been able to scream. Rosenguard was either drugged or an accomplice. I don’t think she was in on it, but it does seem likely that the message was done postmortem, or at least after the fatal wound.

We’ll have to find out when the autopsy comes back. What about security cameras?

There’s one on every floor but she made sure she wasn’t seen and if she appeared on a camera, her face was never shown.

That means she knew exactly where the cameras are, and that means she’s been here before. Alright Frankie I think we should go talk to Mr. O’Connor’s wife and we will send Detectives Edgewater and Metzger will go talk to Mrs. Warner husband who was killed in the second murder. We’ll meet them back at the office and see if we can’t come up with a connection between these victims and the victims in the three previous murders.

Hopefully she can tell us a little more about her late husband and shed some light on this case.

I was thinking the same thing, Frankie.

We were about to leave when I happen to notice a small impression in the carpet. I pointed it out to the Crime Scene Investigators and then Frankie and I went to pay a visit to Jasper O’Connor’s residence. The O’Connors lived in a gated community where the houses were quite large and  clearly very expensive. Their house was a large three- story, dark red, brick house with a dark gray stucco accent and a three car garage.

I parked on the street and we walked up the driveway and rang the doorbell. When the woman answered the door, I could tell she’d been crying.

Mrs. O’Connor?

Yes?

Mrs. O’Connor I am Detective Cross and this is Detective Storm and we’re here to ask you some questions about your husband.

What happened? Where’s my husband?

I sorry to have to tell you this Mrs. O’Connor, but your husband was killed early this morning.

No… It can’t be. He can’t be dead... I just talked to him last night.

Could we come in and talk Mrs. O’Connor?

Yes… Of course… Come in please

She led us into her living room where the décor was more modern than classic but looked nice and homey to say the least.

Please detectives, take a seat and call me Jessica

Thank you ma’am. How long were you and Jasper married, Mrs. O’Connor?

We have been married,- uh were married for four years now.

And what kind of work was your husband in?

Well he has been a Security Directory for the past two years.

Where did he work?

"His job had him working in Avalon