Deader Still

Davidson and Co

“That, my friends, is Cleopatra’s Needle.”

“That’s some big needle,” I said.

“It was a gift to the United States,” Davidson said, “from Egypt, in the hopes of establishing good trade relations. I believe there are three of them.”

“Three?” Co

“Maybe we’re approaching this investigation in the wrong way,” I offered.

“Meaning what, exactly?” Davidson said with a bit of venom.

“Don’t take it personally,” I said. “I’m not blaming anyone, but rather than wondering if this specific dead jogger was an actual target of the vampire, maybe we should be looking at the things around us for answers. Things that, say, stand out.”

“You mean something like an ancient Egyptian artifact in the middle of Central Park?” Davidson said.

I nodded.

“Gee,” Co

“I know, right?”

“Well, then,” Davidson said. “I trust your little Indiana Jonesing around the spire here means that I can finally attend to my corpse. You two enjoy your giant phallus investigation. The boys in blue and I have a body to drop off.”

Davidson gestured to his men and two of the cops laid a long black bag out on the ground next to the body before moving the dead jogger into it.

“I’ll trust you two to let me know if you come across anything of any significance?” Davidson asked. Neither of us answered. We were too caught up taking in the impressive sight of the giant needle.

When the cops were done packing up the victim, they headed down the path and Davidson started off after them.

“One last thing,” Co

David Davidson turned back to us. “We won’t know for sure until we get him to the forensics lab, but the onsite medical examiner guessed between four and six this morning.”

Co

Cleopatra’s Needle was surrounded by a short, decorative railing to keep people from getting too close to it. The monolith itself was set upon three white stone steps that surrounded a ten-foot-high block of rock that acted as the spire’s base. Little indentations just below the main shaft housed four bronze crabs about the size of medium-sized dogs, one sitting at each corner.

“Impressive,” I said, giving a whistle. “What’s it made of?”

“Red granite,” Co

“Thanks, Dr. Jones,” I said, moving closer. “It looks like a miniature version of the Washington Monument.”

As I approached, I noticed it was covered with inscriptions all up and down the sides. I climbed over the low railing and approached it. “Are those hieroglyphics?” I asked, reaching out. Co

“Yeah, kid, all of it is in ancient Egyptian,” he said, lowering my arm. “I don’t really think you should be touching it, though.”

“My powers,” I said, getting it. It was foolhardy for me to even reach for it, especially not knowing what psychometric flashes it might have in store for me.

Co

“If this doesn’t serve some arcane purpose in this town,” I said, “I don’t know what does.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions, kid. Our vampires may not even be linked to this thing, whatever it is. This is something better left to Greater and Lesser Arcana. You ask Janey about it when we get back to the offices, okay?”

At the mention of her name, I felt my heart twinge a little.

Co

“This side’s mostly blank,” he said, taking a picture anyway. “Probably weathered away over the years by wind. I’ll send these to the Department if you want to head back there and see if you can decipher any of it after blowing them up.”

“Or I can just check this marvelous thing called the Internet,” I said.

Co

I hesitated. I didn’t necessarily want to go back downtown to the offices, but Co

“What, kid?” he said, but it wasn’t just his normal shortness with me. He looked pissed off. Was it just the job, or was it something more? Co

“Is that a problem?” he asked.

I shook my head no immediately. I didn’t like being put in my new role of responsibility, especially if it meant this type of confrontation came with it. Co

“Sorry, kid,” he said. There was a weariness on his face I had never seen before. “There’s just a lot going on right now.”

“You wa

Immediately, the anger returned to his face. Anger and fear. “No. Just drop it, okay?”

This was a new attitude for Co

“What about the booth back at Comic Con?” I said. “Won’t Inspectre Quimbley need me there?”

“Don’t worry,” Co

The thought didn’t exactly thrill me. If I wasn’t there to monitor the situation, what might the Inspectre possibly tell my partner about the case? Would the fact that I outrank Co

I didn’t think so. Orders given under the confidence of the Fraternal Order of Goodness were usually not discussed with outsiders. At least, I hoped that was the case.

Handling the actual investigation of Cleopatra’s Needle all by myself back at the Lovecraft Café would give me a chance to find out if it meant anything to the case at all.

“Sure,” I said, resigning myself to his orders. It was just easier to let Co

“I’ll log what I know with Godfrey or one of the other archivists once I get a better idea what arcane co

Co

“Oh, and kid?” he shouted after me. I turned. Co

“Let’s hope this ghost jogger is a repeater, then,” I said. I didn’t relish the idea of waiting for this ghost to appear again, but the likelihood of it showing up was stronger during the hours it had originally died. “So what time are we talking?” My body already ached from our chase, and without an early bedtime, I knew it would be as stiff as a board come morning. I wasn’t looking forward to it.