Chapter 17.

  Hank and Scott were at The Point After in a booth by the back where they could make sure they could talk privately, not that The Point After had enough people who would care to listen in, but still, it was a sensitive subject.

  “You’re absolutely sure it belongs to him?” Hank said, asking about the toothbrush Scott gave him to drop off at the basement for Eleanor to send off to a private lab, as it was obtained illegitimately, she couldn’t risk getting caught using lab recourses for tainted evidence.

  “I’m sure,” Scott said, “It was definitely his room, I ended up walking in on him about to get laid, I got out of there by the skin of my teeth,” Scott took a drink, his hand still trembling, “Is Kramer coming?” he asked.

  “Should be here soon,” Hank said.

  “Should be here now,” Kramer said, walking up behind Hank’s booth, “So the reporter got us something?” he asked.

  “I got some of Jacobin’s DNA, you said Eleanor is coming too, do you think she’ll have the results yet? If it comes back as a match, is that enough for you to at least bring him in?”

  “Scott, we all knew that whatever you got at the party was going to be inadmissible from the start. This is just to confirm our own suspicions, as for Eleanor’s results that may take some time. I gave her my debit card and told her to put a rush on it so we’ll hopefully know soon,” Hank said, “If it’s a match, Kramer and I can try to bring him in based on the arrows and the bite, however if we do that that’s when the lawyers get involved, and then that’s when things get complicated,” Hank said.

  “Quite a plan, let’s hope that your Bloody Valentine can come through,” Kramer said.

  “Bloody Valentine? Is that what people call me?” Eleanor said, pouting as she got in the booth next to Hank.

  “It’s just a nickname,” Hank looked over at Kramer, “One that assholes use,” Hank said, shooting an accusing look to Kramer.

  “Apologies,” Kramer said, raising his hand.

  With the table full, Filmore came up to them, “Tavares boys, care for a shot?” he asked.

  “Just another beer,” Scott said.

  “Same,” Kramer and Hank said together.

  “Can I get a Gin and Tonic?” Eleanor asked.

  “Don’t get many young women in this establishing,” Filmore smiled, “You got it little miss,” he said, patting Hank’s shoulder, “She looks like a keeper,” he said giving Hank a wink before going to the back bar to get their drinks.

  “Do you have something for us, are the results back?” Hank asked.

  “Yes, thank you for springing for the express test, I have something we need to talk about,” Eleanor said before turning to Scott, “You’re absolutely sure that the sample you gave me came from this Jacobin character you suspect?” she asked.

  “Yeah, his name is actually Trevor Ellis, Jacobin is his little party pretend name, so forgive me if I slip up and call him that instead of his real name. Yeah, it was Jacobin’s toothbrush, no doubt,” Scott said.

  “I got the DNA results, I compared those to both your bite and, the samples from the scene. Regarding your bite, it looks like he was the one who bit you,” Eleanor said.

  “You got bit by another man, what the hell kind of party are you involved in,” Kramer said.

  “Hey, I don’t like it anymore then you do,” Scott shook his head, “So Jacobin bit me, not exactly enough to put someone away, what else do you have?” Scott asked.

  Eleanor took a deep breath, “Jacobin’s DNA was also a match to the blood writing on the wall at the scenes. It would seem he wrote the messages left for you to find,” Eleanor said.

  “Wait, Jacobin always wear’s this one leather glove, I’d bet he probably has some gashes hand his hand. You said the messages look like their bloody finger paintings. He’s hardcore devoted to this game, I wouldn’t put something that intense past him,” Scott said.

  “If that sample belonged to Jacobin, all that’s left is the sample found in the victim's mouth, the unique RH Negative sample, if that wasn’t Jacobin who could it have belonged to?” Hank asked.

  Filmore brought them their drinks, Hank took his beer and took a big swig, “So we have a positive ID that Jacobin, Trevor Ellis, was at the scenes, all three of them, that’s something we can work with. We may not be able to use that information in court but at least now we know that he’s the guy we’re looking for, and if we get him, we can get his partner, that other sample found at the scene,” Hank said.

  “Suvilia,” Scott said, “I think it’s Suvilia, yeah,” he nodded.

  “Suvilia? Jacobin?” Kramer shook his head, “Where the fuck do these people get these names?”

  “They’re their Vampire names, when your accepted into the higher levels of the club, when you what they call ascend, you get to pick a new name. These Vampires say it’s a symbol of eschewing your humanity and being the true creature that you are,” Scott said, “And these are a bunch of people who likely got their ass handed to them in high school so of course they’re going to pick names that cool and threatening,” Scott said.

  “What about Amelia, what’s her Vampire name?” Hank asked.

  Scott laughed and rolled his eyes, “Funny story there, I’m still not sure,” he said.

  “What? You don’t even know if Amelia is her real name?” Hank said.

  Scott raised his hands in defense, “She’s pretty into the game, she told me that Amelia might be her name, and it might not be, I’m sure it’s just her roleplaying, she wouldn’t make her Vampire name the name that shows up on my phone when I text her,” Scott said, “I’m hoping we can get to the point in our relationship where she tells me Amelia is her real name, at least I hope to god it’s her real name,” Scott shook his head.

  “Who is this Suvilia, she’s another Vampire?” Hank asked.

  “She’s Jacobin’s girlfriend, well I don’t know if she would call herself his girlfriend, she’s probably just a girl who fucks him because he’s a millionaire who rents fancy houses to party and drop Adrenochrome in,” Scott said, “Jacobin may present himself as a leader, but I’ve seen her mannerisms around him, I think she’s pulling the strings on this situation. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s the RH Negative sample,” Scott said.

  Hank turned to Kramer, “What’s the play partner?”

  Kramer sighed, “I’m not sure, we can’t just raid one of his rentals for no reason, we got nothing on him, nothing legitimate at least,” he turned to Eleanor, “Bloody Valentine, you got any other information you can give us?” he asked.

  Eleanor rolled her eyes, “You know I’m a Doctor, right? I have a PHD,” she said.

  “If I had a heart attack right now, could you save me?” Kramer asked.

  “Could I, maybe, would I is another question though,” Eleanor said.

  “Yeah, fuck you, partner,” Hank said.

  Kramer laughed, “Sorry, just breaking your chains,” he raised his beer, “Please, Doctor, enlighten us. What else do you have?”

  “I did some more research on the other blood sample found at the scene, the one from the victim’s mouth, the one it appears she drank before the deed was done,” Eleanor said, “You say it could belong to this Suvilia character, tell me, what does she look like? Does she have any unique features, foreign features, if she has this blood type she has one I’ve never seen before,” Eleanor said, “A description of her could help my research,” Eleanor said.

  “Well, she’s blonde, but it’s definitely fake, she has almond eyes, just a hint of tan on her skin but I can’t tell if it’s fake or not, she’s pretty tall, very slim. She has this accent, I can’t tell if it’s real or just a put on she does for the roleplay, I couldn’t tell you where it’s from but as you said, it is foreign. She’s actually quite a bombshell, no offense,” Scott said, “Why is this important?” he asked.

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  “I’ve done more research on the other blood sample. While it is unique, it’s not something that hasn’t been seen before, it’s just very rare, and very old. However, I was correct in my theory that it connected back to Northern Africa, notably ancient Egypt. I would curse myself because I’m moving from Scientific research to wild speculation and connecting strings, but it was said that the Pharos of Egypt were ordained with a divine blood, a very rare and special blood,” Eleanor said as she took her drink. “I’m going to need this. Buckle up boys,” she said, taking a swig.

  Hank, Scott, and Kramer did the same, listening closely as Eleanor gave her dissertation.

  “The Pharaohs of Egypt, mummified as they are, have had their DNA submitted to a scientific database, I had to pay $49.95 to get access to the journal the data was printed it. And that’s out of pocket. No way I’m going to clear that on an expense report,” she said.

  “You get us something to stop these people, I’ll foot the bill,” Hank said.

  Scott laughed, “Such a gentleman, paying for the ladies DNA analysis paper.”

  “Fuck you, we might be able to use this,” Hank said.

  “In the journal I found the same unique RH negative blood type, it was common amongst the pharos and they also shared the marker on the white blood cells of the subject found at the scene, this blood type is unique, ancient even,” Eleanor said.

  “Just call it what it is, we’re all thinking it, it’s Vampire blood, isn’t it?” Scott asked.

  Eleanor took a deep breath and collected herself, “You know what? You wore me down, I’ll humor you,” she said, “The Vampire blood shares the same markers found on the Pharos blood. As I told you, this is a recessive trait, the RH Negative marker. For it to be carried so strongly over generations of Egyptian pharos means it was most likely the product of inbreeding, something they were famous for. And I don’t mean old European marry your second cousin from Denmark, inbreeding. This was concentrated brother to sister incest, that doubling of recessive traits all but guaranteed that the RH Negative blood type would be passed on to their dependents, the holy blood. That means that when their blood got diluted, be it from a wild night in the harem or with some slave girl, the gene would be double expressed in royalty giving it a greater chance to be passed on even when paired with those who had the dominate RH Positive blood type, leaving it as a recessive trait that could by chance be passed on for hundreds, if not thousands of years,” Eleanor took a drink, “I need this so bad right now,” she said with a solemn smile, “I must warn you that this is where Theory really turns to wild speculation, so you may as well through my scientific credentials out the window if you’re going to take me seriously,” she said.

  “It’s possible that the descendants and inheritors of this divine blood knew what they had. They could have planned marriages, hypothetically gone underground to keep the blood, their heritage, pure, preserving it through selective breeding and make sure that this unique blood type was passed on, it’s very possible this blood type could have survived for generations,” Eleanor said.

  “Like me,” Scott said, “Hank and both of our parents are RH Positive, but I’m negative, so you’re saying that its possible a blood line could maintain the Vampire modifier and it could have been passed down all the way from ancient Egypt?”

  Eleanor shrugged, “Could be Egypt or some other northern African heritage, there were more societies with these kinds of beliefs and practices than just Egypt, it could even possibly be Carthaginian, however samples of Carthaginian DNA have been lost to time, science doesn’t even know how to test if someone is descended from that society,” Eleanor said.

  “What’s Carthaginian mean? It sounds familiar, like I heard about it a few times on Jeopardy,” Hank said.

  “Carthage was a city in northern Africa that the Roman empire destroyed in 146 BC. They were one of the greatest threats to the Roman Empire and went to war with them three times. In the third war Rome burned the city to the ground, salted the earth, killed every able-bodied fighter, and spread the few women and children left as slaves across the empire,” Eleanor looked away for a second, and then a realization on her face of a scientist finding an unexpected and unwanted conclusion, “Now that I think about it, Carthage was known for practicing blood rituals, human sacrifices, ritual murders, they even sacrificed children. All in practice of some dark sorcery. It’s said that a hundred children were put on the Altair of Moloch and dropped into ceremonial fire during the final Roman siege,” she said.

  “Excuse me little Miss Catholic, but we were all raised southern Baptist here so forgive me if I don’t know who or what Moloch is supposed to be,” Kramer said taking a swig of beer as he wondered what nonsense Tavares drew him into this time.

  “Wait, I’ve heard that name before, Moloch, at the Vampire parties,” Scott said, “They say it’s one name for the Dark One, the leader that all the Vampires worship, and the character that the crime scene messages have been telling us to get ready for, who is Moloch? It’s actually a real thing?” Scott asked.

  “Moloch was a Canaanite god worshiped by the Carthaginians and other societies in the Punic region of Northern AFrica,” Eleanor said.

  “Canaanite, as in Cain, from Genesis?” Scott said, “How do you know all this stuff?”

  Eleanor shrugged, “I listen to a lot of ancient history podcasts, and yes, the Canaanites are the blood line Cain fathered after he committed the first murder,” Eleanor took a drink, and shook her head, “I was raised catholic, and kept an interest in the sermons by researching the mythology of the bible, it’s actually quite an enthralling subject. The Bible even traces blood lines all the way from Adam and Eve to their children, all the way to the birth of Christ,” Eleanor lit up, starting to geek out on one of her several nerdy interests. Hank had to take another drink. God, she looked so cute when she got like this.

  “The Canaanites worshiped a macabre slew of false gods, Moloch being one of the primary ones of their religion. His symbol is a giant bull, some biblical theorists believe that the Golden Calf that tempted the Israelites after the exodus was in fact Moloch worshipers trying to lead God’s people astray,” she said, “One of Moloch’s tenets was a demand for human sacrifice, notably child sacrifice,” She said.

  Scott had another thought about the mythology he had been reading about in the rule book, the ancient texts, “While we’re having a bible lesson, what can you tell me about Lilith? I’ve heard her name tossed around a few times as well, saying the Dark One is the first born of Cain and Lilith,” Scott asked, finishing a beer and signaling Filmore for another round.

  Eleanor lit up, “Oh, Lilith, now she’s very interesting,” she said, sitting up, “So when God created Adam, god crafted his body out of earth and breathed life into him,” Eleanor said.

  “Yeah, we know that story,” Kramer said, “Then took a rib from Adam and made Eve,”

  “Yes, but before he did that, there was another. Adam’s first wife,” Eleanor said, “According to some Hebrew interpretations of the book of Genesis, before creating Eve, God crafted a woman out of the earth and breathed life into her as he did for Adam, and that’s Lilith,” Eleanor said.

  “Sounds familiar,” Hank thought back, “I remember we were working security for a feminist protest, one of the more hardcore groups there called themselves the Daughters of Lilith,” Hank turned to Kramer.

  “I actually got one of those broads numbers, whoever this Lilth is, her daughters are freaks in bed,” Kramer smiled.

  “That sounds about right,” Eleanor said, “See, when God created Lilith and told her that she was to be Adam’s wife and be subservient to him, she thought this was unfair as She and Adam were created as equals, she got in an argument with God and Adam, some say it was something about not wanting to consummate in the missionary position,” Eleanor blushed, “Anyway, she ended up leaving the garden on her own accord, and it’s said she went on to become the Mother of Demons. It’s funny you mention the first born of Lilith and Cain, as another theory is about their union after Cain’s banishment for the murder lead to the founding of the Canaanite line,” Eleanor said.

  “Ironic, Cain commits the first murder, and then his descendants worship a literal God of murder,” Hank said.

  “Ironically, he’s actually known as the god of fertility,” Eleanor said, “The sacrifices were made in exchange for Moloch granting them power. These false gods that people proselytize were believed by those faithful to god to be expressions of Lucifer, of the Devil,” she said.

  “The Dark One,” Scott said, “So these ritual murders we’ve seen, this worship of the Dark One, does that sound like something followers of Moloch would do. Amelia told me they were joking, but the people at the party were talking about the Murders like it gave them more power. The victims must have been sacrificed to Moloch to give the Vampires, the real Vampires, power. Or at least the feeling of power,” Scott said.

  Kramer turned to Scott, “This Amelia girl you’re down with, she part of this? This fucking Devil worship?” he asked.

  “I just need to convince her that there are better ways to spend her free time. That’s why we have to take down Jacobin, she’s a good person, if she sees how fucked up it can get, maybe she can find a new hobby,” he turned to Eleanor, “You said Roleplaying’s a big community, I can find another game, hopefully one that doesn’t involve blood drinking and Satan worship. I’ve played Dungeons and Dragons before, I could take her to one of those games. I can get her out of this, I know I can,” Scott said.

  “And how do you know she’s not as much of a freak as the rest of them?” Kramer asked.

  “I can’t describe, when I talk to her, I’m totally enveloped. She’s a good person, she’s odd. She told me she had a hard time growing up, in fact from what I’ve seen a lot of the lower players in this game share that story. She’s just gotten mixed up in a lifestyle that gave her acceptance. She sees the parties as a fun getaway from reality, I can help her, I can save her,” Scott said, “It’s not Amelia you need to worry about, it’s Jacobin, he’s the one who bit me, he’s the one who was at those murders, he’s the one we need to focus on,” Scott said.

  “Scotts right,” Hank said, “Trevor Ellis is our primary suspect, we may not have evidence that’s admissible yet, but I think I have an idea,” Hank said before finishing his beer, “Scott, you said you recognized the arrows, you said that Trevor foots the bill for these parties, he’s the one who buys everything,”

  Kramer smiled, he knew that look Hank had in his eyes, “Watch out T’s about to get on a roll,” he said.

  “If he bought those arrows, and if they’re as high quality and custom made as you said they are, we can probably ask around, go to sports shops, look for any indications on the arrow for who made them. These arrows were found at a crime scene, we can work in our prejudice to get the information, we get proof Trevor has those arrows, there’s our warrant, we take Jacobin in, run him through some rigors, get some DNA, match that DNA to the scene, already knowing it will, and we got him at the scene. As good a fight as a high dollar lawyer could put up, it’s going to be hard when it’s his client's blood matches at three separate crime scenes,” Hank said.

  Kramer smiled, “There he is, you ready to solve this partner? Looks like we got some foot work to do,” he said.

  “You get him in the station, it’s all over, we can end this,” Eleanor said.

  “What about the second blood type, the Vampire blood, think Jacobin is going to fess up to his girlfriend helping him out?” Scott asked.

  “Maybe, that’s where we do our job, right Kramer,” Hank said, lifting his beer to click with his partner’s.

  “Let’s do our jobs,” Kramer said.