Luther Cross, Volume 1: The Reckoning

  ***

  “I apologize for keeping you waiting,” said Dr. Hart upon entering his office. “Things have been quite hectic around here since the incident.”

  Luther rose from his seat in front of Hart’s desk and accepted the handshake offered by the county medical examiner. “Not a problem, Doctor. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”

  “Not at all, Agent…?”

  “Cross. Luther Cross.” He smiled as he offered his name, a soft glow to his eyes. One of the by-products of being half demon meant that he could influence people, provided the circumstances were right. Unlike Gardner and Fletcher at the school, Hart (and his secretary) had no reason not to trust Luther, and that made it all the easier for Luther to make Hart’s secretary believe she had seen an FBI badge instead of a business card.

  “Please.” Hart motioned to the chair Luther rose from and then walked around to sit behind his desk. “Thank you again for coming down here, Agent Cross. I was considering giving the Bureau a call. Frankly, this is one of the strangest cases I’ve ever seen.”

  “It’s just a simple school shooting, though, isn’t it?”

  “That’s just what the public has been told,” said Hart. “In reality, my examination of the victims has turned up some interesting findings.”

  “Such as?”

  “Well, there were a total of fifty fatalities—forty three students and seven teachers. And of those fifty fatalities, not a single round of ammunition was recovered.”

  Luther sat back in his seat and steepled his fingers together. “That’s unusual.”

  “Yes, it is. What’s more there isn’t a trace of gunshot residue. We’ve checked with the Sheriff’s Department and their investigation of the crime scene turned up no spent ammunition anywhere in the building. No recovered rounds from the holes in the walls when the gunman missed his target.”

  “How is that possible?”

  Hart chuckled. “It’s not. Nothing about this case makes a lick of sense. How does a gunman kill fifty people and leave no trace? How does he escape a building surrounded by police with no one seeing where he went?”

  Cross knew that for the uninitiated, there was no possible way for it to make any sense. But Luther was already starting to form his own opinions. The presence of a vast degree of negative energy, the lack of any physical evidence, and what Whitey had discovered from beyond the veil was enough for Luther to begin to form a theory of what happened. If there was no recovered ammunition, that could only mean that there were no actual guns used in this shooting.

  Luther rose. “Thank you for your time, Dr. Hart.”

  Hart looked confused. “That’s it?”

  “I believe I have all I need to begin my investigation.”

  “Would…would you like to see my report at least? Do you have a theory?”

  “Nothing I’m at liberty to discuss at the moment. Again, thank you, Doctor.” Luther extended his hand. Hart rose and shook it.

  “Thank you for coming down, Agent Cross. I’m sorry I don’t have anything more to offer.”

  “Quite the opposite, you’ve given me plenty,” said Luther. “Have a good day.”