Phoenix Rising

I am all.
I am nothing.
I am your brightest, most beautiful dream, and your

I am the burning golden heat of the sun, and the quiet, silver-blue shadows of the moon.
I am man. I am woman.
I am nothing.
I am all.

T
HE
phone on the nightstand woke Homicide Detective Artemis Gregory just past 4:00 a.m. Stubbornly keeping his eyes closed despite there being no chance in hell he’d be able to go back to sleep, he grabbed it without fumbling from long practice. “Gregory.”

“We’ve got another one,” his partner, Rachel Wayland, said in her sexy “I don’t smoke but I sound like I do” voice.
Gregory immediately got a picture of her in his mind: tall, slender, long auburn hair always clipped back, warm brown eyes, mobile mouth. She was pretty enough to model but dismissed her good looks, preferring to work in law enforcement. She’d told him more than once how much she enjoyed partnering with him.
“I like that you’re gay, Gregory. I like knowing you will never be the slightest bit tempted to hit on me.”
“Is it our moon killer?” This would be the third. First night of each month’s full moon, a young, attractive man was killed. They were hunting another loony tune who possibly saw himself as a werewolf, though this one, at least, didn’t bite off chunks of his victim’s flesh. In fact, they didn’t know how he killed them, only that he fucked them and then they croaked. There had been 536 homicides in NYC the year before; similarities were carefully tracked in all cases, and these deaths stood out because there was no obvious cause for them.
“Initial reports point that way.” She rattled off the address. “Bring coffee, and maybe croissants?”
Grinning, he hung up, stretched, rose, and dressed. Expecting the call, he’d showered before bed, just in case. So far they had lots of DNA,but no matches. The killer’s prints were not listed in IAFIS (Integrated Automated Fingerprint ID System), nor had they gotten a hit at CODIS (Combined DNA Index System). After this killing, a task force would be assembled, and someone at ViCAP (Violent Criminal Apprehension Program) would probably get involved. He hoped the FBI didn’t send a complete weenie.
He looked at himself in the mirror as he brushed his teeth. No gray hairs yet in his short black hair, even though being a cop was famous for causing early aging. His brown eyes were still clear, and there were no lines around them or his wide mouth. His tall, tightly muscled body was holding up, too, despite his not having time to visit the gym; mostly he did free weights at home and sit-ups to keep his stomach flat.
Not bad for 33. I could get me some, if I had the time.
He rinsed and spit, dragged a comb through his hair, and left.
The streets were full of garbage trucks and drunks. In a couple hours, buses and cars would start to move. Humidity was already making the hot summer air worse. He loved this city. He also hated it, having grown up in Michigan. The Upper Peninsula was quite possibly the most beautiful place in the world, if you loved trees and water and more trees. It was a backpacker’s wet dream. But you also had to love winter, because it started early and stayed late. After high school, his family decided they didn’t love it that much anymore and moved to New York, where Artemis eventually attended college before moving on to the police academy. He considered himself a New Yorker now, another denizen of the over-crowded city, but recently he’d been dreaming of trees and water and more trees.
He stopped at a Starbucks on the way to the crime scene. If he forgot Rachel’s coffee, she’d kill him.
Lots of people were milling around the brownstone when he arrived. Someone recognized him and said, “Second floor back.”
Nodding, Artemis galloped up the stoop and through the open door, careful not to spill or drop anything. “Second floor back” was teeming with CSU and other interested parties, but only the ME and CSU were in the bedroom with the body. NYPD threw lots of people at a major crime. Sometimes this worked well. At other times, it merely muddied the waters.
Rachel nodded at him, took her coffee and croissant, and handed him a pair of latex gloves. He slipped them on, gazing at the victim. “Not in here,” he cautioned her.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Thisisn’t my first rodeo.”
“Uh-uh.” No food or liquid at a crime scene. It could contaminate evidence, and the smell alone might mask other odors. “Who called this in?”
“One of his roommates. You saw him in the other room.”
Artemis remembered. A nice-looking young man with eyes red from crying and wet pants; he’d pissed himself upon finding the body.
Rachel continued. “Came home to quite a surprise. Third roommate is away, visiting his sister in Jersey.”
The victim was young, beautiful, and naked, his limbs spread-eagled on the bed. “He looks
arranged
, don’t you think?” He eyed the body with interest. The skin was uniformly pale, untouched by the sun. The expression on the dead man’s face was calm, peaceful. His lower legs were covered with scratches, deep enough to bleed. Cameras flashed as CSU took pictures.
“
Cause of death?”
John Nolan, the medical examiner, swabbed an intimate part of the victim’s body. “Have to wait for the autopsy, but I suspect it will be the same as the other two. ‘No apparent cause of death'.” He frowned. “It’s just not right.”
“Has the victim been ID'd?” Artemis asked. His roommates, family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers would be questioned politely but extensively by the NYPD over the next few days.
“Donny Carlson,” one of the CSU offered. “Found his wallet in the nightstand. He was twenty years old. He had a driver’s license issued in Illinois. Letters from home found near the door indicate he only recently arrived in our fair city. Roommate confirms Carlson moved in a couple months ago.”
Donny probably had parents, maybe siblings. He’d certainly had dreams, and had come here to fulfill them. Artemis waited for Nolan to finish collecting his samples, including scraping under the nails, before doing a quick examination of his own.
On Carlson’s back, Artemis found a small gold-inked tattoo of a bird with outstretched wings. It was beautiful and exquisitely detailed. He’d seen it before on the first victim, only that one had been on a left hip. They’d canvassed some of the shops, asking about it, and tracked it to a place in Times Square named Demon Tattoos. The owner had told them the design was exclusive to that shop and was proving popular with fans of the rock band Phoenix Rising. He’d provided a list of clients who had asked for it, but nothing further had been done with it.
“Nolan? Preliminary findings?”
“Mr. Carlson engaged in anal sex shortly before death. No condom. I got a sample of the semen.”
“Consensual?”
“As far as I can tell. Minor anal tears, as you might expect, no blood,lots of lubricant.”
Artemis frowned. “Barebacking, just like the first two victims.”
He grabbed his bag. “We done here?”
“For now. Send me the report as soon as it’s completed.”
It was difficult to take his eyes off Donny Carlson. Under other circumstances, Artemis might have ended up with him after meeting him at some bar. Instead, Carlson had gone home with someone inappropriate and been killed. Artemis took pictures with his cell, most of them of the bird tattoo.
Donny was bagged, loaded onto a stretcher, and taken from the room. The CSU swarmed, gathering evidence now revealed by the body’s removal. One of them handed an evidence bag to Artemis. “Take a look at that.”
Inside the bag was a feather about three inches long, gently curved tip to end, the barbs an iridescent gold that flashed red as he turned it under the ceiling light. Below the barbs and above the calamusthe hollow shaft that was inserted into skinwere downy after-feathers. “Did Donny or a roommate have a bird?” he asked the room. Various negative responses came back. He held the bag up. “Anyone know what bird this belongs to?”
Everyone glanced his way, then shrugged and went back to work. Artemis handed the bag back to the CSU; it would go to the lab for study when they returned to headquarters.
He gave Rachel a sharp look. “Demon Tattoos. Let’s go.”

Art is the most beautiful deception of all. And although people try to incorporate the everyday events of life in it, we must hope that it will remain a deception, lest it become a utilitarian thing, sad as a factory.

H
E REVIEWED
the files from the first two murders while Rachel drove. She did this one-handed, as she was busy eating her pastry and sucking down coffee with the other.

This shit is only lukewarm.”
“I’d rather have a toilet,” he responded, reviewing notes
of the first murder. “Winged bird tat found on left hip of the
first vic, Jason Embry. Skin and blood from the nail
scrapings were not his, and again, semen up the ass. No
feathers at that scene, or the second one. Hair samples,
though, head and pubes. Subsequent DNA tests confirmed
perp was the same in both murders.” He growled softly, still
reading. “Tons of DNA, fingerprints, and no match anywhere.
This guy is a cipher.”
“We’re gonna have the FBI on our asses after this one.
Three murders equals serial killer,” she said, barreling
around a corner. Her coffee cup tilted and spilled. “Shit.” Artemis jerked his leg away from the liquid. “Good thing
it’s lukewarm, huh?”
“Sorry. We’re looking for a Caucasian with straight
blond hair, worn rather long, and if he fits the usual profile,
he’s between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, has a
higher-than-average IQ, and chooses his victims from a very
select group: gorgeous young gay men.” She twitched her lips
at him. “Something I’m betting you know a little about.” “Are you suggesting that sleeping with men makes me
an authority on everything gay, including who might be
killing them?” He tried to keep the irritation out of his voice. She shrugged, not bothered by his tone. They had long
since reached the point in their partnership where
annoyances could be borne. “You know more about that
culture than I do.”
He looked away from her and out the passenger window.
The sky was gunmetal gray with the faintest touches of
yellow at the zenith; the sun was up, but down here in the
concrete canyon, it would take a while to make its presence
known. “The victims didn’t know each other. They didn’t
work in related industries. They didn’t come from the same
hometown or even the same state. Maybe they ran into each
other at a club or bar, but there are no witnesses to that.
Something connects them, but what?”
“We’ll get it,” Rachel assured him, pulling into the curb
and parking.
He found himself looking at Demon Tattoos, its security
bars still in place. “Not open yet, but there’s a light on in back. Let’s bang on the alley door, throw some official weight
around.”
It took a while, but eventually a grizzled, sleepy-eyed
man answered their pounding. Scratching his impressively
large, T-shirted belly, he yawned. “Whaddaya want? Place
don’t open for another hour.” They flashed their badges. “I
already talked to the cops a few weeks ago. Now what?” With Rachel on his heels, Artemis pushed his way
inside, finding himself in an untidy living space. A cot was
shoved in one corner, a hot plate in another, and clothing
hung from hooks on a wall. Frowning, he looked at the man.
“Nelson Creed, right? That’s your name?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled, this time scratching one thigh. His
hair stood up in sleep spikes, and he hadn’t shaved in a few
days.
“There’s been another murder.” Artemis pulled the
phone out of his pocket. “You talked to different guys last
time. Now talk to us. Tell us about the bird design.” He
found the picture on his phone and flipped it around,
holding it at arm’s length.
Creed squinted at it. “Yeah, the phoenix. Girls like it.
Also very popular with fans of the band.” He glanced up.
“Phoenix Rising. Really big in Europe, recently came over
here.”
Rachel wandered around the room, looking here,
touching lightly there. “I have tickets to their Central Park
concert.”
Creed’s eyes widened. “Seriously? Jesus, how in hell did
you score those?”
She shrugged. “My nephew works in the ticket office. He
saved me a couple.”
“You are one lucky bitch… uh, woman. I don’t suppose
you’d consider selling me one?”
Rachel laughed. “Nope. I know what they’re worth.” Artemis gave her a raised eyebrow before addressing
Creed. “This design is exclusive to your shop?”
Creed nodded. “Follow me.” He led them out front,
turned on the lights, and grabbed a thick binder off the
counter, thumbing through it until he found what he was
looking for. He handed it to Artemis. “This is the flash.” Rachel leaned over Artemis’s shoulder. “That’s a really
beautiful design.”
The color work was under plastic on the left, a line
drawing on the right. Artemis took a picture of both pages
with his cell.
“Flash,” Creed said again. “Learn the lingo. You’ll
impress your friends.” He gargled a laugh. “The band’s
business manager arranged it with me, said I could use it to
promote them. It’s been popular.”
“And he didn’t give you concert tickets?” Rachel asked,
her voice dripping sweetness.
Creed glared. “I asked. He said they were sold out.
Maybe it would have helped if I’d been a cop.”
“It would have helped if you’d been related to him. Got
the manager’s phone number?” He did, and she wrote it
down.
Artemis asked, “Is that common, being given exclusive
use of a design?” Rachel always did that, distracted people
while he asked the questions. It usually served them well,
sometimes resulting in revelations they would not have otherwise gotten. With Creed, it helped put him at ease,
which, if you’re a cop, is no small thing.
“Sure. I put it in my advertising and it brings in
customers. He gets a cut every time I use it. We both win.” Artemis flipped through pictures on his phone.
“Recognize him?” He shoved the cell in Creed’s face. It was a
picture of dead Donny Carlson.
He shook his head. “One of the others must have
worked on him. Anybody can follow a line drawing if they’re
experienced with the gun.”
“Gun?”
He gave Artemis a pitying look. “Piercing gun, not the
kind you carry around.”
“How many operators work here?” Rachel asked. “Three, plus me. It’s a small shop, but getting more
popular all the time.” He grinned at Rachel. “I’ll do you for
free, baby. Want an angel on your shoulder?”
She snorted softly. “No, thanks. I’m not into selfmutilation.”
Artemis bit his lip to stop his chuckle. “I need a list of
everyone who’s gotten this tattoo.”
“I already provided that,” he said with exaggerated
patience.
“That was weeks ago,” Artemis said. “Consider it an
update.”