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“No. I have run the texts multiple times. I ran them myself. There is no pathogen, poison, parasite, or biological result that connects any of the deaths, except that the people were related to one another.” It was all Doc could do to remain civil as he explained it, yet again.

The voice on the phone, “There has to be something that connects them and you’re missing it.”

Doc counted before he replied. “Edgar.” His voice was unusually soft. “I have run the tests, that ‘you’ asked me to run.” He paused so that he could enunciate clearly and coldly. “If you would like more tests that you would like run, then Genesis Labs will be happy to oblige. However, we will not run these tests without the proper paperwork orders.”

“Charles.. work with me here! I have five members of an extended family that were all seemingly healthy.. and then they died. One after the other, each death is approximately 48 hours apart. Two would be a coincidence. Five?! No.. that is no coincidence. There is something killing these people.. and I have no explanation. The cops are hounding me. They think it’s murder.. but you are telling me poison isn’t the culprit. And there are no marks on the bodies! Hospital Administration is telling me, they wont authorize anymore texts. I don’t know what else to do! The sister keeps saying they are cursed and nothing can save them. The family is going nuts. They keep calling wanting information. After the fourth death, they all moved out of their homes into hotels. Different hotels. But then the fifth one died, in a hotel. There has to be something biological or environmental acting on this family.”

Doc sighed. “Send me the file. I will look at it and see if there any tests that might help, that you may have overlooked. But Edgar,” He paused, “You were thorough.”

“Thank you Charles. You don’t know how much this means to me. I will send it right now!”

-----

Several hours later, Doc took a break from reading the medical records. He headed outside to have a smoke while he pondered the information in the files. What he had not known previously, when he was running the tests, was specifics of each victim. Yes they were all related but they were not from single family. There were brothers that had not lived in the same home in over thirty years. A cousin that lived out of state. An aunt, the first victim, who was old, and whose death was attributed to natural causes, until the second death. And finally there was nephew, the youngest at only fifteen years old. The youngest victim was an athlete who was renowned for being anti drugs, anti alcohol, because he intended to get an athletic scholarship for University.

He continued to lean against the outside wall of the Lab, as he ran through the different tests. The drug panels would take some time before all came back. But the first two victims’ drug panels had come back, and they were clean. Neither had any illicit drug in their systems. The Aunt had small amount of a diuretic in hers, but that was to be expected for a woman of her age. It was clear he wasn’t going to get what he needed from the files. He would need to see the bodies.

-----

At the morgue, Doc went over each body in minute detail. The bodies had been released due to the fact there was cause to believe the manner of death was unnatural and man made. He started with the first victim. He was checking for needle marks, bruising that may not have been present when the body was first seen. That was typically the case when there was deep tissue bruising close to death. Those type bruises take several days, some times a week or more to show up. Many times a body was buried before they showed, and only after the body was exhumed did the bruises get seen.

It had been eleven days since the first victim died. There was no post mortem bruising on the body. No needle marks, no signs of any type of trauma. The body was pristine. As though she died in her sleep. And body after body, he found the same thing. No signs of trauma, no bruising, no needle marks. It truly was a puzzle. Five health well nourished bodies with no medical, biological, environmental reasons to be dead.. that were dead. It did not make sense. That meant he had to go back to the beginning.

Charting the victims by age, location, occupations, and habits, the only thing they all seemed to have in common was the fact they lived in the outskirts of the city. Almost in the wilderness. All of the them except the cousin. However the cousin had visited due to the death of the Aunt and stayed with one of the uncles.

Could it be an environmental aspect? Had he been asked this four years ago, he would have discounted it. But now? Now that he knew of the existence of the Fae? But would the Fae attack humans? If so, why this family? Doc rubbed his chin, and paused. Vampires exist, Fae exist, could it be something supernatural? Something he had not seen before? Picking the phone, he called his connection at the University. He was a given a number and a name Calen Phair, with Paranormal Studies.

Doc called the number, getting an answering machine, he left a brief message. “Dr. Charles Nilson. I would like to consult with you on a possible case. It may be nothing. But anytime you can give me would be greatly appreciated.”

The air outside was crisp and cold, just as every winter was meant to be. As part of the minority, I happened to love the sting the wind left on my face and the need to bundle in layers to keep warm. My hatred of the heat was so intense that I never even bothered with heating during the colder months. Potentially crazy, but less expensive and more my style. I could always get warmer...I could not always cool down.

I raised my cigarette to my lip, watching various students move about campus. When I had first arrived, it was a ghost town, many of the students away on Winter Break, but as the days passed, more and more were returning. Naturally, not a one knew who I was, and that suited me fine. They would know soon enough.

Letting the smoke from my lips, I glanced down at my watch. Ten minutes left of my lunch hour before I would be needed in the Dean's office to deliver my semester's plans for his approval. With a heavy sigh, I dropped the cigarette, stamping it out.

Might as well get it over with.


I stared at the Dean, hardly in the mood for his attitude. I had arrived with the schedules and syllabi for my classes, before the deadline he had given me. I had done everything as asked to a 'T," and somehow, that still warranted a lecture on how the school was run, and the expectations they had for me as their newest professor. Scholars seemed to think my age was reason to doubt my abilities and knowledge, and at some point, I was quite sure I would snap. This was no exception, but I stood there and took it with nods at the appropriate times and the occasional 'mhm' thrown in, as well. I wanted this job to work out, and burning bridges before the semester even started seemed the wrong way to go.

"We are done here, Calen. Could you do me a favor, and drop these files off to Ms. Lauren?"

I resisted the urge to decline, instead taking them under my arm. I gave the corrupt ol' man a single hand wave and marched out of his office, fuming over the berating he felt right to give me. Letting it fester like a wound would do me no go, though, and I did my best to brush it off. Thankfully, arriving the office put my mind at ease as I slipped inside to deliver the files. "These are from the Dean. I assume you know what to do with them? I asked, positive I could simply leave them there with no consequences, to which, the woman nodded.

Content to just return to my office, I pondered the idea of making a fresh cup of coffee before returning to work. I needed to find articles for Occult 101, ones I felt sufficiently fit into the timeline. Currently, I needed five, and with all the hocus pocus that got written, I would be searching for those five sources for a good block of time. But, if I kept at it, I would be home before 6pm, which was a rarity all on its own.

As I unlocked the door to my office, I immediately took in the sight of the red light flashed on the telephone that signaled a message. I hadn't been gone long, so the call had come in recently, and that irritated me. If the Dean hadn't kept me, I would've been in my office for the call. Regardless, being annoyed was of little use and I settled into my desk chair to play the message.

"Dr. Charles Nilson. I would like to consult with you on a possible case. It may be nothing. But anytime you can give me would be greatly appreciated.”

The message caused a ripple of confusion through my system, leaving me unsure what sort of case I could be of assistance with. However, I would never know if I didn't return the call, at all. I listened to it one more time to catch a number, writing it down on a scrap paper.

I listened to dialtone for a moment before punching in the number and letting it ring. "This is Calen Phair from the University at Harper Rock. I am returning your call on a possible consultation?"

Doc was still mulling over the cases. The only thing in common was the fact they were all in the same family. Five deaths in one family in a span of two weeks, literally screamed ‘murder’. However, with murder, one typically needed a murderer. There was nothing that pointed the finger at anyone. There was no smoking gun. No blow dart to be tracked back to anyone.

His contact at the University said that this fellow Phair was young, but capable. Doc hoped he wasn’t the type to just jump at the least little thing and claim paranormal. And he had to make very clear that this was confidential and not something that would to be bandied about by the water cooler. Ideally Doc wanted to meet face to face to the man, before any major detailed were divulged. He was once more reading the individual files when something stood out for him. It wasn’t anything major, and it may turn out to be nothing. The first victim appeared to die in her sleep from natural causes, as would be expected due to her age. The next victim also died in his sleep. The next three victims fell into a coma and then expired. His thoughts were interrupted when by the ringing of his phone.

"This is Calen Phair from the University at Harper Rock. I am returning your call on a possible consultation?"

Doc had not expected a return call so quickly. He didn’t know if this was a good or bad sign. Did it mean that the man had nothing better to do, and would jump at the chance of getting out in the field? And thereby throw up anything and everything in order to make a paranormal case. Or, was it the opposite? The man had no desire to consult, was merely being polite and would use the first excuse possible to disentangle himself from the request that impinged on his time.

“Yes, thank you for returning my call so expeditiously. The case which I mentioned in my message, is one which would need to be considered confidential, requiring the proper documentation to be signed and in place and on file. If you did agree to discuss it with me, the persons involved in the case, would be referred to by number, not name. And as you may be wondering, the case involves a situation that would need to be discussed in person. Does this sound like something you would be willing to discuss further?”

Doc laid out the parameters of how the meeting would have to go. It was necessary to ensure the proper confidentiality. Yes the people were deceased, but their family was not. And if there was ever a chance a lawsuit, it would be because the victims names got and into the press. Once things hit the press, it was ‘no holds barred’. The press printed what ‘it’ wanted, when ‘it’ wanted; whether it was the truth or not. And having this situation hit the press, was the last thing he wanted to happen. For a few reasons, he still had a good relationship with the hospital, which he did not want to jeopardize. The second, he didn’t want his name in the press. Given his true nature, he needed to phase himself out of the press instead of making ‘press’.

Being was used to laying out parameters, what Doc wasn’t used to someone in the professional arena with the ability to ...decline. And as the silence lengthened, he was faced with the very real aspect that, someone… someone that he needed… might tell him ..no. Quickly his thoughts turned, how could he spin this to his advantage? Well first of all, the paranormal was not openly accepted; and with that being the case, to have a paranormalist decline, merely meant he, Doc, ‘had crossed all the t’s and dotted all the i’s’. He was covering all his bases. Right? So he was caught off guard when Calen agreed.

Hopefully without missing a beat, Doc said, “My daughter goes to the Harper Rock University, we could meet at the University Library. Or if that is not agreeable, due to the need for solitude.. there is a diner I like, they know me there.. know that I tend to be a loner; so to speak. If we went go in during off peak hours, we would not be bothered.” He grinned, “I tip well.. Or, I have a lab.” He winced to himself, “I would rather not do it there to be honest.. I have confidentiality clauses on all my employees.. but you never know. Young people today.. they smell a story and quick buck.. they will sell you out in a heart beat. Then again, you are free to propose a location.”

Doc paused again, “As to how soon we meet, that is up to you. I think I have expressed the urgency it for me and law enforcement; so the sooner the better. You name a time, I will clear my calendar.”

Yes. Doc just played his hand. If this Calen Phair was not what he claimed to be, he would find out soon enough. But if he was, what Doc hoped, he would be more interested in the case, than getting his name in scholastic paper. Should the the case turn out to be paranormal, Doc had no problem with Calen publishing as long as the confidentiality was maintained. It could be done in the medical journals. But in dealing with the paranormal, he was not sure what those particular journals required in the way of proof and or corroboration. He had a feeling it would be a more exacting requirement than was required in medicine. Medicine was a known and accepted science. The paranormal was not. He had no desire to hamstring Professor Phair from getting published, but then again,he risked a lot if his name was tied to it.