Page 105 of Eternal Obsession

“Everyone’s here, ma’am,” Sgt. Blake said, taking the seat beside her.

“How’s Inspector Bradford holding up?” Ingrid asked.

“He’s in ICU. Apparently, he’s lost a lot of blood, and they’re trying to determine from where,” Sgt. Blake said.

“Oh my goodness. What happened?”

“Well he has all sorts of health problems,” Blake said. “So it’s probably his ulcer, but they’re running more tests.”

“Send my regards to his family, will you?”

“Will do, ma’am. Looks like you’re the it-girl. I hear the case is all yours.”

Detective Chief Inspector Vanderbilt began the briefing. Ingrid looked around, confirming the criminal forensic team, the senior forensic psychologist, and her other police colleagues were present.

“So far,” Ingrid raised her voice for the benefit of the crowd, “Dr. Ellison’s findings indicate that both girls were drained of blood. We’re awaiting test results to ascertain more. Excessive blood loss is the confirmed cause of death. We have primary sites, still unknown as place of death, and secondary, where the girls were dumped after death.

“As you are aware, the first girl found at Avebury was nineteen-year-old Tabitha Web. Tabitha left home at seventeen, and as far as we can tell, spent most of her time in London staying with friends until she disappeared from a friend’s flat in Notting Hill three days before her murder.

“She had a history of drug abuse. The drug use is the only connection we have between the two girls. Gillian Stewart is our second victim, twenty-one years in age with one prior for dealing and using. Similar story—left home, went to live in London, and then disappeared off the face of the earth until she turned up dead at Stonehenge today.

“Neither girl was sexually assaulted, though they were sexually active. The blood test results also indicated they both took the pill, so we know that they probably visited a doctor’s clinic.

“The blood tests confirm death by hemorrhage. Their hemoglobin had dropped to untraceable, bearing in mind the average female hemoglobin is 12-16 mg/dl. We are looking for small instruments used to make minute puncture marks.

“What’s most telling is that the blood loss is significantly less than what would be expected if it had been manually drained. That alone points to something sinister.

“We have no other leads, no other clues, no fingerprints at the scene or on the bodies. Whoever committed these crimes is astute at covering up their tracks. Any questions?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sgt. Blake said. “Were there really no footprints at Stonehenge?”

“Blake, I’m as baffled as you all are considering there is so much mud at Stonehenge. It’s difficult to comprehend, but forensics insist.”

With Ingrid’s laptop prepared in case she needed to refer to her notes, she began her presentation. “To recap, in the last two nights we have had two murders at two separate sacred sites. Two girls drained of their blood. The first strung up, the second laid down, both posed in respectful, somewhat sexual positions, naked.”

She flicked on the computer projector switch, throwing a wall-sized image of the first dead girl tied to the stone. “If you look carefully, she is positioned so that she appears asleep, not dead—her features calm, her long hair covering her body, staged as if in a painting or as an object of art.

“We are presented with images of beauty, indicating the killer’s sick imagination. Second image, again an ancient monument is chosen, the girl now lying down, perhaps reflecting the first. Positioned arms down by her sides, legs together indicating dignity, but again her nakedness proves her vulnerability.

“These are complex and contradictory images. They appear as messages, but they are difficult to decipher. We believe we are looking for one or two males working together. Their ages probably range from early twenties to late fifties. They are educated, possibly employed, and have a creative background—someone involved with art.

“Chances are they have no priors. We are looking for individuals with egos. These are high-profile murders, so the culprits crave the spotlight. I wonder if this is a cult killing, these sites indicating sacrifices to the gods, or God. Let us first review Avebury, a Neolithic monument, a large prehistoric tomb on the highest man-made hill in Europe, and with the most extensive hedge enclosure.

“Are the criminals sending us a message, perhaps of both human frailty but at the same time indicating the worth of that human? Now we move to Stonehenge. This monument predicts the dates of the lunar eclipse. The principal axis of the monument is oriented in order to take advantage of the direction of the sunrise at summer solstice.

“Incidentally, this falls on or around June 20 and 21. See a pattern here? The first girl was killed on the nineteenth at Avebury, the second at Stonehenge on the twentieth, and tomorrow, June the twenty-first, there may well be another murder on or close to these sites. In approximately ten hours, thousands will try to gather at Stonehenge for the summer solstice. As always, time is an issue. We’re probably not going to let anyone close. It’s a PR nightmare, but there you are.”

“Interestingly enough, bloodletting was used in rituals up until the early twentieth century. We saw this with the fossilized remains of humans found in the bogs all over Europe. We believe that the draining of their blood is also linked to their locations. Therefore, we are looking for a group of men or women who are perhaps copying these ancient rituals. They may even practice satanic worship or a form of witchcraft.

“So as you see, we have very little in the way of a refined lead. All I can say is I’m sure they will strike again and the victim will be another young girl, bled out and placed at one of our many places of heritage. My only suggestions are to place guards on these areas and hope that we get a lead this way. We also plan to investigate the locations where the young Goths and pseudo-vampires hang out.”

Ingrid gestured to her colleague. “Blake’s all over the web and Smith is working with the Metropolitan Police. I will handle the press. We are starting with the girls’ last whereabouts. As it’s London, the Met Police are on it. We believe we are looking for a club or group of individuals from London. Satanic rituals, however, are practiced predominantly in Scotland and Cornwall, so we are sending limited resources to local covens.”

“Witchcraft is heavily-practiced in these areas,” Sgt. Blake offered. “They tend to be more peaceful in nature, though they may have important information that may assist us.”

“Thanks Blake,” Ingrid said. “There is another possible lead. We’ve had reports from two local hospitals that units of blood were stolen from their laboratories. The first, the local hospital in Avebury; the second—and just before the second murder—a break in at Salisbury General. Only blood was taken, blood used in patient transfusions.

“We believe there is a possible connection. Staff have been alerted and hospital security heightened. We are also going to expend some resources investigating these activities. We meet back tomorrow unless something pressing arises.”