Pt. III: Mysterious Disappearance
Several weeks after her strange encounters of the sexual kind with Danel, Laurie had some unusual but familiar feelings. She went to the local drug store and purchased an ANSWER PLUS home pregnancy test.
Purple haze. On the way to the store she sang ...
"Purple Haze all in my brain;
Many things just don't seem the same.
Acting funny but I don't know why.
'Scuze me while I kiss the sky.
Purple Haze, all around.
Don't know if I'm coming up or down.
Am I happy or in misery?
Whatever it is, that angel put a spell on me.
Purple Haze all in my eyes.
Don't know if it's day or night.
You got me blowin', blowin' my mind.
Is it tomorrow or just the end of time?"
"Hey, it wasn't the Purple Haze; it was the Angeldew!" Laurie whispered to herself and smirked. Laurie recalled fondly the wild and crazy story Danel had told her about Alexander the Great while they were catching their breath in between orgasms.
Danel had told her, "Alexander the Great sang Purple Haze when his army arrived at the gates of Jerusalem. Verses 21 and 22 of the eighth chapter of the book of Daniel are all about demonic possession. Alexander wanted to conquer the world and he almost did, and he wanted to be God. A formal deification law was passed in Athens. Alexander demanded that his subjects prostate themselves before him which was considered an act of worship by the Greeks. He insisted that he be called "the Great." The Egyptians made him their Pharaoh and worshipped him along with their other gods."
"The demonic spirit that possessed Alexander the Great was exorcised by God at the gates of Jerusalem. This occurred as Alexander was given a copy of the book of Daniel, and as he read it, the Purple Haze evaporated. Instead of destroying Jerusalem as he planned, Alexander departed for Babylon, and when he got there he soon died. Nobody knows for sure why he died. Perhaps it was because he lost his spirit; his demonic spirit. This same demonic spirit will possess the one known as the Antichrist during the last three and one half years of this generation. Purple Haze is not about LSD as some have sung. Its power far exceeds drugs. Some, however, will think they are under the influence of hallucinogens when they witness the miracles performed by the supernaturally induced Antichrist."
Laurie had told Danel he was full of it and Jimi Hendrix did Purple Haze but he wouldn't listen. She knew what the results of the ANSWER PLUS would be but she went through the motions anyway. She placed the required liquid in the urine collection lid and followed all the other instructions. Yes, the results were purple just as she suspected. A hazy purple.
Her suitcase was packed before she even took the pregnancy test. She threw the bag in her 1990 Ford Tempo and drove off toward the desert. She mysteriously disappeared.
Jack Davis had been involved extensively in the criminal justice system for twenty-five years, solving unusual and difficult cases all over the world. He was rather disgusted with the serious flaws in that justice system which included, in his considered opinion, the lack of properly trained criminal investigators.
Jack felt the problem with society in general, and the justice system specifically, was that nobody wanted to be honest. He told his intimate friends that he couldn't find many people, other than very secretively or privately, who were willing to be candid anymore. Too afraid of not being politically correct and apathetic and reluctant to get involved he thought.
Having been a former military intelligence officer and a Navy Seal, a CIA operative for five years, and now a private investigator with a broad client base ranging from ordinary citizens to Fortune 500 corporations and Lloyd's of London, Jack had been exposed to just about every type of illegal behavior. Davis had been primarily responsible with solving several high-profile murder cases and many other many crimes. He had been retained by numerous police departments and governmental security agencies to conduct a variety of complex criminal investigations. He also on occasion was technical consultant to several rather famous authors of both crime fiction and nonfiction.
Jack had become at this point in his career and his life financially and intellectually independent to the point where he could pick and choose his cases. He was fanatic about constitutional issues and often accepted a case because it involved a violation of constitutional rights, which he considered detestable. Otherwise he selected cases which he found extraordinarily interesting to him personally and which nobody else seemed to be able to make much progress in solving.
One of the late Professor Masterson's colleague's, Brett Sanderson, was a close friend of Jack's. Brett taught such courses as "Forensic Chemistry and Trace Analysis and Toxicology" and "Chemical Microscopy and Ultramicroanalysis." He and Jack often compared notes for one reason or another.
Brett persuaded Jack to become involved in the Masterson murder case. The Las Vegas metropolitan police and the security people from the casino in question had no substantial leads, other than the description of the stunningly beautiful women who spent time with Dr. Masterson in his last hours. The brutal nature of the crime and the methods employed, penectomy and vampirism, fascinated Davis. He hated to fly but he loved to drive so off to Vegas he headed in his new car.
Jack had owned a 1966 XJ13 Jaguar, several Corvettes and a red 1986 Porshe Carrera Cabriolet but this Mercedes-Benz SLK was the ultimate sports car as far as he was concerned. His was black and one of the first stick shifts sold in the U.S. and was equipped with the optional Sport Package. This car drew attention wherever he went, much like an extraordinarily attractive woman.
Frankie Mancuso, Chief of Security of the casino where Dr. Masterson was murdered, was more than pleased to have the assistance of Jack Davis. Frankie knew of his reputation, admired him immensely and was drawn to him immediately because of his obvious competence and considerable charm. He virtually turned the case over to Jack and gave him copies of every bit of information in his files.
Frankie had a friend with him when he met with Jack. Somebody Jack knew from way back when. Sam Hanson, now a civilian, but once upon a time Deputy Chief of Investigative Services, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police. Sam was still very much involved in police affairs in an unofficial capacity but with the blessing and encouragement of the powers that be. He served as liaison between Las Vegas Metro, the people like Frankie who handled security for the casinos and P.I.'s, reporters and others who got involved in controversial incidents. There was an unwritten code of conduct, for the most part, that undesirable publicity for Vegas be minimized if possible.
Jack could remember way back when, more than twenty-five years ago, when Sam Hanson was instrumental in the merging of the Clark County Sheriff's Department and the Las Vegas Police Department, the consolidation now headed by a duly elected Sheriff. Although Jack had many misgivings about police departments, he felt Las Vegas ran the most efficient and professional law enforcement operation in the country, by far.
Frankie, Sam and Jack decided to have lunch and spent hours talking about various cases, old and new. The Ted Binion murder case of course was a prominent topic of discussion. All three felt the case was rather clear-cut in terms of evidence and motive but very interesting because of all the media attention and public interest. As Sam said, "What about O.J., 'eh?" Who knew what the ultimate outcome of the Binion case would be, despite the evidence.
The three decided that Jack's contact would be Sam. Frankie wasn't actually interested all that much in who did what. He was more interested in preventing any bad publicity from coming down on the casino which employed him, and of which he was also a minority owner. Jack wasn't surprised at all about Frankie's attitude. That's what it was all about in Vegas. Image and entertainment and making the customer come back again to spend even more money. Murder was not good for public relations.
A few items in the files that Frankie and Sam had given him immediately caught Jack's attention. He sent samples via Federal Express to Brett back at the university, requesting isoenzyme and serum protein analysis, electrophoresis, esoelectric focusing and DNA typing.
Three days later Brett called, in shock. "Jack, Jack, this is phenomenal! Whoever murdered Masterson is not human! I know this sounds strange, but I just don't think ... "
"Shut up Brett. That's exactly what I thought. This is between you and I for now. There doesn't seem to be much of anything that can help me backtrack to find out where she came from. I think I'll have more success finding out where she went. But only if she leaves a trail of other victims. Stay in touch and let me know me immediately if you get any brainstorms. I'll do likewise."
