Prey for Me

Pt. VI: The Screech Owl

During the short ride to the scene of the crime, or at least where the victim was discovered, Caitlin did all the talking. "Do you know Las Vegas is by far the fastest growing city and has grown 55% in the past eight years? Do you know over 150 people move to Las Vegas every day? Do you know Las Vegas has four churches for every casino?" On and on she went. Jack was getting slightly irritated at her incessant yapping but Brett didn't mind at all. She was sitting on his lap again in the Mercedes convertible.

Miyuki Huang's body was found in a synagogue, a traditional chabad, on the southern outskirts of Las Vegas. The late Mr. Huang was missing his penis and his body was drained of blood. He had last been seen in the company of a beautiful woman at the Comdex Convention on November 16.

Sam Hanson, the unofficial but very much in charge police liaison had already prepared a preliminary report by the time Jack Davis, Brett Sanderson and Caitlin Cornplanter arrived. Sam permitted them to view the badly decomposed body. Mr. Huang had been deceased for more than two weeks. Jack asked Caitlin if she wanted to wait outside the morgue but she insisted on viewing the corpse.

"I'll summarize what I have learned in the past two weeks about our friend Mr. Huang here," Sam began. "He was a yakuza. Japanese mafia. His interest in Comdex was technology. Rumor has it he was looking to purchase something in particular but nobody could quite put a finger on exactly what for me. Here's a copy of the entire report and all the witness statements. You can see for yourself what they said about the woman. I suggest you talk to his associate, Kazua Masuda, supposedly his computer guru. I don't understand most of the lingo they were spouting about Comdex."

"Jack, please, can we go?" Caitlin said abruptly. "I don't feel well." She was kicking him subtly in the shin. Jack didn't think she looked upset when she viewed the very ripe Mr. Huang.

"What is your problem, woman?" Jack chortled as they got back in his Mercedes.

"I'll tell you. Let's stop at a bar. I need some firewater."

"It's a little early for a shot of tequila and a beer, young lady," Jack chastised kindly. "I know a place. You can have one glass of merlot."

"Oh, you are giving me orders now? You want me to kiss and tell, buy me a bottle. And cabernet sauvignon not merlot."

The place was off the beaten path in a shopping center off the I-95 Lake Mead Boulevard West exit. A cafe and wine bar. Caitlin was starved as usual and ordered poached salmon and a bottle of Peju. She ordered a bottle of Gaulach Bundschu for the boys and steamed little neck clams and New Zealand mussels for both of them, only because they frowned when she said salmon. "Hey guys, it's on me. If you don't like it, I'll eat and drink it."

They drank the wine and chatted amicably until Caitlin, and they were waiting for her to get to whatever it was she was going to get to, got a very serious look on her face.

"It was the tebori tattoo on Mr. Huang's right hand that shocked me," Caitlin began. "Tebori as you may know is the Japanese word for hand tattooing practiced there for more than four centuries. Tattooing has a very long history in Japan dating back to 5,000 BC or older. Clay figures from that era with faces engraved to represent tattoo marks were discovered in tombs. I won't bore you with all history but tattooing in Japan became illegal. The yakuza relished tattooing because it was illegal and enhanced their reputation as outlaws."

Caitlin continued her dissertation. "The great ancient Japanese tattooists were given the title 'hori' and thought to be supernaturally gifted. As you observed Mr. Huang's body was covered with many tattoos. One was of utmost interest to me for two reasons. First, it was fresh. Probably a couple weeks' old at most. Fresh tattoos shed and stain clothing and such. When you went through his personal effects, didn't you notice the stains on his pants, on the right knee? The police report indicates his hand was resting knuckles down on his right knee. You get my drift here? Perhaps it was our beautiful perpetrator who gave Mr. Huang the new tattoo, either shortly before or even after she murdered him. Second, it was the nature of that tattoo on his right hand that particularly intrigued me. The tattoo was that of an asherah, an ancient phallic symbol. According to ancient Jewish pseudepigraphical literature, the same tattoo was found on a brother of Goliath named Lahmi."

"You will find Lahmi in, I believe 1 Chronicles, chapter 20, which describes his slaying. Lahmi was of the Rephaim, a branch of the Nephilim according to the legend. The Rephaim, the living dead. Og of Bashan was also of the Rephraim, a Hebrew word which actually means deceased yet they live."

"And just how would I know about tebori?" Caitlin asked. She pulled her flannel shirt out of her jeans and up to her bra and exposed the tattoo above her navel. She tried to distract their shock at her public display with, "Of course you are familiar with the earliest sacrilegious tattooing. Jehoaikim defied God by having his mistress tattoo the Sacred Name on his penis and then he had incestuous sexual encounters with members of his family. What's with you two guys? I can't tell if you are bug-eyed because of my tattoo or because of what I said."

Jack wasn't about to touch this one. He could tell Brett was trying to speak so Jack decided he would let good old Brett put his foot in his mouth instead of himself.

Brett stammered, "Well, uh, yeah, and wouldn't I just love to be the tattooist who did that one. I can see your tattoo is obviously a wolf, a blue-eyed wolf. Are you going to tell us about it?"

"Sure, I'll tell you. You know I'm a Seneca. One of the clans of the Seneca Nations of Indians is the Wolf. I am of the Wolf clan. What color are my eyes? Thus the blue-eyed wolf. You have heard of the limikkin, have you not? The skin walkers. She-wolves." Caitlin startled both the men when she abruptly growled, very realistically, and then burst out laughing. "It's even a little more complicated than that, but that will have to be good enough for now."

"Uh, Ok, Caitlin, thanks for sharing," Brett continued as Jack guffawed. "What exactly was that tattoo on Huang's right hand again? I wasn't sure what you were talking about."

"It was an asherah is what I said," Caitlin explained. "A phallic symbol. It is rather obvious it is not a bunch of trees being talked about in the approximately 40 verses in the King James Version where the Hebrew word 'asherah' is translated to 'grove' or 'groves.' Translators attempted to correct the error somewhat in subsequent bibles like the NRSV translates 'asherah' to 'sacred poles' and other translations make similar attempts at correcting the error."

Brett then asked, "What do you suppose is the significance of this asherah which our Lilith may have tattooed on our victim do you think?'

"I don't know, Brett," Caitlin responded. "She removes the man's penis with either her teeth or some sort of knife and tattoos an ancient phallic symbol on his right hand. Pretty weird!"

"You know, what you said about the stain on Huang's pants," Jack wondered aloud, "and the blood all around the zipper and on the crotch of his underwear makes me think he was probably murdered some place where it was not expedient for him to remove his clothing. Professor Moroski's body was discovered in his car and the evidence clearly indicated that is where he was murdered. He also was wearing his clothing. Now Huang, he was moved to where he was found. Where was he mutilated and murdered? The police report indicates he was last seen getting on the woman's motorcycle. They probably pulled over somewhere and Lilith gave him a quickie, in more ways than one."

"Let's go talk to Kazua Masuda, the computer guru," Jack suggested. "But first, let me explain a little bit about the yakuza. I have been involved in several cases involving them. They are like our mafia of years ago and are being kicked out of Japan. So what do they do? They establish an incredible presence in the United States. Thousands of shell corporations involved in everything from money laundering to nanotechnology. No doubt they soon will merge with Microsoft. I'm kidding, I'm kidding."

To Brett's surprise Mr. Masuda was very eager to meet with them. Jack was not surprised. Several other yakuza were present. One was Noburu Isaka, the senior advisor to the oyabun, the head of this particular and most deadly yakuza clan.

Isaka began the conversation. "We are very eager to find the killer of our brother Miyuki Huang, Mr. Davis. As you probably know, he was the so-honbucho, the territory chief. He was responsible not only for Las Vegas but all of California and every other thing west of the Mississippi River. Mr. Davis, I know of your previous engagements with us. I give you my word that we will help you if you help us."

"Mr. Isaka," Jack responded, " I am just as eager to solve this mystery as you are. It seems to be part of a grander scheme. You no doubt are aware to the other similar murders. I give you my word that I will help you if you help us."

"Mr. Davis, ask anything you wish," Isaka said to conclude the matter.

Jack pointed at Masuda. "Tell me, you were with Huang at Comdex. You saw the woman. Tell me about her."

"Well, we were at Comdex investigating technology. We also had some of our own we were attempting to sell. It was top secret software that only Mr. Huang had access to the original program source and object code. Not to get overly technical, but this was a molecular system nanotechnology application. Specifically, what we believe this software will do is create an unsolvable self-perpetuating computer virus. Mr. Huang told us he had made one copy and had it in a safe place. We can not locate either the original or the copy. We can only believe the woman who murdered him has something to do with this mystery."

"The woman," Kazua Masuda continued, "I don't exactly know how to describe her accurately. Like an angel but yet like a devil. Beautiful but dangerous looking. She was walking through the Comdex exhibits and really got our attention along with everybody else's actually. Everybody was ogling her. Mr. Huang sent two bodyguards to fetch her. One made the mistake of grabbing her arm and she dropped him with a very quick kick to the stomach. Obviously some sort of martial arts. The other bodyguard backed off and talked to her quietly and she soon walked over to us."

"Very tall, well over six feet in those spiked heels. Platinum blonde hair although I'm pretty sure it was a wig, green eyes and a strange beauty mark on her forehead. Seemed to have some sort of shape although I couldn't make it out. Wearing this incredible neon green lace dress with a g-string. You could see right through it. Absolutely stunning."

"She introduced herself to Mr. Huang as Eileen MacGregor and produced identification although she said her professional name was Lilith. Said she was a model from AdultDex which was going on at the same time as Comdex and also had starred in very exclusive porn films that were only available to select clientele."

"Mr. Huang was addicted to kinky sex with gorgeous and willing young ladies, mostly Vegas dancers and strippers. When he found one he wanted he would pay whatever they asked for whatever he said he wanted. He never went anywhere without his bodyguards, even when he arranged and also consummated these liaisons. This one, this Lilith, was going to make the rules which was obvious from the start."

"One thing which may be of interest to you is that when Mr. Huang asked her if she did kinky, her response was she was a Baobhan Sith, an evil Scottish fairie who appears as a beautiful young woman dressed in green, dances with a man until he is exhausted and then feeds upon him. Well, Mr. Huang was totally infatuated with this one. I had never seen him like this. Lilith whispered something in his ear and then he said he was leaving with her with no bodyguards. We protested but he was very insistent. She said she had transportation, a motorcycle. They left and that was the last I saw Mr. Huang alive."

"Anything else unusual you can think of, Mr. Masuda?" Jack asked.

"Yes. Shortly before our bodyguards fetched her, this Lilith was approached by a man I recognized. Thomas Peterson. I believe he is head honcho of some major insurance outfit. I don't recall the name at the moment. I have seen him occasionally in Las Vegas in the company of Governor Daniel Bridge. Peterson and the woman talked briefly and exchanged notes or something. He gave her something and she reached into her purse and was showing him something."

Jack spoke directly to Noburu Isaka. "Mr. Isaka, I have heard quite enough. The murder of your associate Mr. Huang is part of some bizarre conspiracy. Also involved is the mysterious disappearance of several women who were seen in the company of this Lilith's known associates, members of a cultist motorcycle gang I surmise. I will prepare a full report for you with the details. In return, I will most likely call upon you for investigative assistance and, if a confrontation becomes inevitable, who knows what else."

Isaka nodded solemnly and motioned toward the door and Jack, Brett and Caitlin took their invitation to leave.

"What's next, Jack Davis, Private Investigator?" Caitlin asked as they returned to their hotel.

Jack shrugged and replied, "Let's check our telephone messages and e-mail and see what's cooking. Search the Missing Persons Index to see if we have any additional missing persons due to our suspects. Talk to our sources. If I were a betting man I'd bet there are some new developments. You two have any other ideas?"

"Well," Caitlin spoke up, "it seems to me that at some point here we should try to figure out where this Lilith and these big Harley dudes are going to make an appearance next. To do that we have to figure out who or what they want next and why. They seem to have particular victims picked out for whatever reason. This isn't random selection. I suggest we go over all the pertinent information and try to make some sense out of all this."

Jack, Brett and Caitlin returned to the hotel and spent the next six hours on line. They made numerous phone calls and sent numerous e-mails. Seven more incidents of missing women had been reported where the circumstances fit the pattern of the mysterious disappearances that Jack had personally investigated.

Caitlin began rambling. "First mysterious disappearance, Laurie Johnston. Wife of a fundamentalist preacher. A preacher who also just happens to run a software consulting firm. Second mysterious disappearance, Alicia Dunn. Wife of a religious zealot of a mostly Mormon nature and a polygamist. Rich dude with computer related companies. Third mysterious disappearance, Kathleen Murray. Sister of a Catholic priest. The good Father spreads pornography all over the internet. Fourth mysterious disappearance, Rebecca Ziegler. Wife of the Chief Executive Officer of a major Internet Service Provider who is also a prominent figure in Promise Keepers. Now you have more mysterious disappearances which fit the same pattern. What's up with that?"

"Let's see," Caitlin continued, "What are the obvious similarities of these mysterious disappearances? Beautiful women with family, a husband, brother, whatever, of a religious persuasion and somehow involved with some aspect of computer technology. The women were seduced by large men who ride Harleys and spout about erotic literature. None of these women have been found. No bodies. No one has seen them. Where are they? "

On a real roll, Caitlin just kept right on rolling. "And what about the three murder victims? Joseph Masterson, professor of religious studies. Into Sasquatch and Nephilim and Lilith legend and lore. Joseph Moroski, another professor. Let's see, this is what it says in your report, he taught Magic, Witchcraft and Healing, American Indian Religions and Women and Religion. Then we have Mikuki Huang, a yakuza. He was into kinky sex and was peddling some supposedly unsolvable computer virus-generating program. These men had something, some information, that this Lilith creature either wanted to obtain or prevent from becoming public knowledge."

"Let's talk about geography a moment," Jack interjected. "The four mysterious disappearances I personally investigated occurred in Pahrup, near Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver and Albuquerque. Of the other seven we now know about, five happened in and around Los Angeles, two in San Francisco, one in Reno and three more right here in Las Vegas. Two of the murders occurred in Las Vegas and the other in Phoenix. We seem to have a sphere of activity here, geographically speaking."

Caitlin found herself becoming more and more attracted to Jack and not only intellectually. He was perhaps the most intelligent man she had ever met she thought. But in a very down-to-earth and different way than most of the professor types she had known and been intimate with. And he was so mysterious, introspective and guarded. Jack was equally infatuated with Caitlin but he had decided from the first moment he met her he would let this one make the first move if there was one. She decided to keep talking until the matter became clearer in her mind.

"And what do we have in the middle of this sphere of activity?" Caitlin interrupted. "The desert. Death Valley." The three looked at each other pensively.

Caitlin pulled the King James Version out of the dresser drawer, opened it to Isaiah 34:14 and read, 'The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the island, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech owl also rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.' Some bibles like the King James translate the Hebrew word 'Lilith' to 'screech owl.' Other bibles transliterate to 'Lilith' which is as it should be. The creature of the night. The Otus Asio, the screech owl, whose color changes from red to gray, then red, then gray, depending on the season or the result of the night's hunting. The screech of this owl is used to attract the male. She is extremely secretive especially while breeding and she hides the whereabouts of her nest."

"The word 'Lilith' is a hapax legomenon," Caitlin continued. "A word that only appears once in the Hebrew bible so we can not determine it's meaning by comparison to other uses in the bible. There is a Dea Sea Scroll fragment that pertains to the Liliths. Plural. More than one. You know, like the man, the adam named Adam. Lilith and her sisters and daughters. An entirely different breed of female? Some say so."

"A different breed is right," Jack interjected. "The isoenzyme and serum protein analysis, electrophoresis, esoelectric focus and DNA typing that Brett had done on saliva, hair and blood samples found from the Masterson murder hinted that this Lilith was not human or unlike any human we know. Similar samples from the Moroski murder confirmed our theory. Brett is taking samples from the Huang murder when you two leave tomorrow. Anybody want to bet they don't tell us the same story?"

Not looking surprised at all, Caitlin responded, "I would have bet you she is not human in our sense of the word even if you hadn't done the testing."

"What about this business about the connection between the Nephilim and the Sasquatch, Caitlin" Brett asked. "Sasquatch, a Native American word for Bigfoot. Don't even tell me you haven't given this some thought. What do you make of all that?"

"Who knows?" she replied with a shrug of her head and shoulders. I read a very interesting research paper recently which maintained that scientific facts verify that the Neanderthal were in fact one and the same as the ancient race, the Nephilim. That paper presented archeological evidence that Neanderthals lived side by side with humans and they had general culture similar but not the same as humans. The paper concluded the Nephilim inherited part human culture from mothers and part from metamorphosed fathers. Neanderthal coexisted with humans about 4,500 years ago according to corrected Carbon 14 dating. Nephilim lived during this same time period according to chronological manuscripts. Do I believe it? I just don't know. We talked before about Leonard Nimoy and the show about Bigfoot and some possible connection to the Nephilim. Maybe. Just maybe."