"What do you think, Chief? Is this something we ought to look into?" Eun asked. Given the expression on his face and the tension in his slender body, it was obvious where his opinion on the matter lay.
Gray’s eyes flicked to Eun, studying him before returning to the printed page. The headline of The Sovereign Gazette was printed in bold type and Gray knew that it was bound to sell quite a few copies:
THE AXEMAN STRIKES AGAIN!
THREE LOVELY LADIES TERRORIZED!
POLICE BAFFLED!
Accompanying the text was a pen and ink drawing of a shadowy figure menacing an attractive young woman in torn stockings and ripped blouse. Though the artist’s name was not given, Gray assumed it was Howard Bloomberg, who usually handled the paper’s political cartoons.
The article described, in typically lurid fashion, how three young girls had left a basketball game around 7:30 pm, intending to walk each other home. Less than a mile from the arena, the three women (who were described as "nubile" no less than four times over the course of the article) experienced a tremendous shock when a man wearing a thin mask over his face rushed them from a dark alleyway. The man was brandishing a bloodstained axe, which he used to attack the girls. There was no conversation on the part of the man and he didn’t make any attempt to rob them. Two of the girls were left with wounds to their hands, torsos and faces but the third was killed via decapitation. As the paper made sure to point out, this was the sixth murder at the hands of the so-called Axeman in the last month. So far, the victims had included a wealthy banker and his wife, a nine-year old boy and an elderly woman.
Gray set aside the newspaper and stood up, pushing his hands into the front pockets of his slacks. He was wearing a white shirt, a red tie and black trousers. Leather gloves covered his hands, preventing him from leaving fingerprints on anything that might become evidence. "Business is slow otherwise, so I think we can spare the time to investigate these attacks."
Samantha arched an eyebrow, sensing that her employer was engaging in what — for him — was a rare feat. He was making a joke.
Assistance Unlimited did take on cases from the general public, charging only what their customers could afford. But they were all wealthy enough that they didn’t really need the money. The group did its work because it was the right thing to do.
"I’ve found something interesting about the Axeman, Chief," Samantha said. She patted a small pile of papers that she’d brought with her to the meeting. "There’s a lot of similarities to a series of attacks that took place in New Orleans from May 1918 through October 1919."
Lazarus picked up the papers and quickly looked through them. "Any chance that the same man is behind both sets of attacks?"
"Possible. Nobody ever caught the New Orleans killer. But maybe it’s a copycat."
Gray devoured the information in the press clippings, dissecting the articles and filing the information into the steel trap that was his mind. The Axeman of New Orleans had terrorized the city for nearly 18 months but his identity was never uncovered and the attacks ended as mysteriously as they began. The savagery and utter randomness of the attacks understandably caused great panic. There were even comparisons of the killer to the notorious Jack the Ripper, as the Axeman (or something claiming to be him) wrote a series of taunting letters to the newspapers hinting at his future crimes and claiming to be a supernatural demon "from Hell."
"Curious," Gray murmured under his breath. "Good work, Samantha."
The pretty blonde blushed at the compliment and nodded. "So what’s our next step?"
Gray turned his face toward a map of the city that took up a good portion of the wall. "There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to the attacks and they’ve been scattered throughout the city. The first thing we need to do is speak to one of the survivors and find out all they can remember about the Axeman. I don’t trust the police reports or the journalists to have done their jobs accurately." He looked back at his aides. "Samantha, please visit the hospital and speak to one, if not both, of the girls who was attacked last evening. Eun, you’ll come with me. I have a few leads of my own to follow up on. When do we expect Morgan back?"
The corners of Samantha’s mouth turned downward. It was one of the worst kept secrets in the world that she and Morgan Watts had a hot-and-cold relationship. Morgan had tried to steer their friendship toward a romantic one but Samantha had rejected his advances, straining things between them. Now they alternated between flirting and giving each other the cold shoulder. Morgan’s decision to take out a young woman of Samantha’s acquaintance on a date this evening hadn’t helped matters but Eun was of the opinion that Morgan was simply trying to make Samantha jealous. "Who knows?" Samantha asked, trying a bit too hard to make it look like she didn’t care. "Should I call him in?"
"Let him relax for now," Gray answered. The stoic leader of Assistance Unlimited reached over and turned off one of the lamps that illuminated the room. "Let’s go find us a killer."
The Heart of Fortune was anchored three and a half miles off the coast of Sovereign City. With a crew of 300 people and enough space to accommodate another 2,000 in guests, the ship was a masterpiece of gaudy elegance. Morgan Watts loved it and he could sense that his date for the occasion, Molly Sims, was equally entranced. The gambling ship was one of the most popular attractions in the city and catered to the high rollers. Morgan earned a nice living working for Assistance Unlimited and he didn’t have many expenses since he lived at their headquarters, so splurging on a night like this was well within his means.
Morgan held Molly’s hand as they exited the dance floor, which was packed with partiers who couldn’t get enough of Joe ‘Monarch’ Redfern and his orchestra. Molly loved to dance but Morgan was eager to move on to other pleasures. The siren call of the grand casino was luring him in that direction but as he glanced at Molly, he caught sight of the fine sheen of sweat on her bare shoulders and he realized he might strike the jackpot in more ways than one tonight.
Molly was an attractive girl with red hair, green eyes and a fine spray of freckles that covered her cheeks. Her father was in real estate and was a good friend of Samantha’s parents, which was how Morgan had ended up becoming acquainted with her. "This is fun," Molly said between gasps of air. She sat down heavily in her chair and grinned, looking far younger than her twenty-five years of age. "I can’t believe you’re not even breathing fast. How do you do it?"
"Lazarus keeps us all in tip-top shape," Morgan replied, sitting across from her and gesturing for a waiter to bring them both a drink. "I do more calisthenics than a fresh army recruit."
"Well, it certainly keeps you trim," she said admiringly.
Morgan accepted the compliment with a smile, reaching out to squeeze Molly’s knee with his right hand. "Well, you make me feel a good ten years younger than I actually am."
Molly looked up as the waiter set a drink down in front of her. She took a sip, wincing a bit as the alcohol burned its way down her throat. "I’m not going to get you in trouble with Sam, am I?"
Morgan’s hand drifted away from her knee. "What? Of course not. We’re just friends."
"That’s what both of you say but I’m not sure I believe it."
Morgan couldn’t quite hide the eagerness in his voice. "Really? What’s she said about me?"