Kill Code

Part II

Just as she was opening the car door, sirens wailed. Police cars screeched to a halt just before the crash scene. "Clear the wreckage!" officers shouted as they made their way toward the totaled cars. She showed them her ID. "FBI," she said.

"Mendelssohn? What happened here?" barked one cop she knew to be Officer James Lannis.

"I'm--not--sure," Mendelssohn managed to get out through her panicked breathing. "This man. He--was my friend."

"Where's the other driver?"

"Gone. Left the scene--right after--the crash."

"Do you have a description of him?"

"Tall. Black hoodie. Didn't--see much else."

At that moment four black SUVs pulled up. Out of them came Damian, Dane, and a few other agents. "Don't worry, officers. We've got it from here," said the supervisor. The officers complied, having worked with Damian several times. The moment the police cars had left, agents set to work establishing a barricade around the scene. Damian and two investigators began inspections of the cars and the body. Dane grabbed Mendelssohn and pulled her to the side.

"Thad, he's dead," she sobbed.

"I know, I know," replied Dane, placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm just as crushed as you are. We're going to figure this out. For now, just sit down and gather yourself. It's going to be all right, ok?"

Wiping her tears, she nodded. There was a short hill in the park next to the sidewalk, and she sat down there. She wanted to pull herself together, but she could not restrain the weeping. For the following hour, she remained there, crying intermittently. Everything that morning had happened so suddenly. She had only known Dr. Croy was missing for under an hour before he was dead. Obviously, she had been worried about him, but she did not expect him to die, at least as quickly as he did. Who or what would have caused him to get in what seemed to be a car chase? If he were kidnapped, how did he get a car?

Just then, Mendelssohn noticed something peeking out from under a rock about ten feet away from her. Instantly, Dr. Croy's words replayed in her head: "Sometimes the hopeless find the very thing they need under a rock." Adrenaline rushed through her, but she restrained herself to avoid drawing attention. She nonchalantly slid towards the rock and lifted it up. It was a note. Opening it, she found it was written in Greek; however, it was signed at the bottom with the doctor's initials. After glancing around her, she stowed the letter in her coat pocket.

Mendelssohn rose and approached Dane. "Are you okay?" asked he.

"Yeah, I'm all right," she replied, rubbing her forehead. "I've gotta go."

Dane cocked his head. "Really? You sure you don't want to stick around?"

"I'm sure. It's not a good place for me to be right now anyway."

"All right. Take care of yourself."

"You know I will."

She made her way back to her sedan. "281 Lambert Drive," she said once inside.

"Navigating to 281 Lambert Drive," the computer answered, displaying a map in the bottom left corner of the windshield.

She then dialed the number of her longtime friend and Greek scholar, Sid Lane. The two had met in college and had remained in sporadic contact since. She had not seen him personally for a few years, not because she was avoiding him, but because they both remained rather occupied. The Crypt owned computers with extensive translative capabilities, but she figured visiting Sid would be a pleasant break from the current, hectic environment at the Crypt.