Detective Malachi Miller was pissed. He had been getting the job done for nearly 30 years now, but would another kid die under his watch?

“Come on, come on, where are you?” Malachi growled.

It was a long shot he knew sitting in the parking lot of the local South Jersey community college in his Ford Steeda Mustang Q500. The heater was awesome, but it did nothing for the chill in his soul while he stared at college kids getting soaked to the bone running through blinding sheets of rain.

Maybe, one of them are next. Grimly Malachi thought, No leads, no real suspects, no evidence and no bodies. Everything to live for and just gone!

Pictures of missing young women haunted him at night and this desperate sense of urgency. Today was the 1st. If it was going to happen again, unless the perp got run over by a car; you can only thank God for small miracles if it happened, today was the day. The bastard always took a pretty redhead on the 1st.

Red flickered in the corner of his eye. Malachi watched between shutters of rain as a giant of a man stood under the overhang of the back-utility door of the college, wearing, what was that, a cloak? He was leaning, the only word Malachi could think of was…menacingly. Leaning menacingly over a petite young lady just taking off her hood and shaking out her tousled bright red hair. She didn’t even seem to flinch when the tall man thrust something into her hands that looked like a package or a book and leaned down to whisper in her ear.

Slap!

Wow! Malachi thought, good for her.

Whatever he just said she didn’t like because she hauled off and hit him hard across the face; storming out into the parking lot like it wasn’t even raining. Suddenly, very protective, Malachi had one hand on the handle of the car and was opening the door before he knew what he was doing. The cloaked mountain of a man looked like he was going to chase her down but caught himself. Strange, Malachi thought. He was more like a guard dog straining against a chain, the man unnaturally leaned forward, his feet in place but his face, chest and torso thrust out at an impossible angle reaching out to her with massively built hands that looked like they could crush small animals. His face, Malachi recoiled, was so contorted in rage it was like his human mask fell off and the real demonic face grinned hungrily for its prey.

Then it was over. Someone or something yanked his chain and threw him back into the corridor and out of sight. Malachi shook his head and realized he was hyperventilating, his breaths coming out in ragged, short gasps. What he saw was not natural, but…

It must have been a trick of the rain and the lights. As soon as Malachi thought it he knew it was a self-delusion, but he didn’t have the time to deal with it right now. The fiery redhead with the temper and the great right hook slammed the car door right next to him startling him out of his thoughts. Flipping on her lights she gunned the engine of a rust colored Honda Accord and skidded out of the parking lot nearly sideswiping a book laden college kid jumping out of the way just in time. The poor kid’s books scattering across the parking lot, lost in the torrent of rain, like ships on a river.

Split second decision. Follow the creepy man in the cloak? By the time he got into the building, figured out where the utility door was and where it led he would probably be long gone. Malachi threw his Mustang into gear, the powerful engine roaring and chased after the fiery redhead throwing a wave of water over the poor kid kneeling down to get his sodden books.

Sorry! Malachi yelled through his shut window not really caring or sorry. He had a job to do.

Next Chapter: Chapter 2-Malachi