A big population means more potential 'blood donors' if you're a vamp, a bigger client base if you're a witch or wizard for hire, and more to eat if you're a ghoul. It's true that some, like the werewolves, used to settle in mostly rural areas – simpler to hide, I guess, and farm animals are easier prey than people. But even that's changed now.
Scranton's got about seventy-five thousand people, which puts it about midway between New York City and Hicksville. But there's an awful lot of supes here, relative to the population. Nobody understood why that was, until 1966. That was when a couple of profs from the local university figured out that a whole bunch of ley lines intersect in the Wyoming Valley. Several of them come together right here in Scranton.
It's not known for sure where ley lines came from – there's four or five major theories, and every one makes my head hurt. But all the experts agree they exist.
They're a powerful source of magical energy, ley lines. The more lines intersecting, the stronger the energy. Passon and Warner, the professors, proved that there are four points in and around Scranton where at least ten different ley lines come together. That's kind of a big deal, in magical terms. Or so they say.
I hope those two profs got tenure, or whatever they call it. They helped answer a lot of questions.
The intersecting ley lines are like a magnet for supes, which explains why we've got so many. They were drawn here over the years, even if they didn't realize why. Weres, vamps, ghouls, witches, trolls, you name it. We've got 'em all in Scranton.
Lucky us.
The Occult and Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit, which everybody calls the 'Supe Squad,' is located in the basement of police HQ. There's no windows down there, but none of us mind. You never know what might get out through a window when you're not looking. Or what might get in.
I pull the night shift, which is the busiest time for our kind of work. I've racked up enough seniority to get whatever shift I want, but I work the graveyard (yeah, I know) because I like the action.
The boss is Lieutenant McGuire. They say his wife was grabbed by a gang of werewolves years ago, and that McGuire tracked them down, all by himself. When he left the house where they'd been hiding, there wasn't a creature alive inside, including McGuire's wife, who was found with a silver bullet in her brain.
McGuire always claimed it was a stray shot that killed her. But there are stories about that – rumors, really. Stories that one of the weres had already bitten her, that she was infected with lycanthropy. Some of the stories say that she begged him to do it.
It might be true. McGuire's an okay guy and a good boss, but he's got a darkness about him that has nothing to do with the fact that he doesn't see much sunlight.
Despite whatever may have happened in the past, McGuire's no vigilante. He plays by the rules.
But may Almighty God help any supe who breaks them.
It's not against the law to be a supernatural creature, or to engage in most kinds of occult rituals and practices. But there are laws concerning all that stuff. The bottom line for supes is the same one that applies to humans: you can't hurt anybody.
Unless they give consent, and you'd be surprised how many do. But there are rules about that, too.
I never understood why somebody would open a liquor store. Sure, it's a business, just like anything else; buy stuff and sell it for a profit. And I'm not one of those church ladies who think nobody should sell booze. Somebody's going to, as long as the stuff is legal. And Prohibition proved just tupid it was to make it illegal.
My problem's not moral, it's practical. A liquor store is a small, cash-intensive business. It doesn't have many employees, and it has to stay open late because most people do their drinking in the evening. Can you say big fat target?
There's a reason why you never hear jokes about somebody knocking over a hardware store.
In Pennsylvania, the sale of hard booze and wine is handled by the LCB, the Liquor Control Board. All these places with the bottles in the window and 'Wine amp; Spirits' over the door are really state-run liquor stores. The only difference is where the profits go – it doesn't make the places any less tempting to some lowlife with a drug habit and a gun.
Even if the lowlife in question isn't human.
My partner and I had been out trying to turn up witnesses to a bad case of fairy-bashing when we got the radio call directing us to the State Store on Mulberry. Even if I didn't know where the place was, it wouldn't have been hard to spot once we got within a couple of blocks. The multiple sets of flashing red lights guided us in, just like beacons at the entrance to Hell.
As we got closer, Big Paul said from the seat next to me, 'Jeez, they really called out the cavalry. Must be four, five units here.'
Paul di Napoli had been my partner for just over four years. Despite being too fond of his wife's pasta, he still moved around pretty good when he needed to, and he passed the department's physical fitness test every year. The last time had been close, but Big Paul still managed to make the grade. The fact that his cousin Angie is head of the Officer Fitness Board probably didn't hurt, either.
'Gotta be a supe inside,' I said. 'All this firepower already here, they wouldn't need us, otherwise.' I parked the car as close as I could to the scene, and began rummaging through the gear we keep in a locked box between the front seats. Without looking up I asked, 'You see SWAT anyplace?'
The Sacred Weapons and Tactics unit was usually called in to deal with any violent (or potentially violent) confrontations with members of the supe community. They're trained in negotiation. They also know what to do if negotiation fails, and they do it real well.
'Nah,' Paul said, 'but I ain't surprised. Didn't you hear about the hostage situation goin' down on the South Side?'
'Uh-uh.' I stowed several small objects in the pockets of my sport coat.
'Couple of guys from Patrol was talkin' about it just before we left the House tonight. I guess some wizard wannabe had a fight with his old lady, and things got out of hand.'
'Doesn't sound like SWAT's kind of problem.' I put a vial containing fresh crushed garlic in my shirt pocket. I could either repel a vampire or season some kielbasa, depending on how things worked out.
'I hear the dude's barricaded inside his apartment – and somehow he got his hands on a charged wand.'
'Shit. They'll be out there a while, then.'
'Most likely. Looks like it's up to us, bro. Whatever it is.'
'Yeah, well, 'twas ever fucking thus.' I closed the lid on the case, but didn't lock it. I might have to get it open again, in a hurry.
I put my ID folder in my breast pocket, so that the badge would hang over the front. 'Let's go join the party.'
We ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and headed toward the nearest prowl car. A uniform named Flaherty noticed us first, and came over, a frown on his thin face. 'Jeez, what took you guys so long?'
'We stopped to get our hair done,' I told him. 'Who's the ROS?'
He gave me a look, then pointed with his chin. 'Matthews. Over there.'
I was glad that the Ranking Officer on Scene was Matthews. He was smart and steady and didn't have anything to prove.
Matthews was on his radio as we came up on him. He saw us, and I heard him say, 'Never mind – they're here,' and sign off.
We all shook hands, then I asked him, 'So, how bad is it?'
'Couple tried to take down the liquor store. A squad car arrived before they could get out, and they decided not to give it up. They've got hostages.'
'Goblins?' I heard Big Paul mutter. 'What the fuck?'
Goblins are nasty little bastards, but they usually give people a wide berth. You find them near garbage dumps and junkyards, mostly. They don't tend to come into densely populated human areas.
'Near as I can figure,' Matthews said, 'they braced the clerk with those homemade knives they use, and told him to empty the register. The clerk might've thought it was a joke. Anyway, I guess he told them to fuck off, and so they cut him. I dunno know how bad.'
'I bet he gave up the money after that,' I said. 'So, why are the gobs still in there?'
'Customer in the back of the store, some woman looking over the expensive wine they've got back there.
