When Death Knocks Read online

  When Death Knocks

  S.C. Stokes

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by S.C. Stokes

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Printed in the United States of America

  Introduction

  Welcome to When Death Knocks, the third title in my new Urban Fantasy series, Conjuring a Coroner.

  The Conjuring a Coroner series is set in New York in the year 2017. The key difference between this world and the one we live in, is the presence of magic. Where and how these worlds intersect…well you’ll have to turn the page to find out.

  Enter the world of magic with Kasey Chase, she’ll suck you into a realm of magic, murder and mayhem.

  Buckle up, it’s going to be a wild ride!

  Sincerely,

  S.C. Stokes

  Contents

  Other Books by S.C. Stokes

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  About the Author

  Other Books by S.C. Stokes

  The Woman in the Wind

  A Brief Glimpse into The Woman in the Wind

  Other Books by S.C. Stokes

  Conjuring a Coroner Series

  Dying to Meet You

  Life is for the Living

  A Kingdom Divided Series

  A Coronation of Kings

  When the Gods War

  A Kingdom in Chaos

  Chapter One

  At that moment, one maniacal wizard plotted the destruction and misery of millions of souls. New York City, and everyone in it was in imminent danger. With countless lives hanging in the balance, Kasey couldn’t help but think of those that had already been lost.

  The assembly around Kasey fell silent as a single figure rose to his feet. His brief walk from his chair to the podium was made in measured strides. The man was dressed in his navy-blue NYPD dress uniform, from the toe of his brightly polished shoes to the embroidered tip of his police cover. The three gold stars embroidered into his lapel, designated him as the chief of one of New York City’s many police precincts.

  To Kasey, he was more than just a police chief. He was her chief. He had taken a chance on her, even though her world had been falling apart. There were few people in New York City willing to stand up to the political machine of the Ainsleys and their money. West had not yielded an inch. He had sheltered her from the storm.

  Kasey was close enough that she could see his puffy eyes and his red tinged nose. Her heart broke knowing what the chief had endured these past few days. She watched as his lip quivered ever so slightly.

  Reaching the podium, the chief straightened, and drew in a deep breath. The gray sprinkled through his mustache and hair only served to highlight his distinguished appearance. Chief West was a highly decorated officer and a pillar of the community. Few were the foes brave or foolish enough to cross his path. The chief stood, silently waiting at the podium. The improvised stage had been hastily erected in the center of Madison Square Garden.

  The Garden had hosted countless events over its illustrious lifetime. From charity galas, to sporting matches to rock concerts. John Lennon, Patrick Ewing, and Elton John, Madison Square Garden had seen them all. Several times it had even hosted the NBA finals and the Stanley cup finals simultaneously. Cheering fans were known to drown the immense arena in a cacophony of revelry as they cheered their home-town heroes to glory.

  Every seat was filled today, but no one was cheering. The entire arena was melancholy. Kasey waited in sobering silence for the Chief to begin.

  His gaze scanned across the caskets lining the space before the stage. Eighteen caskets, each adorned with a flag of the United States of America, the country its officers had served so valiantly.

  The normally steely-eyed chief reached up and swept a tear from his eye.

  Taking a deep breath, he began, “As you are aware, I am Jonathan West, Chief of the NYPD’s Ninth District. The Fighting Ninth,”

  His anguish was clearly visible, from the wrinkled corners of his eyes to his tightly drawn upper lip.

  “You have all heard and seen the senseless violence that befell our precinct last week. These caskets that you see before you today hold the bodies of our valiant men and women, who gave their lives in defense of this city, in defense of you. These eighteen brave men and women made the greatest sacrifice one can make. They did so for you, and for me. They did so, so that this city would be a safer place for each of us. For our families. Each and every one of them were an officer worthy of the uniform which they wore proudly. We mourn them as a precinct, as a city, and as a nation. We mourn them as our family.”

  Kasey felt tears well up in her eyes as she thought of her fallen colleagues.

  The chief continued. “It is my intention that a monument will be erected in the lobby of the Ninth Precinct, where their badges will remain as a memorial of their courage, heroism, and sacrifice. Let all who come to that place, now and forevermore, know that they laid down their lives for their country.

  “As for the cowardly organization who perpetrated this act of senseless violence, I am here to raise the warning voice.”

  Kasey’s heart skipped a beat.

  Chief West grasped the podium with both hands. “You are here in our city, in our home. The NYPD will not be bullied nor beaten into submission. We will fight you with every fiber of our being and with every breath in our body. We will hunt you down and you will answer for your crimes. With you all as my witness, I swear that today, just as in days past, that we will stand in defense of our people and our city. New York will never give in. It will never surrender, and neither will we. Flee while you still can. Today we bury our fallen and tomorrow we’re coming for you. You may have begun this bloodshed, but we will end it and you.”

  He straightened to his full height and drew a deep breath. “Would you all please stand, as the Honor guards carry our officers to the vehicles that will bear them to their final resting place. Internment services will be directed by the families of these brave men and women. We ask that you respect their wishes and that you wait for them to depart the building before you attempt to return home.

  “My brave officers of the Fighting Ninth, rest in peace, you might be gone but you’ll never be forgotten.”

  Stepping to the side of the pulpit, Chief West snapped a salute. The assembly rose to its feet. The Honor guard consisting of the surviving officers of the Fighting Ninth took their places beside the caskets. As one they raised the caskets and bore them from the arena.

  As the funeral procession filed from the arena, the deep resonating notes of bagpipes filled the stadium. The families of the fallen officers wept openly as each soulful chord of Amazing Grace echoed through the vast stadium.

  Kasey’s heart went out to the Chief, and to her fallen comrades. The attack on the precinct had been swift and brutal. Together with Bishop and Vida she had only narrowly escaped death herself. What Chief West and the other officer
s of the Ninth Precinct didn’t know, was the true reason behind the attack.

  The Shinigami and their thuggish acolytes had attacked the precinct in a misguided attempt to rescue one of their own, Mina, who had died while Kasey and Bishop had been trying to arrest her. Mina had been run down by a taxi and taken to the Ninth Precinct for her autopsy.

  Two more had died during the attack on the precinct, along with more than a dozen acolytes they had brought with them.

  The Shinigami were a cabal of Japanese wizards bent on destruction. The Shinigami traversed the world inflicting misery and devastation in order to study the forbidden art of necromancy. Obsessed with death and the ability to live forever, the Shinigami pursued their goal with single-minded intent. At home in Japan, the Shinigami were feared as the harbingers of death. Now the Shinigami had come to New York. What had brought them to the city, was not entirely clear, but Kasey’s gut told her there was a connection with the coming attack on the city. Ever since she was a child, she had been afflicted with visions of the attack. The city being devastated by explosions as arcane forces tore the city apart. Recent events had led her to believe the attack was imminent. The Shinigami’s arrival certainly heralded ill tidings for the city.

  Fortunately for New York, Kasey knew it was coming and she was doing everything in her power to stop it.

  Of the four Shinigami, three of them were now dead. Only one remained: The Master.

  The same Master who had hired Danilo Lelac to kill her. He was also behind the plot to destroy the city. Unfortunately, the Shinigami possessed the means to alter their appearance with magic. As far as Kasey knew, the Master could be anyone. Searching for one maniacal wizard in a city of millions was a monumental task. One that she needed to begin at once.

  She watched as the arena around her emptied. As much as she longed to mourn her fallen comrades, time was not a luxury she could afford. If she could not find and thwart the organization behind the attack on New York, there would be many more tears. Everyone in the city was in danger.

  She left her seat and followed the throng of people moving toward the exit.

  The assembly wound their way out of the stadium. Many of the surrounding streets had been closed to allow the funerary procession swift passage through the city. Police lined the streets, forming a solemn guard of Honor. While the procession moved south, Kasey turned north. Making her way to 7th Avenue, Kasey quickened her pace.

  There was little point in heading back to the Ninth Precinct. Repairs were still underway on the station, particularly the precinct’s morgue. In an effort to save Vida’s life, Bishop and Kasey had barricaded themselves inside the morgue and made their last stand. The arcane conflict that had ensued had destroyed the morgue’s examination facilities, along with most of its equipment. What little remained was certainly not fit to perform any form of autopsy. In the meantime, most of the Fighting Ninth’s forensic work was being attended to by the nearby 13th Precinct, leaving Kasey free to run down leads on the Shinigami’s plot to destroy the city.

  Truth be told, Kasey was still feeling guilty about bringing the Shinigami’s wrath down on the Ninth Precinct. If she’d known the danger that they posed, she would have considered a different course of action.

  Too late for regrets now. I can’t change the past, only the future.

  She passed Times Square and turned down West 47th Street. With the Shinigami Master in hiding, she wanted to investigate the only other aspect of the attack she had uncovered: 432 Park Avenue.

  Upon completion, the towering skyscraper would be one of the tallest residential buildings in the world. In New York City, the only building taller was One World Trade Center. 432 Park Avenue was a 1396-foot-tall complex, and an architectural masterpiece. The slender structure reached for the heavens, offering panoramic views of the New York City skyline. From the Hudson to the East River, Westchester to Brooklyn and from Central Park to the Atlantic Ocean, there wasn’t an apartment in the city that could compete with its impressive views.

  Kasey’s interest in the building stemmed from a vision she had witnessed. In one of her visions, she had stood on its observation deck watching the attack on New York City unfold below. In spite of its towering majesty, 432 Park Avenue had stood completely unscathed as the city crumbled around it. I want to know why.

  Something about the building made it immune to the arcane assault. If she could work out what that was, there was a chance she could use the knowledge to save the rest of the city. It was a long shot, but it was the only lead she had.

  As she turned up Park Avenue, the construction site came into view. The building already dwarfed those around it. A crane sat perched precariously atop the rising structure. From her place on the city street it looked minuscule, but she knew it was simply a matter of perspective. The crane itself was likely several stories tall and would rise with the structure until it was completed.

  432 Park Avenue wasn’t due for completion for several months, but already almost eighty percent of the building’s luxury apartments had been pre-purchased. An apartment at this end of town would have taken several lifetimes for Kasey to afford on her Medical Examiner’s salary.

  No harm in taking a look while I’m here though. A little window shopping never hurt anyone.

  As she approached the construction site, she considered her options.

  More than once, she had used her magic to imitate a government agency ID to further her investigations. Only weeks ago, she’d impersonated a police officer while investigating the serial killer Danilo Lelac. On that particular excursion, she’d almost been eaten by a Werewolf and ended up being thrown through a glass window. If it wasn’t for Bishop’s arrival, she might have been killed. As it was, her unexplainable presence at the site of a murder had resulted in her spending the night in holding.

  She slowed her pace so that she could observe the site. The building had been sealed off with temporary fencing, and a singular checkpoint controlled the only entrance to the construction yard. Two security guards manned the booth. Everyone entering the site was having their ID checked.

  I need a look at one of those tags.

  Kasey watched as a pair of tradesmen left the site and ambled over to a street cart. She quickened her pace and stepped into line behind them. The shorter of the two, a rotund bearded man, pointed down the street to where a parking inspector was printing a ticket. The inspector was standing next to a silver Mercedes. Clearly it had overstayed its meter. The inspector lifted the printed ticket with a flourish and slid it under the vehicles windscreen wiper. The inspector smiled and continued down the street.

  Whoever the vehicle belonged to, the workers were taking great pleasure in its owner’s unwelcome gift.

  Kasey glanced down. The workers’ ID cards were clipped to their tool belts. Kasey sized up the workers. The bearded man’s companion was a well-toned man in his early thirties with a shaved head. His ID was only inches from Kasey.

  She inched a little closer, readying herself to lift the ID. She would need it so that she could duplicate its design. As she reached for the ID, a commotion at the gates drew her eye.

  A balding middle-aged man was passing through the checkpoint as he left the site, all the while shouting into his smart phone. His furious tone may have drawn Kasey’s attention, but it was his attire that kept it. He was wearing a suit in a construction yard and looking distinctly out of place. The security guards simply opened the gate to let him through. Kasey couldn’t help but notice, he wore no ID whatsoever.

  As he left the site, Kasey strained to overhear his conversation.

  “You tell him that if his crew isn’t on site tomorrow at seven am, we’ll be suing him for breach of contract. By the time I’m through with him, he won’t so much as change a washer in New York City ever again.”

  The two workers in front of her snickered as the man’s pasty complexion slowly turned scarlet. He looked as though he might burst a blood vessel at any moment.

  Kasey knew sh
e needed more information. Tapping the bearded tradesman on the shoulder, she asked, “Who’s that piece of work?”

  The tradesman turned, one eyebrow raised. “You don’t know Sal Langstrode?”

  “If I did, I wouldn’t be asking now, would I?” Kasey replied sharply. “Who is he?”

  “Easy tiger,” the bald tradesman replied as he eyed Kasey up and down.

  Kasey clenched her fists but forced herself to take a deep breath.

  “He owns the place.” The worker continued pointing to the temporary fence.

  Kasey followed his gesture and noticed the fence was covered in branding. The most prominent sign read, ‘Langstrode Developments - Shaping the Skyline of New York since 1935.’

  Just the man I need. He’ll know everything there is to know about this monstrosity.

  She stepped out of line and approached the developer.

  “You’re welcome,” The tradesman called after her.

  She simply waved as if shooing a bothersome fly. She couldn’t get away from him quick enough.

  Langstrode hung up his phone and shoved it into his pocket. Kasey followed him as he stormed to his car: the silver Mercedes that had just been ticketed by the parking inspector.

  Langstrode drew his keys out of his pocket and pressed the button. The Mercedes’ lights flickered once, and the doors unlocked. As he reached the car, he spotted the slip of paper under the wiper.

  “What the…?” he muttered as he pulled out the slip. His face contorted. “Again? You have to be kidding me.”