Chapter No.86. Who done it?

The call came in from the FBI and Robert answered it.

"We have an unusual case that has stumped us."

"Sounds interesting. I'll be there shortly." He teleported to Mark and Joe's office and immediately sensed that they were on edge.

"What's up?"

Mark sighed. "This is a potentially a capital crime that's going to cause a stink. Someone murdered Rick Fenton, the governor of California, and we can't solve it."

"I assume that means the initial clues didn't hint at anything or anybody."

"Exactly. A thorough forensic examination of the body and the crime scene came up blank. It's as if he was killed by some hidden method."

"And something like that would point to us, right?"

"Yes, but we reminded them that it was unlikely."

"First of all, we would never murder anyone, at least not in a sneaky way. This has to be a case of finding what the motive was."

"Yes," Mark said. "But it's not obvious. He was well received by both parties in California as being able to work in a bipartisan manner. He has no history that would indicate a family problem. His marriage was sound, and he had three sons and a daughter, none of whom would flag a motive."

Robert rubbed his jaw. "Hmm. That is weird." He sighed. "Well, when no obvious motive is obvious it requires looking for the unobvious. How long ago did this happen?"

"Three days ago," Joe said.

"They didn't give you much time to solve it. Where was the murder committed?"

"In his office at the Governor's mansion."

"That's at 1526 H Street, Sacramento, California, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll go round up some of my crew to see what we can find."

Robert teleported home and immediately summoned James.

"What's up?" he asked.

"The FBI has a case that they can't solve. It involves the murder of the governor of California."

"Yeah, that's all over the internet."

"A forensic examination of the crime scene didn't come up with anything. I suspect it's something more ominous."

"I sense a demon in the bush."

Robert smiled. "My thoughts exactly."

"Maybe we need Baby Jack and Sparky for this," James said.

"Yes, I think you're right. We'll take them with us to the scene of the crime."

Baby Jack and Sparky appeared. Sparky's tail was wagging, and Baby Jack was smiling.

"Eager, aren't they."

James laughed.

They teleported to an office in an elaborate Victorian mansion sitting prominently in a historic park. The office was obviously modernized but it still retained its historic feel.

Sparky went to work sniffing out the objects in the room while Baby Jack used his powers to see things that no one else could. After several minutes, Baby Jack had a prognosis. "Sparky has sensed an evil smell, Grand Dad. I believe it's the residue of a demon."

Robert turned to James. "Do you get the notion that we're inferior?"

James chuckled. "I hear you."

"Let's wind the clock back and see who did this," Robert said.

James nodded his approval.

Robert stopped time and then wound it back three days to the time of the murder. He, James, Baby Jack and Sparky remained invisible as Robert started time up. What they saw was both ominous and amazing. It wasn't just any old demon. This was a ghost, a specter that was totally black like midnight in a coal yard. The figure used his touch to kill the governor.

Robert returned time to where it should be in the present. What he did only required a second out of normal time.

"Let's go to the FBI and tell them what we found."

James nodded. Baby Jack smiled and Sparky added a bark.

Mark and Joe were surprised to see Robert back so soon.

"The murder was committed by a demon that appeared as a specter. I would have to assume that the governor was about to reveal some evil that he was aware of."

"We hadn't considered that possible motive," Mark said. "However, why would a . . . a specter kill him? Wouldn't that suggest a religious agenda?"

"Yes. Maybe the governor was not what people thought he was."

Mark and Joe exchanged glances before Mark turned back to Robert. "If it was a demon, we have no way to apprehend it."

"We do," Robert said. "The first thing to determine is what the governor was up to."

"We'll dig into that," Mark said. "And get back to you."

Robert saluted before and James, Baby Jack, Sparky and he returned home.

Later that evening they gathered to discuss the latest mission. Janet, Sylvia, Amy and Sally were enjoying the pool.

Vincent joined Robert and James.

"I just got a call from Mark and he says they've uncovered evidence that the governor was involved in a child trafficking operation," Robert said. "The FBI suspects that he was going to reveal what was going on, and it led to his demise."

"What?", James reacted. "Did he have second thoughts?"

"They don't know. Maybe he didn't realize that demons had taken over."

"I smell a new battle on the horizon."

"Yes, and demons have a lot of our powers except for the combat ones. They rely on deception."

"So, what are you . . . we going to do?" Vincent asked.

"We are going to figure out how to detect demons."

"Maybe Sparky and Baby Jack could do that."

"I believe they can, but first we have to find out where the demons are hanging out."

"The child trafficking operation should be in California."

Robert smiled. "Unless the reason the governor was assassinated is because they moved it out to another state."

James blinked. "Like our state?"

"Yes."

"Why here?" Vincent asked. "We're in the ass end of the country."

"Best place to hide a crime operation."

The women finally came over to where the men were.

"What are you guys doing over here?" Sylvia asked.

"We're discussing our next battle."

"Battle? With whom?"

"With specters who are involved in a child trafficking ring. One of them killed the governor of California."

"We were wondering about that," Amy said. "It's all over the internet."

"Do we know where this crime ring is?" Janet asked.

"Not exactly, but we think it moved to our state, maybe not too far from here."

"How are we going to fight ghosts?" Amy asked. "They're already dead."

"Death is only another state of existence," Robert said.

That statement made all of the superheroes realize that they were not completely invulnerable.

They gathered like eagles on a high cliff preparing for a daily hunt. Dressed in their outfits, they waited for Baby Jack and Sparky to take point as they flew out to scan for the enemy. Anyone who witnessed this would be inclined to take cover because it was obvious that the superheroes were out for doing some serious hurt.

Sparky was the first to sense evil incarnate. He barked, alerting the rest that the enemy was near at hand, and it was time to prepare for battle.

It was as if the ground had split and allowed a hoard of mad insects to escape. The specters were shaped like praying mantises, an obvious flaunt against God.

The superheroes had no idea how they could destroy ghosts, but they had one secret power that allowed them to make quantum particles cease to exist, literally making anything vanish forever. But would this power work on ghosts.

It turns out that ghosts were not what they thought they were. It was all an illusion, a ruse to confuse them. Baby Jack realized this and transmitted it to the rest of the superheroes.

The superheroes began the process of tearing the ghosts to pieces, scattering their essence to the cosmos. After they had destroyed them, they gathered on a cliff to savor their victory.

"Again, we had to rely on Sparky and Baby Jack to win," James said.

"Yes," Robert reacted. "They are God's gift to us."

"What about the child trafficking ring?" Janet asked.

"They are operating from that old factory building down there," Robert said. "We'll leave them to the FBI."

No one argued with that.

Robert teleported to Mark and Joe's office. "We found where they're operating the child trafficking operation, and it's not that far away."

"Really?" Mark reacted.

"Yes. I'll show you where it's at on the map. We destroyed the specters that were protecting them. You should be able to make a raid and arrest all of them."

"We really appreciate this," Mark said. "We were clueless."

"We are especially happy to have helped. Mistreating children like that is an abomination, one that we will not tolerate."

Both Mark and Joe realized that this was a threat, not just a trite saying.