Gabriel Knight and the Changeling

Gabriel Knight and the Changeling, 6/?
by Scribe

Chapter Six

Gabriel, sitting in the passenger seat, was peering into the paper sack that the doctor had given him. "Five tapes. Ah thought we were just gonna have three to deal with--hallway, nursery entrance, an' nursery."

"The security guards were thoughtful enough to include a tape of the main entrance, and one of the front parking lot," said Friederich.

"That's gonna be a lot of tape to watch."

"But it will be worth it, if we see anything in those extra tapes."

"Ah know. Ah just like to bitch occasionally. You'd think Ah was sick if Ah didn't. So, do we look at these right away, or do we go interview someone else?"

"What's the time?"

"You're wearin' a watch."

"And I'm also driving, while you have your hands free."

"Right." Gabrielle checked his watch. "It's right about three-thirty."

"Most doctor's offices are open until four. Let's swing by and see if we can catch Nordstrom before he leaves. I think it will be best if we speak to those outside the family first."

"Makes sense. An' Ah tell you what else--I think it'd be a good idea to take a long, hard look at these tapes before we talk to th' family, too. Maybe we'll see somethin'. I'd like to have somethin' that they don't already know--it might make 'em take us a little more seriously."

"Agreed. I have the sinking feeling that these are going to be the sort who will deny, even in the face of overwhelming proof. Perhaps not the mother. Mrs. Johensen seems to think that she'd be the most open. Is that Number 25 on that side?"

"Yep. Big sucker, isn't it?"

"That means that his practice is either small, or very fat. It will depend on the location and size of the offices. Generally speaking, the lower the floor, the higher the rent unless they take a whole floor."

Dr. Valter Nordstrom's office was located on the ground floor. Aside from an information desk, a brace of restrooms, and a coffee shop, it seemed to take up most of the space. "Well, well, well," said Gabriel as they studied the board listing the building's tenants in the lobby area. "Ol' Valter seems to be doin' pretty well for himself." He tapped the board. "He's got four partners listed, but it's in his name, and he's leadin' the pack."

"According to Dr. Byers he's very prominent in his field. According to Dr. Byers he does little obstetrics work these days, and limits himself mostly to the more interesting neo-natal cases. But having his name on a practice like this gives it a tremendous boost. The patients can say they're going to Nordstrom. They don't have to mention that perhaps they've only seen him for ten minutes during their entire history with the office."

Gabriel shook his head as they made their way toward the office. "Everyone wants a name brand, even if the generic is just as good."

The office was quietly and tastefully decorated--and empty. Gabriel looked around, wondering what per centage of the fees went to make sure that they didn't have plastic chairs, rubber plants, and year old magazines. A delicious aroma teased his nose, and he zeroed in on a deluxed coffee station at the other end of the office--and it smelled like the coffee (a premium blend) had just finished running through the grounds. He started for it. Not even looking around, Frederich caught his arm, and shook his head. Gabe sighed and followed him to the reception desk.

The woman behind the counter looked more like a high-end corporate receptionist than any medical assistant Gabriel had ever seen. She smiled brightly at them. "Välkommen."

"Good afternoon, Miss. Do you speak English?" said Frederich.

"English?" Gabriel wouldn't have thought it was possible for the girl's expression to get any brighter, but it did. "Ja, a little. You are here for your wife?"

"No, not for professional reasons. We need to speak with Dr. Nordstrom."

Her face fell a little. "Oh, I am sorry, but he sees no one without an appointment."

"You might tell him that it is in relation to the Linstrom baby."

That struck a chord. Nordstrom must have been talking about the case a good deal. "Yes, I think he may want to see you. Please have a seat."

There was a small love seat near the counter, and Frederich and Gabriel chose that. Gabriel looked around. "Damn. Ya know, Ah probably spent less furnishing my first apartment, including appliances, than they spent on this." He patted the seat's arm.

"No doubt. But when one demands the sort of fees I suspect they charge here, it is expected. I'm sure that the patients take pride in the fact that their chosen physician does not skimp in anything. Using a private physician is considered high status in most of Europe, Gabriel." Gabriel frowned. "America is the last western nation without some form of socialized medicine. Surely you've known people back in New Orleans who would be ashamed to admit that they went to the public clinic?"

"Yeah, but usually because the were goin' to have an STD treated, 'cause they didn't want their family doctor to know."

The receptionist returned, but she simply smiled at them and took her seat again. A moment later a tall, thin man came out of the door beside the reception counter and headed right for them, hand outstretched. "Gentlemen, I'm Valter Nordstrom. You're here about the Linstrom case?"

"We're here about the missing Linstrom child," said Frederich as he shook hands. His tone was significant.

The man blinked as he shook hands with Gabriel. "Yes, of course. Please step back to my office."

The doctor's office was as luxuriously furnished as the outer office, but it was also cluttered and jammed with medical books, journals, and charts. Gabriel found this evidence of actual work to be comforting. Perhaps the man wasn't patient-focused, but he seemed to take his profession seriously.

Once in the office Frederich again explained their situation, and they showed their ID and the letter of introduction. Nordstrom, sitting behind his desk, nodded. "I've been expecting something like this, though I must say I thought it would be the father who instigated it. It's usually the parents who take first action in a situation like this, isn't it? Or perhaps they're too stunned to act sensibly? I haven't had any personal contact with them."

"Nor have we," said Frederich. "We will be speaking with them soon. We've spoken to Dr. Beyers, the obstetrician. We understand that he consulted with you once he realized that there was something wrong."

"Yes! This is one of the most fascinating cases..." He frowned. "Well, if it's the same baby it's a fascinating case. If it's a simple kidnapping..." He shrugged.

"Ah hardly think th' parents would consider it simple," said Gabriel coldly.

"No, of course. It was a poor choice of words. What I meant was that if this is indeed the Linstrom child--and mind you I'm still not entirely convinced it isn't--the symptoms are unique." He waved at the piles of reading material. "I've been researching, and I can't find anything even remotely like it! Do you realize what that means?" He sat forward excitedly. "It means that we could have discovered an entirely new medical syndrome."

"An' that's important to you?" asked Gabriel.

"My dear young man, it's what every medical researcher dreams of!"

"Ah thought they dreamed of finding cures."

"Oh. Well, yes. But first comes the disease, then the cure."

"I have to tell ya, bo--I'm not really impressed by your bedside manner."

The doctor shrugged unapologetically. "I'm not a people person. That's probably why I've been divorced three times. But I'm good at my work, young man. I'm very good. The odd thing about this child is that he gives every appearance of being very sickly, but it's only on the surface. All the vital signs, such as pulse, blood pressure, appetite, waste elimination, electrolytes--they're all perfectly within normal ranges. I've never run across a child who was so normal, yet had such an air of abnormality." He made an expression of distaste. "I see all kinds of gross congenital abnormalities, children so deformed by nature that we dared not show them to the mother. Never has one of those pitiable mites made me uncomfortable, but this one... I wouldn't have admitted this to Byer, but when I looked into that... that child's eyes, I felt my skin crawl. I tell you, I sincerely hope that the Linstrom baby WAS kidnapped. I know that might sound cruel, but consider this--you've seen the baby?" They nodded. "Wouldn't it be preferable for them to believe that their own child was out there somewhere, perhaps even dead, rather than have to accept that they'd spawned that... thing?"

~*~

"Ah thought you liked those little family run inns," said Gabriel.

He was watching as Frederich signed them into the biggest hotel in town. "Normally I do, but in this case we will need something that a smaller establishment would be unlikely to provide." He pushed the restration form back to the clerk. "Do you provide video players?"

The clerk was apologetic. "I'm sorry, sir, but not for the individual rooms. For awhile they rented the machines, but the deposit they required was so high that the service was seldom used."

Frederich thought, glancing around. "I see that you provide conference rooms."

"Yes, sir! We're very popular for business and charity meetings. We have rooms suited for only a few people, or a crowd."

"And you provide for media presentations?"

"We have... Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, if a conference room is booked, we can provide video resources."

"Very well. I would like to reserve a small conference room." He took out his wallet, removing a credit card. "I assume you will need a deposit?"

"Yes, sir. And when would you like the room?"

"This evening." He glanced at Gabriel. "We can have dinner, then go to the conference room and review our material."

"This evening? Sir, it's almost six o'clock now," said the clerk.

"Yes?"

"Well... Usually evening bookings are more expensive, and they seldom last past eight or nine o'clock."

"Is there a problem?" Frederich tapped the card on the counter, keeping firm eye contact with the woman.

She blinked first, but that had been a foregone conclusion. Frederich was, after all, an Alpha male. It was unlikely that this woman would have even risen to Beta in any pack she'd joined. "N-no. No problem, as long as you don't mind the price, and make sure to secure the room when you're through with it."

"We'll bring the key directly to this desk. It may be rather late, though, so you might want to alert your night shift." He smiled. "I'd rather not have someone come peeking into the room, wondering why there's a light there so late."

"Yes, sir," she said meekly, accepting his card and beginning to process the transaction.

Gabriel leaned closer to him, whispering, "You're a controlin' son-of-a-bitch, Frederich."

Equally softly Frederich responded, "And so you love me."

Gabriel grinned. "Yeah. Guess so."

While Frederich was accustomed to eating what might be termed 'haute cuisine', he knew that Gabriel had been raised on earthier fare. There was a good steak house near the hotel, and that was where they went. Frederich had Steak au Poivre while Gabriel just had a chunch of prime rib that could have easily fed two people with modest appetites. Both men had the meat blood rare. Or as Gabriel said, "Slap it on the griddle, wave at it, turn it over, and slap it on a plate." Frederich didn't exactly forbid Gabriel to have dessert--he simply reminded him of how groggy he'd been earlier in the afternoon, "And I would expect you to want to be at your best when we review the tapes." He only smiled when Gabriel had a slice of Sacher Torte wrapped up 'for later'.

Darkness had fallen by the time they returned to the hotel. The lobby was deserted, save for the desk clerk and a bellman. "Gabriel," Frederich handed the key card to Gabriel. "Go and get the tapes while I make sure that the video player is ready. The room is where?"

"Down this hall on the left," said the clerk. "Number ten."

Gabriel flipped the key card, starting toward the elevator. "Got it. Be right back."

They'd been given a room on the fifth floor, and Gabriel bounced on his heels as he rode up. He would have expected to be feeling peaceful after the good meal. Instead he found that he was feeling increasingly on edge. *Like somethin's gonna happen,* he thought. Since becoming a Schattenjaeger Gabriel had learned to trust these instincts, so he was half expecting something when the elevator opened on the upper hallway.

The elevator opened on a hallway that had only a few rooms, and Gabriel knew exactly where their room was located--and there was something there. Something. It wasn't a person, it was more like a... presence. It was an almost solid looking shadow, in a vague shape that might have been humanoid, and it was hovering just in front of the door to their room.

"HEY!" Gabriel yelled. The moment the word had left his lips it occured to him that attracting the thing's attention might not be the wisest course of action. It shifted, and he could tell that it had focused on him. Then it drifted slowly toared him. Gabriel felt a cold sense of approaching evil. *It's not solid. How can I fight something that doesn't have a physical body?* Then his resolve hardened. *It's a shadow, and I'm a goddamn Shadow Hunter. This is what I do." He hooked his fingers under the chain he always wore around his neck and lifted the Schattenjaeger talisman from the collar of his shirt.

The effect wasn't startling, but it was immediate. The shadow stopped advancing and hovered, several yards away. A smoke like tendril snaked out about a foot, then withdrew. Another moment and it was receding quickly down the hall. Before it reached the turn in the hall, though, it had faded from sight. As the last wisp disappeared the door across the hall from his room opened and a young man looked out, peering around questioningly. He saw Gabriel, and frowned. "Is the hotel on fire?"

"No."

"Then why are you yelling?" He shut the door sharply.

Gabriel went down to his room, thinking, *I will not wish that whatever that is comes back and eats him.*

~*~

There was a knock on the door of the small conference room. Frederich had locked it behind himself--he'd lived too long to casually leave doors unlocked. Gabriel was outside, carrying the paper sack of video tapes. Frederich started to smile a greeting, then noticed Gabriel's tense expression. He pulled his Beta in and locked the door quickly. "Tell me."

Frederich had made coffee with the coffee maker provided by the hotel, and Gabriel went and poured himself a cup. His hand was shaking slightly as he sipped. He sat down and said, "Frederich, Ah honestly don't know what th' hell just happened. There was somethin' tryin' to get in our room."

"What was it?"

"I don't KNOW! Ah've never seen anythin' like it."

"Describe it as best you can."

"It was there, but it wasn't there. It was... You've seen headlights in a fog, or a misty rain, right? You see shapes that are there, then they're not there. You think if you could just get a good, solid look at it you'd know what you were seein', but you never can."

"The things that are forever just out of sight, flickering past the corners of your vision?"

"Like that!"

"There are many of them out there, Gabriel. Most people are aware of them in only the vaguest ways, and they dismiss them before they can even imprint on their consciousness. We, and particularly you, my love, are more sensitive to them, though."

"It was whatever it is that took that baby, wasn't it?"

"I think there can be little doubt. The truly disturbing thing, though, is that it sought us out. That must mean that it is aware that we have been engaged to investigate. It was either trying to steal or destroy the tapes--or trying to get to us. I'm not sure which is more ominous."

"Oh, come on, Frederich. I think that bein' after us would be pretty obviously the worst choice."

"But don't you see, if it was trying to eliminate the tapes, that means that it is intelligent enough to have grasped their significance. We aren't just dealing with a force here, Gabriel. We're apparently dealing with a sentient being, and those are always more dangerous than a creature that isn't self aware. I'm very curious as to what we might find on these tapes."

They turned on the machines and plugged the first tape, the that focused on the hall outside the nursery, shooting from the elevator past the nurse's station. They watched, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. The only people coming and going were the doctors, nurses, heavily pregnant and distressed women, and frazzled looking fathers-to-be. Next they watched the tape of the nursery entrance. Nurse's entered and exitted, tenderly carrying blanket wrapped bundles. One of them, Frederich pointed out, had to have been Daniel Linstrom. Next they watched the tape made inside the nursery. Gabriel didn't cover his eyes when the nurses changed the babies' diapers, but he did wince.

"Nothin' so far," said Gabriel. "But Ah gotta tell ya, Frederich--Ah have a hinky feeling about this."

"Yes," Frederich agreed. "Let's examine the other tapes for the parking lot and main entrance, then we can look over the others again."

The lobby tape showed more people than the others had, and they were almost all dressed in normal street clothes. No one really looked out of place. Gabriel wasn't expecting anything when they plugged in the last tape--the one that showed the front parking lot, and a slice of the vacant lot beside it.

The counter on the tape showed just after midnight when they saw it. Both men sat forward abruptly, eye rivited to the screen. A shadowy blob had emerged from a copse of bushes near the edge of the parking lot. It drifted slowly toward the main entrance. As it neared the building, the light emerging from the glass doors grew stronger, and the shape gradually faded till there was nothing there. Gabriel kept watching, tensed, expecting to see the doors open on their own. They didn't--but they trembled.

"What just happened?" said Gabriel.

Frederich was tapping his chin. "I want a closer look at those other tapes. Please put in the one that focuses on the maternity hall, and advance it to about the same time that we saw the shadow." Gabriel did. They watched the elevator on the tape. Just before they had seen the shadow on the other tape, Dr. Byers went out of the elevator and down into a labor room. But the doors to the elevator didn't slide shut smoothly behind him. They hesitated for a good three seconds, as if someone unseen was holding them open--THEN they shut. Without a word Frederich rewound it and they watched it again--and again--and again. "There!" Frederich pointed at it, drawing his finger over the screen as if outlining something. "It's very faint, but it's unmistakable."

"You're right. It's gotten clearer each time Ah looked at it." They started the tape again. "Damn," Gabe whispered. "It's headed for the nursery." Before Frederich could ask Gabriel took out the tape and replaced it with the one that showed the interior of the nursery. He began fast-forwarding. "Ah've got a bad, bad feeling about this."

The camera was set on the far side of the nursery, showing the entire room, with the entrance on the other side. There was a pane of frosted glass set in the door, and they could see an amorphous shape move behind it. Then the door slowly swung open. Gabriel clutched at Frederich's arm. "I see it, Gabriel," the Baron whispered. He quickly punched the STOP button, and they studied the image.

"It's not that thing," said Gabriel softly. "It's a man... isn't it?"

"Of sorts, I think," said Frederich.

The figure that had entered the room was tall and slender, clothed head to toe in some sort of dark brown material. The clothing was simple, but elegant--a loose tunic and trousers, and it looked as if it were made out of rich material--silk or fine linen. Everything about the man seemed long--limbs, hands, face, hair... His hair was as black and shiny as sealskin, and it hung straight as a sheet down over his shoulders to flow halfway down his back. His skin looked incredibly white against the darkness of his hair and clothing. It gleamed like a pearl, without a trace of warmth or color. He wasn't handsome. No, he was eerily beautiful, in a completely unearthly manner.

"He's not human, is he?" asked Gabriel.

"No, my love. I fear he is not."

"Why can we see him now, and why didn't the others see him? He's clear enough."

"I think it's because we expected to see something, Gabriel. That, and the fact that we're more attuned to the darker elements. I think... I think that if this thing had been making a real effort to conceal himself, even we would have been hard pressed to see him. But look at his expression, Gabriel."

Gabriel did. "Huh. That is one snotty expression."

"Yes. It's amusement, and contempt. He doesn't think much of us, of anyone who might view this tape. He isn't bothering to exert himself." Frederich pointed again. "Look here, on his back."

"It's a kinda knapsack. Oh. Damn, no. It's one of those snuggly things."

"For carrying an infant, and there's an infant in it now. I dread to see what comes next, but we must." He punched play.

The mysterious figure strolled among the bassinettes, taking his time studying each baby. As he drew near, the children would begin to squirm and fuss. He ignored their protestations. The door to the nursery opened, and a nurse entered, carrying a baby wrapped in a blue blanket. She settled it carefully in an empty crib, then went to several of the other babies, trying to comfort them. She showed absolutely no reaction to the unauthorized visitor, passing within inches of him several times. The strange man bent over the new arrival, inspecting it. He passed a hand in the air over it, like a man feeling a charge of static electricity emminating from an object. Gabriel felt his heart squeeze when the creature nodded and stood back, clasping his hands in an attitude of patience. "Oh, no. Oh, no you're not."

He waited until the nurse left the room. Then he shrugged carelessly out of his backpack, letting it bump against the side of the crib. There was no sound on the tape, but the occupant of the knapsack squirmed in pointed displeasure. The man hoisted the bundle into the crib and pulled the swaddling away from the child's face. It was the baby that they'd seen at the hospital, as ugly and quarrelsome as ever. The man wiggled the changeling out of the knapsack. He took hold of Daniel Linstrom's little hand and stroked his arm gently, tugging at the identity bracelet he wore. Soon he managed to slide the bracelet off Daniel's wrist, and he slipped it on the other baby's arm. Then he wiggled Daniel into the knapsack, tying him in securely, and slipped it back over his shoulders to hang down his back. He wrapped the changeling baby up in Daniel's blanket and stepped back from the crib. Then as he was leaving he paused... and looked directly at the security camera... and smiled.

It was the most beautiful and terrifying visage that Gabriel had ever seen. The features were as perfect as chiseled, polished marble, and just as warm and full of life. The eyes were large. Gabriel had always heard that there were no true black eyes, only eyes of very deep brown. But these... These were as black and glittering as athracite, and they sparked with hidious amusement and knowledge.

"Frederich?" said Gabriel, his voice shakey. "Ah think he knows we're watchin' him."