Death Mask by Michael Devaney Page A

it be?” Finn pressed.
    “My initial thought, upon seeing the crime scene, was some sort of lacerations or extreme puncture trauma, but we’ve found no external wounds thus far, at least obvious ones. That only leaves interior hemorrhaging. That usually comes from blunt force trauma, but again, we’ve found nothing of the sort. Still, assuming all that blood is his, it’s an excessive amount for just one person based on my experience.”
    Finn didn’t dare mention the bloody tears. Instead he kept pressing. “So what are you saying?”
    “I’m saying I’ve never seen anything quite like this before. It’s as though the man’s insides exploded then every bit of his bodily fluid leaked out onto the floor.”
    “So you don’t think he was killed,” Finn said. “You think his heart exploded or he had a brain aneurysm or something to that effect.”
    “It’s nothing official until we can do a proper autopsy of the body, but yes, based on the current evidence, that is my first inkling.”
    “There’s no chance an outside force may have caused his death?” Finn asked.
    “I suppose it’s a small possibility, but again, with no visible injuries to the outside of the body, it’s not likely.”
    “Thank you for your time.”
    “You’re welcome.”
    Finn left the representative and made a beeline for Andria’s office.
    “Well?” she asked.
    “I don’t know how, but I think the Mask did it.”
    “What? How?”
    “The coroner’s office is stumped, because there are no external wounds. That only leaves internal reasons for the death. I know it sounds crazy, but I think somehow, the Mask caused this man to die from internal injuries.”
    “Such as…a heart attack?”
    “Sort of, yes. But more like a “fright attack.”
    “You didn’t tell him that did you?” Andria asked.
    “Of course not,” Finn said. “But one thing’s for sure. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this and quick. The more time that goes by the more momentum this thing picks up. Unfortunately, it seems as though we’ve turned a corner in this case—moving from practical joke to murder.”

Chapter 15
    “Finn, look at this!”
    It was Andria. She was overly excited when she entered Finn’s office at the precinct.
    “Andria, what are you doing here?” Finn said, looking up from his paperwork.
    “I found a diary in Juan’s locker. I grabbed it last night before we left, but didn’t look at it until today. Apparently he had seen something in the mask room, the same as me, and on more than one occasion. He’d even gone as far as documenting each instance. Based on his notes, it looks as though he’d made it a regular routine to stop and talk to the mask nightly.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “No. Here,” she said, shoving the diary in his face. “Look for yourself.”
    “Each instance is dated and described in fairly good detail. However, for now, focus on the last entry and read it aloud.”
    “ July 23 - Tonight is the night. I’m going to destroy the mask. I’m going to smash it to bits. Before, the mask seemed nice. It was just talking and rhyming, but two nights ago it threatened my life. It told me that if I didn’t follow and solve his puzzles he would kill me. I tried to ignore the threats, but sitting here in the museum now, I realize that I cannot, in good faith, ignore this problem any longer. If I ignore the threats, they will only get worse. Please forgive me, but I see no other solution. ”
    “Unbelievable,” Finn said. “That explains the baseball bat.”
    “What baseball bat?” Andria asked.
    “Never mind. Let’s just stick to the plan and get on a plane. After tomorrow we should have more of the answers we’re looking for.”
    “Or more questions,” Andria quipped.

Chapter 16
    Finn and Andria arrived at New York’s LaGuardia airport at 10:35 pm the following evening, running on nothing but a riddle and pure adrenaline. It was dark, overcast and rainy, which made the conditions perfect