Elemental Shadows by Phaedra Weldon

on web this morning?"  
    I nodded.  
    "And then Kyle found all those messages about ghosts?"  
    I nodded again and made a motion that meant keep going, spit it out.  
    "Kyle and I went to every house that called and at every house, we saw moving shadows. And they were always like he described to you on the phone. Short and skittish. Almost shy when you approached them," he licked his lips. "When we got to the last house, and this is why we called, Crwys and Levi were already there because the home owner called them."  
    "They called us and the police?"  
    Crwys spoke, "Levi and I got the call because we'd been in that house two weeks ago when the owner's son was found dead at his computer."  
    I looked up at him. "You mean like the dead Elders?"
    "The only commonality was the dead at their computers. Their ages were wildly different and the cause of death was very different for this one." Crwys hooked his thumbs into the empty belt loops of his jeans. "His parents had left for a vacation in Italy."  
    "The kid didn't want to go to Italy?"  
    "No. The parents didn’t want him to go. They were gone for two weeks. When they got home, they found him dead. He'd been sitting at his computer gaming."  
    I made a face. "People don't just die sitting at the computer while they play games."  
    Crwys shrugged. "We had everything in the room bagged and tagged. Coroner ruled the kid's cause of death as neglect. There were no signs of foul play on him or in the room."  
    "Neglect?" I shifted in my chair. "How does someone die of neglect at their computer?" I glanced at Ivan. He didn't look so good.
    "Remember this morning when I asked you if Ivan knew of any others like himself?" He glanced at Ivan. "This is why I asked. I couldn't justify a kid sitting at his computer and dying. But if I thought of Matrix Guy here," he nodded at Ivan. "The way he enters the web?"  
    I looked at Ivan. "Is it possible?"  
    When he nodded I felt my stomach flip. "I've had a few experiences when I dive in and I lose track of time. I was in the web or the net, whatever you want to call it, for over twenty-four hours once. When I actually pulled out—" he blushed red and I got a pretty clear image of what he found happens to bodily functions when ignored. "I'll just say I was starving and my legs and feet went to sleep."  
    "Is that why you abruptly got interested in exercising and hiking?" Kyle looked at him.
    Ivan nodded. "That's exactly why. That scared the crap out of me. If this guy was like me and he was diving into the cyber world, he might have let time get away from him."  
    Levi spoke up, "Then that makes sense. The victim, a kid named Ronald Kennett, had pretty much starved himself to death. He started playing games and never ate, never drank and never slept. Forensics showed he'd even soiled himself before he died."  
    Ivan blushed again. I was right.  
    "Sweet Lady," I mumbled.  
    "It was the weirdest case we'd ever come across," Crwys said. "The parents are trying to sue somebody for their kid's death, but there's just nothing for them to grasp on to. We got a call this morning from some cyber terrorist organization requesting all information on the case be transferred to them. Including the kid's computer and his equipment."  
    "I'm sure Captain Prescott isn't too happy about that?"  
    "No she's not," Levi said. "Which is why we were over there speaking with the mother about why this cyber terrorist group would be interested in her son when these two arrived. The mom corroborated their story that she left a message with the shop saying that she'd been seeing things in the house and wanted to know if they could exorcise their home."  
    "Did you see another Shadow Person while you were there?"  
    Kyle nodded. "We did. But this one was taller, and he had a hat."  
    "And he was pissed off," Levi said. "Thing hissed at us before it disappeared. Crwys here suddenly started calling you and when you didn't answer, we all piled in