397 – Night Stalker – Into Night

Kolchak and Peri battle a water vampire. Simon and Eugene discuss Into Night. Episode Synopsis:  It’s late at night and two office workers are burning the midnight oil working on an actuarial presentation.  The man expresses his gratitude that his co-worker has worked so hard to help him.  She, in return suggests they go for a drink.  Could this be the start of something?  If we cared, we’ll never know, because they hear the sound of someone in the deserted building.  Soon, they are both dead, mummified. Peri awakes to the morning papers where she discovers that Kolchak has a front page story on the murders.  Except her contact on the story at the police department says it wasn’t a double murder.  Kolchak claims to have a source – a confidential source.  She reminds him that last time he had a confidential source, it turned out it was just him.  He takes to the crime scene where they break in and see that there is evidence of a third person in the room.  The also discover a strange gel on the floor, which Kolchak foolishly touches and burns his finger. [expand title=”More…” swaptitle=”Less” tag=”strong”] The next night, another office worker is killed.  This time he makes a run for it, reaching the elevator before his pursuer.  Part way down, the elevator stops and the man is killed, mummified like the others. If there’s a lesson to be learned from this episode, it is that, while Peri sleeps, news happens as she awakes to another kolchak byline about the third murder.  Her police contact extorts a date from her to get the “real” story according to the police.  That story – illegal use of diazinon – a pesticide only suitable for outside use – had been illegally used in both office buildings. Peri demands to know Kolchak’s source and so he takes her to the morgue where they meet with his “source” who gives them more information.  All victims had abrasions on their necks, but weren’t strangled.  Also, he’s found the gel-like substance on one of the victims necks and he’s obtained a sample for Kolchak.  This time Kolchak doesn’t stick his finger in it, but instead they take it to a chemist for analysis. It’s a highly active synthetic astringent.  Which leads kolchak to leap to the conclusion that the killer must be able to excrete this substance from his hands and then suck the water out of his victims.  Peri thinks that’s a bit of a stretch. Another night, another victim – this time the victim survives.  Why?  They surmise it is because he is an alcoholic and has diminished electrolytes and magnesium – apparently what they killer needs to survive.  Ok, when I say “they” surmise, I mean Kolchak pulls out his butt.  Peri rightly asks why the killer can’t just drink gatorade and take magnesium supplements.   Jain’s pictures of the crime scene produces results, the find a security person at all the scenes.  Investigating him, in his creepy lair, which they break into, they discover more corpses.  They have a run in and Kolchak gets the killer on the run.  Cornered, he nearly kills Kolchak, then leaps from a bridge onto a passing truck.  He escapes. In the aftermath of the killings, Peri and Jain reveal to Kolchak that one, just one, of the mummified victims had the strange mark on the wrist.  A mark that was not there before her death.  The mystery continues to deepen.[/expand]