He poured them both another drink and joined her at the table.
“The FF is all about money-making rackets and general lawlessness like prostitution and drugs. WA isn’t about money. They’re about power. If there was one FF member, or his babe, who liked to dabble”—he shrugged his shoulders—“that could be the connection.”
“Like Snake and Penny.”
“Right.”
He was on his third drink now and they weren’t small. He didn’t seem to notice Sadie was only sipping from her glass, barely consuming anything. When his cell phone rang and he went in search of it, she dumped her liquor into his glass. When he came into the kitchen, still talking on the phone, Sadie was back at the table examining her fingernails casually.
After he ended the call, he brought the bottle with him to the table.
“Sorry about that,” he said. “I have another story I’m supposed to check on later.”
He was about to pour himself another drink but noticed his glass was full. He downed it and winced.
“I appreciate you talking to me about this Witigo Alliance thing,” Sadie said. “It’s good to be prepared in my business.”
She bit her lower lip, worried about Dawn. As soon as Scott was safely intoxicated and no longer thinking about Sadie talking to ghosts, she’d make her escape and check in to make sure Dawn was still shopping with Aunt Lynn.
“The WA are bigger than you think.” Scott’s voice was slurred and louder than necessary. “Hell, they could be living down the street. They could be your neighbors.” He pointed his glass at her. “I’ll tell you a secret.”
“What?” she asked, hoping that secret wasn’t something to do with what he had going on inside his Fruit of the Looms.
“It’s all about the O.” He took a big gulp from his glass.
“The O?” she repeated. “As in ‘orgasms’?”
“I’m talking about the Os in the letters.” Then he shook his head. “Never mind. I shouldn’t talk to you about this stuff.”
She gave him a line about orgasms and he hadn’t even used it to make any lewd suggestions? They took their drinks into the living room.
Sadie’s cell phone rang. It was Zack. She took a deep breath and answered.
“Hello?”
“Sadie, about Jackie—”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she snapped.
“Fine.”
“If you’re going to talk to me, it has to be about work.”
“Okay.” He was quiet a moment. “Has Thuggy called you looking for work?”
“No. Why?”
“If you hear from him, let me know,” Zack replied, sidestepping her question.
“Okay. I did a walk-through on a Bellevue meth lab today. If we start on that one, I guess I could call him in for it.”
“Good.” He paused before adding, “We’re going to have to talk about it eventually.”
She told him she had to go, and when she hung up, her phone rang again.
She didn’t recognize the incoming number and assumed it was business.
“Scene-2-Clean, how may I help you?” she answered.
“This is Tim.”
“Tim?”
“From Onyx House. Joy looked up your sister’s number in the phone book, and Dawn gave us this number to reach you. I hope that’s okay?”
Sadie sat a little straighter.
“Sure,” she replied uneasily.
“I’m so sorry we didn’t get more of a chance to chat when you visited yesterday.”
“Um. Yes. I’m the one who’s sorry. I didn’t know Joy worked there or that you two were married,” Sadie said quickly.
“Joy?” Scott squinted his blurry eyes at her and she shushed him.
“When Joy mentioned later who you were, of course I felt terrible about treating you and your sister so formally.”
Sadie didn’t know how to respond to that.
“I mean, after all, Joy was practically a member of your family and just because we got married after what happened to your brother, well, that’s no reason for us not to welcome you and Dawn like relatives yourself.”
“It was just nice to see Joy and your place. You’ve got a nice B and B. Maybe I’ll check in sometime myself,” Sadie said without meaning it.
“Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I guess with the brochures you took, you know that Onyx House offers all kinds of workshops and retreats to heal the mind, body, and soul. We’ve got one tomorrow, as a matter of fact, that’s all about healing after the loss of a family member. I know it’s been six years since you lost Brian, but I’m sure you’d find it helpful and soothing.”
Sheesh! That was the last thing she wanted.
“To tell you the truth, Tim, I don’t think I’m interested. Like you said, it’s been six years since Brian died. I’ve come to terms with what happened. Really.” She quickly added, “But thanks for thinking of me.”
She thought of Rhea and the silver ID bracelet, and Sadie had a dozen unanswered questions. Maybe going back to Onyx House wasn’t such a bad idea.
“Well, maybe you’d like to come over for breakfast, then. I’ll be making my famous cinnamon rolls. Then, if you feel comfortable, you could stay for the session.”
Sadie liked the idea of talking more to Joy and somehow finding out if Rhea was Brian’s child.
“I won’t take no for an answer,” he said firmly. “It would mean a lot to Joy.”
“Okay, then. What time?”
“We’ll expect you at nine for breakfast and the workshop starts at ten thirty.”
Sadie agreed. When she disconnected, Scott was eyeing her with a strange look.
“Life’s a bitch,” he said.
“Yup. It is.”
“So how about you stay the rest of the day and night, Sweets?” His words were slightly slurred. “Forget FF and WA. I’ll give you better Os than you’ve ever had.”
He’s baaaack, she thought.
“I really should get back to work.”
“Stay and have another drink with me first.” “Another” came out as “a nudder” and Sadie figured one more straight whiskey should put enough of an alcohol haze of doubt across his memory that Scott would truly wonder about any recollection of Sadie conversing with the dead.
“Okay, but just one more. How about I make you a sandwich too?”
She walked into the kitchen and put both their glasses on the counter. She opened the door to a surprisingly well-stocked fridge. She knew Scott was physically fit and obviously took care of himself, including with what he ate. She took out a package of low-fat smoked turkey as well as some light mayo and a jar of Dijon mustard. She put it all on the counter and found the bread in a cupboard. Once she got the sandwiches made, she worked on the drinks. She added tap water and lots of ice to the whiskey in her glass and poured the remaining drops of the whiskey in his.
She decided to look for a new bottle. She opened the cupboard she thought he’d kept the booze in, but oops! It was the wrong one. This cupboard didn’t hold liquor, only a hodgepodge of loose photos. She reached with her other hand for the next maple cabinet door, simultaneously closing the first one she’d opened, but stopped short when the picture on top of the pile caught her eye.
Sadie reached and pulled out the photo, and her blood heated. It was a picture of Sadie cradling her bunny, Hairy, in her arms. She was in the kitchen of her home. Wearing nothing but the long Mariners T she slept in. She thanked God the T-shirt was long enough to cover the bare essentials. She snagged a handful of the pictures and they were all of her, some of them going back a month.
Why the hell would Scott be taking pictures of her? Was he doing some sort of documentary on the life of a trauma-clean woman? Fury rolled through her. She was going to kill him!
With the photos in hand she stormed back into the living room to tear him a new asshole. When she entered the room, though, she stopped short. Scott was slumped over on the sofa and snoring softly. Damn. It was the
perfect opportunity for her to leave. Still, how could she let him get away with such an invasion of her privacy?
She couldn’t. But there would be time in the future to exact revenge. Today she just needed to make sure Scott Reed wouldn’t be blabbing on the news about her talking to the dead.
So instead of throttling Scott, she made her way back into the kitchen and carefully retrieved all the pictures from the cupboard. Behind the stack of pictures was an impressive camera. Without hesitation Sadie took the camera, opened a few compartments, then took some apple juice from the fridge and drizzled some inside. Not enough that it was dripping wet, but enough that it should seize up working mechanisms of the camera. She knew it wouldn’t stop him for long because he could easily pick up another camera, but Sadie felt much better exacting a little revenge.
Sadie walked away and cut through the living room on her way to the front door.
“Yanno,” Scott murmured, opening one droopy eye. “I’m gonna win an award with my Witigo story.”
Sadie didn’t reply. When he drifted off again, she stuffed the pictures he’d taken into her purse and headed for the door. She was slipping on her shoes when Ruby appeared again.
“You’ll come back again, won’t you?” she asked Sadie. “It’s kind of lonely with nobody to talk to.”
Sadie slipped her feet back out of her shoes and nodded for Ruby to follow her to the kitchen.
“You don’t have to stay here in this in-between state,” Sadie told her in a soft tone. “How long have you been dead?”
“It’ll be two years next month,” she answered. “It’s been great not having Alzheimer’s kicking me around, but it’s been lonely with nobody to talk to. Can you show Scott how to talk to me? I miss him.”
“It’s not a skill I can teach,” Sadie said. “But like I was telling you, it’s time for you to leave this place. Go to be with those who went before you. You must have family who have passed?”
“They’ve forgotten me.” She sniffed. “Norman, my husband, and my mom and dad.”
“Ruby, I think they are there waiting for you, but you haven’t moved on because you have unfinished business here.”
“Like what?” She looked skeptical.
“If you don’t know, I can’t guess,” Sadie said. “Maybe there’s a message you want me to give to the family remaining?”
“Scott’s mother and father live in California.” She blew a raspberry at the thought of them. “Couple of nitwits, the two of them. Scotty-boy doesn’t have a thing to do with them since they told him he was wasting his life going into journalism. The only thing right my son and his good-for-nothing wife ever did was give birth to that boy.”
“Scott doesn’t have any brothers and sisters?” Sadie asked curiously.
Ruby looked at Sadie and shook her head.
“I know what it is,” she said suddenly. “I’ve got a message to give to Scott. You need to tell him he’s good enough. He doesn’t need to dig so deep in his stories that they bury him and suck him down. He’s good enough without that. He doesn’t need to lower himself.” She frowned at Sadie. “You gonna write this down? It’s my last wish.”
Sadie took a pen and scrap paper from her purse and scribbled down, “You’re good enough.”
“Anything else?” Sadie asked.
Ruby shook her head.
Sadie thought of the pictures in her hand. She didn’t want to give Scott any message, but she told Ruby she would. Then Sadie told her it was time.
“The best way is to allow a kind of peace to come over you,” Sadie instructed. “Close your eyes, envision all those loved ones who have gone on ahead of you, and visualize yourself reaching for them.”
The essence that was Ruby Reed began to shimmer around the edges. Within seconds, the ghost faded until Ruby was completely transparent. The woman blew Sadie a kiss before she was totally gone.
It felt good. More than good. Great. Sadie felt giddy for helping Ruby Reed move on spiritually. She’d missed that feeling and the delight of it carried her until she’d left Scott’s house and was in her van. Then she looked down at the scrap paper in her hand. Ruby’s last message to Scott.
Sadie had never ignored a spirit’s request. There was a first time for everything.
17
Back at Dawn’s house, Sadie waited for the women to return from their marathon shopping. Then she oohed and aahed appropriately over all the cutesy baby purchases. It was evening and they were deciding on pizza or Chinese when Aunt Lynn announced she’d go back to her sister’s house for the night. Sadie and Dawn didn’t push her out the door but didn’t beg her to stay either.
Once their aunt was gone, they decided on pizza and an evening of doing their nails and watching a chick flick. Dawn fell asleep ten minutes into the movie. Sadie watched the rest of the romantic comedy, all the while scowling at the hero, thinking that he was probably a two-timing creep like Zack.
It took her a long time to fall asleep. When Sadie woke up the next morning, her first thought was that sleeping on Dawn’s futon was killing her back. Her next thought was how much she was dreading going to Onyx House and asking Joy if she’d had Brian’s baby and just failed to mention it.
Sadie found Dawn in the kitchen eating a large portion of fresh fruit and toast and sipping a glass of milk.
“There’s coffee in the carafe,” Dawn said. “I’m dying for some, but it’s not good for the baby.”
Sadie poured herself a full cup and sat with Dawn. “I’m doing breakfast at Onyx House this morning. Why don’t you come with me?”
“And watch you ask our dead brother’s ex-fiancée if she had a baby who died?” She wrinkled her nose. “I’d rather go into labor right here and right now.”
Dawn scooped Hairy into her arms and snuggled him under her chin for a minute before he wriggled free and she let him down to skid along the floor to his food bowl.
“I don’t feel good about leaving you home alone,” Sadie said.
“I appreciate you telling me that some ghost has threatened my baby, but I think I can fend Casper off with a vacuum cleaner and some garlic,” she giggled.
“I’m not joking about this, Dawn.”
“I know you’re not, but c’mon, you can’t expect me to take this seriously.”
Sadie stripped off the shirt she was wearing and turned around.
“What are you—?” Dawn began, and then she gasped. “What the hell is that thing on your back?!”
“A satanic mark put there by Casper, or should I say Penny Torrez.”
“The woman who was killed when they took her baby?”
“Yes. She’s not like any spirit I’ve ever dealt with before, Dawn. As you can tell.” Sadie tugged her T-shirt back over her head. “Whoever took Penny’s baby from her and killed her is not a spirit. They’re a live person living in Seattle who knows that you’re pregnant and has threatened to take your baby, since we interrupted their ritual.”
“Shit.” Dawn’s eyes were wide. “You didn’t tell me that part before.”
“I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Well, I’m scared now!”
“Good. Hopefully that means you’ll be careful. If you won’t come with me to Onyx House, how about if I drop you off at Mom’s?”
Dawn stuck out her tongue.
“Mom loves to dote on you and try and figure out if you’re having a boy or a girl. You could torture her by saying you found out what the ultrasound results were and keep her guessing. When you get tired of that, you can start whining and whimpering about how nobody’s thrown you a shower yet because everyone’s too busy, and watch her swallow her tongue as she tries hard not to blow Saturday’s surprise.”
“That does sound like fun.” Dawn grinned. “In the meantime, you’ll find out about that ghost girl—what was her name?”
“Rhea.”
“Yeah. Rhea.” She ate the last bite of her toast. “I’d like to know if I used to have a niece.”
Withi
n a half hour they’d both dressed and were on their way out. Dawn was careful to set her house alarm before they locked up. When they arrived at their mom and dad’s place, Aunt Lynn was also there and both the women were thrilled with the prospect of spending a few hours with Dawn.
On Sadie’s drive over to Onyx House she checked her phone messages. No new calls asking Scene-2-Clean to come mop up a loved one. No messages from Zack. Her phone rang just as she was tucking it back in her purse.
“Hello?” Sadie answered.
“Any new jobs you need me for?” Jackie asked a little too cheerfully.
“I did a walk-through of a new meth job yesterday,” Sadie said in a clipped, businesslike tone. “I’m busy this morning, but I’d like us to get started on it later today.” Sadie gave her the address. “I’ll call you when I’m on my way over there, and the two of you can meet me. I take it you’ll tell Zack about the job.”
“Tell Zack? Sure,” Jackie replied. “I can do that if you want.”
“I just figured it might be easier for you to talk to him, since you two are a thing and all.” A thing? Sadie rolled her eyes at her own inability to put it better than that.
“A thing? You mean because—”
“Because you’re sleeping together. Yes.” She snapped the words off.
“You sound pissed,” Jackie said. “I mean, you have every right to be ticked off if there’s a Scene-2-Clean policy about employees dating, but, you know, you never said anything about that and—”
“I guess since I run a company of only three employees, I didn’t know I had to have a dating policy!” Sadie was stopped at a light. She leaned forward to rest her forehead on the steering wheel. She’d wanted Jackie to deny everything. Instead she’d confirmed Sadie’s fears. She took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down. It wasn’t Jackie’s fault. She probably didn’t know Zack and Sadie had had a thing of their own last year or that he’d just recently lured her back to his bed. “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business and I have no right to be pissed off. I’m just . . .” Hurt. “Surprised. That’s all. What you two do on your own time is your own business.” She quickly finished, “Just make sure it is on your own time, okay?”
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