I looked back at her then closed my eyes as the obvious answer bludgeoned me with my own stupidity. “Randy,” I said quietly. “Randy had it.”
“Yeah.” She shook her head and frowned. “I’ll lay odds that is your answer.”
Felicity’s tense voice brought us back to the situation at hand. “Do you think he’s going to call back?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head as I turned. “But it’s going to be okay.”
“Okay? Rowan, he knows where we are!” she appealed.
I was so accustomed to Felicity’s strength that I was taken aback by the growing intensity of her fear. The still fresh horror of the kidnapping and attempted rape had bruised her deeper than either of us had realized, and her façade was beginning to tear away.
I reached for her. She stepped forward and fell into me, burying her face against my shoulder and wrapping her arms tightly around me. Before I could utter a single word, the phone pierced the room with its metallic jangle for attention.
I twisted slightly, keeping one arm securely around my wife and snatched up the telephone with my free hand. I consciously released my temper from its mental prison and began speaking the moment I brought the handset to the side of my head.
“You’re really starting to piss me off, Eldon.”
“Good,” he replied.
“I’m going to hang up now,” I spat.
“Before you do, there is something you should know.”
“What? That you’re a sick, twisted sonofabitch?” I barked. “I already know that.”
Instead of the sarcastic reply I expected from him, I heard a thin hissing noise mixed with the sound of a car engine. There was a scratchy, rustling noise followed by what sounded like a faint squeal.
I snarled into the phone again. “What? No comment you sorry ass…”
I stopped short as the squeal repeated, this time sounding far more like a distinct, nasal whine. This time it was followed by a high-pitched whimper.
Bile rose once again in my throat as I fought my stomach’s urge to evict anything it might currently contain. Gooseflesh prickled along the back of my neck and terror swelled in my chest. I continued to listen in abject horror as a sobbing, feminine voice choked out two faint words, “Help me.”
“Thou shalt not suffer a Witch to live, Gant,” Porter’s voice issued once again from the earpiece.
“What are you doing, Eldon?” I almost pleaded.
“Her judgment is at hand,” he continued speaking as if he hadn’t heard me. “Are you willing to be responsible for it?”
“PORTER!” I screamed, but there was nothing more than the hollow sound of the disconnected line to answer me.
I slammed the phone back into the cradle once again. The mechanical bell rattled out a muted ding that was mixed with the bang of plastic against Formica. The excess force caused the device to jump back out and clatter across the counter before bouncing from the floor and swinging pendulum-like from its spiral cord. I didn’t bother to pick it up. I just closed my eyes and held Felicity tight.
“What, Row?” she said, her voice muffled as she spoke into my shoulder. “What did he say?”
I couldn’t speak. My mind was racing as I tried to move all of the pieces together. There was something vaguely familiar about the woman’s voice, and it had now displaced all of the other nagging bothers that were dancing about in my brain.
Agent Mandalay spoke up from across the room. “The second and third calls came from the same phone, but we couldn’t pinpoint a grid location before we lost the signal.”
“You got a name though, didn’t you?”
“What?” Mandalay asked with a faint note of confusion.
“The owner of the cell phone,” I explained. “It’s a woman, right?”
“Yeah,” Her puzzled tone blossomed. “How did you know that?”
“Because he put her on the phone just before he hung up,” I told her.
“So she’s still alive?” she asked.
“For now.”
“Dammit!” she snarled as she began stabbing at the buttons on her cell phone once more.
“What’s her name?” I asked.
“Millicent something,” she answered, dividing her attentions between dialing the phone and checking her notes. “Millicent Sullivan.”
Felicity tensed against me as she heard the name. Pain stabbed into the center of my brain, and I damned myself for being so careless.
“Dear Mother Goddess…” I moaned. “How could I have let this happen?”
“Rowan, what’s wrong?” Mandalay asked.
I squeezed Felicity tighter as I felt her begin to tremble.
“Rowan, talk to me,” Agent Mandalay pressed again. “Do you know this woman?”
“We know her as Starfyre,” I answered quietly. “She’s being considered as a dedicant in our Coven.”
“But I thought everyone was…”
“They were,” I cut her off. “We were still just considering her. She hadn’t been taken into the fold yet, so no one would have thought to call her about any of this.”
CHAPTER 23:
“So explain to me again why we weren’t watchin’ this Sullivan woman?” Ben smoothed back his hair and then winced. He pulled his bandaged hand away and then stared at it as if it was the first time he’d ever seen it. I didn’t give it long before he did away with the bandages altogether in a fit of frustration.
Apparently, he had only just gotten out of the shower when Mandalay contacted him about Porter’s call. Even though she assured him that she had things covered on our end, he insisted on returning immediately. No amount of explanation from her was going to convince him otherwise. Judging from his rumpled appearance, he had probably still been getting dressed on the drive over.
We were assembled in the living room of the small apartment. Ben occupied one end of the sofa and Mandalay the other. Felicity was parked in the chair, cradling a cup of tea between her dainty hands; but me, I couldn’t begin to think about sitting. I had too much of an infusion of nervous energy. I was standing at the sliding doors, holding the heavy drapes partially open, and looking out across the snow-covered balcony to the parking lot several floors below.
“She was only a dedicant,” I replied without turning.
It had been just slightly over an hour since Porter had called, and my anger was still fresh. My jaw had now added itself to my list of aches due to the fact that I was unconsciously grinding my teeth. I kept catching myself in the act, but I didn’t seem to be able to stop. I was still fighting a case of the jitters that was born of the creepy tune looping in the back of my head; so, I wasn’t sure if the teeth gnashing was an effect of the anger alone or a combination of rage and anxiety. Whatever the cause, it was beginning to get very old.
“And that means she’s like what? A non-person?” He splayed his hands out in a gesture of helplessness.
I shook my head sharply and allowed the drapes to fall closed as I turned. I was frustrated that I had to explain something that I perceived as trivial common knowledge especially in light of my current emotional state. I took a deep breath and huffed it back out, trying to keep in mind that Felicity and I were the only ones in the room familiar with Coven dynamics and order. “I really didn’t mean for it to sound like that,” I told him. “Basically, a dedicant is someone who has made a conscious choice to study a particular religion, or most often, religious path. What we often refer to as a tradition. They take an oath to study and learn the tradition.”
“So it’s like making a pledge or a promise. Somethin’ like that?”
“Aye, exactly,” Felicity chimed in.
“So this isn’t something unusual then?” he asked.
“Not within the confines of a Coven, no,” she answered again. “Not at all.”
“So what you’re really sayin’ is that she wanted to join your study group?” He simplified my answer as he looked back and forth between us.
“Something like that
, I suppose, yes.” I nodded. “At any rate, she had approached Cally about joining our Coven some time back. We met with her on a couple of occasions, and we discussed the possibility of her dedicating. What you have to remember is that taking someone into a Coven is not something you do lightly, so we took some time to mull it over. We were actually planning to bring her in at Yule, but she was out of town.”
“So she wasn’t actually a member of your group yet?”
“No. Not officially.” I shook my head. “She would have been brought in at the next Full Moon meeting.”
“Well, Porter obviously chose her because of her relationship to you,” Mandalay offered. “He didn’t just get lucky. How would he have found out about her if she wasn’t actually a member?”
“I don’t know.” I shook my head and shrugged. “My best guess would be Randy, but I can’t be sure. It could be that Porter asked him for names when he tortured him. We pretty much know that’s how he started compiling his list of victims originally. Or it could be that Randy had her name and some notes in a day planner or a PDA.”
“Notes?” Ben asked.
“Established Covens take bringing someone new into the fold very seriously,” Felicity offered as explanation.
Ben sighed heavily then brought his other hand up to massage his neck, only to repeat the wince and stunned stare.
“Dammit,” he muttered as he shook his wounded mitt and then lowered it back into his lap.
I began to slowly pace. “I blame myself for this,” I announced. “I should have considered it as a possibility.”
“Aye, I think not,” Felicity asserted. “I’m their High Priestess. I am as much at fault as anyone, if not more.”
She had regained her composure quickly. Still, I knew by looking at her that it was a defense mechanism. What she had done was nothing more than a temporary patch job on her exterior demeanor. Inside, there was still a swirling ball of gut twisting terror, but she had no intention of letting any more of it show; not in front of Ben and Constance at least.
“Neither one of you is at fault for anything,” Mandalay returned. “There was no way you could imagine that Porter would go this route.”
“Believe me, Constance.” I gave her a quick nod. “I can imagine a lot out of this whack job. I’ve got scars to prove it.”
“Mandalay’s right,” Ben interjected. “Beating yourselves up about all this isn’t doin’ either one of ya’ any good. Not to mention that it ain’t gonna get us anywhere.”
“Well, what IS being done?” I asked.
“Right now, there’s a CSU team on their way to Sullivan’s apartment. Her car is listed on the hot sheet, and every copper on the street is lookin’ for it.”
“We don’t know that he has her car,” I objected.
“We don’t know that he doesn’t,” Ben returned. “Look, Row, let us do the cop stuff, it’s what we do. Like I’ve told ya’ before, we actually solved a few crimes by ourselves before you came along.”
I closed my eyes and put my palms up to my temples, squeezing my head between my hands and roughly massaging at the same time—as if I could will the pain away. “I’m sorry,” I muttered. “I don’t mean to be arguing with you about this. I’m just kind of at the center of it, and I’d give just about anything to be somewhere else.”
“That’s understandable,” Mandalay said. “You’ve been through a lot today.”
I shook my head. My eyes were still closed, and my fingers were now working at my scalp. “Today is just the beginning,” I said aloud. “There’s an end coming. I don’t know when or where, but I’m not sure I want to.”
The moment the words exited my mouth, I felt a wave of dread hit me. If that wasn’t enough, I could physically feel my wife’s startled gaze instantly burning a hole in my back as I stood there.
“What’s that s’posed to mean?” Ben asked.
“I don’t know,” I answered. “Forget it. I’m just rambling.”
“You sure?” he pressed. “That ain’t some kinda hocus-pocus la-la land thing you’re spoutin’ is it?”
Mandalay offered her observation. “Yeah, Rowan, that sounded a little on the morbidly prophetic side, especially coming from you.”
“Really. Forget it.” I waved a hand at them. “My head is killing me, and I’m just running off at the mouth.”
The truth was that I didn’t actually know what the comment was supposed to mean. I didn’t even know for sure why I had said it. I only knew that there actually was more to it than just idle rambling and that it sounded just as bad to me as it did to them.
“You need to take somethin’, Kemosabe?” Ben asked.
“Wouldn’t do any good,” I sighed. “So anyway, go on. You were telling me what the plan is…”
“CSU, car…” He ticked off what he’d already said. “Keepin’ an eye on public places since he seems to have a penchant for exhibiting his kills.”
“By then it would be too late,” I contended in a flat tone.
“Believe me, Row, we know that,” he returned. “But it’s somethin’ that has to be done.”
“We’re also watching for the possibility that he might use one of the two cell phones again,” Mandalay added to the list. “If he does, we’ll be on top of it, and maybe this time we can get a grid location.”
“What about me?” I queried.
Ben feigned ignorance. “Whaddaya mean? What about you?”
“Don’t play dumb, Ben.” My voice once again took on a note of annoyance. “You know damn well what I mean. Porter killed Randy, and now he has Star, and he’s going to kill her. You’ve already said that he’s choosing his victims to get to me.”
“Yeah, I know where you’re headed but don’t go there.” His tone was adamant.
“What do you mean, ‘don’t go there?’” I couldn’t help but raise my voice a step. “There’s no place for me to go, Ben. He’s bringing it to my doorstep!”
He addressed me with deadpan seriousness in his voice and a hard expression forming across his features. “Listen, Rowan, I’ll be honest with you, Albright already said something about this.”
“Screw Albright,” I spat. “If she wants to ban me from something else, tell her to go ahead.”
“No, you don’t get it,” he snarled. “She’s all about using you for bait.”
“Will wonders never cease,” I said, injecting the words with as much sarcasm as I could muster. “She and I finally agree on something.”
“Rowan! No!” Felicity yelped.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the startled expression on her face, and as I turned to look at her, she slowly stood.
“I can’t let him kill Star,” I told her as if the conclusion was obvious.
“Aye, I won’t allow it,” she proclaimed.
Ben glanced her way then back at me as he spoke. “Well don’t worry, Felicity, cause it ain’t gonna happen.”
“Why?” I demanded.
“Because it’s not how we do things, Rowan. This isn’t a cop show. We don’t use civilians as bait for crazed serial killers.”
“Yeah, well maybe it’s time to change your rules.”
“I can’t listen to this,” Felicity blurted with a mixture of both fear and anger in her voice.
I looked over at her, and she was trembling. She stared at me with her eyes glistening, and I knew there were tears behind them begging to be released. I took a step toward her, and as I reached out to touch her, she backed away and sidestepped. I stopped, immediately feeling the torment that now afflicted her. She put her hand to her mouth and then shook her head again. With that, she turned and disappeared down the short hallway and into the bedroom.
The door made a dull sound as it slammed.
“Jeezus, white man.” Ben shook his head.
“You should probably go talk to her,” Mandalay offered softly.
I was torn between running after her and pleading my case. Choosing between the woman I loved more than my own existence
and the life of someone I barely knew was the last thing I needed at the moment. I mutely pled for guidance from The Ancients and met only with silence.
I started toward the bedroom door and hesitated. I felt damned no matter which direction I went. I took another step then turned and stared at Ben.
“Listen, apparently the whole idea isn’t out of the question or Albright wouldn’t have brought it up,” I finally countered.
“Why the hell do you think she was all over your ass back at the morgue, Rowan?” He stood there looking at me with his eyes wide and questioning.
“Because she doesn’t like me?” I answered.
“Exactly. And because she doesn’t like you, she was trying to get you worked up so you’d do somethin’ stupid, Row.”
“I thought we’d already established that.”
“I mean as in stupid like going after Porter. She wants to let you throw yourself out there as bait, and if you get killed in the process, oh fuckin’ well, too bad so sad.”
The revelation struck home, knocked me down, then kicked me a few times just for good measure. I stood there mute, wondering how I could have been so totally oblivious to her intentions.
“Am I that stupid?” I finally asked, an uneasy calm in my voice. “Have you known this all along?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Don’t feel like the Lone Ranger, I didn’t catch it either. I just found out on the way over here.”
“How?”
“A call from one of the coppers on the case,” he answered. “He overheard a phone conversation she had, and he thought I should know.”
“Recklessly endangering a civilian on purpose?” Mandalay sounded incredulous when she asked the question. “Have you gone to IAD about this?”
“That’ll be my next move.” Ben nodded. “But I want to make sure I can count on my source and get something a little more concrete before I make an accusation like that. Right now it’s just hearsay, plus there’s someone else involved, and I don’t know who.”
The Law Of Three: A Rowan Gant Investigation Page 19