“That’s too cool,” Morgan quipped, jaw slightly agape.
“What are they doing over there?” Tessa nodded her head toward four guys in a booth near where they were standing. These men were less rugged and could be considered handsome if they cleaned up a little. The men used the candle from the middle of the table to lure a moth toward them. Each took a turn capturing it, killing it, and bringing it back to life. They toyed with it and tortured it for pleasure. It made Tessa sick, and she needed to sit down.
Andre continued to lead the way, after several rounds of “excuse me” and “pardon me” as they walked, they found the only empty booth and slid in. Tessa jumped in first so she was against the wall and away from the people who could sense her. Andre sat on the other side facing the girls and waved a bartender over.
“Those are Incarnators. Their single purpose is to cause mass casualties. They bring a person’s body back to life temporarily, then use it to cause the destruction. They set fires, plant bombs, crash bus loads of people—things like that.”
“I thought you said these were all angels though; they sound like monsters.”
“No, Tessa, what they do is needed. I know it sounds terrible—and it is—but it’s also necessary.”
Tessa felt like a thousand moths had taken residence in her stomach. She tapped on the edge of the table like it was a set of drums.
“T,” Morgan whispered, and Tessa stilled. A gruff looking man in a cut-off tee shirt, dirty jeans, and a black apron walked up and nodded to Andre. Tessa assumed he was the bartender since he took out a pencil from behind his ear and a pad of paper to write their order down.
“It’s been a long time. To what do we owe the pleasure?” The man’s voice was deep and scratchy. His eyes never left Andre and the half cocked smile on his face led Tessa to believe he was sizing him up.
“Happened to be in the area, so I thought I’d pop in and say hello, see what was new.” Andre’s gaze and tone never faltered.
“Is that so? A Guardian wants the skinny from the likes of these douchebags?”
Andre laughed heartily and the bartender joined him. Both men acted like neither girl was even there and Tessa wondered if was sexist or just because the man assumed they were human.
“Hey, a guy’s gotta go back to his roots every now and then to appreciate how far he’s come,” Andre teased, sitting back a little further in the booth. “That and someone’s gotta give these tools something to aspire to, right?” The bartender howled with laughter, clapping Andre on the back. Andre appeared completely relaxed, although Tessa could still sense him zeroing in on every movement in the bar.
“Alright, my friend, what’re you havin’?”
“I’ll take my usual and get some sodas for the girls. And we’ll take a basket of the famous chili cheese fries too.”
“You got it. Be up in a few. And, Andre, it’s good to see you again. I hope this means you’re taking my offer more seriously.”
The man walked away without even a glance at Tessa or Morgan. While they wanted to ask what offer the man was referring to, both girls knew now was neither the time nor place.
“I guess you were right about the blending thing,” Morgan said softly to fill the void.
Andre leaned in and planted a kiss on Morgan’s temple. Before moving back, he whispered, “He assumes any humans are my playthings. You live long enough, that’s what humans become. Since they can’t live forever, most angels don’t keep lasting relationships with them.”
Morgan’s face fell at being compared to a “plaything”, but she covered it quickly. Knowing Morgan, Andre would be back in the doghouse again tonight.
After the drinks and fries came, Andre took a sip and slid out of the booth. “Stay here. I’m going to see who all’s here and who might have some information we could use.” Both girls nodded, and he was gone.
Andre made his way around the bar, stopping every once in a while to shake hands with someone or pat them on the back, but he was too far away for Tessa to hear anything he was talking about. Sipping their drinks, the girls listened to the conversations around them. While most prattled on about their latest capture, or new powers, the conversation from the booth behind them piqued Tessa’s interest. She couldn’t see who was talking, but she could’ve sworn she heard the word “David” mentioned twice. She squeezed Morgan’s thigh to get her attention and nodded in the direction of the conversation.
“…audacity of him to think he could get away with it for so long.”
“I know. You’d think with all he’s done he’d have been an Enforcer not a Healer.”
The girls glanced at each other out of the corner of their eyes as they nibbled on fries. It had to be David they were talking about.
“Killing and torturing all those people, and then to have the gall to ask for leniency because he healed a few people over the last couple of decades? I’m telling you, Pernis, that kid would’ve made a great Enforcer.”
“You really think he did it, Benny? I didn’t think a Healer had it in their nature to kill. And if he did, wouldn’t there’ve been a bigger bounty out?”
“I’m tellin’ you, I know a guy who knows a guy who was part of the clean-up crew. It was him. He didn’t even try to hide it. I can’t get over why a bigger bounty wasn’t put out for the kid. Rumor has it, all the ones he killed were scheduled for internment with Lucifer and his lot, but I doubt it. I mean he killed a lot of people, and from what my guy told me torture was definitely involved, like he enjoyed it.”
“The kid musta gone nuts or something. Wonder why he did it?”
“I don’t care one way or another, Pernis, he saved a few of our people a lot of work in the end, ya know? What he did might be against our laws and all, but I kinda admire him for that.”
“I’ll always drink to less work. Cheers!”
The words slammed into Tessa like a punch to the gut. She got out of the booth and stood next to the men who told the story. She couldn’t breathe. She needed out of the bar—now! She shoved through the crowd of people and didn’t stop until she was outside. She gobbled up air like she was drowning. Her head was swimming, and she couldn’t see straight. She knew she was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Had David really killed people? For fun? Was the wonderful, sweet guy who saved her from dying and sacrificed his freedom really capable of such horrible things? They’d said his name, twice. It was like they were talking about a stranger. Now, as her mind raced, she realized that’s exactly what he was, a stranger. This was evidence she never knew him at all. Everything between them wasn’t real, it was an act. Was he faking it when he said he wanted to be with her? She ended up at the car, not remembering how she got there. Not having the keys, she sat on the back bumper and thought with her head between her knees.
Could she really be falling in love with a murderer? She remembered every detail from their time together, and wondered if her healing powers were healing the holes in her memory too. Closing her eyes even as tears flowed out of them, she remembered exactly how his fingers felt brushing against her cheek and how his eyes lit up when he saw her at Starbucks. Her lips still hummed from his kiss and even as she thought she might hate him, she wanted to kiss him again. She never once saw a malicious or nefarious side to him. Was he hiding it? Was that who he really was? Or maybe they were mistaken? Maybe they were spreading vicious rumors to hurt him further. She opened her eyes again when she heard the gravel crackling under someone’s feet nearby. Picking up her head, she spotted Morgan and Andre approaching.
Knowing Morgan would’ve told Andre what they heard, she asked the only question that mattered. “Did he do it?” she asked bluntly, forcing him to look her in the eye so she could see the truth.
Andre’s eyes held nothing but pity and sorrow. Without speaking, he nodded slowly.
The air was sucked out of Tessa’s lungs and the world suddenly seemed to be spinning.
“But you need to understand, Tess—” Andre started, but
Tessa wouldn’t hear it. She didn’t want excuses.
She ran as fast as her legs would carry her and stopped when she landed at the end of the road. She emptied the contents of her stomach—and her heart.
Tessa was vaguely aware of the arms which scooped her up and laid her in the back seat. The six hour drive home seemed like minutes, and the next thing she knew, it was morning. Glancing at the clock, she couldn’t bring herself to get out of bed to do anything, even pee. She pulled the covers over her head and drifted back to sleep where it didn’t hurt so much. She knew wallowing solved nothing, and she was being a baby, but she didn’t care. Her heart hurt too much and the guilt of still loving him made her feel even worse.
“Wakey, wakey! Eggs and bacy!” The cheerful sound of Morgan’s voice made Tessa cringe and promptly roll back over. “No. No more hiding. It’s been two days, and you haven’t left this bed. You need to hear Andre out. Hear the whole story before you pass judgment and cocoon yourself in self pity. I know you’re hurt and feel betrayed, but you’re better than this. You’re not one to take things at face value without having evidence. So get your ass out of bed and downstairs in five minutes. Or I’m coming back with a bucket of ice water.”
Tessa knew Morgan wasn’t kidding about the ice water and forced herself to sit up. While she really wanted to crawl under the blankets, her full bladder and groaning stomach had other ideas. She sighed and walked to the bathroom, picking up a pair of clean pajama pants and an old tee shirt to change into on the way. Hey, she may be willing to get out of bed and hear their side of the story, but she was going to be comfortable doing it. Mumbling obscenities about her evil best friend, she shuffled down the back stairs and stopped at the bottom step leading into the kitchen. “There’d better be actual eggs and bacy or I’m going right back up these stairs.”
“Good Lord, would you like some cheese with that whine? You haven’t been this gloomy since your parents died. At least then you had an actual reason to mope.”
Tessa sighed. “I know and I hate myself all the more because of it. I just can’t get over how I allowed myself to fall in love with a mass murderer. How I could be so fooled? I’m so ashamed for not seeing through him. And at the same time, I crave being with him again. I still miss him, which is crazy.”
“You’re in love with him?” Leave it to Morgan to focus on the wrong thing.
“Did you not hear the part where I said ‘mass murderer’?”
“Yes, but I want to hear about you being in love.”
Tessa sighed. Morgan could be as stubborn as a dog with a bone, and once she got an idea stuck in her head, there was no deterring her from it. She needed to answer the question or Morgan would be yapping about it all day. “I’ve thought and thought about it, and yes, I am in love with him—hopelessly in love with him. I think about him night and day, doodle our initials on a notebook and imagine future babies in love with him. I can’t help it. I don’t want to be the crazy, psycho person who writes to inmates or harbors fugitives. But I would for him. Why can’t I stop loving him? I shouldn’t feel this way. It’s wrong, and I’m a horrible person.”
Morgan’s smile beamed so brightly Tessa thought she might need sunglasses. “My little girl’s finally growing up.”
Tessa crossed her arms over her chest and scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you finally get it. Love doesn’t let you pick who, when, or how. It throws the person in your face and says ‘deal with it’. It’s learning how to love that’s the hardship, and that’s where so many people screw up. They don’t want to put in the work necessary and are foolish not to realize true love is worth it. They settle for like or lust. But love, real all-encompassing love, doesn’t fit into your nice mold of who you thought you would end up with. Instead, you get the odd-shaped and lumpy pancake most others would throw away. But you can’t, because you know that’s the one with the sweetest flavor.”
Tessa smiled at her, thinking of her lumpy pancake, David. “When did you get so wise?”
“I watch a lot of Dr. Phil.”
Tessa and Morgan laughed. Morgan wrapped Tessa into a giant hug. “It’s all going to be okay, you know that, right? I didn’t let anything happen to you before, and I won’t start now. Just hear Andre out. David’s not the evil monster your mind has created.”
As her stomach growled loudly, Tessa agreed. “But food first. Seriously, I think this is the longest I’ve ever gone without sweets, and I could eat the entire stock at Dylan’s Candy Bar right now.”
“Extra syrup needed, got it. You sit and I’ll call Andre.”
“I’m trusting you here. I am too afraid to let my heart have any hope yet, I couldn’t handle the disappointment again.”
Morgan flipped a pancake high in the air and giggled when it landed on the counter instead of the plate she held in her hand. Using the five-second rule, she scooped it up and put it on the plate anyway. Adding two thick slices of bacon, she set the plate in front of Tessa and went back to the stove. “Stick with me, kid, I got your back.”
***
Andre arrived as Tessa put the last bite of pancakes into her mouth, allowing the sticky syrup to overwhelm her senses and not let the news Andre would undoubtedly bring her down from her sugar high. He’d ducked out of the house to give the girls some privacy, and Tessa was grateful for it. Some serious girl time had been lacking in her schedule lately. After swiping a piece of bacon from Morgan and giving her a quick peck on the cheek, he sat beside Tessa. Tessa thanked Morgan for refilling her coffee cup. She would need the energy to get through this and come out in one piece. Tessa still wasn’t sure exactly how he planned on making the fact David was a mass murderer into a “he’s not so bad” conversation. Nevertheless, she steeled her nerves and nodded. Morgan sat next to her and held her hand, gently squeezing it for a moment to remind her she still had friends she could depend on, no matter what.
“Listen, Morgan was right when she said I shouldn’t blindly believe the accusations without hearing the full story, but I honestly don’t see redemption in this. I’m willing to listen, so give it your best shot.”
Andre rolled his shirt sleeves up and cracked his knuckles. “When I first found out about David back at Walter Reed, I wanted to know why he went rogue, but he wouldn’t tell me. I thought he was hiding something, so I started asking around. After a few weeks, I found someone willing to tell me the whole story. They explained the what, but not the why. So I confronted David and asked him to give me one good reason I shouldn’t turn him in for what he did. He gave me several.” He paused to sip the Coke Morgan gave him since he wasn’t a coffee drinker and continued. “David was reluctant to talk to me, but by the end I think it was cathartic. He was able to let go of some of the guilt and forgive himself a bit. Trust me when I tell you, no one could’ve punished him more than he’d punished himself.”
“But what did he do? Why did he kill all those people?” Tessa asked, not really in the mood for a long drawn out story. She wanted him to get to the gist of it already.
“Tessa, in order to fully understand, you need to hear the whole story. I know you’re anxious, but try to be a little patient.”
Tessa sighed loudly and gestured he should continue.
“In the late 1960s there were a string of murders in California more famously known as The Zodiac killings. Have you heard of them?”
“Yes. It was the guy who killed people and sent letters to the police, right?”
“That’s what most people think, but let me back up the story a bit more. David was assigned to heal specific people during the Vietnam War right from the beginning in 1965. You know the story of how he defected from God, right?”
I nodded and took a swig of orange juice.
“That happened in 1968, a few years after he got there. He saw terrible things, so many horrible atrocities he’d had enough and wanted to help. He moved to California and worked with a lot of Vets. He helped them get back on their feet, heali
ng their PTSD, depression, and even helping them find jobs. But a few months into it, he noticed some of the guys he saw regularly stopped coming around. And no one had seen or heard from them. A month or so later, a few more guys stopped showing up. In total, almost ten guys simply vanished. After doing some digging, he realized they were missing. The police couldn’t do anything because they were adults and homeless, so technically they couldn’t be missing unless foul play was suspected.” David paused to kiss Morgan as she cleared the breakfast dishes and Tessa and David relocated to the family room to spread out on the couches.
“Of course, David tried everything to find them. He spent day and night talking to people on the street, researching their family information and other stuff at the public library—and even called some people he knew who were still enlisted to get their records to see if those held any clues. He searched for anything that linked them together. Finally, he found something. At one of the city dumps, several John Does were found and never identified. After making a trip to the morgue, he identified the bodies of four of his friends who all had bullet wounds and were stabbed.”
“Oh that’s terrible,” Tessa murmured, pulling the blanket around her arms.
“It was, Tessa.” Andre agreed. “The police didn’t look very hard for the culprits because they had much bigger fish to fry. The Zodiac killings were their primary focus, so the case of the dead, homeless men ran cold. They were buried in the state cemetery and no one at the police station thought twice about it. But David knew it couldn’t be coincidence. He demanded their medical records, and since he was pretending to be a med student, he got them without much fuss.”
“Did he find who killed them?”
“Not at first, but he did find clues. On the bottom of the soles of each man’s foot was a small circle with a plus sign through it. It wasn’t very deep and the medical examiner ruled it was something they stepped on. But after Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen were killed, that symbol became pretty famous. It was the symbol for the Zodiac.”
Echo of an Earth Angel (The Earth Angel Trilogy: #1) Page 16