Dadgummit

by Maggie Toussaint

  The deputy’s mouth tightened. “There’s the matter of evidence.”

  His hesitation annoyed me. Did I have to do everything for these cops? “You have him for robbery and for kidnapping the sheriff. Keep poking around in the lives of your victims. You’ll discover that Jonas knew them and met them repeatedly. The bedding in Haney’s loft should have Jonas’ DNA on it, for starters. Those flipbooks prove Jonas knew Haney.”

  Duncan motioned for two of the cops to take Jonas away. I crossed the room to Mayes and knelt beside him. “How’re you doing?”

  He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Better. Good to see you, Baxley. What happened?”

  Since Mayes had a similar aptitude and belief in the paranormal, I didn’t mind discussing recent events with him, except that we weren’t alone. Even though Duncan had spent part of a day in Little People world, I hesitated to talk freely before him and the other cop, Loggins.

  “Oh, a little of this, and a little of that,” I hedged.

  He pulled me close and whispered in my ear. “Hang on. I’ll get rid of the guys. And then you can tell me why your hair changed colors.”

  I jerked back, wishing like anything I had a mirror. What color was my hair? I drew a strand forward. The ends were singed black and reeked of smoke. Funny Mayes hadn’t mentioned that. But the main color was different. Snowy white.

  I stared at the altered tresses in mute disbelief.

  “Give us a minute,” Mayes said to the deputies.

  Duncan looked like he thought otherwise, but he and Loggins stepped outside. Privacy came with a searingly intimate sensation. Heat steamed up the collar of my shirt as Mayes stared at me.

  “I remember,” he said, interlacing his fingers with mine.

  From the sexy glint in his eyes, I had no doubt he was talking about The Kiss. I hastened to explain, “After Jonas stole your energy, I gave you a boost using the technique I’d seen him employ in my dreamwalks. What you remember didn’t actually happen. It was a dream.”

  His taciturn face lit up. “The best dream I ever had.”

  It was good for me, too, but that wasn’t the direction this conversation needed to go. Part of me knew I should disengage my hand, but the other part didn’t want to let go. “A dream,” I repeated gently.

  “You saved my life.”

  “I should’ve been paying attention when the cabin got too quiet. Instead, I was absorbed in those flipbooks. I’m sorry he got to you. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  His expression hardened. “I woke up a few minutes before you and Jonas dropped into the room. But before that, I received your messages, only I couldn’t find my way out of the dream. Wanting to leave the dream world wasn’t enough. I was desperate to get to you. I was afraid Jonas would hurt you.”

  “He tried, but he failed. I was lucky enough to have someone more powerful than he was on my side. Rose returned the stolen dream churning talent to the Little People. Maybe when Jonas lost that power, his hold over you broke.”

  He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. “Tell me what happened.”

  I gave him the condensed version of my ghost dog tracking Jonas, of the trap Jonas set, and of the resolution between Rose, the Little People, and Jonas. “My hair. Is it all white?”

  He nodded. “Snowy, expect for the tips, which are blackened. That must have been some takedown.”

  My poor hair. I knew from experience that dye wouldn’t work on it. The universe would have another laugh at my expense. I didn’t see where white hair was necessary. Why couldn’t I just wear a shirt with Dreamwalker printed on the back? Instead, I had to rock the geriatric look.

  Railing against the fates wouldn’t help. Time to look on the bright side. I’d brought a criminal to justice. That was my take-home message. “I don’t fully understand what happened, but I survived and I’m walking around on this side of the dirt and breathing air. I’m glad the ordeal is over.” I paused, searching for the right words. “Jonas said he was a reaver. Does that mean anything to you?”

  “A reaver. Historically, reavers were Robin Hood-like figures, robbing from the rich to support the poor. Scotland, for one, had reavers on the English border for many years.”

  “Jonas didn’t strike me as a charitable individual. He stole energy from people. A lot of it.”

  “I can see how reaving would fit with an energy-vampire lifestyle. Stealing is a way of life for them, quite possibly a matter of survival.”

  “Lifestyle.” I shuddered. “I hate to think of what he did in a positive light. He stole people’s lives.”

  My phone rang. Odd. How was that possible? Had Jonas jammed the signal before? I wiggled my fingers free and pulled the phone from my pocket. Dad. “I need to take this call.”

  “Your mother said I should call,” Dad said. “Everything all right with you?”

  “Yes. The case is closed. Hang on a second while I put you on speaker. Mayes is here with me, and I want him to hear our conversation.” I toggled the phone to speaker. “The police have Jonas Canyon in custody. He’s no longer an energy vampire, but he called himself by another name. Have you ever heard of a reaver?”

  Silence met my ears. “Dad? You still there?”

  “I am. I’m afraid I have bad news for you. About your case.”

  I was glad he’d qualified his statement. If something happened to Larissa, I’d be a mess. Even so, the phone felt too warm in my hand. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

  “I heard back from Running Bear about the energy vampires he ran across before. There were two of them, a young man and an older woman. He identified Jonas from the photo you messaged to me.”

  Mayes and I locked gazes above the phone. A wave of dizziness threatened. “Two of them?” I chirped.

  “Yes. He described the woman as being skeletal and extremely dangerous. Apparently there’s a process they go through at the end of their lives where they require enormous amounts of energy.”

  There was only one skeletally thin woman in this case. Lizella Tice. The woman at the rehab center. Jonas first identified her as his mother, but we’d dismissed that claim since she appeared to be a victim.

  “We know who she is, Dad, and where she is. Thanks.”

  “Be careful. Running Bear called the process she’s undergoing a strange name. It sounded like rémoulade. I should have asked him to repeat the pronunciation or spell it out. From what he explained, anyone who comes in contact with this woman will be completely drained until she completes the change.”

  “What kind of change?” I asked.

  “He didn’t say.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I ended the call and sighed. “So much for wrapping up the case. We’re not done. We have another energy vampire to catch. You got any fight left in you?”

  Mayes nodded. “Feeling stronger by the second.”

  “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  On the way to the rehab center, we got a call from Dispatch. Twilla Sue Blair had awakened and wasn’t happy about being a hospital patient.

  Deputy Mayes grinned when he hung up the phone. “The boss is back to her old self. I predict she’ll be making a break for daylight as soon as she figures out what they did with her clothes. She’ll want her wheels back.”

  I nodded at him. We were both in the backseat, with Deputy Duncan driving our vehicle and Loggins following in the cruiser. Another deputy had carted Jonas off to jail. “We’d better capture Lizella Tice fast, then. If she’s more dangerous than Jonas, Twilla Sue has no business being part of her takedown.”

  “You have a plan for getting this energy vampire to abide by our legal system?” Mayes asked.

  “I was holding my own against Jonas until he sprang that mind trap on me. It was a lesson I won’t soon forget. Energy vampires are dangerous creatures.”

  “You didn’t answer my question. How will we take Lizella Tice into custody?”

  I touched my necklace and was dismayed to feel nothing. The ordeal w
ith Jonas had exhausted the energy in the stone. Would the gems in my pocket still be of use? “I don’t know how this will end, but I plan to employ the same strategy I used with Jonas. Phone a friend.”

  “Your special friend?”

  “Yes. We’re no match for these people. Rose is better equipped to handle them.”

  “Should you have her meet us there?”

  “Don’t need to. Once we are in the same room as Lizella, I can summon Rose.”

  “Are you up for this? You must be at least a quart low on energy by now.”

  “I can do this. We need to tend to this last bit of business, then I’m crashing for the day. Tomorrow I’m driving home, so I need a good night’s rest.”

  “Speaking of leaving, I’m putting you on notice that I plan to visit you. Soon.”

  This was a conversation I didn’t want to have, but it would be best to clear the air. I met his gaze. “I apologize if I’m giving off mixed signals. You’re a kind, attractive, and intriguing man, a man that any woman would be lucky to have, and you deserve someone who can fully commit to you. My situation is complicated. I’m a widow in the eyes of the law, but I think my husband is still alive out there, somewhere.”

  He inclined his head slightly, then took his sweet time replying. “I value your honesty and loyalty. Those attributes were sorely lacking in most of the women I’ve dated. Even if we keep our relationship platonic, I would still love to visit, to learn more about your dreamwalking, to spend time with your father and his friend Running Bear. We could all benefit from an exchange of information.”

  We wouldn’t be where we were on this case without exchanging information. I, for one, would like my father to stop feeding me information as needed, piecemeal. I’d like to know the entirety of what we faced.

  “You should visit,” I said. “There is much we can learn from each other and from my father, who seems to be an endless fount of knowledge.”

  “We can drive down together,” Deputy Duncan said. “I plan to visit the coast as soon as my leave request goes through.”

  Mayes and I were both startled by Duncan’s remark. I’d forgotten Duncan was listening to us. “You and Charlotte?” I asked.

  Duncan flashed me a grin. “She’s quite something. I want to spend more time with her.”

  This vacation was panning out beyond Charlotte’s wildest dreams. She’d wanted someone who saw her, someone who looked beneath the surface. Duncan appeared to get her. I hoped the feeling was mutual.

  “I was thinking about doing exactly what they did,” Mayes said, his gaze meeting Duncan’s in the rearview mirror. “Borrowing a friend’s RV and hitting the road.”

  “You quitting your job?” Deputy Duncan asked. “Twilla Sue won’t like that.”

  “Not quitting anything,” Mayes said. “Just need to take some time off. I can’t recall the last time I took a vacation.”

  “That would be never,” Duncan said, as he pulled into the rehab center parking lot. “Here we are.”

  “We’ll have to get through the public health gatekeepers first,” I warned.

  Deputy Loggins joined us, making our party four-strong. Each of us examined our weapons. I tucked mine in my waistband. The deputies kept their weapons at the ready.

  I trooped up the metal stairs into the admin trailer. The receptionist was gone. The administrative people were gone. I strode back to the big boss’s office. He was gone too.

  One thing was certain.

  No one was minding the store.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  We entered the lobby of the rehab center with me keeping a protective bubble of defensive energy around our party of four. Silence greeted us. If I hadn’t seen the command post trailers out front, I wouldn’t have known this facility was under quarantine.

  I tapped on the glass and called out, “Hello. Anybody here?” Receiving no response, I reached through the receptionist’s open window and picked up four fresh cloth masks on the desk. We put them on and entered the building, navigating around the stack of fire extinguishers near the door.

  Our footsteps echoed down the empty corridor. The stillness inside the building was oppressive. Air wasn’t moving, and it seemed to weigh heavily in my lungs. It reeked too, ripe with the sickly sweetness of death. In an earlier visit, I’d learned this place had beds enough for a hundred residents, and there had been about twenty to thirty staffers on site.

  “Did she kill them all?” I wondered aloud.

  “We need to find Tice before we count bodies,” Mayes said. “We’ll get a medical team in here as soon as it’s safe for civilians.”

  Not a soul wandered the halls. It was as if everyone had abandoned ship. The hair on the back of my neck wouldn’t settle. Something horrific must have gone down here. I hoped like anything that everyone wasn’t dead.

  “Ms. Tice?” I called from the hallway outside Room Twelve. “We’d like to talk to you.”

  No one answered.

  No one stirred.

  The place felt like a ghost town.

  “Is she still here?” Mayes asked.

  “Can’t say,” I answered. “I’m devoting my extra senses to keeping us shielded. I can’t scan for life signs at the same time. I say we enter her room. If she’s there, I’ll contact Rose. If not, we have to keep searching the building for her.”

  “She could’ve left the building,” Mayes observed.

  “Perhaps, but where would she go? If she and Jonas are a pair, she’d want to meet up with him.”

  “Then she might be on the way to the jail.”

  “Shh. We don’t want to give away any information. Remember, all of you, stay close to me, within arm’s length, or risk being compromised. Jonas could mesmerize with a mere glance across the room. If she’s more powerful, she could turn you one at a time. Stay vigilant.”

  “I go in first,” Mayes said. “Then Powell, Duncan, and Loggins. The three of us keep Powell in the center at all times.”

  Duncan and Loggins nodded. I accepted his ordering of our positions because it suited me to be within touching range of everyone. We moved into the dark room. From Mayes’ sharp intake of breath, I knew it was bad.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Ms. Tice’s bed. There’s blood and something lard-like on the covers.”

  I edged around him so that I could see for myself. The rumpled bedding was stained crimson and dotted with chunks of white goo. The aroma made my eyes water, as if a skunk had rolled in stinkweed. I strained to see in the twilight.

  “What is that stuff?” Mayes asked. “Everybody back up so I can hit the light switch.”

  Moments later, the room came starkly into focus in a fluorescent glow. Mayes drifted closer to the bed, which meant we all drifted closer. “No bones, just fluids.”

  Duncan pointed across the room. “Look.”

  A person lay prone in the other bed, but the floor was littered with bodies. Along the wall, they were stacked three high.

  “Good God.” I felt as if my heart might leap out of its chest cavity. “Are they dead?”

  “One of us should check,” Mayes said.

  “I’ll do it,” Loggins said.

  “Wait,” I said. “We can’t do anything for these people because we have no medical training. We need to track Lizella and find out if she’s still here.”

  “How?” Duncan asked.

  “I have a helper, a ghost dog, who was able to track Jonas. I’ll summon him and have him track Lizella this time.”

  “A ghost-dog tracker? How is that possible?” Loggins scoffed.

  “Many things are possible,” Mayes said. “It’s a matter of suspending disbelief.”

  Duncan groaned. “Now you’re sounding all mystic again. This is the oddest case. It has been from the start, so why should the finish be any different?”

  “Summon him,” Mayes said.

  So I did, slipping just far enough through the veil to where Oliver dwelt. He was delighted to see me. After the mandator
y licks and pets, I indicated what I wanted him to do. Back in the real world, Oliver reared up on his hind legs to sniff Lizella’s bed. The deputies muttered uneasily, and then we were off.

  “Follow me,” I said.

  The guys stuck close. Oliver led us all over the building. Bodies were stacked everywhere in the guest rooms. There was no sign of life. Finally, Oliver led us to the receptionist’s desk. At a small sob, Mayes stepped in front of me, gun drawn. “Come out with your hands up.”

  Chapter Fifty-Seven

  Deputies Loggins and Duncan pushed in front of me too, brushing past without a care for their safety. “Wait!”

  Through my sixth sense, I could hear Oliver barking like he’d treed a possum. The noise echoed in my ears, loud and harsh. I marveled that none of the others heard it.

  “Shut up!” a squeaky voice roared.

  Ah … someone else heard Oliver. Whoever was under that desk had an active sixth sense.

  “Be careful, guys,” I said. “This person is very dangerous.”

  Loggins put his gun away and knelt down. “It’s a kid. Come out here, little one.”

  Oliver kept barking. Since the hiding place was near the floor and so was Oliver, I crouched down to take a look. It was all I could do to keep the protective bubble engaged around us and keep track of Oliver.

  “I’m scared,” the child said.

  “You’re okay,” Loggins said, waving her forward. “What’s your name?”

  From my vantage point, I could see the child. She was younger than my Larissa. Ash-blonde ringlets cascaded around her pale face. Big brown eyes stared at us with suspicion. An adult-sized T-shirt hung on her small frame.

  “Cherry,” the child said.

  “That’s my mother’s name.” Loggins’ voice was sweetness and light. “Come out of there, Cherry. We’re the good guys.”

  “Can’t. There are bad people in here.”

  “How’d you get here?” Loggins asked.

  “I don’t know,” the child said.

  Mayes and Duncan crowded behind Loggins. All of them holstered their weapons. Loggins had his hand extended to the young girl. The scene seemed ordinary and in many ways a relief from the horrors in the residents’ rooms. How’d a child end up in this place? Was she visiting a relative with a parent?