by Jayne Faith
“I’m going to call a friend of mine,” I said, pulling out my phone. “I think he might be able to help us.”
There was definitely something odd about the statue—gargoyles were cold-blooded creatures, and this one was much warmer than my own body temperature—but I wasn’t convinced there was actually a human trapped in it because, well, I was pretty sure that was impossible. I knew someone who’d be able to tell me if Roxanne’s story had any merit.
I scrolled to Johnny Beemer’s number and tapped it. Johnny was a freelance supernatural P.I. and he’d developed a slew of devices that could detect all manner of phenomena. He did private jobs, but also was often called in as a consultant when the police suspected supernatural involvement in a crime. That was how we’d first met a couple of years back. It was on a messy case involving an idiot who’d managed to summon and cage an arch-demon with the intention of domesticating it, his pissed-off witch neighbors, and some not-so-neighborly hexes.
Johnny often showed up at the drinking hole where Demon Patrol officers tended to gather after shifts. We sometimes ended up at the same table or knot of people around the bar, and though we’d always greeted each other by name, we’d never had much more than casual conversations peppered with his flirty little gestures and phrases, which I’d always deflected. Johnny seemed like an okay guy, but I’d watched him flit from woman to woman too many times to take his advances seriously.
“Ella Grey,” came Johnny’s smooth voice though the phone. “I knew you’d give in eventually. Your place or mine, sugar?”
I snorted. “Nice try, but this isn’t a booty call. I’ve got a . . . situation. Any chance you could bring your toys and meet me?”
“Okay, I’ll bite. Just for you.” I could hear the faint smile in his voice. “Where am I going?”
“Crystal Ball Lane. I’ll text you the address.”
“I’ll be there in ten,” Johnny said.
“Great, thanks.”
I disconnected the call, asked Roxanne for the building’s address, and then sent it to Johnny.
While Roxanne righted the lamp, I went to the window. We needed to get the thing closed before any other winged creatures of Hell showed up because I didn’t have any more large demon traps on me.
I jumped up to the sill, standing on it so I could put my full weight into shoving the window sash down.
I glanced at Roxanne, who’d moved to the kitchen area to clean up the broken mug.
“You okay?” I asked, grunting with effort. I hopped a little, dropping all the force I could onto the stubborn window. It gave a few inches.
“Yeah.” She didn’t look up.
“You’ve got to keep the windows closed,” I said. “It’s not safe to leave them open.”
By law, all structures were infused with magical wards against demons so they couldn’t shatter a window or bust in through a door. The protection worked as long as doors and windows weren’t left open. But there wasn’t any known magic to prevent the spontaneous rips that dumped hell-spawn into random locations, as had happened during the Demon Patrol call that had killed me.
“I know, I just . . . I thought if Nathan turned back into himself, I wanted him to be able to get inside,” she said. “You know, he’ll probably be weak from not having any water or food, and I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to open the window.”
The stupid window finally gave in to my efforts. I slammed the sash closed and dropped to the floor.
“That’s thoughtful of you,” I said quietly. I wasn’t maternal like Deb, but even I could see how distraught the girl was. “How long has the statue been there?” I just couldn’t quite bring myself to call the thing “Nathan.”
She pulled her phone from the pouch of her hoodie and looked at it. “It’s just after ten o’clock, so . . . an hour and a half?”
“Why didn’t you call the police?”
She lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “Nathan is seventeen. We’re not supposed to be living on our own.”
The familiar ache sprang around my heart, gripping it like a fist with such swiftness it nearly took my breath away. My brother Evan and I had been alone like this. After Grandma Barbara died, we’d stayed in her house until the bank repossessed it. A few months later we were forced out, and shortly after that, Evan had disappeared. He was only fourteen, and I’d just turned nineteen.
I held my breath, letting the pressure build up in my lungs, pushing back against the pain of loss blooming through me. My mind pulled at the vision of the young man, the one who looked like he could be nineteen-year-old Evan, but I held it off. I’d save that for later examination.
“Did you see anything strange when you touched the gargoyle?” I asked.
“Like what?” she cocked her head.
I shrugged. “Anything supernatural . . . visions . . .”
She peered at me. “Huh uh. Why, did you?”
“I thought I saw something, but it was probably just my imagination,” I said. For a second I’d hoped the visions weren’t just my own personal phenomenon, but I wasn’t surprised at her answer. I gave her a thoughtful look. “You knew when you asked for my help that I was Demon Patrol. Weren’t you afraid I’d tell someone about you and Nathan living here on your own?”
“Nope. Not after I saw how you handled those stupid boys. Even though you said you were going to throw them in jail, I knew you were just trying to scare them off, and you wouldn’t really do it. I knew I could trust you. I’ve always been really good at knowing the good eggs from the rotten ones. That’s what Nathan says.” Her wide blue eyes projected such sincerity it was actually difficult for me to keep my gaze on her face.
I cleared my throat, a little embarrassed at the unexpected compliment. I looked around. “Your brother must work hard to afford a place like this for the two of you.”
She nodded solemnly. “He works two jobs. Nights at the kitchen in the Crescent Moon Pub, and part-time in the produce department at Albertson’s on State Street. I do random jobs, mostly babysitting and cleaning houses.”
When she spoke of her own contribution, the pride on her face chiseled a crack through the middle of my heart. A kid her age shouldn’t have to worry about contributing to the household income.
Footfalls in the hallway drew our attention. I went to open the door, and Johnny stood there hefting two big nondescript black suitcases with metal latches. The cases looked like the things you might see a band’s roadie hoisting around, but I knew they contained a bunch of supernatural detection and diagnostic instruments.
He flashed a perfect white-toothed grin that seemed to gleam in his tanned face, and out of the corner of my eye I watched Roxanne swoon.
Yeah, Johnny Beemer had that effect on women.
He set the cases down near the end of the sofa and then clapped his hands and rubbed them together briskly. “So, ladies, what do you have for Johnny?”
Chapter 3
“OVER HERE. A demon paid us a visit, so we had to shut it.” I led Johnny to the window. “This is why Roxanne brought me up here. She says her brother is trapped in that statue.”
Johnny stood close to the pane and cupped his hands around his eyes so he could see outside.
I glanced over at Roxanne. “I wasn’t so sure about her story, but the thing is warm,” I whispered to Johnny. “Too hot for a cold-blooded gargoyle.”
He backed away with a nod and a purposeful purse of his mouth. He took off his leather jacket and put it over the back of one of the dining chairs. It was way too warm out for leather, but I couldn’t recall ever seeing him without his jacket.
He strode to the window and his biceps flexed momentarily as he forced the sash up. I couldn’t help a little zing of appreciation, and I saw Roxanne take note, too.
“I need it open so the scanner has an unobstructed view. Give a holler if you notice any more winged visitors out there.” He reached out to place a hand on the statue and glanced back at me. “Huh, it is warm.”
Roxanne g
rinned, clearly pleased at the confirmation of her story, but her expression quickly faded to worry. “Is he okay?”
Johnny had gone to one of his cases and laid it flat. He squatted in front of it with the lid tipped back. “Give me just a sec, and I’ll see if I can figure out what happened.”
Roxanne and I watched him pull a tablet out of its little nook in the molded foam that filled the case’s interior. The device looked like a modified iPad with handles attached to both ends and some extra electronic doohickeys plugged into the ports. Johnny was a normal, but one of the few who seemed completely at ease around crafters. He was so knowledgeable about the supernatural sometimes I actually forgot that he had no magical aptitude himself.
He stood and positioned himself square to the window, powered on the tablet, and held it up by the handles. An image of the window frame and the dark shape of the statue outside filled the tablet’s screen. Johnny tapped through a couple of menus, and the image changed. It showed blobs of bright colors, reminiscent of a heat map, with faint ghosts of lines like an X-ray.
“Oh yeah, there’s something interesting going on,” Johnny murmured, enlarging different sections of the image. “I’m detecting . . . three different life forms?”
I stepped closer to peer over his shoulder, but I didn’t have a clue how to read the image. “Do you know what they are?”
Johnny’s eyes flicked to Roxanne and then back to me. He gave me a pointed look.
“One of them is definitely human,” he said. The brightness in his voice was a little too forced. “And his vitals are within the normal range. I need to consult with Officer Grey for just a moment.” He powered off the tablet and lowered it to his side, holding it by one of the handles, and with his other hand he pulled down the window sash. A tilt of his head at me indicated he wanted us to move out of Roxanne’s earshot.
We huddled near one of the bedroom doors. A waft of his clean-smelling aftershave filled my nostrils, and I resisted the temptation to lean in for a deeper whiff. I wasn’t interested in Johnny, not like that, but I wasn’t made of marble. He was handsome and he smelled good, and that was all . . . was what I told myself sternly.
With a hard blink, I forced my focus from his expressive lips back up to his eyes. “What is it?” I whispered, glancing at the tablet he still held.
He gave his head a little shake. “I think her brother is okay, but there’s a demonic life form in there. I’ve actually never seen three life forms in one entity. This is really strange, Ella. We should call Supernatural Crimes and turn this over to them. It’s going to require multiple separations. Whatever gets Nathan and the demon out of the gargoyle, followed by a standard exorcism. Honestly, I have no idea how this could have happened in the first place.”
My surprise registered on my face, and he saw it. Johnny wasn’t an outlaw exactly, but I didn’t expect him to be the one to suggest following protocol.
“But Nathan is safe, more or less, right?” I asked, and waited for him to nod. “She doesn’t want to involve the authorities. Her brother’s underage. They’re not supposed to be living here alone.”
With a pained look he tucked the tablet under his arm and pushed one fist into the other palm, popping his knuckles. His dark eyes roved the room. “I really don’t think we should be going rogue on this, Ella.”
I scoffed, brushing off his suggestion. “Johnny, I know you of all people can handle this without getting the authorities involved. You know everybody. There’s gotta be someone in your contacts list who has the skills we need. And I’m here to help. Come on, we can do it.” It was a thinly veiled challenge, but I hoped my appeal to his ego would work.
His mouth thinned to a hard line, bringing out his dimple. Then he scrubbed a hand through the tousled waves of his dark hair. When his gaze leveled on mine, I knew I had him.
With an amused twitch of his lips, his eyes narrowed, flicking down to the badge on my belt. “Aren’t you the authorities?”
“Not tonight. I’m rogueing it.” Another subtle challenge.
“I bet it’s not the first time, Officer Grey.”
His comment gave me a split second of pause. We didn’t know each other particularly well, and I wouldn’t have pegged him for subtle insights. Maybe it was just a lucky guess on his part, or maybe the remark was simply meant to be flirtatious. Either way, he was right—I did have a tendency for bending the rules.
I allowed myself a full-on smile of triumph, which I imagined would just encourage the steady stream of his advances, the little hooks he’d been tossing my way since we’d met. But at the moment I didn’t care.
“Please tell me you know how to get him out.” Roxanne called, breaking up our little exchange. She was gazing at Johnny with an adorable mix of hero worship and infatuation.
He went to her with a warm smile. “Unfortunately, darlin’, that’s beyond my skillset. But I do know someone who might be able handle this sort of challenge. I’m going to make a call.”
Roxanne blushed, looking up at him with stars in her eyes, and nodded.
He pulled his phone from a front pocket of his jeans, tapped it a couple of times, and then put it up to his ear, holding it there with a raised shoulder.
“Lynnette, how are you, gorgeous?” he said into the phone. While he spoke, he knelt to tuck the tablet back into its case. “Right, right. Same here. Listen, I’ve got a little supernatural puzzle, and I do believe you’re the only woman in the world who can solve it.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, you are?” Johnny’s smile sagged. “Damn. When do you get back? Okay . . . sure. The sooner the better. Will do. Safe travels. Talk to you soon. Bye.”
He let the phone drop into his hand, tapped it with his thumb, and slipped it back into his pocket.
“What did she say?” Roxanne had pulled her hands into the sleeves of her oversized hoodie, and she was pressing her two sleeved fists together in front of her chest in an unconscious prayer.
“She’s outta town right now, but she’s returning tomorrow.” He faced Roxanne. “I promise I’ll come back with her tomorrow night, and we’ll get this sorted out.”
Roxanne’s eyes filled with disappointment, but she nodded.
“Do you have someone you can stay with tonight?” I asked. She was probably old enough to spend a night alone, and had likely done so many times while her brother worked late, but I didn’t want to leave her on her own.
“Mrs. Johnson, down the hall. She comes over sometimes if Nathan has to be gone all night.” Roxanne looked out the window and then turned her blue-eyed gaze on Johnny. “Are you sure he’s not going to suffocate before you come back?”
“I swear on my favorite crystal that he’ll be okay until then.” With a flourish, Johnny pulled a polished, faceted stone from a small leather pouch clipped to his belt. He held it out. “Keep it as collateral until tomorrow night.”
She took the clear crystal, rotating it in her fingers, and then she looked up at him. “You’re one of the good ones. I can tell.”
He gave her a little grin.
“Are all the other windows closed?” I asked, eyeing the doors to the bedrooms.
Roxanne nodded.
“Good,” I said. “Don’t open them for any reason, okay?”
“I won’t, I promise.” She took a couple of quick steps toward me and slipped her arms around my waist. “Thank you, Officer Grey.”
After a surprised pause, I awkwardly embraced her thin shoulders. She wouldn’t normally do this. I always recognized another non-hugger. But her relief and gratitude were palpable.
“I’m glad I could help. And you can call me Ella.”
She moved back, looked at the floor between us, and nodded again, obviously self-conscious.
“Here, let me put my number into your phone in case you need anything. Give me yours, too.”
We traded phones and entered our info while Johnny finished packing up. He lifted both cases by the handles.
“Stay safe, d
arlin’,” he said to Roxanne, winking at her. “We’ll see you soon.”
I fought the urge to roll my eyes again, knowing I should cut him some slack. He’d shown up at a moment’s notice, and he’d been extremely helpful after all.
Johnny and I left the apartment. As soon as Roxanne closed the door behind us, I turned to him.
“Are you sure he’ll be okay in the gargoyle?” I asked.
“You’re the one who didn’t want to call Supernatural Crimes.” He cocked a sidelong look at me. “But yeah, if he’s okay right now, I think he’ll be just as okay tomorrow. He certainly isn’t going anywhere.”
“So you’ve never heard of a double possession?”
He shook his head. “Before tonight, I would’ve said it wasn’t possible for a demon to possess a gargoyle. And with a human mixed up in there, too . . . just bizarre.”
I groaned.
“But the good news is, being locked in there is keeping the demon from hurting anyone.”
We exited the building to the staircase I’d come up with Roxanne. I inhaled a welcome breath of night air, glad to be out of the stuffy apartment.
“When I get home, I’m going to do some research.” His voice dropped in register and turned buttery smooth. “You’re welcome to come with me. Be my sexy assistant. And after, you could show me your badge, and I’ll show you how my plasma probe works.”
“Terribly tempting, but I’ll pass,” I said with slow sarcasm. I dug my fists deeper into my jacket pockets. I remembered what Roxanne had said about Johnny being one of the good ones. I shot him a glance. “But seriously, thank you for coming. I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Aw, it’s no problem.” He shrugged and gave me a half-smile.
At the opening of the alley, I made a right turn at the sidewalk and paused to see if Johnny was going that way. He stayed with me.
“Who did you call, anyway?” I asked.
“A witch who specializes in exorcisms.”