7th Sin: The Sequel to the #1 Hard Boiled Mystery, 9th Circle (Book 2 of the Darc Murders Series)

by Carolyn McCray

  Like the symbols Darc had shown her. She saw things now that she had never seen before. The way things were put together. The way they wanted to fit.

  And her pancake wanted to fit. It wanted to fit inside her belly, but it wanted to fit with something else, too. Something that had been bothering her. Words that the bad man had said. Not the bad man from the nasty church. The other one. The one that took Mala away when they were in the hospital.

  My turn.

  He had said that as he left. The words made symbols like from her pancake. They swirled together like they were dancing. Like when her mommy and daddy would sometimes dance when they were listening to music. Dance and kiss. Gross.

  The letters moved around and bumped into each other and kissed and backed away and kissed again. Then they settled down like they were about to take a nap. And another one showed up right next to them. She knew what the other symbol meant.

  And she had to tell Darc.

  He would be proud of her. He wouldn’t show it, like mommy or daddy, but she would still feel it. What the symbol meant would make him sad, but Janey telling him would make him proud.

  But for right now he wasn’t here, and she was hungry. Maggie smiled and nodded at Janey, her curls bouncing up and down, and then pointed at the pancake.

  Janey dug in and started to eat.

  *

  Trey sat in a chaise lounge in the middle of Mala’s apartment. It was as tasteful and understated as the doctor herself was. The wood accents were all dark mahogany, the colors light green accented with pops of blue here and there. The overall effect was welcoming as well as relaxing.

  And Trey was pretty sure this was the first time he had ever sat in a chaise. He kinda liked it. Felt like some sort of Egyptian goddess or something. All he needed was to be naked and eating fruit.

  It had been odd, watching Mala enter the space. She looked at everything around her with such intensity, reaching out and touching her surroundings, almost like she was reassuring herself that they were real. And hers.

  Trey couldn’t even imagine what it would be like to be held hostage in a place that looked exactly like your home but wasn’t. There was something so creepy about it. The mind that had come up with that little doozy had taken a step or two into some pretty serious crazy-town territory.

  Darc paced the floor, doing his best to dig a path in the hardwood. There was something off with his partner. Trey had never seen him act like this before.

  The whole ride over here, the bald detective had been acting like a sullen teenager who had just found out his girlfriend was dating the football team. Trey halfway expected Darc to pop in a Smiths CD and start into an 80s film montage of youthful angst.

  Whatever it was, Trey was pretty sure he wasn’t digging the new development. Darc at his best was truculent. Darc as a pouty hormonal victim? Wasn’t exactly going in the right direction, as far as Trey was concerned.

  The apartment was spacious, but not too large for someone who clearly lived alone. It was small enough that Trey could hear the rush of the water from Mala’s shower. He quickly diverted his attention away before thoughts of the good doctor stark naked surfaced.

  Come to think of it, Darc seemed very… attentive… to the same sounds emanating from Mala’s bedroom. No matter where or how he paced, there was always one ear cocked in that direction.

  “Dude. Are you thinking of Mala in there taking a shower?” Trey joked. Darc started, came to a complete stop, and glared at his partner.

  Hold the phone. Was that what Trey thought it was? Was Darc actually blushing? There was no way that was what was going on, but what else could it be? It’s not like Darc took a lot of B vitamins or something that would cause that kind of reaction.

  “Okay, Darc. I gotta ask. What’s going on with you? You’re edgier than a pyromaniac in a fireworks shop.”

  Darc opened his mouth, shut it, opened it once more, let out a noise that was suspiciously close to a groan, and sank into a chair. Trey was dumbfounded. They were in uncharted waters here, and Trey didn’t have his compass on him. Darc lifted his head.

  “I am not certain. I find that I am… unsettled.” Darc waved his hand toward the bedroom. “And I am also thinking of Mala in the shower.”

  Trey stifled a shocked laugh. That wouldn’t help right at the moment. “Okay. Didn’t really think you were gonna answer that one. But okay.” Trey peered into Darc’s face, trying to discern what little he could from his partner’s minimalistic expressions. “I knew you liked her. But you like her like her, don’t you?”

  “I am not certain what the repetition of those words is meant to indicate, but yes, I find I have strong feelings for the doctor.”

  “Right. Well. Listen, man, there’s no one happier about this than me, but you gotta keep your feelings under some kind of control here if you want anything to happen.” Trey paused for a second, cleared his throat and continued. “Was it like this with Maggie?”

  “No. It was not.” Darc paused for a moment, almost like he was trying to figure something out. Another real shocker. Darc usually didn’t have to figure out much at all. And when it was emotional stuff, he didn’t even try. “This is different. I am questioning how I should behave when she is present.” Another pause. “I do not like it.”

  Holy cow. Trey knew from experience that Darc never questioned his own behavior. An assumption about a case? Sure. But his own actions? Especially when they related to someone else? This was big news. Really big. Enormous.

  Well, no matter how stunning this whole situation was, Trey was determined to be there for his partner. “Right. Gotcha. Totally. And…” Trey took a deep breath, held it, then let it out in stages. “Every guy feels that way when they’re around a chick they like.”

  “That is less than helpful.” Darc sounded downright morose.

  “Yeah, I know. Sucks, doesn’t it?” Trey thought for a moment, then an idea blossomed. “Hey, I got it! I’ll help you!” He rummaged around in his pockets, finally pulling out his detective pad. It hadn’t seen much use up to this point. Trey wasn’t much of a note-taker. He was more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants kinda guy. To be perfectly honest, the only things that had gone in the pad up to this point were some random doodles.

  Trey’s partner looked askance at the booklet. “Your notes on previous cases will be of little assistance.”

  “Not previous cases, dude. Present tense female troubles.” Trey whipped open the pad and started scribbling. “I’m gonna put together ‘Trey’s Rules of Dating.’ Once I’m done, I’ll put ‘em on a card and get it laminated just like the other list I gave you.”

  Darc reached into the right breast pocket of his jacket and removed the well-worn list of everyday rules for interaction Trey had made for him years ago. “I’ve already memorized the other ones.”

  “Yeah, but these are going to be different. Well, there might be some overlap. Not sure yet. And now that I think about it, there may be too many of them to fit on a card.”

  Trey finished up the first rule that had popped into his head just as Mala came back into the room, her hair still wet from the shower. “What are you writing down there? You’re not taking notes on the state of my apartment, are you?”

  Looking around the room, Trey gave Mala an elaborate shrug. “Why would I? Maybe to give some cleaning tips to Good Housekeeping or something.” He then cleared his throat and put away his pad. “Not that I ever read it. You know. Just…”

  Mala laughed, a deep throaty chuckle. It was good to hear that from her, especially after what she must have been through. Her humor didn’t last long, though. Within moments, her face grew solemn once more.

  “Janey hasn’t said anything yet, has she?”

  “No,” Trey answered. “But she really does seem to be doing okay. She’s smiling more. She even let Maggie take her to get some food this morning.”

  “Maggie?” Mala asked. “Your…?” She pointed at Trey.

  “Yeah,” Trey answered, then
coughed. “My… and Darc’s…”

  “Darc’s what?”

  “My ex-wife,” Darc responded, stepping in before Trey had a chance to figure out how to tactfully explain. “I believe that is what Trey is attempting to say, although he appears to have lost the use of basic vocabulary words.”

  “Ex-wife?” Typically, Mala was pretty low-key and under control, but right now it kinda looked like her eyebrows were racing each other to the top of her forehead. “You were married?”

  Darc got the blank look on his face that meant he was trying to process something emotional. “Your tone and inflection seem to indicate surprise? Do you find me aesthetically unpleasing to the point that marriage would be implausible?”

  “No. No, Darc, of course not.” Mala’s face seemed to be getting awfully red. “I just… You never…” She paused and took a breath. “I just didn’t know you had been married before. That’s all.”

  “That information seemed irrelevant to our endeavor.”

  Mala’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, then she looked over at Trey. “And now you’re…?”

  “Dating her?” Trey finished for her. “Yep.”

  “And he…?”

  “Knows about it? Yeah.” Trey gave her a slightly sour smile. “We did a lot of talking down there in the Underground. That place does things to a man.”

  To Mala’s credit, she pulled it together pretty quickly. “I can see that. Well, now that we’ve gotten that little tidbit out of the way, what say we go see Janey?”

  Under normal circumstances, Trey would’ve thought that an excellent idea. But with Maggie in full protector mode, Darc acting like a peevish lovesick puppy, and Mala just having found out about Maggie and her relationship with both detectives, this meeting could be quite the interesting soiree.

  Oh well. Just another day in the life of Trey.

  CHAPTER 5

  The drive back to the station was proving to be… uncomfortable… for Mala. She had a lot of information to process and the time was slipping by too fast and not fast enough. In retrospect, wanting to take a shower before meeting up with her young charge had less to do with cleanliness and more to do with stalling. Her affection for Janey had done nothing but grow over the course of the last week, and the thought of being reunited with her filled Mala with joy.

  But Janey was a traumatized little girl. And Mala knew well the fallacy of projecting one’s feelings on someone else. While Mala knew how she felt about Janey, there was no way for her to know if Janey felt the same way. Any pressure put on the little girl to reciprocate affection she didn’t feel would further harm her.

  Even if Janey’s reaction was positive, the possibility that it was mostly a response from the stressors of losing her parents and going through a horrific kidnapping was high. That kind of attachment, while strong in the moment, would not last.

  And Mala found that she wanted it to last. That desire was rising up in her to the point that it threatened the very fabric of her well-established life. Mala had a career that she loved, a routine that was stable enough to provide stability, while still challenging her on intellectual and emotional levels. Her lack of a romantic relationship was something she lamented on occasion, but nothing that caused her overt pain.

  In short, her life was wonderful. Or so she had thought.

  But in working with Janey, Mala had realized that there was a fundamental need inside her that had to be addressed. A need for which nothing else in her current life would make up. She had yet to work out exactly what she was going to do, but it was a powerful drive that Mala couldn’t deny and wasn’t sure she even wanted to.

  “Hey, everything okay back there, Doc?” Trey called over his shoulder. “You’re quieter than a Goth in a country bar.”

  Leave it to Trey to get a smile out of her with his random observations. “Sorry. I didn’t realize I was being so glum.”

  “Well, glum is a bit harsh.” He grinned at her in the rearview mirror. “Accurate, but harsh.”

  Darc gave something resembling a sniff and turned toward the passenger-side door. The same door that Trey had held open for Mala, only to have Darc slip in before she could. Trey had stood there for a second, shrugged his shoulders, and opened up the door to the back seat instead. What in the world was going on with her favorite bald detective?

  Choosing to ignore him, Mala turned her attention back to Trey. “Guess I’m just thinking about Janey.”

  Trey’s grin faltered. “Yeah. That’s a tough one. I want to keep her close, but…”

  “But there’s no way to make the DSHS see it that way?” Mala finished for him. “I understand completely.”

  “We’ll figure something out. The captain bought us a little bit of time with her, but that’s not going to last forever.”

  The Land Rover pulled into the parking lot of the precinct building. It was not a pretty structure, although it was interesting. Lots of mirrored windows with metal bars protruding out everywhere. Looked like a structure designed by a man to appeal to men. A not-so-subtle nod to the prevalent boys-club mentality that still ruled in most law-enforcement departments.

  Just the sort of place to house a reunion between a damaged little girl and a child psychologist hoping to keep that child in her life. Perfect. Couldn’t ask for better.

  Mala sighed, identifying her bitter and destructive self-talk masquerading as sarcasm. So easy to blame awkwardness on a building, rather than identify something uncomfortable about herself.

  And the truth was tough to face. Especially in this instance.

  She was the epitome of the cobbler whose children went shoeless. As good as Mala knew herself to be at her job, she was identifying an area that had gone unnoticed in her own psyche for too long. Children terrified her.

  That wasn’t exactly true. Mala loved children. The thought of being with a child for long enough that he or she figured her out and knew how to push her buttons… that terrified her. Seeing a patient one or two times a week for an hour was fine. Day-to-day living? Not so much.

  And yet that was exactly what was on Mala’s mind right now. She wanted more than what her job was offering her.

  Mala sighed and waited until Trey slid the vehicle into a parking slot before she opened up her door to feel the unusual sunshine caress her cheeks and forehead. At least there was that. The weather was cooperating to make this reunion a little bit warmer.

  Straightening her shoulders, Mala walked toward the entrance of the stark building in front of her. What she’d find on the other side of the doors, she had no idea.

  *

  Maggie was so pretty. When she walked, her hips swung back and forth, making her red hair flip side to side down her back. Janey tried to copy her, but it just made her trip on her own two feet.

  But Maggie saw her stumble and reached her hand back. Janey grabbed a hold and steadied herself. She moved over to Maggie’s side and walked next to her.

  Janey needed to talk to Darc. She had already drawn him a picture. It was a good one. It had a lizard and an elephant, but just because Janey liked lizards and elephants. What was really important about the drawing was what was inside of the lizard and the elephant. Darc would see. He would know what to do.

  There were a lot of things going on that Janey didn’t understand. She got more than everybody thought she did, but there was still some stuff that was kind of confusing.

  She understood that she couldn’t go back to her house to live. Her parents were gone, so going back wouldn’t do any good, even though Janey sort of wanted to. It was the only place that was even a little bit familiar.

  What she didn’t get was why she had to stay at the stupid home place. It was stupid. And it smelled funny. Like sweaty socks and oatmeal. Gross.

  More than anything else, she wanted to be with Darc. That was where she felt safe. Trey was awesome. Maggie was pretty. Mala was kind. Actually, Mala was pretty close. But Darc was home.

  It sounded weird to say that, even inside he
r own head. How could a person be a home? A person didn’t have a bedroom with pink curtains and fluffy pillows and her very own pink Powerpuff Girls toothbrush. But that’s how it felt.

  Every time she was with him, though, someone was trying to take her somewhere else. Like they didn’t like Darc or something. Janey couldn’t understand that at all. Well, maybe a little bit. He did look a little scary at first, but that was only until you got to know him. Then it was like he was Superman. Or maybe Batman. Probably Batman.

  But Janey wasn’t at the home now, so maybe she wouldn’t have to go back. Maybe. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Like that time she asked for a pony for Christmas and it didn’t come. Daddy had said it was because they didn’t have room in the backyard, but Janey was pretty sure Santa could’ve figured it out if he’d really wanted to. Maybe she hadn’t been good enough. She had hit Danny in the arm really hard. But he had deserved it. He was always pulling her hair, and that was not nice.

  This was one of those times where she just had to be patient. Her mommy had always told her to be patient. Be patient and things will work out. Maybe not exactly how you want, but they’ll work out.

  Janey really, really, really hoped that it was true.

  *

  Trey followed behind Mala, who was doing her best impersonation of the Road Runner. She was walking so fast it was closer to jogging. Trey halfway expected her to lift up her elbows and start swinging her hips like one of those speed walker types he used to see all the time swaying down the street near Pike Place Market. Now that was a fad Trey was happy to have put in his rearview mirror.

  Darc, of course, was going his normal speed, which meant he was keeping up with Mala just fine, although he was conspicuously not looking at the doctor as he cruised along. Come to think of it, maybe that wasn’t all that unusual. Trey was dead last, which was not unusual, and huffing and puffing, also not unusual. Seriously. It was time to invest in a stationary bike or something.