“Came to see you, silly.” Her smile was wide and made her look even prettier. That is if one didn’t see the brittle craziness beneath it.
“Brenda, what part of get lost did you not understand from last night?”
“You are so funny.” She laughed and leaned into him, apparently oblivious to the death grip on her elbow. “I understand how tired you were last night and how my timing wasn’t the best. After I left I realized that once you got a good night’s sleep, everything would be better. All is forgiven. So, here I am.”
“For what?” By now he’d pushed them both through the front doors of the PSB and they stood outside in the bright sunshine. Somehow in the daylight some of the superficial beauty was wiped away and what he saw in her face chilled him. God, how did he get himself into this fucking mess? “What do you want from me?”
The look on her face shifted to one of pure confusion. She touched his cheek with one finger. “I don’t understand your question.”
He kept his voice low as he jerked his face away from her. He didn’t want to make any more of a scene than he had already by propelling her like a train out of the PSB, and he didn’t want her touching him. “It’s simple. I made a mistake when I thought you and I could be together. A huge mistake. We can’t be together. Not now. Not ever.”
The same darkness he’d witnessed last night flowed over her again in a fraction of a second, the speed of the change chilling. Any lingering prettiness vanished. “It’s that woman, isn’t it?”
“There’s no woman,” he said, letting the weariness she caused him to echo in his voice. Anger didn’t get through to her. Rational reasoning didn’t either. Nothing seemed to penetrate the shell of her insanity.
“I saw you touching her, whispering in her ear. Whore.”
His reserve snapped and anger roared back in with a fury that frightened him. He didn’t dare lose control. Not here, not now. “Stop it, Brenda. Stop all this crap. It’s not her. Not any woman. It’s you I can’t stand. You get me? You!”
There, he’d said it and managed to keep control. It took everything he had not to explode. Truthfully, he didn’t know how much clearer he could make it. She was the problem, the whole damn problem, and he wanted her out of his life once and for all. He’d already paid plenty for this mistake.
Color rose in her cheeks, and her eyes narrowed like those of a cat ready to strike. Her voice was low and full of menace. “You’ll be sorry, Paul. You’ll be really sorry.”
He still held her arm tight and pulled her closer. “Trust me, sweetheart, I’m already sorry. I know what you did, Brenda, and I’ll prove it. You hear me? You’re going to end up in jail, I promise. Now leave me and my friends the fuck alone.”
She yanked her arm away and stepped back. Her charming smile was back on her face, all bright and full of sunshine. “You screwed the wrong girl, Paulie. You can’t and won’t prove anything against me, and I am not going to jail, yours or anyone else’s. Capisci? You’re the one who needs to watch his back.”
*
When he walked in, he was surprised to see the jar sitting on the kitchen counter. He wasn’t surprised to see the dirty coffee cup sitting there too. Once again she thought only of herself. She needed coffee, made it for herself, and then left the mess. She knew how much he hated messes, but that never stopped her. He suspected she took perverse joy in getting on his nerves. Correction, he didn’t suspect. He knew. Nothing was off limits if it was going to piss him off.
The jar, almost glowing on the counter, was obviously a gift from Eve. She was forever doing things like that for him. Some days he was so tired it was hard to work up enough energy to even get out of bed. On those difficult days, it wasn’t unusual to find special gifts left for him on the counter by the ever-thoughtful Eve. She was not only smart and rational, but she was also kind, and that was a pleasant change. She seemed to have a sixth sense about when he needed encouragement.
Now, he picked up the jar and turned it around in his hands. The light coming through the kitchen window made the reddish liquid almost glow. For a second he wasn’t sure what it was and then he knew. He smiled.
While he slept, Eve had obviously been up in his attic office reading through the De Nigromancia. Funny, he didn’t even know she could read Latin. Like him, she must have attended Catholic school. What other type of school shoved Latin down the throats of the pupils? One of these days, he would have to ask her about her experiences. They could compare notes. Or would that be horror stories?
For the moment, he was happy to hold her precious gift in his hands. How had she known this was the exact potion he was planning to make today? No need to follow through on the question. She always seemed to know what was going on with him. It was a little bit like she was psychic—just one more thing that made her supremely cool in his eyes. The fact she always had his back comforted him. Nobody else did.
But would it work? He laughed. Of course it would. The combined effort between him and Eve was at genius level. How could it not be perfect? The text hadn’t steered him wrong yet, and he didn’t believe it would with this one either.
It would be incredible if he could use it right now, but the time wasn’t quite right. Soon enough all the pieces would be in place. Then, and only then, would he use it. Everything would be his once he put his plan into motion.
“Thank you, my darling Eve,” he said to the empty kitchen.
He opened the refrigerator and put the jar inside. Maybe it would be fine sitting on the counter, but he didn’t want to take any chances, given the precious nature of the ingredients. It would be just like her to blow through and, in her frenzy of movement, knock the jar to the floor. She’d look at it, laugh, and walk away. Potion ruined, mess left, and not a shred of remorse. No, he refused to take any chances with Eve’s thoughtful gift. Best to put it out of the path of danger.
Inside the sterile refrigerator with the mostly empty shelves, the small jar seemed to glimmer. The sight made him smile even more widely. The magic inside the jar was hard to miss. It was a sign if he’d ever seen one. All the years of standing on the sidelines were about to end. He was on the path to true greatness.
Oh yes, soon everything would be his.
*
After Lisa and Circe left, and Paul had sent Brenda on her way, Diana dragged a reluctant Paul out of the station and over to her car. He’d come back in from his confrontation with Brenda wearing an expression as dark as she’d ever seen on his face. It didn’t bode well. He was typically a really steady guy, and she sensed his control slipping. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” He followed, though not exactly enthusiastically. It appeared he preferred to sit at his desk and simmer. They were going to have to do something about Brenda and fast. She didn’t want this situation to get out of hand, and the way it was looking, that wasn’t far away. Whatever it took, she’d keep her partner out of trouble.
“We’re going to my house.”
“Why?”
Talk about sounding like a little kid who was pissed off about not getting his way. This was worse than she thought, and they needed to solve this quickly.
“You’ll see. Now get in the car.”
The idea had occurred to her earlier, and it seemed like the best way to keep Paul’s stalker problem on the down-low. She realized what it cost him to come to her about Brenda, and he’d hate for his problem to become common knowledge. She could think of one way to solve the problem and keep it close to the vest. When she got to her house, Will’s car was already parked at the curb.
“Really?” Paul grumbled when he noticed the dark-blue sedan. “You called your uncle? Again?”
Expecting this reaction, she was ready to deflect. “I did. Come on, Paul. This is a good way to start if you want to keep this situation unofficial. Let Will do his magic, and if we can’t solve your problem this way, we’ll have to bring in the cavalry. You know he’s good at what he does. He was exceptional on the force and he’s just as good as
a PI.”
He stared out the window at Will’s car. “Yeah, he is. Doesn’t mean I have to like it. I don’t need a damn babysitter.”
“But you know I’m right.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Might as well call in Maddie too.”
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He wasn’t going to be happy. “Already called her.”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake. Will and Maddie? I don’t know about them working together. It’ll be like mixing water and oil.”
“They’ll be fine.”
Maddie, a retired professor from Eastern Washington University, was Paul’s godmother. Tall, tough, and out-spoken, Maddie was a world-class computer researcher who through the years had done a fair amount of consulting work with federal law enforcement. The way Diana saw it, putting Maddie and Will together on this made perfect sense. If anyone could get to the bottom of the Brenda problem it was those two.
Before Paul could get out of the car, Maddie drove up and parked behind them in the driveway. She got out looking as relaxed and genial as ever. In jeans, an EWU sweatshirt, and hiking boots, she looked like a typical retired woman. Underneath the casual appearance was a beautiful mind with mad computer skills.
“Hey, Will,” Maddie said in her boisterous voice. “Long time no see.”
“You two know each other?” Diana looked from Will to Maddie.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Maddie said. “Spokane’s a small town really. Didn’t matter if you were SPD, sheriff’s department, FBI, or any other agency with a bunch of letters. I got to know them all. Willie here was one of the good guys, although I don’t like to say that out loud. Gives him a big head and all.”
“Still am a good one,” Will said with a wink.
“Too bad,” Maddie said, winking back. “I like my guys a little bad.”
Really, they were flirting? Maddie and Will? “Guys, we have an issue we need help with.”
Maddie inclined her head toward Paul. “Diana says our little boy has run into a little trouble.”
“First,” Paul barked, “I’m not your little boy, and second, I don’t have a little dilemma. I have a big fucking problem. Brenda.”
Will put his hands in his pockets and asked, “The gal you lived with for a few months?”
“Yeah, that’s her. Biggest fucking mistake of my life.”
Diana raised a single eyebrow and said soberly, “I have to agree with him. I think this Brenda is turning into a serious predicament, and hopefully you two can help. It’s just a hunch, but I think she may also have been the one who trashed my garage.”
Maddie cocked her head. “Why would this woman come after you? It’s not like you’re a threat to her.”
“No, I’m not, at least not to a rational person. But remember, guys. I don’t think we’re dealing with rational here. She’s stalking Paul, and people who have it together do not stalk. In her head, just the fact that I’m a woman and I’m Paul’s partner may be enough for her to perceive me as a threat.”
Will was making notes. “Diana’s right. I’ve seen it happen before. These folks don’t think like the rest of us, and she could fixate on Diana as being the reason Paul’s not interested in her. If she does come to that conclusion, or already has, Diana could be in real danger. This could escalate in a hurry.”
That thought had already occurred to her too. Initially the vandalism of her garage had just pissed her off. Then as Paul related what had been going on in his life, her thoughts about the threat level had shifted. While she’d never personally handled a stalker case, her dad had, and sadly it had ended badly. At the time she’d been in college, and even now she could still see the shadows that haunted her dad for months afterward. Whatever it took, this was not going to be a repeat performance.
“Okay.” Paul jumped in and all his former irritation seemed to be gone. She was relieved to see it. They were going to need him clear-headed and thinking like a cop. “Can you two check it out, see what you come up with, and maybe find a solution, because I’d really rather this not go beyond us.”
Will put a hand on his shoulder. “All kidding aside, Paulie, this is serious. These people can be dangerous. They’re like the Energizer bunny. They keep going and going and going.”
Paul shook his head. “I know that’s true some of the time, but I don’t see Brenda like that. She’s a little crazy, and she’s definitely narcissistic, but she wouldn’t hurt me or anyone else. That’s just not in her. I may have looked past the crazy part of her personality, but I wasn’t so far gone I’d have missed a violent streak.”
Diana wanted to believe that was true, but she didn’t. Paul undoubtedly bought in because he was in denial. Who could blame him? She couldn’t image how it would feel to discover the person you thought you loved was someone else entirely. Love might be a stretch in that relationship, although certainly he’d believed he was in “like” when he invited her to move into this house. Throw in his profession as a police officer and he was certain to think he should have known better. Why did cops always think it wouldn’t happen to them?
At this point, Diana didn’t have a problem bursting his bubble. He needed to be present in the real world. “You don’t really know what she’s capable of, Paul. You think you know her, but you didn’t see this coming. What else are you blinded to?”
His shoulders slumped. Her mark had hit home. “You’re right. I didn’t see it, and who knows what else she’s capable of. Come on, Will, Maddie. Take a look at Diana’s garage. It’ll give you an idea of what I’m dealing with.”
Will stood outside the open door and surveyed the chaos. He whistled and then turned to look at Paul. “You’re screwed, buddy.”
Chapter Eleven
Circe was late for the Sunday-morning run, and everyone else was already on the course. Normally she popped right up when the alarm went off. This morning, she turned off the alarm and went back to sleep, unusually weary. Fortunately she woke up with enough time left to be only a few minutes late, though tardy enough that her friends had started ahead of her. These Sunday mornings were important to her and she hated missing any of them. She enjoyed the camaraderie as much as the physical exercise.
Today her weekly group of running buddies had decided to start from a great downtown bakery and follow the seven-and-a-half-mile course of the annual Bloomsday run. One of the largest road races in the country, Bloomsday was a Spokane jewel, and her group liked to practice on the course now and again. Especially this time of year as the race was only about a month away.
She parked the car in one of the diagonal parking spots at the side of the bakery and then popped the back for Zelda. She loved coming along not just for the joy of racing along the city streets but to see the rest of Circe’s friends. Circe had the sense Zelda believed each and every one of them came to see her and the run was secondary.
Because they were in an urban area, Circe clipped the lead on Zelda’s collar, even though she knew how much she hated it. Zelda was reliable off lead, and a simple come was all it took to get her to comply. Still, this area had too many busy roads and too many people who were potentially frightened of big dogs. Zelda didn’t protest, just gave her a disgruntled look before they settled into their easy run.
From the coffee shop they headed west on Riverside. The road tapered down before heading back up a gentle slope toward Government Way. Both she and Zelda paused at the bottom of the Riverside hill and glanced right toward the Sandifur Bridge. It would be a long time before either of them could go by here and not think about the three bodies recovered just a few days ago. She hated the killer for taking something so beautiful and tarnishing it. It was an unfortunate by-product of both her gift and what she and Zelda did.
From Government Way they ran north. It was a pretty stretch, bordered on both sides of the road by cemeteries. Some might think that made the course morbid. She didn’t. To her it was beautiful and peaceful. The grass was meticulously maintained, and fountains, stone entries, and blooming flower
s dressed up the place. Despite her unique ability, she knew that the dead rested peacefully here and she could run by like any other normal person.
Until today.
Circe saw her at the same moment Zelda’s ears snapped and her body went rigid. Zelda stopped running and tugged at the lead.
“Oh crap,” she muttered as she also stopped and leaned down to unclip the lead from Zelda’s collar. Quietly she whispered in her ear, even though no one else was nearby.
The moment Zelda heard the one-word command, she raced around the wrought-iron fence on the east side of the road, her nose close to the ground. Once around the tall fence she followed it north again for about a hundred meters. The woman stood just beside where Zelda alerted.
“Good girl.” Circe, who’d been running behind her, stopped and reached down to rub her ears. Then she took her cell phone out of the pocket of her hydration belt. She wanted to call Diana but opted for regular protocol and instead called Brian.
When he answered, she said, “Houston, we have a problem.”
*
Paul was grateful for the call. It took the focus off him and onto something more important. Will had been on the phone asking a thousand questions, which sent his anxiety level sky-high. After his initial apprehension about bringing in Maddie and Will, he’d realized Diana had made a good decision. They were the perfect people to check out things before he took the official route. He needed their unique skill set.
If they could make Brenda see things his way and just go away, all the better. At the same time, having to dredge everything up for Will was pretty uncomfortable, even if they’d once shared everything. Spending as much time together as they had in those early days had brought them close. Some partners hated each other and tolerated each other only long enough to do the job. He and Will had genuinely liked each other, even if Paul always felt like he was working with a perpetual teacher waiting to grade his work and got pretty pissy about it.
Necromantia Page 11