Waking the Witch

by Kelley Armstrong

  "And Brandi's father?"

  "A kid who died in a drunk-driving accident a year after Brandi was born."

  "No dad in the picture for either. Those girls did have a lot in common."

  "Pretty much everything. Never finished school. Were into drugs and booze. Couldn't hold a job. No kids for Brandi, though."

  "What about boyfriends? Did she have anyone like Cody Radu?"

  He shook his head. "Brandi didn't date. She hooked up with men at parties. Or so I hear. She ... wasn't an attractive girl. She had a certain kind of smarts, though. Feral cunning, I'd call it. She kept a tight hold on Ginny, wouldn't let her make other friends."

  "Was she jealous of Cody? Maybe tried to break them up?"

  "No. Like I said, she had a certain kind of smarts, and she knew a good thing when she saw it. To her, Cody was a good thing. He had money and, from what I hear, kept Ginny well supplied with alcohol and drugs, which she shared with Brandi."

  "So Brandi relied on Ginny."

  "And vice versa. You never saw the two of them apart."

  Not even in death.

  I FINISHED UP with Mulligan and left with a business card, as he jokingly promised to set me up with a "real bike" if I ever got tired of the Triumph. I had about an hour before my dinner with Michael Kennedy, so I retreated to the motel to do some research. I started with a call to Jaime, my necromancer contact, to see whether this ritual sounded like anything she knew.

  Jaime Vegas was a celebrity spiritualist. She mainly did live shows these days, where she contacted the dead to reassure the living. Great gig for a necromancer ... except most times, Jaime faked it. She had to. The messages that the living need aren't necessarily the ones the dead want to impart.

  There's one ghost whose messages Jaime does occasionally pass on. My mother's. Some necromancers have spirit guides, and my mother is Jaime's. She's not supposed to convey messages to Mom's loved ones--it's considered disruptive to both the living and the dead--but we bend the rules ... just not often enough to get Mom reassigned.

  I consider Jaime a friend, even if she's over twice my age and I've known her since I was a kid. That's how it is with most of my really good friends. I grew up with these people. I sat backstage at Jaime's shows. I went to art galleries with Cassandra DuCharme, a four-hundred-year-old vampire. I spent summers with the werewolf Pack--Elena and Clay and Jeremy. It's a strange way to grow up, but I wouldn't have traded it for anything.

  Jaime answered on the fourth ring. She sounded out of breath. I waited, not too worried that she was fleeing mortal danger or anything. If Jaime's out of breath, it's from overdoing it on the treadmill.

  "I've been trying to get in touch with Paige," she said. "Has she already left for Hawaii?"

  "Yep. Anything I can help with?"

  "No, just council business. Hold on." I heard her muffled voice talking to someone. She came back with, "Sorry about that. So are you holding down the fort alone?"

  "Actually not holding it down at all. I'm off on a case."

  "Really? That's great. Where?"

  "About an hour from Portland."

  "Oh." She sounded disappointed, like she'd been hoping I was close enough to visit. "So you're going home at night, then?"

  "No, staying in a motel. Getting some experience living on the road."

  "That's a good idea. A great idea," she said, with more enthusiasm than it warranted. "With everyone else gone, you might as well have some fun. Take your time, too. You deserve a break."

  "Uh, okay. Speaking of breaks, we're still on for New York later this month, right?"

  "Absolutely."

  "Great, now if you have a second, I've got a question for you."

  "Sure."

  I described the chalk marks and the silver object, and she said there were a few rituals that came to mind and asked me to send the pictures for a better look.

  Then we talked about our trip for a few minutes. Summer was almost here, and I needed a new wardrobe, which meant a trip to New York with my favorite shopping buddy.

  Going to New York to buy clothes is my one real indulgence. I'm independently wealthy--a phrase I've come to love, to Adam's unending annoyance.

  My dad, being the scion of the Nast Cabal, left a fortune to his kids. Or to his sons, at least. My half brother Sean is sure our father had rewritten his will to add me when he discovered he had a daughter. Kristof Nast might have been a cold-blooded bastard, but he'd loved my mother and he loved his children. After his death, though, only the original will was found--the one dividing his estate between his two sons. My grandfather refuses to acknowledge me, so if there was a new will, I'm sure he got rid of it.

  If Sean thought I should have been included, though, he was going to make sure I got my share. So he'd set up a trust fund for me with part of his own inheritance. Until I was twenty-five, it only paid an allowance-five thousand a month--but I reinvested most of that. My salary covered my daily expenses, and it didn't feel right, blowing my inheritance when it had come out of Sean's money.

  I supposed when I got access to the funds, I'd buy a condo or something. I didn't have any firm plans. That applied to most of my life right now. I liked where I was. Occasionally, I got the feeling I should be leaving home and setting out on my own, but it never happened. I'd go when I was ready, I guess.

  AFTER SAYING GOOD-BYE to Jaime, I read the reports, which could be summed up as "three young women were murdered."

  The coroner's report did mention the object in Claire's hand. A pewter bead. A note on the file speculated it came from something she'd been wearing, but no one had found a necklace or bracelet. Had it been yanked off her killer? That was a possibility. A plain piece of pewter, though, was more likely symbolic.

  I searched the reports for Ginny and Brandi. No mention of anything found in their hands or of any pewter in the vicinity. I could ask Bruyn, but if it was supernatural in origin, I didn't want him to know it might be significant.

  I moved on to Internet searches. As I expected by now, the motel didn't offer Internet service. Luckily, Paige showed me how to tether my laptop to my iPhone, which was a relief, because as cool as that little browser app is, it's a bitch for doing serious Web work.

  The first person I looked up was Michael Kennedy. With a name like that, can you imagine how many hits I got? Even knowing he was from Texas didn't help.

  Eventually, I found a newspaper article about a case he'd worked. Being a photogenic guy, his picture was included--one of him turning away, unimpressed with the prospect of being captured on film. It was clearly him, though, so his story was legit.

  Next on my list: Cody Radu, a name that was much easier to search. The first hit I got was Facebook. One look at the picture and I had my guy, and a read through his profile gave me more information on him than I cared to know. That alone suggested the diner folks were right about Cody. He was one of those people who pretends to be an open book, putting every bit of minutiae about himself into the public domain, as if to say "See, I'm not holding anything back," which tells you that he is.

  I tried pairing up Cody with search terms like drugs, sex, gambling, everything I could think of that might link to illegal activity. Nothing. If it were that easy, though, Bruyn would have nabbed him by now.

  So I switched to Alastair Koppel. Plenty of hits for him. There was a Facebook group and a Web site run by the parents of girls who'd joined his commune. Neither were exactly flattering to the old guy.

  He wasn't that old, though. Midforties. Decent enough looking. Dignified. The kind of guy whom lost little girls would flock to.

  Flock they did. Megan hadn't been lying about that. I found a dozen message boards with young women asking how to get into the commune, and more from young women agonizing over why they hadn't been accepted.

  Megan hadn't been lying about the cookies either. The small business had been written up in a handful of magazines as a model of entrepreneurship. Of course, they glossed over the commune part, preferring to pr
aise the company's "unique and philanthropic" model, which combined rehabilitation with enterprise.

  As Megan had said, Alastair was a therapist, though the sites run by the girls' parents were quick to point out he had a bachelor's degree, not a doctorate. They also noted his work history, which showed that the guy liked to move around. And he changed wives as fast as he did jobs. Four ex-wives, the dates of the weddings running close enough to the divorce decrees that you knew he hadn't finished with one before starting on the next. Each divorce petition charged infidelity. Alastair liked variety. Surprise, surprise.

  That was all very interesting, but nothing more than I'd have expected. A guy who had made a very nice life for himself, surrounded by girls half his age, who when they weren't fighting to share his bed, were raking in some serious cookie dough for his coffers.

  What interested me was that talisman painted on the gate. It looked like a simple protective symbol, though I couldn't identify it. Maybe one of the girls was a practicing Wiccan. Nothing wrong with that, but considering I was investigating possible occult-linked killings, it was a lot more interesting than Alastair's ex-wives.

  I ran a bunch of searches on his name and the company name, combining them with everything from "satanic" to "occult" to "ritual." The closest thing to a hit I got was a deeply buried post on a message board where someone joked that Taste of Heaven cookies had more than just organic flour in them, explaining their popularity.

  I was pretty sure you couldn't get drug-laced cookies past the FDA, but was it possible to enchant them? I always said that Paige did something with her cookies--they never turned out the same for me--but she just rolled her eyes and said that the only "magic" was that she actually followed the recipe and measured the ingredients.

  There are hundreds, if not thousands, of "lost" spells and rituals floating around. Most likely, though, they were simply good cookies.

  My alarm rang then, reminding me of my non-date with Michael. I showered and dressed, grateful that Paige always insisted we pack an outfit for every undercover eventuality, including cocktail parties.

  As I got ready, I racked my brain for more things to research. I was doing my makeup when an idea hit. I returned to my laptop and combined the occult keywords with Cody's name. Bingo. On Facebook no less, in a frat buddy's photo album. A picture of Cody Radu conducting an occult ritual.

  It was tucked into a section from rush week--old photos of guys making jackasses of themselves and, ten years later, thinking it was cool to post evidence of their youthful stupidity online for the world to see.

  There were two pictures conveniently labeled "Awesome Occult Ritual." The first showed a bunch of guys standing around a young Cody, who was kneeling, drawing with chalk on the floor. The caption read "Cody shows us how it's done." The second was too dark to make out, but was obviously the ritual in progress, captioned "Cody leads the way."

  While I couldn't make out details, there was enough to suggest Cody knew what he was doing. Had he seen it in a movie? Researched it for rush week? Or was it something more sinister?

  A honk outside my motel room made me jump. I bookmarked the site, disconnected, and hurried to the door. I waved at Michael, motioning that I'd be just a couple of minutes. I was putting on lipstick when he rapped at the door.

  "Come in."

  The door clicked. "No rush. I'm early--"

  He stopped. I turned. He gawked, then blushed, clearing his throat and saying, "That's a good color for you," before looking away so fast you'd think I was naked.

  It wasn't even a very revealing dress. I don't have a lot to reveal. My legs are my best feature so, yes, the skirt was short. Damned short, actually. Other than that, it was just your basic little black cocktail dress, only it wasn't black--it was peacock blue, like my eyes. I know, bringing out your eye color is such a cliche, but if I have a second best feature, my eyes are it, and I always play to my strengths.

  Obviously it worked for Michael, who continued to gaze around the room as if committing the wallpaper to memory.

  "Research?" he said, pointing at my laptop. "Have you found--?" He cut himself short with a wry smile. "Sorry. Occupational hazard. Tonight isn't about the case, and I won't say another word about it."

  "Is that a promise?"

  "Er, more of an intention. But a strong intention."

  I laughed, closed up my laptop, and tucked it under the mattress. Then we left.

  eleven

  For the first part of the drive, Michael struggled to make conversation, but without the case, we didn't have anything to discuss, and he was playing up his determination to avoid that. I tried asking about Claire but he only gave short answers, clearly uncomfortable discussing his sister with a stranger. Finally, I asked about his job, and that got him talking. Yes, he did use it to veer toward the case a few times, checking to see if I'd nibble. I didn't. No sense making this easy for him ... or risk losing out on a free meal.

  And it wasn't a meal I'd have cared to miss. Michael had gone all out, making reservations in the nearest city--Vancouver, Washington, just across the state border from Portland. He'd picked one of the best restaurants there. Upscale continental. The kind of place that made me really glad I'd packed the dress.

  I ordered what I wanted. I never get the most expensive thing on the menu, but I don't stress about the cost. Michael didn't bat an eye, even suggested an appetizer. Added a very nice bottle of wine, too. I don't know my wines, but it was good.

  Michael kept my glass filled. Being a considerate guy, though, meant keeping his filled as well. Being nervous meant that he drank his a lot faster and didn't seem to notice that I was barely on my second when he was starting his third. It hit him a lot harder, too, and by the middle of the entree, the granite-jawed cop was gone and I was getting a very nice look at the guy underneath, the one who drove a modified BMW and blushed at being caught eyeing a pretty girl.

  "--so at this point, the guy finally notices the video camera," he was saying. "He stares at it for a minute. Just stares, like he's never imagined such a thing in a liquor store. Then you see him mouth two words."

  "Oh, shit."

  "Exactly. He's standing there, a hole in the ceiling behind him, broken bottles from his crash everywhere, blood dripping down his face. Then he sees the flashing lights. He could still run. But, no, he figures he can salvage this. Cops walk in two minutes later and find the guy leaving a twenty at the till with a note. Store was closed. Keep the change."

  "Big of him."

  "I thought so."

  He took another sip of wine. The server stopped by to ask about dessert. I took a menu, and Michael followed suit. As we read them, I could see him doing a mental "oh, shit" of his own, his fuzzy brain realizing the meal was almost over and he hadn't gotten anything out of me.

  We ordered. After the server left, he said, "Speaking of dumb criminals, how about that Cody Radu? Everyone in town is sure he at least killed the first two girls. Maybe Claire, too."

  "But no one can prove it, which doesn't make him very dumb."

  "No, of course not." It was cute, watching his brain skidding on the wine. "He's the opposite of a dumb criminal. That's what I meant."

  The coffee arrived. He took a big gulp, gasping as it burned his throat. I decided to help him out. If he wanted leads, I'd give him some ... just not real ones.

  "From what I hear, there's a good reason Bruyn can't pin Ginny and Brandi's murders on Radu," I said. "He didn't kill them himself. He hired someone."

  "What?"

  "I don't know if it was the same for Claire. I'm still trying to find a link between her and Radu ..." I trailed off, but he didn't bite. "Word is that Radu hired this guy who lives over near Cougar. You know where that is?"

  "I think so."

  "Guy's name is Brody Manchester. Claims to be an Iraq vet, but I can't find a record of him serving. I suspect the only serving he did was in a penitentiary. Sounds like a real whack-job."

  "And he lives in Cougar?"

/>   "Near it. He has a camper and moves around outside town staying ahead of the cops. I figured I'd swing by tomorrow afternoon and hunt him down."

  "Good idea."

  "Do you want me to call you if I find anything? I might need backup."

  "Sure. Absolutely. Manchester, you said?"

  "Like the soccer team."

  He took out his BlackBerry. "I'll do some digging myself."

  "Thanks. I'd appreciate that."

  Two CUPS OF coffee and an espresso creme brulee had not made Michael any steadier on his feet.

  When we reached his car, I held out my hand. "Keys?"

  "I'm good."

  "Please tell me you're not one of those cops who thinks the laws don't apply to him."

  "No, course not. I ..." He looked around, blinking, then nodded. "You're right. One glass too many. But you had--"

  "One and a half, the last sip an hour ago, and I'm firie." I walked along a yellow line dividing parking spots. "Want me to do it backwards?"

  "Sure."

  I did, making him laugh ... and hand over the keys.

  As I pulled out of the parking space, he said, "Watch out. She's got a lot of--"

  I hit the gas, smacking him back in his seat. At the street, I braked, sending him snapping forward.

  "Sweet," I said.

  "Just be careful. You may not be impaired, but your reflexes could be a little--"

  I tore off, accelerating, then hitting the corner fast and hard. Three blocks later I idled at a stop sign.

  "Reflexes okay?" I said.

  "Carry on."

  I turned left.

  "Actually, the highway is--" he began.

  "Too many cars. Don't worry. I have an excellent sense of direction." I took the first left onto a back road. "Columbus is this way. Roughly."

  I hit the gas.

  I PARKED BESIDE my motorcycle.

  "Good thing we took the back roads," he said. "One cop and you'd have been out of a license."

  "Not too worried about that," I said as I got out.

  He eyed me over the roof. "You do have your license, don't you?"

  "Sure. I've got one."

  "One?" He looked at my bike. "Please don't tell me--"

  "Then don't ask. I'm honest, remember? Not necessarily law-abiding, but unrelentingly honest." I walked around and held out the keys. "And I do believe you're ready for these."