I nodded. “Let’s move on.”
I followed him to three more locations, one near Wilson Park in South Torrance, one at The Galleria, and another one on Pacific Coast Highway though in Manhattan Beach this time. They all felt the same. They all felt like murder.
Chapter Four
Dee had asked me to call him when I finished with Jack, but I couldn’t bear the idea of conversation. I texted instead and briefly laid out all that had happened. When he offered to come over, I said I’d rather be alone a while. I was lucky to have a boyfriend who understood my need for solitude and didn’t take it personally or feel threatened.
The morning had been devastating—feeling the last desperate moments of those poor people. I needed silence. To not have to talk to anyone, to not worry about anyone’s needs or state of being but my own. Not that Dee was high-maintenance, he wasn’t, but I couldn’t not be aware of him—or of anyone—in my home. Another downside of being psychic. I shut the front door behind me and leaned against it, closed my eyes, and sighed. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep doing this work before it broke me.
I went upstairs and curled on my bed. Sunlight poured through the ceiling window. I reached over and pressed the button to draw a curtain over it. I wanted dim. I needed to fold in on myself and tell myself that something would be done—those people would get justice.
That was why I did this job, wasn’t it? Why Dee did the work he’d chosen. I rolled over, closed my eyes, and let sleep soothe what it could of my aching soul.
When my cell phone rang, I bolted awake from a strange dream about a lion making a banquet of field mice. I thought about not answering the call but decided to at least see who was on the line. I picked up the phone from where I’d left it on the nightstand next to my bed and glanced at the screen: Chas G.
My forehead creased. My cousin, Charles Goodlight the second, or Chas as he liked to be called, rarely rang me. We’d known each other since we were kids, had gone to the same summer camp all through elementary and middle school, and had become friends there. My side of the family was small; I was the third generation of only-children. Chas’ side was larger, which gave me dozens of cousins all descended from James Goodlight, the only son of the original Charles Goodlight—the man who had built my house and started the family fortune.
It was possible Chas was calling to say hi, but it didn’t feel that way. I pushed the phone on and took the call.
“Hey, Chas,” I said. “How are you?”
His words tumbled furiously in my ear. “Shit, Oona, I’ve got a big, big problem.”
I rolled my eyes. Chas and problem were practically synonyms. “What’s happened?”
“Don’t laugh, but I’ve got a crazy ex-girlfriend hounding me.”
Somehow, I wasn’t surprised. I’d met a few of his girlfriends. Chas had a knack for getting entwined with people I would have run away from as fast and far as I could.
“Laureen?” I asked.
“No,” he said. “That was six months ago. Laureen is long gone.”
“Does the new crazy one have a name?” The migraine that had started in the apartment in West Torrance had faded to almost nothing. Now it came roaring back. The last thing I needed was more stress.
“Tawny Brown,” he said.
“You’re dating a stripper?”
“She’s not a stripper,” he said, and I waited for him to correct the designation to exotic dancer.
“She’s an administrative assistant at a large insurance company.”
I shrugged away my preconceptions.
“What’s the problem?” I said.
“Can I come over and talk to you?”
That got my attention. Chas had never been to my house. None of that side of the family had, though I’d gone to family holidays at some of theirs. Why would he ask to come here instead of me coming to him or us meeting somewhere in between for coffee or something?
“This really isn’t a good time.” I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to massage the migraine away. “Can’t you just tell me on the phone?”
“I really need to see you in person,” he said. “Can I come over? Please?”
I peeked into his thoughts.
Oh. He wanted to finally see great-great-grandfather’s house. There was something there besides idle curiosity. A niggling anger. I wasn’t in the mood for anger, but he was my cousin and it did sound like he was in trouble of some sort.
I gave in. “Okay. Give me an hour or so, okay?”
I rattled off my address, feeling the old, familiar dread of someone invading my space. But Chas was family. I couldn’t say no.
∞∞∞
My cousin stood in my parlor, mouth agape.
“So, this is the famous beach house,” he said, his eyes sweeping around the room. His gaze fastened on the original blueprints, which hung framed on the wall. He walked over and examined them. “Three bedrooms, parlor, formal dining room, kitchen, baths upstairs and down. Not bad for a holiday shack.”
“The dining room is gone,” I said, ignoring the dismissive way he said holiday shack, “incorporated into the parlor by my grandmother.”
Chas nodded. “But this is where it all happened, right?”
I didn’t care much for his tone. “It’s where Charles, Audrey, and Cassie were when Jimmy was kidnapped, yes.”
Chas’s eyes flashed. James Goodlight, Jimmy, was Chas’ direct ancestor, as Cassie was mine. We shared Charles and Audrey in common.
“Why don’t you have a seat and tell me about the crazy ex,” I said.
Chas seemed to shake himself out of some revelry he’d fallen into. He sat on the blue ultrasuede-covered sofa and crossed his legs.
“Okay,” he said. “So Tawny and I went out for three or four months. She was fun, but some of her friends were a little . . . unsavory.”
“In what way?”
“Dealers. Bikers. One guy who was always trying to get me to invest in one scheme or another of his.”
I laughed slightly at that.
Chas smiled apologetically. “We broke up two months back. At least I thought we broke up. She seems to think we’re still together. She calls at all hours, and I think she’s stalking me.”
“Can’t you just be straight with her? Tell her flat out it’s over.”
“I have been,” he said. “I’ve told her very clearly that we’re not together, that I don’t want her to call, that I’m not coming over for ‘a little sugar,’ or anything else.”
The frustration and desperation rolling off him made my stomach hurt.
“How do you think I can help you?” I said.
He leaned toward me. “I heard you work for a private investigation company. I want to hire you to find out if it’s Tawny stalking me or if it’s someone else—and make them go away.”
“That’s not really the kind of work we do,” I said, though it was exactly the kind of work we often did.
“Then you do it, privately. Maybe with that guy you’re dating. I heard he’s an investigator, too.”
“Where did you hear I was dating someone?” I felt slightly miffed. I liked my private life private. The only person I’d told I was dating Dee was my best friend. And my hockey team knew because Dee sometimes came to watch me play and once in a while subbed for us in net.
“Your mom told my mom,” he said blithely.
How did my mother know? I hadn’t dated anyone for almost two years before Dee. She’d long since stopped asking if I was going out with someone. I had no intention of telling her I was dating a wizard with a bit of a reputation as a player. But here it was again, the magic community as small town where everyone knew everyone else’s business.
“Keep it to yourself, okay?” I said.
“Sure. Sure,” he said. “Can you help me?”
His eyes were growing a little wild. The vibe rolling off him was desperate. It was hard to say no to someone when I could feel their fears and needs as intensely as if they were my o
wn. I wanted to soothe him. Plus, I felt sorry for the guy. Chas was two years younger than me and seemed even younger.
“Here’s what I’ll do,” I said. “Right now, I’m tied up with some work, but I’ll check around, keep an eye out, see who, if anyone, might be stalking you. If I find out who it is, I’ll have a talk with her or him. Okay?”
I didn’t like lying about going to work, but I really needed time to myself.
His eyes lost the wild look and lit up. “Thanks, Oona. That would be great.” He stood and reached toward his back pocket. “I’ll pay you.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said. “We’re family.”
Chas nodded. “Family. Yeah.”
There was something in his tone that set my teeth on edge, but I didn’t want to explore that now. I stood.
“I’m sorry. I have to get into the office. I’ll call you in a day or two.”
“Great,” he said, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “Great. I’ll wait for your call.”
∞∞∞
Chasing down the stalker was ridiculously easy. That evening I drove by Chas’s house near Rat Beach in south Torrance. She was sitting out front in her car, a pair of binoculars in hand. From the description Chas had given me, the woman had to be Tawny Brown. He’d also given me her address. All I had to do was catch her at home and talk to her. Maybe throw a scare into her if she didn’t want to listen to reason. I turned around and went home.
Dee called in the morning and I told him about Chas and the crazy girl.
“Call the regular cops,” he said. “They’re good at this sort of thing. They’ll stop by her house, have a little chat, that’ll be the end of it.”
“I can’t,” I said. “I promised him I’d take care of it personally. He’s family.”
“Family I never heard you mention before,” Dee said. “How close can you be?”
I held the phone away from my face and gave it an evil stare.
He should talk. We’d been together almost a year and all I knew about his family and childhood was that he’d grown up in a commune of magical folk near Palo Alto. I didn’t know if his parents were still alive or if he had siblings. I’d heard no stories of his school days, no tales of high jinks with kids in the commune. I knew his mother was Mexican and his father Irish-American, but not much beyond that.
I put the phone back to my head. “Chas and I aren’t all that close, but I gave him my word. I’m going to go talk to her.”
As different as Dee and I were, we both had strong feelings about keeping one’s word.
“I’ll go with you,” he said.
I started to protest, but realized that if Tawny Brown had dicey friends, I probably didn’t want to go alone.
“I was going to go now,” I said. “Chas called right before you did. The ex-girlfriend is sitting out in front of his house again, not even trying to hide now.”
“I’ll be by in ten minutes to pick you up.”
∞∞∞
I directed Dee to Chas’s house and we pulled up directly behind Tawny Brown’s green Corolla. We got out at the same time and walked up to her car, Dee rapping on the driver’s side window, me rapping on the passenger side. Her eyes flicked back and forth between us, but she didn’t roll down either window. I tried the door handle, but it was locked. Dee tried the one on the driver’s side. Locked as well.
“Dee,” I said over the car roof. “Her cell phone.”
Tawny had pulled hers out and was dialing. Dee flicked his wrist while muttering a few words. The locks clicked open. He yanked the door wide and hauled her out with one hand, snatching her cell phone away with the other. He tossed the phone to me.
“Who the fuck are you?” Tawny said, twisting in his hold. “Let go of me.”
Not an unreasonable response to being jerked out of a car by strangers.
Dee held on to her arm. Tawny swung at him with her free arm, but he caught her hand before she hit him. She stomped down on his foot and Dee grunted.
Now That was unreasonable.
“Knock it off,” I yelled.
She turned her gaze to me and glared. “You knock it off, bitch. Tell this ape to unhand me.”
I lowered my voice. “Chill, Tawny. We just want to talk to you.”
She didn’t chill. She stomped on Dee’s foot again. At the same time, she turned her head and bit his hand where he held her on her upper arm.
You know that cartoon thing about being so mad that steam comes out of your ears? That’s exactly how I perceived Dee at that moment.
“Okay,” he said, “that’s it.”
I hurried around the back of the car as Dee muttered a few words and let go of Tawny’s left arm long enough to make a small hand gesture. She sank to the ground in a sit, her hands behind her back—positioned exactly as if she had handcuffs on.
If someone had done that to me, I would have been scared, cowed. Tawny was neither. She glared at Dee and spit in his direction. I really had to wonder about my cousin’s taste in women.
“We should get her out of the street,” I said. “Before a car comes along.”
“There’s a veil up,” he said. “No one can see us.” He paused, thinking a moment. “You’re right. Best to move her.”
“And maybe take the veil down so Chas can see that we’re talking to her.”
Dee’s lips drew together, and I knew he wanted to leave the veil up—no point in the neighbors also seeing what was going on.
“Put her somewhere the neighbors can’t see but Chas can,” I said.
He said a few words and flicked his hand toward my cousin’s front lawn. Tawny rose a few feet in the air, glided to the lawn and settled there. Dee glanced at the street, making sure Tawny was hidden by his car at the curb I thought, then took down the veil.
Her eyes widened. “That was freaky. It’s drugs, right? You slipped me some drugs and now I’m hallucinating.” She seemed to consider that possibility. “Nope. Not stoned. I’d know if I was high.”
“Tawny,” Dee said sharply. “You need to listen.”
He glanced at me to take it from there, I guessed because Chas was my cousin.
“Tawny,” I said softly. Her eyes flicked to my face. “You need to understand something. You and Chas aren’t a couple anymore.”
She sneered. “Yes, we are.”
“No,” I said firmly. “You’re not. You need to go away and leave him alone. No more phone calls. No more parking outside his house. Don’t even drive on his street. Move on, Tawny. Find a new guy. Someone who deserves you.”
I felt Dee snicker at that last sentence, but he was wise enough not to do it out loud.
“Do you understand?” I said.
She nodded. I sent my sense out and felt her mind. The crazy in her brain knocked me back a step, but she had latched on to the idea of finding “someone who deserved her” and had turned her back on the idea of Chas as her boyfriend.
“You can let her go,” I said softly to Dee.
He wriggled his fingers and said a few words. Tawny didn’t move. She didn’t even bring her arms around from behind her back. I leaned over, put my arms around her and half lifted her, just to get her moving.
“Go home now,” I said. “Make yourself a cup of tea or get a Coke, whatever you like. Turn on the television. Relax.”
Tawny locked her gaze on me and said, “Fuck you, bitch. I do what I want.”
Dee blew out a harsh breath. “You listen, bitch. See this?” He made a quick motion with both hands and said something low.
Three very large, very scary looking dogs with very big, wet teeth appeared beside him, growling in Tawny’s direction. Her eyes opened wide.
“You are going home now,” Dee said firmly. “You are never going to contact Chas again. If you do, my dogs will be paying you a visit. You won’t like it.”
Tawny’s shoulders shook with fear and rage. She ran to her car and jumped in, locking the doors—as if that would stop us. She turned on the engine and
rolled her window down just enough for us to hear her.
“I don’t know who or what the fuck you are, but you tell Chas he can have his new skanky girlfriend—and the two of you. I don’t want anything more to do with him.”
She pulled away with tires squealing.
Dee chuckled softly, “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Magic in front of an ordin,” I said, knowing it was one of the stricter rules of the magic community.
“Unless absolutely necessary,” he said. “I think I could defend my actions in this case.”
“You were pissed when she stomped your foot and bit you,” I said. “It’s not like you, Mr. Always-in-Control.”
Dee shrugged. “Yeah, some. She stomped down hard, and it hurt. Mostly, I didn’t like the way she talked to you. I get pretty annoyed when someone calls my girlfriend a bitch.” He half-smiled. “Now you know my deep dark secret—I’m as human as the next man.”
“I think I already knew that.”
His face grew thoughtful. “Jack phoned earlier. He wants to see us.”
“When?”
Dee glanced at his watch. “Now.”
My heart chilled. “I have to tell you something I didn’t tell Jack when we went to all those death sites yesterday.”
He watched me, waiting for me to say what I’d been holding back.
“The dead, Dee,” I said. “They aren’t moving on. Not a one of them. They’re trapped.”
Chapter Five
We weren’t half a block away when my phone rang.
“Whoa! Oona. What the fuck?” Chas said through the earpiece. I put the phone on speaker, so Dee could hear too.
“What was going on out there?” Chas said. “You made Tawny sit on the lawn like the cops had caught her. And then those dogs came out of nowhere.”
Dee closed his eyes a small moment then concentrated harder on the road than I knew he needed to. I switched the speaker off and held the phone to my ear.
“Tawny sat on the lawn I guess because she was tired or didn’t feel like standing,” I said. “I thought those dogs belonged to one of your neighbors. We shooed them away.”
Vulture Moon Page 3