Black Magic Woman (Morris and Chastain Investigations)
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Morris didn’t know what Fortner had in mind, but it must be something really nasty to require this kind of raw material, and in such a quantity.
Not my business, no sir. I’ve got what I came for. All I need to worry about is getting out of here in one piece, giving this stuff to Carteret, and collecting my money.
He directed the flashlight beam slowly around the room, taking in the tools of the black magician’s trade—the grimoires, scrolls, pacts, magical ingredients, and various arcane devices.
It must have taken Fortner years to get all this stuff together. Decades, more likely.
The tools, Morris knew, had been made by Fortner himself. A magician’s equipment must be attuned to him, and to him alone. It was a long, laborious process.
The flashlight revealed more mundane materials, too. Some of the shelves contained jars of ordinary chemicals, like magnesium, phosphorus, and sulfuric acid. There were large bottles of alcohol, used in some purification rituals. Morris even spied a box of Blue Angel wooden matches, presumably for lighting the candles, alcohol lamps, and incense burners.
I’m wasting time. Whatever Fortner is up to, it’s no business of mine. I’m a professional. Get in, get the goods, and get out again. That’s what I’m damn well paid for.
Morris supposed he could inform the police about Fortner. After all, they were eager for information about the child abductions.
Oh, sure. Absolutely. “Excuse me, officer, but I was burglarizin’ this fella’s house the other night, and I came upon something you might be interested in. Oh, and did I mention that he’s a practitioner of black magic, who’s been stealing the kids to use their hearts in his wicked rituals?”
He’d be lucky if they only laughed at him. A spell in jail or in the local loony bin would be more likely. And an anonymous call would most likely just be filed in the “nut” drawer.
No, there was nothing he could do about Fortner or his little projects. “Let sleeping dogs lie” was good advice, especially when the dog in question was a black magician who did not stint at murder.
It was a professional’s attitude, and Morris was, above all else, a professional.
He sent the flashlight beam around the room one last time. Ain’t none of my damn business, anyway.
Ten minutes later, Morris was shimmying up the rope that he had tied to the producer’s tree. He had encountered no further interference on his way out of Fortner’s house, or across the grounds.
He reached the branch to which he had secured the rope, grasped it, and quickly hoisted himself up into the tree. Then he unknotted the rope, drew it up, and wound it back around his waist.
Before starting his descent into the producer’s property, Morris spared a final glance toward Fortner’s house, where the flames were just now becoming visible in the windows, flickering like the eyes of a madman.
Morris nodded, once. Then he turned away and began his careful climb down the tree. He wanted to be well away before any fire trucks showed up.
Morris was a professional. But that was not the only thing he was.
It was just after dawn when Quincey Morris got back to his room at the Beverly Wilshire, and found that the FBI was waiting for him.
Supernatural investigator Quincey Morris and his partner, “white witch” Libby Chastain, are each in pursuit of a vicious killer. One is murdering small children for their bodily organs; the other is hunting down white witches – and Libby may be next. Along a trail that leads from Iraq to Turkey, to the US, all clues point to crazed billionaire Walter Grobius, a man obsessed with harnessing the ultimate evil. Morris and Chastain, teamed with the deadly Hannah Widmark, must fight desperately to stop a midnight rendezvous between forces so powerful that the fate of the world may be at stake. And the clock is ticking...
Evil Ways continues the electrifying new series of supernatural thrillers following the exploits of investigators Quincey Morris and Libby Chastain.
www.solarisbooks.com
Senator Howard Stark wants to be President of the United States. So does the demon inside him. With the competing candidates dropping out due to scandal, blackmail, and ‘accidental’ death, Stark looks like a good bet to go all the way to the White House. And if he gets there, Hell on Earth will follow.
Occult investigator Quincey Morris and white witch Libby Chastain are determined to stop this evil conspiracy. But between them and Stark stand the dedicated agents of the US Secret Service – as well as the very forces of Hell itself. Quincey and Libby will risk everything to exorcise the demon possessing Stark. If they fail, ‘Hail to the Chief’ will become a funeral march – for all of us.
Sympathy for the Devil continues the electrifying series of supernatural thrillers following the exploits of investigators Quincey Morris and Libby Chastain.
www.solarisbooks.com
Title
Indicia and Dedication
Quotes
Prologue
Primus: Visitation
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Secundus: Investigation
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Preview: 'Evil Ways' by Justin Gustainis
'Evil Ways' by Justin Gustainis
'Sympathy for the Devil' by Justin Gustainis