by Ann Charles
“But those roles are part of who we are, key to our makeup. You have only recently come into your Scharfrichter responsibilities, so I understand why the concept might be harder for you to blend in your head, but I’ve been dealing with this shit for almost four decades. I’ve always been in a hybrid state of mind.”
I pulled my hand from his, gripping the steering wheel. “This whole Executioner gig is such a big pill to swallow. It keeps getting stuck on the way down.” I rested my forehead on the wheel. “I’m sorry you are being forced to deal with my inadequacies. Give me time and I’ll stop grinding gears about it, same as I did with the notion of being a single mother of twins.”
“Violet, look at me.”
I crossed my arms on the top of the steering wheel, resting my cheek on my forearms. “What?”
He shifted to face me more, a pinch of pain coming and going as he moved. “From the time you found out the truth about my ability to interact with ghosts, you stayed by my side. You struggled to believe at first, which is ironic considering what you are, but never once did you push me away because of what I am. You opened your arms to me—both the man and the medium. You shared your bed at first, and then your heart, and now your family. I don’t believe you love me only because of my abilities to see what others can’t.”
I let his words soak in, considering the way I felt when I thought of him. Did I distinguish between the man and the medium? If we could no longer play in the paranormal world, would I still want to spend the rest of my life with him?
There was no question, really.
He ran his hand down my bowed back. “Personally, I find it even more of a turn-on that we have a connection far deeper than human emotion. Call me sentimental, but I like the idea that we were made for one another. We just had to find our way to each other first.”
My heart pitter-pattered. “We do fit together well, Oracle.”
His gaze moved to my hair and then headed south. “It’s like you were designed in a lab for me, with the perfect amount of curves, wild and wonderful hair, and sharp wit. Not to mention your come-hither look and that mouth.” He groaned. “That sweet, soft, sexy mouth.” He gave me a smolder that stole my breath. “How about you hop over here and sit on my lap for a few minutes?”
I leaned back from the steering wheel. “If you call yourself Santa, I’m going to start giggling and ruin the moment.”
“How about an early Christmas present, Mrs. Claus.” He wiggled his eyebrows at me. “What are you wearing under that dress?”
I chuckled, moving closer. “One kiss and that’s it. You’re not fit for extra sugar tonight, Mr. Kringle. Those ribs need to heal.”
He took my face in his hands. “Heal schmeal. Kiss me, Boots.”
Obeying, I tasted his lips, making myself hungry for more. But now was not the time or the place, so I pulled back before his hands convinced me to crawl over the console and show him what I wanted for Christmas.
He pointed his thumb at his window. “It’s getting hot and steamy in here. Maybe you should take off your dress and get more comfortable.”
“Nice try, Romeo.” I shucked my coat, trying to cool down. “Tell me, honestly. Are you upset about me making a deal with Dominick to help find the missing informant?”
He adjusted his inseam, lifting his gaze from my chest. “I’m concerned, of course. Mainly, though, I’m suspicious about Masterson’s motives. Harvey said you had an opportunity to offer up your sister to Masterson on a silver platter but you didn’t. That’s impressive will power.”
I smirked. “Well, I want to take you to my parents’ for Christmas.” It would be Doc’s first family-filled holiday since he was a kid. “Handing over Susan to the charming devil for use as his sex toy seemed like it might result in our invitation being revoked.”
“I’ve met your parents, remember? With your history, I’d bet they’d take that in stride.”
I stuck my tongue out at him.
“Tell me truthfully,” he said. “Was it your parents who held you back, or do you really love your sister under all of the hurt and anger?”
Love her? After all of her backstabbing over the years? I pondered that. “She’s blood. I take offense at someone else doing her wrong, especially when it’s in order to manipulate me.” I pulled my lip gloss from my purse. “Although I’m perfectly okay with Natalie making a voodoo doll of Susan and poking it five hundred million times.”
“How are you going to catch a chimera?” he asked.
Harvey had obviously told him about the name game we’d played with Dominick, too. I flipped down my visor, coating my lips as I looked in the mirror there. “I haven’t thought that through yet. If you have any ideas, I’m open to them.” I rubbed my lips together, uncomfortable with the next item I needed to share. “Cornelius wants to have a séance tonight to reach out to Jane.” I closed the visor and frowned at Doc. “He’s determined to check out that Hellhole again.”
Doc raised one eyebrow in response, but said nothing.
“We need your help, Oracle.”
“But it’s Sunday night,” he said. “The kids have school tomorrow, and I told Addy I’d listen to another episode of The Cinnamon Bear with her.”
Addy had a soft spot for that old-time radio program that Aunt Zoe had introduced to her years ago.
“I didn’t realize Addy had lassoed you into listening to it with her.”
“There was no lassoing, Violet. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m smitten with your kids.”
My heart swelled, clogging the back of my throat. I gulped around it and blinked silly tears from my eyes. “Damn, you’re good.”
“I’m hooked on the whole package, Boots.” He wrapped one of my curls around his finger. “You sure you don’t want to come over here and sit on my lap?”
I did. I very much did. “What about your ribs?”
“I don’t care about my damned ribs.” His focus lowered to my mouth. “I want to find out what you have on under that dress.”
Headlights blared in the back window. A yellow light flashed, bouncing off the trees.
I squinted in the rearview mirror. “It’s a snowplow. We have to move.”
Doc cursed. “Bad timing. The driver must be related to Coop.”
I rolled my window down and waved at the driver, then made a sharp U-turn, heading back down to Deadwood.
When we hit the city limits, I rested my hand on Doc’s thigh. “How about I kiss those ribs better later tonight?”
“Will you be wearing my favorite lip gloss?”
“Sure, but it will make you sticky.”
“I hope so. What about the séance?”
“We agreed to meet at the office after the kids are in bed asleep.”
“So.” He covered my hand with his. “If I agree to this late-night rendezvous with a ghost, you’ll reward me with your lips?”
I puckered up and blew him a kiss. “And more.”
He squeezed my hand. “Then I’m your huckleberry, Killer.”
Chapter Twelve
“It was a dark and snowy night,” I said in a Vincent Price voice several hours later as Doc steered my Honda into the parking lot behind Calamity Jane Realty.
“It’s only spitting snow,” he said, parking in the middle of the empty lot, close to the back door.
A swirling cloud of snow whipped in front of the headlights. “Well, it’s definitely cold and blustery.”
“Promise me something, Killer.” He handed me the keys. “Don’t go down into the Hellhole tonight.”
“Trust me, that is the last place I want to visit, especially tonight.”
“You say that now,” he started, his smile teasing. “But then off you skip, leaving me clutching my poor ticker.”
I patted his chest. “I give you and your little ol’ heart my word. Tonight is about finding out why Jane is blocking off the hole, that’s it. No exploratory mission to be made.”
“Good, then let’s get this over with. I have a d
ate later with a sexy blonde and her sticky lip gloss.”
Earlier, Cornelius had sent Doc a message saying he’d be set up in Jerry’s office tonight, so we rushed to the back door of Calamity Jane’s instead of Doc’s building.
Once inside, we stomped the slush off our boots and hung up our coats. The lights were off up front where our desks sat in a circle, except for the one fluorescent bulb over Ben’s desk that was always left on so the police could see in the office when they did their rounds. Doc sniffed, earning a raised brow from me.
“Is Jane here?” I whispered.
“If so, she’s not within my range.” He sniffed again, this time near my neck. “All I can smell is your peach pie–scented soap.”
I’d taken a shower when we returned home, wanting to scrub off some of the day’s frustrations—Susan, Dominick, Mr. Black, and everything in between. The peach pie soap was one of Doc’s favorites, so of course I’d used it without putting together how it might act as a distraction for a medium who used his olfactory senses to find ghosts. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t thinking.”
“It’s okay, Boots.” He winked at me. “But don’t be surprised if I try to bite you at some point tonight.”
“So long as it’s your teeth doing the biting and not the fangs of something that crawled out of that Hellhole hunting its next meal.”
“You have horror movies on the brain tonight.”
“Yeah, well, warped thoughts come with the job.” Taking hold of his wrist, I led the way into Jerry’s office. Natalie sat behind the desk in my boss’s extra-large leather chair. She wore the same getup from earlier: overalls and a thermal shirt. The only difference was she’d added a fuzzy black stocking cap.
She gave me a toothy smile while spinning a pencil around on the desktop. An odd glint in her eyes made me do a double take. Her gaze lowered quickly when I peered closer—too quickly. Three-plus decades had taught me a few things about my best friend, and my instincts wagered that she was hiding something.
“What’s going on in here?” I approached the desk.
Taking a line from Doc, I sniffed the air. The room smelled normal enough, including hints of Jerry’s cologne mixed with leather and floor varnish.
“Nothing, Ms. Paranoid.” There was a defensive tone underlying her response. “Cornelius and I were just chatting while we waited for you two to join us. How are the kids?”
And now a diversionary tactic. “They’re sleeping.”
What could Natalie and Cornelius have been talking about that made her all shifty eyed? I knew better than to think it was anything risqué. Natalie was too busy pining over Cooper, and Cornelius didn’t mix ghost hunting with sex, at least not in my experience with him.
I focused on Cornelius, trying to see if he was playing the same game as Natalie. Dressed all in black, he held some gadget out in front of him while walking from corner to corner. It made a slight crackling sound, but was otherwise silent. No buzzing, no beeping, no humming to be heard from either him or his toy. He moved up next to me, running his toy down the front of me from head to toe. One green light in a range of green-yellow-orange-red stayed steadily lit. Below the lights, digital numbers flittered quickly with his movement.
“What are you doing?” I asked him.
“Making sure you’re human.”
“The verdict is still out on that one,” Natalie teased.
“I’m leaning toward her being part Wookie,” Doc added from where he squatted next to Cornelius’s briefcase, checking out the array of gadgets inside.
Natalie chuckled. “Did you forget to shave your legs again? Poor Doc. If you’re not careful, you’ll scar him for life.”
“Too late. I’m damaged goods now.” Doc lifted a banana from the case. “Uh, Curion, are we trying to catch a monkey tonight?”
I looked from the banana to Abe Jr. “Did somebody tell you Jane likes bananas?” He’d used favorite items to lure ghosts out of hiding in past séances.
“No, Violet. You are going to talk into the banana,” he answered.
“Are you serious?” Speaking into a banana was going to make me feel just plain dumb and stupid.
He lowered his toy. “In Malay folklore, banana plants are associated with the pontianak, a female vampire-like ghost. I’m surprised you did not know this.”
“A vampire ghost? How is that even possible? Vampires are undead. Don’t they turn to ash when they die? Do these ghosts walk around with stakes in their hearts?”
“And we’re back to horror movies,” Doc said, setting the banana back in the case.
Cornelius’s lips twitched. “The banana is for me to eat, Violet. I have difficulty focusing when I’m low on potassium. But if you’d prefer to use it as a microphone to reach out to your old boss, I’m sure we’d all find it quite entertaining.”
“I’m going to stick that banana where the sun doesn’t shine,” I warned him.
“If you are referring to the Hellhole,” said Cornelius, circling his toy a couple of inches above the desktop, “that is not a good idea.”
“Why not?” Natalie pushed her chair away from the desk so he could check the drawers.
He frowned down at the steady green light. “Banana peels are notoriously slippery,” he said without even cracking a grin.
“Damn, Corny,” Natalie said. “You’re on fire tonight.”
“I am feeling more flammable than usual in this cotton fabric.” He hit several buttons on the side of his doohickey.
I crossed my arms. “What is that toy you keep playing with?”
“It’s his brand-spanking-new EMF meter,” Natalie said, beating him to the punch. “It’s supposed to be ten times more sensitive than his other ones.”
EMF meters were used to detect electromagnetic frequencies. Something I’d learned from hanging out with Cornelius and his bag of tricks. “Why are you using it already? Did you sense Jane’s presence?”
“I’m taking baseline readings of the electromagnetic energy in the room now that all of us are here. This will help me determine after we start the séance if a spike in my readings is due to some ordinary source of natural, electrical, or magnetic energy, or if your boss has entered the room.”
Doc walked over to Cornelius, checking out the meter. “You’re not picking up anything unusual yet, are you?”
“The energy increases I’ve noticed are due to currency flows from typical AC and DC sources. It could be a meter error, though. I haven’t tested it before now.” Cornelius looked up from his EMF meter. “But I don’t hear anything in the walls. Are you sensing Violet’s dead boss?”
Doc shook his head. “But if Jane is keeping her distance on purpose, she’ll be off my radar until we seek her out.” He scanned the room, frowning. “We could use Coop’s eyes in here, but he’s on duty again tonight.”
Natalie growled low in her throat. “Coop is always on duty. Work comes first for him, remember?”
“Miss Bitter, your table for one is ready,” I said, nudging her leg with my boot.
She lifted her chin. “It’s the truth and you know it.”
“Maybe, but what else does Cooper have waiting at home for him these days besides an ornery ol’ uncle and his mangy mutt?”
Wait! Was I actually making excuses for Cooper again? Sheesh, did I have a fever? Had the stress from the Slagton hunting trips cracked my melon?
“Besides,” I added before I could stop myself. “He said the police station is running on a skeleton crew right now because of the upcoming holidays. Have you considered that maybe Cooper is being generous with his time so that others can be home with their families?”
My heart panged a little at that idea, the fickle traitor feeling sorry for the gigantic pain in the ass.
Natalie stared up at me as if a rainbow-colored horn was growing from the center of my forehead. “Do you really believe any of this pro-Coop hot air spilling out your pie hole?”
“The part about the skeleton crew, yes.” I also believed th
at if Cooper could swing a moment to join us, he would. At the least, he’d want to help Doc, but the main reason he’d be here was because of the frowny-faced woman sitting here complaining about him. “I also think he’s working because he’s single without a wife and kids waiting at home for him. Whether he’s enjoying the extra time on the job or not, I haven’t a clue. Since he’s no longer sharing a house with me, we don’t talk like we used to.”
I kind of missed our middle of the night talks, too. Dang Cooper for finding my soft spot. I didn’t want to like the bristly butthead.
Natalie snorted. “Who are you and what have you done with Violet Parker?” She poked me in the leg. “Are you Deadwood’s new robot cop? Did Coop program you himself?”
I poked her back. “Trust me, I still feel like hurting Cooper when I see him. Didn’t I just give him a black eye last week?”
“By accident,” she said. “And it’s mostly gone, so next time try harder.” She searched my face. “If he still bugs you, why are you being his biggest cheerleader lately?”
That was a good question. The guy locked horns with me whenever he had a chance, yet here I was defending him to the girl who’d been my best friend for decades through thick and thin.
“I guess because it seems like you’re being extra tough on him lately.” I shot a frown in Doc’s and Cornelius’s directions and then leaned closer, whispering. “It’s your heart’s self-defense mechanism kicking in.”
“Really? When did you become a love expert?” she whispered back.
“I’ve seen you do it before when you’re getting too close to a guy.”
“It’s you who sabotages a relationship before it takes flight, remember? Not me. I’m the one who dives in headfirst and ends up crashing and burning.”
Shoot. She was right. I glanced over to make sure Doc was still preoccupied with Cornelius and his gadget. “Maybe we’ve switched places,” I whispered even quieter. “I’m diving in headfirst with Doc and you’re jumping ship.”
She moved closer, her voice barely audible even to me. “There’s no ship to jump from yet, though.”
“Yeah, but taking a card from my deck, if you can make Cooper into a villain in your head, you’ll find him less desirable, like I did with that insurance salesman I dated years ago.”