by Ann Charles
“Oh. I was taking a break.”
“And doing what?”
He sighed, his smile slipping away. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?”
“I’m your mother. My job duties include extreme probing in an effort to uncover all of your secrets.” At least until after he moved out on his own, but I suspected I’d still be plenty nosy even after that.
He pulled a book out from behind his back, handing it to me. “I was looking at this.”
I took it, reading the title aloud. “Medieval Sword Combat—A Learner’s Guide.” I lowered the book. “Don’t you think you’re taking this new obsession with weaponry a little too far?”
He shrugged.
“Come out of there, Layne.”
He joined me on the edge of the bed. “Is there something you want to tell me about this?” I held up the book. Something about his discovering that his mother was an Executioner?
“Yes.”
I waited, brows raised.
“I’d like a dusack and a rapier for Christmas.”
“A dusack?” I parroted.
“It’s a practice weapon. Sort of like a saber.”
“Layne, Christmas is a week away. Santa already has your presents picked out.”
“Come on, Mom. I know how Santa really works.”
“You do?”
He patted my leg. “It’s okay. I’ve known the truth for a couple of years now.”
I got up and closed his bedroom door, returning to his side. “What? How?”
“I had to use the bathroom one Christmas Eve, and I saw you putting presents under the tree.”
I frowned. “Does your sister know, too?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So, you just play along with her each year?”
He nodded. “Why ruin her fun?”
“Sheesh, you’re growing up too fast for me, kid.” I gave him a sideways hug. “Why do you want these particular weapons?”
“I told you I’m going to protect you.”
“Ah.” Of course. My little man of the house.
“And Harvey says I’m too young to have a 12-gauge like Bessie.”
Alarms went off in my head at the thought of Layne swinging those double barrels around the place. Not to mention that Bessie’s recoil would knock him on his keister. “Harvey’s right.”
“Then I need a sword.”
I stood. “Let me think about it.” I wanted to talk to Doc about this, see if Layne’s sword request was normal for his age, or if this was a sign of something else—something to do with our bloodline.
“It doesn’t have to be a big one,” he said as I opened the bedroom door.
“I said I’ll think about it, Layne.”
“But—”
“No buts. While I appreciate you wanting to protect me, you’re still a kid—my kid. I get to make this decision, not you.”
He sighed. “Fine.”
“Brush your teeth, King Arthur. If your homework is done, come downstairs and hang out with us.”
“Is Doc spending the night again?”
“Yeah, why?” I cringed, waiting for what was to come next.
“Just curious. I want to ask him about something in that sword combat book.”
Whew! “Don’t forget to floss.”
I left his room and headed downstairs. I figured I’d given Cooper plenty of time to eat in peace. It was time to find out the real reason he was here.
“Cooper,” I said when I joined the kitchen crowd. I took the chair opposite him. “Nat said you have something you want to talk to Aunt Zoe and me about.”
The detective swallowed, chasing his bite with a drink of coffee before answering. “We had a hit-and-run today.”
“Harvey mentioned that earlier. What are the chances of two so close together in a small town like this?”
He stabbed several potatoes. “It’s odd, especially since it’s not tourist season, but the bigger concern is the story behind both.”
“What do you mean?” Aunt Zoe asked, taking the seat between Natalie and me. The fresh cup of coffee in her hands steamed as she sipped it.
“Both incidents were reported by the drivers of the vehicles, not the victims.”
“You’re saying that the ‘runner’ was the victim?” Natalie clarified.
“Correct.” He looked her way, holding her stare until she lowered her gaze. His focus returned to Aunt Zoe. “This afternoon, the driver actually came to the police station to report the incident.”
Reid paused in the midst of washing his plate in the sink. “For insurance reasons?”
“Partly, but more because what he experienced scared the hell out of him.”
“How so?” Doc asked, leaning against the counter.
“According to his statement, he was heading out of town toward Sturgis when someone came running out of the trees and crossed the road right in front of him. He slammed on his brakes, but he was unable to avoid hitting the victim. He said the body flew several feet through the air, landing in the ditch.”
I cringed. I bet he was going to relive that scene in his head for a long time to come.
Cooper finished his potatoes. “That wasn’t the worst part,” he explained after he swallowed. “He swears the victim stood up within seconds and wandered back out onto the road. At that point, the driver assumed there was alcohol or some other substance abuse involved. What struck him as odd, though, was that the victim’s body appeared to be severely burned.”
Aunt Zoe and I exchanged worried glances.
“The driver opened his door and stepped outside, intending to offer a ride to the hospital. Before he could get the words out, one of the victim’s arms fell off.”
“What?” Natalie said, her jaw lowering. “It just dropped to the ground?”
“Apparently.”
“What happened next?” Aunt Zoe asked.
“The driver said the victim made a horrible screeching sound, unlike anything he’d ever heard, and charged toward him. He returned to his car and locked the doors, but that didn’t deter the victim, who tried to bite and head-butt his way inside the vehicle.”
“Oh my God,” I whispered, holding my pounding chest. “What did he do?”
“He shifted into reverse, whipped the car around, and got the hell out of there, straight to the police station.”
Aunt Zoe sighed. “Damn.”
“My thoughts exactly.” Cooper finished off his ham steak. “What do you think, Parker, is this one of your flesh-eating creeps running loose? Or do we have another problem to deal with now on top of everything else?”
All eyes turned to me. I pointed at Aunt Zoe. “Ask her. She’s the expert on bizarre species. I mainly kill the troublemakers.”
“I believe it’s a Nachzehrer,” Aunt Zoe said. “However, until I see it for myself, I can’t be sure.” She frowned at Cooper. “Although I really don’t relish the idea of looking at this one-armed, crispy ghoul.”
“Me neither, especially if it’s gnashing its teeth at everything that moves.” He pushed his empty plate away. “Will I be able to stop it with a gun, or is this going to take Parker and whatever blunt instrument she can get her hands on at the moment?”
“From what I remember reading about them, the only way for a human to kill one is to decapitate it and then place a copper coin in its mouth.”
“You’re kidding me,” Reid said, drying his hands.
“Or was it stick a coin in its mouth first and then cut off the head?”
Doc cursed, rubbing his beard stubble. “Who makes these rules?”
“Not the Executioners.” Aunt Zoe patted my arm. “This method of elimination for Nachzehrer will most likely not apply to Violet and her kind. They dance to a different tune than you and me. If she is to kill it, she’ll have to use the tools of her trade.”
“I wonder what Mr. Black knows about this Nachzehrer,” I said to nobody in particular.
“Mr. Black?” Reid asked, looking to Aunt Zoe for the a
nswer.
“He’s a new friend of Violet’s.” She frowned at Cooper. “Have you checked on Mr. Haskell’s body since we were there?”
“No, but that was just this morning.”
Holy horse pucky! Had that only been earlier today? It seemed like days ago. It was no wonder my eyes were starting to feel droopy after all that had gone down since sunrise.
“I know, but he was most likely bitten by a Nachzehrer. I don’t know how long it takes to turn a body into one of their kind, nor if he’ll escape that fate because he was dead when bitten.”
“I’ll stop by Mudder Brothers on my way back to the station.” Cooper scooped up his plate and stood. “Thanks for supper. Those potatoes were delicious, Zoe.”
“You need to start making a habit of joining us,” she told him.
The idea of Cooper being here for supper each night made my shoulders tighten, but I held my tongue because the thought of him eating alone made my heart twinge a little for him, damn it. Somehow, the detective had squeezed his way into my inner circle, and I wasn’t sure yet whether that was a good thing or bad thing.
“What about me, Zo?” Reid asked, stabbing another forkful. “Can I make it a habit, too?”
She threw her napkin at him and stood. “Shut up and eat.”
“Hey, Doc?” Layne walked into the kitchen, waving “Hello” to Reid and Cooper. “I need your help with something.”
“What do you need?” I interrupted.
“I need Doc,” Layne said firmly, giving Doc a sly look that made me squint back and forth between the two of them. What was Layne up to now?
“Will you come up to my room for a minute?” Layne asked him.
“Lead the way.” Doc gave me a two-fingered salute and then followed my son out of the room.
Cooper’s radio made some static noises, which sounded like a mix of gibberish and a math story problem. He grabbed the radio and muttered something back. “I gotta go.”
Aunt Zoe reached for the box of truffles on the table. “Do you want a truffle for the road?”
He looked down at the box, hesitated, and then shook his head. “No, thanks.”
“I’ll eat his,” Harvey volunteered, reaching for the box.
Aunt Zoe playfully swatted his hand away. “Be careful out there tonight, Coop,” she said. “Especially at Mudder Brothers.”
“Will do.” He headed for the door.
I remembered something Doc had mentioned earlier and pushed back my chair. “Cooper,” I called, catching him at the front door. “I need to talk to you.”
“What?”
“Outside.” I grabbed my red padded vest while stepping into my boot slippers and followed Cooper out onto the porch, closing the door behind me. The porch light bathed us in a soft glow, keeping the darkness at bay.
“Make it quick, Parker. I need to check on a prowler.”
The air was crisp and still. I jammed my hands into my vest pockets to keep them warm. “I hope it’s only a stray dog.”
“Me, too. I’ve had enough of your crazy shit for one day.”
I let that one go. “About what happened back in Slagton,” I started, shuffling my feet. I wasn’t used to having heart-to-heart talks with Cooper. Snarling and teeth gnashing were my usual go-tos. “A little birdy mentioned that you’re still, uh, bothered about today.”
Cooper scowled, glancing toward the street. “It was a rookie mistake. I should’ve known better.”
“You said that already on the way home. What’s this really about? Usually you cuss at me a few times, and then I call you several not-very-nice names, and we move on. Why are you so stuck on this?”
He stared down at me. “I could have gotten you killed, Parker.”
I shrugged. “This is how it works now, Cooper. It’s life and death every time for me. For you, too. Hell, for anyone along for the ride.”
“Maybe, but I knew better than to race in like that. I’ve been trained on proper procedure. I’ve experienced multiple situations involving gunfire exchanges. I should have stopped, listened, looked, and tried to set a basic perimeter before waltzing into that mess and dragging you three with me.”
“You do realize that you are human, right?” I pinched his shoulder through his coat. “See, flesh and muscle, no robot parts in spite of my previous suspicions.”
His taut expression didn’t crack, not even one little hairline fracture. “I was so bent on finding out what happened to my informant that I didn’t think to treat it like a hostile setting.”
“Which is totally understandable.”
“No, it’s not, Parker.” He tore his hand through his hair. “Mistakes like that lead to fatalities. Quit letting me off the hook, damn it.”
“Jeez Louise, cut yourself some slack, Cooper. You’re exhausted. You have a missing informant. You’re dealing with a flesh-eating ghoul or two. You’re seeing ghosts all over town.”
He jammed his hands on his hips. “Thanks for the reminders of my current version of Hell. What’s your point?”
“My point is that you’re allowed to be human and make mistakes.” When he started to talk, I held up my hands. “Let me finish.”
He crossed his arms, huffing, waiting impatiently.
“You’re allowed to screw up, you hardheaded bozo, especially considering that you have a huge distracting crush on a woman who is pretending she doesn’t remember what happened the other night at the Purple Door Saloon.”
Cooper stilled, his head cocking to the side as if he wasn’t sure he’d heard me right. “She’s pretending?”
“You heard me.” I pulled my arms tighter against my sides, blocking out the cold. “And that’s as much as I will say, being that I’m her best friend and confidante.” Actually, that was probably too much, but I felt bad for Cooper after hitting him with my crowbar earlier.
“Damn.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Is her pretending good or bad?”
“I don’t know. It probably changes depending on the day.”
“Damn,” he said again.
I frowned. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
“It’s not that. You’re going to need a clear head when you go to Mudder Brothers.”
“Right. Shit. Just once I’d like a dead body to be only that.”
“You and me both. Do you want Doc and me to come with you?”
“No,” he said. “But thanks for the offer.”
“Just remember, decapitation.”
“Fuck,” he growled, pulling out his keys. “Is there anything else you need to tell me?”
As a matter of fact … “I want to go back to Slagton, and I need you there with me.”
“Why?”
I assumed he meant the Slagton part, not why him. “We have to finish what was started.”
“And what if we don’t find any of those things when we go back?”
“Then we have to hunt them—or haunt them. Either verb works in this case, so long as I execute them in the end.”
The front door opened behind me. We both turned as Natalie stepped outside, pulling on her faux sheepskin coat in the process.
“Did you tell him about your big plan?” she asked me.
“Yeah. He hasn’t officially agreed to anything yet.”
“Good.” She turned to Cooper. “Because I have a bone to pick with him first.”
She did?
He frowned at the index finger she had aimed at him. “You do?”
“The next time you take Violet on a little day trip into a deadly arena and arm her with only a fucking crowbar, I’m going to kick your ass from here to Terry Peak.” She poked him in the chest. “She might be a killer, but you put her at risk today on a level that would endanger even a trained Executioner.”
“Natalie,” I started, “Cooper already apolo—”
She covered my mouth. “I’m not done, Vi.”
Removing her hand, she focused on Cooper
again. “I know you’re used to throwing yourself in harm’s way day in and day out, not giving a damn about those who care for you, but she isn’t like you in that way. Nor can you take care of her enemies with a mere bullet.”
“I fucked up, Natalie,” he said, catching her finger and holding it. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s not that big of a—” I tried to get out.
“ ‘Sorry’ isn’t going to cut it,” Natalie interrupted. “Not if my best friend is bleeding to death with her throat ripped out.”
I grimaced at that image. Did she have to be so graphic when she was making her point?
“I can’t lose her, Coop. Do we have an understanding here?”
“Yes,” he bit out.
“Great.” She grabbed Cooper by the coat lapels. “Then get your head out of your ass and back in the game, because this shitstorm is only going to get worse.” She pulled him down to her level. “And I don’t want to lose you either, damn it.”
Natalie went up on her toes and kissed him. From my front row seat, she went in hard and fast, steaming up my eyeballs, ending with a tug on his lower lip with her teeth. Then, in a blink, it was over.
She licked her lips, not meeting his wide eyes. “Be careful out there tonight, Detective.” Without another word, she walked inside, closing the door behind her.
Cooper and I stared after her.
“Sweet shnookerdookies!” I looked at Cooper. “What was that?”
He ran his fingers over his lower lip. “ ‘Pretending,’ you say?”
I shrugged. “Nat was never very good at holding her cards close to the chest when it came to men.” Which explained why she was currently supposed to be on a year’s sabbatical after numerous, spontaneous relationships that ended in ugly disasters.
His radio crackled to life, shaking us both out of our stupor.
“I have to go. Tell Nyce I’ll stop by the gym in the morning.”
“Keep your head low, Coop. We need you and those damned guns of yours with us in Slagton.”
“That’s ‘Cooper’ to you, Parker,” he said, giving me a rare smile that showed his teeth.
I watched him stride across the lawn to his police rig, keeping my fingers crossed that Mr. Haskell’s body was still chilling at the morgue.
Chapter Nineteen
Tuesday, December 18th