by Deanna Chase
“So Olivia told you about this case?” Jessica said, catching her breath.
“In her own way.”
She looked down for a moment. “She’s an angel, right?”
Of death, but I didn’t make the correction. Olivia didn’t tell many people about her change in station and that was her business. “Why?”
She shrugged, trying to look nonchalant though she was anything but. “Does that mean she can perform miracles?”
“What sort of miracle did you have in mind?” Like I even needed to ask. She’d want her magic back. To be healed from whatever was still plaguing her. Even though I told Sy all she needed was to be useful, that wasn’t completely true. Something was wrong with her, but I couldn’t quite sense what yet. There was no doubt that having a purpose would help her, but that wouldn’t solve all her issues. The weakness was concerning. And even worse was the faint smell of illness that lingered around her.
Jessica looked in the opposite direction. “She could bring back the people I hurt. I mean if she wanted to.”
I took a deep breath. It wasn’t easy taking a life. Even when the person was bad or attacking you, it still clung to you and seeped into your identity. I couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be if the lives weighing on you were innocent. “I don’t think anyone can do that.”
She swallowed hard and nodded.
We were quiet the rest of the way to my apartment. I went back to the bedroom, grabbing a bag of cheese puffs on my way. I opened my closet and stared into the sea of black leather as I munched on the cheesy goodness. “Exactly which part of what I’m wearing needs to change?” I called.
Jessica poked her head around the doorframe. “Do you have anything that isn’t leather?”
I pulled out a pair of jeans that had weapon pockets down the legs and plenty of stretch.
She shook her head. “Too Lara Croft.” She entered my room, stepping over the piles of clothes littering my floor. I didn’t always have time for laundry. “Keep the leather pants, but lose the boots. Try these.” She handed me a pair of black sneakers I didn’t even remember owning. While I was putting on the shoes, she got her bag and pulled out a gray T-shirt with a picture of Marilyn Monroe on it. “Better,” she pronounced when I was changed.
I glanced in the mirror. I didn’t see that big of a difference other than I was less protected. The necklace, however, did grab my attention. I actually liked the feel of the stone lying flat against my chest just below my neck. Jewelry really wasn’t my thing, but this could work.
***
Our first stop was Amy Walters’ viewing. I took off the necklace and handed it to Jessica. “You stay here. I just need to see the body.”
She nodded. “What will that tell you?”
“Hopefully, it’ll give me a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”
I left the keys in the car and headed inside. Weaving my way through Amy’s family and friends, careful not to touch anyone, I slipped into the chapel. A closed white coffin sat at the front of the room. If I opened it, someone would notice. But if I didn’t, I wouldn’t get to see one of the bodies. I had already missed the other two victims’ funerals. Amy was my last chance.
“How are you going to do it?” Jessica whispered to me.
“I told you to stay in the car,” I said.
“It’s dark outside, I looked suspicious, and I had to pee.”
I shook my head, but while she was here, I could use a distraction. “You need to cause a scene and get everyone looking back here so I can take a peek in there.” I pointed at the front of the room.
She started shaking her head before I even stopped talking. “No. Absolutely not. Get a better plan.”
“You’re the one who didn’t wait in the car. You’re the one who wanted to help.”
She pursed her lips. “To help find a killer. Not ruin someone’s funeral.”
I stretched my arms, pushing her hard to the side so she fell into a couple of plant stands, sending them and herself crashing to the floor. Everyone looked, and I rushed to the front of the room and lifted the lid a few inches, peeking inside. It was empty.
I closed the lid quietly and turned to see a kid staring wide-eyed at the casket, looking on the verge of tears as he pulled on his mom’s sleeve trying to get her to turn around. Jessica, completely red-faced, was helped to her feet as other people cleaned up the plants. She glared at me as I slipped past her and back into the reception area.
“I heard the police came to the funeral home and took her body,” a woman wearing bright red lipstick whispered to another. “Can you believe it? I can’t even imagine what David and Bitsie are going through.”
I headed in their direction.
“Wasn’t she in a coma?” the other woman asked. “Why would the police want her body?”
The lipstick woman crossed her arms. “Why does a perfectly healthy girl suddenly not wake up? The whole thing is strange.”
“Surely they won’t bury an empty casket,” her friend said.
“The burial has been postponed.”
Chapter 4
“I hate you,” Jessica said as I got in the car. “Please tell me you found something.”
I laughed and started the engine. “The casket was empty. Apparently the police are holding the body.”
She wrinkled her nose. “That’s weird. So what now? The morgue? Are we going to break into the police station?”
That was a good question. The morgue, the police station, or the hospital records might turn up some good information, but it wouldn’t be the whole story. The woman at the funeral said Amy had been in a coma. What about the other two girls Jessica found on the site? Were they in comas too? “We need to talk to the people who posted on that site,” I said, easing out into traffic. “Can you find their addresses?”
Jessica already had her phone out, typing with her thumbs. “Megan Davis is too common. I don’t have any way to narrow down the search. But we might have a hit on Virginia Mailer.” She let her phone direct us to a house north of the city in a quiet suburb. After I parked, I put the necklace back on.
“Should we call or something? It feels weird just barging in.”
“I planned on knocking,” I said as I got out of the car.
She rushed to catch up. “What’s your story going to be?”
“That I’m researching Old Hag syndrome.” I knocked on the front door.
An exhausted looking man opened it a few moments later.
“Is Virginia Mailer home?” I asked.
“What’s this in regard to?” He glared at us. “Who are you?”
“I want to talk to your daughter about her nightmares,” I said and he blinked.
“We’re reporters for the Times,” Jessica said quickly. “We’re doing a story for Halloween about Old Hag syndrome. We’d like to ask her some questions about her experiences.”
He rubbed a hand over his forehead. “That’s impossible. She has been in a coma for the past week. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with her or if she’ll…” His voice trailed off, his fear and pain evident.
“She isn’t the only one,” I said. “It started with nightmares, right? Then one day she just didn’t wake up.”
He closed his eyes briefly. “Come inside.” He offered us a seat at the dining room table. “How did you know all of that?”
I motioned at Jessica. “As my colleague said, there’s at least one other young women with the exact same story who recently passed away. I believe they’re connected.”
He nodded slowly. “Why are you here and not the police?”
“Right now, I only have the general picture. We need specifics on how the girls became ill before we can take this to the authorities,” I said.
“Like maybe they all went to the same gym or had the same doctor,” Jessica said. “Or maybe they were given some sort of drug?”
“Ask your questions.” His arms hung limp at his sides.
“When did the nightmar
es start?”
“I’m not exactly sure. Around the thirteenth, maybe. That’s the first time I remember her mentioning the bad dream. But I don’t see what this could possibly have to do with…what happened.”
“We’re looking at every angle,” Jessica said.
“And did anything else out of the ordinary happen? Did she mention meeting anyone new or feeling sick or rundown?”
“I remember my wife telling her she looked tired and Virginia saying she hadn’t been sleeping well. But, honestly, we didn’t think anything of it.” Footsteps creaked the floorboards overhead. He glanced at the ceiling. “Is that all?”
“Unless there’s anything else you can think of,” I said. “Anything strange at all?”
The footsteps approached the dining room and his knee bounced. “You mean beside a twenty-year-old falling into a coma? No, nothing.” He stood up.
“Her hair’s going gray,” a woman in a bathrobe said, standing in the doorway. “Since she went into the hospital. She’s too young for that, Jerry.”
I nodded. “What hospital is she in?”
“Mercy,” the woman said.
“Do you stay with her at night?” I asked.
“Pam never left her side for two weeks,” Jerry snapped. “But it won’t help Virginia for her mother to run herself into the ground. She needs a good night’s sleep.”
I nodded. “Has anyone come to visit her that you didn’t know?” I asked.
Pam shook her head. “Find out what happened to her. Please help my baby.”
I nodded.
Jessica stared at the floor as we headed for the door. On the way back to my car, a man in a suit approached the house. He nodded at us as we passed. “Good evening,” he said.
Jessica mumbled it back, not looking up.
I glanced back over my shoulder. The man had stopped and was watching us walk away. I caught a glimpse of a shoulder holster just under his jacket. Police officer. I opened my unlocked door and got inside, still feeling his eyes on us.
“Why is that guy staring at us?”
I took a deep breath as I flipped on my headlights and went back into the city. “I have no idea. Can you find the address for Mercy hospital?”
The streetlights buzzed by as she guided us. Virginia’s graying hair meant that we weren’t dealing with a ghost or evil spirit, so possession was off the board. That left me with vampire or witch. Either of which made the investigation more dangerous for Jessica. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“No,” Jessica said. “I’m good.”
I glanced at the clock. It wasn’t too late yet. I parked the car at the hospital and we hiked inside. The reception desk directed us to Virginia’s room on the fifth floor. Inside, a girl with a young face smattered with freckles lay on the bed, unmoving. The steady beat of the heart monitor was comforting in some way. Her dark hair spread out over the pillow was streaked with white.
“She’s not going to bite,” a man’s voice came from behind us. A male nurse gave us a grin as we looked at him. “Go on. Go in and talk to her. It’s good for her to know her friends are here.”
“I barely know her,” I said, pushing Jessica forward. Having a partner was sort of fun.
“Has there been any change in her condition?” I asked.
He shook his head. “Not yet, but there’s always hope.” He stepped out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.
Jessica stood by Virginia’s bed, looking down at her. “Her face is so young.”
“Do you sense anything sort of magic around her?” I asked.
Jessica shook her head. “But even if there is, I don’t think I could feel it anymore. Are there any marks we should be checking for?”
I shook my head. Neither vampires nor witches would leave a trace of anything behind. “How many other girls wrote into that site?”
“Just one more in the area. Megan Davis.”
If Amy was dead and Virginia had been in a coma for two weeks, I was willing to bet Megan was in a similar condition. Someone had to do something to help them. I had two choices: I could sit here and wait for the person responsible to come back or I could hunt him/her down on my own. I wasn’t a sit and wait sort of girl.
“I’ll take you back to my place. There are some nonhumans I need to talk to,” I told Jessica.
She shook her head. “I’ll stay here.”
I didn’t like leaving her alone, but having someone posted at the hospital would cover all the bases. “Are you sure you can handle it?”
Her eyes lingered on Virginia. “Yeah.”
“Call if anything happens.” I closed the door behind me and started for the elevator. Looked like I needed to find Corbin after all.
Chapter 5
By the time I made it back to my car I had called Corbin twice, but both times the number came back as disconnected. That was a problem. There were only two vampires I had worked with before and of those two, I only trusted one of them—barely. And that was Corbin.
Vampires were loners. They didn’t hang out with other vampires, not normally. And they weren’t well liked in the Abyss either, which meant they could be hard to find. He had his favorite places, but I didn’t have time for a long drawn out search. I went with my back up plan: Paolo, Corbin’s employer and informal leader of the vampires.
The Horse Head Pub, which was actually an Abyss establishment and one of Paolo’s frequent haunts, was first on my list. All I needed to do was find Paolo and see if he would tell me how to get in touch with Corbin. Though I wasn’t his favorite person, his friendship with Sy meant he’d probably help me.
I slipped the necklace off and into my pocket before I went inside. The room was noisy and packed with everything from trolls to pixies. However, vampires were in short supply as they were every night. I headed up to the bar.
“Have you seen Paolo tonight,” I shouted over the noise.
The bartender shook his head.
“Corbin?” I asked.
He pointed toward the back of the room and moved on to the next person. Squeezing my way through the groups of people laughing and talking, I made it all the way to the end of the room and didn’t see him. Damn bartenders. I’d started back to the front when I finally spotted Corbin’s white blond hair. He was glaring down at his drink, gently rolling the glass in his hand.
“I’ve been looking for you,” I said, taking a seat. “But I honestly didn’t expect to find you here.”
“Did I say you could sit?” Corbin growled.
“I need your help.” I nudged him with my foot, trying to get him to look up.
“I need another drink,” he said, holding up his empty glass. He finally looked at me. “You know where Thomas is?”
I shook my head. “This is about something else. Girls are being killed.”
“I probably didn’t do it.” He slammed the glass down and it shattered in his hand. Blood welled and dripped on the table, one drop then two before it healed. “Sleeping girls aren’t really my vintage,” he mumbled.
I didn’t mention the girls were asleep. He knew who was doing this or at least knew something about it. “What do you know?”
He stared at me with dead eyes, his usual mischievous spark dulled. “I’m not interested.”
I noisily sighed. “Corbin—”
“Are you deaf? I’m not helping you or anyone. Get the hell out of here before I find my appetite.”
I flicked a piece of ice at him. “How about you stop feeling sorry for yourself for a moment and tell me what you know? I’m really not clear on why you’re so melodramatic. So you can’t have Selene. Too damn bad. Get over it. There are people we all have to live without. You never had her to begin with. Move on.”
His hand darted out and he grabbed the back of my neck, jerking me forward. Anger glittered in his eyes. “Say her name again and die. How’s that for clarity?”
“Get off your ass and help me find a killer. Maybe you’ll feel better.” I jabbed a sharp
ened fingernail at his chest. “Figure out a way to move on with your life.”
He let go of me, leaning back in his seat. “You seem to be confusing me with your friends. It’s none of my business who kills whom. Why would I help you? What’s in it for me?” He leaned forward again. “Unless you’re prepared to make it worth my time.”
He wanted Thomas—a vampire I once had short-lived feelings for. Even on the best days, life was complicated. Today it was impossible. If Corbin found Thomas on his own and brought him to justice for his crimes, I wouldn’t shed any tears. He had it coming, but…I was already shaking my head. “I’d hate to interrupt your busy wallowing schedule. I’ll figure it out on my own, jackass.”
He shrugged and didn’t even bother to watch me leave. So much for that idea. I walked past my car. I needed to think. Vampires fed, but usually they were pretty good about not killing the person. It could be a new vampire, but then why the coma? Why not just finish the job? A dark witch on the other hand, what would be the gain? And why at Halloween? Was it a coincidence or meaningful?
“It’s not a vampire,” Corbin said, sneaking up on me—not an easy thing to do.
“No one likes someone who’s wishy-washy. If you aren’t helping, then butt out.”
He leaned against the building. “I’m here.”
I crossed my arms. “And why is that? Maybe you’re just here to mislead me?”
“I’m only going to say this once, so listen. If helping you makes you half as loyal to me as you are to Thomas, maybe there’s a benefit to me.”
“I’m not going to help you find him.”
Corbin went still as a corpse. It was always disturbing when vampires did that. “We’ll see. Back to your case, though. It’s not a vampire.”
“How do you know? How did you know they were sleeping?”
“If a vampire steps out of line, I set them straight. That’s my job.” His voice ran down my spine like ice water. “This isn’t a vampire. Trust me. We all slip, but you have no idea how hard it would be stop once you got to that point.”
I nodded. “Could you do it?”
The corner of his mouth barely lifted. “You want to find out?”