by Mary May
“One more question and you can go. We really appreciate you talking to us, Jazzy. Whose name were you going to say a minute ago? We are only interested in talking to them to see if we can trace a path to the people who are making this stuff. It’s pure poison. Surely you can see that, right? We don’t want more kids like Noah to end up in a pine box.”
Jazzy looked at Sloan with a guarded expression, chewing the black lipstick from her bottom lip. “Do you swear, like really swear on something important to you that you will not mention my name? I’m like… for real serious. This dude is not one to double cross. He would probably kill me just to pass the time on a slow day so I sure don’t want to give him a reason, you know?”
“I promise you that your name will never be mentioned, and if you ever feel scared or unsafe, here is my card. You can call me day or night and I will come get you.” Jaxon handed the girl her card.
Jazzy took the card and without even looking at it stuffed into the back pocket of her jeans. “If I ever do call, you better bring the giant with you. Zero would like nothing better than for a beautiful woman like you to come see him. I’m telling you for real…don’t come alone.” She looked up at Sloan once more who nodded, indicating she was free to go.
After Jazzy left, Jaxon looked over at Sloan. “So, what do you think? Should we tell the mom that her son wasn’t quite the angel she thought he was?”
Sloan shook his head. “Let’s hold off on that right now. There is no need in marring her memory of her son. She would likely blame herself if things were as Jazzy said.”
“We need to find this Zero guy. He sounds like a real charmer. I think we should take Higgins with us when we go.”
“I’m glad that you listened to her and aren’t planning on going alone. That would be very foolish.” Sloan eyeballed her with meaning.
“Hey, I have no death wish. I am well aware of my limitations and I’m also aware of my abilities. I do a good job of taking care of myself. But how often will I have my own personal giant? I figure I better make good use of you while you’re here.” She gave him a smirky little grin. “Besides, how far would I have gotten if I had tried to go alone?”
“Not very.”
“That’s what I thought,” Jaxon replied. After they had spoken with Noah’s parents and once more assured them that they would find the makers of the drug that took their son’s life, they returned to Jaxon’s house, a very big mess and an upset Higgins.
Jaxon stared in shock and dismay at what used to be her very comfortable sofa. She turned to the dog who was mean-mugging her while sitting right in the middle of his crime.
“You don’t even look ashamed of yourself!” she scolded. Higgins held her gaze without wavering.
Sloan chuckled, “Clearly he remembers your pajamas and has lost all fear and respect for you. I did warn you.”
Jaxon threw a chunk of foam padding that once was a seat cushion at Sloan’s head. “This is no laughing matter! He just destroyed my couch! I thought he was trained. Obviously, he didn’t graduate top of the class.” Sitting down in the remaining chair, she glared at the dog.
“Jaxon, he isn’t used to being alone. Don’t you remember Mrs. Wallace saying that he was trained to never leave Noah’s side? He must be very confused and having separation anxiety.”
“So, you are telling me that I have to take him with me every time I leave the house?”
“Either that or invest in concrete furniture.”
“Are you sad, Higgins? Do you miss Noah?” Jaxon asked the dog who was watching her with soulful eyes. The tip of his tail flicked once as a low whine vibrated his chest.
“Oh, you poor thing… come here, boy. I’m sorry I left you alone.” Higgins jumped down off the ruined couch and approached Jaxon slowly. She cupped his large head in her hands and felt her heart break at the sadness she saw in his eyes. “It’s ok. I know this is really my fault. But can we work on finding better ways of communicating my screw-ups? I will go broke replacing furniture all the time. You know they don’t pay me much.” Whether or not the dog understood her words or maybe just her tone, he laid a massive paw on her leg and Jaxon took it as a non-verbal agreement between them.
The next morning Jaxon walked into work with Higgins on a leash. As usual, Sloan was waiting for her. He nodded toward the dog walking beside her.
“So, I guess you decided you weren’t into the Fred Flintstone look of rock furniture?”
Jaxon laughed as she told Higgins to lie down under her desk.
“The rock furniture looked good for Fred and Wilma, but it’s a tough look to pull off without the cave.” She arched her brow at him. “So, what do you do? Watch cartoons when things get slow in Heaven?”
Sloan waggled his eyebrows at her. “Maybe we do. So, what’s on the agenda today?” He waited until Jaxon had returned with her usual cup of caffeinated syrup that she called coffee before questioning her plans for the day.
“I think we need to check a couple of things off our list. First, I want to try to track down this Zero guy, see if we can shake any information out of him, and by ‘we,’ I mean you.” Sloan nodded, accepting his role as the shake-down guy. “Next, I think we need to backtrack on some of the previous suicide killer victims and see if we can find some kind of connection.”
“Other than the fact they have all been men, they seem pretty random,” Sloan commented.
Jaxon nodded. “That’s my point. Most serials have a ‘type’ of victim that they go for with few exceptions. For some reason, I think this guy is being overly random. Picking your average Joe’s and…” She trailed off as her head jerked upward to stare at Sloan.
“What?” he asked.
“They were all clean, no drugs in their systems. Every one of them had blood as clean as the driven snow. That’s our connection!” Jumping up, she grabbed Higgins’ leash and took off, making Sloan scramble to catch up with her.
“Where are we going? And not to knock your idea, but not being a drug user is a pretty small connection. Most people don’t use, you know?” he asked once he caught up with her.
“I’m going to go see Mollie and see if she has the toxicology report on the blood we found at the warehouse. If it’s clean, then we at least know why people are being killed. The next step is finding out who is killing them.”
They found Mollie deep in her lair, as she jokingly called her lab in the basement of the building. As usual, she had her eyes stuck to a microscope looking at who knew what.
“Hey, Mollie girl, what’s shaken in the basement?”
Pulling away from the microscope, Mollie flashed her a smile. “Hi, not much. What’s happening in your world?” Then her eyes landed on Sloan.
“Just where is my feather, you big thief? How dare you take off with the most fun thing I’ve had to play with in forever! Give. It. Back!” She accentuated her words with firm pokes into Sloan’s chest, making him step back a few steps.
“Hey, Mollie, I’m sorry. I needed it and now I don’t know exactly where I put it. But if it turns up, I will return it. I promise.”
The look on Mollie’s face should have clued him in on what was about to take place. But it didn’t.
“YOU LOST IT? YOU FREAKING LOST IT?” she yelled at maximum volume, making Jaxon cover her ears and Higgins whine as he tried to cover his. Sloan just backed up a few feet, his eyes blinking rapidly as he looked to Jaxon for help. But help was not to be had as she shook her head and laughed at him.
“I told ya, Buddy -- you’re on your own with this. I knew she would blow a fuse. We don’t call her Steam Boat Mollie for nothing.”
Sloan watched in utter dismay as the tiny redhead stomped around her lab muttering very unladylike things under her breath.
“How can I fix this?” he whispered to Jaxon.
“Just give her the feather back!” she hissed at him.
“You know I can’t do that,” he said, giving her a pointed look.
Jaxon shrugged. “Well, if you can’
t return the toy you lost, you better give her a new one that is just as good.”
“Such as?”
“Don’t ask me. You’re the one who has lived for go zillion years; you figure out something.”
After giving her a thanks-for-nothing look, Sloan carefully approached the lab-tech who was still simmering.
“I can’t return the feather, but what if I give you something else to play with?” he offered.
She shot him a less-than-enthusiastic look. “No way you can top that feather. I have never had something so totally kick my butt like that thing did. It was priceless to me, Sloan, priceless.”
Sloan winced at her woe-be-gone expression. “I promise, I will find something that you will love just as much.”
“Whatever, but don’t expect me to hold my breath.” She turned back to Jaxon. “So, was there a reason for your visit other than to rip my heart into teeny tiny pieces?”
“Oh! Actually, there was. Have you gotten the toxicology report back from the blood that was found in the warehouse?”
“Yep, just came back this morning, as a matter of fact. I haven’t even had a chance to look at it yet. Let me go get it.” Mollie retuned a minute later with a large manila envelope in her hands, tugging at the seal.
“You know what I think the report will say? I think it will say the blood was human and that it was clean,” Jaxon said as Mollie pulled the report from the envelope.
Mollie read in silence for a few seconds before looking up at Jaxon. “You could have spared the precinct some money on tests, because you are right on both counts. What do you know that we don’t?”
“I don’t know anything for sure yet, but I have some strong suspicions.”
Chapter 9
Sloan walked with Jaxon down the street behind the park. Both were dressed very casually, trying to blend in with the crowd. Jaxon couldn’t help but laugh as Sloan caused every head to turn with his height and ultra-white hair. He stuck out like a cow in a pony show. Maybe she should say a giraffe in a pony show. None-the-less he was what he was, so they had to do the best they could. They had just hit the end of the block when Sloan jerked her to a stop.
“What’s wrong? Do you see something?”
Sloan didn’t answer. He grabbed her hand and walked her quickly across the street and behind a large moving van. Once there, he lifted one hand, keeping the other firmly wrapped around hers, and pointed back to where they had just been.
When she looked to where he was pointing, she thought she was going to be sick. There was a group of young people walking around the corner into view. It was a mixed group of male and female ranging in ages from seventeen to early twenties. They appeared normal enough unless you hand an angel holding your hand allowing you to see the demons that were sinking into their bodies. Some only had a foot or a leg submerged into their human host, but others were all in, leaving only a bony, oozing protrusion showing where they had entered. After the teens had passed, Jaxon leaned against the van, looking up at Sloan.
“So, that’s what demon possession looks like?” she asked as she tried to hold her lunch in her stomach.
“Most of the time. Then there are always the ones that take immediate possession. It looks a little different.”
“How so?”
“You can’t see any sign of them. No entrance wound, no lumps or bumps. The human looks perfectly normal.”
“Then how do you know its possessed?” Jaxon questioned.
“You don’t until the demon reveals itself. It can be so deeply rooted that only extreme manipulation can bring it to the surface,” Sloan answered.
“What would bring on an immediate possession?”
“A few things. The first being if the person actually invited it to take over.” He stopped when Jaxon held up her hand.
“Hold on… some people actually want this?” she asked in disbelief.
Sloan nodded. “Well, they think they do anyway. Of course, they have no idea what they are getting into. Some think they can control these things to do their bidding. What they don’t realize is the demon has control all along. It might play with them for a while like a cat will play with a mouse. But in the end, we all know what happens to the mouse.”
“What are the other cases?” she asked.
Peering over her head, Sloan shook his head. “We will have to have demon possession 101 later…I think I just spotted Zero.”
Jaxon peeked out from behind the van, but all she saw was this kid who was all of five foot six and a hundred and ten pounds, including his thick glasses. No way this was the infamous Zero. Craning her neck, she looked further up the street then back down the opposite direction.
“Where is he?” she asked, still looking up and down the street.
“That’s him, the skinny guy,” Sloan pointed with a nod of his head.
Jaxon scoffed. “That’s who Jazzy told me not to approach alone? That’s just insulting.”
“Don’t let his size or looks fool you, Jaxon. That’s our guy and he is likely every bit as dangerous as Jazzy let on. The demon will give him strength and skills that would surprise you,” Sloan cautioned.
“But how do you know? He just looks like a kid to me.” Jaxon looked back at the nerdy teenager trying to see something dark or ominous about him.
“Because that’s our girl Jazzy tailing him.”
“If he so dangerous, why is she doing that?” Jaxon asked with a puzzled look.
“I don’t know; how about we find out?” With that he grabbed her hand and took off down the street after the young girl.
“I’m guessing we are in super sneaky angel mode again?”
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. The only way to travel.”
“I wish I had this ability. Think of the crimes I could solve or even prevent.”
“It’s a handy trick, I won’t lie.” Sloan agreed.
“Ha! Not that you could,” she quipped.
“I have been meaning to ask you: what did you do with Higgins? I notice he isn’t with us.” When Jaxon grinned up at him, he groaned.
“Rawlings is going to fire both of us.”
“Probably, but lucky for you this is just a temporary job. But unless he goes to the basement to see Mollie, we should be fine.”
They continued to follow Jazzy, who was following Zero, for about another block before Zero turned down an alley, stopping at a door that looked like it hadn’t been opened in about century. He glanced around then knocked three times then one time then two more times. Jaxon made a mental note to remember the secret knock in case they ever needed it. But she couldn’t help but snicker at how juvenile it was.
The door opened, allowing Zero to enter. Jazzy stayed where she was hidden behind an overflowing dumpster. But she did pull a notebook out of her beat-up backpack and write something in it. She then turned and walked back the way she came, right past Sloan and Jaxon.
“I would love to know where she is going and what she wrote in her notebook.”
“Yeah, me, too. But right now, I’m more interested in what is happening behind that door,” Sloan said as he tugged on her hand, leading her to the rusted metal door.
“I remember the super-secret knock if you need it.” Jaxon gave him slight grin.
“Thanks, but I’m good.” And with those words he walked right through the door, dragging a protesting Jaxon right behind him.
The room they stepped into was dimly lit with nothing to indicate what it was used for. Stepping into a hallway, they heard voices in a room a few doors down. They walked up to it with Sloan putting his finger to his lips, indicating that Jaxon should stay quiet.
“How can they hear us? We’re invisible,” she asked barely above a whisper.
“The humans can’t hear us, but the demons can and, judging from the way my skin is prickling all over, there must be a lot of them behind that door.”
A less-than-thrilled look crossed Jaxon’s face. “I’m guessing they can see us, too, right?”
&nbs
p; “Of course, they can.” Sloan assured her. “I’m actually thinking we need to leave and I will come back alone and check out the place.”
“No! I want to be with you. I can help.”
Leveling a “don’t argue with me look” at her, Sloan shook his head.
“I have no idea what we may be walking into. Your safety comes first. I will take you home then come right back.” Before Jaxon could offer up further protests, she found herself back at her house…alone.
“Great, that’s just great. He could have at least dropped me off at my car,” Jaxon muttered as she flopped down in the one remaining chair. As soon as she sat down, her cell phone starting beeping, indicating missed calls and text messages. Fishing it out of her back pocket, she was surprised to see that she had several of each. Looked like cell phone signals didn’t reach inside the “angel zone.” Not surprising was the fact they were all from her boss. Sighing, she called his number. When he answered, he was already yelling. Holding the phone away from her ear slightly, she waited for him to stop and catch his breath.
“Sir, I know you’re upset about the dog, but it was an emergency. Sloan and I had gotten a good tip and we couldn’t bring him.”
“Do you not have a home, Malone? That thing ate my chair!” Rawlings bellowed.
Jaxon cringed. “I will replace your chair, sir. I am really sorry, but we didn’t have time to take him anywhere and he has separation issues. I left him with Mollie. Why do you have him?” Knowing Higgins’ aversion to her boss, she hoped the chair was all he tore into.
“Mollie had to leave and had no clue where you live, so she dropped him off in my office. I had to make Deputy Collins go inside and get him and lock him up in a cell. Let’s see if he can chew through concrete and steel. When will you be back and when will my chair be replaced?” he demanded.
“Umm… I don’t know when I will be back exactly, but I will replace your chair as soon as possible. Again, my apologies.” She winced when the phone was slammed down in her ear.