Witchy Woman - Book 2 - The Necromancer

by Pamela M. Richter

  Rod sounded so happy Heather felt herself smiling.

  “That’s great,” Heather said. She believed that Michelle and Rod were meant for each other.

  “Yeah, the professor was a great help. I never would have known what to do. How are things going with you and Mike?”

  “We’re on the tenth floor of the hospital, in the laboratory that connects to the fertility clinic, waiting for the cleaning crew in here to finish up so we can see if we can get across the bridge. If the door’s locked we’re out of luck.”

  “Keep me updated,” Rod said. “If you get across, you can see if Michelle’s back in her room on the tenth floor. If she is, maybe you can sneak her out. Let us know if you need us to come and help. We’ll drop off the eggs in the freezer at our hotel, then come back and pick you two up.”

  “Okay,” Heather said and clicked off.

  Waiting was tedious, and pretending to be interested in the papers she shuffled through was even more boring. But it looked like the janitorial staff was finally finishing their work about a half hour later, as they straggled out of the office, one by one, when they finished their cleaning duties.

  Finally they were alone and Mike went over to Heather.

  By mutual accord they didn’t say a word as they went toward the door to the bridge to the fertility clinic. When Mike turned the knob, it opened and he inspected the mechanism. “It looks like it will relock when it closes. We won’t be able to get back in here.”

  Mike went out the door so he was standing on the walkway. The door closed automatically behind him. He felt very exposed. Anyone looking out the windows of either the hospital or the fertility clinic could see him. He was glad he had on the white doctor’s coat for superficial inspection if anyone was looking. But the door had locked behind him. He couldn’t get back in.

  Heather opened the door and he came back inside the lab.

  She went over to a desk and held up some silver adhesive tape that she’d noticed. She handed the roll of tape to Mike and watched while he used it to depress the tongue of the locking mechanism on the door.

  Then he made a ball of the tape and set it at the bottom of the doorway so it wouldn’t close completely. It was almost invisible. “Just in case the tape doesn’t hold the lock open.”

  Heather nodded. “It’d be embarrassing to get locked out—be stuck all night on the walkway.”

  They were both nervous, walking quickly across the bridge to the fertility clinic. Heather felt spectacularly visible with all the hospital windows glaring down above them. It seemed like a long way, although it only took a minute to cross the short stretch.

  When they got to the fertility clinic, Mike tried the door. The ruler he had used to block the door open was still there and they went inside.

  Mike led the way through the laboratory, pointing out the refrigerated case from which he had taken Michelle’s eggs.

  When they reached the stairwell it was quite different than when they had climbed up in total, creepy, shadowy darkness. There were bright florescent overhead lights shining the way. Neither held onto the handrail. It sagged down in places, the black paint was melted away and showed the silver steel underneath, and it sure didn’t look safe. At several places the steel had dripped in puddles down on the steps. For Heather, the observable destruction of that sturdy stair bannister was a reminder of just how powerful Omar was. She shuddered to think of what he could do to a fragile human body if he got angry.

  Since it was late and the elevators were working again, they were the only ones using the stairs. They went down two floors to the tenth floor.

  Heather opened the door and peeked into the hallway. The nursing center desk for the floor was in the middle of the corridor, with patient rooms on both sides of the corridor. The place where the nurse sat was enclosed by glass, with a door to get into the hallway for the patient’s rooms.

  Mike and Heather conferred about how to get to the room where they thought Michelle could be. It was at the other end of the corridor. They’d have to get past the nurse in the middle of the hallway.

  Heather watched the nurse for a while. When she seemed preoccupied with paperwork, Heather darted across the hallway into the closest patient room.

  Inside, the lights were dim. A young woman was asleep in the bed and Heather tip-toed around it quietly, holding her breath, and pressed the black button on the night-stand to call the nurse.

  Mike had the stairwell door open, and when Heather peeked out of the room to see if it was safe for her to leave, he gestured for Heather to wait with his palm up. Then, a few moments later, he gestured frantically for her to run. She concluded that the nurse couldn’t see her, as she had to go through the doorway to get into the hallway for the rooms. She had only a few seconds. Heather scooted back across the hall and went quickly back through the stairwell door.

  With the door cracked open just a bit, they watched and waited as the nurse went down the hallway in response to the call button that had sounded.

  When the nurse went inside the room to check on her patient, Heather was afraid her sandals might be noisy and give them away, so she took them off, holding them in her hands by the straps, as they sprinted for the other end of the corridor, heading to the room where they hoped to find Michelle.

  On the way, they paused momentarily to check each room they passed. There were viewing windows set in the walls beside each of the doors so the hospital personnel could quickly look in on each patient.

  Glancing behind her first to make sure the nurse was still in the patient room, and hadn’t caught on that strangers were on her floor, Heather peeked into the window beside the last door in the hallway. She felt like cheering. She gave Mike a wide smile as they opened the door quietly and slipped inside.

  Heather went over to Michelle and tapped her shoulder, whispering, “Michelle, wake up. We’re taking you home.”

  There was no response. Michelle was so still she didn’t even seem to be breathing.

  Heather looked at Mike with alarm and tried again to awaken Michelle, talking a little louder. Again, there was no response. Heather kept talking to Michelle, taking her hand and squeezing it, begging her to open her eyes. Then she lifted Michelle’s arm and dropped it. It fell like dead weight, flaccid on the bed. Michelle didn’t even twitch.

  “I don’t think this is a natural sleep. I think she’s unconscious,” Heather said, worried.

  There was a beeping machine, which indicated that Michelle still had heart beats, but it was the only sound in the room, until there was a loud ‘meow.’

  Lucifer came out from under the bed and jumped up on it.

  “Hi sweetie,” Heather said to the cat. “You found her.”

  She turned to Mike. “This is abnormal. She should wake up. Rod’s had medical training; his father is a doctor. I’m going to call him.”

  As she took out her phone, Heather could clearly hear muted sounds in the hallway because it was late and so quiet on the floor. Mike hurried over to the viewing window and peeked out. He whispered, “Omar’s here. He’s talking to the nurse.”

  “Oh hell. He’s probably come to check on Michelle,” Heather said. “We have to hide!”

  Chapter 23

  Heather gazed around the hospital room, panicked. It had a bathroom and a closet, but each place was too dangerous. Omar would surely find them. She looked under the bed. Nope, it was too open and visible since hospital beds are high off the floor. He’d probably see them huddled under there.

  “Closet is the only option,” Mike said.

  “Yeah, but we could be stuck in there all night if Omar decides to stay with her.”

  Mike took Heather’s hand, “We’ll have to hide in another room. Quick,” he said, peeking out the window, “Omar’s still talking to the nurse. His back is to us, but we have to be fast.”

  He pulled her out the door and they dashed across the hall into another patient room.

  Inside, it was totally dark. Someone was asleep on the
bed, and luckily she seemed totally out and was facing away from the door. Heather could make out an IV stand, like the one in Michelle’s room.

  In a few moments, there was the squeaking sound of the nurse’s rubber soled shoes, coming down the corridor. They knew Omar was with her, but he didn’t make any noise.

  They both knelt down in front of the viewing window, which was exactly across from the one in Michelle’s room, lifting their heads up just enough to peek out.

  “Your wife is asleep. She probably won’t wake up until morning,” they heard the nurse say.

  Heather turned to Mike and mouthed, “Wife?” He shrugged, shook his head, and raised his eyebrows back at her.

  “I just want to sit with her for a little while,” Omar said to the nurse, and they watched him enter the room.

  “Certainly, Mr. Satinov, take as much time as you’d like,” the nurse answered from the doorway. She turned and walked away.

  The viewing window showed the inside of Michelle’s room quite clearly, as it was directly across from the one in this room. Even more so when Omar turned on the light. It was like seeing inside a lighted goldfish bowl.

  Omar just stood for a minute, looking down at Michelle. Then he hurried over to a chair, picked up her purse, and pawed around inside. He lifted the purse, shook it, and upended the contents on the bed.

  He was frowning as he replaced all the items. Then he went to the closet and opened it. It was empty. They saw him go into the bathroom. He came out quickly, and kneeling by the side of the bed, he bent over, looking under the bed. They heard Lucifer’s growl.

  “Shit,” Heather whispered. “What’s he looking for?”

  Omar opened each of the drawers in a cabinet beside the bed and they saw him scrabbling around inside. He slammed them shut. He seemed to be cursing under his breath angrily.

  “Good thing we left the room. He’s searching for something, and he seems desperate,” Mike said.

  They watched as Omar pulled back a top sheet and a blanket that was keeping Michelle warm. He took the blanket entirely off the bed and shook it. Then he started patting Michelle down, like he was searching her physically.

  “Oh, gross,” Heather whispered. “Good thing she’s asleep. She’d probably whack him.”

  “If he goes on with that, I’ll have to stop him. It’s totally inappropriate,” Mike said angrily, as they watched Omar partially turn Michelle over so he could sweep his hands under her.

  Heather shook her head and whispered to Mike, “We don’t want a confrontation if we can avoid it. He’s too powerful. And I don’t think he wants to hurt Michelle. What he’s done is so inappropriate, anyway; abducting her to a foreign country and stealing body parts. This is just a continuation of his nastiness

  “Now what’s he doing?” Mike said as they watched Omar feel around through Michelle’s long black hair, holding her head up to paw in the back of her hair.

  Next, he held onto her cheekbones with one hand and pulled her jaw down with the other. Omar put a finger in Michelle’s mouth, probed around, and even lifted her tongue. When he finished with her mouth, he closed her jaw again. He put a finger in one ear, and then the other.

  “Maybe we should intervene,” Heather said softly, her eyes wide. “This is getting weird. And Michelle should have awakened with all he’s done. I’m really worried for her. She must be deeply sedated. Good thing Rod isn’t here. He’d be furious, go over there to beat Omar up, and get himself hurt or killed.”

  “Omar’s that dangerous?” Mike asked.

  “Oh, yeah. He tried to kill Rod once. Kicked him right in the head. Luckily, Michelle was there. She stopped him.”

  Mike slowly stood up so he was standing right in front of the viewing window. Heather watched him, alarmed, and then grabbed hold of his sleeve, trying to pull him down.

  She hissed, “What are you doing?”

  If Omar turned around Mike would be totally revealed.

  “I am so stupid,” Mike said. He moved slowly, as though any sudden movement would alert Omar, taking his cell phone out of his pocket.

  “Yeah, you are, if you don’t get the fuck back down here,” Heather whispered urgently.

  Heather watched as Mike took several pictures of Omar and Michelle together in that hospital room. Mike couldn’t get a frontal picture of Omar, but he dodged around the window and did get a few side views, Heather thought. Since the camera was pointed toward a lighted area there wasn’t any flash.

  Mike lowered himself with infinite care until his eyes were just peeking above the viewing window again.

  “We should have thought of it before,” Heather said. “We can send the pictures you took of that guy posing in Omar’s apartment, too. And I know just who to send them to.”

  “Yeah?”

  Now Omar was crawling around on the floor, sweeping his hands as though he would finally find what he was looking for.

  Heather said, “There was a policeman who went to interview Michelle the morning after Wendy fell from Omar’s apartment. It was early morning. I went over to Michelle’s for coffee and to tell her about you, and our date, and about Wendy falling from Omar’s apartment. You were still asleep in my apartment that morning.”

  Mike looked at her and shook his head. “Great bodyguard I am, staying the night to keep you safe. I didn’t even know you’d left.”

  “The police officer had just gone to Michelle’s apartment to find out if she had heard anything during the night when I arrived, and Michelle invited us both in for coffee. I know he’ll remember Michelle. She told him about seeing Wendy the night before, when she went to return the diamond Omar gave her. In fact, he told us that Michelle was probably one of the last people to see Wendy alive. I’m trying to remember that policeman’s name...”

  They were silent as they watched Omar stand up and walk around the bed, thoughtfully. He pulled up the mattress, feeling underneath it. Finally, giving a deep sigh, he appeared totally frustrated as he left the room, not bothering to turn off the light.

  They both ducked down out of sight, until they thought he must be gone, and then lifted their heads up again, slowly.

  Shocked, they ducked down again. Too late!

  Omar was standing in front of the viewing window looking directly down at them both, huddled together on the floor. His smile was awful to see; cruel, malevolent, almost a snarl. But it was his eyes, those mesmerizing eyes, that caused terror in Heather’s heart. They were changing color, almost as though they were beaming a force down upon her. His dark eyes were becoming lighter, quickly, until they were a brilliant yellow, with an infinitely evil black dot in the center that seemed to be sucking up all her energy.

  Heather heard a little sound, like a tiny mouse squeal, and then realized, shocked, that she had made the small cry. She tried to look away from Omar’s eyes, tried to hide from the scary vision she was having, but she was caught. Until she fell to the floor, unconscious.

  She didn’t hear the thump as Mike also collapsed down on the floor.

  Chapter 24

  “I’m not getting any answer,” Rod said, worried. He was sprawled out in the front seat because of his long legs, beside Sammy, who was driving back to the hospital. Vincent was in the back seat.

  They had deposited the package of Michelle’s eggs in the freezer compartment of the mini-frig in Rod’s hotel room. Then began the long drive back to the hospital.

  “Try Mike’s cell,” Vincent said from the back seat.

  “I already did,” Rod answered. He turned to Sammy. “Can’t we go any faster?”

  Sammy glanced sideways at Rod, “I’m way above the speed limit right now. Keep an eye out for police cars.”

  “We’re almost there,” Vincent said. “We should take the same route Mike told us about; through the main hospital into the lab, and then over the bridge to the fertility clinic, where Michelle is.”

  Since it was late at night, they didn’t have trouble finding parking in the large hospital lot. Sammy
decided to stay in the car in case they needed a fast getaway, hopefully taking Michelle from the clutches of a powerfully psychic madman.

  “Gosh, I’m hungry,” Vincent remarked as he and Rod walked through the swishing doors into the hospital. He patted his portly tummy. “Probably do me good to skip a few meals.”

  Rod laughed, “Forgot all about eating. Maybe Heather and Mike went to the hospital cafeteria.”

  “No excuse not to answer their phones,” Vincent said sternly, as they went up in the elevator to the tenth floor. “Omar knows we’re here, no doubt about that. I’m really worried.”

  Rod nodded as they found signs for the location of the laboratory and walked the now almost vacant hospital corridors, further into the building.

  He was worried as well. He’d seen things, almost unbelievable things, that Omar had done in the past. Never ever having believed in the woo-woo stuff, it was hard for him to grasp that some people actually had supernatural abilities. It amused him that his own girlfriend was a powerful witch, according to the professor, who was an expert on the subject. He just hoped she could survive Omar’s strange forces. It was imperative that they get her out of this dangerous situation. Rod knew that once Omar had the eggs from a formidable witch, she would become a hazard to him.

  Omar would have no qualms about murdering the mother of his children.

  The door marked Laboratory was unlocked and they went through the office space into the back. From there they located the door to the bridge that led to the fertility clinic.

  Rod smiled and pointed out Mike’s clever method of keeping the door unlocked to the bridge.

  “I like that young guy,” Vincent said as they crossed the bridge and went into the fertility clinic laboratory.

  “Yeah, he’s been a great help; stealing the eggs and trashing Omar’s sperm. Also, with his computer hacking, he was able to trace Michelle to this fertility clinic and find her doctor. I don’t know if he realized just how dangerous this trip could be, though.”