"Tempted?" Crwys said. "Were still in his world?"
Levi said, "That's why we're trying to find out who's doing it and stop them."
"And you believe this man, this Solomon, is he?" Brave nodded to the Mustang.
Crwys held up his hand. "Tempted for what? Are you saying that Samedi is missing?"
Brave looked at Crwys. “Talk to the man of numbers.”
"We don't know—" Tas looked a bit flustered, answering Brave, who looked away from Crwys and back to her. "I don't want to believe the God Mother would force a man to commit such things."
"She would not," Brave said. "I think you have more pieces to this mystery before you can find your answers. And I think…" He smiled, showing very white, very straight teeth. "Your suspect has escaped you."
Crwys, Tas and Levi turned and saw the car door open. Crwys couldn't see the retreating back of Solomon anywhere, and when he tried to sense the man with his nose, all he could smell was…incense?
Tas and Levi ran past the Mustang and then stopped.
"Dammit," Levi said as he turned back to face Crwys and then stopped, wide eyed.
Tas also turned and then put her hand to her mouth.
When Crwys turned, he nearly stumbled to his knees. The community, the well, the buildings, all of it, including the people inside of it, were gone. All that remained were the trees that had been growing there for several decades.
After an exhaustive search of the woods, everyone dispersed for the night and Crwys drove home. On the way there, he tried calling Sam after seeing several missed calls from her but no messages. When she didn't answer, he got a little worried, but once he saw her Jeep in the parking area and found her upstairs in their apartment, asleep on the couch, he breathed a sigh of relief. He eyed the empty grape juice container and the half-filled glass on the coffee table. He'd never really known her to binge on juice before. He personally didn't like it. Too sweet.
His phone vibrated and he checked it as he stood between the couch and the coffee table. But he didn't find a message. Then he heard someone banging on the door of the shop, below the open doors of their veranda. Shoving the phone into his back pocket, he stepped out and looked down to see a small truck and a guy in a cap. "Hey," he called down.
The guy stepped back and looked up. Young. Chewing gum. "You Crew-is Holliard?"
Crwys smirked. "It's pronounced cruise. Like you're taking a cruise. It's me."
"Got a package here for you? Gotta have your signature."
He met the guy at the front door to the shop and signed for it. Once he had the store's door locked again, he opened the envelope. Ah, these were the pictures Quan promised. He'd sent hard copy and…a small flash drive slid out of the envelope. Electronic copy. Guess he didn't trust email. It was just after nine o'clock, so he called Kyle to see if he and Jack were still up.
"Crwys—"
"Hey, I got the shots. Quan sent hard copies and a flash drive. You seen Ivan?"
There was a pause. "Ivan's in ICU. Over at Tulane. That's where Jack and I are."
"What?" Crwys put his hand to his chin. "What happened?"
"According to Arden, she's here too, and Dharma, he went deep diving and didn't come out. Stopped breathing. He's on a ventilator. Sam was here earlier—did she not call and tell you?"
Crwys closed his eyes, remembering the missed calls. "You know…she did call me a dozen times and I never answered. She's asleep upstairs. Looks like she OD'd on sugar with some juice."
"She was probably upset." Kyle's voice became muffled and Crwys imagined him moving the phone, then, "Can you bring the photos here? Arden would like to see them too."
"You got Arden involved?" It wasn't that he didn't like Arden—scratch that. He didn't like Arden. Not even a little bit. Not after everything that'd happened to Sam and then having her dragged into Parliament earlier in the day. On second thought…he'd like to give the old Witch a piece of his mind. "I'll be there soon as I can." He hung up and went back upstairs to check on Sam. She was still asleep. Pretty heavily asleep too, so he covered her in a blanket and left her a note on the coffee table. With a kiss on her cheek, he headed out and drove to Tulane Medical Center.
The nurses in triage waved to him as he stepped in and said, "Westerfield."
He was given directions to the third-floor ICU and nearly walked right into Arden as he stepped off the elevator. She stopped, and he stopped, and then she stepped back. "Holliard."
"Vervain," he said as he continued staring at her. He liked doing that, because of all the people he'd watched her with, it seemed his stare was the hardest to ignore. "You care to tell me what the hell you people are doing?"
"I'm sorry?"
"Dragging my wife into one of your Parliament meetings? I know she hasn't informed anyone, except you, that she's not a Witch anymore, but someone whispered in Cosgrove’s ear and told him—"
She held up her hand. "Crwys, before you get all Dragony mad, listen to me, okay? You’re right, someone did, but it wasn’t me and right now, there's more at stake with her, and you, than you realize. She got a lot dumped on her shoulders this morning."
"Yeah? Like what?"
She seemed to search his eyes as people moved around them to get on the elevator and it closed. "She didn't tell you."
"Tell me what? About Cosgrove knowing?"
"Crwys!" Kyle said as he walked up.
Arden immediately stepped out of the way, but didn't leave. And he wasn't sure about the weird look on her face. So he turned to Kyle. "Hey, how's Ivan?"
"Stable. Arden's moving him to Gypsy Gardens."
And he looked at her again. "What the hell for?"
She waved at him, a pinched look between her brows. "Just trust me for once, Crwys. Will you?"
"Is he in danger?"
"It's a precaution," Kyle said. "And a quiet one, so not many people know he's being moved at all." He motioned for Crwys to move away from the elevator to a more private corner. Arden hung around in the background with Jack. "Someone hit the shop's server with a DDoS attack about a month ago—"
"On a small-time magic shop server?" Crwys made a face. "What the hell for?"
"Oh, so you know what that is. Good. And to answer your question, we don't know. We explained a lot of this to Sam earlier, but what we didn't tell her was the reason he went deep diving to find out who did this. It was because while he was busy with the DDoS, someone got into Sam's personal computer. Ivan found a few bugs, some malware on it, but it wasn't on the mainframe he set up for the shop."
"Malware for what? Was someone trying to snoop on the shop?"
"That's what he suspected, and they got to Sam's computer because it was the least protected. And you know Ivan. You mess with his stuff and he'll hunt you down. So he started diving deeper and deeper to find who was tampering with his things. That's when he told me and Jack that he suspected Sam's computer was the actual target of the attack. That's all he told me before this happened."
Crwys shook his head. "So apparently, he discovered who was doing it, and now he's what…stuck in Cyberspace?"
"Or he's being held back."
"Is that possible?" Crwys's phone buzzed again, as did Jack's, and the two of them looked at their devices. Nothing. "That's like third time it feels and sounds like I'm getting a message, but nothing's there."
"Been happening to me all day. Maybe the service is having issues." Kyle put his phone away. "As for Ivan's discovery, I just don't know enough. Dharma thinks Ivan knows, but he didn't tell her either. She knows he wouldn't leave his body for so long because of what happened with Soul Machine and Kennett."
Crwys agreed, recognizing the hacking group and their ill-fated member, whose body died while he was deep diving into the Cyber World. That guy had been like Ivan, able to manipulate Cyberspace, but he'd abused it and then become a sort of ghost in the machine. He knew how afraid Ivan had been of becoming just like Kennett. "So this is why Arden wants to move him?"
"Mostly.
He's vulnerable here. But we've already proven Arden has better security than the hospital. He'll be fine at Gypsy Gardens, and Arden thinks she knows someone there who can dive in and find him. The same one Ivan was working with." He pointed to the envelope in Crwys's hand. "Those the photos?"
"Yeah." He handed them to Kyle.
Everyone followed the young Hedge Witch to the waiting area and pulled chairs up to a low coffee table. Kyle spread the photos out there and then knelt on the ground in front of them. Jack took a seat behind him.
After studying the pictures and moving them around into little groups, Kyle sat back. "Arden—"
"I see it." She had moved to her knees as well and was looking at a particularly gruesome picture. "They haven't identified the victims yet, have they?"
Crwys shook his head. "No. This person not only removed their faces, he removed fingers and toes too. Dental records are all they have to go on. Might take a little while. So…you two are seeing something?"
"Remember what we talked about concerning Samedi being the keeper of the dead?" Kyle moved a few pictures around. "These altar displays, though mostly different with each victim, have the same basic similarities for the Voodoo angle on this. But they're not being used in the correct way. There's a perversion to them."
"I sort of assumed that was the case." Crwys sat forward. "So what about the other stuff that's not Voodoo?"
"It's there, but it's not grouped together. I noticed Quan had the photos grouped like how I have them. And he's got the backs marked for which victim and the place where they were found. So there are three total?"
"Yeah."
"This is the first victim. This body was found in the back of St. Louis Cathedral. The pieces of the altar that are not Voodoo are a chalice, communion wafers, an incense thurible filled with Frankincense, and silver decanter of wine. All of these are present at communion, when the faithful take in the body of Christ."
Crwys stared at the pictures.
"Victim two." Kyle moved those pictures out. "This victim was found in the backyard of a known Ceremonial Magician. I recognize the house as being one of the ones Sam and I visited during that whole Circe thing. And see all these other things on the altar? You have the basics still used for Voodoo, but all of these others, like the feather and the black chalice? Those are part of a ritual for rebirth."
Crwys glanced at Arden, but she was studying the pictures.
"And this third one—" Kyle moved those pictures closer. "This victim was found at a very special tree, and these extras on the altar are things found on a Beltane altar, for the Witch's renewal, May first. The birth of the Goddess, or the return of the Goddess, with spring."
Jack sat back. "It's all pointing back to rebirth, renewal, resurrection."
"Uh huh," Kyle said. "But Papa Ghede is the common link to each of them."
"Papa Ghede?" Crwys rubbed at his face. "Who’s that?”
“The Loa they’re emulating with the skinned, decorated victims.”
“I thought that was Baron Samedi.” Crwys frowned. “Quan said it was Baron Samedi.”
Jack said, "Who's Papa Ghede?"
Kyle said. "He was the first man to ever die. He stands at the crossroads to bring the dead across. He's the good counterpart to Baron Samedi. He won't take a life before its time. He can read minds and knows everything that happens to the dead in the world.”
“Seems odd that the son of a Mambo would get those two confused?” Jack said softly.
“So,” Levi began. “You’re saying the altars are tailor-made? They start with Papa Ghede and then the perp adds on the personal religious touches of the victim?"
"Yep. I'm betting you'll find your first victim was a Catholic, your second a Ceremonial, and your third a Wiccan. So either this sicko is covering all their spiritual and religious angles when it comes to resurrecting someone, or they're just doing this for equal opportunity. I'm betting their purpose is to bring someone back from the dead."
"But...that's what Solomon said." Crwys snapped his fingers. "He said something like, 'You're like him. But you can't! Dead is dead!' and then, 'I won't let you hurt her!' So this person wants to bring someone back, a woman."
"Unless it's Solomon trying to do the ritual," Arden said.
"I thought that too," Crwys said. "And I still do, but knowing how knowledgeable Solomon is with Southern Conjure—" He looked at Kyle. "This just doesn't sound like him."
"It does and it doesn't," Kyle said. "The fact Solomon mentioned riding her…that's typical of a Loa when they possess a person, what they call a Cheval." He made a face at Crwys. "Is he crazy now?"
"We saw him, in the swamp. He's definitely not right."
Arden looked at him. "You found him? Where was he?"
"Out near Aces land. But don't bother calling Bastien, Solomon's long gone and the people we talked to…they're gone too."
Kyle said, "What aren't you saying?"
"It's just…what do you know about a Houngan living out there named Brave?"
"Brave?" Kyle blinked. "Only person I know named Brave is another Loa figure. Brave Ghede. But he's part of Papa Ghede's family. He guards the graveyard. Wait, you met someone named Brave in the swamp?"
"Yeah."
"Describe him to me."
So Crwys did, and then went on to finish the tale of what he and Tas saw with Solomon. There was silence when he said Solomon got away, then, "Tas and I realize Solomon's actually seen the Eye."
"So what does that mean?" Arden said.
"It means we have to take him back to it," Crwys said. "And hope it will put him right. But he got away from us again." He really didn't want to believe that Solomon Dumaine was responsible for these murders. That someone as respected as he'd been in so many communities in New Orleans could fall so far because of something… Something I did, like allowing him to know the Dragon's Eye exists. This is my fault if it's true.
Again, his phone buzzed and he pulled it out. In fact, everyone sitting there pulled their phones out and looked at them.
"Nothing," Arden said.
"Same here," Kyle said.
Crwys nodded.
Jack said, "I got a message."
Everyone looked at him. He looked at Kyle and then everyone else. "I'm with a different carrier than you guys. Plus, I have my own special security on my phone. What? I don't like getting hacked."
"What does the message say?" Kyle said.
"It's in code. Just a minute." He touched the screen of his phone and then got up and went to the nurses’ station to ask for a pen. He grabbed a form and turned it over. Everyone watched him from where they sat in the waiting area. When he came back, his eyes were wide. He held up the sheet of paper. "I think this is from Ivan."
In Jack's handwriting were the words, "He's going to kill her."
EIGHT
Sam was gone when Crwys finally got home at eight-thirty the next morning. His note was on the floor and his wife hadn't left him a response note. He wondered if she'd even seen his. He showered, changed clothes and looked longingly at the bed, but he had too much to do. Somehow, Ivan had been able to send a message. But just one. They'd waited for more, for something else to make his missive make sense. But when nothing came out of it, Arden, Kyle and Jack left with the ambulance that transferred Ivan. He figured there wouldn't be any more communication.
So he went to the station, did the paperwork he'd been putting off, and finally fell asleep at his desk. One of the other detectives woke him up and made a joke about him and the misses having a fight. So Crwys had checked the time and went home.
After the shower and a quick hello to Jack and Kyle as they came in and opened the shop, Crwys went into Sam's office and turned on the light. He looked around. Not much had changed. Desk. Computer. Couch, full of junk. Mostly boxes. He stepped in and stopped. He thought he caught a whiff of something. Just a brief scent of perfume.
Kyle came in with some paperwork and set it on the desk. "What's wrong?"
"You smell that?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I've caught it on and off for a few days. It's a men's cologne."
"Is it yours or Jack's?"
"Nope. Which is why I noticed it. I asked Sam about it, but she said she didn't smell anything," he paused. "Crwys, are you two okay?"
"What? Oh, us? Yeah sure. Why?"
"You just…the two of you haven't been spending a lot of time together. Not like you used to. I mean, I know why you're keeping her at arm's length…because she's not exactly in a position to defend herself anymore. Can’t even use her guns."
Crwys listened to him and felt something tighten in his chest. He'd heard Kyle, but he'd also heard something else. Something in his voice. "You think she's having an affair with whoever is leaving the scent of cologne?"
Kyle backed up and put his hands in the air. "I didn't say that. I haven't seen anyone, and I'm pretty sure if she was, I'd know it."
Crwys's phone rang. It was Levi. There were reports of a man matching Solomon's description over near St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, so he drove over and he and his partner spent most of the morning talking over the case and searching the area.
Quan called around eleven and let him know there had been another victim, found downtown. After giving Tas a call, he and Levi met her at the scene. This time, only the victim's face had been removed to reveal the muscle and skeleton beneath. The nude breasts said it was female, but her fingers and toes were gone as well. She'd been displayed outside one of the city's boutiques, even though the accoutrements added to the altar were Wiccan. Crwys, Tas and Levi recognized them this time.
"Bets are she's a Witch."
Crwys pursed his lips as he stepped back and looked at the store. A crowd was starting to gather as Prescott drove up and ordered a barricade around the perimeter. The last thing they needed was someone taking a picture of this scene and splashing it across the Internet. She did not like giving criminals, especially perverts, any kind of publicity.
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