“I’d say you’re definitely out of time.” I shook my head. “How did you get here from there?”
“I do not possess that answer.” He got up, and walked around the room. “I can see my home, but I do not remember how I got here, or even where or when my home is.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “I’m so sorry. I’m sure it will come back to you.”
“Perhaps.”
He looked lost and alone. I could feel those instincts to protect him rise up in me.
“You can stay here as long as you need to, Lucas. I really don’t think you’re a killer.”
He smiled. “That is comforting.”
“I’m not sure what you are, but you make great pancakes. You were right about Addie being stronger. I’m not sure I’ll thank you for that in the long run.”
“She loves you, you know. She is fearful. Death is not an easy thing to conquer.”
“Tell me about it!”
“You have conquered it beautifully. I am inspired by you, Skye.”
“Thanks.” I watched him closely. “You were right about Abe’s wife, Lucas. She started out as a zombie, and now she’s a ghoul, living off of the blood and guts of Abe’s people.”
He shook his head. “I am afraid I do not understand the terminology. Zombie?”
“Let me explain—”
***
“So what are you going to do now?”
We’d gone downstairs so I could check on Kate again. Her fever was gone for the moment. I’d made some chicken soup that turned out well. Lucas wasn’t that impressed by the soup, but he’d eaten almost an entire row of saltines.
We sat talking in the kitchen after Kate went to take a nap. Addie was practicing her new ‘powers’ that Lucas kept goading her into by trying to make banana bread.
“I confess to a certain amount of trepidation regarding how I got here as well as how to go home,” he admitted. “A spell or charm that can bring back my memory has eluded me thus far. I must hope that time is what is needed.”
“At least you found part of the answer.”
“True.” He changed the subject. “What are your thoughts regarding the woman who is killing your friends? Will you hunt her? What will you do if you find her?”
“I don’t know.” I told him what Abe had said about his lost love. “I don’t think he could kill her if she showed up.”
“Creating a ghoul would be a difficult thing to live with. They are relentless creatures. Does he expect you to locate it for him?”
“He hinted about having help from a sorcerer, or someone with magic.”
“He senses me.” Lucas nodded. “I am not surprised.”
“Don’t worry—I didn’t volunteer you. I think what I have will do the trick if I meet up with her.”
“Your weapons alone will not stop her,” he cautioned. “You will have to cut off her head, being certain it never meets the body again, before you burn her corpse.”
“Sounds messy.”
“And not easy to cut off a head!” Addie said as she kept trying to stir the bread mixture. “I was raised on a farm. Cutting off anything’s head is hard.”
“You are correct, Madame! A finely honed sword would do the trick.”
“I don’t have a sword.” I smirked at the idea. “Maybe I could find a big knife.”
“Do not take this lightly, my lady. Your near-death state could become something more permanent before your twenty years are gone.”
I knew he was right. I wanted to keep my head down, and look the other way. I didn’t want to risk myself, and jeopardize Kate’s future, fighting Abe’s problem.
But it had become my problem now too. I was a strong believer in a good defense being a damn good offense. It was better for me to hunt her than for her to sneak up on me, as she had Martin.
“I know.” I toyed with the tablecloth. “I don’t want to do this. I feel like I don’t have any choice.”
“I may be able to assist,” Lucas volunteered.
“You might need help,” Addie agreed.
“I appreciate your offer.” I got to my feet as I heard Kate call my name. “But you should figure out what’s going on with you. I can handle the ghoul.”
I sounded convincing. I hoped I was as sure as I sounded.
Kate was watching reading her books and laughing when I got upstairs. She wanted to go to the mall, or at least call her friends. I took her temperature again. It was normal, but I still had to disappoint her as far as going out was concerned.
“If you’re better tomorrow, we’ll talk about it again.” My phone buzzed, and I checked it. Abe had called an emergency meeting at Deadly Ink.
“No fair! I hate when I have to be punished because I’m sick!” She pulled her blanket over her head.
“Me too.” I kissed her through the blanket. “I’ll see you later.”
I asked Addie to join me in the kitchen before I left. I told her about possibly seeing Jacob’s ghost. “Is that possible after all this time?”
“Why are you asking me? Being a ghost myself doesn’t make me an expert.”
“Have you seen him?”
“No. I would’ve told you if I had. I don’t think he’s hanging around watching over us, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“What kind of things did Jacob’s father do for Abe during his twenty years?”
She flickered. “I remember him looking into a few cases for him. That’s about all. He mostly did his job, and sometimes Abe called him. He said he needed a man like my husband. Once he offered the deal, we took it.”
“How was he . . . when it was time?” I wasn’t sure why I was asking. “When they came to get him. Was he ready to go?”
“No one is ever ready to go, I imagine,” she said.
“But you both knew it was coming. Did Jacob know?”
“No! We decided not to tell him. We made up a story about his father going to work, and he never came home. People looked for him. There was a grand funeral. Jacob accepted it. He knew his father was in a dangerous job. He was fine with not knowing.”
“And that’s why Jacob didn’t know how his father died.” I considered two generations in a family being involved with Abe. “We talked about it. Jacob said the police thought his father had drowned. His body was never found.”
“That’s right.”
I nodded. “I want to tell Kate. Not yet—she’s too young. But one day when she’s older. I don’t want her to be surprised.”
“That’s your choice.” Kate called her from upstairs. “What about the magic man?”
“I don’t know yet. I didn’t think he’d come back.”
“He’s been a help to me.” She acknowledged as she inspected the mudroom. “I think I could learn a lot if he stayed.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Abe had wanted me to bring Debbie to the meeting too. As I waited in the van for her (I always seemed to be waiting for Debbie), I thought about what Addie had told me.
Her story had made me curious as to how Abe chose people to offer twenty-year reprieves.
Maybe he’d wanted me to serve him because I’d been a cop at the time. Jacob’s father had been a deputy sheriff. If Abe had been able to save Jacob, he would’ve had another member of law enforcement in his pocket.
And yet, Abe wanted me to quit the police department. It didn’t make sense. There had to be another person in the Nashville Police who served him.
Maybe now would be a good time to talk with Abe about me going back to the job. I hadn’t really questioned it at the time when he’d asked me to leave it behind. With Martin gone, he might be eager to have me in that position again.
I realized that I could continue Martin’s investigation into Mary Gable from the inside. It might be the only way to find Mary. A ghoul lost in Nashville could be anywhere—coming out when she felt like it to claim another victim. I didn’t want her out there stalking me.
Debbi
e rushed breathlessly out of the cabin, and jumped up into the van. “Sorry I took so long. I had to get the kids some lunch.”
I muttered some general remark about being glad to see her. She’d answered the phone right away when I called her. That was good enough for me. She seemed even perkier than usual, if that was possible. The bright orange beret, probably handmade, accentuated it.
Debbie rattled on about how happy she and Terry were this morning. I let her talk as I drove into Nashville. This would be one part of becoming a police officer again that I wouldn’t miss. Sometimes partners were good—sometimes they were just a nuisance.
I really didn’t want to be her confidant if Abe was about to make a move on her. I knew I’d have to hear all about it. That was the way Debbie was. I wasn’t so much a sharing person.
“What is this all about today?” she asked me.
“I think it’s about the other zombies that have been killed.”
She shuddered. “Do you have to call them that? I don’t like thinking about you, or Terry, that way.”
“What way?” I glanced at her. “You mean dead?”
“Yes. And calling yourself a zombie seems so negative.”
“That’s what we are.” I chuckled. “We were dead. Now we’re working for Abe. I can’t think of another term for it.”
Lucas had translated zombie into sleepwalker. They’d had zombies where he was from. “Sorcerers captured their souls to do their bidding. I suppose that may seem a deal like what you do.”
“I know that’s what happened,” Debbie continued. “I just don’t like dwelling on it.” She took a deep breath, and pulled out a pretty pink tin from under her coat. “I brought some cookies along that I baked this morning. Would you like one?”
“No, thanks. Are they for the meeting?”
“Yes. I thought it would help things go along better, you know?”
“That’s what I thought.”
Debbie’s chatter—and her recipe for the chocolate chunk cookies in the tin—went on until we rolled into a parking space outside the tattoo shop. I got out of the van gratefully. Living her life had to be like a soap opera. I wasn’t particularly interested.
We went into the shop together. Dex was directing everyone to the back room. I wondered if there had been new information about the killings or if Abe planned to tell everyone about Mary, and their relationship.
A few metal folding chairs were haphazardly thrown into one of the rooms that was normally used for storage. Abe was talking to some people I recognized as other zombie pickup drivers.
Debbie opened her cookie tin with all the happiness of Doris Day, and walked around offering her goodies to everyone.
“I’ll bet you know why we’re here.” Brandon ambled up to me and whispered.
“I figure either another zombie is gone, or Abe has decided to share. I’d feel better if he told everyone, and had some plan of action.”
“You bet your cookies.” He bit into one of Debbie’s chocolate chunk specialties.
“Which is it?”
“See that guy over there?” He nodded toward a large, dirty man in a brown jumpsuit who looked as though he’d escaped from a local chain gang. “He brought in another heartless zombie from Knoxville this morning. I think that was the last straw for Abe.”
“Good. Maybe we can come up with a real way to get rid of Mary instead of having us sit around on our hands as she kills us all off.”
“I wouldn’t bet on Abe killing her. Maybe finding a way to move her out of the area a little faster. That’s about it.”
I took a seat, and Brandon sat beside me. “I have a question for you.”
He grinned. “It’s gonna cost you. No more freebies. I want to see some skin.”
I pulled up the sleeve on my green sweater so he could see my forearm. “Doesn’t Mary have to be a real person sometimes? I mean, would she have a life, a job? Or would she just walk around waiting to kill someone all the time?”
“I’m not an expert on ghouls.”
“I don’t know anyone who is, or I wouldn’t ask.”
“I think they skulk around during the day, mostly, and come out at night. They look human, when they want to. You wouldn’t necessarily know you were with one until she decided to rip your arm off.”
“And what about that black film that’s left behind?”
“Some chemical reaction when they feed.” He shrugged. “I’m not a scientist.”
“And you have to cut off her head to kill her, right?”
“I’ve heard that. You have to burn the head and body afterward.”
Lucas was right about that part. “Okay. Thanks.”
“But I wouldn’t suggest you take a ghoul on without magic. They’re fast and strong. You’ll need magic to keep her away from you until you can kill her. It’s almost the only way.”
“Where would I get magic?”
Abe cleared his throat, and asked everyone to sit down.
“You’re about to find out.” Brandon nodded toward a man in the corner of the room.
The man was huge, built like a mountain—even bigger than Abe. He dressed like a monk in a massive brown robe that went down to his dirty, sandaled feet. He held a wicked-looking staff that resembled the scythe the grim reaper carried in paintings. His head was shaved bald, and his eyes roamed over all of us as though he was searching for something.
He stopped abruptly when he came to me.
That made me nervous. I scrubbed my lips with the back of my hand, and put on ChapStick for good measure. He was still staring. Could he see Lucas’s mark on me?
“Who is he?” I asked Brandon, turning my head toward him so the monk wouldn’t see me speaking.
“They call him Jasper.”
“What do you know about him?”
Brandon shook his head. “Not now. We’ll have to talk later.”
Everyone was starting to sit down. Debbie closed her cookie tin as she perched next to me. “All of the cookies are gone. I think everyone needed a cookie break. I’m sorry you didn’t get one, Skye.”
“That’s okay. Let’s hear what Abe has to say.”
Abe clasped his hands behind his back, playing up the size of his arms and breadth of his shoulders as he paced in front of us. “As you know, someone has been killing our friends before their time. We are all at risk. The killer is known to me. I’m afraid this is a personal attack on everything I have built up here.”
“Can this be stopped?” Dex sounded rattled by the news.
“It can be—she can be—if you know how to stop her.” Abe stared at us with his dark glasses covering his blind eyes. “I don’t want to give you any false hope that you can stop her—not alone. She is strong and powerful. She will kill you without a second thought.”
“Was there a gold wedding band found with the new victim?” I questioned.
Abe’s head turned sharply toward me. “There was. I don’t think we need to go into her routines. Suffice it to say, she wants to kill as many of you as she can.”
I disagreed. “Sometimes a killer’s habits can be how they’re caught. If we understand what she wants—”
“We are not interested in what motivates her, Skye. This isn’t a police investigation. We are interested in stopping her. For that, you need two things—a sharp blade and a sorcerer to protect you long enough to sever her head.”
“What does she look like?” one of the other drivers asked.
Abe looked defeated as he had Brandon pass out flyers with a woman’s crude sketch on them. I glanced around the room. It looked like Abe had made his choice—to let us kill Mary for him.
I knew her right away from the bar where I’d met Martin. She was the woman weeping at the jukebox, and later, dead in the parking lot. I’d practically handed Martin to her on a silver platter. The bitter taste of knowing he might still be alive, if we’d known then, was strong in my throat.
“I’ve seen her.” I explained the situation to Abe, and the rest of
the group. “I think she may have been stalking one, or both of us, that night.”
Abe took a deep breath and nodded. “This is our sorcerer, Jasper. He has a charm that will paralyze her. You must contact him first before making any attempt at addressing her. Once that is done, you’ll each have a blade with which to cut off her head. When that is finished, you’ll call here, and Brandon will come for her. Don’t try to approach her on your own.”
“Just give me a sword.” The dirty man with the brown coat from Knoxville raised his hand. “I’ll take her out. I’ve killed ghouls before.”
“There’s only one sorcerer.” A driver I knew from Memphis complained. “What are we supposed to do until he can get there?”
“Hide,” Abe suggested. “Don’t engage her, whatever you do. Follow, if you can. Jasper will come to you.”
Abe disappeared into his office without another word. As far as information was concerned, it was a poor discussion. Obviously, he’d never had police training or he’d know that every piece of information regarding a killer was important. He was still leaving us in the dark—only now we knew she could kill any of us.
“That wasn’t much to go on,” I remarked quietly to Brandon before we left the room. “Why is he handicapping us this way?”
“He has his reasons. I don’t always understand him, but I never question what he does. He knows what’s best.”
“He knows what’s best for him.”
Debbie smiled. “Abe wants to meet with him privately. If you wouldn’t mind waiting for a few minutes, Skye, I’m sure it won’t take very long.”
Brandon and I exchanged knowing glances.
“Sure,” I told her. “Brandon has a few things he wants to talk to me about.”
“Good. I’m going in now. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” Debbie waved cheerfully as she approached Abe’s office door.
She was waiting for someone to rescue her from her fate. I realized how afraid she was when I looked into her soft brown eyes. Debbie had a good idea what Abe wanted from her—she’d been hoping he’d forget or someone would change the equation.
I knew I couldn’t be that person. The only person who could save Debbie at this point was Debbie.
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