Outside the van I could hear muffled voices. Just as was the case with the murmurings inside my head, I couldn’t make out any of the actual words, but I could pick out Ben and Felicity as two members of the conversation. The third person sounded angry, female, and a little familiar, but I couldn’t attach a name to it.
As I sat there listening to what seemed to be escalating into an argument, I tried to focus on it, but the pain in my head caused my concentration to abandon me, leaving my mind to wander off wherever it so desired. My recent thought of wanting aspirin seemed to be its favored destination, and it made a beeline to it. Self-preservation was trumping everything else.
As I dwelled on the desire to be pain free, I vaguely remembered Ben mentioning earlier that he had a bottle of the over-the-counter painkiller on hand if I needed it. Soon I found myself wondering if it was possibly stashed somewhere in the van. Logically, I knew it was one of the last things I should be putting into my body at the moment, but the growing migraine had pushed me to the point of no longer caring about doctor’s instructions. I needed something to at least dull the ache because it was now well past the point of being ignored.
I remained motionless for a moment, now ruminating over whether or not the mere act of moving would only serve to make the pain worse. If it did and I managed to find the aspirin, no big deal, but if I couldn’t locate the meds, then I was going to be royally screwed. I weighed the two options as carefully as my throbbing brain would let me then decided to take the chance. Unfortunately, my decision to do something other than just sit here and suffer came too late to do any good. The second I opened my eyes and started leaning forward to begin my quest turned out to be the exact same second the side door of the van flew open with an unceremonious grind and thump.
Angry words instantly blasted through the interior, centered directly on me. “What in the name of God do you think you’re doing, Gant?”
I looked over to see Captain Barbara Albright glaring at me, her gaze a mixture of anger and insistence. The identity behind the mystery voice now became painfully apparent.
“I told you to back off!” Felicity shouted from behind her. “Leave him alone!”
Peering past the angry cop who was now blocking the opening, I saw Ben latch onto my wife just as she started forward. Then he pulled her back before she could literally assault the woman.
“Storm,” Albright spat the words without tearing her eyes away from me. “Cuff that bitch and get her out of the way right now.”
If I hadn’t been hurting so much I think I would have been surprised by her blatant use of profanity, mild as it was. It was definitely out of character for the holier-than-thou Albright. Of course, what I heard next was no shock at all considering that it came spewing from the livid redhead behind her.
“Fekking saigh!” Felicity growled. “Póg mo thóin! Damnú, Ben, let go of me!”
“Look, Captain, I’m not gonna cuff ‘er…” Ben insisted. “There’s no reason for it.” Then he quipped, “I’ll try ta’ keep ‘er from kickin’ your ass, but I’m not makin’ any guarantees.”
“I gave you an order,” she told him.
“Yeah, but I’m not takin’ it.”
“Fine, I’ll do it myself.” Albright wheeled around and reached beneath her coat.
My friend snorted and twisted so that he was between Felicity and her. “Not happenin’… There’s no reason for this ta’ get ridiculous. Listen, you need ta’ just calm down and give the man some room like she said.”
Of course, with all of this commotion confined to a small space that just happened to be more or less surrounded by cops, the altercation had attracted more than a little attention. Without even trying I counted three state troopers and two sheriff’s deputies descending on us already and wouldn’t be surprised if more showed up at any minute.
“What’s the problem here,” one of the uniformed officers asked.
Albright waved her badge in the air and announced, “I’m Captain Albright… I have it under control. I’m just asking Mister Gant a few questions.”
“You know you aren’t even s’posed ta’ be here, Captain,” Ben said, loud enough for everyone to hear. “You’re on administrative leave.”
She disregarded his comment and ignored the growing turmoil. Instead, she wheeled back around to face me and demanded, “Answer me, Gant.”
Felicity suddenly let out a banshee screech, there was a heavy thump, Ben yelped, then I heard him snarl, “Goddammit, Felicity, don’t fuckin’ kick me again! And stop squirmin’ or I will cuff ya’!”
One of the deputies leapt forward and grabbed my wife by the arm and wrenched it back then immediately began slipping his own handcuffs from his belt. My wife let out a pained scream as he continued twisting her arm in an attempt to subdue her. I could also see that one of the troopers had unholstered his taser and was holding it at the ready.
“Goddammit! Just back off for a minute!” my friend barked as he muscled the deputy away while keeping an arm hooked around Felicity. “And, you, put that damn thing away! There’s no reason for this to get stupid.”
The whole situation was heading south in a hurry, and none of it was helping my head in the least. My already foul mood was souring even further, and it definitely wasn’t going to be a good mixer for the volatility forming right before my eyes. Unfortunately, my head was hurting too badly to allow me to give Albright anything other than an honest, gut response. I simply stared at her and said, “I was looking for some aspirin. Got any?”
“Get out here!” she demanded, motioning for me to exit the van.
“Captain, I’m tellin’ ya’,” Ben insisted. “Ya’ need ta’ just back off. You don’t understand what’s goin’ on here.”
“I can still have you suspended, Storm,” she shot back.
“That’s a two-way street,” he countered. “You know you aren’t supposed ta’ be here. All it’d take would be a phone call, and you’d be in more hot water than you could stand. You know I’m right.”
She didn’t reply but turned to look at him. I could only imagine the glare he was receiving.
He held fast and said, “Whaddaya say we just call a truce before this gets any uglier.”
The standoff had multiplied by several more uniformed officers, and I knew my friend wasn’t going to back down. Something told me Albright wasn’t going to budge either.
“Let me handle this,” I called out to the serious detriment of my headache. Slowly, I twisted in the seat, so I could face Albright. She turned back to face me, wearing a look of disdain. I carefully leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees and held my head between my hands as I muttered, “What is it you want from me, Barbara?”
I knew from past experience that she hated it when I called her by her first name, but I wasn’t in the mood for honorifics at the moment. Especially those I felt were undeserved. If she wanted a one-on-one with me, then that was what she was going to get—raw, unabashed, and as close to being on my terms as I could get.
“I want to know what you’re doing just sitting there?” she snapped. “You’re supposed to be helping find my niece.”
“What makes you think I’m not?” I asked, my voice a pain-wracked mumble.
“You’re just sitting there,” she insisted. “And you sound like you’re intoxicated.”
“I wish I was, but I’m not. I’m just in a lot of pain.”
“Well don’t expect me to feel sorry for you.”
I snorted then said, “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
“I can’t believe you’re just sitting there,” she repeated.
“And exactly what is it you do when you pray?” I asked.
“Don’t you dare compare my religion to your Godless heathenry.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “You know, I’m not even going to waste my breath explaining to you everything that’s wrong with that statement. However, I am going to say this: We both know you hate me, but we also both know that you’re the one who in
sisted on my being here. My guess is that your love for your niece outweighs your contempt for me. In any case, here I am. Now do Judith a favor, back off like my wife asked and just let me do what I do.”
“You’re pushing your luck, Gant,” she snipped.
“No, Barbara. You are. If this killer really has your niece, then right now you’re screwing with her life by wasting my time. Like I said, do her a favor. Let me do my job. If you really want to help then go home and pray.”
I hadn’t bothered to look up at her for the entire span of the conversation, relying instead only on auditory cues. I didn’t move to do so now. I simply continued holding my head between my hands, kept my breathing as even as I could manage, and listened to the relative silence in the wake of her non-response.
Finally, I raised my voice slightly and called out, “Did the salt get here?”
“Aye,” Felicity returned, bitterness still in her voice, though I knew it wasn’t directed at me. “It’s here.”
“How about the forensics? Are the crime scene techs finished?”
“Yeah,” Ben answered. “They were already done when we sent for the salt.”
“Last question. Do they have any problems with me touching the car?”
“I’ll check again, but it’s already been okayed,” he assured me.
“Good,” I grunted, shifting forward and starting to climb out of the van. “Then let’s do this thing before my fucking head explodes.”
CHAPTER 27:
“Ya’know, I bet I’m gonna have a bruise on my shin,” Ben complained aloud as we walked.
“Aye, you’ll get over it,” Felicity replied, no sympathy in her voice whatsoever as she glanced over at him for a second and watched his stride. “It’s not like you’re limping or anything, then.”
“Yeah, but I could be.”
“Quit being such a crybaby. You don’t hear me whining about my arm.”
“I didn’t do that to ya’,” he reminded her.
“Doesn’t matter, it still hurts and I haven’t complained,” she replied. “Unlike you, the big, tough cop.”
I tried to ignore their verbal sparring because as long as they were at it like this I knew everything was okay between them. If either of them were truly angry with the other, they would be sulking in silence and that would be cause to worry.
We rounded the end of a highway patrol cruiser and aimed ourselves to the right. A small clutch of officers next to it parted without a word to allow us through. We paused when we reached the crime scene tape. Ben reached out and lifted the yellow plastic ribbon so that Felicity and I could slip beneath it a little more easily, then he ducked under the barrier himself and followed us into the no man’s land of the cordoned off zone.
From the looks of the asphalt landscape, it appeared as if the crime scene had now become akin to a small arena, and the surrounding cars and sidewalk were the stands filled with uniformed spectators. Cops and crime scene technicians alike stood next to or leaning against their vehicles, chatting quietly among themselves as they watched us make our way across the empty expanse. There was even a paramedic propped against a life support vehicle that had been called out to the scene at Ben’s request, just in case things didn’t go as we planned. Of course, they rarely ever did, so that was probably a smart move on his part.
I noticed one of the troopers point in our direction then make a comment to a nearby colleague who chuckled and nodded vigorously before passing it along to the cop next to him. I could only speculate about what they were actually saying. Thus far they were making it a point to keep their voices low, so the occasional staticky blip of a radio combined with the constant drone of the traffic on the nearby highway prevented me from actually hearing them. Even so, it wasn’t hard to make an educated guess each time I saw their lips moving. I’d been down this road too many times before, although I had to admit that this time around I felt much less like a part of the team and more like I was a curiosity on display.
I gave the small crowd a second cursory glance and noticed Captain Albright hadn’t bothered to take my advice, not that I even began to imagine she would. She was standing front and center among the other officers; however, she didn’t appear to find anything they were saying to her amusement. She simply watched us with a stoic expression creasing her face; although, even at a distance I could see the inner worry in her eyes.
“Why do I suddenly feel like the new kid who’s about to get the crap beat out of him on the playground?” I mumbled as the three of us continued on toward Judith Albright’s abandoned Hyundai sedan.
“Prob’ly ‘cause ya’ pretty much kinda are if ya’ don’t come up with somethin’,” Ben replied.
“That’s not very encouraging,” I told him. “You of all people know how this works. There are never any guarantees.”
“Yeah, I know.” He nodded. “But you’re the one who said it. I’m just agreein’ with ya’.”
“Ignore them,” Felicity interjected.
“Yeah… That was pretty much my plan,” I returned. “Let’s hope it actually works.”
I was still fighting the hammering inside my skull and doing so without the benefit of aspirin or anything else for that matter. Once the escalating altercation at the van had been dialed back to a manageable level, everything else had started moving fairly quickly, so I hadn’t had a chance to ask Ben where they were hidden or even if he actually had any to offer. Almost immediately following my insistence that we get started, two plastic grocery bags, both filled with unmistakable cylindrical containers, had been unloaded from the passenger seat of a deputy’s patrol car. Then, everyone backed off and waited for something to happen. I suppose it was a good thing their tickets to this show were free because special effects-wise I was fairly certain they were going to be disappointed.
The three of us came to a halt a few steps away from the sedan and simply stood there. Staring at my faint reflection in the driver’s side window, I struggled not to think too hard about the dog and pony show this had now become. I was used to letting the psychic events occur of their own accord, which never seemed to be an issue. Now, however, there was an enormous amount of pressure for me to make it all happen on cue, complete with a skeptical audience. While I had forced such to occur before, doing so was a rarity, so I had to hope that whoever was murmuring inside my head would listen and seize the opportunity to speak up instead of just endeavoring to make me miserable.
After a substantial pause where I had scarcely moved, Ben asked, “You goin’ all Twilight Zone?”
“No,” I replied, sighing as I reached up to massage my forehead from sheer force of habit. “I was just thinking that a double extra huge bottle of aspirin would be good right about now.”
“Why didn’t ya’ say somethin’ earlier?”
“Things got a little crazy, if you recall.”
A few seconds later I heard a soft rattle, and his large hand appeared in front of me, holding a generic brand bottle of the pain reliever that had apparently been stashed in his jacket pocket all along.
“Thank the Gods,” I mumbled as I took it from him and immediately twisted off the cap.
“Rowan, you really shouldn’t…” Felicity began to object.
Before she could complete the sentence I had already swallowed something on the order of a half dozen of the white pills, dry. After choking them down and gagging on the bitterness at the back of my throat, I held the bottle back out to Ben and said to her, “You can yell at me later.”
“You know those aren’t going to help matters if you start bleeding again,” she admonished. “Aspirin is a blood thinner.”
“So I’ve heard,” I replied. The recollection of having chronically overdosed on the analgesic some months back for a very similar reason was still fresh in my mind, so I knew the risks all too well. I sighed then added, “I know it’s dangerous, honey. But, right now I need to be able to see straight, or we aren’t going to get anywhere with this.”
“I under
stand,” she replied softly. “No bleeding then, okay?”
“Okay. No bleeding.” We both knew there was no way I could guarantee such a thing, but if it made her feel better to hear it, then I was good with making the empty promise.
“So, whadda we do now?” Ben asked. “Just stand here like the stooges or somethin’?”
“Aye, give me the salt and stand over here next to me,” Felicity said, motioning to him.
“Since you’re givin’ orders I take it you’re Moe,” he replied with a small laugh in his voice.
“Just give me the damn salt and quit being a comedian,” she countered.
“Hey, chill out. It’s been one of those days, ya’know,” Ben said as he hefted the bags toward her. “It’s just a little humor. It’s how I cope with this shit.”
Felicity took the weighty bags from him with much less ease than he had displayed when he held them out to her. As she settled them to the ground she muttered, “Úmpaidh.”
Fortunately, Ben didn’t appear to catch the Gaelic insult, not that he would have understood it if he had. At any rate, while over the years I had personally come to understand his use of humor at somewhat inappropriate moments as a safety valve for the stress, we really did need to get on with things. And, in this particular case another round of bickering between the two of them, no matter how good-natured, simply wasn’t on the short list.
My wife fished out two containers of salt and handed one of them to him as she said, “Just open them and keep them coming when I tell you.”
“Do you want me to help?” I asked.
“No, I want you to concentrate on staying grounded,” she instructed me in no uncertain terms. “We can handle this part.”
Then, breaking the seal with her fingernail, Felicity flipped up the metal spout on the top of the carton, then knelt and began to draw a thick line on the asphalt with the contents. As soon as the container was empty, she handed it to Ben and took the fresh replacement from him. After a minute or so, she had scribed almost two-thirds of a wide circle around the three of us.
Blood Moon: A Rowan Gant Investigation Page 23