"Stephanie." I went to step around her. "Excuse me, they're expecting me on the scene."
"Oh, I know, but I had some questions for you."
"I have no comments."
"Oh, but you must have something to say about the death of your best friend."
I felt like she'd slapped me in the face. "She'll be greatly missed, and the agent on the case is a great agent."
"The rumors say that Levi and you had something to do with it. Is that true?"
I was about to lose my temper as she stepped in front of me, but Mason was waving not far. "Special Agent Collins."
I didn't bother with being polite and shoved past her to get to Mason. "Detective Mason." I closed the few yards and started toward the house with him, grateful for the interruption.
I sighed. "She's getting pushier."
"Don't let her get to you. You know the drill. No comments, don't let her egg you on."
I nodded. I'd seen what had come from Stephanie's headlines before, and giving her something to work with was always a bad idea. We walked passed the other officers and some of the forensics people and into the house.
Mason motioned to the bathroom. "Just like the other one."
I peeked in, and sure enough, the body had been shredded, the only difference this time was that the face was untouched. "The other one had his face shredded."
"Yeah, but the one at the park hadn't." That was true.
"The one in Detective Lance's file was though." I shook my head. "I don't get it. All of them suspects, we have one left. Maybe it's time we start looking into the victims of the serial killers instead?"
"They had another body pop up on their case too," Mason grumbled. "Have they called you yet?"
I shook my head. "But the serial case has nothing supernatural about it unless something has changed."
"No, I was just hoping they'd keep you in the loop."
I looked down the hall seeing a dried blood trail. "Do we have a time of death with either case?"
Mason followed me. "They were both about the same time."
Two different people then, possibly. I stopped when I found the circle and a goat and sighed. "These last two scenes didn't have any books on demonology."
"Meaning?"
"The books might have been planted there to throw us off." I sighed. "Other than being on the suspect list, I don't think these guys have any other connections."
"Then let's start looking at that case and the victims. Maybe we can come up with something there."
I nodded and walked out of the house. Mason stopped next to me. "Need an escort to your car?"
I shook my head. "No, I'll just run her over if she pesters me again. I'm going to go into the office for a little bit. There's a few hours before Clarissa's memorial, so it's not worth driving home and then back again."
"You doing okay?"
No one had asked me that in the last few days. "Doing everything I can to keep going. I'm okay."
"Good. I worry about you, Abby, you've had a lot happen the last two years."
I snorted. "Yeah, I know. Sometimes I worry about me too." I walked toward the Hummer. Luckily for me, Stephanie was nowhere to be seen, and I hoped she stayed that way. I got into the Hummer and took one last look at the house.
My mind traveled back to the first scene where we had found the woman's clothes packed and ready to go. Starla Porter. I hadn't found much on her other than her two reports. The current address listed was the townhome. Could she be the common link?
I got out of the car and went back to the house to take another look around. Mason saw me before I even reached the doorway.
"What's up, Agent Collins?"
I motioned to the house. "Was there any sign of a woman there? Either living or visiting?"
"I didn't look past the crime scene. I was letting forensics handle it, but feel free to take another look around if you want to see if they missed something."
I trusted Mason, but it was always nice to double check things. "Okay, I'm going to go poke around a little bit more."
"Don't step on forensics' toes."
"I know how to do my job, Mason," I called back as I walked into the house. The forensics team was still busy with the body and the circle, so I went to explore the rest of the house. My first stop being the bedroom. I had expected that I might find women's clothing in the room hidden and ready to move like the first crime scene.
Nope, this woman had her own side of the closet, and her shoes were thrown on the floor near the messy side of the bed. Stacks of romance novels covered the nightstand. I walked over and flipped through some of the books looking for anything that might have been used as a bookmark that might give me a clue as to who the woman was.
Stuck inside one of the last books was a bill. I opened it up to see the names on it: Starla Porter and Andy Rice. Boom, a connection, which is what I was waiting on. Now if the connection would also be with our third victim then I'd be happy.
I grabbed an evidence ziplock out of my bag and put the bill in it. Interesting that PIB hadn't had Starla listed at this address even though the date on the bill was about a week ago, clearly it was current.
Mason walked into the room. "Find anything?"
"Yes, forensics wouldn't have known what to look for. Starla seems to be juggling multiple men." I held up the bill. "Did forensics happen to collect anything with female DNA from either of our crime scenes?"
"I'll ask, and if they did, I'll get you a report."
I picked up a long blonde strand of hair off the pillow and put it in another bag. "Okay, have them run this too?" I handed him the bag.
"You think that Starla is the demon summoner?"
"I don't know yet, but she's currently the only other common link." I walked out of the room and paused at the other one. "Did you look in there?"
He shook his head and opened the door and pushed it further. "Take a look."
I looked in and saw boxes upon boxes stacked on each other. I walked in and started peeking into the boxes. All of them were half full of household items, dishes, towels, books, and nothing suspicious. Like they got halfway done with unpacking and gave up, or were in the middle of packing. I walked back out and headed out the door. I had my connection; now I just needed to know more about our other victim. "I'll be at the office until the memorial tonight. So if something else pops up, please let me know."
"You've got it."
I got back to the Hummer and drove to the office. I could dig more into Starla and the second victim there; maybe the database algorithm would pick something up with both names.
Back in the office, I found my computer in working order again, and I was able to log in. I pulled up the search engines and typed in Starla and Andy into the system, but nothing came up except his crime record and hers. Nothing linking the two together. I tried again with one of the other victim's names and got nothing as well.
Interesting.
Starla was as much of a mystery as the case. A ghost that I was chasing hoping she knew something or was our demon summoner. The system didn't even have a picture of her. So it was time to try some good old fashion Googling. I put her name into a normal search engine to see what came up.
A few social media profiles, a couple offers for background checks and an obituary with Agent Melody Grace's picture on it.
What. The. Fuck.
I stared at it for a moment and wondered if it really could be her, and if it was, what she was doing masquerading under the name of Starla Porter, or was she pretending to be Agent Grace…or were they one in the same.
I reached for my phone to call Liz.
"What's up, Abby? I'm working at the crime scene."
"I need a clearance to run a background check on an Agent."
"Why?"
"Because Agent Grace's picture just turned up in the obituary of our suspect."
There was silence on the other end, and then she said something to someone close to her. Finally, she returned to me. "You'll have to go to Boss Man; I can't give that clearance." She yelled back, "Yes, check the blood."
I didn't really want to know what was going through her mind or why she was checking the blood at the scene of the crime again.
"Look, Abby, I've got to go. Go to Boss Man with the right evidence, and he'll give you the clearance. Especially with Agent Grace out on suspension." The phone went dead in my hand, and I sighed. I wanted to ask her what she'd found out about Clarissa but I couldn't. I'd see her tonight, and maybe she'd let me in on some of it.
I printed out the information on the obituary, the reports on who Starla was and wrote up a request that included why and how Starla Porter was connected to my case. I put all the documents into a folder and walked out.
I made sure my office door shut securely behind me before going to the stairs and taking them up to the top level. Even the plate on the office door said, "Boss Man." Agent Grace once gave me a warning about the lack of name for the boss, but this was the way it had been since I was out of the academy, and unlike her, Boss Man had never given me a reason to doubt him.
I knocked on the door and waited until I heard the gruff 'come in' from the other side. I walked in and met his beady gaze. Today his black hair wasn't slicked back, it hung right about his eyes, but it didn't take the rat-like shape of his face away. If anything, it made it worse.
"Special Agent Collins, what can I do for you?" His voice matched his features, reminding me of the rat king.
I laid the folder down on his desk. "I have reason to believe that Agent Melody Grace is involved with my current case. I believe that she used the alias Starla Porter a few years back and might be using it again. I can get someone who might be able to confirm that she was using that alias, but I need permission to look into Agent Grace's background."
Boss Man took the file and looked over the documents. "Which case is that you're handling?"
"The demon case, Starla Porter has been connected to two out of three of the victims. I'll be working on her connection with the third victim when I get back to my office."
He tapped one of the files. "This here, this is the serial killer case that the regular FBI thinks is back."
I nodded. "Each one of our victims and a victim that was killed five years ago were suspects on that list. Now there's only one living suspect."
He came across the obituary. "This is Agent Grace, but the obituary is for Starla. Look into it, but be careful. You have the clearance to look into Agent Grace's background, but if you find a deeper connection, I want you to let me know first before you pursue her. Understood?" He closed the file and slid it back toward me.
"Yes, sir." I grabbed the folder and left the office. A strange nervousness curled in my stomach making me feel a little sick. I didn't know what kind of flags I was going to trigger, but the fact that Boss Man wanted me to bring the information to him raised my paranoia on what I was going to find.
I got back into my office to find an envelope sitting on my keyboard. I let out a sigh as I recognized the nice cursive handwriting as my uncle's.
I opened it and read the letter inside.
My Dearest Abigail,
Your request has been honored, and the items have been destroyed. Ira will stop at nothing to make sure you suffer for what he believes Levi has done to him. You will be safe for your meeting with him, but be wary of what might come after.
Always at your service
Uncle Oliver
I found the note strange because there were no details. Oliver was normally one who used lavish language to explain what he wanted in writing, but it took me a moment to wonder if he thought the letter would be intercepted. But he didn't hide the part about the meeting, which could have been seen as a warning if someone had intercepted it.
I rubbed my eyes and put the message in my bag. I didn't want to think about my uncle, Ira, or that situation at all right now. I had a murderer to catch and a demon to locate. I opened up my search engine again and this time typed in Starla Porter and Melody Grace. A few confidential files popped up this time, triggered by the dual search terms.
I clicked on one expecting the information to be redacted, but it wasn't. So my clearance really had gone up with my promotion. I smiled and started to sift through the information. Starla Porter was Melody Grace. An alias used for a case involving demons.
Imagine that.
I scrolled through and paused at the conclusion of the document. "It was never proven that the suspect in custody did, in fact, summon the demon, but all concluding evidence points to yes."
I frowned and followed the link to the case file. It was a lesser demon that had been summoned, but it still had made Grace's career.
I zoomed in on one of the pictures and saw the same books that had been at our first crime scene. Well, I'll be damned. She really was part of this, but why?
I continued to scroll through and study the other documents, but nothing that I could find helped explain why she was currently connected to this case. I guess I could go ask her, but I had a feeling she wouldn't want to see me.
I sent Boss Man a quick e-mail about what I found and then looked at the clock. I had just a few minutes before I needed to leave for Clarissa's memorial. A lump formed in my throat. I didn't know if she'd get an actual funeral anytime soon, I doubted that the body had been released, but this might have been my only chance to say goodbye.
I took a deep breath and grabbed my bag. When I opened my door, Liz was standing there. "Hey, I was just coming to get you."
"I thought I was meeting you there." I hadn't thought about carpooling at all, I'd rather have my escape route planned, and I didn't want to drag Liz out early if I didn't have to.
She shook her head. "No, I figured it'd be easier to go together, and since we're carpooling, if you leave early, I have a good excuse to go as well. After I get my answers of course."
I smiled and shook my head. "Glad to know I'm not the only one who would think about sneaking out early."
"You don't like the coven?" she asked as we walked down the hall and to the stairs.
I snorted. "I never have; I registered because Levi and Clarissa both pushed and said I needed community. Well, about three months ago someone sent them the same video Boss Man got, and it basically forced me to resign from the coven. In the Barn case, one of the priestesses tried to bind my magic." I shook my head. "They helped me with a hex once, but that's about as much use as they've been to me."
She whistled. "And here I was thinking about joining."
"You're not part of them?"
We walked out to her SUV, and she unlocked it with a click of the key fob. "No, remember, I'm crashing the memorial, I'm still registered with my coven in my hometown. They're pretty relaxed there, and that's what I liked about it. I haven't even gone to a meeting with the one here."
"Don't waste your time." I climbed into the passenger side and slammed the door. "They aren't relaxed at all here."
"I guess I'm about to find out, huh?" She started the SUV and then pulled out of the parking lot. We sat in silence as she made her way downtown to Jack's house where the memorial was going to be held. With each mile we got closer, my heart felt tighter. I tried to breathe past the panic when Liz pulled up to the house.
"Abby? You okay?"
I tried to form an answer, but I felt the stinging of tears in my eyes. "I can't believe she's gone."
Liz reached over and squeezed my hand. "I'm sorry for your loss."
I nodded and took a shuddering breath. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to make it through this."
"Just promise me you won't blow anything up." She cracked a smile, and it helped relax me.
I forced a laugh. "I won't make promises I can't keep."
To my surprise, my voice sounded light-hearted. "Okay, let's do this."
We both got out and headed toward the house. Cars lined the street leading up to the little house. People were standing outside talking until Liz and I approached. They got eerily quiet and stared at us as we walked in.
Liz stepped up behind me. "You sure make an impressive entrance," she whispered.
I shrugged. "What can I say?"
"Abigail," a short man stepped up in front of us. Jack had combed his brown hair into a neat gelled style that left his dark eyes clear to glare at me. "I'm glad you could make it."
The silence of everyone else around said differently, but I let it go. "Of course, Clarissa was my best friend." My voice hitched a little bit. "Jack, may I introduce Liz Jefferson, she's the agent on Clarissa's case."
"Nice to meet you, what brings you here?" Jack glanced at her and then to me. "Abby, it's not like you to bring a stranger to coven events."
I locked my jaw. "It's not like me to come to coven events."
Liz held her hand out, and Jack shook it. "I was hoping to talk to some of Clarissa's peers. One of your members mentioned a visiting warlock that went and saw Clarissa the night before her death."
Jack nodded. "Yes, let's go talk in the kitchen."
I let Liz wander off with Jack; she could take care of herself in a situation like this. I, on the other hand, stood there staring at the picture of Clarissa on a table with purple candles surrounding it.
She was smiling, her bright red hair gleamed in the sunlight, her cheeks were rosy, and I found that the picture calmed my grief a little bit. Everyone in the coven loved her; she was a bright spot in everyone's day.
A woman stepped up next to me. I glanced over at her expecting her to be part of the Coven, but she wasn't. She was an older version of Clarissa, the same round face, wild hair, and button nose.
"You must be Abigail," the woman said softly. "I'm Clarissa's mother."
Guilt hit me hard, I knew that I wasn't the cause of Clarissa's death, but I still felt guilty. "I am."
Everyone has Their Demons (Here Witchy Witchy Book 6) Page 12