Baja Blues: The Boy Who Played With Marbles (Liza McNairy Mysteries Book 2)

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Baja Blues: The Boy Who Played With Marbles (Liza McNairy Mysteries Book 2) Page 13

by Dan Glover


  "Do priests change their names when they're ordained?"

  "Not normally, Danners, though in some sects they do. I'm guessing Mr. Fabulous Fabulinus changed his moniker for more nefarious reasons. The man is hiding something."

  "Pedophile?"

  "No known arrests under any name, Liza... of course historically the Church tends to keep a lid on those sorts of crimes... it's only recently they've begun cooperating with authorities and prosecuting the guilty."

  "You say in some sects priests do assume new names?"

  "You might find this interesting, Liza... ecclesiastical exorcisms are performed by specially appointed priests who change their names in order to deceive the demons who they seek to cast out."

  "I'm not sure I understand, Reilly... why would they have to change their name?"

  "According to Catholic mythology, St. Justin, who lived in the first century after Christ, called himself a witness. As far as is known, he was the first priest to perform exorcisms, other than Jesus Christ... who since he was Jewish is normally referred to as a rabbi in the David line rather than a priest per se.

  "The thing about St. Justin is the wealth of his writings handed down to the present day. In a sense, he wasn’t a Christian in the way we think of that today. St. Justin was a pagan who witnessed Christianity being born. He united the old with the new by introducing the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth to the predominately pagan tribes who resided in the Middle East at that time.

  "In his Second Apology St. Justin wrote how demons flew from the afflicted upon being touched by true believers such as himself. Breath is also important, as is speaking the demon's true name. On the other hand, he also warned that should the demons learn the true names of those seeking to drive them out, they might well possess the exorcists themselves.

  "Over the centuries, elaborate rituals sprang up among the followers of St. Justin. The Catholic Orthodoxy tends to ignore that sect but at the same time when the need arises, those are the priests who are summoned to perform the casting out of demons in those unfortunate souls who're deemed truly to be possessed."

  "Is that still going on today, Reilly?"

  "Oh, absolutely, Danners... mostly in the third world, but there are several cases a year in the United States too. Europe has its share... and Africa... even Asia... really, it’s a world-wide phenomenon... anywhere that Christianity takes hold, the demons seem to follow."

  "And how does this relate to our Father Fabulinus, Reilly?"

  "Well, honestly, I don’t know, Liza. It's all guesswork on my part. You two are the ones in charge here. That's why you get the big bucks... right?"

  "So how did your evening with Elena Stamper go, Reilly?"

  "Not that it's any of your business, Danners, but we had fun."

  "Come on, Reilly... don’t be such a downer. Tell us what happened with you two. Did you... you know... do the dirty?"

  "You know, I can understand Danners being a dick, but et tu, Liza?"

  "We're merely interested in the nocturnal activities of our two friends... isn’t that right, Danners?"

  "Sure it is, Liza... I have a feeling Ms. Stamper might have went and made a man out of our boy Reilly here... and now he's..."

  "You know what? Both of you can go fuck yourselves. I came here with some great information to share with you and this is how I'm repaid? Don’t ask me for any more favors."

  "Reilly... don't be like that. You know we care about you... if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be asking what went on between you two."

  "We had a nice evening together, Liza. We enjoy each other's company. Can't we just leave things like that?"

  "So how about your mother? Did she make it back before curfew?"

  "I have no idea, Liza... we have our own cabins. What she does with her time isn’t my business. You two could take some lessons from her in that regard."

  "Thank you, Reilly... and I apologize if I offended you. Is there any way to find out if Father Fabulinus is a member of that St. Justin sect?"

  "None that I'm aware of, Danners... apology accepted. From what I could find out, members of that sect hold to strict secrecy. That may well be why the man has changed his name repeatedly. Even the Church would be kept in the dark."

  "But how are they contacted when an exorcism is needed? Let's say Auntie Em is suddenly and irrevocably possessed by Pazuzu or some other demon and her head starts doing pirouettes on her shoulders. How is that sect alerted?"

  "I don’t know, Liza. There must be some sort of archaic system in place but I can't access that information. Not with the databases I have, anyway."

  He was getting in too deep... both with McNairy and Forthright and with Elena. Especially with Elena. He'd had a girlfriend or two while in college but no one like her. It frightened him to feel like this... to suddenly want a woman... even to the point of proposing marriage. The whole gay thing... had it merely been a passing fancy? Yesterday he would've said no. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

  They were supposed to go out again tonight though he had half a mind to simply pack up and go back to Los Angeles without saying anything to anyone, especially to Elena. Still, the thought of never seeing her again weighed on him in a fashion he'd never known before.

  Was he in love? Could this be what it really felt like? He'd give up everything for Elena... his career, his mother, even his life. A day ago he didn’t even know she existed and now she was the center of his universe... no, she was his universe. He could still feel the touch of her skin on his... her breath, the way she moved in unison with him. Though the whole encounter seemed surreal it was the most natural thing he'd ever experienced.

  He hadn’t wanted to leave their bed this afternoon... afraid perhaps that when he returned she'd be gone. Or maybe that she'd still be there... he couldn’t decide which scenario bothered him the more.

  Chapter 30—Fires

  (Old and New)

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  "What sort of name is Fabulinus anyway?"

  "I'm way ahead of you, sweetie. Fabulinus was a minor Roman god who taught children to speak. The parents made offerings to him when their child spoke their first word."

  "That's a little creepy, DanMan... if that graveyard is full of children who've disappeared over the past twenty years, how does teaching them to speak tie into killing them?"

  "We don’t know that Fabulinus Fletch is actually involved, Liza."

  "That bag of marbles that Elena Stamper gave to you... are you getting any impressions from it yet?"

  "Something, Liza... but nothing definite... Eduardo kept to himself as a rule. Most boys play marbles with other kids. Not him. He cherished those marbles. They were like rune stones to him."

  "Rune stones?"

  "People that use rune stones to divine the future form a particular bond with them. The stones are personal... no one else is allowed to touch them. If that happens, the stones are corrupt and no longer of service. I'm getting the same feel from those marbles of Eduardo's... that he used them in some special way to foretell events that were yet to happen."

  "You're saying Eduardo Ramirez was a fortune teller?"

  "Not in the sense you mean, Liza. He had a certain talent but from what I'm seeing he was too young to have developed it to its full potential. He used his marbles to learn things."

  "I'm not following, DanMan. Spell it out for me, please."

  "I'm doing my best, sweetie. I need more time. Every night I'm getting closer but things are still fuzzy... too indistinct to make out. I don’t understand myself."

  "What if we go back to that church? I'll keep the good Father busy while you nose around... see if you can nab something that might help you along."

  "We ain't waiting on me, babycakes."

  "Well we ain't waiting on me either, Dan my man. Onward ho, and all that shit."

  That old adobe building gave off some bad vibes. She wondered if Danners felt it too or if she'd simply been Jonesing the time they visited Father Fabulinus. She'd been trying to be good..
. only snorting a line or maybe two when needed... but she was still running out way too quickly. Another visit to the something man would be in order over the next day or so. Somethin' for de head, somethin' for de nose...

  The church was close enough they could've walked but Danners led the way to his Suburban and as always walked around an opened her side first. The man constantly amazed her. How many husbands actually opened the car door for their wives? Not many, in her experience. Maybe they'd grown so close they took each other for granted.

  Would his actions change if she ever became more intimate with Danners Forthright? Was that why he never took that first step? Did he foresee the consequences of that action? Maybe one of these nights she'd surprise him... but then again, what if he turned her down? There it was... that same old fear of rejection that haunted her since childhood... well... since she lost Lissi

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  In that fire... maybe that's why the old church creeped her out... the blackened soot still staining the inner walls of the sanctuary even though it appeared someone had made a marked effort at washing it off. She thought she could see the outlines of people who might have perished in the flames but she told herself it was only the result of the scrubbing.

  "Wake up, Lizzi... the house is on fire! Jump out the window and run next door. Call 911."

  Lissi had wakened her out of what seemed like a coma. Maybe the smoke inhalation had already begun to take effect. Rather than grabbing Lissi by the hand and heading for the window, she'd simply done as her sister told her to do. It was only later... after she'd climbed out the window, jumped to the ground, and began running to the house next door, that she realized Lissi hadn’t followed.

  By then it was too late to go back. All she could do was run... to bang on the door with everything she had in her... and to wait an eternity for grandpa to finally open up. By then, she could see flames shooting out the upper windows of her house... hear the screams of her father who had no idea one of her daughter's had made it out alive.

  Why hadn’t Lissi followed? She asked herself that question ten thousand times... no, a hundred thousand... a million. The firefighters found her still in her bed. But why would she go back to sleep? Unless...

  Sometimes the guilt got to her. She should've made sure Lissi came with her that night. Had she merely dreamed that her twin sister wakened her? Quite possibly. But it all seemed so real. Lissi always slept on top of their bunk bed. The smoke would be denser up there than it was closer to the floor. Perhaps Lissi died before Liza even woke.

  She'd tried to rush back into the house to save Lissi but one of the firefighters stopped her. She'd kicked and screamed and fought him so hard that two more men had to come over and help. Sometimes even now she woke drenched in sweat feeling restrained against... what? Saving Lissi? Or trying to escape the flames herself?

  Their father had been refinishing the hardwood floors on the lower level of the house... a handyman type forever taking on projects better left to professionals. He'd used old rags to apply the epoxy coating and when he was finished he threw them in a pile in the corner of the room. The fire marshal said how spontaneous combustion had started the fire and how the flames were fed by the fresh coat of epoxy.

  Three months after that fire, the family—what remained of it—lay in tatters. Mother blamed father and father blamed himself. No one seemed to notice Liza. She was left to fend for herself, to salve the pain of loosing Lissi while listening to her parents berate one another over malfeasances long past repairing.

  Now, she understood her reluctance to go back to that church... at least a little more. Lissi... what do you think of your little sissy now? Am I still the star that shines only for you? You know you are, Lizzi, sissy. Only for me, forever and always.

  There was no parking lot at La Iglesia de los Cinco ángeles, no sign, no steeple... nothing to mark it as a church at all. The rutted road leading off the gravel would've taken out a normal two-wheel drive automobile but Danners navigated the Suburban with expert ease through the minefield pulling up in front of the building, stopping, and hurrying around to open her door for her. By now she knew the ritual and so she automatically waited though a vague discomfort settling over her would've stayed her anyhow.

  "Look... I don’t want to leave you alone with Father Freaky... I'll hang out around the edges of the room while you engage him... okay?"

  "Come on, Danners... I'll be okay. If something happens, I'll just give a yell."

  "No... I'm not risking it, Liza. This guy is too far out there. Not gonna leave you alone with him, period."

  "My hero... okay... no more arguing... let's just do this thing."

  Chapter 31—Territories

  (Crips and Chupacabras)

  1

  "So you were born here, Elena?"

  "I was... born and raised. I lived here until just a few years ago."

  "I can't imagine growing up in a place like this... it must've been idyllic."

  "Yes and no... my mother worked all the time. She cleaned rooms at one of the resorts. Didn’t make shit. There's no real employment opportunities here, not like in the north."

  "Where'd you go to school?"

  "We took the bus to Ensenada. It's only a short ride. Mother enrolled us in a Catholic school. It cost her more money than she could afford but she always told us how we needed to get an education. I never listened, of course. How about you, Reilly? Where are you from?"

  "East Los Angeles... my mother worked as a maid too, only for a rich family in the Hills. She had to ride the bus there and back every day. Took her four hours just to commute."

  "Why didn’t you move closer?"

  "That was the only place we could afford to live... housing in the Hills is outrageous. So we stayed in East Los Angeles. I hated it. Have you ever been there?"

  "Never... but I've heard it can be a rough place."

  "The school I attended was four blocks from our house. To get there I had to pass through two different territories."

  "Territories?"

  "Gang territories... the street where my school was located belonged to the Crips while the Kings controlled everything west of there. One time—I must've been in fourth or fifth grade—we were playing basketball close to the school... you know, after classes let out, and these gang members came riding up in their cars brandishing guns and telling us we had to leave... that those basketball courts belonged to them."

  "So what did you do, Reilly?"

  "We left. They followed us. They said that if we joined up with the Crips that they'd take care of us... that we'd have lots of money and pretty girls. One of the guys pulled out a roll of bills and showed us... it was all hundreds. He must've had ten thousand dollars in his pocket."

  "Did you join?"

  "I was tempted but I knew my mother would have my ass so I held back... a couple of my friends did, though. One's dead now and the other is in prison for life. He shot someone as a sort of initiation rite. Someone he didn’t even know. Just some innocent guy driving down the street. The gangbangers told him to do it and so he did."

  "Jesus, Reilly... "

  "The scary thing about it was that our neighborhood wasn’t one of the bad ones. We had watch groups that worked at driving the gangs out. A few blocks over, things were way different. You didn’t want to go through that neighborhood, day or night."

  "The scariest thing we had here was the chupacabra."

  "Hey... I've heard of that, Elena... did you ever see it?"

  "No... but I heard about it all my life. My mother always warned us to be inside by dark or else the chupacabra would get us. It liked to eat children more than anything else in the world. It'd hide by the road and wait. Then the chupacabra would jump out grab them in its mouth and pull them into the weeds where it would devour them starting with the feet first so they couldn’t run away."

  "What did it look like?"

  "They said it looked like a hyena

  2

  Only bigger, with spikes on
its head and fangs so long they stuck out of its mouth. Some of the old women of the village told tales of how it could talk like a man. It would lure children away by promising them candy and treats."

  "Weren't you ever curious?"

  "Of course I was. I used to watch out my bedroom window at night when I was supposed to be sleeping... especially when the moon was full. Once or twice I thought I saw something but I could never be sure."

  "Why didn’t anyone set traps for it?"

  "They did... some men of the village dug a deep pit in the ground and covered it with sticks and leaves so you'd never even notice it. But the only things they caught were wild pigs."

  "Those are pretty mean too, aren’t they?"

  "Yeah... I guess so. But they don’t talk and no one ever saw one carry away a kid."

  "Did lots of children disappear?"

  "Oh yes... at least three or four times a year we'd hear about someone losing a child to the chupacabra."

  "How old were they?"

  "Usually about the same age as Eduardo was when he vanished... six or seven... about the time they started school."

  "It'd have to be a big hyena to carry away a kid that big."

  "I thought so too."

  "Is that what you think happened to your brother?"

  "I don’t know, Reilly. I never knew what to think. It was daylight when he disappeared. Eduardo would never go out after dark."

  "Sounds to me like someone was using that old tale to their own advantage... as a cover for something more sinister."

  "You mean someone was kidnapping those children?"

  "I'd say so, yes."

  "What would they do with them?"

  "Sex trade, perhaps... sell them as prostitutes."

  "Even the boys?"

  "Maybe."

  "So you're saying Eduardo could still be alive somewhere."

  "Anything's possible, Elena."

  "You know McNairy and Forthright pretty well, don't you."

 

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