“Considering that you’re volunteering your time, I don’t think I should be too demanding.”
“You can be as demanding as you want. I may not be a paid staff member but I’m still staff, and I’ll be here three mornings a week, as agreed. But,” she said laughing, “we’ll start that officially on Monday. Until then, I’ll play it by ear.”
I don’t anticipate any crisis. As of now, everything’s stable. Of course, around here, you never know.”
“Speaking about that, are you going to hire a new security guard?”
“I am, it took me forever to find a new person. I wanted a woman for obvious reasons but finding someone with Laura’s qualifications was not easy. She was troubled but qualified as hell. And she lived here, which most people don’t want to do.”
“So, who’d you find?”
“You remember Greg Stathis?”
“One of the uniformed officers who kept an eye on the place after the shooting, right?”
“Yes. Well, he and I were talking, and it turned out that his wife’s a former police officer and she was looking for work. So, I’ve got days covered, but, of course, we used a security company before, so this is only a stopgap.”
“At least it’s a start,” Faith said.
Their catchup stopped abruptly when one of the residents yelled frantically for Karen to come downstairs.
Karen grabbed her phone and ran down the two flights of stairs to the kitchen, where she saw an unidentified man standing at the kitchen door. Faith tripped over her chair as she was running after her and was a few steps behind but could hear Karen calling 911.
“This is the Bourne Street Women’s shelter, and we’ve got an unknown male on our doorstep.”
Karen didn’t worry about overreacting. There was no reason for an uninvited guest to be there. They didn’t get any unexpected deliveries, and she carefully screened and scheduled any contractors that might be needed.
Faith’s senses were on alert, as well. She immediately knew that this had something to do with her. Looking out the kitchen window, Faith saw that she was right. It was Aaron Sinclair. He hailed from Unst and been after her since childhood. Over the previous summer, after Ed had gone home, Aaron had been all but stalking her.
“I know him,” Faith said to Karen. “And before you ask, of course, I didn’t tell him where I worked or invite him over. He’s my own little stalker. No big deal. I’ll get rid of him.”
“Faith, a stalker is always a big deal!” Karen said.
“True, but I don’t think this guy is dangerous.”
“He followed you,” Karen said.
“You know,” Faith said, “your right. I should know better than to underestimate him. Let the police come. But I want a few well-chosen words with him, first.”
The problem with him being arrested was that, while he was of limited powers, he still might cause the police some trouble.
Faith stepped outside onto the porch, and Aaron said, “Faith, you look beautiful, as always. Thought I’d take you for breakfast.”
“How did you know where I was?” Faith asked flatly.
“I went over to your apartment, but you were just pulling away in your car, so I followed you. What is this place anyway?”
“If you were at my apartment, I would have sensed you, and if you had followed me, you would have been here twenty minutes ago.”
Faith walked him off of the porch and onto the driveway, she didn’t want to be overheard. She walked to the other side of a towering oak tree to block the view from the house, and Aaron followed her. Once they were out of sight, Faith probed deep into his brain. She wanted him to know that she was there, and she wanted to hurt him. This was something that Faith had never done before, but she had seen her mother do it. Hope Ferguson was renowned for her psychic abilities, and since Buidseach powers were inherited, Faith knew that she had the same gift.
Aaron winced, dropped to his knees and said, “You bloody Ferguson bitches.”
It only took an instant for Faith to realize that Aaron was cloaked. She could give him a headache, but she couldn’t get any information.
“You’re An Dubh? What an idiot.”
“No, I was cloaked by the Divine,” Aaron protested. “I wasn’t even at the Battle.”
“No, you weren’t, but you’re up to no good, and you can’t fool God.” Then thinking Faith said, “So, you were cloaked by Erebus, and now you’re stuck. Typical.”
During a cloaking ceremony, God offered protection from any magical interference or spell, and when cloaked a person’s powers could not be bound, nor could their thoughts be read by a clairvoyant. Divine protection, however, was only granted to those with good intentions.
Cloaking could also be granted by dark gods and this past summer, Erebus, the god of darkness, had cloaked members of An Dubh.
To remove the cloaking, a person had to petition the deity who’d cloaked them. Erebus had been killed in the Battle of Unst, so if he’d been the deity who’d cloaked him, Aaron was out of luck. He would remain cloaked for the rest of his life.
Aaron continued to protest any connection with An Dubh, causing Faith to say, “Well, if you are just here to win me over. Give it up. I don’t want you.”
He did want her, partly for her beauty, but mostly for her money and powers. He knew whatever she had, her children would have, and that would up his stock in the Buidseach community.
Before he could respond, they heard the sound of sirens coming closer.
“Wonder what that’s about,” Aaron said.
“That, my dear, is for you. Oh, and if you pull any hijinks on them, at any time, I’ll have no choice but to tell the council.”
If a witch misused their powers, their powers could be bound, but since Aaron was cloaked, and since the demon god who cloaked him was dead, the council would be unable to bind his powers and would have no choice but to kill him.
Aaron just looked at her.
“Didn’t see that coming? What happened to your foresight?” Faith asked, foresight being one of Aaron’s few powers.
“It’s dimmed by the cloaking. And, besides, you distracted me.”
As the patrol car pulled up, Faith was pleased to see two officers that she’d met during a murder investigation at the center, the year before. She walked out the greet them and said, “Hi Greg, Don, thanks for coming.”
“Sure Faith,” Greg said, “What’s the trouble?”
“The guy standing back there by the tree is stalking me. Nothing violent, so far. He just followed me home from Scotland.”
Aaron couldn’t believe that she’d actually called the police on him. He wasn’t moving because he hoped she’d just send them away.
“Have you told him that you’re not interested?” Greg asked.
“Repeatedly, since I was fourteen,” Faith said.
“So, you know him?”
“My family’s from the same part of Scotland, and I visited there last summer.”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Whatever you think is best – I was just cautioned by our manager not to take this too lightly. On the other hand, if he is a real stalker, this is the early stages. – Oh, one more thing, I don’t think he knows that I work here, or that this is a shelter, so let’s try and keep it that way.”
“Then how’d he find you here?”
“He says he followed me from my apartment, but I’m not sure.”
As the two officers accompanied Faith back to where Aaron was standing, Greg asked her, “What’s his name?”
“Aaron Sinclair.”
“Mr. Sinclair, how do you happen to be on this property today?”
“I came to take Faith to breakfast?”
“And, how did you know that she’d be here?”
“Well – I followed her.”
“You followed her?”
“I didn’t have her phone number.”
“Do you know her?”
“Of course. I’m not a
lunatic. I wouldn’t be taking a stranger to breakfast. I’ve known Faith since we were kids.”
“Faith, do want to go to breakfast with Mr. Sinclair?” Greg asked.
“No.”
“Do want to have any contact with Mr. Sinclair?”
“No.”
“Is that clear, Mr. Sinclair?”
Aaron didn’t answer.
“Apparently not. Let’s take a ride to the station and see if we can make Ms. Ferguson’s wishes crystal clear for you. Faith, do you want a harassment protection order?”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“We try to get protection orders before people are hurt,” Greg said.
“I wasn’t going to hurt you.”
Faith ignored him and said, “He’s here on a visitor’s visa. Can we get him deported?”
“You arrogant bitch. Somebody should put you in your place.”
“Well, that helped your case. We’ll look into it, Faith,” Greg said.
“What do I need to do?”
“You’ll need to file an application at the courthouse.”
“Can I do that in a few hours? I’ve got a couple of appointments this morning.”
She actually just wanted to finish her three-hour shift, but, again, Faith didn’t want to say or do anything that would identify the women’s shelter.
“That’ll be fine, Faith,” Greg said. As they drove away, Aaron looked back at Faith. He was furious, but he still wanted her. Aaron hoped that with some assistance, he’d be able to change her mind, even if the assistance involved a more powerful witch to compel her. For now, he just had to ensure that he wasn’t kicked out of the country. His partner in crime would be very unhappy if that happened, and, without him, Aaron would have little chance of getting what he wanted.
******
Back inside the shelter, Faith had no shortage of sympathetic ears waiting to hear the details of her plight. She almost wanted to laugh as they sat her down, poured her coffee, and sat in rapt attention waiting for her to relay the details of her trauma.
“Sorry guys,” Faith said, “I’m here for you, not the other way around.” Before she could continue, she sensed their collective pain. She had hurt them. They’d felt a sudden kinship with her, and now they were being told that no, she wasn’t like them, at all. She was different, better. What she was about to do went against her training. She’d been taught that a therapist wasn’t supposed to reveal themselves, their lives, but Faith wasn’t your average therapist and breaking the rules wasn’t unknown to her. So she changed direction, midsentence. “But,” she went on, “even when it’s a casual thing, it’s awful, isn’t it. Until they kick him out of the country, I’ll feel vulnerable.”
“Kick him out of the country?” one of her audience asked.
“Oh, he’s from Scotland. I’ve known him since I was a kid. He’s always been a pest. Who knew that he’d show up.”
“Now, as for my role here. If you have something that you really need to talk about, just let me know. Otherwise, I’m just going to hang around with you today and Wednesday. We’ll set up an actual schedule starting next week.”
“Are you sure you’re okay,” one of the resident’s asked.
“Oh, I am. Today was the full extent of his stalking, so far. And as you saw, I called the cops right away. Oh,” Faith said about to break the rules a bit further, “just like Karen, my boyfriend’s a cop, so, that’s helpful.”
There was a faint ringing coming from the attic.
“My phone, I think,” Faith said. “Be right back.”
She ran up the two flights of stairs and picked her phone up off the desk.
“Psychics,” she whispered, seeing several calls from her family.
“Mom, how could you sense trouble all the way from Brazil.”
It was vague; I’ll give you that. Are you all right?”
“Aaron Sinclair showed up ready to court me.”
“What a loser.”
“I think he’s a man with a plan. He was cloaked, so I didn’t get anything when I read him, but why would he be cloaked if he wasn’t up to something.”
“Well, your grandfather’s on his way. He’ll make short work of him.”
“I had Aaron arrested.”
“Faith, that’s not going to help.”
“I know, he’ll probably be able to get out, but he’s a poor excuse. I think all he’s got is foresight. Although,” she said with a laugh, that seemed in short supply today. I’ve got to get back to work. I’m at the shelter.”
“All right, dear.”
“Mom, will you let everybody know I’m okay. I’ve got about eight messages.”
“Will do.”
Faith did want to make one call, herself.
“Hi,” she said when Ed answered the phone.
He wasn’t psychic but, like all Buidseach, he had an empathetic connection to family, and Faith was, of course, his family.
“Something going on?”
“Aaron Sinclair just showed up at the center, and, before you ask, I’m fine. Just wanted to let you know that I had him arrested. Maybe they’ll deport him.”
“I’ll check on it. See you tonight.”
******
“Hey,” Paul said, as he handed Ed the coffee he’d brought him and sat down. “Anything new?”
“I’ve gone through a ton of Claire’s emails. The estate stuff seemed to be all-consuming. A lot of back and forth with Sotheby’s including pictures of furniture that wasn’t at her apartment.
“Must be in England,” Paul said.
“Could be.”
“I looked through her photos, too. Lots of pictures of Tiffany. Almost like an obsession,” Ed said.
“Really?” Paul asked walking back over to take a look. Let’s go have another chat with her.”
“She’ll probably want her attorney.”
“And she can have her, but there’s more to their relationship than just this play,” Paul said.
“She live in Brookline?” Ed asked.
“No,” Paul said looking at his list, “Cambridge. Let’s go.”
******
Arriving at her modest apartment building, Ed rang her buzzer and said, “Tiffany, Detective’s Sinclair and Malloy.”
There was silence for a moment, and then Tiffany said, “Now is not a good time.”
“Tiffany, you can call Muriel Berenson if you want, but we’re going to talk to you now. It’ll either be here or downtown.”
“Wait a minute.”
“You go keep an eye on the back door, and make sure she doesn’t do a runner,” Paul said, “I’ll wait here.
It wasn’t Tiffany who left in a hurry, but a man. He made no eye contact with Paul, just walked past him with deliberate haste. As the man exited the building, Tiffany buzzed the detective in. Paul held the door open while he also held up his badge and called the man back.
“And you are?” he asked the older gentleman.”
The man didn’t answer.
“Do you want to talk to me here or …”
“David Ferris.”
“Mr. Ferris, were you visiting Ms. Palmero?”
He nodded.
“Well, let’s go up and have a chat with her,” Paul said.
Once Paul entered Tiffany’s apartment, he called his partner and said, “Come on up.”
Paul waited by Tiffany’s security camera for Ed to appear and then buzzed him in.
“So, Mr. Ferris, what brought you here today, and why such a hasty exit?” Paul asked.
David looked at Tiffany but did not answer.
“Look, Mr. Ferris, I really don’t care why you were here. We’re just trying to solve the murder of a young woman.”
“I didn’t kill anybody,” David Ferris said looking more than a little surprised. “Tiffany’s a friend, that’s all.”
“A friend that gives you massages?” Ed asked as he sat down.
“Mostly, we just talk
.”
Tiffany was no blushing flower, but she liked David. He was a gentle, lonely man, and she didn’t want to see him hurt or embarrassed.
“Leave him alone, you fascist.”
“Then why don’t you tell us why he was running out the door,” Paul said.
Tiffany was torn until she heard David say, “It’s all my fault, I wanted to have sex with Tiffany but she wouldn’t. I’m just an old fool, that’s all. I was embarrassed to have anybody find me here, so I left.”
She looked at him and said, “You do know that I really care about you, don’t you?”
“I do,” he said his eye’s looking sad.
“Well, go on home. I’ll call you tomorrow, and we’ll have breakfast.”
David brightened a little, then asking Paul, “Can I go?”
Paul nodded, and David Ferris left Tiffany’s apartment.
“Seems like a decent man,” Paul said.
“Totally, and don’t you go giving him any trouble.”
“We’ll try not to if you level with us. By the way, you can contact Muriel Berenson if you want to,” Paul said.
“I know I should, but I’ll hold off for the moment.”
“So,” Ed asked, “prostitution?”
“No, not really. I left home at fifteen. If you’re thinking the usual story of abuse, you’re correct. I had nowhere to go, but I had a strong sense of survival, and rather than ending up on the street, I got a job in a convenience store. The money wasn’t enough to do anything but survive, so more by chance than by plan, I started to let a few nice men take care of me. In fact, it really would be hard to call it prostitution, at all. They gave me gifts, money but it didn’t differ much from dating, and I never had more than three or four suitors at a time.”
“Did Claire know?” Ed asked.
“Now I want Muriel.”
“All right,” Ed said, “let’s take a ride downtown.”
“I didn’t kill anyone.”
“I hope that’s true,” Paul said, “but we need our questions answered.”
They read Tiffany her rights and deposited her at the station awaiting Muriel’s arrival.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Paul said.
As they walked, Paul asked his partner if he thought that Claire had been threatening to make Tiffany’s avocation public.
The Power of Faith: Science Fiction Faith Ferguson Series Book 3 Page 6