Ed walked around her desk, pulled Faith up to him and kissed Faith with every bit of the considerable passion that he felt for her.
“Better,” Faith said of his best effort.
Ed just shook his head and left.
******
Once back in the car, Paul said, “Let’s go meet the Spencers. Martin Khole said they’d be at his office at ten.”
“Did I tell you that Faith went to see Laura and is going over to see Maggie on Monday?” Ed asked.
“Why?” Paul asked.
This was where things got tricky. Ed couldn’t tell his partner that it was because she’d been having visions and premonitions, so he would, if not outright lie, fib.
“She’s trying to get a handle on what happened last year.”
“I can understand that,” Paul said.
It took only minutes for them to arrive at Khole’s office, and once there, they saw a couple they guessed to be the Spencer’s sitting in his waiting room.
“Mr. and Mrs. Spencer?” Paul asked as he approached them.
Getting an affirmative response, Paul introduced his partner and himself.
“Attorney Khole told us you’d be here today. Would you like to speak with us about our investigation?”
“No,” Mr. Spencer said.
“We don’t need you to identify her, but would you like to see Claire?”
“No,” Mr. Spencer said again.
It was at this point that Martin Khole came out to meet them.
“Why don’t we go into my office?” he said.
It was apparent by the Spencers’ body language that they had no interest in speaking to the police, but they made no overt objection.
Martin gestured for them to have a seat around his conference table, and when everyone was seated, Paul said, “We have a lead on your daughter’s case, but nothing solid yet. Did she indicate that she was worried, or that there was any a type of problem?”
“No,” Mr. Spencer said, but this time, he had more to say. “I have no interest in your case, Constable. I am here to settle an estate, and I consider your presence to be an intrusion.”
“It’s detective, and our case is about your daughter’s murder.”
“Oh, is our daughter dead? I thought Mr. Khole was kidding,” Mr. Spencer said.
Paul was generally slow to anger, but Claire’s father was getting under his skin.
“Meeting with you here was a courtesy, but if that doesn’t suit you, we can go to the police station. You may not care who killed Claire, but I do. So, do you want to answer a few questions here, or shall we take a ride?”
“Here,” Mr. Spencer said.
“When did you last hear from Claire?”
“We haven’t had any contact since she left a year ago.”
“None?”
Martin gave a Paul a subtle nod indicating that he’d been told the same thing.
“I understand that you’re related to Margaret Dunham,” Paul said.
“She’s my sister,” Mrs. Spencer said.
“When did you last hear from her?” Paul asked.
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Mrs. Spencer asked.
“When did you last hear from her?”
“Years ago. I had no idea that she’d been committed or that she had an estate.”
“Claire never told you,” Paul said.
“Claire was not one to share, and I’m quite sure that she planned to keep everything for herself,” her mother said.
“Claire didn’t have anything to share,” Martin corrected. “She had yet to be appointed executor.”
“Well, I’ll be taking over that role,” Mrs. Spencer said.
“Dr. Dunham and her attorney will have something to say about that,” Martin said.
“We’ll let you get into that,” Paul said.
“Someone will have to deal with Claire’s funeral. Here’s the person to contact,” Paul said handing them a card.
Annoyed, but compliant, Mrs. Spencer took the card. The meeting had been entirely fruitless until she said, “Some man sent me a text about Margaret. It said that Claire should either call off her efforts to gain control of Margaret’s estate, or she’d be killed.”
“When was that?”
“A couple of weeks ago?”
“Did you let Claire know about that?”
“No, it was nonsense.”
“Did you contact Dr. Dunham?”
“No, of course not.”
“Can I see the text?”
“No. I deleted it.”
Wondering if the text could be retrieved, Paul said, “We need to try and get it back. I’ll need your phone.”
“No.”
Ed could see that Paul was about to lose his temper, and he asked, “Where are you staying?”
“We’ll be at the Copley until the estate is resolved.”
“Fine.”
Martin walked them out, and said, “Sorry about that.”
“It’s not your fault. What are you going to do with them?” Paul said.
“Exactly what I was going to do with their daughter, drop them.”
“Do me a favor, don’t do that for a day or two. I don’t want them leaving town before I get a warrant for that phone.”
“Do you really have a lead?” Martin Khole asked.
“We do, but we’re a long way from an arrest, yet. And that text could be a real help.”
“All right, I have a lot of information to go over with them. I’ll stretch it out for a couple of days.”
“Thanks,” Paul said.
Leaving the building, Ed said, “He’s a decent sort.”
Paul nodded and said, “I can see where Claire got her winning personality.”
“You were just about to blow in there.”
“She was their kid. How can they not care?” Paul asked.
“We’ve seen that before.”
“Sure. Addicts, criminals, the mentally ill. These people don’t seem to have those problems,” Paul said.
“Well, we care, and if we can track that text, it’ll get us a long way toward solving this thing.”
******
The opening of Finley’s was a glittering black-tie affair, and since nothing new had broken on the case, Ed was pleased to be escorting his girlfriend and arriving on time. They entered the establishment and were duly impressed with not only the perfection of Finn’s design but of all the finery before them.
“Wow,” Faith said, “it’s like the Oscars.”
Finn came up and embraced her.
“You look lovely,” he said.
“More than lovely,” Ed said, “I’ve never seen her look so beautiful.”
Faith always favored black, and tonight was no exception as she was in a form-fitting floor-length gown. In deference to her new eye color Faith had treated herself to a stunning emerald and diamond necklace. The combination of natural beauty, that necklace, and her almost unearthly eye color was causing quite a stir among Finn’s patrons.
“Who are all these people?” Faith asked. “They seem much too glamorous for our conservative city.”
“Most of the people are local, but I did invite a few friends from abroad.”
“A few?” Faith asked.
“All right about half of them. I wanted to show this place off to them, and them to Boston.”
“Well, it’s the most glamorous event I’ve ever seen. I didn’t know you were going to have music?” Faith said seeing a small group of musicians on a riser in the corner.
All of my restaurants have music, it’s part of the ambiance,” Finn said.
Olivia Abernethy walked into the restaurant dressed in a cream floor-length gown and glanced around the room, obviously looking for her host. Before she could locate him, however, she and her guest were escorted to their table.
“That’s her, isn’t it,” Faith said as she saw him looking across the room.
“The critic, yes. How’d you know?” Finn asked.
“Well, for one thing I can sense her, and for another, I went walkabout a couple of days ago and visited all the Buidseach in the area.”
“Cool. Find anything interesting?” Finn asked.
“Not really,” Faith said and was about to head toward their table when Beth and Ted arrived with the Padraig.
Greeting them, Finn gave Beth a hug and said, “I wish your parents could have come.”
“I do too, but apparently they’re in charge of protecting the entire British Isles,” Beth said with a giggle.
“So I hear,” Finn said.
Ted was congratulating Finn on the apparent success of his new venture but didn’t have his full attention. Finn was looking at his father and waiting, with considerable impatience, for his approval. And with every second of father’s silence, Finn was becoming increasingly irritated. Padraig wasn’t torturing his son, but he was, first, by nature, reserved, and second, trying to contain his son’s ego. But Padraig was also well aware that boat had sailed, long ago, and so he gave in and said, “It’s the best yet.”
“It really is, isn’t it.” The evening now a genuine success, Finn having garnered validation from the person whose opinion mattered most to him. “I’m going back into the kitchen. I’m not cooking tonight, but I want to make sure things are going well,” Finn said and left his family.
******
Finn had seated his father, Faith, Ed, and the Harris’ at not only the best table but one that was set apart. This would allow them to speak freely, and not be inhibited by his non-magical patrons. This was, in fact, his VIP table so, in addition to privacy, they could see everything that was going on, while also having an exceptional view of the City’s primary green space, The Boston Common.
“This table’s set for six, I wonder if anyone else is coming?” Faith asked.
“Probably not,” Ed said, “Five’s an odd number, that’s all.”
A waitress brought them drinks, and they were perusing the menu when a surprise guest appeared. It was Inspector Duncan Stewart from the Scottish Shetland Islands.
“Duncan,” Ed said standing to shake his hand.
“Didn’t you sense my arrival?” Duncan asked Faith in jest.
“No, although I have been sensing some danger. That you?”
“No, but I’ve had the same feeling. That’s part of why I’m here.”
“Only part, I hope,” Finn said coming up behind him.
“Yes. I would have been here anyway. I made it to both of your other openings, didn’t I?”
“That you did.”
“So,” Duncan said, ribbing him “What’s good?”
“Everything,” Finn said, but that’s why I came over. You can look at the menu all you want, but I’ve already selected what you’ll be having.”
“No lie, Finn. It all looks outstanding,” Ted said.
Finn put his hand on Ted’s shoulder and was about to leave when a less welcome visitor came toward them. It was Aaron Sinclair.
“You were invited?” Duncan asked as he stood to confront him.
“This is a public restaurant.”
“That it is, but not tonight,” Finn said. “Do you want to be on the receiving end of my displeasure?”
This was a legitimate concern, as, while Aaron had not been at the Battle of Unst, himself, he’d heard his family talk about Finn’s extraordinary powers. Finn, however, did not need to be a demi-God to handle the likes of Aaron Sinclair.
“I believe there’s a harassment protection order out against you, isn’t there?” Faith asked.
Ed stood, prepared to take the lead seeing to Aaron’s departure, but Finn put a stop to that, in a quiet calm voice saying, “There will be no fucking altercations in here tonight. Do I make myself clear? There’s nothing I can’t handle.”
“You’d do well not to take me on,” Aaron said to Ed, considering him to be, at best, a neophyte.
Ed looked at Finn, then at Aaron, and proceeded to walk a few steps to his left. He then uttered the words “Te mitto,” and Aaron disappeared from view.
“Jesus,” Finn said, “what are you doing? Not just tonight but in public, at all.”
While dialing his phone, Ed said, “I stood between him and the rest of the room. No one saw what happened.” Then, speaking into his phone, Ed said, “It’s Ed Sinclair. Go outside. There’s a man standing in the alley. He’s wanted on a harassment warrant. Call me when you have him in custody.”
Padraig was duly impressed. The young man who’d learned of his heritage only months ago, and who was, as Aaron had said, a neophyte, now seemed to be in full control.
As always, economical with his praise, Padraig said, “You did well.”
“Dad!” Finn said.
Padraig waved him off, and said, “You should thank him. He took care of the matter without any confrontation. And when was there a gathering of our clan without someone being ejected.”
Finn tried not to laugh, but he couldn’t help himself. While Buidseach were no more or less prone to conflict than the general population, their special skills did, more often than not, cause their disputes to escalate.
“It was impressive,” Finn said to Ed. “I am proud of you.”
Ed nodded.
“He will escape again, of course,” Padraig said.
“I know. I just wanted him to know that I’m no longer a neophyte.”
“I told you that I’ve been studying, and when you showed me how to make things materialize yesterday, I wondered if there was anything like that in my book of spells. So, this morning, I took a run home to check it out. Sure enough, I found that I could send someone to any destination I wanted. So, I gave it a shot.”
“Damned impressive,” Duncan said. “And I want a look at that book.”
Ed smiled. He was no longer the clan’s weakest link, and he liked the feeling.
“Buidseach,” Finn said mildly annoyed, left them and went back to work.
“He’s cloaked,” Duncan said. “Either he’s not up to much, or it’s left over from Erebus. Could that be?” Duncan asked Padraig.
“It could. Erebus is gone so he couldn’t uncloak him.”
“He showed up at the women’s shelter where I work,” Faith told Duncan, “and I had him arrested. I knew they wouldn’t be able to hold him, but the women were watching, so I had to take what looked like appropriate action.”
Ed’s phone rang, and the desk sergeant told him that Aaron was in custody.
“They’ve got him,” Ed said.
“Not for long,” Duncan said.
Before Ed could respond further, the background music stopped. One of the musicians stepped up to the microphone and introduced Finn, who enjoyed a roomful of applause and went on to say a few words about his new venture.
When the soft, pleasant, background music started again, Ed asked Padraig, what they should do about Aaron.
“I’ll call home and see what his family knows. I just hope that we don’t have to take drastic action. We can’t bind him so…”
“I’m off work for a couple of weeks, why don’t I stick around and keep an eye on him for you?” Duncan asked.
“Does that mean that I can threaten to throw your ass in jail, every so often?” Ed asked wanting to give back some of what he’d received in Scotland
“No, you were interfering with an ongoing police investigation. I am going to keep a watchful eye on a fellow Buidseach.”
“Much as I’d like some payback, it would be helpful if you’d see what he’s up to.”
“All right, I will.”
“Where are you staying?” Faith asked.
“I’m at The Liberty?”
“The Liberty?” Ed said. “My, aren’t you fancy?”
“I like the finer things,” Duncan said.
“Clearly,” Ed said.
“I’d offer you my guest room, but it’s currently occupied by Finn.”
“Thanks, but I’m very comfortable at the hotel. I don’t take
many vacations, and it’s nice to feel like a tourist.”
After an evening of great music, food, and company Faith said, “This was wonderful, but it’s eleven, and my publisher’s coming to town early tomorrow morning, so I’m going home.”
Ed got up with her, and they walked over to Finn.
“What time do you think you’ll be done here?” she asked her roommate.
“Oh, not for at least a couple hours, maybe more. Still a lot of kinks to work out,” Finn said.
“Well, you know the code, so I’ll see you when I see you.”
“Come on,” Ed said, “let’s go.”
As they walked to the door, Faith said, “Why don’t you stay?”
“What?”
“I think you and Duncan really enjoy each other. Why don’t you hang out for a while? You weren’t going to stay over, anyway? Have some fun with the boys.”
“I’d kind of like to. You’re okay with it?”
“I suggested it.”
“All right. Let’s get you into a cab.”
Walking up to the driver, Ed flashed his badge and said, “Take this woman home.”
Faith gave him a kiss and whispered, “Sexist, but, still, kind of nice.”
“Maybe I should take you home,” Ed said as he put his arms around her.
“I’m meeting my publisher at eight a.m., so, no.”
“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Back inside Finley’s, Finn was shaking hands with some of his departing customers.
“Faith gone?” Finn said as Ed came back inside.
“Just put her in a cab. Thought I’d have another drink.”
“Great, let’s get Duncan and head over to the bar.”
“You’ve only known about your powers for, what, four months now?” Duncan asked Ed as they took their seats at the sleek black bar.
“Around that.”
“So, what have you got?”
“Thought it was bad form to ask.”
“It is,” Finn said, “but you’re a weird case. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who didn’t know he was Buidseach. I knew they were out there, but I’d never met any. So, since you’re a mystery man, I’m curious, too. What have you got?”
“Well, I’m not dia.”
“I’m the only demi-God on Earth.”
The Power of Faith: Science Fiction Faith Ferguson Series Book 3 Page 13