“Aren’t you just the sweetest ol’ thing,” Abby said, playfully swatting the warden on the chest. He blushed furiously and cleared his throat.
Morgan had stepped into the empty cell by now. His eyes took in the scene and he chewed his bottom lip. He had grown to really dislike the supernatural more and more, it seemed that Assistance Unlimited couldn’t escape it. Were they drawn to it somehow or was the entire world just fraying at the edges, letting the dark things scamper into the light? He didn’t know and, ultimately, he didn’t care. He just wished it would all go away.
“Abby, if you’re done with the warden, could you step in here, please?”
Abby pulled herself away from the warden, who remained where he was, watching the two of them with curious and suspicious eyes. She knelt down next to the drawings on the floor, letting her fingertips brush over the items arrayed along the devil’s star. “He summoned something. Probably bartered with it in return for his freedom.”
Morgan bent at the waist and whispered, “You mean some kind of demon?”
“Most likely.” She looked up at Morgan. “Whatever was here, it was powerful. I can still sense it in the air.”
“Can you trace it somehow? Figure out where he might have gone?”
Abby snatched up some of the objects that Pemberley had left behind. “I think there’s enough residual energy on these that I can do that back at headquarters.”
“Why not do it here, at the source?”
Abby glanced over at the watching guards and the warden. “I don’t practice the same sort of magic that was done here. Some of my spells require hand or verbal gestures but others are more intensive. My way of tracing this energy… I don’t think it would go over too well in the prison.”
“It’s dangerous?”
“No. It just requires me to be naked.” Abby stood up and dropped the objects into the pocket of Morgan’s coat.
The warden was staring at Morgan when the members of Assistance Unlimited exited the cell. “Did I just see you palming evidence?”
“I’m innocent. She did it.”
“I don’t care who did it! It’s not right!”
Morgan patted the warden on the arm. “You called us, remember? So why don’t you let us do our jobs. We’ll be in touch.”
The warden watched open-mouthed as Morgan and Abby strode through the hall. Someday those arrogant clods from Assistance Unlimited would get their comeuppance. He just hoped that he’d live long enough to see it.
The headquarters of Assistance Unlimited was located at 6196 Robeson Avenue. Lazarus Gray had purchased all three of the buildings that lay on this city block, transforming what had once been an unassuming neighborhood into the beating heart of his enterprise. The centerpiece of his holdings was a three-story structure that had once been a hotel. Gray’s three associates used the first floor, while the second had been gutted and converted into one large room that was used for meetings, briefings and research. The third floor was off-limits to everyone but Gray himself and was his private domicile.
Across the street were several storefronts owned by Lazarus, all of which had closed down at the dawn of the Great Depression.
Lazarus stood in the team’s briefing room, his eyes fixed to a map of Sovereign City that had been hung on the wall. Here and there colored pins had been inserted into various city blocks, allowing the members of Assistance Unlimited to keep track of their various investigations. Now that the Hawthorne matter had been concluded, they were down to nine active cases, including the Pemberley disappearance.
Jakob Sporrenberg was away at the moment, investigating a series of kidnappings in the Chinatown district and Samantha had been told to take a couple of days off so that the drugs in her system could fade. That still left a relatively full contingent of members at Gray’s disposal, however.
Morgan, Abby and Eun were all seated around the meeting room table, talking quietly about the Pemberley matter. Lazarus was only vaguely aware of the content of their words. He felt like something was building in Sovereign and had been for quite some time: like all the weirdness in the city was beginning to take its toll. Not long ago, a witch had predicted death for all of Gray’s companions and Lazarus had heard those words before: they haunted his dreams and even some of his waking hours. Was it related to the ongoing doom and gloom that he felt with regards to the city?
“Chief?”
Lazarus turned his head, realizing that Morgan had asked him a question. “I’m sorry, Morgan. Could you repeat that?”
“Abby said she’s got a lead on where Pemberley might have gone. I was wondering who you wanted to send to check it out — or if you wanted to do it yourself."
After considering the matter, Lazarus said, "We shouldn't underestimate our old enemy. I think we should leave one member here to coordinate our operations and the rest can check out Pemberley."
"In that case, all of you can go." Samantha stood in the doorway, looking pale but strong. "I can handle things at the office."
"You shouldn't be out of bed," Morgan murmured with disapproval.
"I'm not a China doll," Samantha peevishly answered. "I think I can manage the telephone in my delicate condition."
Morgan knew better than to argue that point. He leaned back in his seat and deferred to Lazarus, knowing that his employer was the only one capable of talking sense into Samantha's pretty little head.
Lazarus, however, didn't seem interested in doing so. "Thank you, Samantha. Abby, where are we headed?"
Abigail stood up and approached the map. She studied it for a few seconds and then tapped an area known as Holly Falls. It had once been a prosperous family-style community, centered around a small waterfall. But after a series of child rapes and murders at the turn of the century, Holly Falls fell into disfavor. It was now home to only a few lower-income families and opium addicts.
"That's where he went," Abby said. "But I don't know that he's still there."
Lazarus nodded. "It's a start. Let's go. Samantha, we'll be in touch via our radio communicators."
Wishing she could be going with them, Samantha headed to the radio monitoring station. She offered Morgan a smile of apology, and he winked in return.
Holly Falls was a creepy place, Samantha thought. She hoped that her friends didn't run into too much trouble.
Doc Pemberley had made a mistake.
He had realized that as soon as his feet had touched down on the streets of Holly Falls. The entity he had summoned was powerful — and canny. While gaining his freedom had been vital, Pemberley was now at the whims of a mysterious master, one whose ultimate goals were unknown.
In order to stem the rising tide of fear that threatened to engulf him, Pemberley had found his way to a local dive known as The Widow’s Peak. It catered to men like himself, who wanted to drink in private, without too many prying eyes. As such, entrance was given only to those to whom the proprietors were well acquainted.
Pemberley had drunk heavily for a few hours, promising to use his skills in whatever capacity the owners desired. It was another devil’s bargain but what choice did he have? He had no money and his face was well known around Sovereign. He needed a place to hide until the heat could die down.
Gratefully accepting a room on the second floor of the tavern, Pemberley had fallen into a deep sleep. It was anything but refreshing, however. Dark visions haunted his dreams: a man dressed in scarlet, lurking in the shadows; a woman whose face dripped like wax; and the omnipresent threat of Lazarus Gray, who had foiled Pemberley time and again.