“So you’re pissin’ em both off.”
“Essentially, yes. That would be my guess. Therefore, I’m expendable as far as both of them are concerned.”
“So, ain’t you worried about Firehair out runnin’ around by herself?”
“At the moment, no.” I shook my head. “Miranda exercises too much control over Annalise. She isn’t going to let Annalise come after Felicity. If anything, she’ll probably attempt something magickal again. I’m just not sure what.”
“Somethin’ with the bones?”
“Possibly, although that would be more curse oriented and more likely directed at me. If I had to speculate, I’d say she’ll probably try to re-establish the bond between them.”
“How?”
“At this point your guess is as good as mine.”
“Well, I hate ta’ say it, but there ain’t much I can do about the Twilight Zone shit, Row.”
“I know.”
He sat staring off into space for a moment then exhaled heavily. “Okay. I’m gonna call and see if we can put somebody on the house. Then I’ll check with Constance and see if the Feebs can put you two up in a safe house.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary, Ben,” I said. “Besides, we tried that before, and if you recall it didn’t end very well.”
“That was a different situation.”
“Maybe. But I still don’t think it’s necessary, and even if it is, I’m not willing to take that chance. I need to stand my ground.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I’m not going to argue the point, Ben.”
“Jeezus… Well, why don’t you an’ Felicity at least come crash at my place ‘till we can get a handle on this.”
“I need to stay put. But, maybe I can talk Felicity into getting out of harm’s way.”
“Yeah, right. Like she’s gonna go for that.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Ain’t no prob’ly to it. I’ve been down this road with you two before. She’s more stubborn than you if that’s possible.”
“Believe me, that’s already on my mind.”
Ben’s cell phone began trilling, so he fished it out of his pocket and flipped it open. “Yeah. Storm… Uh-huh… Yeah… Hold on, he’s sittin’ right here. I’ll ask ‘im…”
“What?” I asked as he cupped his hand over the mouthpiece.
“Has Felicity got a necklace with a half a coin or somethin’ like that on it?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a nod. “It’s an heirloom she got from her mother.”
“Was she wearin’ it today?”
“Probably. She almost always is.”
“Yeah. That’s what Lewis just told ‘em.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“He’s still insistin’ it was Felicity he was with. Swears he can’t be makin’ a mistake ‘cause she was wearin’ the same necklace last night when he hooked up with ‘er.”
“Dammit, Ben, we aren’t going there again, are we? Felicity didn’t…”
He cut me off. “Calm down, Row. It’s all good. I just had ta’ ask. We know the guy’s a wingnut.”
He removed his hand and returned his attention to the phone. “Yeah, Row says ‘e thinks she wears it all the time, so she prob’ly had it on this mornin’ when the fruitloop showed up… Yeah, that’s my thought too… Wait, hold on… What, White Man?”
I had been waving at him to get his attention.
“If you’re looking for something to distinguish them from one another, ask him if the woman last night had any tattoos. Annalise has a triskele on her back, near her left shoulder.”
“How do ya’ know that? Wait… Forget I asked…” He moved the phone back up to his mouth. “Ya’ catch that? Yeah, left shoulder. Yeah… I’ll hold…”
“So?”
“So cool your jets,” he told me. “We ain’t comin’ after Felicity. The guy’s certifiable and we know it. Ackman’s gonna ask ‘im about the tatt.”
After a moment he repositioned the phone and said, “What’s that? Yeah. Thought so… Okay, I’ll be over in a few. Later.”
I watched him as he folded the phone and stuffed it back into his pocket.
“You were right. Lewis says she had the BDSM tatt on ‘er shoulder. That somethin’ you got from a visit to the Twilight Zone?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Well, odds are he’s just so fixated on Firehair that he’s sayin’ anything ‘e can to make us believe there’s a relationship there, so I wouldn’t worry about it. So, look… I gotta run. I need ta’ hook up with Ackman ta’ go check out that club.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No.” He shook his head. “What I want is for ya’ ta’ pack a bag, grab your wife, and hightail it over ta’ my place. I can give ya’ my spare key.”
“I wouldn’t count on that happening.”
“Yeah, I know. So, we go for number two on my wish list instead. You stay right here with the door locked, and call me if any ooga-boogas pop in and give ya’ a message.”
Other than a particularly angry resurgence of my chronic headache, the rest of the day passed without incident. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Unfortunately, for me, the good things always seemed to reach that end far too quickly.
Wednesday, December 14
1:17 A.M.
Unit 103
Blue Moon Apartments
Saint Louis, Missouri
CHAPTER 27:
“Why?” Annalise asked aloud.
“It is not for you to ask…” Miranda told her.
“But, I’ve had this all my life.”
“And, that is why you must use it now…”
“But…”
“Do not argue, Annalise… Do as you have been told…”
Annalise stared at the necklace in her hand. It was a small half-coin suspended from a delicate gold chain. She fingered it gently, feeling the uneven edge where it had been cut like a puzzle piece. This was all she had of her true history. A gift from a mother she had never known. She had always imagined that somewhere the woman who had given birth to her was wearing the other half around her neck and thinking of the daughter she had given up.
There was a time in her life when she had felt nothing but animosity for that woman. But, in recent years her feelings had changed. She knew there had to have been a reason for her mother to make the choice she did, right or wrong. She wanted desperately to believe that she regretted that decision each and every day and was somewhere out there looking for her.
“But, my mother…” she objected again.
“Ezili is your mother, Annalise…”
“Yes, I know that, but…”
“Annalise!” Miranda’s voice scolded. “Do as you have been told!”
She jumped involuntarily at the harshness inside her head. Fear gripped her at the thought of punishment, but this time her defiance was not so easily dismissed.
“I can’t…” she muttered.
“You can, and you will…” Miranda instructed.
“No.”
The word came from her mouth as no more than a whisper, but she knew that didn’t matter. It took only a thought for Miranda to know.
She felt her muscles tense as the odd euphoria of possession began to overtake her. She tried to repeat the word, but nothing more than a gasp would exit her lips. She struggled against the cold embrace of the spirit, but her will had been broken long ago. It was only a moment before she felt herself being drawn into darkness as the Lwa entered her body.
As her vision tunneled, she watched her hands moving of their own accord, anointing the necklace with the dead man’s blood then placing it into a small glass bottle.
The last thing she remembered before disappearing into the void was the overpowering scent of cloves.
CHAPTER 28:
I had just finished spreading butter onto some slices of whole wheat bread before layering them with Swiss cheese and shaved, smoked ham. I already had a frying pan resting on the stove waiting patiently for me to ignite fire under it so that I could go about the business of grilling the sandwiches for lunch.
Felicity was hard at work in her basement office. Her meeting had gone well the day before, and it was almost a foregone conclusion that she would be signing a contract with the company. However, she still had other obligations to fulfill, so she was presently involved in applying her own brand of technological magic to some digital photographs she had taken for a different client.