by Jenna Black
The driver was still chattering when we got out of the cab. Raphael handed him a twenty and told him to keep the change. It was a ridiculously big tip, but it seemed Raphael was as anxious to get away from him as I was.
Raphael and I had agreed that I would remain in control and in the background unless he needed help in containing our rogue demon. No one outside of Lugh’s council knew I was possessed, and it was better for everyone if it stayed that way. But Lugh would be available if I needed him.
Keller’s apartment was on the third floor of an old but well-maintained brownstone. There was no real lobby in this building, just a foyer with a row of mailboxes and intercom buttons on one side. We found Keller’s name, and Raphael rang the buzzer. There was no answer.
I’d been primed for action, and my heart sank as Raphael rang the buzzer a second time. I hadn’t allowed myself to consider the possibility that Keller might not be home.
Raphael tried the buzzer a third time, but the result was the same. Then he headed for the stairs.
“Where are you going?” I asked as I followed.
He gave me a look. “Up to Keller’s apartment. Where else?”
“But he’s not home.”
“So we’ll wait for him.”
Raphael didn’t bother with any further information. I had a feeling we were about to do something I was going to regret, but I followed him anyway.
This was a small building, and there were only three apartments on each floor. The bulb at one end of the third-floor hallway was burned out, which made it easy to see the light that shone under the door of David Keller’s apartment. Of course, this was the city, and it was generally a good idea to leave a light or two on when you were gone, to discourage certain segments of the population from paying a visit.
When we got closer, I could hear the faint sound of music coming from behind the door. It sounded like something classically romantic, and I suddenly wondered if Keller hadn’t answered the doorbell because he was otherwise occupied.
Raphael didn’t seem to care if he was interrupting. He knocked on the door, but there was still no response. Then he put his hand on the doorknob and gave it a turn.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up when I realized the door wasn’t locked. Raphael gave me a stern look. “Don’t touch anything, just in case.”
I could have asked “Just in case what?” But I didn’t, because I had a pretty good idea what he meant.
Raphael went in first, beckoning me to follow and stay behind him. I didn’t like taking orders from him, but I did it anyway. He closed the door softly once I was in.
The apartment was tiny and cramped, and every flat surface was covered in books and papers. The room we were in was a combination living room and kitchenette, though it looked like Keller used the kitchenette for book storage rather than cooking. There was only one doorway visible other than the front door. I couldn’t imagine living in an apartment that didn’t even have a coat closet, but it looked like a straight-backed chair tucked into one corner was an unofficial coat rack.
The music was a little louder now, and it was clearly coming from behind the closed door. If Keller had a girl in there—or a boy, for that matter—this was going to be very embarrassing. But somehow, I didn’t think that was going to be the case. Raphael put a finger to his lips, and I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t about to make conversation while we were breaking into someone’s apartment.
I followed Raphael through the piles of books that were strewn carelessly on the floor. He paused in front of the door, which could only lead to the bedroom. We both listened intently, but there was no sound from inside other than the music.
His face grim, Raphael pushed open the door and peeked inside. I held my breath.
Raphael’s head and shoulders drooped, and he let out a sigh of resignation. I tried to peek around his shoulder, but he blocked me with one arm and pushed me back.
“You don’t want to see this,” he warned.
No, of course I didn’t. But I ducked under Raphael’s arm anyway.
David Keller lay naked on the bed. Duct tape sealed his mouth and circled his wrists and ankles. His eyes were wide and staring, and the bloody circular wound in the center of his forehead looked almost like a third eye. The pillow and mattress beneath him were soaked in blood, and I belatedly noticed the nasty, coppery odor.
Suddenly light-headed, I swayed and reached out to grab the door frame to keep from falling. Raphael snatched my hand away before I made contact.
“Don’t touch anything!” he snapped. “Do you really want your fingerprints here?”
That thought didn’t do much for my light-headedness. For a moment, I seriously thought I was about to faint. Raphael kept me on my feet, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. With his free hand, he used the bottom of his T-shirt to wipe off the doorknob, then dragged me through the cluttered room back to the front door.
“Get a grip on yourself,” he said sharply, giving me a little shake for emphasis. “We need to get out of here before anyone sees us.”
I blinked, hoping that would make the dizziness go away. It didn’t, but I gritted my teeth and pushed away from Raphael. I was pleasantly surprised to find I could stand on my own power, and I took a deep breath to further steady myself.
Raphael peered out of the peephole, making sure the coast was clear. Then he opened the door and once again used his T-shirt to wipe down the knob, both inside and out.
“Keep your head down,” Raphael said, “and if we run into anyone, try to keep me between you and them. You’re more easily identifiable than I am.”
Unfortunately true. Just for tonight, I wished my hair were some sedate, nondescript color. Maybe I needed to rethink my flamboyant look now that I was constantly running from trouble.
We made it all the way to the first floor without being spotted, but we had the bad luck of opening the front door at the exact same time someone was coming in. I lowered my head and hunched my shoulders, trying to look smaller than I really was, and I slid my arm through Raphael’s, using his body for cover. My mouth was bone dry, and I had to remind myself to breathe or I might have passed out.
Because I was hiding behind Raphael, I didn’t get a good look at the young couple who came in, but from what I could tell, they seemed to be in too much of a hurry to find the nearest bedroom to pay much attention to Raphael and me.
My nerves still on red alert, I allowed Raphael to lead me out into the street and put a few blocks between us and Keller’s apartment before calling a cab to take us home.
Chapter 18
We hadn’t gotten more than two blocks before Raphael suddenly, and without consulting me, told the cabbie there was a change in plans and gave him his own address. The cabbie, much quieter than our previous one, barely gave a grunt of acknowledgment as he changed course. I gave Raphael a furious look— I didn’t want to spend more time in his company than was absolutely necessary—but of course I didn’t dare question him in front of a witness.
I fumed in silence as we drove past the university and into a residential area that was too rich for the average student’s blood. At a guess, I’d say it was a popular area for faculty.
Tommy Brewster had been living in student housing, sharing his apartment with a slimy roommate, but that situation hadn’t been to Raphael’s liking. As soon as he’d moved into Tommy’s body, he’d ditched the roommate and relocated to a town house. I didn’t know where he got the money to afford the nice town house, and I didn’t ask. Sometimes, ignorance really is bliss.
As soon as we stepped out of the cab, Raphael whipped out his cell phone.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” I said, grabbing his wrist. “First, you tell me why the change of plans.”
He broke my grip easily. His face looked uncommonly grim as he held the phone between his cheek and his shoulder and unlocked his front door. “Just give me a minute,” he said.
I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes. “Tell me what the h
ell you’re up to!” I demanded, but he ignored me.
The tension visibly eased from his shoulders when someone answered his call. I couldn’t hear the other side of the conversation at all, but Raphael considerately clued me in as to whom he was calling.
“Saul,” he said, sounding relieved. “You need to get out of Morgan’s apartment ASAP. Come to my place, and I’ll explain.”
I didn’t need to hear the other end of the conversation to know Saul’s reaction. Raphael’s jaw tightened. He pushed open his front door, then shoved me over the threshold when I stubbornly refused to move.
The door slammed behind us, and Raphael threw the deadbolt while glaring at me. I was too used to being glared at to be terribly bothered by it.
“Please, just get out of there,” Raphael said. “The police may be paying a visit soon, and if they find you there, they might start asking questions. Unless Adam has made more progress than I think in creating an identity for you, you can’t hold up to much scrutiny.”
He listened intently for a moment; then the tension in his body language dwindled, and I knew Saul had agreed to get out of my apartment. I was beginning to think through the ramifications of Keller’s death, and I wasn’t liking them one bit.
First off, it meant that we had no idea whose body my demon enemy was in now. Second, it meant there was another mysterious death that I could be a suspect in. And last, but certainly not least, it hinted that the demon had no more use for Keller, which meant that if he’d been planning to plant incriminating evidence, he’d likely done so already.
Raphael hung up the phone, finally turning his attention back to me. “Saul is on his way here. Have you caught up with me yet?”
“You want me to hide from the police,” I said in an accusatory voice.
“At least for the moment,” he agreed. “If anyone saw us go in there tonight and they tell the police, I’m betting you’ll get promoted from ‘person of interest’ to ‘suspect’ in no time flat. We can’t afford to have you locked up.”
“Running away is just going to make me look guilty!” I protested, but I wasn’t surprised that Raphael didn’t budge.
“Better to look guilty than get thrown in jail,” he said. “We need Adam’s input. Do you want to call him, or shall I?”
Control freak that I am, I should have insisted on making the call myself. But I just couldn’t psych myself up to do it. I was too tired, too stressed, to deal with Adam, who would probably find some reason why this fiasco was all my fault.
“You do it,” I said flatly.
To my surprise, Raphael reached out and gave my arm a squeeze, and it didn’t feel like he was trying to crush my bones into powder.
“We’ve gotten through worse situations,” he said. “We’ll get through this, too.”
I wanted to object to the word “we,” didn’t want to admit that Raphael and I were in any way in this together, but for once I managed to keep my opinion to myself. I gave a brisk nod that Raphael took as agreement of some kind. Then he parked me in his living room with a strong rum and Coke by my side and called Adam for advice.
Despite my desire to retreat into my personal cone of silence, Adam demanded to speak to me after Raphael finished briefing him on the situation. There was nothing in the world that could force me to give in to Adam’s demand, except for the knowledge that not talking to him would be a form of cowardice.
“Please don’t tell me the situation is any worse than we already know,” I begged him.
“Sorry, love,” he answered, and he did actually sound sorry. “The late Mr. Keller ‘found’ a thumb drive belonging to Hillerman, and when the police looked at it, they found the letter Hillerman had sent to Brian, as well as the doctored photo.”
“Shit.” There wasn’t anything else I could add.
“Yeah. My esteemed colleagues have had some questions for me now that they’ve seen the photo. I told them it was a fake, but they’re starting to wonder about the times I’ve taken statements from you.”
“Shit.” A good, all-purpose cuss word always comes in handy.
“I don’t think they’re going to find anything that would hurt me too badly, but it does mean I have to step back even further in this case.”
Once upon a time, I’d been a bit shocked by Adam’s casual disregard for the law, but right now, I’d have loved to have that back. He’d kept me out of more trouble than I could believe, and I couldn’t help being terrified that I’d end up in prison without his help.
“I tried to talk to Maguire’s ex-girlfriend earlier today,” Adam said in what seemed like a non sequitur, “but I never managed to reach her, and now that I’m under a microscope, I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to be seen talking to her.”
Great. Now that the demon had fled his second murdered host, we needed information to help identify him more than ever. I doubted, however, that anyone in our merry band other than Adam had the requisite skills to question the girlfriend with any success. I glanced at Raphael and amended my thought: No one but Adam could question the girlfriend without getting us into even worse trouble.
Adam read my mind. “We need to get answers from her, see if she knows anything that could help us identify our rogue.”
“Are you suggesting I go talk to her?” I asked doubtfully.
His snort of derision would have hurt my feelings—or pissed me off—if I didn’t know how badly suited I was for the job, and how conspicuous I would be if I tried to approach the girlfriend.
“No, I’m suggesting we get Barbie to go talk to her.”
“What? Are you crazy?”
“Just hear me out. It’s very important to her to keep her nose clean. If she loses her license for some reason and can’t keep up her payments to The Healing Circle, Blair’s going straight to whatever crappy nursing home has an open bed. Barbie knows it’s in her best interests to keep you out of jail, since you can so easily take her down with you.”
“And just how does she know that?” I growled, although I knew Adam far too well not to guess the answer.
“Because I drew a picture for her.”
“In other words, you’ve already sent her on a mission to interview the ex.”
I could almost hear the smug grin on his face. “I didn’t think asking your permission would be in our best interests.”
“Asshole,” I muttered. “You know you’re just handing her rope she can hang us all with.”
“I don’t get the impression she’s anxious to hang us, even if it wouldn’t have such serious repercussions for her.”
I wasn’t sure how good a judge of character Adam was, but since he’d already had his little talk with Barbie, it wasn’t looking too likely that I’d be able to undo whatever damage he may have done.
“You’d better hope you’re right,” I said, resigned.
“I do indeed,” he answered, then hung up—as usual—without saying good-bye.
The evening was already majorly sucky even before Saul arrived at Raphael’s place, but the minute he stepped through the doorway, the tension that filled the air quadrupled in intensity. Raphael acted like he didn’t notice, calmly filling Saul in, telling him about the murder of David Keller.
Saul was quiet for a couple of minutes as he absorbed the story, then he nodded briskly.
“All right,” he said, “I guess I’ll go back to Adam’s place.”
“No, you won’t,” Raphael said, and that was all it took to get Saul’s eyes glowing.
I considered attempting to take on the role of peacekeeper, but I didn’t have Dominic’s bravery or tact. Instead, I took a couple of steps backward to put some space between me and them, and I scouted out my escape route should the fur begin to fly.
Raphael’s voice remained calm, and there was no outward sign that he was preparing to defend himself. “Adam’s now under some scrutiny himself. If you go stay there, they may become curious about your identity, and that would be bad.”
“I’ll take
my chances,” Saul said, then tried to duck around his father to reach the front door.
Raphael stepped between Saul and the door. “Use your brain. If they can’t identify you, they’re going to be even more curious, and they’ll start asking Adam and Dominic some difficult questions. If they aren’t satisfied with the answers, they might even bring in an exorcist to examine your aura.”
For the first time, a hint of alarm entered Saul’s face. I clamped my teeth together to keep from blurting out a stream of expletives, because Raphael was right. If Saul acted like he was hiding something, it was certainly possible they’d call in an exorcist. Pennsylvania is one of the least demon-friendly states, and it was fairly routine to submit suspects to an examination by an exorcist. After all, if you locked someone up thinking he was just your average, everyday human, and he turned out to be possessed, you were pretty likely to find yourself with an escaped prisoner and a bunch of dead guards. All it would take was the slightest pretext for the court to order an examination—which was generally considered a minor inconvenience rather than a violation of privacy—and when the exorcist found Saul was possessed and he didn’t have any paperwork to prove it was legal …
“You don’t want to be declared an illegal demon in this state,” Raphael said, hammering home his point.
I’d exorcized Saul once before, and I hadn’t had any real difficulty doing so, but Lugh contended it was only because Saul hadn’t resisted, and because I’m a particularly powerful exorcist. But if the court were to order Saul exorcized now, when I was under suspension, would another exorcist be able to cast him out? Like I said, Pennsylvania is not demon-friendly, and we’re one of only ten states that executes illegal demons that can’t be exorcized.
