[Charlie Rhodes 06.0] The Incubus Impasse

by Amanda M. Lee

  “Like a serial killer,” Jack noted. “There are some who like to revisit the bodies because ... well, they’re sick. There’s also something instinctive in the act. They’re drawn there as part of the ritual.”

  Harley bobbed her head. “I think it could be that way for our guy. I still don’t know what kind of creature you’re dealing with. I’m sorry. I think to save the ghosts you’ve got to eradicate whatever this ... thing ... is.”

  Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “I have to go back to the searches. Somewhere in that mountain of information we’ve started to amass is our guy. He has to be someone who works on a ship ... or at least travels a lot. Maybe our guy Liam is the one we’re looking for. There has to be a way to track him down.”

  “See. You’re proactive when there’s no stick.” Harley winked at him. “I like this Jack.”

  “Oh, stuff it.”

  She made a tsking sound. “And the stick is back. He’s a master at hiding that thing, isn’t he?”

  I didn’t want to laugh. It seemed disloyal to Jack. I couldn’t stop myself, though. “I kind of like the stick.”

  “You would.”

  HARLEY DECIDED TO HANG AROUND while Jack conducted his searches, which made things tense.

  “Do you have to breathe directly on me?” Jack complained as he sat at the desk and worked on his computer. He insisted on tossing on a shirt when he got out of bed — even though he normally wouldn’t have bothered — and the wolf whistle Harley graced him with had been enough to set his teeth on edge before he even got started. Things had only gotten worse since then.

  “I do if I don’t want to die,” Harley shot back. “Do you want me to die, Jack? Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Shh.” I shot them both glares and then checked the door. We were at the far end of the hallway, so I surreptitiously stuck out my head, looked in the direction Millie and Bernard were located, and then pulled back and shut the door. “If you guys aren’t careful someone will check on us ... and one guess who that someone is.”

  “Laura?” Harley made a face as she stepped away from Jack and flopped on the bed, rolling to her back and staring at the ceiling. “She’s a real pill, huh?”

  “That’s not the word I would use for her,” Jack replied.

  “That’s because you’re a crab.” Harley gave him an amused look and then shook her head when he made a face regarding her current location. “Oh, don’t give me grief. I’m not doing anything to soil your little love nest with Charlie. Don’t get all worked up.”

  I blew out a sigh as I sank into one of the chairs in the corner of the room. When Jack and I had first stepped into the room, I marveled at how big it was. Now it felt small because three big personalities were eating up all the space. “You guys are giving me a headache.”

  Jack slid his eyes to me for a moment and watched as I pinched the bridge of my nose. He leaned over and dug into his smaller bag and came back with a container of aspirin before wordlessly tossing it to me.

  “Thanks.” I brightened. “This should actually help.”

  Harley snickered. “He’s like a Boy Scout. He’s always prepared.”

  “I happen to like that he’s a Boy Scout,” I argued as I popped the aspirin in my mouth and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge in the dresser. “I’ve always had a thing about Boy Scouts.”

  He graced me with an indulgent look before pinning Harley with one laced with warning. “Don’t give her a hard time. Can’t you see she has a headache?”

  Harley’s smile only widened. “Good grief you guys are cute. How have your co-workers not killed you?”

  “It could be coming with Laura,” I noted. “She absolutely hates us. Well, she hates me. She wouldn’t be all that upset if there was a freak accident and somehow I stepped in front of a bus and she had to console Jack over my death with her breasts.”

  He lifted his head. “You’ve spent a little too much time thinking about this, baby.”

  “I’m not the one thinking about it. Most of her fantasies are right on the surface. They’re hard to miss.”

  He stilled. “Are you sure that’s a fantasy and not something she intends to really act on?”

  I had to laugh. “Jack, most people have random thoughts like that and they mean absolutely nothing. I don’t like getting into people’s heads because it’s an invasion of privacy, but sometimes I can’t help myself with Laura.

  “At first I used to think she’d had a lot of sex with you and that’s what some of those things she pictured were about,” I continued. “This is before we hooked up. Then, after seeing you naked, I realized that she was making it all up in her head because she always misses the little details. Like that cute birthmark you have on your butt that looks like a pair of lips.”

  “Oh, that sounds adorable,” Harley drawled. “I would love to see it.”

  Jack’s cheeks flushed and he turned back to the computer. “You’re not supposed to tell anyone about the birthmark. You don’t hear me telling people about the way you snort like a pig in your sleep.”

  I was pretty sure I should be offended. “I don’t snort like a pig.”

  “It’s a very cute pig but still a pig, Charlie ... but you snort. I find it adorable. Others might be less inclined to think the same. Laura would use it as a weapon to bash you over the head.”

  He wasn’t wrong there. “What I’m saying is that she spends a lot of time in her head, and because of that, I can’t always avoid what she’s thinking. She hates me. She wants Jack so badly she can practically taste it. She would legitimately like to do harm to Millie, but is afraid of her at the same time. She finds Hannah annoying because everyone thinks she’s the prettiest female in the group and Laura is used to that title being granted to her. Oh, and she respects Chris but thinks he might be crazy.”

  “I think there are times we all believe that,” Jack said as he clicked on a file and brought it up. “As for Hannah, she’s definitely pretty, but you’re prettier.”

  I didn’t bother to hide my eye roll. “Oh, don’t give me that. I like a good ego massage as much as the next person but let’s get out of La-La Land, huh?”

  “I’m serious. She’s definitely pretty. I would never say otherwise. It’s a remote beauty, though, and she comes across as having a bland personality. I mean ... she might be a firecracker in private, shy on the outside and a raging beast on the inside or something, but she’s not my cup of tea.

  “You, on the other hand, are physically beautiful and you have an engaging personality that makes me laugh out loud,” he continued. “When you combine that, you’re simply breathtaking.”

  I sat there a moment, unsure what to say. Then Harley responded for me.

  “Aw.” She made an exaggerated face. “And that right there is why you’re worth the effort despite the stick problem. Give me a hug.” She moved to climb off the bed, but he swiftly turned back to his computer.

  “I have something,” he announced, directing the conversation back to something important.

  “What?” I was thankful to have something to focus on.

  “I’ve been able to rule out Brock Wilson. He was out of town on two different occasions when women died. In one instance, he was in North Carolina for a conference. In the other, he was at a funeral two hours away and stayed the night. I have the hotel receipts and there’s an online footprint suggesting he’s telling the truth.”

  “I think we both figured he wasn’t our guy after the weird way he reacted when I accidentally knocked him down yesterday,” I said. “Still, it’s good to have confirmation.”

  “There was nothing accidental about the way you took him down,” Jack pointed out. “You tackled him and then magicked up your elbow and slammed it into his back. He’s probably going to be walking funny for two weeks.”

  I couldn’t work up much sympathy about that. “He lies to women to get them to have sex. He had it coming.”

  “Fair enough.” Jack turned back to the compute
r. “The one I’m having trouble tracking is Liam. You provided me with a last name but ... as far as I can tell, he doesn’t exist.”

  I drew my eyebrows together. “How can that be? We’ve both seen him. He obviously exists.”

  “Not on paper, which seems to indicate that he’s either using a fake name or he has no digital footprint, which doesn’t seem possible. Everyone has a digital footprint today.”

  “So he was lying from the start,” I surmised. “There can be only one reason for that.”

  “While I don’t want to jump to conclusions, I agree that it’s suspect. Between him showing up at the point on the pentagram and taking off into the cemetery and the fact that he’s not really who he says he is, it’s looking more and more likely that he’s our man.”

  “Which means we need to find him,” I said. “Do you have any ideas on that?”

  “None that are foolproof. I need to give it some thought. First, I need to shower and we need to get breakfast. I’m starving.”

  “Yeah. Me, too.” I absently started to the bathroom and pulled up short when I realized Jack was glowering at Harley, who showed no signs of moving. “Oh, don’t get in a fight. That will give me something worse than a headache before I’ve even had my coffee.”

  Jack remained focused on the blonde. “Don’t you think it’s time for you to go?”

  Harley didn’t back down despite the glare. “I don’t know. Are you going to ask nicely?”

  “This is my room. I don’t have to ask nicely.”

  “I disagree.”

  Oh, geez. I felt as if I was fourteen and trapped babysitting the Gunderson twins all over again. “Knock it off,” I warned, aiming a finger at Harley. “Stop toying with him. You’re just doing it to get a rise out of him now and it’s not necessary.”

  Harley’s chuckle was warm. “Oh, you do like to ruin my fun.” She hopped to her feet. “I’ll tap some sources and see if I can get a line on this Liam guy ... or at least see if anyone has any ideas about what’s going on. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Knock next time,” Jack ordered.

  “What fun would that be?”

  Twenty-Four

  Once Harley was gone, Jack relaxed ... though only marginally. Her presence obviously bothered him, but I didn’t know what to say to make him feel better. Instead, I simply stood in front of the sliding glass doors and stared at the ghosts — even the ones I couldn’t see — and contemplated our options.

  “How are we going to find Liam?”

  “I don’t know yet.” He looked up from the end of the bed where he sat tying his shoes. “I don’t want you working yourself into a knot over this. We will figure it out.”

  “He knows we’re on to him.” I turned to him. “What’s to stop him from running? If you were in his position, would you stay? I would get out of here as soon as possible. I would run as fast as I could and not look back.”

  “I would, too, but I’m not sure our guy can manage that.”

  “Why? If it is an incubus he’s been alive for a very long time. He’s not stupid.”

  “No, but he is compulsive,” Jack argued. “Look at the map again, Charlie. He needs to kill. He can’t stop himself. He also has to follow a pattern. He can’t seem to deviate from it. That’s going to benefit us.”

  “Yeah, well ... .” I trailed off and decided to change course. “Have you talked to Chris at all? Is he aware of the Liam situation?”

  “I went to bed with you last night. I didn’t see him.”

  “Yeah, but you were on your computer typing when I was in the bathroom before passing out.”

  He turned sheepish. “I didn’t realize you were aware of that.”

  “I’m smarter than I look.” I playfully tapped the side of my head as he moved toward me, drew me into his arms.

  “You’re definitely smart.” He swayed as he rested his lips against my forehead. “I think he’s going to go back to the same neighborhood. He won’t be able to stop himself because ... well ... he just can’t. He’s compulsive.

  “I bet if we take the time to map the other locations we’ll find pentagrams there, too,” he continued. “I think it’s part of a ritual. We’ll have to take him alive to question him regarding the intricacies.”

  “We’ll debate between catching and killing him once we find him,” I said.

  He kissed my forehead and then released me. “Once this is over, we’re going to come up with some ground rules for Harley. I don’t like that she can just pop into our bedroom whenever she feels like it. That’s ... uncomfortable.”

  “She’s kind of funny.”

  “Oh, yeah? How would you feel if the tables were turned and it was a man who kept popping into our bedroom without knocking?”

  I made a face. “Not that great,” I conceded after a beat. “I didn’t really think about it before, but ... um ... I’ll try to talk to her next time I see her.”

  “That would be great.” He prodded me toward the door. “Let’s get some breakfast and we’ll come up with a plan. By the way, I did message Chris before going to bed. I’m sure he’s aware we had a late night.”

  “Millie will be angry when we get down there,” I warned. “When she finds out we went to a bar without her ... well ... you might want to put on a cup.”

  Jack let loose a heavy sigh. “My life was less colorful before you were a part of it.”

  “Does it make you sad looking back because things for you were bleak and you didn’t even realize it?”

  I was teasing him but his response was serious. “Yeah. It really does.”

  THE ENTIRE GROUP WAS IN THE kitchen — McDonald’s bags everywhere — and there seemed to be a lot of activity for so early in the morning.

  “What’s going on?” Jack asked, glancing around. “What happened?”

  “I got breakfast for everyone because we need to talk over our plan of action,” Chris replied, an Egg McMuffin and hash brown resting in front of him on the table. “I thought it best if we were alone for this conversation.”

  “Because it’s going to be about demons?” I asked, grabbing one of the nearby bags and looking inside.

  “Pretty much.” Chris’s smile was bright. Very little ever got him down and he wasn’t about to break that streak here. “So, get breakfast and then sit at the table. We have a lot to talk about. I want to hear about your adventure last night.”

  “So do I,” Millie said dryly from her spot next to Chris. There was an edge to her voice. “I want to hear all about the adventure the two of you went on after sending me home early.”

  “You should get used to that,” Laura offered as she shuffled into the room. “Jack and Charlie are in their own little world these days. They don’t let anyone join in on the adventures with them. They’re exclusionary.”

  “Or maybe we just have standards where you’re concerned,” Jack shot back, accepting the breakfast sandwich I handed him. “My usual?”

  I smiled and nodded, the expression faltering when I caught a hint of movement behind Laura. Then, to my utter surprise, a strange man walked into the room behind her.

  He was young, probably twenty-seven-ish — which made him younger than Laura but older than me — with dark brown hair and broad shoulders. He was criminally attractive as though he could be a male model ... or maybe even a professional actor ... and his cheekbones were cut and high.

  “Hello.” His eyes fell on me first and his smile was quick and easy. “Nice morning, isn’t it?”

  I was caught off guard and looked to Jack for help.

  “Who are you?” Jack asked, instantly on alert. “Did Laura pick you up at the bar last night?”

  If looks could kill, Jack would be dead. I was almost surprised when death rays didn’t spark out of her eyes and smash into Jack’s face. “Your wit astounds me,” she seethed.

  Despite the argument, which was turning into a regular thing, the man’s smile never wavered. He looked happy to be here. I was starting to wonder if he was der
anged because his expression never changed.

  “This is Casey Stephens,” Laura volunteered. “He’s the friend I was telling you about. Chris allowed him to help on this case — for free — to see how he meshes with the rest of the group. When I called and told him, he couldn’t wait to get down here. He’ll be with us for the duration now ... and probably long after that.” The smile she shot him was adoring, but it sparked more questions than answers.

  “I don’t understand,” I said. “You flew overnight to join us on a case even though you’re not getting paid?”

  Casey nodded without hesitation. “Absolutely. I know this is a great opportunity — maybe the best I’ll ever have — and I want to make a good impression. This is exactly the sort of outfit I’ve always wanted to work with.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Thankfully, Jack didn’t have that problem.

  “And you live in Boston?” Jack asked, dropping his breakfast on the table before returning to the bags. He searched through the sandwiches until he found what he was looking for and then grabbed two hash browns. I didn’t realize they were for me until he pulled out a chair and inclined his head toward the table. “Sit, Charlie. You need some food.”

  “I live in Boston now,” Casey replied. If he thought Jack’s tone was odd, he didn’t show it. He seemed perfectly happy to answer the questions the team peppered him with. “I grew up in the Midwest.”

  “Where in the Midwest?” I asked as I settled next to Jack. Surprisingly, I was hungry. I wouldn’t have expected it given the shenanigans of last evening and the surprises of this morning, but apparently nothing could diminish my appetite.

  “We moved around,” Casey replied. “My father was military intelligence. We moved to various bases when I was a kid and almost all of them were in the Midwest because that’s what my father preferred. He got to pick his locations, which was nice, but I wouldn’t have minded visiting Hawaii or Georgia for the weather.”

  “That sounds like a lot,” I noted. “Um ... It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, too. I didn’t get your name.”