What Remains

by Bailey Bradford

  Where is he? Where are all of them? Laine’s thoughts centered in a moment of clarity. Five days ago, all this weird stuff had begun. The spirits of McKinton had disappeared without a warning. The only other unusual thing he could think of that had happened besides that five days ago was Miriam and some of her coven had arrived. He heard Rich’s voice in his head, telling Laine about a blessing ceremony Miriam had done.

  The fine hairs on his arms prickled with an electrical current of unease. She’d know how to get rid of spirits, wouldn’t she? And considering her son’s partner had been the victim of two malevolent spirits, maybe she’d think getting rid of all the spirits here would be a good thing.

  It made sense. It also scared the crap out of him, because if she had sent them away, Laine wasn’t sure they could be brought back. The dull ache in Laine’s chest grew to a breath-stealing intensity. Sending spirits along to wherever was all well and good if they wanted to go, but Conner wouldn’t have.

  After what Conner had suffered during the last hours of his life—restrained and tortured to death—the idea of him being forced to leave the Earthly plane was too much. Laine drew in a shaky breath and rubbed at his stinging eyes. He didn’t have any proof, but he felt the truth of the situation all the way to his bones.

  Someone had sent the spirits away, and if it wasn’t Miriam, maybe she could tell him who would have the power to do such a thing. Or maybe Chris could, what with him reading auras and such. Laine wasn’t sure how that worked, but he knew Chris could do it.

  One last swipe at his eyes and another long breath and Laine had himself back under control. He’d find a way to fix this. First thing to do was to talk to Miriam, something he wanted to do in person, but he needed to make sure she was at Chris and Rich’s. She and the people who came with her were all staying there, although all of the other coven members were in tents whereas Miriam was staying in the house. Looked like a damn campsite.

  Laine reached for the phone just as the door swung open. Sev smiled at him and Laine spotted the two people behind him. Laine stood and rounded the desk as Sev, another man, and a woman who could only be Sev’s sister entered the building.

  “They got in a few minutes early,” Sev said. “Scared me half to death when I was outside of the café trying to keep the wind from dumping your coffee.”

  Laine nodded then held out his hand. Roger and Alma could decide who shook it first. “Laine Stenley.” He thought about adding, ‘Sev’s partner’, but they knew that, and besides, he wanted to see how they reacted to him.

  Roger smiled easily and shook Laine’s hand with a decently strong grip. “Roger Martinez, and this lovely lady is my wife, Alma.”

  Laine looked at Alma as he shook her hand. She appeared to be a little nervous, but he didn’t see even a hint of disgust in her pale eyes. Laine was glad—she looked so much like Sev he wasn’t sure he could hold a grudge against her. Then he had to be honest with himself and admit he’d been doing exactly that toward all of Sev’s family for years now.

  Well, he’d let it go in this case, unless Alma turned out to be something other than what she seemed—a caring, nervous sister who maybe knew she’d made mistakes where her younger brother was concerned.

  Laine looked past the trio in front of him. He spotted a silver minivan in the parking lot. “Y’all lose the kids?”

  “They didn’t want to scare you off,” Sev said, winking at him. “It seems all the times I told them what a calm, quiet man you were, Alma here took that to mean you had a delicate disposition—”

  “Severo!” Alma’s face flamed as she popped her brother on the arm. “I did not! Adela smelled like puke and needed to shower, and…” Alma looked at him unflinchingly. “I thought, well, Roger and I thought you might be angry with us. We know we haven’t been the family we should, but please believe me, we would like to change that, if you’ll give us a chance.”

  “Even if I had been angry, I wouldn’t have said anything rude in front of your kids,” Laine pointed out, only a little irked that Alma and Roger would think different. It wasn’t as if they knew him, after all. “And, yeah, I think Sev deserves better than what he’s got from his family, but—” He held up a hand when Sev started to speak. “I know the family dynamics are kind of…” He couldn’t think of a polite way to dig himself out of the corner he’d stupidly shoved himself into.

  Roger’s eyes lit with amusement. “Screwed up? Yeah, you could say that. But we’re not really involved in those parts of the dynamics, as you called them, any more. Maybe eventually Sev and Alma’s other siblings will get tired of catering to their parents’ demands. One can only hope, because it’s a shitty way to live.”

  Sev asked the question Laine was wondering. “What happened? And what are you saying, that our parents wouldn’t let y’all have anything to do with us?”

  Roger looked at Alma, as did Sev and Laine. Her face tinted again. “Well, something like that. They didn’t know you kept in touch with us or the rest of our brothers and sister. Then Rogelio said something a few months ago—you remember, you talked to him on the phone for a long time? He thinks you hung the moon, Sev. Anyway, we were at Mama and Papa’s for dinner, and Rogelio made a comment about watching some show about ghosts. That set Mama and Papa off.” Alma darted an apologetic look at Sev. “Rogelio got mad and started defending you. They kind of went nuts.”

  Roger shook his head. “There wasn’t no ‘kind of’ to it. Your mother can screech like a damned banshee. But what it came down to was a big family meeting where everyone was told in no uncertain terms were they to have any contact with you. To do so would mean being cut from the will, and anyone receiving any financial help before then would be on their own.”

  Laine kept his expression bland even though he felt like driving to San Antonio and kicking Sev’s parents’ asses. And the rest of Sev’s siblings’, too, if they were stupid enough to allow themselves to be manipulated.

  “I’m sorry,” Sev whispered brokenly.

  Laine forgot about his anger and took the drink holder from his partner. He handed it off to either Alma or Roger, Laine didn’t pay attention who took it. “You’ve got no reason to be apologizing,” Laine said clearly as he pulled Sev into his arms. “It’s not your fault your parents are the way they are.”

  Alma stepped behind Sev and placed a hand on his shoulders. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. “No, baby brother, it isn’t. They’re hateful people, and they won’t ever change. That isn’t your fault. I’m just sorry we put up with it for so long.”

  “Why did you?” Laine thought he knew, but he wanted to hear it.

  “Who doesn’t want their parents’ approval?” Alma said, confirming his suspicions. “We were raised up to believe certain things, behave certain ways. It was always easier to go along. Having children of our own…well, I don’t want them to grow up like we did. I just hope it’s not too late, that they haven’t been exposed to so much hatred that it’s become a part of them, or will in the future.”

  “It hasn’t with Rogelio,” Sev mumbled against Laine’s chest. “He wouldn’t have talked to me as long as he did or defended me if he wasn’t a good kid.”

  Alma’s watery smile quivered. “I told you, he practically idolizes you. He went online and printed out everything he could find about your work with police departments. He has them all in an album he keeps on his dresser. When he told Mama and Papa that I thought they were going to have a stroke.”

  “He brought it with him,” Roger added. “That boy was not happy being left at the motel, but we needed him there since Adela and Martin are too young to be left alone. We were hoping maybe we could all go get lunch, although I’m not sure, with Adela…”

  The door opened and Loretta came in, her usual scowl gone. She looked at Laine and Sev then blinked as if unsure she was seeing the two of them. Whether it was because of the embrace or something else, Laine didn’t know. He couldn’t figure the woman out. She darted a glance at Roger and Alma before r
eturning her attention to Laine. “Could I speak to you in your office?” she asked, and Laine nodded as he grudgingly released Sev.

  “All right.” He excused himself and patted Sev’s shoulder when the man looked at him and arched an eyebrow. Laine shrugged—he didn’t know what was going on either. He gestured for Loretta to precede him then followed her into his office. Once she’d taken a seat, he sat behind his desk, the springs in the chair groaning and reminding him he needed to buy a replacement soon. One of these days he’d come in and plop down and end up on the floor. Laine scooted the chair a few inches away from the desk and tried to look as attentive as possible. “What can I help you with? Are there supplies that—”

  Loretta hugged and flapped a hand toward him. “Nothing like that. This job just isn’t working for me. I don’t know why Doreen thought it would, because it seems obvious to me our personalities clash.”

  Laine’s stomach tingled as he comprehended what Loretta was getting at. He sat back and steepled his fingers under his chin as he considered the woman for a few seconds. “Is it because of me and Sev? Did you decide to quit when you walked in and saw us together?” It didn’t make sense to him, because it wasn’t like them being gay was a secret.

  “No,” Loretta said slowly, as if she was speaking to someone slow on the uptake. She leaned back, mimicking his pose as she tucked her fingers under her chin. “I told you, we just don’t click, or whatever you want to call it. I know you’re aware of it, and surely I’m not the first person you’ve met who ruffles your feathers. You certainly aren’t the first who ruffled mine.”

  Laine bit back a comment about how that didn’t surprise him, as Loretta seemed rather unpleasant to him. Maybe she wasn’t like that with everyone, he didn’t know. “It has happened on occasion,” Laine conceded. “Usually there’s a reason for it, though.”

  Loretta sniffed and dropped her hands to her lap as she sat up straighter. “Well, I don’t always have a reason. Sometimes I just get these feelings about people, and I trust them. I knew when I walked in here the first time this probably wouldn’t work, but thought I should give it a try. Maybe if the people here behaved with a bit more decorum, acted more like serious minded servants of the law. But no,” she said with what sounded like a tinge of disgust in her voice. “This place is like a madhouse. Your employees treat you more like a friend than a boss, and you let them. And hugging your partner, that’s unprofessional. It wouldn’t matter if it was a woman, either. There’s a time and a place for it, and neither of those are when you’re working and here in this office. Doreen’s been too lax, letting such behavior occur during work hours.”

  Laine knew his mouth was gaping as he tried to wrap his mind around Loretta’s way of thinking. He just couldn’t do it. What’d she think, that they were all supposed to be stern-faced and stoic? Did she believe the only way to be professional was to make sure there wasn’t a bit of levity at work? Judging by the way she always seemed to be scowling, except during this conversation, he was inclined to believe that was the case.

  “Anyway, this just isn’t working for me,” Loretta said before Laine could figure out what, if anything, he should be saying. She flicked at something on her sleeve then nodded once before rising. “I just think everyone here should conduct themselves with more decorum. As that isn’t going to happen, and I am simply not happy here, it’s best I leave. Normally I’d give notice, being a professional myself, but it seems silly to do so, all things considered.”

  Laine was still trying to process the way Loretta phrased her resignation—he was pretty sure the last time he’d heard anyone use the terms ‘conduct’ and ‘decorum’, he’d probably been a kid listening to his grandma go on about ‘young people nowadays’. Somehow he found himself standing and shaking Loretta’s hand, then the woman left the office and Laine shook his head. About all he’d got out of that was Loretta thought Laine and his deputies were unprofessional—unprofessional enough that she didn’t feel the need to give any notice, and he was now in need of another temporary receptionist.

  He heard Loretta’s voice droning on, and the rumbling sound of Sev’s reply although he couldn’t make out the words. Worried there’d be some sort of confrontation, Laine quickly headed back to where he’d left the others.

  Alma was staring at the door with her eyebrows arched just like Sev did when he was puzzled or amused. “Well, she was…something else.”

  “I’d say you’re well rid of her,” Roger added to his wife’s commentary. “She made sure to inform us how unprofessional you and everyone else working here was.”

  Laine looked at Sev, halfway expecting the man to be fuming. Instead Sev was shaking his head and frowning slightly. “She must be very unhappy, poor woman.”

  Laine wasn’t the only one who goggled at Sev.

  “What?” Sev asked, his eyebrows arched high and his hands raised in front of him. “Would any of you like to be that miserable? I mean, what a horrible way to spend your life. I feel sorry for her.” He sighed and pointed to the empty desk. “Guess this means you can’t go to lunch with us.”

  Laine remembered his fears about having Sev’s family camped out at their place. That didn’t seem so terrible now, though he still would rather they spend their nights at the motel. But having them to dinner wouldn’t be so bad.

  “Why don’t y’all go on and we’ll all have dinner at the house tonight? We can do pizza if you don’t want to cook, I’ll grab it on my way in.”

  Sev’s face lit up with a grin so big Laine didn’t see how anyone could resist smiling back. “That’d be great! I can cook—”

  “Can I?” Alma asked, looking from Sev to Laine. “I’d like to make dinner, if you wouldn’t mind.” Then she grinned, looking so much like Sev that Laine’s heart lurched. “I’ll even make coffee and bring you a cup or two.”

  Laine chuckled, the tension from the confrontation with Loretta gone. “Well, how could I say no to an offer like that?”

  Chapter Six

  There were too many things Laine had to do to spend the day sitting behind a desk, especially one that wasn’t his. He picked up the phone and called Rich, who said he’d be more than happy to help out for a few days. That settled, Laine leaned back in Doreen’s chair and contemplated the missing spirits. He hoped having his family here would help distract Sev a little from the whole issue, but Laine knew it wouldn’t, not for long at least.

  Communicating with the dead was an integral part of Sev—it’d shaped him into the man he was now. It had to feel like he was missing a limb or two with that ability now useless. Of course, it would probably work just fine somewhere else. Laine suspected this was an isolated thing, occurring only here in McKinton. If not, surely there’d be stories of others… He should check that out.

  Laine was elbow-deep in Google links when Matt and Carlin arrived. He hadn’t found anything useful, just confirmed what he’d already known. There were a lot of weird people in the world. He closed the page and pushed out of the chair, a smile teasing his lips. “Matt, Carlin. You win your case?”

  Carlin’s smile would have put a model’s to shame. “Of course. Hopefully the lower courts will never do something so stupid as to bulldoze over a woman’s rights like they did Mrs. Odon’s. If nothing else, they should think twice before forcing hospitalization and tests on a woman just because she asks her doctor for a second opinion. Maybe they’ll think four million times, once for every dollar the state has to pay Mrs. Odon.”

  Matt beamed at his lover. “Yeah, and she gets all of it since Carlin took this case pro bono.”

  “Wasn’t like we needed the money, and what happened to Mrs. Odon was just so wrong.” Carlin shrugged, his gaze dropping to the floor.

  Laine was impressed. He knew Carlin was a good man, but to give up a chunk of money the size he must have… That put Carlin in a whole higher class of good. “I bet Mrs. Hawkins is very proud of you,” Laine said, referring to Carlin’s deceased aunt.

  Matt and Carlin loo
ked at each other then at Laine. “We figured out on the way in from the airport, neither of us has felt her for days.” Matt slipped his hand in Carlin’s and tugged the man closer to his side. “I thought she was hanging around New York keeping an eye on Carlin, and he thought she was here. Turns out we were both wrong. We thought we’d talk to Severo, if we could.”

  “About that…”

  By the time Laine had explained that all the spirits had vanished and what his theory on the why of that was, Matt was ready to storm Rich’s place and demand to speak to Miriam.

  “Let Laine handle it for now,” Carlin said. He patted Matt’s chest when the man grumbled. “You’re too emotional right now, and I’m exhausted. I’m sure Laine will tell us what he finds out.”

  “I will,” Laine promised, then proceeded to encourage the men to leave as politely as he could. With Matt being so upset about the spirits, Laine didn’t know that him running into Rich would be a good thing at this time. Not that he thought Matt would do anything stupid, but Laine hadn’t had the chance to talk to Rich about what was going on, and he’d rather do it himself calmly. He breathed a small sigh of relief once Matt and Carlin were gone then sat down and waited for Rich to get there.

  * * * *

  Rich had called ahead and told Chris what was going on, and while Chris agreed banishing spirits was something his mother could do, he also had Rich inform Laine it wasn’t something Miriam would do without forewarning or a good reason. All Laine could do was take Chris’ word for it until he talked to Miriam and could decide for himself.

  Chris also didn’t think anyone else in the coven would have done such a thing, not even the High Priest, whom he didn’t sound too fond of. According to him, the man’s aura was pretty pure, although it swirled with lusty colors when he was around Miriam. Laine had told Chris to pull on his big boy pants and deal with it. Chris’ response was less polite, but it had made Laine laugh.