by Meg Ripley
Raul smiled. “My abuela would do the same thing, I think. She doesn’t think anything bad of anyone.”
Mrs. Reyes returned with a tray that she set before them on the coffee table, then carefully lowered herself into an armchair. “Do help yourself! There’s plenty more where that came from. Did you already have lunch?”
“Oh, yes,” Penny answered quickly. “We’re fine, thank you. Mrs. Reyes, we’d like to talk to you about your son, Victor.”
The smile on the old woman’s face immediately sagged. “¡Ay! My poor sweet baby Victor. I’m afraid he’s been gone for a month. I miss him so much.”
“We’re both so very sorry for your loss.” Penny scooted forward on the couch and placed her fingers tenderly on the other woman’s knee. “I know it can’t be easy for you to talk about him, but we do have a few questions we’d like to ask if that’s okay.”
A short bark of laughter came through Mrs. Reyes’s tears, and she quickly wiped her face with a lace handkerchief. “Actually, it’s nice to have a chance to talk about him. As I said, I don’t get out much these days. Victor was my entire life. I know what the media had to say about him when he passed away. They only wanted to talk about the mistakes he’d made. I know my Victor was not a perfect man, but I really couldn’t blame him.”
It was clear to Raul that they weren’t going to get anywhere with Mrs. Reyes if they didn’t play along. The poor woman was lonely and grieving, and for all they knew, this was the only chance she’d gotten to talk for a while. “Can you tell us a little more about him?”
She smiled sweetly at Raul, reaching to the end table for a framed picture. Mrs. Reyes held it in her hands, looking at it fondly as she spoke. “As you might’ve guessed, I’m not Victor’s mother. He was my grandbaby. My daughter had him young. I knew she wasn’t ready, but I told her what a delight she’d find in having a child of her own; I know I did. But it wasn’t the same for Maria. She dropped Victor off one night, saying she had to work, but then she never came back. I got a note from her a few weeks later, telling me she knew I’d take great care of him because I’d always taken such good care of her, but that was it. We never saw her again. Victor loved me, and he seemed happy enough, but now and then, I’d catch him looking out the window, like he was staring off at the other side of the world. I always thought he was hoping to open the curtains and see his mother coming up the walk.” Mrs. Reyes dabbed at her tears once again. “Oh, don’t mind me. Go on! Eat your galletas.”
Raul had nearly forgotten about them, and he obligingly picked one off the plate and took a bite. It was rich, sweet, and chocolatey, but it also had a hint of spice to it from chile powder. “These are so good! They remind me of home!”
The delight the comment brought to Mrs. Reyes was evident in her face as she beamed at him. “You two are a cute couple, you know.”
Raul choked on his cookie.
Penny covered for him. “We’re not a couple, Mrs. Reyes. We’re just working together. For the moment. On this project.”
Mrs. Reyes laughed. “Right. Sure. And I’m a Hollywood starlet. Now, really! Just look at the two of you! Him, so tall, dark, and handsome. You with all that long blonde hair and that curvy figure. You’re just adorable!”
Recovering with a sip of iced tea, Raul cleared his throat. “We just recently started working together on this particular project, and I’m afraid it does involve Victor. I assume you’ve heard of the video of him that’s resurfaced.”
Mrs. Reyes looked from Raul to Penny and back again. “Is this about something he did? I already talked to the police. They showed up here every time he put himself on the wrong side of the law, and I told them the same thing every time. I’d left Victor’s room open for him any time he needed it, but he was never here. He hadn’t lived with me for over a year before he passed away, other than stopping in now and then and maybe spending the night. It’s not nice to come snooping around for something else to charge him with, considering he’s gone.”
“No. We’re not the police, and we’re not interested in anything like that.” Damn it. He’d wanted so badly for Mrs. Reyes to stop talking about what a good couple they made that he’d blundered right into the most sensitive part of the conversation. He took another sip of tea. “The video that I’m talking about shows Victor in a liquor store, but the strange part about it is that it was recorded less than a week ago. We’re investigating some other paranormal activity in the area, and we’re trying to eliminate some possibilities so we can figure out exactly what happened. Did Victor have any brothers or other family members that looked a lot like him?” Raul had already used the Force’s massive computing power to determine that the man robbing the liquor store was unquestionably Victor Reyes, but this was a good starting point.
Mrs. Reyes shrugged. “He could have, but I wouldn’t know it. He did look a lot like his mother, and if she had any other children, she never told me.” She handed Raul the framed photo.
He took it and held it so that Penny could see it, too. Unlike the mug shots he and Penny had been studying, this was a photo of a young man in a suit jacket, smiling blandly at the camera.
“Have there been any strange happenings that you’ve experienced lately?” Penny asked gently.
The old woman’s lower lip came out stubbornly as she tilted her head back. “You said you’re paranormal investigators?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“So if I told you something a little strange, the kind of thing you normally can’t tell people, you wouldn’t think I’m crazy? You wouldn’t try to put me in a home?”
Penny shook her head firmly. “I won’t think you’re crazy at all.”
Mrs. Reyes hesitated for another moment before she nodded. “All right, then. I had a few of my church friends call and say they’d heard those rumors about a man who looked just like my Victor, running around the city and committing crimes. The poor boy is dead, and we should leave well enough alone! I went in my room one night and I prayed to God that he would heal my heart and let all this be laid to rest, once and for all. But then I went outside to take the trash out, and there stood Victor! Right in my driveway! I’m lucky I didn’t have a heart attack because I was sure he’d come to tell me God had called me home!”
Penny was leaning forward again, fascinated and ready to dive into her area of expertise. “Did he say anything to you?”
“No.” Mrs. Reyes pressed her lips together, suppressing tears. “No, honey. I think I said something to him, but I’m not even sure what. He just stood there and stared at me. He looked confused, and then he disappeared.”
“I know it’s difficult, but the more you can tell me about that night, the more we may be able to figure out.”
Raul had to give Penny credit. He knew she was chomping at the bit to get to the nitty-gritty of this case, yet she was kind and sensitive. He couldn’t think of a better person to be doing this.
“Well, let’s see.” Mrs. Reyes took a deep breath. “I was upset because I’d just talked to those ladies from church. That’s how I explained it to myself. I was just seeing Victor because I wanted to. I can’t think of anything else to say, really. He had this sort of fog around him, and I thought that was strange, but certainly no stranger than him just disappearing into thin air.”
“When Victor was alive, was he into any spiritual practices? Was he a religious man?”
Something about Penny’s question wasn’t sitting right with Mrs. Reyes. She looked at her lap and rubbed her fingers together for a while as if she were deciding something. “Perhaps the easiest way to settle that is if you come with me.” She pushed herself up from her chair and waved her hand over her shoulder as she headed down a short hallway.
Raul and Penny followed her to a bedroom, and she flicked on a light. “Victor moved out several times, so even when it seemed like it was permanent, I still kept his room just as he’d left it. Oh, now and then, I thought about fixing it up into a sewing room for myself, but I never quite had the h
eart to do it.”
The room was crowded with furniture, and books and random objects cluttered up every surface. The walls that had at one point been baby blue were mostly painted over in black. The job had been a hasty one, leaving most of the trim work undone, so the original color still showed through. The décor, if it could be called that, looked like it’d been purchased from a head shop or carnival, depicting everything from the Satanic to the psychedelic.
“Did he say much about what he believed in?” Raul asked as he touched the spines of several books covering Wicca, medieval sorcery, black magic, and the ancient Aztecs.
Mrs. Reyes shook her head. “He didn’t talk about it. Sometimes, I’d ask him what he was doing or what he was learning about, but all he told me was that I wouldn’t like it. My Victor was a smart boy in many ways, but he wasn’t really into books. When I finally saw him reading, I was excited for him. I hoped he was getting ready to go to college or something.”
“And when he moved out, where did he go?” Penny asked.
Once again, the older woman’s face grew solemn. “He didn’t tell me that, either, just that he was joining a new clan. He wouldn’t give me a name or an address; he just told me he was fine and that he’d call. I have a feeling they were all into this same stuff.” She gestured with disgust around the room.
Raul felt a surge of energy in the pit of his stomach, and for a change, it had nothing to do with Penny. It was more about realizing the apparition they were looking into was part of something much more significant.
“This is interesting.” Penny had picked up a piece of paper from a cluttered desk. “It’s a map of Griffith Park, which is infamous for being paranormally active. And look, several places have been marked on it.”
“Do you mind if we take this with us?” Raul asked.
Mrs. Reyes made that gesture of disgust again, flicking her fingers through the air as though she could rid herself of anything Victor might’ve done that she didn’t approve of. “That’s fine. It’s nothing sentimental, and it isn’t as though he’ll be coming back to get it anytime soon.”
“Thank you. We’ll get out of your hair, but feel free to call us if there’s anything else that comes up.” Raul had no problem producing a rather vague business card that simply had his name and phone number and handing it to Mrs. Reyes. She was a sweet woman who touched his heartstrings.
“I’m sorry. I’ve been such a rude hostess,” she said as she shut the bedroom door and they all regrouped in the living room. “Here, let me get you some cookies to go.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Raul protested.
Mrs. Reyes gave him a sharp look, one he recognized from his own grandmother. “It’ll only take a second.”
By the time they were back out on the stoop, with Mrs. Reyes thanking them for stopping by and Raul holding a rather large container of cookies, Raul had nearly forgotten about their escort. But as he and Penny got in the truck, he noticed the black coupe pulling out once again.
“What a sweet woman,” Penny mused with a little smile. “I feel so bad for her, though. She shouldn’t have had to go through all that. I hope we can figure out whatever’s happening with Victor and help her put her mind at ease.”
“Yes, and speaking of minds at ease, how long did you plan to have your friend follow us?” He glanced in the rearview mirror. Raul had already formulated several ideas as to who was behind them, but the driver was growing bolder. He drove barely a car-length behind them, and Raul had seen enough of his features to be sure of his identity.
“What?” The quick snap of Penny’s head hadn’t been the reaction he was expecting. “Who’s following us?”
“Tyler, I believe.” Raul smiled a little as he worked his way out of the neighborhood and toward the highway. “Don’t get me wrong. I completely understand. You don’t really know me, and it’s not necessarily the safest thing for a woman to get into a stranger’s vehicle. I just thought you should know that I wouldn’t have minded if you wanted to be more direct about something like that. You know, just invite him along.”
She’d twisted herself around in the seat to look out the back windshield, and when she turned forward again, her face was twisted into a scowl. “That asshole! How long has he been following us?”
Raul’s wolf raged at her reaction, making it difficult to keep his driving steady. “You mean you didn’t ask him to do this? He’s been trailing us the entire time, ever since I showed up at your place.”
Penny let out a long sigh and folded her arms across her chest. “No, and I wish I could say I was surprised.”
His throat tightened and his jaw muscles vibrated with tension. “Penny, is there something I should know about this guy?”
Her tongue roved over the inside of her cheek. “It’s just the way he is, I guess. He and I dated for a long time. We haven’t been together for a while, but I guess he’s still a bit possessive.” She slumped a little in the seat, either angry or embarrassed.
“Does he do this sort of thing a lot?” Raul moved onto the freeway, barely even aware of where he was going. The air in the cab was thick with tension, and he wanted to cut straight through it. That, or slam on the brakes and drag Tyler from his car.
“Not exactly, but things along these lines. I’m sure you coming around has only aggravated him more than usual.” She pressed her hand to her forehead, her bracelet jangling. “Don’t take that the wrong way. I’m not blaming you for his problem.”
“No,” he ground out. “I get it. But Penny, this isn’t something you have to put up with. He has no right to treat you that way. I can fix this for you right now.” Already, he could envision exactly what he’d do to the son of a bitch.
“No!” Her exclamation was practically a bark. “The best way to deal with Tyler is not to engage him. He’s a bit of a nut, but just give him some time and he’ll back off.” Penny turned her head to look out the window, but Raul caught a look of something other than frustration. Worry?
“It doesn’t have to involve you at all. I’ve got some resources I can—”
“I said no, okay?” Penny clenched her fists and pulled in a deep breath. “I appreciate it, Raul, but this isn’t your problem.”
Not his problem? Who was she kidding? Mrs. Reyes could see clear as day that the two of them belonged together. Raul could feel it every time he was around her, and even when he wasn’t. How was the protection of his mate not his problem? He was just about to let all that loose when he remembered exactly who he was and why he was there. Penny had told him what she wanted, and he was representing the Force. Pushing his own will on a woman who didn’t want it wasn’t exactly something Amar would approve of, and Raul couldn’t blame him.
“Fine.” He gripped the steering wheel and fought his urge to smash the gas pedal to the floor. “I understand. Just please know that you can call me if you need me. For anything.”
“Thank you.”
The rest of the ride back to her place was mostly a quiet one, and they discussed nothing more personal than the next steps of the investigation. Raul watched his side-view mirror, waiting for Tyler to do something stupid. When Penny went up to the building without Raul in tow, however, the coupe zoomed off. Unfortunately, that did little to ease his mind.
6
“Amar had something to attend to, so he didn’t tell me a whole lot about what we’re doing,” Jude said from the driver’s seat as he and Raul zoomed through the city. “It sounds like this ghost mystery you’re working on is expanding.”
“Unfortunately, yeah.” Raul felt heavy as a stone as he sat in the passenger seat. He flicked through The Shift on his phone to distract himself, but it wasn’t working. “It’s all really weird, and I don’t know exactly how it’s going to come together yet. Part of the problem is that nothing sounds real.”
Jude hit the brakes as they encountered rush hour traffic. “Looks like you’ve got plenty of time to fill me in.”
“As I should’ve done earlier. I
just wasn’t expecting us to get a meeting with this clan so quickly.” He rubbed a hand through his hair. It felt strange to talk to anyone other than Penny about this, but he’d already pissed her off to the point that the two of them were only exchanging polite texts that related strictly to the investigation. “Penny, the woman from the L.A. Society for Spirits that I’ve been working with, decided to start with Victor Reyes. He—or his spirit—was seen robbing a liquor store after he’d been dead and buried. She could easily identify him through all his mug shots, and I was able to confirm that identification using our own software. We talked to his grandmother, who says just before he died, he joined a clan that was all about the occult.”
Jude rubbed his chin. “So he just randomly joined a clan? Without any family relations or anything?”
“That’s what it sounds like. This guy’s room was packed full of stuff that pointed to an obsession with the supernatural. Whatever he was getting into, my guess is that it landed him in bigger trouble than a felony charge.”
“And do we have any idea what we should be expecting from this mysterious clan?” Jude nudged the car forward slightly, cool and patient, despite the crush of traffic around them and how slowly it was moving.
“Not really. They didn’t seem too excited about us coming to meet with them, but I arranged it all under the guise of talking about the shifter registry and The Shift. I’d say we need to gather any information we can as fast as possible, just in case shit goes sideways.” Something inside Raul was excited to be on what felt like a real mission again. Sure, he’d been doing his job when he’d gone to meet Penny in the cemetery and when they’d gone to talk to Mrs. Reyes, but he and Jude duping a clan into giving away information felt much more like his work with the military. It lacked some of the firepower and gadgetry that he enjoyed, but he could handle that.
