“Where are you?” he asked without preamble.
That stumped me for a minute. “At home?”
“I’m standing outside your home; you aren’t here.”
Then it dawned on me. “Oh, I moved out. I’m living on the other side of town now. I’m at Gavin’s house for the time being. Do you have the address?”
His growl told me all I needed to know. I gave him the address and asked what was up.
“We might have a lead on Nick Sarkis. I’ll tell you when I get there.”
Belatedly, I realized I should have told him when I’d moved and also when I went out of town. I still wasn’t supposed to do that. Oh, well. I’d just have to try to keep from saying anything about Italy. The thought struck me that when I traveled on the spirit plane, was I out of the city? Since my body was still here, it might be a technicality that I was here even if my consciousness was elsewhere. Hope that never came up in a court of law.
A text message came through as I waited, this one from Sun Belt Foods. While they liked my jingles, they didn’t think any of them quite caught the spirit of their product. Another writer submitted one they felt would be perfect. However, for my trouble, they were sending me a check for one hundred dollars.
I shrugged. Better than nothing, but it still meant I had no money. I thought about trying to get a part-time job and wondered what I might find that would allow me the flexibility I needed. I forwarded the rejection to Cate and added: Got any other ideas?
::I’ll work on it.:: She texted back.
I sighed. My ego was taking a hit. I always figured music was my strength, but I’d been at it since I was fifteen and hadn’t made it beyond the local scene. Now, I didn’t have that, and I even failed to create a decent jingle, apparently. I had some other great gifts, but unfortunately, they didn’t pay the bills.
My phone buzzed again. Seeing Moss’s id, I answered.
“Sorry, Foster. Something came up. I need to head back to the office. I’ll catch up with you later,” he informed me quickly then broke the connection.
Good enough. I glanced at the clock in the hall, noted the time, and went to my bedroom to change. I’d promised Ferris I’d have dinner with him—he was cooking—and I’d bring him up to speed on what had happened in Italy. Even though he’d picked us up at the airport, both Orielle and I were too beat to go into any detail about the weekend except to tell say it had been “productive.” Of course, I had to tell him more than that, and at least regale him with a glowing report of the extraordinary Vatican complex. Even now, I had to take a moment to reflect on the fact I’d been inside the Vatican library and within the walls of the Sistine Chapter and St. Peter’s Basilica. I’d never dreamed of being able to do that.
As I drove to Ferris’s house, I noticed a white van a few cars behind me that, after a couple of turns, seemed to be heading in the same direction. Normally, I’d write it off as coincidence, except I’d seen a white van behind me a couple of times over the past two weeks; once before I’d moved, then as I was transporting my things. I frowned as I tried to recall if it had been behind me when I’d reached my destination at Gavin’s house.
Before I got to the turn to go to Ferris’s place, I changed lanes and turned the opposite direction. Continuing straight, I watched my rearview mirror and, sure enough, the van followed my turn. I slowed a little, trying to allow it to come close enough to read the license plate and note the make—a Ford.
Ahead was a fast food place where I turned in to go through the drive-through. I spotted the van as it cruised past, then I ordered a soda, giving me a few minutes to wait in line to see if it circled back. After I got my drink, I eased my Jeep just to the edge of the driveway. Looking up the street, I spotted the white Ford parked at the side of the road, waiting for me to pull out again.
Definitely following me. But who was it? Where did the driver first pick up my Jeep? I hadn’t noticed it until I was half-way across to this side of town. I reversed the Jeep and pulled into a parking place, then called Moss.
“Hey, Moss. It’s Foster. I think I have someone tailing me,” I said, then gave him all the information I had.
“Where are you heading?” he asked, and I told him. Then he added, “If he’s looking to see where you live or frequent, then you don’t want to lead him there.”
“Yeah, I know that,” I said with a touch of snarkiness. “How about I lead him to you?”
He chuckled. “Smart girl. See if he will stay with you but lead him around a little first. Go up Keystone to McCarran, and I’ll see if I can get an unmarked to pick up your tail there. You come on here, text me, and I’ll meet you out front.”
“You got it.” I smiled as I pulled out and drove past the van heading to a street to connect with Keystone. About a block further down, I glimpsed it pulling away from the curb in my rear view mirror. The driver should have been curious why I’d driven over here then backtracked, but he stayed with me as I took a left onto Keystone and drove north. Shortly before the street connected with the circle route of McCarran, I noticed a plain blue car turn out from a side street and slip behind the van.
I continued onto the route, taking the onramp for US395 north, then the exit at Parr Blvd. That’s when the van driver must have realized where I was going as he continued on past.
Well, darn it. No trap there, but the blue unmarked stayed with him as they both passed out of my view.
I pulled into the Sheriff’s Office parking lot and sent a text to Moss. It also happened to be the county jail, so the lot was quite full with visitors. I waited out front for him and enjoyed the almost spring day.
Snow still coated the mountains like icing on the top of a pointy cake, but here, in the valley, golden daffodils were popping their heads up along with other cheery, colorful bulbs hinting at the warm weather to come. Even the air smelled fresher, probably because people weren’t burning as much wood for heat now. If I hadn’t had to make this side trip, I could be enjoying all this alongside Ferris.
While I waited, I called my guy to tell him I’d be late and why. Concerned, he said he’d be up to the office in about fifteen minutes and to not go anywhere until he got here.
“That’s not necessary,” I protested. “I’m safe here, and Moss has a deputy tracking the van.”
“I know, but I’d feel better if I was with you.”
Aw, my heart melted a little. Ferris was such a sweetie. “I know, but really, I’m fine. I’ll be over once I’ve talked to Moss. Hey, he’s here now. I’ll call you back in a few minutes.”
Moss strolled across the broad concrete entrance pad in front of the main doors of the building. Flashing a brief smile, he pointed to the side and led me to a small break area where we sat on a bench to talk.
“Too bad the guy didn’t follow you here. We probably could have caught him before he could have slipped out of the lot. But Hernandez is still following him, so we’ll see where he goes, and if we can identify the driver. Right now, I’m hoping the guy breaks a law—runs a stop sign or something—so we can pull out the lights and arrest him.” A wicked look curled his lips.
So, the unmarked was Hernandez. I was honored he’d sent his partner to tail the van. “Yeah, I hope. I’d like to know who and why.”
“You don’t have any suspicions?” he asked.
I shook my head as I clasped my hands around one knee and leaned back a little.
“Are you sure of the license number?”
“Pretty sure, but I read it through a mirror image, so I could have mixed it up.”
With a nod, he went on, “Hernandez will run it through the DMV. We’ll see if it turns up anyone you know.”
I felt more relaxed knowing they were on it, but if the van had tailed me from Gavin’s, then the driver already knew where to find me and had known for a while. So who would be watching me without making a move? What—or who—was he waiting for?
“In fact, if he did follow me from my old place to the new house, then he might have
been watching me for quite a while,” I told Moss.
He tightened his lips, his eyebrows lowering as he thought. “Very likely. You said you noticed the van twice before, but didn’t think anything of it. Why did you notice it in the first place?”
I thought for a few moments, trying to come up with what triggered the awareness of it, but it wasn’t clear. “I don’t know. I just happened to see it behind me and realized it was making the same turns. One or two, you don’t think much about, but when it makes several of the same turns, you notice it’s right behind you. It stayed there until I got close to work when it went a different direction. Then the next time, I saw it, I was more aware of it, so maybe I’d been unconsciously noticing it even before that.”
“Okay, Hernandez is on his way back. We’ll see what he can tell us. We’ve got the registration on the van. It belongs to Greg Jensen.”
“That name sounds familiar,” I mused, then caught my breath as I heard it spoken in my mind. “Nick Sarkis’ friend—the one who owns the storage unit place. Shit! I’ll bet he’s been following me ever since I went there.”
Moss’s eyebrows shot up as he tapped something into his phone. “Maybe. Maybe only more recently. Interpol’s been getting closer on nailing Sarkis. Could be he and his pal have connected you with this. You aren’t that hard to find. Or weren’t until you moved.”
He was right. Maybe Jensen had figured out who I really was. Again, not that hard since I’d been on the damn news a couple of times in the past few months. I sighed, then decided to change the conversation a little.
“So, what’s happening with Mr. Saunders? Is he still being held for killing Janna?” Guilty, but not guilty, by means of possession—the evil spirit kind.
He shrugged as his expression turned sadder. “Unfortunately, no way to reverse that. He did it. Too many people saw him shoot her, and even though he has no memory of doing it, he was the perp. You tell me how on earth I can tell anyone, let alone the DA, that he was possessed at the time. Best chance he’s got is a psych conviction that will land him in a mental home trying to judge if he’s competent.”
I hunched forward, gulping down my dismay. “If I were to tell the court everything I know about what happened—seeing the dark spirit leave him and knowing what I know, would it make any difference?”
“You mean, would they believe you or just think you’re as nutty as he is? I doubt they would accept that. Can you prove it in court? Can you produce one of these creatures to show that they exist? Do you want your whole life turned into a circus?”
I shuddered. “I don’t know about producing one, but if Orielle can capture one, maybe. And no, I don’t want a circus. I have enough problems with the rumors.”
“You think you can catch one?” he asked incredulously.
“I don’t know. Orielle seems to think we can.”
He looked out toward the entrance, probably looking for Hernandez’ car, as he thought. “If you could do that, I might be able to set up a meeting with the DA so you can explain what happened. But getting the case into a private chamber without presenting the evidence before a jury, I dunno. It’s a weird situation.”
“It is. I just don’t want to see an innocent man convicted if I can do something to save him.” I sighed and changed the subject again. “On a different note, is anything happening on the Roger Mitchell case?”
Amused, he half-snorted a chuckle. “You sound like you’re working it with us. You’re not, you know. You’re still not cleared although Bancroft hasn’t found anything to tie you into it. We’re not positive if it was murder or a drug overdose. So far as your vision, we’re looking into it, and that’s all I can tell you right now.”
“Roger said it wasn’t an overdose,” I said. “He’d have no reason to lie after he’s dead, would he?”
He twisted to the side and pulled back to look at me. “Do you have any idea how strange that sounds?”
I half-smiled, realizing that I hadn’t thought it odd at all.
He nodded his head toward the entrance. “Hernandez is here. Let’s see what he found out.”
We waited as his partner parked the blue sedan and strode over to us. I waved a hand in welcome. I liked Moss’s partner. He played the calm, quiet, and more reasonable of the two; the good cop. Plus he was Latino handsome with his dark, sexy hair and eyes. Moss, on the other hand, had enough Irish in him to be volatile at times, although lately, he’d been pretty calm around me.
Hernandez spoke primarily to Moss, “I followed the van as he turned off on Sun Valley Road, then went to the east and down the road until he came to Store-It-Away, a storage company where he turned in. I went on by slowly and saw him pull the van up to parking at the office and nabbed a photo when he got out.” He pulled out his phone and called the picture up. After he showed it to Moss, he held it out to me. “Do you recognize him?”
I squinted at the image on the screen. Although it had been taken from a fair distance away, it was good enough that I could see the guy’s build, but not his face. Still, it was clearly not the owner of the shop. This guy was bigger and broader. “Nope. I haven’t seen him before. It could be Nick’s other buddy. Zoe mentioned another name.”
“Name?”
“I don’t recall it,” I said after trying to remember it.
Moss looked a little disappointed, but his gaze slid across my shoulder, and he dipped his head. “Looks like your friend is here to rescue you. Look, let me know if you see the tail again, and we’ll try to find a reason to stop him. Now, listen carefully. Do not try to confront him on your own. Have you got that?”
I shot him a look that clearly said, do I look stupid? Then, I turned to greet Ferris with a cheery, “Didn’t I tell you not to come here? I’m fine.”
Moss chuckled, getting to his feet, and motioned to Hernandez to follow him inside before Ferris got to me.
“I know you’re fine. I can see that. But I would prefer to be on the safe side here. Is there any chance the van has followed you to my house before?”
“I don’t know, Ferris. I just connected that I was being followed today, and I didn’t lead him there.”
He nodded, then reached to pull me into a hug as I took a step back. “Listen, bud, you don’t need to worry about me so much, you know. I was here with lots of deputies around. Perfectly safe. So what’s the problem?”
Exasperated, he dropped his arms, stared at the ground, then met my eyes. “The problem is that I don’t want you leading some weirdo to my place. Then he would not only know where you live but where I live as well, so it would be easier for him to do whatever he has planned at my house.”
I felt the crease form across my forehead as I digested this. “What? Why would your house be any better than where I’m living?”
“Because yours is warded, and two of you with super powers live there.” He sounded almost rational as he said it.
“Fine. I’ll cast wards on your home as well,” I growled. “But you do realize that wards only work against the supernatural, don’t you? Now, do I follow you there or should I just forget about it and go to my home?”
Chagrined, he dug his hands into his front pockets and mumbled, “Well, I thought I could drive you from here, then bring you back to get your Jeep later.”
“Seriously? You’re worried that I might be followed now?”
He shrugged and looked away from me.
I was annoyed, but he looked like a little boy caught playing with matches who didn’t know how to get out of trouble. And it was damn cute. I whooshed out a breath and said, “Okay, how about a compromise? I’ll take my Jeep to the parking lot of the grocery store near your house, then you can pick me up there and take me to your house. Is that a deal?”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s do that.” He spun on his heel and headed back to his car while I sauntered to the Beast, still fuming a bit. One of us was over-reacting, and I didn’t think it was me. Nonetheless, I would keep a close eye on my rearview mirror for the white van.
Chapter 21
STILL CONCERNED WITH the van that had been following me, I made frequent glances to the rearview mirror whenever I drove anywhere. If anyone else took the wheel, I’d either be glancing in the side mirror frequently, or I’d half turn in my seat so I could steal a glimpse behind us now and then. The idea that Nick had one of his cronies following me made me both jittery and angry.
Once, I saw a white van a few cars back that followed me through two turns. Nervous, I pulled out my phone at a traffic light, ready to call Moss as soon as I got through the signal and could make a turn into a safe place if there was one, but then the van turned at the corner, and I spotted a business logo on the side. It wasn’t the same one. Nonetheless, I was shaking as I pulled into a shopping mall and parked.
Agitated, I slid out and headed into the drug store to pick up a few necessities. Money was on my mind, mostly the lack of it. I nearly plowed head-on into Gayle Trumbull, of all people.
“Gillian! What a surprise seeing you here. This isn’t your usual area of town, is it?” She offered a broad smile as if we were old friends.
“No, I’ve moved,” I said in a deadpan, fighting the desire to growl it at her and tell her off.
The smile shrank and turned into a straight line as she took a small step back from me. “I am so sorry about that brawl at your concert. I never dreamed people would twist my story into making you seem like a...” Her words faltered, probably something to do with the look on my face.
“Like a crazy one, a psycho?” I finished. “I’m sure you didn’t imagine that, but you certainly orchestrated it. I’d like you to stay as far away from me as you can.”
Hands clenched into fists at my side, I stepped around her and started in the door. She turned and called, “I was just doing my job. I didn’t expect it to be such a hot button for people.”
I paused long enough to shoot a glare at her before stomping into the store. Like hell, she didn’t. If the yiaiwas wanted to claim a soul, I had one picked out for them.
A Song of Redemption Page 22
