Believer

by Ravin Tija Maurice

  “Lilly said she has talked to my mom.”

  “Have you talked to your mom? I mean, since....”

  “No. I summoned Lilly both times completely by accident. She was the first and only person I have ever... summoned.”

  “Was it weird the first time it happened?” he asked.

  “Hell yeah. My eyes vibrated. It was bizarre. And scary. Did I mention scary? I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”

  He smiled, pushing one of the cups of coffee in my direction.

  “Let’s do some actual work and find out what Bliss’s deal is,” he said. “We can figure out that other stuff later.”

  And we did exactly that. I wasn’t sure how long we worked for, but we both sat at our laptops and dug. After what seemed like an eternity, I sighed loudly and pushed my computer away.

  “I don’t have much. Just this.” I turned my laptop, so he could see the screen. Luckily, Bliss hadn’t deleted me from her Facebook yet. I searched for any information I could find and spotted a picture of her with a group of girls that were all the same age. It was captioned ‘me and my girls’. It looked as if they were at some kind of bonfire. I had thought it was friends from nursing school when I first saw it, and maybe they were at some kind of frat party. But on each of their left forearms was a glyph. It was white, so it was hard to spot, but once you saw it, it was clear as day.

  “I don’t see it,” he said, leaning over and squinting at the screen.

  I turned it back around, zoomed in on one, and turned it back to him. “That.”

  “Huh.”

  “Exactly. Who the fuck gets matching white glyph tattoos? And a bunch of girls all the same age too? Maybe she’s in a cult.”

  “No. Not a cult. A coven or an Order of some sort. Next time Lilly shows up, show her that. And send it to me.”

  I sent us both the picture and saved a copy to my computer. I brought up a Google search page, then stopped.

  “Hey, if I type occult symbols into a search engine, will I get anything legit?” I asked. “Sorry if it’s a dumb question. It’s not something I ever thought I would be typing in the Google search bar.”

  “It’s not a dumb question. It’s not like there is a secret library with this info that we can access. Some of what’s online is truthful, some is misdirection.”

  “Misdirection?”

  “Purposefully left there to distract you from the truth. A common practice among ancient orders.”

  “Ancient orders? You lost me.”

  “Order of the Dragon. League of Assassins. That sort of thing.”

  “A Nine Sisters of Avalon sort of thing?”

  “Maybe. We have to locate the glyph.”

  “Would I also find any useful information about demons?”

  “Depends on what religion you subscribe to.”

  I thumped on my desk in frustration. “Great. How the fuck is anyone supposed to learn anything about this stuff? I never got my letter to Hogwarts. I am totally flying blind, and I don’t like it.”

  He smiled and reached across the table to put his hand on my arm. I smiled back and took a deep breath.

  “We’ll figure it out. Between all of us, we will find something.” He grabbed his phone and started typing something.

  “Are you texting Millie?” I had not messaged Millie since yesterday, and I felt bad.

  “No. What good is having underlings if you can’t put them to work,” he said.

  I shrugged, grabbing my phone and texting Millie. I started with an apology. That was the most important part. Then I told her about the Bliss cop thing and a white tattoo on her forearm.

  “Something else we need to address is the Frankenstein issue,” I told him when I put my phone down.

  “I know. I don’t know where to begin with that one.”

  “I looked into Nikki and Nicole Frank. Nothing. Her phone number is registered to the Kinkaid group,” I began. “I have my Dad’s files on the Kinkaid’s at home. I will go through them and see if there is anything.”

  “Maybe Millie will have some insight on that. She does have a web of contacts.”

  “I thought Lilly was her contact in the Kinkaid organization?” My phone beeped before I could say more. It was Millie, saying that she thought it was about time we spoke to the Fitzpatrick’s about this Nikki person.

  “What do you know about the Fitzpatrick’s?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Not a lot. Why?”

  “Millie thinks we should go talk to them about Nikki.”

  “It’s not a bad idea. Tell her we’ll meet her there later. You and I can get some dinner or something first.”

  I smiled. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  “Absolutely,” he said with a smile.

  I leaned across the desk and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him towards me so I could kiss him.

  When we broke away, he brushed my hair off my face and behind my ear. His touch was soft and gentle. With my hair colour fading out, my confidence in how good it looked had faded. I would have to fix it soon.

  The office phone started to ring. It was Ramona paging me.

  “Time to be grown-ups for a bit,” I said as we stared into each other’s eyes. He smiled, giving me a quick kiss before gathering up his stuff.

  “I’ll see you later.” He winked before he headed out, closing the door behind him.

  I grabbed the phone, hoping Ramona wasn’t mad it took so long for me to answer.

  Time to head back to reality.

  I straightened up my office before Ramona brought in the new client. I took a quick look in the small mirror I kept in my desk to make sure I looked presentable. My eyes were still puffy from crying last night. I hoped the makeup I had on hid it well.

  A thin man in a dark suit came in and sat down across from me. His face was almost gaunt, with so little fat on it that all the sharp angles of his bones stuck out. He looked like he should have been on his way to audition for the Cryptkeeper, or one of the Gentlemen from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The small amount of hair that he had on his head was so light I could not tell if it was white or very pale blond.

  “Hi, I’m Camille Bishop.” I extended my arm out to shake hands. He stared at it, confused for a few moments, before lightly touching his palm to mine. His hand was cold and rubbery, and his skin felt thin.

  “Hello, I am Mr. Croft.” He sounded as if he was working hard to hide an accent. “I would like you to help me find someone.”

  “Okay.” I grabbed my notepad and started writing. “What’s their name?”

  “Simone. Simone Gregory,” he began.

  “What does she look like?”

  He reached into his pocket and handed me a crumpled photo. I took a shot of it with my phone and secretly took one of him without him noticing.

  The image was of a petite girl in her early to mid-20s, dark curly hair, and big green eyes. She was facing foreword and staring blankly at the camera. It looked like a mugshot.

  I wrote down some details of her physical description before asking, “Why are you looking for her?”

  “Is that something you need to know? I am paying you to find her. Is that not the important part?”

  Ruh roh. “No. Begging your pardon, I have to make sure that you are not out to hurt her in some fashion. If I found her and you decided to kill her, for example, I would then be an accessory to murder. And I enjoy my freedom. I also value human life.”

  He studied my face. My Spidey sense was going off so much it was like a shock to my spine. I glanced down at my hands, and there was a small bit of white beginning to swirl up from my ring. I quickly put them on my lap so he couldn’t see them.

  “Understandable. I apologise if I seem untoward. It is quite embarrassing.” Mr. Croft licked his lips. “She is my niece, and she has a horrible affliction. She becomes quite melancholy, and has a tendency to disappear during what her mother calls an ‘episode’. This time she has been gone for a fort—two weeks.”


  “An ‘episode’?”

  “I believe the clinical term for her affliction is bipolar disorder. She has stopped taking her prescriptions.”

  I wrote all of that down. “I am not sure how much help I can be, or if this would be more of a job for the police.”

  “Understandable. I have spoken to the police, on several occasions. Their response was that if we can locate her and she is unstable then they can intervene, but not as it stands.”

  I wrote that down too. That seemed odd. I would have to check with Kiera. Maybe it was a manpower issue.

  “Okay, Mr. Croft. Give me a few days, and I will see if I can locate your niece.”

  “See? I don’t understand.” He looked confused, his head turning to one side. “I thought that was your job.”

  I laughed. “I wish it was that simple. Even in the digital age there are no guarantees.”

  “Oh.” He stood and looked around the room, as if confused about what he should do next.

  “I’ll be in touch,” I said, not bothering to stand.

  I didn’t outright refuse to take his case, but I thought about it. He was too odd not to pay attention to, so I decided to investigate it before I did anything else.

  He opened the door, and I was surprised to see Ramona waiting for him in the hallway. Was she listening in? Her eyes widened as she glanced at me, and then she showed Mr. Croft out.

  I heard the door outside open and close and quick shuffling as Ramona ran back to my office.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked as she shut the door.

  “Not sure. He asked for you by name when he called,” she began, and a knot formed in my stomach. “I couldn’t tell if he was just a weird old man on the phone or what the hell. I should have told him you were called out on an emergency when he arrived.”

  “It’s okay. I dealt with it,” I said and smiled, keeping my hands on my lap under my desk.

  “He wanted you to locate someone?”

  “Yeah. No questions asked. He didn’t want to tell me anything, he said he was embarrassed because it’s his niece with an ‘affliction’, but there is clearly more to it. My Spidey sense went off the charts.”

  “Did you get a picture of him by any chance?”

  I smiled at her. “Of course. This is not my first day. After that shit with Jane Lowry and Morris Ludlow, I am not taking any chances.”

  Ramona sighed. “I don’t blame you. That poor girl.”

  “Yeah, let’s hope that’s the end of my drama for a while.”

  “I hope so, too, dear.” She gave me her best motherly I-have-faith-in-you smile and left.

  I’m happy someone does.

  Ted came in about an hour later, and his expression was sour.

  “Ruh roh,” I said as he sat down. “What happened?”

  “I was looking into your grandparents,” he stated.

  “Grandma Bishop won’t like that, but I am curious.”

  “You’re other grandparents.”

  “Oh. Them.”

  “These people just get weirder and weirder. Not only did your grandmother pass recently, but two more family members died also. Your grandmother was not well, so that is explainable. But the others. They were young and youngish. And they’re just dead.”

  “Maybe it was an accident.”

  He chuckled. “You would think. But I went through corners’ reports, police reports, all that. And there is nothing. They died, and no one knows why.”

  “I will ask Millie and see what I can find out. Maybe she knows something.”

  “I am going to keep looking, but it’s weird. Things that are weird don’t sit well with me. It usually means something fishy is going on.”

  “Great. That’s just what I need. More fishy shit. I will ask Millie about it tonight.”

  “You’re going out with her again?”

  “Is that a problem?”

  “Not at all. I am just surprised.”

  “Well, it’s not just about hanging out with Millie. Her daughter Nya is also there. I like the idea that we could be friends. The cooking is going well too.”

  He smiled. “I am happy to hear you are moving on and finding new friends.”

  “What happened with Bliss is not something I did. She’s got serious problems that are beyond me. And she’s hooked up with Tobias Kinkaid.” I shuddered when I said his name. “Whatever Fray is into too. Blah.”

  “You’re not hiding in your bed. I’m pleased.”

  “When have I ever hid in my bed?” I asked. “Wait, don’t answer that. When have I hid in my bed when it wasn’t related to Jesse?”

  There were several occasions when I had been so torn up over something Jesse had done, I had lain in bed for a few days. Things that I should have left him for, but I didn’t. Now when I think about it, I am embarrassed I acted like that.

  “Good point. Was there anything useable on Jesse’s phone?”

  “Not that I could see. But I don’t know what Kiera is looking for so there could be. I told her what I could. Which reminds me.” I grabbed my phone and started texting. “I need to ask Rollo the name of the bar where he found the phone.”

  “Kiera should be able to figure some of that out with his phone records,” he said.

  His phone beeped, he examined it, then headed towards the door.

  “Sorry. Duty calls.” He waved as he closed the door behind him.

  My phone beeped too. It was Rollo, I was surprised he was awake. I almost fell out of my chair when I read the message.

  Burnt Offerings. They found Jesse’s phone at Burnt Offerings.

  What the actual fuck.

  10.

  The rest of the day seemed to drag on forever. I hadn’t texted Kiera to tell her where the phone was found. I was still deciding whether getting brownie points was more important than trying to explain Burnt Offerings.

  Kiera is a detective. She probably knows exactly what it is and the basics of what goes on there. Or more. What the fuck do I know?

  I didn’t see Eric before we left L&B, but I texted him to let him know and for him to give me a heads up when he was coming by. I had butterflies thinking about our first date.

  What the hell was I going to wear?

  As soon as I got in my room and opened my closet door, I began to panic. After my previous experience with the opposite sex, boys you may call them, I felt less than adequate.

  Eric was different. Not just because he was magic, literally and figuratively, he was a full grown man. I had zero experience with dating, let alone a man.

  Because, to be quite serious, what I had done with Jesse and Fray had not been dating. Jesse and I had basically the human equivalent of a toddler being obsessed with a stuffed animal, where I was the toy, and Fray and I had a bogus teenage make-out session or two that was just sad. Was I prepared for someone like Eric?

  My phone beeped as I was digging in my closet. I had settled on blue jeans and a white t-shirt; plain and simple. I freshened up my makeup, hoping that by some miracle it helped me look a little less tired, which was one of the main reasons I wore makeup. Accepting the colour fade for what it was, my hair actually looked okay. I would have to make a plan for hair that was higher maintenance because I was totally not used to it. I ran a brush through my hair and fluffed it a bit. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard.

  I couldn’t help but wonder if that was why things with Jesse and Fray were the way they were, because I tried too hard. Because I thought there was something there when there wasn’t. They both played the game—Jesse, so someone needed him; and Fray, so he could say he banged every girl he ever wanted. Ever. I chuckled to myself, remembering the shmuck had a permanent reminder of me on his forearm.

  That’s why you never get tattoo’s about partners. It’s practically a signal for failure. What a moron.

  I checked my phone; it was Eric asking if I was ready. I grabbed a warm sweater and my winter coat. We were going to meet the Fitzpatrick’s aft
erwards, and I had no idea what we were walking into. I wanted to be prepared if we ended up outside.

  Because keeping warm while we meet with a pack of werewolves is my biggest problem.

  I tried to remain calm when I went downstairs. Ted and Cuddy were at the kitchen table playing cards. Cuddy looked a lot like Ted; dashing, like a 1940’s movie star, but with lighter hair like his mother’s. That little boy had a piece of my heart like no one else. And I had to stop calling him a little boy, considering he would be graduating from high school soon.

  “Out with Millie again?” Ted asked. The two were playing poker for change. Ted was all smiles, and Cuddy looked unimpressed. Cuddy probably didn’t remember when the elder Bishop men used to get together to play poker on Thursday nights, which wasn’t a bad thing. It was always a shit show.

  “Eric, actually. He needs help with something, asked me to tag along. I’m meeting up with Millie later,” I said.

  Ted smiled. “Happy to hear you and Eric have hit it off.”

  “Yeah, I like him.” I tried to play it cool and not blush like an idiot, so I opened the fridge to hide my red face.

  “Well, tell him I said hello,” Ted said when he heard my phone beep. He slammed his hand of cards on the table and began to laugh hysterically. Cuddy looked super confused.

  I chuckled. “Try not to break Cuddy before I get back.”

  They both waved as I put on my coat and left. I tried hard not to puke on the porch as I headed to Eric’s car parked on the curb out front.

  “Hey,” he said with a smile. “You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks. Heads up. If Ted asks, I had to help you with something, so you picked me up.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, kissing his knuckles. “Thanks for not hating me.”

  He kissed my hand, and my heart fluttered. “We’re good. I get it. I have to keep in mind that you haven’t known about all this your whole life.”

  “Yeah, it’s a fucking lot.”

  “Don’t worry about that now. Let’s try to have a drama-free evening before we go see the Fitzpatrick’s.” He kissed my hand again, then started the car and drove off.