I glanced over at Felicity’s frowning face then back to him and nodded. “Yeah. This is something I really need to take care of.”
“What does Doctor Jante think about this?” Constance asked.
“She seems like she might be a little on the fence,” I replied. “But, apparently Annalise fired her entire legal team, and Jante thinks she’s in a vulnerable state at the moment. She said if this is going to happen, the time is now.”
“She’s one of the best, Rowan,” Constance told me. “She knows what she’s doing.”
“You really think so?”
She nodded. “I took several of her classes at the academy. In my opinion you can trust her. If she is sanctioning this, even reluctantly, there must be a good reason.”
“Okay, then let me ask you this. How do you feel about Texas?”
“What do you mean?”
“For some reason Jante says she wants to have the local field office assign an agent to escort me.”
“If I heard you correctly, you’re leaving tomorrow morning?” she asked.
“That’s apparently the plan.”
She nodded. “I can pack tonight.”
I looked over at Ben. “Mind if I borrow your girlfriend for a day or two.”
“Not a problem,” he replied. “At least Firehair and I will know you’re not runnin’ off gettin’ yourself into trouble if she’s with ya’.”
I turned back to my wife. “Honey… I know you aren’t exactly okay with this, but… Well… Are you okay with this?”
She nodded, but her expression was still sour. “Aye. It’s something you have to do, I know that. And I agree with what Ben said. If Constance is with you I’ll at least feel a bit better about it.” She turned her gaze toward Mandalay and added, “Just don’t trust him if you tell him not to do something and he agrees with you too easily. It’s a good bet he’s lying.”
I ignored the addendum then drew in a breath and muttered, “Okay,” as I noticed Ailleagan and Doug coming through the swinging door that led in and out of the kitchen. Both of them were hefting food-laden platters that looked amazing even at a distance.
I quickly thumbed the mute button then tucked the phone back up to my ear and said, “Sorry about that Doctor Jante.”
“That’s all right. I assumed you would want to speak to your wife.”
“Uh-huh,” I acknowledged. “So as far as this whole escort thing goes, do you mind if I make a request?”
“What is that?”
“Agent Mandalay has returned to…”
Before I could finish the sentence, she replied, “And you would like for her to be assigned as your escort.”
“Well, yes. Since we’ve worked together and she’s familiar with…”
She interrupted me again. “Understandable. Consider it done.”
Saturday, April 22
4:56 A.M.
Saint Louis, Missouri
CHAPTER 35:
“I should be back sometime Monday afternoon,” I told Felicity. “At least that’s what Jante said. I suppose it all depends on how this goes.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid,” she replied.
“That’s why Constance is going with me, remember?”
“Aye.” She nodded. “But I’ve never been able to stop you from getting yourself into trouble, so why should I believe she can?”
“She has a gun?” I replied.
She sighed as she slipped her arms around me and laid her head against my shoulder. “I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but I know you, Caorthann…”
As usual, my wife had a tendency to resort to the Gaelic pet name when she was deeply concerned. I knew she was already bothered by this trip, but her whisper drove the point deep.
“I’ll be okay,” I soothed. “I promise not to do anything stupid. And I’m not just agreeing with you to…”
“Don’t make a promise you know you can’t keep,” she said, cutting me off before I could finish. “Just…be safe.”
“I will.”
She pulled back slightly and looked up into my face. Her jade green eyes were already glistening with dampness, and the corners of her mouth were turned slightly downward. I brushed a spiral of wayward hairs from her cheek then pulled her close once again.
“You call me when you arrive,” she mumbled.
“I promise,” I told her. “And that’s one I can keep.”
The pendulum clock in our dining room softly thunked, and then a muted whirr sounded as the spring began to wind out. A half second later a dull bong echoed through the room, followed by four more to announce the top of the hour.
“I’m loving you,” Felicity said.
“I’m loving you too,” I replied.
As if on cue, the doorbell chimed through the house, setting the dogs off as usual. Felicity began shushing them as I released my grip on her and turned to answer it.
“You ready?” Ben asked as soon as I had opened the door.
He was holding the outer storm door with one hand and cupping a travel mug in the other.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Give me just a second.”
He glanced at his watch. “All good, we got a few minutes.” Nodding toward the floor just inside the doorway, he asked, “That your bag?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll put it in the van and wait for ya’,” he said, holding the storm door with his leg as he reached in and grabbed the handle of the small suitcase. “Heya, Firehair,” he said, nodding at Felicity as he straightened up.
“Ben,” she replied.
The metal door slowly swung shut with a slight creak and hiss of the closure piston as he backed out with my luggage then turned and started down the front steps.
I bent over and scratched the dogs behind their ears while saying, “You two take care of your mother while I’m gone.”
They snuffled and whimpered as if they knew something was amiss. We never could fool them.
“It’s going to be okay,” I said to Felicity, straightening from my stooped position. “It will all be over soon.”
“I know,” she said with a nod. “That still doesn’t make it any easier.”
Taking a deep breath, she wiped her eyes then slipped her arms around me again. Turning her face up, she pressed her lips against mine in a deep, longing kiss that was tainted slightly by the sense of sadness it also carried.
When we finally parted, I pulled back and looked at her before saying, “I’m missing you already.”
“Me too.”
I lingered for a moment, though I knew prolonging the inevitable was just making this harder. I took in my own deep breath then slowly let it out as I nodded. I turned to leave, but as I stepped through the door I paused again then looked back at her and said, “Why don’t you see about booking that vacation while I’m gone?”
“For when?”
“For when I get back,” I replied. “You pick the dates. Just leave me enough time to pack and get someone to cover any emergency support calls that might come in.”
She nodded. “I will. Do you think we can go for two weeks?”
I smiled. “We can go for as long as you like.”
With that, I headed down the stairs into the cold, dark morning and climbed into the back of Ben’s van.
“All good?” he asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror as I buckled myself in.
“Yeah. As good as it can be, I guess,” I replied.
“She’ll be okay,” Constance told me, turning to look back from the passenger seat.
“Yeah, white man. I’ll keep an eye on ‘er,” Ben added.
“I know,” I replied. “It’s not really her I’m worried about.”
“You’ll be fine too,” Constance reassured me.
“Yeah… Let’s hope you’re right,” I muttered as I slipped my hand into my jacket pocket. “Ben, I need you to do me a favor.”
“What’s that?” he asked, now twisting in his seat and looking over his shoulder.
I pulled the glass bottle containing the salt bound jewelry from my pocket and shook it before looking at it carefully. Even in the dark interior of the van, I could still make out the shape of the necklace peaking up from beneath the snowy crystals. After a thick pause I held it forward to him.
“Hang onto this for me until I get back, and whatever you do, don’t open it, and keep it the hell away from Felicity.”
“What is it?” he asked as he reached back and took it.
There was no mistaking that I was deadly serious when I replied, “Evil incarnate.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An active member of the HWA (Horror Writers Association), M. R. Sellars is a relatively unassuming homebody who considers himself just a “guy with a lot of nightmares and a word processing program.” His first full-length novel, Harm None, hit bookstore shelves in 2000 and he hasn’t stopped writing since. He says that the biggest adjustment he has had to make with his writing career is coping with the time spent away from his family while traveling on promotional tours. Still, he approaches it with the same humorously deadpan and occasionally acerbic wit that he applies to life in general.
All of the current novels in Sellars’ continuing Rowan Gant Investigations saga have spent several consecutive weeks on numerous bookstore bestseller lists as well as a consistent showing on the Amazon.com Horror/Occult top 100.
Sellars currently resides in the Midwest with his wife, daughter, and a host of what he describes as “rescued, geriatric, special-needs felines.” At home, when not writing or taking care of the household, he indulges his passions for cooking and hanging out with friends.
M. R. Sellars can be found on the web at:
www.mrsellars.com
Brainpan Leakage the M. R. Sellars Satire Blog
www.brainpanleakage.com
OTHER BOOKS BY M. R. SELLARS
The Rowan Gant Investigations
HARM NONE
NEVER BURN A WITCH
PERFECT TRUST
THE LAW OF THREE
CRONE’S MOON
LOVE IS THE BOND
ALL ACTS OF PLEASURE
THE END OF DESIRE
BLOOD MOON
MIRANDA
(Available in both print and e-book editions)
Other
YOU’RE GONNA THINK I’M NUTS…
(Novelette included in Courting Morpheus Horror Anthology)
MERRIE AXEMAS: A KILLER HOLIDAY TALE
(Novella)
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1:
CHAPTER 2:
CHAPTER 3:
CHAPTER 4:
CHAPTER 5:
CHAPTER 8:
CHAPTER 9:
CHAPTER 10:
CHAPTER 11:
CHAPTER 12:
CHAPTER 13:
CHAPTER 14:
CHAPTER 15:
CHAPTER 16:
CHAPTER 17:
CHAPTER 18:
CHAPTER 19:
CHAPTER 20:
CHAPTER 21:
CHAPTER 22:
CHAPTER 23:
CHAPTER 24:
CHAPTER 25:
CHAPTER 26:
CHAPTER 27:
CHAPTER 28:
CHAPTER 29:
CHAPTER 30:
CHAPTER 31:
CHAPTER 32:
CHAPTER 33:
CHAPTER 34:
CHAPTER 35:
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Blood Moon: A Rowan Gant Investigation Page 30
