Oracle Haunting (The Phoenix Files Book 4)

by Morgan Kelley

  Laird agreed. “The only people I have left are the owner of the bar, which I was going to talk to tonight on my date, and Kyra’s roommate, Tierney Sweeney.”

  Yeah, their list of people to talk to was pretty slim.

  “We can help out,” Luke offered.

  That would be awesome.

  “Who do you want?” he asked. “I have some time before I meet Brianna for dinner, so maybe I can interview one of them.”

  “I want the hooker,” Bishop offered.

  “Haven’t had enough excitement today?” Luke asked. “Really? You want some hooker to round out the day?”

  She laughed. “Hey! My husband gets to play in the crazy all day with Oracle. I should have some of the fun.”

  They were good with that.

  “We’ll take Tierney Sweeney,” Nate offered.

  Laird looked at his watch. “She’ll already be out trying to pick up some johns. The early bird, she gets the worm.”

  Bishop laughed. “More like she ‘gets worms’. Worms being code for a raging STD.”

  He laughed.

  She was probably right.

  “Here’s her license picture. You should be able to pick her out.”

  “Well, we can’t just stroll over and ask her questions,” Bishop stated.

  Both men stared at her. “NO!” they said together.

  “Oh, come on! Which one of you wants to pick up a hooker for some fun?” she teased.

  Luke shook his head. “Do you know my wife? What you did to that guy with his face and dumpster was fun to watch, but what she’ll do to me…? No. Not happening.”

  Nate shook his head.

  “I’m married to Oracle. I can’t lie to her. She’ll smell hooker all over me. Sorry, but that’s not happening. I’d like to stay married. I’ve screwed up more than my share the last few months.”

  Laird offered to take her. “I can do the hooker, and you three can have the bar owner.”

  Bishop laughed. “I’ll buy the hooker.”

  They stared at her.

  “You’ll what?” Nate asked.

  “You think I can’t do it?” she offered. “I just need a ride. Watch and learn boys, and I’ll show you that women are far superior when it comes to things like this.”

  Nate laughed.

  Lucian was going to freak out.

  Yeah, this was going to be fun.

  For them.

  * * * O R A C L E * * *

  The Bog

  When Laird arrived there, the place was already in full swing. The afternoon crowd was having some Guinness and talking a lot of shit about the game on the TV.

  This was one of his favorite places to go when he needed a drink after a long day.

  In fact, it was a favorite for most of the town. So, when the owner, Sean Flannigan came forward, offering up the information that the first victim had been in the bar the night he’d died, Laird wasn’t surprised.

  Who didn’t go to ‘The Bog’ to get their celebration on?

  As he headed in, a bunch of drinkers at the bar called his name and waved.

  Yeah, he spent some time there.

  You could tell.

  As he sat at one of the pub tables, off in a corner, the head waitress headed his way. Jenny Flannigan, the owner’s sister, was always a smiling happy lass.

  “Hello, Detective. What can I do for you on this fine afternoon?” she asked. “Need a date?”

  He smiled at her. “Actually, I’ll be needing your brother if he’s available.”

  In there, the Irish brogue was easier, came quicker, and helped him relax. His voice told the tale.

  “He is. Can I get you a drink? I’m on tap.”

  He ignored the innuendo.

  Jenny was barely eighteen, and he wasn’t going to poach a child.

  Besides, he had his eyes, and hopes, set on Brianna. She tickled his fancy in so many ways. Ways this young girl couldn’t even imagine.

  Laird had plans for the American, and it involved being his.

  “I’ll have a Guinness, if you please.”

  She winked at him. “I’ll be back.”

  When she headed off, he watched her get her brother and point in his direction. When the man saw him, he smiled and headed his way.

  “Laird, my friend, how are you?” he asked.

  Sean Flannigan gave him a friendly hug before sitting down. His family had been part of Adare for centuries, and he was incredibly popular in the town. With his lineage, he was accepted.

  Once you were welcomed by a Flannigan, you were family. He was proof of that. Most people had heard the gossip about the Maguires from Dublin, but Sean didn’t care.

  They were friends.

  “I’m good, Sean, but I’m not here on pleasure. Don’t let the beer fool you,” he said, as he saw Jenny. She was headed their way, and she dropped the Guinness on the coaster with a smile.

  “Here you go, Mr. Sexy Detective,” she practically purred, trying to get his attention.

  Laird paid her and let it go.

  When Jenny was gone, Sean laughed. “How long are you going to avoid her attempts to get you to date her?” Sean asked. “She’s throwing her best at you.”

  He laughed. “Sean, I’m not going to mess with your sister. She’s not my type.”

  He laughed. “Oh, you have a type, do you?”

  As a matter of fact, he did.

  “I have a date later. I’ll be in to have dinner. I hope your father is going to be cooking his colcannon. I’ve promised my lady friend that it’s the best.”

  Sean grinned. “A lady friend. Do tell.”

  He had a few minutes to shoot the breeze. “It’s the American teacher. Miss Collins.”

  He laughed. “Oh, Jenny will be rightfully pissed that an American got her prime catch. All the ladies want the most eligible Adare bachelor—her more than the rest.”

  “I’m not HER catch,” he reiterated. He wasn’t interested in Jenny, even if she was beautiful. She flirted too much, she dressed way too provocatively, and she was too young to know what she really wanted.

  While he could bag her and move on, it wasn’t nice, and Laird was a gentleman.

  He tried to be.

  “Well, if it’ll be an issue, I can head to the pub across town.”

  The man stared at him. “Really? You’d do me like that, Detective?” he asked, grabbing his heart in fake hurt.

  He laughed.

  “Never, and you know it. I owe you my friendship, and my money. We both know that.”

  Sean smiled.

  “Enough about my dating life. I need to talk to you about two people.”

  “Are these the two people who died?”

  He sipped his Guinness and nodded. “You see all, Sean. What did you spot the days they turned up dead?”

  If anyone had heard the gossip, or saw them, it would be this man.

  “I know we discussed this before, but how about you tell me about it again?”

  He could do that.

  “Michael O’Rourke was in the day he turned up dead. He was here drinking up a storm,” Sean said. “He left a fat tab behind—for sure.”

  “If you give me anything, I’ll cover it for him.”

  The man was grateful.

  “Did anyone bother him?”

  “Jenny and I busted his ass, but who don’t we tease when they come in here? That’s how we run ‘The Bog’. My father even rode tail. He asked when he was going to turn his life around.”

  Sean pointed at his father standing in the kitchen doorway.

  The man smiled and waved as he saluted Laird with his own pint.

  “Anything else?” Laird asked, sipping his drink.

  The man thought.

  “What happened before he left?”

  “It had to be around one in the morning. He was getting loopy with the drink. I sent him out. I shouldn’t have done it. That’s on me,” he said. “I should have put him in a cab, but I was up to my eyeballs in drunkards. Clos
ing time here is a zoo.”

  Laird knew his friend felt bad.

  Who wouldn’t?

  “As for Kyra, she was here and that arsehole Connor O’Leary was hitting on her for a free blowjob out back. I wanted to kick his ass, but after the last time…”

  Yeah, Laird remembered. Sean had put a world of hurt on the man, and nearly gone to jail over Michael putting his hands on Jenny, a minor at the time.

  “How did that go over?” he asked. “Was Kyra rightfully pissed?”

  He laughed.

  “Oh yes. It didn’t go well. She grabbed him by the willie and gave it a hard twist. He went pale, cursed her out, and then left in a huff.”

  That would piss any man off, but to be rebuked by a hooker in front of an entire bar?

  Ego crushing.

  “What happened next?”

  Sean thought about it.

  “She finished her Jack and Coke and headed out. She waved, said she had tricks to handle, and that’s the last time we ever saw her.”

  “Did anyone follow her out?”

  “Her friend.”

  “A male friend or a female?”

  “The lass she was living with. The other hooker.”

  “Tierney Sweeney?”

  “Yes, that was her. They were both in here. Jenny and I didn’t stop them. I was pouring, Cara and Jenny were working the tables all night. People come and go in droves here,” he offered.

  Yeah, he was aware.

  It was still early, and he’d counted twenty different people already.

  “I appreciate your help, Sean.”

  “If I can do more, I will,” he offered. “Adare has been our family’s home for a very long time. We love it here.”

  He got that.

  Roots ran deep.

  “Well, I appreciate it,” Laird said, draining his drink. “I’ll be back later.”

  “Want me to reserve your table?” he asked. “You know…the one you take all the ladies to so you can get in their panties?”

  He laughed, even as his head was buzzing from the static. He hardly got into anyone’s britches. They were few and far between.

  “Yeah, do that. Miss Collins and I will need some privacy. I’m going to get that girl to be mine.”

  “I hope it works out for you.” With that, Sean patted him on the shoulder and headed away.

  Laird had learned nothing that would help him.

  Michael had left alone, and in a tizzy, and Kyra had headed out to do her ‘job’.

  It appeared to be a dead end.

  Well, those things happened.

  For now, he had other things to focus on.

  It was time to go home, grab a shower, and get ready for his date.

  He was looking forward to seeing Brianna.

  More than ever.

  For tonight, the job would have to wait. He wanted to focus on one thing.

  Living.

  * * * O R A C L E * * *

  Nate had to be out of his mind.

  When he heard her plan, he really believed Bishop was insane. Only, what choice did he have?

  So, as they waited not far away, they could see Bishop approaching the hooker in their rental car.

  She slowed, rolled down the window, and began talking to her.

  “She’s insane.”

  “She’s got balls of steel,” Nate corrected.

  “Do you think this is going to work?” Luke asked.

  Nate had no idea.

  The ball was in her court.

  With Bishop, one never knew.

  Bishop saw the woman and took the shot. Pulling up, she rolled her window down.

  “You lost, girl?” Tierney Sweeney asked.

  “No, I’m looking for a good time. It’s for me and my husband. He likes two girls at once. You in?” she asked.

  “I’m not big on puss.”

  She nodded. “Neither am I, so it’s more like us on him. I’ll double your fee.”

  She rattled off a number.

  “That’s fine.”

  That brought a glint to Tierney’s eyes. It was easy to see that money was huge for her. Bishop knew she had her the second she threw out the cash.

  “I’m in. Where?”

  “Our motel. Hop in.”

  “I see the cash first.”

  She handed the woman the money. Tierney Sweeney counted it, grinned ferally, and hopped inside.

  “Let’s go. For this, I’ll do puss.”

  Bishop headed toward the stop sign at the corner. She could see Nate and Luke standing there. When she came to a stop, they hopped in the back.”

  Tierney looked scared. “What’s this bullshit? What’s going on here?”

  Both men flashed their shiny badges.

  “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me! This is bollocks! You’re freaking Americans! You can’t do this!”

  Tierney glared at the woman behind the wheel.

  “We need to ask you a few questions,” Bishop replied, “and then you’re on your merry way.”

  “What’s this gobshite talking about now?” she asked, pointing at Bishop. “You tricked me.”

  “You got paid. The money is yours if you talk.”

  That seemed to calm her down.

  She tucked the wad into her shirt for safe keeping.

  “And this isn’t some freaking foursome?”

  “Hell no! We need to ask you about your roommate,” Nate stated. “That’s it. Then you’re on your way. We wanted to do it on the DL. This was the only way to get you to talk.”

  She was good with that.

  After all, he had a point. She would have thought they were cops and headed away.

  “I’ll be needing the money since my roommate left the world. She stuck me with the bills.”

  Well, Kyra would probably rather be alive to pay those bills. She’d had a rough end in an alley.

  No one wanted that.

  “Was anyone bothering her?” Nate asked.

  “Not that I know. We weren’t besties. We shared a flop. We worked, we came home, we both slept, and then we both worked. I don’t think you get it. It’s not a sorority. We aren’t some sisterhood.”

  She was angry.

  They could hear it.

  “We get it. We’re trying to find who killed her,” Bishop stated.

  “Do you know how many people we sleep with in a night? Last night, I did eight different men. Eight. She likely did the same the last night she was alive. We do them in cars, hotels, alleys. We don’t have happy lives. I don’t know what you want me to say.”

  “Maybe that you’re scared and want to get out?” Bishop offered.

  Tierney laughed. “Oh, okay, fairy godmother.”

  She was serious.

  “I’ll help you.”

  Nate and Luke listened to her.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that a million times before. Each time James Cooley or his boss Laird Maguire arrest me, they say the same. There’s no help.”

  That broke Bishop’s heart.

  “I can help. I have the means to do it.”

  The woman listened.

  “Really?”

  “Yes. I can get you out.”

  “I want out. I don’t want to do this anymore,” she said. “I want to go home to my Ma and Da.”

  Bishop handed her a card with her cell number on it. “Tomorrow, call me. I’ll help you.” She pulled out her wallet, and took out the rest of the cash. “Here.”

  “Are you out of your mind?” she asked, staring at the pile of cash. “There’s a ton of money here!”

  “I want you to go home, get off the street, and tomorrow, call me. I’ll get you home to your parents—no questions asked.”

  She took the money. “Who are you? An aingeal?”

  “I’m no angel,” she offered. “I’m just someone who has seen girls like you destroyed by the streets. I’ll get you home because it’s the right thing to do.”

  That seemed to open the door.

  “Kyra was
doing some regular, and she was hush hush about it.”

  That had their attention. “Who?”

  “I don’t know, but she kept a list of her regulars, how much they paid, and what was owed. She was running her own little brothel of one.”

  That reminded them of the situation going on at Graymoor with the dead spirit.

  “Can I get that book?” Nate asked.

  “I’ll see if I can find it. She normally carried it in her purse,” she said, tucking the money away. “Tomorrow, when you get me out, I’ll see if it’s around.”

  That worked for Bishop.

  It was a long shot.

  “Do you want me to drive you home?” Bishop asked.

  The girl hesitated. “No, it’s still light. I’ll walk. I want to grab me some dinner. I’m starving.”

  She patted her on the leg. “Tomorrow, call me.”

  Tierney nodded. “I was wrong.”

  “About?” Bishop asked.

  “I think I do like puss. Thank you.”

  She got out and closed the door. All three of them watched her head down the street and toward a pub.

  “Well, today is going down in the record books.”

  “Why?” Bishop asked. “Because I helped her?”

  Luke laughed. “No, because you didn’t growl at someone. You’re definitely losing your edge.”

  She growled.

  “And there’s the Bishop we all know and love,” Nate teased.

  “Yeah, yeah. Call the freaking detective. I want to know if she had that book with her when she bought it in the alley.”

  “And if not?”

  She paused. “Maybe that killer had something to hide, and he didn’t want anyone to know he was using a hooker.”

  That was a good point.

  Nate made the call.

  He asked, and waited.

  Then he hung up. “No book in her purse. There were condoms, lube, and some cash.”

  Well, shit!

  “He took it.”

  Nate didn’t doubt it.

  “Maybe it’ll turn up. You know, since you made a new BFF,” he teased.

  She flipped him off and pulled away from the curb. Maybe she was going soft.

  Then again, why not help people?

  Her husband had too much damn money anyway.