“Ready?” Daniel asked then, and she nodded, even while Caleb munched down the last of his breakfast pastry. He put his empty plate on top of hers and brushed his hands against his pants to remove any crumbs, thus earning him a disapproving look from his father.
However, Daniel didn’t say anything, only nodded toward the back of the house, apparently signaling that they all should follow him. Since there wasn’t anything else she could really do, Rosemary fell obediently in line behind him and Gerald, with Caleb bringing up the rear. They went out through the kitchen to a large detached garage with four bays. As they approached the leftmost bay, the door opened, even though she didn’t see Daniel press a remote. Demon magic, or did he simply have the remote hidden in a pocket?
Inside was a large black Range Rover. Daniel got in the driver’s seat, while Gerald took the passenger seat and Caleb climbed in behind his father. That left Rosemary to take the place behind Gerald. She clambered in as well, a little awkward because she wasn’t used to getting into a tall vehicle in a pencil skirt. Caleb’s mouth twitched a little as she squirmed her way into her seat and fought with the seatbelt, but he didn’t say anything.
You’d better not, she thought as she slid the buckle shut and heard it click into place. Because I’d like to see you attempt that kind of maneuver in a tight skirt, wise-ass.
On that Friday morning, the streets of Greencastle were busy but not crazy. It didn’t take long for them to get on the interstate heading north and east toward their destination. No one seemed inclined to talk, which should have made her relax slightly; she hated being forced to make small talk, and it would have been even more awkward, considering the parties involved. However, the silence grated on her ears, and she wished Daniel Lockwood had turned on the stereo, even if his background sound of choice was sports or talk radio.
Also, she hated being stuck in a confined space with Caleb so close to her. Obviously, he wasn’t going to try anything with his father and Gerald in the front seats, but it was still awkward. From time to time, his gaze would slide toward hers, and she had to pretend to be staring out the window at the scenery. Not that there was a lot to see, other than mile after mile of flat farmland. Growing up in Southern California with its mountain ranges on all sides, she wondered how people could live in a place that seemed so flat and featureless. It was probably pretty enough in the spring and summer when everything was green, but with November around the corner, some of the autumn color was starting to fade, and the grass looked a little yellow, too, as if it had been touched by frost and probably wasn’t going to hold on for much longer.
Anyway, she knew it wasn’t an accident when Caleb shifted and his knee brushed against hers for a moment. About all she could do was hold herself still and pretend not to notice, since she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how uncomfortable she was. All the same, she allowed herself an inner sigh of relief when they reached the outskirts of Indianapolis, signaling that it shouldn’t be too long before they reached their destination.
In fact, another fifteen minutes elapsed before they reached their destination — a strip mall, of all places. For some reason, Rosemary had been expecting a multi-story medical building, something that looked a little more imposing.
Caleb must have noticed the shift in her expression, because he said, “This place has very good ratings and can give us a twenty-four-hour turnaround. Unless you’d rather we went with someplace a little slower? Maybe you’d feel better if you chose the facility.”
The same thought had crossed her mind, but the thought of any further delays was unappealing, to say the least. “I’m sure this is fine,” she replied stiffly, and put her hand on the door handle so she could let herself out. A cold breeze hit her almost at once, and she tried not shiver. For some reason, it felt chillier here than it had back in Greencastle, although maybe the trickle of ice that seemed to move down her spine had far more to do with her worries about the results of the paternity test than because of the actual temperature outside.
Despite her discomfort, she tried to look unconcerned as Daniel and Gerard got out of the Range Rover and came to stand next to her and Caleb. “Do we have an appointment?” she asked.
“No need for one,” Daniel told her. “I called to check, but they said you could just walk in. Go ahead — Caleb and I will be waiting out here.”
Caleb raised an eyebrow at those instructions, leading Rosemary to believe that his father hadn’t told him about this element of their plans. “Shouldn’t we go in with them?”
“No, that would attract too much attention. We can walk down to that Peet’s Coffee at the end of the mall and wait there.”
Rosemary spied the coffeehouse in question, a storefront next to a Sally Beauty, with open parking lot beyond. For a moment, she wondered if Daniel was making a mistake by giving her a chance to escape, then put the notion aside. The Peet’s shop wasn’t that far away, and it was entirely possible he could still block her talents from that distance. Besides, she’d come here to get the paternity test done. She wanted to know the answer, and running away didn’t make much sense.
Some of those same thoughts must have been tumbling around in Caleb’s mind, because he looked dubious. However, he didn’t argue, only gave a lift of his shoulders and said, “Okay.”
Gerald touched Rosemary’s arm. “We might as well go in.”
She nodded and followed him inside, not looking back to see if Daniel and Caleb had lingered to make sure they really went in the clinic, or whether they’d headed straight for the coffeehouse. The lab’s waiting room was fairly typical, with flat-weave brown carpet on the floor and a number of metal chairs with vinyl cushions. Gerald went ahead to the reception desk, and she followed him and waited as he told the plump blonde woman sitting there that they needed to have a paternity test done. She didn’t seem too surprised that a grown woman and her father would be asking for such a thing, and handed over a pair of clipboards with some paperwork for them to fill out.
It was the standard stuff, and Rosemary went through it quickly enough, although she had to pause and ask Gerald for Daniel’s address, since she didn’t know it and she assumed that was where the lab results would be sent. After they were done with the paperwork, the receptionist instructed them to take a seat, so Rosemary headed over to an empty chair and sat down, feeling a little awkward as Gerald seated himself next to her.
“This must all seem very strange to you,” he said, and she shrugged.
“Well, yeah, if someone had asked me a few days ago what I planned to do with my Friday, I’m fairly certain that getting a paternity test in Indianapolis would have been pretty far down the list.”
He chuckled. “I would suppose so.” A pause as he took a quick, surreptitious glance around, but the receptionist was on the phone, and the only other person in the waiting area — a man in his mid-forties, pale and tired-looking — was also occupied with his phone and didn’t seem to be paying them any attention. Speaking in a slightly lower tone, Gerald went on, “I only want what’s best for you.”
“And what would that be?” Rosemary inquired, feeling an edge creep into her voice. “For me to come be part of your big, happy family? Does your wife even know about me?”
His jaw tightened, and he glanced away from her.
Well, there was her answer. “So, she doesn’t. And I assume your son doesn’t, either?”
“No,” Gerald said. “Neither of them know anything. I didn’t want to tell Laurie because this all happened before we were married, several years before our son was even born. That was part of the reason why Daniel convinced me to do it — I was the only one of…of us” — the words stumbled a little, and Rosemary had a feeling he’d almost said “half-demons” before realizing that probably wasn’t the sort of phrase you’d want to throw around in a public setting — “who wasn’t married and with a family yet. All of us are only children, you see, and Caleb’s generation are only children as well. If I was going to have
only one shot at this…so to speak…then Daniel said it should be with Glynis McGuire.”
“But it wasn’t your ‘only shot,’” Rosemary replied, feeling her mouth curl in distaste even as she said the words. “Because you had your son.”
“Yes, but a year later. None of us knew what to make of it. But Daniel said there was no reason for Laurie or Noah to know about you, so I kept the whole thing to myself.”
Her fingers clenched around the strap of her purse, which currently sat in her lap. Without looking at Gerald, she said, “And do you always do everything Daniel tells you to do?”
“He’s the leader of our group,” her supposed father said simply, which told her everything she needed to know. Maybe Gerald wasn’t as overtly evil as Daniel, but she couldn’t count on him to take her side in any of this. If she went up against Daniel Lockwood, she’d have to do it alone.
“Got it,” she said, still looking away from him.
“Rosemary — ” he began, but didn’t get any further than that, because a nurse came into the waiting room and said,
“Gerald Gates?”
He nodded and rose from his chair.
“This way,” the nurse said. Her gaze moved to Rosemary for a moment, and she added, “I’ll be back for you in a minute, hon.”
The two of them disappeared down a hallway, and Rosemary sat where she was, fingers still gripping her purse strap. Maybe this was her chance. No, she couldn’t blink herself out of here, not with Daniel exerting his influence from a few hundred feet away, but she could get up from her chair and walk out. She had her phone. She could call herself an Uber and have it take her someplace where she could safely send herself back to California. No harm, no foul.
Except then she’d never learn if Gerald Gates really was her father…and she’d have a bunch of pissed-off half-demons gunning for her.
Damned if you do, she thought. She pulled out her phone, looked at Will’s message, and again debated whether she should reply. Maybe something that sounded innocuous but would tell him that things weren’t quite what they seemed.
Hi, Will. Sorry about the family issues. They always crop up when you least expect them. But I want to help, even though Celeste keeps telling me she’s not a charity case. I’ll call you when I can. Loves.
Would he understand the admittedly oblique message? Rosemary didn’t know, but she felt better, for some reason, like she’d finally struck a small blow for herself.
She’d just barely put her phone away when the nurse reappeared with Gerald. He offered Rosemary a reassuring smile as he came back over and assumed his previous seat, even as the nurse said, “Rosemary McGuire?”
Well, there wouldn’t be any backing out now. She got up from her chair and went over to where the nurse waited for her. A short trip down a hallway whose walls were hung with incongruous tropical scenes, and then Rosemary was taken into a spare little exam room that held a phlebotomist’s chair and not much else.
“Just a cheek swab,” the nurse said. She got out one of the items in question, removed the wrapping, and then reached in and gently collected a few cells from the inside of Rosemary’s cheek. “That’s it.”
Rosemary closed her mouth. Definitely much easier than giving blood — and without any lasting marks, either. The last time she’d had to provide a sample, she’d had a bruise on the crook of her elbow for almost two weeks. “And we’ll really get the results back in a day?”
The nurse nodded as she placed the swab inside a plastic bag and then affixed a computer-printed label with Rosemary’s info to its exterior. “That’s what Mr. Gates is paying for. They’ll be couriered to the address you specified.”
“Efficient,” Rosemary managed, although with a somewhat sinking feeling inside. Seeing the swab with its official label made all this suddenly real, made her realize that in less than a day, she’d know whether Gerald Gates really was her father.
And whether she was part demon.
“That’s what we do,” the nurse said cheerily. “Although I have to say, we don’t usually test paternity in adult children.”
“It’s an inheritance thing,” Rosemary managed, and the nurse gave a knowing nod.
“Ah, I see. Well, best of luck with everything!”
She made herself smile, although she certainly wasn’t feeling very cheery at the moment. After thanking the nurse, she went back out to the waiting room, where Gerald sat on his chair. The other man who’d been there was gone, probably off getting his own tests done, whatever they might be.
“All set,” she said, and Gerald rose from his seat.
“Good. I’d suggest us all having lunch here in the city, but we need to get back to Greencastle.”
“Why?” Rosemary responded, wondering if he was going to tell her there was a meeting of demons slated for later that afternoon.
However, his reasons turned out to be far more mundane. As he opened the door for her and they went back outside, he said, “Daniel has a meeting at the bank at two, and I need to be present at a pep rally this afternoon.”
“‘Pep rally’?” she repeated blankly, not quite understanding why he would need to attend that sort of event.
A quick grin, and he said, “Didn’t Daniel tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“I’m the principal of the high school, and it’s homecoming tonight.”
For a second or two, she could only stare at him. Honestly, she didn’t quite understand why she should be so surprised, since it was obvious that pretty much all of the Greencastle demons had some sort of important occupation in the town. Still, she’d never thought that one of them would be in charge of watching over vulnerable kids.
Human kids.
She found her voice. “Then I’m extra surprised that you would want to do this paternity test. Wouldn’t it be kind of a scandal if news got out that you had an illegitimate child?”
Gerald looked remarkably unconcerned. “Maybe twenty years ago. My job is secure enough — several of us are on the Board of Education.”
Of course, they were. The demons did whatever they needed to in order to ensure they were tightly woven into the fabric of their town. “How…convenient.”
He smiled and patted her on the arm, and she forced herself not to flinch. “I suppose you could look at it that way. But let’s go collect Caleb and Daniel. Maybe you can have him bring you to the game tonight. It would be fun.”
Rosemary highly doubted that. “I’m not much into football.”
“Too bad,” Gerald responded. “Caleb was the quarterback his senior year. I’m sure he’d like to take you, show you off.”
I’ll bet he would, she thought, but she only shrugged and said as lightly as she could, “Wouldn’t he have a hard time explaining me?”
“Not at all. Everyone knows he spent some time in California. They’d just think you came here to visit during homecoming.”
Right. The handsome high school quarterback returning a decade later to visit the scene of his former glory, his new girlfriend from California on his arm. All right, that wasn’t an entirely accurate picture, since Caleb would have graduated eleven years ago and Rosemary knew she sure as hell wasn’t his girlfriend.
But she knew it was the picture Daniel and Gerald wanted to paint. They wanted her here, wanted her to be a part of their world.
A part of Caleb’s world.
And she wasn’t sure how she would be able to escape it.
Chapter 7
Will had already gotten a barrage of text messages early that morning, most of them from Michael as he and Audrey geared up for their drive to California. Since she had someone lined up to cover her morning classes, the plan was to leave Tucson by nine so they could be in Pasadena no later than five. They’d make a brief stop in Redlands to collect Fred Peñasco, but that shouldn’t delay them too much.
At any rate, he was somewhat surprised to see a text pop up on his phone around nine-thirty, since by that time he assumed Michael would be on the
road and not available for texts. However, he supposed it could have been Audrey, or maybe even Glynis McGuire checking in, although there honestly wasn’t much she could do about the current situation except sit tight and wait to see what Michael and the rest of them could devise in terms of tracking down Rosemary.
And speak of the devil….
The text was from her. Still acting as though she was at Celeste’s house, watching over a sick sister and nephew, but something about the wording of the message seemed off. He supposed that wasn’t so strange, not if she really was being held somewhere against her will, and yet….
He scanned the message again. But I want to help, even though Celeste keeps telling me she’s not a charity case.
Charity case….
Will gazed down at the phone without really focusing on it. Something about charity….
Of course. The message only confirmed what he’d already suspected, but it was a piece of information they’d actually be able to act on.
The cocktail party at Daniel Lockwood’s house had been a charity fundraiser for the Greencastle library. Rosemary must have used that phrase to let him know that was where she was currently being held. Will supposed he should be at least somewhat relieved that she apparently possessed enough autonomy to send him the message, but cold fear still curled in his gut at the thought of her there alone, surrounded by the part-demon offspring of Belial’s minions.
Will had to get her out of there.
How, he had no idea, but he supposed Michael would have some thoughts on the subject. Too bad that he was still hours and hours away, driving west on I-10. It would have been nice if they had the demons’ ability — or Rosemary’s half-angelic talent — for moving instantly from place to place, but unfortunately, as mere mortals, they had to slog along at a steady seventy-five miles per hour.
Will almost texted Michael anyway to let him know what was going on, but the cool voice of reason stopped him. Getting the news now couldn’t change their current course of action, but it might make him that much more impatient to reach Southern California. He might speed and get a ticket, or get into an accident. Better just to wait it out, excruciating as that felt at the moment.
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