by CC Dragon
“Thanks, that would have been helpful before we set up the stakeout. Now you’re just being a backseat driver,” I shot back.
“I want to help. I don’t know how,” he admitted.
“Talk to me first. That’s number one.” I parked the car and we walked into the ER.
They fast-tracked him to a trauma resident who was all about stitches. The resident made Paul take his shirt off.
The cut was long and deep enough to need stitches. I tried not to look at his bare torso. He was in great shape for a highly-educated stuffy guy.
My phone chimed with a text from Matt.
Got the van. It was abandoned ten blocks away and torched. No prints. No evidence.
Sorry. Paul is getting stitches. Better luck next time. They’re not done...
“These criminals are too smart. We need to change our approach,” I mumbled as Paul winced against the Lidocaine injections.
Chapter Seventeen
Two nights later, there hadn’t been any further attacks. The media coverage had probably scared off the attackers for now. I was in knots trying to figure out how to pin them down.
But I was also anxious because I wasn’t sure if I was on an actual date this evening. Paul had invited me out to dinner. He wanted to be away from the mansion and the hospital. It was a nice restaurant where the staff were snobby so I dressed up a bit. The lighting was low and everything had fancy touches. The glasses had gold rims and there were floating candles on the table.
The idea of a night out without Mary Lou, Matt, or anyone else in my house around me was actually nice. But I was committed to a business venture with Paul and that could be a big problem if things got weird.
He stood when I came to the table. That was a good sign. But no flowers, so I felt safer.
“Hi, traffic was crazy,” I said.
“No problem. I’d have picked you up but getting you out of that house without an entourage is hard,” Paul admitted.
“Probably best avoided. It’s crazy. But two nights without attacks is making me nuts too. This place is too nice,” I said.
“I wanted somewhere special where we won’t run into people we know,” he said.
The waiter came over and droned on about specials and details. I understood it was his job but it was dinner, not negotiating world peace.
We ordered and I kept an eye on my phone just in case.
“You think it’ll happen while we’re out?” Paul asked.
I shrugged. “Murphy’s Law.”
“I hope not. Why don’t you tell me about your childhood or something else happy that has nothing to do with cannibals,” he said.
“How do you know my childhood isn’t full of them?” I teased.
“Ghosts and demons, maybe I thought this was rare.” He laughed.
I nodded. “Seeing ghosts. Pretending I didn’t. My two brothers never did. I was the weirdo. That pretty much sums up my childhood. I didn’t fit in anywhere until I came here. Tell me about growing up in New Orleans. Fun?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Partying is old hack by the time you hit high school. Mardi Gras is old hack so most locals make money off it somehow if they can. I wasn’t much for fishing or gator hunting. My dad and his brother loved it. I took French in school so I could pick up on the Cajun a bit better. I have no gift for languages.”
I smiled. “I took Spanish. I’m not great but it’s more useful overall to understand the basics.”
“True,” he agreed.
“Tell me about your family. No cannibals, hopefully.” I smiled.
“We are non-cannibal family. Hope that’s not too traditional. No zombies or vampires. No psychics that I know of either.” He stared at me like I fascinated him.
Was it me or my powers? That I probably couldn’t figure out in one night. But I was out to have a good time and not thinking about death for now.
When I got home, it was late. Ivy was waiting up on the couch like a crazy dad.
“About time,” Ivy said.
“It was Paul, not a serial killer. He’s harmless,” I said.
Ivy snapped her fingers. “It’s not him. I’d be happy for you right now but I came home late from the club. Went to tell Greg something. Brody wants me to move in with him. Our own place. I told him no, I live here. But we can make it more permanent. Sweet, right?” she asked.
“Sure. Sweet.” I nodded.
“Right. I was going to tell him and see what he thought. He’s family. But Greg wasn’t in his own bed. I heard him. Them.”
“Who?” I had a pretty good idea.
“Who else? Mary Lou. I can’t even. That drama. At least she’s divorcing, because seriously, his guilt crap before made me want to cut my wrists. Not for death but to feel something else other than that torture,” Ivy ranted and paced the room.
“Okay, don’t wake the whole house,” I said softly.
“Sorry, but that is a train wreck,” she said.
I shrugged. “Or Mary Lou finally got the guts and the opportunity to be free of the wrong man.”
“And you think Greg is the right one?” Ivy asked.
“He’s not a priest anymore. The cheating was wrong but I’m not going to say they are now that’s she’s actually getting the divorce. I want all my friends to be happy,” I said.
Ivy smiled. “And to leave the hot doc alone so you can have him.”
“Please. Mary Lou could go out and get a doctor, a lawyer, and a billionaire. If she wants Greg, look out, it’s real.” I smiled.
“Crazy.” Ivy sighed.
“Don’t worry. It won’t stay secret for long in this house. Matt will have an opinion,” I said.
Ivy nodded. “Good. I think he’s trying to get Gunnar to go back to the police department. I’ve seen them chatting.”
“That or he wants to make sure Gunnar is keeping an eye on me. I doubt Gunnar would go back. He seems to like his job here.” I yawned. “Can we pick this up in the morning? I’m beat.”
“Sure. I should get back too. Brody can sleep through anything.” Ivy smiled.
Great, did I need my earplugs? I couldn’t even bring myself to ask.
I woke to Matt knocking on my door again. I was ready to kick him out of the house just because texting was so much less intrusive and jarring.
Opening the door without bothering to tame my hair, I snarled, “Please text first. I don’t like the banging.”
Matt blinked. “Fine. Sorry. Turn on the TV.”
He entered my bedroom and found the remote on my nightstand.
The Jewish Community Center was on TV demanding answers to the hate crimes.
“Hate crimes?” I mumbled.
“I guess they put this out last night. They are holding vigils in all the cemeteries and at all Jewish funerals to protect their dead. We look like fools,” Matt said.
“You guys need to do a press conference addressing the issues. Schedule it. Let all the groups and concerned people in New Orleans come and ask whatever they want. It’s an ongoing investigation.” I shrugged.
“You’re so calm,” he said.
“I wish I could blink and get a vision. It doesn’t work that way. These are bizarre crimes on various places that house the dead. They’re violent and random. Tell them about the embalming,” I said.
“Tell them cannibals are running around? Great,” Matt said.
“I’ll try to get some supernatural help. Okay? Me being at this press conference won’t help,” I said.
“No, it won’t. Halloween is almost here. If they ramp up...” He shook his head.
“Beware the day of the dead...” I muttered.
“Thanks.” Matt left my room.
Once I was alone again, I paced the room. The cannibals weren’t done. I wasn’t even convinced they’d eaten any flesh yet. It was more likely to do with a dark ritual of some sort.
“Amy, I need to see you,” I said.
The angel slowly appeared.
“What’s going on? Cannibal
s?” I asked.
“I can’t,” she replied.
I nodded. “That’s what I thought. Gran!”
The “need to know” basis of information made things tricky. I was tapped into some things supernaturally but I didn’t have full control. Some thought it was a trick or scam. I think God has a weird sense of humor at times.
Gran arrived. “Missy is doing well. How are you?” she asked.
“Chasing cannibals. I need help,” I said.
She smiled at me. “You know I can’t reveal anything. There are rules.”
“Yeah, I know. Had to try.” I took a deep breath and played my last card. “Death! I summon Death or any other angel with actual powers who might be able to help me. I won’t stop. I call Death to me now and I haven’t had my coffee yet so my patience is very short!” I announced.
Gran left. Amy frowned.
Then there was a chill.
Death arrived.
This time the Angel of Death wore the body of a blonde teenager in a cheerleader outfit.
“This is disturbing,” I said with a shake of my head.
“I know, right? Don’t try a triple flip off a pyramid when you’ve had a few beers. This girl broke her neck. So how can I get you off my back now?” Death asked.
“There is a group of cannibals running around the city. They are mutilating the dead. Plus, they’ve carved on two living people. How do I stop them?” I asked.
“The dead don’t care about their Earthly shells. It’s totally irrelevant,” Death said.
“Not to the living. We still like our bodies. These people could be eating the flesh. Using it for spells or something evil,” I said.
“Could be. You don’t chase people like that. You set a trap and make them come to you,” Death replied.
“How? There are tons of cemeteries, morgues, and funeral homes. The dead are everywhere.”
“They are. But the day and time of the ritual is not. You will know where. You’ve been told when.”
“Beware the day of the dead,” I repeated.
She held up a finger. “If you make it to that day, the dark magic has been done. You will capture them before or not at all.”
“Lester is involved?” I asked.
“I don’t know this. Humans have no patience.” Death rolled its eyes at me and disappeared.
“Thank you!” I shouted. “At least that was helpful.”
I turned to tease Amy only to find my angel battling two demons.
One of them grabbed for me. I pulled away but the room went dark.
“De, wake up!” The voices swirled around me. I couldn’t tell one from the other.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Paul sitting next to me. He was feeling my pulse.
“What the hell?” I asked.
“You weren’t responding to knocking or texts. You had the door locked,” Ivy said.
Matt nodded. “We thought you were in the shower or something. But after an hour we tried again. Finally, I picked the lock.”
“And called Paul?” I sat up slowly.
“Easy.” Paul felt my forehead. “No fever.”
“I’m fine.” I looked around. Amy was hovering in a corner looking aggravated, sans any demons. I had to remember to thank her later.
“What happened, darlin’?” Mary Lou asked.
“I was trying to get help. I summoned everyone I could think of, including Death. I forgot that some demons just follow Death around looking for weakened humans to prey on. One of them touched me and I blacked out.” I reached for the holy water on my dresser and sprayed myself in the face. “Good. No possession.”
Paul laughed.
“Don’t laugh. It works.” I sprayed him. Luckily, his skin didn’t start smoking.
“Okay, well, I think food and rest will work.” Paul helped stand up.
I nodded. “Thanks. Really, I’m fine. Sorry I worried everyone.”
“Did you get any good information?” Matt asked.
“Sorry. Nothing concrete. But apparently, it’s coming soon. Patience is not something humans excel at. Halloween is almost here. This group is waiting for something and they’ll all be together.” I was hungry. “What’s for breakfast?”
Chapter Eighteen
I didn’t summon Death lightly and I took the warnings and words very seriously. Even if Death just gave me enough to get me off its back.
I’d checked the obits and memorial tribute messages yesterday and today. Being Halloween, our time was limited. The day of the dead was technically two days away.
Scrolling through the tributes and obits on various websites to cover as much of New Orleans as possible, I sipped my third cup of coffee.
“You’ll be bouncing off the walls,” Mary Lou said.
“I’m not the one having sex with her ex-boyfriend and trying to pretend things are normal. You really want to talk about coffee?” I shot back at her.
Mary Lou’s smile faded. “I can’t get anything past you.”
“No, you can’t. But Ivy told me. She knows this house like her own wardrobe. You can’t be under this roof and think you’ll fool anyone,” I said.
She turned red. “I’m not sure what’s going on. It could just be rebound neediness. Stupid.”
“And you just can’t control yourselves?” I asked.
“Not everyone is so strict, De,” Mary Lou said.
I didn’t think of myself that way. Focused, yes. Strict, no. It wasn’t my fault the bad guys kept causing trouble.
I read over more listings and one lit up like fireworks. I selected and printed it. “I have to go get Matt.”
“You might want to wait,” Mary Lou said.
“Why? He wakes me up at all hours.” I ran up the stairs, thanks to all of the coffee.
I knocked on Matt’s door. We needed to find out who published that tribute and stake out the cemetery to grab them before they did any rituals. It would happen tonight. The timing was even suggested in the tribute.
“Hang on,” Matt said.
He sounded flustered.
“Come on. You drag me out of bed for a crime scene. I just need to talk to you!” I shouted.
“So, talk.” Matt sounded like he was frantically trying to get dressed.
Did he sleep naked? I didn’t need to know that.
I touched the doorknob and got a flash that he wasn’t alone.
I tried the door and it wasn’t locked.
Gunnar was pulling on his shirt.
“Sorry.” I closed the door and headed down the stairs.
“What?” Mary Lou asked.
“You could’ve told me why,” I shot at her.
“Weathers don’t talk about that sort of thing. It happens. It’s fine. But old families don’t discuss it.” Mary Lou shrugged.
I went into the fridge and pulled out a tube of cinnamon rolls. I needed comfort food for this conversation. “Even with me? I have drag queens coming out of my ears and own a gay club.”
“You’re still straight. And not family. Matt never brought guys home. Never discussed it with his brothers or in front of his mother. I only found out when I had to use his computer and found...well, not important. But he hasn’t really had many serious relationships because he couldn’t bring someone home.”
“That’s so sad.” I slid the rolls in the oven.
“I think he just wants to be normal. Normal house, not a mansion. He’s a bit old to come out but what can you do?” Mary Lou asked.
“Thanks for covering that,” Matt said from the back stairs.
“I made her. Sorry.” I fidgeted with an oven mitt.
Gunnar slid by and started making another pot of coffee. “Am I fired?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not firing or judging anyone. I just didn’t know about Matt. I have my sleep interrupted enough, I was just returning the favor. I didn’t know...he wasn’t alone or he was gay. All this time, I didn’t know.”
“Aren’t you a psychic?” Gunnar asked.
“I don’t go poking around in other people’s business.” I smacked him with the oven mitt.
Matt smiled. “That’s why I liked working with you. I figured you knew and just didn’t say. Then I saw your face.”
“Gunnar’s a bit young for you,” I rationalized my shock.
“Wasn’t our first hookup. I was on the force, remember?” Gunnar grinned.
“Okay. Whatever works for you. I’m not one to talk. Everyone here has a more interesting romance life than me.” I was excited when the oven dinged and the house smelled like cinnamon.
“Paul is good for you,” Matt said.
I busied myself icing the rolls. “Gunnar, can you grab the page off the printer?”
“Sure. We need a grocery run too. I’ll make a list,” he said.
“Thanks.” I put the sweets on the table and took the page when Gunnar brought it in.
“This is when and where we’ll get those cannibals.” I slid the page over to Matt.
“Damn. All of them?” he asked.
“If they are doing the ritual, yes. But I think if you find out who submitted the ad, we could grab them ahead of time,” I said.
Matt shook his head. “That’d tip off the rest and they’d regroup or scatter. We wait. We’ve got the right place. We’ll stake out this cemetery. Create a perimeter in case they are doing it at more than one grave.”
“You’re the boss,” I said.
“You’ll be there?” he asked.
“As long as I can bring Gunnar. It could get weird or ugly,” I warned.
Gunnar smirked.
“Fine.” Matt nodded.
Ten hours later, the sun had set and I was waiting for Gunnar. He’d run an errand at the club. Matt was supposed to be prepping the team and we were set to be there by ten p.m. so we’d beat them there.
I reread the tribute. It stated midnight.
I felt a tingle. Midnight eastern time meant eleven here. We were ready for that. But something had changed.
Were they paranoid? Had they seen increased police presence?
All I knew was that they were there now. At least some of them were there prepping and I was afraid the police taking up position now might scare them off.
