was tired, beyond tired and moving fast toward exhaustion. All his life he had been a light sleeper and had learned to function on five hours of fitful sleep. But the churning wake of the week’s events had left him storm tossed, with the burning eyes, heavy limbs and dulled brain of a drowning man. And now he was riding night shift.
Louis closed his eyes and leaned his temple against the cold window. He wasn’t going to make it through the shift awake. New Year’s Eve. The drunks would be out in force soon.
“You haven’t said a word for two hours, Kincaid,” Ollie said.
Reluctantly, Louis opened his eyes and looked over. Ollie Wickshaw was tall and thin, all angles, elbows and eggshell skin. He had a weird mechanical way of moving, as though he were built from Erector set parts. Louis had watched him earlier that night as he got into the cruiser, folding his body down into the seat like one of those old- fashioned wooden carpenter rulers.
Louis focused on Ollie’s hands gripping the wheel. His fingers had the pale brown tint of a chain smoker. Ollie reached up on the dash for his pack of Kools and with a few snaps of movement had the cigarette lit and in his mouth.
“They say
Louis cracked the window. “It’s not personal.”
“I know.”
They rode another mile and Louis looked at his watch. It was almost 1 a.m. and he hadn’t eaten. They hadn’t had a call in an hour.
“Is there someplace open to get something to eat?” Louis asked.
“On New Year’s? Jo-Jo’s about it.” Ollie pushed a brown bag toward Louis on the seat. “You can share my dinner. Got some carrots and celery sticks in there and a soy burger. You ever tried soy?”
Louis sank deeper into the seat. “No.”
“Tastes just like hamburger but you have to know how to work it, you know, seasonings. Cumin is good. And there’s this Cajun spice stuff I get over at Grayling. I buy it by the case. I’m a vegetarian. Gave up meat eight years ago. The other guys think I’m a little strange but meat’s bad for the arteries. You ever seen a picture of an artery coated with plaque?”
“Nope,” Louis said. “You ever seen a picture of a smoker’s lungs?”
Ollie glanced at him, blinked twice, and looked back out at the road.
Louis sighed, resting his head back against the seat. Wickshaw didn’t deserve this. It wasn’t his fault Gibralter was such a prick. He had just decided to apologize when Ollie spoke.
“You have to know him.”
“Who?” Louis asked.
“The chief. He’s not what you think.”
“Right.”
“He’s an Aries.”
“What?”
“That’s the chief’s sun sign. Aries.”
Louis rolled his eyes. Not that shit.
“Aries have an inbred desire to be in charge. To be number one. All the great leaders were Aries.” Ollie reached down to snuff his cigarette out in the ashtray. “What are you?”
“I bet you’re a Scorpio.”
“How did you know that?”
“I do charts. You ever had your chart done?”
“No. It’s bullshit.”
Ollie was quiet for several miles. They passed the road to the lake and Ollie made a left turn. The headlights illuminated a sign that said: U.S. 33 4 MILES.
“Where and what time were you born?” Ollie asked.
Louis stared out the window. “Five-thirty a.m. Mississippi.”
“Ah.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means you have Libra rising. Of course, I would have to calculate the exact hour to be sure but it’s a fair guess. Libra is the sign — ”
“I don’t care.”
“Of beauty and fairness. Its symbol is the balanced scales. You must get very confused sometimes.”
Louis didn’t reply. He watched Ollie use his free hand to open his Ziploc bag and pull out a carrot.
“Scorpios are very moody and often immerse themselves in the morbid and sometimes violent aspects of life,” Ollie said, between bites of the carrot. “You probably have a Mars or Mercury in Aries, which would account for your love of police work. Aries is the god of war and rules police and the military.”
“So why am I confused?” Louis asked. He couldn’t believe he was asking this nut anything.
“Because Libra is your secondary ruler and Libras are very peaceful by nature. Totally nonviolent. So, you see, you have this urge to subject yourself to violence yet your gentler nature abhors it. Thus, the confusion.”
Louis stared at him.
“Want a carrot?” Ollie asked.
Louis nodded and took one.
“Should I go on?” Ollie asked.
Louis nodded slowly, munching on the carrot.
“I bet you like very passionate women.”
“Doesn’t everyone?” Louis laughed. The laugh trailed off quickly. He didn’t need to be thinking of Zoe right now.
“No, not really. But you like women who drive you crazy, physically and mentally. The woman you will marry is elusive by nature, mysterious and probably loves the water.”
“The water?”
“As do you.”
“I never thought about it one way or the other.”
“You should,” Ollie said, looking at him. The dashboard lights caught Ollie’s benign eyes. “The water is where you need to settle.”
“Well, I get the feeling the chief is not going to let me do that. I don’t think he wants me here.”
“It doesn’t have to be here. There’s lots of water in the world.” Ollie held out the Ziploc. “Another carrot?”
Louis shook his head. They drove on without speaking for several miles while Louis stared out at the swirling snow. The radio belched a burst of static. Ollie reached over to turn down the volume.
“Hey, Ollie,” Louis said finally.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For that crack I made about smoking.”
Ollie’s veiny temples twitched. “Forget it. I should quit anyway. Would make my wife happy. But it’s my only vice left.” He suddenly slowed the car and did a U-turn.
“What are you doing?” Louis asked.
“The Castle might be open. I mean, if you’re desperate.”
“Thanks, man.”
They were heading back toward town now. After several miles, Louis spotted the neon halo of the White Castle hamburger joint arching above the dark trees. Ollie swung the cruiser up to the curb and shoved it into park. Louis moved to open the door.
“Jess is a Virgo,” Ollie said. “Virgo rules your twelfth house.”
“What’s that?” Louis asked. “The house of partners?”
“Your house of secrets,” Ollie said.
Louis stared at him for a moment then closed the door. He went inside and ordered six burgers, fries and a
