Minutes later, Carmen hurries across the street. She’s wearing big sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf. In her effort to look inconspicuous, she could not attract more attention if she tried. She looks like Fiona. Beside her is Father Ramon. Today, he’s dressed in the full Catholic cassock, a black tunic that drapes from his shoulders to the ground.
When Carmen reaches me, she greets me with a hug. I wave to Father Ramon. “I’m so happy to see you’re safe,” she whispers.
We find a park bench and sit down together. “What happened?” I ask.
Carmen takes a deep breath to steady herself and reaches for Ramon’s hand. “It was evening, so the staff had gone home. Except Leona. I was in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Leona had been outside, tending to our rose garden. I was alone. When I turned around, I saw her. Santa Muerte.
“I didn’t know what to do. I stood there, frozen. It stared at me with those eyes. Then Leona came back in. She was holding those flowers. Before she could scream, that thing raced across the room. It was all so fast. The next thing I saw, it was holding Leona’s…”
She trails off. “I ran out of the house as fast as I could.”
I recall the surveillance team outside her house that night. Evidently, they didn’t see anyone leave. When I ask Carmen about that, she has an answer.
“I knew someday I would have to escape the confines of my own home. My staff and I had developed a plan for just such an occasion. And that escape route was not going through my front door but to the house next door, which I also own. There was a car there, waiting for me, with the keys inside. That’s how I escaped.”
It’s not an answer I like, but it makes a lot of sense. Anyone who’s a target with a lot of enemies would probably have planned an escape route a long time ago.
“You have no idea how horrifying it was. It was pure evil,” she says, shivering.
“I do know.”
She nods. “Then you have seen the face of evil.”
Every morning in the mirror. “It’s best that you’re here with Father Ramon,” I assure her. “It probably can’t harm you on hallowed ground.”
“You should stay here too,” she offers.
“Why didn’t the spirit attack you?” Paige interjects. It’s a good question. When I struggled with the spirit, it was alarmingly fast and strong. It should have been able to catch Carmen.
“Perhaps because I showed her this,” Carmen answers, reaching into the collar of her shirt.
She pulls out a gold medallion. It’s circular, with the image of a monk holding a cross in his hand and Latin text along the margins. I give one glance and recoil. My reaction is instinctual and not at all subtle. My stomach rumbles in pain, and I gag momentarily while doubling over.
“Darcy, are you okay?” Paige asks, patting me on the back.
I hold my hand up to signal I’m okay. When I sit up, I have to wipe the tears in my eyes. The medallion is back in her shirt.
“Are you all right?” Carmen asks.
I nod. “Caught something in my throat.” The look on Carmen’s face tells me she’s not buying this at all.
Father Ramon steers the conversation forward. “It’s the Saint Benedict Medal. I gave it to Carmen last week as a protection for her in this time of need. A blessed, very powerful tool against evil.”
I am all too familiar with its powers. The Saint Benedict Medal is a tool priests use during an exorcism to combat the powers of evil. It’s what Father Ramon used the few times he attempted to exorcise me. Works like a charm.
“Where was Hugo?” I ask when I can speak clearly again.
“He wasn’t there. I’m not sure.”
“Have you seen or heard from him since?”
“Do you think he had something to do with this? You don’t think he took Elizabeth?”
“He knew how to find her. He knew how to get into your house to attack you and kill Leona. And I believe he was involved in Santa Muerte.”
“My God,” she says. “I’ve known him for years. My husband trusted him. We all trusted him.”
“And he probably used that trust against you.”
“Promise me, Darcy,” she pleads. “Please find my daughter. Please bring Elizabeth home to me.”
Still trying to catch my breath, I promise to do just that.
Father Ramon takes me aside before they leave. “I’m sorry about that,” he says, referring to the incident with the Saint Benedict Medal. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
I nod. I didn’t expect the medal, so it felt like a sucker punch. I need a minute to recover.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks again.
Everyone keeps asking me that, so I must look pretty bad. I assure him I’m fine. Paige and I watch him escort Carmen back onto the cathedral grounds before we get into the Land Rover and drive away.
Chapter 30
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BY THE TIME WE arrive on the studio lot, the sun has started to set in the west. Even by Los Angeles standards, it’s a beautiful sunset. Hues of orange and red blend into each other, creating a blanket of warmth across the sky so that everything in the city is diffused by the same light. Some people say it’s the smog that gives us these beautiful sunsets. I guess you can find something positive in the worst of circumstances.
I text Fiona, who directs us to park outside Stage 9. Once we're there, Paige moves to the back seat. When Fiona exits the stage door, she jumps straight into the driver’s seat.
Fiona revs the engine and pulls away. “You’re both still alive.” She pulls into traffic and starts navigating
