twelve. Cally looked at her own watch, and her eyes widened slightly.
“I’m sorry,” she exclaimed. “I didn’t realize it was this late.”
“Nothing to apologize for,” I assured her. “It’s been a long day for all of us.”
“Do you think,” Randy queried as they all began gathering themselves to leave, “that maybe we could have circle with you and Felicity again sometime? You know, like a Full Moon meeting or something?”
“Certainly,” I grinned.
“Of course.” Felicity smiled. “We’d love to.”
The group gathered their things, and then Cally, Nancy and the twins hugged both Felicity and myself. Randy hugged my wife and shook my hand. R.J. still seemed to remain somewhat aloof. He shook hands with both of us, and when I clasped my hand about his, I mentally probed for the streak of darkness I had felt earlier. He had been taught well, and his defenses came up, immediately blocking my psychic exploration. I was more experienced and could have easily broken through the ethereal wall separating us, but it was both inappropriate, and at this point in time, uncalled for. He looked back at me coolly, knowing full well what I had tried to do, and said nothing.
Once they were gone, Felicity sent the dogs out to take care of whatever they needed to do and then let them back in. I had just finished letting Emily out the front door to go on her nightly “mouse patrol” when the rambunctious canines scrambled past me and into our bedroom. My wife trailed along behind them, switching off lights as she went. We finished locking up the house and shutting off the remaining lights together then dragged ourselves off to bed as well.
The crisp, fresh sheets on our waterbed felt wonderful, and I expelled a tired sigh as I stretched out. A tranquil hum issued from the slowly spinning ceiling fan above as it moved the cool air about the room. I heard the light switch in the bathroom, and Felicity emerged, having twisted her hair atop her head and donned an oversized t-shirt bearing the faded quip, “Photographers do it in a darkroom.” After moving the bedroom light from dim to off, she gently slid into the bed next to me and rested her head on my shoulder.
“Do you want to talk about it now?”
Her voice drifted to me in the darkness. I shifted and slid my arm around, pulling her closer.
“It’s the same guy,” I told her. “No doubt in my mind. I don’t think he was just practicing this time though, but I can’t be sure. It looked like he performed a full ritual…” I paused. “Complete with removing the victim’s heart.”
I could feel her shudder against me. I wasn’t sure how I felt about giving her the details, but I knew that if I didn’t, she would get them from Ben as soon as I turned my back.
“Why in the park?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “Based on what I’ve seen so far, I’m thinking he might want to be caught, but this was more than a little brazen if you ask me.”
“From what I saw on the news,” she lent, “those restrooms were the ones in the back of the park. They’re pretty isolated.”
“I know, but still, people walk their dogs back there. That’s how the body was found. A kid walking his dog.” I told her, “Dog went nuts when they passed by the restrooms. The door was propped open, and he broke loose and ran in.”
“Poor kid,” Felicity sighed. “I doubt if he was ready for that.”
“Yeah, he was still talking to a police shrink when Ben and I left.”
“Do you think the killer knew the victim?”
“We didn’t find anything to indicate that,” I answered. “So I’d be inclined to say no, but I’m sure they’ll be checking into it.”
“Did they find anything at the scene that might help?”
“Not much,” I answered. “He hailed the towers and performed an Expiation spell again, presumably after the other ritual. He bound her wrists and ankles and gagged her with duct tape. They might get something off that. When I projected…”
I felt her tense against me, and I knew what she was thinking.
“…Don’t worry, I didn’t channel, I just projected. It wasn’t the same as with Ariel…”
She relaxed, and I gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“When I projected, I saw him pull his glove off before he reached in for her heart.” I couldn’t believe how calmly I was relaying this story. I hoped that I wasn’t becoming jaded to the atrocities I had witnessed lately. “I don’t know if they’ll get anything, but they’re going to look for latent prints on the body.”
“Maybe that will turn something up,” she said.
“Maybe. Even if it does, unless he’s on file from some previous offense or something, it won’t be much help in finding him.”
The waterbed rippled slightly, and we felt movement in the dark followed by a muted rumble growing closer by the second. Within moments, Salinger climbed onto my chest and curled up, purring interminably as Felicity scratched his ears.
“That reminds me,” I said shifting slightly, recalling Salinger’s earlier opinion of R.J. “How did the circle go for you? I noticed a little streak of dark in the residual energy when I sat down at the table.”
“It was there during the circle too,” she told me. “It really didn’t seem to come from anyone though. It was more like it was just hanging around from something else. It wasn’t terribly overwhelming or anything, so I just had everyone ground all their negative thoughts and energies. I figured it was probably their thoughts of seeking revenge and such.”
“You could be right,” I mused. “I suppose some of it could have been left hanging around. How did the cats act?”
“Nowhere to be found,” she answered. “They were probably in here asleep on the bed.”
“You know Ben really suspects R.J.,” I told her. “Especially after the time of death for Karen Barnes was placed somewhere between five-thirty and eight P.M.”
“Karen Barnes. They identified her pretty quickly.”
“Her purse was at the scene.”
“I know R.J. was late and all,” she stated. “But I think Ben is on the wrong track. I would have felt something from him if he had done it. He wouldn’t have been able to mask that while in the circle.”
“Well,” I intoned, “I tried to feel him out when he shook my hand, and he put up defenses immediately.”
“You would have done the same if someone tried to check you out,” she told me. “That doesn’t make him guilty of anything.”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
We laid wordlessly in the dark listening to the sound of the humming fan blend with the contented, throaty rumble of the lump of fur curled up on my chest.
“Is Ben going to call tomorrow?” Felicity finally asked.
“Yeah,” I answered. “In the morning. He wants me to meet with the Major Case Squad. I might end up needing those slides.”
“Then I guess I’ll have to get up early and process them, so I can get them mounted,” she stated and then gave me a light kiss. “Go to sleep dear. You have to be exhausted.”
“I am.” I patted her lightly on the rear as she rolled over. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I stared off into the darkness, the meter of the swirling fan blades setting up an audible, hypnotic rhythm. I was so tired I felt I could sleep forever, but at the same time, I was still coming down from the adrenalin pumping through my veins. I listened to the soft rhythm and started a mental exercise to relax. Clearing my mind, I allowed the stress of the past two days to pour out of me like water from a faucet. I closed my eyes and let the last thoughts in my head drift away.
Before long, my body was completely infused with a comfortable drifting sensation. Indigo darkness enveloped me broken only by a bright blue light in the distance. I reached for the light, and I was gone.
CHAPTER 8
