An Affair Of Sorcerers

Garth looked uncomfortable, and he took a few moments to think about his answer. Finally, he said, 'You and I come out of our background with a certain set of preconceptions that we call 'reality.' It's damn hard giving up those notions, but someone like Krowl can start you thinking. I've seen and heard some things that are hard to explain.'

'Did you go to Krowl for a reading?'

'Yeah,' Garth said, lighting his third cigarette. 'I'd heard about him and I was curious. What can I tell you? He wiped me out. Between a palm print and a few layouts of those tarot cards, he seemed to know my whole goddamn life. I'm talking about Elizabeth and the babies' deaths, what section of the country I come from, the fact that I was a county sheriff before coming to New York, and even the year I came here. He even knew about. . Neptune.'

We stared at each other in silence, the atmosphere in the room suddenly heavy with tension. A year before, Garth had been in love with an Iranian woman by the name of Neptune Tabrizi. An investigation I'd been conducting had resulted in her death. The discovery that Neptune's love for Garth had been a lie and a betrayal had not altered the fact that he'd loved her deeply. I knew all was forgiven, but Neptune was still a subject we avoided.

'I don't have the slightest idea how he does it,' Garth continued. 'All I'm saying is that something is going on. His list of clients reads like a Who's Who of celebrities: rock and movie stars, politicians and their wives, writers and artists. And those are just the people who don't mind publicity. I have a feeling we'd both be surprised at the names of some of the shyer ones who regularly use him as an adviser.'

'Interesting, but tarot cards and palm reading don't sound like the kind of thing we have with that gown.'

'You're right; the symbols on the gown definitely look like witchcraft, which isn't Krowl's number. But Krowl is an expert on the occult in general.'

'How soon can I get to see him?'

'I don't know. I'll call him later, then get back to you. If you're out, I'll leave a message with your service.'

Regina appeared with two steaming mugs of coffee. Garth took his, then excused himself and went into the bathroom to wash up. Regina wanted to talk, and I managed to carry on a fairly decent conversation, despite the fact that I was only half-listening to what the woman had to say. I sipped at the hot coffee, resisting the impulse to splash in another slug of Irish whiskey. My lack of sleep was beginning to take its toll; my eyes smarted, and I felt disoriented-although not sleepy. I kept thinking of Kathy, dwelling on the fact that her sleep could turn out to be permanent.

Garth reappeared, shaven and with his hair combed. He glanced at Regina.

'Excuse me again,' Regina said, patting me affectionately on the forearm. 'I think our steaks are just about done.'

'I'm impressed,' I told Garth when Regina had gone. 'I thought this was the age of Women's Lib.'

'Regina's liberated,' he said. 'The fact is that she likes me, she likes cooking, and she likes to leave when I'm talking business. You should find yourself such a liberated girlfriend.'

I drained off the rest of my coffee. 'You said there were two people who might be able to help me. Who do you have in mind besides Krowl?'

Garth looked uncomfortable. 'I was hoping you wouldn't ask. I may have spoken out of turn; it's a rather confidential and very special source. Why don't you talk to Krowl first and see what he can tell you?'

'C'mon, brother. There's a child's life at stake here, and I haven't exactly had time to make up a schedule of where I'm going to be, or when. I don't know how I'm going to handle this yet, so why don't you just give me the name now? I'm not going to give it to the Daily News.'

He thought about it, finally nodded. 'You know her; she's a colleague of yours. Dr. Jones.'

'Madeline Jones? Mad Jones is an astronomer. What the hell does she know about the occult?'

Garth laughed. 'I've got news for you. That astronomer is also an astrologer-and a good one, if you can believe there is such a thing.'

'Madeline Jones?' I knew I was repeating myself, but I couldn't help it. The woman he was referring to just happened to be a world-renowned astronomer, a cosmologist who was a leading expert on black holes and quasars. She spent half her time teaching, the other half flying around the world to deliver papers at various conferences.

Garth nodded. 'Don't ask me the details, because I don't know them. Somehow, Dr. Jones got mixed up with the occult underground here-the heavies, not the weekend dabblers. She takes a pretty wry attitude toward the whole thing when I talk to her, but I can tell you that she's respected by the people who count.'

'And how does your horoscope look for today?' I said with a grin, then quickly held up my hand. 'Sorry; I'll remember to keep a straight face.'

'I'm not into astrology, brother,' Garth said, annoyance creeping into his voice. 'I'm just telling you that Dr. Jones has a big rep. As an astrologer, the woman's damn near a legend. Naturally, she's a little nervous about word of her extracurricular activities getting back to your circles.'

'My circles?' I laughed; the whiskey was starting to affect me. 'I've got enough circles to make a sphere. How'd you meet Mad?'

'Breakfast's ready!' Regina called from the kitchen.

'Apparently, she gets pretty close to her students,' Garth said quietly. 'Last year, one of them got mixed up with a coven that turned out to be a homosexual procuring ring. They were really doing a number on the kid. Dr. Jones heard about it through her sources, and she came to me for help. She had to expose her own occult activities to me, but she was willing to risk her academic career to save the kid. Anyway, her friends in the occult protect her-and I protect her. She's been useful as hell to me. You'd be amazed at some of the kinky things otherwise sensible kids get themselves involved in. Dr. Jones is the best snitch I've got when it comes to these spook rip-off artists. I think she takes a kind of pride in keeping the field. . pure.' Garth must have seen something in my face, because he suddenly laughed self-consciously. 'Weird, I know.'

'I don't know how to get in touch with her,' I said. 'With her schedule, Mad could be anywhere in the world.'

'She's at the university for the summer. I talked to her last week about another case.'

'Garth!' Regina called. 'Mongo! Get in here right now or it goes in the garbage!'

We went into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Regina had prepared steak, eggs, hashed-brown potatoes and toast. I hadn't realized how ravenously hungry I was until I started eating, and I wolfed down the food along with two more cups of Regina's strong, black coffee. Then my weariness hit me and I wanted nothing more than to lay my head down on the table and close my eyes. But there was still more business to be taken care of.

'What's the story on the psychic healer you've got locked up across town?' I asked.

Garth glanced up from his coffee, surprised. 'Esteban Morales?'

'That's the one. How does it look to the cops?'

'Why?'

His question put me in a bind. Garth had broken a confidence by telling me about Madeline Jones, and he wasn't going to like it if I turned coy on him. Still, I didn't want to say too much while Regina was there.

'Garth,' I said, looking down into my empty coffee cup, 'someone who thinks Morales is innocent has asked me to look into the case.'

I glanced up in time to see Garth narrow his eyes. 'That's very nice of someone,' he said softly.

'My client has. . personal reasons.'

'Christ, you're a busy man.'

'You don't know the third of it,' I said, thinking of Smathers. 'The interested party is a very heavy politician who can't afford to have his name linked with a psychic healer.'

'I can understand that-particularly when the healer is accused of murder. Why is Morales so important to him?'

'It is very personal, Garth. Let's just say that he's as impressed by Morales as you are by John Krowl.'