An Affair Of Sorcerers

Of course they wouldn't, I suddenly realized. And not only because it was 'occult business.'

'Mad,' I said quietly, 'we could have a problem here. The coven will have time to destroy their books of shadows. Without those personal records, I'm not sure what can be proved against them; without evidence, there's just a bunch of guys in an empty building celebrating Halloween early. I'm sure they've got a lot of politicians and judges in their pockets; the coven could blackmail those people, if they have to. The DA may need you to corroborate my testimony before a grand jury. That crew has killed a number of men, ruined the lives of dozens of others, and tried to poison a little girl. And don't forget that Esobus ran a blade across your forehead. Don't you want to see them permanently put out of business?'

Madeline swallowed hard, sobbed. 'Mongo, if I testify, everything about me will come out. I'll be laughed out of the scientific community and never be taken seriously again. Teaching is my whole life. Please don't take that away from me.'

It occurred to me that I was going to have legal problems if I tried to protect Madeline: I would have to perjure myself. But perjured was better than dead, and dead was what I would be if not for Madeline.

The sirens were very close now. 'All right,' I said quietly. 'But I have to get you to a hospital.'

'My car's just down the street. Thank you, my friend.'

Chapter 20

I took Madeline to the nearest hospital, where she was immediately admitted through the Emergency Room. An intern cleaned and bandaged my shoulder, and even managed to find me a shirt left behind by some boy. Then I was allowed to sit with Madeline while the cross-shaped wound was washed, and pressure pads applied. The medical staff's best plastic surgeon was called in to do the stitching. It was the only logical thing to do; but I knew that the best plastic surgeon in the world wasn't going to be able to leave Madeline's forehead free of a scar she'd carry with her for the rest of her life.

I could think of nothing to say to Madeline except a simple 'Thank you.'

The surgeon indicated she'd be under the knife and needle for an hour or two. I told Madeline I'd stay close by, kissed her on the cheek and went out into the waiting room.

As with the sensory deprivation, there was none of the exhilaration I felt I should be experiencing after narrowly escaping being carved up and barbecued by the coven. What I did feel was a deep gratitude to Madeline for saving my life, sorrow and regret at the price she'd had to pay. Underlying it all was a profound sense of dissatisfaction at things left unfinished. But I knew there was one piece of business that had to be taken care of right away. I got up and went to a pay phone by the entrance.

Garth was still at the coven's headquarters, but I convinced the station's desk sergeant that my brother would want to talk to me right away. I was patched through to his car radio.

'Mongo! You all right? We got a call-'

'I know, Garth. I was there, but I'm all right.'

There was a pause, then: 'Well? Where the hell are you now?'

'. . Taking care of some business,' I said, feeling like The Fool in the tarot deck. Stepping off a cliff. Except that I was no innocent.

'How'd you get away?'

'Dwarf cunning,' I said, hating myself for the smart-ass reply, but thinking of the woman a few rooms away having her face sewn back together. 'Listen; Sandor Peth's dead, and you've got what's left of the coven there- except for Esobus.' I swallowed hard, trying to rid myself of a sour, seaweed taste in my mouth. 'Uh. . you didn't happen to pick up anyone in the street outside the building, did you?'

'No.' Now Garth's voice was strained. 'Tell me what happened.'

I did, omitting only Madeline's role in helping me escape. I finished up by saying, 'You'll find all the evidence you need in the books of shadows they keep in their cubicles.'

'Sorry, Mongo,' Garth said tightly. 'We didn't find anything-and we probably couldn't hang on to it if we had. Whoever called said the coven was about to kill you; it wasn't exactly the kind of situation where I felt like waiting around for some judge to swear out a search warrant. We could conceivably be in trouble, if they want to press it.'

'Krowl and the others. . weren't dressed in ceremonial robes?'

'No robes, Mongo.'

They would have been consigned to the gas fire, along with the books of shadows and any other incriminating evidence in the coven's possession. I felt sick.

'Well, you'll just have to make do with my story. I'm telling you they're behind the whole thing. That factory is the coven's headquarters. What the hell did they say they were doing with a mini- crematorium in the center of the floor?'

'Hey, brother, I believe you. The point is that we don't have any physical proof. Krowl swears that the complex was started as an adjunct to his Mystic Eye Institute, then left unfinished when he ran out of money.'

'Then what were they doing there?'

'As far as the law is concerned, it doesn't matter what they were doing there. Krowl owns the place. Anyway, it would help if we could find the woman who called in. She probably knows a lot. You don't have any idea who it was, do you?'

'No,' I lied. I was beginning to feel light-headed and nauseated again, and I knew the feeling had nothing to do with antirabies shots. 'Like I said, you'll just have to make do with my testimony.'

'Right now I'll make do with just finding you. Where are you, Mongo? I'll come around and pick you up.'

'. . I'll be at the station house in a couple of hours.'

There was a long silence on the other end of the line. When Garth finally spoke again, his voice was hard and cold. 'You're holding out on me, Mongo. What the fuck do you think you're up to?'

'I'll talk to you later, Garth,' I said, and hung up.

Feeling as if I were wrapped in a bale of wet cotton, I went to a canteen down a corridor from the Emergency Room and got a cup of coffee from a vending machine. I sat down, lighted a cigarette and stared down into the brown depths of the coffee. The steaming liquid reminded me of the hole I'd seen in the floor of my mind, and I recalled how I'd gone over and over the facts of the case in an attempt to keep from falling into that hole. Now, with the coven experience behind me, there were more elements to add. I was convinced that if I stared hard enough, mixed everything together and stirred hard enough, the rest of the answers would break free and float to the top, like clots of rancid cream.

The cigarette end burned my fingers. I stubbed the butt out in a standing ashtray while continuing to stare into the coffee, thinking. I was still staring when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Madeline. Her entire forehead was bandaged, but her lovely blue eyes were free of pain. To me, she still looked beautiful; she wouldn't look so beautiful to others when the bandages were removed.

'Hello, babe,' I said softly. 'Shouldn't you at least be staying here overnight?'

Mad shook her head, and winced. 'The blood made the wound look worse than it really is. I'm all stitched up, and the plastic surgeon says there won't be too much of a scar.' She smiled and made a small curtsy. 'I'm betting it will look sexy. How about getting me a cup of coffee?'

I brought her coffee from the machine, sat down across from her. 'Thank you again for saving my life.'

'You're welcome again. Now let's forget about it, okay? Having you around is worth a little slice on the forehead. Remember what you said? We're the only two people who have anything to say to each other at those boring faculty parties.'

'Why did you run the way you did, Mad? Didn't you know Esobus was there?'

She grinned wryly and gently touched her bandaged forehead with her fingertips. 'I knew; I guess I'm just a damn fool. Call it the curiosity of the scientist. I wanted to see who Esobus was.'

'Did you get a look at him?'

Madeline shook her head. 'He was dressed in a crimson robe, like the others, with a hood over his head. He