All Acts Of Pleasure: A Rowan Gant Investigation (18 page)

“So you think the killer is a woman too?”

“Is that what you were told by the other
departments?”

“They weren’t willing to share that
speculation, but the evidence they told me about seemed to indicate
such.”

“Here too. So you’re a bit of an amateur
sleuth I take it?”

“Not really. But, I can put two and two
together.”

“Well, I’m afraid the math gets a bit harder
from here on out.”

“Well, Mister Gant, I’ll count myself lucky
that I’m not in your position then. But, as I said before, it seems
to me that you’ve done quite a bit of homework on this. I wish my
students were as dedicated to their studies.”

“Let’s just say I’ve got an important
motivation. And, yes, the local librarians and occult bookshops
know me pretty well right now.”

“I’m sure…well…I’ll admit you have a
good theory. If you could find the ancestor then maybe you could
track down a descendent. But, even that could be a dead end because
it assumes that the person who has placed this spirit on her altar
and elevated it to the status of
Lwa
is actually a direct descendent. In all likelihood she’s of
no relation whatsoever, and that would put you back at square
one.”

“True, but right now I’m more or less at
square zero.”

“I understand, but like I said, I honestly
don’t know where you would even start to look for this
ancestor.”

“Actually, I have a few ideas.”

“Okay, then no offense, but what do you need
me for? You definitely seem to have a better handle on this whole
situation than the other police departments.”

“Well, to be truthful, the main reason I
called is that I have some questions about something you covered in
your book on Voodoo.”

“You mean about something other than
the
veve
’s?”

“Yes. Specifically what I’m interested
in is possession by
Lwa
.”

I could hear what sounded like a frustrated
sigh at the other end then she said, “Yes, it really happens.”

“Believe me, I don’t doubt that.”

“Then what exactly did you need to know about
it?”

“Well, what prompted me to call you is that
in your book you mentioned instances of secondary or collateral
possession.”

“You actually read it, didn’t you?”

“Not all, but quite a bit of, yes.”

“Amazing…so what’s your question?”

“Well, you’re actually the only
authority on Voodoo I found who even mentioned collateral
possession by
Lwa
.”

“Probably because it’s an exceptionally rare
occurrence.”

“But it happens.”

“Yes, it does. But, as I said, it’s
extremely rare.
Lwa
don’t just
hop from
horse
to
horse
for no reason.”

“I’ll accept that, but let’s say we
have an instance where it does occur. Do you think it’s possible
for an unwitting subject to accidentally become a
horse
for a
Lwa
?”

“I believe that’s pretty much what I just
said, isn’t it?”

“Let me rephrase that…what I’m talking about
is someone who is completely oblivious.”

“So when you say ‘unwitting’ you really mean
it. As in someone who is totally out of the loop?”

“Yes. Completely. Someone who’s not even a
practitioner of Voodoo.”

“Well, my initial reaction would be to say,
no. However, I suppose that given the right circumstances just
about anything is possible.” She paused for a second before adding,
“Hmmm…but, no, it’s not very likely.”

“But, it’s still possible, correct?”

“Like I said, I suppose anything is
possible under exactly the right circumstances. Now, please excuse
my curiosity here, but what has
Lwa
possession got to do with these homicides?”

I’m not sure if for some reason I had
developed a sort of implicit trust in Doctor Rieth during this
short conversation, or if I just needed someone to listen to me.
Maybe it was both, maybe it was neither. All I know is that my
original plans to conceal my motives for this call were instantly
negated as words came rolling out of my mouth before I realized
what I was doing.

“Early yesterday afternoon my wife was
arrested and charged with them.”

If Doctor Rieth’s earlier pauses were
weighty, the one that now followed my spontaneous confession
overloaded the scale. I instantly began to wonder if revealing that
particular fact had been wise. Of course, the decision had to have
been made subconsciously because it had never been my intention to
take the conversation down this dark alley at all. But, here we
were and there was no backing up. All I could do about it now was
hope any damage I’d just done was manageable.

“So you lied,” she finally said, her original
reserved tone tightly coiled about her voice once again as anger
replaced curiosity. “You aren’t really working with the police, are
you?”

“Yes and no,” I replied.

“Tell me, Mister Gant…if that’s really your
name. Are you answering the questions in order, or simply
objecting? Because those two words are mutually exclusive.”

“That’s really my name, and a little of both,
I suppose,” I told her. “Yes, I lied to you, sort of.”

“Sort of? Either you lied or you…Oh, why am I
even talking to you?! Good day!”

“No, no, wait!” I begged. “Please, just hear
me out!”

“Why?” she spat. “So you can lie to me some
more?”

“No. No more lies, just the truth from here
on out. I promise.”

“Forgive me, but just how will I know that
you’re really telling the truth? So far, you haven’t exactly
established a good track record on that point.”

I puffed out my cheeks and exhaled heavily as
I tried to think of a halfway reasonable response for the extremely
reasonable query. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one, so I simply
said, “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”

I’m fairly certain that if she hadn’t been
stunned by the brazen reply, she would have laughed and hung up.
Luck, however, finally seemed to be throwing me a bone, so to
speak, and the tactic apparently worked in my favor.

“That’s asking a lot considering how this
started, Mister Gant.”

“I know, but I’m desperate and I need your
help.”

“Why me?”

“Like I said, from the research I’ve
done, apparently you are one of the very few authorities on Voodoo,
if not the only one, who believes collateral possession by
Lwa
is possible.”

“That’s because I’ve seen it happen.”

“Then I came to the right person.”

“Are you trying to flatter your way out of
this? Because I hate con men.”

“No, Doctor Rieth, you have no idea how
serious I am about this. My wife is being charged with murders she
didn’t commit, and I intend to prove it.”

Again the clicking semi-silence of the open
line filled the earpiece. I wanted to continue pleading, but I’d
played all the cards I had, which in reality amounted to a hand
anyone else would have folded. The woman at the other end of the
phone had no earthly reason to help me, and I knew that. What’s
more, I was fully aware that she knew it as well; so continuing to
run off at the mouth wasn’t going to do me a bit of good.

“Okay,” she finally said. “You’ve got two
minutes to convince me that I should keep listening to you. But I’m
warning you, even if I don’t just hang up on you in the middle of
this, I’m going to check out your story.”

“Sounds more than fair,” I agreed. “And,
thank you. First off, my apologies for the lie. I just wasn’t sure
if you’d talk to me otherwise. In reality, it wasn’t a complete
lie; it was more of a half-truth.”

“Semantics.”

“Yes. Well, the part about me being a
consultant was absolutely true. I work with the local authorities
as well as the FBI on cases where non-traditional religious
artifacts and symbology are found or thought to be involved.

“When I told you I was working with the
police, that’s where it got a bit fuzzy because at the moment I’m
not. However, I was up until a week ago. I was originally…”

“Wait a minute,” she said, interrupting.
“You’re in Saint Louis, correct?”

“Yes.”

She began repeating my name in a low voice,
mumbling the syllables in repetition. “Rowan Gant…Rowan Gant…That’s
where I’ve heard of you. I knew it! I knew your name sounded
familiar. You’re that guy…you’re the Witch…”

“I don’t know about
the
Witch, but yes, I’m a Witch.”

“No, I mean you’re the one who caught that
psycho a few years ago, aren’t you? That crazy who was going around
accusing people of being Witches and then killing them…” Her voice
trailed off into a murmur once again. “What was his name? Something
Parker…or maybe Palmer…”

“Eldon Porter,” I volunteered, knowing all
too well to whom she was referring. “And, actually, the police
caught him. I was just…bait…more or less.”

“I think someone forgot to tell that to the
media because it was all over the national news.”

“Yes, well you really shouldn’t believe
everything you see on TV.”

“As a rule, I don’t, but I seem to recall the
FBI themselves crediting you with being instrumental in the
capture.”

Dredging up those events from my past wasn’t
going to help my mood by any stretch of the imagination. I had made
some very heavy sacrifices to end Porter’s spree—a bloody orgy that
had seen the deaths of several innocent people, among them two of
my friends and coven mates. I had far too pressing a matter at hand
to wrap myself up in that pain yet again.

“No offense, Doctor Rieth, but those are some
memories I really don’t enjoy revisiting…besides, there’s the issue
with my wife and I would…”

“Oh, yes. Certainly. I understand completely.
But, I have to admit that your credibility just got an enormous
boost.”

“Well, that’s good to know,” I returned. “I
would have played that ace from the outset if I had known it was
one.”

“So, let me get this straight,” she
ventured. “Your wife has been arrested and charged with these
murders, and if I’m following your line of questions to me, you
believe she was being ridden by a
Lwa
when they were committed? And, furthermore,
that the
Lwa
is the actual
entity responsible for the killing?”

“Close. I do think Felicity was being ridden,
but I definitely don’t believe she committed the crimes, while
possessed or at any other time. It was someone else entirely.”

“But, I get the feeling you still think
the
Lwa
is directly
responsible?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t want to burst your bubble, but
since you did read my book you should have picked up on the fact
that
Lwa
don’t purposely cause
harm. Granted, they certainly get used as an excuse by individuals
who would like for you to believe…for lack of a better phrase, the
‘devil’ made them do it…but, that really isn’t the
case.”

“I know that, but I have a strange
feeling that this
Lwa
is
different. I’m certain that it actually is somehow driving or
directing what the killer is doing. And, that it temporarily
possessed my wife, otherwise she wouldn’t have exhibited the
behavior she did. The way I see it, if this
Lwa
was riding someone who was actually willing,
then the murders aren’t a stretch at all.”

“Well, even if you’re correct, and some
particularly malevolent spirit has been elevated to the status of a
personal
Lwa
by a practitioner
of Voodoo, that person must be insane. In any case, you’re still in
the same boat. There’s no way you’re going to convince anyone to
put an ancestral spirit on trial, Mister Gant.”

“That goes without saying. But, if I
can figure out who this spirit is, maybe I can find the real
killer. And, if I’m right and the
Lwa
is driving the individual to commit the
crimes…well…I don’t know. I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get
there. But, the truth is, if she knows the nature of the
Lwa
, and she keeps inviting it in,
then she’s just as guilty.”

“But, the police are convinced that it is
your wife who is the culprit, yes?”

“I’m afraid so.”

“If you don’t mind my asking, why? Do they
have some compelling reason to think such a thing?”

“They say they have evidence placing her at
the two crime scenes here in Saint Louis, as well as the one in
Myrtle Beach.”

“That’s not good. What about the one in New
York?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. The first I heard
about New York was when you mentioned it earlier. However, the
rumor is that they have seven other unsolved homicides throughout
the United States with similar characteristics to these, so I
suspect that is one of them.”

“Seven?!”

“That’s what I was told.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A few years, apparently. Since two-thousand
three at least.”

“And you were oblivious to it?”

“Of course I was,” I returned sharply. “Why
wouldn’t I be? It wasn’t Felicity doing it.”

“Sorry, and I hate to say it, but, if the
police have evidence…”

“Well, that’s where it starts moving beyond
simply adding two and two,” I interrupted. “I don’t think their
evidence is legitimate.”