CnC 5 One Hex of a Wedding (12 page)

A lightbulb popped on in my head. “Mur, you don’t think he could be your stalker, do you? He had a thing for you, if I remember.”

“No,” she said, moving a stack of files to the other side of her desk. “At least, I doubt it. From what I heard through the grapevine, he moved to Seattle. And I haven’t heard a word from him since he left his job. Good idea, though, but I think it’s probably somebody I busted, trying to get back at me. Now, why are you here? I know it’s not for the ambiance. What’s up?”

I told her about my morning with Roy. “I had no idea he was addicted to cocaine when we were together. No wonder he had such erratic mood swings. Now I’m a little afraid to let him near the kids. I know he says he’s quit, but he’s obviously still boozing it up. What do you think I should do?”

Murray frowned. “Em, I hate to tell you, but chances are he’s not going to stay clean until he gets clean all the way. I’d insist on supervised visitations. He may hate you for it, but you owe it to the kids. Tell him you want to be there when he’s got them, or you’ll go to court to demand he be supervised.”

I groaned. “But I don’t want to be there. I don’t want to be anywhere around him. Honestly, it was almost creepier with him apologizing than when he yells.” I sighed. “But you’re right. I’ll talk to him after the wedding. Maybe, if he’s sincere about changing, he’ll understand.”

“And if not, you’ll know you’d better get the law on your side. Coke, huh? That’s an expensive trip.”

“No wonder we were short every month. At first I thought he might have a gambling problem, but after I found out about Tyra, I thought it was all going to her. Anyway, I no longer believe Roy had anything to do with shooting Joe. That much I’m sure of.” And, when I searched the depths of my heart, I knew it was true. For all of his faults, he wasn’t a murderer.

Mur shrugged. “I might as well tell him he can leave. There’s no evidence pointing to him other than the fight, and that’s certainly not enough to take someone to court on.” She held up one finger before I could respond and punched a button on her phone. “Deacon, head over to Roy O’Brien’s room at the hotel, tell him he can go home. Strongly suggest that it would be best if he did so today.” She grinned at me and I snickered.

“So, any leads on who trashed your place? White Deer have anything to say about it?”

Murray’s smile disappeared. “No and yes. And worse. To say that White Deer was upset is an understatement. She refuses to stay at my house until I do a thorough cleansing. Em, she did a little scrying and she got sick afterward. Sick as in throwing-up sick. Said she felt like she’d just eaten snails. Whatever energy this perv is running has an oily feel to it. I tossed every stitch of underwear I had and tomorrow we’re going shopping in Bellingham for new clothes.”

White Deer knew her way around a crystal ball, that was for sure. “Sounds like she’s picking up on the same thing I was. If it’s strong enough to make her lose her lunch, then you’d better pay attention. I don’t like it.” I tossed a few thoughts around. “Have you warded your place lately?” I thought of Nanna’s trunk at home. “I could come over and help you later on today.”

Mur contemplated the offer. “Thanks. Normally I’d say no, considering how frantic you must be with wedding plans, but my aunt scared the hell out of me. She’s gone out to Miner’s Lake to gather some willow branches from the shore. I think she’s planning on making me some sort of protection charm.”

“Willow’s good. And we can plunder the oak in my backyard. So, you said no, yes, and worse. What’s the ‘worse’? Or do I want to know?” Ten to one she was under-exaggerating.

She reached in her desk and pulled out a sheet of paper, pushing it across the desk to me. I unfolded it, glancing at the writing. Printed in big bold letters, obviously via computer or typewriter, were the words I’M WAITING FOR YOU. As I held the paper, a spark raced through my fingers and I dropped it on the floor, my fingers tingling. I tried to wipe the feeling off on my pants.

“Shit!” I said as she reached down to pick it up. “The damned thing shocked me! Where’d you get this?”

“I found it in my in-box this morning. No return address, but it was mailed from the post office, looks like. I had the boys run it through dusting, but no prints. I’m scared, Em. First my house, then the ring, now this? I think I’ve got a stalker.” She stared at her hands helplessly.

“I think you’re right. Did you tell Deacon about the ring?”

“I told my boss. Tad’s going to have all my mail that’s delivered here at the office diverted to fingerprinting, before I even get hold of it. I’ve given him permission.” She tried to sound nonchalant, but I could tell she was freaked out. The nervousness was rippling off her like honey down a bee-tree.

“Good, but you need to think further than that. Remember what you told me when I got the security system for my house? That I had to think of the kids? Well, what about your animals? And Jimbo? Mur, you need to have an alarm installed at home, like I’ve got. I hated it at first, but now it gives me peace of mind. And I wasn’t worried about someone stalking me, just stealing my stuff.”

The brief thought of “why all of this right before my wedding” raced through my mind, but I booted it out the door. Murray was my best friend, and if she needed me, I’d be there, wedding or not.

“I’ll call Marvin Eyrland after we finish talking and then I’ll call the home security company,” she said and I knew that she was spooked. She wouldn’t have given in so easily otherwise.

“Did you tell Jimbo about the ring and this note yet?”

She shook her head. “No, and he’s going to hit the roof. I think I’ll wait, though, if you’re coming over today. I’m beat and the last thing I need is to get into it with him tonight. He won’t let this rest, not if he thinks I’m in danger. Providing I call the security company before I tell him about the letter and the ring and card, then he can’t say I’m not doing anything about it.”

“Yeah, I guess.” I had the burning desire to grab the phone and spill everything to Jimbo. I wanted him to protect her, and he couldn’t do that if he remained blissfully ignorant. At least he’d be staying in town for a while. There would be somebody with her at night. I glanced at the clock on the wall. Almost four-thirty. “I’d better get on home and see how Joe’s doing. I’ll be over at your place around eight. That okay?”

“That’s great. Jimmy has a meeting out at the enclave until nine.” She waved as I headed out the door.

As I swept my hair back, my fingers brushed against my bare neck. Shoot—I meant to put on the crystal necklace Rose had bought me. Oh hell! At the thought of my sister, I suddenly remembered that my family was coming over to dinner. Now what? No way would I go back on my promise to Murray. She needed me. I sighed. Well, they’d just have to settle for takeout. We’d eat early and then Joe could entertain them while I was out. Not for the first time, I wished that we’d eloped. Sometimes, the whole damned process of getting married seemed more trouble than it was worth.

Six

 

 

 

AS I STARTED to fasten my necklace before dinner, my fingers began to tingle. I paused as once again a wave of dizziness threatened to sweep over me. Could I be pregnant? We’d been so careful. More children just weren’t in the equation right now, if ever. But if not that, then what was throwing me off balance? I didn’t feel sick.

I turned the necklace over in my hand, trying to sense anything that might be coming off of it. There it was. An energy hovering just below the shining and brilliantly faceted crystals. I tried to zero in on its nature but whatever it was darted like fish in a mountain stream. The moment I caught a glimpse of the energy, it disappeared again.

If there was truly danger around, surely I’d know. Or would I? The past couple of weeks had left me scattered and frantic. Unsure of what to do, I dropped the necklace into a velvet bag and put it in my purse. Maybe Murray or White Deer would have an idea.

A glance at the clock told me that my family should be here any minute. Resigned to a strained meal fending off Grandma M.’s nosy questions and my sister’s worry, I swept my hair into place and headed downstairs.

 

 

AFTER SPENDING A stressful hour trying to reassure everybody that Joe and I were fine and that we didn’t need to move back to Seattle, I left for Murray’s house, over a multitude of protests. I felt bad for putting Joe in this situation, but inwardly, couldn’t resist a sigh of relief. As much as I loved my family, a few days of being around them—especially Grandma M.—was almost more than I could bear. Now, if it had been Nanna, I would have invited her to move in.

I turned onto Sunrise Avenue and pulled into Murray’s driveway. She waved at me from the porch as I dashed up the steps. “Hey, Em, you bring your magic bag of tricks?”

Holding up the travel bag in which I kept a few choice items like sage smudge sticks, Florida water, a couple of quartz crystals, and other assorted goodies, I nodded. “Right here. I left Joe in charge of my family, by the way. I can’t stay too long. He’s too sweet to leave because of the machinations of Grandma M.”

White Deer was waiting for us in the living room. A striking woman, she was more beautiful every time I saw her. Not cover-model beauty, but the same regalness that I saw blossoming in Murray as she came into her own. White Deer was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a plain black tank top, and her salt-and-pepper hair was held back in a single braid that touched her butt, but she might as well have been wearing a purple cloak and crown, for the strength that radiated out from her.

The scattered mess of clutter and debris had been cleared away, although gaping spaces on all of the shelves stood as a silent reminder that somebody had plundered Murray’s home. The sofa had been carted away, as well as several other pieces of furniture. She’d managed to get Eyrland out on an emergency call—the glass covering the snake cages against the wall had already been replaced, and the wooden frames surrounding it looked all but untouched from their original state.

“You guys have been busy,” I said, turning around to take it all in, amazed that they’d been able to clear it out in one afternoon.

“Jimmy and White Deer worked on it while I was at the station. Jimmy brought a couple of his buddies over from the enclave and they kicked ass before going back out for their meeting. I owe those guys a big one.” She dropped into one of the accent chairs that had remained untouched. “That note scared the hell out of me. It looks like it was mailed Friday, from the postmark, but didn’t show up on my desk until this morning.”

I settled down next to her. “Bonner’s taking this seriously, right?” The last thing she needed was her boss to blow off what was happening, as was often the case when women were harassed in a predominately male occupation.

“Yeah, he is. As I said, they dusted the note for prints but nada, and they’re going to check every piece of mail that comes addressed to my desk at work.” She sighed, then shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I forgot to ask how Joe’s doing. He get home okay?”

I grimaced. “He’ll be fine. Unless my family scares him off. Let’s get busy, shall we? I don’t want to be too late tonight, in case he decides to do them all in and stuff them in the shed out back.”

We decided to work our way through the house, from the kitchen up to her bedroom. Murray put on a CD and as a rhythmic drumbeat filled the air, I grounded myself. Holding a crystal in either hand, I locked my energy with that of the deep earth mana that rose up through the floor-boards. White Deer took out her rattle, while Murray lit the smudge stick and picked up a red hawk’s feather. As the swirling scent of sage rose to encompass the room, I began to slip into trance.

We started slow, circling the perimeter of the room. As I slid deeper into the music, I sensed the same disturbance that I’d picked up on that morning—as if someone had broken through the charms of protection Murray had created. The presence violated the warnings to beware and tread gently.

Step by step, we traversed the boundaries of the kitchen, the smoke from the sage rising to clear negativity from the air, the sound of White Deer’s rattle shaking up whatever had gotten tangled in Murray’s space, the light shining from my crystals reaching out to push back the invasive tide that had rolled through in the wake of the intruder.

We carried the wave before us, building it, charging it, amplifying it as we entered the living room. The snakes, coiled in their cages, harkened to attention, tongues flickering as we passed by. The cats, Snidely and Whiplash, curled on one of the large overstuffed chairs. They blinked but stayed where they were, content to let us do our work.

Up the stairs we worked our way, eating away at the edge of the etheric trail Murray’s unwelcome visitor had left behind. As we progressed, I knew with total assured-ness that the intruder was a man and with equal certainty that he wasn’t through bothering her, but I held my tongue. We’d discuss our impressions after we were done, and I didn’t want to interrupt the flow that we’d built. But as we came to Murray’s bedroom, a cold sweat broke out on my forehead and a sudden fear swept over me that whoever it was, was still here—hiding in the dark shadows of her attic.

White Deer glanced at me, her eyes luminous and deep. She inclined her head ever so slightly and I knew that she felt the same thing as me.

We entered the bedroom and I immediately felt eyes on my back. Eyes watching, eyes staring, ears listening. And then,
bam
—a blast—right between
my
eyes and I heard a voice in my head shouting, “Pay attention to me!” I stumbled and landed on the bed. White Deer was by my side instantly, and Murray shoved the censer holding the smudge stick onto the dresser and joined us. I shook my head.

“Holy hell, I didn’t expect that,” I said, rubbing my head. I’d been zapped like this once before, but the energy behind that incident had been of a far different sort. I felt like I’d just taken a nosedive into a vortex of slimy, voyeuristic energy.