Dead Suite (20 page)

Chapter 15

Sadie returned to Bellefield Park Lane and was very relieved to see the patrol car
follow her there. She immersed herself in cleaning up the blood spatter in the small
bathroom. She hummed softly from behind her respirator and tried not to think about
being next on a serial killer’s list.

It was just after seven when Sadie wrapped things up. She stacked the waste containers
neatly near the door but figured she’d wait until she got her van back to haul it
all away. She’d talked to the client and mentioned the job was basically done with
the exception of some waste removal. The woman was fine with Sadie leaving the bins
there for a few days if necessary.

Next on her agenda was, hopefully, a gathering of her psychic friend network for a
brainstorming session. Sadie texted Rosemary that she was done in Bellevue and that
her plan was to go home, shower, and pack an overnight bag before coming over. When
she walked to her car, she stopped first at the patrol car parked behind her.

“I’m going home now to wash up and pack a bag before going to my friend’s for the
night.”

“I’m to stay on your tail,” the officer stated, and he offered Sadie a bright smile.

Sadie thought he looked entirely too happy to be assigned the task of babysitting
her. As she walked to her car, she began to wonder if he was happy about it because
he considered her bait for a serial killer that he might get the chance at catching.

Sadie was prepared to spend only a small amount of time at home, but when she pulled
up to her house, Rosemary’s Mini Cooper was in the driveway. Sadie pulled around the
car and into her garage. When she walked into her house she was hit by the distinct
smell of smoldering sage, cedar, and sweetgrass.

“Are you trying to burn my place down?” Sadie called out as she walked into her living
room.

“We did a cleansing smudge,” Maeva called out with a half wave to Sadie.

“And a circle of protection too,” Rosemary added. “And now I’m just drinking your
wine and Maeva’s drinking your juice.”

I really need to talk to my friends about the proper uses of an emergency key.

“You’re here without a baby in tow? Guess you’re taking advantage of the fact that
Osbert will take a bottle?”

“Yup. Not only that, but Terry took a catering job out of town tonight and I’ve got
the next-door neighbor teenager babysitting for two whole hours.”

“That’s great. I’ve gotta shower off,” Sadie told them. “Then we’ll get down to business.”

“Take your time,” Maeva called out over her shoulder as she flicked on the television.
“I pumped before I left so there’s no hurry. I feel like a new woman.”

Sadie couldn’t help but feel it would be somewhat nice to have a conversation with
Maeva that didn’t somehow center around her friend’s breasts.

It was twenty minutes later when Sadie felt properly unsoiled and sterilized. Even
though she wore biohazard clothing to clean on a job, she insisted on showering off
after work as an extra precaution. Of course, showering did little to remove the smell
of body decomp from her sinuses.

Sadie slipped into sweatpants and a T-shirt and stuffed spare clothes into a small
overnight bag before joining her friends in the living room.

Maeva had Hairy on her lap and was talking in a baby voice as she stroked his back.
“You’re just the cutest bunny-wunny, aren’t you?”

Sadie settled onto a chair and regarded her friends with a weary smile.

“So let’s get down to business before Maeva starts baby-talking to all of us just
because she misses Osbert,” Rosemary said, only half joking. “If you’re wanting to
bunk at my place, something must be rotten in Denmark.”

“If by rotten you mean somebody’s threatening to kill me and if by Denmark you mean
Seattle, then yes.” Sadie ran her fingers through her damp hair. “I’m going to give
you the high points of what I know, but you have to solemnly swear on whatever you
hold dear that you aren’t going to leak this information to anyone and you definitely
won’t blog, video, or report it in any way, shape, or form.”

“Sheesh, you really know how to take the fun out of everything,” Rosemary said. “But
I promise I only made that mistake once. If I ever video or blog about anything concerning
any of you, I’ll get your consent first.”

Sadie began to tell them everything she knew and when she got to the part about the
necklace Maeva and Rosemary simultaneously gasped in shock.

“It’s from the
Malleus Maleficarum
,” Rosemary said.

“What’s that?” Sadie asked.

“Basically a bullshit book written in the 1400s that fueled the witch trials,” Maeva
said. “That quote on the necklace was part of a line in the book that said all witchcraft
comes from carnal lust.”

“So he used the necklace to kill the prostitutes and then also sliced and diced them?
Talk about overkill!” Rosemary shook her head.

“Do you think this crazy guy killed the prostitutes because he thought they were witches?”
Sadie asked.

“There’s no way of climbing inside this guy’s head,” Maeva said. “Why did he give
you the necklace? You’re not a prostitute, or a witch.”

“I think that necklace was the reason you felt sick,” Rosemary said evenly. “I think
it was cursed.”

Sadie laughed at the thought of a cursed necklace but then stopped in mid-guffaw.
“I have been feeling a lot better. I thought I was coming down with the flu . . .
dizzy, light-headed, and nauseated.” Sadie shrugged. “Now I feel back to my normal
anxious and exhausted self.”

“We’ll need to get that necklace back from Detective Petrovich and cleanse it so it
doesn’t have the power to hurt anyone else,” Rosemary stated.

“You know what the good part about the necklace is?” Maeva asked with a sly smile.
“It means the fake Hugh Pacheo guy is the killer. Not Owen Sorkin. You can boink him
to your heart’s delight!”

“Well, I get the feeling that if we find the connection between you and the Halladay
house, we’ll solve this,” Rosemary added firmly. “For now, I need to drive Maeva back
home and then I’ll get you back to my place, where I will cook you a fabulous dinner
and take your mind off your troubles.”

“I’ll meet you at your place,” Sadie told her.

“I’m not leaving you alone.” Maeva crossed her arms over her chest.

“There’s a cop outside who’s been told to stick to my tail,” Sadie assured her. “You’re
free to go.”

“Too bad I never got a chance to see if I could get a reading off the necklace,” Rosemary
remarked as she slipped her shoes on.

“Maeva tried but she only thought about soup.” Sadie chuckled.

“Soup?” Rosemary’s eyebrows went up as she looked at Maeva. “Why soup?”

“‘Stone Soup.’” Maeva slipped on her jacket. “Obviously I’ve been reading too many
kids’ stories to Osbert.”

“I’ve never heard of a children’s story named ‘Stone Soup,’ but Rick and I often go
to the Stone Soup Theatre near Stone and Fortieth.”

Rosemary fished her keys out of her purse and when she looked up Maeva and Sadie were
staring at her.

“There’s a Stone Soup Theatre?” Sadie asked excitedly. “Maeva, do you think that’s
what you connected to when you got a vibe off the necklace?”

“I don’t know. . . .” Maeva looked apologetic. “You know that the pregnancy and nursing
sucked most of my powers away and—”

“I say we go check it out,” Rosemary said, opening the door.

Sadie and Maeva followed behind, with Sadie pausing to set the alarm and lock up.

“There’s no harm in looking,” Sadie remarked, and then she saw the officer sitting
in his car. “But there’s no way I want that cop knowing we’re chasing down a hunch
my psychic friend got off a necklace.”

“There’s a Pagliacci Pizza right up the street from the theatre,” Rosemary said. “I
think we’re all hungry.”

Maeva and Rosemary climbed into the Mini Cooper and Sadie got into her Corolla. When
she pulled out of the driveway, she rolled down her window and told the officer they
were heading for pizza before going to Rosemary’s.

“You go. I’ll follow,” he said with a shrug.

Sadie guessed he was getting paid no matter where she went, so she continued on her
way, following Maeva and Rosemary as they drove toward the neighborhood of Wallingford.
They all found street parking on Stone Way halfway between Pagliacci’s and the small
theatre. By unanimous agreement they decided to order pizza first.

Sadie asked the officer if he wanted some pizza and he politely declined. She told
him that after they placed their orders they would walk up and down the block a couple
times for exercise until their pies were ready. He looked bored.

Rosemary filled them in on the details about the theatre as they casually walked up
the block after ordering their pizzas.

“The Stone Soup Theatre is a professional neighborhood theatre. The building used
to be a pet-grooming salon, so it’s not what you might call fancy-shmancy. There’s
an upstairs stage and a downstairs stage and cozy seating for maybe fifty people,”
Rosemary said.

When they reached the front door Maeva tried it.

“Locked. I’m guessing no performance tonight.”

“Okay, so now what, Sherlock?” Sadie asked.

“How should I know?” Rosemary said.

“It was your psychicness that brought us here,” Sadie told Maeva. “Are you getting
any weird vibes?”

Maeva’s stomach growled loudly. “The only vibe I get is hunger pangs for my pizza.
Has it been fifteen minutes yet?”

“No. It’s been, like, five minutes.”

Sadie sighed and the three casually leaned against the front of the building. Up the
block, the officer who was supposed to be keeping her safe from serial killers was
in his car busily texting on his phone. A young couple walked down the sidewalk across
the street holding hands and Sadie’s heart ached for Zack . . . and then for Owen . . .
and then just for someone . . . anyone . . . to love her.

Abruptly, Rosemary whirled around and began groping the wall they were leaning against.

“I’m totally getting something off this poster!”

Sadie and Maeva turned to watch their friend as she ran her hands up and down the
playbill that was tacked to the theatre door. The poster was a colorful advertisement
screaming
COUNTER ATTACK!
in bold red font.

“What are you getting?” Sadie asked

“I don’t know . . . I just get the sense this paper is trying to tell me something.”

Rosemary continued to cop a feel. Sadie watched as a woman pushing a baby stroller
down the sidewalk crossed to avoid them while muttering to herself about weirdos.

Sadie looked pointedly at her watch. “Pizza’s probably ready by now.”

“Might as well go,” Maeva added.

But Rosemary had her back to them and her hands on the wall. Sadie walked up and told
her, “Don’t worry about it. It’s probably nothing.”

“Sorry.” Rosemary sighed and stepped away. “I lost it.”

Sadie wasn’t sure if Rosemary was referring to her sanity or the psychic connection
she felt with the wall. She was about to offer a snarky response when her eyes zoomed
in on the lower half of the playbill, which had previously been covered by Rosemary’s
hands.

“That’s him!” Sadie cried. She shoved Rosemary aside and stabbed a finger at the photo
on the poster. “Oh my God, that’s him!”

“Who?” Maeva and Rosemary chimed simultaneously.

“Him!” Sadie shouted, pointing at one of the cast members on the poster. “This actor . . .”
She leaned in to read the name. “Ed Muirhead. He was the one who met me and claimed
to be Hugh Pacheo!”

“Oh my Goddess, I was right!” Rosemary exclaimed with surprise. “You totally owe me
an apology for doubting me.”

“Hey, I never doubted you. I just . . .” But then, because it was pointless to argue
with your friends when they were psychics, she gave in. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

“Wow! So this is the guy who pretended his son was dead and hired you to clean up,
then gave you the witch-hunt necklace?” Maeva exclaimed. “He doesn’t look like a murderer.”

“I know. He looks like a totally normal guy. That’s what I thought when I met him.
He looked like he was somebody’s friendly grandfather.” Sadie dug into her pocket
and took out her cell phone. “I’ve gotta call Petrovich.”

She was punching numbers into her phone when the door to Stone Soup burst open and
Ed Muirhead stepped outside. He took a step between them before his eyes locked on
Sadie and a look of shocked recognition lit up his pale face.

Before Sadie could say anything, the man took off at a dead run. Sadie, Maeva, and
Rosemary bolted after him. Halfway down the block he scurried over a chain-link fence
and into a back lot. Maeva dropped out of the chase.

“Go tell the cop!” Sadie yelled to Maeva over her shoulder.

Sadie and Rosemary continued over the fence after Ed Muirhead. Sadie landed with a
loud
oomph
on the pavement on the other side, but Rosemary’s shirt got hung up on the points
atop the fencing.

The parking lot backed onto a residential street and Ed was trying to scramble up
and over a wood fence and into someone’s yard. Sadie reached him when he was halfway
up and grabbed him around his middle. She yanked and tugged at his waist with all
her might.

“Let go!” he shrieked.

But Sadie was like a seagull with a French fry, and there was no way Ed Muirhead was
getting out of her grip. There was an awkward moment when Ed’s pants began to slowly
slip off his hips.

“Hold him!” the officer shouted from the other side of the fence as he tried to climb
over.

Sadie had serious doubts she could maintain her grip around Ed’s pelvis long enough
for the police officer to get there. Luckily, Rosemary had freed herself from the
top of the fence and was racing to help. Then, abruptly, Ed Muirhead went completely
limp and the two toppled to the pavement and rolled around a few seconds. Sadie managed
to straddle his chest with her knees on his arms, effectively pinning him to the ground.
Rosemary arrived in time to extract a canister of spray from her purse and spritz
Ed in the face.