Bayou Heat (14 page)

“No.” Eris put her foot down and walked back toward Rob. “I
worry about you healing people. We have no idea how this is going to affect
you.”

“It makes me tired and gives me a headache but that’s it.
None of those symptoms are life-threatening.” Lance rubbed his temple absently
as he watched his sister.

Eris made her way to Rob and plopped down beside him on the
sofa. “Go take a nap, baby brother, I’ll wake you in an hour and then you can
head back to Mom and Dad’s.”

Rob was surprised when Lance pushed off the couch and made
his way toward her bedroom. He could have sworn he heard the guy mumble
something about not watching the lovebirds before closing the door.

“I worry about him. It takes more out of him then he ever
tells us.”

“Let me see your ankle.”

“You don’t believe in healers, do you?”

She propped her foot up on his lap and he examined the
once-damaged ankle.

“Up until a couple of hours ago, I would have said no. Can
he heal anything?”

“Minor injuries but not broken bones. He can’t do anything
about diseases. He’s tried without any luck.”

“You really don’t like him doing this do you?”

“No. It scares me to death.”

“Why?”

“The first time he ever healed anyone, it was me. I was five
and had grabbed a butcher knife my father was using by the blade. I can still
see the blood pouring out of my hand. It wouldn’t stop no matter what Mom or
Dad did.”

Rob took the hand she was absently rubbing and traced a
faint scar with his fingers. “Is this the cut?”

“Yeah. Dad tossed all the other kids into the back of the
Buick station wagon we had at the time. Mom held a towel around my hand in the
backseat as Dad raced toward the hospital.”

Eris paused and Rob looked up to see a haunted look in her
eyes. Instinctively he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her next to him,
all the while caressing her palm. “You both came out of it okay.”

“We did. But I remember watching my blood soak the towel and
thinking, ‘This isn’t good’. Anyway, Lance crawled into the seat with us and
took hold of my hand. Instantly it started feeling all prickly and warm. I
started to scream and cry even harder. Mom and I both tried to get my hand away
from Lance but no matter what we did, his grip held. Finally his eyes rolled
back into his head and he passed out.”

“That must have freaked your mother out.”

Eris laughed and laid her head on his shoulder. The fact
that she felt comfortable enough around him to do that made him relax.

“That’s putting it mildly. When we pulled up to the local
emergency room, Mom started yelling I was bleeding to death and Lance was
having some type of seizure. They got me in the examining room and unwrapped
the bloody towel from my hand and all they saw was a small red line across my
palm.”

“I bet the hospital staff thought your mother was crazy.”

“They thought both Mom and Dad were certifiable, since Lance
woke up as they were getting me out of the car.”

Rob continued to trace the tiny ridge across her palm.
“Today, they would have been calling CPS.”

“I think they did but my grandfather came to the rescue once
again.”

“Sounds like your grandfather was trying to protect those he
cared about. Tell me more about him.” Rob felt Eris stiffen at his words and
could have kicked himself for not dropping the topic.

She took a deep breath. “Al Criswell is my grandfather and
he always gets his way.”

Rob hesitated a few seconds before answering. “No wonder CPS
backed off. I don’t know many who’d want to anger him.”

Eris sat up and tried to pull her hand away. “He’s an old
busybody who won’t keep his nose out of other people’s business, that’s what he
is. He’s not happy unless he’s giving orders. I’m going to go bake some chocolate
chip cookies. Lance craves them after he’s healed someone.”

Rob traced the scar one more time and then gently placed a
kiss to her palm. Looking up, he held her gaze as he released her hand. “I’m
extremely grateful your brother saved your life all those years ago. Guess I’ll
have to be nice to him.”

He watched as she walked away and, for the first time, felt
a stab of guilt about deceiving her.

Eris’ eyes flew open as she bolted upright in bed. Her heart
was pounding ninety to nothing inside her chest and for a moment, she wondered
if she was dreaming. The door to her bedroom flew open and Rob stood there in his
tighty-whities, brandishing a gun.

No, this was not a dream.

“What the hell are you screaming about?”

If this were one of her fantasies come true, the man would
be carrying roses or champagne flutes or chocolate or all three, but not a gun.

Eris blinked a couple of times in the dark as she remembered
being ripped from a very erotic dream that starred her and the man standing in
her room. She was glad darkness covered her heated blush, even as she
remembered what had awakened her.

“She’s here.”

“Who?”

“The killer, she woke me.”

Rob crossed the room so quickly it startled her. “Where?”

Eris stood and crossed to the window. Placing her hand on
it, she opened her senses. “Out there.”

“Are you telling me he was on the balcony?” Rob questioned.

Eris stripped off her pajama bottoms and retrieved her
discarded shorts from the floor. “No, she wasn’t on the balcony. It was more
like a wakeup shout in my dream.”

She watched as he moved around the room, checking behind her
oversized chair, inside the closet then finally coming to stand beside her to
look out the window. Her eyes traveled over his back and, when she’d taken in
all the details of his well-defined back, her gaze slipped lower.

Her breath caught as she remembered how wonderful it felt
having his body pressed to hers. Her body heated at the memory of his mouth
crushing hers and his hands exploring her body.

“Do these wakeup calls happen often?”

His words pulled her back to reality. “No.” She turned her
back to him and reached for her t-shirt. “This has never happened before.”

“Then why now? And why are you getting dressed?”

Eris stopped what she was doing as she tried to put feelings
into words. “She’s angry, I could pick that feeling out. And I’m getting
dressed so I can follow the aura.”

“Don’t guess it would do any good to tell you this isn’t a
bright idea?”

“No.” Eris jerked the shirt over her head and turned to find
him staring at her. His gaze drifted from her face down to her breasts then
back up.

“Fine, give me a few minutes to make some calls, get dressed
and don’t forget your gun.”

Rob was so close she could feel his body heat. It took all
her willpower not to reach out to him because, at the moment, the last thing
she wanted to do was chase a crazed killer.

She intentionally looked away from him as she gathered her
shoes. She needed to focus on the task at hand, to get her head back in this
game and out of the clouds. She needed to find her friend’s killer. She owed
Orbit that and so much more.

“Eris.”

She looked up and saw him standing in the moonlit doorway.
“What?”

“For the record, I’d much rather be taking my clothes off
and getting naked with you than getting dressed to go chase a murderer.”

“Oh,” was all she could manage before he turned and walked
away.

* * * * *

Rob walked beside Eris with a death grip on her elbow. Every
instinct he’d developed over the years was screaming they shouldn’t be here.
They should have stayed at her place. Yet here he was, once again letting her
lead him through the Quarter. This time though, instead of it being high noon,
it was midnight.

Across the street, a man stopped, leaned against the wall,
adjusted his ball cap and finally tugged on his right ear. Rob felt a small
amount of tension leave him at the sight of his partner. He’d called LD as they
were leaving the apartment, requesting some backup. He’d also talked to the two
new men posted outside the apartment. Neither reported anyone hanging around,
only a few pedestrians had strolled past the place. Rob told them to keep their
positions in case someone tried to enter the place after they left.

LD shadowed them as they continued their erratic path
through the French Quarter. They traveled down St. Ann toward the Mississippi
River and started weaving through unlocked courtyards and small back alleyways
until they ended up on Ursulines Street.

Eris froze and Rob stepped back, patiently waiting for her
to do her thing. Rob shifted from foot to foot before catching his restless
movements and stopping himself. He wasn’t a fidgety type of guy. He had no
problem being perfectly still for hours. It was a habit he’d learned early on
when his mother was in one of her moods and survival meant disappearing even
when he was in full view.

This woman, though, caused him to feel jittery, nervous and
excited about things he never expected. Like the sound of her voice, the way
she sighed when one of her brothers called, or wondering what color her hair
would be that day. It was stupid, it was insane and he wished to hell he could
blame it all on lust, but he couldn’t.

There was a healthy dose of sexual attraction between the
two, no doubt about it. He could handle that. What bothered him was the fact
she simply fascinated him in a way no one ever had. Everything about her drew
him to her, from her outlandish style of dressing to her delicate reading
glasses.

Eris gave a small shudder and swayed as if her knees were
about to give out. Rob slipped his hands around her waist from behind in order
to steady her. “What’s wrong?”

“This is the spot where the woman was taken from.” Eris’
voice broke.

Rob’s heart pounded in his chest. Eris was now officially
scaring him. “Which one of the victims is it?”

“None, it’s someone new.” Eris whimpered. “Oh God. She’s
terrified when she’s first grabbed, but then she realizes she’s going to die.
Her fear transforms into hysteria. It’s so fresh and so strong it’s
overpowering the madness.”

He could feel her shaking and turned her so she faced him.
Even in the darkness he could see her features were drawn, her eyes haunted.
“Let’s find a safe spot for you and then I’ll call the police. They can search
the area, there’s no reason for you to do this.”

Eris pulled away from him and started to run. “If we hurry
we might be able to save her.”

Rob caught up with her as she crossed the street and headed
toward the Ursuline Convent. “You don’t have to do this, Eris.”

She never looked at him as she turned down Chartres. “Yes, I
do.”

She ran through the gates leading to the old convent, toward
a pair of garbage Dumpsters. “Eris, stop now.”

“No, she’s there, I know she’s there.”

He reached for her, but she knocked his hand away and picked
up speed, moving ahead of him. She was inches out of his reach when she darted behind
the Dumpsters. Her scream cut through the night, causing an unexpected wave of
panic to rise up inside him.

He drew his gun as he watched Eris drop to her knees. She
was in front of him, kneeling by a prone figure on the ground. The sound of
shoes on pavement caught his attention and as he looked up, a dark shape darted
out of the shadows and into the street. “LD!”

“Got him.”

LD went past the Dumpsters in an all-out run and was gaining
quickly on the escaping criminal. Two steps later, LD performed a diving tackle
that at any other time would have had Rob cheering. But at the moment he was
much more concerned with the woman in front of him.

He holstered the gun and quickly moved to where Eris knelt
beside the body. Squatting beside her, he placed an arm around her shoulders.
“Have you touched anything?”

“No.”

“Good. Now let’s move away so we don’t disturb anything
else.”

He walked her around the Dumpsters so the body wouldn’t be
in her line of vision then told her to wait there while he checked on a few
things. She was quiet but seemed to have a grip on herself as he turned and
moved away.

He wasn’t a medical examiner, but even he could tell the
body had been brutally tortured before being killed. This murder was much more
gruesome and violent than those of previous victims.

The killings were escalating and that had him worried,
especially if the murderer was now leading Eris to the victims. He pulled out
his cell phone and dialed Detective Olson’s number as he walked to where LD
stood cuffing the suspect.

* * * * *

Eris watched the two men as they talked to the person
sandwiched between them. It was obvious they knew their job, and given another
ten minutes, they’d have a written confession for every unsolved crime in the
state for the past fifty years.

The problem was, this boy wasn’t the killer. Eris wasn’t
naїve enough to think him innocent, but his aura was nothing like that of the
monster they were hunting. Forcing her feet to move, she walked back around to
where the body lay and opened herself to the auras around her. After a couple
of minutes she picked up what she was looking for—and was amazed at how much
the aura had changed.

“What are you doing?” Robs words were hard and cold and came
from directly behind her but he hadn’t surprised her at all. She’d picked up on
his presence as soon as she opened her senses.

“I’m not touching a thing. In fact, I’ve kept my distance. I
figured I could find the killer’s trail again and we could see where it took
us.”

“You didn’t pick up anything from the young man?”

“No, it’s not him and we need to get moving.” Thunder
rumbled in the distance, causing her apprehension to rise.

“We should wait for Olson to get here. He won’t like us
leaving before we give a statement.”

“The longer we wait, the weaker the trail gets.” Eris
glanced up at the sky. “And if this rain materializes, then we’re screwed.”

“What does the rain have to do with following someone?”

“The rain breaks up the patterns of the auras.”

“Like it washes away footprints?”

Her lips twitched at his comparison. It wasn’t how she’d
have described it but he was trying to understand her. “Something like that.”

“I need to inform LD what we’re doing.”

She started to tell him she would wait for him but the words
were cut off when he took her hand in his and linked their fingers together.
Together they told LD what was happening. As she listened to the men speak, she
studied the person seated on the ground at LD’s feet and realized he really was
only a kid. He couldn’t have been over sixteen and could easily be as young as
fourteen. She couldn’t help but wonder how he’d gotten mixed up in this.

A tug on her hand brought her back to the moment and she
looked up to see Rob intently studying her. “What?”

“I was wondering if you were up to this.”

She was tempted to tell him she was in top form and ready
for anything the world could toss at her, but the sensitive look in his eyes
stopped her. “My ankle is still sore and I’m tired but other than that, I’m
doing just fine.”

Her answer appeared to please him because he gave a slight
nod of his head. “Good, lead the way, princess.”

She started walking and once again they were zigzagging
their way through the French Quarter via alleys and courtyards. Rob only
released her hand when necessary and, on those few occasions, he quickly took
hold of it again. She’d never had anyone so protective of her in a
non-smothering way. She kept reminding herself this was business for him,
nothing more.

To curb her thought process, she started talking. “I noticed
tonight the aura changed after she’d killed the woman.”

“I’m guessing this never occurred before?”

“I’m not so sure. I’ve never been to the scene this soon
after it’s happened. Everything was still so fresh, so untouched, that I picked
up on the transition.”

“Are you picking up another person?”

“No, it’s the same person but now she’s calmer, more in
control.”

“That makes sense.”

“How?”

“The killing of the victim releases the buildup of rage the
killer is holding in. It’s like tossing a bucket of water on a fire, the effect
is immediate.”

“True, but the fire isn’t staying out, that’s the problem.”
Eris stopped on Iberville, checked traffic and then darted across Canal Street
to the Canal-River trolley stop. “Damn.”

“What?” Rob looked around as if he expected a ghost to jump
out at them.

“The trail stops here.”

“I’m guessing the person got on a streetcar.”

“Yeah, and so are we.”

Thunder rolled overhead as the crowd flowed around them like
a river around a branch. Rob looked around, hoping for some sign as to which
way the killer had gone. “Are we going to wait for you to pick up a trace?”

“No, we don’t have that kind of time.”

“Then we have to decide between one of three routes. He
either took Canal-Cemeteries, Canal-City Park or the Riverfront route. I’m
guessing he took Riverfront route and doubled back on us.”

“That would have been the smart thing to do.”

“That’s where I’m putting my money, come on.” Rob took her
hand and pulled her over to where a streetcar was loading, which would take
them back the way they needed to go. As he entered the car, he released her
hand and started digging for change. He finished paying their fare and started
toward the back of the car to find an empty seat.

He stopped next to a vacant bench and waited for Eris to
scoot in. Her body pressed against his as she pushed her way past him in the
narrow aisle. “Eris, where are you going?”

She looked back over her shoulder at him as she continued to
walk away. “This doesn’t feel right, we need to get off.”

Rob noted the glances from other passengers as he followed
her. “We just got on, princess. We both agreed this was the logical course of
action.”

“I know, but this has nothing to do with logic,” she replied
as she went out the second door.