Eye of the Witch (18 page)

She slipped the ring over her finger, and when it became obvious that that wouldn’t work, she put it on her thumb. I laughed, grateful that she didn’t need to try it on her big toe next. Then she removed one of her rings and handed it to me, saying, “Please, Detective, take this to remind you of me.” I wanted to tell her that there was no way I could ever forget her, and I know she knew that. But of course, I took the ring.

A tear or two later and an eye-roll from Lilith, Benjamin Rivera showed up at the table. He seemed out of breath, apologizing to Leona for running late. “I over s..s.slept,” he explained, “s..sorry Leona.”

“
That’s o..k..k..kay,” said Lilith. I raised a brow to her and she made a face that essentially said, Sorry, I couldn’t resist. My nostrils flared, as I took a deep enough breath to keep from choking her. I think she does it to piss me off more than anything.

“
Benny!” I said. “Good to see you.”

“
Detective Marc..c.cella. Good to s..see you, too.”

“
Going out to eat?”

“
Yeah, to the P..P.Percolator.”

“
How nice.” I nodded toward Lilith. “I think you know Lilith Adams, don’t you?”

He started to tell me that he did, when Lilith kicked in, “Please, let me save us all some time here. Yes, Detective, we know each other. Hello, Benny.”

He smiled awkwardly and only waved. Lilith waved back. He turned to Leona. “Are you r..ready to g..g.go Leona?”

She leaned across the table and kissed me on the cheek before standing. “Thank you, Detective, for everything, and to you, Lilith. Thank you for helping.”

“
Hey, don’t sweat it,” she replied, dismissing the thanks with a shrug. “All in a day’s work for a witch.”

“
Good bye, Leona,” I stood to shake Benjamin’s hand. “Take care of her, Benny.”

We shook. “Bye, Det..t.tective.” He turned to Lilith. “I’ll g..get you later L…Lilith.”

“
What?”

“
I s..s.said I’ll s..see you later.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Yes. I’ll see you, too.”

Benny and Leona left. I took my seat again and began fidgeting with the ring Leona gave me. “I’m worried about her,” I said. “And to an extent, I’m worried about you and Benny, too.”

“
Why’s that, Detective?”

“
Because you three are the last of Doctor Lowell’s pupils. With the death of Carol Kessler, I’m afraid none of you are safe.”

“
Don’t worry about me,” she said, palming her chest. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself. As for Leona….” She unclasped a thin braided chain from around her neck and put her hand out to me. “Let me have that ring.”

“
Why?”

“
Don’t ask. Just give it to me.”

I handed her Leona’s ring and watched her thread the chain through the middle of it. Then she gripped the chain and ring tightly in her hand and brought it to her lips. She closed her eyes, whispered something softly in rhyme and blew into her fist. She opened her eyes again and handed me the charm. “This will ward off unwanted energy,” she said. “Have Leona wear this. Tell her that whenever she feels threatened she should pull the ring from the chain and all the negative energy around her will dissipate at once.”

“
Just pull the ring?”

“
Yup. Yank it right off the chain.”

“
What, like a hand grenade pin?”

“
Yes, Detective, like a hand grenade pin. Why is it everything is always so dramatic with you cops?”

“
I don’t know. I don’t understand these things.”

“
It’s a witch’s ladder. What’s to understand?”

“
I’m sorry. I just don’t see how a witch’s ladder will keep someone from co-possessing Leona’s body.”

Lilith reeled back, looking startled, which scared me more than I can tell you. I had never seen her eyes look so surprised. “What did you say?”

At the risk of upsetting her something awful, I started to repeat myself. “I said, I don’t see—”

“
I heard what you said! Why did you say that?”

I looked at her, puzzled. “Because that’s what I think’s happening. Somebody is co-possessing these women while bilocating, making them commit suicide.”

“
And you thought Leona?”

“
Yes! Why did you think we came here?”

“
I don’t know! But you didn’t tell me that. You said you wanted to find out what Leona knew about the suicides.”

“
All right, now you know. Why are you getting so bent out of shape?”

She pinned me to my chair with her stare. “Do you remember when you said Benny told you he was like Leona?”

“
Yes, and assumed he meant he was special.”

“
Right, well guess what.”

“
Don’t tell me he can bilocate.”

She rocked her head. “At will.”

I rolled my eyes. “Lilith, you told me he couldn’t. You said he and Leona were like fire and water. You said—”

“
I know what I said. Apparently I was wrong.”

“
Apparently?”

“
Hey, I’m sorry! But the guy’s autistic. Its’ like reading two different people at once.”

“
So, he’s complex. You couldn’t see that earlier?”

“
I guess not.”

“
How come?”

“
I don’t know. He’s good at blocking thought penetration. I bet it’s all that stuttering. I mean come on, who has the time to stop and listen? Geeze!”

I took my phone out and started dialing. “Wait!” I said, my finger poised on the SEND button. “What makes you so sure he can bilocate?”

“
He practically blurted it out with his slip up.”

“
What slip up?”

“
A little while ago he said, ‘I’ll see you later,’ only before that he said, ‘I’ll
get
you later.’ How Freudian is that?”

“
He did say he’ll get you later, didn’t he?”

“
Yes, the little twerp. Who does he think he’s messing with?”

I leaned back in my seat, trying to recall the brief encounter. I remembered the slip in words, but brushed it off after he corrected himself. Then I remembered something else he said when he first arrived at the table. He came to Leona and apologized for being late, explaining that he overslept. I don’t know everything there is to know about out-of-body experiences, or bilocating, but I do know that to do either, one must sleep or submit to hypnosis. By Carlos’ estimations, Carol Kessler stepped off the platform at New Castle station barely thirty minutes before Benjamin Rivera came running into the coffee shop. I pressed the SEND button and placed the phone to my ear.

“
Carlos!” I said, nearly in a scream. “It’s Benny Rivera! He can bilocate at will. He’s with Leona now. We have to stop him. Garb Spinelli and meet me at the Perk as soon as possible.”

I hung up, nervous and excited and definitely not thinking clearly at all. I jumped up, stuffed the phone into my pocket and kissed Lilith right on the forehead. “Gotta go!” I said, tearing out into the lobby in a sprint. I hadn’t given much thought about the look on her face until I was halfway to the Perk. Then all I could see in my mind was the whites of her eyes, her dropped jaw and her splayed hands attempting to hold me back. Afterwards, I remember her smiling over it.

Carlos and Spinelli were just getting out of their car as I pulled up. I called them into a huddle out front and devised a plan that we hoped wouldn’t cause too great a disturbance.

“
I’ll walk in first and find Leona,” I said. “I’ll tell her I need to have a word with her in private.” I tapped Spinelli’s chest. “As soon as I have her safely aside, I want you to walk up to Benny and identify yourself. Explain that you need to see him outside for a minute. If we can keep this out of the diner we’ll make much less of a scene.”

“
What do I do?” Carlos asked.

“
You wait out here for Spinelli to come out. If Benny gives you any trouble, cuff him.”

“
Why don’t I cuff him anyway?”

“
Because we don’t really have enough on him to arrest him, but we do have cause for questioning. If he resists cooperating, then we’ll have reasonable grounds for detaining him.”

“
Makes sense. Then what?”

“
Then we’ll take him downtown. If I know his type, we’ll have a confession out of him in the first hour. Now, you two ready?”

“
Ready,” said Carlos.

“
Ready,” Spinelli echoed.

I gave them both a slap on the back. “Then let’s roll.”

Spinelli and I entered the diner. Right away we spotted Leona and Benny sitting in a booth by the back door. I pressed Spinelli’s arm to hold him there, and I moved in. Leona noticed me first. Her smile lit up the booth like a candle. When Benny saw the light in her eyes, he turned and waved to me, smiling almost as broadly. I stopped at the booth and apologized for the interruption. Turning to Leona, I said, “There’s something very important I forgot to ask you earlier. It’s rather sensitive, though. Would you mind? I’d like a word with you in private for just a moment.”

Her eyes fluttered, unable to imagine the immensity of the matter. She grabbed her purse and excused herself to Benny. I escorted her into the hallway leading to the kitchen. Then Spinelli moved in, approaching Benjamin Rivera. I saw him flash his badge. A minute later all hell broke loose. Dishes and glasses crashed to the floor. Benny started over the top of the table and Spinelli took him down behind the booth. A woman at a nearby table screamed. Two guys in the corner stood and started toward them to join in the brawl. That’s when Carlos burst in, waving his badge and corralling people back into their seats. Leona tried pulling away, pleading with me in Spanish to let her go. But I held on to her arm and yanked her back into the hallway until Carlos and Spinelli had Benny cuffed and out of the building. I would have told her what was happening, but the moment I released her arm, she ran into the women’s restroom and locked the door.

I waited as long as I could for Leona to come out before explaining the situation to Natalie. She told me not to worry, but I still didn’t like the way the thing went down. I flipped her a couple of twenties, one to give to Leona to cover her taxi ride home, and the other, which came with an apology, to cover her and Benny’s tab. “For the mess of broken dishes and glasses,” I told her, “you can bill the department. The arresting officer’s name is Carlos Rodriquez.”

“
But that was Spinelli,” she said.

“
I know.” I handed her another twenty. “Now it’s Rodriquez.”

She smiled, and I knew we had an understanding.

By the time I got back to the justice center, Benny Rivera had already been allowed his one phone call and placed in the interrogation room for questioning. I started to head in there, when Spinelli stopped me outside the door.

“
Detective Marcella, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for the disturbance at the restaurant.”

“
Yes, what was all that about? You were supposed to ask him to step outside so you and Carlos could take him in without incident.”

“
I know, but after he confessed to the murders, something inside him exploded. He became another person. His face grew pale and his—”

“
Wait! He confessed?”

“
Yes. I asked him about—”

“
Has anyone read him his rights?”

“
I did.”

“
Does he want council?”

“
No, he said he didn’t need it.”

“
Does he know what that is?”

Spinelli shrugged.

I patted him on the chest and started into the room. “Make sure you video this interview.”

“
Gottcha,” he said, and he disappeared behind an adjacent door.

I stepped into the interrogation room. Benny sat stiffly in a chair with his back to the door, his hands drumming nervously on the tabletop. Carlos sat across from him, more relaxed and with arms folded at his chest. He gave me a nod as I walked in, but the look on his face told me he hadn’t gotten far. I walked around the table, patting Benny on the shoulder as I passed. He flinched, turning sharply to see who walked in. After recognizing me, he seemed to loosen up some, but he still didn’t look comfortable.

“
Hello again, Benny.” I smiled at him. “Sorry to bring you down here like this, but I think you know why we did. Don’t you?”

He shook his head.

“
You don’t?” I pulled a chair up beside Carlos. “Well then, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“
W..where is L..Leona?”

“
She’s fine. She’s worried about you.”

“
C..can I talk to h..her?”

“
Not now, Benny. First we need some answers. I believe Detective Rodriquez said that you can have a lawyer present while we question you?”

“
My b..brother is a l..lawyer.”

“
Yes, I know. Would you like us to get him for you?”

He shook his head. “I’m o…k.kay.”

I looked up in the corner by the door and spotted the red light on the camera blinking. Carlos’ eyes followed. “Benny, yesterday you told me that you were like Leona. Do you remember saying that?”

“
Y..yes.”