Heart of the Witch (29 page)

Nick trailed behind him to the conference room. When he was settled behind the table, the captain slid the disk into a player and took a seat across the way. He pushed a button on a remote. "There are other things happening on the tape, but this is the part you'll be interested in."

The television screen filled with the image of a bedroom with a large four-poster bed and a low altarlike table in the center of the room. The table held black candles and an object that looked like a picture frame, but Nick couldn't be certain, since it was facing away from the camera.

The door opened, and a figure wearing a black hooded robe stepped into the room. Even with the hood partially obscuring his features, Nick recognized Kayne. It was the same guy from the candle shop.

The room was in partial darkness, but when Kayne lit the candles on the altar it gave a flickering illumination to his face and to the item on the table. Kayne stepped back and pulled a long, black-handled blade from somewhere in the folds of his robe. He held the wicked-looking weapon over his head and began speaking in a coarse, booming voice that prickled the skin on the back of Nick's neck.

"I invoke thee, King of Darkness. Grant thy powers to me that mine enemy shall know no mercy. Darker than darkness, deeper than night… I seek thy assistance. Time is short and destruction is nigh. I implore thee that together we shall crush him, and his soul shall be mine that I might rule with strength and eternal life."

A loud crash of thunder sounded, and jagged lightning ripped across the screen. Nick tried to tell himself that it was trick photography, but the chill that rode his spine told him otherwise.

Kayne lifted the frame off the altar and held it in one hand, the dagger in the other. His head fell back and the hood slid off. Eyes closed, he hoisted both objects toward the ceiling as another round of thunder and lightning reverberated through the room. In that moment, the photo was turned toward the camera and Nick's limbs turned to jelly. He recognized the picture.

Barely breathing, he choked out the first words he'd spoken since the tape began. "The sonofabitch. That's my wife."

The captain's voice came to him as if from far away, while Nick stared, mesmerized, at his missing wedding photo.

"Now do you see?" the captain asked.

Nick nodded, still not sure exactly
what
he'd seen. It took several seconds for him to find his voice. "What the fuck was that all about?"

The captain huffed out a breath and shook his head. "Unfortunately, we have no idea. That was just a sample of your link to this… madman. Whatever he is." The captain hit the remote again. "This is the part where the department becomes interested."

The same room opened up, but this time a young girl, maybe eighteen or nineteen, knelt on the bed. She was pretty, and had long blonde hair. A small diamond glinted from the side of her nose.

Kayne stood in front of her. She was naked, but Kayne again wore a robe. "You have disobeyed me," he said in a low, ominous voice.

She nodded. "I'm sorry. I just went to the mall for a little while. I didn't know—"

"You knew," he cut her off. "And now you must be punished."

She nodded slowly and bowed her head, but not before Nick saw the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Kayne's fist came up, and in it he held the dagger. The dagger came down and the girl screamed. After a few moments, she wasn't pretty anymore.

"Good God!" Nick breathed, still staring long after the screen went black.

"He didn't kill her." The captain's voice seemed to come from far away. "But apparently he keeps his followers in line with savagery and threats. Our witness is terrified."

"Why the hell haven't you brought the guy in?"

"We had a tail on him, but by the time we saw this tape we'd lost him. Will you work with us?"

Nick stood on shaky legs and walked to the door, not looking at the captain. The words trembled out of him unsteadily, like the hand that twisted the doorknob as he sought escape from the oppressive air in the room and the horror he'd witnessed that inexplicably had something to do with him. He drew in a deep breath and spoke without turning around. "Set up a meeting with the task force. I'll be there."

Nick left the station, his mind nearly exploding with the images on the tape as he drove. Now that he wasn't actually looking at them, he could almost convince himself they hadn't been real. But they were. He'd seen them. In startling, spine-chilling clarity. The motherfucker had been in his house. He had to have been—he had the photo, didn't he? Unless…

Ravyn had been at his home. She'd had the opportunity and a history with the lunatic. Could she have… ? No. She wouldn't do that. Surely she wouldn't. But what did Nick really know about her? Other than his out-of-control-and-growing-stronger-every-day desire for her, what did he really know?

Deep in thought as he was, the proximity of the sirens didn't register at first. He saw the emergency vehicles before he turned onto the street where his office was located. He couldn't get within thirty feet of the building, so he stopped the car and climbed out, staring with all the other gawkers at the smoking ruins. A sick, clogging sensation filled his chest. The disaster zone was his office.

He pushed to the front of the crowd, but one of the firemen stopped him. "Hey buddy, you'll need to back away from here," the man said.

"It's my place. My office. What the hell happened?"

The fireman's expression changed to one of interest combined with sympathy. "Come with me."

He led Nick to the fire chief, Rick Furlan. Nick had worked with the chief in the past, and he automatically stuck out his hand for the handshake Furlan offered. "I'm sorry, Lassiter. It's not good."

"Just tell me. What happened?"

"There was an explosion. We're not sure of all the details yet. Far as we can tell, only one person was in the building at the time. Does that sound right?"

Marvin. Good God. Nick nodded. "Is he… ?"

One of the firemen rushed up, his grimy features tense. "Chief, we've got the blaze under control and the scene secured."

Furlan wiped a hand across his face, smearing the soot and perspiration. His gaze swept the area, and he looked back at the firefighter. "Do another sweep and hang tight. I'll be right there."

When the younger man nodded and left, Furlan turned back to Nick. "They took him to Sacred Memorial. He was still alive, but it looked pretty bad."

Nick barely heard anything else. He turned and pushed through the crowd, climbed in his car and drove to the hospital with a stone of dread resting between his chest and stomach. He steeled himself for the reaction he knew he would have as he entered the building. His actions were like clips from a slide show: asking at the front desk for Marvin, punching the elevator button, exiting at the ICU.

The nurse at the desk stopped him. "Can I help you?"

"My… friend was brought here. I need to see him." Already the nausea was surfacing. Black shadows pushed at the edge of his vision, but he wouldn't pass out. He gave the woman Marvin's name, and her mouth turned down in what he recognized as a look of sympathy. God, this was bad.

She pointed down the hall. "Room four eighteen."

Nick hurried down the hallway and took a deep but unsteady breath outside Marvin's room. Pushing the door open, he stepped inside, and the queasiness hit him full force.

There were so many machines in the room, it looked like the set of a Star Wars movie. Marvin lay in the bed—or he supposed it was Marvin, for the person was so covered in bandages that Nick couldn't make out his features.

A pretty nurse wearing Betty Boop scrubs stood next to the bed, fiddling with tubes that snaked out of Marvin like the tentacles of an octopus. She turned and smiled at Nick. She had smooth mocha skin and large brown eyes. "Are you a family member?" she asked.

Nick shook his head. "A friend. How is he?"

"He's hanging in there. His injuries are pretty extensive, but he's lucky to be alive after what happened."

Nick nodded and made his way to the opposite side of the bed. Marvin's hand was bandaged heavily, but Nick gripped the fingertips that poked out of the white gauze. He stared down at Marvin, thinking of all the times the guy had annoyed the hell out of him, all the times Nick had wished him anywhere else. Now he'd give anything to hear one of the kid's stupid, grating comments, or hear him beg to come along on a case. The last time they'd spoken, Nick had chewed him out for his stupid-ass stunt with Moses.

"Sorry, bud. I was just trying to protect you." His voice came out as a hoarse whisper, and he knew he was close to tears.

He heard a sound at the door and turned to find a female version of Marvin entering the room. She was thin, with the same coarsely wild hair. Then he remembered. Marvin had a sister. This must be her.

He released Marvin's hand and walked over to her. "Hi. I'm Nick Lassiter."

She nodded. "I know. He talks about you all the time. I'm his sister, Ramona." Her eyes filled with tears as she looked at her brother's still form. "What happened? I mean, I know it was some kind of explosion, but how? How did it happen?"

"I'm not sure," Nick admitted. "They're investigating now."

Ramona nodded, and tears swam in her eyes. She reached out her arms, and Nick hesitated only a moment before pulling her to him in an awkward hug. She patted his shoulder, squeezing him tightly before releasing him and moving to her brother's side.

Nick left Marvin's sister to her silent vigil, still fighting the panicked queasiness clawing at his insides. Even though this was different from the usual MO, he knew in his gut the Tin Man was responsible. The Tin Man had injured, maybe killed, Marvin. Had murdered Sorina. Had almost killed Ravyn. The motherfucker was going down.

His cell phone was in the car, and he saw he'd missed a call. From Phil. He returned the call, staring up at the hospital as he waited for Phil to answer.

"I don't have anything yet," Nick told him. "But I guarantee you, before long I will."

"Why do you say that now?" Phil asked. "After all this time you haven't been sure. Why now?"

"Because." Nick started the car, gripping the steering wheel with one hand and the cell phone with the other. "Because I'm back. He's fucked with me one too many times. This guy's going down."

Ravyn answered the door to find her grandmother standing on the porch. "Yes?" she said without inviting the woman in.

The old woman smiled. "I just wanted to see you again. Just wanted to see how you're doing."

"I'm fine," Ravyn said.

"Can I come in?"

Ravyn hesitated, then stepped aside and motioned. "Please. And sit down."

Her grandmother lowered herself onto the sofa in the living room and gave another tremulous smile. "You're so beautiful. You've grown up into an amazing young woman."

Ravyn ignored the comment. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"I wondered how you're getting along. Have you gone back to work at the shop yet?"

"How do you know about the shop?"

She shrugged. "I know a lot about you, dear. You and your sister have been my life for more than twenty years. I just lived it from the sidelines." Her eyes watered and took on a faraway look. "I just wish I'd come around before Sorina…"