Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (6 page)

Isabella ran a comb through her hair and pulled it back into a pony-tail. She added some moisturizer to her face and a touch of lipstick. Now she was ready to face the world. Her body still had a few bruises from the encounter with the vamps at Club Victory but everyone was used to seeing her in a bandage by now.

She grabbed her denim purse and slung it over her shoulder. Inside of it was holy water, extra bullets, crosses and stakes, her car keys and money. Isabella liked traveling light even though she owned an arsenal of weapons like long handled sabers for taking the head off of vampires. She also had a crossbow, a lance, silver bullets, and a wide variety of guns. To all this she preferred her stakes and knives because they were much easier to handle. Isabella locked the door behind her and headed to work.

* * * *

The French Quarters was alive with people. Tourists sat at Café Du Monde enjoying a breakfast of Louisiana coffee with chicory and beignets. The fruit peddlers were unloading their trucks in preparation for hawking their wares, and the flea market merchants were setting up their stands anticipating big sales on the last day before Christmas. The pigeons piled up in Jackson Square ready to be fed by the tourists, even though it was illegal to feed them.

While she waited, Isabella glanced over and checked out the big fir Christmas tree the city had erected for the holiday celebration. In a couple of days thousands of people would be standing in the area welcoming in the New Year. The light turned green and Isabella continued driving toward Canal Street. She turned right and drove to Rampart Street where the PAK office was located.

Geena was already at work when Isabella stepped through the door. She stared off into space instead of typing.

Isabella frowned. Geena really gave women a bad name. She walked past the young woman and headed toward Collena’s office to check in. Isabella knocked.

“Come in,” Collena said.

Isabella entered, finding the office occupied by not only her bosses but a lot of other investigators.

Collena pointed to a seat. Isabella walked in and sat down.

“I know you didn’t call us here to talk about some rogue vampire, Joshua,” one of the investigators said. “Tell us what’s been going on.”

Collena sighed. “Of course, you all know about what happened on the West bank yesterday. The police think it’s the work of some sick cult members.”

“What do you think?” Isabella asked. Collena had not been at the office last night when she and Ernie were summoned by Joshua.

“I don’t know. That’s why we’ve called you all here. Mayor Boudreaux asked for you personally, Bella. He feels you are better equipped to go undercover than police officers because of…”

“My charming personality,” Isabella finished for her. Everyone knew her people practiced voodoo but Collena always tip-toed around it.

“How did you know what she was going to say?” Ernie asked teasingly.

“I’m physic,” Isabella replied. She still didn’t want anything to do with the case and Ernie knew why.

Collena clapped her hands to get their attention. “People, people—can we get serious here?”

“Where do I fit in?” Ernie asked their boss once Collena gained control of the room again.

“You’re her partner and you know her better than anyone. I also know you know about her people. You are to watch her back and keep both of you alive,” Collena told him.

“I guess I need to talk to some people first,” Isabella said. “I’ll take the coroner and Ernie can talk to the mayor since the two of them have so much in common.”

Ernie looked at her oddly. “Like what—the fact we’re two black men from New Orleans?”

Isabella nodded. “It’s enough to start a conversation. Besides, I’m not ready to meet him yet.”

* * * *

The place was cold, sterile and gray. Those were the only words Isabella could think of to describe the coroner’s office. It was also the last place she wanted to be…not that she was afraid of dying. Isabella walked down the hallway to room one hundred and six and knocked. The receptionist opened the door and led her in.

“Doctor Randall will be with you shortly,” she said. “Would you care for soda or some coffee?”

“Nothing thank you,” Isabella replied. The last thing she wanted in a morgue was a soda or food. She sat down and thumbed through a magazine. The receptionist left the room and returned a few minutes later to escort her to the back.

The place was pretty much as she remembered and it still smelled like formaldehyde. Isabella turned up her nose. The receptionist opened the door and allowed her to enter. She found Oliver Randall washing his hands.

“Nice to see you, Isabella,” he said, drying his hands on a paper towel and tossing it into the waste can.

“Same here, Doctor, but we really must stop meeting like this.”

Oliver laughed. “Yes, a good death always brings friends together.”

Isabella relaxed. She liked Oliver. He had a wonderful bedside manner for a man who spent most of his day surrounded by dead people. “How many are there?” She looked around the room and waited for his answer.

“One hundred and fifty,” he replied. “A few were barely in their early twenties.”

“I guess I’ll have to look at a couple,” Isabella said.

“Quite a few have already been buried.” He walked over to a drawer and opened it.

Isabella rose and walked over to where a body lay beneath the white sheet.

Oliver pulled the sheet away and Isabella looked down. She expected to feel nauseous but nothing. Damn, she didn’t have normal reactions to yucky stuff. Something else to prove she was weird. Oliver had cleaned the body up as much as possible but it was still a horrific sight, even for her.

Eyeless sockets stared back at her. The head leaned toward the right as if the neck was broken. The victim looked like a man but she couldn’t be sure nowadays.

Oliver put on a pair of gloves. “The body has been badly smashed and mutilated, and the heart has been removed.” He picked up one of the hands. Several of the fingers were missing. “There are quite a few like this, but I don’t know what the significance is.” He put the hand down, covered the body and closed the drawer. He removed the gloves and tossed them in the trash.

Oliver showed her a couple more bodies and then they moved on to his office. “Professional job,” he said.

“Definitely not a job of amateurs,” Isabella agreed. She had seen this type of handiwork before but it was too soon to speculate.

“Then you agree that this is the work of some fanatical cult?”

Isabella shrugged. “It could be or someone trying to make it look like the work of a fanatical cult.”

“Where is Malloy?”

“He went to see the mayor,” Isabella replied.

“Is he going to be working on this case with you?”

Isabella nodded. “He wouldn’t miss it.”

Royce extended his hand to her. “Welcome aboard.”

Isabella shook his hand. “It’s been fun Doctor Randall but I really need to be going. There are a few things I need to check out.”

“What’s your plan?”

“I plan to drive across the river and visit Doctor Toussaint in Jefferson Parish. I’m sure his morgue is very busy too. Then I’ll go to the Saint Louis Cemetery,” Isabella answered.

“Be careful and stay away from creeps.”

“I’ll be careful,” she assured him. Oliver knew all about New Orleans and what went on in the town at night while the good citizens slept.

A few minutes later Isabella left the building.

* * * *

“How good is she?” Malcolm asked Ernie after they had gone through all the pleasantries.

“Isabella is the best,” Ernie answered. “She’s got the stamina of a horse and the balls of one too.”

Malcolm laughed. “What is she? A line backer?”

“No, just the best damn tracker I’ve ever seen. She’s also tougher than any partner I’ve had before. She has never let me down.”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Malcolm said as he sat in his chair behind his big desk in the mayor’s office.

“Well, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. She’s not fluff.”

“No, I suppose she isn’t,” Malcolm said putting all jokes aside. “What was she before she joined PAK?”

“She was in the Marines.”

“The Marines?”

Ernie nodded. “Special Forces. A trained assassin who can handle any weapon put before her.” Of course the being a Marine part wasn’t true, but the less the mayor knew about their world, the better.

“Maybe I should hire her as a bodyguard.”

“She wouldn’t do it,” Ernie told him. “Isabella has to be free. She’s sort of a renegade and doesn’t conform too well to traditional rules and regulations.” That part was totally true.

“You do understand that we’re trying to clear this mess up before the holidays and before Mardi Gras?”

Ernie rose. “Then I guess I’d better get moving. There’s a lot of ground to cover before then.”

“Will I be seeing you and the Mrs. at my annual Christmas celebration tomorrow?”

Ernie nodded. “Myra’s looking forward to it.”

“Will Miss Denning be there?”

Ernie nodded again. “Yes.”

He sighed. “I thought she’d show up today to meet me.”

“She’s visiting Doctor Randall so I volunteered to come. You’ll get to meet her tomorrow night.”

Malcolm smiled. “I’ve never met a woman with the balls of a horse before.”

Ernie chuckled. “Then you’re in for a real treat.” He left the room. His cell phone went off as soon as he stepped outside of City Hall. “This is Malloy.”

“It’s me, Isabella. I’m on my way to the Saint Louis Cemetery, Number One. I’m just crossing the Mississippi River Bridge.”

“I’ll meet you there,” Ernie told his partner. “Don’t go in without me.”

“I won’t,” Isabella promised.

“See that you don’t. We don’t know what we’ll be walking into.” He paused. “What’s the plan anyway?”

“We’ll be looking for clues.”

“What kind of clues?”

“How the hell should I know? Wait, I have a text message coming through. It’s from Vinnie. He wants me to meet him at the Inveigler Casino. Meet me there first.” She disconnected the call.

Ernie got into his car, started it up, and headed towards Poydras.

Chapter Seven

Isabella parked her car and walked around to the front of the casino. Ernie arrived a minute later, which she didn’t understand because City Hall and the mayor’s office was only a couple of blocks away. He probably ran over to Mother’s Restaurant to get himself a po-boy sandwich to tide him over until dinner.

The Inveigler Casino was the biggest entertainment spot in the south. Words could not describe the sequential beauty of the place. It was opulent, lavishly decorated and cost Alesandro Roma a lot of money to buy it from the city of New Orleans.

“Why are you just getting here?”

“Mother’s,” Ernie answered.

Isabella shook her head. “You have no willpower whatsoever.”

“Sue me,” her deliciously brown partner replied. “I can’t help it if I’m addicted to the place.”

Both of them entered the casino lobby which led to the underground passageway. Isabella waved to the young woman standing behind the desk, checking identification cards. They continued to travel until they entered the casino and then took the escalator up to the second floor where they knew they would find Vinnie Martinelli. Vinnie was a small time hood who served as a bodyguard for the casino by day. His nights were taken up primarily with protecting Carlo Gino a known Mafioso and a member of the Cajun Cartel.

Vinnie sat at a Black Jack slot machine. He wasn’t much to look at except that he was tall and muscular with a big neck. He put three quarters into the machine and pulled the lever. A purple seven and two white bars appeared.

Isabella watched him put three more quarters into the machine and pull the lever again. This time three bars appeared and the machine made a funny noise and points added up on the display. She hated these new machines, they only issued tickets which had to be cashed in. Though she wasn’t much of a gambler she did like the sound of quarters clinking down in the tray in the old machines.

“Can you pry yourself away from the game long enough to talk to us?” Isabella asked him.

Vinnie turned his chair around and stared at them with piercing blue eyes. “What do you want to talk about, Miss Denning?” His high-pitched voice didn’t fit him.

“About the tourists that keep disappearing after leaving this casino and then showing up dead the next day.”

Vinnie frowned at her “What makes you think I know anything about them?”

One, he was stalling and two; he was trying to bait her. “Because you know about everything when it comes to crime in this area,” Isabella answered.

A waitress came over and Isabella ordered a Cherry Coke for her and a Diet Coke for Ernie.

Vinnie shrugged. “You have no proof of that.”

“Then why are we here, Vinnie?” Ernie asked.