Pretty Witches All in a Row (16 page)

“He was pretty vocal about saying they had it coming and he admitted to getting into a tussle with Zoe before.”

“Oh right, I had forgotten about that.  Zoe was talking about picketing his church after it happened, but she never followed through with it.”

“Do you know if he’d ever had similar run-ins with Skye or Meiliyn before?”

Annaliese paused as she thought it over.  “I don’t think so, but it’s possible.  Skye went to a lot of protests, she loved a good cause.  It wasn’t really Meilyn’s scene though; she was a little more quiet, reserved.”

“We’re keeping a close eye on the Reverend now, so hopefully we’ll learn a bit more about him.”

“Who else?”

“Who else what?”

“You said that he was your leading suspect, who else do you suspect?” 

“Oh.  Well, ah…”  It was Nick’s turn to hesitate, thinking that in all likelihood she wouldn’t like what he had to say next.  “You know that none of you ladies have alibis for any of the murders.”

“You think one of us did it?”  Her eyes grew wide, a look of hurt or possibly betrayal passing over her features. 

“No, I don’t, but we need to investigate everyone until we can rule them out as a suspect.  It doesn’t help that Seraphine refused to provide an alibi and stormed out of our last conversation.  Or that she called all of you and told you not to talk to me,” he pointed out, and Annaliese nodded slowly after a moment’s reflection.

“I guess I can understand that.  What about the rest of us?”

“Like I said, Rose wasn’t exactly warm and fuzzy when I talked to her, but she answered all of the questions I put to her, and Ellie was cooperative.”

“What about me?  Do you still consider me a suspect?”  Her chin came up a fraction as she met his eyes with a challenging gaze. 

“No, I don’t.  But it’s not my investigation anymore, and Sergeant Troyer hasn’t ruled you out as of yet, no,” he admitted solemnly. 

“Great, just great,” she gave a bitter laugh, “as if I didn’t have enough to deal with.” 

“Try not to worry about it, Annaliese.  The Reverend is our top suspect right now; I’m betting Troyer’s men won’t be bothering you again.” 

“Whatever, it doesn’t matter.  I just hope you catch whoever’s doing this, before I lose what little I have left of my mind along with my friends.”

“Oh, I almost forgot…” Nick drew out the phone again, opening another file.  “I wanted to see if you recognized anybody from the shots of the crowd, in case our killer stuck around to enjoy the results of his handiwork.” 

“Do they usually do that?”

“Some do, especially the whack jobs.  They think they’re infallible, and it gives them a rush to be right under our noses with us none the wiser.”  He brought up the pics and handed her the phone.

Annaliese scrolled through the pictures, studying them carefully before she handed the phone back with a shake of the head.  “No, I don’t think so.  But if you really think this guy might show again at the scene of the crime, we’re having a candlelight vigil tonight.”

“You are?  Where?  At Meiliyn’s place?” 

“No, at Skye’s house.”

“What time?”

“At sunset, I think about eight-thirty, around there.”

“I’ll tell my team about it so we can keep an eye on things for you.  I’d like to come, unless you think the others would find it too… upsetting.”  If it was, he’d hang back with Brady and Park; there would be plenty of vantage points where they’d be able to step in if things got out of hand.

“I think it’d be nice if you were there.”  She looked up at him with a soft smile.  “I don’t think that Skye, Mei or Zoe would have minded, and that’s all that counts.”

“I’ll be there,” he promised, smiling back.   “I guess I’d better get going then, gonna need my beauty sleep.”

“I’ll see you tonight.  Thanks for stopping by, Detective.”

He was fairly certain she was teasing him this time, but he automatically corrected her.  “Sergeant.”

“Whatever.”  She gave him an impish grin as she turned away to see to her customers.

Nick was still smiling as he reached the steps outside, pausing to don his sunglasses against the bright glare of the mid day sun.  Spotting Rose coming up the walk, he nodded to her pleasantly.  “Afternoon, Ms. Spencer.”

Rose slowed her approach; regarding him intently, and Nick wondered what it was she was thinking in that instant.  “It’s not real, you know.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’ve seen that look before, dozens of times.  Don’t feel bad, it’s nothing personal, it’s how she operates.”

“I’m afraid you lost me.”

“Annaliese.  She’s not into the chase.  She likes things to be… predictable.”

“I’m still not tracking you.” 

“Do you think those are real emotions you’re feeling right now?  Remember who it is you’re feeling them for, or should I say, remember
what
she is.”  A little smirk appeared on Rose’s lips. 

Nick blinked, was she saying Annaliese had cast a spell over him?  It would have been laughable if his own thoughts hadn’t run in exactly that same direction not too long ago.  Still, it wasn’t in him to give Rose the satisfaction of thinking she was getting to him.  “I prefer to think it’s more of a combination of my own devastating charm and rugged good looks.”

“You shouldn’t take it personally.  Think of it as a compliment really.  She wanted you, she went after you.”  A careless shrug was given.

“And she told you this?  That she’s been deliberately setting out to cast a spell over me?” 

“Oh honey, I can see all the signs, clear as day.  Even now, you don’t want to admit it, do you?”  Rose shook her head.  “Forget I said anything, ignorance is bliss, right?” she sighed, moving past him. 

Nick stood on the shop’s porch, deep in thought.  Dimly he heard the door open and close behind him, but he made no immediate move to continue on to his car.  Her words shook him to the core.  While part of him didn’t believe in any of that mumbo jumbo, it was clear that Rose and her coven mates did.  Whether or not it worked was almost beside the point.  The point being… was Annaliese trying to manipulate him?

* * *

In no mood for the chatter of the radio, the ride home was spent in silent reflection.  Veronica wouldn’t be home from school so early, so he was guaranteed a few hours of peace and quiet.  Long used to grabbing a few hours sleep whenever he could, Nick set his alarm for enough time to make the briefing at four o’clock and passed out on the couch in his study. 

A few hours later, Nick’s eyes popped open, not entirely sure why he’d been startled awake.  The memory of a sound echoed through his mind, but he wasn’t sure if it was part of his dream or reality.  Sitting up, he reached for his gun out of sheer force of habit, realizing only an instant later that it was probably just Veronica home from school. 

Still, it wasn’t in him to lie back down, he had to know for sure.  Hearing noise in the kitchen, he moved silently through the house, coming through the archway, he approached the breakfast bar… there was someone crouched behind the counter.  Nick tensed, all senses on alert, until Veronica’s bright red hair peeped over the top of the counter, seconds before she straightened with a cookie sheet in hand. 

“Hi Daddy, did you have a good nap?”

Nick relaxed, feeling a little foolish for being so jumpy.  “V, I’m about to do something completely unprecedented.”  Reaching for a clean glass, he got himself a drink of cool water from the fridge.

“Uh oh… we’re not moving again are we?”

“No, of course not. Besides, that wouldn’t be unprecedented if we’ve done it before, now would it?” he pointed out, taking a long swallow.

“You’re gonna let me go on the camping trip with Eric!” She gave a little hop of ecstatic happiness.

“What?  No!”  It constantly surprised him how her train of thought could get so easily derailed by the thought of a boy. 

“Aw… I knew that was too good to be true…” she muttered, moving to the freezer to grab a handful of pizza rolls for the baking tray.  “Okay, so what is it then?”

“I am going to let you spend the night at a friend’s house on a school night.”

“Oh, is that all?” 

“That’s not enough?”

“From the way you were talking, I thought it was going to be a bit more momentous than that, and it’s not like that’s a big whoop.  I mean we can’t stay up late ‘cause we have to get up for school tomorrow, and we can’t even gorge on bubblegum pancakes in the morning or we’ll be late.”

“Bubblegum pancakes?”  He made a face; the idea was revolting any way you thought about it. 

“It’s an acquired taste.” 

“You can make your disgusting pancakes over the weekend, but for tonight I think it might be best if you stayed at Kristin’s house, or maybe Beth’s.” 

“Yeah, Beth’s dad won’t care,” she nodded, setting the tray of pizza rolls into the oven before leaning back against the counter again.  “Is there something you’re not telling me?  You’ve never asked me to stay at a friend’s house before, even when you’ve had to work the night shift.”

“I know, I said unprecedented, right?”  Nick tried for an easy smile, but he could see she wanted something more.  “I should only be gone for a few hours tonight and there’s no reason to expect any kind of trouble here.”

“So why the need for the evacuation?  You’re not bringing over a hot date tonight are you?” she grinned. 

“I wish,” he snorted, tossing a hot pad at her like a Frisbee.  “No…I can’t explain it exactly.  It’s a feeling I have, I’d feel a lot better if I knew you were being well taken care of, just in case.”

“Okay, I’ll give Beth a call, I’m sure it’ll be fine.  I don’t suppose your hunch would include some spending money so I can stop by Taco Bell on the way over there, would it?”  Her eyes gleamed with hope.

“What do you need to go to Taco Bell for?  You’re making food right now.”

A roll of the eyes was given.  “Oh come on, Daddy, it’s only like three o’clock.  By the time I finish my homework and head over there I’ll be hungry again.” She held her hand out, waggling her fingertips.  “Please?”

Nick reached for his wallet, a dubious look on his face.  “Alright, but you promise me you’ll go straight to Beth’s after you stop at Taco Bell, okay?”

“I promise,” she smiled brightly, accepting the bills and tucking them into her back pocket. 

“After three, huh?”  The time registered on him finally and he looked at the clock on the microwave.  “I’d better get going, gotta go report in for another briefing.”  That was all he needed, to get chewed out for being late.  “Do me a favor; wrap up some of those pizza rolls to go for your old man, would ya?”

“But those are my pizza rolls.”

“Good thing you have that cash for Taco Bell then,” he grinned, heading for the bathroom to quickly wash his face and run a comb through his hair. 

Chapter Ten

“Let’s keep this short and sweet; I have to get back to Cahill.”  Troyer opened the meeting, taking his place at the front of the briefing room. 

“Do we have eyes on him while we’re meeting for the briefing?” Brady asked, and Nelson fixed him with a scathing look. 

“Of course we do, there’s a black and white babysitting him for now,” he replied, his voice dripping with condescension. 

“I was just asking…”  Brady’s hands came up in a gesture of supplication. 

“Anybody turn up anything useful?” Troyer interrupted.

Park nodded, clearing her throat before she addressed them.  “I have an update from forensics.  They found traces of the same compound on Xiang’s carpet as they did on the floor in Mackenzie’s back room.”

“You mean the dirt?” Willis asked.

“Yes, the exact same chemical make-up.  Wherever the dirt is from, it made it to both of their houses.  Only there were just trace amounts left at our latest crime scene so I checked with CSU, and they found the dirt.”

“Where?” Troyer asked, his dark brows knit together in puzzlement. 

Gibson snapped his fingers, “the vacuum, am I right?” 

“Yes Sir,” Park nodded.  “The victim’s vacuum cleaner contained the missing dirt and traces of her blood.”

“So our perp decided to vacuum up the rug after he killed her,” Nelson stated the obvious, and Park nodded again. 

“It looks that way, this confirms it.  We didn’t get any useful prints off the vacuum either; the killer wiped it down pretty well.”

“What about the rest of the apartment?”

“We’re still working on all of the elimination prints, from the neighbors and everyone who’s been in the apartment that we already know of.”

“Okay, what else we got?”

Nick took the chance to speak up then.  “There’s a candlelight vigil going on tonight for the victims at the Mackenzie place.  It’s supposed to start at sundown, all of our remaining coven members should be there and… depending on whether or not he gets wind of it, I’d say there’s a fairly decent shot at our killer putting in an appearance as well.”

“Are you shitting me?  A candlelight vigil?”  Troyer looked positively giddy at the notion of getting all of his suspects/bait all in one place at one time.  “We couldn’t ask for a better opportunity than this.  I want all of you there; you have your assignments on who to stick close to.  Stay out of sight and stay sharp.  The bastard will get up to something tonight and we’ll be there to see it.”

“I ah, have actually been invited to attend.”  Nick had the good grace not to look as smug as he felt about it.

“Well, lah dee frickin dah,” Troyer returned sourly.  “You regularly attend candlelight vigils, do you?”

“Only ones I’ve been invited to by pretty witches,” Nick grinned. 

The rest of the briefing was mercifully short, the downside being there wasn’t much more new information for any of them to impart.  When Nick left the precinct, Willis and Nelson were still working on laying out the odds that Cahill would show up. 

He should head back to his own precinct and start going over the new reports like Park and Brady were going to do.  The more sets of eyes there were on the raw data assembled, the better the likelihood they would spot something missed earlier or a connection that had escaped them to date.  It was the prudent thing to do.