Authors: J.A. Pitts
The hot dogs at the concession area were starting to call to me, and I’d just decided to spring for something smothered in kraut when my cell phone rang. It was Julie.
She was pretty damn upset, and it took a minute before I could understand what the hell was going on.
Mary Campbell, owner of the Circle Q Farm, had called her an hour ago. Someone had broken into her place and killed one of her high-steppers—Blue Thunder. He’d been a beautiful animal.
“Brutal,” Julie said into the phone. “Ritual killing, and whoever did it left a message. The cops are here now.”
“Holy shit,” I breathed, hot dogs and kraut suddenly the last thing I wanted. “Are you with her?”
“Yes,” Julie said, and I could hear some voices in the background. “Mrs. Sorenson and I came out as soon as she called. Mrs. Sorenson is making tea, and Mary is lying on the couch. I’m interfacing with the police, but I’d appreciate it if you could come out.”
Her voice got quiet, and I had to strain to hear her. “I think this is a warning for you, Sarah.”
I slid down the wall I’d been leaning against. My legs just suddenly didn’t want me to be standing any longer. “Me?”
“No one else will get it,” she said, a sense of urgency in her voice. “But I think you need to see this.”
“Okay,” I said, letting my legs settle out in front of me, blocking one of the aisles to the food court. “I’m in Seattle. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Thanks,” Julie said. I hadn’t heard her this freaked out, ever.
I hung up and thought about who to call. Jimmy, Gunther, and that crew would have a better idea of a lot of cultlike signs and such. But I wanted to call Katie, and she wouldn’t come out if Black Briar was getting involved. It was too soon for her pride.
But something had to happen. It was early, eleven thirty. Katie was at her school at the moment, working on lesson plans. She’d knock off around three thirty, and maybe Jimmy and the crew would be long gone before then.
I climbed to my feet, swung by to grab a soda. I needed the sugar and caffeine to fortify myself. Then I called Black Briar.
The phone rang several times before it was answered by Trisha. I was surprised to hear her, but she told me that Jimmy had taken Deidre to her physical therapy.
“He’ll be back in a couple of hours,” she said. “I’m letting Frick and Frack watch some videos. They really like the music and the motion. They’re pretty damned smart.”
It would be cute, if I hadn’t personally murdered their mother.
“What about Gunther or Stuart?” I asked.
“Stuart’s out in the barn working on some gear,” she said, laughing. “I’ll call him. Bub can watch the kids a minute.”
I waited, amazed. Bub had made himself a part of the little bizarre family pretty damn quickly. Pride rose in me. I counted him as one of mine. My responsibility, mine to keep safe.
I’d made my way out of the hall and was heading across the parking lot to my bike when Stuart got on the line. I gave him a brief of the few facts I knew and asked him if he could gather Gunther and Jimmy and head to Mary’s.
“Glad you called,” he said, seriously. “This tiff between Jimmy and Katie isn’t good for any of us.”
I ground my teeth. This was a pain in my ass. “Look, Stuart. Jim’s being an ass here, you know that, right?”
He didn’t answer right away. “He’s scared, Sarah. Afraid to lose her, even with everything that’s gone on.”
I growled, letting my frustration echo out of me. “She was kidnapped by a fucking dragon, Stuart. How much worse can it get?”
He chuckled then, not that it was funny. “Yeah, you got a point. Look, I don’t like that they’re fighting, but you need to let the man come around as he can. It’s been hard for him keeping all this balanced, you know?”
“Yeah, I guess.” I rubbed my eyes. “Look, Stuart. The thing is, I need your help, and Katie doesn’t know I called you, yet. You know I gotta let her know. Gotta keep in her good books. I just need to make sure we don’t miss anything important here. If this is a warning to me, I’d like to have as much input and advice as I can get.”
“This is some serious shit.”
“Amen, brother. Look, can you work on Jimmy to apologize? That would make it all so much easier.”
The line was quiet for a moment. “Baby steps,” he said, finally. “I’ll do what I can. How soon will you be there?”
“I’ll be there in thirty or so,” I said. “Cops are still there now, so we’ll see what we can see.”
“Okay,” he agreed. “Gunther is at his shop and it will take longer to get that crazy girl he uses to help around the record store. But I’ll text Jimmy and have him and Deidre head to Circle Q from the doctor’s. How’s that work?”
“Beautiful,” I said, pleased. “Thanks, Stuart. I like having the backup.”
He harrumphed into the phone. Worried about me? “Just stay out of trouble, Beauhall.”
I laughed, and he cut off the phone. He still loved me.
I picked up my helmet, shrugged into my heavy leather jacket, and took a moment to make sure my new Docs were tied tightly. I was feeling pretty bad-ass, but was wishing I had Gram on my back. I didn’t like feeling threatened, especially when I couldn’t pull her into play.
The bike roared between my thighs as I popped a wheelie ripping down the service road to the main drag. I’d call Katie once I got out there and had an idea what we were up against. Better that way.
Thirteen
I
pulled into
C
ircle
Q
thirty minutes later.
T
here were two cruisers and a couple of normal cars. I recognized the Taurus that Julie was driving, since it was mine. I guessed the second was a detective or something.
I parked the bike, took off my helmet and gloves, and approached the police officer who stood between the road and the barn. He was fairly short, five six maybe, and thin. I bet he didn’t weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet, but the gun on his hip was in a worn holster. He’d used it a long time. There were a few folks down on the road, neighbors, I reckoned, but no one was approaching the farm. The officer had an aura that demanded respect, despite his physical stature.
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” he said. “This area is off-limits at the time.”
“I understand, officer,” I said, using my bestest, sweetest girl voice. “But, I’m the farrier for Mrs. Campbell. I was just here this week, and she called, asked me to stop by and look in on the rest of the horses, with all the excitement and all.”
I smiled and even thought about batting my eyes, but the matted-down hair and black eyeliner probably didn’t instill much confidence.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Crime scene—I’m sure you understand.”
He had a craggy face, pocked from years of acne, but his eyes were kind. He didn’t raise his voice or lean into my space or anything, but you definitely knew who was in charge here. I took a breath, ready to change tactics, when I heard tires on gravel behind me.
I turned to see a van pull up from Smythe and Williams Veterinary Medicine. I thought Mary used the Cadiz Brothers, but I could’ve gotten it mixed up.
The slick young man who walked up to us had a smile on his round, pale face. He had on a stocking cap with blond curls poking out from underneath, a tiny mustache, and not much of a chin. He shrugged into a white doctor’s smock and carried a messenger bag. When he got up to us, he nodded to me but turned his full attention to the officer.
“Beg your pardon,” he said, politely. “Sorry it took me so long to get out here. We had a foaling out in Maple Valley that took longer than we expected.”
He handed the police officer a business card he took from his shirt pocket and stood with both hands on the handle of his bag, looking as contrite and demure as one could expect from a schoolboy.
The officer read the card, looked at both sides, and tucked it into his shirt pocket. “You’ll be wanting to speak with Detective Carmine,” he said. “Tall lady, black hair. Dressed like Columbo.”
The young vet tech looked at him, puzzled, then looked at me. I shrugged. I had no idea what the hell he was talking about.
The cop shook his head, snickering. “I must be getting old. Okay, tall woman in a trench coat. She’s directing things up at the barn. You can’t miss her.”
He stepped aside, and the vet tech took three steps before turning back. “Would it be okay if the farrier came with me? She really does work with the animals more than we do.”
The officer just nodded and waved me through. I was stunned. But I wasn’t looking a gift horse in the mouth. I grabbed my pack off the back of the bike and scrambled after the vet.
He held out his hand when I got to him. He had a firm shake, not aggressive, but he was definitely not a pansy. “Charlie Hague,” he said, smiling. He turned and began walking to the barn.
“Sarah Beauhall,” I replied, falling into step beside him.
“Yes, I know,” he said. “Folks talk highly about you on the circuit.”
Hmph … I was getting recognition. The community was too damn small.
“You need to get some business cards,” he offered.
I gave him the eyebrows, but he just smirked at me. “Trust me on this one. Makes you official. Cops just need some scrap of authenticity to hold on to.”
It made sense. Da called it the clipboard theory. Walk around with a clipboard, everyone assumed you were in charge. “I’ll take it under advisement.”
The sun was bright and the sky a startling blue that we only get here in the Pacific Northwest. We neared the barn and Charlie slowed down, delaying our arrival.
“What do you know?” he asked me as we walked the long drive.
“Just that someone killed one of her high-steppers. Not sure which one.”
He twisted his mouth back and forth, thinking. “I don’t know them, personally. I’ve not visited this farm more than the one time Mr. Smythe brought me out to introduce me around.”
“How long have you been with Smythe and Williams?”
He grinned. “About a year. Got my degree from Washington State and did some time in the stockyards in Pullman. You wouldn’t believe the amount of experience you can get in a stockyard. I saw more cases in the one month there than I’ve seen the entire year I’ve been here.”
“Quiet life?” I asked, amused.
“Well, vaccinations and an occasional abscess is fine with me,” he said, glancing around. “I just hate being low man.”
“Why’s that?”
We stopped by the barn, not going in. “Newbie does the lion share of necropsies. Messy work and great experience.”
“Lovely.”
“Yeah,” he said, digging into his kit for a couple of face masks. “Put this on, helps with the smell.”
I took it from him and held it up to my face. It smelled like anise, not cloying, but fairly strong.
“Never get used to the smell,” he said, hooking the mask over his ears. “Ready?”
I pulled the mask on and followed him into the barn.
It was horrible. I leaned against the stall door, trying to breathe.
“Take it easy,” he said, grasping my arm. “Try not to breathe too fast. You’ll hyperventilate.”
I tried to slow my breathing, but I needed the oxygen and taking deep breaths just filled my head with the stench.
Not only did they kill the horse, whoever did this was a sick bastard. The body had been dismembered. I looked around the stall. It was like something from a bad Santeria movie. There was a ritual circle drawn on the floor with salt and wax. A five-pointed star cut through the circle, and bowls were placed at the lower four points. Flies were thick around the bowls, which told me that they held blood. At the pinnacle of the star was the horse’s head.
Charlie stepped aside to talk with the detective, and I walked down the length of the stalls. The horse had been dismembered in the third stall down, and most of the body remained there. The feet were missing, hacked off with a special blade. I was positive, because it was sticking in the floor of the stall next to a series of marks. I didn’t touch it. The thing practically glowed it was so vile. Magic for sure. It was a serpentine blade used in rituals. I knew my blades. I also knew not to touch something that putrid. It screamed bleeder. Something that would keep the blood from clotting while the ritual was being performed. I’d read about them. Allowed for the maximum bloodletting. I’d always assumed they were rumor, but now … This had to be the real deal.
Across the back of the murder stall, words were written. “I’m looking for you, little pig.”
I walked back to the first stall, where the head remained, and knelt down, keeping a good distance from the ritual site. The horse’s eyes were missing. Instead, candles had been inserted into the sockets and burned down to waxy nubs.
In the center of the macabre design was a small box. No one had touched it yet, but one of the detectives was taking pictures of it.
There was magic here. I held my hand out, careful not to touch anything, but allowed it to hover just inside the stall.
I could feel it, a residual taint in the air. Like when I held the honeyed blood mead Qindra had shown me. Holding the vial had allowed me to experience the electric buzz of the power.