Authors: Maggie Toussaint
I scribbled down the information and handed the notebook back. He scanned it and pointed to the word Macon. “You’re sure about this?”
“Dead sure.” I watched him put the notebook away, wondering if his thoughts aligned with mine. The only person on his staff with north Georgia connections was the state archaeologist, our temporary coroner, Gail Bergeron. “It’s up to you now. I’ve done my part.”
He bagged the evidence, resealed it, and tucked the box under one arm. Locking his other arm through mine, he guided me out of the room. Gail hovered in the hall, wearing her white lab coat over a dark suit and heels, a stethoscope draped around her neck.
“I should check her vitals,” Gail said. “She was unconscious for hours.”
Until I knew if she was a killer or merely the killer’s friend, I didn’t want her touching me. “I’m fine.”
“Sheriff, I insist. This woman looks dehydrated.”
Wayne studied me. “She seems all right to me.”
“You may have a liability in this.” An elaborate silver pin on Gail’s coat lapel caught the light as she gestured. “Baxley could sue the department.”
I waved off her protest. “I’m not suing anyone. That’s not how we do things in coastal Georgia. I appreciate your concern, but I’m fine. I don’t need medical attention.”
I would have given anything to read her aura, but I was spent. It was all I could do to keep the negative energy of this place at bay. From the start, my instincts warned me to be careful around this woman. That hadn’t changed. Gail would not go quietly into the night.
She couldn’t.
She had too much to lose.
Gail had to be the leak.
Or the killer.
I couldn’t deal with her in my weakened state. She was right about my exhaustion level. I’d never been out so long before. And I’d burned a lot of psychic energy before I came here today. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed.
“I have to get out of here,” I said to Wayne once we’d walked past Gail.
“I’ll take you home,” he said. “First, I’ve got to return the evidence. You still like sodas and chocolate bars?”
I managed a weak smile. “You are psychic.”
Directing me to his office, Wayne procured a soda and candy bars. “Eat.”
I ate as he called his contacts in Macon. The ice-cold drink refreshed me as it sped from lips to toes. The chocolate bars tasted like heaven. I yawned and shivered in the cool room.
He hung up the phone. “Stay here while I return the evidence to the cage. I’ll be right back.”
I yawned again, wrapping my arms around my full belly for additional warmth. “I’m really tired.”
He tossed me a jacket, which I burrowed under. “Ya done good.”
“Mmm.” I drifted into a light sleep. Demons and angels chased me on a twilight plain. I was tired, so tired. I couldn’t run anymore.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.” Wayne stroked my hair. “If you don’t walk out of here under your own power, Gail’s gonna pitch a fit. I had one of my guys ask her something about a case, but I can’t promise she’ll stay distracted long enough for us to get away. Can you walk?”
I groaned at the thought of walking anywhere. My entire system demanded sleep. But if I had to do this, I would. Daddy had walked out of here a few months ago after a long dream-walk. If Daddy could do it, so could I.
“That’s it,” Wayne said as I stood. He caught me when my knees buckled. “Never mind.” He scooped me in his arms like a bridegroom carrying his beloved over the threshold. “If my wife hears about this, we’re both dead.”
“Don’t tell Dottie.” My eyes drifted shut again. “I certainly won’t.”
Sunlight streamed in my bedroom window. My eyes snapped shut at the startling brilliance. I reached up to cover my eyes, only to discover my head ached, and my skin felt hot to the touch. Downstairs, I heard someone bustling around in the kitchen. The mouthwatering aroma of my mother’s soup wafted through the air.
I struggled to rise. “Mama?”
Rapid footfalls sounded on the stairs. Mama appeared in the doorway in a faded jumper and lime-green shirt, gray braid slung over her shoulder, worry stamped on her thin face. “There you are. We’ve been waiting for you to wake up. How’re you feeling?”
“Sorta like that old saying: rode hard and put up wet.” I realized I was still in yesterday’s clothes. I sat up fast, making the room slide a bit.
“Easy, dear.” Mama hurried forward, Daddy and Larissa close on her heels. Larissa carried a small tray with tea and toast. Muffin padded in and jumped on the bed; Precious laid her nose on the covers and snuffled.
I accepted the tray and petted the dogs. “What is all this?”
Larissa settled in next to me. “Food, silly.”
“You may be good at dreamwalking, but there are limits to everything,” Daddy said. “You shouldn’t take such risks.”
I could mouth off something witty, but I didn’t feel clever this morning. I hurt all the way down to my marrow. A pain reliever was what I needed, but Mama would take offense at the use of non-holistic medicine. I sipped her herbal tea instead.
“Well?” Mama asked.
I cleared my throat. “I’m sorry for worrying everyone. I had another run-in with Joe.” Alarm flared in Daddy’s eyes. “It’s all right. I’m fine, honestly. Just worn out.”
He nodded and appeared to be choosing his words. “Wrestling with Joe will do that to ya.”
I got the message. He didn’t want me to upset Mama and Larissa. “What happened? Last I remember, I was in the sheriff’s office drinking a soda.”
“Exhaustion, dear.” Mama bustled around the room, opening the drapes, putting away the laundry in the basket on my floor. “You must take better care of your health.”
I reached down for my cell phone, found it missing from my belt clip. “Has anyone heard from Wayne this morning? We had a breakthrough on the case.”
“He said he’d be in touch.” Daddy gripped Mama by the elbow. “Let’s check on that soup pot, Lacey. Give the girls a chance to catch up.”
Mama pursed her lips but left. I munched my toast under Larissa’s watchful eyes.
“You really all right?” she asked.
“I could kill for some ibuprofen.”
Larissa dug into her pocket. “Got you covered. What really happened?”
I downed the tablets with the rest of my herbal tea. “I found out the name of the woman at Mallow. The sheriff was going to follow up.” I touched her shoulder. “Sorry I worried you, pumpkin. I lost track of time while I dreamwalked. It took so long to find her.”
“Who’s this Joe? And give me a straight answer, not the wandering spirit stuff Pap fed Mama Lacey.”
“Dreamwalking has a downside, love. I used to worry about my ability because I didn’t want people to know I talked to dead people. But it’s not the dead people you have to watch out for. There are other things in that realm. Dangerous things. I don’t want you trying it without Pap or me there to help you.”
“Did these bad things hurt you?”
Silence crinkled like cellophane. I was at a crossroads with my daughter. I could shield her from the truth, or I could give her small doses of it. Protect her innocence or shatter it.
One fact was undeniable. Larissa was only ten years old. “I want you to grow up and run and play and be a kid in every way. Knowledge exacts a cost.”
“I’ve never seen you so zonked. And you were gone so long.” My daughter looked at me with hurt in her Powell green eyes, so very much like Roland’s eyes that my breath hitched in my throat. “I couldn’t feel you. I thought you were dead.”
And just like that, my answer narrowed to one choice. “I’m very much alive, though I pushed the limits yesterday. I won’t do that again. It was a special circumstance.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.” I hugged her close, inhaling her fresh, unspoiled fragrance, very much aware of the fact I needed a shower. The contact warmed the chill in my bones. The sunbeams didn’t seem to hurt my eyes so much. My fever subsided.
I managed a half-laugh. “This feels great to sit and cuddle with you, but I’ve got to get a shower and get going on this day.”
“Not until you finish this tea and toast and eat a bowl of soup. Mama Lacey is all set to do her crystal thing. You have to promise to do those things first.”
“Deal.”
Tamika buzzed me into the admin area. “The sheriff wants you to come on back.”
Wayne’s voice had been upbeat on the phone. If this was any indication of how my Saturday was gonna go, I had no worries. I strolled down the hall, my mental shields fully engaged, a bounce in my step.
The sheriff stood when I entered his office. “Good work, Powell. We’ve positively identified our murder victim. Macon PD faxed us her sheet.” He picked up the file and read aloud. “Lisa Angelique Noble, of Roosevelt Parkway, Macon. Former exotic dancer. Arrested twice for solicitation. Her apartment caught fire about two weeks ago, but the blaze didn’t spread to the neighbors’ apartments. The super thought she was out of town during the incident. The property owner plans to tear the building down as soon as the other residents can vacate the premises.”
“Did anyone mention a kid?”
“Nope. No kid. Lisa lived alone, except for a gentleman caller, who came at varying hours of the day and night. She routinely traveled for extended periods of time, hence the thought of her traveling these last few weeks.”
“Probably visiting her kid. Wetumpka isn’t that far from Macon, coupla hours at most. What about the jewelry in the safety deposit box?”
“Can’t get into the bank until Monday.”
I swore under my breath. If there was a leak here in the Sinclair County Sheriff’s Office, the killer could find out about the child before Monday. “That isn’t good enough.”
“It’ll have to do. With all the budget cutbacks, most banks, including this one, are closed on Saturdays.”
“You’ve kept quiet about the child?”
“Yep. No one here knows about a kid. All they know is we’ve got a dead young woman from Macon.”
“Please keep it that way, until we make sure the baby is safe.”
The intercom buzzed. “Sheriff, the boys are back with the package you requested. Where do you want it?”
A slow smile spread across Wayne’s face. “Interview One. We’ll be right there.” He stood. “You might find this interview interesting.”
I rose, my hand at my heart. “Me? You want me to watch you interview a suspect?”
“You catch on quick. Follow me.”
He expected me to heel like a dog? That rankled. But he wasn’t hitting on me, and he was treating me like an equal. Progress of a sort.
I peered in the room. Duke Quigley looked small between the massive girths of Deputies Virg Burkhead and Ronnie Oliver. Duke appeared to have a black eye. Grass stains dotted his shirt and torn jeans.
My blood pressure kicked up a notch. “You’re right. I very much want to be in on this.”
“Follow my lead.” Wayne entered the small room.
Duke’s head bobbed when Wayne cruised in. His eyes widened at the sight of me. He cursed in a guttural tone. “You! Murderer!”
Virg and Ronnie hung close to the suspect. Was that for his protection or mine?
I glared at Duke. “The only thing I killed, Duke Quigley, was a snake.”
“You shot Adam. Blew his head right off. You’re gonna pay for that.”
“Not hardly. I acted in self-defense. You, on the other hand, acted with malice. I could have died.”
“No way. Those snakes ate right before I moved ’em. Plus I milked ’em. They wouldn’t hurt nobody.”
His words infuriated me. I charged forward. “I have a kid, you moron.”
Wayne caught me by the collar of my T-shirt. “Hold up.”
I tried to bat his hand away, but his fingers remained snug on the cotton fabric. Outrage simmered in my veins. “Duke tried to kill me.”
“You put those rattlesnakes in her truck, Dairy Queen?” Wayne asked.
Duke hung his head. “I did. But she shot my babies. Adam’s all blown to bits, and Eve’s vanished.” His head popped back up. Tears filled his eyes. “Eve don’t know the first thing about living in the wild. She don’t even know how to hunt. Probably some hawk ate her for dinner.”
“Those snakes were the property of Pax Out. They weren’t yours,” Wayne said.
Duke’s chin went up. “I tend to ’em. I care about ’em. They was mine all right.”
“Bubba Paxton says he won’t press theft charges if you cooperate with us.”
“Bubba’s a good man, a fair man. But this witch here, she kept me from making my money. No one gets between Duke Quigley and his money.”
“Powell can be aggravating, but you can’t put snakes in her truck. That’s a crime. We’ve got you cold on that.”
Wayne’s words stung. I thought he was on my side. Anger welled up inside me. I was about to lash out at him when I realized he was massaging my stiff neck. What was going on?
“We’ve got questions that only you can answer,” Wayne said. “You spend a lot of time up in Macon, right, DQ?”
Duke’s eyes darted from me to Wayne. “I’ve got cousins in Macon. My ex lives there, too.”
“From where I’m standing, you’re in a helluva fix, man. You had unlimited access to Mallow, and you have connections to the murder victim’s last known place of residence.”
Duke swore. “You have any idea how many people live in Macon? I don’t know nuttin’ about any dead woman. I wasn’t trying to kill Baxley. I just wanted to scare her for messing up my pay.”
Words boiled out of my throat. “You put poisonous snakes in my truck, moron. You’re gonna serve time for that.”
“You are indeed going to pay for her damages, DQ. Whether or not she presses criminal charges against you is dependent on your next answers.”
“Like what?”
“Did you know Carolina Byrd before she contracted with you to build Mallow?” the sheriff asked.
The builder shook his head. “Didn’t know her.” Duke studied his work-thickened fingers for a long moment. “Knew her husband though.”
Air whistled through my teeth. He was telling the truth. I was certain of it. With Duke’s admission, puzzle pieces jelled in my head. Why hadn’t I seen these connections before?
“Her husband?” Wayne’s voice sounded neutral, as if he didn’t care one way or the other. How did he do that? I wanted to snatch Duke up and threaten to choke him until he told me everything.