Pretty Witches All in a Row (28 page)

Annaliese immediately shook her head, pulling free from Rose’s grasp.  “I can’t do that; I can’t run away from this.”

“Why the hell not?”  She looked between the two of them for a moment.  “For him?  You’re staying for him?”  Her eyes narrowed and she fixed Nick with an unfriendly stare.  Nick glared back at her; when did he become the designated asshole?  What did she have against him?

“Not just him.  I want… no I
need
to find the killer, Rose.  Whoever’s doing this is not going to stop until we’re all gone, I can feel it.”

Rose reached for Annaliese’s hands, looking intently into her eyes.  “Why are you screwing around with this, Anna?  It’s not your fight, it’s too dangerous.  Let Captain Courageous here go after the guy, we’ll come back after it’s safe and you can play house with him then.” 

“Because it
is
my fight.  I keep seeing them die Rose.  Zoe, Skye, Mei and Seraphine… with each death I see a little bit more; I can feel their panic, their terror, their pain… I can’t take another one.  And who’s to say I won’t still feel it when the next one dies, no matter how far I run away.”  Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.  “Whether it’s a gift from the Goddess or a curse, I don’t know, but I can’t leave.”  She shook her head. 

“Oh Anna…”  Rose’s face crumpled into tears as well and she hugged Annaliese close.  “I didn’t know…” she sniffed. 

After a few minutes, the storm of emotion passed and the women separated, each swiping at their wet cheeks and sniffling.  Nick, never comfortable with a woman’s tears, stood awkwardly by, wishing he had a box of tissues or something helpful to do. 

“So you’re getting visions of the killings then?  What are you seeing?  Can you tell who the killer is?” Rose asked with avid interest, where just a few minutes ago she had professed that she didn’t give a damn who it was, as long as they didn’t drag her into it. 

Annaliese shook her head.  “I can’t tell who it is, it’s a dark, looming figure, more of a manifestation than a representation.”

Rose nodded.  “Did anything feel familiar though?”

She stopped to consider that.  “I don’t think so… well… I didn’t really concentrate on that at the time; the experience was a little overwhelming.”

“It’s probably just as well you don’t have that connection forged with the killer then, safer for you at any rate.  Especially if the killer finds out you have this little pipeline into the murders.”

Nick hadn’t thought of that angle and kicked himself for having been so open with sharing that tidbit so far.  But who had he told?  Just his team and Rose, had he said anything to Ellie?  He couldn’t remember…

“I suppose you’re right,” Annaliese nodded, sounding less than convinced.  “So I’m not going to be able to convince you to come in for police protection?”

“I’m not going to be able to convince you to run away with me to Aruba?” Rose countered, a sad smile on her lips.

“Let me know if you change your mind.  I’ll be home tonight, right Nick?”

“That’s the plan so far, unless the Captain wants you to spend the night at the station.”  So far that was looking less than likely, they would only want to make those arrangements if all three women were coming in.  “In the meantime, we’ll have a uniformed policeman outside on the street just in case.”

“Super, I’m on house arrest,” Rose muttered.  “No matter, I plan to be out of here before nightfall and then your policeman can be reassigned to something more useful.” 

“I think this is my cue to leave.”  Nick turned and left, giving the two women a few minutes to speak in private while he waited for Annaliese by the car.  He checked his email on his phone while he waited, but there wasn’t anything earth shattering in his inbox.  Anna joined him a few minutes later, sliding into the front passenger’s seat. 

“Oh, hey, did you ask her about any other coven members that we don’t know about?” Nick remembered suddenly. 

Annaliese shook her head, putting on her seat belt.  “No, I didn’t bother, she joined the coven after I did, so she wouldn’t know anything about that.  Seraphine was our best bet for that one, I’m afraid.  Did you ask Ellie when you went over there?”

“Yeah, I did, but she couldn’t think of anyone.  She said the coven’s been increasing not decreasing or something like that.”

“That’s true, we’ve been pretty solid with our membership over the years, which is saying something.  Pagans can be kind of flakey sometimes.  No comments from the peanut gallery on that score please.”  She raised a finger at him in warning.

“Who me?  I would never…” Nick’s face was a mockery of innocence before he broke into a broad grin.  “So, are you coming back with me to the station?”

“Do you need me to?”

“I think it’s a good idea; why, did you have something else in mind?” 

“Nothing’s happened during the day, I’m probably safe until nightfall, right?”

“Maybe… we don’t know that for sure though.  Until last night all the murders took place before two am, he’s obviously capable of adapting.  I don’t think we can be too careful where your safety is involved.  Why, where did you want to go?”

“I was thinking about going home and taking a shower.  Plus, I’m thinking I want to keep the store closed down today, I’ll need to send my employees home and lock up.”

“Can’t they keep the place running without you?”

“I guess they could, but it’s been pretty busy since all of this hit the news.  I feel a little funny about profiting from it all though, I’d feel better if I closed down for a few days.”

“I can understand that.  I can run you out there and leave an officer outside if you’d rather do that.  Then I can head back to the office in time for my briefing.  We can touch bases later.”

“Okay, sounds good.” 

“But you have to promise to actually do that, no taking off anywhere else, no letting anyone in, those doors stay locked no matter who’s at your door.  The killer is supposed to be someone you know; it could even be one of your employees.” 

“Yes, Daddy,” she gave him a sour look.  “Boy, are you this strict with Veronica?”

“Worse.  Especially if she’s a target for murder,” he returned, just as sourly.  “In fact, I should come in until you get rid of anyone that might be in the shop, do a quick search of the place.  It’s not like you have top notch security there, anyone could sneak upstairs while your store is open and hide out in one of the bedrooms.  Or the attic, I saw the door leading up there, is there usable space up there?”

“That depends on your definition of usable.  It’s pretty crammed full of a hundred years of family junk up there.  I guess there are plenty of places to hide up there, and I don’t keep it locked,” she admitted. 

That probably meant spiders; ugh he hated creepy, crawly things.  Not that he’d ever admit that to her, it would solidify her opinion of him as a big, mushy marshmallow, and she’d never take him seriously as a cop.  “I’ll give it a quick look; make sure you’re all secure.”  It should leave him with enough time to get back to the East precinct in time for the briefing.  “Hey, what if tonight you come over to my place?  It’s a little less exposed and the killer won’t be expecting you to be there, what do you say?”

“What about Veronica?  Won’t that be putting her in danger?” she protested immediately, and he had to smile over her concern.

“She’s at a friend’s house tonight, as a precaution.  It’s the next best thing to that sleepover since you don’t seem to have any takers.  I’ll even give you my bedroom; I can sleep in my office.”

“I wouldn’t want to put you out like that…” Annaliese started to object, but he interrupted her before she got too far, raising a hand. 

“It’s not a big deal, I fall asleep on the couch in my office all the time; it’s plenty comfortable, trust me.  Unless you don’t want to, it’s not a big deal for me to crash on your couch again either if that’s what you’d prefer.”

“I keep thinking Ellie or Rose might change their mind, and my place is where they’d come to find me.  I’d hate not to be there for either of them.”

“That’s true,” he allowed.  “Let’s play it by ear, it’s not like they’re all that far apart, just a quick drive to one or the other.”  With any luck by nightfall they could have a break on the case and none of it would be necessary.

Chapter Fifteen

Argent Flame was indeed doing a brisk business by the time they got there.  A little unusual given the early hour, but as Annaliese said, business had picked up after all the news coverage the murders received. 

“Are you sure you really want to boot them all out?” Nick asked dubiously, pulling into her driveway, grateful for the space since all the street parking was taken. 

“Definitely.  They’re all a bunch of vultures, I don’t want their money,” she replied with determination, leading him to the rear kitchen door.  Inside they could hear the deep strains of music, dark and throbbing.

“Feather must be working; she likes to play up the Goth aspect of the craft.   I prefer something a little lighter myself; this stuff gives me a headache after a while.” 

“I like it; it sounds kinda… dirty or something,” Nick grinned, following her inside and locking the back door securely.  “You want to go and take that shower first or tackle the crowd?”

“Let’s kick them to the curb, then I can relax.  I always feel weird being in the shower when I know there are strangers downstairs, even if there’s someone minding the store.”

It took another twenty minutes to clear everyone out, including Feather and Denise, another part time worker.  “I’d better run if I want to have time to shower and change before the briefing,” he dropped a quick kiss to her lips, and then another, unable to resist before pulling away.  “I’ll call you later.”

“I’ll be here,” she promised, coming with him into the kitchen to watch him leave.

“Lock this door,” Nick pointed to the ancient lock, frowning a little.  One good kick and the door would fly open.  Of course none of the previous crimes had shown any sign of forced entry, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t happen.  

“I will.” 

Nick stepped through the door and hovered just outside, waiting for the telltale sound of the lock engaging, only then jogging to his car to get going.  As it was, he barely made it to the briefing with a minute to spare, still a little disgruntled over the speed of his shower.  Normally the shower was a time for reflection; often times he’d gotten his biggest breaks of inspiration while taking a long, steamy shower.  He also missed the opportunity to compare notes with his team before the briefing began, which left him feeling somewhat unprepared, as if he hadn’t done his homework before class. 

A petty perk of satisfaction was given by the fact that Willis arrived a few minutes late, and the look Troyer gave him was thunderous, making Nick feel all happy and warm inside. 

Troyer took control of the briefing the moment Willis entered.  “So, what have we got?”

“I’ve got an update from the medical examiner,” Park spoke up.  “It’s not the final report, but she sent it over because it was so odd.  The water in the lungs is different from the bathwater in the tub.”

“So she was drowned somewhere else?” Brady asked, his face mirroring all of their own in confusion.

“No, she doesn’t think so.  It’s coming back as the same tap water, but with additional compounds in it that weren’t found in the regular bathwater.”

“What compounds?” Nelson asked, grabbing a dry erase marker for the white board.

“Lemon verbena, clover, ginseng.  No essential oils like might have been found in bath salts or oils but the plant compounds themselves.  And there were no bath products that contained those plant materials found in her bathroom.”

“Hey, wasn’t there lemon verbena and ginseng in the stomach contents for the last two victims?”  Nick flipped through the folder until he found the report he wanted.  “Yeah, both Mackenzie and Xiang had traces of lemon verbena, clover and ginseng in their stomachs; it was supposed this was ingested as herbal tea at the time.” 

“There was no trace of tea in the last victim’s stomach, though they did find red wine and laudanum, and minute traces of a communion host in her mouth though it dissolves pretty rapidly, so it’s difficult to tell if she was alive at the time it was placed in her mouth.” 

“Again with the laudanum, it’s gotta be how he’s knocking them out.”  Nelson commented. 

“Thank you, Captain Obvious.”  Nick gave a roll of the eyes.  He was more interested in the lemon verbena and stuff in the bath water; he’d have to ask Annaliese about it later.  “Anything else?”

“That’s it for the M.E.” Park shook her head. 

“I have the preliminary forensics report.”  Brady waved a sheaf of papers.

“How come you guys are getting all the reports?”  Willis’ brows drew together in annoyance.

Brady gave a shrug of the shoulders, but traded a look with Park that Nick interpreted to mean they’d solicited them first, probably told Libby and Echols to send the reports to them instead of Troyer’s guys.  A little breach of etiquette maybe, but then again, they were all on the same team… 

“So… there were traces of dirt around the tub that matches the dirt found in Xiang’s apartment and Mackenzie’s.”  Brady looked at Nick in particular since he’d asked about it.  “They also found traces of the same dirt down one of the bathroom sinks, so that’s probably how they got rid of it.  The bad news is, no usable prints.  The sinks and bathroom surfaces had been wiped down, so was the rear slider and the outside gate.  They’re still working on the prints for the front door, but they’re not too confident it’ll turn up anything, the chances are the vic invited the killer into the house.”

“What about that wafer, the communion thing?” Troyer reminded him.

“Yeah, that was definitely a piece of a communion wafer found on the ground, nothing distinctive about it.  There are a handful of places you can buy them in town, more online.  It doesn’t sound like it’s too hard to get ahold of them; you don’t need to be an ordained minister or anything to buy them.”

“I went down to Cahill’s church this morning; they do have those same kind of wafers there for communion,” Willis supplied.