Mystery's Choice (Vengeance Of The Fallen Book 1) (12 page)

Captain Kessler went back to the front of the room.

“Jeffries and Calabrese will lead the team, since they have been working on the case from the beginning. So, any questions, funnel them their direction.”  He rubbed his tired eyes. “I don’t have to tell you to keep it quiet for as long as we can and when we can’t, be careful what leaks to the press. Dismissed.”

“Sam, Felicity and I are going to go and talk to the B and E again, see if she has any new information or if she has heard from them.”  Ballard stood and her partner stood with her.

“Okay. Just be very careful. You heard what Shoemaker said about them coming after us.”

“We will be careful. See ya.”  She walked away and Ramirez silently followed her.

“You know, Ramirez gives me the creeps, there is just something weird about her eyes and the way she makes you feel… it’s as if you are a butterfly on the end of a pin.”  Sam cringed and stood to gather his things.

“She creeps me out too. But she knows her stuff.”  Naomi got her files and purse. “Let’s go talk with the Clarksons, maybe they’ve remembered something new.”

“I’ve got a feeling this one is not going to get solved. I think they will just stop when we get too close and we won’t find them.”

“I kinda have the same feeling.”  They walked out to the car and drove away.

10

Mystery could feel someone watching her. She jumped when the telephone rang. “Get a grip, Mystery.”  She scolded herself as she picked up the receiver, “Hello?”

“Miss Williams, this is Dr. Lewis. The tests were positive.”

“Are you sure?”  Mystery whispered into the phone.

“Yes, we’re sure.”

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Call and set up an appointment for next week. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”  Mystery collapsed onto her pillow. This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. With all the dreams she’d been having and the demon attacks, things were becoming strained between her and Seth. Seth was still in counseling for his drug problem.

Getting out of bed, she slipped into her favorite pair of jeans, knowing this might be their swan song. She chose a pocket tee, which matched her eyes and brushed her hair so it hung long and straight down her back. Mystery turned to look at herself in the mirror and gasped. Her eyes were ringed with dark circles and she was pale. She had to get it together. She went in the bathroom, washed her face and brushed her teeth. With a little makeup she actually looked human. She hummed to herself as she went downstairs.

Just as she turned into the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Mystery went to the door and peaked through the peephole. She was surprised to see Detectives Ballard and Ramirez. She slowly opened the door.

“Hello. How can I help you?”

“We need to talk to you again, Ms. Williams. We think this thing is bigger than just the vandalism.”  Detective Ballard put her hand on the screen doorknob. “Please let us in.”

Mystery reluctantly opened the screen door and stepped back to allow the detectives room to step in.

“Let’s go in here.”  Mystery moved into the living room. “Would you like anything to drink?”

“No, thank you. The place looks a different than the last time I saw it.”  Detective Ramirez sat down on the couch and her partner followed suit.

“It took the cleaning crew a week to get rid of mess.”  Mystery sat down in her favorite chair.

“I’ll cut to the chase, Ms. Williams…” Detective Ramirez began.

“Mystery, please call me Mystery.”

“Okay, I am Felicity and my partner is Mary Kate. Mystery I am a witch. I know all about the people who are trying to take you. I have been after them for years. They have tried countless times to kill me. So, now you know we both will believe what you are not telling the police about what happened here.”

“Who are they?  What do they want from me?”  Mystery wrung her hands. “Is Seth safe staying here with me?”
 

“They are called the Roodmasi; they are an ancient cult, dating back to the Roman Empire, maybe before. They are very powerful and I have believed for quite some time they are headquartered here in Colorado.”

“ The day I was attacked, I was washing dishes and I heard screaming, so I turned around to see where it was coming from.”  Mystery had to take a couple of deep breaths. “There were these little winged creatures flying around the room, throwing food everywhere, one of them took a swipe at me.”  She lifted her shirt and showed them the scar. “I ran out of the kitchen and tried to run out the front door but it wouldn’t open. So, I ran upstairs and hid in the closet. I could hear them down here tearing the house apart and as quickly as it began, it just got quiet.”

“They voluntarily left without you saying anything and without coming for you?”

“Yes.”

“Have they been back?”

“Yes. And I made them explode somehow. I don’t know what I did.”

Felicity and Mary Kate looked at each other, silently communicating and turned their heads in unison back towards her.

“What about the dreams?”

Mystery shrank back into the chair.

“You need to tell us everything if we are going to be able to help you.”

“I keep dreaming of the same man, I can’t remember his face but his eyes are always the same. In the dreams, he is trying to get me to come with him somewhere.”  Mystery looked up at them. “I am afraid to go to sleep at night. And now, it’s not just me I have to worry about. I have Seth and I just found out I’m pregnant.”

“When they discover you are pregnant, they will step up the dreams and there will probably be more demon attacks. The child will be very important to them.”

Mystery blanched. “I will not let them hurt my baby!”

Felicity reached in her purse and took out a small suede bag, some crystals, and a dream catcher.

“This bag contains some protection herbs, wear it around your neck at all times, it’s charmed so you don’t have to worry about it getting wet. Place these crystals over the doorframe of every room and the front and back doors.” She picked up the dream catcher, “Place this above your bed, it will help to filter your dreams. I can’t promise it will be strong enough to stop the dreams all together, but it should be able to filter them somewhat. I will go and cleanse the house of any negative energy, I will be back in a few minutes.”  Felicity stood and walked out of the room.

“She knows what she’s doing, this should all help. However, you have to keep on resisting, both mentally and physically or none of it will keep you safe.”  Mary Kate said as she took Mystery’s hands in hers. “You and Seth have to stick together no matter what or they will start to use him against you. You may not know how you used your powers, but at least now you know you have powers. They will most likely show up again if you need them.”

“Thank you. I don’t know why I feel the need to tell you this, but once she finishes the house, you both need to stay as far away from me as you can. I think the only reason they haven’t killed you in the past is because you were never enough of a threat to them. Now, for whatever reasons, they want me. They won’t hesitate to kill anyone they perceive as being between them and me. So, walk away.”

“We won’t make contact with you again, but we have to keep working with the task force to stop the murders.”

“I don’t think you can stop the murders, so, you should be safe enough.”  Mystery stood as Felicity came back in the room. “Thank you, Felicity. Now both of you should go. Mary Kate, tell Felicity what I said.”  She walked them to the door. “God bless you both.”

“Blessed be, Mystery.”  Felicity hugged her and headed for the door, Mary Kate right behind her.

“Take care of yourself.”  Mary Kate said as they stepped outside.

Mystery said a prayer as she watched them drive away. She put the herb bag around her neck, grabbed her purse and keys and went to tell Seth he was going to be a daddy.

Seth was sitting at the lunch table, contemplating going to his locker for one of the stash of pills he kept, when he looked up and saw Mystery standing in the door. Seth couldn’t believe how good she looked, her hair was shiny and she had on makeup. She even smiled shyly at him.

“You look good enough to eat.”  He looked her up and down.

“Can you spare a few?”

“Yeah. How bout lunch in the cafeteria?”  He put his arm around her and they went to the elevator.

“So, what brought you by the hospital today?  Is everything okay?”  He looked alarmed.

“It’s okay. I have some good news. But first I wanted to catch you up on my visit with those two detectives who came by the house before. They came back today.”  The doors to the elevator opened and they got out.

“What did they want?” 

“They came by to tell me they know what is truly going on.”  Mystery whispered.

They got their food and went to sit at a table. Mystery made sure no one was close enough to hear them.

“Turns out, Detective Ramirez is a witch, she has been aware of this particular cult for awhile. She even knew the name; she called them the Roodmasi. She said they have existed since the time of the Roman Empire.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Nope. They are very powerful and very serious. She gave me some things to help protect us. Crystals for all the door frames and a dream catcher for over the bed.”  Mystery played with the bag around her neck. “This bag of herbs is to help protect me from the guy in my dreams.”

“So, this is all for real, we’re not having a group delusion?”

Mystery smiled at him. “Nope. We are perfectly sane. This is happening. She says it won’t stop until they are destroyed or we are dead. But we can control it to a certain degree.”

“That’s what we do.”  He took her hands in his. “I’m here for you, 100 percent.”

“I know.” She kissed his hands. “Which is why I love you.”

“You said you have some good news.”

Mystery took a deep breath. “After what I just told you, you might not think it’s good news. But here it goes. I’m pregnant.”

Seth dropped his fork. “Oh! You’re preg… We’re having a….” he gave up and leaned across the table and kissed her.

“You’re happy?”

“Yeah!”

“Felicity said they may step up their efforts when they find out about the baby.”  Mystery held on to Seth’s hand. “She also thinks my ‘powers’ will show up again when I need them.” Mystery wiped an errant hair out of her face. “I understand if all this is too much. It almost is for me, so I can only imagine what it’s like for you, knowing you can’t stop them.”

“I love you and I love our child.”  He kissed her hand. “It will be okay, we’ll make it okay.” He stood. “I better get back upstairs, don’t want to get in trouble.”

Mystery rode with Seth back up to his floor, kissed him and headed for home. When she got there she decided to make Seth’s favorite enchiladas. She went to work in the kitchen, humming as she cut up the onion and chiles to go in the dish. Frustrated screams ripped through the air. She whirled around expecting to see demons; instead there was nothing there. She laughed and went back to her cutting.

“Sorry. Changed the locks.”

The screaming continued for a few minutes and the kitchen fell silent except for the sounds of Mystery humming and cutting.

When Seth arrived home later she greeted him at the door with a margarita and a smile. He laughed and grabbed her for a kiss. While they ate she told him about the demons screaming in frustration because they couldn’t enter the house. After dinner, Seth pampered her for the rest of the evening and they spent the night quietly reaffirming their love.

Sarah looked out the window at the falling rain and wondered why she couldn’t mourn her husband of twenty-five years. Had the child killed all the love in her heart for her husband?

She had hated her instantly, had known in her heart she would bring suffering to them both. David wouldn’t listen; he had loved her completely by the time he had brought her through the front door and as their bond had grown, somehow he and Sarah had grown apart.

So, now only three months after his death, she could only stare out the window and wonder if she would ever feel anything for either of them again. Even her hatred of the child was gone. Sighing, Sarah left the window and went to pour herself a scotch and soda. The rings on her long, graceful fingers caught the firelight and sparkled, she smiled at them. At least he had left her well provided for. And now she would no longer have to deal with the child, no more pretending she could ever feel love for a child that wasn’t hers. It had been hard over the last few years to keep up the pretense, but due to her superb acting, David had gone to his grave believing she loved the little bitch.

Sarah toasted herself in the antique mirror over the bar and flounced over to sit down in the Queen Anne chair in front of the fire. She brought out the racy romance she was currently reading and settled down to read. She gasped at a noise upstairs and laughed at herself when she realized it was just the wind.