A Girl's Guide to Demon Hunting (16 page)

    Heidi was standing in the corner, probably dreaming of her next big purse purchase. Johann sat at a table, sporting a rakish looking eye patch: looks like Peaches minions in the white room really believed in the whole 'eye for an eye' thing. A shudder ran through me as I saw Mateo join Peaches in that dark corner. Nothing good could be coming from that conversation.

    “What I wouldn't give for a couple of halo grenades right about now.” Ace mumbled under his breath.
    “That’s why they're meeting here, like this.” Seeing Ace’s confusion, I continued. “They like to use public places for any type of meeting, even something social. The humans act like a shield against both Guardian and Demon attacks. Notice they don't have any security up here; everyone's playing nice, at least on the surface.”
    “Needing protection against Guardians I get. But why Demons?”
    “Think about it, a Demon who kills off all the Demon Lords at once would basically own Vegas.”
    I couldn’t help but imagine having all their power coursing through me at once. No one could touch me then, not even the Council. I felt my power stir as my imagination swirled with all the possibilities and it took me a moment to realize Ace was pointing at something below. Pushing both my yearning and power deep inside I saw what had him so excited. Camilla had arrived.

    Camilla didn’t just walk in, she made an entrance. Dressed in a royal blue silk gown, diamonds hanging from her ears, hair swept back into a neat bun, she looked elegant: the complete opposite of Peaches, who was dressed in a cream dress that completely washed her out. All eyes were on Camilla as she came into the room trailed by three very large men in black tuxedos.

    "Is it wrong that I think the crazy inside-out killer is hot?" said Ace.
    "So very much Eew!" I replied, "Really??"
    "No," he said quietly and his voice was more serious this time, "Not really.  But she does make an entrance."
   After ten minutes of watching Camilla do those stupid air kisses to everyone at the party I began to doubt my decision that this was a good idea. All I’d found out so far was she liked white wine, she seemed to know everyone at the party and she liked to play with the gold charm bracelet she wore on her left wrist.
    “This was a complete waste.” I told Ace, voicing my frustration.
    “Are you kidding? This is great.” he said, flashing me a smile.
    Now I was the confused one. “Huh?”
    “Look at them; it’s like high school down there.”
    “I didn’t go to high school, remember?”
    “Okay, check it out.” He said, pointing to Camilla. “She’s totally the hot new popular girl who's trespassing on Peaches', the reigning “It” girl's, territory. See how every time Camilla looks towards where Peaches is, Peaches automatically engages the people surrounding her? She’s trying to tell Camilla and everyone else that she’s still number one. Peaches is acting like it’s no big deal but see how she won’t approach her, just keeps smiling towards Camilla as if she’s totally happy she’s here? Serious bad blood. Camilla's better at it but she can't keep her hand off that bracelet, she's nervous. 
        Now check out Peter and Mateo; they’ve already picked sides. Mateo may appear to be Team Peaches but he’s really interested in Camilla and can’t hide it. See how he’s introducing her to his companions and he keeps touching her? Look, he’s even turned his back on Peaches. That’s the equivalent of breaking up with Peaches by text.”
    Okay even I knew it was bad to text-dump someone.
    “But what about Peter? He's not doing anything.” I asked, seeing Peter's attention was still on his dance partner.
    “Exactly, he’s not choosing sides, which means he’s still with Peaches. By not even paying attention to Camilla, he’s showing she’s not worth his time. It’s a dangerous move on his part. If he’s not careful Camilla is going to start to wonder why she doesn’t warrant his attention. He's a Lust Demon, she'll eventually attempt to get it and Peter'll have to dance carefully. If he says no she may try again, only more aggressively. I wouldn’t want to see what her aggressive looks like.”
    I turned to stare at Ace, more than a little impressed.
   “Seriously, you can tell all that just by watching them?”
   “High school is a damned minefield of this crap. Be thankful you didn’t go.”

"Unless you want me to rip your teeth out you will get your grubby hands off that purse."
             
             
                                                                                                       
-Hedi

    The next morning, after showering and changing into a white t-shirt, navy blue skirt and a pair of blue and grey argyle tights, I was in the middle of hunting for my other boot when I heard the front door open and close. Glancing at the clock I saw that Max was early. I found my other boot under the bed, slipped it on and paused in front of the mirror. Satisfied with my makeup I rushed out of the room to find Inspector Lokess standing in the kitchen.
    “Where’s Max?” I asked, unable to hide my loathing.
    “How would I know?” he said, giving me a look that clearly said he thought I was a complete idiot. I ignored my sudden urge to go back to bed and sat down at the counter. 
    Grabbing an apple from the bowl on the counter, I took a big bite and watched him as he made coffee. By my second bite I realized something; besides Lokess, I was the only one up. Even Pancake was still asleep. So how did he get past both sets of alarm systems?
    “How did you get in?” I asked.
    Not bothering to turn around he answered. “Did you know that every time you touch something you leave behind microscopic traces of dirt and oil from your fingertips? When this dirt and oil is repeatedly left in the same places, it will leave a mark behind, like a fingerprint.”
    “So what, you went all CSI on us and dusted the keypad?” I asked.
    “There was no need, once I saw the numbers that were dirty. 911? It doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.” 

    “Okay that explains the alarm for the café but not the one for the apartment, it’s an LCD screen one I know Jenny constantly cleans.”
    The coffee brewing, he turned to face me. I shuddered at his dark cold gaze.

    “That was slightly more difficult. When I took into consideration Jenny created the system it was reasonably easy. You see, I know how much she loves the little black and white dog but it doesn't belong to her or Ace and Shooter, which only left you. Although one look at your clothes would have told me the same; you obviously hold the animal more than everyone else as evidenced by the amount of dog hair on your clothes.
    Now a normal person would then determine the code was something significant about the dog, a birthday perhaps. But of course that would be incorrect, the code would have to be something easily remembered by all who need access to the apartment, meaning the four of you and perhaps Father Henry. So it would have to be something not easily forgotten but not so easy that just anyone could figure it out. Which means it must be something that has to do with you and as she loves the dog and the dog loves you the code therefore is
 
your birthday but with the year multiplied by seven, or what some call dog years.

    “Or Jenny told you the codes?” I said.

    “Believe what you like.” He said with a shrug.
    Turning back to the now gurgling coffee he poured himself a cup.
    A knock at the door had me jumping out of my seat and racing to the door. Opening the door I found Max standing there, dressed in a black leather jacket and jeans, his hair pulled away from his face in a short ponytail.
    “Stay right here.” I whispered and raced back into the bedroom. I snatched up my jacket and was back at the front door, closing it behind me before Lokess even knew what happened.
    “What’s the rush?” Max asked as we walked down the stairs and out the back door of the café.
    “Lok-ass.” I answered with a sour look.
    “Why did you let him in?” He asked, sounding irritated. Almost as an afterthought he added, “Did he try anything?”
    “No, not that I could tell.” I said, not that I’d bothered to pay attention. “Why does it matter? You said not having a shield was no big deal.”
    “Yeah, so long as he doesn’t find out. Do you listen to anything I say? Lokess is old school, as in send you to the Council first, ask questions later.”
    “So what do you care, it’d get me out of your hair.”
    “I care because I need you to find Julie.” he said throwing the back door open. I debated going  back upstairs, even with Lok-ass it’d be better than spending the day with Mr. Pissypants.

    I had no idea what was eating at Max but I got the feeling it wasn’t just my slip-up with Lokess. He looked equal parts pissed and tired as we drove through the city, following the GPS directions to Julie’s other stop on our list. Max had a death grip on the steering wheel as he weaved in and out of traffic. He’d let loose with a string of cursing that I found rather impressive when a car pulled out in front of us. I had no idea Max spoke Italian.
    The Chop Shoppe was a Salon near one of the many neighborhoods of McMansions surrounding Las Vegas.
    “Why come all the way out here to get a haircut?” I asked as we got out of the car.
    “No idea.” Max answered as we walked towards a long two-story glass building.
    It looked more like an office building than a salon. I was surprised to find it was beautiful inside; everything was done in various shades of pale cream and orchids sat in glass pots around the room.
    A tall blonde woman stood up from behind the check-in desk as we walked in. She looked more like she belonged in a Paris fashion shoot than answering phones in Vegas. I couldn’t miss the disdain as she got a look at us. I was positive we were nothing like her typical clients. At least I wasn’t.
    “Can I help you?” she asked.
    I smiled as I remembered what Max had to do to get information last night. Somehow I doubted he’d go all psycho sanitizer if she stroked his face. Max it seemed already had a plan as he took my hand in his and gave her a coy smile.
    “Good morning, my girlfriend and I are friends of Ms. Leland and I was wondering if you could possibly give her the same treatment that Julie had.
    “I’m sorry, we do not accept walk-ins.” She said with a meaningful look at the door.  
    With a look of disappointment, Max turned to me. Taking his wallet from his back pocket he pulled out a black credit card and handed it to me.
     “Go ahead and call Pierre, I’m sure he could squeeze you in.” Placing his cell phone in my hand he pushed me towards the little waiting area in the corner of the room.
    “You know, let me see if maybe there’s a cancellation.”      
             
   Max stopped me with a hand on my arm. Pulling me into his side, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, leaning in close he whispered. “Act like you're having a good time.”
    “What exactly is your plan?” I whispered back through a very toothy smile. At the same time I slipped the phone back in his pocket. I may have accidentally put the credit card in my pocket.
    “You talk to the hairdresser while I talk to the receptionist.”
    “It seems as if we just had a cancellation, Mark can take care of you.” She said.
    Giving me a bright  smile, she waved me towards the swinging door to the right of her desk.

Chapter 33

Tip 29:  Big rings make an excellent replacement for brass knuckles.

    I hate Max and his little black credit card. Ms. Runway showed me into a changing room where a soft white robe and slippers were waiting for me. There was no way I was going to walk around this place naked; besides I didn’t know how often they washed those robes. I left my shirt and skirt on. Stuffing my tights and socks into my boots, I opened the door to find a tall brown-haired woman. She was dressed all in black, her brown eyes the color of chocolate. I already liked her.
    “I’m Vanessa. I’ll be starting your treatment today.” She said with a smile.
    “Hi, I’m Allie.” I replied having, no idea what I was supposed to say. Thankfully Vanessa took it all in stride
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Allie.”

    She showed me to a room done all in white; a massage table sat in the middle of the room covered in sheets. Calming music was playing softly in the background.
    “Please take off your robe and any clothes you have on.” Vanessa instructed as she closed the door.
    Okay maybe I don’t hate Max all that much, not when I’m going to get a massage out of the deal. While Vanessa fiddled with things on the little stand next to the massage table, I happily took the rest of my clothes off. Folding them in a stack on the empty chair, I took a towel from the hook on the wall and wrapped it around myself before climbing onto the massage table.

    Vanessa is a bitch and Julie is a sadist. This wasn’t a massage; it was a form of torture. Seriously, this lady should think about going to work for the Demon Lords. I could only groan as Vanessa left the room, a bright smile on her face. It seems Julie’s first “treatment” was to get her legs waxed. Plus I had to make up some half-assed lie about why my ribs where still yellow. I blamed Max’s poor driving. My skin throbbed as I slowly got dressed. Out in the hallway, I found a thin man dressed in a pink polo and green pants waiting for me.
    “What exactly are you going to do?” I asked.
    “You’re Mark?” I asked. At his nod I continued, “What exactly are you going to do?”