Color of Angels' Souls (12 page)

“My son,” Paul said as he warmly took Jeremy into his arms. “My son!”

For a moment, Jeremy was so overcome with emotion that he was incapable of speaking. All that mattered was the warm and reassuring embrace of his father. He no longer smelled like that old aftershave he always wore, but more like freshly cut herbs and spices. He took a step back and could feel the tears streaming down his cheeks, and was hardly surprised to see that his father was crying as well.

“Enough of that now!” James snapped caustically. “Are you two men or little girls? Blubbering like that in front of everybody! Come now!”

Jeremy raised his eyes in exasperation. So did his father. It looked as if things didn't really change much after you died: His grandfather was still a thick-skinned old tyrant. Both of them sat down and Paul looked at his son sheepishly.

“You … you were at the cemetery?”

“Yes,” Jeremy replied. “They buried my body.” No one could find the appropriate words.

“I … I'm sorry, Jeremy,” Paul finally said. “I think I kind of lost it.”

“Don't worry about it, Dad,” Jeremy said with a wave of his hand. “How do you feel now?”

“When I'm not with your mother, I'm OK,” he confided. “But it's very difficult for me when we're together, and I can't stop myself from going to see her. It's … it's really hard for me. I wish she'd hurry up and die because I can't take it anymore.”

Jeremy could only stare at his father, shocked by his words. Paul immediately realized what a horrible thing he'd said, then ran his hands crazily through his brown hair.

“I'm sorry, sometimes I say the stupidest things. But tell us about you. You're so young, Jeremy; what happened to you? I still don't understand. I thought I heard your grandfather say something about a sword?”

Jeremy told them about how he'd died. When he mentioned Allison, James was so surprised he almost swallowed his cigar. It disappeared due to his excess of emotion, and the old man grabbed some blue Mist to make himself a new one.

“By all the angels and saints!” he swore. “That's absolutely mad! My grandson was killed by a nutcase who wanted to knock off some blonde? Have you been able to find out why?”

Jeremy told them how he had followed Allison, and eventually realized that she had been a witness to his murder. The link between the two of them was his half sister, Angela, who had given his business card to the young teacher for some unknown reason. That's all he learned so far. Now he thought that Allison would be the killer's next victim, just as he had killed another woman Jeremy didn't know: Annabella Dafing.

“Well there's some hope then,” James said, lost in his thoughts.

“What do you mean?”

“That this Allison woman will die,” his grandfather said bluntly. “Then she'll be able to tell you why you were killed.”

Jeremy was stunned by his grandfather's words.

“But Grandfather!” he finally managed to say. “I don't want her to die! I want someone to tell me how I can protect her! I have to find a way to let her know her life's in danger!”

James contemplated his grandson, then stared intently at the tip of his cigar until it caught fire. He started blowing smoke rings with obvious pleasure before stating in a deadly serious voice: “But you can't.”

Jeremy was about to argue with him but quickly realized that there was no point: James was right. Allison was no prophet, nor was she a lunatic. He would never be able to affect her subconscious. He slumped back on his seat.

“There's nothing I can do. Is that what you mean?”

“Of course you can, Jeremy; don't listen to him,” Paul said, frowning at James. “You can make her worried. Whisper warnings in her ear. It's what I did with your mother. I knew that Frank was an arms dealer. I spent years planting a seed of doubt in her mind—and in yours. You were more receptive than Claire, and you were the one that had him investigated. But all those doubts and all those suspicions you had came from me. Over and over I whispered them in your ear. It was driving me crazy to look on and do nothing while you and your mother were in such danger.”

James could only nod sadly in agreement. Yes, it had certainly driven him crazy. Jeremy was trying as best he could to find some kind of link between his stepfather, his mother, Allison, this Annabella Dafing, and the killer. The problem was that he had two different theories, and no way of knowing which one was correct. Maybe his dad could help him. The red Angel back at the mansion had said that he had been killed by Tachini. Jeremy highly doubted that his classy stepfather would have stooped so low as to dirty his own hands. He must have called on the services of a professional. If his suspicions were true, and if he had called in the same man that had killed Jeremy, then he would have his proof.

“Dad, maybe you know who that red Angel is? The one who's tormenting Angela?” he insisted.

“No,” Paul said. “He showed up about a year ago. I never really understood what happened, except that he claims Tachini killed him. He refuses to answer my questions.”

“Didn't you try to make him leave her alone? For Christ's sake, Dad! He's driving Angela completely nuts!”

Paul only looked away.

“There's nothing I can do about it,” he murmured weakly. “She's not my daughter. It's not my problem. The only thing that matters to me is Claire. Do you think this killer might go after her as well? That would be fantastic!”

Jeremy could feel the lump in his throat as he rose to his feet. He had made a mistake. His father was completely mad, beyond all hope, totally obsessed by one idea, and one idea only: getting Claire back.

“I'm sorry,” he said coldly to Paul and James, “but I have to go. I suppose that you come here often?”

“Yes,” James nodded. “We Angels have quite a bit of free time on our hands. And as you must have heard for yourself, the music at Rose's & Blues is excellent. You can find us here if you ever need us. Oh, and Jeremy?”

“Yes, Grandfather?”

“Find a way to get rid of that red Angel. There's always a solution. Don't give up hope. It's true, this may be a crazy world we live in, but don't let appearances fool you. A piece of advice for you, my boy: Keep on fighting!”

Jeremy could hardly believe his ears. It looked as if death had softened up his grandfather's steely character. He had actually shown some compassion. Unbelievable. Jeremy smiled gratefully and said goodbye. His father, who was lost once again in his thoughts, only waved awkwardly at his son. It was already eleven p.m. Jeremy walked out of Rose's & Blues, and, after thinking it over for a moment, decided not to go home (to his mother's home, that is), and instead went back to Allison's. He suddenly felt the urge to see how she was doing.

But she wasn't home. Only Frankenstein was there to greet him with an inquisitive bark. Jeremy bent over to pet him, knowing full well that it couldn't feel his hand, but he figured that would calm the dog down. He stretched out on the bed. He wasn't hungry, as he'd eaten some Mist at the club. He felt uneasy: Where had Allison gone?

He finally dropped off for a few minutes, only to be awakened by voices in the apartment.

Allison had returned … and she wasn't alone.

There was a young man with her.

And two Angels floating above the floor: one blue and one red.

They both waved at Jeremy before turning their full attention back to the stranger and Allison.

Jeremy jumped quickly to his feet. The man was quite handsome. Jeremy didn't pay much attention to men's looks, but he had to admit that this guy was much better looking than he was. In fact, he was in a whole other league, by a long shot. Jeremy suddenly realized that he had already seen his thick brown hair, big smiling green eyes, square jaw, broad forehead, and aquiline nose somewhere before—but where?

Jeremy swallowed hard: What was he going to do if Allison and her boyfriend suddenly jumped on her enormous bed and started passionately making love? But then the words the man was saying finally sunk in: “Oh my
God
, dearie, your decorating is absolutely
pathetic
! I feel like I'm in a secretary's office!”

Jeremy suddenly felt faint and had to sit down on the bed. Ah, now he remembered where he'd seen him before. He was the famous model whose six-pack abs had girls all over the country drooling. His name was Clark something or other.

“Oh Clark!” Allison exclaimed, as if echoing his thoughts. “If you could keep your snide comments to yourself for a second, I would appreciate it. I need your help right now, not your … highly questionable decorating skills.”

Clark ran his hands through his gleaming hair, winked one of his green topaz eyes, and set his cashmere jacket on a chair.

“I'm all ears, my love. Because of you, I'm missing the cocktail party for the launch of the new BB, and Naomi is going to have an absolute
fit
because I'm the only man in her entourage who isn't a dwarf, and she wanted me to be her escort tonight, so I might as well make myself useful here.”

The blue Angel sighed with regret and gently placed his hand on Jeremy's shoulder.

“He's actually a very bright boy, you know. It drives me crazy the way he always acts so flighty to make people think he's not so smart!”

“Were you his first love?” asked the red Angel with sudden interest.

“No,” replied the blue Angel regretfully, slightly taken aback. “Not his first. But I really loved him, and after I died I decided to keep in touch with him. His life is filled with emotions, but you obviously know that since you feed off of him as well!”

The red Angel only smiled. And so did Jeremy.

So Clark was gay. Fantastic. Jeremy immediately began to consider Clark with a much kinder eye. But he was still somewhat at a loss to understand why he felt so jealous.

That's when Clark did something that really threw him for a loop: He grabbed hold of Allison and gave her a long, passionate kiss on the mouth.

Both the Angels were so surprised by the spectacle that they forgot to feed themselves and lowered themselves down to the floor.

“Oh my
God
!” one of them exclaimed. “Did you know he was bi?”

“Not at all,” the other replied excitedly. “I can't believe it. What a scoop! I know quite a few girls who'll be furious that they didn't know it when they were alive! But they all had so much plastic surgery done that old Clark wouldn't have given them the time of day!”

Both Angels laughed.

Jeremy, on the other hand, clenched his teeth, doing his best to resist the urge to try and separate the couple.

Allison finally managed to push Clark away. She looked shaken up.

“Clark!” she yelled, red in the face and out of breath. “What did we say about that?!”

The young model shook one of his finely shaped hands excitedly. He didn't feel guilty in the least.

“It's the forbidden fruit that I find so enticing, honey. I swear, you're the only girl I know that makes me want to do something like that. And you've been chaste for so long now, Allison, with your ridiculous fairy-tale dreams about Prince Charming. Believe me, he doesn't exist!”

To regain her composure, Allison sat down on the couch and plunked her little dog down in her lap to act as her guardian. She finally came to her senses.

“I promised …”

“… your mother on her deathbed that you would wait until you were married. That you would remain a virgin until your wedding night, because you would make your own choice, and wouldn't have the decision imposed on you. You've told me it all before, Allison, and the whole thing is completely ridiculous! I'm offering you a chance for freedom, baby. A chance to free yourself from this asinine decision!”

But Allison's pretty face had a stubborn look on it.

“I promised. And when you make a promise, you keep it. Mom had to get married when she was just a girl because she got pregnant with me. It ruined her life. She had to give up her studies, and had to depend on a man for everything: my father. She made me swear that I wouldn't make the same mistake. She and my father ended up getting a divorce, and he doesn't speak to me anymore because I always stood up for her. That's why, when she was sick, when the cancer was eating her up inside and she looked like a skeleton, on her deathbed she made me promise to finish my studies, to be financially independent, and to get married before I slept with a man. ‘No condom or pill is 100% reliable,' she would always say. ‘You can't take the risk!' So even if it's hard for me, even if it makes me crazy sometimes, and even if I sometimes feel like there isn't a guy in all of New York who can understand my decision, I'll stick to it. Until I find the man I want to marry, and who will understand my choice.”

“OK, OK! Message received,” Clark muttered in exasperation. “I've heard your story a hundred times now, Allison—may I remind you that the two of us were practically raised together? But to make love is … it's like dancing with Angels!”

The blue and red Angels both broke out laughing.

“You can say that again!”

Allison pushed back her long blond hair and gave him a hard look.

“Well, the two of us aren't going to make love or start dancing with anybody tonight. But you
are
going to help me understand why someone was murdered because of me!”

These last words completely stopped Clark in his tracks, to Jeremy's great relief.

“Why someone was
what
?”

“Murdered,” Allison said in barely a whisper. “They cut his head off. I heard on the news that there were two murders, and both the victims were killed with some kind of Japanese sword.”

Clark frowned and shook his head. He grabbed a chair, set it in front of Allison, and sat down carefully.