Curse of the Egyptian Goddess (9 page)

“Get me out of here!” I screamed.

The car started to move, but Calvin rushed to my window, yelling through the glass. “Tell him the truth, Cleo. Tell him you’re innocent!”

“Got him snowballed I see. I guess some people never learn.”

Chapter 10

At the police station, Cade handed me over to a uniformed cop. “Book her,” he spat before he disappeared.

The large, balding man in his late forties, tagged Officer Daniels, sat me down across from him at his desk. He asked me dozens of questions about who I was, even though I was sure he already knew. I answered truthfully but I found myself distracted–his name made me thirsty.

After the questions came the mug shots, and then he took the handcuffs off and handed me a manila envelope. “Put all your personal belongings in here and I’ll give you a receipt for them before we continue.”

“Hold up, Jack,” I cried uneasily.

He cocked his head. “How did you know my name was Jack?”

I straightened. “Your name’s really Jack?”

He chuckled and ruffled the envelope. “Let’s get started.”

I pulled out my pockets nervously and showed him they were empty.

“Okay, now your jewelry.”

My uneasiness quickly turned into full blown panic, and I knew I couldn’t give up.  I couldn’t let more people die. Calvin had said the truth would set me free. I had no choice but to give it a shot. “Please. Let me leave it on for just a little longer. Tell detective Cade that I’m ready to talk. I’ll tell him anything he wants to know. The necklace is my only condition.”

Jack rubbed his hand over the thin hair near his temples for minutes while he breathed deeply. “All right. Let’s get you fingerprinted and then we’ll see what he has to say.”

****

Cade smiled pleasantly when he walked into the same small interview room. “I didn’t think you’d cave before the arraignment. You haven’t even been officially charged yet. Do you want me to take care of that now?”

“No.” I pulled myself forward in the metal chair and crossed my arms on the table. “I want to start by apologizing for being a pain in the ass. I know you’re just doing your job, and I never would have left town if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

He chuckled and then smiled approvingly. “Start with sucking up. That’s good. I like it. But it doesn’t change anything.”

“I know,” I said, nodding toward the recorder.

He turned it on and sat down across from me, his eyes squinting suspiciously. “State your name, please.”

“Cleo. It’s Cleo Patrix.”

Sighing, he put his fingers on his temple and rubbed circles. He looked more worn than usual, like he hadn’t slept in weeks. He sounded tolerant. “Your name was legally changed to Emma when you were eighteen, therefore, that answer is incorrect.”

“I know, but Cleo is my birth name and I’m ready to be completely honest with you.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“I can’t let anyone take the necklace because it’s cursed. I’m cursed. Chad is dead because he touched my necklace.”

His hand moved over to rub his eyes. “Miss Patrix, it’s been a long week and I don’t have time for games.”

“I swear it,” I said seriously. “The necklace is cursed.”

Leaning forward, he peered at the item in question. “It’s cursed?”

“Yes, and anyone who touches it dies.”

“Why aren’t you dead yet then?”

“It doesn’t want me dead,” I explained. “It only wants to make me suffer every day of my miserable life!”

The detective shook his head and reached forward to shut off the machine. “Let me get this straight,” he started calmly. “You’re going to sit there and tell me that an object is responsible for all these deaths?”

“Yes.”

Lines creased his brow as his voice rose. “For Christ’s sake, do you hear yourself? You’re telling me that if I touch that necklace, I’ll be strangled to death tonight?”

“Why don’t you try it and save us both the questions?”

I couldn’t do it. When he reached across the table, I pushed my chair backward. “It’s not a joke. I don’t want to be responsible for any more deaths.”

He smiled and pulled his hand back far enough to turn the tape recorder back on. “Now we’re getting somewhere. You just said you didn’t want to be responsible for any more deaths. Is that correct?”

I remained silent.

“Didn’t you, Miss Patrix? You admitted to being responsible for Chad Landchester’s and David Allvy’s deaths?”

“That’s not what I said. You’re taking me out of context. I’m only responsible because I’m the one who’s cursed! That’s where my bruises come from.”

Concern touched his face momentarily. “Your necklace does that?”

“Yes. A giant, invisible snake wraps around me and constricts until I can’t breathe!”

“Are you kidding me here? Is this a joke?”

“No!” I persisted. “I’ve tried to stay away from people for years. Why do you think I’ve never had a boyfriend before Chad?”

Cade slammed his fist down on the table. “I don’t give a flying fuck why you’ve never had a boyfriend before. People are dying and damn it, it’s gonna stop!”

“That’s why I went to Egypt. I was trying to find a way to break the curse.”

He stood and shook his head with disgust. “I can’t believe I’m listening to this. If you think you’re going to get off on an insanity plea, you’re sadly mistaken.”

“Watch.” Reaching behind my head, I unclipped the necklace, held it in my hand, and then I threw it against the wall as fast as I could. It didn’t hit.

Cade stood there dumbfounded. “Where did it go?”

I pulled it out of my shirt to show him.

“So you do parlor tricks,” he scoffed. “You better get yourself a damn good lawyer.”

“Wait!” I called desperately when he turned toward the door. “I’ll prove it to you. Let me keep the necklace. Tomorrow night, I’m going to be attacked again around midnight. Put me in a cell by myself and get all the other prisoners out. All you have to do is show up and watch and hope it doesn’t go after you.”

He scowled, but curiosity sparked in his eyes. “You’re telling me these attacks are planned? You know when they’re going to happen?”

I nodded. “Normally they only happen during the new and full moon but lately they’ve been coming every week in between too.”

He scratched his brow, like he was trying to decide if I was insane or just very confused.

“You said you wanted the truth. Do what I ask and you’ll have all the truth you can handle.”

He stared at the floor for long minutes before he finally nodded. “All right. I’ll make you a deal, Miss Patrix. I’ll do what you ask and if no phantom snake shows up, you admit to the murders. And not just the last two. All of them, your parents and all your relatives, any one whose death you say that curse is responsible for.”

I agreed without a thought. “And when he does show, I go free.”

“Agreed.”

****

Within the hour, Cade escorted me a 12 x 12 room, half of it enclosed by strong metal bars. The only items inside the cell were a cot and a small toilet. “Nice,” I teased, but my voice echoed off the brick walls and made me feel uneasy.

He nodded. “Yep. Consider this home until 12:30 tomorrow night when I take you out to get your full statement and finish booking you.”

I winced at the threat. He’d let me keep my clothes and luckily he hadn’t made me go through the really uncomfortable parts of being booked–the body search. I shuddered at the thought.

When he locked me inside the cell, I lay down on the cot and slept for twelve hours. I rolled onto my stomach when I absolutely couldn’t keep my eyes closed anymore. I wanted to sleep all day so I didn’t have to think about what the night held, but the attempt was futile.

Normally, I’d be three sheets to the wind by noon on the day of an attack, but that wasn’t an option this time. Calvin wasn’t even here to fight off the snake like we’d planned. For the first time in two years, I would have to face the serpent stone cold sober. The idea scared the hell out of me.

I also worried because it was an off-week, a week in between the new and full moon. The last off week attack was the first, and I found myself praying that it hadn’t been a fluke. I buried my head in my hands and sighed. I never would have dreamt in a million years that I’d actually be hoping for an attack.

I’d never let anyone watch before either, which seemed creepy the more I thought about it. I would be unconscious with an almost complete stranger. Nothing about the day felt right, and my anxiety grew by the minute.

Officer Daniels brought me a TV dinner for my meals and let me make a short phone call. He’d received specific instructions that I was not to leave my cell, so he let me use his cell phone. I called Calvin, of course, while Jack stepped out the door to give me privacy.

“Can I post your bail yet?”

“No. I’ve agreed to stay in jail for one more night.”

“What?” He shouted so loudly I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

“Calm down, please. I told him the truth like you said. He didn’t believe me, of course, but he’s coming to watch me tonight. Once he witnesses the attack, he’s promised to let me go free.”

“He can witness that damn thing
here
where I can protect you.”

“Calvin, please, this is important. I’m facing life in prison and besides, I already agreed.” I did my best to sound confident and strong, but I was hanging onto his voice like it was the last time I’d hear it. “It’ll be the last time, I promise.”

“I don’t like it,” he growled before his voice turned calmer. “God, I miss you. I just want you safe. When I think about that thing squeezing the life out of you, I can’t stand it.”

“You did it in Egypt,” I reminded him.

“Hey, I couldn’t get into your hut, no thumbs.”

“You tried?” I gasped as my heart filled with admiration. “But I thought you hated me.”

“I’ve never hated you, Cleo. You’ve always been my girl. I was just hurt because I thought you blew me off in New York.”

“Never.”

“I know that now. I love you, Cleo.”

“I love you, Calvin.”

The main door to the cell flew open at eleven o’clock and Cade walked in batting a bag of popcorn between his hands. “I’m ready for the show, Emma. Or do you prefer being called Cleo now?”

“Cleo, please,” I said, looking up from the cot.

“May I ask why the sudden change?”

“Because you can’t change who you are no matter how hard you try.”

I rose and walked over the cell door. He tore open the bag and popped a kernel into his mouth. Fresh from the shower, he looked like a different man. His suit was neatly pressed and the circles under his eyes weren’t as bad as they’d been.

“You got some sleep, I see.”

“Yep. Wrapping up this case in a few hours so I thought I’d try to look presentable for the occasion.” He smiled wryly.

“Can I have a smoke?”

When he dug a cigarette out of his pocket, I couldn’t hide the way my hands shook. Pre-attack jitters were mostly unavoidable while sober, but Cade didn’t appear concerned. He lit my cigarette, and I inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly to try to calm down.

“Do me a favor.”

“What’s that?”

“Please don’t try to stop it. I will scream and I will be suffocated but don’t try to stop it. You’re not equipped.”

He chuckled and put his hand on his gun. “What do you mean I’m not equipped?”

“Only Bast, the goddess of cats is able to slay Apep.”

“You’re really serious about this, aren’t you? So that thing you say is going to choke you has a name?”

I nodded. “I think you should stay behind the outer door too, just in case. I can’t afford to have you attacked tonight now can I?”

He stared at my shaking hands seriously and then raised his eyebrows, his face turning grim. “No, I suppose not.”

Chapter 11

As I awoke, I recognized the floating sensation and silently thanked the doctors for the morphine shot. My head was inclined and rested on a soft pillow. A clicking noise seeped into my senses like a time bomb, but when I opened my eyes, I realized it was the sound of a man pacing.

“I’m alive,” I assured him.

Detective Cade approached me with wide, worried eyes. His hair stood up in spots as though he’d been raking his fingers through it for hours. “I’m not sure what the hell happened back there, but I want to apologize. I never thought you committed those murders either. I was pretty sure you had the answers, but I didn’t expect…”

“It’s all right,” I breathed.

“How long has that been happening?”

“Ten years.”

“Christ! You were floating almost four inches off the mattress while it happened. I was scared out of my mind. I can’t imagine what you were going through.”