Demon on a Distant Shore (4 page)

Déjà vu. Almost a year ago, I stood here trying to decide what to wear during a vacation in Boston. And Jack said. . . .

“At least leave the TV on,” Jack said.

Now that was eerie. But then Jack snorted a laugh.

“You rat!”

But his joke made me realize he remembered what happened a year ago, an indication he pretty much retained his memory. Many shades lose their memory by degrees, sometime going fast, some slow but inevitable. Did Jack and Mel keep it because they lived with me, which equated with a social life, which most shades don’t have?

I pulled out a white tank top and shook it at him. “Thought I forgot, didn’t you?”

“Forgot what?” With an air of innocence, Jack became absorbed with the papers littering my desk.

“Out, Mister. You too, Mel.”

They left with accompanying heavy sighs. They knew my bedroom was out of bounds, but kept coming in there anyway.

I flopped on the bed on my belly and opened up my cell. Janie picked up on the fourth ring.

“Hi, Janie. Look, I know Mac was a bad boy last time, but - ”

“Tiff, it was my fault. Mac needs one on one playtime. I should have made it clear to Susan. The Pom was fine. Mac didn’t draw blood.”

But she
was
miffed when I collected Mac. “Oh, okay. I’m looking at next week for a two-week stay.”

“Sorry, we’re booked solid.”

My heart sank. Who would watch Mac if not Janie? As I told Royal, I didn’t trust anyone else with him.

“But I may have a solution,” Janie continued. “Maryanne lives four blocks from you and can do with extra cash. She could come in three times a day, get in your mail and water your plants while she’s there.”

I perked up. Janie’s daughter Maryanne lived on campus not far from my house. She got along as well as anyone could with Mac, meaning he had not bitten her yet. She worked in the kennels weekends, she knew how to handle dogs and give them the attention they need. Mac would
probably
let her in the house.

“Wow, Janie, that’s great. She won’t have to bother with the mail and I don’t have plants, it’ll just be Mac. But how will she manage three times a day?”

“She has a free period two to three. She can come around before her first class to feed him and let him out for half an hour, and do the same during her free period, then later in the evening to get him tucked in for the night. If you’re generous, maybe she’ll take him for walkies.”

I couldn’t believe my luck. Janie’s plan was ideal. “Janie, I’ll be forever in her debt if she can, and I mean that.”

“I’ll talk to her. When do you need her?”

“Here’s the thing . . . Royal and I are going to England on business and haven’t booked the flight yet, but we’re aiming for next week. Is that a problem?”

“With her schedule, no. I’ll talk to her and get back to you. Okay?”

“Okay. Thanks.” Definitely okay.

I closed my phone, rolled off the bed and scooted downstairs. “Jack! Mel! Remember last year when you wanted me to get a house and pet sitter?”

I called Patty to tell her we would take the case. “We need a contract or letter of intent.”

“I’ll call our attorneys and ask them to fax a contract to you.”

“Thank you, but we need an original signature, not a facsimile. Sorry about that.”

“You’re cautious, Miss Banks. I like that. Very well, I’ll have it sent Express Mail, guaranteed delivery by three PM the next day. We’ll have to meet no later than four tomorrow as my flight leaves Salt Lake City at nine and I have to turn in the rental car.”

Chapter Three

The little circular park behind River Valley University is the prettiest in Clarion. It has a pond and everything. With ducks. And of course the ever-present gulls clatter their nasty beaks as they vie for dropped food or peck in the trash cans.

Nestled as it is in a bowl of grass on the steep gradient of the east bench, a lot of people use the park in fine weather. Benches are positioned in deep shade cast by the towering old trees which ring the path and also out in the sunshine for those who prefer the heat. There are a few barbecue grills, but visitors mostly bring picnics or fast food, and a lot of University students eat their lunch there. But God help you if you don’t pick up after your dog and the University police collar you. They stride around with thumbs tucked in belts and ominously stare at you through their mirrored shades in an attempt to look like the real thing.

Patty’s eyes almost popped out of her head when Royal and I met her. Mine did too when I first saw Royal, but for a different reason. Patty appreciated a handsome man. My emotion at the time was sheer horror as Captain Mike Warren introduced me to a demon I had to accept as a partner.

Gelpha are not demons as in evil horned creatures from hell, but I knew no other name for them till Royal told me. Yes, they are beautiful, but the danger posed by their unearthly abilities eclipsed the allure. They are seductive as all get-out, and happily use their arcane charms to get what they wanted from human beings. Is it any wonder I called them demons?

I was trying to break the habit, but the name occasionally snuck out.

A picture of Royal hung on the wall of Clarion PD’s Homicide Department when he worked there. A tall exotic man with a lean, chiseled face, straight nose and full lips, skin nicely bronzed, hair a glossy brown streaked with blond. His deep-brown, tip-tilted eyes caught the light, sparkling with good humor.

I see a man who seems to subtly glow with an inner fire. Emotion makes his eyes smolder. When strong light washes over him, like now, he blazes.

Everyone sees the same, magnificent physique.

“You make a stunning couple,” Patty said as we stood before her.

We do tend to draw the eyes when we are together, Royal sun-kissed and I all silver and ivory. Clarion PD called me the Ice Queen when I worked for them, due to my height, long silver-white hair and pale skin.

Royal presented his hand. “A pleasure to meet you in person, Mrs. Norton.”

Patty wrapped her long fingers around Royal’s. I didn’t miss the little squeeze she gave them.

Patty wanted to meet in a dog-friendly park. Charleze needed fresh air and exercise. Charleze’s idea of exercise was to jump up and down on the spot and bark at everyone in sight, until Patty picked her up and sat her on the bench. Royal and I faced Patty with the sun beating on our heads.

With her eyes still on Royal, Patty’s hand went in her purse and came out with some doggy treats, which she fed to Charleze one at a time.

Royal cleared his throat. Patty blinked and tore her gaze from his face. She took a slim white envelope from her purse and handed it to him. We put our heads together to read the letter from Scott’s attorneys Falkman, Sturgis and Cannon, signed by George Falkman. It outlined the terms of our agreement, our fee, and the purpose of our trip to England.

Patty stood up, slung her bag over her shoulder and picked up Charleze. “I must be going.” She held out her free hand. “This is my private number and email. I would appreciate timely updates.”

I took her little card and tucked it in my back pocket.

“No doubt you have arrangements to make, but I hope you’ll be on your way soon.”

“We will be there before you know it, Mrs. Norton,” Royal said.

She nodded. “Do keep me informed. Thank you for doing this and I wish you both the best of luck. Oh, and be sure you fly first class, all the way.”

She turned on her heel and walked away.

We leaned back on the bench as a kid’s soccer ball whizzed past a little too near our faces. I looked in Royal’s glorious eyes. “We are sure, aren’t we? We’ll be on our own, and all we have is a few pieces of paper.”

“We do not have to do this, Tiff.”

I squeezed his arm. “Thank you, but I want to go. It’s England - how bad can it be? It’s not like going to a
real
foreign country where you don’t understand a word anyone says.”

I heard a low snicker from his direction, but when I glanced over he appeared serene as he looked at the pond.

The sun hung in the west, hot on the side of my neck and bringing sparkles out in Royal’s eyes. For a second, I forgot Patty Norton. The background noise of kids’ laughter, the chatter from people and cheep of birds faded to a near-silent burr. I felt solid muscle through his sleeve; I remembered the silk of his skin.

I shook myself.

That’s the problem when you date a Gelpha; their proximity makes you feel too damn good even when they don’t use their magic.

We got to our feet and walked the sloped concrete path to the parking lot. The sun slowly set as we drove through the gates in Royal’s pickup and headed south along Bracken Way. I looked up at the bare crag of Merlin Point and Waterfall Canyon to the south, where the waterfall gushed and tumbled down the cliff face.

I leaned into Royal’s shoulder. “Are there mountains in England?”

Tapping the blunt end of a pencil on the table, I checked the clock for the fourth time. Royal came down the stairs from my bedroom where he used my computer for a little snooping.

He sat across from me, the table between us. “They’re both wealthy in their own right. Patty inherited millions from her father when he passed away. Scott invests diversely and heavily, which brings him in half a billion or so a year. He is also the beneficiary of his family’s Trust Fund. They have a good reputation in the business world as well as in their personal relationships. Just your normal, happily married couple with dollar bills seeping from their pores.”

He shook back his long copper-gold hair, where it blended with the honey-gold of his shirt. “I think if nothing else, we get to see England. We will not work every minute of the day, we can take in a few sights.”

“Then we keep a log of our time. We might tweak the rules now and then, but we don’t take a client’s money and use it to vacation.”

He hiked both eyebrows. “
Tweak
the rules? That is what you call sneaking in Purcell’s office and rifling his files?”

I did not
sneak
! I slipped in the attorney’s office while his secretary nipped to the bathroom. “Says the ex-cop, who watched my back while I did it,” I reminded him.

I threw my pencil at him. He caught it from the air.

My brow furrowed. “The question is, can we find Scott Norton’s nephew?”

“Looks like a simple seek and find.”

I wholeheartedly believe in Murphy’s Law. In retrospect, I should have seen that statement for what it was, an invitation for Murphy to step right in.

Royal stood behind my chair. “I should get back to the office. I have not documented the Perkins case yet.”

I looked through the window at the gathering dusk. I had a date in five hours time. “Okay.”

He followed my gaze. “I heard the announcement on the morning news. I can come with you.”

I shook my head. He would only feel uncomfortable watching me talk to someone he neither saw nor heard. “But I won’t object to finding you here when I get back.”

“You can bet on it.” He angled his head to kiss my cheek, but I turned my face so our lips met.

A bag lady, Brenda wore several layers of mismatched clothes, with a navy-blue beret centered atop her brittle gray- and yellow-streaked hair and torn and dirty hose wrinkled around her ankles. She stood in the Megaplex’s plaza, where a junkie killed her for the few dollars in her pocket when a mall and parking garage occupied the space.