GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (7 page)

“Do you have an address for him?” Lucier asked.

“I doubt he has one,” she said
,
“
which is
why he comes here.”

“Check with the others, will you?” Slater said. “See if anyone knows more about him.”

She nodded again at Slater and left the room.

“Beautiful, isn’t she?” Slater said when she left.
“A runaway.
S
he showed up here a few months ago, pregnant and alone. Her father sexually abused her. The child was his. Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on
your point of view
, she miscarried. She stayed on, grateful to have found a safe place. She’s smart and efficient.”

“And obviously qui
te devoted to you,” Diana said. “Do many young girls in her condition come here?”

“
I don’t know about devoted, but m
y staff and I treat those who come here with kindness
and respect
. Women like Brigid respond.
W
e
have an open door policy. Most women who come here
seek
refuge from abusive lifestyles.
Others have fallen on hard times and have no place to go.
We give them meals and clothes, ask no questions, and offer no counsel other than a sympathetic ear. When they
’re
ready to face the world, we help them find work.
We hope
those abused women
won’t go back to th
eir former lives, but many do.”

“How do you get your contributions?” Lucier asked.

“As I
said,
donations. They’re a matter of public record, but I bet you’re referring to Jeanine Highsmith.”

“Who’s she?” Lucier said.

Slater smiled. “Ah, Lieutenant, I’m sure you checked me out before you came here and learned of the lawsuit slapped against me and the mission last year. Ms. Highsmith made that donation of her own free will, and I gratefully accepted. We used the money to purchase more beds, food, and supplies. For some reason, she accused me of defrauding her. Nothing could be further from the truth. She later dropped the charges.”

“You seem to know my mind, Mr. Slater,” Lucier said. “Don’t tell me there are two psychics in the room.”

“Hardly.
I just know how people think. They assume places like this are
fronts,
and that people like me pocket the money and one day disappear into an early and comfortable retirement. I assure you
that’s
not the case here. Sunrise Mission was my idea, but
the state
monitor
s us closely
. I solicit donations and, along with the overseer, recommend how the money should be allocated. But I don’t handle it.”

“
Have
other girls
come here
in
the same situation as Brigid?”

“You mean pregnant
and
victims of incest
? No, and we don’t save all those who do.
Not that I’m in the savior business, but we do what we can.”

Brigid came back into the room. “I asked around. No one here has any idea about Dudley, Lieutenant Lucier. Is that all, Brother Osiris?”

“Yes, Brigid, that’s all
. T
hank you.” A slight bow of
her
head and she was gone.

Diana watched her go. “And you, Mr. Slater, mentioned being broken in
to
pieces and put back together like your mythological counterpart. What’s your story?”

“Oh, I’m afraid it would bore you. Let’s just say that I’ve seen hell, and it made a huge impression on me.” He paused. “Anyt
hing else I can help you with?”

“No, I don’t think so, but if Deems shows up, I’d appreciate a call.” Lucier handed Slater his card.

Slater turned to Diana. “If you don’t mind my asking, are you officially involved in this investigation? I seem to recall that after your shocking experience recently, you said you were leaving the entertainment business and would no longer assist the police in finding missing persons.”

“That’s true, but I could hardly ignore the disappearance of an infant. I haven’t been much help locating her, but I don’t give up easily.”

“I wish you success.”

“Thanks,” Lucier said.

Diana stopped in front of the bookcase on the way out of the office. “I see you’re a student of religion. Are you a devotee of one in particular?”

“I follow no religion but am interested in all of them. I’m a disciple of faith and reverence. I’ve seen some dreadful things in my life. Things that make me respect the power of evil. One must never be complacent. It is only then that the soul is damned.”

“
W
hat happens then, Mr. Slater? What ha
ppens when the soul is damned?”

The electricity in the room crackled. Diana and Slater traded stares, neither surrendering the stage. Luc
ier stood silently to the side.

“Why, you go to hell,” Slater said, maintaining the intensity of his visual focus.

“Ahem, um, I think it’s time
leave
, Diana. I’m sure Mr. Slater has other things to attend to, and I have to get back to
work
.”
Unopposed 

But the two people remained locked on each other until Slater broke contact.

“It’s been very interesting,” Diana said, her outstretched hand ignored.
She smiled. Slater was afraid of her touch. “Maybe one day we can continue this conversation. I’d love to discuss mythology with you, considering your obvious fascination with the subject.”

“It would be my pleasure. The goddess Diana is a
n important
presence in mythology, with threads to nature and fertility, as is Osiris, I might add.”

“S
he’s also Goddess of the Hunt.”

Again, the sparks ignited, and a small smile played across Slater’s lips. “Yes, she is,” he said.
“A versatile and talented figure.
Are you in the hunting business, Ms. Racine?”

“I hope not, Brother Osiris.”

When they left the building, Lucier showed his irritation. “What the hell went on in there? I felt like I was watching a stage play, with you two in the lead roles
and me without a script
.”

“I’m not sure, Ernie. You noticed he wouldn’t touch me, didn’t you? I think he was afraid of what I’d see.”

“And did you see anything without the touch?”

“No, but I sensed Edward Slater is a very conflicted man. I’m not sure whether he’s the real thing or a blatant charlatan, a do-gooder or an opportunist, but he has a magnetic charisma, and he knows how to use it. He’s smooth as silk.”

“Did you see the girl? She wasn’t his secretary; she was his
disciple
. There’s a difference.”

“
More
his slave
, I think
. The way she looked at him before doing anything. A young nubile thing like that can hardly be ignored by a virile man.”

“I didn’t notice,” he said.

She laughed and punched him in the ribs. “Get out, you did too. I saw you staring.”

“Just a quickie.
I am a virile man, you know.”

“You sure are.” She latched on to his arm and snuggled beside him. “I’d
love
to know what’s behind those locked doors on the bookcase.”

“
A
first edition, some valuable signed version of a manuscript or publication, or maybe it’s not a book at all.”

“Maybe, but somehow I think the secret to Brother Osiris is in that office.”

As they walked to the car, they exchanged glances when
a
slim young
woman
head
ed
into the mission, her angelic face framed by straight blonde hair that blew slow motion in the breeze like a diaphanous curtain. Diana placed her age in the late teens. The buttons of her white blouse strained across her woman’s chest.

Another
runaway,
or another disciple?

The Pink Room in the Pink House

“A
nything on Deems, Sam?”

“Nothing.
He’s disappeared off the face of the earth. Could be he’s off kidnapping another baby. The feds are
issuing a news release with his picture.
”

“Good,” Lucier said. “Janitors come and go. It’d be perfectly natural for him to cruise the corridors without raising suspicions. He probably used different names and disguises.”

“None of the babies ha
ve
turned up, and no ransom notes either.”

“Sam, can you get me a list of contributors to the Sunrise Mission
?
Should be
public record.
And dig deeper into Edward Slater, alias Brother Osiris.
A complete profile.
I wish the hell we could get his fingerprints.”

“Why? Do you think he’s involved in this?”

“Probably not, but my gut tells me there’s something fishy about
our do-gooder
. Diana thought so too.”

* * * * *

T
hat evening when the doorbell rang,
Diana checked to make sure it was Lucier
before she opened
the door
. He would have chewed her out if she hadn’t
. She kissed him on the lips.
“You look tired.” She pointed him to the sofa. “
Relax,
I’ll get you a beer.”

“I a
m tired. It’s been a long day.”

She handed him the beer, then curled up next to him. He leaned back and took a long swallow.
“Tastes good.
Aren’t you having one?”

“I promised myself I’d cut back.”

“I thought it was just until you fully recovered. You’re recovered.”

“I know, but
it won’t hurt to take it slow.”

He put his arm around her and pulled her close. “When was the la
st time I told you I love you?”

“Last night, in the throes of passion.
That’s
okay,
I’ll take those words any way I can get them.” She took his beer bottle from his hand and leaned into him. “You know what they say when a person stops drinking?”

“What?”

“That they need something to take its place.”

“Really?
What did you have in mind?”

“Sex.”

He lifted her onto his lap. “Come here.”

“If I get any closer I’ll fit you like a glove.”

“Exactly what I had in mind.”

He moved her hair aside
and
put his warm lips on the back of her neck, alternating between kissing and licking.

“Hmm, that is so sexy
,
”
she said.

Still kissing her neck, he moved his hands up under the front of her shirt and brushed over her breasts, barely touching but touching enough to send her nerve endings into spasms. She closed her eyes and released a soft moan. “Oh,
G
od, Ernie, I’m so in love with you. Love me like
you’ve never loved me before.”

“Loving you like that will take a long, long time.” He removed the
back
sofa cushions and threw them on
the floor.
“Maybe all evening.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She lifted her mouth to his and whispered in his ea
r.

He broke into a raucous belly laugh. “I love when you talk dirty, as i
f I needed more encouragement.”

He moved his kisses to her ear and nibbled on her lobe while he ran his hands up under the back of her shirt and unsnapped her bra. “You don’t really need this.”

She stopped unbuttoning his shirt to glare at him. “Thanks for reminding me.”

“I didn’t mean it that way. The size of a woma
n’s breasts means nothing to me
. What matters is who they belong to. For me, yours are perfect. I only meant I can’t feel
these
getting hard
through the fabric.”

These
were her nipples, and between the warm kisses on the back of her neck and the delicate touch of his fingers on the tips of her
breasts
, she thought she would scream in pleasure.

“You have pants on and nothing’s stopping that weapon of yours from doing the same thing.”

“I can’t help it. You turn me on in ways I can’t describe. Everything about you, your head full of curls, your lips, your perfect little body,”
―
he nuzzled into her neck
―
“the delicious, sweet scent of you.
W
hen I thought I’d lost you, I knew I’d never survive. I’d gone through it once. This time I
would have died a slow death.”