Immortal City (30 page)

“Wasn’t me,” the sergeant said. “And it wasn’t anyone on our team, either. I checked.”

Sylvester turned and walked quickly back down the hall. Passing his station in the bull pen, he walked back toward the offices and burst into Captain Keele’s office without knocking. The captain, who was signing some paperwork, barely raised an eye as Sylvester came in.

“Oh good, David, we were just about to have you join us.” He motioned with his pen behind Sylvester. “These gentlemen are here from the NAS. From the Council’s Disciplinary Department, I’m sure you’re . . . familiar with it?”

Sylvester looked behind Keele. He could just make out the outline of two large figures in the darkened office. They seemed imposing, ominous. He couldn’t see their faces. He turned back to the captain.

“Sir, Jackson Godspeed has nothing to do with this. That is a totally unrelated situation.”

“You yourself had him questioned—”

“And quickly ruled him out.”

The captain regarded Sylvester patiently.

“They seem to think otherwise, Detective. They say they have good reason to suspect him, and I’m inclined to believe them. I think they have more experience in these matters, wouldn’t you agree?”

Sylvester looked at the captain in disbelief.

“Then show me the evidence,” he countered. “They can sit down with me at my desk and show me what they’ve found. If I think it’s relevant to the case, I’ll share what we know from the crime scenes.”

Captain Keele leaned forward in his chair, the leather chirping.

“David, how long have we known each other?”

“A long time, sir.”

“Good. Then you can trust me when I tell you to just leave this one be,” he said. “Let this go.”

Sylvester was furious.

“This is my investigation—”

“Actually, it’s not,” the captain said, his voice turning impatient. “The chief and I are handing the investigation over to the NAS. They’re simply more experienced and better prepared to handle this sort of thing than we are. The department will, of course, still be involved, but in an auxiliary capacity. You’ll be providing them with any assistance they need, and they will be making the decisions. Understood?”

Sylvester glanced at the two shadowy figures again. They had not moved since he entered.

“These orders didn’t happen to come directly from Mark Godspeed, did they?” Sylvester asked.

The captain looked down at his desk.

“Sir, whatever’s doing this is extremely powerful, and extremely dangerous,” Sylvester said. “Something terrible is out there, something from another world, and I’m getting closer to finding it. This investigation is too important to be used as a public relations stunt for the NAS. In fact, there is reason to believe high-standing members of the Archangels might be involved in this violence.”

The captain’s gaze flickered briefly to the agents standing in the back. His expression was almost embarrassed.

“David, I think I made a mistake when I pulled you off your light duties. I can see now that you’re not emotionally equipped to handle something like this at present. Starting Monday, you’ll resume your work downstairs. Now I want you to go home and get some sleep. You look like you need it. That’s all.”

Sylvester turned without saying anything and left the office.

He walked slowly back down the hall to his temporary cubicle and sat. His computer monitor had clicked over to a colorful screen saver. He removed his glasses and polished them.

After a moment Garcia appeared from the hall again.

“I heard,” he said.

“Go home, Bill,” Sylvester said. “Your wife and daughter haven’t seen you for days.” Garcia looked regretful, but nodded in assent.

“For what it’s worth, sir, you did a hell of a good job on this one.”

Sylvester looked up.

“You proved a lot of people wrong, sir, including me.” Garcia hesitated a moment longer, then turned and shuffled away down the hall.

Just as he was getting closer to the truth, the NAS was pulling him off the case.
Mark Godspeed
was pulling him off the case.

Sylvester sat back in his chair and stared at the small box he had set on his desk. A minute passed. Then two. Suddenly he sat forward and began scooping up files and papers and stuffing them into his satchel. He threw in his Bible, along with a handful of Red Vines from the tub. Then he picked up the small box again, opened the lid, and looked inside. Appearing satisfied at what he saw, the detective snapped it closed and put it in his pocket. Standing, he pulled on his overcoat from the wobbly rack in the corner and prepared to face the weather outside.

It was going to be a long night, and he had work to do.

J
acks kept a watchful eye on the sky as they worked their way across the city, using side streets to avoid Angel Boulevard, then cutting up north toward Maddy’s house. The power outage, if anything, had worked to their advantage. Inky blackness covered all of Angel City. It was much easier to go unnoticed in the dark. Twice Jacks had pulled them into alleys to wait as helicopters passed overhead.

By the time they arrived at the house, rainwater had soaked through Maddy’s shoes and socks. She was shivering. They stayed out of sight and worked their way around to the kitchen window. Maddy peered in. There was Kevin, face drawn with concern, lighting candles and placing them around the house. The beginnings of a fire crackled in the fireplace. Maddy felt a lump rise in her throat.

“Is he alone?” Jacks whispered.

“I think so.”

Jacks touched her shoulder, and she turned to him.

“Maddy, are you sure we have to do this?” His tone was uneasy. “It’s dangerous.”

“Yes,” she said simply.

Jacks nodded reluctantly. “Okay, let’s give it a try, then.”

They slipped around to the front porch and Maddy knocked quietly at the door. Kevin came at once. He was wearing his plaid robe over an undershirt and slippers. Maddy did her best to still her shaking body. The raindrops clung to her hair.

“Hi, Kevin,” she said.

“Maddy,” he breathed. “Thank God. Come in out of the rain.”

He pushed the door open and saw the world’s most famous Angel standing on his doorstep. Anger flickered in his eyes, but not surprise. There was something else, too. A kind of deep tension Maddy had never seen in her uncle before.

Kevin looked from the Immortal to his soaked niece and back again.

“You too, young man,” he said finally.

Once they were inside, Kevin pulled Maddy quickly into an embrace. She couldn’t remember the last time they had hugged like that. Jacks waited quietly, seeming to sense the rarity of the moment.

“I was so worried,” Kevin began to growl, anger edging the relief in his voice. “Are you okay? They said that—”

“I’m fine, Kevin,” Maddy said. “I want you to meet—”

“I know who this is,” Kevin said. His tone wasn’t unkind. But it wasn’t warm either. He didn’t offer his hand. With everything that had happened, Maddy hadn’t had much time to think about how her uncle would react. She watched nervously as Jacks smiled and said hello.

“You’ll want to get out of those wet clothes and get dry,” Kevin said. Then he turned to Jacks. “I think I have something that will fit you too. Why don’t you come with me?”

Maddy went upstairs to her room, peeled out of her sodden clothes, and showered. There was still hot water in the lines and it burned painfully—and wonderfully—against her cold skin. She thought about Jacks’s words on the rooftop again. And the kiss. Could he actually be telling the truth? Was it possible he had
feelings
for her? She had never allowed herself the thought, and now she tested it delicately. It felt . . . wonderful. That’s what she was afraid of. It felt too good to be true.

When she got out, she lit a candle and took stock of her injuries in the mirror. She had a deep bruise forming on the shoulder where Jacks had shoved her, and she also had a raised discoloration under her shoulder blades that was tender to the touch. She must have hit the light pole harder than she thought. She dried off, put on clean jeans and a dry hoodie, and went downstairs.

Maddy sat in the living room toweling her hair dry while she waited for Jacks to emerge from the downstairs bathroom. Kevin had found something for him to put on in a box at the back of his closet and sent him to change. She looked anxiously around the room, from the embarrassing school photos on the wall, to the secondhand furniture, to the old, boxy TV. Compared to Jacks, they were staggeringly poor. She quickly got up and scooped up a pile of Kevin’s laundry that was sitting on top of the couch. She tried to arrange the magazines on the coffee table like she had seen in fancy offices, until she noticed the magazines were
Family Circle
and
Reader’s Digest
. She sighed. It was hopeless.

Jacks came out of the bathroom wearing Kevin’s old jeans and a tattered shirt, which, on him, looked like an advertisement for worn-out vintage chic. He crossed the living room and, to her relief, passed the wall of photos without inspecting them. If she got out of tonight alive, she thought, she vowed to stash them forever.

“I like your place,” Jacks said, looking around. “It’s homey.”

“Thanks,” Maddy said sheepishly, and grabbed a stray pair of Kevin’s underwear from the couch. “Let’s go into the kitchen.”

Maddy and Jacks sat down at the table while Kevin took down three mugs from the cupboard. The gas for the stove was still flowing, and he prepared fresh cups of tea for all of them. Outside, the rain fell constantly against the roof, filing the kitchen with its soft murmur.

“Thank you, Mr. Montgomery,” Jacks said as he accepted his cup.

“It’s just Kevin,” Maddy’s uncle said. He handed Maddy a cup, then busied himself around the kitchen again. The hot liquid scalded her tongue as she drank, and the warmth spread down through her chest.

“They’ve been calling, you know,” Kevin said.

“Who?” Maddy asked.

“Everyone. ANN,
Angels Weekly
, MSNBC, and some blogger. Vuitton . . . something. I thought about unplugging the phone, but I was afraid you might try and get in touch. I was worried.”

“I told you, I’m fine,” Maddy said, and looked at Jacks. “He saved my life.”

“That’s not exactly what they’ve been saying,” Kevin said evenly. “But I’ve heard a lot of things tonight.”

Maddy watched Kevin as he took out more candles from under the sink and set them around. She drew in a long, deep breath. At last her lips parted.

“My parents, Kevin,” Maddy said, her voice small but firm. “I want to know the truth.” Kevin froze where he was standing with his back to her, then struck a match and lit one of the candles.

“What do you want to know that you don’t know already?” he said, without turning.

“Jacks told me he could save me because he saw I was in danger, like a premonition. Well . . .” She took a deep breath. “
I’ve
had premonitions all my life, and always when something bad is about to happen.” Kevin still didn’t move, but stood listening. “I’ve always just explained it away to myself or tried to ignore it. I figured I was just, I don’t know, different. A freak.” She swallowed down the beginnings of another lump that was threatening in her throat. “Now I think maybe there’s more to it, and maybe you’ve been keeping something from me.”

“Maddy, don’t you think you might be imagining—”

“I’m not,” Maddy said sharply. “I’m done pretending it doesn’t happen, because it
does
. It happened today when I was almost crushed by that car. I saw it all happen in my head first, and that’s impossible.” From the corner of her eye she could see Jacks’s astonished expression. He had set down his cup and was scrutinizing her intently. “So. Who were they, really?” she asked quietly.

Kevin turned and met her gaze. Jacks’s eyes darted between them. Kevin brought one of the candles over and set it in the center of the table. Then he sat looking at the flame, his glasses reflecting the flickering light. Maddy realized she was holding her breath.

“I wondered if this day would come,” he said at last. “I thought it might, but not this soon, and certainly not under these circumstances. I told your father it wasn’t fair that I’d be the one to have to tell you, but he said he was glad it would be me. That I had always been good with you. Now, I’m not so sure.”

Maddy looked at her uncle in the dancing candlelight. There sat the man who had cared for her, and provided for her, her entire life. Suddenly she felt like she didn’t know him. Or at least didn’t know a part of him. He looked abruptly older to her. Worn somehow. His face was drawn in grim lines.

“Please,” she whispered. “I have to know.”

“Are you sure you want to hear this story?” he asked, his expression darkening. “If I tell you, I’m going to tell it to you straight. I’m not going to edit. And I can warn you now, it’s not always pretty.” Kevin’s glasses caught the candlelight again and gave him burning embers for eyes. Maddy considered his words and then nodded. Jacks sat still with suspense.

“Okay, then,” Kevin said. “Where do I begin? With the Angels, I guess.” Kevin rose and walked over to the cupboard as he talked.