Love Is The Bond: A Rowan Gant Investigation (22 page)

“That’s actually part of what marks
this as real,” I told her. “The ability to properly and accurately
draw
veve
is a basic but very
important part of the religious practice.”

“You’re trying to tell us Voodoo is a
religion?” Drew piped up.

“What did you think it was?” I asked.

“Like I said, bullshit,” he replied.

“Yeah, well, ya’ learn somethin’ new every
day, don’tcha’,” Ben jibed.

“These had to take quite a bit of time,”
Mandalay murmured as she continued scanning the tabletop with her
eyes.

“Probably less than you would think for a
skilled practitioner,” I offered. “But, yeah, they still took a
little bit of time to make.”

“What is that? Sand?” she asked.

“Crime scene guys took a sample for the lab,”
Ben offered.

“I think they’ll probably tell you it’s just
plain cornmeal,” I explained. “That’s what is commonly used for
this.”

“Cornmeal,” my friend repeated then
paused.

I looked over and noticed that he was taking
notes.

“Sometimes flour, ashes, chalk or some other
such thing,” I added. “But, this definitely looks like
cornmeal.”

“Okay,” he said, looking up from his notebook
and nodding toward the table. “Does that mean anything?”

“It’s just another indicator that this was at
least done by someone who is either a practitioner or has deeply
studied Voodoo.”

“Okay, so you say the top one is for Poppa
Whosits. What about the other two?”

“Papa Legba
,” I
corrected him then shrugged and pointed to the circle that had been
divided into thirds. “This one looks for all the world like a
triskele, which is a Celtic symbol that is commonly used in various
forms of WitchCraft. But, given the nature of the ritual done here,
I would guess that’s not what it’s meant to be. The other one, I
don’t know. But, it definitely makes the connection with
Wentworth.”

“Okay, so whaddaya mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean exactly that. I don’t know. We’ll
have to look it up.”

“Why don’t you know it?” Drew asked, a hint
of smugness returning to his voice. “I thought you were some kind
of expert.”

“I never claimed to be an expert, and I’m
also not a Voodoo practitioner. I’ve just read up on it a bit.” I
replied. “Look, I’m perfectly willing to admit that I don’t know
everything.”

“Okay, so then how do you know that you’re
right about the other one?” he pressed.

“Because I’ve actually seen it pictured in a
ritual context before. Like I said, I’ve read up on it some.”

“Apparently not enough.”

Mandalay opened her mouth to admonish him,
and I immediately laid my hand on her forearm and shook my
head.

“You’re Catholic, correct, Agent Drew?” I
asked.

He cast a suspicious eye toward me. “Yeah,
how did you know?”

“Nothing particularly esoteric on my
part,” I replied. “Just your exclamation earlier,
‘
Holy Mary Mother of God
’.
I’ve only heard that from Catholics.”

He relaxed noticeably then gave me a curt
nod. “Yeah, okay. So what’s that got to do with anything?”

“I assume you went to a Catholic school?”

“Yeah.”

I continued. “Attended your religion classes
like you were supposed to?”

“I still don’t see what this has to do with
anything.”

“I’m just establishing that you are well
educated in your faith.”

“Okay. So?”

“So, can you name the original seven
archangels for me?”

“Michael, Gabriel, Raphael…” he began
confidently but almost immediately tapered off into silence.

I waited a moment then finished the list for
him. “Anael, Samael, Sachiel, and Caffiel.”

“Yeah.” He nodded in agreement. “It’s
been awhile. So, how do
you
know them?”

“I’ve studied Judeo-Christian practices a
little deeper than some other religions. In particular,
Catholicism.”

“Why?”

“Self-preservation… Anyway, back to the
archangels. I suppose that asking you to draw their sigils for me
would be out of the question?”

“Their what?”

“The symbols that represent each of
them,” I said then pointed at the table. “Like the
veve
for the
Lwa
.”

“Okay, fine,” he conceded. “I think I get
your point.”

“If you wanna win an argument with Row, pick
somethin’ he doesn’t know anything about,” Ben offered, taking pity
on the younger man.

“I get it.” Drew nodded. “Don’t argue
religion with Gant.”

“I’m still not claiming to be an expert,” I
reminded them. “Voodoo definitely isn’t my area.”

“But, you’re sure this is Voodoo?” Ben asked,
turning his attention to me and ignoring his own advice. “I mean,
shouldn’t there be a doll with some pins in it or somethin’?”

“No. That would be a poppet, and then we’d be
talking WitchCraft not Voodoo.”

“Fuck me,” he muttered as he shook his head.
“I thought… No… Forget it… I don’t even wanna know.”

An urgent but muffled trill began warbling up
the audible scale, and we all looked at one another out of
reflex.

“Not mine,” Constance offered.

Ben’s voice fell in behind hers, “Me
neither.”

The escalating tune ended on a high note,
only to start anew a good measure louder.

“It sounds like mine,” I said aloud.

Out of reflex I reached into my jacket pocket
at just about the same instant Agent Drew was announcing that it
wasn’t his either; however, I found that the pocket was empty. At
that moment the trilling tones started anew and were far
louder.

“Crap,” Ben muttered, stuffing his hands into
his pockets. “I’ve still got your phone.”

Pulling out one cell and glancing at it
quickly, he shook his head; he reached back in and withdrew another
and then handed it to me. I instantly thumbed the annoying gadget
to life and placed it to my ear as I said a quick hello.

Instead of a similar salutation, I was
greeted immediately by my wife’s stilted voice—her audible
annoyance reigned in only by a forced, but obviously wavering,
patience. “Rowan, would you please have Ben come outside and tell
this young officer that I am supposed to be here.”

Felicity’s call was one of the last things I
expected to happen. I stole a quick glance at my watch and did some
mental ciphering with the numbers. The result was that by my
calculations she was still supposed to be at her lunch meeting. So,
either I needed a crash course in math, or there was a new variable
in play.

Without thinking, I blurted, “Felicity’s
outside, and they won’t let her in.”

“I’ll go take care of it,” Ben replied with a
nod as he started to turn toward the door.

Instantly realizing my mistake, I vigorously
shook my head at him and waved my hand quickly as I spoke into the
phone. “Hold on a second, hon.”

I pulled the cell away from my face and
buried the mouthpiece against my palm.

“What?” Ben asked, giving me a confused
look.

“I don’t want her in here,” I insisted in a
half whisper. “Not now. Not yet anyway.”

“C’mon, Row,” he replied with a nod toward
the bed. “She’s seen worse than this.”

“It’s not that,” I explained. “Just trust me,
she doesn’t need to experience this scene right now.”

“You mean…” He did a small jig through
the air with his hand and let out a quavering whistle before
adding, “
Twilight
Zone
?”

I gave him a nod. “Right.”

He raised his eyebrows. “La-la land, like you
did?”

“Or maybe like yesterday morning.”

“Yesterday morning?” he repeated with a
knowing tone.

“Exactly. Maybe worse.”

“Friggin’ wunnerful.”

Much to my amazement, Agent Drew held his
tongue.

Mandalay, however, had her curiosity piqued
and asked, “What are you two talking about?”

“I’ll tell ya’ later,” Ben said then focused
on me with a thoughtful stare once again.

“Detective Storm?” A voice interrupted from
the doorway.

He turned and addressed the uniformed officer
to whom it belonged, “Yeah?”

“There’s a civilian out here claiming that
she’s supposed to be allowed on the scene.”

“Yeah,” Ben acknowledged as he held his hand
out at mid-chest height with the palm down. “Redhead, ‘bout so
tall?”

“That would be her,” the officer said.

He jerked his head toward me. “Yeah, she’s on
the phone with him right now.”

The officer cast a quick glance over his
shoulder then replied, “Not anymore, and, well, she’s starting to
get belligerent.”

I immediately uncapped the mouthpiece and put
the cell back up to my ear. “Felicity?”

I was met with nothing but silence. I pulled
the phone away and checked the status LCD. The call had been
terminated.

“He’s right,” I announced. “She hung up.”

“You Rowan?” the officer asked me.

“Yeah, why?”

“Well, she had some choice words for you when
you put her on hold.”

“She’s not grounding,” I said to Ben.

“I’ll take care of it,” Ben told the officer.
“I’ll be out in a sec.”

“Better make it quick, Golden has already
threatened to cuff her.”

“Yeah,” my friend sighed. “Been there myself.
Doesn’t do any good, believe me.”

“Yeah, not surprised by that,” the cop
returned then glanced over to me again. “Sucks to be you.” He
started to recede from the doorway then quickly stepped back in and
added, “Oh, by the way, Captain Albright is about fifteen minutes
out. She just called. You said you wanted us to let you know.”

“Just keeps gettin’ better an’ better,” Ben
replied. “How ‘bout the circus. They here yet?”

The cop nodded. “Media? Oh yeah, all three
rings.”

There is a tired old adage that says when it
rains, it pours. As exhausted and cliché as those words were, they
came out of Ben’s mouth right on cue, albeit with a few expletives
mixed in for emphasis.

Still shaking his head, he turned back toward
me. With a grimace on his face, he reached up and smoothed his hair
once again before lamenting, “Anything else, white man?”

“Anything else?” I repeated, my mind now
preoccupied with thoughts of what trouble Felicity was getting
herself into.

“Mojo, hocus-pocus, whatever,” he detailed,
wagging his finger at the table.

“No, I’m afraid not,” I replied with a shake
of my head.

“Okay, sixty-four thousand dollar question.
You think this stuff actually has anything to do with the
murders?”

“I’d have to say, yes. But, that’s kind of
obvious.”

“I mean besides just some kinda weird callin’
card?”

“I’d still say yes, but I’m not sure
what.”

“Okay, well unless you’ve got somethin’ more
than that, better go ahead and get outta here so we can do some
police work.”

I was a little taken aback by the abrupt
dismissal, and my tone of voice said as much. “You’re welcome.”

“Look, Row…”

“Hey, you called me, remember?”

“Yes, I did, and I appreciate you comin’ all
the way down here, but you know how these things work.”

“I thought I did.”

“Okay, listen. Do you really think this
Voodoo stuff is somethin’ I need ta’ know about to solve the
case?”

I shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know yet.”

“Yeah, well there ya’ go,” he huffed.

“Sorry,” I told him in a less than sincere
tone.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he backpedaled
as he checked his watch. “Listen, I just got too much shit hittin’
the fan all at once, and Albright ain’t gonna be pleased to see
your smilin’ face. Look, just to make life a bit easier, why don’t
ya’ grab Firehair and get outta Dodge before she gets here.”

“You’re sure?” I pressed. “I’m not afraid of
Albright.”

“I know that, but like I said, I got enough
on my plate without you and her gettin’ into it too. So listen, you
got enough info to do some diggin’ on the hocus-pocus stuff?”

“Pretty much. Some copies of the crime scene
photos couldn’t hurt.”

“The Bureau would like a set as well,”
Mandalay added quickly.

“Yeah, well you just heard the same thing I
did. With Bible Barb in the mix I wouldn’t be countin’ on it.”

“You should know that we’re already working
on a subpoena for the Wentworth photos,” Agent Drew
interjected.

“More power to ya’,” my friend replied. “But
you need to threaten her with it, not me. I’m tellin’ ya’ it’s
outta my hands.”

The voice of the uniformed officer came from
the doorway again, “Detective Storm?”

“Yeah?”

“Now would really be a good time to come
collect your civilian.”

“Oh, man,” Ben moaned. “Is she cuffed?”

“Not yet, but she’s going to be in about
thirty seconds.”

“Jeezus, Row… What’s up with her all of a
sudden?”

“This place, probably,” I offered. “Like I
said, she’s not grounding. See why I didn’t want her in here?”

“Fuck me… You two are a piece a’ work… Man…
Go. Go get your wife, and get ‘er outta here before she ends up
gettin’ herself arrested.”

“Yeah,” I agreed as I started for the
door.

“I’ll get ahold of ya’ later,” he called
after me.

I was already heading through the door as his
words reached me, but I didn’t waste time to acknowledge them.
Across the parking lot, the petite redhead standing toe to toe with
a grim-faced cop had instantly become the focus of my full
attention.

* * * * *

“I still don’t see why we had to leave,”
Felicity announced.