Spirit [New Crescent 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (27 page)

“That can wait until tomorrow.” Chase was firm.

Reggie wasn’t impressed. She sat up straighter. “No, it can’t wait until tomorrow. Time is running out. I’ll do what I think is best.”

Chase said nothing. She looked at him with suspicion. Did he do that on purpose? Make her just angry enough to forget about the throbbing pain in her shoulder? Good one.

Returning to Bennett House, Reggie walked immediately to the little iron gate in the garden. Chase followed close behind.

“Constance?” She called. “Can I speak with you please?”

They heard a little laugh. “Aren’t you polite?” She teased.

Happy to hear the ghostly but snide voice, Reggie smiled. “Yeah, every once in a while I try polite on for size, but it chafes.”

Constance ignored her. “Did the physician mend you?”

“I’ll be all right. How are you?”

Constance shrugged, “There is no physician who can mend me. I am as I am.”

Reggie rolled her eyes and looked at Chase. She said, “You know what I mean but hey, I’m glad you have the energy to be difficult.”

Constance smiled but said nothing.

Chase said, “Thanks for your help today. We found the hidden room.”

“I’m glad. It was not pleasant facing my husband again, but I am stronger when I work in concert with you.”

Reggie smiled. “We make a good team.”

She gave them both a ghostly frown and said, “Do not think this is the end. We won a battle today. The next will not be so easy.”

Reggie’s golden eyes widened, “You call that easy? Well you don’t have to breathe to stay alive. We do, and let me tell you that stuff he’s spewing out is toxic.”

“You both did well today. Go rest.” She made dismissive motions with her arms.

Chase, of course, couldn’t see her, and he said, “I’m going to stake out the library windows tonight. He’ll need energy, and I’d rather he not get it from a misguided kid.”

Constance shook her head. “As you wish.” She was gone.

“She’s gone, isn’t she?”

“Yeah. Let’s go inside. I could eat something.”

Chase gave her a measuring look. “Good idea. You shouldn’t take painkillers on an empty stomach.”

Reggie shook her head. “You know, I don’t think I’ll take those pills.” When he started to object she put a hand up to quiet him. “Gillian told me to abstain from alcohol until this thing is over. I’m sure she’d put pain killers on the restricted list.”

“I forgot about that.” Chase said.

“I almost did too. I need to keep my wits about me now more than ever. We’ve got a hold of something Vincent treasures. He didn’t want us to find that room. That makes me think those books and those heebie-jeebie bottles are important.”

“Agreed. I’ll fix dinner.”

In a conversational tone, Reggie said, “Yeah, my mom told me that she taught you how to cook.”

Wary, he said, “And?”

“Did she show you how to make her macaroni and cheese?” She looked hopeful.

He laughed. “As a matter of fact…”

* * * *

Tempted by the huge bathtub, Reggie showed self-discipline and stepped into the shower instead. She didn’t have time for a long soak. Chase was preparing dinner after he grabbed a quick shower, so she didn’t have much time. If she ran a bath, she might never get out, and at this moment, her most urgent need was food.

Dressing in comfortable pants and a sweat shirt Reggie looked down at her little dog. Poor Pru. She didn’t understand why she’d had to spend a good portion of the day locked up in the bedroom with Pita. Reggie and Chase didn’t dare let them run loose while they were engaged with Vincent. The little dog and cat were perfect targets for his sport. Emotionally, both Reggie and Chase were bonded with the animals. Although Chase pretended otherwise, Reggie knew he loved that cat and was touched by its loyalty to him. No, they had to keep the animals away from the library and the power it housed. The best way to do that was to shut them up in a bedroom as far away as possible. It was no real hardship so Reggie didn’t have much sympathy for them. She’d finished work in all the bedrooms, but that one was especially beautiful. Not quite as luxurious as the master bedroom, the smaller spare bedroom had character. Painted in periwinkle blue with white trim, the white-washed vintage furniture suite suited the room to a tee. It would make a wonderful little girl’s room.

Reggie’s stomach growled, and she obeyed. The kitchen smelled glorious. If she were a character in a Looney Tunes cartoon, she’d be floating in the air, bewitched by the aroma. Reggie wasn’t a cartoon, so she just closed her eyes and breathed deeply in appreciation.

Chase was seasoning a salad when he saw her walk in. He smiled and tossed her a cherry tomato. “How do you feel?”

“Better, thanks.” She said before she bit down decisively on the round tomato. Its guts sprayed her mouth and she swallowed with satisfaction. “Mmm.” She said and licked her lips. Jealous, Chase bent and kissed those very same lips. She responded eagerly. When the oven timer went off, it startled them both. He smiled down at her a question in his blue eyes. Reggie decided it wasn’t just food she was hungry for.

All appetites satiated, they poured over the books they’d managed to haul from the secret room in the library. What they found defied description. These were English translations of very dark magic. Blood magic, Ernestine would call it. So powerful that only the most committed of servants could wield its forces without destroying himself. Reading the rituals and incantations made Reggie sick. She felt cold and Chase put an arm around her.

“You don’t have to read anymore, Crash. I think we got the gist of what these books are and what they represent.”

Reggie rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “I think we need to get these books and all those gross little bottles to Ernestine as soon as possible. I don’t want to see them ever again. I hope to hell we don’t have to understand all of this before we can defeat the Big Bad. You know, like when Travis was with the FBI and had to get into the mind of a serial killer in order to catch him.”

Chase ran his thumb down her cheek. “I know what you mean. Let’s hope Ernestine can handle this for us. Let her be the scholar and we’ll be the warriors.”

He glanced outside and said, “It’s past the dinner hour. I need to set up my stakeout of the library windows. Now they’re not boarded up, who knows how tempting they might appear to a kid who likes to ignore the rules.”

“That and Vincent has to be tweaking for a fix right about now.”

Chase nodded.

Pushing the books away from her, she stood and said, “I need to wash this disgusting spew off my hands. I’ll meet you outside.”

Chase looked at her, an expression of incredulity on his face. “Are you crazy? You need to get some rest. I can take care of this on my own.”

Stubborn, she stood her ground. “Sorry Poindexter, we’re in this together. How many times have we been told we’re stronger as two? I’m joining you.”

“Reggie, let’s think this through logically—”

“Logically? In order for us to discuss this logically, you’d have to be either a girl or a Vulcan.” She looked him up and down. “I know you’re not a girl, and you can’t possibly be a Vulcan because they mate only once every seven years or so…sorry, Spock, but you’re way over your quota. I’m going on a stakeout.”

“Vulcans mate only once every four years,” Chase corrected her.

“Ah huh, geek test!” She walked out of the dining room and went looking for warm clothes and for something to sit on. She didn’t relish the thought of hunkering down in the mud, uncomfortable and miserable.

She met Chase outside. He’d selected an advantageous location for the stakeout. “Since we’re supposed to do this together, I blocked off every other approach to this side of the building. Don’t worry. It doesn’t look intentional like manipulating a rat in a maze. It’s just that this is now, the easiest way to get to the library windows. He’ll have to go past us.”

She smiled at him. She almost laughed when she saw how prepared he was. He’d set up two small folding lawn chairs. There was a blanket on each. He’d brought two thermoses. Reggie assumed they contained coffee. She was delighted.

He put his hands in his pockets and showed her an assortment of candy bars. She threw her good arm around him and brought his head down to hers so she could land a kiss of gratitude on his lips.

Despite all Chase’s preparations, the stakeout was excruciatingly boring. They had to stay quiet but alert. Quiet wasn’t Reggie’s forte. She dozed off a few times, her head resting on Chase’s warm chest. At long last, when the sun rose, Chase stood up and stretched until his bones cracked. Reggie winced at the sound.

“Now you go to bed. I’ll drive the books over to Ernestine and swing by the school to make sure Aidan Spencer is in class. If we know where he is we know he’s not here playing host body to the Big Bad.”

Reggie shook her head. “I should do that. It’ll be easier for me to recognize Aidan.”

Chase shook his head. “I know Aidan’s teacher. I’m going to ask her for a favor. She can let us know when or if Aidan disappears.”

“Convenient that, knowing his teacher thing,” she mumbled as she walked away.

* * * *

Chase tied the books up with care. He wanted them out of the house just as much as Reggie did. Touching them made his skin crawl. He wasn’t looking forward to hauling out the rest of them, not to mention those bottles and he knew they’d have to do that soon, maybe even today.

He pulled his truck into the visitors’ parking lot at the school. The bell hadn’t rung yet, and he could see the grounds filling up with kids. He smiled. He wanted to have kids. He planned on being a dedicated father. Chase believed if he was going to do something, he’d better do it right and he fervently believed parenting kids was the most important job of all.

He walked down the hallway and paused outside Sue Hanks’s classroom. It was decked out for Halloween. She looked up when he opened the door and smiled brightly at him.

“Hi, Chase, what brings you here this morning?”

Avoiding the kids’ desks, he leaned a hip against the teacher’s desk. He got right to the point. He asked her to keep an eye out for Aidan and make sure he didn’t cut school. Sue asked for an explanation, and Chase admitted that he couldn’t give her one at the moment, but he told her to call Travis if she needed corroboration.

She shook her head. “I trust you, Chase. I’ll give you a call if I lose Aidan at any time during the day.”

The bell rang. Chase thanked her and quickly left the building. He loved kids, but he wasn’t sure if he liked them en masse.

His next stop was Ernestine’s place. It was still pretty early, but since the day was fair, he knew where she’d be. Carrying the stack of books, he walked the path and found her sitting on her favorite bench feeding the birds.

Her feathered friends flew off as he approached. Ernestine looked up, not a glimmer of surprise in her eyes. She was prepared for his visit.

He showed her the books. She shook her head. “I never knew these texts were ever translated into English. Vincent Bennett was well traveled indeed. The owner would not have given these up for any price. His blood, spilled on the books, would increase their power.” She frowned. “Vincent would have had to kill the previous owner himself. He could never trust something this important to a subordinate no matter how loyal. He would have to make sure the power passed to him and only him.”

“There are more. I counted thirty in total.” Chase sighed. “There were hundreds of glass bottles filled with I don’t know what. They were found with the books in the secret room in the library.

Ernestine nodded knowingly. “Of course, he’d have kept them close. Don’t let anyone else get their hands on those books or those bottles. They’re very dangerous to someone who cannot understand them. Bring me everything from that room as soon as possible. I know what must be done with them. Gillian can help me.”

“It wasn’t easy getting this stuff, but if you need everything, we’ll get it done. Hopefully, once you’ve disposed of it, we’ll have cut the head off the snake.”

Ernestine touched his frowning face and said, “Be careful, I don’t want anything bad to happen to either of you. And you’re beyond my protection.”

* * * *

When he returned to Bennett House, he ignored all the paper work waiting for him and slowly walked up the grand staircase. He smiled down at Pita, who had greeted him at the door.

“You still here?” he asked as usual. “Well, okay, you can stay, but just this once.”

Reggie was sleeping on her back. She instinctively cradled her injured arm in her sleep. Pru lay at the bottom of the bed and lifted her head an inch to acknowledge his presence, then went back to sleep. Chase took a very quick shower, dried off and joined Reggie in the bed. She murmured in her sleep and cuddled up beside him. He could hear Pita’s soft purr. Chase McCann was home at last.

* * * *

A couple of hours later, Reggie woke up. Chase still slept beside her. She decided to let him sleep and bring him food for a change. Carefully, she slipped out of the bed. She wrapped her terry cloth robe around her impressive body. Her fluffy slippers made her clumsy as she descended the back staircase to the kitchen.