The Witch's Ladder (25 page)

“
Gees, Tony. Let me finish.”

I shrank back in my seat and snarled jokingly. “You love it when you get one up on me, Carlos. Don’t you?”

“
Well, it’s not often. So the least you can do is let me savor the moment.”

I gestured a wave for him to continue.

“
All right then. As I was saying, after I found those two beads, I went out to Suffolk’s Walk to where the two homeless men were killed, and sure enough, two more beads. That puts the same person at the scene of all the murders.”

“
That’s incredible, Carlos. Great work.”

“
Really? You mean it?”

“
Absolutely.” I stood and shook his hand. “That now links Doctor Lieberman’s murder to all the others.”

“
Yes, but what I can’t figure out is what good this information does us when we can’t find the twins? I mean, if the beads weren’t Gordon’s, then they had to belong to one of the girls.”

“
No. I’m afraid not. This conspiracy goes much deeper.”

“
How so?”

“
For one thing, we know from the plaster footprints that there were a number of people involved. I think we have to assume now that all these people were involved from the beginning, and likely played a part in all the murders. And as much as I hate to admit it, my hunch tells me that not only are Lilith and Michael in on this, but also Leona and most likely Valerie Spencer.”

“
That’s the whole damn workshop.”

“
That’s right, the whole damn workshop.”

I reclaimed my chair, dropping into it with a heavy thud. I sat back and took a moment to reflect on the situation while trying to imagine just how all the pieces fit together. “You know, something still doesn’t make sense to me,” I said.

“
Oh?”

“
If the entire workshop is involved in this mess, then why have only Leona and the twins gone into hiding?”

“
I don’t know. You tell me.”

“
I don’t know either, but I’m willing to bet that neither Leona nor the twins left town.”

“
Really?”

“
Yes, and if that’s the case we have to ask ourselves where are they? Is their disappearance something of their own will or have they become victims of their own conspiracy?”

“
Good question. What’s your take?”

I thought about it and tried putting myself in either Leona’s or the twins’ shoes. If they hadn’t left town, where could they be? For Leona, a girl who bilocates, that could be anywhere. With the twins, I considered that sometimes the best place to hide is right in plain sight.

“
The gazebo,” I said, springing to my feet and startling Carlos something fierce.

“
The gazebo?”

“
We have to excavate. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner.”

“
What will we look for?”

“
If my hunch is correct, I believe we’ll discover what happened to the twins. Get on the phone and call the Department of Parks and Rec. Have them line up a backhoe. I’ll call the coroner’s office and forensics. I want everyone out at the lake by eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Carlos made no comment. The look on his face told me he understood.

The following morning, Carlos and I met a city work-crew and a half dozen uniformed officers out at the lake with enough equipment to begin sifting through the charred ruins of the old gazebo. Once we removed the heavy timbers and larger sections of the collapsed roof, the workers were free to shift their attention to the more gruesome aspect of the job: searching for bodies by hand, one piece at a time. Almost immediately, one of the workers discovered what I had suspected he might.

“
I think we have a skull here,” the man called out.

Another worker declared, “I have a body here.”

Carlos turned to me. His face grew cold and emotionless. There seemed no reason to hang around any longer. We were both certain that the charred bodies at the gazebo would prove to be the remains of the missing twins, Shekina and Akasha Kayo. We turned and walked away.

“
It’s kind of funny,” said Carlos. “Seems like with every question we answer, there’s yet another waiting to take its place.”

“
Indeed,” I said. “It gets more complicated all the time.”

“
So what do you make of it? Did Gordon kill the twins and then try to frame them for Doctor Lieberman’s murder by planting the handsaw and tire iron in the trunk of their car?”

“
I don’t know. Someone may have planted the evidence. In retrospect, it seems as though finding them in the trunk was too convenient. If you ask me, it wasn’t just Gordon. I can’t see him taking on the twins alone.”

“
You still think the others are in on it?”

“
No doubt about it, Carlos. Everyone has something to hide, and the more complicated things get, the more someone keeps slipping up.”

“
What do we do now, wait for the next slip-up?”

I shook my head. “We can’t do that. Another slip-up almost certainly means another body. We have to force someone’s hand.”

“
Back to Lilith’s?”

“
No, not Lilith’s. I’m going to see the one person I really haven’t questioned enough.”

“
Valerie Spencer?”

“
Exactly.”

“
Well, she is a good looker. I don’t suppose you’ll mind that call.”

I stopped in my tracks and wondered what strange events would greet me if I used the witch’s ladder again at the Spencer home. I thought it might be good—even fun—to take Carlos along for backup this time. I turned to my old pal and said to him, “You know what? Seeing whereas you’re a nonbeliever of such matters as witchcraft and the like, what do you say you join me? Things could get interesting.”

“
Interesting? Tony, this case is interesting enough. I can’t imagine it getting any more so. But knowing you, I’m sure you’ve got something up your sleeve.”

“
Oh, you’ll see.”

“
Yeah, then I’ll see you buying lunch when we’re done.”

“
You want me to buy lunch?”

“
If you want some company.”

“
It’s barely nine o’clock.”

“
It’s never too early to plan.”

I slapped him on the back and nudged him toward the car. “Okay then. Let’s go. I imagine you’re getting hungry already.”

“
Oh, you know me so well, Kemosabe. Lead the way.”

Seventeen

On the ride out to the Spencer residence, I took time to brief Carlos on what he might expect once questioning got under way. I tried to remain vague without leaving him ill prepared, but Carlos simply failed to appreciate the unique circumstances inherent to that particular visit.

“
With all due respect, Tony, I’ve been doing this a while. I hardly need instructions on how to participate in a routine interview.”

“
But that’s what I’m trying to tell you. I don’t expect this will be routine.”

“
What makes this one different?”

“
I’m not sure, but be prepared because once I start asking Ms. Spencer questions, you may experience some…shall we say strange phenomena.”

“
Like what?”

“
I don’t know. It might get windy, or the room might shake. I don’t have a lot of experience with this, so I’m not sure exactly what to expect myself.”

“
Windy? Inside the house? Are you serious?”

I thought about what I was saying. I realized how bizarre it must have sounded to someone who hadn’t already seen the things I’d seen, the thought-form of Travis Webber on the window at the institute, the quaking in Lilith’s house and the cyclone at Jean’s. I couldn’t explain any of it in scientific terms, and science was the only reasoning Carlos understood. I glanced at him alternately, dividing my attention between him and the road.

“
Look, all I can do is warn you. In all sincerity, you need to listen. As soon as I begin questioning Ms. Spencer, I’m going to take out the witch’s ladder and untie one of the knots. If anything happens and I can’t stop it, I want you to get out of there like your life depended on it. You got that?”

A nervous twitch tugged at the corners of his mouth. “You’re pulling my leg, right?”

“
No. I’m serious. Something weird might happen. You have to be ready for anything.”

“
Tony, the only thing weird is you losing touch with reality. I hate to say it, but maybe you’ve been working too close to this case, getting too caught up in all this supernatural voodoo hocus-pocus stuff.”

“
That may be, but I still want you ready for anything. Okay?”

“
Hey, Amigo. I’m a cop. I’m always ready for anything.”

I pulled into the driveway of Valerie Spencer’s home. Carlos rolled down the window and stuck his head out before the car came to a full stop. “Wow, will you look at this,” he said. “Spencer must be worth a bundle.”

I threw the car into park and shut off the engine. “She is.” I leaned over the steering wheel to get a better look out the windshield. “I’ve done some checking these last few weeks. Spencer’s husband had a successful business down in Venezuela. When he died, he left her millions. She’s probably worth more than you and I will make in a lifetime.”

Carlos nodded. “That’s a shame.”

“
How so?”

“
Think about it. What a shame it’d be if it turns out she put all this on the line by getting involved in Doctor Lieberman’s murder, and for what?”

“
Indeed. That’s what we’re here to find out. For what?”

We strolled up the front walk to the elaborate granite-lined entryway with its massive fluted pillars flanking each side. A security camera mounted high up in the corner activated on our approach. It rotated on a swivel and automatically tracked our moves by infrared sensors. We reached the front door and were mildly startled when a voice on the intercom acknowledged our arrival before we even knocked.

“
Good morning, Detectives,” the voice said. “Just a moment. I’ll let you in.”

A mechanical click and the sound of a sliding deadbolt echoed against the granite walls as the door unlatched itself. Carlos pushed on the handle and watched as it glided open effortlessly.

“
Did she do that with her mind?” he asked, only beginning to believe some of my stories about psychokinetic phenomena.

I started to answer, when the obviously amused voice came back over the intercom. “No, Detective,” she said, and a laugh followed. “It’s not psycho kinesis. It’s Teltech Security. I have a remote entry control switch hooked up to all the doors in the house.”

Carlos turned away from the camera, embarrassed. He looked at me and noticed me biting down on my lower lip, trying hard not to laugh. “What?” he said. “What’s so funny?”

“
Oh, nothing.” I nudged him forward. “I’m just thinking how this is definitely worth the cost of a lunch.”

“
I can leave right now if you want.”

“
No, don’t. Come on. Get in there.”

We stepped over the threshold, allowing the door to close automatically behind us. Again the voice came over the intercom, this time through the house speakers mounted in the ceilings. “Please come to the back of the house, gentleman. You’ll find me by the pool.”

I led the way. We passed the grand foyer and the sweeping circular staircase, continued through the formal living room, the sitting room, library and butler’s pantry.

“
I think we took a wrong turn,” Carlos whispered. “This looks like a pantry.”

“
Gee, you think?”

“
Yeah. We should backtrack.”

Overhead, the intercom clicked on. “Go through the living room and turn right. When you pass the movie theater, take a left.”

“
Did she say Movie Theater?”

“
Yes.”

“
Holy cow! Then what do we do, turn right past the concourse and take the shuttle to Penn station?”

“
It’s all right, Detective,” the intercom voice said. “You’re almost there. Keep moving.”

I gave Carlos the look before shoving him forward to make him take the lead. I followed on his heels, making mental notes of all the possible exits in case the front door no longer offered an option for quick retreat. Carlos, on the other hand, trampled blindly, marveling at the rich decor, its lush indoor greenery, exquisite paintings and the overall flamboyant architecture of the building. The house had a distinctly South American ambiance about it, a sort of aristocratic Venezuelan touch with an air of Spanish Colonialism thrown in. I could understand why Valerie and Leona Diaz hit it off so well from the beginning. Even though Leona came from Central America, she would have likely felt right at home among the Mexican tile, archways and subtropical plants that adorned the inside of the house. Though probably more up-scaled than Leona ever knew, it likely came closer to home than anything else she had seen since arriving in America.