The Witch's Ladder (9 page)

“
What does it look like?”

“
I don’t know, like a pile of clothes or something. Now who do you suppose put those there?”

“
I don’t know. Can you tell what kind of clothes they are? Work clothes? Dress clothes?”

“
It looks like a big old pile of black clothes. Let me turn around and see.”

“
No, wait….”

Before he could stop her, Valerie turned back and let out a blood-curdling scream. Her body jerked violently against the back of her chair as if someone had grabbed her by her throat and pulled her back. Doctor Lieberman tried holding her down, but the harder he held her, the stronger her twisting, wrenching and convulsing became.

“
Please,” Akasha cried. “Somebody do something!”

Michael and Gordon jumped in, and even with Doctor Lieberman’s help, the three struggled to keep Valerie from flipping out of the chair.

Someone yelled, “Look!” Valerie’s head began twisting involuntarily, beyond the point of natural ability. Chris cupped his hands over her ears and fought to keep her head from moving, but he was no match for the unnatural force working against him.

“
I can’t stop her,” he shouted. “I’m afraid I’ll hurt her. She’s fighting too hard. I don’t know what to do!”

Akasha said, “She’s going to break her neck. Do something!”

“
Do what?”

Somebody else screamed. A bulb on one of the wall sconces burst in a flash of light, then another, and another. The floor heaved. A blast of wind shot like a cannon across the room and shattered a window. Overhead, a crack of thunder shook the walls and in that instant it was over. Valerie stopped convulsing, went limp and fell to the floor.

“
Oh, God,” said Chris. “Is she…dead?”

Doctor Lieberman searched for a pulse and found it. He looked up and smiled, but before he could answer, I announced from across the room, “She’s not dead.” The others turned to see me standing in the doorway, twirling that silly piece of rope in my hand. “That was a two-knotter,” I said, and I strolled into the room as slick as smoke. “I heard the commotion on my way upstairs. I didn’t know if it would help, but I decided I better untie a couple of these knots and find out.”

Lilith smiled at me. “So then, Detective, am I to understand that you believe in the witch’s ladder now?”

I shrugged. “Not at all, Ms. Adams, I’m sure it was just coincidence.”

I knew it wasn’t a coincidence.

“
It was no coincidence,” she said.

I looked down at Valerie. She appeared to be coming around from her ordeal. “Does anyone want to explain to me what’s going on here?”

“
It’s an experiment in psychometry,” said Doctor Lieberman. “Barbara saw a mysterious bundle of clothing in the back seat of her car. We suspect the killer hid there waiting for her.”

I assisted Doctor Lieberman in helping Valerie back onto a chair. “Yes, we did find some torn fibers in Barbara’s car and under her fingernails, fibers that don’t match anything else at the crime scene.”

“
That’s good, Detective. Does this mean you have a suspect now?”

“
No, Doctor. It doesn’t.” I found myself twirling the witch’s ladder absentmindedly. “I’m afraid the lab hasn’t provided me with a link to the fibers—yet. But they will.”

“
Yeah, right,” someone scoffed.

I turned around to see who had mocked me, but too many misgiving eyes stared back for me to be sure. It could have been anyone, one of the twins I thought, but it didn’t matter. The one thing I knew for sure was that it was not Leona. I turned back to Doctor Lieberman. “Where’s Ms. Diaz? I still have questions for her.”

“
Questions?”

“
Yes. Like what was she doing at Suffolk’s Walk the night those men were killed.”

“
You don’t know she was there, Detective. All you have is vague witness descriptions of a young woman that looked like Leona. I’m sure it wasn’t her.”

“
No. It was her, Doctor. I’ve shown her surveillance pictures to my witnesses and they made a positive I.D.”

“
Surveillance? You have us under surveillance now?”

“
For your protection. That’s all.”

“
Yes, well, I don’t appreciate you following us around and taking pictures when you should be out there looking for a serial killer.”

“
I am, Doctor. I’m out there. I’m in here. I’m anywhere this investigation takes me, and right now it takes me looking for Leona Diaz. All I want to do is ask her what she saw at Suffolk’s Walk.”

“
Detective, if Leona had any information for you, I believe she would have told you straight away. Besides, if she was at Suffolk’s Walk at all, she wasn’t there in person. She was bilocating.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed. “Bilocating? That’s another thing. You know I’m very anxious to learn more about this bilocating stuff, and maybe gain a little insight into what happened here last night when Leona became so conveniently disengaged.”

“
I’m afraid all that is going to have to wait,” said Doctor Lieberman. “Leona’s not coming to the meeting tonight. She called to say she’s not feeling well.”

“
Not well—or is she trying to avoid me?”

“
Excuse me?”

“
You heard me.”

“
Yes, and I don’t like the implications.”

“
Implications? I’m more than implying. I’m beginning to believe Leona may have staged her sudden episode of spontaneous disengagement, along with the whole glossolalia thing for the sake of escaping interrogation.”

“
Oh, so now it’s an interrogation. Since when did your interviews get so formal? You know, Detective, I think you should consider whom you’re dealing with.”

“
I know whom I’m dealing with,” I said, but then realized the truth in Doctor Lieberman’s words. I knew whom I was dealing with, and I almost forgot I was dealing with psychics.

Someone turned the remaining lights in the room back on and that’s when I turned my attention to Valerie. “So, Ms. Spencer, tell me what you saw while you were doing your psychometry thing. Anything interesting?”

“
I don’t know, Detective. I don’t remember anything.”

“
Is that so? Maybe a trip downtown will help you remember. Or need I remind you that holding back critical information in a homicide investigation is considered—”

“
She said she doesn’t remember, Detective.” The interruption was compliments of Lilith Adams this time. “It’s just the way it works. Besides, we already told you everything we’ve learned. Barbara saw something in the back seat of her car just before the attack. She couldn’t tell what it was. We’re still no closer to knowing the answer than you are.”

“
I see.” I put my hands into the pockets of my coat and started across the room. I stopped when my toes touched the wall below the window. All eyes followed, and a hush preceded the final dull thump of my leather soul coming to rest on the wooden floorboards. I removed one hand from my pocket, and with it came Lilith’s witch’s ladder. I raised my hand to the window, extended my finger and pried open a peephole through the blinds. I could see my officer outside in the parking lot, his cruiser emitting tiny flickers of light from the portable TV he brought with him. A thin veil of fog had rolled in low to the ground, but from where I stood, I could still see him paying more attention to the TV than to his surveillance. I shook my head, and a low but audible groan lurched from the pit of my stomach.

“
Why are you doing this,” I said. I allowed the blinds to snap shut before turning back to face the group. “Why are you conducting your own investigation into these murders?”

“
We want to find out what happened to Travis and Barbara.” Lilith answered. “We feel we have resources at our disposal, which you do not have at yours. And we think these resources may help us gain information not available to you through conventional means.”

“
Resources, Ms. Adams? So now you’re all psychic sleuths. Is that it?”

Akasha stepped forward, and in an unusual show of solidarity for Lilith, declared, “We are trying to get to the bottom of it. If this guy is out to get another one of us, then we want to know. That is all.”

I turned to Akasha. She stood before me, rigid and determined, her hands on her hips in an image of defiance—an image I would have expected more from Lilith. “This guy?” I said. “How do you know it’s a guy and not several guys, or a woman or even several women for that matter?”

Akasha retreated some. Her eyes blinked doubtfully “I…I guess I assumed—”

“
You assumed. Doesn’t your assumption cut down your field of suspects by an unqualified 50 percent or more?”

She didn’t answer. I turned to the others. “What now, folks? What other form of psychodrama can you perform? Got any more tricks up your sleeves?”

Lilith raised one hand over her head and then the other. She arched her back delicately, reaching, stretching on tiptoes like a cat waking from an afternoon slumber. Her arms folded downward. Her palms gently brushed along the sides of her face. Her fingertips caressed her cheeks, slid along her jawbone and traced a path behind her neck. She pushed her hands outward, lifting her hair and letting it fall onto her shoulders. “You know what I think, Detective?” she said. “I think you’re afraid we might actually come up with something on these murders, something you have been unable to find yourself.”

“
Oh, really?”

“
Yes. You’re two months into your investigation and what do you have? Nothing. You have a baseball bat with no fingerprints, a stitch of fiber with no clue as to where it came from and four bodies with missing livers. If I were you, I would welcome outside help no matter how unlikely the source. Who knows, maybe you can solve this case before someone else loses a liver.”

“
And who knows, Ms. Adams, maybe you might stick your nose someplace where it doesn’t belong and end up just like the others.”

“
Is that a threat?”

“
No. That’s common sense advice. If you think you have reliable information that can help me solve this case, then I would appreciate your input. Otherwise, it’s my duty to demand that you refrain from interfering with the case in any way.”

“
Yeah, whatever.” Lilith reached behind her neck again, this time gathering her hair up into a ponytail. She tied it off with a hair tie resembling a miniature witch’s ladder. “All right, I need everyone’s attention,” she said, and received it undivided. “I’m going to attempt to conjure up a thought-form. I’ll need everyone’s help, even yours, Marcella.”

“
Mine?” I pointed at myself. “Really?”

“
Yes. If you’re present, you must partake. A thought-form requires everyone in the room to concentrate on the subject matter. But I need you to believe in this, Detective. You must concentrate very hard and visualize with the rest of us, or it won’t work.”

I wanted to laugh, and almost did, but quickly realized Lilith was serious. I wiped the smile from my face, took a seat and sat up straight. “Okay. Tell me what I’m supposed to concentrate on. I mean, what’s a thought-form look like?”

“
A thought-form is a nonphysical entity created from thought,” she explained. “This energy gives off vibrations, and with our collective minds focusing our energies at the same time, we may give these vibrations definition and character. We can create a sort of artificial element. Once this element has taken form, it can take on energy of its own and even assume intelligence. All I want you to do is concentrate on Travis Webber. Do not let your mind become distracted no matter what you see, hear or feel. Once the thought-form appears, you must allow it to take its course. It won’t hurt you. It won’t cause any trouble, and it probably won’t break anything.”

“
Probably?” I said, though my comment went without reply.

Lilith shut the lights out again, opened the blinds to the night sky and then took a seat at the head of the table.

“
Let’s get started. I want everyone to assume a comfortable position. I recommend sitting up straight with hands folded in front of you and heads forward.”

She paused to allow a few to squirm in their seats before settling comfortably into position.

“
Okay, everyone take a couple of deep breaths and relax. You must expel the tension from your bodies before this can work. Your minds must remain focused. If you have an itch scratch it; otherwise close your eyes and think only of Travis Webber. I must have your full and complete concentration. I want you to visualize his face and his body. Think about his smile and even the spelling of his name. Whatever vision of Travis stands out the strongest for you, then that is the thought I want you to stay with. Collectively, we can bring him back in thought-form, but you all must concentrate.”