Mid-Century Monster, page 6
part #3 of Solstice Properties Mystery Series
“He’s a nice young man taking care of his mother.” Her mother smiled at Cantor. “Hire him, Cin. He’ll work out well. Trust me.”
There were times Cin hated not being able to talk to her mother without coming across as crazy to people who didn’t know she was there. It made working with RJ so much easier.
The chime on the door rang out. Cin glanced at the clock on her computer and frowned. Her next interview wasn’t due for nearly an hour and a half.
“Cin, are you in?” Chief Brown’s voice came from the waiting room.
“Back here, Chief.” Cin stood, then looked at Michael Cantor sitting there before her. “Sorry to cut this short. I have a couple other people to interview this morning, I’ll discuss things with my husband this evening and hope to let everyone know our decision tomorrow morning. If we decide on you, can you start the following day, or would next week be better?”
Cantor rose and grinned. “The following day should be fine.”
Cin held out her hand. “Good. Thanks for applying.”
“Thank you for your time.” Cantor again grasped her hand with just the right amount of pressure.
“Ah, there you are Cin.” Chief Brown strode into the office. “I thought…oh, sorry, didn’t realize you were busy.” He stopped and stared at Cantor.
“I was just leaving. I look forward to hearing from you, Mrs. Kilkari.” Cantor picked up his messenger bag, and slung it over his shoulder as he exited the office with long even strides.
Zack Brown waited for a moment before coming over and taking the chair Cantor had vacated. “I’ll try and keep this short.”
“I’m good for a little while, unless the rest of the day keeps showing up early.” Cin settled back into her chair. “What brings you in?”
Chief Brown leaned forward slightly. “That body we found yesterday in the dumpster behind the house, it was an illegal alien.”
“He,” Cin said before she could stop herself. “Juan was a he, not an it.”
“Sorry.” Brown leaned back and opened his hands in surrender. “He. Sometimes it’s easier to dehumanize the corpses we find.”
“I think Chad’s mentioned that before.” Cin felt bad about calling Zack on it, but it was a reflex. She knew a lot of people who dehumanized people they didn’t agree with by using terms like it. The word ‘it’ always irritated her when used in reference to people.
“It’s okay. Anyway we were trying to track down his family, and they are all covering up something, we just don’t know what. I called Chad, and he said the crew didn’t come in today due to a demon.” Brown shook his head. “Demons don’t exist, right?”
A chill went through Cin. “Why are you asking me?” She knew Brown knew about Chad being a werewolf, and most of the law enforcement and higher public servants were under oaths, to protect the knowledge of the supernatural community. None of them knew about witches. Of all the supernaturals, witches were the ones who’d avoided knowledge of them getting out. Spells had managed to keep them secret. Magic was their protection.
“He’s hiding something.” Her mother circled Brown, who gave no sign of sensing her.
“Chad said you might know how to find Phillip and Juan’s families.” Brown pulled a small notebook out of his pocket.
“That I can do, but why the question about demons?” Cin tapped her desk.
“I wasn’t sure about it, but something in your attitude tells me they might be real. We both know that werewolves and vampires are real, along with some other things we aren’t supposed to talk about.” Zack looked at her. “Did you have to take the Infragilis oath when Chad was turned?”
The chill in Cin intensified.
“An Infragilis oath?” Her mother asked even as Cin did.
“You didn’t know? Those of us who are given the knowledge of the supernatural are visited by some kind of scary paranormal who takes our oaths of silence. I don’t know if it’s because you already know about Chad or something else, but I can talk about it around you.” He pursed his lips and shook his head. “I can’t even speak about it to Shelby. I’ve tried. The two times, my words became something totally different, in such a way she didn’t seem to notice anything was wrong.”
Cin felt bad about not being able to make the chief feel better, but she could be honest. “I’ve never heard of an Infragilis oath.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s because Chad’s family. That group who works with the FBI, they did make me promise to keep my mouth shut on things, but that was all. Since Chad’s attack, I’ve done a bit of research into the paranormal, and so far, the only thing I’ve seen about demons has to do with religious text. Maybe the folks at the Catholic church will know more.”
“I was really hoping to avoid that.” He pursed his lips and pushed out a breath. “Since Chad’s change, and everything with Sheriff Jackson, I…I just don’t feel comfortable going in. My family was always Southern Baptist. Sure they were all hellfire and brimstone, but that’s different from demons. I’m in over my head here.”
“Tell you what. I don’t know much about demons, but get Shelby to take you over to the Open Mind book store. They’ve got some books on magic and stuff. Don’t know how real they are, but you might get some leads on what we’re dealing with. So do you think a demon killed Juan?”
“Honestly, it’s either that, or some kind of primate. Dollan Shiffer, I think you know our coroner.”
Cin nodded.
“Well he looked at the wounds on Juan, and the closest thing he could say was it looked like some kind of ape with really sharp claws.”
“Sounds like some kind of demon to me,” her mother said as she stopped walking around the chief and took a seat on the corner of Cin’s desk.
“But demons shouldn’t exist.” Cin closed her eyes, trying to put sense into what she was hearing. Juan had been shredded by a primate with long claws. Chas had said the smells in the house were like nothing he’d encountered before. But why would a demon live under the house they were renovating? She really wished their lives would go back to normal with just dealing with renters having backed up toilets and owners wondering where the banks had displaced their payments.
The chime on the front door rang again.
Cin glanced at her computer. She had a little while before the next appointment.
Chief Brown stood. “I had probably better go. Thanks for the input. I’ll grab Shelby and stop by the book store.”
“Good. Not sure what other help I can be, but if I can help you get in touch with Juan’s family, I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks.” Zack nodded as they walked together into the front office. “I’ll be in touch.”
A slender woman stood there in a nice dress, clutching her purse, like it was some kind of shield. “Hi, I know I’m early, but I have an appointment for a job interview.”
“Looks like you’re getting busy.” Chief Brown hurried out as Cin turned toward the woman and invited her into the office for the interview.
She hoped the day would slow down enough for her to stop and think about the Chief stopping by and asking about demons, and the news that landed in her lap about an Infragilis oath. Suddenly having the public servants know about the supernatural and not spilling the beans made sense. What she didn’t understand was why the chief thought to ask her about demons. Was the oath not as unbreakable as the casters thought? Or was the magic of the oath able to detect paranormals? What would happen if Zack stopped to think that through?
10
Cin turned her face toward the wind as she walked toward the door of Third Eye Open, the local psychic shop run by her friend Kama. The afternoon breeze was cool for Cottonwood, particularly with no cloud cover. Autumn was bearing down on the valley. Fairly soon the snows would be coming. She hoped they’d be done with most of the work on the new house before that happened. Previously, they’d backed off of flipping jobs before winter settled in. Last year there’d been plenty to keep RJ busy with furnace filters needing to be changed and pipes bursting due to residents forgetting to leave their faucets dripping on the extremely cold nights the valley was prone to in the winter.
After a busy morning of interviews, the cool breeze helped her relax before going in for a card reading. With everything happening over the past year, she’d visited Kama more often than she had previously. There was something about uncertain times that sent many people to consult with their spiritual advisers. It wasn’t uncommon for followers of any religion to turn to their leaders when they needed guidance. Although technically Kama was the leader of the witches in the valley, a lot of them went to her for guidance and sometimes just for someone to talk to.
The cowbell on the door’s tension arm clanked, jarring Cin as she walked in.
“Cin, have a seat. I’ll be there in a moment,” Kama’s dulcet tones came from the back. “Everyone’s running early today. There’s something in the air.”
Not needing to be told where to sit, Cin walked over to the central table in the room, where the standard prop crystal ball sat on the edge of the surface, barely on the lacey black shawl that covered the table. The chairs were the same as they had been the first time Cin had met Kama, or at least she presumed they were. She couldn’t remember them ever changing, but neither did they show any signs of wear and tear.
Moments later, Kama emerged from the back, carrying a small silver tea service. Steam curled up out of the teapot’s spout. “Sorry. I knew you were coming. I know that I’m not running late, but everyone is running early today. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
“So I’m not the only one?” Cin accepted the teacup Kama offered her.
“Nope, it’s been everyone today.” Kama scooped a bit of tea from a small bowl into a tea ball. “Every client who’s had an appointment had been at least thirty minutes early. That sort of thing never happens.”
“No, I meant that I wasn’t the only one who’s having people running early, or unexpected.” Cin poured her own water over her tea as Kama scooped out her own tea ball.
Kama paused with her tea ball inches from her teacup. “Really. That’s most unusual. In today’s world people are more prone to run late than early.”
Cin nodded as she set the teapot back on the silver tray. “That’s what I was thinking too. But yeah, everyone’s early or are just dropping by.”
“I’ll check the star charts later and let you know what I find. So many things are off right now. I can’t get a good feel on anything.” Kama frowned. “Well it’s honest, but I bet that’s not what you wanted to hear when you came in for a reading.”
“Not really.” Cin couldn’t help but laugh. Hearing that Kama was having trouble getting strong feelings on things made her feel better about not knowing what was going on around her. “But that’s okay. Maybe we can sort things out together.”
Kama returned her smile as she poured water into her own cup. “That’s a good way to look at things. Now, while our tea brews, tell me a bit about what’s happening. I heard one of your crew was killed by wild dogs.”
Cin shook her head. “No, well, we don’t exactly know what killed him. The official cause of death is an animal attack, but the coroner says it looks more like a primate with sharp claws.”
“But primates aren’t known for sharp claws, other than werewolves.” She locked gazes with Cin. “And Chad’s sure it’s not a werewolf?”
There was a level of power in Kama’s gaze, and Cin didn’t blink away from it. “Chad doesn’t recognize the scent. So, it’s not a werewolf.”
“Good.” Kama blinked first. “I hadn’t felt any other lycanthropes in Cottonwood, but sometimes things slip in.”
“Right. Speaking of slipping in, what do you know about demons?” Cin picked up her tea cup and blew across it. The brewing leaves smelled delightful, but she’d never had a bad cup of tea with Kama and didn’t expect anything else but perfection from her friend.
“Demons.” Kama frowned. “Although a lot of my clients believe in such things, I have never seen anything that couldn’t be attributed to earthly spirits when people claim possession and the like. Why do you suspect a demon?”
Cin cupped her hands around her teacup, enjoying the gentle warmth that welled out from it. “I honestly don’t. You know I’ve dealt with too much to believe such things instantly, but I’ve also seen enough to know that I don’t know everything. Juan, the worker who was killed, claimed to have seen a demon running from the house on the first day of demo.”
Kama waggled a finger toward Cin. “Right there, it’s the easy answer. Based on the rumors we’ve all heard, demons wouldn’t run from a house they’d claimed, they’d defend it, hoping to take over the person who was trying to take control of it. If there was something running from the house, then it was something of this world, not something beyond.”
“That makes sense.” Cin took a sip of her tea, thankful she had come to talk with Kama. Her friend was good at getting to the truth of a subject, even if she wasn’t using her cards. There were hints of mint and eyebright in the tea, things to help her open up to the cards they were about to deploy.
“So we need to look closer at the area around that house. The answers should be there.” Kama took a sip of her tea and closed her eyes in a blissful look.
“Chad and RJ are keeping their eyes open for anything out of place, but there’s got to be more to it than just an animal attack.”
Kama set her tea down and picked up the deck of tarot cards near the crystal ball. “Let’s see what the cards are seeing that we aren’t. Sometimes they’re good at pointing us to things.”
“I know.” Cin had her future read as often as she could, almost like she was testing the readers. She didn’t have a reason to question Kama’s ability, but others she ran into at community gatherings and such were just easy targets to determine if they were authentic readers or not. Sometimes she swore people just said whatever popped into their heads, like they’d be watching TV while doing the readings and if a yellow car was in an ad, they said someone in a yellow car would be coming into the person’s life. Those kind of readers didn’t do much for their clients beyond giving them someone to talk to and taking their money.
“Since we don’t exactly know where to start with this, let’s see what the cards can tell us. They might give us a direction.” Kama shuffled the cards for a couple of minutes as Cin sipped her tea.
When Kama stopped shuffling, she cocked her head like she was listening to something, then turned over the first card, without offering to let Cin shuffle.
The card had a skinny robed figure holding a lantern high in the card’s darkness. Kama pursed her lips and squinted at the card. “Secrets. That’s not overly helpful.”
“Unless the origin of the demon is locked away in the house somewhere.” Cin tapped the card. “So far we’ve found a walled-up space that’s not big enough to be more than a closet, but could’ve added to the square footage of the house.”
Kama nodded. “So there are indeed secrets to be found. I’d say there are more still to uncover.” She reached for the deck and flipped the next card over, laying it on the black lace.
A tall man sat on a gray horse with his sword raised high. “A man of power. An official.”
“Sheriff Jackson used to own the house.” Cin frowned. She kept saying she didn’t want to deal with any more of Lucille Jackson’s magics, and everything kept pointing to exactly that.
“How do you keep ending up with his cast offs or, at least, things associated with him?”
“Marzie keeps showing me houses. I hope there’s not more we need to be looking at here.” Cin knew the Stone house hadn’t been owned by the Jacksons but there was evidence the Stones had been part of a magical circle the Jacksons had controlled.
A slight smile spread across Kama’s elegant face. “There’s always more.” She flipped over another card. A man lay on a bed with swords hanging above him, or below him as it was, since the card was upside down. “Disease and imprisonment. Something locked away.”
“Do you think we let something out when we started the renovation?” Cin couldn’t think of what it really was, other than the creature Juan had seen running across the backyard.
“If you did, it’s still bound to the place.” Kama traced the edges of the sword with her red fingernail. “I think this would be something else; something freeing if you’d let it loose.”
“So, we should be looking deeper?” Cin didn’t want their budget going massively over if they had to gut the place to find out what was hidden, but she wasn’t going to not find out what was at the root of their problem. She wouldn’t give RJ the go ahead to start rebuilding until they figured out what was going on and how to deal with it.
Kama turned over another card. A chubby child rode an equally chubby white horse while a smiling sun hung high in a cloudless sky. “You’ll make someone, or something very happy.” She paused and studied the cards laid out in a row between them.
“Yes, go, dig deeper into your project, and you’ll find the answers you seek. There’s something bound to that house. What I cannot say. I don’t think it’s spiritual, no matter what people are saying.” Kama waved her hand over the cards. “There’s nothing here that suggests spirit, other than the hermit. The rest of this is all fairly physical. Run with that.”
The cowbell on her door clanked.
Kama frowned. “Early. Everyone’s early today.” She scooped up the cards and returned them to the deck.
“Thanks for your time.” Cin finished off her tea.
“For you, always dear sister.” Kama collected her tea service. “Do me a favor and let my next appointment know I’ll be out shortly. They should sit in the chair near the window. Sunlight is good for us today.”
“Okay. If there’s anything I can do for you anytime, just ask.” Cin stood.
“I will.” Kama picked up the tea set and a faraway look crossed her face. “That time might be coming sooner than either of us realize. Go in peace.” Then Kama disappeared behind the bright curtain the separated her working room from the living space behind and above it.
