Spell of Summoning (22 page)

Holden breezed past her into her personal office while Becca pulled out her cell phone.

Jessa answered immediately. “Good morning! Jessa McAvoy with Ryan Rohmer Real Estate. How can I help you today?”

Becca shouldn’t be surprised Jessa had moved on. The girl was a driven businesswoman with a lot of talent. Becca was surprised, however, that Jessa had moved on so quickly and so enthusiastically.

“What happened to our Havers Street deal?” Reecca demanded, rounding the reception desk. “What did Maeve say? Anything? Other than
screw you
?”

“Oh, Rebecca! Hi! Uh, let me think. She decided at the last minute she wasn’t willing to fix the water damage in the master bath.”

“Did you try to convince her?”

“I did, yes. And she’s waiting for your call. She’s having second thoughts about selling.”

“Derek told me.” Rebecca mimed pulling her hair out by the roots. “I don’t have the energy for this right now.”

“You?” Jessa scoffed. “Miss High Octane?”

Holden didn’t look up from her computer as Rebecca invaded the office.

“Yeah, well, I haven’t been feeling so great.”

She searched her drawers for her electronic tablet before remembering she’d already collected it.

Someone was casting a spell to take away her consciousness, her memories, her very soul. Shouldn’t she try to enjoy her last few days still in control of her own body? But if she let the fear in, she’d never find the bitch doing this. And she really, really wanted to find the bitch.

“Speaking of Derek,” Rebecca said, “where is he? I’m all alone in the office.”

“I haven’t talked to him today.”

Becca’s well-oiled and successful team had disintegrated into dust.

Jessa added, “Anything I can do?”

Becca stopped rifling through drawers. She and Jessa had never been close friends. She’d worked hard, and Becca had trusted her to handle her business, but they didn’t hang out. Or talk about anything other than real estate. Was Jessa capable of hurting her? Did she hold a grudge over Becca closing the office?

“No. Thank you. Good luck at your new job.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m taking a drive to Virginia tonight, but I’ll be back for casino night tomorrow. See you then.”

They hung up.

“All set?” Holden asked, logging off the computer.

“Yep. Let’s stop on the way at the Havers Street house. I need to talk to Maeve.”

They pulled up at the property as Maeve was locking the front door on her way out.

“Good morning,” Becca greeted, giving a little wave.

“I already talked to Derek,” the woman said, speaking in a rushed, clipped tone. “And the other one. I just can’t do what you’re asking.” She unlocked her black SUV and set her shoulder bag in the backseat. “I’m going to hold on to the house after all. It’s easier that way.”

A few days ago Rebecca would have had a convincing argument already composed that would have easily charmed Maeve into agreeing to the remodel. But today Becca just didn’t care enough to bother. It felt like a huge relief to be done with this house and done with real estate in general.

If she looked past the storm cloud on the horizon that was the summoning spell, her future lay open and unmapped, and she could go anywhere from here. Literally, anywhere. Instead of frightening her, it felt liberating.

“Sorry to hear that.” Becca stuck out her hand. “Good luck in the future.”

Maeve’s handshake was firm and quick. “I’m in a hurry. Please move your vehicle.”

Rebecca returned to the Jeep and slid into the seat beside Holden.

“Anything?” he asked, backing away from the house.

She shook her head. “Let’s go find my mother.”

The address her father had given her was in Chesterfield, Virginia, which, after a quick map search on her phone, turned out to be a suburb of Richmond and situated next to a beautiful state forest. Probably an idyllic place to settle down. Becca was silently disappointed the address wasn’t a ghetto or a trailer park or a tenement in some crappy city. But that wasn’t a positive reaction, and she tried to squash it.

“We should be there tonight,” Holden said, leaning over her to read the map.

Clicking off her cell, she asked, “What if it’s her?”

He jammed the key in the ignition and started the engine. “Then we stop her.”

“How?” she pressed. She’d seen him repair a broken picture frame, but a human being was a lot more complex than a piece of glass. What was Holden capable of? And would it even be enough?

“I found a spell to incapacitate her. After that, it’s a matter of breaking the summoning spell for good. If she has it written down, we burn it. Any circles get wiped out.”

“Are you going to hurt her?”

Rebecca wasn’t comfortable with physical violence. She may have a lot of resentment for Nancy Ann, but she didn’t want to see her mother injured or suffering. No matter what the woman had done.

Holden winced. “Of course not.”

“And if it’s not her?”

“We keep looking.” But they both knew there wasn’t much time left for detective work. They needed to find this person yesterday. Yet the chance of a speedy resolution to her little demon problem looked more and more unlikely. They could be at this for months. Months they didn’t have.

“What if we never find the necromancer? What if they finish the spell first?”

Maybe she should enjoy her last few hours or days a human being at a full-service spa, sipping green tea and enjoying Swedish massages, not racing from suspect to suspect. But then she glanced at Holden and knew she couldn’t give up no matter how tempting it sounded. If only for him, she had to keep trying.

“Like I said, I think I can pull the demon out of you if I have another person to put it into.”

Dread pooled in her belly. “Into who?” Last she’d heard, he’d considered putting it into an animal.

He didn’t answer.

“Holden,
who
?” But she had a bad feeling she knew the answer.

Taking a deep breath, he blurted, “I can control it. Temporarily. And exorcize it.”

Her heart skipped a beat.
No.
“That is not going to happen.” Put a demon into Holden? Was he insane? She’d die before she infected Holden with a ticking chaos bomb.

“I don’t want that thing inside of me,” he said, his voice rising. “But if it’s the only way to destroy it, then I’ll do it. Cole has been teaching me some stuff. It might work.”

“Might? We’re going forward on
might?”

“Let’s stop this person before he finishes the spell, and plan B never has to happen.”

* * *

A little before noon they pulled over at a gas station, and while Holden filled up the Jeep, Rebecca called Jessa again, a whole new fear motivating her to find this necromancer. Today.

No part of her demon was going into Holden. She’d fight with every bit of strength she had to stop him.

“Jessa,” she greeted, “Remember what we talked about the other day? Have you been able to think of anyone with a vendetta against me?”

“Yeah. Charley McGovern.”

Her heart sank. “It’s not her. Anyone else?”

“All I can think of is that husband, about a year ago, who kept sending you roses and asking you on dates. He got really angry at me when I told him to cool it.”

“Do you remember his name?” Rebecca asked.

“Hold on, I’m pulling up one of his emails right now. Uh. Carlton Reeves. He works at the hospital.”

Rebecca typed the info into her phone’s note pad. “Thanks, Jessa.” The moment she hung up with Jessa, she called Derek.

Rebecca explained most of the facts of her predicament to her soon-to-be former assistant.

“God, Becca,” he chuckled nervously, “Are you serious? Someone is messing with you? What does that mean?”

“I’ve received some threats,” she said, unable to get more specific without sounding like a crazy person. “Can you think of anyone who’d want to hurt me?”

“Well, no, not really. Everyone loves you,” Derek said. “What kind of threats? Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah. Give me a name.” Becca fake punched the side of the Jeep.

“Let me think about it. Where are you?”

“Near Richmond. I’ll see you at the fundraiser tomorrow night. But text right away if you think of anyone.” She hung up as Holden returned the gas nozzle to the pump.

“Want some lunch?” he asked, pointing at the sandwich shop attached to the gas station.

“Sure.”

After ordering, Holden sat across from her and unwrapped a meatball sub. “How are you feeling?”

“No headache.” Though she’d ordered a turkey and Swiss on wheat bread, she had no appetite. Instead, she sipped iced tea.

“That’s not what I meant.” He tilted his head to catch her eye. “Are you going to be okay seeing your mom today?”

Complicated question. Rebecca didn’t want to be flippant and pretend it was no big deal. It was a big deal.

“I never thought,” she explained, “that I’d be in this situation. I swore to myself I wouldn’t track her down looking for a messy, teary reunion. I was always happy to keep her in the past. But here I am.”

“She left when you were little?”

And that was enough of a prompt for her to pour out the sad story. Everything from her mother leaving two children, one six years old and the other two weeks old, to Becca’s abbreviated childhood. Every sordid, disgusting, shameful secret.

“I hated her.” Becca picked up her sandwich and took a small bite. “I thought she was a selfish, cruel bitch.”

“Maybe she is.”

She snickered in surprise. “Maybe. I guess we’ll see.” She stole one of Holden’s BBQ potato chips. “But I realize now that I have to stop being angry, somehow, because it’s been ruining my life.”

“Any person who’d leave you to fend for yourself, I don’t like.”

“Thanks.”

“But if she was hurting you,” Holden added, “then you’re better off without her.”

Becca helped herself to another chip. “I don’t remember any of that.” If her mother had abused her, the memories had long ago faded.

“Your dad seemed to.”

What would she do if she found herself in an unhappy marriage with two kids and maybe even postpartum depression? Rebecca couldn’t imagine leaving, ever, but if she convinced herself her family was better off without her…

“You’re not happy when you’re angry.” Holden pushed the chip bag closer to her side of the table.

“Truer words,” she agreed. “Truer words.”

“What would you do if you weren’t angry anymore?”

Get married
. If she wasn’t so focused on work and her sister’s tuition and her father’s health, she’d want to find a really wonderful guy and get married.

But she was too embarrassed to say that to Holden. “Enjoy myself a little more,” she said instead.

“Maybe have a family of your own?”

Yes.

Wadding his trash, Holden tossed it in the can. “I need to call a spirit before we actually pull up at your mom’s.” He gestured to her tray, and she nodded, so he cleared it, too. “Do you mind if we check in at a hotel before we find her?”

“No problem.”

She headed for the door, but Holden blocked her way.

Close to her ear, he said, “You don’t have to do anything today you don’t want to. Say the word and we’re on our way back to Auburn.”

Rebecca kissed him. Groaning, Holden pulled her flush against his chest and deepened the kiss.

The door chimed, and they reluctantly separated to make room for an elderly woman and her jingle-bell cane.

* * *

After crossing into Richmond, they compromised on the Comfort Inn. It boasted an exterior stairwell, but their connecting rooms smelled sweetly of lemon-scented cleaner and floral deodorizer.

Holden didn’t say much before disappearing into his room, so Rebecca paced in front of her two double beds and called Nelly’s cell. No answer. She called her sister’s dorm room, and it rang and rang before a strange person answered and promised to find her. Finally her baby sister got on the phone.

Becca cut right to the point. “I’m going to see our mother.”

Silence. Then, “Why?”

Becca examined her palms. “It’s time. I need to close the book on her for good.” And be happy.

“Good luck. I know how much you hate her.”

She opened her mouth to deny it but didn’t.

Nelly added, “I only remember her from that photo Daddy keeps on the mantle. I probably wouldn’t even recognize her if I sat next to her at a restaurant.”

“I don’t think you’re missing much.”

“No, I never thought I missed out on anything,” Nelly said brightly, as if they weren’t talking about the deepest scar in Becca’s heart. “I had you and Daddy.”

“You deserved a mother, too.” Everyone deserved a mother.

“But it was fine. I mean, what if she was a total bitch? Would you want her around then?”

“I don’t want her around.” But isn’t that exactly what she wanted? A caring, loving mother who was present and supportive? Maybe Nelly understood more than she gave her credit for.

“Anyway,” Nelly said, sounding distracted by voices in the background. “I should go, sissy. Say hi to Mom for me.” She laughed. “Hope you figure everything out. Oh, and take that tall dude who’s in love with you. You’ll need backup. Bye.” And she was gone, replaced by a dial tone.

Something heavy hit the floor in Holden’s room.

Rebecca pocketed her phone and rushed to check on him.”Everything okay?”

He shoved one of his double beds into the corner where a brass lamp lay on the floor. “It’s too crowded in here.” He grunted, barricading the bathroom completely with his other bed. “I need room to breathe.”

“Sure.” Rebecca helped push a nightstand into the corner by the big window.

“That’s good. Just give me a minute to clear my head.” Holden pulled off his T-shirt and kicked out of his Converse. “Grams said I need to clear my head.”

It hit her, like it hadn’t before, how far out on that branch Holden had crept. He said he’d been with his Grams since his accident at Wade Lake. That was back when he was a kid.

“Is this the first time you’ve been without your grandma?”

He ripped the sheet off the bed and spread it on the floor.