Delia's Shadow (26 page)

“This isn’t Delia’s journal, either. It’s some sort of history book.” Jack flipped through the book, glancing at a few pages before turning back to the flyleaf. “It’s inscribed to Augustus Whitfield, from his loving sister and dated March, eighteen eighty-three.”

Gabe tucked the badge in his inside jacket pocket and took the book from Jack. “The first series of murders started in June of eighteen eighty-three. That was only a month after my parents were married.”

The book was a combination of memoir and a recounting of his service to the British Empire by a man named Brewster. Chief interpreter and secretary to the intelligence department in Egypt in the mid-eighteen hundreds, Brewster had recorded his travels and adventures. Faded lithographs and line drawings recorded images of pyramids, temples, and statues of Egyptian kings.

Gabe flipped through pages, stopping at a series of drawings near the end. Images of Anubis, Osiris, and a scale balancing a human heart against a feather stared back at him. A few pages further on, the Court of the Dead was explained in gruesome detail, much more horrific than Colin had outlined in front of Delia. He handed the book to Jack and waited silently while his partner read.

Jack snapped the book shut. “He wants us to know what he’s doing. What I still don’t understand is why.”

“Why he wants us to know? Or why he treats the city as his own personal hunting ground?”

“Either.” Jack let out a long, hissing breath. “I’d take anything you have to offer right now. He got too damned close today. I’m not ashamed to admit this guy scares me.”

“He scares me, too. But this man thinks he’s smarter than us and that’s leading him to take chances.” Gabe sifted through the few things left in the bottom of the trunk, but nothing was hidden there. They’d found the killer’s message. He began repacking Delia’s things. “He made a mistake today. Annie didn’t get a good look at him, but enough that we can put out a flyer describing him. I’m betting that either the iceman or the deliverymen saw him, too. They’d have gotten a better look.”

Jack helped him pull the trunk lid closed. “And if they did, we can add a sketch to the flyer. Tacking flyers up on every lamppost and storefront in the city might slow this bastard down.”

“Maybe.” Or make the killer so angry he retaliated. That was a risk, but one they’d have to take. Gabe stood and brushed at the knees of his trousers. “It’s a start anyway. Are you ready to help me carry Delia’s trunk to her room?”

“I’ve got a better idea, let two of the squad take it upstairs. Annie saved supper for us, too.” Jack handed Gabe his coat and hat. “Set a good example and eat, Gabe. I’m sure Delia will be happy to sit with you while you do.”

“That is a better idea.” Gabe snatched the book up off the floor and eased past the end of the trunk. All the carefully suppressed need to be with Delia, to see and talk with her hit him at once. “It’s been a long day for all of us. Let’s not keep the ladies waiting any longer.”

CHAPTER 14

Delia

I laid awake a long time after Jack and Gabe left, unable to stop myself from dwelling on all that had happened. Imagining horrible things was all too easy.

Each time I shut my eyes, I saw Aaron Casey’s face. Finding him alive and unharmed might take a miracle, and I prayed for one. Gabe made sure Sadie and I knew that the killer had found a method to lure an officer away from his post. Knowing would remind us to question everything that didn’t come from him or Jack directly. Questioning kept us safer. He had the same talk with Annie before going home.

What worried Gabe and Jack most was that they’d no idea how this man managed to fool Casey. What worked once might work again.

The big clock in the parlor chimed two in the morning, a hollow, lonely sound. I turned onto my side, wide awake and mind racing. Aileen’s ghost stood in front of my door. I’d spent months wishing her away, wanting to be free of the burden of knowing she was always there. Now the sight of Aileen standing watch at my door was more of a comfort than knowing half a dozen officers guarded the house. I didn’t understand what changed or why, just that it had.

I fell asleep soon after, dreamless sleep that left me more rested than I’d a right to be. Annie let me sleep until seven. We’d talked it over the night before and decided the trip to see Gabe’s parents, and giving Dora access to his father’s files, was more vital than ever. I stumbled around my room and yawned until my jaw ached, but managed to dress and eat breakfast before Gabe arrived at nine.

Annie sent him to find me in the kitchen. I was still lingering over my coffee and trying to wake up, more than a little afraid I’d fall asleep on the drive to Santa Rosa. Gabe pushed through the swinging door and took the chair next to me. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

I traced the dark, bruised looking skin under his eye with a fingertip. His cheery smile didn’t fool me. Gabe looked exhausted and I was certain he felt worse. “At a guess I slept better than you. So no, not well at all. Any word?”

He shook his head. “No sign of Casey or the car. We had men out searching all night.”

“What now?” I took his hand. Gabe held on as tight as I did, both of us needing comfort. Aileen and the other ghosts were victims of this killer, but I’d not known them as living, breathing people. I knew Aaron Casey, remembered the sound of his voice saying hello and how he tipped his hat to Annie with a smile.

“Jack is pulling men from other stations to search the warehouses by the docks. Captain Parker is giving him trouble, but he’ll handle it. Once Jack has extra men, he can widen the search area. If we don’t find him today…” Helplessness and the knowledge he couldn’t save Casey filled Gabe’s eyes. He’d never lost a man under his command before. But he shut grief away, the professional mask that allowed him to do his job falling into place. Gabe stood, pulling me up, too. “We should go. Dora is expecting us by ten.”

I put my arms around him, determined we weren’t going anywhere until I was sure he’d be all right. “Don’t you dare pretend this is all part of the job, Gabriel Ryan, not with me. Losing one of your squad like this is horrible. You can’t make me believe you don’t care. I know you too well.”

He held me awkwardly at first, silent, breathing hard and arms stiff. Then Gabe sighed and pulled me closer. “Thank you. I made some promises to myself after Victoria died. One was to never allow this job to shut me away from people I cared about, not the way my father did. Jack said you’d never let me. Don’t tell him he was right.”

“Not a word. Promise.” Learning all there was to know about Gabe Ryan would take time. I grew more certain each day the time would be well spent.

We clung to each other for a moment before Gabe let go. He brushed a finger down my cheek. “I shouldn’t let you walk into my parent’s house completely unprepared. We can talk on the way to Dora’s house. Is that all right with you?”

“Yes, of course.” My nerves had increased tenfold, but I’d put on a brave front and hope he wouldn’t notice. Distraction was always a good strategy. I put my coffee cup and saucer in the sink, and turned to face him with my most serious expression. “Keep in mind Dora will be with us all day. I imagine your parents will either be completely taken with her special charms or speechless with shock. They’ll take no notice of me at all. That should work out well.”

Gabe grinned and held the door into the dining room open. “That would work out well. But I know my mother and you shouldn’t get your hopes up. Mom will notice you.”

I took a breath and brushed by him into the dining room. “I’ll try to find some charm of my own then. Be sure to let me know how I’m doing.”

“Delia.” The door closed behind him and he reached for my hand. “Stop worrying. I promise you, my parents will love you.”

After all that had happened, hauntings and murders, and all the danger stalking us, losing my composure over whether his parents would like me or not was silly. I knew that, but I panicked anyway. Panic was the normal thing to do in this situation and I needed a moment of normality. “How can you know that for sure?”

“Because I—” He halted in mid-sentence. A bit of his own panic filled Gabe’s eyes, but vanished again in an instant. “Because I know they won’t feel any differently than I do. My parents will love you because I do.”

“Oh…” I couldn’t think of a single thing to say in the face of his declaration, not one. Quiet happiness stole over me and all I could do was smile, hoping I didn’t look utterly witless.

Annie came into the dining room, her arms full of linens. She stopped and stared at the two of us, shook her head and continued on into the kitchen. I saw her smile and wink at Gabe before the door shut. Annie never missed a thing that went on in our house.

Gabe cleared his throat. A flush showed above his collar. “We should go. Dora’s waiting and it’s a long drive.”

I held tight to his hand and led the way. My handbag was on the front table, my coat hanging on the hall tree. Gabe opened the door to speak to the officer on the porch as I gathered my things. The day outside was bright and sunny, the sky a perfect late-June blue.

A shimmer at the foot of the stairs caught my eye as I slipped on my coat. Aileen rippled into view as did a smaller ghost, faded to the point of being no more than a faint glimmer against the dark carpet on the staircase.

Victoria’s ghost come to say good-bye, the tie holding her in this world frayed and unraveling. Gabe had let go.

Aileen met my eyes, sorrow and gladness both in that knowing gaze. She took Victoria’s hand and led her up the staircase. One step from the top, the ghosts crumbled. A veil of glimmering dust lifted toward the ceiling, spreading thinner and thinner until I lost sight.

“Delia?” Gabe frowned and wiped a tear from my cheek. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing new. All the things that were wrong five minutes ago are still wrong. I’m just tired.” I found a smile for him and stepped out into the sunlight. “It’s a marvelous day for a drive in the country. Let’s pick up Dora and get started.”

Gabe

Gabe shifted position, hoping to ease the cramp in his arm without waking Delia. She’d fought a valiant battle against sleep, but the drone of tires on pavement and the monotonous countryside conspired with exhaustion until her eyes closed. He’d wrapped an arm around her and pulled her head onto his shoulder.

The next two hours were spent ignoring Isadora’s amused smirks each time he glanced her way. He supposed that was to be expected. She’d try to bait him until she grew tired of the game or realized she couldn’t embarrass him. A game was all it was, born of the need to maintain the pretense of being a free spirit. He’d spent enough time with Dora by now not to take her teasing seriously.

He went back to staring out the window. Apple and plum orchards lined both sides of the two lane road, fully leafed out and only a straggling pink or white blossom in evidence. Tiny green apples and plums, no bigger than the end of his thumb, hid among the leaves. He’d bring Delia back in August to see the trees heavy with plums, their skins a deep, dull purple.

Apples would wait until the early fall harvest, filling farmer’s roadside stands with reds and golden yellows. If they waited until October, they’d find pumpkins heaped in teetering, orange pyramids as well. He knew his landlady, Mrs. Allen, would appreciate him bringing back newly picked fruit for pies, jellies, and applesauce. Annie would, too.

Whether he’d have time or not to make another trip with Delia for pleasure, not work, hinged on solving this case. He glanced down at her sleeping face, imagining having breakfast with her each morning and coming home to her at night, raising children and becoming as comfortable in each other’s company as his parents were after a lifetime together. Although he’d only known Delia for a short time, each day he became more certain that was what he wanted.

Too many things hinged on solving this case. Having a life with Delia, one without an undercurrent of fear, was at the top of Gabe’s list.

“How much further?” Dora lounged against the seat, legs crossed and hands resting easily in her lap. The rapid bobbing of her foot spoiled the picture of ease. She didn’t fool him. The relaxed pose was as much of an act as her teasing interest in him.

Moving the book and the badge into the front seat with Henderson didn’t keep Dora from sensing them or grimacing in pain. The killer had touched them too recently. That he’d no choice but to bring the book and badge into the car didn’t ease Gabe’s guilt. Isadora’s discomfort was obvious. “Another fifteen or twenty minutes. No more than that.”

She nodded curtly. Not for the first time, Dora’s gaze drifted to the picnic basket at her feet. The dangling foot bobbed faster.

“Dora, it’s my fault you’re uncomfortable. Open the brandy if you need a drink.”

“And greet your father with liquor on my breath?” She arched an eyebrow. “It’s only just past noon. I’ll save my debauchery for the trip home. My task will be easier with your father’s cooperation and that’s unlikely if I begin drinking before we arrive.”

Delia stirred in her sleep, but settled again right away. Gabe tightened his arm around her and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry, Dora. I need to show Dad what we found in Delia’s trunk. I never thought … I should have warned you first.”

She waved away his apology. “No lasting harm done. I’ve survived worse, Gabe. Your duty doesn’t coincide with my comfort and catching this killer is more important. He’s becoming bolder, taking more chances. That’s not a good sign.”

The quiet authority in her voice spoke of experience and knowing that what she’d said was true. He’d put a great deal of trust in Dora, he needed to stop worrying about giving offense and get some answers. How she’d gained that knowledge was important.

“I’ve wanted to ask this question for a long time. Forgive me if I say this badly, I don’t mean to make you think I don’t trust you.” Gabe looked Isadora in the eye and plunged ahead. “How does a society medium know so much about murderers? You didn’t learn that on Nob Hill.”

“Very good, Gabe.” Dora beamed as if he’d won a school prize for being the brightest pupil in class. “I wondered when you’d ask.”