Fury From Hell (32 page)

The waitress walked away and Betty stared at her friend trying to figure out what to say to make it better.  Nothing would make this situation better.  Catching herself, she refused to sigh again and instead took a couple of deep breaths and blew them out.  Betty knew she would need all of her wits about her to help Holden get through the upcoming IAD ordeal.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of white and blue.  Turning her head she noticed another squad car pull into the lot and park two slots over from their car.  Interest piqued, Betty continued to watch to see who would emerge.  Shock bloomed through her when she saw Yearwood’s tawny head pop out and watched as he walked firmly towards the entrance with Clift not far behind.

“Um, we’ve got company, Holden.”

Something in her tone made Jennifer look up and out the window.  When she saw the other half of the team she let out a colorful expletive. “What else can go wrong today?!”

“Let’s just play it cool.  We’re all a team and great minds think alike…obviously.”

Upon entering, Yearwood spotted them immediately.  He paused long enough that Clift ran into his stiffened back.

“Hey, go in.  I’m hungry.”  He nudged him forward and into the restaurant and saw what had stopped the younger cop in his tracks. “Hey, Holden.  Feinster! Guess we had the same idea,” he said as he shoved Yearwood out of his way and headed for the booth the female half of the team occupied.

They moved over to allow the men to sit.

Clift made sure to sit next to Jennifer and he patted her thigh reassuringly under the tabletop as he pulled his girth into the booth.Continuing smoothly, Clift said, “Since we’re all here, might as well catch up.  What did you guys find out?”

“Not a damn thing.”  Jennifer said in a disgusted tone.

“What she means is Barnabas Carney arrived home early this morning fresh from Cali.  He’s been there for the past two weeks.  He can’t be our guy.  His boarding passes were legit and the tags on his luggage were still in place.  We’ll run it past American Airlines’ roster but we’re pretty sure this guy’s alibi is airtight so a trip out to Forest Hills allowed us to cross off one name.”

Scratching the stubble on his wide chin Clift sighed heavily.

The waitress came over with Feinter’s and Holden’s drinks and took Yearwood’s and Clift’s order.

Clift smiled with relish when he ordered the Chicken Marsala making Yearwood’s order of fish and chips seems plain in comparison.  Coffee was the drink of choice for both men.

“What’s in the fancy glass Feinster?  Drinking on the job?” sneered Yearwood who was right next to her.

“How you wish.  It’s a Virgin Miami Vice.  Pretty good actually,” she took a noisy slurp through the straw and turned back to Clift.  “What about you guys?  How was your morning?”

Clift launched in quickly before Yearwood could open his mouth. “We went to Oselow’s in Brighton Beach.  He split town a week ago.  His ex-wife-to-be is pissed at him.  She said he took all their cash and left her stuck with the mortgage.  Will follow up on it but it’s pretty hard to believe Mrs. Oselow’s faking that fury.  You women can be feisty when ticked off.”

He grinned at them as both women turned and gave him sour faces. Feinster even stuck her tongue out at Clift.

“We’re going to Rossini in Starret City next —”

“Spring Creek,” Yearwood corrected Feinster.

“That condo complex by the Belt that’s a city within a city?  The one that was formerly a landfill?  Well that place — whatever they want to call it nowadays — is where Rossini lives.  We figured we’d stop here for lunch, since it’s on the way.”

“Same here, we’re heading out to Staten Island and wanted to fuel up,” replied Clift.

Betty paused as her burger was set down in front of her.  She watched as the waitress placed the dumplings in front of Holden.  Her nose tickled at the tantalizing aroma of spices and teriyaki sauce.

“Wow!  That smells good!  No wonder you had a Jones for them.  Can I try one?”  Betty’s mouth watered as she eyed Jennifer cutting into a fat dumpling and dipping it into the sauce. 

Placing the steaming morsel in her mouth Jennifer grinned before saying, “You can order your own.”

Even Yearwood couldn’t hide his smile as Betty’s face fell like a child being denied their favorite candy bar.

“Holden!”

With the tension broken, Clift turned to Jennifer, “I know you didn’t do anything, Holden.  We all, here, trust you,” he said pointedly looking at Yearwood before turning back to her.  “But, from here on out you have to tell us everything so we can have your back. Capeche?”

Munching thoughtfully, she nodded and glanced at Yearwood.  She saw he was focused on the coffee that was being put in front of him.  In that moment, she knew she’d tell Clift anything he wanted to know but would reserve all comments when Yearwood was present.

Clift nodded and took a sip of his coffee.

Jennifer decided to take the next step. “The Rennkler case.  So far sounds like we’ve got a whole lot of nothing.  Any thoughts?” She looked around at each of them hoping to see a spark.  She was desperate to get back to her own case but knew if they didn’t get a break in the Rennkler case she’d never get back to her Barnes case.

Clift frowned and shrugged.  “Nope.  We gotta hope that Rossini or Giordano say something or else…”He shrugged again to emphasize his thoughts.  His eyes lit up as the waitress came through the kitchen door with a tray laden with food heading in their direction.  Clift’s mouth watered as the heaping plate of Chicken Marsala was placed before him.

Yearwood cast his eyes at the older gentleman and began mechanically eating his food.  He wanted this tête-à-tête to be over and done with so he could get on with what needed to be done.

The Fury held onto the man’s rage.  The original host was sitting across the booth from the brash male cop but the demon wanted her alone and couldn’t figure out how to make that happen.

Abatu looked through Yearwood’s eyes and noticed the crowded table.  With a smirk the demon made him jerk his hand knocking over Feinster’s virgin cocktail.  The drink spilled all over Feinster and Holden and splattered onto Clift’s Chicken Marsala.

“Damn Yearwood!  My Marsala!  Whatcha do that for?”

“You make it sound like I did it on purpose!  It was an accident.  This damn booth’s too small.  Sorry Holden!  Here, let me help you dab that…” With a few napkins in his hand, he reached out and dabbed the damp spot on Holden’s arm.

The Fury took that moment to make the jump but flew straight into a translucent wall.  For a second the Fury felt nothing but shock.  Two seconds later a burning started along the Fury’s arms that heated up and soon became intolerable.

In that instant, Holden felt a great speeding energy coming towards her centered on the arm Yearwood was touching.  Just before the racing energy hit her, an invisible shield seemed to halt the energy from connecting.  From a distance, Jennifer felt a burning rage that was too familiar.  It was pure evil and seemed intent on getting to her.  Jennifer eyes widened as she stared into Yearwood’s.  They were bright red and filled with hate.  She watched him yank his hand back and yelp.

Shock filtered through Holden as she saw the man’s eyes revert back to their normal baby blue hue.  She blinked a couple of times and looked again.  Yearwood’s eyes were perfectly normal.  He sat back and was rubbing the hand that had touched her.  After five seconds had passed, realization slammed home.  Jennifer’s back stiffened.

“This stain is just going to get worse if I let it set in.  Can you let me out Clift?  I’m going to the ladies’ room.  Feinster?  Can you come help me?”

Still grinning from Yearwood’s juvenile antics, Betty shrugged and followed Jennifer to the restroom leaving Yearwood to blot the worst of the drink stains off the table while Clift tried to salvage his meal.

Once inside the bathroom, Jennifer whirled around to face Betty and blurted, “Yearwood’s got the Fury inside of him!  It tried to jump back into me just now at the table!  That’s why he spilled the drink so he could touch me!”

All merriment faded from Betty’s face as she absorbed what she had just been told.  Shaking her head she said, “No impossible!  Furies don’t do men.  They prey on them not possess them.”

“Isn’t that precisely a great reason why the Fury would choose Yearwood?  It makes perfect sense!  We wouldn’t suspect him and he could observe me without raising suspicion.  It’s the perfect cover!  This Fury Abatu is very cunning.” Jennifer turned towards the sink and stared at her reflection.  She was as pale as her medium brown complexion would allow and her lips were pinched looking from the tension she was feeling.

Still in denial, Betty said quietly, “That’s…impossible.”

Then how else do you explain the red eyes and the feeling of complete overwhelming rage I just experienced when he touched me?  I’m no demonologist but humans don’t have red eyes last time I checked.”

“I was sitting right there beside him.  I didn’t see his eyes go red.”

“It was only for a split second.  And they probably went red because the Fury couldn’t get in because of the Goddess’ bath you and Lady Ariella made me take.”

Turning on the water, Jennifer splashed her face.  It was difficult because her hands shook so much but she managed to sip some of the cool water as she tried to stop the galloping of her heart.  She looked into the mirror and caught Betty’s eyes. “Thank you for ignoring my whining, and making me take those baths.  If you didn’t I would have the demon inside of me right now.”  On the last few words Jennifer’s voice trembled just before her knees buckled.

Betty caught her before she hit the black and white tiled floor.

“Betty, it almost had me,” she whispered firmly squeezing her eyes shut.

Betty gripped her shoulders and turned her chin so they were facing one another. “Now you listen to me Jennifer Holden, you were not almost gotten. You were protected!  That Fury must have gotten a nasty surprise to know it couldn’t just traipse back in.  Get up.  You don’t have to go back to the table.”

Jennifer looked up at Betty from her half-slouch and blinked a few times, her face expressionless, eyes lost.

“I’ll make our excuses and get us gone.  Jennifer, I promise I’ll keep Yearwood away from you.  Okay?”

She nodded, stood up and splashed more water on her face.

Betty noted the robotic movements and made a mental note to pick up a Red Bull to try and help Jennifer get through this latest ordeal. “Meet you in the squad car, okay?”

Jennifer nodded woodenly and began scrubbing the arm Yearwood had touched with the cool water.

Sighing, Betty patted Jennifer’s back and left.  Her friend’s empty eyes haunted her as she forced her feet to take her back to the table.

Yearwood watched Feinster approach and noted that Holden was nowhere to be seen. “Where’s Holden?” He asked peering behind Feinster.

“She’s still trying to dry her shirt.  Think we’re gonna get going and head on out to Staten Island.  It’s already 12:50 and we don’t want to hit rush hour traffic coming back.  We’ll catch you back at the precinct.”  She dropped some bills on the table and nodded at both of them ignoring Yearwood’s narrowed gaze.  She refused to look into his eyes and quickly backed away from the table and headed out.

Clift looked from Betty’s retreating back to Yearwood’s scowl and knew that he was missing something but he couldn’t figure out what.

***

Holden felt better with each mile they put between her and the Diner.  She was still shaky from the near repossession and had returned the passenger seat.  Right now she was ready to go back to the safe house and stay there for the rest of her days. 
This is too much. I can’t live like this!

Jennifer didn’t hear Betty dial so she was caught off guard when she heard Betty speaking.

“My Lady?  We’ve got a situation.  The Fury just tried to jump back into Jennifer — No!  It wasn’t successful.  But Jenn’s pretty shaken up.  Wanna talk to her?”

Betty thrust the phone at her a second later.  There was no choice in the matter so she took it gingerly and put it to her ear saying nothing.

“Jennifer, I know you’re very upset right now but this is a victory!  You were not repossessed…you must remember that.  The bath works!  Say this with me, ‘With the Goddess, all things are possible.’”

The words were impossible and improbable.  She had stopped putting her faith in anyone outside herself a long time ago.  The parade of psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists and counselors had made her doubt herself, her life and her sanity.  Where was the Goddess — or, her male counterpart — back then when she was just a child?  Wiping the unwanted tears away Jennifer tried to repeat the words to appease the women who were making her start to hope that there was goodness in the world.  However, the words got stuck in her throat.

“Say it with me, Jennifer,” coaxed Lady Ariella.  “I’m here for you and Kamali’s
with
you.  We won’t let the Fury get you.  We’ve stopped him twice already.  You can have faith in
us
and we have faith in the Goddess.  You will grow into your faith if you hang around us.  Say it with me,
‘With the Goddess, all things are possible.’
”

The words whispered in her mind and bounced off her skull before sliding out of her mouth.

“There.  Don’t you feel better?”

Jennifer had to admit that the world did seem a bit brighter but she wasn’t sure that it was due to her having said a string of meaningless words. “A little,” she hedged.

“Well, keep repeating it to yourself, ‘With the Goddess, all things are possible,’ and see how you feel later on.  We’ll talk some more when you get in.  Bye, now.”

The line went dead and Jennifer blinked rapidly as the tears began to flow uncontrollably.  Without her conscious permission, the words Lady Ariella wanted her to repeat seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time in her mind.  She turned toward Betty and saw on her profile a determined grim look as she focused on the road. 
With the Goddess, all things are possible…but are they?