Fury From Hell (37 page)

Feinster filled her in and ended with, “I really hope that the Fury can’t track us.  I have no idea how it gets around and if it could have hopped into different drivers to follow us here.  Do you know the extent of a fury’s capabilities?”

The High Priestess shook her head.  “I don’t know, Kamali.  There is so much I don’t know about this particular species of demon.  What I do know is that we probably should bet on the Fury knowing where we are now.  Let’s get Jennifer to take a double strength bath and get out of here.  I’ll pack food for us and meet you by my car in fifteen minutes.”

“So soon?!” Jennifer lifted her head and wailed.

Lady Ariella came over to the table and stroked her head and smoothed the bun that somehow was still in place at the back of Jennifer’s head. “I know it’s been a rough day but it’ll get rougher, I fear, if we stay here.  While this place is well protected, I’d rather try and preserve the sanctity and anonymity of this location as much as possible.  I’ll have figured out something by the time you get to the car.  Get upstairs and get going with that bath.”

Lady Ariella helped her up and passed her off to Betty who steadied Jennifer as she helped her up the stairs. The High Priestess clucked her tongue grabbed her cell and began phoning all the coven members.  It was time to convene.

***

Tuesday, November 13
^th
, 7:47 P.M.

Special Agent Doug Freeman of the Internal Affairs Department was steaming.  When Officer Pettijohn returned to the precinct without either Feinster or Holden he was doubly infuriated.

“Officer Pettijohn I have no idea why you were chasing them but I expect a rookie to be quicker and lighter on their feet than veteran cops.  How did they manage to lose you?  And secondly, why were you chasing them?”

Pettijohn gulped before speaking shrinking in the face of his ire. “Sir, I think it was Holden — the Black one.  She crashed into me and my partner in the stairwell without an apology or a never-you-mind and I was mad.  Celia — uhm, my partner — Officer Celia Grant was injured.  Her head has a big gash from the fall.  I wanted to stop Holden and get a report written up, sir.” Pettijohn saluted Freeman and nervously stood at attention awaiting his next comment.

“What about answering my first question?”  He said mildly.  He remembered being a rookie and forced himself to dial it back a few notches.

“Sir, I can’t answer except to say that I’m new and don’t know the streets around here real well.  I live in the City and this is my first month in Brooklyn.  I came from Wichita
,
originally.  Detectives Feinster and Holden have the advantage on me with the local geography and they got away, but not by much.  I saw the cab they got into and I took down the license plate.”

“Excellent.  Let’s get on it right away, shall we?  Let’s go to my office — Damn!  No, let’s go to Detective Warren Clift’s office first.”

Pettijohn trotted behind Freeman to keep up with his long angry strides.

Abatu held back the address of where the two detectives went from its new host because the demon had no idea what Freeman was up to.  The demon didn’t want the original host to be taken into custody or hurt in any way.  It had learned its lesson
well
from Yearwood about aiding and abetting, very new terms for the antediluvian demon.

Burrowing deep within Pettijohn’s mind Abatu kept its ears attuned to everything going on.  It wouldn’t be long before the new host would be off the clock.  It was looking forward to heading to Crystal Street where the demon knew it would get back into the original host.  Magic circles and spiritual baths be damned!  Abatu was prepared to do what was necessary to repossess the original host especially with the extra energy it now had from the recent feeding.  The original host and Abatu
had
unfinished business and time was running out.  There was a timeline for the demon to find the killer.  If it failed to do so within that timeframe, Kyma’s soul would be released to travel to that more lofty afterlife destination.  Abatu gritted its pointy teeth.  In its 712 years of service it had never missed a soul deadline and it didn’t plan on doing it now.

***

Tuesday, November 13
^th
, 8:30 P.M.

Chad listlessly took and filled drink orders plastering a smile on his face that faltered every now and then.  But, when one of Chad’s regulars sat at the bar his first genuine smile of the evening shined bright.

“What’ll you have Officer Browbeater?  The usual?”  Chad asked.

“Nah, feeling for something stronger tonight.”

“Whoa! Stronger than two vodka shots?  Must have been a rough day.”

“Kinda.  A big case some of my colleagues was working on broke today but not the way any of us figured,” he shrugged.  “Has us all kinda shook, you know?”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.  How much stronger you wanna to go?  Are you driving tonight?”

“Nah! Taking a cab.”

“Cool.  Try a Jägermeister Bomb.  You’ll like it.”

“Yeah? Like the sound of that.”

As Chad was making the drink he wondered if he could pump some information out of the cop.  He set the drink down and when the burly cop went for his wallet Chad shook his head.

“Yo! Officer Browbeater — I’ve got this one.”

The burly officer smiled and gave Chad a mock salute.  “Much obliged.” He picked up the drink with the shot glass of Red Bull suspended in the strong liquor and finished it in two gulps.

Chad busied himself with pouring two fingers of rum in a tall highball glass before filling it with ice and Coke.  He handed the Officer the new drink. “Another one on me.”

“Great service tonight but I’m not stupid. What do you need?”

Chad flashed another killer smile pursed his lips and leaned his elbows on the bar. “It’s kind of sensitive.”

“Isn’t it always?  Means it’s about a woman.”

“Bingo.”

“She a cop?  That why you bought my drink?”

“Two for two.”

“What she look like?”

Chad shrugged, “Dark hair.  Wears it in a bun.  Slim with a demure look to her but I think secretly she’s a hellcat.”

“Black and youngish?  Hangs around an older tough looking tall White blonde female cop?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“That would be Detective Holden — Jennifer.”

“That’s the name she gave me.  I guess that’s good for starters.”

“Sorry.  Lost cause.  She doesn’t hang out with the other half of humanity.  Only seen her with women.  Gotta wonder, you know?”

Chad’s back went rigid. “Nope, I don’t wonder.  She’s not into women.  She’s just…particular about who she sees.”

With a sly smile the cop picked up his drink and downed half of it in one go.  He set it down carefully never taking his eyes of Chad.

“You like her, huh?”

Chad’s face was impassive.  He straightened up and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “She’s cool,” Chad paused and assessed the burly cop.  Chad wondered what was up with the woman and why she garnered such animosity from her male colleagues.  “Can you help me with her?”

“How do you mean?  Seems you’ve already met her…”

Chad wondered how much the guy knew about Jennifer’s current predicament and her IAD issues.  Not wanting to give anything away he made a snap judgment. “Yeah.  Got her number, too.  But, dunno where she lives.  Can you…help me get to first base?”

The cop’s eyes went wide and he goggled at Chad.  “Wow you really got the hots for her.  But what’s in it for me?  What do I get for my troubles?”  He picked up his drink again and watched Chad with unblinking eyes.

Considering his options carefully, Chad took an extra few moments to reason it out in his mind. “I tell you what her kisses are like and try and find out why she seems to dodge you guys in blue.”

The bigger man’s eyes widened a fraction assuring Chad he had guessed correctly.  Browbeater grunted and dropped his gaze.  He finished his drink and pushed the empty glass towards Chad.

“Give me another, and your number.  I’ll text the info when I get it.  You better keep up your end of the bargain and I want to know more than how she kisses...”

Chad had no intention of betraying Jennifer in that way but just raised an eyebrow at the man and inclined his head.  Chad mixed a third drink for the cop.  When he finished he grabbed a napkin and wrote his number on the back of it.   Placing the drink on the number he slid it over to him. “Thanks and you owe me for the last two.”

The cop pulled out a twenty and slapped it down. “Keep the change.”

Chad nodded at the cop and turned his attention to some other boisterous customers a few seats down.  After serving a full round of drinks to a group of jubilant stockbrokers Chad looked back up the bar and saw that Browbeater had left.  After doing a visual check of the whole bar Chad realized the cop was gone.

Stifling a sigh Chad hoped that Browbeater would come through.  For whatever reason, since their conversation a few hours ago Chad felt an immense need to see her tonight even though it was only Tuesday.  He wanted to make sure she was okay.  The cock and bull story she tried to ply him with was clearly some kind of elaborate ruse to get rid of him but his gut told him something was truly askew.  He knew they had connected on a deeper level than normal last Thursday night.  Chad was determined to find out what had happened to her since then that left Jennifer feeling that her only way out was to run and why in such a bizarre manner?
Maybe atheists are all crazy.
He laughed to himself and threw himself into work waiting and hoping his cell would buzz soon.

***

Tuesday, November 13
^th
, 8:07 P.M.

“Jennifer, stop fiddling around and get in the tub!”

“If the regular strength bath made me itch what’s this one gonna do?”

“Hopefully save your sorry ass
again
!  We don’t know if the Fury can adjust and overcompensate.  It touched you.  Maybe it can figure a way to get past this bath, now.  The best way to ensure that it can’t do it as easily as it may have thought is to double the strength and hope that throws off anything it may have pre-calculated.  Now, get in.”

Betty shoved her towards the tub and tugged the white fluffy towel so it slid off of her.  Baring her teeth at Betty, she stepped into the warm light brown water with sticks, twigs, leaves, and what looked like foamy moss floating around in it making it look like a giant tub-sized vat of vegetable broth.

“Make sure you dunk your whole head so that the bath can protect you.  Every
inch
of you needs to be touched by that bath.  Got it?”

Blowing out a frustrated sigh, Jennifer nodded refusing to answer knowing something she didn’t mean would come out.  She dunked her head under the water and held her hair back with her right hand.  Her thumb covered a tiny spot just behind her left ear as she dunked.  She moved her hand, sat up and splashed herself good.  She looked over at Betty who was watching carefully.  “Good?”

“Did your finger touch your neck or head when you pulled your hair back?”

Jennifer paused and tried to remember but shook her head. “No, got all my skin drenched.”

“Yeah?” Without warning, Betty took the glass off the vanity and scooped up some of the herbal bath and dumped it over Jennifer’s unsuspecting head.

“Aaaah!  You sonofabitch!”

“Hmphf.  Good.  That ought to do it.  You can come out.  We’ve got to go.”

Jennifer, completely drenched and fuming, hurled obscenities at Betty’s retreating back. Betty bustled about the bedroom and packed Jennifer’s few belongings wondering if Jennifer’s life would ever get back to any semblance of normalcy.  Shrugging the thought away, she focused on her task and sent a prayer-wish to the Earth Goddess to walk with them this night, victoriously.

***

Tuesday, November 13
^th
, 7:50 P.M.

Freeman took out his gun when he was in front of Clift’s door and pushed it open slowly.  He saw Clift lying on the floor with his eyes glazed over and no Yearwood.  He turned to Pettijohn.

“Go find Detective Paul Yearwood and bring him to me.  Whatever you do — don’t let him get away.”

With a determined look Pettijohn saluted him again and raced off.

Entering the office Freeman looked at the body.  There were no external wounds.  No bruising of any kind that he could see.  The look of pure agony on his face made Freeman’s heart lurch.  From the looks of it, his heart gave out.  Shaking his head Freeman looked around the office.  All seemed intact.

“Please let this be from natural causes, Clift.  But where’s Yearwood?” he said thinking out loud. Freeman pulled out his phone and called it in knowing that in a few minutes the office would be swarming with cops and EMT personnel.  He stood up and went behind Clift’s desk.

Freeman froze.  Clift’s personal e-mail was still open and the unsent message to Detective Holden allowing her to continue working on the Barnes case was as clear as day.  Freeman covered his face with his hands.  With this e-mail, Clift had pretty much made himself an accessory to whatever Holden was up to.

Freeman looked over at the dead man and whispered, “What the hell were you thinking old man?” He now knew that the entire four man Rennkler homicide team would have to be investigated.  When EMTs arrived six minutes later, they found Freeman standing behind the desk staring at the ceiling.

***

Tuesday, November 13
^th
, 8:40 P.M.

The big slab of Prosciutto was pulled from the corner of the showcase window and Chad watched as the bulbous-nosed deli man handled the twenty-plus pound cured meat and sliced off a nice chunk.

“Thinly sliced?”

“How else?” Chad smiled at the man but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Chad turned away as the man put the meat on to the electric slicer.  He still couldn’t believe Jennifer had tried to brush him off.  Holding on to his emotions Chad forcibly stopped himself from going down that road.