Page 17 of Deadly Deception (Necromancer Tales #2)

Chapter

Seventeen

Erasmus

Sometime, during the hubbub surrounding finding Dr. Scott lying unconscious on the floor and the EMTs taking her away, I got a call and voicemail from Frost. Franklin and Sheriff Henson were going around the morgue, examining the space and looking for anything the assailants might have left behind. At this point it was a fair assumption there’d been more than one. Corpses weren’t light and they’d left the gurneys behind, meaning the bodies had been carried out. I suppose they could have brought their own transport equipment. That would also make sense. Too bad all the cameras in the precinct had been disabled. It would take a forensic tech expert to figure out how it had been done. Considering I was a low-tech guy, that eluded me.

I played the voicemail and got the first bit of good news today.

“Necromancer Boone, this is Agent Frost. The Magical Usage Council is sending you Tabitha Clark. I’ve worked with her before and she’s the real deal. If a medium is what Navarre needs, then that’s what he’s getting. Contact me if there are any issues. I made a point to express to the council how important I believe necromancer health and identification is to the future safety of all species. Have a good day.”

I figured the good day aspect was already blown to hell but appreciated the sentiment regardless. I checked to make sure there were no other messages either on my voicemail or text messaging and there were not. Frost’s message was only twenty minutes old, so there probably hadn’t been enough time to receive more.

Staring at Dr. Scott’s lingering bloody smear, I felt bile rise and was grateful we’d gotten Navarre out of the precinct last night. Thinking of the necromancer, I walked to Franklin and asked to borrow his phone. He gave me a strange look but quickly acquiesced. I held the phone in front of his face to unlock it and then scrolled until I found Shane Tompkins’s information.

I’d need to be careful, just in case the walls really did have ears, but I wanted to check in and make certain Navarre and Tompkins were okay. It would also be a good idea to give them a heads-up. Attacking a medical examiner under the noses of a dozen or more cops was a bold and possibly desperate move.

Pulling up Tompkins’s number, my heart raced as it rang once, twice…four times. I was sure it would go to voicemail but then Tompkins answered with a friendly, “How are you doing, Franklin?”

“Sorry, this is Erasmus. Franklin’s a little busy at the moment.”

There was a pause before Tompkins’s tone dropped, concern mounting. “What happened?”

“Franklin’s fine. We heard you were feeling a little under the weather and I was just calling to check in”

Another pause, this one longer. I hoped Tompkins picked up the continued subterfuge. He didn’t disappoint and said, “Probably just a cold. I didn’t want to be irresponsible and pass it around to everyone else.”

“That’s considerate of you,” I answered. “Franklin and I were going to stop by later, just to drop off some soup. I’ve also got a charm or two from Pops that might help. Is that okay? We won’t come in and bug you or risk getting sick.”

“That sounds fine. Do you know what time?”

“No. There’s a bit of a situation at the precinct.” Even if someone was listening in, they wouldn’t think it odd that I brought this up to Tompkins. “Dr. Emily Scott was attacked in the morgue. Most of the bodies I found are missing.”

Tompkins sucked in a harsh breath. “Is Emily—”

“She’s been taken to the hospital. I don’t know any more about her status.”

“Shit.”

I cleared my throat and said, “I thought you might like to know given that you’re on friendly terms with the sheriff and Dr. Scott.”

“Thank you. I’d appreciate any updates when possible.”

“Franklin has you on speed dial,” I answered. “I’ll let you know when we’re on our way there.”

“I’ll be expecting you later. Thanks again. You and Franklin take care.”

“You too,” I said by way of goodbye.

I pocketed Franklin’s phone and continued standing, leaning against the wall as Franklin and Henson made their way around the room. Henson took pictures and laid little numbers beside evidence. I’d been to enough crime scenes to understand the general practice. I’d bet Henson never figured his own precinct would need photographed in such painstaking detail.

My legs began to ache, and my back protested the standing position. I missed my flip-flops, not that they would have added a lot of support. No wonder those who worked in conditions where they were constantly standing on such unforgiving ground paid a small fortune for supportive footwear. I missed the softer ground of the cemeteries I frequented. I missed the gentle hum of the lower-level ones, the cemeteries whose residents had been there for a century or more and had passed contentedly.

My stomach growled and when I checked my watch, I saw it was nearing lunchtime. I was about to say something to Franklin when my phone buzzed with an incoming text. When I checked it was from a number I didn’t recognize, but the message was one I’d eagerly awaited.

Necromancer Boone, I will be in the Chicago area by three p.m. Where would you like to meet? Tabitha.

It was a little past noon now. I quickly texted Tabitha the address of the hotel Franklin and I were staying in. It was about a fifteen-minute drive from the Sheriff’s department. If Franklin and I left soon, we could grab something to eat and get back to the hotel in plenty of time.

Pulling up a note-taking app on my phone, I typed out a message to Franklin. It was probably overkill, but I didn’t want to say our plans out loud.

Franklin and Sheriff Henson were standing by a nearby counter. They’d already placed the three remaining corpses back into cold containment. Two of them were the homeless individuals I’d found. The other was the teenage girl. I’d already traced their strings back to their souls and given their names to the sheriff. He’d asked me to bring their souls back, which I’d done. One had died of an overdose and the other from unknown causes. All the man had known was that he’d had a cough for a couple of weeks and probably a fever. He’d gone to sleep and simply hadn’t woken back up. Both had heard the name, Vanja, whispered around the area but had no idea who it might be or had any direct, known dealings with anyone by that name.

The teenager was slightly different, and yet all too familiar. She hadn’t died of an overdose, but she’d been using at the time. She’d been trafficked, and her last customer had strangled her. She didn’t know the guy’s name, but she’d given us a description. I had no idea if it would be enough to track the asshole down. Henson hadn’t appeared overly confident. Then again, Henson was having a shit day. Reading too much into his expressions was most likely not fruitful.

It had been a long shot, pulling their souls back. These three corpses had been left behind for a reason, and that was because they didn’t know squat. Still, it was important to cover all the bases. There was always a chance they’d been left because the assailant hadn’t had time to get them out.

I’d released their souls and wished them well in the afterlife. I hadn’t been much use after that.

When I got within touching distance, Franklin immediately reached for me, tugging me closer. I leaned into his side and said, “Any chance of this wrapping up soon?”

“We’re almost done,” Henson answered instead of Franklin. “I’ll keep the morgue on lockdown just in case we want to come back and investigate something further.”

“Sounds good.” My stomach growled again. I’d had a couple of pieces of candy, but my body needed something more solid.

Franklin gave me an indulgent smile. “I’m hungry too.”

Henson waved us off. “You two get out of here. I’m going to check and see how Emily is doing.” We’d gotten a quick update earlier that she’d arrived at the hospital okay and was headed for imaging. She’d obviously been knocked on the head by something heavy. The weapon hadn’t been found inside the morgue, and Henson didn’t know the room well enough to know if something was missing that could have caused the damage. We really needed Dr. Scott with us to examine the room. For obvious reasons, that wasn’t possible.

The sheriff flinched and said, “I’m going to call in a couple of favors from surrounding precincts. I’d feel better if Emily had police protection for her room. I don’t know if her assailant meant to kill her or just incapacitate her. I don’t want to take the chance they’re disappointed she’s still breathing and plan on altering that fact. It’ll raise a few eyebrows around here, but I don’t give a shit. I don’t know who I can trust and until that situation resolves itself, I’m going to have to outsource a few things.”

Franklin placed his hand on Henson’s shoulder. It was as close to a physical show of support as my man was going to get. I figured it was about all Henson wanted anyway. He didn’t strike me as the kind of man who liked hugging things out.

We said our goodbyes and headed for the exit. I waved to Sara on the way out and she offered a grim smile in return. I was wary as we crossed the parking lot and climbed into our rental SUV. Thankfully, we were only accosted by the chilly wind.

As Franklin started the vehicle and headed for the exit, I breathed a sigh of relief. The typed note on my phone had been pointless. I’d had it ready in case Franklin and Henson wanted to continue into the afternoon. Thankfully, that hadn’t been the case, so I gave Franklin the verbal rundown.

“I figured we could meet up at the hotel and then head over to Tompkins’s place. I don’t think he knows exactly why we’re coming over, but I was able to convey that we’d be there later.” I’d given Franklin his phone back and said, “You’ll need to send him a text when we stop for lunch.”

“Will do,” Franklin assured me. My man looked wiped, all the peaceful sleep of the night before used up in a few short hours. “I need to call Captain Cicely too. I really don’t want to extend our trip, but it sounds like we might have to.” Franklin grimaced and flicked me a concerned glance. “I don’t want to screw up your Halloween appointments. Your business is important.”

“I’m not canceling anything yet,” I reassured him. “I’m still hopeful we’ll be back in time.”

Franklin grunted. “I wish I shared your optimism. Not gonna lie, this is a mess. I don’t envy Sheriff Henson.”

I hadn’t really suffered from Henson envy before the shit hit the fan but could appreciate the sentiment. “Where does he even start?”

“No idea. It’ll be a long, drawn-out process unless we get lucky and find concrete evidence. Assuming this Vanja imposter is behind the attack on us and the theft of the bodies, I don’t hold out a lot of hope for a quick resolution.”

“Then we need to try and figure out a way to get lucky.” I waggled my eyebrows and was rewarded with Franklin’s rusty laughter.

“I’ll leave the luck-finding to you.”

We wound up just going through a drive-thru and getting some burgers, fries, and soft drinks. Despite the cold, I really wanted ice cream, and figured I’d try and talk Franklin into it later. I’d stayed away from the tea options when I’d quickly discovered that the Midwest version of tea was nothing like what I was used to.

We landed back at our hotel with an hour to spare. Franklin flopped on the bed like a landed starfish, and I quickly wormed my way under one of his arms.

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess,” Franklin said as he ran his fingers up and down my arm.

“I’m not. Well, that’s not entirely true. What I mean is that if you’re involved, then I’m glad I’m with you. I think it’s fair to say that we’d both be happier to be home. If Tompkins hadn’t called, then I’d hate to think what would have happened to Navarre. So regardless, this trip has been worth it.” I meant every word. I’d never considered it my job to try and find and save all the necromancers in the world, but I was beginning to think that someone needed to apply for the position, and I didn’t see any other resumes on the horizon. Sometimes we wound up performing jobs not because we wanted to, but because no one else would.

My phone dinged with an incoming text. It was Tabitha again with an update. ETA twenty minutes. I typed back a quick thanks and said, “Looks like our medium is going to be early.”

Franklin groaned. “A nap would have been lovely.”

“The loveliest,” I agreed. I set an alarm on my phone, just in case Franklin and I drifted off. Considering we both did just that, it was good forethought.

T abitha Clark wasn’t exactly what I expected, although I’m not certain what my expectations were. A seventy-something-year-old, squat woman with silvery-white hair and a purse dangling from her forearm wasn’t it. She had a kind smile that crinkled her sharp, brown eyes. She wasn’t wearing glasses. Given her place of employment, I hoped the least they could do was offer magically corrected vision.

“Necromancer Boone, I assume.” Tabitha didn’t hold her hand out by way of greeting, but she didn’t offer it to Franklin either.

I wasn’t sure if I should call this woman by her title or not. I decided to hedge and said, “Yes. And you’re the medium, Tabitha Clark?”

“Guilty as charged,” she chuckled warmly. “I hear my services are needed.”

I glanced up at Franklin, but his expression was carefully blank. “I hope you can help,” I said. “Thank you for coming on such short notice.”

“Nonsense.” Tabitha waved me off. “I am always happy to offer aid where I can. Spiritual contamination can be very disruptive. I was fortunate. I come from a family where the sight has been passed down for generations. No one thought a thing about me talking to the invisible guest squatting in our home. I have one granddaughter and a nephew who show a lot of promise as well. I’ll admit, I’ve never worked with a necromancer before. Is there anything I should know going into the situation?”

We headed for our rental and Tabitha followed. I asked, “Would you like to follow or ride with us?”

“I’ll ride with you if that’s all right. That will give us more time to discuss the situation.” Tabitha immediately went for the back door, climbing into the seat with the agility of someone half her age. I’d bet she had some decent pain charms of her own.

Franklin drove again. Considering we were adjacent to his old stomping grounds, I’d never thought to ask if I could drive. Honestly, I didn’t want to, especially if we were headed back towards Chicago.

Twisting in my seat, I finally answered Tabitha’s earlier question. “I’m not sure what I should say.”

“Why don’t we start with why you believe your friend needs my services.”

Was Navarre a friend? Probably not. Maybe one day, but for now I let the moniker stand. “It’s hard to explain. It’s a feeling mostly. I can kind of hear them too, although I can’t make out any words. Navarre can. I think he can hear and see them. It’s difficult for him to tell who’s alive and who’s dead.”

“And that’s different from what you can do?” Tabitha asked. As the saying went, it wasn’t what you said, but how you said it, and when Tabitha questioned my abilities, it was with a note of curiosity, not condescension.

I shook my head. “No. I need a physical body, or some part of the body, to connect with the soul. I bring them back, and if they still have a physical body, they speak through that. If not, then I lend them enough of my energy that they can form words. I can’t make them very corporeal, or if I do, I can’t for long. But again, I’ve got to have something of the body. Even if it’s just the cremains.”

Tabitha’s eyes scrunched, deepening her wrinkles. “That sounds very impressive, Necromancer Boone.”

“Erasmus,” I said. “Please call me Erasmus.” I hooked a thumb in Franklin’s direction. “You’ll soon notice that Franklin mostly calls me Boone, but he addresses nearly everyone by their last name. Not sure why.”

Franklin’s eyes were trained on the road, and he didn’t seem inclined to enlighten us the situation. Maybe he didn’t know why he did it either.

Again, Tabitha’s smile was kind. “Thank you, and please call me Tabitha. Of course, Franklin is free to call me Clark if he so choses.”

Franklin checked his rearview mirror, and I had a feeling he was making eye contact with Tabitha.

Inhaling, I forged ahead, laying out my theory. “I think the spirits are attracted to Navarre because he’s a necromancer, but he doesn’t have the ability to do anything about it. He can’t actually help them.” I shrugged within my coat. “Right now, I think he’s just collecting souls that weren’t able to move on.” They were more than the spiritual remnants I often heard while walking through a graveyard. These were whole souls. “If I had a body, I could help him. I could push the soul back inside and then release them into the afterlife. But without a body, I’m useless.”

Tabitha leaned forward and placed her worn fingers over mine. Tabitha’s skin was remarkably soft and warm. “Not useless. After all, you brought me here, didn’t you? I doubt anyone else could have accomplished that minor miracle.”

She patted my hand before leaning back into her seat, her purse resting comfortably on her lap. “We’ll see what can be done when we get there. Hopefully the souls haunting your friend are like you say and desire aid in moving on. If that’s the case, then this will be easy-peasy. Not so much if they’re more reluctant. Either way, we’ll figure it out.”

I swallowed hard and expressed a fear that had been relentlessly taunting me. “And what then?”

Tabitha blinked, her head cocked to the side in confusion. When her lips parted, I knew she grasped my meaning. “Others will come.”

I nodded. “I think that’s fair to assume.”

“Hmm…that is a pickle.” Inhaling, Tabitha squared her shoulders. “One step at a time. That’s all we can do. Let’s see if we can clear Navarre’s aura of unwanted squatters and go from there.”

One step at a time . Despite all our planning and scheming, that’s probably all any of us could manage. It was a humbling truth.