Blood Game

NINE

“I DIDN’T EXPECT YOU, EVE. It’s bad enough that I bothered Jane with it.” Patty made a face as she opened the door. “Sorry about this.”

“So am I,” Eve said. “And there’s nothing to be sorry for. We may have brought this down on you.” She turned to Caleb, who was coming up the steps. “This is Seth Caleb. He’s something of an expert on Jelak, and we thought you wouldn’t mind if we let him come.”

Patty frowned. “You mean he’s a sort of profiler?”

“Sort of.” Caleb smiled. “I won’t be long. Joe Quinn will be arriving shortly with his tech crews, and he won’t want me bothering him.”

“Great,” Patty said dryly. “Techs running all over the house. Granddad will have a cow.”

“It’s best,” Jane said. “You know that, Patty.”

“I was hoping just to fill out a report on that power line.”

Patty looked at Caleb. “But that goblet screwed me up, didn’t it? It’s the same man who killed those women?”

“It’s a very good possibility. Could I see the goblet?”

She jerked her head in the direction of the kitchen. “It’s on the counter next to the refrigerator.” She moistened her lips. “How did he get into the house? I locked the door last night.”

“Jelak was trained to get past locks.” He moved toward the kitchen. “I’m just wondering why all he did was leave the goblet.”

“You mean you’re wondering why he didn’t slit my throat?” Patty shivered. “I’ve been wondering that too.”

“Was there anything different about your routine last night?”

“I talked on the phone for quite a while before the power went off. That was a little different. Granddad didn’t like it. Then he was nervous because of the power outage and wanted me to stay with him.”

“How long?”

“All night. I slept in the chair by his bed.”

“You didn’t leave the room to get him anything?”

“No, he’d already had his medicine.” She gazed at him. “You think that murderer Jelak was in the house waiting for his chance, don’t you?”

Caleb nodded. “I think if you’d left your grandfather’s room anytime during those first few hours, you’d have been the victim and not Heather Carmello.”

“Why didn’t he come into Granddad’s bedroom and try to kill us both?”

“That’s not according to ritual. He would have considered it crude. It has to be one-on-one. He probably stayed until he thought you were in there for the night, then went after someone else.”

“What about the goblet? There was blood…”

“He came back, didn’t he?” Eve asked. “He took the chance of coming twice. After the kill, he wanted to show how easily it could have been Patty.”

“Dear God,” Jane murmured.

Caleb nodded. “It was a gesture of bravado. He had to make a statement this time.” He paused at the kitchen door. “And he probably wanted to check to make sure Patty was still with her grandfather. Usually, he’d limit the kill to one a night. The ingestion isn’t pure otherwise. But in this case, he wouldn’t have minded another ritual. He didn’t take Heather Carmello’s blood for himself.”

“You’re so damn casual,” Patty said. “It’s my blood you’re talking about.”

“I’m not casual,” Caleb said. “I hate the idea of what Jelak is doing. I’m just trying to answer your questions. You can’t fight him if you’re ignorant of what he is.”

“You certainly know what he is. You must have studied him for a long time,” Patty said.

“Long enough. The kitchen is that way?”

They followed him as he went into the kitchen and squatted to look at the goblet on the counter. He stared at it for a long time. “It’s Jelak. And it’s the same.”

“But you knew it probably was him,” Jane said. “And what do you mean the same? Were you expecting something different?”

“You’re very observant.” Caleb rose to his feet. “There’s a possibility that the goblet could have been different. Though I wouldn’t expect it, considering Jelak’s actions.”

“What kind of difference?”

“The number of the men at the table. The ones that represent the twelve stages that Jelak has to pass through before he reaches his final goal. That could change.”

“Patty!”

“Granddad,” Patty said wearily. “I have to go to him and explain before Joe and the forensic techs get here. Lord, I don’t want to deal with this right now.”

“Would you like me to take care of it?” Caleb asked. “I’ve had training in this kind of thing.”

“I thought you were a profiler?”

He shrugged. “It all has to do with psychology.”

“No one’s trained to deal with Granddad,” Patty said. “He’s going to raise hell. I wouldn’t put anyone through it.”

“Let me try.” He headed for the door. “Sometimes a stranger has better luck than a family member. I wouldn’t want Quinn to have a bad time when he gets here. Which room?”

Patty hesitated. “Second bedroom off the hall.”

“And what’s his first name?”

“Marcus.”

He nodded and disappeared down the hall.

“I shouldn’t have let him do it,” Patty said. “It’s my job.”

“Then he should know that within a few minutes,” Jane said. “I’m glad that he’s going to try. You look beat.”

“It scared me,” Patty said. “The idea of anyone being in the house and me not knowing it. It’s like a horror movie I saw once.” She paused. “And this guy belongs in a horror movie, doesn’t he?”

“Yes,” Eve said. “Jelak qualifies.”

Patty shuddered. “Do you think he’s right about Jelak killing me if I’d left Granddad’s room that night?”

“I wish I could say he was wrong,” Jane said. “But he seems to know Jelak.”

Patty nodded. “Those details were pretty-” She stopped. “I think I hear cars outside. Joe must be here.” She grimaced. “And that means your Seth Caleb didn’t have enough time to explain much of anything to Granddad. I’m surprised I haven’t heard him screaming for me yet. I’ll go and let Joe in and try to run interference when he goes in to talk to Granddad.”

“Joe can take care of himself,” Eve said, as she and Jane followed her toward the front door. “Stop trying to shoulder everything yourself, Patty.”

“It goes with the territory,” Patty said. “Just because I called you for help tonight doesn’t mean I have to saddle anyone else with-”

“Be quiet,” Jane said. “We’re friends. We’ll do what friends do. Support. Now, do you have a couch where I can sleep? I’m going to move in with you for a few days. Your grandfather can just get used to me.”

“No way,” Patty said flatly. “No one is going to hover over me and hold my hand.”

“Look, this may be my fault. I need to-”

“She’s right, Jane,” Caleb said from the doorway of her grandfather’s room. “You shouldn’t come here. It’s what Jelak wants to happen. You’ll be more vulnerable than you would be with Eve and Quinn.” The doorbell rang, and he smiled. “And, even as we speak, there’s Quinn. I’d better prepare to make my departure. I tend to annoy him.” He moved toward the door. “I think Marcus will be okay for a while. I didn’t have much time, but he seemed willing to cooperate.”

“Cooperate?” Patty repeated. “Granddad?”

“No guarantees,” Caleb said. “But since he really cares about you, there’s a chance.” He stepped forward and opened the door. “Hello, Quinn. I was just leaving. You’ll be glad to know I didn’t disturb a thing. Ask Eve.”

“I’ll do that.” He looked at Patty. “Are you okay?”

She nodded. “A little uneasy. No, dammit, big-time scared.” She glanced at the four forensic techs coming up the steps. “And they make it seem too real.”

“We’ll be in and out as quick as we can.” He paused. “We’ll need statements from both you and your grandfather.”

“He doesn’t know anything.”

“I’m sorry. We have to get a statement.” Joe stepped aside for the team to enter. “Where’s the goblet?”

“In the kitchen.”

“I’ll show you.” Jane started across the room toward the hall.

“And I’ll go prepare Granddad,” Patty said. “It’s not going to do any good, Joe. He’ll rave and rant at you, and there’s nothing he can really tell you.”

“I have to do it, Patty.”

“Whatever.” She shrugged and moved toward her grandfather’s room.

“Good-bye, Eve,” Caleb said. “I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.” He turned back to Joe. “Jelak is nowhere near here, Quinn. I thought perhaps he might be. He was trying to draw Eve and Jane into the web and using Patty as bait. I wasn’t sure if he could resist making contact or at least being near them. But I can’t sense any trace of him. He’s not here.”

“That’s why you wanted to come here?”

Caleb nodded. “And I had to check out the goblet.” He moved out on the porch. “Call me if you need me. I’ll be in touch.”

He strode down the steps and toward his car, parked across the street.

Joe turned back toward Eve. “Was he telling the truth?”

“About not disturbing anything?” Eve nodded. “Except Patty’s nerves. He told her a little too much more about Jelak than she was comfortable with.” She added, “And he examined that carving on that goblet very closely. He was looking for something. He said something about the number of the men changing.”

“What?”

She shook her head. “He said that it was still the same. Then Patty’s grandfather called her, and Caleb didn’t mention anything else about it.”

“A teaser?”

“I don’t believe Caleb would-” She shrugged. “He’s pretty up-front. Probably because it suits him to be. But he didn’t appear to be trying to hide anything.” She looked at him. “And he didn’t want Jane to stay here with Patty. He said that was what Jelak wanted.”

“He’s right. It would be the worse possible move. I wouldn’t let-”

“He’s ready to see you, Joe.” Patty stood in the doorway of the bedroom. “Anytime you’re ready.”

“Now.” He strode toward the door. “It’s only a preliminary, and I’ll be through in a few minutes, Patty. We’ll have to ask him to sign a statement later.”

“Okay.” Patty nodded and stepped aside as he entered the bedroom.

“Patty?” Eve’s gaze was on Patty’s face. She looked dazed. “What’s wrong?”

“Granddad.”

Eve stiffened. “Is he all right? Did Caleb hurt him?”

“I… don’t know,” Patty said. “Maybe.”

“What do you mean?”

She gazed at Eve in bewilderment. “Granddad smiled at me.”

TWO HOURS LATER, EVE WALKED Joe to his car parked on the street.

“I’ll be home as soon as I get my report written out,” Joe said. “And I’m leaving one of the squad cars here to escort you and Jane back to the cottage.” He said curtly, “Don’t let her stay here, Eve.”

“Patty wouldn’t let her do it.” She smiled. “Neither would I. Stop worrying.”

He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”

Eve didn’t speak for a moment. “You had no trouble getting a statement from Patty’s grandfather?”

“No, he was very cooperative. He didn’t know anything, but he was patient, even pleasant.”

“Really. That’s unusual.”

“Yeah, I know Patty says he’s difficult. Maybe he was having a good day.” He shrugged. “Anyway, it made my job easier.”

“That’s what Caleb said. He said he wanted to try to make your job easier.”

“So he talked the old man into giving me a break?” Joe asked skeptically. “He was a stranger to him. I doubt if he’d have any influence.”

“And he was only in the room for a few minutes.” Eve paused. “Weird.”

“He’s weird,” Joe said. “And I’m tired of dealing with weirdos.” He shook his head. “But I guess someone could call me that, couldn’t they?”

“Not anyone who had a good sense of self-preservation,” Eve said. She watched him get into his car. “But, yes, Caleb is definitely a little bizarre.” And she was tired of dealing with the bizarre too. She wanted a return to the norm. She was desperately missing their steady, down-to-earth, day-to-day routine.

What was she thinking? Any steadiness that they’d had in these years had been fleeting at best. And it had always been her choices that had thrown them into turmoil. She stepped away from the car. “I’ll see you back at the cottage.”

He nodded as he pulled away from the curb. “I’ve decided I’m going to release a photo of Jelak to the media. I can only say we want him for questioning in the killings since we don’t have a damn bit of proof. But I’ll feel better about having his face out there for everyone to recognize.”

“I will too.”

“And I’m leaving a squad car here at the house for Patty.”

She smiled. “Can you arrange for Charlie Brand to take the first watch? She’d feel safer.”

“I’ll put in a request.”

“Do that.” She watched his car until it rounded the corner before turning back to the house. Jane was just leaving and saying good-bye to Patty on the porch. Patty waved to Eve, then turned and went back into the house.

“I still think I should stay with her,” Jane said as she walked toward Eve. “But she won’t have it.”

“Neither would Joe and I,” Eve said. “Caleb was right. That’s what Jelak would want you to do.” She got into her car. “And Patty will have protection. There’s no problem now that there’s proof she’s involved in the case.”

“No, I’d say that’s a definite.” She shivered. “The idea of him sitting only a room away just waiting like a spider in his web for her to come to him gives me the creeps.” She paused. “Again, if Caleb is right about that happening. We’re just taking it for granted that he is.”

“He’s very convincing.”

“He managed to convince Patty’s granddad.” Jane got into the passenger seat. “She’s freaked out about it. She said it’s almost as if he’s not her grandfather.”

“That much difference?”

Jane nodded. “He took her hand and told her that she had to take care of herself. She said she couldn’t remember a gesture of affection from him all the time she was growing up.”

“Sad.”

“She was used to it. She’s not used to warmth and caring from him. She’s wondering if he’s had a stroke or something.”

“Or something.”

“It’s as if Caleb hypnotized him.”

Eve remembered that moment in the restaurant when she’d thought Caleb’s intensity was almost hypnotic. “Not likely. It takes time to induce hypnosis, and he was only in that room for a few moments. Maybe what he said to the old man just struck the right note.”

“He said something about her grandfather really caring about her. If that’s true, you’d never know it from the way he treats her.”

“Sometimes people can’t show how they feel.” Eve started the car. “Maybe he’s one of them.”

“Until Caleb walked in and had a talk with him,” Jane said. “Crazy…”

“Yes,” Eve said. “But what hasn’t been crazy since Jelak appeared in our lives? We just have to deal with it.”

“I’M ON MY WAY HOME,” Joe told Eve, when she picked up the call at the cottage two hours later. “I just left the precinct, so it will be forty minutes or so. Is everything okay there?”

“Yes, I’m working, and Jane is out on the porch with Toby. Have you eaten?”

“I grabbed a sandwich from the machine.” He paused. “Charlie Brand will take over surveillance tomorrow morning. I couldn’t get him tonight.”

“Good enough,” Eve said. “It will be like having a friend out there. Patty needs all the friends she has around her right now. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up.

Eve had sounded abstracted, Joe thought as he hung up. But then she was always abstracted when she was working. After the first measurements of the skull, she became totally engrossed in the process of turning clay into a perfect replica of the face of the victim. It was a combination of scientific exploration and sheer instinct and creativity. When she’d finished putting on her tissue depth markers, the skull resembled a voodoo doll. Then she started taking strips of plasticene and building up the spaces between the markers and lastly came the smoothing and working of the clay. She always told him that there was no such thing as perfection in forensic sculpting, but Eve came very close. He always thought that her instinct became almost magical as the face grew beneath her fingers.

At any rate, he was glad that she was doing something that would keep her mind off Jelak. The bastard was coming closer every minute and touching people they both cared about. Patty had been a part of their lives for years and that goblet was-

“He didn’t want Patty,” Nancy Jo said. “Eve is the only one he wants.”

That car swerved as he glanced at the passenger seat. She was sitting there, next to him.

“No!” He drew a deep breath, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. “I thought I was rid of you. What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t come back to the lake. I had to come to you.” She frowned. “It wasn’t easy. I didn’t know how to do it. Someone had to teach me.”

“Then you should have stayed there. I’m doing everything I can do.”

“He’s still alive. He still has my blood. And Daddy is getting impatient. I can feel it.”

“Then go get someone to teach you how to reach him. Your father is damn persistent. I’m not going to be able to stop him.”

“I know.” Her blue eyes were full of tears. “He won’t give up. He has someone following you right now.”

“What?”

“The blue Camry in the next lane. It’s someone he hired to keep an eye on you. He didn’t like it that you wouldn’t take a bribe.”

“You seem to know a lot about what’s going on.”

“I’m learning. I have to learn. No one is helping me… except her.”

“Except who?”

“The little girl.”

He stiffened. “What little girl?”

“The one who taught me how to come to you. She said I should get away from the place where it happened. She said if I was going to stay, I should go away somewhere and begin to heal.”

“She appears very knowledgeable about this kind of situation,” he said.

“Yes, she said it happened a long time ago for her. I liked her. She wasn’t like the others. She didn’t try to push me. She just sat with me and told me she knew what I was feeling. She was quiet, and yet she made me feel… good.”

“And does she have a name?”

“Of course. Bonnie.”

He had been expecting it, but he still felt the shock. “And when did she come to you?”

“The night after you came with that Megan person. Bonnie wasn’t like the others. She knew I had to stay.”

“Because of your father.”

“She said that if their need is too strong, then you have to help them.” She moistened her lips. “She knew how I felt.”

“Yes, she would.” He looked at her. “And you know why, don’t you?”

“She didn’t tell me. But I felt it. It’s Eve. She’s trying to save Eve, isn’t she?”

“Yes.” His lips twisted. “We’re all trying to save Eve.”

“Me too. Because if he takes Eve’s blood, then everything is going to change. He may be too strong. It will be harder to kill him.”

“What are you talking about? All this crap about blood making him stronger. You sound like Caleb.”

“It does make him stronger. I made him stronger. Not as much as Eve would, but I gave him some strength he would never have had.” She looked away from him. “And it’s not crap. Ask Seth Caleb. Make him tell you.”

“I’ve heard enough from him. He said that this cult group Jelak belonged to had certain beliefs. Even Caleb didn’t say they were valid.”

“Make him tell you,” she repeated. “He’s not what you think.”

“I have a suggestion. Why don’t you go visit Caleb and ask him to team up with you to go after Jelak? You seem to have similar thoughts on the subject.”

She shook her head. “There’s too much darkness all around him. I couldn’t get near him. I have to rely on you.”

“Great.”

“I don’t like it either.” She paused. “But I may be able to help you. I found out that I may be able to tell where Jelak is.”

“How?”

“I can feel him.”

He snorted. “Now you do sound like Caleb.”

“It’s true. I don’t know how he feels Jelak, but with me it’s the blood. It’s my blood in him that calls to me.”

Joe was silent. “Then do you know where he is right now?”

“No.”

“Then I can’t say that you’re a reliable source.”

“I’m the most reliable source that you have,” she said. “I thought I felt him last night. He was excited, and his blood was pounding. It went on for a long time.”

The time when he was killing Heather Carmello?

“I didn’t know about her,” Nancy Jo said as if he’d put the thought into words. “Not until you started thinking about her.”

“She’s not one of your buddies in the afterworld?”

“Stop being sarcastic. I don’t even know if we can have friends. I hope so. I hate being this lonely.”

“I imagine there’s some provision for them.” He paused. “What about Bonnie?”

“She was nice to me, but I think she wanted to rush me along so that I would be able to help Eve. Is Eve her mother?”

“Yes.”

“My mother died a long time ago. I only have my dad.” She added unevenly, “And he only had me. He’s not happy, and I don’t know how to help him.”

“I think you have to let him find his way himself.”

“I will not. I need to help him. I’ll find a way.” She looked at him. “Are you Bonnie’s dad?”

“No, I never knew her.”

“She knows you. She said I could trust you.” She glanced out the window. “The Camry has dropped back. They must know you’re going to get off the freeway here.”

“Why is your father having me followed? I’d turn any information I found in to the department.”

“He found out about the goblet that Jelak put in your cottage. He knows about Eve. He thinks that if he’s close to you, he may get close to Jelak.”

“Evidently, someone did take one of his bribes.”

“You can’t blame him,” Nancy Jo said fiercely. “He’s hurting. Someone has to help him.”

“And you’ve elected me.”

“Yes. Why not? There must be some reason why you can see me when no one else can. It must mean that you have a special job to do.”

“Not that I’m just unlucky?”

“I don’t think so.” She smiled sadly. “But I could be wrong.”

He felt again that rush of sympathy mixed with exasperation that he always felt with her. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t believe in fate, but then I didn’t believe in ghosts either. Anyway, I’ll ride with it.” He turned down the lake road. “So are you going to go hunting and let me know if you run across Jelak?”

“I’m not good at hunting. I never did anything like this before.”

“Then what help are you going to be to me?”

“I don’t know. I thought maybe-I don’t know.” She frowned. “Stop acting like a cop, Joe.”

“It’s what I am. It’s why you turned to me.”

“I turned to you because I had no one else.” She was silent a moment. “But I’m glad it was you. You can be difficult, but I think you can help me if anyone can.”

“I’m only difficult when assaulted by ghosts.”

She smiled. “I don’t believe that’s true. I bet you can be difficult about a lot of things. I think I would have liked you if I’d met you before Jelak. I may even like you now.”

“What a concession. Is that why you came looking for me?”

“No, I had to let you know what Daddy was doing. And to make sure you knew I could help you… maybe.”

“Well, that’s definite.”

She was silent a moment. “And maybe I was lonely.” She added quickly, “Though I wouldn’t bother you just because of that.”

“That’s good. And you also wanted to tell me that crap about Eve’s blood putting Jelak over the top?”

“It’s not crap.”

“Who told you?”

“No one. I know it.”

“Then I believe we’ll differ. You’re a fledgling ghost in training. I can’t put my trust in you, Nancy Jo. Come back when you’ve had some experience.” He pulled up to the driveway in front of the cottage. “Now, is there anything else? If not, I’d like to go in to Eve and Jane.”

“No.” Her gaze was fixed wistfully on the lights in the windows of the cottage. “We take so many things for granted, don’t we? Lights in a window, people we love waiting for us… Then it’s all gone.” Her gaze shifted to his face. “Don’t you take it for granted, Joe.”

“I don’t.”

“No, you’ve probably seen too much of death. I was too young. I thought it would go on and on. I thought I’d live forever.”

“We all do at your age.”

“But I didn’t get a chance to grow out of it. He took that away from me.” She met his eyes. “I keep wanting to cry. I’m not usually weepy. I’ll have to get over it. That little girl, Bonnie, wasn’t sobbing and wringing her hands. There was a sort of golden serenity about her.”

“She’s had a little time to come to terms.”

She nodded jerkily. “I’ll get there.” She looked back at the house. “Go on. They’re waiting for you.”

“Are you going to just sit out here?”

She smiled. “You don’t want to be impolite and leave me by myself. That’s pretty silly, isn’t it?”

“Ridiculous.” But that’s how he felt, he realized. “But I don’t know the protocol of dealing with ghosts.”

“I won’t be here long. I know the trick now. Bonnie showed me.”

“Then I’ll say good night.” He got out of the car. “As usual, it’s been a different experience, Nancy Jo.”

“But I don’t believe you dislike it as much, do you?” She added, “You’re not afraid of me any longer?”

“I was never afraid of-Well, maybe those first few minutes.”

“But not now?” She was looking at him like a lost puppy.

“I’m not afraid, and I don’t dislike you.” He made a face. “I guess I’m getting used to you.”

“And I’m getting used to you,” she said eagerly. “That’s part of being friends. Are we friends, Joe?”

He gazed helplessly at her. He could no more reject her than he could a child in need. He said gently, “We’re friends, Nancy Jo.”

She smiled brilliantly. “Thank you.”

He turned and went up the porch steps. He glanced back when he opened the screen door.

She was gone.

She had learned the trick.