Carnal Sin

TWENTY-FOUR

Moira and Nina Hardwick settled down with their coffee at a table in the far corner of the Starbucks closest to the police station. Several cops were on break, and Moira supposed that most people would feel safe surrounded by law enforcement-but cops made people like her, who often crossed the legal lines in the fight against supernatural evil, nervous. Moira had her back to the wall so that she could see the entire room, including the door. She and Skye had had several arguments when they were out together about who got that seat-cops, it seemed, also hated having their backs to a door. Moira always won, but she played hardball-she either got the seat or she didn’t sit.

Nina blurted out the question, “Are you really psychic?”

“No.” Dear God, I hope not. “But Detective Nelson was becoming annoying and he didn’t believe anything I said.”

“I hear you there, but Grant is a good cop. Honest, I wouldn’t tell him this because he has an ego this big, but he’s one of the best detectives I’ve worked with.”

“You’re a prosecutor?”

She shook her head. “I work for the Board of Supervisors, but my specialty is labor law, so I deal with the unions. I hear about all the cops, and Grant has a stellar reputation. Except for his reputation as a tomcat.”

She frowned. “Tomcat?”

“He strays.” She winked.

“Oh.” Moira hadn’t heard that expression, but it made sense based on what Julie had told her. If she could believe anything Julie Schroeder said. After seeing Julie’s astral at Nadine’s suicide, Moira had several things she wanted to say to that witch, and most of them were four-letter words.

“So why were you talking to Grant? Because you tried to help that poor girl yesterday?”

“Partly.” She weighed how much she should tell this woman. “Can I ask you a couple questions first?”

“Anything. I might not answer, though. I have confidentiality and ethics laws to consider.”

“Fair enough. What files were you talking about that you gave the detective?”

“Files that a private investigator gave me. Carson Felix-he was one of the best in the business. I’ve used him in the past, and he often helps law enforcement, sharing info and that sort of thing, so I knew I could trust him. He allegedly committed suicide two months ago, but I think he was killed to keep quiet.”

“Quiet about what?”

“You wouldn’t believe me. Grant sure as hell didn’t.”

“You’d be surprised at what I’ll believe.”

Nina eyed Moira suspiciously. “Who are you?”

“I’m an expert on cults.” Might as well go along with the party line, she thought. And it seemed to be working well.

Nina leaned forward. “Really? You’re a psychologist? Psychiatrist?”

“No. Former cult member.”

The attorney raised an eyebrow in disbelief. “You certainly don’t seem the type to be easily manipulated.”

“My mother was the cult leader. I ran away years ago. But I don’t want other people to fall prey to her lies.”

Nina nodded, her face a mask of sympathy that Moira didn’t want. She averted her eyes and sipped her tea. Not as good as home-steeped, but tolerable.

Nina said quietly, “I was having an affair of the heart with George Erickson. Well, it had progressed beyond the of the heart part, but we fell in love long before he broke his marriage vows. Such as they were.”

Julie had said the open marriage was one-way, but Moira didn’t know what she could believe from the woman who had lied to her, so she commented, “Nelson said he had an open marriage.”

“Open for Pamela Erickson, but not for George. She wanted a possession; that’s how she treated George. He was wealthy, had genuine stature and respect in this town. And that is not easily achieved, let me tell you. Everyone liked George. He was a terrific attorney and advocate for his clients.”

“And his wife is …?”

“A bitch?” Nina leaned forward and whispered, “Or rather, a witch.”

Nina was feeling her out. Moira sipped her tea and said, “Do you mean that figuratively, or that she’s a spell-casting, broomstick-riding witch?”

“I don’t know about the broomsticks or spells, and I don’t know that I believe in witches per se, but she’s definitely into the occult, and I know some of the extremist types do some bad things-criminal things.”

Nina reached into her briefcase. “I made a complete copy of the file I gave to Grant, but that’s in a safe in case I end up dead before my time. This is what I’m talking about.”

She slid a photograph across the small round table.

In the photo, Wendy Donovan was watching two women having sex with a man in the middle of a spirit trap. Moira recognized the Luciferian symbols painted on the floor. The tea in her stomach turned acidic.

Moira also recognized the room from Wendy Donovan’s house-from which they’d barely got out alive last night.

“Who’s the man?” she asked, trying to hide her horror.

“Don’t know. Grant said he’d look into it, and I’m sure he will, but he’s overworked and I don’t know how much time he’ll devote to a case that he thinks is closed.”

“What do you think happened?”

“I think George’s wife conspired with Nadine Anson to kill George. I know she was involved. She’s a whack job. I want justice-for George. Why should she get everything that was his? The house-his before they married. His money-he has a substantial financial portfolio, the majority earned before their marriage. She was involved; I don’t want her profiting from murder.”

Rafe walked in and sat down next to Moira. He was preoccupied, and Moira wondered what his conversation with Anthony had been about. “This is Rafe Cooper,” Moira said. She didn’t quite know how to introduce him-partner? Friend? Lover?

“What’s this?” Rafe picked up the photograph. “This is Wendy Donovan’s basement.”

Nina leaned back almost imperceptibly, but Moira sensed a shift in the woman from easy to restrained. Damn, Moira was trying to play her cards close to the vest, and now Nina had her antenna up.

“Who?” Nina asked.

Rafe glanced at Moira and looked sheepish.

Nina said, “Okay, don’t play me for a fool. Who exactly are you and how are you involved in this case?”

Moira glanced at Rafe. How much should she say? Most people didn’t believe in witches, or that witchcraft at its core was trouble. They liked their witches kind and good, like Glinda the Good Witch and Samantha Stevens. That most witches looked like Glinda but acted like the Wicked Witch of the West was generally unknown.

Nina grabbed the photo from Rafe and said, “I’ll take this with me.”

“Don’t go!” Moira frowned. She was torn.

Rafe leaned forward and took Nina’s hand. “Nina,” he said in a low voice, “we need your help. But what we have to tell you is difficult to understand.”

Moira shifted uncomfortably. Rafe caught her eye and raised his brows slightly. He wanted her to trust him. She leaned back and let him run with it.

Rafe said to Nina, “Moira is worried you won’t believe us, or worse.”

“Worse?”

“That you’re one of them. That you’re here to set us up or send us down a false path.”

Moira knew Nina wasn’t a witch, and she almost said as much to Rafe, except at the last minute she figured out what Rafe was doing. He was seducing Nina. Not sexually, but using his quietly commanding presence, his attractiveness, his overwhelming masculine appeal-which went far beyond simple sex appeal-to lull Nina into compliance. And while he didn’t act like he was consciously doing it, Moira knew he was being calculating.

She admired Rafe’s ability to use his charm and psychological background to open people. Moira was often too blunt and sharp-tongued, but Rafe was smooth and calm. He understood people far better than she did. While she recognized a witch on sight and could physically feel energy and emotions that no one else did, she didn’t understand the why. Why did Wendy’s coven want money, power, things so much that they were willing to not only kill men but subject them to eternal pain and suffering?

Maybe she didn’t want to know why. Nothing could justify their actions. Their victims didn’t deserve their horrid deaths, and Moira had no sympathy for those who hurt others for personal gain.

“I don’t know who you are,” Nina said. “When I came to the station today it was to talk to Grant about the investigation into George’s murder. And you’re the one who asked me to coffee,” she pointed to Moira. “I’m not here to set anyone up.”

“I’m going to tell you the truth,” Rafe said. “It’s hard to take, but I am not lying to you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Nadine Anson was a witch. When I say witch, I mean someone who uses spells to draw on demonic forces for personal gain. Most witches are innocuous”-he put his hand on Moira’s leg to keep her from arguing that point-“because they don’t have access to or experience with ancient spells and rituals that summon demons into our world.”

Nina stared at Rafe. She wanted to believe, Moira saw it in her eyes, but her logical, lawyerly self doubted.

Rafe continued. “We don’t know exactly what happened with Nadine and her coven, but the manager of Velocity, Wendy Donovan, is the leader. The high priestess-the head magician, whatever you want to call her-is in charge. Most of the members of the coven worked at Velocity or were affiliated with it in some way.”

Nina leaned forward, hands splayed palms down on the table. “Pamela is a supplier. She works for a food and beverage service and handles alcohol supplies for local bars, including Velocity.”

Rafe nodded, though the information was news to both him and Moira.

“Though witches aren’t all women-hardly, as most magicians in ancient times were men-Wendy’s coven is all female. They are practicing a particularly vile form of sex magic.”

Nina frowned and leaned back in her chair. “Sex magic?”

Rafe continued. “I just spoke with Anthony Zaccardi, the preeminent scholar in ancient demons. He confirmed our fears, and more. Wendy, and her mother before her, and likely women in their family for generations, have been the protectors of a legion of demons known as succubi. They are female demons who steal the souls of unfaithful men. In exchange, Wendy’s family members are given favor on Earth and believe they will also have authority in the underworld. What they don’t realize, and will never accept, is that fallen angels control the underworld. They will never allow a demon who had once been human to have any power in Hell.”

Moira watched Nina’s expression closely. She’d listened, but Moira didn’t know what she thought about Rafe’s revelation.

Rafe continued. “From what we’ve learned, Craig Monroe was targeted because he was a jerk who was cruel to his girlfriend, a waitress at Velocity. George Erickson was targeted because he reneged on his arrangement with his wife, namely that she could have sex outside of marriage but he could not.”

Nina hit her knee. “That’s what I told Grant! He told you that?” She glared accusingly at Moira. “You didn’t tell me that. You said you thought it was an open marriage. You lied to me.”

Moira shook her head. “I told you we heard he had an open marriage. Nelson didn’t tell us it was one-sided.”

Before Nina could become more irritated, Rafe continued. “That fits with what we know about witches. She would want complete and total freedom, and as a member of a sex coven, she would participate in a multitude of sexual activities in order to maintain her supernatural strength. The more they participate, the more they need, if you understand.”

“Like drugs. You need more and more coke or heroin to get the same high.”

“Precisely. Only with sex magic, the more you participate, the greater your supernatural power-your magic-is here on Earth. Spells and rituals are still important, as part of the big picture, but on the micro level, you can essentially wiggle your nose and gain small favors.”

Wiggle your nose? Since when had Rafe watched popular television? Moira wondered.

“And Pamela Erickson was part of this sex coven?”

“That picture proves it. If you look at the symbols, you see the occult, correct?”

Nina stared at the photograph. “Yes. It looks sort of like what I see in the movies.”

“Sort of?”

“It’s more … simple. Almost a parody.”

“Because these rituals aren’t elaborate. In fact, they are a lot easier than most people think. Because most of the spell is done up here.” He tapped his head. “The circle there is called a spirit trap, or a devil’s circle, or any number of things. Practically? It’s a portal. It’s a place where the layer between Hell and Earth is thin, and demons can be summoned and controlled. The picture your friend took is of a classic demon trap. We were told that they have one sacrifice a year in order to keep favor with the underworld. We know that they planned three victims this time. Only, when they changed the ritual to give the succubus more power, they trapped the wrong demon.”

Nina didn’t say anything for a long minute, and Moira thought she was going to laugh at them and leave. Then she asked, “And Pamela had a demon kill George?”

“Yes.”

“But Nadine’s fingerprints were all over his bedroom.”

“Nadine volunteered her body to the demon and then killed George.”

“But Nadine died.”

Rafe was somber. “We’re not exactly sure why, but the demon left Nadine’s body.”

“Okay, I’ve been a good sport. And I can almost believe you-almost. But why would the demon care if anyone saw it? From what you just said, it’s powerful! Why not just kill Moira or you or everyone? Why aren’t we overrun by demons?”

“Like any spirit, they have limitations.”

“But you said they were fallen angels. Are you saying they’re not superhuman? They don’t have special powers?”

Moira felt Nina begin to close up, questions rolling off her tongue like those of a prosecutor. She leaned forward and took Nina’s other hand. At first the woman tried to pull away, but Moira held tight. “Nina, everything Rafe said is true. I saw a death imprint of Craig Monroe in the alley. That means that after it happened-two days after it happened-I saw him die. Nadine is the one who killed him. And yes, regardless of what you saw on the video about how freaked out she was, it was her fault. She allowed herself to be possessed by the demon because she thought that she’d gain something from it. So while we might feel bad about what she went through-because dammit, I want so badly to believe that she felt awful about what she did-she was still responsible. When I saw Nadine on the street near Velocity, the demon knew I’d spotted her. It knew its time in her body was limited. Because that’s what Rafe and I do-we send demons back to Hell.”

Moira considered what she’d just said-it was the truth, but why would the demon be fearful of her? Was it vulnerable when it was trapped in a physical body? She needed to talk it out with Rafe. There was something they were missing.

“You’re an exorcist?” Nina looked skeptically at Rafe. “You don’t look like a Catholic priest.”

“Not all exorcists are priests, or Catholic,” Rafe said.

Nina stared at the photograph, her brows furrowed, thinking.

Rafe took Moira’s hand under the table and squeezed it. Something else, something beyond this, was disturbing him. Moira wanted to ask, but it would have to wait.

“What do you want from me?” Nina asked quietly.

Moira opened, then closed her mouth. She had wanted to see the file Nina had. But the picture was enough, and she didn’t want another outsider involved. It was too risky.

“We want you to know so that you’re diligent in protecting yourself against them,” Rafe said, “and because you know these people. We need a little help because we’re not from here.”

“I know Pam, but only through George.” She frowned. “I know of Wendy Donovan. And Grant’s girlfriend-she’s not part of it, is she?”

“She is,” Moira said, “and she’s a fucking liar, so-”

Rafe squeezed her hand so tight she almost said ouch.

“We don’t know everyone who is involved, only that Wendy recruits out of Velocity,” Rafe said.

“The club has only been around for two years.”

“Do you know where Wendy was before then?”

Nina shook her head. “I can find out. What do you need?”

“We need all the background information you can get on Wendy Donovan, and her fiance who died-” Moira glanced at Rafe. “What was his name?”

“Kyle Dane,” Rafe said.

“Kyle Dane? You think she killed Kyle Dane the musician?”

“We don’t know,” Rafe said at the same time Moira said, “Hell, yes.”

Rafe rubbed the back of his neck. “We can’t prove it. His death was ruled a heart attack. He was ill and went against doctor’s orders.”

“You know she was involved,” Moira said. She was tired of Rafe pinching and squeezing her leg to signal she was being bullheaded.

Rafe ignored the comment and told Nina, “Wendy has a sister, Nicole Donovan. She was involved in a coven in Santa Louisa that resulted in several deaths, including a teenager. Their mother was Susan Donovan, and she was raised in foster care.”

“Here in L.A.?”

“Yes.”

“I can get anything you need. Not necessarily legally, but I can find it.”

“We don’t want you to get into trouble-”

“I know how to cover my ass. I want to help. If you think this will help get George justice. I don’t want him to die in vain.”

“It will not only help George, but it will help us in our battle against these people for years to come.”

Nina tapped her finger on the table. “I’ll admit, I don’t know how much of this I believe, but I do know that Pam is bad news and I’d convinced George that he had to leave her. I loved him so much-but I didn’t care if he left her for me, or just left her. I just wanted him to be happy. So I can’t help but feel responsible that I had something to do with his death. I-” She stopped and frowned.

“Nina?” Moira asked.

“I’m thinking.” She paused. “You said that Nadine stole his soul. What exactly does that mean?”

Rafe was torn, but Moira wasn’t going to lie to the woman who was about to help them put together pieces of a puzzle they couldn’t complete on their own. “When a demon steals a soul-meaning, not a soul the owner promised in exchange for favors, but an innocent or cursed soul-they suck it into their body, trapping it. The person dies, because without a soul you have nothing keeping you alive. Your heart just stops. That’s why his death is being ruled cardiac arrest, though he didn’t have a heart attack.”

Tears leaked from Nina’s eyes. “George wasn’t a religious man, but … does the soul have feelings?”

“No,” Rafe said as Moira said, “Yes.”

Moira glanced sideways at Rafe and frowned. He was as angry with her as she was at him for sugarcoating the truth. Did he think that ignorance was bliss? Ignorance was right up there with lying to yourself. Nina asked for the truth, and she was going to tell it to her.

Nina said to Moira, “I believe you. Is he hurting?”

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to; Nina was smart enough to figure it out. If she believed that a demon could steal a soul, she had to believe in Heaven and Hell. Demons didn’t go on the “up” escalator in the afterlife.

Rafe said, “We really don’t know what happens to stolen souls.” Moira was about to argue, but Rafe turned to her. “You know we don’t. I do not believe that God allows innocent people to go to Hell.”

This was a point Moira took no comfort in arguing, so she remained silent.

“Where’s this damn demon now, and can I get George’s soul back?”

“You can’t bring George back to life,” Moira said.

“That’s not what I mean. I want to put his soul someplace safe. To rest. I don’t want him suffering for eternity!” Nina shook her head. “I can’t believe I said that. But that’s what you mean, isn’t it?”

“His soul is with the demon who took it,” Moira said. “And until it goes back to Hell, it’ll still be trapped there. It’s feeding her, keeping her strong.”

“Can you get it back?”

“I don’t know,” Moira said.

“George didn’t do anything wrong!”

Rafe said, “We have to believe that God will protect innocents who die.”

“Believe. Faith. Bullshit,” Nina said. “I want to know that George is safe. I want to give his soul a proper burial, and if you want my help, you’ll tell me how to do that.”

Nina was right. George deserved a level playing field for the Powers That Be to decide on the merits of his life whether he should get a shot at Paradise. In St. Michael’s world, George was collateral damage, a sad case that they would pray for but not do anything else to help.

Moira couldn’t live like that. She couldn’t stand back and do nothing, not if there was something she could do. She didn’t believe her prayers were going to do squat, though she prayed in her own way every day. She had been around demons; when they got a soul, they never let go. And she’d never heard of an avenging angel swooping down and reclaiming an innocent victim. If it happened, Rico would have told her, because this was one of the subjects they argued about the most.

What upset her more than that, however, was that Rafe wasn’t automatically on her side. What did she expect? He’d been raised at St. Michael’s; he had faith on his side. Faith that the innocent would be saved at the end-time.

But what about the decade, the century, the millennia between then and now?

Moira said, “There’s a way, but it’s dangerous.”

“Tell me,” Nina said. “I don’t care how dangerous; I will do anything.”

“Moira, no-” Rafe began.

“I can’t let George Erickson suffer any more than you can,” Moira told Rafe. “He had nothing to do with this, and damn I’m not going to wait around for the end of the world before he’s saved. We know how to get his soul back.”

Rafe abruptly stood, knocking over Moira’s near-empty cup, his jaw tight. Through clenched teeth he said, “I won’t let you. You’ll get yourself killed.”

“You won’t let me? Since when did you become my guardian angel?”

Rafe was furious and deeply hurt. From the minute he’d seen Moira two weeks ago, he knew she’d been sent to save him. She was his angel, and he was hers. It came to him as clearly as she sat in front of him: he had to protect her. Every day, every minute. She cared too deeply for everyone but herself, and she was going to die if she didn’t accept that she couldn’t save everyone.

The only way to take back a soul that had been stolen by a demon was to exorcise the soul from the demon while the demon was contained in a spirit trap. But that entailed great risk to the exorcist, who had to get far too close to the demon to ensure that the soul had an escape route, as well as the very real possibility that the soul-disembodied from its own physical self-would claim the exorcist’s body as its own, resulting in a possession. Then a second exorcist would have to convince the soul that it was dead, and to willingly leave. There was also the risk of the soul being forever lost, stuck between this world and the afterlife, becoming a ghost or vengeful spirit.

It was physically and emotionally treacherous for everyone involved, but the risks to the exorcist were the greatest. Too many of Rafe’s friends at St. Michael’s Order had died performing just this type of ritual to save one of their fallen brothers.

“Moira, it’s too dangerous,” he said quietly, sitting back down.

“I’ll do it,” Nina interjected. “I don’t care what the risks are; I want to help George.”

Rafe turned to Nina. She was sincere. “Why?” he asked.

“I love him. I would do anything for him, even die. I couldn’t live with myself if his soul was lost forever and I could have prevented it.” She grabbed each of their hands. “Please.”

“All right,” Moira said. “Get the information Rafe needs about the Donovans. We’ll get what we need for the exorcism.”

She smiled. “Thank you. I’ll get right on it.” She slid over her card and took down Moira’s cell phone number.

“If you can’t reach me, call Jackson Moreno at Grace Harvest.”

Nina looked at her, surprised. “Pastor Moreno?”

“You know him?”

“Everyone knows him. He’s the dot-com genius who made a fortune, sold his company, then became a minister and lives very modestly. An enigma in this town.”

“He’s a friend,” Moira said. “Give him the information if you can’t find me; he’ll know what to do with it.”

Nina stood to leave, took both their hands, and said, “Thank you. I really mean that.”

When Nina had left, Rafe turned to Moira. “You lied to her. She can’t do it!”

“She doesn’t know that.”

“You’re not going to.”

“Of course I am.”

“I will not let you! You could die.”

“I can die every day. Our lives aren’t exactly safe. But if we can’t help people like George Erickson, why are we doing this? Revenge? Fuck that. George was imperfect, like the rest of us, and we both know there is a limited window of time to reclaim his soul and give it proper last rites. We know the demon is possessing someone. I hope Julie figures it out fast, and I hope she’s not lying, or we’re really screwed.”

“Moira-”

She interrupted. “We take back George’s soul first. Then we trap the damn demon Lust and put it up with her evil brother Envy at Olivet.”

“Don’t you understand that I can’t lose you?”

A flash of Moira dying in his arms came and went so suddenly, Rafe would have missed it if it weren’t so vivid that it etched itself in his mind. Fear gripped his throat, then an overwhelming sense of loss, of Moira being physically torn from his hands.

“I’m good at this,” Moira said, reaching for him. “Trust me.”

Rafe took her hand and kissed it. “Anthony is working on answers, but he says by sunset we need to have Grant Nelson protected in a reverse spirit trap. The demon will find him whether we use him as bait or not.” But that didn’t make Rafe feel any more confident. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“You can watch my back, okay?” She was trying to make light of the serious situation. Rafe took her face in his hands and kissed her softly.

He’d do a lot more than watch her back.