Original Sin

TWENTY-THREE

Skye watched the coffee drip steadily into the pot while Anthony treated Moira’s injuries.

She should have taken Rafe Cooper to the hospital, or into custody. Yet she’d let Anthony talk her out of it. She hadn’t protested much-it was two in the morning and she’d been up for twenty-four hours straight. Why was she making coffee? Honestly, no amount of caffeine would keep her awake at this point.

She’d called dispatch and learned about the false fire alarm at the hotel and calls of shots fired, but no witnesses came forward with information that helped. Two deputies were on scene but hadn’t found a shooter. And when Rafe told them the story of jumping off the balcony and running for the truck, he’d left something out. She didn’t know what, but he wasn’t telling the complete truth. He skimmed over the story, and every time she had a question Anthony put his hand on hers, asking a question of his own that had nothing to do with the crime at hand.

So Skye had started the coffee, duty and love coming head-to-head. She should have resigned after the massacre.

She and Anthony had lied about what happened at the fire on the cliffs. No one would believe that Juan Martinez had been possessed and tried to kill her. Not only had she written a false report about how Deputy Reiner died, she’d enlisted Rod Fielding’s help in covering up details that would have opened even more questions for which no one would believe the answers. She should have quit, but she didn’t because she loved Santa Louisa. This was the only home she’d ever known. Her father had been born and raised here, had died in the forest he loved so well. She’d be lost anywhere else. But even more important, she had to protect her people. Not just Anthony, but the innocent citizens who didn’t know that demons were alive and thriving in their town, a threat to their lives and their loved ones. That there were people who played around with demons, who wanted to control and use them for specific purposes Skye would never understand.

Anthony came up beside her and rinsed bloody towels in the sink. Pink water swirled down the drain.

“I’m sorry, Skye. I know this puts you in a difficult situation.”

“Don’t,” she said, squeezing her eyes closed. “I understand. But I need some answers soon.”

“We both do.”

Skye glanced at where Moira and Rafe sat on the couch. A white bandage was wrapped around her upper shoulder-there’d been no bullet, but a large-caliber round had taken a nice chunk out of her arm and she’d lost a bit of blood. The cut on her head was sealed with a butterfly bandage, adding to the bruises she’d sustained earlier in jail.

But it was the thin cut on her neck that had disturbed Skye more than the other injuries. The two-inch wound had already started to heal by the time they walked into Skye’s house, but the mark was proof that someone human had attacked her.

She brought the pot of coffee over to the table on a tray with mugs, milk, and sugar. “It’s not tea, but it’s hot and caffeinated,” she said when they stared at it.

Rafe said, “I acquired a taste for coffee after moving to the States.” He poured himself a mug and added a hefty dose of milk.

Moira said, “May I have some water?”

Anthony went to get her a water bottle from the refrigerator and Skye sat on the chair across from them. She didn’t know how to start.

“This day has been hell,” Skye began.

Moira grinned, a raw laugh coming out of her throat as she took the water from Anthony. “You could say that.” She drank heavily.

Anthony sat on the armrest of Skye’s chair, put one hand on her shoulder and squeezed. She wanted to touch him but didn’t move. She said to Rafe, “Tell me why you won’t go to the hospital.”

“They did something to me there. I don’t know what, but I wasn’t in a coma. I have memories … but I can’t focus on them. I had vivid dreams-I’m still having them.” He looked at Anthony. “Do you know Father Isa Tucci?”

“His name, not personally. He was killed at the mission.”

“I know why he was at the mission.” A pained expression crossed his face. “It was because of a snake,” he said.

“A snake?” Anthony glanced at Moira. What did they know, what did they share, that Skye didn’t understand? She felt such the outsider.

“What’s important about a snake?” she asked.

Rafe said, “In hindsight, I think the snake was a lure. But at the time … a boy came to Father Tucci with a snake, said he’d hunted it. It was large; Father made a stew. Everyone participated.

“The killers came when everyone was asleep. Father woke up, saved a handful of the youngest children. He survived, but almost killed himself.”

It was Moira who asked, “How do you know this?”

He looked at Moira, spoke as if talking just to her. “Remember when I told you I know things I don’t remember learning? This is one of them.”

Skye said, “If they drugged you in the hospital, we should be able to prove it.” She turned to Anthony. “I’ll call Rod in the morning and ask him to take Rafe’s blood and hair samples and run the tests on the q.t.”

Anthony concurred. “We’ll find out what happened. I promise.”

Skye cleared her throat. “Rafe, we need to talk about what happened at the mission. You’re the only survivor.”

Moira rushed to his defense. “You sound like you’re accusing Rafe.”

Rafe interjected, “I will answer any of your questions if I can, but first we need to find the person who has all the answers.”

“Who?”

“Lisa Davies. She’s a witch; she was the daughter of the cook at the mission. If you talked to her, she deceived you or cast a spell so you didn’t look too closely. But she was there at the mission when the priests were killed. She, Jeremiah Hatch, and Corinne Davies summoned a demon through a violent sacrifice. I was trapped in my room and heard everything, heard the cries …” He hesitated, and Moira took his hand and squeezed. “I don’t know how I got out, but I think when the demon was brought forth Lisa loosened her mental grip on my prison in order to control him, and I broke free. When I came into the chapel, I saw them … and I saw the demon in his true form. Hideous … wretched … then suddenly beautiful, trying to lure me. But I broke their concentration, and their circle, and the women ran to the sacristy for protection. I intended to kill Jeremiah to stop the demon, but he was already dead.”

Everyone looked at Rafe. He spoke as if he was in a trance, the memory so painful that for a moment no one could speak, feeling his anguish.

Anthony said, “Lisa is dead. She died in the fire on the cliffs two days after the murders.”

Rafe shook his head as he rubbed his forehead. “She’s not dead. I saw her on the cliffs. She changed her hair, from dark to light, but it was her. She’s a witch with strong magic. And I was blinded to it. Because of me, because of my weakness, I didn’t see the truth. Lisa’s spells and her mother’s poison forced my brothers to relive their worst nightmares. Those nightmares really happened. When they died, they wanted to die to escape the unbearable pain of reliving their past.”

“Thank you,” Anthony said when he and Skye lay in bed awhile later. The grandfather clock dinged the half-hour-3:30 in the morning. “Rafe isn’t safe anywhere else, and I know this was difficult for-”

She cut him off. “Don’t thank me.”

“What’s wrong? Talk to me Skye. You’re upset-”

She sat up in the dark, the moonlight filtered through her filmy curtains making her look pale and blue, to match her mood. “I just realized that you knew where Cooper was and didn’t tell me.”

“He didn’t kill those men. You know that! And you also know that no one will believe it.”

“Yes, I get that. But I still need to put his comments on record.”

“He can’t tell anyone what really happened.”

“But he can tell us he saw the Davieses in the mission when everyone died. That he saw the weapons!” She paused. “Do you believe that he saw Lisa Davies the other night? What if she’s behind Abby’s death? What I don’t understand is why.”

“To release the Seven Deadly Sins.”

“Right. Bring forth the demons,” she said sarcastically, and Anthony tensed. “What I mean is, why the elaborate murders at the mission? Why the ritual with Abby Weatherby and Lily Ellis? Why now? What’s their purpose?”

“I don’t know.”

“And Rafe never told us how he ended up at the cliffs. You wouldn’t let him. Every time I led the conversation in that direction, you steered it away.”

“It’s late. We were all tired.”

“Tomorrow, you need to let me ask the hard questions. I need to take down a statement.”

“Of course.”

He rubbed her shoulders, gently pushed her back to the bed. “It’s been rough today for you.”

“For all of us,” she said. She relaxed a little, but her mind was still moving. She asked, “Who did it? Who kept Rafe in a coma? Richard Bertrand was his doctor-I just can’t think of him being some sort of Satan worshipper. I’ve known him most of my life.”

Anthony bit back an angry comment. She was tired. “They’re not worshipping Satan.” He thought hard for a minute. “Maybe the massacre at the mission was the beginning, and this is the end.”

“It’s not the end until I find out what happened to Abby.”

“Your dedication and compassion are two of the many reasons I love you.” He kissed her forehead. “Sleep, Skye.”

“I’m so tired, but I don’t know that I can sleep. People are dying all over town. I had a suicide this afternoon, then a whacked out salesman comes back to work after his dinner break and shoots his co-workers. Why do people do it? Don’t we have enough human evil in the world, why do these damn witches have to create more?”

“Shh,” Anthony murmured and kissed her long fingers and pulled her to him. He loved her so much. He was worried about her job, her health, and the forces in Santa Louisa. He hated what she’d seen, what she had to do, how she had to keep her feelings closed off so she could do her job. Skye wasn’t what he’d call a vulnerable woman, but her deep-seated need to understand the unknowable was her Achilles’ heel. She was vulnerable to the evil that roamed the town because she still, even after what she’d seen in November, couldn’t wrap her logical mind around the supernatural. But she tried, and he loved her for it.

“Sleep, Skye. I’m here. I love you, and I’ll protect you. Just sleep.”

He held her until she finally relaxed and slept.

Santa Louisa was a small, quiet coastal town. Could so many deaths, in such a short time, be unconnected? It could be demons, but it wasn’t like any possessions he’d heard about. If anyone was possessed there would be residual clues-smells, possible marks on the floor or walls. He suspected Moira would be able to walk the crime scenes and know for certain.

If there was something supernaturally evil responsible for the cases Skye pulled over the last twenty-four hours, Anthony would find out. And if he had to ask Moira O’Donnell for help, he’d do it.

He would do anything to protect Skye.