The Devil Danced Alone
By
Linda Parsons Mills
(C) Copyright by Linda Parsons Mills, April 2010
Published by New Concepts Publishing
Smashwords Edition
Cover Art by Eliza Black, April 2010
ISBN 978-1-60394-426-7
New Concepts Publishing
Lake Park, GA 31636
www.newconceptspublishing.com
This is a work of fiction. All characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and not to be confused with fact. Any resemblance to living persons or events is merely coincidence.
Chapter One
“It is as quiet as an old maid’s bedroom around here today, Hanna. Where is everybody?”
Hanna wiped her floured hands on her apron, turned bright red, and pushed stray strands of curly brown hair off her forehead. “Well, it is one of them days, ain’t it? More like winter outside than summer, if you ask me, Mr. Patterson. Makes everyone want to stay in their rooms, I suppose. Mr. Howard is still under the weather. The Doctor has ordered him to his bed for the day.”
“I just had a word with him. Where is Lucy?”
“Miss Lucy is reading in the library,” a Howard maid answered as she joined them in the kitchen. “She said she has a headache and is going back to bed. Mrs. Howard is down with another migraine. I had to give her two of her powders. She’ll be out like a light for hours.”
“Makes for an easy day for you, though, right Jane?” Peter Patterson smiled at her, “Whatever do you do with all your free time, I wonder?”
Jane ignored him and poured a cup from the teapot.
“It is the weather!” Hanna nodded knowingly towards the window, “Cold, rain, and fog! Puts us all low, it does!”
“Yes, well, some of us have to be out and about ... unfortunately!” Peter said, adjusting his hat and taking an umbrella from the stand.
“You ain’t never going out in that, are ya?” Hanna asked.
“Things to see to, my dear. I will not be here for luncheon. Eventually I have to go into town so I am not too sure about dinner either. Good day, ladies!” He smiled, took a ring of keys from a peg on the wall, and went out into the inclement weather.
“Oh, he is a sweet one, he is!” Hanna laughed, “All that yellow hair and that lovely smile! If I weren’t married and ten years younger, I’d have a go at him.”
“Twenty years would be more like it,” Jane sneered.
“Not that much, Jane.”
“Then have a go at him, Hanna! From what I can tell, Mr. Peter Patterson doesn’t mind much just as long as it’s female.”
“Jane! That is a terrible thing to say. He has always been a right gentleman with me.”
“Well, that says a lot, don’t it, Hanna? Guess he ain’t at all interested in you. Can’t tell you how many times he has tried to feel me up. The man is a pig, take it from me, I know,” Jane sniffed and left the kitchen.
“Cow!” Hanna muttered, turning her attention back to her floured worktable.
“Bloody weather!” Peter exclaimed as he closed the cottage door behind him. He dropped the umbrella, hung his coat on a wall peg, and stepped into the dimly lit sitting room. “You here?” he called out, “Oh, there you are! Look, it is damn freezing in here. There is some coal in the hearth so I am going to light a fire. No one will see the smoke with all this fog.” He took a box of matches from his jacket pocket and knelt in front of the fireplace. “Then you and I are going to have a much needed talk. I cannot tell you how tired I am of your .... ”
Peter did not see the iron poker as it came down with force across his forehead. He did not feel any pain as it shattered his temple bone. There was just a sudden nothingness; the world went silent, cold, and dark.
After a brief moment that seemed to him to be ages he stood, stumbled slightly, and squinted in the semi-darkness. Peter did not like what he saw. Something was not right. He decided he would not be a party to it at all. “It is the fucking weather! It is always the fucking weather! Why is it always raining and cold in this damn country? It messes up my thoughts. I am confused right now but when my mind and the weather clear, I am just going to go back to my room and sleep for a bit.” He turned away from the ghastly scene and moved to the sitting room window. “I will just stand right here, watch the weather, and wait for things to get back to normal.”
He was still standing there the next day. It was sunny and warm but Peter was still confused and waiting to feel normal again. He saw Jane and Hanna walking across the Howard garden towards the cottage. Hanna was shaking her head and Jane was talking. He did not like Jane. She was always saying something stupid. She was still talking when Hanna opened the cottage door. There was something wrong with his ears, he could not hear them, and he was glad for that.
He watched as the two women stood briefly looking down at the floor. Then it seemed as though Jane was screaming. Thank God his ears were not working. Hanna pulled Jane out of the cottage. They ran back to the house. “Good! Now they will get someone here to clean up this mess. Just as long as they leave me alone. All I need to do is watch the weather and wait for my thoughts to clear.”
More people came and went; Samuel Howard, red faced and angry, Helen Howard crying and leaning on her oldest son. There were strange men with sour expressions, writing in notebooks and stiff looking policemen. They all seemed to be looking for something. “Why did they need cops? All they really needed to do was clean up that mess!”
He saw them coming with a stretcher and a blanket. They put the mess on the stretcher, covered it with the blanket, and took it away. Peter nodded as they moved across the lawn. It was about time that someone did that. The gardener came, rolled up the carpet, and took it away. “That is better, much better. Now I be alone and have time to think.”
Days turned to weeks and they passed into months. The shade of Peter Patterson stayed at the side of the cottage window watching the weather, waiting for his mind to clear and to feel normal again.
December 1, 1900
“William Holloway! Are you totally insane or completely stupid?”
William looked up over his cluttered desk. “Most likely both, Caroline! Is there any particular reason for this inquiry?”
“Her! Marina Kaiser is here for her appointment,” Caroline pointed towards the closed study door. “Lord in Heaven, Will ...! Do you mean to tell me that that lovely woman had a go at you and you turned her down?”
He stood and shook his head. “Why do I ever tell you anything? I suppose that explains the stupid bit! Show Miss Kaiser in, please.”
“Is she really a psychic detective? I never knew that there was such a thing and it is not like you to believe in such things.”
“I didn’t believe in it and for the most part I still do not. However, if it was not for Marina it could have taken a very long time to track down the so-called ‘Middleton Moor Murderer’. God knows how many more children he would have slaughtered.”
“Really?” She reached up, straightened his tie, pulled off his glasses, and put them in his pocket. “Look at you! Why do you always look like a messed bed?”
He took her by the shoulders and pushed her gently back, “Caroline, you are my secretary, not my mother. Show Miss Kaiser in, will you?’
“In a minute, she will keep. Look Will, you are still a very attractive man and forty-five is not old ... well, not completely! What are you going to do if she shows any signs of still having an interest in ...?”
“Caroline! Don’t make me fire you, again!”
“Don’t be silly. You cannot fire me. I am your sister and have your best interest at heart. Someone has to look after you. I will go out the back door and make some tea. I think we have some fresh lemon cake just out of the oven. That will do nicely. Go on; show Miss Kaiser in, William. I’ll get the refreshments.”
“You are still fired!” he called after her, loosening his tie.
Marina paced the small room nervously. Somehow, she had forgotten the carefully rehearsed words she had planned to say to William. She took a second look in the wall mirror, pushed thick, chestnut brown curls into place and pinched color into her ivory cheeks. Why are you so nervous, she chided herself? He is just a man and most likely nowhere near as handsome as she remembered. Maybe he had forgotten the most embarrassing moments of their last meeting. She heard his office door open, took a deep breath, turned, and gave him her most radiant smile.
“Marina! How lovely to see you again!” He returned the smile and offered his hand. “And lovely is the word. You look beautiful, as usual!”
“Well, thank you!” Her heart thundered at the sight of the man, just as she thought it would. “You are lovely too, William!”
“Oh dear! I had hoped for a more manly effect. Your hands are freezing. Come into my study and sit by the fire.”
“Yes, I am frozen. Why is it always so cold in this country?”
He led her across the room. They sat in large, comfortable chairs next to the crackling fire.
“It is December, after all. We can hardly expect summer breezes. Do you not have winter in France?”
“No, we do not! It is always warm and wonderfully sunny!”
He watched with interest as she carefully folded her gloves and crossed her hands on her lap. She was clearly nervous. “That is not how I remember Paris. A very cold wind blows there as well.”
“Yes, I suppose it does. Thank you for agreeing to see me, William. After my disgraceful behavior the last time we meet I would not have been surprised if you had ignored my note.”
“I do not recall anything disgraceful.”
“Yes, you do! You are just being a gentleman and I owe you a most long overdue apology. I am sorry for the ridiculous things I accused you of!”
He sat back and ran his hands through his rather long, thick, salt and pepper hair. “Let me see if I can remember. You asked with anger, ‘What is the matter, William Holloway? Are you too old to get it up or are you a sodomite?’ To which I must give you a belated answer: no to both counts!”
Two bright red circles had formed on her cheeks. “Yes, you remember well. I am truly sorry.”
“What about my equally ridiculous response? Do you recall that?”
She smiled slightly. Her amazing emerald eyes flashed in the firelight. “Yes, you puffed up like a blow fish, looked down your nose, and said in your most British way, ‘I do not know what it is like in your country, my dear, but here it is the man who initiates a sexual liaison. You might get more if you tried to remember that!’” her smile broadened. “You are lucky I did not slap your face!”
“You should have slapped me. It was an idiotic thing to say and I apologize to you. Will you permit me the opportunity to explain my harshness?”
“It is not necessary. You are a remarkably handsome man. From the first moment, I saw you I wanted to have a delicious affair with you. You did not have the same feelings! I have never been rejected before and acted like a spoiled child.”
“Never been rejected?”
“Oh, do not see me wrong. I am not a whore. I have very high and particular standards and you met them in every way. I got in a ‘mood’ over you and it made me silly!”
‘Silly? No that is not the word I would have used and you are wrong. I did have an interest in you. Look, Marina ... please let me explain?’
“I will listen.”
‘During that very brief time we worked on the Middleton murders did you learn that I was a widower?”
“Yes. I would not make myself available for a married ‘Base Earth’ man.”
“Base Earth?” William shook his head and cleared his throat. “You see, a year ago, I was a very recent widower. For twenty-three years, my wife Alice and I enjoyed a devoted and happy marriage. I loved her completely as she did me. We never broke our marriage vows. She died suddenly without any warning. There was no lingering illness, no time to adjust and make our last good bys. Alice died just two months before I met you. In one cold instant, she no longer existed. I was not ready for a lover.”
“I understand. You were still being faithful to the woman you loved. That is admirable and understandable. If I am not prying, may I ask what happened to Mrs. Holloway?”
“You are not prying. It was late on a Sunday night. We were deep into the Middleton case. Alice and I were preparing for bed when the call came from the Yard. They had found the third child’s body. As I was leaving Alice told me that she was going to warm some milk and curl up in bed with her book.”
“I left at ten. My housekeeper found Alice at the foot of the stairs just before eleven. Several hours passed before they could track me down. By the time I arrived at the hospital Alice was gone. Her neck was broken in the fall .... ” his words trailed away. He looked out a near-by window. It was raining and droplets of water rolled down the leaded pane.
Marina wanted to take his hand, offer comfort, and say the right words. There were no words and no touch would ease his pain. She stayed silent as he continued.
“I should have taken a sabbatical. That is what my superiors wanted. Instead I buried myself in my work.”
“I think, William that for twenty-three years Alice Holloway was a very lucky and happy woman.”
He shook his head slightly, smiled, and sat forward. “I was the lucky one, Marina. What a blessing is the pure love of a beautiful woman! So, now we understand each other. Is it possible for us to be friends again?”
“I would like that very much. Now you run your own Private Inquiry firm. How did that come about?’
“Well, after the end of the Middleton case and they hung Tomas Foley I had time to take stock of my new and rather lonely life. After twenty-six years in the force, I had had more than enough. I retired and now I work for myself and a lot of people with questions that must be answered.”
“Are you happy with that decision?”
“Very happy! So we have decided that you are not a whore and I am not a sodomite .... ” Just as he said the last bit, Caroline pushed a tea trolley into the room. From her startled expression and red face, it was clear she had heard him. “Here’s your tea and cake! I think I have something to do ...!” she pointed vaguely over her shoulder. “I will leave you to pour out ....” she stuttered her way out of the room.
“Oh no! I think she heard what you said. Whatever will your secretary think?”
“Caroline is my much younger sister and is under the impression she must mother me. Smother me is more like it! She is living here until her marriage in the spring and is bound and determined to find me a female. Lately she has paraded a strange variety of women before me. I shudder to think what she will do now!”
Marina laughed. She poured the tea and handed him a cup. “You will be in for a time, I think!”
“Do tell me, pretty lady, what have these last few months presented to you?”
“Nothing at all interesting, really. I have traveled a bit. My psychic work keeps me very busy. I have sent many lost and troubled spirits home ... so that is something!”
“It is indeed!”
“It is partially my psychic ability that brought me to you today. I have had new, important visions about an unsolved murder.”
“Well, I am not with the police anymore. If you have any information you must take it to them.”
“I tried that! I saw Chief Inspector Stanley Willard. He is your replacement, I believe?”
“He is and I think I know what sort of reception you received!”
She threw her hands up in disgust. “The man is a pompous buffoon! With men like that in charge of the police it is no wonder it is hardly safe to walk the streets! He called me a French con artist and said that Brits were too smart for the likes of me. He would not even hear what I had to tell him.”
“Willard has a closed mind ....”
“Closed mind? He does not have a mind. I am sure of that. Anyway that was ten days ago. Two new visions since then made me realize that this unsolved murder was connected to you and your family ... and so I am here!”
“To us? You are referring to the murder of Peter Patterson?”
“Yes. The images I receive can be very unusual. However, there is always an important message in them. No matter how difficult they may be, I must study them. Do you remember that I once met your niece, Elizabeth?”
“I do.”
“In the first vision I saw her and Patterson walking happily arm in arm. Then I knew that at least they were friends. In the visions, three nights ago, I saw them in a very passionate situation!”
“They were ... no that could not have been Elizabeth! You must be mistaken.”
“I do not wish to upset you but it was her. She and Patterson were lovers. My visions are silent, so the images must be very precise if I am to get the correct information.”
William sighed. “They were engaged. She is an adult now so I guess I should not be unpleasant about it!”
“That is certainly so, William. I sense that she is a very unhappy person now. You must not add to that.”
“Yes, of course.”
She finished her tea and refilled their cups, giving him time to take in what he had just learned. “The murder of Patterson has been very difficult for her, has it not?”
William rubbed his forehead. “That is an understatement. For two months, she would not eat or drink. She just sat in her dark room day and night. She would not even go to her bed to sleep.”
“That is because at least one time she shared that bed with her lover.”
“Here! In this house?”
“William, she is a beautiful twenty-one year old woman. They were in love ... did you not do the same thing at her age?”
He smiled and nodded. “Elizabeth has a close friend, Chloe Partridge. She moved in here after Patterson died and has been a Godsend. She has brought Elizabeth back to life again ... well, almost. If it was not for her, I have no idea what would have become of my niece. Tell me about the other visions, Marina. It has been six months. What do you know of Peter’s murder?”
“First, tell me the facts as you know them. It will help me to see things more clearly. Then we will go from there.”
“Well, Peter was employed as personal secretary and law clerk to the lawyer Samuel Howard for six or seven years up until his death. Howard is a very successful and very bent criminal lawyer. It seemed to have been very satisfactory employment. Howard treated Peter fairly and highly paid him. Elizabeth says that Peter was very much like a member of the family. For several years or so years Peter even lived in the Howard home.”
“The weather on the day of the murder was terrible. The rainstorm of the night before had ended and by noon, a thick fog was falling in. Peter always took his luncheon with the family. There were no restaurants within reasonable walking distance so it was convenient for him to eat there. Elizabeth and the rest of the Howard household were not able to remember a single time when he did not take his mid-day meal at the home.”
“That day though, he broke his usual pattern and told the housekeeper he would be leaving at noon and that he was not sure when he would return. He did not tell anyone where he was going or who he was going to see. He was last seen leaving the house through the back, kitchen door.”
“The Howard property and garden is surrounded by a seven foot high wall. The strong door that leads to the road off the property stays locked. At the far end of the garden is a small cottage. No one was staying there at the time. Peter’s body was found in the cottage the following afternoon.”
“He had been rendered unconscious and stabbed in the heart. From the stomach contents it was established Peter died at the noon hour the day before, most likely right after he left the house. His gold pocket watch and cufflinks were missing. The outcome of the inquest determined that the murder happened in the course of a robbery.” William paused and lit a cigarette. “However, his wallet, with three pounds in it was still in his trouser pocket.”
“Would a robber usually miss that?”
“No.”
“From your tone, William, I think you do not agree on the inquest outcome.”
“I do not agree. Iron rod spikes decorate the seven-foot wall that surrounds the entire property. It would take a very determined and agile robber, indeed, to scale that wall, especially in a fog. On top of that, he would not have been able to see anything from the lane outside the wall and could have had no idea there was even a cottage there to rob. How did the so-called robber get in and for that matter how would he lure Peter, a man of over six feet and strongly built into a disused cottage?”
William sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. “Everyone in the household could account for their whereabouts at the time of the murder. Mind you, it is my experience that a person can do a great deal of damage unnoticed and in a very short period. There were seven people on the property at the time, family, and staff. It is my opinion and Elizabeth’s that one of them killed Peter.”
Marina shook her head. “Poor Elizabeth! Her heart is a sad and broken place. I know Elizabeth is like a daughter to you.”
“Alice and I never had children. Elizabeth became an orphan at six and we raised her since then. Yes, she was a daughter to us. Grief is a blinding and crushing thing. I certainly know that! However, Elizabeth is strong and she will get over her grief in due course. She will be fine!”
Marina leaned forward and locked her eyes into his. “If things stay as they are, Elizabeth will not be fine. All she feels now is cold anger and grief. These two are enemies to the human soul and happiness. They feed off each other and as they grow, they will feed off Elizabeth,” she paused and slid her hand on his. “As it stands now, Peter’s killer will not be found out ... and by this time next year Elizabeth will be hollowed out, fragile and bitter and she will die.”
He pulled his hand from under hers and narrowed his eyes. “No, she will not!”
“Yes. To die of a broken heart happens all the time. The doctors, they are idiots! They say ‘Oh, how sad, so young to have had a heart attack!’ but that is not the truth of it. She will be so very tired, she will just go to her bed one night, and her soul will walk away from the unbearable emptiness of her life.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“How is not important. What is important is that I know and without any doubt!”
“Then, if you know so much, tell me what to do about it! Can you help her?” he spoke with barely controlled anger and frustration.
She moved to sit on the arm of his chair. “I can help her, in fact, that help has already begun. However, I need some information from you. Do you think you can control your unreasonable anger for just a few minutes? You have already checked into the investigation of Mr. Patterson’s murder, have you not?”
“Yes. You do not miss much, do you?”
She gave him her wide, slow smile. “Not much. You spoke to the men in charge and saw for yourself that wall of terrible silence that surrounds this death.”
William nodded his head. “I have known and worked with Stanley Willard for years. I have never seen him to be anything but honorable and straightforward. The Chief of Police at the yard put the case to sleep, I am sure of that. He is the only one with that influence.”
“Tell me about Peter Patterson. I need knowledge of the man he was. What was you opinion of him?”
“Well, Marina ... my life’s occupation has taught me to be a swift and accurate judge of a man,” he paused, looking up at her, “and a woman. I did not like or trust Patterson one bit. I thought Patterson to be a charming con and a womanizer. I told Elizabeth my thoughts on him but she would not hear me. Do you know Elizabeth was engaged to Paul Howard and ended that to be with Patterson?”
“I do.”
“I like Paul Howard. He is a fine young man and a wonderfully talented artist. Until the Howard family moved to Highgate, about eight years ago, they lived across the road from us. Helen Howard and Alice were friendly so Paul and Elizabeth more or less grew up together. They stayed in close touch with each other and no one was surprised or disappointed when they announced their engagement. Hell! I was bloody shocked when Lizzie came to me and told me she had ended it with Paul and had taken up with Patterson. In less than a few weeks she and the man were planning their wedding.” He shook his head and stubbed out his cigarette with force.
“Elizabeth’s mother was another of my sisters. Her paternal Grandmother left her a large trust fund. When she is married, she will receive a very large monthly siphon from that fund. I have no doubt that that money was very important to Patterson.”
Marina stood, paced the room for a moment, and then came back to the settee. “No matter what is the truth of that man, Elizabeth believes that Patterson was the male meant for her. She believes that she loved him dearly and still feels that way. To love a dead man is a cold way to live. She must accept he is gone and return to her true path. At all costs, Patterson’s killer must be brought to justice or she will not survive. We could work together on this. Do you except my help?”
“Do I have a choice? You did just as you wanted last time. How many times did I tell you to ‘go away’?”
“That was then. I forced myself into your investigation for my own very personal reasons,” she ran her fingers along the sleeve of his jacket. “As I said you were the only man who had ever refused me!”
“What a terrible burden your life must be!” he smiled at her.
“You may laugh but it is, sometimes. Back then, you had lost yourself, saw me as a mystery, and did not trust me. Maybe you have found yourself and can trust me now?”
“Oh, I found myself a while back but you are still a mystery to me. I need to understand just who or what you are. As I just said, if I learned anything in all my years with the force it is to be very cautious man when it comes to who I trust,” he took her hand off his arm and kissed it. “And this time you will tell me what I want to know or you will not be involved in any way with my niece.”
“You think you can stop me?”
“I will try and I rarely fail ....”
“Really, William! Why do you insist on this?”
“Human nature. Do you understand human nature?”
“Yes, of course. What kind of a question is that? I am human, just like you.”
William laughed, “I do not know what you are, but the things I have seen you do ... you are not just like me, my dear. For one thing, mystery woman, how is it that you seem to be able to be in two places at one time? Do you have a twin? That is just one of the very odd things I noticed about you. Sometimes you speak with a French accent and then in the next breath it is German or Dutch! Now that is well ... different.”
“I grew up in a household where many languages were spoken. I am fluent in Spanish, German, French, and many other languages. It is the nature of my way of speaking.... ” she was clearly uncomfortable and struggled to find an answer.
“I do not wish to upset you, Marina. You must understand why I am so cautious.”
“Yes, I do understand. I had planned to tell you all about me but not in one lump! It is a lot to take in, William.”
“I am sure I can handle whatever it is.”
“You are sure, are you? We shall see!” she leaned on his arm. “I am what you would call a supernatural being and I have magical abilities!”
“Oh, come now! Supernatural being? Magic? God Lord!”
“So you want to see me for what I truly am?”
“I insist on it and I very much doubt it has anything to do with magic.”
“Well, I am in the mood to at least show you what you missed out on. All of what I will show you will knock that skeptical, silly look away forever,” she stood, walked to the doors and turned the locks. “I do not want to be disturbed,” she came back to stand a few feet in front of William. “You are smiling. I wonder if you will be still so cocky when I am finished with you.”
As she spoke, she kicked off her shoes, opened the buttons of her jacket, slipped it off, and placed it on his desk. “I am going to remove all my clothes. Do you mind?”
He raised his eyebrows. “I just wanted you to show what kind of woman you are ... but do it your way! Be my guest!”
“So cocky! So much to learn!” she pulled her blouse over her head and tossed it at him. “You see, I do not wear a corset, just a camisole. I do not need a corset, do you agree?”
He did not answer and continued to smile.
She opened the fastening on the side of the skirt, dropped it to the floor, and stepped out of it. It went on his desk with the jacket. Now wearing only stockings, a garter belt, and fine lace under things she stood looking down her nose at him. “What do you want me to remove next? Do you want to see my breasts naked or my legs?”
“Surprise me, Marina!”
“Oh, that is exactly what I am going to do,” as she spoke, she slowly opened the laces down the front the camisole. “Just so you will know you had best stay in your seat. Do not mistake my actions here. I have long since lost the need to seduce you but you insist on this.... ” the camisole fell to the floor. “Well? I know how much a man needs to see and feel breasts. Do mine interest you?”
“Yes. But since you no longer want me, does it matter?”
“Of course it does,” she took a step forward, bent slightly, and ran her hand down the side of his face. “You want me William. You are breathing deeper and your passion is strong, so strong I can sense it and smell it. You are hoping I will remove the rest ... my stockings and lacy panties and then climb onto your lap. That is what you have in your mind right now. Am I wrong?”
“Right as usual, Marina. You are teasing me because it excites you. I will play your game.”
“I am right and you are wrong, nothing changes,” she slipped her thumbs under the sides of her underwear, pulling it, the garter belt and stocking off her body. She stood naked with her hands on her hips. “Do you now understand just what you missed out on?”
He looked her up and down a few times before answering her. “You are a very beautiful woman. I was not rejecting you. I was still in love with my wife. Now I am more than willing to have you as my mistress. Is that what you wanted me to say?”
“More than willing? That is hardly a thrilling compliment.”
“Then maybe I should show you how I feel,” he stood took a few steps towards her, and then as though hit in the chest flew back through the air and back into his seat.
Marina laughed, “I warned you not to try and touch me. I have powerful protection.”
‘Hell, Marina! How did ...! Look, I am confused. What is it you want then?” he stood again but did not move towards her.
“To show you who I am, that is all. I prefer to shift naked.... ”
“Shift? What does that mean?”
“Be quiet and calm your temper,” she raised her hands over her head, palms touching and closed her eyes.
William watched in silent amazement as two red, satin ribbons immerged from her fingertips. They snaked down her arms, her shoulders, torso, and legs, growing wider and cocooning her. Instinctively, William took a step back. He hit the chair and sat quickly.
The carpet Marina stood on changed to long grass and the grass spread out around her. Furniture vanished, including the chair William sat on. He fell back onto the long, thick grass. Marina vanished. The walls and ceiling melted away. In their place was a familiar rolling green meadow, a distant tree line and rolling river. Overhead birds flew and the hot sun beat down on him. Stunned, William got back to his feet and turned in a circle.
Across the meadow was the gray stone house where he was born. “Christ Almighty!” He swore and walked slowly up the walkway to the very familiar building. The front door was open. He could see inside and along the shinning wooden floor to the kitchen. Two boys and a dog, yapping at their heels, tumbled out the door, down the porch steps and ran passed him.
A tall, slim woman with flaming red hair followed her sons outside, “William!” she called out in a rich Scottish brogue.
“Yes, I know! Don’t stay out past dinner and don’t get separated,” the older boy stopped and called back to his mother.
“You worry too much!” William took several steps back as his father; young and virile appeared from the back of the building.
“And I have reason to worry, John Holloway! With two sons so much like their father, I hardly know which way to turn.”
“And my love,” John Holloway put his arms around her waist, “I know how much you also want a daughter to fuss over.”
“And what is wrong with that?” she smiled up at him.
“Not a thing!” he glanced over the meadow, “they’ll be gone for hours. Why don’t we go upstairs and get started on that new babe you want so much?”
“Are you sure, John? You said you wanted to wait.... ”
“Since when did you listen to anything I say, Jane?” he patted her gently on the backside, took her inside and up the stairs.
William jumped and turned quickly as Marina walked up behind him. She wore only a sheer red silk gown. Her long, wavy chestnut brown hair glittered in the sunlight.
“What is this? It is a hallucination, isn’t it?” he whispered.
She smiled, took his arm, and led him up the walkway. “And they did conceive a child that beautiful afternoon. Nine months to the day later Margaret Holloway, your sister was born. In the years to come, they gave you two more sisters. Come on,” she urged him when he stopped at the porch steps, “do not be afraid!”
“I am not afraid!” he snapped at her. “This is not real ... it cannot be!”
She pulled him after her and into the comfortable, colorful parlor. “This is real, William. It is the home of your birth, the place of your happy and secure youth. The memories you hold most dear,” she ran his hand along the mantle of the fireplace, “does it not feel real? Does it not smell like your mother? Do you not want to stay here forever?”
“How? Marina? It is not possible! No, I do not believe this!”
She sighed. “However do you people manage to evolve? I have no idea! Pick something ... anything and put it in your pocket.”
“What? Why?”
“Just do it, William. For once, do something without questions!”
He walked slowly around the room, stopped at his fathers’ prized chess set and picked the Queen.
“Good. Now put it in your pocket,” she stood in front of him; put her arms around his neck and kissed him very softly. “Oh my, you do look so confused. Come out into the sunlight and I will tell you who I am. That is what you want, isn’t it?”
“Yes!”
Once again, she took his hand and brought him across the room and back into the meadow.
“It is lovely here. I can understand why you loved this place,” she spoke softly as she looked around the wide flower dotted field, spread her arms, and turned in a circle.
He followed her gaze and froze when he looked back at her. Huge white, glistening wings emerged from her shoulders. They reached far up over her head, tapered off to silver tipped points. She spread them, lifted on the ground, and flew around the stunned man. She lowered slowly to the ground, folding the wings back to her sides. They vanished into her body.
“No!” she laughed, knowing what he was thinking. “I am not an angel! I do try, but human temptations keep me very far from that lofty place. There are many beings that are winged, not only God’s legions.”
William opened his mouth to speak but his throat was too dry and his lips stuck to his teeth.
“My spirit name is Essence, Goddess of Memory. However, I do not bother with that too much. I prefer my family name, Paloma. The other sounds so very pretentious.”
“I have many important responsibilities. One is the keeper of human memory, happy or sad. When your mind clears and the shock of this is over, spend some time thinking about just how much you do and feel every day comes born from memory. Logic and reason fall very far behind the experience of your memories. That is why base humans so often repeat and repeat their mistakes ... they hope to change the memories and of course, that is not possible.”
“Base humans? I do not understand ...” William was finally able to mumble.
She nodded, coming closer to him and again put her arms around his neck. “Poor man. I may have given you too much. You need time to take it in before you can understand. I will teach you more as time goes by,” she pulled his head down and this time her kiss was deeply passionate and demanding.
When she backed away, they were back in his study. Everything was as it should be and Marina was fully dressed.
“Now, William, before you say again that it was just a hallucination, reach into your right jacket pocket.”
He did and pulled out the crystal queen chess piece. “Bloody Hell ...!”
“What is it? Tell me what just crossed our mind?”
“There was a time, I remember ... I was about twelve or so and my father had us all searching the house looking for his missing queen. A few days later it just seemed to show up again.”
“And now, you finally know where it was!”
“That was over thirty years ago ... not today. What you are expecting me to believe makes no sense ...!”
She looked into his pale gray eyes and shook her head, “I know it seems that way to you now. There is so much more to our world, William. If you will allow me, as time goes by, I will open amazing doors for you. I wanted to show you before but it was not the right time and you did insist on staying the cynical, skeptical policeman. Are you more willing to open your mind and learn now?”
“After all this ... yes! Does this have anything to do with Elizabeth?”
“It does. Now I will just tell you a very brief version of my reality. I will tell you much more as it is required. You cannot know this but you and I have a great deal in common. You police the evil in this dimension. I police the evil forces from my dimension. That place is directly above here ... that is the best way I can explain where it is.”
“In this dimension, there are light and dark souls. You and Elizabeth are powerful light souls. You live your life always doing what you believe to be the ‘right thing’. You would never willingly hurt any one or anything. You are literally bright lights that shine out through the universe. Unfortunately, like moths to the flame your golden souls attract the dark and evil souls. Given a chance, they latch on, feed off your energy, and stay put until there is nothing left and that can take the light souls right to death. That is what is happening with Elizabeth.”
“There are many more like me, William. We are charged with keeping the Dark Souls that are housed in holding pens in my dimension in check and from doing what we call a ‘bleeding’ into this dimension. If they do make it through it is a very terrible thing because, compared to your kind they have evolved powerfully. Their evil is mighty force and can cause unbelievable heartache. One bleeds- through inhabited Tomas Foley and turned his illness into madness and brought him to be the Middleton Moor Murderer. It got past me and into him and had caused so much havoc before I was even aware it had broken away,” she paused, sighed, and walked to the window. She stood silently for so long that William joined her.
The rain had stopped. On the sidewalk, a boy played with a puppy. He threw a ball. It landed on William’s lawn. The child looked around nervously and then dashed around the gate after the ball. The puppy beat him to it and they had brief chase through the garden before going back out to the roadway.
Marina turned her face slightly away from William.
“Marina? Are you crying?” he asked with surprise.
“No,” she sniffed.
“Yes, you are,” he turned her to face him and studied her face.
“Why are you so surprised? I am a woman, I love, I hate, I eat and sleep, I bleed. I give birth in agony! I am as human as you are, William Holloway. I face my bitter failures with disgrace ... all those children that monster killed, boys such as that one that just trampled your garden ... they died because I failed,” tears streamed down her face.
He pulled her into his arms and held her.
“Oh ... I am sorry! I do make a fool out of myself at every possible chance,” she pushed away from him and fished around in her purse for her hanky.
“I don’t think you are making a fool out of yourself and I refuse to let you take the blame for Tomas Foley. I may not understand much of what you have to tell me but I am as sure as I stand here that you did not create that monster.”
“It was my place to keep him away from the children of this dimension. That was why I insinuated myself into your investigation. It was so much more than just my unrequited lust for you! Now I have to hunt down and put an end to the thing that killed Peter Patterson.” She blew her nose loudly.
“And that is what you and I will do.”
“That is good. I am going to leave now, Will. You have seen me in weakness and I am not comfortable with that.”
“But, for God’s Sake, there is so much we have to talk about!”
“No. I must leave now. I have plans to meet with Elizabeth tomorrow. Will you allow me to speak with her?”
“Yes, of course. However, you and I are far from finished with our discussion, Marina!”
“I know. Tomorrow, after I meet with Elizabeth I will have much more to share with you. Do you want me to come back after I speak with her?”
“I will be waiting for you. What should I do with the chess piece?”
Still clearly embarrassed she would not make eye contact with him. “How long was it missing?”
“A few days.”
“You keep it for now. I will take it back the day after tomorrow. I will show myself out. Good day, William.”
He watched from the window until she was out of sight around the corner and then poured a very large whiskey.
* * * *
“My Lord, Chloe! Isn’t it hot for a December night?”
“It’s the wine, not the weather, Elizabeth. Red wine always does that to you and we are half way through our second bottle.”
“Have we? Uncle William will be so mad if he learns we raided his wine cellar. You are going to turn me into a drunk!” Elizabeth laughed, pulled open the window, and sat on the window seat.
“And you are going to give some of the old men around here a heart attack, sitting in your night gown at an open window.”
“Good. I can think of just the right one to have a heart attack. It is too bad the Howard house is not next door. You have no idea just how much I would love to be the one to give Samuel Howard a heart attack!”
“How can you be so sure it was Samuel who killed Peter?”
“He is the only one it could be.”
“What about Paul Howard? Peter took you away from Paul and Paul loved you very much. That is a very powerful reason to hate and to murder.”
“We have had this conversation before. I know Paul very well. For a long time I loved him. I know he was hurt ... but Paul is such a gentle soul. He would never do such a terrible thing. Anyway, Paul was nowhere near London when the murder happened.”
Chloe sighed, stretched out on the bed, and rolled onto her belly. ‘How long has it been now since Peter died? Six months?”
“Six months tomorrow.”
“That is a long time to sit in anger and grief, Lizzie. Don’t you miss, well, male companionship? I am not talking about physical things. I mean getting out, having fun and laughter. You must be bored just sitting around with me.”
“No, I do not! How can I even consider ‘fun’ when the Howard murderer still walks free?” her words were slightly slurred and her voice thick with hatred.
“That is so sad. I do wish you could be happy again.”
“But I am happy for one thing, Chloe. I thank God every day for you, my dear friend. Without you, standing by me all these months I doubt I would have made it. You gave up so much to help me!”
“What did I give up, a home with my complaining and demented Grandmother? I am far better off away from her.”
“You know, in all these years you have never told me why you hate your Grandmother so much! She always seemed very sweet to me.”
“Sweet! No, she is not sweet. She hates me as much as I hate her. I suppose I should find a man, marry, and leave her house forever. I would if a man ever looked my way ...”
“She does hate not you! Why would she?”
“It is simple, Lizzie. She blames me for my mothers’ suicide.”
“But she can’t. Your mother did that of her own free will. You had nothing to do with it!”
“As I said, Grandmamma is demented.”
Elizabeth sighed, left the window seat, and sat on the bed beside her friend. “Why does life have to be so hard?”
“I have no idea. They say it is God’s plan but sometimes I think He puts too much on us.”
Chloe’s large black cat came in through the open window, jumped up on the bed and curled up in Elizabeth’s lap. She rubbed his head. “Hello, Blackman! Where have you been all night?”
Chloe smiled. “He has been out whoring around, as usual. You know what a slut he truly is!”
“I am not sure that animals can be sluts, Chloe!”
“Blackman is and I am sure of that.”
Blackman meowed and began to purr.
Despite herself, Elizabeth laughed. “I’d swear sometimes that cat can understand when you talk. He seems to have moved in permanently. I warned you what would happen if you fed him. After a few days, he acts as though he owns the place and you, as well!”’
“I just knew the moment I saw him he belonged with me,” Chloe took a deep breath and seemed to make up her mind about something. “Lizzie, how much do you want justice for Peter?”
“More than anything else! If it does not happen I am sure I will spend the rest of my life half mad with hatred.”
“What would you say if I said I have some unusual friends who could be a great help to you?”
Elizabeth yawned and lay down. Blackman stretched out across her body, “I would say that I was very surprised. I have known you since we were girls. I know everyone you know.”
“No, you do not. Listen to me, this is important,” she turned Elizabeth face towards her. “I want you to meet some very wonderful people. His name is Isaiah Buck, but we call him Loki and her name is Marina Kaiser. You will not have met a people like them before. They will help you get what you need.”
“How?”
“What you need to do is get into that family and find out their terrible secret, expose them and bring the dark one down.”
“Well, I doubt very much even your unusual friends can help me do that. The Howard family knows my face all too well.”
“So then, what would you say if I told you that the amazing and wonderfully handsome Loki could very much change the way you look?”
“I would say that you have had far too much to drink ... that is what I would say.”
“Will you at least come with me and talk to them? We could go tomorrow,” Chloe lay down next to her friend and ran her hand through her long, bright red hair. “I promise you, you will be so glad you did.”
“Yes, if you insist. I will meet your amazing Mr. Buck or Loki ... or whatever his name is!” Elizabeth closed her eyes and was very quickly asleep.
Blackman stretched out the length of his body, resting his front paws on Elizabeth’s breasts and turned his large green eyes to Chloe.
“Oh, you are such a bad boy! What am I to do with you?” she laughed and pulled the cat to her. She placed a blanket over her friend and closed the window. She took Blackman down the hallway, up a flight of stairs and into her room.
It was raining again. Rain rattled against the window pain. Thunder rolled across the sky and lightening flashed dark shadows over the bedroom floor.
She lay on her bed with Blackman stretched out beside her. She ran her hand the length of his body. With each pass of her hand, the body of the cat became less distinct. The shinning black fur changed to smooth black human skin. The small pointed face flattened and grew. Strong human arms, powerful chest, and torso took the place of Blackman’s body. The tail disappeared. Long, muscled legs formed and the shifting of Isaiah Buck from feline to human was complete.
“Hello, my love,” Chloe smiled and placed her hand on his cheek. “How is my beautiful black man this evening?”
“Disappointed! You are a mean hearted spoilsport. I was enjoying my rest time with Elizabeth.”
She laughed. “I know you were. Do you really think that such a beautiful female as Elizabeth Mulberry wants to mate with a cat? She needs a male, it is so strong I can smell it but I am fairly certain she would prefer a human.”
He joined with her laughter. “I was not going to mate with her. I was just so enjoying the feel of her warm, soft body under mine and thinking of what I might enjoy if she is truly ready. However, I do wonder if Elizabeth is ready. You have only been in possession of Chloe’s body for a week. Are you rushing things? If so, there is no need ...”
“No, Isaiah. I am sure she is ready.”
“Don’t call me Isaiah. You know I hate that name!”
“Sorry, Loki! Elizabeth is more than ready. Her powerful hatred is giving her the strength she and we need. We must move before that same hatred begins to weaken her. We will bring her to Marina tomorrow.”
“If you say so, Sigyn! I have missed Elizabeth. We all have. It would please me in more ways than one if she is ready.”
“At least this time you will be more agreeable to give her the power. I do not want you to balk as you did the last time. That evening with Miss Parker was very difficult.”
“Oh, I will not balk when it comes to ‘Sweetness’. Have I ever? You need not worry about that. Since my lovely wife will not be available for a while,” he glared at her with meaning, “I am much in the mood for a beautiful female. That is the point, my dear. If you and Marina want me to make a new traveler and bring me an ugly, skinny, frigid, old maid ... well, you can expect problems. I may be a ‘slut’ but I do have my standards.”
“We all have to make sacrifices, Loki,” she ran her hand down his arm. “I have always been glad that Elizabeth appeals to you. The closeness you and she have shared over these centuries warms my heart.”
“And she appeals to you as well, ‘Chloe’! I saw the way you looked at Elizabeth as she lay there sleeping. I sensed a secret fire. Really, after all these eons we have worked and played together, I had no idea you had an attraction for the female,” his emerald eyes peered into hers. He saw and felt the surge of passion his intense look always gave her. He sat, pulled her to him, and kissed her neck. He placed his lips against her ear. “Tell me, lovely Sigyn, my favorite mistress, my only wife, are you keeping from me things I would so enjoy? Your male lovers mean nothing to me but ...” he sucked in breath through his teeth, “if you take on females, I insist on being at the very least a ‘watcher’.”
She sighed, pulled back slightly, and slid her tongue across his lips.
“So, do tell me, my love, is that the reason why you so often want to witness me with women? Is it because you like the feminine flesh the way a man does?”