A protection charm. Right, because people shaved in bathrooms, maybe? Either way, she felt the difference. If that was Mr. Warings energy, which she thought it was, it was definitely not the same as the energy of the personthe manwhod made the sex spell. No aggression colored this magic, no anger. And hardly any power, either; the man whod made this might as well have just thrown some cotton balls into the bag, for all the strength it had.
A protection charm. Right, because people shaved in bathrooms, maybe? Either way, she felt the difference. If that was Mr. Warings energy, which she thought it was, it was definitely not the same as the energy of the personthe manwhod made the sex spell. No aggression colored this magic, no anger. And hardly any power, either; the man whod made this might as well have just thrown some cotton balls into the bag, for all the strength it had.
Well, Jillian had said someone else must have been hired to make the sex spell, so no big surprise there, right?
That still didnt explain why theyd kept the sex spell so far away, though, or why it had felt so angry.
Whatever. Maybe the spell had been too strong for them. Maybe theyd felt the anger somehow, too, and just hadnt gotten around to tossing the thing. Maybe they liked to fuck in the closet. Probably didnt matter as far as the case went; probably none of her business.
She rinsed her hands and popped another candy into her mouth, giving herself one last glance in the mirror. Did she look okay? Sober, calm, collected? Yeah, basically, at least she thought she did, so good.
Time to take her pictures and get the hell out of there. The place was starting to make her itch.
J. F. Sebastians was one of those chain restaurants that tried to pretend it was fun and high-end, rather than just a yuppie meat market with overpriced drinks and mediocre food. The walls were covered with fifties-style posters and ads; those were actually fun to look at, but aside from them the place basically sucked.
A gang of men in ties stood together near the bar, their eyes following Jillian and Chess as the two women sat down in a booth outside the bar area. The men looked loathsome, like the kind of people Chess would want to slap after ten minutes of hearing about their cars or their expensive belongings or who designed their fucking suits. But they also looked like men, and she wanted to get some stuff out of her head, and the best way to do thataside from the boozewas to let a man distract her. Maybe no, she was with Jillian, and Jillian was reporting on her behavior, so it wasnt the time.
A few minutes of silence while they skimmed over the lame-ass menu full of fried things and trademark symbols. A few minutes of chatter while the gaudily dressed waiter pretended he liked them and took their orders. Not that Chess was interested in food. Work was done and it was dark; she wanted a drink, and she wanted it alone in her room with the door locked and a good book in her hand. Or she wanted a man, someone whod do what she wanted him to do and then shut up so she could go home.
What she did not want was a Grande Burger and a Coke, but it was what she asked for, because Jillian hadnt ordered a drinka real drinkso Chess figured she shouldnt, either, despite the pounding in her head, the voices coming back.
Gloria said her parents didnt mess with magic they shouldnt be messing with, Jillian said, her eyes scanning the restaurant aimlessly as she talked. She said they were kind of scared of the whole thing, really, and never got over the loss of their religion.
A lot of people feel that way. Chess resisted the urge to add Right? to the end of the sentence. Theyd been taught this; even before she entered Church education shed been taught this, about the suicides and the small hidden cults and everything else.
Jillian nodded. Its not unusual. Might be why the Warings hired someone else to do their sex spell, too, if they werent comfortable doing their own magic.
They did the luck charms. And the protection charms. At least it felt like them. Did that sound bitchy?
Apparently not, because Jillian didnt remark on it. They did feel like them, yeah. So why would she get someone else to do her sex magic?
Maybe she needed something a little stronger, Chess said before she thought. Her face warmed. I mean, thats the only thing I can think of.
Not that she wanted to think of it at all. That sex spell refused to leave her memory, refused to leave her alone.
Jillian shrugged. I dont think it matters, really. The sex spell didnt feel like ghost magic, and we didnt find anything that would indicate they were doing ghost magic.
Whyd they keep the sex spell in the closet, though?
Hmm? Jillian wasnt looking at Chess; she was looking at the guys by the bar, and they were looking back. Hmm indeed.
The last thing Chess was going to do was look interested in the men, though. And she wanted an answer to her question. Why was the sex spell in the closet? Dont most people keep them under their beds? Andand that spell felt kind of dark to me, kind of, like, frustrated.
Maybe thats why they kept it in the closet. It just didnt work and they were planning to get rid of it.
I wonder who made it for them.
Jillian flashed a smile at the men across the room. Look, Cesaria, I get that this is your first case and its exciting and everything, but I think youre reading way too much into this. The smile softened a little. If youre just curious, fine, but this was a crime of opportunity. Its the third ghost murder like this in the last two weeks. Its bad, and Im interested in what you have to say, but we should be focusing on identifying the ghosts and trying to catch them, instead of worrying about where our victims bought their magic.
Fuck this. Yeah, fine, Jillian was trying to be nice. At least it looked like she was. And yeah, fine, Chess was new at this, and she was curious, and she was anxious to make a good impression, but she wasnt an idiot and she wasnt a child, and fuck Jillian and her condescension.
Chess stood up. Ill be right back, okay? Im going to the bathroom.
Walk by those guys, see if they say anything to you.
Sure. Ugh.
But she did, and they did, and by the time she came back from the bathroom sucking another candy and feeling much calmerthe voices quieted, the world softened just a little bit; hey, she wasnt technically working anymore, right?the men were firmly ensconced at their table, with Jillian holding court over their newly arrived food.
Looked like work time was over. Fine. Chess sat down and turned toward the least objectionable-looking of the men, plastering a smile on her face as she did. There was more than one way to forget.
Chapter Five
Jillian picked her up at eleven the next morning, late enough that Chess had just about managed to shake her hangover, but still early enough that Jillians enthusiastic discussion about the men the night before, and which one she liked, and how hed asked for her phone number, and blah blah blah whatever, still felt like fingernails on Chesss mental chalkboard.
Thanks for letting that other one give you a ride home, anyway, Jillian said, taking a swig of coffee. I appreciate it.
Sure. That wasnt all hed given her, but she wasnt about to mention that. Hed chased away some memories, distracted her for a few minutes, and that was all she cared about.
What was his name, again?
Um Mike, I think.
Did he ask for your number?
I didnt give it to him. Chess pulled out her notepad and started flipping pages in an effort to get Jillian to quit the girl talk. So where are we going today?
Back to the Waring house. Gloria Waring is meeting us there. Why didnt you give him your number?
Back to the Waring house. Gloria Waring is meeting us there. Why didnt you give him your number?
I just didnt, is all. Lie. That was a lie and she was a liar. She hadnt given it to him because she never wanted to see him again, because she never wanted to see any of them again afterward. Because she was weak enough to want them so the least she could do was keep them from hurting her; because if she let them into her life they would hurt her. How could they not? They were people. That was what people did to each other.
Jillian opened her mouth; Chess spoke before she could. So Gloria Waring will be there again? What are we going to ask her about? I thought you said it was just a crime of opportunity.
It is. At least were ninety-nine percent sure it is. But we want to be a hundred percent surewe are the Black Squad, after allso we just want to give the place another go-over. It wont take long.
Then what?
Well see. Jillian shrugged as she turned the car onto the Warings street. Maybe well head down to the City and talk to the Liaisers, see if theyve turned up anything on these ghosts, if theyre missing from the City or
The City? It came out as a sort of raspy squeak; embarrassing. Chess cleared her throat and tried again. The City of Eternity? Well go down there?
Today or tomorrow, yeah. Ohyou havent been down there yet, have you?
Chess shook her head. Shit. The City that was a big deal. An exciting deal, and a scary deal, and she wasnt entirely sure which emotion she felt more.
Dont worry about it, youll be fine. Jillian parked the car on the curb outside the Waring house and turned it off. Its kind of weird the first time you go, but really, once you see how peaceful it is its really nice, this whole other world, and you get to go there when you die. So its like not even really dying. Its, well, its nice, you know?
Chess forced a smile. At least she knew exactly what reaction was expected from her on this subject. Im just amazed I might get to see it.
Jillians smile widened. Double shit; Chess knew what Jillian was going to say before she said it, and it wasnt really what Chess wanted to hear. Tell you what, Jillian said, well go down there either way, okay? After we leave here, well just go.
Oh, hey, dont put
Dont be silly. Jillians hand rested on Chesss arm for a minute; Chess managed not to react. Im here to teach you stuff, right? Just think, you get to go before anybody else in your year. Theyll be so jealous.