The Witches’ Bane
by Edward Ahern
Chapter 18: A Visit from Buddha
When Gordon woke up, Buddha was staring beatifically at him.
“Want me to tell you about the world of shit you’re in?”
“They’re dead?”
“Yup. Gunshot and exposure. We made them, but it’s odd: they don’t have rap sheets. Their guns are licensed, they had good day jobs. Here’s where it gets kinky. One of them is the husband of Maureen Curtis, who also turns up dead. What do you know about that?”
“Nothing. Just met her yesterday at the bookstore in Barre.” Sorry, Brenda, he thought. Gordon stared briefly at Tassie. “Do you have twenty minutes? I need to explain something to you.”
“Talk away.” Tassie pulled out a pocket recorder. “Okay to tape this?”
“Why not? I told you I thought Judy had been killed before she could talk to me about the witches’ coven she’d joined—"
“That again?”
“It’s the key. Look, ignore the mumbo-jumbo and think about a group of demented women who kill an infant once a year for a ritual sacrifice. I have Judy’s word about the coven, and you have a bunch of unsolved cases involving stolen babies. I gather there’s another one just gone missing?”
“You know it has.”
“I don’t want to intrude, but you had a nephew go missing a couple years ago, never found. I’m guessing that he hadn’t been christened or baptized?”
Tassie’s hairless head turned entirely purple-red, then muted to blood rose. “No, they hadn’t gotten around to it yet.”
“I’m betting that most of the other babies hadn’t received the sacrament either. Witches prefer a child not yet dedicated to God.”
“So?”
“Think, Tassie. Somebody had to be close enough to the families to know that the kids hadn’t been christened. It’s not a huge coven. Over the last seven or eight disappearances and deaths, I’ll bet the same acquaintance can be spotted in two or three of the situations. It’ll give you a fresh angle to work on.”
Tassie stood and thought for a few seconds. “You’re really good at red herrings and deception, aren’t you? You had me going for a second. But the dead bodies I know I got are all caused by or involved with you. Once I figure out how you did it, I’m going to make sure you spend more than one night locked up.”
Gordon shrugged. It should have hurt his ass to do so, but it didn’t. “Keep me in the spotlight all you want, but please, as you cared about your nephew, check out the other angle as well.”
Tassie shrugged in turn. “Maybe. You’ve got a visitor. Once your ass puckers up, don’t leave the area.”
“Not a chance.”
AJ walked in right after Tassie walked out. Gordon pointed at his eye, then his ear. AJ nodded. The dark bags under her eyes weren’t caused by makeup.
“Drive all night?”
“Yeah. You need to get into trouble closer to home.”
Gordon held out both his hands and AJ took them. He continued talking while at the same time beginning to write on the palm of AJ’s right hand.
“You heard two guys got killed?”
XT SAFE 2 PCS. AJ tapped once to acknowledge.
“I also heard you got shot while it happened.”
“Did they tell you when I can get out of here?”
MR. SLICK. Tap.
“I’ll check. Still want to stay at the Comfort Inn?”
“Wouldn’t think of changing; it would confuse Lieutenant Tassie.”
BRENDA. BOOKS. WARN. AJ drew a question mark.
BARRELY BOOKS. Tap.
Gordon smiled warmly at AJ, then opened his mouth to say something.
AJ waved him off. “I know. Shut up, you diddling lecher. You’d do it for me.”
Gordon finger wrote again. GUN. AJ tapped twice, meaning already taken care of.
“Get some sleep, Hefe, I’ll be back this evening. And be careful scratching your ass.”
Gordon laughed. It hurt less than he thought it should.
* * *
When AJ came back, she brayed at him. “Okay, let’s take stock. Two people dead, your clothes burnt, your guns confiscated, your car shot up and impounded, your ass perforated, muscles torn. Maybe you should come home.”
“Worse. The third gunman hasn’t shown up, but there’s a good chance he’s passed on. And according to Tassie, the wife of one of the shooters just died.”
“How?”
“Dunno. Tassie wasn’t in any hurry to tell me. I need to have you get my nurse to come in here.”
AJ trapped one of the duty nurses and walked back in with her.
“Nurse Harkins, I’m ordering you to discontinue whatever pain medication you’re pumping into me. If you like, I’ll put it in writing.”
“I can’t do that without the doctor’s authorization.”
“You do it right now, or AJ and I will yank out every tube you’ve got stuck into me. I’m a recovering addict, and if the opiates you’re shooting into me cause me to relapse, you and the hospital are going to get sued big time.”
Nurse Harkins struck a pose and pouted, but then took the safer, coward’s path, turning a petcock on the IV to off. Once she’d left, AJ raised an eyebrow. “Nice line about the addiction. You could have waited another hour or two before getting your mind back.”
“No time, AJ.” Gordon explained about the missing baby and the sacrifice it would undergo in a few days. AJ hid a smirk — she knew the melodramatic dialogue was playing for Tassie’s benefit.
Copyright © 2018 by Edward Ahern
