Call Of The Witch (5 page)

“
Our demands are coming.
Stay by the phone.”

The line went dead. I looked at Carlos and
Olson. Both had made the obvious observation. It was Carlos who
said it. “There’s more than one kidnapper.”

Brewbaker’s jaw went slack. “What?”

“
There’s more than one,” I
said. “The caller referred to at least one other accomplice. He
said ‘We are monitoring your lines. We will not tolerate
disobedience’.”

“
They’re watching the
house,” said Carlos. How else would they know we’re
here?”

Brewbaker said, “They saw her come in.” he
pointed at Olson. “It’s her fault.”

“
No,” she said. “I parked
down the street, came through the neighbor’s back yard and in the
back door. Nobody saw me.”

“
Then how do you explain
the kidnappers knowing you’re all here?”

“
They didn’t see anyone,”
I said. I looked at my watch. It’s been over a half hour since his
first call. He’s guessing if you called anyone, they’d be here by
now.”

“
So, he’s bluffing,” said
Carlos.

“
I think so.”

“
You think so,” said
Brewbaker.

I walked to the window, pulled back the
curtains and peeked outside. The long driveway curved to the left
on the far end, closest to the street. Tall oaks flanked both sides
all the way down. No one sitting out front by the street could see
the house from there, let alone who came or went. I let the
curtains fall back in place.

“
Doesn’t matter,” I said.
“It’s done. We’re here. We have a job to do and we’re going to do
it.”

On the ride back to the Justice Center, I
asked Carlos how he was doing on time.

“
What do you
mean?”

“
Your date tonight. You
going to make it?”

“
Oh, Lauri. Right. Nah,
I’m gonna cancel.”

“
You’re going to
cancel?”

“
Yeah, this is more
important. Isn’t it?”

“
It is.
Thanks.”

We drove further. I settled into a train of
thought centering on Amanda Brewbaker. I had made my observations
regarding her odd demeanor long before Lionel Brewbaker said
anything to me about her. She didn’t strike me as a mastermind
criminal type capable of orchestrating a kidnapping, but perhaps
with the right accomplice she….

“
Tony!”

I gasped and found myself bracing for a
collision that wasn’t coming.

“
What?”

“
You didn’t answer
me.”

“
Answer what?”

“
I asked you if you
thought Brit was sexy.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
Brittany Olson. Is it me,
or does she look a whole lot hotter now that she’s made
detective?”

“
Hell, Carlos. I don’t
know. Why are you asking me that? I thought you had a
girlfriend.”

“
Oh, sure, I do. I mean
I’m not saying I want to ask her out or anything. I was just making
an observation.”

“
I see.”

“
So?”

“
So what?”

“
So do you think she’s a
whole lot hotter now that she’s made detective?”

“
I don’t know. Carlos.
Yes, I suppose she is. You know I’ve always thought Brit was a
handsome woman.”

Carlos started laughing at that.

“
What?”

“
You said she was
handsome.”

“
Yeah, so?”

“
Tony, guys are handsome.
Women are pretty.”

“
Women can be handsome.
Anything can be handsome.”

“
You think Amanda
Brewbaker’s handsome?”

“
I think she was handsome
at one time.”

“
Me too. I think she looks
like a skank now.”

“
Carlos!”

“
Well she does. You know
something just doesn’t sit right with me about her.”

“
Hmm, I tend to
agree.”

“
What, that she looks like
a skank?”

“
No. That something
doesn’t seem right. She doesn’t come across to me like the grieving
mother. And by the way, while you were on the phone with Dominic,
Lionel Brewbaker took me aside and expressed concerns about her. I
think he was trying to implicate her in the kidnapping.”

“
Noooo!”

“
I think. Maybe we should
invite them both downtown and have them come in to take a
polygraph.”

“
I would.”

“
So, are you going to call
her?”

“
Amanda?”

“
No. Your girlfriend. You
said you were going to cancel your date with her.”

“
Oh, sure, I’ll call. You
know. Soon.”

“
Yeah, well I have to
cancel dinner with Lilith, too. Only I’m not going to call. I’m
going to go home and tell her to her face. It’s the only way she’ll
believe me.”

“
Why’s that?”

“
You know Lilith. The
first thing she’ll do is pull me aside, drill into my eyes with
that penetrating stare of hers, reach down deep somewhere into my
soul and rip the truth out of me.”

“
Sheesh, Tony. Are you
sure you don’t want to just call?”

I pointed out the side window. “Hang a right
here and take me home. This won’t take a minute.”

We got to the house and I asked Carlos to
wait for me in the car. I figured if Lilith saw him sitting out
there with the motor running, she’d give me less grief and let me
get out of there sooner rather than later.

Things had changed a lot since we got
married. Not so much because we got married, but because Ursula and
Spinelli got married at the same time we did. Or maybe Lilith and I
married when they did. Doesn’t matter. The important thing was that
when Ursula and Spinelli married, Carlos bought them a house, and
now Lilith and I have our house all to ourselves. Consequently,
that means she and I are free to have sex whenever we want. Nobody
roaming the halls, walking into rooms without knocking. The fact we
can run around naked, taking advantage of life’s spontaneous
moments, has allowed us to enjoy more of those moments than ever
before. This is why I remain so suspicious of Lilith when she
presses me to participate in her so-called consummation ritual.
After all the spontaneity we engaged in, I would think she would
have called it even and let it go at that. But she hasn’t.

I walked in the house and knew immediately
something was up. Lilith’s forest sounds CD was playing in the
background, crickets chirping, owls hooting, brooks babbling. It’s
a real mood setter if you’re getting ready to make love under the
stars with a soft campfire crackling nearby. She had those things
as well. Her campfire was the fireplace. Split-oak logs snapped and
hissed on the fire irons, still too wet for smoke-free flames. Her
stars were specs of pin light cast upon the ceiling by a lamp whose
shade she covered with a black cloth and peppered with a shotgun
blast.

The incense was her usual mix of jasmine and
cinnamon, a blend that stirs the mind as well as the hormones.
Least that’s been my experience.

I shut the door and called her name.

“
Lilith?”

I don’t know how, but she snuck up behind me,
covered my eyes with her hands and kissed me on the back of the
neck. “Guess who?” she cooed.

“
Ursula?”

That earned me a slap on the head. “Guess
again.”

“
Lilith.” I smiled, turned
around, and slipped my arms around her waist. She was naked, except
for a silk g-string that evaded my touch as I slid my hands down
her cheeks. She laced her fingers around my neck, rocked up on
tiptoes and kissed me on the lips. I kissed her back, forgetting
all about the words we had earlier that chased me out of the house
and sent me to the office.

“
You want to?” she
said.

I smiled teasingly. “I always want to.”

“
Then come. The candles
are ready.”

“
Candles?” She took me by
the hand and led me down the hall. “Oh, now wait a minute,” I
said.

We stopped at the bedroom door. I looked in.
She had everything ready. Candles. A Chalice. Wine. A falcon’s
feather and talon.

“
Come on, Tony.” She
entered the room, tugging on my arm and stretching it straight. I
admit she looked beautiful and inviting, if not just a tad bit
desperate, something I don’t see in Lilith often. In all my years,
I never would have imaged I’d be standing at the bedroom threshold,
stubborn as a mule, while the most beautiful woman in the world
tried to drag me in to have sex with her.

“
Lilith, I
can’t.”

She let go of my hand and planted both of
hers on her hips. “What the hell, Tony. Why don’t you want to do
this?”

“
I do. You know how much I
love having sex with you.”

“
I don’t mean that. This
isn’t just about the sex and you know it. This is about the
Consummation ritual. For the life of me I don’t know why you’re
fighting this. Is it that you don’t want to be married to
me?”

“
No! Of course not. I love
being married to you.”

“
Then why won’t you
consummate the marriage? Dominic and Ursula consummated theirs on
the first night.”

“
Lilith, we’ve consummated
dozens of times since the marriage.”

“
No. We’ve had sex dozens
of times. That doesn’t count unless we perform the
ritual.”

“
How can it not count? Sex
is sex.”

She crossed her arms at her chest and managed
an almost convincing pout. “You don’t love me.”

“
What? That’s not true.
You know I love you.”

“
Then why are you so
reluctant to do this?”

“
I’m not reluctant. It’s
just that this case came up. This child abduction thing. A
kidnapping. Carlos is waiting for me outside now. I really have to
go.” She gave me a look as if she didn’t believe me, and then right
on cue, Carlos laid on his horn. “See?”

I saw her eyes go to the window and then back
to me again. “All right, Fine. Go.” She uncrossed her arms and
reached around her backside to adjust her attire. “I gotta get out
of this g-string anyway and put on some sweats. Your dinner’s in
the freezer.”

“
Oh? What is
it?”

She soured her face as she pulled a wedgie
from her crack. “I don’t know. Whatever you find. I think we got
Pop Tarts.”

Outside, Carlos was drumming his hands on the
steering wheel, listening to The Who’s, Won’t Get Fooled Again. He
had his eyes closed and the volume up so loud that he didn’t hear
me getting back in the car. I waited until the song was over before
touching him on the arm. You would have thought I had zapped him
with a cattle prod.

“
Holy Mother of God!” he
cried. He reached over and turned off the radio. “What the hell,
Tony!”

“
What? All I did was touch
you.”

“
You can let a guy know
you’re there first. Man!”

“
All right. Get over it. I
don’t need you getting on my case now.”

He settled down some, dropped the car into
reverse and backed out of the driveway. “Lilith giving you a hard
time?”

“
Yes.”

“
Why, `cause you don’t
want to have sex with her?”

“
Don’t start,
Carlos.”

He shifted into drive and started down the
road. “I’m just saying. A girl needs to feel loved. Needs the
tender moment, if you know what I mean.”

“
Carlos.”

“
Take me and Julie for
instance.”

“
Lauri.”

“
Huh?”

“
You said Julie. Your
girlfriend’s name is Lauri.”

“
Yeah, I know. Is that
what I said?”

“
Yes.”

“
Wow. Must have been one
of them Freudian slips. You know her sister’s name is
Julie.”

“
I didn’t
know.”

“
Yeah. She’s younger
though. And prettier.”

“
Is she?”

“
Yeah. Oh, and sexy. Let
me tell you. La chica es muy caliente.”

“
Carlos.”

“
The other day she bent
over to pick up a––”

“
Carlos!”

“
What?”

“
You’re talking about your
girlfriend’s sister.”

“
Yeah. I ain’t saying
nothing bad about her. It’s all good.”

“
Can we talk about
something else?”

“
All right.
Sure.”

We drove on, both of us unable to get our
minds off the previous subject. I started thinking about Dominic,
and as if reading my mind, Carlos said, “I talked to Dominic while
you were in there with Lilith.”

“
Oh?”

“
He wants us to meet him
in the media room when we get back.”

“
Sounds like he has
something for us.”

“
He always has something
for us. The kid’s got game. Doesn’t he?”

“
That he does.”