Murder by Magic Page 13

  Jessica was standing, hands on hips, looking at the door inset into a little alcove beside the main lobby of the building. There was a keypad beside the door, smudged with fingerprint powder. The door itself was non-descript, but the edge was dusted with gray powder as well. Something was off; then he realized there was no handle on the door. Jessica nodded at the door.

  “That’s the public entrance to the penthouse. I don’t know the code, but even if I did…”

  “Your prints would be all over the keypad.”

  “Yeah. The other entrance is in the back…” She bit her lip, staring into space. “It’ll be open, I’m sure, but probably still crawling with forensics guys.” Finally, she turned to him, shading her eyes against the sun. “What the hell. Let’s just go in, guns blazing. You can do that magic thing again, right? Go invisible, make them think I’m supposed to be there?”

  Her trust in him was touching. He nodded. “Lead the way. I’ll be right behind you.”

  As soon as they stepped off the sidewalk and under the red canopy that extended over the sidewalk that ran along the side of the building, the wave of magic that hit him almost knocked him back a step. It was the same heavy evil feeling, the smell making him almost physically sick. It crept into him, bringing those terrible violent urges to the surface. The sensation was distinctly disturbing, although he’d anticipated how he’d feel. Still, he slowed his pace, letting Jessica move a few paces ahead. Even having her close set his teeth on edge, and he hated how this dark magic affected him.

  At the end of the sidewalk was another door and another keypad, but he saw the door also had a traditional keyed lock, and a handle. The door was propped open, the edges covered with fingerprint dust. Jessica hesitated, not turning as she spoke.

  “Okay. I don’t think the forensic guys know I’m off the case, but just in case…do that thing you do, okay?”

  “You got it, sweetheart.”

  Euros cast a simple spell, and rendered himself invisible. He thought he saw a subtle change in Jessica, something that told him she knew what he’d done, that she sensed his magic in the air.

  They went through the doorway. To Euros’ surprise, he found himself in a furnished lobby, with flowered décor everywhere. The walls were covered with striped paper, a vivid backdrop for the ornate gold ormolu tables lining the walls. The whole thing was overdone, to the point of being garish. He heard Jessica make a noise, something between a cough, and a laugh.

  “Parnell certainly had unusual taste.”

  A flight of stairs led upward, and to the right was an elevator. He waited for Jessica, as she made her way up the stairs ahead of him. Above, he could hear voices, the sound of metal against metal.

  “Dr. Greene…”

  Euros heard the surprise in Jessica’s voice. He glanced up. A white-haired man stood at the top of the steps, looking down at Jessica.

  “Detective. I’m so surprised to see you here.” Dr. Greene frowned, bushy eyebrows drawing down. “You disappeared…”

  Euros entered the man’s mind, redirecting his thoughts so he could read them. For a moment, Euros was impressed with the man’s intelligence. Being in this man’s mind was fascinating, but the invasiveness of the process bothered him. As Euros manipulated the man’s thoughts away from the fact that Jessica was off the case, and wasn’t supposed to be there, Dr. Greene’s expression softened, and he smiled.

  “…but you had other commitments, I imagine. They’ve just taken the body, there was some mix up…Detective Fisher…wait, he said you were…”

  Euros intensified his control over the man’s thoughts as Dr. Greene’s voice faltered. He’d found highly intelligent people were usually strong-willed, and Dr. Greene was proving to be no exception.

  Euros pulled the man away from his current train of thought, momentarily blocking out the memory of him witnessing Ross telling Jessica that she was off the case. With Dr. Greene’s thoughts under Euros’ control, the medical examiner started talking freely to Jessica, just like he always did.

  “If you’re interested, I would love to share my thoughts with you. I was just on my way to do the post, but I have a few minutes to spare, if you do.”

  “Or course, Dr. Greene.”

  Jessica and Dr. Greene continued down the short hall, and Euros listened intently to their conversation, keeping Dr. Greene’s thoughts under control. They walked down the short hall, turning right, and down a much longer corridor, the floors lined with dark red carpet. Suddenly, Euros paused by an open door, his attention caught by what looked like a shiny object that hung from a table in the adjoining room. Looking closer, he saw that it was a small bronze plaque, held to the table with tiny screws, identifying the gallery where the piece had been bought.

  He followed the sound of Dr. Greene’s deep voice, turning down another hall with walls covered with garish paintings. Again, each was marked with the name of the gallery where they originated. Euros stopped; the name of one gallery seemed to be prominent: Galerie d’art Manifique.

  The hall finally ended with a large double door, and they walked through. The room beyond was clearly the Master bedroom, and it was beyond lavish; the King-size four-poster-bed dominating the room, so overly masculine that it made Euros cringe. Without even looking, he was sure there was going to be a mirror on the ceiling.

  But as soon as they entered the room, Euros was no longer focused on the over-the-top décor. What caught is attention was the dark magic that pooled on the floor, swirls and tendrils floating through the air, as Dr. Greene moved around the room. Jessica suddenly stopped talking, and Euros was certain she could feel it, too.

  As with the Lansing house, the carpet was cut, and a piece of the floor was missing. Euros listened to Dr. Greene, as Jessica found her voice, and asked him questions.

  “Yes, I’d say it was the same cause of death. Severed aorta, massive blood loss, the same situation as with Mayor Lansing.” The man looked troubled, and Euros tapped into his mind just a bit deeper to see what Dr. Greene was thinking. It was what had to be an image of Lansing’s body during the autopsy. Euros saw the damage done by the blade, the lack of blood in the corpse.

  Then Dr. Greene’s mind threatened to regain control, and Euros removed himself, leaving just enough magic in place to keep him from realizing that Jessica wasn’t supposed to be there, and that he shouldn’t be talking to her about his findings.

  “Has anyone said anything about a motive? Since he was found in the bedroom…”

  Euros knew that Jessica was deliberately avoiding the mention of robbery as a motive, letting Dr. Greene offer his thoughts instead. Euros sensed there were many ideas swirling in the man’s mind, but the innate professionalism of the Doctor was keeping him from speaking of them all. Euros gave him a mental nudge. A troubled look crossed Dr. Greene’s face, and Euros felt momentary resistance. He nudged harder.

  “There was a mention of robbery. One of the employees was here, wanted access to a storage room, he seemed rather worried about a shipment of books. That’s about all I know regarding that…” Dr. Greene’s words were coming out more slowly, against his will.

  Jessica glanced at Euros, her expression telling him that she knew exactly what he was doing, and it was clear she wasn’t happy with it. Reluctantly, Euros eased back, and Dr. Greene snapped his mouth closed. They had all the answers they were going to get from the Doctor.

  “Thanks, Dr. Greene. I don’t want to keep you.”

  Dr. Greene was already moving toward the door, nodding. “Yes, yes. I must be going. The rest of the team will want to finish up here for the day.”

  The man hurried out of the room, absently rubbing his hand over the back of his head. Euros felt bad; the man would have a headache for the rest of the day, that was for certain.

  “Euros? The guy who was looking for the books…we need to find the storage room. One of the CSI techs said Parnell’s collection was strange, that she thought he collected odd books, or something to do with the occult.”r />
  Someone in a white plastic suit suddenly walked by the bedroom door. They didn’t stop, or take notice, but instead, made their way down the hall, back to the entrance. As far as he could tell, they were packing up and leaving, now that Dr. Greene was gone. Reaching out, he gently touched Jessica’s shoulder.

  “Hang back here, let them leave. Then let me see what I can do once I’m not invisible anymore.”

  Jessica melted into the deeper recesses of the bedroom, looking completely out of place among the overdone masculine decor. Another stray memory of being at Jessica’s apartment, the clean lines of the room, the cool sheets; plain white, not brightly colored, beneath her body. Euros knew that he would trade everything in the world – both his and hers – to go back in time, and have a chance to make it right.

  But that wasn’t going to happen – at least not today. He turned away from her, struggling to gather his thoughts, when all he could do was think about the time they had shared together.

  Then everything changed, and he felt the dark magic swirling around him, clashing with his own magic, threatening to consume him. The darkness tugged at his mind, wanting to invade his memories, and he felt his concentration slipping, his body wavering in and out of invisibility. There were no longer CSI people in the penthouse, so he allowed his body to materialize. At least in this state, when he wasn’t focused on staying invisible, it would be easier to fight against the malignant evil that hung in the air, threatening to wrap its darkness around him.

  He turned, to find Jessica staring at him, her jaw dropped in surprise and confusion.

  “Euros? Are you sure that you really should be visible?”

  “Yes. They’re gone, or rather they are leaving. I can hear them going down the elevator. It’s safe.”

  “Oh, so you have enhanced hearing, as well as enhanced vision?”

  He smiled, and turned toward the door. “Baby, I have enhanced everything.”

  Jessica growled, shaking her head. “I don’t know about that. Based on that article you wrote about me; I wouldn’t say that you have enhanced sensitivity.”

  The darkness in this room suddenly dimmed his vision, a thin red haze covering everything. Jessica’s remark set off a surge of anger in a way he had never felt before. He spun around, facing her.

  Eyes widening, she backed away.

  “Euros? What the hell…”

  He jerked himself to a stop, struggling against the evil that seeped into his skin, his veins. Jessica was staring at him, a look of horror on her face, her gun now drawn, but he saw her hand shaking in fear. He growled, his hands clenched in fists of rage. His thoughts shifted from anger to fear that he would hurt her, and then back again. He struggled to regain control of him, and finally backed away from her.

  “I need to…we need to get out of here. Now. This room is…cursed. Not safe for me. Or for you.”

  She slowly lowered her gun, as he turned and bolted from the room. In the hallway, the swirl of rage slowly left his mind, ebbing out of his system in waves. The residual magic was less destructive, the anger inside of him drawing back. He took a deep breath, steadied himself, then exhaled.

  “Euros? Are you okay?” Her fingers gently brushed his shoulder, but be pulled away, not ready to feel her touch.

  He nodded, still breathing heavily. “Not yet…”

  “What is it?” She took a step back, and it was clear she was still frightened by what she saw on his face. “Is it the magic?”

  “Yes. It’s…I felt it at Lansing’s. It’s dark, evil…”

  “You said that. I can feel it. And I can feel how it affects you. You’re different…”

  “It’s deadly, Jessica. Murderous.” He turned to meet her gaze. “It’s not safe.”

  “You said that. But why?”

  He took her arm, pulling her down the hall, away from the bedroom suite. She’d holstered her gun, but he saw the holster was unsnapped. As he moved away from the room, the tendrils of darkness lost any control they had on his mind, finally gone from his body. Tension left his muscles, and by the time he reached the other end of the hall, he felt in full control once again.

  “Whatever this magic is, whoever created it, some woman… it carries her rage, her intent to kill. When I encounter it…”

  She stopped, her eyes meeting his. “When you encounter it, you want to kill. And this time it was me.”

  Her voice was low, and it wasn’t a question, but a statement of fact. All he could do was nod.

  “Then we need to get out of here.”

  “No. We need to find that storage room.”

  “Euros, if the magic here affects you this strongly, what’s it going to be like in the room with the books? Won’t it be just as strong, just as devastating for you there?”

  He shook his head. Out here, away from the dark magic, it didn’t seem as intense. The anger was just a dull thudding in his temples. For a minute, he wondered if he had even felt what he had, or if he’d imagined all of it. But the fear etched on Jessica’s face was very real.

  “I think I’ll be able to control it.” He managed a small smile. “It won’t be as intense. It’s stronger in there…” He pointed over his shoulder at the bedroom doors. “Whoever did this, expended a tremendous amount of energy in that room, both magical and physical. Neither Lansing, nor Parnell, were killed by magic alone. This was personal; who, or whatever did this, wanted to kill them face-to-face. Whoever it was, she wanted to look into her victim’s eyes, as she took their life.”

  “Then she must have used magic to restrain them, right? Dr. Greene said Lansing had no drugs in his system that would account for him not fighting back, while someone stabbed him to death.”

  He took Jessica’s hand into his own. She tensed, but let him guide her down the hall. “Let’s get going. We need to find the storage room right away.”

  “Can you find it by following the trail of magic?”

  “I think so. There’s magic here, in the hall, but it’s different. I would say by the time she came this way, the rage was gone, but it was on the hunt. I’d also say she knew where to go, knew where the storage room is.”

  They’d come to a barrier of yellow tape. Beyond that, the hall turned into a crossroads of sorts. Jessica reached out, lifting the tape.

  “Let’s look through here.”

  They ducked under the tape. At the turn in the hallway, the décor changed abruptly. Clearly, Parnell felt no need to decorate for an area that only staff would see. The walls were a plain white, the lush carpet of the public rooms, turning into an ugly utilitarian gray industrial covering. Euros was certain no one of any importance, at least in Parnell’s mind, came this way. He wondered if the man had ever walked down this hall.

  Jessica stopped at the entrance to what had to be the largest kitchen she had ever seen. Everything was gleaming stainless steel, industrial-sized fridge and stove, and massive freezers lined up against one wall.

  “Holy cow. You could fit my whole apartment in here.”

  “And mine.” Euros moved past Jessica. “There’s a trail here, faint, but it leads this way.

  They walked past a long granite island, devoid of anything that resembled a human touch. Euros’ mind went back to the hearth in the croft where he’d grown up, to the smoke from the peat fire scenting the room, mixing with the smell of simple food his mother cooked. This sterile place chilled him.

  “Here…”

  Jessica disappeared down a narrow passage, doors lining the sides. She opened them cautiously. He wondered if she sensed the magic here, or if she expected some magical creature to jump out from behind one. He couldn’t blame her; he was on edge, muscles tensed, magic tingling at the tips of his fingers.

  The first door opened onto what was a pantry, the next what looked like a linen closet, the following held housekeeping supplies. Jessica opened the last door, then turned to him with a grin.

  “Jackpot.”

  He looked past her into a room that was what could onl
y be called organized chaos. Stacks of boxes lined the walls, some open, dribbling packing foam and bubble wrap. Everything were labeled with neat handwriting in black marker.

  They moved deeper into the room, pausing to look into the open boxes, but it took Euros only a few minutes to find what they were looking for.

  “Jesus…it looks like someone tried to chew their way into the box.”

  The box might have been sealed, but it was impossible to tell now. The top was shredded, packing material dragged out of the box. Jessica knelt, tentatively pulling open the remaining damaged cardboard.

  “Books. At least some of them were books.”

  Euros knelt beside Jessica. What was left in the box could have been books, but right now all he could see were tattered pages and ripped covers. Jessica looked at him, her forehead crinkled.

  “How can we tell if it was the body of the grimoire that was taken?”

  Euros picked up one of the shredded pieces of cardboard. “This is from an auction house. There has to be a packing list in here somewhere.”

  They started pulling out torn books and shredded pages, dumping the debris on the floor. Finally, Jessica got to the bottom of the box, coming up with a sheet of paper. Shaking it free of debris, she held it out to him.

  “It’s a list of contents. Maybe something will stand out to you?”

  Euros took the paper from her hands, skeptical eyes scanning the words on the page. “Most of the books on this list are general books on Magic though, nothing out of the ordinary.”

  Jessica moved to stand next to him so she could see the page.

  “How is this stuff ordinary? I don’t think any of those books sound ordinary to me.”

  “Most of these are standard books regarding Wicca. They just explain the different traditions, primarily in the Gardneiran tradition. Explanations about creating covens, things like that.”

  She shook her head, then shrugged. “Basic knowledge? Something anyone could find anywhere?”

  “Right. We’re looking for something more obscure.”