Industrial Magic
Page 2
The light went on and a heavyset blond man stepped out. New guy, recently come over from the St. Cloud Cabal. Jim? John?
Greetings were a brief exchange of hellos. They only had a few hours until daybreak, and a lot of work to do before then. Both Jim and the driver whod brought them from the airport were trained to assist Dennis and Simon, but it would still take every minute of those remaining hours to process the scene.
Simon moved up behind Dennis, camera in one hand, light source in the other. He handed the light source to the driverKyle, wasnt it?and pointed out where he wanted Kyle to aim it. Then he started snapping pictures. It took a moment for Dennis to see what Simon was photographing. That was one advantage to having shaman crime techslead them to a scene and they instinctively picked up the vibes of violence and knew where to start working.
Following the angle of Simons camera lens, Dennis looked up to see a rope dangling from an overhead limb, the end hacked off. Another length lay on the ground, where the EMTs had removed it from the girls throat.
It took me a while to find her, Jim said. If Id been just a few minutes faster
Shes alive, Dennis said. If you hadnt been that fast, she wouldnt be.
His cell phone vibrated. He took it from his pocket. A text message.
Have you updated Mr. Cortez? he asked Jim. He hasnt received a site report yet.
From Jims expression, Dennis knew he hadnt sent one. With the St. Cloud Cabal you probably didnt phone anyone in the family at three A.M. unless the Tokyo stock market had just crashed. Not so when you worked for the Cortezes.
Youve filled out a preliminary report sheet, right? Dennis said.
Jim nodded and fumbled to pull his modified PalmPilot from his jacket.
Well, send it to Mr. Cortez immediately. Hes waiting to notify Danas father and he cant do that until he knows the details.
Mr.? Which Mr. Cortez?
Benicio, Simon murmured as he continued snapping pictures. You need to send it to Benicio.
Oh? Uh, right.
As Jim transmitted the report, Simon moved back to photograph the rope on the ground. Blood streaked the underside of the coil and Dennis flinched, imagining his granddaughter lying there. This wasnt supposed to happen. Not to Cabal children. You worked for a Cabal, your kids were protected.
Randys girl, wasnt it? Simon said softly behind him. The older one?
Dennis could barely picture Randy MacArthur, let alone know how many kids he had. Simon was almost certainly right, though. Lead the man once around a corporate picnic, and the next day hed be sure to ask Joe Blow in Accounting whether his sons cold was improving.
What is herfather? Jim asked.
Half-demon, Simon said. An Exaudio, I believe.
Both Jim and Dennis nodded. They were half-demon, as were most of the Cabals policing force, and they knew what this meant. Dana would have inherited none of her fathers powers.
Poor kid never had a chance, Dennis said.
Actually, I believe she is a supernatural, Simon said. If Im not mistaken, her mother is a witch, so she would be one as well.
Dennis shook his head. Like I said, poor kid never had a chance.
That Cortez Boy
I SAT IN A HOTEL ROOM, ACROSS FROM TWO THIRTY-SOMETHING witches in business suits, listening as they said all the right things. All the polite things. How theyd heard such wonderful accounts of my mother. How horrified theyd been to learn of her murder. How delighted they were to see that I was doing well despite my break with the Coven.
All this they said, smiling with just the right mixture of sadness, commiseration, and support. Wendy Aiken did most of the talking. While she did, her younger sister Julies eyes darted to where Savannah, my thirteen-year-old ward, perched on the bed. I caught the looks Julie shot her, distaste mingled with fear. A black witchs daughter, in their hotel room.
As Wendys lips moved in rehearsed platitudes, her gaze slipped past me to the clock. I knew then that I would failagain. But I gave my spiel anyway. I told them my vision of a new Coven for the technological age, linked by sisterhood instead of proximity, each witch living where she chooses, but with a full Coven support system only a phone call or e-mail away.
When I finished, the sisters looked at each another.
I continued. As I mentioned, theres also the grimoires. Third-level spells, lost for generations. I have them and I want to share them, to return witches to their former glory.
To me, these books were my trump card. Even if you didnt give a damn about sisterhood or support, surely youd want this power. What witch wouldnt? Yet, as I looked at Wendy and Julie, I saw my words wash right over them, as if I was offering a free set of steak knives with the purchase of a complete living-room suite.
Youre a very compelling saleswoman, Wendy said with a smile.
But Savannah muttered from the bed.
But we must admit, we have a problem with thepresent company you keep.
Julies gaze slid toward Savannah. I tensed, ready to leap to her defense.
That Cortez boy, Wendy said. Well, young man, I should say. Yes, I know hes not involved with his familys Cabal, but we all know how things like that turn out. Youthful rebellion is all very well, but it doesnt pay the bills. And I hear hes not very successful in that regard.
Greetings were a brief exchange of hellos. They only had a few hours until daybreak, and a lot of work to do before then. Both Jim and the driver whod brought them from the airport were trained to assist Dennis and Simon, but it would still take every minute of those remaining hours to process the scene.
Simon moved up behind Dennis, camera in one hand, light source in the other. He handed the light source to the driverKyle, wasnt it?and pointed out where he wanted Kyle to aim it. Then he started snapping pictures. It took a moment for Dennis to see what Simon was photographing. That was one advantage to having shaman crime techslead them to a scene and they instinctively picked up the vibes of violence and knew where to start working.
Following the angle of Simons camera lens, Dennis looked up to see a rope dangling from an overhead limb, the end hacked off. Another length lay on the ground, where the EMTs had removed it from the girls throat.
It took me a while to find her, Jim said. If Id been just a few minutes faster
Shes alive, Dennis said. If you hadnt been that fast, she wouldnt be.
His cell phone vibrated. He took it from his pocket. A text message.
Have you updated Mr. Cortez? he asked Jim. He hasnt received a site report yet.
From Jims expression, Dennis knew he hadnt sent one. With the St. Cloud Cabal you probably didnt phone anyone in the family at three A.M. unless the Tokyo stock market had just crashed. Not so when you worked for the Cortezes.
Youve filled out a preliminary report sheet, right? Dennis said.
Jim nodded and fumbled to pull his modified PalmPilot from his jacket.
Well, send it to Mr. Cortez immediately. Hes waiting to notify Danas father and he cant do that until he knows the details.
Mr.? Which Mr. Cortez?
Benicio, Simon murmured as he continued snapping pictures. You need to send it to Benicio.
Oh? Uh, right.
As Jim transmitted the report, Simon moved back to photograph the rope on the ground. Blood streaked the underside of the coil and Dennis flinched, imagining his granddaughter lying there. This wasnt supposed to happen. Not to Cabal children. You worked for a Cabal, your kids were protected.
Randys girl, wasnt it? Simon said softly behind him. The older one?
Dennis could barely picture Randy MacArthur, let alone know how many kids he had. Simon was almost certainly right, though. Lead the man once around a corporate picnic, and the next day hed be sure to ask Joe Blow in Accounting whether his sons cold was improving.
What is herfather? Jim asked.
Half-demon, Simon said. An Exaudio, I believe.
Both Jim and Dennis nodded. They were half-demon, as were most of the Cabals policing force, and they knew what this meant. Dana would have inherited none of her fathers powers.
Poor kid never had a chance, Dennis said.
Actually, I believe she is a supernatural, Simon said. If Im not mistaken, her mother is a witch, so she would be one as well.
Dennis shook his head. Like I said, poor kid never had a chance.
That Cortez Boy
I SAT IN A HOTEL ROOM, ACROSS FROM TWO THIRTY-SOMETHING witches in business suits, listening as they said all the right things. All the polite things. How theyd heard such wonderful accounts of my mother. How horrified theyd been to learn of her murder. How delighted they were to see that I was doing well despite my break with the Coven.
All this they said, smiling with just the right mixture of sadness, commiseration, and support. Wendy Aiken did most of the talking. While she did, her younger sister Julies eyes darted to where Savannah, my thirteen-year-old ward, perched on the bed. I caught the looks Julie shot her, distaste mingled with fear. A black witchs daughter, in their hotel room.
As Wendys lips moved in rehearsed platitudes, her gaze slipped past me to the clock. I knew then that I would failagain. But I gave my spiel anyway. I told them my vision of a new Coven for the technological age, linked by sisterhood instead of proximity, each witch living where she chooses, but with a full Coven support system only a phone call or e-mail away.
When I finished, the sisters looked at each another.
I continued. As I mentioned, theres also the grimoires. Third-level spells, lost for generations. I have them and I want to share them, to return witches to their former glory.
To me, these books were my trump card. Even if you didnt give a damn about sisterhood or support, surely youd want this power. What witch wouldnt? Yet, as I looked at Wendy and Julie, I saw my words wash right over them, as if I was offering a free set of steak knives with the purchase of a complete living-room suite.
Youre a very compelling saleswoman, Wendy said with a smile.
But Savannah muttered from the bed.
But we must admit, we have a problem with thepresent company you keep.
Julies gaze slid toward Savannah. I tensed, ready to leap to her defense.
That Cortez boy, Wendy said. Well, young man, I should say. Yes, I know hes not involved with his familys Cabal, but we all know how things like that turn out. Youthful rebellion is all very well, but it doesnt pay the bills. And I hear hes not very successful in that regard.
