Chapter Eleven – Sam

 

“And you’re sure it’s cultists?” Tabitha asked on the other end of my cell phone line.

“Yeah, Tabitha,” I said as I drove along behind Faith, “pretty fucking sure. What else smells like a human, cuts up pigs in the middle of nighttime pastures, and doesn’t bleed when you shoot it twice in the chest? This isn’t a trick question here, either, I genuinely want to know!”

I didn’t know what I hated more. That I had to lie to Faith Riley about the cultists we’d encountered, and about government conspiracies covering up the evidence of some supernatural activity.

Or that I was actually having to deal with demon worshipers.

As far as lying to Faith went, it was a necessary evil. She wasn’t equipped to deal with this kind of thing in any context. She didn’t have the training; she didn’t have the experience. Hell, she was a normal human being, as far as I could tell. Sure, I liked her, and I thought she was gorgeous. But she was still just human. The sooner I figured all this out, and made sure she was completely out of harm’s way, the better.

But, the demon worshiper part? Damn, that was something else. There were all sorts of scary groups all over the world, and in pretty much every culture, that made pacts with strange entities we still didn’t entirely understand. Things from other dimensions, things that could tear apart the fabric of reality itself with their very existence. Sometimes, in exchange for blood or other forms of sacrifice, they’d gift boons of sorts to people who worshiped them. Like the abilities of super strength, of being able to survive gunshot wounds, or of super speed.

And, now, as I thought about which was worse, I decided it was the lying to Faith. If only because it was my fault I was having to lie to her. I never should have brought her into this, never should have risked her safety while investigating that damned mutilated pig. Just because she’d offered her help, didn’t mean I needed to take her up on it.

That was my mistake. And, had anything happened to her, I don’t know what I would have done.

“Hey!” Tabitha barked into my ear. “You listening to me, or not?”

“What? No, sorry. I mean, yes. I mean…dammit.”

“I asked if you had anything to identify them with. Runes, sigils, tattoos?”

“Well, I didn’t stop to ask them if they had a Facebook group or anything,” I snapped, “if that’s what you mean.”

She sighed into the phone.

I ground my teeth at my own reaction. “Sorry,” I said after a moment. “I’m just a little stressed right now, okay? There’s this woman here who works at the coroner’s office, and she was supposed to help me get a good look at the pig. But, clearly, that didn’t work out.”

“Is she with you now?” Tabitha asked, her voice carrying a note of wariness. “Did she see them?”

“Yeah, she saw them,” I replied. “And, no, she’s not with me in the car now. I’m following her home so I can make her feel safe and brush her off for the rest of this. Figure it’s the least I can do.”

Not that I really wanted to brush her off. Not entirely. I just wanted to get her out of the investigation. If I wrapped up this whole thing with the cult, and there wasn’t any blowback that made me have to leave town, I kind of wanted to ask her out for a drink. Just to see where things might go. Of course, to do that, I needed to make sure she didn’t hate me.

“Okay,” Tabitha replied. Then: “I’m going to assume from your earlier remarks that you didn’t get anything distinct or identifying. So, until that happens, there’s not much I can really do.”

“Nothing?” I groaned, my eyes flickering back up to the rearview mirror. Even with being on the phone, I could tell there was no one following us. I was almost certain Faith wouldn’t have any trouble to deal with tonight.

“Well, I’m going to keep researching based on the pig sacrifice to start with, and the general location and history. Any other information you come across, like names, dates, and places, I can use to narrow down the search. But, until you get me more information, there’s not a lot to go on. Used to be you could figure out what kind of cult you were dealing with just by locale, but that’s just not the case anymore because of the dark net. There’s too much stuff floating around on there, and it’s muddied the waters. Anyone and their dog can summon up a demon these days and start sacrificing things to them.”

Up ahead, Faith turned on her blinker and began to slow. I braked and turned, following her as she pulled off onto a little gravel road that led a short distance up a hill to an older-looking farmhouse. All around us, the pine trees seemed to encroach, pressing in like oppressive ancient sentinels, their fragrance filling the air and forcing itself into my nose. As I followed along behind Faith, the farmhouse disappeared from view behind one of the old, stalwart trees, but quickly reappeared again. All the lights were off inside, but the yellow light of the porch seemed to burn like a beacon through the night.

“All right,” I said, as I pulled the Camaro up to the side of the little gravel road behind Faith’s car and put it in park, “I’ll keep you apprised of the situation. Anything new, you’ll be the first person I call.”

“Got it. Good luck, Sam.” Tabitha paused, and I heard her lick her lips a little. “And, remember, keep the girl out of this. She’ll just end up in more danger if you can’t.”

“I know, I know. No need to tell me twice.”

I hung up the phone and climbed out of the car, my boots crunching on the gravel, just as Faith was getting out of her own.

“Thanks again,” Faith said as I approached her. “I really appreciate you doing this.”

“No problem,” I said. “Even if, like I said, you don’t have anything to be worried about. Probably just a bunch of hooligans anyways.”

“Think so?”

“Yeah,” I said, nodding affirmatively. “Positive. Ready?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Of course.” Together, we approached the one-story farmhouse.

“Nice place,” I said, looking it over.

She chuckled. “Nice? It’s a dump.”

Together, we clomped onto the warped front porch, the boards creaking under our collective weight. Even to my hypersensitive ears, it was silent inside. “Seen worse.”

“You must frequent some really classy places, then,” she said, as she pulled out her keys and fitted them into the lock. “Not many that are worse than this.”

“I get around, I guess.” I stopped her before she could head inside first, and switched over to take the lead. I didn’t draw my pistol or anything this time, and glanced around. I turned back to her. “Let me look it over first, okay?”

“Yeah,” she said with a little nod. “Sure.”

I turned on the living room light and swept through, my eyes traveling over everything as I sniffed the air and cocked my head to the side and tried to listen for anything that might seem out of place.

The foundation was off, and the wooden floors seemed to flow with gentle waves, up and down and down and up, throughout the house, and there was a scent of age just below the surface, like there’d been previous tenants who smoked, but they’d just painted over the walls and opened the windows to air it out.

The furniture was sparse, a mixture of Ikea and thrift store, like when two roommates were suddenly thrown together and needed to make their own styles mix.

As I moved out of the living room and into the back hallway, which seemed to lead off to the kitchen in one direction, and farther into the house in the other, I couldn’t detect anything out of the ordinary. Satisfied, I headed back to the front door.

“All clear,” I said with a vague sense of relief. I felt like I was telling her the truth for the first time all day. “You should be fine.”

“You sure?” she asked as she timidly stepped in, her eyes sweeping over the place.

“Positive.”

“Thank God,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief as she shook her head. She focused her eyes on me. “I just feel so silly having to ask you to follow me out here like this. So freaking silly.”

I smiled, only one side of my lips going up. “Well, don’t. You had a scare tonight. It’s only natural to be worried about things after what we walked in on.”

She nodded. “Thanks again.”

I waved her off. “Really, don’t mention it. Just sorry you got dragged into this, is all.”

“Well, who doesn’t want to witness their work getting broken into while they’re busy breaking into it?” she asked, laughing. She tossed her keys in a little glass bowl on a side table positioned near the door, the little strips of metal tinkling musically against the sides. “Hey, do you want a beer or something? I think Veronica’s got some in the fridge.”

I swallowed hard. Of course I wanted a beer. Any kind of excuse to stick around a little longer. That urge to linger behind and stay, get to know her, was gaining strength with every moment I stayed there. But, still, I shook my head. “No, I really can’t,” I said, nodding towards where my Camaro was parked out front. “I have an early morning tomorrow. I should really get back to my hotel room.”

“Oh,” she said, her voice dropping a little as she hung her head. “Okay. That’s cool. I mean, I understand.”

“Yeah,” I said, turning to go to the door, “like I said. I should, you know, get going.”

“Hey,” she said from behind me, “before you go. I was thinking about, you know, the pig going missing and all.”

“What about it?”

“Well, I was thinking you could go out to Eb Shook’s place tomorrow, have a talk with him. He isn’t as tied into the system as Dr. Lawrence, and he might be willing to talk to you.”

In truth, I’d considered it. But, after the medical examiner’s refusal to confirm any of the details to me, I’d been a little worried that the same might have applied to the old rancher she’d told me about. Now, though, I was thinking it might be a good idea. Maybe he had pictures he’d taken, or something, that could point me in the right direction. Anything Tabitha could use to track down this group.

“You know, that’s not a bad idea.”

“And since I already know him, I could, you know, introduce you to him.”

“Faith,” I said, sighing a little.

“What? I’m just trying to be helpful. Besides, I want to know what did this just as much as you do.”

“I just…” I paused, licked my lips. “I really don’t think that’s a good idea. You’re already wrapped up in this enough, and I really don’t think it would be good for you to get any closer to it. I mean, what if those guys who stole the pig tonight realize you’re still digging into it? What then?”

“Thought you said those were just hooligans?”

“Well, yeah, I think that’s all they were,” I replied. “But that doesn’t mean you need to push it any further. I mean, what if they’re not?”

“So, you do think I’m in danger?” she asked, taking a step towards me.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head, “I didn’t say that.”

“Good!” she said. “Meet you at the diner tomorrow, then?”

Just as I opened my mouth to respond, to shoot her down as gently as possible, I heard the distant sound of loud music blaring through the nighttime air, preceding a car tearing up the gravel drive like some sort of rock ‘n’ roll herald.

“And that would be my roommate,” Faith said with a laugh.

And, man, was she cruising up that rocky road! I could hear the pebbles bouncing off her car’s undercarriage like hail storming on a house.

“Thought you said she was out all night?” I asked.

“Well, yeah, normally. But sometimes she calls it an early night. Probably struck out down at the bar. Or, you know, hit a home run.”

Her roommate brought her car to a stop right behind mine, music still loud enough to wake the dead despite the windows being rolled all the way up. Don’t get me wrong, I like loud music. But my definition of loud is different from a non-shifter’s. She came out of the car in a tumble, nearly ran up to the front steps and onto the porch, and threw the door open.

“Oh. My. God,” she said, her eyes wide as she stared at me like she’d just seen me turn into a wolf or something.

“Oh my God,” Faith whispered right back, and I heard her face hit her palm.

“I can’t believe it. You actually have a man here.”

“Sam, meet Veronica, my roommate. Veronica, this is Sam. The newspaper reporter I told you about.”

“Oh, wow,” Faith’s roommate said as she looked me up and down like a hungry lioness scoping out a piece of meat, “I totally should have gone with a journalism degree.”

I raised an eyebrow as I turned slowly to Faith.

She gave me the exact same look back.

“I should be going, now,” I said.

“Yeah,” Faith agreed. “Probably a good idea. I’ll show you out.”

“What?” Veronica, her words slightly slurred, asked as we stepped past her and out onto the porch. “No! You should stay! Have a beer! Hang out!”

“He can’t,” Faith said as she followed after me. “He’s got work in the morning.”

“Right,” I said, turning back to her roommate. “Good to meet you, Veronica.”

“Did I say something wrong?” Veronica asked, seeming genuinely confused as Faith shut the door on her.

Faith turned back to me, a look of embarrassment on her face. “Sorry about that.”

I just gave her a grin, jerking my thumb back over my shoulder. “I really should get going.”

“Yeah, I understand. Tomorrow at nine? Meet at the diner, and we’ll drive out to Shook’s place?”

Goddamn, she was persistent! No, this was not going to end well. I had to shut it down now before she got any more entangled than she already was. I sighed, shaking my head as I put my hands on my hips. “Faith, I really don’t think it’s a good idea for us to go out there together.”

“Well,” she said, clearly choosing her words carefully, as she slowly closed the distance between us, “how about this, Sam? You can either let me go with you to talk to Mr. Eb Shook. Or, I’ll just go out there and start my own investigation without you.”

I snorted a little, clenching my jaw as I looked away from her.

“Look, Shook doesn’t know you, like I said. He might not even talk to you if you show up out there. But, if I’m there, he might. I mean, what do you have to lose?”

Other than her life, once whoever this was came for both of us for getting too close? Nothing. And that was precisely the problem. If anything, I stood to gain from this little arrangement. To my own chagrin, though, I realized that I was actually looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow, to getting another chance to spend more time with her.

Because, whether I wanted to admit it or not, I’d enjoyed my time with her. From the moment we’d first gotten coffee, to when I’d seen her again as she pulled up into the parking lot, to even when I’d chased after her and the cultist as they’d gone out the back door of the morgue. She was under my skin, and, no matter how hard I tried to shake her, I knew she wasn’t going to go away. She just seemed to have that horrible mixture of curiosity and persistence that always got people, and cats, into trouble.

So, like it or not, I’d dragged her into this. Or, rather, deeper into it. And right now the only way to keep her safe was to bring her in closer and keep an eye on her. Not too close, of course. But close enough that I could watch her back and make sure no one was coming for her. Because, eventually, she might find what she was looking for if she wasn’t careful. And I might not be around to protect her when she did.

“Fine,” I said with a sigh. I went over to my car, pulled open the door, and went to climb inside. I stopped mid-action, though, and looked back at her. “Make it eight, though. Earlier we get started on this, the better.”

“Eight o’clock it is,” she said. Then, after a moment’s pause, “Partner.”

“Partner?”

“Journalists don’t have partners?”

“No. No, they don’t.”

“Well,” she said with a smile, “one of them does now.”

“Guess so,” I said as I settled into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut. I started up the Camaro, its engine grumbling like a sonic mirror of my own feelings, and put the classic muscle car in reverse.

This was going to be okay. I mean, so what if I was ignoring Tabitha’s advice from earlier? And what did it matter that I was tossing out all the training Col. Harrington had given us on dealing with the civilian populace? I had this. I had control over the situation.

Right?

Of course, now all I needed to figure out was how to break it to her that I’d never even seen the inside of a newsroom before.