GODDESS OF THE MOON (A Diana Racine Psychic Suspense) (21 page)

“Thanks, Reggie,” Lucier said. “I appreciate you coming over so fast.”

“Nothing I wouldn’t do for the son of Remy Lucier. Your father was a fine doctor and a great man. I wish he were still around.”

“So do
I
.”

Lucier
accompanied
Haley to the door and returned to Diana’s bedside. She looked pale and confused. “I’m going to make you a cup of tea.”

“No, I don’t think I could hold it down.”

He took her hand. “Okay then, do you want to tell me what happened?”

She skipped the part about Lucier keeping her on a short leash. Compton had played her perfectly.
“That’s just it, Ernie. I don’t know. I remember getting into Silas Compton’s limo at the Sunrise Mission, and that’s all I remember. I’m sure I gave him a reading, but I don’t remember that either.”

“Did you drink anything?
Anything at all.”

“A Coke.
He snapped open the can and poured the cola into a glass from the bar in back of the limo.”

“Do you remember arriving at his house?”

“I told you,
everything’s a black hole
.” She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up
as sad-eyed as a sick child
. “How is that possible?”

“Have you ever heard of date rape drugs?”

“Yes, of course. You don’t believe Silas Compton drugged me, do you?”

“The three biggies, Rohypnol, GHB, and Ketamine, are virtually undetectable: tasteless, odorless, and colorless. The lab would have to run a special test to
detect them.
You’d be rendered unconscious but responsive. And guess what?” He
touched his lips to
Diana’s forehead
.
“
Most likely, y
ou wouldn’t remember a thing.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Nor do
I
.”
Lucier called Reginald Haley on his cell and told him to run a test for any of the known date rape drugs and fast. He also asked him to return with a rape kit.

“You think Compton would be so stupid to drug and rape me?”

“I don’t know what to think any more. Men like Compton think they’re above the law
, t
hat they can do anything they want and get away with it. I sure as hell don’t want to find out you were violated, but if you test positive for one of those drugs or if you’ve been sexually penetrated, I’ll get a warrant to search
Compton
’s
house so fast,
he
won’t know what planet he’s on.”

E
ven as he spoke the words, getting a judge to issue a warrant to search the house of a multi-billionaire wouldn’t be easy.
And searching for what? Compton wouldn’t have anything incriminating in his house, e
specially on the word of a woman who didn’t know where she was the day before or who she was with.

Diana rubbed her temples. “There’s something else, Ernie
.
”
She looked almost apologetic.
“I had a dream. At least I think it was
a dream. It might
have
be
en
a memory.”

She told him about the red room, the eyes in black faces, the chanting, and the hands running the length of her body. “
A
fter
I woke up,
I got sick.”

Lucier pulled her into him. It sounded like stories he’d heard of satanic rituals, and
the thought
scared the hell out of him. Now he was more worried than ever.

“You’re not going anywhere alone from now on, do you hear me? And stay away from Edward Slater.”

“I’m sure Edward’s not involved. If Compton did what you think, he did it without Edward
’s knowledge
.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. I’m going to tell you a story, but you have to promise not to break my confidence.”

“Depends.”

“Promise or I won’t tell you.”

When he promised, Diana told Lucier the story of Edward Slater. She left nothing out except his oblique reference to his interest in her.

“Jesus,” Lucier said when she finished.

Back into the Lion’s Den

“A
nd how are our little ones today,” Silas Compton asked.

“They’re so beautiful and hungry, but Persephone is the hungriest of all, I think, don’t you, Nona?”

“Oh, yes. Look how plump she is.”

Wrapped in a p
ink blanket, the infant suckled at
Brigid’s
breast
. Nona
did the same to
another baby, months older. Both women’s long hair fell over their bare shoulders. Neither wore blouses or bras and their breasts protruded full over slim midriffs.

Compton stroked each woman. “How flush with milk you are. These babies will never go hungr
y
, my fertility goddesses
.”

Brigid smiled.
T
he compliment assured his approval
. T
hey’d do whatever he desired to make him happy. He was their god and it was their pleasure to serve him.

“Mr. Deems is no longer with us, and with the media attention and the interference of the police in our business, we
will
curtail our searches
, for now
. I know how difficult it is to find the perfect women
to expedite our long-term plans, but y
ou must stay away from the
M
ission
. Do not see Brother Osiris or any of the women you befriended while working there.
Of course,
the house on Parkside Avenue is off limits forever
.
Too bad.
It was
the perfect location―
close to
Sunrise M
ission and a
n excellent
intermediary facility.
” He cooed again at the newborns.
“
Needless to say, we can’t keep the babies here
.”

“It was such a
lovely
house,” Brigid said.

“
Yes, well…
I
must
send you both to the compound to be on the safe side. I can’t
risk
having
either of you recognized and picked up by the police.”

“Whatever you wish,” Nona said.

“Will the
G
oddess Diana be back?” Brigid asked.

Compton drank in the beauty of the two women. “Oh, yes, she’ll be back. She doesn’t know it yet, but she will. Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep her this time. Too much attention has been focused
on
our project
because of Mr. Deems’
s
carelessness. Next time we’ll take the Goddess Diana to a higher level. I’m betting one of her progeny will have the same psychic makeup as the mother. Imagine
,
having a baby even more special genetically than the ones we have.”

“More special than yours?”
Nona asked.

“All my babies are special, my loves.”

* * * * *

L
ater that day while Lucier was still at Diana’s house, Reginald Haley called.
“The lab found no trace of semen
or of any
date rape drug
. Doesn’t mean much, Ernie,
Th
ose chemicals
leave the system quickly.”

“
Thanks, Reggie. I
figured as
much.
I’d appreciate if you’d kept this quiet.”

“Of course.
Call me if anything changes, but I think Ms. Racine will be fine after she gets some rest. Make sure she has plenty of liquids.
Ernie, do you mind if I ask what this is all about?”

“I’m not sure, and neither is Diana. The hallucination could have been a dream, or a memory of what really happened.
I have no proof
to follow up. The people involved aren’t the kind you make false accusations against. They’d slap me with a harassment suit faster than I could say sorry.”

Haley left with his question unanswered, because Lucier didn’t have one. He tiptoed into Diana’s bedroom. She appeared to be sleeping, but when he turned to leave, she called his name.

“Don’t go, Ernie.”

He claimed the edge of the bed and kissed her cheek. “You’re awake.”

“I couldn’t sleep with all those thoughts floating around in my head.”

“Are you willing to go over it again, from the time you got to the
M
ission?”

Diana nodded and began, answering
his
questions as best she could. She recounted the time
with Slater
without hesitation, but after the drink in Compton’s limo, everything went blank.

“
The only thing
I
remember
with any surety
i
s the black night and the red eyes. Or was it the red night and the black eyes?
”

“In your dream, how many sets of eyes did you see?
How many people?”

“I called it a dream, but there was nothing dreamlike about it.
M
ore like a nightmare, where the red planets in the sky were staring down at me.” She closed her eyes, as if conjuring up a vision. “I
’m not sure
. There could have been a dozen
or two dozen
. I just don’t know.”

“I’ll tell you what I think. Your subconscious relived your experience in a dream or a nightmare, whatever, and I think you got sick from
a knockout
drug, which is a common side effect. Your hand turning black and the black vomit is a sign of evil only you can see because you’re highly sensitized to those things. How does that sound?”

“Scary as hell because I don’t think you’re far off.” She massaged her closed eyes with her fingertips,
then
knead
ed
her temples. “
W
here do we go from here?”

“
S
ince you can’t remember anything
,
I haven’t got probable cause
to
get a warrant for Compton’s house. Not to mention he’s Silas Compton.”

“I could follow up on his reading.”

“No way.
You’re out of this.”

She laughed. “You know that’s not possible. He’s targeted me. I’m Diana, Goddess of the Moon, for God’s sake. I don’t have to go there; I can call. He must know I don’t remember anything. That was the whole point of the drug. It’d be natural for me to question the reading, don’t you think?”

* * * * *

J
ust as Diana
mentally prepped to make the call
, one eye on a
questioning
Lucier, the phone rang. She mouthed Silas Compton with a waggle of her brows.

“Miss Racine. I hope I haven’t reached you at a bad time.”

“Not at all.
How are you, Mr. Compton?”

“Well, thank you. My wife and I are having a few friends over for dinner this evening and would like to invite you and Lieutenant Lucier to join us. My friends heard about my reading yesterday and how on target you were. They’re anxious to meet you. Why
,
you might even contract to read some of them. I know
it’s
short notice, but I hope you can find time in your busy schedule.”

“The Lieutenant is here. Let me check if he’s free.” She covered the mouthpiece and relayed the invitation to Lucier. “It’s perfect. Say yes.”

“It’s too soon,” he said. “You’re not up to it.”

She knew he was right.
“Really, I feel fine. Not perfect, I admit, but
good
enough.
I’ll take another of Dr. Haley’s magic pills before we leave.
I might not eat a lot, though.”

“
I don’t like it, but it would be a good opportunity to get inside his house.
Besides, what can he do in front of his invited guests?”

“
Exactly
.”
She uncovered the mouthpiece. “Thank you, Mr. Compton, we’d love to come.”

“Nothing formal.
About seven, for drinks.”

“We’ll see you then.”

“If you wish, I’ll send my car for you.”

Diana
glared at the phone
.
As if!
“No, thanks.
We’ll drive. See you at seven.” She placed the receiver on the cradle. “
He asked if we wanted him to send a car for us.
No way. I’d walk to his house before getting in
his
limo. He spiked my drink, the bastard.”