Past Due (24 page)

“
The body!” she stood up so fast that her chair slammed into Josh’s legs and stopped, causing her to stumble. Josh caught her and she flinched, expecting to be assaulted with memories at his touch. When none came she opened her eyes.

“
Sorry,” she mumbled. It would take time before she stopped expecting those psychic assaults; it was almost instinct now.

Josh was frowning. “I have no desire to hurt you.” He hadn't let her go, as though to prove he wouldn’t hurt her. She saw Mark staring too, looking unhappy with her.

“
I know, it isn’t you, honestly. It’s… a long story.”

Josh stared into her eyes for a moment longer, as though looking for the truth then stepped away from her. “You were saying something about the body?” he reminded her.

“
Yes!” her excitement returned. “The killer touched the body as part of the ritual and he possessed it. We might be able to use that to scry for his location.”

Frankie pulled her phone out and called Clara.

Chapter Thirteen

Alex had scanned the club patrons, even reading as many thoughts as he could, but he hadn't discovered any trace of Brad. He would try again later but now he wanted to hear from Josh.

Josh had called him and told him of Frankie’s plan to meet up with a writer, but he very carefully hadn't told Alex which writer. Alex had understood that Josh knew him well enough to know he’d have driven there himself. It was Josh’s motive for wanting to go himself that had Alex worried.

Using Frankie to further their investigation was bad enough and Alex hoped there wasn’t anything more to his curiosity.

He went back to his office and called Josh’s home. He should have been back a while now and the lack of an update worried Alex.

He was surprised when Mark answered the phone.

“
He’s a bit busy at the moment, Alex. I’ll tell him you called.”

“
Can’t you tell me what he’s found?”

“
To be honest, I haven’t asked. Adam and I are following our own leads.”

“
So you have nothing new?”

“
We might have a lead from the grimoire. Frankie thinks that we can use the ex-zombie to track the killer.”

“
Frankie’s there!” he growled.

“
Yep, followed Dad home.”

“
I’m coming round.”

Mark hesitated. “I wouldn’t advise it.”

“
I don’t care what you advise. I’m coming.” He hung up.

“
Campbell,” he answered the phone without looking up from the witness statements.

“
It’s Frankie. I might have a lead but I need access to the body from the beach.”

“
What for?”

“
You won’t like it.”

“
Doesn’t mean I don’t want to know.”

He heard Frankie sigh. “I want a witch to use it to try and find our killer.”

Will opened and closed his mouth a couple of times but couldn’t decide on the appropriate response.

“
It’s our best hope,” Frankie eventually continued. “It might not work but right now it’s all we have.”

He noted the desperation in her voice. “What’s up?”

She hesitated for a moment. “We have a deadline.”

Yeah, I know he’s probably going to kill another girl tomorrow night.”

“
No, Will, tomorrow night it’s over. Unless we stop him, he’ll unleash a demon into this world.”

Will leaned back in his chair.

“
Just tell me where the body is; I’ll handle the rest.”

“
They won’t let just anyone look over the body, Frankie, and they certainly won’t let you do a magic trick over it.”

“
Will, please, just let me worry about that. Where is the body?”

Will was too tired to think coherently. Life wasn’t making much sense anymore and he wasn’t sure which way was up. Frankie was a big girl and could look after herself. “The hospital on Old Dalkeith Road.”

“
Thanks, Will. I… Thanks.”

Frankie, Josh, Mark, Clara and her husband, Peter, had entered the hospital through the Accident and Emergency department since that was the only one open. Frankie knew you could get anywhere you wanted once inside.

As long as they weren’t stopped. Sometimes it was handy having your own vampire who was able to alter peoples' thoughts but Frankie could see Clara was uncomfortable with Josh using his talents.

It had taken her a while to figure it out but when the third person who spoke to them suddenly turned away mid-sentence, she’d figured out what he was doing.

The morgue’s location wasn’t on any signs so Josh had entered the mind of a porter to find its location. Once they entered the morgue, he quickly cleared the room of the attendant.

“
How long will he be gone?” Frankie asked.

“
An hour. He thinks his boss asked him to change his break time.”

Frankie nodded her approval. “I’ll watch the doors while you set up,” she told the witches.

Mark and Josh got the body out from one of the drawers and Frankie noticed that one of her bullets had shattered the shoulder joint; she could see splintered bone. No wonder Brad needed a new body; that arm would be almost useless without its joint. It must have been difficult to kill that last victim too. She forced her thoughts back to the corridor and listened for signs of anyone approaching.

Clara and Peter set the map out at the end of the table, blessed the crystal, and began. They stood either side of the table; both held the leather strap that the crystal was attached to and placed one hand on the body as they began chanting. Mark came and joined her at the door.

The crystal didn’t move for a few minutes and Frankie began to fear that this wouldn’t work. Clara had explained that the spell would either find the location of whoever created the zombie, or it would find the location of the body, specifically, the hospital they were in right now.

Frankie was beginning to lose hope, when she saw the crystal swing very slightly. Her gaze zeroed in on it and she forgot all about listening for approaching footsteps. She said a silent prayer, something she hadn’t done since she had left home, and watched as the crystal began to circle the map, hovering above it. One, two, three rotations. Four, five, six, seven and then it landed.

Everyone rushed over to see where it had landed.

“
Blackfriars Street,” Josh said.

“
It’s not big,” Mark noted. “We should be able to find him relatively easily.”

“
If we start a search, that could tip him off and he’ll run before we get to him,” Josh countered.

“
But we can’t just wait around for him to show himself.”

Frankie finally decided to bite the bullet. “I’ll recognise the place,” she said quietly. “I’ve seen it before.”

She shrank back as all eyes turned to her, some interested, some accusing.

“
I’m psychic, I saw what it looks like but I didn’t know where it was.”

“
That’s it,” Frankie said as they peered around the corner. “That church.”

They ducked back around the corner, out of sight of the building. Clara and Peter had needed to return home so they could get their children ready for school. Frankie didn't begrudge them leaving, but she did hope they wouldn't need them again.

Josh checked his watch. “I suggest a dual attack from the front and the rear. Mark, you make your way around the back and I’ll take the front once you’re in position.”

Mark nodded and headed off to find a way around the back of the building.

“
Why? And how will you know he’s in position?” Frankie wondered.

“
I’ll read his mind,” he explained. “And the back should be easier to creep up on. Whilst there’s little cover in this street, I can make it from here to the door in seconds.”

“
What do I do?” She asked.

“
I want you to phone around.” He handed her his mobile. “If we don’t come out in thirty minutes, call Adam and Alex, tell them where we are and what’s happening.”

“
Shouldn’t we wait for them?”

Josh shook his head. “It’s usually best to act fast in these situations. Besides, the more people we have, the easier we’ll be to spot. If we fail, they, and you, are the back up.”

Frankie nodded. She didn’t like being left out of the action but she also realised that someone else needed to know what was going on. “Okay.” At least they had another day until the demon was summoned.

Josh nodded once. “He’s in position.” He looked down at Frankie. He looked conflicted for a second then told her, “Be sensible and be
careful
.”

She nodded and then he was gone. Frankie waited. She paced up and down the street a short way, both to keep warm and to work off some of her tension. She expected to hear fighting or at least some noise, but she heard nothing. She took it as a good sign. Twenty minutes ticked by, then thirty.

Frankie glanced at the phone in her hand. Maybe they’d just been held up; they could be taking the time to cover things up. Thirty two minutes. Maybe Josh’s watch was broken in the fight. Thirty four minutes...

As thirty five rolled around, Frankie used the phone to call Adam first. He cursed vehemently then told her that Alex was already with him and they would be there as soon as possible.

Frankie debated for a moment then used her own phone to call Will.

“
Campbell.” He sounded sleepy.

“
Will, it’s Frankie.”

“
Why are you whispering?”

“
I’ve found him, Will. DON’T come down here, I have some supernatural help of my own and you’d just get you and your men killed. Do you understand?”

“
Frankie, I have to come down there, this is my case. Where are you?”

Frankie had been afraid he’d react like that. “I can’t tell you, I’m sorry.” Frankie was fighting back tears but she wasn’t quite sure why. “I’ll leave a message for my boss in case this doesn’t work. I…”

“
Frankie!” he yelled, clearly upset with her. She didn’t blame him.

Her own tears spilled over as she whispered. “I’m so sorry, Will, for everything.” She hung up and blocked incoming calls so he couldn’t call back. She called her boss's phone and left him a voicemail with the address and instructions for if she didn’t get back to him.

She put the phone in her pocket and wiped her tears away. She understood why she was crying now, because this was dangerous (it was now forty minutes since Josh and Mark had entered the building) and she didn’t rate her chances of surviving where they had failed. She hadn’t been updating Will. She’d been saying goodbye.

She wondered if Mark and Josh were still alive, then firmly stamped on those thoughts lest they bring on another bout of tears. She was an emotional wreck tonight, she realised.

That’s what happens when you get attached to people, she chided herself. She had always hated those cynical thoughts but had to admit that right now, they were absolutely correct.

She was almost literally vibrating with tension and couldn’t stand the inaction any longer. She wasn’t someone who stood about and thought deep thoughts. She plotted a course of action and executed it then moved on to the next task. And her next task was to find out what was happening inside the church.

She wasn’t planning on confronting anyone, she just wanted to recce the situation. After all it was getting late, nearly 5am and they didn’t have much time to waste since Alex and Josh had to be inside during day. Once she found out what had happened to Mark and Josh, she could inform Alex and Adam when they arrived and they’d come up with a plan of action from there.

She headed down the side street and found the alley Mark must have taken around the back.

The small yard at the back of the church was concreted over but weeds had still managed to take root in the cracks. She took her gun out and paused to listen for any sounds before crossing to the rear door. She couldn’t believe it was so silent. Surely Mark and Josh would make some noise even if they had been captured.

The red door had clearly seen better days; its paint was flaking and at least two older colours were visible beneath the red top coat. Thankfully the door stood ajar since it seemed Mark had broken the lock when entering. She pressed her ear close but heard nothing behind the door. She pushed it open, praying it wouldn’t creak and by some miracle it didn’t.

In front of the door was a bare corridor with two other doors off to the left. At the end was another door and Frankie guessed it led to the main part of the church. Thankfully it was closed and Frankie was glad since - assuming Brad was through there - it would help to mask her entry. She looked down at the step and noticed dots of something wet. There also seemed to be older, dry drops. She bent down and touched her fingertip to one and it came away red. Blood.

Her immediate reaction was fear for Mark and Josh but her rational mind kicked in. This wasn’t blood spatter, these drops had been sprinkled there. Even if it was Mark’s blood, it wasn’t enough to indicate he was in serious danger.

Frankie stepped over the door sill, down three steps and began creeping to the first door. It was open and she listened once again from the hallway before she looked in. Just as she was about to peer around the frame she heard chanting and her heart leapt into her throat as her grip on the gun tightened. It took her a few moments to identify that the sound was coming through the door at the end of the hall; not the one beside her.