SPIRIT OF CONSEQUENCE (A Spirit Walking Mystery Book 1) (19 page)

Dodge frowned at me.

I put my hands up. “It’s not me,” I said, then smiled. “It’s my source.”

Dodge’s phone rang and he answered it. Marge and Dexter printed another copy of the email while he talked.

Dodge hung up the phone and joined us.

“What?” Dexter asked.

“That was my contact in Charlton. All three nurses went to this guy’s lecture. The schools made everyone sign in who attended the lecture because it was a mandatory lecture for two of them.”

“We got this guy.” Dexter smiled and slapped Dodge on the back.

Dodge looked at his watch. “We have almost four hours before his lecture starts at one o’clock. Dexter, call our office and get them moving on finding out about our three women who were killed. I want to know that they attended this guy’s lecture when I talk to him.”

Then to Marge, “Call New York and shake them up too. The more information we have when we talk to him the better.”

“What are you going to do?” Dexter asked.

“I’ve got to set up a ceremony.” Dodge walked out the room and I followed him.

Dexter yelled behind him, “That’s not a good idea, Dodge.”

I heard Marge say, “What’s not a good idea?”

“This should be fun.” I linked my arm around Dodge’s.

We went down the elevator and out of the hotel. Dodge flagged down a taxi.

“Where to?” The driver asked.

“I need a wedding chapel.”

“Getting married are you? Great. What are you looking for?”

“I need someone who will marry me without asking a lot of questions.”

The taxi driver looked up into his rearview mirror at Dodge. “Same sex marriages aren’t valid here in Vegas. You have to go to San Francisco for that.”

I laughed and Dodge frowned. “No, I’m marrying a woman.”

“Okay. She’s already married?”

“Well, actually I guess she is but it doesn’t matter.”

“It doesn’t matter to her or her husband?”

I laughed harder.

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Never mind.” The driver held up his hand. “I know just the place.”

The driver took us down the Strip and turned right on a side street. He parked in front of a beautiful white wedding chapel.

“This is lovely, Dodge,” I told him. My stomach flip-flopped and I don’t think I had ever been happier in my life or death.

Just then we saw a man exiting the chapel carrying a little black poodle. He was in a black tux and the dog was in a white gown.

Chapter 19

Dodge opened the taxi door and I stepped out as another cab pulled in behind us.

Dodge smiled at the man. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.” The man beamed and the dog reached up and licked his face as they got into the cab that had just pulled up.

Dodge grabbed my hand and dragged me into the chapel. It was as beautiful inside as it was on the outside. Stained glass windows of angels and hearts adorned the sides of the chapel with a massive circular stained glass window in the front. It let in a rainbow of colors throughout the entire chapel. Bouquets of spring flowers and white ribbons were tied to the end of each white pew. Two huge beautiful spring flower basket sat in the front of the chapel and to their right was a massive organ.

“This is lovely, Dodge,” I whispered into his ear.

A small man wearing a white tux came into the chapel room. “Can I help you?”

“I’d like to arrange a wedding,” Dodge told him.

“Of course. My name is Father Ben. I’m the pastor of this church. What or who are you marrying?”

“A ghost.”

Father Ben never even blinked. “Male or female?”

“Female.”

“Good, I’m not allowed to do same sex marriages. What day works for you?”

“Today is Thursday. How does tomorrow look?”

“Are you in a hurry?”

“Yes,” Dodge said.

“Okay, I need to check my book.” Father Ben took out a personal digital assistant and scrolled through several screens. “Friday is fine. I’ve got an opening at four o’clock.”

“That’s perfect.”

“Will you require anything besides my services?”

“For example?”

“Are you bringing witnesses?”

“One for sure. My best man will be here.”

“One witness is fine. I can serve as the other one. What about clothing?”

“For me or the ghost?” Dodge teased the man.

It didn’t even faze him. “For you, of course. I’m sure the young lady can supply her own gown.”

“Sure, I need a black tux.”

“No problem. We’ve got an entire closet full of them. If you’ll come around three-thirty, we can get everything you’ll need.”

“That’s great.”

“Are you exchanging rings?”

Dodge looked at me and I held up my hand and shrugged.

“I’ll bring one for me.” Dodge smiled. “She’ll make sure that she has one, too.”

I held up my hand and imagined a ring. It had a delicate platinum setting with a dime-sized single oval shaped solitary in the middle.

Dodge nodded. “Oh yeah, she’ll take care of her own.”

“Very good, sir.” Father Ben smiled. “Congratulations and I’ll see you on Friday.”

We walked out of the chapel where the taxi we had taken waited for us. Dodge opened the door and I got in.

“Well, did you get everything set up?” the driver asked.

“Yes, thank you.” Dodge closed the door. “It’s going to be perfect.”

“Father Ben’s an amazing guy.”

“And he does it all with a straight face,” I said to Dodge. “Quite amazing.”

The taxi took us to Circus Extraordinaire and we walked back to the conference room. Dexter and Marge both looked up when we came in.

Dexter jumped up and came over to Dodge. “You didn’t, did you?”

“Yep, it’s all set up for tomorrow at four. You need to be there at three-thirty, so they can fit us for tuxes.”

Dexter shook his head.

“I hear you’re getting married?” Marge said.

“Yes, would you like to come to the ceremony?”

“I’d love to.”

“Great.” Dodge grinned from ear to ear.

“Dodge, it’s one thing for Dexter to think you’re nuts, but Marge?” I asked him. He turned to Dexter.

“What happened to your calls to home and New York?” Dodge ignored my comment and went right back to work.

“All three showgirls went to a religious ethics lecture by Professor Zebedee Thornton,” Marge told him.

“Same thing for the escorts in San Francisco,” Dexter added.

“What about Sharece?” Dodge asked.

“They didn’t get anything from her pimp, but one of the girls she worked with told the officer that Sharece was trying to get out of working the streets and up to an escort service. She might have gone, thinking she’d make some connections there.” Marge set down her file.

“That’s nine out of nine!” Dodge shouted, making a fist in the air. “Did Tami attend last night’s lecture?”

“I’ve been trying to contact someone at the professor’s hotel to get a copy of last night’s attendees, but I haven’t been able to get through yet,” said Marge.

“Dexter and I will ask him when we see him.” Dodge stood. “Let’s go.”

Dodge, Dexter, and I left the hotel and got into a cab.

“What are you all smiles about?” Dexter asked.

“I’m just happy.”

“We need to talk about you getting married, Dodge.”

“Let’s not.”

“You don’t know a single thing about this girl.”

Dodge patted Dexter on the shoulder. “I know enough. I told you that already.”

“Yeah, but – now don’t get mad.” Dexter leaned away from Dodge and practically into my chest.

Dodge frowned. “What did you do?”

“I’ve been looking into Samantha Gerald.”

“Find out anything interesting?”

“Not yet.” Dexter shook his head. “There’s got to be more than one woman with that name. It’s going to take me a while to find everything out.”

“You can let me know what you find, okay?”

“Oh, I will. You can bet on that. By the way, what does she do for a living?” Dexter asked.

I shrugged.

“She’s between jobs right now.”

“I never worked a day in my life, Dodge. I do have a degree in psychology.”

“She’s a therapist,” Dodge told him.

Dexter chuckled. “That could come in handy dating you, Dodge.”

“True enough, Dexter. Now let’s go talk to the professor.”

The taxi let us out in front of the MGM.

As we moved through the casino, Dexter slowed and watched the slots.

Dodge grabbed his arm. “Come on, Dexter, you can lose your money later.”

Dodge led him to the front desk where a young woman with long blonde hair, huge smile, and most certainly fake boobs stood behind the counter. Her black skirt and olive green blazer were at least one size too small.

He showed his badge and introduced himself and Dexter. “I’d like to talk to Professor Zebedee Thornton.”

“I’ll call his room,” said the clerk. She picked up the phone, dialed a number and spoke into the phone. “There’s an Inspector Benson and Officer O’Brian to see you. Okay, I’ll send them right over.”

“He’s not in his room; he’s in the Studio Ballroom setting up for his lecture at one o’clock. His assistant said he’d be glad to talk to you.”

“Great.” Dodge nodded.

“Would you like me to show you to the Studio Ballroom?”

“Sure,” Dodge said. “Thanks.”

“Oh, I just bet she’d like to show you more than that, Dodge,” I said and changed into an outfit identical to the clerk’s.

Dodge gave Dexter a nudge and frowned.

“I wasn’t looking at the machines, Dodge.”

“It’s okay, Dex. I was thinking about what I wanted to ask this guy.”

Dexter nodded and let his eyes wander back to the machines. I was with Dexter. Let’s go play and enjoy the bells and flashing lights, I thought. It might be my last time here, or anywhere else for that matter. Did I really want to spend my last hours, days, weeks or months stuck inside people’s bodies, telling Dodge whether they’re telling the truth or not? I looked at Dodge and my heart swooned. Yes, if I could, I would spend a lifetime doing just that.

The clerk led us onto the walkway and to the doors of the ballroom. “He’s in there.”

Dodge nodded at her. “Thanks again.”

She slipped a card from between her breasts and handed it to him. “Here’s my home number. I get off at midnight.”

She sauntered away, swinging her hips to some imaginary music. A striptease, no doubt! I snatched the card and threw it on the floor. It landed a few feet from the door.

The lines on Dodge’s mouth shifted slightly into a smirk, but he ignored the card and turned toward the room.

Dexter moved over and looked down at the card. “Is that anyway to treat a beautiful woman’s number?”

Dodge came and stood by the card too. He picked it up and tossed it into the nearest trashcan. “I’m getting married and Jessica would kill you.”

“That’s true.” Dexter sighed.

Dodge and Dexter turned toward the ballroom door just as an explosion threw us back against the corridor wall.

Chapter 20

“Samantha, are you okay?” Dodge said, leaning over me.

I shook my head and stood up. “I’m dead. Explosions can’t hurt me. I must not have been paying attention or it wouldn’t have even thrown me. You better check on Dexter.”

The clerk ran back and screamed, “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Dodge said as he checked out Dexter.

Dexter grabbed his head. “What was that?”

“I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” Dodge extended his hand and helped Dexter up. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dexter said as he stood up, then fell back again, grabbing the wall to steady himself.

“Sit down.” Dodge pushed him back onto the ground. He shouted at the clerk, “Get an ambulance.”

“I don’t need an ambulance,” Dexter said as he tried to stand, wobbled, and fell back against the wall. “Okay, maybe I do.”

The clerk took out her cell phone and dialed.

Dodge stood next to me. He nodded toward Dexter. “Stay with him, I’m going into the ballroom.”

“No way, he’s perfectly safe out here. You’re not. I’m going with you.”

As we turned toward the ballroom, I could hear sirens in the distance and the clerk talking to the 911 operator.

Both ballroom doors had been ripped off their hinges. There wasn’t much other damage to the room, just the doors and the rug in front of them. The explosion had been concentrated there. Was it meant for Dodge and Dexter?

“Was that explosion powerful enough to kill you and Dexter?” I asked.

“If we had been closer to the door.” He shrugged. “Maybe.”

Just then a short elderly man came running up to Dodge. He had to be over eighty years old, white haired with a slight limp. His tone was high and shrill, “What happened? Are you all right?”

Dodge pulled his gun and shouted, “Stay right there.”

The man stopped, his eyes went wild, and he threw up his hands. “I’m Professor Zebedee. I was practicing for my lecture when I heard the explosion.”

Dodge put his gun away. “Put your hands down, Professor.”

The professor did as he was told and then walked up to Dodge. “What happened?”

“The door exploded.”

“How? Why?”

“Good questions, no answers.”

“This is terrible. I’m supposed to give a lecture here in a couple of hours.” He turned toward the front of the ballroom where a podium had been set up and shouted, “James!”

A young man came out from behind a large screen. His jeans were faded and ripped. They went well with his ripped t-shirt. I never understood the fad of wearing torn clothes. He pulled earphones from his ears. “Yeah, Grandpa?”

“Didn’t you hear that explosion?” the Professor asked.

“What explosion?” He held up his earplugs. “I’ve got my music going, I can’t hear anything.”

Professor Zebedee shook his head. “Teenagers.”

James came over and stood next to his grandfather. “What happened to the doors?”

The professor pointed to the boy. “This is my grandson, James Thornton, and this is an officer that was almost killed when the door to my lecture hall exploded!” His voice was high and shrill again.

The boy’s eyes went wild. “I didn’t do it, Grandpa.”

Dodge stepped forward. “What do you mean, you didn’t do it?”

“My grandson likes to blow things up, always has.”

The boy shook his head. “I didn’t do it.”

Dodge looked at me and nodded toward the boy.

“Oh, I forgot.” I slipped inside the boy. He was frightened - his pulse raced, and he breathed hard - but he wasn’t lying.

“Do you have any explosive material here, James?” Dodge asked.

“No-o-o,” he stuttered. A lie. I gave Dodge the thumbs-down signal.

Dodge put his hand on James’s arm. “Maybe you better show me your stuff.”

James lowered his head. “Okay.”

The professor scowled. “I told you to leave that stuff at home, James.”

“I only brought a few things,” James muttered.

The Professor shook his head and pointed to Dodge. “Show this policeman everything you have, and you’re going to be lucky if he doesn’t arrest you and throw you in jail for having that stuff in the hotel.”

Just then we heard Dexter yelling from the hallway. Dodge told the boy, “Stay here! I need to check on the officer who was with me when the door exploded.”

“Somebody got hurt?”

“Yes.” Dodge turned and I slipped out of the boy.

“I’m sorry, Grandpa,” the boy said.

The professor patted him on the shoulder and shook his head. “Your dad’s going to kill us both.”

The boy cringed. “Oh, do we have to tell him?”

“I’m sure he’s going to find out. If the police don’t tell him, then surely he’ll hear it on television. Blowing up casinos is big news.”

“Damn.”

The professor glared at him.

The boy lowered his head. “Sorry.”

I went into the hallway, where Dodge and Dexter argued about whether Dexter should go to the hospital or not. A tall lean EMT tried to take his blood pressure, while the other, a petite female, fought to open his shirt and attach EKG leads. Dexter thrashed his arms, throwing both EMTs aside like pesky gnats.

I stepped up to Dodge. “If he’s well enough to argue so loudly with you about not going, he doesn’t need to go!”

Dodge stepped back. “Okay, let’s go and look at the boy’s stuff.”

Dexter shrugged off the EMT’s blood pressure cuff. “I’ve got work to do.”

“If you pass out later from a concussion, it’s not my fault,” the female tech called after him angrily.

Dodge, Dexter, and I went back into the ballroom. The professor and James still stood there. Dodge introduced Dexter.

“Dexter, you go and check out the boy’s gear. I still want to talk to the professor.”

Dexter grabbed the boy’s arm. “Let’s go see the stuff that tried to kill me.”

As Dexter dragged him down the center aisle between the chairs, the boy looked back at his grandfather for help.

The professor shook his head and turned to Dodge. “What did you need, Inspector?”

I slipped into the professor.

Dodge asked about his lectures, the cities he’d been in, and the type of people who attend them. The professor went into a long winded explanation of his lecture and why it was important for professionals to value other people’s religions. God, it was so boring. I felt sorry for Marge, who had to sit through his entire lecture later today.

I stuck my head out. “I’m going to fall asleep in here and forget to come out. Please make the man stop.”

Dodge smiled and then said to the professor. “Do you have a list of the attendees from last night’s lecture?”

“Of course. Many of the universities ask their students to attend my lectures. I need proof that they at least came, so I get their signatures at the door when they arrive. I can get that list for you.”

“That would be great,” Dodge said.

I slipped out of the professor and said, “Thank you, thank you, and thank you!”

The professor left and Dodge said, “Want to come back for his lecture?”

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me here even if they could see me, Dodge.”

“I found it interesting.”

“How did I ever fall in love with such a nerd?”

Dodge smiled. “Just my luck, I guess.”

A few seconds later, Dexter came down the aisle with a huge cardboard box. “He has a ton of stuff I don’t recognize. He’s also got ten sticks of dynamite, C-4, detonating caps, and enough wire to blow up several doors, maybe even a small building.”

“Where’s the kid?” Dodge asked him.

“His dad came in while the boy handed over this box. He was mad as hell. The first thing he did was rip the earphones out of the kid’s ears and stomp on his music player. The boy cried. As I left, the dad ticked off a list of things the kid would be doing for the next six months. It wasn’t pretty.”

“Did you get the dad’s name?” Dodge asked.

“Of course.” Dexter set down the box and got his notebook out of his pocket. “His name is also Zebedee. Zebedee, Junior. He’s an accountant and takes care of all the bookings for his dad. There’s one more son around here who takes care of the arrangements for the lectures.” His name is John. He’s the professor’s personal assistant.”

Just then a very tall, thin man walked into the Studio Ballroom and extended his hand. “That’s me. John Thornton.”

Dodge shook his hand, as did Dexter. I slipped into John’s body.

He handed Dodge several sheets of paper. “Here’s the list you asked my dad for and I’m so sorry about James. My nephew started blowing things up when he was five and we can’t seem to break him of the habit. He’s
never
blown up anything like a hotel door.” It was definitely the truth, according to John’s body - his pulse steady, his breathing regular, and there was no increase in his body temperature.

“What does he usually blow up?” Dodge asked.

“Rocks on our property, trees, things like that.”

I stuck my hand out. That was a lie.

“I think he’s probably blown up other things too,” Dodge told John.

“Well, yes.” John blew out a long breath of air. “Last year he blew up a car.”

“What?” Dodge and Dexter said at the same time.

“My grandpa had an old car out on his property and James blew it up.”

“That boy needs counseling.” Dodge shook his head.

“Or a job in demolition,” Dexter suggested with a smile. He held up the box. “I wouldn’t know what to do with half this stuff.

Dodge turned to Dexter. “Where’d you find the box?”

“In a storage cabinet at the back of this room.”

“Who has access to that room?” Dodge asked John.

“Anyone, it’s not locked,” John said.

Just then a fiftyish man in a blue suit, white shirt, and blue tie appeared at the door. His hair was graying at the temples and his embossed name tag said, Bill Bason, Event Manager. His eyes were wide, a look of horror on his face. He came directly to the three men and screamed, “Who is responsible for blowing up the doors to my ballroom?”

Dodge looked at John, who held his breath. Then Dodge shrugged. “I don’t know.”

John let go of his breath and walked toward the man. “It happened on my watch, Bill. My security man doesn’t come on until the lecture starts. I’ll get someone over to fix it as soon as possible.”

“Thank you, John.” The man nodded, then his eyes went wild again. “What about the lecture? It’s supposed to happen in an hour.”

“Let’s get somebody to take away these doors and maybe we can put up a temporary wall and make the people enter through the doors on the other side.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea.”

John turned to Dodge. “Is there anything else you need right now, Inspector?”

“I heard you tell the manager that your security man isn’t due to arrive until the lecture starts. What’s his name?”

“Matthew Menders.”

“Why do you need a security man?” Dexter asked.

“He does more crowd control than anything else, but he’s the son of my father’s dearest friend, so he travels with us and makes sure that everything runs smoothly.”

“I’d like to talk to him when he gets here,” Dodge said.

“I’ll let him know as soon as I see him. If you need anyone in my family for anything, just call the hotel.”

Dodge nodded. “Okay.”

I slipped out of John as he left with the event manager. “He’s telling the truth, Dodge.”

“What do you think, Dodge?” Dexter asked.

“I don’t think anyone in the Thornton family is our killer. It’s got to be somebody who attends the lecture.”

“Guess we’re all going to be here today,” Dexter said.

“Oh no,” I gasped.

Dodge smiled.

I shook my head. “Damn, I didn’t think those wild horses would be able to find me so fast.”

Dodge laughed.

Dexter looked at him. “What?”

“I was just thinking that looking at that clerk’s card probably kept us from being seriously hurt.”

“Thank God for beautiful women,” Dexter said and smiled.

Two uniformed officers came into the room. Dodge went over and shook their hands. He spoke with them for a few minutes and then came back. “They’re from the bomb squad. They’ll let us know what kind of explosive was used. Then we can match them up to what the kid has in his treasure box.”

Marge rushed in and looked at Dexter and Dodge. “The news of your demise has been greatly exaggerated.”