"Vicious Circle" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robertson Linda)

Chapter 3

You’re the reason Lorrie’s dead? Explain.”

Vivian returned my stone-cold stare with a steady, self-satisfied look that said she knew she had me now. That really ticked me off. “You already understand what danger I put her in, Miss Alcmedi.”

“Yeah, I do. But when did you know?”

“From the start.” She glanced down. “I knew she was a wære from the start.”

“Then why? Why would you let her risk it? Why risk it yourself? ‘An’ it harm none.’” I quoted the Rede’s first phrase.

Vivian hit the desktop. Her glare blazed. “Don’t you dare quote the Rede to me as if I don’t know it! You have no right to quote that to me, hypocrite.”

I admit it was rude; as high priestess, she had to know the Rede and all the various codes and laws backwards and forwards. But calling me a hypocrite? “You’re not spotless either.”

Vivian looked me up and down, then squinted at me, thinking so hard I almost expected to smell smoking brain cells. But her heated anger eased, slowly. Drawing little circles with her finger on the top of her desk, she finally said, “My interaction with Lorrie wasn’t risky. We met privately at her home once a week. We never did energy-or spell-work. It was just a faith and prayer Goddess thing for her. She needed it.” Vivian paused, swallowed, and continued piously: “Lorrie continued to kennel for her monthly security, but she came to me for her soul’s solace. She needed spiritual guidance in her life as she dealt with what she’d become. She feared hurting Beverley or, worse, that Beverley would come to fear her and run away.”

Her self-righteous tone did nothing to endear her to me. “Did you warn her of the danger?”

“Lorrie wasn’t ignorant! She knew the dangers and, yes, of course, we discussed them. As I said, I simply counseled her on issues of faith.” Her gaze strayed along the edge of my newspaper. “I didn’t know the bill for guiding her spirituality would be this high. I didn’t think the council would find out.”

“Wait a minute. The council? You mean the Witch Elders Council?”

Vivian nodded grimly. “WEC did this.”

“Wait, wait, wait.” I sat in the folding chair again. “Are you saying they knew you were spiritually counseling a wære and because of it they—as a group—violated the Rede to have her murdered?” Me breaking the “An’ it harm none, do as ye will” law was bad, but I’d done it unintentionally. For the council to sanction law-breaking knowingly was a different matter.

Vivian re-situated herself in her chair. “Not WEC exactly, but…”

“But?”

My tone was harsher than I had meant it to be. Vivian latched onto it with a snotty little smile. “Am I ruining your perfectly naive concept of the world?”

I really, really didn’t like her. “I’m not naive.” Am I?

She sat back in her chair, exuding arrogant confidence. “The Elders aren’t above the temptation of corruption, deary girl. And they’ve never had a deep love for PAW.”

PAW was the acronym for Packs and Allied Wæres. The wæres’ version of WEC, they administered the “responsibility policy.” I copied Vivian’s position as best I could, right down to the impassive expression. “You better start explaining why WEC would feel it necessary to take such actions.”

“The less you know, the better.”

“I disagree.”

“Too bad.”

“Then the answer is no. I’m not buying you an Elders seat and I’m not getting involved in a WEC versus PAW pissing contest.” I got up and left her office without looking back. This time, it was easy.

As I crossed the wide seating area, however, my steps grew sluggish. I felt so sorry for Beverley. Her devoted mother was dead, and nobody was going to do anything about it. Not one governmental agency would do a damn thing to help her or solve the case. There would be no justice for Beverley unless I did something…

But this was madness. I couldn’t do this. What was I thinking? Entertaining the idea was just plain stupid.

Some of my anger was vented on the coffee shop door; I shoved it open so hard, it rattled. I half-stomped to the crosswalk that led to the parking area where I’d left my car.

“Miss Alcmedi, wait!”

Vivian’s voice came just as I arrived at the crosswalk. I crossed my arms and waited, letting her come to me. I told myself if the light changed, I was crossing. Vivian arrived first. Before she could speak, I held up my hand, and then I did the talking.

“WEC may not like you counseling a wære, but they wouldn’t act against the Rede. Not like this. A verbal or written first warning would have been logical, and if you didn’t comply, then they could renounce you and strip you of your position.” If she wanted one of their seats so badly, why would she risk it this way? “This whole story stinks, and I don’t believe you.”

Her chin lifted somewhat. “If you bothered to come to a few of the local meet-ups,” she retorted, “you’d know that WEC isn’t as lofty as they’d like everyone to believe.”

I didn’t budge. Lydia never mentioned anything about the meet-ups’ discussing WEC for good or for bad.

“Look.” Vivian bowed her head and rubbed it wearily. “I know about your column, and I’m concerned about giving you details. I have to make sure that nothing I say to you is in any way considered an interview. And you have no right to scold me for ‘hiding’ when you won’t even use your real name for your column.” She crossed her arms, mimicking me. “Who are you hiding from, I wonder?”

So she knew I was the writer behind my byline: Circe Muirwood. I was surprised, but not much. All the wæres who kenneled at my home knew that. If Lorrie spilled my secrets to her, that was the smallest of them. I ignored the dig. “Did you get a verbal or written warning? Did you know Lorrie was in danger?”

“No!” Vivian stomped her foot and dropped her arms to her sides to emphasize the word, then leaned closer to whisper. “That’s why he must be stopped. Lorrie never knew. She never had a chance! And hers was not a simple, isolated incident. At first, WEC used him discreetly, but now…” She glanced furtively at some people approaching from up the street.

“Sounds like you need to get the support of several coven leaders and confront the Council. Sounds like ‘they’ need to be stopped, not ‘him.’”

“No. They’ve lost control. He’s become a rabid watchdog. He’s taking it upon himself to act like surveillance and security, and he’s begun to act whenever he feels it is necessary. He’s out of control.”

The people were close, and the fact that their presence bothered Vivian made me resolve not to let it bother me. I said, “They should tighten their grip and restore control.”

“They can’t tighten their grip on him!”

“Why not?”

Vivian waited until the pedestrians had passed us before answering. “He knows too much now. If they try to stop him, he’ll use what he knows against them.”

“Maybe he should. If things are so bad, a restructuring might be therapeutic.”

Vivian clenched her hands into fists. “You can’t possibly understand what you’re saying. If you were active in your community, your opinions might be worth something to me.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked. “You’re not a Council member.”

“I have close friends seated in WEC.” She said it with an arrogant toss of her head. “I’ve made no secret of my ambitions to be voted in, Miss Alcmedi, but I have to wait two more years to finish my decade of coven service to be eligible. By then, he may have destroyed the council and, like I said, if I save their asses, they have to give me a seat immediately. With him gone, they will have to revert to the old ways. The time-honored ways. He knows I intend to change things; that’s why he did this. To stop me. That’s why I am the reason she’s dead.” She gave me an imploring look. “If he isn’t stopped, if we don’t show we will take care of our own problems, the government will legislate our annihilation. There is no other way.”

“There’s always another way.”

“A way that stops a killer, avenges your friend, saves the council, and stops the government from wanting us all dead to make life easier? You have something that accomplishes more than that?”

She had me there.

“He’s already created countless orphans, Miss Alcmedi. And Beverley will not be the last. Beverley herself might be in danger.” Vivian edged closer. “Are you willing to take the job, or aren’t you?”

My stomach churned. The roof of my mouth turned pasty. Sweat dampened my neck and palms.

I had acted to keep Beverley’s mother alive once before, to keep Beverley from becoming an orphan. In the guilt I’d suffered after what had happened, I consoled myself with the knowledge that Lorrie and Beverley were safe.

Had I scarred my karma for nothing?

Karma-wise, I couldn’t abandon Lorrie’s spirit now as if she hadn’t mattered. I had killed for her. Accidentally, yes, but I had blood on my hands. If I didn’t avenge her now, well, stuff like that makes ghosts go insane. Her spirit might refuse to cross over and lash out in frustration as a phantom. This was a wrong I had to make right.

Then there was the matter of Beverley. How could I live with myself if something happened to her, if I had the opportunity to do something to save her from further harm and refused?

“I’ll take care of it.” I was glad my voice sounded confident.

Vivian smiled. “Good.”

“I’ll have to know where to start. And I’ll need a contact number for you. One that will reach you at any hour.” I handed her one of my business cards and a pen; she wrote her cell phone number on the back.

As she handed the card to me, she said, “His name is Goliath Kline.”

I repeated it in my head a few times, though I doubted I could forget that name. “Your ‘donation’ will be in cash.”

“Half now. Half afterward.”

“Agreed.” I dropped the card into my purse. “Tomorrow at four, at the coffee shop.”

The gleam in Vivian’s eyes disturbed me enough that I found myself wondering if the coffee shop had security cameras. I decided I should have someone else pick up the money for me. Someone who’d smell a trap if Vivian had one in mind. “A friend of mine will collect it. And, Vivian?”

“Yes?” she asked with a condescending grin. It made me happy that some of her lipstick had smeared on her teeth.

“As for your meeting with Children’s Services concerning Beverley, you have some rather lofty parental shoes to fill. I’ll be watching you.”

Her smile disappeared. She knew a challenge when she heard it. She blinked, clearly shifting gears. “How will I know your bounty collector?”

“Trust me. When he walks through your door at four, you’ll know exactly what he’s come for.” I hoped Johnny didn’t have plans for tomorrow afternoon. He was the only one I could think of who might be able to handle this and not ask a billion questions.