14
Cope
After a hot shower and a change of clothes, Cope felt almost human again.
If he lived to be one hundred, he’d never forget the squalid conditions he’d witnessed at Peggy McHugh’s house.
Two of her grandchildren looked to be Wolf and Lizzie’s ages and it broke his heart to see kids living in those kinds of conditions.
Cope scrubbed the dining room table to the point he was worried about scratching the wood.
He had a feeling after being in the McHugh house, nothing would ever be clean enough again.
Once the table was dry, he got out paper plates for dinner.
Ten was picking up pizza and Fitzgibbon was bringing West Strickland.
The kids were all in the living room watching a movie, while Jude was in the shower.
“Food’s here!” Ten called from the front door. “Fitz and West are right behind us.”
Cope rushed into the living room to help, grabbing three pizza boxes from Ten, who also carried a bag with salads inside. “Good to see you, West.”
“You too, Cope. Thanks for the invite to dinner.” West took a seat at the kitchen table. “I’m guessing you all have some news for me.”
“We do,” Jude agreed. “Let me get the kids settled and I’ll fill you in on what we learned.”
Everly walked into the kitchen and took the empty seat beside West.
“I’ll bring your pizza to you, little miss.” Ronan grabbed a plate and put a slice of pepperoni on it.
“I’m good here, Dad.” Everly smiled up at Ronan.
“Fine, but you’re eating salad.” Ronan set the pizza in front of his daughter and scooped salad into a bowl.
“Fitz, are you all caught up with what’s been happening with Jonas Crawford and with Alice Strickland’s murder?” Jude asked, taking his seat at the table.
“Yeah, Ten caught me up before we left the office tonight. Sounds like this Crawford is a bad seed.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” Cope shook his head. “Did Ten tell you about the death spell?”
Everly perked up. Her gaze was glued to Cope.
Fitz nodded. “Only that Crawford used the Jedi mind trick to try to get it from you.”
“Yeah, something like that,” Cope agreed. “We haven’t heard from any of Crawford’s customers today and no one has reported being in danger. So we can set him to the side for the moment.”
“We went to visit Peggy McHugh today,” Jude began.
“You’re kidding me.” West looked as though he was upset at just hearing her name. “I’m sure most of what she told you was bullshit.” He looked down at Everly. “Sorry, kid.”
“No worries. My Daddy says that word all the time.” Everly bit into a slice of pepperoni pizza.
“I didn’t get the feeling she was lying to us.” Cope locked eyes with Jude and shivered in the warm room. “I did get the feeling that I might need medical attention when I left the house.”
“Pigsty?” West asked.
“And then some,” Cope agreed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a filthy pit in my entire life.”
“What did Pigpen Peggy have to say?” West didn’t look particularly interested in hearing about Peggy.
“She told us that she cheated with your father and was in the process of stealing Alice’s boyfriend, Chet, when Alice was killed.”
West barked a rough laugh. “Well, what do you know, the old bat told the truth. My father left when I was a kid. I didn’t find out about Peggy sleeping with my father until I was in college.
I never understood why my mother stayed friends with her.
As a matter of fact, Mom was out with Peggy the night before the murder.
It was girls’ night. They had dinner at a swanky restaurant and then went to a bar for drinks. ”
“That’s not all,” Everly said. “They made one other stop before the bar.”
West stared at Everly curiously. “How do you know that?”
“Alice told me. She wants Uncle Cope to show you a picture. The same one you showed Peggy.”
Cope pulled out his phone, tapped several times, and handed it to West. Everly peered over his shoulder. “Do you know who this man is?”
“Oh, Christ,” West muttered. “Yeah, that’s my mother’s psychic. His name was Victor something-or-other. Shmooze. Booze. Cruise.”
“Hughes?” Everly asked.
“Yeah, that’s it.” West smiled. “No offense kid, but your father taught you well. You’re gonna be a great con woman one day.”
“You still don’t believe in my gifts, huh?” Everly didn’t look at all bothered by his skepticism.
West shook his head. “Sorry, but I don’t.”
“That’s okay. You will soon.” Everly forked up a bite of salad.
“Everly, you’re saying Alice and her girlfriends went to see Victor Hughes the night before she was murdered?” Ronan asked.
“Yup, but it was just Alice and Peggy. They met the other ladies at the bar later.”
“Who met with Hughes?” Jude asked, looking as if he’d just been handed a big piece of the puzzle.
“Alice and Peggy. Alice went first. Peggy didn’t really believe in psychics, but wanted to speak to him about Chet. She had lots of money in her purse. She counted it all out for him.”
“Can you tell how much money?” Ronan asked.
“Ten bills with the kite guy’s picture on them.”
“The kite guy?” Ronan looked puzzled. “You mean Benjamin Franklin.”
Everly nodded. “Yup, that’s him.”
“Peggy paid Hughes one thousand dollars for a private reading.” Jude looked surprised. “If she wasn’t a fan of psychics why the hell would she pay that kind of money for a reading?”
“Because it wasn’t just a reading,” Everly said. “It was something else. A squid pro coat or something.”
“Quid pro quo?” Jude’s radar was on high alert now. “Where you do something for me if I do something for you?”
“Exactly.” Everly took another bite of her pizza.
“Do you know what those things were?” Cope asked. He hadn’t been able to see any of this when he’d met with Peggy earlier.
“In exchange for a new driver’s license and passport, Hughes would hurt Alice.”
Ronan’s mouth hung open. “Hughes wanted a new identity in exchange for killing Alice?”
Everly nodded. “His new name was Jonathan Harper. After he hurt Alice he got on a plane to Wyoming and started a new life.”
West stared at Everly with a curious look on his face. “You’re saying that this man, this psychic, killed my mother?”
“I am, but Peggy lied to you, Daddy. She said Alice had been seeing Hughes for a long time to ask him questions about Chet, but that was Peggy. Alice had another psychic she saw and her name was Jellybean or something.”
“Geraldine?” West asked.
“Yeah, that’s it. The night before Hughes hurt her was the first time she met him. Peggy wanted him to know what Alice looked like.”
“Do you know how Peggy got the identification with a new name on it?” Jude asked.
“Chet knew a lot of dirtbags. One of his friends helped him.”
“I understand what you’re all saying about Peggy, Chet, and this guy Hughes, but where does this Crawford guy come into the story?”
“The picture I showed you is Jonas Crawford. He’s obviously back in Massachusetts with another alias.
We think he’s connected to two murders and one attempted murder, so far.
” Cope couldn’t believe the turn this story had taken.
“If you hadn’t been the one assigned to audit the cold case unit, we never would have been able to tie these killings to Hughes or Crawford. ”
“I’ve wanted my mother’s murder solved for a long time now, and you’re telling me you know who killed her based on the words of a child?” West looked between Jude and Ronan.
“Everly’s gift is never wrong.” Ronan beamed with pride. “She might not understand things she sees or words she hears, like Jellybean and Geraldine, but what she’s saying is always dead on.”
“How do we prove that so we can get this guy off the streets and into jail where he belongs?” West asked, seeming to take Ronan at his word.
“We’ll go see him in the morning,” Jude said. “We’d like you to come with us, Fitz, if you can get away from the audit for a bit.”
“Yeah, I’m definitely coming with you,” Fitz agreed.
“There’s something the two of you need to know about Crawford,” Cope began. “He has the power to compel people to do his will for short bursts of time.”
“Compel people?” West asked, looking surprised. “What, you mean like Dracula compelling a victim to invite him in?”
“Yeah, something like that,” Cope said. “I’m not sure how to counter that effect or keep Crawford from succeeding if he finds one of us vulnerable. I’ll work on that tonight.”
“This is the reason Crawford wants the death spell,” Jude said.
“He’s getting older now and how convenient would it be to just work from home?
Now, especially with all the Ring and Flock cameras around, plus the neighbors having their own security, it’s harder and harder to stay undetected, but with the spell, he’d get away scot-free. ”
“Death spell?” West asked, looking at Jude as if he had a screw loose. Possibly two. “Are you serious?”
Cope looked leery of confirming West’s question. “Yeah, I’m serious. It’s old magic from when my mother’s ancestors were still in France. It had been kept undercover for centuries and was mostly kept alive with rumors and folktales, but it’s real.”
“Real as a heart attack,” Jude chimed in.
“Do you think you can help me figure out a way to keep Crawford from psychically attacking us tomorrow?” Cope was looking at Everly.
“I think so. Is it okay, Daddy?” Everly batted her eyelashes at Ronan.
“I expected that look when you found a prom dress you loved or a classic car you wanted. I never thought you’d use it to ask permission to work with Cope to stop a killer.” Ronan sighed. “Sure, go for it. It’s a Friday night, what the hell. Ten? You good with this?”
“Yeah, I’ll stay and help too. Maybe you could take Wolf and Lizzie home with you while we get to work on this?”
“Sure thing,” Ronan agreed.
“I’ll go pack for the kids.” Jude got out of his seat and headed into the living room. Seconds later, Cope heard the kids cheer.
“I still don’t believe half of what you told me tonight, but what do you want me to do in the meantime?” West asked.
“Go back to the hotel and get a good night’s rest,” Ronan said. “Jude, Cope, Fitz and I will go see Crawford in the morning and see what we can shake loose. I’ll call you later and let you know how it went.”
“Okay, but I want a copy of that asshole’s mug shot.”
“You got it.” Ronan reached for another piece of pizza.
Cope had tried several times over the last few years to put his cauldron away, but something always pulled him back to his mother’s spells.
With Crawford, it was obvious he was using heavy-duty black magick to get what he wanted and to kill people for fun.
The only thing that could counter what Crawford was doing was with white magic or, with even darker black magick.
Which option would Cope choose? He’d have to think that over very carefully.