Chapter Fifteen.
Vortex
It was a relief to witness Amy smiling as she sat with Meadow’s kids. Even more so when she began making jokes so she didn’t scare them. She looked rested, although her eyes showed pain.
“Doc wants to see you to change the dressing later,” I murmured as I bent and kissed her. Poet made an aww noise, and Zion gagged.
“Did Amy honestly try to be a stunt woman?” Zion demanded.
“Miss Wright to you,” Meadow said, approaching and placing two steaming mugs in front of Amy and me.
“Amy is fine, Meadow, I gave permission. Breakfast looks and smells wonderful. I think I’m going to have some pancakes,” she decided.
No sooner had the words left her mouth than I was on my feet and making her a plateful. “Fruit?” I called.
“Cream and that lavender honey, please,” Amy replied.
That was a weird ass combination, but whatever. I carried Amy’s plate over and went to fetch my own. Meadow walked back into the kitchen.
“Is everything okay, Meadow?” I asked. Originally, her hours had been nine to five, but they’d changed. Most of us started work by nine, so Meadow arrived at half six and stayed until four now. She still worked five days a week and the odd Saturday, but I didn’t know how it was working out for her.
“Yes, Cassian gets up when I leave and gets the kids ready. They all get the same school bus, as their schools are on the same site, although separate. I’m usually home to collect them from the after-school clubs,” Meadow replied and looked worried. “Don’t the hours suit the club anymore?”
“No, we’re fine. Nanci and Daisy-Duke take out whatever you’ve prepared for dinner and serve it up. We eat a shitload better than we did before you came along,” I reassured her.
“Glad to hear that, I really like this job,” Meadow muttered.
With a brief smile, I began plating food and looked up as Chill entered. His eyes flew to Meadow, then to the children.
“No school?” he asked, approaching to grab a plate.
“No, someone blew up the toilets in both schools,” Meadow said with a frown.
Cassian coughed and quickly took a sip of the orange juice in front of him. Zion looked angelic. Yeah, I guessed who planned and carried out that stunt. I turned away from the kids and kept filling my plate before heading over to join them.
“What have you got on today?” I asked.
Poet pouted. “The teachers didn’t send us any work, so it’s going to be boring.”
“Why not explore town?” I suggested. Yesterday, they’d stayed in the clubhouse and had barely raised their voices.
“We don’t have any money, and Mom can’t afford it,” Zion said, and then flushed.
“You want some dough?” Chill asked. “I’ve some jobs you can do.”
The kids turned as he joined us. “You do?” Cassian asked suspiciously.
“Yup. Club has a small farm at the back of town, which is also a petting zoo. I need help to feed the animals, somebody to play with them, and someone to collect eggs.”
“Me!” Poet cried. “Mommy, can I feed them?”
Meadow looked torn.
“They’ll be safe with Chill,” I promised.
Chill, although trying to help, had just made a critical error.
We’d all guessed that Meadow had been abused and was overprotective of her children.
Chill had stepped into that, leaving her in a conundrum.
Meadow didn’t want the kids out of her sight, but now she risked being the bad person.
“How about I go too? Would that be okay?” Amy asked. Slowly, Meadow agreed, which surprised me. She’d known Amy for less time than us. Then I realised it was because Amy was female, Meadow didn’t trust men with them.
“Dude, I can play with the animals,” Zion said.
“Guess I’m collecting the eggs,” Cassian added. “I’ll stay with them, Mom.”
Meadow nodded but looked uncertain. I just hoped no problems arose because she’d never let those kids go anywhere with Chill again.
Aurora-Victoria
“Thanks for your custom!” I chirped as a customer took a laden bag. I smiled and moved away.
“Watch the shop,” I called to my assistant and locked myself in the room I used for tarot and readings. This vision was coming, and I barely had time to press record before my eyes rolled up and the flashes of images started.
Vortex
‘The cloaked man returns with his scythe and his face hidden. There are five victims left. He lurks in the shadows, waiting to pounce. Beware of the devious; they aren’t the culprits.
I see caves again; they’re damp and have curtains of moss.
The pool of blood is deeper. Four of the ten skulls are red and dripping blood.
The reaper drops two skulls into the pool, but the whirlpool refuses to swallow them and keeps them afloat and clean. Death is coming once more.’
“Does it make sense to you?” I asked Aurora-Victoria. She’d had Klutz drive her out here.
“Yes, I’m going to play the first vision. Some of it’s becoming clear.” Aurora-Victoria pressed play, and her voice spoke.
‘I see a man in a cloak. I can’t see his face, but he carries a scythe; I think he’s the Grim Reaper.
He’s stalking the fire in the sky. He feels cheated, that it wasn’t pure, the survivors tarnished it…
he’s searching. There are caves and a pool of blood.
The reaper’s reflection shows, but his face is a skull.
I see a whirlpool, spinning faster and faster, and flames, such hot flames.
There’s a gallows with men and women hanging from it.
The reaper is laughing at them. He flashes his scythe, and they fall into the whirlpool, but they don’t drown; the whirlpool keeps circling them near the top.
Ten skulls on an altar. Blood drips down a bed
and makes a small puddle, which turns into a tornado. The scythe flashes and takes a head. The reaper holds it up in triumph; he now feels vindicated. Death isn’t finished yet.’
“What’s your take?” I asked when she turned it off.
Inglorious leaned forward, interested in the answer too. Drew was making notes, a dubious expression on his face, but open to listening.
“A cloak hides the man, implying his identity isn’t known.
He carries a scythe, which means he’s the killer.
The scythe represents death. The fire in the sky obviously refers to the Titanic of the Skies.
There weren’t meant to be any survivors, which is why he feels cheated.
For whatever reason, he bombed the Titanic of the Skies; it didn’t give him what he wanted.
“The blood pool symbolises the blood of the victims. The gallows are a second sign of death, and those hanging from them represent the survivors. When he swings the scythe, he’s killing them, but someone is standing in his way: you, Vortex.
A whirlpool is another word for Vortex. He thought that he was able to kill with impunity, but twice you’ve saved Amy, and he’s marked you as an adversary.
The flames obviously reflect the huge fire from the zeppelin.
The ten skulls puzzled me. If you included the eight who survived, plus the guy he murdered to take his place and himself, that makes ten. The tornado, I think, is also you.”
“And the taking of the heads?” Inglorious asked.
“It’s the survivors he killed so far, remember, I had the vision just before Mr Coleman was murdered. That fits,” Aurora said.
I was undecided, but a lot of what she explained made sense.
“What about the second vision?” Drew murmured.
“The man returning means the killer’s not done. There are five victims left, including himself,” Aurora-Victoria said.
“There should be six,” Drew interrupted.
“He’s already killed again. You’ve just not heard about it,” Aurora-Victoria was adamant.
Drew made a face of disbelief but waved for her to continue.
“The shadows show his identity is hidden. The Feds have found nothing on him; the man’s a ghost. Deviousness could mean the side attempts on the survivor’s lives, such as last night with the woman. She’s not the killer.”
“No,” Drew admitted. “Willow ID’d her already. She’s one of those movie fanatics, obsessed with the films. Bitch was trying to make the movies come true in real life.”
“But we’ve ruled out shit like that, right? This isn’t paranormal?” I asked, feeling stupid.
Drew and Inglorious sent me a bemused glance, but Aurora-Victoria shook her head.
“No, it’s not supernatural. And you shouldn’t make fun of Vortex for asking that. Remember Callie’s and Sunny’s investigations. Ghosts shouldn’t exist, but do.”
Inglorious shut his mouth. Callie was investigating hauntings and had certainly had proof coming out of her ears. Drew looked confused and shrugged.
“I don’t understand what the caves mean, unless they’re meant to highlight the pool of blood. Four of the ten skulls are now bloodied, which means four have died. The killer is after two linked to you, Vortex.”
“Amy and Declan,” I murmured.
“You know another survivor?” Klutz asked.
“The boy, Declan. He’s staying with Amy’s dads.”
“Best warn them,” Klutz stated.
“Yup. You’re the protective barrier where they’re concerned,” Aurora-Victoria pointed out.
There was a knock, and Bow stood outside, wearing a grim expression. “Thought you might want to know. Another survivor has been killed.”
“Four skulls,” Aurora-Victoria said direly.
I swapped glances with Inglorious. Shit.
◆◆◆
I had started to head out to the petting zoo, no way that small plot of land could be called a farm, but a commotion stopped me.
Two drunks had got into a fight, and I’d had to help break it up.
While Drew and Bow took witness statements, I watched over them in the cells.
Damn idiots. Today was just as busy as yesterday.
Gravey had reported chasing some lookie-loos away, and Tracker was with him today.
The club’s private church and graveyard would be protected at all costs.
As much as I wanted to chase after Amy, I knew she was safe with Chill. I was sitting at Bow’s desk, leaning back in my chair with my feet on it, when the phone rang.