Chapter 22
Jake’s jaw clenched angrily as he took in the dripping red letters on Olivia’s door.
Knocking loudly, he stepped back and surveyed the damage to the porch.
Pieces of eggshells crunched under his boots, and smears of yolk and egg whites streaked the walls and windows.
The door opened abruptly, and Theo appeared, his expression almost perfectly mirroring Jake’s.
“I suppose I should be grateful you’re actually dressed this time,” Jake said dryly.
“You’d better come in.”
He stood back, allowing Jake to pass. Hanging his jacket up in the hallway, Jake removed his boots and made his way into the library where he was met by a very enthusiastic ball of golden-colored fur.
“Hey, buddy.” Jake kneeled and stroked the puppy, his gaze scanning the room, and as it fell on Olivia, his expression was indecipherable. “He looks just like Truman.”
“Yes, he does.”
“I have something I need to show you.” Jake got up and took a seat next to her on the sofa. “Then we can talk about that mess on your porch.”
He opened the folder he held in his hands. “I traced the package that was sent to you containing Grady’s case files back to Salem. I checked some of the hotels, motels, and B&Bs and pulled this from the security footage.”
He handed her a photo of her father leaving the lobby with the pale-haired man.
“Where was this taken?”
“The Hawthorne,” he told her. “But they checked out yesterday evening. They could be anywhere by now.”
“They’re in Mercy,” she replied quietly.
“What?”
Theo entered the room. “You’d better tell him all of it.”
“What’s going on?” Jake asked, looking back and forth between the two of them.
Restless, Olivia rose from the couch, needing some space between her and Jake while she tried to work out where to start.
“My father has been leaving me little gifts, mementos of my childhood, for a while now,” she began.
“You’ve been in contact with him?” Jake’s expression darkened.
“No”—she shook her head—“I haven’t. The first time was a couple of weeks ago. He left a doll on my porch during the night.”
“What sort of doll?”
“My doll. Specifically, the one I was holding the night of the fire.” She moved toward the desk and opened the drawer, retrieving the doll and handing it to Jake.
“Jesus, Olive.” He examined it closely. “Is this blood?”
She nodded slowly. “I would imagine that if you had it tested, it would be my mother’s blood.”
“You said gifts?” Jake’s eyes narrowed. “What else?”
He watched as her eyes fell on the little golden puppy chewing on the corner of the rug.
“We found Beau in a box on the porch last night. He was wearing a collar with the name Truman on it.”
Hearing his name, the puppy leaped up and scrambled over to Olivia and tried to climb her leg.
“Beau?”
“I changed his name.” She picked him up and stroked his head as he nuzzled into her, licking her face. “I’m sure you can appreciate why.”
“How is he doing it? I thought you said he couldn’t cross the protection line.”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “He shouldn’t be able to, which means either he doesn’t intend me harm, or he’s getting someone else to cross the line and leave things.”
“Is there anything else other than the doll and the puppy?”
“Not at the house.”
“Explain.” Jake scowled with worry.
“Theo and I went into town this morning,” she elaborated.
“We needed some supplies for Beau. We went to Baileys’ store and then to the coffee shop.
When I got back to my car, it was unlocked, and on my seat was my favorite childhood book, the one my dad used to read to me almost every night.
I looked up and there he was, across the street, just standing there looking at me, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. He wasn’t even trying to hide.”
“For God’s sake, Olive.” Jake stood abruptly. “Why the hell didn’t you report it? He’s a convicted felon who’s on the run, and he’s dangerous.”
“There was no point.” She put Beau back down on the floor, watching absently as he ambled over to Theo and began to play tug of war with the hem of his jeans.
“No point?” Jake shouted angrily. “That wasn’t your call to make. You should have reported it immediately.”
“And just who the fuck was I supposed to report it to, Jake?” she snapped back as her temper flared.
“The chief of police, who already thinks I’m my father’s protégé?
Or maybe I should have told Deputy Walker, who thinks I murdered his brother.
Or perhaps I should have tried Deputy Helga, who has been my own personal stalker for weeks now.
I could have invited her over and we could’ve painted each other’s toenails while I told her all about my daddy sending me sick little presents designed to remind me of the worst night of my life. ”
“You could have told me,” he replied quietly.
“I just did.” She scowled. “But you have no idea what this feels like. To know that the people who are supposed to protect me think I’m a cold-blooded killer.
To know that the whole town is whispering behind my back, wondering if I am the same as my dad.
To come home shaken up after seeing my father for the first time in twenty years to find my home violated and that shit smeared all over my door.
And you think I should go to the police?
Well, I’m sorry, Jake, but I don’t trust the police. ”
His eyes were dark and hurt. “You can trust me.”
“I do trust you.” She sighed, shaking her head. “But you already said yourself, the chief has you on a tight leash, and you’re operating on limited resources. I do need you to help me figure all this out, but we can’t involve the police department.”
“Fine,” Jake conceded. “Just promise to call me straight away when something happens, not fill me in hours later because I happened to drop by.”
“Fair enough.” Olivia nodded. “Then in the interest of full disclosure, I should probably tell you that there’s a demon trapped in the woods.”
“What?” Jake blinked slowly. “Seriously?”
Olivia sucked in a breath. “Basically, the short version is that the serpent seal branded into all the murder victims is actually a demon seal. The two serpents represent demon brothers, one named Seth and the other Nathaniel, as in Nathaniel Boothe, the man Theo knew back in 1695. It turns out he wasn’t a cleric at all, but a demon disguising himself as a priest. You gotta love the irony.
Anyway, he followed Hester to Mercy, and she lured him into a devil’s trap in the woods and sealed it with her own blood.
The place where he was trapped was named after him, hence the name Boothe’s Hollow. ”
“Wow.” Jake dropped back down to the couch, trying to assimilate the information. “There’s really a demon in the woods?”
“Yes.”
“A real live, actual demon?”
“Yes,” Olivia repeated. “That’s the presence I’ve been feeling.”
“But you didn’t feel it back when we were kids.” Jake frowned. “We played in the woods all the time.”
“No, I didn’t feel it back then. I don’t know, maybe it was dormant back then.”
“I guess the question is, what changed?” Jake mused.
“The murders,” Olivia answered.
“You think the murders are directly linked to this demon, Nathaniel?”
“Maybe,” Olivia mused. “Each of the bodies was branded with the seal and dumped in the woods with body parts missing. It’s possible they’re sacrifices of some sort, some part of a raising ritual?”
“It does make sense, doesn’t it?” Jake mused, scratching the stubble at his jaw. “The original murders twenty years ago would mean someone was trying to raise the demon even back then.”
“That’s what I thought,” Olivia agreed. “Although, whoever it was must have been interrupted before they could complete the raising.”
“But why wait twenty years to try again?” Jake asked. “I hate to say it, Olive, but it’s not looking good for your dad.”
“I’m well aware of that,” she murmured quietly.
“That’s why we have to figure out the truth before the ritual is complete and a demon is let loose on Mercy.
Last time, Nathaniel managed to manipulate everyone into a witch hunt.
Could you imagine the kind of damage he could do now with access to social media and the internet, not to mention modern technology? ”
“Jesus,” Jake breathed out. “He’d probably make Charles Manson look like a Sunday picnic.”
“Exactly.”
“Who’s Charles Manson?” Theo interrupted.
“I’ll tell you later.” Olivia brushed the question aside.
“Where do we go from here?” Jake frowned. “I don’t exactly have any experience with demons and raising rituals.”
“None of us do.” Olivia shook her head. “We’re just kind of winging it here.
But I suppose the logical place to start would be to find out how Hester locked Nathaniel in the trap, and how it could be broken.
If we could find out how the murderer intends to open the trap, maybe we can figure out a way to stop him. ”
“How do we figure out what spell Hester used?” Jake asked. “I hate to point out the obvious but the woman’s been dead for three hundred years, it’s not like we can ask her.”
“I’m reading all her journals to see if there is even a slight mention of it. To be honest, what we need is her Grimoire, but I have no idea where it could be, or if it even still exists.”
“I need a beer,” Jake grumbled.
“I’ll get you one.” Theo moved toward the door. “Olivia?”
“No thanks.”
As Theo disappeared into the kitchen, the doorbell rang, the strident sound startling them out of their musing. Following after Beau, who scrambled frantically on the wooden floor and skidded out into the hallway barking, Olivia picked him up and opened the door.
“Mags?” she blurted in surprise at the sight of her friend.
“Pick your jaw up, Olivia, before someone trips over it.” She smoothed her cashmere coat absently and removed her leather driving gloves, tucking them inside her purse.