Chapter Six
Downstairs
Littlemoon Investigations
Same Time
When Bishop caught up with the rest of the family, she noticed the team was gone. It was clear that Julian was ensuring they were safe, and where they couldn’t be harmed by whoever was targeting them.
That meant in their homes, where they had protections in place to safeguard their lives from this psychic barrage of bullshit.
Not only had the Littlemoons begun the steps to protect the family, but her partner was now in the building.
At some point, Honor had arrived, after wrapping up the crime scene, and now, she was sitting in Booth’s lap,
But Bishop knew her.
The look on her face said a few things.
This hurt.
And she was exhausted.
Well, yeah.
Join the club.
After chasing down Lonnie Jackson for two weeks, prior, and now this, no one had gotten a hell of a lot of sleep over the last few weeks.
Now, that didn’t look like that was happening anytime soon since they were going to be fueled by the task of getting Wynter justice.
As soon as her partner saw her, Honor went there.
“Is Ridge okay?” she asked.
Well, that was debatable.
Dropping onto the couch, she rested her head on the back of it and closed her eyes to catch a moment to regroup. Not only was there a storm brewing in her belly over what happened to Wynter, but there was one regarding her husband and Ridge.
Now, she had to navigate both of them simultaneously.
And that sucked.
Finally, she answered.
“He’s going to be okay, I think. Lucian will get him there,” she said, keeping it short and sweet despite having a million questions she wanted answered.
Only, not far away, their guest spoke, and as per usual, Avalon was to the point.
“He’s bonded with him. Their survival now depends on each other. Without one, there won’t be the other.”
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Only, before she could ask, Raven went there.
“In the static. He’s bonded with him there, right?” he asked. “And not here?”
That hung there.
The only sound was the ticking of the clock on the wall.
When Avalon said nothing, Bishop had her answer. She’d spent plenty of time with this woman, and she knew all about this kind of shit.
That silence was telling.
Now, her husband had some explaining to do.
“That is beside the point,” she said, changing the subject so her husband and Ridge’s situation was not the topic of conversation.
That was private, and honestly, she had no fucking clue.
What her husband and Ridge did in the static was not this group’s business, and even if she was wary and worried.
Because it definitely traversed from that plane to this one.
She’d bet money on it.
PERIOD.
Instead, Bishop opted to work. This was going to be a marathon, and it started now.
“I have some information, and it’s…interesting.”
Honor lifted a brow.
“Uh, when you say that word in describing a case, it’s always more than interesting, Bish. What do you have?”
She shared with the class.
“While he was dreaming about his wife, or as he believes, talking to her…”
Honor sputtered.
“He was talking to her? How the hell was he talking to her? He’s a tuner, not a psychic.”
Well, surprise-surprise, it appeared Ridge’s gift had manifested in the trauma of losing his wife, because he’d connected and found information for them.
“Got me,” she said. “I’m not psychic. How the hell should I know how he did it?”
That’s when Avalon spoke up.
“If he’s still in connection to her, that means that her spirit hasn’t crossed. This confirms it because I can’t find her in the static. He has to have taken her, too, like the others. He’s consuming her energy.”
And that was all kinds of disturbing for them, and for a plethora of reasons.
Wynter was their friend.
Oh, and that psychic cannibalism mumbo-jumbo was a bridge too far for the non-psychics.
“What does that mean?” Honor asked. “Because that doesn’t sound good. In fact, that sounds all kinds of gross.”
Well, yeah.
Whoever is behind this isn’t exactly doing the Lord’s work, now was he?
As one of the psychics in the room, Avalon took a shot at it, hoping she could help them understand.
“Like with the rest of the dead, he’s taking any spirit he can get his hands on.
He’s a psychic energy vampire. He runs on energy.
If you’ve ever been around someone, and when you leave their company, you’re exhausted, that’s akin to what he is.
Some people don’t realize they are draining, but they are. ”
They all had experiences like that.
Silently, Honor sat in Booth’s lap, and then shook her head in exhaustion.
Immediately, all of them knew what she was thinking.
The look said it all.
“We know. Goddamn Littlemoons,” Tori said.
That was when Honor stopped her.
“No, what I was thinking was how the hell am I putting all of this in a report? It’s not all about you, Tor. You guys are ninety-nine of my problems, but the other one is always paperwork.”
Tori actually laughed.
“Good to know.”
Bishop continued because they needed to be in that shit-mire with her on this one.
“As I was saying, his wife told him to look in her purse. I found her phone and wallet. In the wallet, we found something that was very telling.”
Honor’s eyebrows went up the second she heard that. She loved a good treasure hunt in a victim’s wallet.
“What?” Honor asked.
That was when she showed them the photos that she took on her work phone.
There were gasps as she explained.
“Wynter was secretly seeing Doctor Kenyon for therapy. She was a long-term patient. The only reason I can come up with is because I think it was for post-partum after she gave birth to Sophia.”
Raven shook his head.
He already knew where this was heading.
“Oh, boy.”
Yeah, she’d been thinking that too.
“If she had post-partum, she’d be susceptible to his darkness. He’d used that to influence her,” Raven stated. “Along with taking off the protection I made her, it was the perfect access to her.”
Oh, Bishop wasn’t finished.
It got worse.
“In his dream, which I think was more him connecting with his wife, she said the voice wanted her to kill as many people as possible—as in their child and Jo. In order to not let that happen, she ate her gun.”
They all sat there.
This was horrible.
They couldn’t imagine how hard Wynter had fought not to hurt her child and mother-in-law.
Now, Bishop was to the point.
“I think for the sake of safety, and everyone’s lives, we need to shut down.”
Julian looked surprised.
That came out of nowhere.
“Pardon?” he asked. “You want us to close the agency because of this nut?”
Bishop shook her head.
That wasn’t what she meant.
Not.
Even.
Close.
Instead, she was to the point.
“The fewer people working this, Jules, the better. I think we need to keep it small, as in shutting down the access points to weaken us.”
Well, that made sense.
Bishop continued.
“Willow had post-partum. Claire did too. There are too many staff at risk. If he’s looking for a way to feed, and I can’t believe I said that as a cop, weakening the walls will do that.”
Honor laughed.
“I’m not the least bit shocked you said it. Now, Victoria, say the line,” she said.
And she did.
“Damn those Littlemoons.”
Her partner pointed.
“Perfect.”
Bishop stayed serious.
“I mean it, guys. Keep them in their homes, and some of the people in this room will have to do the work. We don’t need to lose anyone else. We already weakened Avalon by taking down my husband’s link to the static.”
Julian was honest.
“We were just talking to Raven about that,” he said. “Raven believes this is beyond dangerous, and for us to protect everyone…it won’t be easy. The more people actively digging into this nut, the more he will lash out. On this, Bish, I’m one hundred percent on your side.”
Well, that was good.
Bishop was curious, and it was only a question their resident witches could answer.
“Will the home protections hold up?” she asked.
Raven nodded.
“They will. Mine is the strongest, since I’m the witch, but Booth’s is also strong. This thing can’t fight against us. We won’t be his target. He’ll go after the weaker members.”
Avalon was to the point.
“The LAST person he’s coming for is me and Genesis.”
Bishop was to the point.
“Not Lucian?” she asked. “Or has he already made his strike at Lucian by hurting Ridge?”
Avalon was honest.
“Lucian is the heir apparent, and every entity that resides on that plane knows it, including this monster,” she said.
“I’ve trained him for years to get him this strong.
It was to fight this darkness, so he is always a target—one he can’t beat.
He’s going to want to handle Genesis and myself and avoid Lucian.
Make no mistake, he will take him on if he goes for him. ”
Bishop didn’t like that.
“Unfortunately for me, Lucian has already made his choice when it comes to taking over and being the psychic who handles the static,” she admitted. “He’s not leaving his family.”
Maura and Jagger said nothing.
Why?
Because they were in the same boat. They came back to help a friend and family. They were NOT staying permanently. Avalon and Nate would always matter, and they’d show up to help, but they weren’t staying permanently.
They had lives.
What began as a job was now a path that led to a life they weren’t letting go.
Avalon continued.
“The same is with the Major and Jagger. At this very moment, Jagger is ready to toss his wife over his shoulder and run out of here.”
Jagger shrugged.
“In my defense, I’m normally ready to do that with Maura. She gets herself into shit.”
When she went to protest, he said two words.
“The Hummer.”
Well, that shut her down.
“Yeah, I get into trouble. He’s right,” she admitted, knowing she’d done him dirty on that one. “No offense, Avalon, and we’ll always love you, but when we left, we left. We have two kids and one on the way. The Phoenix Files were shut down, and if they start back up, it won’t be with us.”
Tori was holding her tongue, and for only one reason.
“Go ahead, Victoria,” Avalon said. “You know you want to put it on record, and I don’t offend easily.”