“I mean, it had aspects of a poltergeist, but it also felt like it was capable of possession,” Spencer said. He fought a yawn, jaw tensing. Sleep had been nonexistent last night due to dealing with hotel management, Seattle’s PCB, and waking Levi up close to midnight to keep him in the loop and arguing with the other agent that he didn’t need to come out. He hadn’t, but Levi had insisted on a very early morning meeting so they could get a jump on Maricela’s schedule.
Spencer had told Levi he was going to spend the day trying to track down the poltergeist—or rather, Fatima was doing the hard work while he played chauffeur. Levi hadn’t taken that delegation well, hence the testy phone call.
Spencer needed more coffee than what he’d already sucked down.
“I want a better explanation for Maricela,” Levi said.
“Look, your skills lie in a different area than mine. It’s worth more for the case if I follow this lead today. You can dial me into the meeting if you want, but if there’s a chance I can pinpoint the poltergeist’s origins, then I need to take it before the trail runs cold.”
Levi muttered something too low for Spencer to hear, but he doubted it was complimentary. “Report back when you’re finished so we’re all on the same page.”
Levi ended the call, and the radio kicked back on. Spencer made a face, knowing the only other person who might see it would be the woman in the car next to his as they both waited for the traffic light to turn green.
Turn left, Fatima said.
“Oh, come on,” Spencer groaned. “I’m in the right lane. You couldn’t have told me that half a block back?”
Fatima put her paws on the dashboard, ducking her head to look through the windshield.Left.
“You make a terrible GPS.”
He turned right rather than continuing on straight once the light changed, doubling back so he could follow Fatima’s seemingly nonsensical directions. The bit of poltergeist she’d swallowed last night remained inside her, a metaphysical compass she was using to find its magnetic north, wherever that might be. The remnants remained in limbo, caught between the living world and the ones beyond the veil. Fatima would guide it on to whatever hell it’d crawled out ofafterthey found where the damn thing came from.
It took time, half a tank of gas, and him needing more coffee by the time the clock ticked over past 10:00. He’d just pulled into a small parking lot outside a Starbucks when his phone rang. Maricela’s name flashed across the screen, and Spencer sighed, killing the engine and answering the call with the phone pressed to his ear. “Bailey speaking.”
“I have Ross with me. He informed me about what occurred at your hotel last night,” Maricela said. Her voice came through with an echo in his ear that meant she had him on speakerphone.
“Yeah, I’m following up on some leads.”
“He told me that as well. Considering the attack, we need to move you into agent housing so you have a proper threshold for protection. I’ll make sure that’s done today.”
“That would be helpful.” He’d had to check out of the hotel at the polite request from management, and currently, his luggage was in the trunk of the SUV.
“I know your magic deals with the dead, but are you certain the poltergeist wasn’t already present in the hotel when you checked in?”
“No, Fatima would have warned me when we first arrived.”
“Could it have followed you? Maybe from the gala?”
Fatima wrinkled her nose in a way Spencer knew was disdainful as she leaned over the center console to bump her head against his arm.No.
He opted not to translate her tone. “We’d know if a spirit was attempting to haunt us.” Spencer paused, thinking about Takoma. “Huh. Maybe not us.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He ignored that question for the moment. “What’s the paperwork like for bringing in a confidential informant?”
“Paperwork for—who were you talking to, Bailey? The god pack alphas?”
“Not someone I want to name over an unsecured line.”
“Then you can inform me in person when you return to the office.”
“Might be a while.”
“I’ll wait.”
Spencer winced at her icy tone, knowing he couldn’t get out of that face-to-face. “I’ll keep you and the team updated about my search.”
