Zeke Masterson
Moving back in my chair, I was no longer certain I’d been lucky scoring a table outside my favorite coffee shop. The wooden seat was mildly uncomfortable, and the yellow paint, meant to withstand the elements, was slick, which caused me to constantly slide forward. Ignoring the poor choice of furniture, I fixed my gaze on my client. Tessa was middle-aged, pretty, and dressed like a business executive. Her confident attire contrasted with her trembling hands and soft voice. If I didn’t have enhanced hearing, I’d have barely heard her above the hum of the busy city street.
“I just . . . I can’t seem to shake this feeling, Mr. Masterson,” she said, her brow knitted in worry. “It’s like shadows are following me.”
When I accepted the meeting, I knew this would be another of those “unexplained events” kind of a job. I wasn’t sure when I acquired the reputation as the go-to private detective for weird and unusual occurrences, but those made up the majority of my referrals lately. My big sister Brenda said it was because I had the powers to solve their cases.
She wasn’t wrong, but I’d also used my angel powers to help with regular problems. I preferred those cases. They were easierto solve. This one, fortunately, had a simple explanation; she just didn’t want to accept the truth.
“I did some more checking, and what you’re experiencing isn’t supernatural. Your ex-husband hired a creepy private detective to tail you. He put a tracker on your car.” I set the device on the table and let her soak in what I’d said.
The device had the jerk’s imprint all over it, and two minutes after I arrived, I picked him out of the crowd. He and I would be having a long talk once Tessa and I were finished.
“What?” She reached for the tracker, then pulled her hand away before touching it. “Why would he do that? The divorce is finalized already.”
Theirs had been a contentious divorce. Tessa made way more than the douche canoe husband, but since she got full custody of the kids, he was still ordered to pay child support. “If I had to guess, he’s hoping to find some reason to reduce his monthly payments. Don’t worry. I’m going to make sure they stop following you.”
“That sounds dangerous,” she said.
It wasn’t clear who she thought was in danger. I could’ve read her mind, but it didn’t matter. “I do this sort of thing all the time. Everything will be fine.”
“What should I do now?”
Noting she sounded more upset than ever, I didn’t tell her the creep was across the street recording us. In a few minutes, his phone was going to mysteriously stop working and then catch fire. I’d even tossed in a nasty virus to erase everything he stored on the cloud. None of his work would make it to his client.
“I’m going to go in a minute and take the tracker with me. Wait five minutes, then leave. It will confuse him that you and your tracker aren’t moving in the same direction. I’ll confront him before he can decide what to do and make sure he and your ex leave you alone.”
“But what if he hires someone else?”
This was the part I hated most about accepting domestic cases. The fear was real, but I couldn’t tell her I was an angel and could ensure the guy wouldn’t bother her again. “He won’t. Trust me. Give it a couple of days, and if you still feel like you’re being followed, call me back. But you won’t.”
I gave her my most calming smile, which probably didn’t help all that much. I might be a hundred and forty-seven years old, but I barely looked twenty-five.
Discreetly, I covered the tracker with my hands, palmed it, and stood to leave. I pointed inside like I was going to use the restroom. “Remember to wait five minutes. It will let me get in position.”
I made my way to the bathroom, which thankfully was empty. Using the mirror to make sure I got it right, I altered my appearance enough to fool even Tessa. I slipped off my jacket, turned it inside out, and pulled a baseball cap out of the inner pocket.
A minute later, I walked out of the coffee shop, past Tessa, and across the street toward my target. The man was an amateur. He was so focused on Tessa he ignored his surroundings. I wasn’t complaining. It made my job much easier.
I walked to the end of the block and waited. Once I finished convincing him this job wasn’t worth the money, I’d have a talk with the ex. Some jobs were just too easy.
Ididn’t finish with Tessa’s ex until after 3:00 p.m. He was an abusive jerk who was angry Tessa finally left him. Without herbig salary, the good life was over. Worse for him, a quarter of his take-home pay went to support his kids.
He hadn’t listened to reason, so I planted a suggestion in his brain that she was dating a cop and had a restraining order against him. It would wear off in a few months, but in the meantime, it’d give her a chance to get settled again.
Northern Virginia had horrible afternoon traffic. Every time I was stuck, I had the urge to park on the side of the road and release my wings. I didn’t because the archangels would be furious, and I liked being left alone. I didn’t have ambitions like my older sister, didn’t make friends with two of the heirs, and I wasn’t summoned to Milan or Atlanta for assignments that lasted years. It was a matter of time before they called upon me, but the less attention I drew to myself the better.
I gave all my ambitions to Brenda. Just hearing about her new assignment made me anxious.
Parking behind the small building that housed my private investigator’s business, I had the feeling I was being watched. Now I knew how Tessa felt.
I made sure the strap on my gun was unsnapped before I got out of the car. The area around me was empty, no one was on the rooftops, and the few windows facing the courtyard were shut. Unlike Tessa, however, I wasn’t imagining things.
Exhaling, I extended my senses. Seven people were inside the buildings, five were engaged in mundane tasks, one was asleep, and the seventh was . . . the seventh was watching me.
“Very good, Ezekiel,”Michael’s voice said inside my head.“I’m impressed you sensed me as quickly as you did. I’m in your office waiting for you.”
As nice as it was to get praise from the archangel Michael, having the leader of our kind sitting inside my office was unnerving. Locks were meant to keep people out and not let them snoop about your stuff.
