Part 32 (1/2)
”She's voodoo.”
”Come on, Mamie.”
”There's good, there's evil. There's religion, there's hocus-hocus. All the same.”
She sounded disturbingly like Marie. ”Well, I'm wearing the cross she gave me, how's that?”
”You're going to need it,” Mamie a.s.sured him.
”A cross?”
Mamie nodded.
”Crosses scare away bad voodoo?”
”Now, boy, you had best learn to believe that there are forces beyond man. You want some garlic bread?”
He stared at her, frowning. ”Mamie, I'm eating a roast beef sandwich.”
”Garlic bread would be good for you.”
”Mamie, I don't want any garlic bread. I-”
”You should take her out tonight.”
”What?”
”Your girl. Take her out tonight. Nice Italian restaurant. Eat a lot of garlic.”
”Do you dislike Maggie, Mamie?”
”No, I like her just fine.”
”Then why do you want me to go spoiling a good relations.h.i.+p with breath to kill?”
Mamie shook her head. ”Like I said ...”
But she didn't say. Her voice trailed away.
”Garlic?”
She shrugged.
”Mamie, we've been talking about good and evil. Voodoo. Now crosses and garlic. I saw lots of Hammer films with Peter Cus.h.i.+ng and Christopher Lee when I was a kid. It's starting to sound as if you think the city is infested with vampires.”
”Who are we to know?” Mamie asked innocently.
”Mamie, come on, we're talking about a flesh and blood killer here. Don't go getting sidetracked.” He slipped off his stool, reaching into his wallet for his money.
”On the house,” Mamie said.
”I think I should probably pay,” he said with a wink.
”Don't pay me. It may be your last meal.”
He shook his head, leaning toward her, surprised that she was regarding him with such concern and affection. He kissed her cheek. ”I'll be okay. I'm wearing your friend's cross.”
”Sure,” she said.
”Okay, now, Mamie, have some faith! I'm wearing Marie's cross, right? I went to see a voodoo because you wanted me to.”
”Right. So?”
Mamie had nice eyes. Wide, dark brown with gold specks. ”I want you to wear something for me.”
”What?”
He shrugged a bit sheepishly. ”I got it from the FBI guy helping out down here. It's a watch, but if you're in trouble, you just push down on the face. It's better than calling me, or paging me, or having anybody get me on the radio. It's like a beeper, only it's private, between you and me. You buzz, and it will vibrate on my end.”
Mamie laughed, delighted. ”Oh, honey, I could buzz you and make things really vibrate, if you gave me half a chance. But then, you're vibratin' enough as it is, aren't you?” she demanded. ”She's something special, isn't she? Your girl?”
”She's different from anyone else, and that's a fact.”
”Don't go falling too deeply in love, Lieutenant,” Mamie warned.
”You keep your nose clean,” Sean warned her, leaving her at last. ”Don't forget, if you're in trouble ...”
Mamie grinned again. ”I'll be glad to buzz you, sir!” she said, and saluted playfully.
Leaving Mamie's, Sean put in a call to Maggie's office from his car. She was concerned, and wanted to know what had been happening. He told her that Callie was gone, and that Rutger had made no appearances to stop her from leaving. ”Thankfully, he's one bad penny that didn't turn up again.”
”What happened at the morgue?”
”Oh, you know the morgue. It's just full of dead bodies.”
”I know, but ...”
He liked the sound of her voice. He missed her. They'd only been apart a few hours, but he missed her. Still, he suddenly felt that it was important to keep a certain distance from her.
Voodoo.
He didn't believe in voodoo.
Of course, he'd often gone on gut feeling ...
”I'm going to be out kind of late tonight,” he told her.
”Oh.”
He hesitated, d.a.m.ning himself. ”But then again, if you happen to be a night owl ...”