“Mmm, that’s not exactly right,” Delphie said. “It’s more like you’re looking into the eyes of a demon that’s been in your life for a long time. You just didn’t know it was there. No . . . that’s not exactly it, either, because you knew . . .”
“I’m looking at a scene from my life with new eyes,” Seth said.
“That’s it,” Delphie said. “You’re seeing the demon for the first time. What are you doing playing with demons? They can’t give you anything you want—no wisdom, no knowledge, no peace of mind. They are sheer mayhem and cruelty.”
“I didn’t realize I was dealing with a demon,” Seth said.
“This one is old, really old, something out of the jungle,” Delphie said. “And angry, very angry. He needs to go back to the jungle. Only the jungle can contain it.”
Seth blinked. Every conversation with Delphie was like this. He’d call to get a specific answer to a specific problem, and she had something different to tell him. He wondered why he bothered.
“What?”
“You have to contain the demon,” Delphie said. “Only you can do it.”
“Why me?”
Delphie gave an exasperated sigh, and Seth chuckled.
“Explain it to me,” Seth said.
“You know how music just pops into your head? How you say there’s a place where music lives, and sometimes it comes to visit you?”
“Sure.”
“That’s called channeling,” Delphie said.
“That’s what you call it,” Seth said.
“Yes, and the Queen of England calls it sheer brilliance,” Delphie gave a belly laugh. “I saw that and laughed my ass off.”
Seth smiled.
“Your capacity to channel is what will lock this demon into the body,” Delphie said. “After you kill him, of course.”
“What?”
“Well, what else are you really going to do? He’s going after Maresol. You have to kill him. Oh, Éowyn’s ex, too. No, he kills himself. Wait a minute, did I say someone was going to try to kill my dear friend Maresol?”
“You just did,” Seth said.
“Oh, Seth, this is terrible,” Delphie said. “Poor Maresol. It will scare her to death, and . . .”
“And?”
“You have to go,” Delphie said. “Now. Go now.”
“I won’t make it if I drive. It’s three hours,” Seth said.
“She’s at Luis’s,” Delphie said. “She’s having trouble with her son’s wife. You know—the one who moved into her house? She thinks she should solve it herself, but the wife hates her and makes her life hell. She’s not sleeping. That’s why she forgets things. Her son doesn’t know what to do because his wife is pregnant and . . . well, you know how that goes.”
“I do,” Seth said.
“She was going to just go home, be with her son, and whatever, but . . .” Delphie said. “They changed the locks and left her clothes in suitcases on the porch. They kicked her out of her own home. I mean, she bought that home with Manuel’s life insurance, but they act like she’s your whore or . . . whatever. It’s a big mess. You have to do something.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Seth said.
“No, you have to go,” Delphie said. “Now. Don’t take your truck. It’s too slow. Take Schmidty’s car. He’s right outside your door. Oh, Seth, you have to save her. You just have to.”
“And the demon?”
“You’ll know what to do,” Delphie said. “Listen to the music. Remember what you did the last time you saw him—you know, in the jungle. You’ll know what to do.”
There was a knock at the door.
“I’m on my way,” Seth said.
“Go,” Delphie said. “And Everest says you’re on the right track, but you should go now.”
“I will,” Seth said.
“I’ll call Ava,” Delphie said. “And call me to let me know what happens.”
“And Maresol?”
“Go, just go,” Delphie said. “They are already at Luis’s property.”
Delphie clicked off the phone, and Seth opened the door.
“Where the hell have you been?” Schmidty asked. His voice was harsh, but he smirked. “I’ve always wanted to say that.”
“I need your car,” Seth said.
“Sure,” Schmidty said. “Where are we going?”
Seth grabbed his handgun and checked the clip. Surprised, he looked again. Chiến had left the clip loaded. He’d been sure the man had emptied it before he’d set it down.
“Where are we going?” Schmidty repeated.
“There’s no ‘we,’” Seth said. “I’m going to take your car to try to get to Maresol before a couple of guys who want to disable her and hack her up. I just saw one of their victims. It’s not pretty. You don’t want to be one.”
“I’m younger than you are and a better driver,” Schmidty said. “You’ve said so yourself. Plus, I took that series of driving classes you recommended. I’m good at high speeds. Where are we going?”
“There’s a demon that can infect you,” Seth said.
“I’m immune to demons,” Schmidty said. “I’m Jewish.”
Seth grinned.
“So are you,” Schmidty said. Seth groaned. “Are we leaving?”
“I can’t save your life.”
“You already have,” Schmidty said.
“What?”
“I’ll tell you on the way.” Schmidty turned in place and walked out of the room. “You promised to tell me what you were doing.”
Seth ran down the hallway. Schmidty kept up.
“I told you I wouldn’t lie to you about what I was doing,” Seth said.
“That’s right,” Schmidty said, as he followed him down the stairs. “This must be a gory one.”
“You didn’t want to know about the gory ones,” Seth said.
“I’ll stay in the car,” Schmidty said.
“And face the demon?” Seth asked.
“Still a Jew.”
They ran across the parking lot. Schmidty hit the remote access on his rented BMW, and they jumped into the car. Schmidty smoked the tires on the way out of the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Schmidty said.
“Luis’s ranch,” Seth said.
“Which way?” Schmidty asked.
“Go up the valley,” Seth said. “It’s fast and we’re less likely to get caught.”
Schmidty nodded, and Seth hung on. Schmidty flew out of town and started up the 17.
“Okay, what’s going on?” Seth asked. “How did I ever save your life?”
“Lizzie and I got married,” Schmidty said.
“What about the big, expensive ceremony? Just the right rabbi? Your mother’s rules? The ring that wasn’t quite big enough? Your father’s disapproval? All of that?”
“We were talking and just decided to get married,” Schmidty said. “We did it last night. That’s why we’re here—to tell you and Julie Ann—and my parents, of course.”
“Is she pregnant?”
“No,” Schmidty said. “Not yet. At least I don’t think so. Gosh, that’ll be fun. Anyway, that’s not why we got married. We wanted something that would be just us. I wanted to make the commitment to her—alone. She wanted to make the commitment to me—alone. Just her and just me.”
“And?”
“It was really . . . wow,” Schmidty said. “Dream-come-true stuff. She said the same thing. We did it on the beach with candles and a rabbi and . . .”
“Your father’s going to kill me,” Seth said.
“And?”
“Same shit, different day,” Seth said. “Congratulations, son.”
Schmidty laughed and pressed the car over a hundred on the straight highway.
“The road is just ahead,” Seth said.
Schmidty jerked the wheel and the car skidded around the right hand corner. Seth hung on. They headed toward Mount Blanca, effortlessly avoiding the potholes and broken spaces on the straight, flat blacktop.
Seth’s cellphone rang. He looked at it and scowled.
“I thought that was a super-secret phone,” Schmidty said.
“Obviously not,” Seth said. He answered the phone with a gruff, “O’Malley.”
“Mr. O’Malley?” an accented male voice asked. “It’s Abram Miller. I’m sorry for bothering you so late at night. You said to telephone you any time. I got this number from Luis’s wife.”
“It’s no problem,” Seth said.
“I would never have called, but . . .” Abram said.
“Yes?”
“There have been gunshots at Luis’s home,” Abram said.