Page 7 of Ghostmaker

“I couldn’t give two fucks about his siblings!” Cisco called after them. “Get him on our side. You’re all charming, when you want to be.”

“I certainly am,” Jude said. “I don’t know about these two mouth-breathers.” He pointed to Ronan and Fitz.

They were all back in the SUV several minutes later. “What do you think?” Fitz asked, starting the engine.

“I think this sucks,” Ronan muttered.

“Guys, we need to be positive about this.”

“Okay, I’m positive this sucks,” Ronan shot back. “But I think we can do what Cisco wants. How hard can it be to show this West what we do and how we do it? Hell, aside from our salaries we hardly requisition anything.”

“Good point, Ronan, and everything we do request goes through me so I have the receipts and what not.” Fitz sounded a bit more in control of his emotions. “We’ll sit down and make a plan of action when we get back to the office.”

“What about Cope and Ten?” Jude asked. “Are we going to tell them now or when we get home?”

“Ten’s gonna know there’s something wrong with me the second I walk through the door.”

“We all know there’s something wrong with you.” Jude grinned.

“No, I mean Ten will be able to read me and see something’s wrong. Same with Fitz. Ten says he’s easier to read than books from the kids section of the library.” Ronan grimaced. “Sorry, Fitz.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re right. Ten will know, so we’d better sit them down and explain it. Especially since this guy is going to be your guest for dinner.” Fitzgibbon eyed Jude in the rear-view mirror.

“Fuck, I forgot about that. Cope’s gonna love having to put on a dinner party at the last minute in the hopes that we don’t all get shitcanned.” Jude felt sick to his stomach. What the hell would he do if he couldn’t be a detective anymore?

“This guy might not say yes,” Ronan said. “He might see it as a form of bribery and decline the invitation.”

“Technically it is a form of bribery.” Fitzgibbon shook his head. “I’m used to getting us out of situations of Ronan’s creation, but this time I feel like I’m underwater.”

“One hundred percent on the level, Fitz. What happens to me, to us, if the mayor and city council refuse to fund this unit?” Jude’s voice shook as he spoke.

Fitz nibbled his bottom lip. “Ronan and I are still officers with the Salem Police Department. They could assign us to any division in the precinct, which is bad news because there were a lot of guys who thought they’d be shoo-ins to get on the cold case team and we skipped all of them in line. I have a feeling those guys, most of whom have reached the rank of sergeant, are going to give us the shittiest jobs possible. Meter maids, parking enforcement, directing traffic when the city repaints crosswalks, crossing guards. Fuck me, blue. As for you, Jude, I’m not sure. Cisco made you a detective based on your PI work. I can’t imagine there are many captains who would do the same, which is why we all need to be on board with charming this guy and making him understand how valuable this unit is to the SPD.”

Jude nodded along. He’d known from the minute Cisco mentioned cutting the department that his head would be the one on the chopping block, but it was something else entirely to hear Fitzgibbon confirm his greatest fear. Jude was going to have to help this auditor in any way he could. Pour on the charm and hope like hell he loved baked ziti.

4

Cope

After a quick sandwich from Cassie’s shop, Cope, Ten, and Carson set off for Jonas Crawford’s psychic shop. When his own client appointments were over, Cope had gone online and found photos of the line of customers waiting in front of The Forbidden Eye, Crawford’s newly opened shop. One photograph showed the line was ten deep.

Cope parked the SUV in the city parking garage and, with Ten and Carson, headed for Essex Street. Thankfully, with this being the first day of school, there weren’t as many tourists or families milling around. Reaching the shop, Cope saw there was no longer a line waiting to meet with Crawford.

Cope pushed through the door and was met with the scent of sulfur, taking him back to his childhood learning witchcraft spells at his mother’s knee. Sulfur was widely used in aggressive and forceful black magic spells. Based on the strength of the odor, Crawford had burned quite a bit of it.

“Good afternoon, friends,” Crawford said, stepping into the shop from the back room. He was dressed in a grey suit, matching waistcoat and tie. If Cope had to guess, he’d say the man was in his late fifties. “Tennyson, Cope, and Carson, I’ve heard much about you. It’s wonderful to finally meet you all at last.” He extended a hand, which Carson seemed hesitant to take.

The absolute last thing Cope wanted to do was touch this man. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why he was so uneasy in Crawford’s presence and wasn’t all that keen on finding out.

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” Ten said, holding out his fist to bump. Leave it to Ten to find a casual way out of the situation. “We hear that your first morning was a success.”

“Yes, I met with quite a few people. Citizens of Salem and tourists alike. I think I’ll be able to build myself an excellent clientele here. The moment I got to town, I felt as if I were home.”

“I felt the same thing when I arrived here,” Cope said, not knowing exactly why he’d opened his mouth. It hadn’t crossed his mind to ward himself before coming to The Forbidden Eye, and was regretting his decision now.

“Ah, yes, you’re from New Orleans and a member of the vaunted Devereaux coven. Your mother, Elizabeth, was known far and wide for her skills with black magick hexes and such.”

Crawford’s words stunned Cope. His mother had been known for many skills, but black magick was not one of them. She taught Cope how to wield it in order to protect himself and others, but he’d always been warned not to use it casually or on a whim. What the hell was this man’s game?