Read Online Lasting Fury (Hexing House Book 2) by Jen Rasmussen - Free Book Online
Authors: Jen Rasmussen
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set up a visit with Seth Bates.
Not only could she not get access to him, she couldn’t even get a straight answer as to where he was. She did call Holgersen then, although she didn’t hold out much hope he’d return her message.
One person she did manage to get on the phone was Boyd Lexington’s brother-in-law. Thea told him she was a journalist. Much to her surprise, he didn’t even hesitate to give her permission to call on him and his wife.
“She’s been talking to everyone who’ll listen,” he said. “Won’t do you any good if you think you’re going to get to Talbott, though. He’s not staying with us, and I’m not at liberty to tell you where he is. He’s off limits to the media.”
Thea had figured as much. But there might be some way to get information out of them while she was there—one way or another. If they had a personal item of Talbott’s she could touch, maybe she would get a lucky glimpse of him, and be able to work out where he was from that. Or better yet, if they had such an item on hand, maybe she’d even be able to pilfer it. It wasn’t a very nice thing to consider, but if she could use it to encourage visions, to see what Talbott himself saw, she might be able to get what she needed from the boy without having to get to him at all.
She picked up a human illusion at RDM. Fifteen minutes later, she sat in a company SUV and stared at herself in the rear view mirror.
Thea hadn’t seen herself with a human face in quite some time. She expected to have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the face Celebrity! magazine had once named one of the hundred most beautiful had brought her a fair amount of pain. On the other hand, it was the face she was born with, the one she’d always associated with herself. She was bound to feel wistful.
But she didn’t feel wistful. Her feelings weren’t mixed at all. She was only repulsed by it.
Thea repositioned the mirror and started to drive.
She marveled at how little the nearly two hour trip bothered what had once been her bum leg. Langdon’s tea had been nothing short of a miracle. Thea arrived in a neighborhood not unlike Hemlock Heights in the early afternoon, when the sunshine showed the well-groomed gardens to their best effect.
The Bowman house was big and neatly maintained, like the Lexington house had been. After she showed the Bowmans passable credentials (these had been provided by the Field Office), Marshal Bowman showed her to the living room while his wife Laurel made coffee. Neither of them seemed to recognize her as Teddie Gideon, celebrity girlfriend, or as the alien-demon from Hemlock Heights.
“I’ve been working from home since it happened,” Marshal said, as though assuming her first question would be why he was home in the middle of the day. “Laurel’s been quite fraught, of course, and we’re getting so many questions. At least you had the manners to call instead of just showing up at our door.”
He glanced over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. “Like I told you on the phone, she wants to talk to everybody. Absolutely everybody. Doesn’t matter who they work for. Trying to get the word out. Boyd was her favorite brother. They were very close. She wants justice for him.”
“That’s understandable,” said Thea. “Everyone deserves justice.”
“She doesn’t think the police are doing enough. Or looking in the right places.”
“What do you mean?” Thea asked. “Which places are the right ones?”
His jaw tightened. “I’ll let her go into her theories. But I’m warning you right now. Sometimes she gets a little overwrought. If that happens, the interview is over. Understood?”
“Understood,” said Thea.
Laurel came in a few minutes later, carrying a tray of coffee and cookies. “Please, help yourself. And whatever my husband’s been telling you, feel free to ignore it.”
“Laurel,” Marshal said, but she waved him off.
“You think I’m more delicate than I am, Marshal. I want
Not only could she not get access to him, she couldn’t even get a straight answer as to where he was. She did call Holgersen then, although she didn’t hold out much hope he’d return her message.
One person she did manage to get on the phone was Boyd Lexington’s brother-in-law. Thea told him she was a journalist. Much to her surprise, he didn’t even hesitate to give her permission to call on him and his wife.
“She’s been talking to everyone who’ll listen,” he said. “Won’t do you any good if you think you’re going to get to Talbott, though. He’s not staying with us, and I’m not at liberty to tell you where he is. He’s off limits to the media.”
Thea had figured as much. But there might be some way to get information out of them while she was there—one way or another. If they had a personal item of Talbott’s she could touch, maybe she would get a lucky glimpse of him, and be able to work out where he was from that. Or better yet, if they had such an item on hand, maybe she’d even be able to pilfer it. It wasn’t a very nice thing to consider, but if she could use it to encourage visions, to see what Talbott himself saw, she might be able to get what she needed from the boy without having to get to him at all.
She picked up a human illusion at RDM. Fifteen minutes later, she sat in a company SUV and stared at herself in the rear view mirror.
Thea hadn’t seen herself with a human face in quite some time. She expected to have mixed feelings. On the one hand, the face Celebrity! magazine had once named one of the hundred most beautiful had brought her a fair amount of pain. On the other hand, it was the face she was born with, the one she’d always associated with herself. She was bound to feel wistful.
But she didn’t feel wistful. Her feelings weren’t mixed at all. She was only repulsed by it.
Thea repositioned the mirror and started to drive.
She marveled at how little the nearly two hour trip bothered what had once been her bum leg. Langdon’s tea had been nothing short of a miracle. Thea arrived in a neighborhood not unlike Hemlock Heights in the early afternoon, when the sunshine showed the well-groomed gardens to their best effect.
The Bowman house was big and neatly maintained, like the Lexington house had been. After she showed the Bowmans passable credentials (these had been provided by the Field Office), Marshal Bowman showed her to the living room while his wife Laurel made coffee. Neither of them seemed to recognize her as Teddie Gideon, celebrity girlfriend, or as the alien-demon from Hemlock Heights.
“I’ve been working from home since it happened,” Marshal said, as though assuming her first question would be why he was home in the middle of the day. “Laurel’s been quite fraught, of course, and we’re getting so many questions. At least you had the manners to call instead of just showing up at our door.”
He glanced over his shoulder, then lowered his voice. “Like I told you on the phone, she wants to talk to everybody. Absolutely everybody. Doesn’t matter who they work for. Trying to get the word out. Boyd was her favorite brother. They were very close. She wants justice for him.”
“That’s understandable,” said Thea. “Everyone deserves justice.”
“She doesn’t think the police are doing enough. Or looking in the right places.”
“What do you mean?” Thea asked. “Which places are the right ones?”
His jaw tightened. “I’ll let her go into her theories. But I’m warning you right now. Sometimes she gets a little overwrought. If that happens, the interview is over. Understood?”
“Understood,” said Thea.
Laurel came in a few minutes later, carrying a tray of coffee and cookies. “Please, help yourself. And whatever my husband’s been telling you, feel free to ignore it.”
“Laurel,” Marshal said, but she waved him off.
“You think I’m more delicate than I am, Marshal. I want
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