Read Online Linda Welch - A conspiracy of Demons by A Conspiracy of Demons - Free Book Online

Snoopy’s help, I hacked into the Economy Lodge database.
    Hm. Lynn originally made a reservation for the night of the 8th but extended for another night and checked out the morning of the 10 th . She must have seen this RP in the Portland area .
    T he doorbell rang and I heard Carrie say, “Look, it’s Hunkadelicious !”
    I trotted downstairs. Car rie stood at the kitchen window, her hands pressed to her breast. “Isn’t he lovely.”
    No argument from me. In a black shirt open at the neck, a short-waisted, blue denim jacket, tight blue jeans, brown leather cowboy boots with slightly worn heels and a brown leather belt with a huge silver buckle shaped like a coiled lariat, Royal looked Western tonight. A thin leather cord tied his hair in a tail. If I had to describ e him in one word, it would be yummy. Or hunkadelicious.
    “If you like that type,” Jack said.
    Mel snorted and told Carrie, “Let me tell you, he likes that type.”
    “What do you . . . oh, a poofter , is he?”
    “A what?” from Jack.
    “You know. Queer, a twink, a fag .”
    Jack bristled. “No, I don’t .”
    I intervened. “Carrie, if you mean what I think, those terms are considered politically incorrect nowadays.”
    “Well, they were in my day too , dear.”
    She spoke to Jack. “ P ulling your leg , pet ; I knew it’d be D ouble Dutch to you. Your lifestyle is none of my business. Makes no difference to me. We’re all the same under the skin. ”
    Jack pointed his nose in the air and stalked away. Oh dear. And here I thought they were getting along so well.
    I unlocked the door and let Royal in. He wanted the doors locked at all times - another security measure - and I actually remembered to do it last night . I usually forgot.
    My buddies were in the kitchen doorway . “Oh my gawd, look at the body on him,” Carrie drooled.
    I grabbed Royal’s hand. “Come upstairs.”
    He twitched his eyebrows. “There is no place I would rather be.”
    Carrie snickered.
    I towed him up the staircase and in my bedroom. He spun me and pulled me to his chest as we stepped through the door.
    “I didn’t mean that.” But I didn’t struggle. Not while his hands stroked up and down my spine and the scent of amber and sandalwood engulfed me. “Jack and Mel were annoying me, I wanted to get away from them.”
    “I can understand that . ” He eyed the open laptop. “ What are you doing up here?”
    “Following up on Lynn’s appointments for the past seven weeks.”
    His embrace tightened . “I do no t envy you. Any luck?” Then, “Your window is open.”
    Good grief. His obsession with security went over the top. I eased from his arms and went to my desk, kicking aside a shirt and Levis on the floor. “I need air on occasion, Royal ! No, no luck at all.”
    I bent over my desk, heels of my hands braced on the edge. “ Lynn helped on four police investigations. I wonder if we should check them out. ”
    He looked over my shoulder. “Okay.” He point ed at the laptop. “What is the R P?”
    “Don’t know. ” I scribbled the addresses of Lynn’s consultancy jobs on a scrap of paper. “She went to Portland for a job on October 8 th . She stayed for another day and left on the 10 th . ” I jabbed my finger at th e laptop screen. “She saw this RP on the 9 th so it was in Portland or roundabouts, but maybe it’s not a person. Could be a local tourist trap or some such. Could be anything. ”
    I raked my fingers through my hair. “This is such a long shot, and I bet Provo will be on it soon enough.”
    “ I’m sure they are checking her financial and phone records as we speak,” Royal agreed. “ If only we had someone inside Provo PD.”
    I momentarily stopped breathing as I remembered the day we left Little Barrow. Carrie said she wished she could come with us, which made me think of various uses for a shade who could move away from her place of death and travel wherever she wanted.
    No one in Provo PD would talk to us, but we