Read Online Water to Burn by Katharine Kerr - Free Book Online

screen of the monitor. In the past, I’d occasionally seen clues and pictures appear when the system was down—just image objectification, of course—but it stayed stubbornly dark. Still, Evers’ remark about spirits and the secrets of the universe nagged at me.
    “That’s done.” Ari strode back into the living room. “Sanchez will follow up on the other two coven members.”
    “Damn! I was hoping to interview them myself.”
    “So was I, but I think we’re being put in our place. I doubt if they have anything valuable to contribute, so I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
    “Let’s hope. I—” I paused, staring at him. “Grimoires.”
    “What?”
    “Sorry. The Collective Data Stream just reminded me that I’ve got some grimoires. You know, books of spells and magical lore.”
    Ari rolled his eyes but said no more. I got up and went to my bookshelf, where I kept two scholarly editions of late medieval grimoires hidden behind a row of books on nutrition.
    “You used a couple of words that triggered this,” I said to Ari. “Put in place, valuable—they made me think of hidden treasure. If I’m not mistaken, that’s one of the things spirits are supposed to do for you, finding lost treasures.”
    Sure enough, when I leafed through the first grimoire, I found a passage describing a guaranteed way of discovering buried gold. Since the spell began with biting out the heart of a living dove, I ignored the rest of the details.
    “This Caleb guy,” I said, “the one I told you about when we were coming home from Aunt Eileen’s.”
    “The treasure hunter?”
    “That’s him, yes. I’m wondering if he’s our Brother Belial, and he was looking to invoke some spirits that could help him find it.”
    “You could call your sister and ask if this fellow’s tall and thin.”
    “Brilliant idea. I’ll do that.”
    Kathleen, however, sank my hopes of a quick ID on the hooded man. Caleb Sumner was short and pudgy, she told me, and had a tenor voice.
    “He pronounces some words kind of funny,” Kathleen said. “I mean, he keeps dropping his R’s like some New England people do, but beyond that. When he says light and night, it’s sort of like loit and noit.”
    “When he’s answering a question, does he say ‘yeah yeah’ instead of just ‘yeah’?”
    “Yeah, he does.”
    “I bet he’s from Martha’s Vineyard.”
    “The island? No wonder he’s so good with boats, then. Jack says he really knows his stuff. Other than that, he’s a total dork, if you ask me, not that anyone does.” Hurt crept into her voice. “Jack won’t hear a word against him.”
    That bit of information struck me as odd, because Jack was normally suspicious of everyone who tried to befriend him. Like many rich people, he worried that these potential friends were trying to get into his bank account.
    “Does Caleb come to the house a lot?” I said.
    “Not a lot, not since Woofie Five bit him.” Kathleen paused for a laugh. “Really hard on the ankle, which was all the poor little love could reach. He’s the Yorkie mix.”
    And as nasty a canine critter as you could find, or at least, so I remembered him. In this case, however, I was prepared to cut Woofie Five some slack.
    “Did Caleb do something to set him off?”
    “No. It was just the bad vibe.” Kathleen hesitated, thinking in her usual slow way. “Aunt Eileen told me that you’re still going with that British guy. The one from InterCop or whatever it’s called.”
    “Interpol, and his name’s Ari Nathan. He’s Israeli. He just sounds British. Actually, we’re looking for an apartment together.”
    Kathleen squealed in honest delight. “Oh, that’s great news!” she said once she’d finished squealing. “Congrats!”
    “Well, it’s not like we’re engaged or anything.”
    “I could guess that, knowing you.”
    “What do you mean by that?”
    “Just your fear of commitment. That’s what Sean calls it, anyway.”
    “Well, he could be right about