Page 57 of No Surrender
“Short of hanging out in bedrooms and watching people sleep, how do we get close enough to trap it?” Simon felt his strength fading, but he knew this was too important to let slide.
Between the cursed objects and the boo hag, the people involved in the Slitter trial were being worn thin. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before someone was seriously hurt—or killed. If going to court was delayed—or a mistrial declared—the case could linger in legal limbo, jeopardizing everything their hard work and the risks they’d taken had contributed.
“With bait,” Vic said. Simon opened his eyes. Vic stood in the doorway, and Simon wondered how long he’d been listening.
“Out of the question,” Simon snapped, although his voice lacked its full strength.
“It wants to come after me—so let it. Only I won’t really be alone. You’ll be there to swoop in and save me, my knight in shining armor,” Vic replied.
“No.”
“Maybe…hear him out,” Travis argued.
“I am not letting Vic put himself out there as bait for a monster—again!” Simon hated how strained his voice sounded and how much stopping Thompson’s ghost had depleted him.
“Simon—I’m a cop. I was willing to try to lure Judd to come after me. This isn’t the first time I’ve helped trap a perp.”
“This isn’t a thief or a drug dealer,” Simon argued. “If you’ve been listening, then you know. This is a monster. Very old. Powerful.”
“Ask Travis,” Vic countered, raising his chin defiantly.
“It’s not up to Travis.”
Simon forced himself to sit and saw the struggle in Vic’s face to remain where he was instead of rushing to help.
“How else are you going to get close?” Vic challenged. Simon and his partner rarely argued, but they both could be stubborn. “You can’t lure it because you need to do the woo-woo stuff. Do you feel any better about making Ross the sacrificial lamb?”
“Of course not.”
“Then who? Because this creature is going to incapacitate someone soon that we can’t afford to lose. We don’t have time to argue about this,” Vic threw up his hands in frustration.
A piercing whistle sounded from the phone, silencing the argument.
“You can’t set a trap without bait, and ethics require informed consent,” Travis said, now that he had their attention. “Vic understands the risks, and he’s willing to help you draw out the hag. You’re used to working together. You trust each other. Don’t let your relationship complicate this.”
Simon felt his cheeks flush at the reproof.Travis is right. If Vic and I weren’t a couple, there wouldn’t be an issue. Work partners do this kind of thing all the time. Vic’s willing to deal with the risks I take as a medium. I need to respect him as a cop.
“Okay,” Simon replied through gritted teeth, still hating the plan. “You’re both right. I don’t like it, but I don’t have another idea.”
“Thank you,” Vic said, and Simon understood what his fiancé didn’t say out loud.Thank you for trusting me to do my job. Thank you for respecting my decision and my experience.
Simon just hoped he could live up to Vic and Travis’s estimation of his abilities.
“There’s another piece to this,” Simon confessed as Vic came to sit beside him on the bed and took his hand. “When I was getting the statements from the ghosts back at the Vampire’s Castle, they told me that Judd had started showing up there and talking to Thompson’s ghost.”
Vic gave him a sharp look. “You didn’t read that into my notes.”
“On purpose—because I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I’m still not sure.”
“Judd is the Renfield?” Travis asked, referring to Dracula’s minion in the old novel. “The Igor to Thompson’s Dr. Frankenstein?”
“Yeah,” Simon replied. “Bad case of hero worship. If I hadn’t seen Thompson’s ghost get ripped apart, I’d almost think Judd might be ghost-possessed.”
“Influence can be just as powerful as possession,” Travis replied. “Thompson set binding sigils and was able to work spells to extend his life from his victims’ energy. If Judd is setting curses, he’s probably got at least a flicker of talent to pull off what he’s doing.”
“Once we’re rid of the hag, we’ve got to figure out how to stop Judd,” Vic pointed out. “I have the feeling that as the trial gets closer, he’ll do anything to disrupt it. We can’t afford to have him and the hag after us at the same time.”
Simon sighed, knowing that the plan was their best shot even as he hated putting Vic in preventable danger.
