“You actually read it, didn’t you?”
“Not all, but quite a bit of, yes.”
“Amazing…so what’s your question?”
“Well, you’re actually the only authority on Voodoo I found who even mentioned collateral possession by Lwa.”
“Probably because it’s an exceptionally rare occurrence.”
“But it happens.”
“Yes, it does. But, as I said, it’s extremely rare. Lwa don’t just hop from horse to horse for no reason.”
“I’ll accept that, but let’s say we have an instance where it does occur. Do you think it’s possible for an unwitting subject to accidentally become a horse for a Lwa?”
“I believe that’s pretty much what I just said, isn’t it?”
“Let me rephrase that…what I’m talking about is someone who is completely oblivious.”
“So when you say ‘unwitting’ you really mean it. As in someone who is totally out of the loop?”
“Yes. Completely. Someone who’s not even a practitioner of Voodoo.”
“Well, my initial reaction would be to say, no. However, I suppose that given the right circumstances just about anything is possible.” She paused for a second before adding, “Hmmm…but, no, it’s not very likely.”
“But, it’s still possible, correct?”
“Like I said, I suppose anything is possible under exactly the right circumstances. Now, please excuse my curiosity here, but what has Lwa possession got to do with these homicides?”
I’m not sure if for some reason I had developed a sort of implicit trust in Doctor Rieth during this short conversation, or if I just needed someone to listen to me. Maybe it was both, maybe it was neither. All I know is that my original plans to conceal my motives for this call were instantly negated as words came rolling out of my mouth before I realized what I was doing.
“Early yesterday afternoon my wife was arrested and charged with them.”
CHAPTER 14:
If Doctor Rieth’s earlier pauses were weighty, the one that now followed my spontaneous confession overloaded the scale. I instantly began to wonder if revealing that particular fact had been wise. Of course, the decision had to have been made subconsciously because it had never been my intention to take the conversation down this dark alley at all. But, here we were and there was no backing up. All I could do about it now was hope any damage I’d just done was manageable.
“So you lied,” she finally said, her original reserved tone tightly coiled about her voice once again as anger replaced curiosity. “You aren’t really working with the police, are you?”
“Yes and no,” I replied.
“Tell me, Mister Gant…if that’s really your name. Are you answering the questions in order, or simply objecting? Because those two words are mutually exclusive.”
“That’s really my name, and a little of both, I suppose,” I told her. “Yes, I lied to you, sort of.”
“Sort of? Either you lied or you…Oh, why am I even talking to you?! Good day!”
“No, no, wait!” I begged. “Please, just hear me out!”
“Why?” she spat. “So you can lie to me some more?”
“No. No more lies, just the truth from here on out. I promise.”
“Forgive me, but just how will I know that you’re really telling the truth? So far, you haven’t exactly established a good track record on that point.”
I puffed out my cheeks and exhaled heavily as I tried to think of a halfway reasonable response for the extremely reasonable query. Unfortunately, there wasn’t one, so I simply said, “I guess you’ll just have to trust me.”
I’m fairly certain that if she hadn’t been stunned by the brazen reply, she would have laughed and hung up. Luck, however, finally seemed to be throwing me a bone, so to speak, and the tactic apparently worked in my favor.
“That’s asking a lot considering how this started, Mister Gant.”
“I know, but I’m desperate and I need your help.”
“Why me?”
“Like I said, from the research I’ve done, apparently you are one of the very few authorities on Voodoo, if not the only one, who believes collateral possession by Lwa is possible.”
“That’s because I’ve seen it happen.”
“Then I came to the right person.”
“Are you trying to flatter your way out of this? Because I hate con men.”
“No, Doctor Rieth, you have no idea how serious I am about this. My wife is being charged with murders she didn’t commit, and I intend to prove it.”
Again the clicking semi-silence of the open line filled the earpiece. I wanted to continue pleading, but I’d played all the cards I had, which in reality amounted to a hand anyone else would have folded. The woman at the other end of the phone had no earthly reason to help me, and I knew that. What’s more, I was fully aware that she knew it as well; so continuing to run off at the mouth wasn’t going to do me a bit of good.
“Okay,” she finally said. “You’ve got two minutes to convince me that I should keep listening to you. But I’m warning you, even if I don’t just hang up on you in the middle of this, I’m going to check out your story.”
“Sounds more than fair,” I agreed. “And, thank you. First off, my apologies for the lie. I just wasn’t sure if you’d talk to me otherwise. In reality, it wasn’t a complete lie; it was more of a half-truth.”
“Semantics.”
“Yes. Well, the part about me being a consultant was absolutely true. I work with the local authorities as well as the FBI on cases where non-traditional religious artifacts and symbology are found or thought to be involved.
“When I told you I was working with the police, that’s where it got a bit fuzzy because at the moment I’m not. However, I was up until a week ago. I was originally…”
“Wait a minute,” she said, interrupting. “You’re in Saint Louis, correct?”
“Yes.”
She began repeating my name in a low voice, mumbling the syllables in repetition. “Rowan Gant…Rowan Gant…That’s where I’ve heard of you. I knew it! I knew your name sounded familiar. You’re that guy…you’re the Witch…”
“I don’t know about the Witch, but yes, I’m a Witch.”
“No, I mean you’re the one who caught that psycho a few years ago, aren’t you? That crazy who was going around accusing people of being Witches and then killing them…” Her voice trailed off into a murmur once again. “What was his name? Something Parker…or maybe Palmer…”
“Eldon Porter,” I volunteered, knowing all too well to whom she was referring. “And, actually, the police caught him. I was just…bait…more or less.”
“I think someone forgot to tell that to the media because it was all over the national news.”
“Yes, well you really shouldn’t believe everything you see on TV.”
“As a rule, I don’t, but I seem to recall the FBI themselves crediting you with being instrumental in the capture.”
Dredging up those events from my past wasn’t going to help my mood by any stretch of the imagination. I had made some very heavy sacrifices to end Porter’s spree-a bloody orgy that had seen the deaths of several innocent people, among them two of my friends and coven mates. I had far too pressing a matter at hand to wrap myself up in that pain yet again.
“No offense, Doctor Rieth, but those are some memories I really don’t enjoy revisiting…besides, there’s the issue with my wife and I would…”
“Oh, yes. Certainly. I understand completely. But, I have to admit that your credibility just got an enormous boost.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” I returned. “I would have played that ace from the outset if I had known it was one.”
“So, let me get this straight,” she ventured. “Your wife has been arrested and charged with these murders, and if I’m following your line of questions to me, you believe she was being ridden by a Lwa when they were committed? And, furthermore, that the Lwa is the actual entity responsible for the killing?”
“Close. I do think Felicity was being ridden, but I definitely don’t believe she committed the crimes, while possessed or at any other time. It was someone else entirely.”