Barbie’s reasoning made perfect sense, and she was probably telling the truth about her current commitment to the cause. However, there was no way in hell I was going to level with her. I’d have to reveal too much of my hard-earned, forbidden knowledge to even begin to explain.
“Have you had any success finding out who created the photographs?” I asked. I wasn’t going to tell Barbie the whole story, but I decided not to rub her face in the fact, either.
She paused, and I felt sure she was going to press me to give her the juicy details. But she didn’t, and I let go of a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding.
“Not yet. But I’m going to work on the assumption that Hillerman and Simms used the same source, and that gives me a few more bread crumbs to follow.”
“Great. Let me know if you find anything.” I meant that to be a dismissal, but Barbie either didn’t get it, or she chose to ignore it.
“So I hear Hillerman’s intern met with an untimely end sometime last night.”
Internally, I cringed. Considering Psycho Demon was gunning for me, there were sure a lot of other people getting hurt in his wake.
“Yeah, I heard that, too.”
“And is it a coincidence that I haven’t been able to reach you at your home number?”
“Is there a point you’re trying to make, or are you just jabbing pins in me for shits and grins?”
“My point is you can use all the help you can get.”
“Oh, we’re back on that, are we?”
“I don’t give up easily. I’ll figure out whatever it is you’re hiding, and then I’ll help you whether you want me to or not.”
The sound that left my throat now was almost a growl. “What the fuck do you care? I’m not even a paying client, and if I were a paying client, I’d fire you for sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Barbie was silent so long I thought she might have hung up. But she’d been telling nothing but the truth when she said she didn’t give up easily.
“The things I did for Jack Hillerman…” She sighed. “It wasn’t the first time I’d compromised my professional ethics on a case, but always before, it was for a good cause. I did more than just compromise my ethics this time, and I did it for money. I can’t even hide behind a good cause. That’s not the kind of person I want to be. So if I can help you, it’ll help me feel a little less like a scum-sucking bottom feeder.”
“You were just trying to protect your sister,” I said, then was surprised at myself for coming to Barbie’s defense. By all rights, I should hate this woman.
“That’s what I told myself,” Barbie agreed. “But now I think I was looking for an easy way out. For years, I’ve busted my ass to keep Blair at The Healing Circle, and I couldn’t resist the lure of easy money. I should have just kept busting my ass like always.”
Maybe if I hadn’t sacrificed Tommy Brewster to save my brother, I wouldn’t have been able to identify with Barbie at all. I’m certain I wouldn’t have been able to forgive her. I’m not the most forgiving of people under the best of circumstances. But honestly, I’m not sure I wouldn’t have done the same thing had our roles been reversed, so I was having a hard time throwing stones.
“Believe me, Barbie, I know exactly what it’s like to make bad decisions when people you love are involved.”
“Very intriguing, but I’ll resist my urge to pry. One thing, though: please don’t call me Barbie. My name’s Barbara.”
I couldn’t help laughing. “If you don’t want me calling you Barbie, then you need to either change your name, or gain twenty pounds and dye your hair.”
“Fine. But remember, two can play that game, Morgie.”
We both laughed at that. It felt kind of surreal, trading quips with the woman who’d wreaked such havoc on my life. But it also felt kind of … good. Once upon a time, before Lugh came into my life, I’d had a friend I could banter with. I’d never been big on the whole “girl talk” thing, but Val and I had on occasion indulged, discussing our romantic woes over pints of chocolate chip ice cream. I missed those days. I missed Val, at least the woman I’d thought Val was.
I think Barbie caught the vibe of my thoughts even over the phone line, because she followed up with, “If you ever decide you need to spill those secrets of yours, just give me a call. I think you might find me a useful asset, especially now that you can’t lean on Adam as much.”
It was my turn to sigh. “Don’t get your hopes up,” I warned. “But thanks. I appreciate the offer.”
There was nothing more to say after that, so we hung up.
CHAPTER 20
I was supposed to meet with my lawyer that afternoon, but I was afraid the police might know that and would be waiting for me there, so I called and canceled. I wondered if the lawsuit was still in the works now that Hillerman was dead. It hardly seemed to matter, not when I had possible murder charges hanging over my head.
Raphael made an appearance shortly after I hung up with Barbie. He brought takeout Chinese food for lunch and gave me first choice, pretending to be a gentleman. I took the chicken lo mein, leaving him with the fishy-smelling shrimp fried rice. We didn’t bother with plates or silverware, instead opening the takeout cartons and digging in with our cheap disposable chopsticks.
I told Raphael what Barbie had told me, but he couldn’t figure out what it meant, either. I was more convinced than ever that I had to unmask Psycho Demon, though God only knows what I was going to do when I found out his identity. The chances that it would help me figure out who was hosting him right this moment were pretty slim, but maybe it would help me get a step ahead of him.
I didn’t like the idea that was forming in my head, but once it took root, it was pretty much impossible to ignore it. There was one obvious place to go when looking for information about illegal demons who inhabit our fair city; one person who would know more about the demon underworld than anyone else.
I’d spoken with Shae, the owner of The Seven Deadlies, more times than I would have believed possible, considering how much I loathed her. The Seven Deadlies was a demon sex club, and its basement, aptly named Hell, was a haven for demons who were into hard-core S&M. I shuddered and tried to block out my memories of my one and only visit there.
Shae was a mercenary, and as far as I could tell, she was willing to do just about anything as long as she was paid enough—though the payments were not necessarily monetary in nature. She was also an illegal demon herself, allowed to remain on the Mortal Plain only because she served as Adam’s snitch.
I had bargained with Shae for information once before, and lived to tell about it. In exchange, I’d had to give her some information I’d have preferred to keep to myself, but all in all I felt like the interview had gone well. Perhaps trying a second time would be tempting fate, but I wasn’t just going to sit around on my ass and wait for either the police or Psycho Demon to find me. The question then became, would I be able to shake my demon bodyguards?
I spent too much time pondering the question as I slurped up greasy lo mein noodles. If my brain had been firing on all cylinders, I would have Tasered Raphael and made my escape while I still had only one demon to get through, but as it was, Saul returned to the house before I’d come up with the idea.
Raphael and I were both eating standing up, leaning against the kitchen counter. Raphael put down his carton of fried rice and laughed when Saul came in the front door.
“What’s so funny?” I asked, frowning.
“Your face,” Raphael said, and laughed again. Even Saul’s lips were twitching.
“What?” I wondered if Raphael would mind me sticking my chopsticks through his eye.