Invocations: A Lesbian Detective Novel (Carpenter/Harding Book 13) Read online

  Invocations

  (Carpenter/Harding #13)

  Barbara Winkes

  Copyright © 2022 by Barbara Winkes

  All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.

  This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover art by May Dawney Designs

  For D.

  Chapter One

  The small amusement park, abandoned almost a decade ago, was only days away from being completely demolished. A new building would go up the next year, the property making room for a skyscraper and a parking lot.

  It was the last opportunity for Randy and Todd to hide between the remains of the funhouse and the merry-go-round carousel to get high. It wasn’t much of a dare since they never encountered anyone. In fact, the surroundings were fairly relaxing, though one time Todd had been sure one of the horses was coming off the carousel, galloping straight towards him. Nowadays, they had a better supply, better quality, and this kind of thing didn’t happen anymore. They hung out, had a few beers and talked.

  Outside the fence, excavators and other heavy machinery were already parked, signs of irreversible change to come. Todd found the usual entry through the broken part of the fence. Not even a stray cat came here anymore—it was truly the end of an era, he thought. Perhaps he should change some things in his life as well.

  Randy was already there, and they settled into their usual spot, a rackety picnic table where once a food truck stood. The night was unusually mild. He had read about climate change. If the world was about to go to hell in a hand basket, they might as well go out on a high. He didn’t mean that literally, of course. Todd had plans.

  “Hey, you’re late,” Randy said, handing him a beer. “Girlfriend keeping you?”

  “No. She’s working tonight.”

  He and Lisa were saving up to get out of their tiny apartment into a better place. Needless to say she didn’t know how much money he’d spent on tonight’s entertainment. But this, him and Randy at the park, was a tradition. You didn’t let go of something like that lightly.

  He sat down and drank, enjoying the bitter taste of the beer.

  “This will all be gone soon,” he said. “It’s a shame.”

  Randy laughed. “You’re all sentimental tonight? This place was convenient, but neither of us ever saw it in action.”

  “Not the point.” He clinked his bottle against Randy’s. “To traditions.”

  “Whatever. Cheers.”

  Randy was right, he was too young to remember when the place had still been in business, but looking at that old sad carousel, he could easily imagine. He and Lisa might have kids someday. Some things they took for granted might be gone forever.

  The sound startled him out of his thoughts, but when he looked over to Randy, he found his friend unconcerned. It was probably nothing. An animal that had found its way though the fence. Squirrels were chasing one another in the tree a few feet way. There it was again, and this time, he could tell from Randy’s expression that he’d heard it too.

  “We got company?”

  “Some lost animal,” Randy reasoned. He got to his feet.

  “An animal with heavy footsteps. We better pack up here.”

  “Come on. You just don’t want Lisa to find out what you’re doing.”

  “That has nothing to do with…Do you hear that?”

  The music sounded strange and out of place, more suitable for a circus performance about to start. A chill ran down his spine. This was ridiculous. With Halloween only a few weeks away, someone was trying to play a prank on them.

  “Hey, whatever you’re trying to do, it’s not working!” Randy called. “Losers!”

  “Let’s leave,” Todd suggested. He had a bad feeling. “We can go to my place. Lisa won’t be home before midnight.”

  “All right.” With an exaggerated sigh, Randy picked up the six pack.

  Todd made sure they didn’t leave any of their other means of entertainment behind. Despite his promise, he might try to get rid of it. Lisa wouldn’t be happy to find drugs of any kind at their place. He and Randy mostly stuck to pot, but the last day at the park was supposed to be special.

  The last day.

  “Let’s go!”

  They headed back the way they had come in, past the rusty turnstile and towards the fence. That was where they saw them.

  A group of four—men, he assumed, though he couldn’t tell for sure. The newcomers were dressed in costumes, clown costumes, and full make-up. They were carrying duffle bags.

  Todd froze, instantly understanding that this wasn’t just a harmless prank. Harm coming to them was getting more likely by the second.

  “Run,” he shouted, turned around and did his best to put distance between him and the creepy group. Behind him, he heard frantic footsteps which, Todd assumed belonged to Randy. He couldn’t bring himself to look back. This was infinitely worse than his hallucination starring the carousel horse. Those clowns were real. Or were they?

  Eventually, the sound of the music and the footsteps became fainter. Before Todd headed for cover in the remaining walls of the funhouse, he saw Randy running in the other direction. They always used the same entrance, because there was a wall on the other end, but perhaps they could get over it? Todd looked around for anything he could use as a weapon. How likely was it that they could placate the clowns with some beer and the coke he’d scored for tonight?

  Todd turned around, nearly going out of his skin when he saw the reflection of the clown in the broken mirror. That was just a fainted illustration on the wall behind him. Not the real thing. The night was quiet again, making him wonder if he had imagined this whole episode. Had he started on the fun by himself, before Randy arrived? Made up their conversation about traditions and such…?

  Todd jumped, slapping his hand against his mouth when the shot rang out, and a scream followed. He cowered next to the broken mirror, his mind frantic. Why tonight? Why us? Please don’t kill me, was his last thought before the world went black.

  * * * *

  A fussy and hungry baby had made for an early start in the Carpenter/Harding household, but now Meri was back asleep. Sunday morning at six a.m., the house was quiet, the two of them back in their own bed. It was the first time in a while that they’d be able to sleep in, with no immediate plans. Ellie sighed in bliss, when Jordan’s lips touched her neck, warm hands stealing under her nightgown.

  “I thought we might catch up on some sleep, but I think this could go either way,” she whispered.

  Jordan laughed softly. “If we’re efficient enough, we can do both.” Her explorations had already gone far beyond cuddling.

  Ellie’s breath caught as she smiled in the dark.

  “There’s no question.”

  Between tender kisses that soon turned passionate, they undressed each other. Ellie reveled in the pure pleasure of the intimate moment. She’d fallen hard for Jordan Carpenter the day they met, and from that day, there had been no looking back and no regrets. She was only more in love, and incredibly proud of what they had achieved together, a home, and a family.

  Contrary to the occasional warnings, their busy lives had not kept them from amazing sex. Like now. She tried to focus, on the feel of Jordan’s warm skin against her own, fingertips teasing and tantalizing…

  Sunday morning at six, there wa
s no reason why her boss would pop into her mind, or Jill Allen, a reporter who had first warned her of dire things to come. Redistricting, budget cuts, possible downsizing. Ellie had been the last detective to be hired into her unit. The headlines had died down, but the talk among colleagues hadn’t.

  “Are you still with me?” Jordan sounded reasonably concerned, and a tad amused.

  “Of course! Sorry. I got a bit distracted. I’m sorry.”

  Jordan ran a gentle hand down her back. “You’re not going to get fired. That talk comes up every once in a while. Just ignore it.”

  “But what if? We could pay the mortgage, but it would be a lot tighter.”

  “There’s no point in going there. Worst case scenario, you’d be transferred. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “When did you become the optimistic one?” Ellie wondered out loud. That hadn’t come out right. Fortunately, Jordan wasn’t offended.

  “When I see no reason to worry, and that should tell you something. Now, is there anything else we need to discuss, or would you like me to—” Jordan didn’t finish the sentence as Ellie pulled her down to her. “I guess the answer is yes.”

  “It is.”

  This time, when she closed her eyes, no images of Lieutenant Carroll or Jill came up. All her attention centered on Jordan’s renewed and successful efforts to distract Ellie from her worries. She bit her lip, surrendering to the irresistible touch of lips and fingertips, her own fingers tangling in Jordan’s hair.

  The only thing she was going to see were stars.

  Everything was going to be all right.

  Chapter Two

  Roll call Monday morning started with a surprise, though not the bad one that Ellie had feared. It wasn’t a good one either. Jordan stood next to their friends and colleagues, Detectives Henderson and Doss, as Sergeant Bristol filled in the officers.

  “In the past couple of weeks, we’ve had a few smaller incidents in the vicinity. It seems that they’ve moved to the city. So far, we have concerned parents and a couple of near accidents related to clown sightings.”

  Maria Doss, who had taken a sip of her coffee, nearly choked, and several of the officers in the room snickered. Jordan wasn’t sure if the situation called for amusement. Bristol’s delivery was a tad too sober for that. He wouldn’t bring up this subject three weeks before Halloween if it wasn’t serious. Those occurrences might be meant as a prank, but someone could get easily hurt. She suppressed a sigh. They didn’t need this on top of the normal work load, but like full moon nights, holidays didn’t always bring out the best in people. As Bristol continued relating details, and what to watch out for, she noticed Derek shudder.

  “Come on, you’re not afraid of clowns?” she whispered in disbelief. “I thought we’d seen it all.” It felt like that some days, though this was new, at least for their department.

  “I’m not scared,” he returned with righteous indignation. “They are creepy.”

  “Like I said.” Bristol gave his audience a stern look, “This is not a joke. Halloween is around the corner, and while most people are interested in harmless fun, some get inspired. Be aware.”

  They walked out behind a group of officers, in time to hear Chris Atwood say to his partner, “They bring in detectives for this? Must be really slow upstairs.” The other officer shrugged. Atwood went on. “I wonder if this has to do with the coming budget cuts. It’s a bit silly. We have a real job to do out there. We’re not the ones wasting money.”

  “That’s enough,” Bristol chided him. “Atwood, you do have a job. Go do it.”

  “You really think this could become a problem? Clowns?” Jordan asked the sergeant when Atwood and his partner were out of earshot.

  “You tell me, Detective. So far, we have a few scared children and a young man treated for shock after he nearly crashed his car. A woman in a parking garage.” He hesitated only for a second. “If it stops here—fine by me.”

  “Me too. We’re going to take our daughter trick-or-treating for the first time.”

  “Enjoy the moment,” he said. “That time just flies by.”

  “It does,” Jordan agreed.

  They headed back to their desks where Jordan noticed that Lieutenant Carroll’s office was still dark. In recent weeks, he had done everything he could to ward off the never-ending rumors. If the media picked up the story of clowns haunting the city, that might help.

  She started to work on a report, then cast a curious glance at Derek who had done the same.

  “We probably won’t even see one of those, but is there a story I should be aware of?”

  He knew exactly what she was talking about. “Leave it alone. As long as they aren’t killing anyone, or trying to, it’s none of our business. It’s not my favorite holiday either.”

  “Well, look on the bright side. A couple of weeks, and it will be over.”

  “Yeah. Fortunately.”

  Leaning back in her seat, Jordan remembered that there had been little to no trick-or-treating early in her life, and by the time the Carpenters had taken her in, it was almost too late. She wanted to make every holiday special for Meri, even if it was early. She went back to the report, finished another one and made a few calls before she got up to get herself a coffee.

  The break room was unusually crowded. Atwood stood in a corner with a couple of other officers.

  Ellie had come in later today after getting Meri ready to spend the day at her grandparents’. She was standing by the sitting area with Maria who jumped when out of nowhere, the rubber spider appeared on the table right in front of Ellie.

  Atwood was cracking up with laughter, the other two with him quickly curbing their amusement when Sergeant Bristol thundered, “What is this, a kindergarten? Atwood, why are you even here?”

  Atwood’s face reddened as he answered, “Sir. I’m sorry. This was just—”

  “Leave it, and get back to work. All of you.” He shook his head. “Sorry, Harding.” Bristol left without getting anything.

  “Wow,” Maria said. “I know he’s a child, but in my house, someone else always takes care of these things. It’s the reason I got a cat. Could one of you put this away please?”

  “A cat? That’s new.” Ellie tossed the offending object in the trash can. “Better?”

  “Yeah, I got him last month. Thank you. This is not how I wanted to start the day.”

  They would all have better days once Atwood moved on, Jordan thought. Unfortunately, he had shown no signs of wanting to do so.

  A knock on the doorframe preceded Derek into the room. “Carroll is here now. He wants to see all of us,” he said, sounding serious.

  Jordan and Ellie exchanged a quick glance. Ellie looked as startled as Maria had a moment ago. It occurred to Jordan that they might be confronted with something scarier than clowns or silly pranks.

  They would be able to keep the house, either way. She touched Ellie’s shoulder, hoping to convey confidence and comfort, not sure whether she had succeeded.

  “Can’t get much worse,” Maria commented.

  * * * *

  Todd couldn’t see anything. He had no means of reference, nothing to tell him where he was and with whom. At first, he thought he might be blindfolded, or worse, blind, but after a few moments, he could make out shapes, tensing immediately.

  He was cold and hungry, lying on a hard uneven surface digging into his shoulder. Pain. He had learned something. The shapes meant pain.

  * * * *

  Lieutenant Carroll stood in front of his office. To Jordan’s surprise, Lieutenant Daniels of Major Crimes was also present.

  There was a chance this had nothing to do with the persisting rumors. They had arrested Noah Shriver, a former detective who had murdered two people and spent months on the run, not long ago. He had worked in Daniels’ Major Crimes unit.

  Did she have any news? Jordan hoped this case didn’t mean any repercussions for the department. They had used every possible resource to bring
him in. She perched on the edge of her desk, aware of Ellie tense and quiet next to her.

  “Everyone’s here now, good. Let’s start.”

  Lt. Daniels gave a tense smile. Carroll continued.

  “As you all know, there have been many rumors about the future of the department floating around. Lieutenant Daniels and I want to put an end to all of this now.”

  Jordan wasn’t sure if that was enough reason to be relieved. The atmosphere in the room felt different to her.

  “First of all, I want you to inform that I’m going to retire at the end of this month.” He held up his hand when the background noise level rose all of a sudden. No one had expected this. What the hell did it mean? The whispered words she could make out echoed Jordan’s thoughts exactly.

  There had been attempts to place the blame, for the Waters affair, for cases the public thought weren’t solved quickly enough. But Waters had been dealt with. If Carroll had been slow to react, they all shared that blame. Too long they had thought of him as a nuisance rather than an imminent danger. This couldn’t be the reason?

  “Quiet, please. This decision was made after much deliberation. It’s an honor to have worked with all of you. If you must know, I also look forward to spending more time with my grandchildren.”

  That elicited some laughter from the group assembled, though the tension wasn’t entirely gone.

  “Lieutenant Daniels will take over the first of next month, but she’ll spend the coming weeks here with us to get caught up.”

  “You’re leaving Major Crimes?” Maria asked.

  Many other questions hung in the air, regarding Shriver and whatever his case might have to do with these sudden changes.

  “A couple of my detectives will come with me, others will transfer to Vice and Narcotics,” Daniels confirmed. “It’s been decided that this will be the most efficient way for us to work.”

  Her use of passive voice indicated to everyone in the room that not all of those changes had been her choice, or those of her unit. They had yet to determine if increased efficiency would be the result. Nevertheless, Homicide meant a step up for Daniels. It wasn’t entirely clear what it meant for the rest of them.