Unholy Ground

Chapter 1-2

“Oh, sure,” Colin replied. “After fifteen years in this town, I’m used to having my plans s**t on at least once a month. Daniela’s coming over. No worries.”

“Good.”

Audrey had to admit she was surprised that their flirtation — if you could call it that — had survived the last nightmarish week. She really hadn’t thought their makeup artist would stick around, but Daniela was proving herself to be more attached to Colin than anyone could have guessed.

They said their goodbyes, and Audrey and Michael walked a few spaces down to his beat-up old Land Cruiser, which looked hugely out of place in a parking garage that had more than its fair share of Mercedes and BMWs and Audis. As soon as they’d gotten back from Santa Barbara, he’d turned in the rented Grand Cherokee he’d been driving, as if he’d somehow known the plug was going to get pulled on their budget any day now.

Silence for a few moments as they backed out of their parking space and then paused at the booth to pay their fees. Obviously, the exec hadn’t made any mention of having them ask his secretary to validate their parking.

Once Michael had his car pointed north on Barham Boulevard, he said, “How about you? Are you okay?”

Good question. Audrey honestly didn’t know how to respond, because her world had been so full of emotional ups and downs the past week, she still wasn’t quite sure where she was. “I don’t know. I’m okay. I think.”

He reached over and touched her left hand with his right. Briefly, because traffic was thick and he needed both hands on the wheel, but even that quick brush of his fingers against hers was immensely reassuring. It was hard to believe that he’d only been in her life for three weeks, more or less, because right then she couldn’t quite imagine what she would do without him.

True, some people might have liked to point out that she wouldn’t have been in any of these terrible situations if he hadn’t come into her life in the first place, but she knew that was disingenuous thinking at best. She’d made the final decision to join the Project Demon Hunters team; no one had held a gun to her head. At the time, it had seemed like an easy way to get the money she needed to pay off that pressing property tax bill. At least Michael had negotiated for them to keep half their earnings, so she could still get rid of that bill and have a bit left over. The thought should have cheered her up, but she couldn’t feel terribly excited about paying property taxes on a place that was currently uninhabitable, thanks to the destructive behavior of a bunch of marauding demons.

“I just keep playing it over and over in my head,” she said quietly as they passed Forest Lawn Cemetery’s Hollywood Hills facility. The irony of the location struck her; however, she didn’t want to dwell on that for too long, even though it was almost impossible to keep herself from wrestling with her role in Susan Loomis’s death.

Because it was Michael, he didn’t tell Audrey she was being silly or that she needed to let it go, even though they’d gone over this subject many times in the days since Susan had tumbled down the stairs at Ariel Vargas’s house. “You did the right thing,” he told her. “Or at least, your instincts were correct. We couldn’t allow Alastor out in the world.”

Alastor, the demon that had possessed Kayla Vargas for weeks, and who had jumped to a new host as soon as Michael flushed him out. Audrey didn’t bother to ask how much harm that particular demon could have caused, because she’d seen firsthand what Kayla had suffered while it had taken up residence in her body. If a demon was in a human host when that host died, then the demon was expelled, sent back to hell.

But at too terrible a cost.

Despite Michael’s reassurances, the guilt kept throbbing in Audrey like an unhealed wound. “I wish I’d tried to get to know her better.”

“Susan was a very private person,” Michael said. “Actually, I was sort of surprised she came with us to the wrap party at the Bahooka that one time, because she usually begged off that sort of thing.” He paused for a moment to take the sharp turn at the on-ramp to the eastbound 134 Freeway, then went on, “I feel partly responsible, too, just because I was the one who recommended her to Colin. I’d worked with her several times over the years and was impressed by how steady she seemed. I thought she’d be the perfect person on a project like this, just because I knew she wouldn’t get rattled easily.”

No, Susan had been almost preternaturally calm while filming demon attacks and exorcisms. Audrey had been impressed by her as well. “You still haven’t heard anything from her family?”

He released a sigh. “As far as I’ve been able to tell, she doesn’t have one. She lived alone. Everyone in the industry spoke well of her, but no one seemed to know much about her. We’ll have to figure out something soon, though, because the coroner isn’t going to hang on to her body indefinitely.”

Audrey couldn’t help wincing at that comment. It was only the truth, and yet she hated the thought that no one had come to claim Susan, that no one even seemed to notice she was gone. As terrible as it had been when her own parents were murdered, at least they’d had Audrey and her aunt waiting for their bodies to be sent home from Hawaii. And what a horrible time that had been, with Deb having to pay for the whole thing out of her pocket because there wasn’t anyone else to help. GoFundMes hadn’t even existed back then.

“But,” Michael went on, his tone turning brisk, “I figured I’d pay Susan’s funeral costs if necessary. That seems the least I can do.”

That was just like Michael, except Audrey wasn’t sure he should bear that burden alone. “Shouldn’t Colin pitch in?”

“He’s leveraged to the hilt, between his house and the car he’s driving and that fancy camera he bought to film the series.” He shook his head, as if troubled by his producer’s extravagance. “He likes to put on a big show, but he doesn’t have any extra money to throw around.”

“At least the cable network is paying half your salary,” she ventured, and he nodded.

“That will help, I have to admit.”

She was relieved as well. While it would have been nice to get the whole hundred thousand she’d been promised, fifty grand would still go a long way toward covering her expenses, even if she hadn’t yet tackled the problem of getting her house cleaned up after the demons had trashed it. Sooner rather than later, she’d need to start the whole process, but she was dreading the necessary first step of getting estimates for all the repairs. Without Colin’s production insurance to help her out, she was probably going to have to spend a large chunk of the fifty thousand she’d earned for filming half the season.

Maybe it was far too early in their relationship to be asking about money, but the question slipped out anyway. “And you — are you leveraged, too?”

Michael turned his head toward her, gave her a quick smile before he looked back at the crowded freeway before them. “No. I bought my house for cash, and I have a chunk of passive income from my books and videos and YouTube channel. Most of what I was going to earn from Project Demon Hunters would have gone straight into the bank.”

His reply made her feel a lot better. At the same time, she couldn’t help but be a little shocked that he earned enough to have paid cash for his house. How much had that been out of pocket? Three quarters of a million? More? She supposed a lot depended on when he’d bought it, but from the way he talked, she thought he hadn’t been living there for more than two or three years at the most.

Another brief touch on her hand, and he said, “We’re going to be fine, Audrey. I promise.”

She smiled, warmed by the way he had said “we.” Already he seemed to be thinking of them as a couple, of the two of them facing the future together. It was hard to admit the truth to herself, but she knew the way she’d dragged her feet on getting estimates for the work on the house was only partly because of the cost. No, it was also because she liked living with him, liked waking up in his bed, making coffee in his kitchen, even cooking breakfast there because she’d told him it was silly to keep going out when she could make some mean scrambled eggs.

“I know,” she said. “And I know I’ll get past this eventually. It’s just…rough.”

He gave her a sympathetic nod but was quiet, probably because they’d come to the place where the 210 Freeway ran into the 134, and the traffic was crazy. She took her cue and was silent while he maneuvered past the clot of cars and got over to the right so they could exit the freeway.

Funny how getting off at Lake Avenue now felt like coming home, even though she’d only been staying at Michael’s house for ten days. Or was it longer than that? The days had begun to blend together, what with everything that had gone on over the past few weeks. At any rate, she was starting to get to know the grocery stores in the area, the restaurants. But still, she had unfinished business back in Glendora, although at least her friend Rosemary swung by Audrey’s house there every few days, checking to make sure it was all right and that the demons hadn’t burned it down or anything.

They’d be doing me a favor if they did, Audrey thought ruefully as Michael turned down his street and pulled into the carport behind his house. At least that way I’d get the insurance money for it.

She knew she should have been ashamed of herself for harboring such a thought. It was the only home she’d ever known, the place her parents had worked so hard to fix up and keep in good repair. Was it the house’s fault that the demons surging out of the Whitcomb mansion had decided to use it as a weapon against her?

The thought of the mansion made her remember that their business with the demon who’d taken on Jeffrey Whitcomb’s form wasn’t exactly concluded, either. They’d had plenty to distract them this past week, but sooner or later, they’d need to circle back to that particular problem as well.

Still, it felt good to go inside the house and know that they wouldn’t have to leave again today, that they could go into Michael’s comfortable TV room and put their feet up and zone out for the rest of the afternoon. And maybe get takeout, although the weather was warm and they’d bought steaks to barbecue the day before.

By unspoken agreement, they headed into the kitchen and got some water. A glass of wine might have gone down better, but it was probably smart to do some hydrating first.

As they were about to sit down at the kitchen table, Michael’s phone rang. He grimaced. “I should probably take this. It could be Colin, needing his hand held.”

“It’s fine,” Audrey said, although her feelings on the topic of Colin Turner were mixed at best. She still couldn’t quite forgive him for how cavalier he’d been about Susan’s death.

Michael pulled the phone out of his jacket pocket, glanced down at the screen, and then gave a small shake of his head, as if signaling to her that he didn’t recognize the number. However, that didn’t prevent him from swiping his finger across the screen. He lifted the phone to his ear. “Michael Covenant. Yes, I — I know her.” A long pause. Then he said, “Unfortunately, yes. We didn’t know who to contact.”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything, but appeared to be listening intently to whoever was on the other end of the line. Then he mimicked writing something, using the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, and Audrey understood. He needed her to get him a piece of paper to write something down on.

The closest thing that came to hand was one of the take-out menus he kept in a drawer there in the kitchen. She gave it to him, and he drew out a pen from his inside jacket pocket and began scribbling.

“Yes, I got it,” he said at last. “We can be there in around forty-five minutes, maybe less, depending on traffic. Okay. We’ll see you then.”

He ended the call, and Audrey gave him an expectant look.

“What was that about?”

“A woman named Jill Armentrout. She’s Susan’s landlady.”

That explanation didn’t seem to clear up much of anything. “And…?”

“The first of March was three days ago. Ms. Armentrout became concerned when Susan didn’t pay the rent, since she’s never been late with it before.”

Right. Audrey supposed she should have thought of that, should have stopped to realize that the first of March had come and gone, but she’d never had to worry about rent in her life — her parents’ life insurance had paid off the house, and so her only real living expenses had been food, utilities, and property tax, which she only had to pay once a year. “Okay, that makes sense, but why did her landlady call you and not Colin, since he’s the one who hired Susan?”

His shoulders lifted. “The landlady let herself into Susan’s apartment today. Apparently, she was worried that maybe Susan had fallen and hurt herself, or worse. Anyway, Ms. Armentrout found my business card attached to the fridge with a magnet. Since she couldn’t find contact information for anyone else in the apartment, she figured she should call me.”

That made some sense, although it seemed strange that Susan hadn’t left behind even an address book. They might be old-fashioned, but at least they endured when phones and hard drives might not. Audrey had missed part of his conversation with Ms. Armentrout, since she could only hear Michael’s side, but it seemed as though he’d already hinted at the worst, even if he hadn’t come right out and said Susan was dead.

“So the landlady wants us to come over?” Audrey asked. “Why?”

Michael shook his head. “She said she didn’t want to go into any details, but she thought it would be better for me to — and I quote — ‘see it in person.’ Whatever ‘it’ is.”

That remark sounded vaguely ominous. The last thing Audrey wanted to do right then was go haring off somewhere in the greater Los Angeles area — especially this close to rush hour, when getting around would be a real nightmare — but she realized that they needed to go see what Susan’s landlady was talking about.

“Where’s Susan’s apartment?” she asked, knowing how unenthusiastic she sounded.

“In Highland Park,” he replied. “Not so bad.”

No, it wasn’t. They’d only have to fight a little traffic in Pasadena, and then they could drop south on the 110 Freeway to Highland Park. At this time of day, everyone would be heading away from downtown, not going toward it, so the situation would have been a lot worse if Susan had lived in Hollywood or out somewhere on the Westside.

And then Audrey wanted to shake her head at herself, because after all the wallowing she’d been doing this week, one would think she’d be anxious to go to Susan’s place, to see if they could find any clue as to who her family and friends had been. Certainly she deserved that closure, didn’t she?

“All right,” she said. “Let’s go.”