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.”I shook my head.“That con hasn’t worked for at least thirty or forty years.” There was a famous case back in the sixties of a young man who’d turned out to be possessed when he signed the consent forms.Ever since then, the applicant had to be examined by an exorcist first.“I know the exorcist who was on duty claimed Tommy wasn’t possessed, but he could have been paid off.”It sounded plausible, if hard to prove.“Who was the exorcist?”“His name was Sammy Cho.”I think I managed to avoid making a face.Sammy was a second-rate exorcist—which explained why he was doing shit work like examining host wannabes.However, even the worst exorcist in existence can read auras well enough to spot a demon, and Sammy had such a big stick up his ass I half expected leaves to sprout from his ears in the spring.“There’s no way Sammy would take a bribe,” I said.“No one is incorruptible.”“Sammy’s about as close as you can get.Believe me, I know him well.” Only in a professional capacity, mind you, and being an inveterate rule-breaker myself, I tried to spend as little time in his presence as possible.But I’d stake my reputation on the fact that he’d rather die than take a bribe.Claudia dismissed my assertion with a wave of her hand.“It doesn’t really matter in the long run how it happened.The fact remains that my son has been possessed against his will.” She swallowed hard.“I know it may already be too late, that he may never recover, but I have to get that demon out of him.”And I realized now exactly what she wanted me to do.“You want me to perform an illegal exorcism.”She held her chin up defiantly.“We—my husband and I—have money.We’re willing to pay whatever it would take.”I wasn’t sure whether to be offended that she thought I could be bought or sympathetic to her terrible situation.What I did know was that there was no way I would be performing an illegal exorcism.“You could pay me a king’s ransom, and it wouldn’t matter to me one bit as I rotted in prison.Illegal exorcism is considered murder.” Only because the authorities didn’t know that the demons didn’t die but were merely sent back to the Demon Realm, but no one was going to believe me if I declared that in my own defense.Besides, I’d been arrested for illegal exorcism once before, and I hadn’t enjoyed the experience.“I understand you’d be taking a great risk,” she said, her voice soothing despite the desperation in her eyes.“But once we get Tommy back, he can confirm that he wasn’t willing, and—”“You said yourself it might be too late.” If Tommy Brewster really was hosting an illegal demon, then there was considerably more than an eighty percent chance of him becoming a vegetable if he and that demon parted ways.Just a little more of my hard-earned knowledge of the deep, dark secrets the demons keep from the human race—the brain damage is brought on by abuse, and sometimes even legal demons didn’t treat their hosts all that well.With a pang, I thought of my own brother, Andrew.He’d hosted Lugh’s brother, Raphael, for ten years, and had spent weeks in a state of catatonia when Raphael was gone.The good news was that he’d recovered.The really horrible, shitty news was that Raphael had recently possessed him once again.I forcibly dragged my mind back to the problem at hand.What had I been saying? Oh, yeah.“If he’s a—” I stopped myself, thinking that using the word “vegetable” right now might not be very sensitive.“If he’s catatonic when the demon’s gone, he can’t corroborate a thing.It’s not just my own ass I’m protecting, it’s yours, too.You and your husband would be accessories.I’m sorry, but I just can’t do it.And if you find another exorcist who agrees, you can be ninety-nine percent certain you’re about to get scammed.No one’s going to risk a murder charge, not when the pool of suspects would be so small.”There are only a couple hundred exorcists in the United States, and many of them would have alibis.I imagine if someone were stupid enough to take the Brewsters’ money, they’d find themselves behind bars in no time.“So what do you suggest I do?” Claudia asked bitterly.“Just write my son off as dead? Watch that…that thing live out my son’s life?” She shuddered.“I can’t do that.I won’t.” A tear snaked down her cheek, and she angrily swiped it away.She didn’t strike me as the kind of woman who cried easily, but it’s amazing how much pain family can cause.She stood up, snatching her purse from the seat beside her.My heart ached with sympathy, the situation with my brother making me feel her pain all the more keenly.Now, some might argue that the world was better off without one more God’s Wrath wacko tromping around burning people alive, and I might even agree with them.But I’d rather see that wacko in a brick-and-mortar prison than imprisoned helplessly within his own body.“Look, don’t do anything drastic,” I advised as Claudia strode to the door.She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me.“I’ll do whatever I have to do to free my son.He’s had a hard enough life already.I won’t abandon him.”I patted the air with my hand.“Yeah, I get that.I’ve got a, um, friend in the police department.” Calling Adam a friend was a world-class stretch, but I didn’t have any other way to describe him that wouldn’t take five minutes of explanation.“Let me talk to him and see what he suggests.”“The police have already said they can’t help me.”“I know, but my friend might be able to pull a few strings.Maybe at least get them to look a little more closely at the case and see if they can find any evidence of coercion.”Actually, Adam was the Director of Special Forces, the branch of the police department responsible for all demon-related crime.He also had a habit of playing fast and loose with the law, which meant he might be able to get things done that a more by-the-books cop couldn’t.Claudia looked skeptical but managed a nod of acquiescence.“Thank you.I will, naturally, compensate you for your time.”I could have used the money, but I didn’t feel right charging her when Adam was going to do all the work.“No need for that.If I end up performing a legal exorcism for you, you can pay me then.Meanwhile, can I have your assurance that you and your husband won’t try anything illegal while I’m looking into this for you?”She hesitated, then agreed with a nod.“All right.I appreciate your help, and I’m sorry I asked you to risk yourself like that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]