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I would be in it deep when he found out. And I was determined to get inside Lindy’s apartment, one way or another.

Chapter Four

    Jack and Mel were all around me like there were more than two of them. “Well?” from Jack. Mel hopped up and down in agitation.
    So I told them about it as I went in the pantry and reached to the top shelf for a small canister I kept there. They followed me to the kitchen counter, all bated breath and widened eyes; metaphorically speaking. Skipping over the fact a little boy was missing, they zeroed in on what they considered the most intriguing aspect of Lindy’s case.
    “ But that means… .” from Mel.
    “ Demon,” Jack provided.
    “ Or -” Mel began, voice all fluttery.
    I cut her off. “Or nothing. No vampires. No werewolves. No pixies or trolls or djinns.”
    “ You call them demons, but you don’t know what they actually are.” Jack planted himself in front of me as I removed the lid from the can. “They could be anything.”
    “ Does Gorge mind you calling him a demon?” Mel asked.
    I did Jack the courtesy of going around him, not through him. “I don’t. Not to his face.” I tightened my jaw, exasperated. “You know it’s just a term I use. As Jack says, they could be anything.”
    Mel had an unholy fixation with Gorgeous Gorge. “Anything so cute can’t be a demon.”
    I shook my head with irritation. “You’ve never met Gorge.”
    “ I’d like to.”
    As if I would invite a demon in my house.
    “ I did see his photo in the newspaper once, and he is cute !”
    I would never call a demon cute. Incredibly handsome. Charming. Deadly. Not to be trusted. According to Lynn, they did not blatantly lie, but could do so by omission when it suited them. And you could ask them a question and they answered in such a way that, without exactly lying, they didn’t give you the truth.
    Although Gorge owned his small antique shop, he didn’t need a business; he didn’t need the income it provided. Lynn told me demons have no interest in possessions. They were all about sensual gratification. They fed off us, off our arousal, and it gave them an incredible high. They didn’t harm people they used, although they certainly could. Their victims were not hurt, they were compensated by sharing the sensations the Otherworldy themselves experienced. It could be an exquisitely rewarding relationship. Or so Lynn told me.
    Lynn told me a lot about demons which later proved less than factual.
    I dug in the canister and put a handful of steel filings in each pocket of my Levis. Not much in the way of protection, but I had something better as backup. If a demon killed Lindy, I was not going near her apartment unprepared.
    Jack hung over my shoulder as I got my Ruger SR9 from the kitchen drawer, made sure the safety was on and looked for the holster. I own a hip holster, but I prefer the angle-draw shoulder holster. The Ruger is slim, and light enough for concealed-carry, and the magazine is double stack, holding seventeen rounds. The frame is impact-resistant polymer, but the sides and barrel are stainless steel. I figured if I had to shoot a demon, and missed, I could batter it with the gun.
    I didn’t buy the gun with battering demons in mind. As a woman living alone, I believe in the right to defend myself. I believe in my right to bear arms. And because I also believe I should be able to go anywhere in my town and not fall victim to some drugged-out mugger, I have a concealed-carry permit. And although I’m no markswoman, I generally hit what I aim at, or the State of Utah would not have given me a permit.
    I found the holster on the hall coat-stand, under my suede coat. Jack watched me fasten it and snug in the Ruger. “Now you’re frightening me.”
    “ Ooh! Jackie’s scared to death !” Mel sang.
    Jack shook his head. “You think you’re so damn funny. You’re not.”
    “ Funnier than you, deadboy. I can tell a joke we haven’t heard like a million times.”
    “