Malediction: An Old World Story Read Free Page B

health not to hear it. “I don’t know what to tell you,” he said finally.
    “Why don’t you start by telling me about your friend? The one who knew I wasn’t human.”  
    Who knew I wasn’t human . Jesse considered that for a second. “Back up. Let’s say for the sake of argument that I believe you’re not human. That you are, in fact, a witch.”
    “Okay, let’s.” She sounded unsurprised.
    “ I’m still human. If you are what I think you are, you’ll understand why I can’t just jump in and answer all your questions.”
    “If you can’t answer them,” she said slowly, “that means my sister’s death was supernatural.”
    Oh, goddammit. He’d walked right into that. “Look,” he tried, “I’ve told you everything I can about Samantha’s murder. I’m sorry.”
    “Okay, fine.” It sounded like her teeth were gritted with irritation. “If you won’t give me answers, I’ll come out there and find someone who will.” The line went dead.
    Jesse looked at his phone with alarm. “Well, fuck.”
    He glanced around the production office, but no one was trying to get his attention at the moment, so he dialed his sometimes partner Scarlett Bernard. They hadn’t seen much of each other over the last ten months. Which is pretty much what happens, Jesse thought wryly, when you get dumped for some other guy. Scarlett had a new life now. She was getting more respect in the Old World, starting to call some of her own shots, plus she had her boyfriend Eli and her teenage assistant Corry. Jesse, on the other hand, wasn’t even a cop anymore. She had no reason to contact him.
    And it was probably better that way. He’d gotten any number of invitations to lunch or coffee from actresses and assistants since starting this job, but he’d turned them all down. He wasn’t ready—not just because of Scarlett, but because of … well, everything. The Remus case. The things he’d done to try to stop the killer were nearly as bad as the murders themselves. At least Remus had an excuse for his insane behavior.
    Scarlett answered on the second ring. “Bernard.”
    Right, she didn’t have his new phone number. Stupid of him to forget to give it to her. “Hey, it’s me,” he said.
    There was a pause, and for a second Jesse thought she didn’t recognize his voice. That would hurt. But then she said, “Hey, Jesse. Long time no see. What’s going on?”
    “This is sort of an official call,” he said. “I need you and your colleagues to know about a possible … situation.”
    “Let’s talk in person,” she said immediately. “My colleagues still get kind of touchy about having these conversations over the phone.”
    They arranged to meet at Hair of the Dog when Jesse got off work. It wasn’t his favorite place to hang out, since Scarlett’s boyfriend was the head bartender, But he didn’t really have anything against Eli, who was a decent guy once you got past the whole werewolf thing, and the bar was more or less halfway between Jesse’s new place in Studio City and Scarlett’s apartment in Santa Monica.
    Besides, Jesse could use a drink. He leaned against the wall for a moment, thinking about Allison Luther again. When they’d met in person back in January, Lex had struck him as a decent person and a good sister. All she’d wanted was to get her family some answers, and it had broken his heart a little to know he was one of the reasons she’d never get them. Jesse thought of Lex’s sister Samantha, and the horrible injuries that she’d suffered. He hadn’t personally tossed her body into the furnace, but he might as well have.
    His thoughts were interrupted by the approach of a frantic PA. The PAs, Jesse had discovered, were always frantic. “Cruz! They need you in the writer’s room!”
    Jesse sighed and went back to work.

3. Jesse

    It was after seven by the time the writers wrapped for the day and he could start the drive down to the West Side. Hair of the Dog was on a nondescript