Diana Racine 02 - Goddess of the Moon

of the scenery. No one notices them. When they fail to show up for work, the employment office fills the vacancy. Deems worked third shift. Quiet time. Perfect for stealing a glance at records, see enough about the mother to run the name through the computer and find out all he needs to know―p apers, conferences, whatever.
    “So we have four babies taken, all ― how did one of my sons describe the smartest kid in class― genetically enhanced ?”
    The memory of his dead son stopped Lucier cold . Those times from his past life still shot arrows into his heart. He noticed a strange look on Stallings face and wondered if the sadness showed on his own.
    “Right. The fifth seems like a mistake, wouldn’t you say?”
    “That’s what I thought. I don’t get it. A kidnapper and sexual predator who’d rather commit suicide than talk to us, a satanic cult, a billionaire, two young women who’ve disappeared and who possibly tended the babies, and payment to return a n erroneous abduction . What else?”
    “Isn’t that enough?” Stallings asked. “This is one of the weirdest cases I’ve ever worked.”
    “What’s Deems’s background?”
    “Born in Alabama, raised in an orphanage. Mother gave him up at birth, but that’s all we know about his parents. He had good grades in h igh school but dropped out. W orked a series of odd jobs, mostly as a laborer or janitor. The only time he got in trouble was when he hit on the girl.”
    “Maybe he was soliciting young runaways for the cult.”
    “Could be. G uys like him prey on young girls.”
    “ A ny religious activity?”
    “Not that we can find. I doubt he’d broadcast he was a devotee of Satan.”
    The waitress put Lucier’s iced tea in front of him, and he took a long swallow. Sugar sweet, lemon tart, and icy cold. The drink felt good after his sweaty walk. Both men ordered a grilled fish sandwich and side salad. The waitress refreshed their glasses.
    “ O ne link t ies three of the things I mentioned,” Lucier said.
    “What?”
    “The Sunrise Mission. Deems worked there, both girls had a n association , and Silas Compton is the main benefactor.”
    “Didn’t you say Slater wanted to meet with Ms. Racine again? That they had some kind of psychic connection? I know you’re worried about th e note, but she might be our only entrée into the Mission without a warrant, and we don’t have probable cause.”
    “She received a second note yesterday. This one said they were still waiting for her. I’m more spooked than she is. Th e note has a purpose.”
    When they finished lunch, Lucier speed-walked back to the station, not only because of the brutal heat, but because the note now weighed heavily on his mind. What was its purpose? A scare? A warning?
    He called Diana as soon as he got to his office. No answer. He called her cell. Still nothing. When he arrived at her house, her car wasn’t there, and neither was she.

Chapter Eighteen
    A s cent from Hell

    S later met Diana at the door of the Sunrise Mission and ushered her to his office, still refusing to let her make contact. “I was delighted to hear from you, Ms. Racine . Frankly, I didn’t think you’d call.”
    Ernie will be furious I did. But c uriosity prevailed because Diana was anxious to get inside Slater ’s head.
    “ W hy is that, Mr. Slater?” She focused on the red light of the camera above Slater’s desk and ma de sure he saw her doing it.
    “Call me Edward.”
    “Or Osiris?”
    His smile emphasized the crinkles around his eyes. Steel gray, penetrating, unnerving. Diana pondered whether she found him charming or arrogant.
    “If you wish,” he answered.
    “I think I prefer Edward.”
    “ M ay I call you Diana?”
    “Of course.”
    Their formal banter reminded her of a tennis match, with the ball trading sides of the court. She was struck by the man’s charisma. He was as handsome as any leading man. The wrinkles etched on his face only made him more appealing. The hard-drinking detective in a noir film, struggling to stay on the wagon. The lone gunfighter taking on the bad guys, squinting into the sun. She understood how a woman like Jean nine Highsmith became obsessed.
    Diana didn’t have to touch Slater to sense the mass of contradictions. A man who claimed he wanted nothing sexual, yet he exuded a raw sensuality , a powerful magnetism, as if drawing in a woman were on his agenda, but it clearly wasn’t, as in the case of Highsmith. Was he still trying to prove his