One Book in the Grave: A Bibliophile Mystery

anyone in the Hollow.
     
    I prayed Derek wasn’t too far behind. If he couldn’t follow the chocolate-kisses trail, he wasn’t the man I knew him to be. That thought kept me going as I tried to assimilate everything. “Did you kidnap Emily?”
     
    “I didn’t really kidnap her,” she said. “I’m just doing Solomon a favor. It’s for the greater good. I prayed over it, and I shared my blood with the earth.”
     
    “You shared your blood? How does that work?”
     
    “A bloodletting is considered a sweet sacrifice by the Great Ogun.”
     
    After a pause, I said, “So you cut yourself? Is that what you do in your church?”
     
    “Only in times of uncertainty, when you find yourself at a crossroads.”
     
    “So you cut yourself to find answers?”
     
    She shrugged. “Sometimes Father Ogun requires blood sacrifice in exchange.”
     
    “In exchange for what?”
     
    “Knowledge. Grace. Power. Whatever you’re seeking.”
     
    A sense of dread overwhelmed me. “What did you mean when you said you’re doing a favor for Solomon? Did he tell you to hurt Emily?”
     
    “No, of course not,” she said in surprise. “Solomon wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
     
    She was so wrong, but I said nothing.
     
    “It was my decision to take Emily,” she explained. “I’m using her to lure Max Adams out into the open. And then we’ll see what happens.”
     
    So Emily was still alive. Thank God. But what did she have in mind for Max?
     
    “Why do you want to lure Max into the open?”
     
    “Because Solomon detests Max. Max stole Angelica from Solomon and it made Solomon crazy. I couldn’t figure out why he cared so much about her because we both know she’s a…well, a you-know-what. But after talking to Solomon some more, I realized that his pain wasn’t about losing Angelica. It was because of Max Adams. He really hates that guy.”
     
    “Yeah, I get that.”
     
    “Exactly,” she said with enthusiasm. “Solomon was so unhappy, I began to pray for him. And that’s when Father Ogun revealed my true calling to me.”
     
    “True calling?”
     
    “Yes, I was meant to bring order and calm back to the church. And to accomplish that, I first had to clear the path.”
     
    “Clear what path?”
     
    “The path leading to peace. I had to take care of the obstacle in the path.”
     
    “And that obstacle was…”
     
    “Angelica.”
     
    “You had to kill Angelica?” I said slowly.
     
    “I had to,” she said. “I’m sorry, but Solomon was losing sleep; he was beside himself with anguish. He couldn’t concentrate on his church duties and it was beginning to affect the morale of the congregation, so I took the responsibility upon myself to help him.” She faltered, but then straightened up and kept walking. “It was my honor. He’s my deacon.”
     
    “So you owe him your honor and duty.”
     
    “Yes,” she said, sounding pleased that I’d caught on. “It’s all in the bible, Brooklyn. We can look there for all the answers.”
     
    “Which answer are you referring to?”
     
    “An eye for an eye,” she said.
     
    I dropped another chocolate kiss and hoped for rescue. “What do you mean?”
     
    She stopped to explain. “Max Adams took what Solomon wanted: Angelica. Now I will take what Max wants: Emily. This will cause Max to suffer, which will make Solomon happy. And it all provides blood for Ogun.”
     
    Blood?
So she intended to kill Emily? “But Emily is an innocent bystander. She doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”
     
    “Ogun decrees. I obey, honor, and serve.” Crystal refused to talk to me after that, just continued walking me briskly through the darkness. Leaves slapped at my face and thick bushes pulled at my clothes.
     
    I knew Crystal wasn’t crazy; deep down, she was a good person. But between the zealous advocacy for her church and her obsession with Solomon, she had lost her way.
     
    I thought about what she’d said.
An eye for an eye
. Emily for Angelica. Was she serious about the blood sacrifice? Max had stolen Angelica’s heart from Solomon, so Crystal would…what? Cut Emily’s heart out andgive it to Solomon? No, of course not. She wouldn’t really do that. My stomach turned at the very thought.
     
    Still, the name of their church was the True Blood of Ogun. Was that what it meant—human sacrifice? True blood?
     
    I almost laughed at the path my thoughts were taking. I didn’t believe it for a minute. No way was there a band of wacked-out