why hadn’t Declan mentioned that he knew the woman who’d rescued her?
She glanced over again to see Alessande studying her.
“I should hurry,” Sailor said, grabbing her purse. “Can you drive me down the hill? My car is at the Mystic Café.”
“Take mine. It will save time.”
“Thanks. Should I take Mulholland or go straight to 101?”
“Take Mulholland to Kanan. There’s construction on 101. You still have the dagger?”
“Yes.”
“Use it if you have to.”
“I will.”
Alessande handed her the car keys, then put a hand on her shoulder. “Wait.”
“What?”
“Close your eyes.” She made the sign of the tree on the hollow of Sailor’s neck, tracing the symbol with a fingertip, as Darius himself had once done when he’d initiated Sailor as a Keeper. Then she whispered an incantation in Gaelic, calling forth from the astral plane a quality that would be needed for the journey ahead. A gift.
“Protection?” Sailor said, opening her eyes.
Alessande shook her head. “Courage. So you will do what needs to be done.”
* * *
Reggie called as Sailor was crossing Coldwater Canyon. “Kelly Ellory’s memorial service just finished. Finally,” he said. “Everyone who ever knew her got up to speak. And half of them are actors she repped, so for them, it was like an audition. Captive audience, microphone—God save me from actors. No offense.”
“I hardly remember what it is to be an actor,” Sailor said. “Three days of being a hard-core Keeper has fried my brain. Listen, was there a man there named—” she hesitated, then thought, What the hell? No time to work out codes “—Joshua LeRonde? An assistant to Darius Simonides.”
“Black hair, goatee, very thin?” Reggie asked. “He read a statement from Darius, who wasn’t there.”
“Darius wasn’t there because death is no reason to postpone business. Look, new plan. I’m actually heading to Malibu to meet Darius. It looks as if Joshua could be...the guy. If he is, we can’t let him slip away.”
“He’s the guy?” Reggie asked. “Are you serious?”
“He fits the profile. He could have convinced Ariel that he could make her a star, he’s welcomed onto movie sets, he knew Charlotte, Kelly and Gina.”
“The same can be said for Darius,” Reggie pointed out.
“I’ll deal with Darius.”
“‘Deal with Darius’? God, you’re confident.”
“I’m just talking to him, I’m not trying to take him down. Meanwhile, can you get to GAA and see if Joshua’s there?”
“Okay, but most of the guests from the memorial are heading to Kelly’s parents’ house for the after-party. Or whatever that’s called.”
“Alessande could go to the Ellorys’,” Sailor said. “I’ve got her car, but she could teleport. I bet Joshua goes back to work, though. Darius would expect him to cover the office, not squander his time at a post-funeral party. So that’s where you should be, ready to bring him in. But not till we get confirmation.”
“I’m still worried about you. But okay, I’ve got the Ellorys’ address, so I’ll call Alessande. Give me the number. Your cell signal will get patchy as you near Malibu.”
Which was just as well, Sailor thought, because she was losing battery power on her phone. She turned it off, wondering where Declan was and longing to see him. Even the knowledge that he and Alessande were lovers seemed less important than it had twenty minutes earlier. She liked Alessande, so hate wasn’t an option, but she couldn’t control her jealousy. She would simply persuade them both to give each other up, in the event they were still sleeping together. How, she had no idea. She would work that out later.
She felt for the knife around her waist, and then turned off the radio and did a kind of meditation that her father had taught her, an internal readying for the challenge ahead of her. She had never confronted someone as powerful as Darius Simonides. Next to him, Charles Highsmith was a teddy bear. And she hadn’t done such a great job confronting Highsmith, either, she realized. But she had to give this her best shot. A lot depended on it.
When she reached Pacific Coast Highway, she felt the approaching panic that always came with proximity to the ocean. She reminded herself to breathe deeply, and kept breathing as she pulled into the parking lot at Geoffrey’s restaurant, with its spectacular view of the water.
And saw Declan.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“This,” he said, taking her in his arms. Behind her, the valet was driving off in her car and the people coming out of the restaurant had to squeeze to get by, but so