38

Vi spent a couple of long, sleepless nights. Even with the new alarm system installed and working, she still jumped at every little noise, and constantly got up to check on Josie. Josie had been too exhausted to do much more than drag herself into bed. She slept like a rock.

She had turned down offers from several of the ranch hands to come stay in the house. She knew they meant well, she appreciated it, but she didn't think it would make a difference. As it was, several of the hands had taken up a sort of rotational watch, driving or walking up to the main road at least once an hour, always with an eye on Vi and Josie's place as they passed. It was sweet in a way but also nerve-wracking. Every time she heard an engine Vi was compelled to get up and check it out. The same for the couple of occasions the guys had been walking and she had heard them talking, or in one case just coughing with the onset of a summer cold.

The night before had been just as bad. Josie had been restless as well as Vi, and they'd both been short-tempered and out of sorts. It had caught up to Josie the second night. Vi wasn't so lucky. She could not stop thinking about the past few days. They had gotten things cleaned up, and as back to normal as they could get. A couple of trips to town had replaced the phone, the flashlights, the smashed frames. Angie, the woman who restored damaged pictures, had clucked her tongue over the mess in the pool but had been optimistic. The photo paper had been good quality, and the pool's chlorine had been diluted by the heavy rainfall the night before. She went about carefully collecting pictures into air-tight bags, still covered in water, promising Steve for what seemed like the hundredth time that she would preserve fingerprints or any other evidence that might still be there. It would take a few days to really map the damage, and as much as a couple of months to fix what she could but Angie seemed to think that there wasn't anything that wasn't salvageable.

That was a relief to Vi, but a hollow one. After the initial shock had passed, and the initial fury at someone entering their home and destroying their personal items had faded, she was left with a dull kind of hurt. This sort of violation made what had happened with Glen seem silly, on the level of getting groped while drunk at a high school keg party.

Speaking of Glen…he was not back yet. Neither was Mark. Vi knew that Drew was staying with friends, and Josie had spoken to him and learned that he had no idea where his dad had gone, only that he'd be back as soon as he could. There had not been a word from either of them since Mark had picked Glen up.

Vi almost hated to admit even to herself just how much she missed having one, or in this case, both of them around. It wasn't so much that she needed someone to lean on. It was just nice to not have to worry alone.

It did not help things that Josie was glued to her side, as if terrified something would happen to Vi. She refused to talk about it, which was not like Josie at all. The same went for Bridger when he finally reappeared. Josie kept him in her room most of the time, and when he wanted to go outside she made him suffer the indignity of a leash on his collar. After the first few times, Bridger seemed to get it. He hadn't attempted to run outside or move further from Josie than a few feet.

It was just past six in the morning when Vi had finally given up on the thought of sleeping. She'd managed to doze off a few times but real sleep alluded her. If she was lucky, she'd be able to take a nap after lunch. Which would probably only make her feel more tired but that was fine too. Eventually things would go back to normal. She checked in on Josie, who was sleeping with one arm draped over Bridger, and let her be. She knew that Josie should be helping out around the ranch, she did it every summer, but after the week they'd had she wasn't going to force the issue and drag her out of bed.

Instead, Vi headed downstairs to make breakfast even though she wasn't a bit hungry. There was soda in the fridge though, and she grabbed a can for the caffeine she figured she'd need. She had just popped it open when someone knocked at the front door.

Vi frowned and looked at the clock. There was no reason for anyone, barring an emergency, to be showing up this early in the day. Of course she was tired and out of sorts so that would be the time something would happen. She set her soda on the counter and went to the door, expecting one of the ranch hands.

What she got was a complete stranger. He was tall, sort of boyish looking in a way that she couldn't put her finger on, especially given the way he was grinning when she opened the door. He had close-cropped dark hair, and the scruffy start of a beard but even that didn't put his age anywhere over 30.

"Hi." He said the word as if he expected Vi would know who he was. The grin also widened.

"Hel-lo?" Vi dragged it out, for a moment a bit mesmerized by the guy's eyes. She'd thought they were hazel at first, but now they were blue. When he shifted his gaze they went from dark to light blue and back.

"A guy by the name of Mark Calaway wouldn't happen to be here, would he?"

Vi raised an eyebrow. "No." Again she dragged the word out. "Why would he be here?"

"Because he's not at home. Nobody has seen him for a couple of days. And it's kind of important that I speak to him." Again, the guy smiled rather boyishly and stuck his hand out. "I'm an old friend of his. Name's Randy."

Vi found herself half-smiling in return and reaching out to shake his offered hand but she stopped and narrowed his eyes. "Wait a minute. That still doesn't explain what you're doing here, looking for him." Something, some interior voice, told her that she'd heard the name Randy before and recently. She just couldn't place it. From Mark, maybe? It had to be. And then it struck her. "Ok. You're Randy? The Randy that helped Mark do whatever it was he did to his father? The one who died?"

"Yes. Yes, and yes again." He was still smiling although it was more troubled. "Except I didn't really die. Or if I did it wasn't for long."

Vi let him take her hand and shake it. And she noted he watched her closely as if gauging her reaction. He might have expected a bigger one. She shook his hand dutifully and released him. "So why is a supposedly dead friend of Mark's on my doorstep at six-thirty in the morning?" The alarm pad that had been put in next to the door started beeping and VI reached over and punched in her code to shut it up before turning her attention back to the guy on her porch.

"A friend wanted me to talk to him. And he said it was urgent." Randy glanced over his shoulder as a truck rattled by the house on the way to the back of the ranch.

"And this friend of yours sent you here?" Vi asked when he'd turned back to face her.

"No. He sent me to Mark's." Randy was back to studying her intently. "I followed a hunch here. Sort of. I take it that you know what we are, since you know about what happened with Mark and his father."

"I do."

"Good. Then that makes this easier. I couldn't always get a read on Mark, usually looking at him and trying to pick up on his thoughts was like trying to tune into a radio station that's out of range, but after he got more humanized, I could read him better. It's like a song you haven't heard for years, but as soon as you hear a verse the rest of it pops into your head." He tapped his temple. "That kind of brought me here. He's either been here a lot or he's thought of this place…or you…a lot. You're Vivian, right?"

"Right. You picked that up. From Mark."

"Kind of. Some people leave an imprint…especially where there are strong feelings attached. He never used to do that." The smile flashed, but it was short lived. "If he's not home, and he's not here…then he's off the grid. Because from what I can tell these are the only recent places that have held any kind of meaning for him. If I leave you a number…" He reached into the pocket of the jeans he was wearing and tugged out a cell phone. "Can you have him call me? I'll be in town, close by."

"I…sure. Yeah." Vi hesitated for a moment. "Does this have anything to do with what happened here the other night? Or Glen? Or whatever's happening around town?"

"What happened the other night?" Randy's voice took on a tone of concern. Then he raised his eyebrows. "Glen?"

"Well we had a…"

"Glen as in Mark's brother, Glen? That Glen?" Randy interrupted her.

"Yeah. I…" Another truck rumbled past. The guys in front waved and Vi waved back, noting that they had slowed down to peer at her visitor. "You know what? Why don't you come in? Otherwise the whole ranch is likely to show up on my doorstep wanting to know what's up." Randy nodded and stepped in when Vi held the door open. She gestured toward the kitchen. "My coffee maker got destroyed but I have soda and juice, or water. If you'd like a drink."

"No thank you. I'm fine." Randy took a seat at the table and waited until Vi sat down across from him. "You know, I haven't seen Mark in…20 years?" He had to think about it. The number seemed to surprise him. "And I got the gist of what happened…with his wife…from my friend."

"So you didn't know anything about that?" Vi asked, sipping her soda.

"No. I didn't have contact with him after what happened. I woke up…" Randy frowned and shook his head. "It wasn't waking up because I wasn't asleep. I was told I was in a coma for a few weeks. I came out of it in some tiny little house, with some strange old woman caring for me. I have no idea how I got there. But she was like us. She knew what I was. I stayed there for a while to get my strength back, then I started…wandering. Not staying in any one place for too long."

"Were the two of you close? You and Mark?"

Randy smirked. "As close as anybody could get to him at the time. He was still trying to come to terms with his humanity sharing a body with his demon side."

"I would venture a guess that he's past that now. Mostly." Vi said with a smile.

"Sounds like it. I heard that he has a kid too?" That came as a question. Vi nodded.

"A son. He's thirteen."

Randy smiled thoughtfully. "I guess I'm just…a little surprised…that he married Rayne. Of course I know that would be the only way he could have a kid at all, but…it doesn't mesh with the Mark that I knew I guess."

"So even though he's not entirely like you, he still couldn't just have more kids with a regular human woman?" Vi asked out of curiosity.

"No. I'm not sure why. I don't think anybody knows why there are only a few human females that can have children by demons either. Although if I stop to think about it I guess it's a good thing, considering what Mark's been through." Randy shrugged. "You mentioned Glen."

"Yes I did." Vi finished her soda and got up to toss the can into the garbage, explaining how she had found him on the side of the road, how she had let him come to stay. And eventually how they had figured out he was Mark's brother. Or half-brother, as the DNA testing suggested.

"And he doesn't remember anything at all." It wasn't a question.

"Nothing. Although every now and then he might have a…I don't know what to call it. Like something is trying to get through but can't." It put her at a loss to explain it. She had seen for herself, those little bursts Glen had when something struck him as familiar for a brief moment before it was lost again. "And that's where Mark is now. I guess. Somewhere with Glen, trying to help him. I haven't heard from him since the day they left though."

"If I had known…" Randy shook his head. "Did he tell you about my powers?"

"If he did, I don't recall." Vi smile ruefully. "I've had information overload the past few months. My brain may be fried completely. Probably is, as I am sitting in my kitchen so early with a strange man talking like we've known each other for years."

"I have that effect." He smiled back at her. "I have what we call the touch. I can touch someone and…sometimes manipulate them. Or read their thoughts. Sometimes I can plant thoughts in their head."

Vi thought that over for a moment. "Does that mean sometimes you can make them forget?"

"I don't think I could wipe out a person's entire memory. But a single memory here and there? Sure."

"Are you the reason that Mark's wife thought the whole thing was a dream? The stuff that happened back then?"

"Partially. The rest was all her. Not wanting to believe it. She might have forgotten without any help from me, and I'm not entirely sure I actually did anything in that direction. She might have done it herself. The thing about those few special women who can carry a demon's child…they have to be able to absorb some of the powers from the demon otherwise they can't survive it. An older demon might want to take her to a deeper realm, but they could just as easily do it here. And the woman wouldn't make it through the pregnancy." Randy paused. "But that's way off the subject. How can Mark's brother be alive? My parents…they were there that night. They saw it. There was no way he could have been brought back."

"Apparently somebody found a way." Vi said with a sigh. "So would you be able to do anything about his memory loss?"

"I don't know. If he were a full human or a full demon, probably. But he's both. It makes them stronger, and different in a lot of ways." Randy leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. "I can't read you. I tried at the door, when we shook hands."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know. It's never happened before. Even with Mark…he could shield himself pretty well, but I still knew he was there. You though...I don't know. I know you're there, I could probably find you in a crowded building, but it's just like a spark on my radar, not a signal beamed into my head."

Vi nodded and was quiet for a few moments. "So why are you here then? If not because of Glen or whatever else?"

Randy shook his head. "It's complicated."

"More complicated than what's been going on around here?"

"What's been going on around here?" Randy shot back at her.

"Besides Glen? And my…relationship…with Mark? Those murders? The break-in here at the house? Take your pick. There's no shortage of weirdness going on."

"One thing at a time. Someone broke in to your house?"

"Yeah. Couple of nights ago. I'm a vet. I was out on an emergency visit and when I got back somebody had cut the power in the house and was waiting for me. I got out before anything happened but he trashed a few hundred bucks worth of electronics and destroyed some family pictures." Vi felt a spark of anger but it was not nearly the level she'd felt before. "I'd be more pissed off but I'm tired."

"I would imagine." Rand ran his fingers lightly over the top of the table. "Did he touch anything specific?"

Vi shrugged. "He touched everything pretty much. Moved stuff, broke stuff. I don't know specifics, because I didn't stick around long enough to find out. Especially when I thought I saw him still in the house."

"You saw him?"

"His shadow. In the front window." Vi hooked a thumb in the direction of the living room.

"Mind if I take a look?" He was already rising to his feet. Vi could only watch as he approached the window and ran his fingertips over the sill, the frame, not touching the glass but everywhere around it. "It was raining."

"Yeah. Big storm that night."

"I don't know who he is. He just feels kind of…cold."

Vi had gotten up from the table and followed him into the living room. "You can tell that. Just by touching the window?"

"Sure." Randy said it like it was an everyday thing. Of course to him it probably was. "Not much else though. Whoever it was, he's pretty closed off." He shook his head and seemed to realize Vi was standing there. "I should go."

"But…"

"If you see Mark, tell him I'm looking for him. Do you have pen and paper? I want to leave you my number."

"I…sure." Vi went back to the kitchen and grabbed her notepad and a pen off the counter. She handed them over and Randy jotted down his number.

"If you need anything. Or if anything else weird happens here...you give me a call yourself." Randy said, giving her the pen and paper back. "Just in case."

"O…k…" Again Vi dragged the word out. "You never said exactly why it was that you were here and looking for Mark." She said as she held the door open for him. Randy paused on the front porch and smiled at her.

"Technically I think I was supposed to give him a kick in the ass to get him going. But I think I'm probably a little too late for that. See you around." He winked and headed toward the car that was parked near Vi's SUV.

Vi frowned, confused, and shut the door behind him. Odd. Everything was so odd. It seemed like the longer she knew these people, the stranger they got.

Her stomach growled, reminding her she'd been planning to cook breakfast. Now she thought she might actually be able to eat. Before she went to the kitchen though she picked up the phone and dialed Mark's cell phone number. Much as it had over the last two days, the call did not even ring. It went straight to voicemail. Vi didn't bother with a message. She preferred to keep her worrying to herself.

~~!~~

"You should have called me."

Steve hadn't been wrong. Mark was so angry he could hardly get the words out past his clenched teeth.

"I tried." Steve refused to let Mark's anger rattle him. "Not like I have a supernatural line straight to your head is it? And what exactly could you have done that we didn't?" It was Friday afternoon. Mark had been out of contact since earlier in the week, when they'd gotten the DNA results back.

It looked like he was back though.

"You can get as mad as you wanna get. Nobody's been hurt. Had a couple more break-ins but no murders. Got Viv a fancy alarm system, deputized eight of our best guys, and we're doing more patrols." Steve said, calm even if he could feel Mark's anger through the phone.

"I'll be back in town by midnight." It was as if Steve hadn't talked. "Earlier than that."

"Don't go flyin' off half-cocked." Steve advised, pretty sure it was falling on deaf ears. Or no ears. Mark had hung up. Steve wondered if the man's last comment had been a promise or a threat. Mark was the one that had been out of touch for the past few days, the one who had missed all of the craziness. Steve hoped he'd be so damned lucky the next time he took a vacation.

He set the phone down and tugged his ball cap down over his eyes, shading them from the sun that slanted through the window. He had stopped by his house the night before, to check in, and had almost literally passed out as he sat on the couch holding his daughter. His lack of rest had finally caught up to him. Jess had let him sleep til nearly eight that morning, and while he was grateful for the rest, he realized he'd spent ten hours snoozing while all of his new deputies rambled the county without a leader.

The fact that nothing happened was little comfort. Steve had called them all together at lunchtime, and they'd worked out a watch roster. And he still didn't think it was enough. Their county was a lot of ground to cover for so few patrolling. He'd started making calls, and word had gotten around. People had to start setting watch. He couldn't deputize everyone.

Steve pushed his hat back and squinted up at the clock on the wall. It was four. He should go home, spend some quality awake time with the girls while he could, and then head out for a night of patrolling. He added a stop at Viv's house to his list. The woman who had taken all of the pictures from the pool had called earlier in the day to say she had found a few fingerprints. None of them were more than a partial, and almost all of them were smudged. She had collected them anyway and Steve expected them to arrive in the morning. He didn't expect it would do much good. While most people in town had been fingerprinted at some point - mostly for the town's peace of mind rather than a real need to do it - Steve knew this was not merely one of the townies blowing off steam that had been building up over time. No. He'd seen that before. Usually it was the newer demons that cracked, that showed their true colors. He could deal with that. This was something different.

And there were new people in town. Normally that would not be a cause for worry because they had to let some people in on occasion, otherwise they were no better than their realm-dwelling demon counterparts. It was hard not to be suspicious though. His deputies were especially keeping an eye on anyone who had been in town less than one year, including seasonal workers who only showed up for the summer before drifting away.

A few had caught Steve's attention. The first was a woman who was staying at the motel. He had not learned her name; he had only heard from Mike that she was a knockout. And Steve had seen her around a few times, usually at the diner, once at the library where she had been sitting on the steps out front and taking in the sleepy scenery around her. She sparked curiosity but not suspicion.

The rest were males, all of them of the transient variety. One of them was working at Viv's ranch but he had been with Ray at the auctions when Viv's house was broken into. It was not an alibi in Steve's estimation, but he had to focus on the more pressing suspects first and work his way down list of maybes.

He got up and stretched with a groan. The sleep last night had done him a world of good, but he didn't bank on it happening again until things settled around town. Steve shifted the hat once more and lifted a hand in a wave toward the front desk where an older woman named Franny had taken over dispatch duty for the foreseeable future. She had run dispatch before, and it freed up his deputies to actually go out and patrol. She and her sister Emma had settled themselves in and set up their own schedule without a peep out of Steve. He was just grateful to have the extra hands around the station.

He went outside and climbed behind the wheel of his Jeep. He let the air conditioning run for a moment, cooling down the interior before shifting into reverse to back onto the road.

And that was when he noticed the woman in the passenger seat.

Steve should have seen her when he was walking toward the vehicle for sure, and definitely in the few minutes he'd fiddled with the controls on the dashboard. One second the seat had been empty, the next there she was. Except she wasn't really there. Steve realized he could see through her.

He also realized that he knew her.

He didn't know her name. Their town was small but it wasn't like he knew every citizen by name. No. He knew her though, he had seen her before. Even as he thought it she faded and the seat was empty once more. "What the fuck was that?" He asked out loud. There was no answer of course. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, trying to remember the woman and where he had seen her before. She was young, early twenties. Dark hair. Dark eyes. Even as he tried to call up details the memory of her was fading.

He grabbed his small notebook and pencil and scrawled out some notes to himself before it faded all together. It was possible if he could describe her that Jess would know her, or maybe one of his deputies. Steve tucked the notebook into his pocket then carefully checked the passenger seat and backseat before finally pulling out onto the road.