Jude got up from the table and grabbed bottles of water for himself and Ronan from the office fridge. He’d been so proudof Cope when Fitzgibbon put him on this case, but Jude hadn’t anticipated it going as wrong as it did at the Conti’s house. When they’d gotten back to West Side Magick, Jude had offered to drive Cope home so he could rest, but his husband insisted on going back to work.
“How’s Cope?” Ronan asked, seeming to read Jude’s mind.
“He’s shell-shocked.” Jude thought that was the best description of what his husband was going through. “You heard me offer to take him home, but he said no. He’s standing his ground.”
“Tennyson is the same way when we work cases. The day I took him to the prison to meet with Tank Hutchins, his lawyer, and you, I had no idea that just being close to the prison would affect him the way it did. I had to pull off to the side of the highway so he could throw up. Not having these gifts ourselves makes it hard to anticipate how certain situations will affect Ten and Cope. Not to mention the fact that we’re conditioned to handle the kinds of violence these cases entail.”
“You’re right, we are used to seeing humanity at its very worst,” Jude agreed. “Fitz wants me to work with Cope on connecting with Frankie again. I know our case could very well depend on what her spirit is able to tell us, but Jesus, he saw Frankie bound and screaming for help. Help Cope couldn’t provide. I want nothing more than to solve this murder. I know Cope does too, but how do I protect him from what he sees?”
“I don’t know.” Ronan sighed. “It’s possible that when Cope makes contact again, Frankie will appear to him like any other spirit, but I don’t think that’s likely. When Ten and I worked that serial killer case, one of the murder victims could only speak to Ten through images. It wasn’t until we caught the killer that Justin Wilson was able to speak with Ten like this.” Ronan motioned between himself and Jude.
“At least that boy was able to find a way to communicate. What if all Frankie can do is show Cope her last agonizing moments?” Jude remembered Frankie fondly from the time they’d met a few years back. The idea of seeing her bound with duct tape broke him and all he could do was imagine what happened. Cope had seen it with his own eyes.
“All we can do is trust in Cope and Ten’s abilities. Whatever information Frankie is trying to convey is critical to this investigation. It’s possible that Tennyson might be able to speak with Frankie in a way Cope can’t. Not to say your husband isn’t as skilled, but the one thing I’ve learned over the years working with Ten and Everly is that their gifts work differently. We know there are things Everly can do that Ten can’t. We also know their gifts are stronger together. I’m sure the same will be true with the two of you.”
Jude nodded. “The three of them working together on Cope’s spell is what led you and Fitz to find me when I was taken.” He shivered in the warm room. Jude still struggled with being abducted and held in a cage. Cope had put his cauldron away several years ago, but pulled it back out in order to find Jude. His husband was more powerful than he realized. What Jude needed to do was make Cope remember what a badass he was. Yeah, it was horribly tragic that Frankie had been abducted and murdered, but it would be even more gutting if her killer was never captured. “Frankie and I have so much in common, only I was found in time. She was not so lucky.”
“I was wondering when you’d mention that,” Ronan said on a sigh. “If you’re struggling with this case, it’s okay to tell me. What you went through a few months back was traumatic and terrifying. It makes sense you’d see similarities between yourself and Frankie.”
This was the exact reason Jude had kept his thoughts on this subject to himself. The last few months had been trying in so many ways, not the least of which were well-meaning friends and family who offered unsolicited advice on how to get over what happened to him, or worse, handed him the number of their shrink. “I’m okay. I can handle anything that comes my way, but Cope isn’t built that way. I need to step up and do everything I can to help get him through this case. He’s full of feelings and emotions that I tend to tamp down. I’m not sure I’ve got the right skill set to help him.”
“Bullshit!” Ronan rolled his eyes. “You’ve been exactly what Cope needs when things go sideways.”
“Maybe,” Jude muttered. Jude knew his strengths and his weaknesses. Dealing with emotions was definitely not one of his strongest suits.
“Spoiler alert, asshole, youdohave those same feelings and emotions! The only difference between you and Cope is that he lets them out so they don’t fester. You shove them down deep until they have no choice but to erupt out of you. Usually at the worst possible moment. There’s no one more capable of helping Cope through this case than you.”
“Maybe you have a point.” Jude checked his watch and stood up from the table. Cope’s reading session was scheduled to end in a few minutes.
“There’s nomaybeabout it. If you want me in on this meeting, that’s no problem. I’ve got plenty of time to work on Dr. Holbrook so we’re prepared to meet him tomorrow.”
“You’ve worked so closely with Ten on these cases. I’d appreciate you being there.”
“You got it.” Ronan slapped a hand on Jude’s back. “We’re gonna find the fucker who did this to Frankie and when we do, he’ll wish he’d never been born. Right?”
“Right,” Jude agreed. He took a deep breath and steeled his spine. Being drugged, kidnapped, and held against his will had been the worst experience of Jude’s life, but if it gave him a leg up on helping to solve Frankie’s murder, then it was worth every second of the pain and trauma he’d survived.
10
Cope
For the first time in his career, Cope was afraid to speak with the dead. He’d pushed himself through his last appointment, Chad Hampton, a young man who’d lost his wife to cancer, and barely kept from crying alongside the widower. In this client, he’d seen Oliver Adams. A man who had lived an ordinary life, until fate stepped in and shattered his future.
Thankfully, Cope had been able to reach out to Millie Hampton with ease. The woman appeared hale and healthy, just as she’d looked in life. He’d spoken to cancer-ravaged spirits in the past and these people, along with their devastated loved ones, broke his heart.
Seeing Francesca Adams bound and terrified was going to stick with Cope for the rest of his life. Part of him wanted to go all out, no holds barred, to find the monster who killed the young, pregnant woman, the other part wanted to hide under the bed with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon. The wildly vacillating points of view weren’t like Cope at all. He’d always been a middle of the road kind of guy, happy not to be too high or too low, but with this spirit, there was no middle ground.
A knock at Cope’s door startled him. He knew Jude and Ten were coming in to try to channel Frankie, but he’d been so deep in his own thoughts that the meeting had slipped his mind. “Come in.”
The door opened, and in walked Jude, Ten and Ronan, which didn’t surprise Cope one bit. “Hey, guys.”
“Hi, babe.” Jude pressed a kiss to Cope’s temple and set a cup of coffee in front of him.
Cope didn’t have to smell the brew to know it was his favorite mocha latte from Cassie’s bakery. “Thanks, I could really use this.” He took his first heavenly sip as the others settled around his reading table.
“I brought Ronan to this meeting because he’s had so much experience working with Tennyson on cases like this one.”
“I’m glad you’re here, Ronan. I’m going to need all the help I can get.” That was the understatement of the century. Cope knew he could have passed this case off to Tennyson, that way Frankie would get the best psychic for the job and he could go back to his easy life of reuniting lost loved ones. In fact, on the ride back from Frankie’s parents’ house, that had been Cope’s plan. He’d give Ten the case and let the expert handle it.
