“Where is Arnie’s damned sax?” Jenny asked. “We need to find it and give it to him, so he’ll stop killing.”
Quinn looked at Danni and weighed his words carefully. “We need to find the sax,” he agreed. “But we also have to find whoever is doing this and stop him.”
“Maybe he’s not real. Maybe he’s a monster. We think it’s a mask, but maybe it’s his face,” Jenny said. “But,” she added anxiously, looking at Quinn and Danni, “you kill monsters, don’t you? Oh, Lord. Listen to me,” she said. “I sound like a crazy person.” She laid her head down on the table and groaned.
“Everyone should get some sleep,” Quinn said. “Being overtired doesn’t help anything.”
“Yes,” Jenny agreed. But she didn’t move. She looked at Quinn and said, “We’re safe, right? I mean if the killer were to come back, well, you’ve got your gun?” She looked at Brad. “And you have yours, too, right? And you’re ready to use them on that creep if he does come back?”
“We’re armed, Jenny,” Quinn assured her.
“I even know how to shoot,” Father Ryan said. He smiled grimly and told Jenny, “God’s warrior, you know. Don’t get the wrong idea. I am a man of peace. But sometimes the innocent need to be protected.”
“But you’re going home, Father,” Jenny said.
“We’ve always got another bed,” Danni offered.
“Thank you, dear. But I think I will head back to the rectory. Mass later, you know? And I have never had a sax. I can’t play a sax—trust me, you wouldn’t want to hear me try. So...time for me to go now.”
“Alone?” Jenny asked him.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said I can shoot. And I have a permit for a concealed weapon, which I have on me, under my jacket. I’ll see you all tomorrow night,” he assured them.
He told them all good-night, and then Quinn walked him to the courtyard door and watched until he was in his car and on his way. Quinn didn’t really know much about the priest’s past other than that he’d been in the service as a young man and after, as a priest, served in some of the most viciously war-torn areas of the world. He truly was “God’s warrior” in many ways; spiritually or physically, he was ready to go to battle for innocence and the good of mankind.
When Quinn walked back into the kitchen, he heard Jenny telling Danni, “I wish he wouldn’t leave.”
“We’ll be fine, trust me,” Danni said. “Please.”
“I certainly trust you,” Quinn said. “Why don’t you all go on up to bed. I’m going to call Detective Larue.”
“At this hour?” Danni asked softly.
He nodded. “Yes, I’ll wake him. He’ll be irritated, but he’d be more irritated if I didn’t report in on what happened here tonight.”
He pulled out his phone and called Larue, expecting that the others would leave, but they didn’t. He looked at Danni as he spoke, making sure that what he told Larue was right.
Larue did sound tired, but he didn’t say a word about the hour. Quinn figured that he’d been ready to get up and face the day, anyway.
After he rang off with Larue he assured the others that every officer on every shift would be on alert for anyone in a trench coat. The mask was secondary, since the killer was unlikely to wear it where he might be spotted, but of course they would keep it in mind, too.
“He’s just like Jack the Ripper, don’t you think?” Jenny asked, shivering. “He commits horrible crimes then just disappears into the streets. He even manages to disappear while he’s loaded down with musical instruments.”
“Because he knows the city,” Quinn said. “He’s local, either born here or, at the least, he’s been living here for quite some time. He knows the alleyways, what courtyard gates are left unlocked and where he can find easy access to hidey-holes. He’s smart, so we’ll just have to get smarter.”
Quinn could hear the street sweepers outside, cleaning up after another night of the usual mayhem in the Quarter.
“It’s morning, guys,” he said. “And I can guarantee you nothing happened during the night. Since this house was targeted, we don’t need to be worried about anyone else. Not till tonight, anyway.”
Jenny slapped Brad lightly on his shoulder. “We are not leaving—not until this is over,” she told him.
Brad looked at Quinn and Danni apologetically.
“Hey, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, you know that,” Danni said.
“Absolutely,” Quinn agreed, knowing Brad was still feeling awkward. Maybe some primeval sense deep within made him feel he was infringing on another man’s castle.
“Thanks,” Brad said awkwardly.
Finally Quinn realized that no one was going to bed until he did. “Wolf, you’re on duty, boy. And don’t worry about waking me up. Bark at anything you want.”
Billie groaned softly. “We’re opening in just a few hours.”
“Not to worry. I actually slept awhile,” Bo Ray said. “And I’ll get in my last few hours now. Good night, all.”