Free Maggie for Hire by Kate Danley Page B

out what you are doing.”
    “There were a lot of vampires for a couple 24 hour shifts.”
    “Perhaps they were here before,” offered Sister Magdalena.
    And that’s when I got the heebie-jeebies.  I thought to the silver bracelet sitting in the baggie, “And my uncle is tied up in this mess somehow.  Why can’t my family just be quiet, law abiding citizens?”
    Father Killarney sighed, “To every light there must be a dark.  To every yin, a yang.  Your uncle’s wicked ways are only a balance to the good of your father.”
    “Sibling rivalry must’ve been a bitch.”
    He laughed, “Indeed, it was.”
    I looked at Father Killarney, “Wait.  You knew my uncle?”
    “Indeed, I did.  I knew him until the day that he turned away from us.”
    “What do you think he is up to?” I asked, gazing around at the death and mayhem of a place that should have been filled with light and life.
    “I assume he is looking for you.”
    “What?” I asked him sharply.  “Why would he be looking for me?”
    “I assume because you are the only one who can put a stop to this.”
    “That’s a random statement to lay on a girl.”
    Father Killarney and Killian shared an unspoken, pointed moment and I kind of didn’t want to find out what they were so rudely not telling me. 
    Killian finally turned to me, “Maggie, I was sent to you to find out why the barrier was weakening.  I was told it was because you were the only one who could fix it.”  He waved at the mess in the church, “But now, if your uncle is at the root of this matter...  Perhaps it is because your blood runs thicker than water.”
    “Great,” I said, pressing my palms into my increasingly throbbing temples.  “I’m supposed to magically know something about a man that I’d never heard of before a couple days ago and save the world with said information.”
    “That’s about the color of things,” said Father Killarney, completely unhelpfully.
    “You can fill me in on the guy anytime now,” I pointedly requested.
    He gently guided me and Killian to the door, “I will.  I promise, child.  But this abomination upon holy ground must be sorted out before sundown.  Go.  Get lunch.  Watch some afternoon talk shows.  I shall tell you everything this evening.”
    Father Killarney was an expert in cleaning up bad magic.  He’d seen far worse than what mine eyes had gazed upon, and that was saying something.  If he was subtly suggesting that he had to get down to brass tacks, then he needed to get started.  I grudgingly decided that I could let him worry about the end of the world for a couple hours.
    I hugged him warmly.  Father Killarney used to eat at our Sunday night dinners back before all hell had broken loose and we had to move across the boundary.  He was one of the good guys.  I waved at Sister Magdalena who saluted me farewell with her hose.
    Killian and I walked back to the car, picking our way through the dead grass and headstones.  Fall didn’t really come to Los Angeles, but every now and again, you’d find a misplaced maple amidst the eucalyptus and palm trees.  For some reason, this church featured some stunted oaks to help tell the change between the seasons.
    I stood at my car, staring back at the church.  Doing nothing for the afternoon just didn’t sit right.  I couldn’t let it go.
    “Killian?  We found out about the funeral from an obituary in the paper.  Maybe it’s time to pay a visit to the funeral director...”
    Killian gave me a smile.
    “Besides,” I said, unlocking the door, “there’s nothing on since they staked Jerry Springer.”

Chapter 18
    The funeral home was a white clapboard sided thing with black shutters and a curved driveway.  Sort of a grim Georgian rancher left over from the prefab homes of the 1950s.  It had a utilitarian, matter-of-factness to it that fit in well with the blue-collar neighborhood.
    We walked in the front door.  Inside, the industrial carpet was a delightful