The creature had struck again.
In a matter of two days, there had been two more killings. The first, Guy Riley, had been a well-known illegal potions importer who’d been contributing to the delinquencies lining Splendor streets for years. I couldn’t say his death brought me any level of sorrow.
Now, as Trey and I had been called onto the scene of the second killing, I didn’t know what to expect. Guy had been torn up like Fabian had. And like Fabian, his head had been left. Apparently, the creature didn’t have a taste for brains.
Trey handed me a pair of latex gloves and stepped aside, motioning with his arms that I should go ahead of him. Such the gentleman. I stepped over the yellow crime scene tape and blinked against the glare of the portable floodlights shining down the alleyway.
Guy had been killed inside his dark arts store, much like Fabian had been. But this second murder had taken place in an alley behind Guy’s; almost like the victim had witnessed something he shouldn’t have.
“Do they have any idea who the victim is?” I asked Trey, who’d managed to get on the scene a few minutes before me.
He shook his head. “No, I waited for you.”
I nodded and followed the white hazmat-suited A.N.C. forensics team down the alley where they gathered around what I could only assume was the body. At our approach, they separated like bowling pins.
I glanced down at what was left of the body. As with Fabian and Guy, there was no blood. Just a head and a fleshy mound sitting beside the head. The fleshy mound was about the length of my forearm with the white of various bones peeking through the flesh. I squatted down and reached for the pulpy mass before noting the numbered markers set beside the head and rib cage, used for crime scene photos. I glanced up at the forensics team who were still surrounding the body. “Am I good to shift stuff around now?” A man with beady eyes gave me a salute. “It’s all yours.” I lifted the fleshy mass. “Rib cage,” I said to Trey. “That’s what I was thinking too.”
“Bag it,” I said and handed the rib cage to the closest hazmat man. He regarded it with disinterest so I waved my hand a bit, acting the charade of “take this damn thing already.”
“Looks like there are some teeth marks on the bones but other than that, it isn’t going to tell us much more than what we already know about the killer,” I said.
A short man with blond hair and a blonder handlebar moustache opened a clear plastic bag as Mr. Reluctant dropped the rib cage in, sealing it away. It would then go to our crime scene lab to be placed in a cryogenic chamber that would ensure we could return to study it.
One rib cage down, one head left to go.
I sighed and turned to the fun task of rotating the head so we could get an idea of who our John Doe was. In the heat of the lights, I could feel beads of perspiration skiing down the small of my back. No one ever said this job was a glamorous one.
I grabbed a handful of black hair which felt cold against my gloved hand. I rotated the head until the eyes fixed their sightless gaze on me, an expression of wide-eyed shock still resident in them. I couldn’t help my gasp. “Tad,” I said in a breathless voice. Trey groaned and shifted his extreme weight from one leg to the other. “Goddamn.”
If Guy and Fabian’s deaths hadn’t bothered me much, Tad Jones was a different story. Though Tad had definitely had his dealings with the law and he’d spent many a night in our holding cells, he was someone you wanted to bring under your wing. There was a flawed, but innate goodness about him.
He’d been addicted to marsh root, an illegal potion that worked like speed, since I’d first met him five years ago. He was young-maybe in his late teens and he’d had a hard, short life. He was a werewolf without a pack-he’d been ousted as soon as he’d gotten addicted to marsh. Wolves weren’t the most forgiving of creatures.
“I always liked the kid. Thought he’d clean up eventually,” Trey said as he chewed his lip.
I nodded. “He was a good kid.”
Even though I didn’t say much, that didn’t mean I wasn’t reeling inside. I’d spent lots of time with Tad, talking about his future and trying to help him. As a Regulator, it was my job to bust the bad guys but I also tried to keep everyone on the straight and narrow. I couldn’t help but think I’d failed Tad and it brought stinging tears to my eyes.
“So, you think Guy’s murder is related?” Trey asked.
I could tell he was trying to change the subject, trying to get my mind off the fact that I’d failed Tad and because of that, he was now dead before me. I had to give it to Trey for trying. I cleared my throat, forcing the tears back. I would not cry. “Yeah,” I said with a sniffle that I turned into a cough. Trey nodded. “They were both torn up like Fabian,” he said and flicked up one finger. “They all had something to do with the illegal potion industry.” Finger two.
“Yes,” I said, forcing guilty thoughts of Tad to the back of my mind. I couldn’t save him, but I could damn well find out who killed him and see them pay. “So, whoever did this was trying to cover something up. All the deaths were related to street potions,” I said. “Fabian was a dealer and so was Guy, but Tad wasn’t,” Trey pointed out. I nodded. “So, why kill him?” Trey shrugged. “Maybe Tad saw something or knew something?” “Maybe. I can’t help but think if he’d known something was up, he would have come to me.” “Yeah, the kid did have a crush on you,” Trey said with a sad smile. “Whatever it was, he trusted me.” And I failed him…the silent words clung to my tongue.
“Well, do you think we got enough here?” Trey asked and we both glanced around the alley again, almost waiting for another clue to rear its head. Of course nothing did.
Yeah, I was ready to go.
###
I was tired. Tired, depressed and really not in the mood to go to work but hey, sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to, right? I opened the double glass doors to Headquarters and stifled a sigh.
“You look like something the cat dragged in,” Elsie said with a compassionate smile.
I frowned and bobbed my head-it was all I could manage. Luckily, today didn’t look like much of a busy day-no one in our holding cells and no phones ringing. Thank you, Hades. Now I just needed coffee and lots of it before I started writing up the notes on Tad’s murder. I walked to my desk and threw myself into the seat. “Dulce.” I didn’t need to turn around to recognize Quillan’s rich baritone. But, I did anyway. “Morning,” I muttered. He avoided my gaze. That’s when I knew something was up. “Can I chat with you for a minute?”
Words that no employee ever wants to hear from her boss. I so didn’t want to deal with this today. I stood up with a sigh and followed him into his office.
“Have a seat. Do you want some coffee?”
I took the chair. “Yeah, please.”
Shutting the door, he turned to his Mr. Coffee, and poured me a cup, using a mug I’d gotten him for Christmas. It had a picture of the Blues Brothers-his all-time favorite movie. He plopped one sugar cube and a bit of Coffee-Mate into the cup, then stirred-just how I liked it. “Here you go.” He handed me the cup. “You and Trey were on the murder case last night?” he started. “Yeah, it was Tad Jones.” Quillan shook his head. “Damn shame-he was a good kid.”
I didn’t want to think about exactly what a damn shame it was…shame wasn’t even the word for it. Instead, I turned my attention to the warm cup in my hands and thought about the information I needed to share with Knight. But I had no way to reach him. Guess it would have to wait.
“What did you make of it?” Quillan asked.
I shrugged. “Guy, Fabian and Tad all had something to do with the illegal potion trade. I’m not sure what the link is between them yet, but I intend to find out.”
Quillan nodded. “Next steps?”
“We should put some guys out to monitor the comings and goings of other creatures dealing street potions. Not only for their own good but also to see if we can get any leads.” I paused and tapped my fingers against the ceramic cup. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all the deaths have to do with street potions and if I had to guess, I’d say the creature will kill again.”
Quillan smiled with a nod of his curly-locked head. “I’ll get a list going of all creatures we’ve suspected of being involved with illegal potions.” “I don’t mind doing a little reconnaissance, myself.” Quillan immediately shook his head. “I’ll take care of it.” I just gave him a small smile of thanks-he knew I didn’t exactly enjoy stakeouts. “So, Dulce…” Quillan started, looking at me anxiously. “What’s up?”
He rested his tightly packed ass against the edge of the desk, one leg curling over the side, the other stationed on the ground. I leaned back in my chair, a mere six inches from him-so close I could smell his Tommy Bahama aftershave.
“I received word from the Relations Office this morning…”
Great, here it came. He was pissed off I’d withheld information about Knight. Well, what choice did I have? Knight was higher up on the Netherworld totem pole than Quillan, and he’d given me none-too-subtle orders not to breathe a whisper of the case to anyone. This was so not my fault, but I couldn’t even defend myself.
He took a deep breath. “You’re off all future cases.”
I felt like I’d been blindsided by an elephant. “What? What the hell are you talking about? What did I do to deserve this?”
Quillan put a hand on my shoulder, but I coldly shrugged it off. There was no way in hell he was going to make me feel any better about getting…fired.
“This has nothing to do with you,” he said, and it was as dumb a line as when a guy breaks up with you and says it isn’t you, it’s him. It’s you-it’s always you. “What the hell did I do?” “The Relations Office seems to think you might be in danger. That’s all they’d tell me. Apparently this is very hush-hush.” I narrowed my eyes. “What a load! I’m starting to wonder if I’m off the squad because I’m a suspect in Fabian’s murder!”
Quillan shook his head. “You aren’t off the squad. I received word from the Relations Office this morning that you aren’t considered a suspect. I don’t think you ever were.” He paused. “And you know I never thought you were.”
I swallowed a retort. “What kind of danger do they think I’m in?”
“They wouldn’t tell me. They just said to give you a break for a little while. Think of it as a little downtime-a mini vacation.”
I leaned back in my chair. At least I wasn’t fired. But this whole danger business? It made no sense. Somehow Knight had to be involved, and the bummer of the whole thing was that I couldn’t ask a goddamned question without somehow bringing Knight into it. “For how long?” I asked. “Until I hear back from Relations and they tell me.” I dropped his gaze. “This sucks.”
“I know you’re angry, Dulce but it’s for your own good. Fabian’s killer is still out there and now with the other murders…this way you’ll be protected.”
“Protected?” I scoffed. “How will I be protected? By staying home?” Well, there was Sam’s protection spell on my house, but somehow I didn’t think Quillan was referring to that. And Sam’s spell could be broken. “That’s not the end of the story. We’re…setting up some other protection for you.” “What does that mean?” “A few gremlins to patrol your house.” I started shaking my head “But…” Quillan interrupted me. “You won’t see them. They’ll be out back in the woods but close enough to keep an eye on the place.”
“Gremlins, Quillan? You should be more afraid of them attacking me!” Gremlins had the unfortunate reputation of attacking anything that moved. “And what about my neighbors? They’re all human and wouldn’t survive a gremlin attack. That is the worst freaking idea…”
“The Netherworld is sending a species of evolved gremlins. They’re smarter and stronger than your average…gremlin.”
I was so pissed off, I didn’t even get to ponder the fact that I’d warranted Netherworld gremlins. “This bites the big one, Quillan.”
He shook his head, like he didn’t think it bit the big one at all. Yeah, well he wasn’t about to have gremlins pooping in his yard and killing neighbor’s animals if not the neighbors themselves.
I was so going to be evicted.
“You won’t even see them. They have strict orders to stay on the perimeter of the property. The only thing you have to do is feed them once a day.” “Feed them?” I stood up. “What the hell am I supposed to feed them?” Quillan laughed. “Dog food. Two scoops a day.” “Okay, you do realize I’ve killed every houseplant I’ve ever owned?” A smirk played with his lips. “Dulce, I’m sure you’ll be fine. This will be good for you.” “I never planned on having a dog or a cat or anything else. I’m not a pet person.” The smile didn’t vanish from his lips. “Well, now you have gremlins.” “I’m so glad you’re enjoying this.”
Quillan crossed his arms above his chest. “It might be slightly entertaining but I’m more worried about you than anything else.” He paused. “I’m going to check on you every day after work.”
I sat down again and sighed until it felt like all the air was escaping my lungs. “You don’t have to do that. With freaking gremlins around, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
Quillan touched my shoulder again. “I want to. You know I don’t want anything bad happening to you, Dulce.”
I dropped my gaze as heat rushed to my cheeks. “Yeah, yeah,” I waved away his concern with an indifferent hand. “I’m your favorite, blah blah blah.” Quillan laughed but it didn’t make me feel any better. “How many gremlins do I have to feed?” “Just two.”
I nodded, feeling slightly guilty that I was still keeping the fact that Knight and I were working together from Quillan. Quillan was a good boss and my friend.
“So, am I free to go now?” I asked.
“Yes, and just so you know, the gremlins are arriving tonight.”
Holy Hades, it was like a bad horror movie. “Great, then I need to go to the store and get some Purina.” I shook my head. “Goddamit.”
Quillan chuckled. “I already took care of that for you, Dulce. I’ve got it in my truck.”
I forced myself to smile. It wasn’t his fault. He was trying to make this as easy on me as he could. “Thanks, Quill. What time are you coming over?” “How about six thirty? I’ll bring dinner.” “Don’t get any ideas.” He laughed. “I’ll try not to.” ###
When six p.m. rolled around, I’d managed to email my Captain Slade queries to nearly every agency on my list. I stood up, stretched, and caught my reflection in the mirror. An oversized t-shirt and boxers weren’t the greatest thing to wear when company's expected.
I neared the door of my bedroom and eyed my jeans draped over my armchair. They’d do. I threw them on along with a black tank top and considered myself dressed. I mean, I didn’t want to give Quillan the wrong impression.
A knock sounded on the front door.
After checking the peephole, I pulled it open and found Quillan with a bag of Alpo on one shoulder and dog dishes in both hands. I reached for the dishes, but Quillan just grinned and showed himself into my unremarkable apartment. “Where should I put this?” he asked and lifted his shoulder as if he needed to draw attention to the enormous bag of dog food. “How about outside?” He frowned. “It’ll get wet outside or animals will get into it. You need to embrace the gremlins, Dulce.” I’m sure he couldn’t help his smile. “Funny. I guess in the kitchen.”
Quillan dropped the mammoth bag of Alpo onto my linoleum floor and headed for the back door that led into the woods bordering my apartment building. I watched him open the door and drop both bowls onto the weed-ridden “yard”.
“And what do I do if any of my neighbors sees one of the ugly things and freaks out?” I asked.
Quillan slapped his hands together as if his job here was done and closed the door behind him. “They won’t. I cast an illusion, so to the unknowing eye, they look just like dogs-a Labrador and a Dalmation, to be exact.”
“I’m not allowed to have dogs here.”
“Then don’t let anyone see you feed them. They’ll stay in the woods and won’t cause you any trouble. No one will even notice they’re here.” Quillan started for the front door. “I left the food in the truck. Got Chinese.”
Of course, that immediately made me think of the massage parlor. Dammit, I still needed to pay a visit to Dagan.
“That sounds great, thanks Quill.”
I watched his large frame as he walked through the door, then I started for the kitchen. Pulling out my best silverware, I held a fork up to the light and used the hem of my shirt to wipe away the water spots.
Quillan walked back in, the smell of sweet and sour something wooing my nose. My stomach growled, and I could feel my cheeks instantly coloring. Quillan didn’t seem to notice or was polite enough not to comment. He started dishing us up, as I searched for a place for us to sit. I only had two chairs and one was currently residing at my desk. Quillan handed me a plate and motioned for me to sit at the table while he assumed my computer chair.
“So, when are the gremlins coming?” I asked.
“Not sure. The delivery guy is supposed to call me when they’re close.”
“Thanks,” I managed and watched him take a few bites. He accidentally nudged my mouse and Captain Slade’s Bounty jumped onto the screen, causing a bite of Chinese food to get lodged in my throat.
“What are you going to do with your free time?” Quillan asked as he glanced at the word document.
I shrugged, trying to swallow my panic and a lump of sweet and sour pork. I had done all my search and replaces of Quillan’s name, hadn’t I? “Nothing really,” I answered. Quillan nodded and turned his attention to the computer again. “What’s this?” I jumped from my seat and raced to the computer, hoping and praying Captain Slade’s name would greet me. “It’s a book.” Quillan took a bite of rice. “What’s it about?” I blushed and reached the desk, scanning the page. “Um, pirates.” He glanced at the screen again. “Cool, I like pirates. May