by C. T. Adams
I could see the gears in his head working. He’d be doing the same thing with some of his wealth pretty soon. I could just tell.
He handed back the two batteries and I put them back in their package. I took the coins out of the sliced battery and put them in my pocket. Then I crushed the shell in my fist until it was an unrecognizable lump of metal and dropped it in a nearby trash can. If he wanted to spend the time to figure out how I’d done it, he was welcome to. But the design for holding the coins, and cut gems, were mine.
“You’d notice the difference. The carton’s heavy, but if it were too much heavier, people might get curious. Unless you have one eight-pack in one hand and one of these in the other, you can’t tell because most people can’t really remember how much a pack weighs. They just remember that it’s heavy. Plus, you can pull out a couple of batteries and actually use them. It’s not so obvious.” I put the box of guns on top of the carton of batteries and lifted them smoothly.
Carmine shook his head and we exited the room. “Good thing Mike and Linda didn’t know those were in there. You might be missing a few.”
He had a point. Linda likes shiny things, and Mike’s youngest needs braces. Linda wouldn’t consider it stealing—more of…a handling fee.
We headed down the hallway to where Bobby and Linda were waiting. Bobby stared at me with narrowed eyes as I passed him with the boxes. I didn’t need to smell his scent to know he was curious. I didn’t bother to enlighten him, just set the boxes on the floor of the hall.
The four of us entered the library together. There are three libraries in the house. Each holds different things. Babs had been taken from the “east” library. It’s mostly mystery and science fiction with some scattered popular fiction. It’s Linda’s library. Carmine has two of his own rooms filled with books. One is strictly reference. That’s the west library. Multiple versions of dictionaries, the-sauruses and maps. The north library is strictly historical novels, biographies and books about war and warriors. That’s Carmine’s choice of relaxing reading, although he will occasionally grab one of Linda’s books on a whim.
The room was a mess. It was obvious that Babs put up a fight. I automatically glanced to the corner of the room. The security camera I’d installed was still hidden behind the seascape painting. That was useful information.
“What did the tapes show?” I asked Carmine as I walked toward the painting.
“Not a damn thing!” he exclaimed with fire in his voice. Hot jalapeños and burned coffee scorched the air. “All the tapes are missing.”
Both Bobby and I looked at him sharply. “You didn’t mention that the attacker had the run of the place, Carmine.”
“Or that it might be an inside job,” added Bobby.
“It was and it wasn’t. Tell them, Linda.”
We all turned to her and she described a scene where one of the guards, Sammy, appeared at the door of the library and told Babs that Carmine wanted her to come with him.
“But Barbara hadn’t liked the look—or the smell—of him. She told me to run and get Carmine. She said he wasn’t Sammy. But he looked like Sammy. Barbara seemed confused. She kept asking ‘Who are you?’ She circled the room opposite the intruder and kept telling me to get out and go get Carmine. But I couldn’t move. I actually couldn’t. My muscles wouldn’t work. When they started to fight harder, I caught a book in the head and got knocked out.”
Fear?—or was the intruder an Alpha who could hold a person motionless and change their appearance like Bobby had said?
I glanced at Carmine. “Why are you so sure that it wasn’t Sammy?”
“I’m not sure. But Barbara said it wasn’t, and it just seems out of character for him. What would he have to gain?”
I shrugged. “The usual—money, sex, hate. Any of them apply?”
It was Linda who answered. Her scent was fierce determination with coffee not quite burning. “Sammy liked Barbara, but he didn’t lust after her. She could smell stuff like that. She always told me which people to watch out for. Sammy wasn’t one of them.”
Carmine nodded, his scent heavy with cloves. “It’s true. If Barbara said it wasn’t Sammy, I believe her. Her nose was amazing. We just don’t have any leads other than what Linda saw.”
Bobby was in full cop mode now. He settled his stance and addressed the big man like an equal. It startled Carmine a bit. When Bobby spoke it was with complete authority.
“Since we talked, I’ve been doing some checking. Sammy—if that’s who it was—rented a car in Chicago day before yesterday. It was never turned back in. The cops found it this morning, abandoned on Highway 6 out by the ship canal. So, that’s where we’ll start once we leave here.”
I began to scout the room, looking for anything useful. Books littered the carpet in a wide semi-circle that told me where the battle had been. I got down on my knees and slowly scanned the floor with my eyes.
I leaned down and put my nose against the carpet. Might as well use the new senses for good purpose. I took a deep sniff in the center of the circle of books. My brain didn’t even get a chance to process the scent before I was violently sneezing with watering eyes.
“God! What the hell is that smell?” I choked when I could breathe again. I stood and backed away from the swath of carpet.
Bobby came forward and rubbed his hand along the carpet where I’d been and then put his hand to his face. His tongue flicked over his hand and then waved in the air. His eyes started to water a few seconds later and he bolted to the door where he spit repeatedly on the floor of the hallway. “I have no idea what that is. It’s not any animal or chemical I’ve ever encountered. But it’s…”
“Awful,” I completed, and he nodded. “I don’t think we’ll have any trouble recognizing it again.” I walked across the room and grabbed a tissue and blew my nose three times before I could clear out the smell. I tried to place the scent with anything I knew, but it eluded me. It was bitter and musky but so overpowering that it burned out my nose. Sort of like Bobby’s cologne, in concentrated form.
Bobby took a Chapstick from his pocket and ran it over his lips and tongue for a moment and then rubbed his hand over the fabric of his jeans to remove the lingering odor. Carmine and Linda both went over and sniffed. Nothing. They just looked at each other and shrugged.
I snuffled and snorted a few more times. The smell lingered in my nose, but I could breathe again. I went back to the spot where I had been, keeping my face a safe distance from the carpet. Something had caught my eye during my sneezing fit. I leaned toward it. Tucked underneath one of the books was a wisp of white. I gingerly lifted the book and picked up the thread. It was incredibly soft and drooped over my finger like a thread of satin.
“What were you all wearing?” I asked Linda sharply. Out of my peripheral, I saw him glance at me. “Was Babs wearing silk?”
Linda shook her head, but the mildew gave away her curiosity. “Barbara was wearing shorts and a cotton T-shirt—that one of mine with baby wolves on it. She’s always liked it. She wears lightweight stuff, even in the cold.”
Yeah. She would. So do I when I’m alone. I was known for it even when I was fully human. Bobby had reached me and picked up the strand. He touched it to his tongue and then nodded. “Definitely silk. Raw, with no processing.”
Linda’s arms crossed as she struggled to remember. “Nope. No silk. Sammy was wearing a flannel shirt—red and black checkered, and suit slacks, and I had on a peach velour pullover with jeans. I don’t think Sammy’s pants were silk. The fabric wasn’t shiny.”
I shook my head. “Raw silk isn’t. You know that. And you said it was only a minute before you got knocked out.”
She shook her head in return and a hint of coffee burning joined the frustration. “I know cloth, Tony. It didn’t move right for silk.”
“Maybe some of the threads were silk?”
She shrugged, still angry. “Maybe. I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter, does it?”
I glanced a
t the thread on Bobby’s finger. It was a clue, but it didn’t really help us much. “Probably not,” I admitted.
We spent some more time looking around, but didn’t find anything else of importance. It wasn’t long before we were heading back for Chicago. We exited the place in the same way we arrived, with me at Bobby’s heel. The outside guards wouldn’t know I’d been in the house. The inside guys wouldn’t know anything about the dog. If pressed, Carmine would say that the dog kept the guards busy so I could sneak in. They wouldn’t dare argue.
I was damned glad to get outside in the fresh air. It helped remove the rest of that godawful smell from my nose. We made it out of the city before either of us spoke.
“So, what do you think?”
Bobby shook his head. “Not a clue. I don’t like it. The missing tapes prove that the person had the run of the place, so maybe you’re right. Maybe it was an inside job. The scent has me completely stymied. I’d expected to be able to tell whether it was a Sazi. I’ve got the best sense of smell in Wolven, so if I can’t tell, it’s useless to bring in anyone else to try.
“What about the fact that Babs told Linda to go get Carmine? Doesn’t that say it wasn’t Sammy?”
“Linda probably said something, made some comment to Babs or the attacker that made Babs realize that Linda was seeing Sammy. Or maybe that’s what Babs saw, too. Maybe it was Babs that was hallucinating. It could lend credence to your theory about a drug. But if it was a Sazi illusion, they would have to compare notes to know for sure. Like if Joey and Marvin stood together and I only gave Marvin an illusion.”
“You can do that?”
“It’s not good practice. People often compare notes when they’re confused or scared. Even when two human witnesses to a crime see different colors or makes of cars, they don’t normally disagree on whether it’s a car.”
“So, a Sazi could’ve made Linda see almost anything? Then we’re back to square one.”
“Maybe. It’s not a universal talent. It’s a gift. Like your shooting talent. Most Sazi can’t do it.”
“But the rogue agents you’re thinking of can?”
“Natasha can. She’s a bengal tiger, but she’s accounted for. She’s not rogue. And, Babs knew her. So she would have said something to give it away to Linda.
“Babs was in Wolven?” I didn’t exactly see her as the law and order type.
He waved away the implication. “No. Babs didn’t make the cut. She was too aggressive, like Nikoli, but she knew a few of the agents. A lot of Alphas know each other—there aren’t that many of us—and many are in Wolven, at least for a time. It’s how we train Alphas to control their talent and teach them ethics. They get to see all the shit that can happen when you don’t play by the rules and it tames them a bit. It’s why I’d really like to get you involved. But you’re not strong enough. You wouldn’t survive the training.”
“Don’t underestimate me, Mbutu.” I shot back. “You’re just lucky I have no desire to be in Wolven. I’m not a cop. I’m what the cops chase. But I’d kick your ass.”
“Yeah, well. It’s not an issue anyway.” He shrugged and I still couldn’t tell his scent. I didn’t know whether it was his cologne or the aftereffects of whatever that was back at the house. “But back to our suspect—Kalino is strong enough to make Babs and Linda both think he’s Sammy. He’s been missing about a year. But his illusion capability is limited to visual, so it might explain why Babs seemed confused by his scent. He’s native Hawaiian so he’s brown-skinned. Old time Hawaii, when there was still a king. Simple illusions, like facial features and size, are easier than skin coloration or gender. Sammy was dark, too.”
“If they didn’t know each other, what would his motive be?”
“Good question. Unless he just went over the edge and is taking out all the Alphas just for fun.”
“Is that the problem with your other serial killer?”
Bobby made an exasperated noise. “No. And it’s none of your business. We’ve got him handled.”
Ah, it was a him, I dropped the subject for the time being. I can be patient as hell. But I would find out eventually.
We rode in silence for quite a while. I popped another trio of mints into my mouth and had to let out a slow breath when the burning hit.
We were rolling into Chicago when I asked “So, now what?” It was just after lunch. The moon pressed down on me behind the weight of the sun. The third day is never as bad, but I’d be turning again after dark.
“Now, I take you home and go and take my punishment from Nikoli. Just so you know, I ought to kick your ass for what you did at Carmine’s. I ought to put you right back where you were when you got there. If I didn’t need you on this case, you’d be laid out in the back.”
I’d expected he’d be pissed about healing me, but punishment? “What punishment?”
“I told you—I’m not allowed to interfere with pack discipline. Because I did, Nikoli can cut me apart and feed me to that damn dragon if he wants and I’ll have to take it.” Bobby’s eyes blazed with thinly veiled fury.
“What was I supposed to do?” I snarled. A part of me knew, and I was pissed it hadn’t even occurred to me. I felt my eyes begin to glow. It wasn’t a good time of the moon to get into an argument. For either of us. “It was Carmine’s call. His demand, not mine.”
“You could have stopped him. You could have done the same thing that Babs did on the island, Giambrocco. You could have said, ‘Oh, no, Carmine. It’s my screw up. I’ll take the heat. I’ll heal.’ But you didn’t. You had the chance to do the ethical thing and you failed. You didn’t give a shit about the consequences to other people. One of these days you’re going to figure it out, Tony. You better hope that someone still gives a shit about you when that happens. Which reminds me—what in the hell did you think you were you doing raising the stakes? You could have blown the whole deal!”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t they teach you anything in that agent training of yours?” I shot back. “You saw Carmine. He was ready for war. You think he normally stocks multiple grenade launchers?”
Bobby snorted and shook his head. “Don’t be an ass, Tony. He was bluffing.”
“The hell you say! I saw one of the shoulder-mount launchers in the gun room.” Bobby stared at me long enough that he had to jerk the wheel to bring the van back into the proper lane. I continued on before he could get a word out of his dropped jaw.
“It wasn’t the only one in the house, either. And, it’s probably not the biggest thing he’s bought. He would only tell you about mid-level stuff, not his top buy. That’s the lie you were telling. You’re getting too cocky, buddy. You’re depending too much on those Sazi senses and not using your head. Fortunately for you, I know how Carmine thinks. I’ve played poker with him for years. If he sees a pair of kings on the table in front of me and I don’t raise the bet, he’ll think it’s all I’ve got. He’ll throw in everything, including the pink slip to his car, to force my hand—even if he’s only got a high card. He has to try to make me fold. It’s a control thing.
His voice took on a thoughtful edge. “So you needed to treat the job like it was as important as he believes?”
I nodded my head once slowly. “Precisely. If I accepted the same fee for a marital spat as this kidnapper he’s stocking up on grenade launchers for, he wouldn’t stop. He’d just send us off and then go hunting, too. Making him work for my fee is even better. Money’s cheap, but the effort of him playing chess with city hall has real value. It’s almost a shame that Jocko will never find out who’s behind it.”
Bobby sat in thoughtful silence. I glanced at his tired eyes and cracked, bleeding lips. He didn’t even have enough juice left to heal himself. I was starting to regret how good I was feeling. I wasn’t relishing the thought of seeing Bobby in the same shape as I had been in earlier. It might cost me his trust altogether, and I needed him if I hoped to catch the kidnapper.
How could I know Nikoli and his pet dragon would punish him?
Consequences—the equal and opposite reaction. “No good deed goes unpunished.” Shit. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Guilt is not a good emotion during the moon. The question burst from my mouth in a rush, startling him with the abrupt segue.
“How the hell was I supposed to know there would be consequences to helping me? Goddamn it, Bobby! You keep getting pissed that I break the rules when I don’t even know what the rules are.”
His surprise quickly gave way to rush of anger. “Fine, the next time you heard the words, ‘I’m not allowed,’ you’ll know.” I could’ve walked on the condescension in his voice. “Those words mean pain in our world, Tony. Pain like what Asri did, and worse. Learn it now. ‘I’m not allowed’ means don’t fucking do it!”
He pulled the van to an abrupt stop in front of my apartment building.
I didn’t climb out of the car right away. Instead, I took a deep breath. I couldn’t feel Sue but I hoped her headache was over and she’d be okay. I needed to touch her, like a junkie needing a fix. Still, since I was in pretty good health, I threw myself in headfirst. I had to at least offer. I hoped he’d decline. I put an angry edge on my voice to cover the tiniest edge of fear. I could think of a lot of things I’d rather do.
“So, what?” I said through gritted teeth. “You want me to go to Nikoli and let him turn me back over to Asri? Would that make you happy?”
He glanced at me and his tongue flicked out, opening his healing lip once more. The drop of blood disappeared back into his mouth. He sighed. “It’d make me ecstatic. But now I can’t let you. I gave my word to Carmine, and I really do need you whole for this hunt. You’ve got good eyes and ears and you’re a hell of a shooter. My tongue’s my best feature and isn’t likely to be needed. They only sent me in because I know you. And, I’ll heal the damage faster. You attack victims don’t heal worth a damn.” He reached across and pushed open my door.
“Go inside and see your wife. I’ll be back in the morning…I hope.”