by Tina Folsom
“Put it in his front pants pocket, so it won’t fall out when they transport the body,” Ryder suggested.
Manus nodded and shoved the bracelet into the pocket of the dead guy. Then, carefully, he turned the body back into the same position he’d found him in.
“And now for some extra insurance,” Manus added and took the man’s cell phone, unlocked it with the dead guy’s thumb print, and navigated to the contact app, added an address to it, then navigated to the map app from there before closing the phone again and placing it back on the ground.
From his own pocket, Manus retrieved a burner phone and dialed 9-1-1.
“911, what is your emergency?” a woman’s voice answered within a couple of seconds.
“Yeah, there’s a guy on the street. I think he’s dead. There’s blood.”
“Where are you calling from, sir?”
“I’m at the corner of Brooke and Franklin. Can you send the police? I think I saw a guy running away. Come quickly.”
“We’re sending the police and ambulance now. Stay on the phone. What’s your name?”
Manus disconnected the call, then opened the back of the cell phone and pulled out the chip. A few hundred yards farther, he tossed the chip into a dumpster, then shoved the cell back in his pocket.
“Great, we’re done,” Grayson said and pivoted.
“Not yet,” Manus said, stopping him. “I wanna make sure nobody touches our body before the police can pick him up. We’ll wait.”
“And let the police find us here?” Grayson asked.
“They won’t, since we’re already invisible.”
“Damn!” Grayson cursed. “I wish you’d let me know when you make me invisible.”
“What would that serve? It’s not like you’re going to feel anything.”
“I’d just like to know.”
“And now you know: you’re invisible. There.”
Finally, Grayson shut up, and the three of them waited in silence. It didn’t take long until police sirens indicated the arrival of the police and ambulance. Once the paramedics determined that the man was indeed dead, they departed, and the police cordoned off the area and waited for the coroner’s van.
Manus could have left at that point or at least sent the hybrids home, but he needed to see this through. He couldn’t afford another screw-up.
It took a couple of hours before the police had collected forensic evidence and the coroner could take the body away. Only then did Manus nod to the two hybrids to follow him back to the car. Their job was done. Later, Manus would visit the morgue and make sure that the technicians there would collect the evidence Manus had planted on the body. With a little luck, it wouldn’t take too long until the police connected the bracelet to Nancy Britton. Then it would only be a matter of time until Kim would accept that her mother had been murdered by a burglar.
Case closed.
5
Kim jumped out of the Uber and rushed up the stairs to the police station’s entrance. She’d been here so many times in the last few months that even blind she would know how to get to Detective Emmerson’s desk. He’d left a message on her phone that they’d found something concerning her mother’s case and needed her to come to the station.
Finally, they were moving their lazy asses and doing something. Her hopes were up again, and she needed that because only three days earlier, Manus, the private investigator who she’d met with, had thrown her off her game. He’d played with her, feeding her this idiotic lie about the air conditioning system. How stupid did he think she was? Who in their right mind would believe such a bullshit story? As if she didn’t know the first thing about air pressure systems and air conditioning just because she was a woman. What a jerk!
She was glad she’d told him what she thought of him. It just proved that good-looking guys were full of themselves. Did he think his charming smile would lure her into believing a single word he was saying? And why had he even tried? Was this a way for him to pick up women, by crushing their hopes and then offering a shoulder to cry on? Disgusting!
She was still seething now, despite the fact that she’d let off steam and vented to Jennifer after the incident at the café.
Take a breath!
Slowly, she inhaled and exhaled. There, better. Now she was ready to meet with the detective who’d been working on her mother’s murder from day one. She crossed her fingers that this time he’d found a viable lead, something important. Why else would he call her to come to the station and not just tell her over the phone what he’d found? It had to be something significant.
A few more steps, and she stood in front of Detective Emmerson’s desk. He looked up from his files.
“Oh, Miss Britton, so good of you to come in so quickly.” He motioned to the chair in front of his desk. “Take a seat.”
Kim followed his invitation. “You said you had something important for me to look at, Detective?”
He produced a thick file and opened it, nodding all the while. “Yes, I’d like you to identify something for me.” He pulled out an envelope from the back of the file and emptied it on the table. A piece of gold jewelry.
“You said your mother always wore a bracelet.” He lifted the item up and held it out to her. “Is this your mother’s bracelet?”
Kim took the bracelet from him. She stared at it, examined it longer than she needed to because within the first second, she’d already recognized it. “That’s my mother’s. Where did you find it?”
Emmerson reached for the bracelet again and took it back. “We found it on a murder victim we picked up two nights ago, Clive Mulvaney. We believe that he was the burglar who broke into your mother’s home and killed her.”
She shook her head. “How can you be so sure? What if she lost it and he found it somewhere?”
Emmerson leaned over the desk. “Miss Britton, Mulvaney had a rap sheet longer than my arm: grand theft auto, breaking and entering, drug possession with intent to distribute. You name it, he’s done it. He fits the picture.”
“But that proves nothing.”
“There’s something else.”
She stared at him.
“We found your mother’s address programmed into his cell phone. Looks like he used GPS to find the address. He must have cased the joint. It’s just like we suspected: he broke in, your mother surprised him, and then in a panic, he killed her.” He placed the envelope with the bracelet back in the file and closed it. “I’m sorry, Miss Britton. But at least you have the satisfaction of knowing that the culprit got his just punishment. And you won’t have to go through a lengthy trial where you’ll have to relive everything. Many people don’t get that.” He gave her a kind smile.
Slowly, she nodded. This wasn’t how she’d thought justice would look like. No trial. No sentencing. She couldn’t even look the guy in the face and spit in it. She couldn’t wail at him and tell him how evil he was and what he’d done to her—because the man who’d murdered her mother was already dead.
“Are you sure it was him?” Kim locked eyes with the detective, wanting more than just confirmation. She wanted certainty.
“As sure as we can ever be in a case like this. Short of Mulvaney’s confession, this is as good as it gets. Plenty of circumstantial evidence. Any grand jury would indict him for your mother’s murder.” He sighed. “I’ve been doing this job for over two decades. Believe me when I tell you that we’ve got our man.”
Kim shifted in her seat.
The detective kept talking, saying something about his lieutenant having to sign off on his conclusion so the case could be put to rest, but Kim wasn’t really listening anymore. Was it really over? Was this the end of her quest to get justice for her mother? She’d expected this moment to feel different, more satisfying and not as anticlimactic.
A burglary gone wrong. Everybody had suspected it. But Kim hadn’t wanted to believe it. And the vortex she’d seen? Had that all been a product of her imagination, a result of the shock she’d been deal
t? Had she made it all up in her mind, so she could cope with her mother’s senseless death?
Slowly, Kim rose from her chair. “Thank you, Detective.”
Her throat was dry, her voice scratchy. She needed a drink now. Something to dull the grief that suddenly overwhelmed her. She hadn’t allowed it to surface until now, not truly, because she’d had a mission until now, a goal. To find her mother’s murderer. And now that he was found, there was nothing left other than grief.
It was time to face reality. Time to let go of her mother. Time to accept that which couldn’t be reversed.
~ ~ ~
Manus turned on his heel and headed for the men’s room in the police station. Still invisible, he passed through the door and looked around. He was alone. With a sigh, he made himself visible and looked in the mirror. What he should see was a satisfied expression on his face. He’d done his job. The police as well as Kim had bought the story he’d so carefully crafted. It was just a formality for the police to close Nancy Britton’s case. Kim would stop digging into the possibility that supernatural forces were behind her mother’s murder, and the Stealth Guardians were in the clear. Their secrets were safe.
So, why was he looking and feeling like a man who’d just run over his own dog? Why was he feeling like he’d betrayed someone who deserved better?
You’re getting soft!
Better not let any of his colleagues know about his scruples, or they’d be ribbing him until they found another convenient victim to tease.
With a resolute move, Manus pivoted and marched to the door. It was best to forget the whole thing, forget Nancy Britton’s murder and avenge her death by killing every demon he encountered, and forget Kim Britton and the lies he’d had to tell her. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to lie to a woman, and it sure wasn’t going to be the last. Besides, she meant nothing to him, and he meant nothing to her.
Manus pushed against the double doors that led out of the police station and bumped into somebody who’d had the same intention. Their hands met, the other person’s landing on his. He whirled his head to the right, jerking back to apologize.
The words got stuck in his throat. Only a sound akin to a grunt a mute could make rolled over his lips, while his chin dropped. Even though he knew Kim was at the station, he hadn’t expected to run into her. In fact, he’d thought she would have left while he’d been in the restroom.
“Uh, Kim…”
Very smooth, man, very smooth, his inner voice commented. Just as well that he didn’t have the two hybrids in tow. They would have a field day seeing him act like a babbling fool.
“Manus…”
He couldn’t tell if Kim was just surprised or annoyed, or maybe both.
“Yeah, uh.” He motioned behind him to the corridor that led to the different departments. “Working on a case. Catching up with a detective.” Could he not even form a proper sentence?
Kim looked away as if she couldn’t bear looking at him. “Uhm, yeah, of course.” He saw her swallow visibly.
“Excuse me, please,” a man in a fine suit and looking like an attorney heading for the exit suddenly said, his cell phone clutched to his ear.
Manus stepped aside when the doors suddenly swung open, and a police officer dragged in a man. The filthy-looking drunk stumbled on the last step and catapulted forward, slamming into the man in the suit, who was caught unawares. He lost his balance and tumbled backward in Kim’s direction. Without thinking, Manus jumped into action, vaulted behind the attorney, and caught him, thus preventing him from crashing into Kim and possibly taking her down with him.
While several police officers came running, alerted by the commotion, Manus put the attorney back on his feet and turned his head to Kim.
“You okay?”
She nodded.
“Hey, watch your hands, man, that’s a new suit,” the attorney said, glaring at Manus.
Was the ungrateful idiot talking to him?
“Fuck, you made me drop my phone!” He bent down and picked up his cell phone. “Damn it, the screen is cracked! See what you did.”
Anger welled up inside Manus. His hand curled into a fist. So much for being the good Samaritan. He made a step toward the guy he’d just saved from a fall when he felt a hand on his arm.
“Manus?” It was Kim. “Can we talk?”
As if stung by a hornet, he spun his head to her. “Talk?” Fuck, another incomplete sentence.
“Yes. Maybe a drink? If you have time, that is. If you don’t, I’d understand. I mean, you must be busy with your cases and—”
“I’ve got time,” he interrupted her before she could withdraw the invitation. He motioned to the door.
“Hey, what about my phone?” the suit called after him.
Manus looked over his shoulder. “You’re welcome.” Then he followed Kim down the steps.
6
It didn’t take long to get to a small wine bar with a happy hour sign outside and plenty of seating inside. After the waiter placed their drinks in front of them—a glass of red wine for Kim and a Scotch for Manus—Manus looked at his companion.
“Did you really wanna talk, or did you just say that to distract me so I wouldn’t beat up that ungrateful little shit?”
Kim took a sip from her drink as if she needed a moment to come up with an answer. “He should have thanked you for your help.”
Manus took a swig from his whiskey. Just as he’d thought. She’d only wanted to get him out of the police station. But then why hadn’t she tried to ditch him on their way to the bar?
“But that’s not why I asked you for a drink.”
He lifted his eyes to meet her gaze.
“I don’t like drinking alone, and today, after what I found out from the detective handling my mother’s case, I need a drink.”
“What did you find out?” Manus asked even though he already knew. He’d listened to most of the conversation she’d had with Detective Emmerson, standing only a few feet away, cloaked in invisibility.
Kim hesitated for a moment, then took another sip from her glass as if it lent her courage. “You were right. It was a burglar. They found him, dead.”
“Dead?”
She nodded as if to herself. “Some lowlife with a long rap sheet. They found the bracelet my mother always wore on him. And her address.” She looked down into her lap.
“I’m so sorry.”
She lifted her head and looked at him. “I owe you an apology.”
It was the last thing he’d expected her to say. “You owe me nothing.”
“No, I do. You tried to tell me that my mother’s death wasn’t the result of something supernatural. And I called you an idiot because of it. That was ungrateful, when all you did was try to help me.” She reached for his hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry.”
The warmth of her hand flooded his entire body. Simultaneously, he felt like a jerk. He was the one who should be apologizing to her. He was the one who’d lied to her. “There’s no need—”
“I’m normally not such a bitch.”
He put his hand over hers. “Please, you weren’t. And you had every right to react the way you did. You’ve been through a lot.”
Kim gave him a weak smile. “It’s been hard. I haven’t even begun to grieve yet. I think I held on to a supernatural explanation for so long because I didn’t want to grieve. I didn’t want to accept that she’s gone, you know?”
“Grief is an important step in getting your life back,” Manus said and slowly withdrew his second hand, giving Kim a chance to remove hers, but she continued clutching his.
“My life will never be the same again.” She huffed softly. “I was engaged before all this happened.”
Somehow, he’d forgotten about that fact, which had been mentioned in her file. “Was?”
She took a long gulp, emptying her glass. “Yeah. I drove him away with all that supernatural stuff. He didn’t believe any of it and begged me to stop. But I couldn’t.”
“Surely, now that you know what really happened, you can make another go of the relationship.” It was hard to get those words past his lips, but it was the right thing to say. If Kim was back with her fiancé, a man who didn’t believe in the supernatural, she had no reason to ever doubt the version of events Manus had cooked up and the police had served her up—even if pushing her back into the arms of another man felt wrong.
“With Todd?” She shook her head. “No. If anything, everything that’s happened has prevented me from making the biggest mistake in my life. Mom knew it, too. She knew it better than I did.”
“Knew what?”
“That I wasn’t crazy about Todd.” She lifted her glass toward the bar and caught the waiter’s attention. Another one, she mouthed, before turning back to Manus. “Don’t you think you should be crazy in love with the person you intend to marry? I mean absolutely crazy, no-holds-barred in love and lust, and not just feel comfortable with someone like you feel comfortable in an old sweater?”
The tightness around his heart that he’d felt when Kim had started mentioning her fiancé suddenly eased. Manus smiled. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be any woman’s old sweater.”
Kim chuckled unexpectedly. “You’re not sweater material.”
Was she flirting with him? He leaned over the small round table. “What are you trying to say?”
Kim’s cheeks suddenly flushed.
“Cabernet for the lady,” the waiter appearing at that moment said and placed a glass in front of Kim, forcing Manus to shift back again.
“Thanks.” Kim seemed to welcome the interruption and reached for the glass as if it were a life raft and she were drowning. She took a drink, then set the glass back on the table and flicked her hair back over her shoulder. “So, what about you? You said you were working on a case?”
Manus shook his head, laughing. “That was so not smooth.”