by Jada Cox
“You think she’s telling the truth?”
“Of course she is,” I said. “Why wouldn’t she? She told us she hated her boss and was quite happy to take us up on our offer to pay her for her information.”
“It doesn’t quite smell right is all,” Malcolm said.
I raised my eyebrow and shook my head again. This whole thing again. He didn’t trust me. I breathed out slowly. He was trying. I needed to try not to get offended so easily.
“But I trust your instincts,” he said hurriedly, seeing my response. “Let’s head there then.”
“It won’t be until later tonight. Midnight, she said. We’ll go to his place and tail him there. If she’s full of it, then he won’t be going anywhere.”
“Fair enough,” he said slowly. “It’ll give us time to solidify what Rachelle actually heard, as well.”
“You’re right,” I said. “We need to talk to her, make sure there isn’t anything fishy about what she knows or her story. I’ll get in touch with her and arrange a meeting if I can.”
I watched Malcolm leave the office and felt like I was on fire. I had worked to be pleasant despite being offended, I had a pretty solid lead for the case, and to top it all off, I felt alive for the first time in I didn’t know how long.
That’s Malcolm, I thought. He’s breathing the fire back into you.
Chapter 13 - Malcolm
I didn’t feel right about this whole thing. I went with Violet to interview Rachelle, and I had to agree with Violet: the girl’s story did sound genuine. After all this time, the likes of Skeet Rowe had gotten sloppy. We finally had what we needed.
Still, it didn’t add up. Why now? Why would he get cocky now when he already had sent death threats? He clearly knew that we were tailing him, that Violet was on his case. I was beginning to wonder if we weren’t about to walk into a trap.
I checked the car, checked everything I might need to check. Tires, fluids, safety belts, hand brake—all of it. I wanted to make sure every part of the car was in good working order in case we needed to get away quickly. I had heard bad things about this guy, and I wasn’t about to take any chances.
I looked in the back seat and double-checked that my security bag was there. It was a useless thing, really. Just pepper spray, cuffs, zip-ties, and a baton. Nothing that was going to be of any use if the guy had a gun. But I knew that it would make Violet feel more secure, and if nothing else, they were things that she could use if she needed.
We had decided against tailing Rowe after we heard Rachelle’s story. It just left it open for more things to go wrong. If he caught wind that he was being followed, he might not go at all and evade us with some other mundane outing like midnight ice cream. Instead, Violet snuck out of the office, telling me she was going out to get snacks in case we did have to stake the night out to wait for the deal, only to go out to the site ahead of time to plant video and audio equipment.
“That was so dangerous,” I growled when she returned after a couple of hours.
“It was easier for me to go out and do it,” she said. “We’ve been using your car to follow this guy for weeks now. If he’s seen us doing it, then it’s been in your car. If he has anyone keeping an eye on the place, they’ll be looking for your car.”
“And you,” I said.
“But your car first. They’re not going to pay attention if they don’t see your car to begin with.” She was so confident, and while I didn’t trust the idea, I trusted that she’d at least been discrete in planting the equipment.
For all that I was a nervous wreck for the rest of the day, Violet seemed so happy. She was practically glowing and actually did a little dance move on her way out to the car.
“You all set?” she asked.
“As I’m ever going to be,” I said. “Are you?”
“Damn skippy!”
She hopped into the car, trying to contain her excitement.
“You know we’re not going to Disneyland, right?” I asked.
“Yep. What we’re doing is better. We’re getting the bad guy, in the act, and I’m going to show Don that he can give me these cases all the time. I feel good about tonight.”
I didn’t share her enthusiasm, but I didn’t tell her that.
“I know this is exciting,” I said as calmly as I could. “And you have every right to be excited, but let’s try not to get our hopes up. This could be a false lead, he could get spooked and change his mind, the other guy could change his mind—there’s a lot that could go wrong tonight.”
“And there’s a lot that can go right,” she said. “And I have to believe that tonight we are catching our guy.”
Our guy, I thought. Not her case, but ours. “Alright then, let’s head out.”
We took a road that led outside of Atlanta, moving southeast for about half an hour, until we were nearly in the woods.
“You sure that you have the directions right?” I asked.
“Yes. There’s some old parking lot out there where there used to be an old camp for kids. It’s not used any more, but I’ve been out there and hiked around a few times.”
“I didn’t know you liked to hike,” I said.
“Oh yeah, when work’s not bogging me down, I usually try to get out quite a bit,” she said. “I’m pretty big on outdoors and woods. That’s why I live all the way out in Rock Creek.”
“I suppose living out there and working in Atlanta is somewhat of a deliberate choice,” I agreed.
“Well yeah, it’s not because I like the commute.”
We carried on until Violet told me to slow down. “We can just park on the side of the highway here,” she said. “I don’t want them to see our headlights. We can walk from here.”
I glanced back at the bag in the backseat and considered rolling up without my headlights on at all, but I didn’t know what the layout of this parking lot was. She was right. We needed to leave the car here.
“What’s the plan here?” I asked. “We’re not catching the guy, right?”
“No, unfortunately. I’m just an investigator,” she whispered. “All I can do is take pictures and gather evidence. If it’s in the act, then I can call my buddies on the force to arrest them. I’ve got my phone ready to go.”
“Do they know we’re out here?” I asked.
“I’ve let one of them know about the tip-off and to be on alert for my call, to be ready in the area if needed.
I could smell something. It was fleeting, and I couldn’t quite make out what it was, but it was something familiar. But my focus was too much on positioning myself so that Violet was safe. I walked in front of her, though she seemed to want to get ahead of me. I knew that she wanted to lead this, that this was her case, but I couldn’t let her, not if danger was potentially around the corner.
We walked for about a quarter of a mile in this silent battle of who was following who, before we fell into line of walking side by side. Then, we heard voices.
The voice sent tendrils of unease through me. It wasn’t that I knew them, it wasn’t that I knew who I was going up against, it was that I sensed what we were going up against.
“There she is!” a voice called as we rounded the corner.
I took hold of Violet’s arm. “Stay back,” I said in a hushed voice.
I could see two men and two cars. The exchange, whatever it was, was certainly going down. Rachelle had been right about that. What she hadn’t realized was that Violet’s death threats were coming into fruition.
“There’s our little private eye,” the voice said. I recognized Rowe straight away as he spoke. “Welcome to our gathering. We saved you a spot.”
“What is this?” Violet asked, shifting the weight between her feet. She wriggled her arm free of me and took a step forward. It was everything I could do not to jump in front of her or throw her behind me.
“It’s about time we met,” Rowe said. The other man readied himself, too. Whatever this was, they knew we were coming.
“Violet,
we need to go, now,” I hissed to her. “You cannot be here.”
It was like she didn’t hear me. “Did you orchestrate this whole thing just to meet little ol’ me?” she said. “That was silly. I’ve got backup coming now. You’re going down, Rowe,” she bluffed.
“Private investigators don’t get backup,” Rowe said smoothly. “You think I didn’t research you? You and your partner, Officer Keswick?” A smile stretched across his lips. “I know all about that little situation there. I’m here to cut you a deal. I know that you’re still paying for that kid’s college fund. How about I finish that off for you? I top up the fund, ensuring that kid can go to a nice private university—not Harvard or any of the Ivy Leagues, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. That kid is as dumb as a sack of bricks. But maybe a private school specially equipped for children with special needs.”
“She doesn’t have any learning difficulties,” Violet said.
“She will by the time I’m through with you, her, and her mom,” Rowe said. “That is, unless you play ball with me.”
“You piece of shit!” she yelled.
At that moment, Rowe shifted, his clothes tearing apart as he grew, his neck lengthening, his posture moving forward, and his tail whipping from side to side.
I should have known. I should have seen it coming. I’d been too focused on Violet.
The man with him removed his clothes and shifted into a Bear, only half the size of the shimmering green Dragon in the moon light, yet just as threatening to Violet.
Everything happened all at once. I shifted, and a shriek sounded from beside me like a gun, startling us all into action. Immediately, Rowe lunged at me, skidding and turning to the side, whipping his tail around to meet the side of my neck.
I cried out as the razor-sharp edge of his plating sliced into my flesh, splashing blood across the ground. The tail was moving high into the moonlight again, ready to strike, but I caught it with my own tail, slamming it away. I snapped at Rowe, missing his throat by an inch. I retracted, trying to avoid his bite.
I gathered the heat within me and expelled it into a flaming stream, missing him and hitting the pavement, charring it. As Rowe lunged to the left, I swung my tail around, catching his shoulder. From the corner of my eye, I saw movement. The Bear. That damn Bear!
The Bear was rushing past me, charging at the mass on the ground. Horror struck me as I realized that the mass on the ground was Violet, lying there unconscious and utterly vulnerable. I turned my head to expel my flames at him, but something hit me in the back of the neck, pummeling me forward. The taste of dirt filled my mouth as I hit the ground, hearing the crack of one of my teeth from impact. I opened an eye and could see the Bear nearly at her.
I rolled over, stretching my wing unnaturally, trying to get to the Bear before he got to Violet. I slashed my tail at him trying at least to knock him off course. I grazed his back, giving him a bald patch and startling him. The Bear spun around to face me, which was just what I needed. I pushed myself to my feet and leaped at the Bear, distracting him with my body and turning mid-air in such a way that my wing was able to make contact with him, forcing him off balance. I landed, hard, tumbling toward Violet. I stopped myself and spewed a stream of fire toward the Bear, who panicked and jumped forward without looking where he was going, going head first into a tree and stunning himself.
I heard the familiar burning sound of fire and turned just in time to see Rowe’s own spewed flames roaring toward me. I had to think quickly. If I moved, I was putting Violet literally in the line of fire.
I stood my ground, the impact of the flames on my skin searing, but not more than I could handle. I screeched into the night air as I summoned my own fire and threw it back at him, somehow managing to hit him in the face.
His stream stopped, and he stumbled backward, shaking his head. That was enough. It was all I needed. I pushed myself into the air, flapping higher until I was right above him. This wouldn’t end well, I knew that much, but I had to try. For Violet’s sake, I had to try.
I dove at him, letting all my weight freefall toward him.
Rowe regained his vision and saw me just in time to angle his tail in the way of my fall. I landed on it with full force, feeling it go deep into my flesh at the same time that I heard the cracking of bone as Skeet Rowe’s head smashed into the ground.
Chapter 14 – Violet
I came to, confused. Where the hell was I?
Then I remembered. I remembered everything. I sat up on the hard ground and looked around at the stillness.
What had I even seen? It couldn’t be what I thought I saw; it just couldn’t be. I must have passed out and dreamed it or something.
My memory served me the flashes of movement, the shine on scales, the tufts of fur. No, what had I seen? It couldn’t have been real.
It was real, a voice inside me said. You know it was.
Had I actually seen a dragon? And a bear? Was that actually what I had seen? That these men had turned into a mythical creature and a freaking bear?
“Malcolm!” I gasped, realizing that one of the glowing lumps in the moonlight on the ground was my security guard, my neighbor, my friend. I scrambled to my feet, my ears ringing, my head pounding, and a little bit of nausea disturbing my stomach, but none of that mattered. Malcolm was down.
I got to him, lying completely naked on his side in a pool of blood.
“Oh my god, Malcolm!” I exclaimed, tears heating my eyes. “Oh no, oh no—stay with me.”
“I’m here,” he groaned, trying to sit up.
“Thank god!” I breathed. “Stay here. I’m going to get the car. We’ll get you to the hospital.”
“No,” he groaned. “No hospital. Trust me, I’m fine. Just get me home.”
“Are you insane?” I demanded, my voice reaching a nearly inaudible pitch. “You’re in a pool of your own blood. And naked! Why the hell are you naked? I don’t understand what—”
“Violet,” Malcolm said, his voice caught in his breath. “You asked me to trust you. I’m asking you to trust me.”
I didn’t. You don’t screw around with stuff like this. I had been in this position before. I had been the standing one, the one surviving the fight, holding my partner as they lay bleeding in my arms. I had done this before. I couldn’t just let him bleed out, not like this.
“No, we’re going to a hospital,” I said. I scanned his body, searching for the source of the bleeding. I couldn’t see it. It must be on the side he was lying on.
He reached up and took my hand in his, his thumb resting in my palm. “Please, don’t. I’ll heal. I promise.”
Malcolm’s eyes began to close, and his head felt heavier.
“Stay with me, damnit!” I shouted. But he was non-responsive. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I leaned forward to see if he was still breathing. I could just make out his shallow intake of air. “I’m going to get the car. Please keep breathing. I’ll be right back,” I told his unconscious body as I wriggled free as gently as I could. I rummaged his pockets for his keys and then took off.
I ran to the car as quickly as I could, never knowing I could move so quickly. Within a couple of minutes, I was in the car, sitting on the edge of the driver’s seat so I could reach the pedals and gunning the vehicle into the parking lot, pulling up next to him. I put the seats down flat in the back to give him more room. He needed to be able to lie down. There was no way that he could comfortably be in the front seat.
“Come on, Malcolm,” I said gently as I crouched by him, having no idea how I was going to get this bulky dead weight into the car. “I need to get you in the car, but I need your help. Wake up.”
“I’m here,” he said weakly.
“Do you think you can help me get you into the backseat?” I asked.
“No need, I’ll drive.”
I simpered, a tear rolling down my cheek. “The fuck you won’t.”
“Are you alright?” he asked, his eyes rolling as he tried to gain focus.
&nbs
p; “I’m alright,” I said softly. “I need to get you out of here, somewhere safe. Can you help me get you off the ground?”
Malcolm closed his eyes and nodded before he rolled himself to the side. I did my best to brace him, but there was little I could do. I ran my hands along his sides, trying to find the source of the bleeding as nonchalantly as I could as he struggled to his feet. Nothing. There wasn’t even a wince from him as I searched. Where was he bleeding from?
Using me as a stabilizer, Malcolm slowly got to his feet and took agonizingly slow steps toward the car before he crawled into the back, flopping forward on his stomach.
“I’ll get you to a hospital. Don’t you worry, Malcolm,” I said. “We’re going to get you through this.”
“No,” he growled. “No damn hospital. Take me home, Violet.”
“Malcolm?” I asked as he became motionless. “Malcolm?” I went to the trunk of the car and opened it, accessing his head. I could still feel breathing from him as I put my fingers in front of his nostrils. That was a good sign, but not good enough.
He really didn’t want medical treatment. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t let him die. But he was so insistent. What was I to do? He needed blood. That much I knew. He had bled enough to fill a spare person. How much more could he afford to lose?
I looked over him. There was no blood other than what was already on him. Nothing in the back of the car. He’d stopped bleeding. No, he couldn’t have. That was impossible.
I ran my hands along his sides, looked at his back, his thighs, his arms. There were no open wounds anywhere.
What the hell was going on?
I got in the front seat of the car and began to drive. I avoided Atlanta altogether, heading north to get back to Rock Creek.
I don’t know how many traffic rules I broke on the drive back. It was long, and terrifying, and went by in an instant. I had one thought and one thought only racing through my mind as the adrenaline took control of my brain: Don’t let him die.
I pulled onto his property, driving across their manicured lawn and almost into the small cherry tree whose blossoms took on a cold white tinge in the light of the moon. I leaped out of the car and began banging on the door as hard as I could. It was everything in me not to scream for his friends to open the door, but part of me had the sense that there were neighbors around. I didn’t understand the situation myself, but I knew enough that I didn’t need to draw further questions to it.