by Nova Archer
"I knew something was going on," she said.
Tala pushed out of Jace's arms and pulled her robe tighter around her body. "Mother. What are you doing here?"
She held out her hand. "You gave me a key remember?" The copper glinted in her palm.
"For emergencies only."
Jace could smell the woman's hatred floating across the room like the spray from a skunk as she looked him up and down. He wrinkled his nose as it hit him full force, almost making him stagger backwards. The woman was definitely going to be a force to reckon with. Jace had no doubt she was right this moment thinking of a million ways to get her daughter away from him.
It was too bad he loved a good fight. He would not let what happened to her in the past be the reason that Tala and he couldn't be together.
Tala rushed across the carpet and herded her mother into the other room. "Whatever you have to say, can you save it for later? I have to get back to the station."
"It didn't look like you were going anywhere but into a bed."
"Mother, please. Could you just leave? And I'll call you later."
Jace could hear the desperation in Tala's voice. Her mother had a tight grip on Tala's psyche. He imagined she doled out the guilt and shame with the same vigor some mothers did food. He feared that Tala had tasted so much that she'd never be able to purge herself of the woman's grip.
"He's one of them, isn't he?"
"Mother, please leave."
"I've been watching the news reports on the other one, that Valorian. It's not right, Tala. I knew you were in trouble. I knew it. And I come here and find him nibbling on your neck."
Jace had had enough. He couldn't sit by and let Tala be treated like this.
He wandered into the other room and leaned against the door jam. Both women swiveled around to look at him. He smiled. "Babe, do you have a t-shirt I could wear?"
Tala glared at him. He preferred that look to the one he'd seen earlier on her face. One of desperation and helplessness.
"Just who do you think you are being here with my daughter?"
"Jace Jericho, ma'am. I'm here because Tala and I are working together on a case and we're also sleeping together. In fact, right before you barged in we were talking about making our relationship permanent."
Her mother's mouth gaped but no sound came out. She opened and closed it several times like a guppy gasping for water.
"We were not!" Tala exclaimed as she marched toward Jace her fists clenched tight. She punched him hard in the shoulder. "Quit making trouble. I'll get you that damn shirt then we are leaving."
Over the shock of what he had said, Tala's mother bunched her hands and set them on her hips, giving him a look that he was sure could wither the tallest oak tree. "I don't know what your game is but Tala is not to be trifled with. She's...different and fragile and doesn't need the likes of you messing with her head. You'll just confuse her."
"Lady, I think you've done a fine job of that all by yourself."
She stalked toward him. When he growled at her, she stopped mid-stride.
"Tala deserves to experience her true self without shame or guilt. So I suggest you back off and let her do that."
"How dare you?" Her voice shook. She was quickly learning that she couldn't push him around like she did Tala.
"I dare. And I'll dare even more if you keep pushing me."
Tala came stomping out of the bedroom. "Enough." She tossed Jace a shirt. "Put that on so we can go." She looked at her mother then pointed to the door. "You can see yourself out, Mother."
With an indignant sniff, her mother turned on her heel and marched across the living room and out the front door, slamming it smartly behind her. When she was gone, Tala stalked back into the bedroom. Jace followed her in, feeling quite smug.
"Well, not a perfect first meeting, but I'm sure she'll learn to love me over time."
She whirled on him, her eyes glowing like green fire. "Shut up, Jericho. I don't want to hear another word." Grabbing some clothes, she tossed a t-shirt to Jace, stomped into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
Chuckling, Jace slipped the t-shirt over his head and down his torso. Fantastic. Their first fight. He couldn't wait until the make-up session. It was just too bad they didn't have more time to do what he had in mind before they went back to the lab.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Rick, the lab technician, was bouncing like a pogo stick when Jace and Tala marched through the door.
"Gwen's on speaker phone," he announced as he shoved a piece a paper into Jace's hand. "Here's the print out."
"Hi Gwen."
"Hey," Gwen's deep voice came from the phone.
Jace looked over the DNA analysis. He was no expert, but even he could see the oddities present.
"There are XY and XX chromosomes." He looked at Rick.
The tech's eyes were dancing. "I know."
"Did I mix up the samples? Was the vic's fluids in the same kit?"
Rick shook his head. "Even if they were mixed up, the machine would be able to differentiate between separate DNA strands. No, these chromosomes are in the same strand for one individual."
"Male and female?"
Rick nodded enthusiastically.
"Gwen," Jace said.
"I found no vampire, lycan, or witch chromosomes in the sample. I've never heard of anyone having both male and female DNA." She chuckled. "And don't get me started on everything else that's wrong with the code. It's like it has been pieced together from a whole range of different species, animal included."
Jace frowned. "So what, are we looking for a six foot tall humanoid like amphibian with size sixteen feet?"
"Beats me," Gwen said.
"You're supposed to be a genius, Gwen. Find me something reasonable to work with."
Even through the speaker, Jace could hear her angry intake of air. "Yeah, sure, Jericho. Whatever you want."
"We'll work on it together, Mr. Jericho," Rick assured him. "I'm sure we'll find an answer."
Jace nodded just as Lyra bounded into the room. "There you are. Man, I'm been looking for you everywhere," she said. "Everyone's waiting in the conference room."
"Okay." He nodded at Rick again. "Call me if you come up with anything." Then he followed Tala to the door. Lyra was already in the hallway waiting for them.
Before he could leave, Rick rushed up to him and whispered in his ear. "Hey, what's Gwen like? She sounds really hot. Do you think she'd like me?"
Jace looked Rick up and down, taking in his green Sketchers, stained black jeans, wrinkled lab coat, and greasy dull-brown hair. He smiled. "Go for it. Gwen likes it when a guy is aggressive. It turns her on." He slapped Rick on the back and walked out of the lab with a grin on his face.
As they walked down the hallway to the conference room, Lyra glanced back and forth between Tala and Jace. "Hey, what happened to you guys earlier? I heard you left the crime scene unexpectedly."
Jace sensed the immediate tension in Tala. It was subtle, not something an untrained observer would notice. But Lyra was very well-trained and she never missed a clue.
Lyra's eyes widened and she opened her mouth. But thought better of what she was going to say when Jace growled at her. She flashed him a quick, cheeky grin and walked into the conference room.
Caine, Eve and Hector were already in the room seated around the table. Lyra slid into a chair beside Eve. Tala took a seat next to Hector.
Jace could feel Caine's gaze on him when he walked in and took up a position at the head of the table. He avoided looking at the vampire and only glanced at everyone else. Tension filled the room. Jace almost felt light-headed from the varying degree of smells coming off their bodies.
He pinched the bridge of his nose to stem the flow of air to his head. "Okay, where are we?"
Eve lifted her pen and began speaking. "Lyra and I found a pair of shoes in Darryl Rockland's bedroom closet. We matched the tread to the partial print you lifted from the house." She slid the photos
of the perp's partial shoe print across the table to Jace. "We also found a pair of black leather gloves in the perp's house that had orange fibers on them. The fibers match the kind of rope that was used to hang Samantha Kipfer from the ceiling."
"Did you find any rope in his house?" Hector asked.
Eve shook her head.
"He could've gotten it from the fitness center where he works. I noticed that there was a climbing wall," Lyra added.
"Sure sounds like this is our guy," Hector said.
Caine jumped in. "But we don't have the murder weapon, there's no DNA to link him to the scene, or fingerprints." He shuffled through his crime scene photos and pulled the one of the other murder. "Is there anything linking him to this one?"
Jace shook his head. "The footprints we found are a size sixteen." He glanced down at the photo of Darryl's shoe. "This guy's what, a size thirteen?"
Lyra nodded. "Yeah, that's what he measured." She pushed her chair back and leaned forward. "Plus, we didn't find anything with him that says witchcraft or demonology. I found nothing in his house that felt like magic. If he had any ability I would have sensed it."
"The only thing we have linking the two murders is the presence of drugs and the magical symbols," Jace said as he stared down at the mug shot of Darryl Rockland. They were missing something. Well, many somethings. "I think he's just a drug-dealer." He looked up and met Tala's gaze. "What do you think?"
Tala shifted nervously in her seat and cleared her throat. "Darryl's a punk. He deals drugs. I don't think he's a murderer. Not on this degree. Out of self-defence, maybe, but not in cold-blood. I don't think he has enough backbone for it."
Caine nodded. "I agree with your assessment, Tala. I think our suspect is involved but he's not in this alone." He looked around the table, meeting everyone's gaze. "But I think we already knew that some time ago."
"The DNA from the second scene is...not normal." Jace slumped into a chair and put his hands on the table, fiddling with the DNA report from the lab. "As I thought earlier, we are looking for some new being. The weird thing is it has both female and male chromosomes."
That sent a ripple of confusion across the table. Everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats.
Lyra laughed, but not with any true humor. "Well I think we can safely consider that it's male. It did rape our second victim and ejaculate."
"Maybe we're dealing with a shape-shifter of some sort?" Eve suggested.
"There is a Japanese frog, Rana rugosa, which has both XX and XY chromosomes and can change sex at will. So it is not unheard of in the natural world," Caine explained.
Hector ran a shaky hand over his face. "Are you suggesting that our perp can change from a male to a female and back again at will?"
Caine didn't respond, just arched his brow. But Jace knew what that meant. The chief definitely considered that a possibility. One they should seriously look into. But if it were true, it posed too many problems to even think about. This whole time they were operating on the assumption that they were looking for a male suspect, when in fact they could be looking for a female one. A suspect who couldn't logically exist.
Before anyone could respond, there was a knock at the door. Hector, who sat nearest to it, opened it. One of his assistants stood nervously in the doorway. He didn't look in, but kept his gaze on Hector.
"You better come outside, sir."
From out in the hall, Jace could hear a growing commotion of people. Several raised voices. One of them sounded like the sheriff. And he didn't sound happy.
Hector glanced over his shoulder. He looked unnerved. "I'll be right back."
When he was gone, Jace looked around at everyone. "I think our problems are about to get worse."
Caine shut the folder sitting in front of him and pushed it across the table. "I believe someone doesn't want us to solve this case."
Tala reached across the table and grabbed the folder dragging it over to her. It looked like she wasn't listening to the conversation, but Jace knew she was taking it all in. Her flickering gaze from team member to team member spoke volumes.
Eve sat up straight in her chair, her eyes wide. "Someone with power, do you think? Someone from our community?"
"I don't think it was a coincidence that my past has been revealed. I have gone to great lengths to bury most of my long life. It would be most improbable that a mere reporter with limited ability could find out the things she did."
"Someone tipped her off," Jace added.
Caine nodded. "That is my thought."
"Who?" Lyra asked.
"The baron," Jace offered. "It's no secret the two of you dislike each other."
Caine shook his head. "Laal is too much of a political animal to do something like that. He'd have to be gaining something in return, and I just can't see what that could be."
Tala pushed her chair back, the rollers squeaking with the sudden movement. She held up Darryl Rockland's mug shot. "Did y'all see this?"
"What?" Jace asked taking the picture from her hand.
She pointed to a dark mark, a bruise on the suspect's neck. "I've seen this mark before. On the teen that attacked me in the lot. He had a similar bruise on his neck."
Jace stared at the picture, trying to remember the youth on the ground. Had he seen something similar? The youth did have several bruises on him, but did it look the same?
Lyra stood and snatched the photo from Jace. "Let me see."
Everyone watched her as she studied the picture. Jace could see the twitch at her eye. Something was registering. And that something couldn't be good by the way her skin went deathly pale.
"It looks like a goat's head," she finally said.
It was if the air had been suddenly sucked out of the room. Jace could smell fear floating off each of them. He was definitely missing something here. What did a goat's head have to do with anything?
"Okay, I'm obviously missing the punch line here. He has a bruise that looks like a goat. Why is that so scary?"
Lyra went to open her mouth, but Jace beat her to it. "And if you say anything about demons, I'm going to seriously rip something to shreds."
"Fine I won't say it to you." Lyra turned and looked at Caine. "It's a demon mark. Meaning in service of."
Jace went to say something but the door opened again, and Hector returned. He shut it behind him and leaned on it for support. Jace didn't like the look on his face. It was one of impending doom.
"I'm sorry, my friends, there isn't anything I can do."
Jace glanced at Caine. The chief looked like he knew exactly what was coming.
With a sigh, Caine stood, grabbed Eve's hand and pulled her up with him. He put his arm around her. "You've done what you could Hector, and I appreciate it."
Jace stood too. But he was not as calm as Caine. "What the hell is going on?"
A hard knock came at the door. "Open up, Hector."
Hector turned the knob on the door and pulled it open. The sheriff stood framed in the doorway, his face a stoic mask. He marched in, six uniformed officers following in his wake. Each of them a bruiser in size.
"You're making a big mistake, sheriff," Caine said. "There are going to be more murders."
"The only mistake here, is the one I made allowing Hector to call you in on this case," he answered. "I have the media and now the Kipfers breathing down my neck about your questionable background as a crime scene investigator and now with your team members disappearing from crime scenes. As well, as the kid in the hospital raving about werewolves." His hard gaze settled on Jace. "I should have you arrested for assault."
Jace could feel the man's animosity building around him. The acrid smell made him want to sneeze. But he was not about to back down.
"I didn't touch that kid. He's a gangbanger and was about to." Jace paused when he met Tala's gaze across the room. She looked horrified. Her eyes pleaded with him not to reveal her secret.
He wished she believed that he would never even consider it. They had
some serious trust issues to work out.
Jace shook his head. "The kid's a punk. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about."
"Regardless of what's true or not. The media is having a field day with it, bringing up that Liam Wolf and his stunt on TV, government cover-ups and conspiracies." His hands fisted tightly. "And I will not have this circus in my city. You are to vacate the premises and the city immediately."
Hector shook his head. "You should reconsider your decision, sheriff."
The sheriff turned his steely eyed gaze onto Hector. "And you should reconsider how far you want to push me, Captain Morales."
Caine stepped forward and put his hand on Hector's arm. "Our presence isn't worth the fight, Hector. This lab's going to need your level head soon enough." He leaned into Hector's ear and whispered. "Don't trust anyone."
Jace was the only one that could hear every word.
As the officers rounded them up and escorted them down the hall to collect their crime scene kits and personal effects, Jace looked for Tala. She was in the back, shoving her way through the pack of onlookers. Her gaze locked onto his.
He wanted to reach out to her, to touch her again. Already he could feel the loss of her body heat and her scent. He could actually feel their connection bending under the strain. His heart actually ached. He had never experienced that before. It hadn't even occurred to him that it could happen. Not now, not in this city of humans.
The mob stopped by the staff room, and three more officers were there with their stuff. Anger swept through Jace at the notion that they hadn't even let them gather their own items. He was shaking with the thoughts of the officers going through their kits and taking things. It was a personal invasion. Something Jace thought he had left behind in the stinking freak show of his childhood.
As a group, they continued to move again toward the main exit and the waiting vehicles to transport them back to Necropolis, like common criminals. Or, worse, like animals.
Before they reached the door, Jace turned again and sought out Tala. She was there, following behind, trying to keep up but getting pushed around by the curious and the more sinister members of the lab and police that were enjoying the fiasco. Jace could actually smell their amusement. It sickened him.