by Livia Quinn
“I wanted to tell you what I’ve found out so far.” He rubbed my back slowly as I stiffened. “It’s not bad news, just an update. I got some interesting feedback from a lab tech over in Amity, where I took some fluid and hair samples, and your amphora.” I pulled back, scowling up at him.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s safe.”
“Ah, well it doesn’t matter now. Keep it as long as necessary. Wait, what do you mean fluid samples? The body was stolen.” Or regenerated. Or evaporated or whatever Nucklavees did when they died, I thought.
“Yes, but I took the backup slides to an associate who called me yesterday with his preliminary report. He found no blood on the vase which means we can confirm it wasn’t the weapon, and no fingerprints but yours, so no leads about who took it. He said he’s having trouble with the DNA tests.”
I’ll bet he is. I said, “Isn’t that a tad illegal?”
He snorted, “No more than somebody stealing the body. Because I didn’t go through channels, that evidence wouldn’t be admissible, but I’d take the trade-off if we can find the murderer, and your brother.”
I snuggled against him, sighing. “You really do believe me.”
“I do.”
“I hear a but at the end of that sentence.”
He hugged me tighter. “I just hope you can trust me with those secrets of yours before long.”
Yeah, I couldn’t wait for that to happen…
“There was something else. The fingerprint slides of the victim were essentially blank, not even a trace of sweat.”
He saw my puzzled look.
“The human body produces sweat, which is what makes the print ‘stick’. Thorpe said if I indeed collected the victim’s prints, somehow, they were not on the slides.”
“Really!” Was it guilt making me wonder if he doubted my surprise was genuine? I decided it was. “What do you make of that?”
His face moved away from mine and he stared down at me for a second, eyes narrowed. Satisfied he said, “Well, all I can figure is that somehow the samples got contaminated before or after I got them to him. It wasn’t like they were in a perfect environment. But the blood told him one thing. The man was already dying. He said the way the cells were ‘breaking down’ the body is probably totally decomposed by now; and there was a high concentration of iron in his system.”
I perked up, knowing what that meant. Whether or not he knew what happened to River, Ray Meeker had had his hands on River’s amphora. The ancient Chinese Dingware was painted on the inside with iron infused paint. Iron killed fae, but it didn’t affect Djinn, which was why my father had always insisted on that particular glazing for the family digs. It inherently eliminated a lot of threats.
“So you think he stole the amphora, and when he wasn’t feeling so hot, hid it in one of the lockers? Why would he even bring it to work with him? And what was he doing there on Monday? Oh—”
“Yes, I think he was meeting the killer, perhaps to sell the amphora, and something went wrong.”
“But the alarm was still going when you got there after me, wasn’t it?”
His body stiffened slightly against mine. “Very good, for an amateur. I’ll have to rethink that angle.”
“You said you were going to get a sketch from the guy who saw River…”
“I’ve arranged for him to meet with the sketch artist in Baton Rouge. I have to wait until he has a day off, though. I also put more men out canvasing the area for leads.” He squeezed me and rubbed his cheek against my hair. It was a sweet gesture that made my heart lurch.
“I wanted to tell you earlier, but we had too much company. I used the key you gave me to your mother’s house and had it processed for fingerprints and other evidence. I was going to wait until you filled out a report on her, but I get the impression from you that time is of the essence.”
I tensed at first, glad that I wasn’t facing him when he gave me that bit of news. But I realized he hadn’t waited because he knew I wouldn’t want the delay to keep us from finding Phoebe and River. “Thank you, Jack.” I was curious to know what they’d find in those fingerprints. For all I knew Tempestaeries didn’t have sweaty fingerprints either.
“Unfortunately, the place was even cleaner than it looked. These guys, whoever they are, know what they’re doing. It’s like some spy operation.”
We sat in the dark for several minutes, neither of us speaking in the ensuing silence. Then he brushed my hair from my face, tangling it in his fingers. He shifted me so he could see my face as his warm lips trailed across my cheek, my jaw, while his hand inched up to the buttons of my blouse. Fingers stole into the cup of my bra and across my nipple. I gasped.
He tilted my head so he could kiss the pulse at my throat. “I want you, Tempest Pomeroy. I have since the second I opened my door and found you ogling me so lasciviously.”
He tweaked my nipple between his fingers. When all I did was make a begging mewling whimper, he crushed my mouth under his.
* * *
Once again I flew…the sensations like a blast from a gale force wind, shattering my carefully built barriers like windows in a New Orleans high rise. One minute I was staring into heated silver eyes, and the next there was black shining water coming at me. I was flying along the surface, like a racer with no finish line in sight. Blue sky whirled above me, then my body was crushed under an unseen ton of weight.
There was the high shrill sound of…of…I can’t place the sound. An image rises against the night—a silver dragon, flames spewing from its mouth. The water blows up behind me, blasting out of the depths of midnight.
Like a roller coaster up—up I go spinning toward the deep blue horizon, dropping all at once toward the earth, my stomach lurching, ears popping and I am bound with iron chains, my body smooshed under hundreds of pounds… The weight is lifted and I’m falling…falling…cheeks press into my teeth making it hard to speak…silver wings flapping! Creating the sound of thunder…
* * *
“Whoa,” I gasped. My eyes flew open to meet Jack’s. I put my hand to my forehead, “What was that?”
“What was what?” he asked, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight.
I breathed out waiting for my heartbeat to return to normal. “It’s weird, sometimes when we touch, there’s…” I shifted to look at him. His hand slid out of my blouse, and he frowned. I took his hand and chuckled.
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s just that I see, like, deep blue water passing me by so fast, and a twirling sky, and I feel like I’m on a roller coaster doing loop-d-loops. It’s beautiful and dizzying, and just plain weird.”
He grinned. “Do you feel like you’re racing through the night sky or see yourself flying inches above the ocean at supersonic speed? Hear a sonic boom?”
My mouth dropped open, and I nodded. “You saw it too?”
“Not exactly.” He laughed. “Sounds like you were taking a ride along with me on a night flight. Was it good for you?”
Chapter 34
It looked like a dog and acted like a dog, and possibly even smelled like a dog. Not.
* * *
Tempe
I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him. With only a small oomph, his hands cupped my butt tugging me closer so that I felt his arousal. When air met my skin, and he cupped my breast again, I froze. What was I thinking? That’s the problem, I wasn’t. It was too soon. I wanted him desperately, and hopefully it would happen, but not yet. Not until he was able to accept the real me, and the real Destiny. “Jack.”
He took my moan as assent and latched onto my breast with the hot cavern of his mouth. “Oh, Jack…” My breath hitched as he drew away.
A lock of his hair had fallen over his forehead, his eyes were liquid silver in the moonlight, like some otherworldly creature. I’d torn the button on his shirt, and there was lipstick on his face.
He used his fingers to comb his hair back and smiled. “I didn’t mean to attack you—”
“I th
ink it was the other way around.” I laid my fingers on his lips, “No regrets. Later, okay?”
“And in a better location,” he said, looking around at our cramped position in the cruiser.
“Oh, I don’t know. It would have been my first time in a police cruiser,” I said.
His brows lifted. “Well, I don’t want your first time with me to be in a car.” Was he worried that I would hold that against him?
I sobered. “I need to find my family, Jack. I know it seems like I’m all over the place emotionally. I’m not, normally…”
“Sweetheart, I’m not rushing you. Not on purpose anyway. As far as finding River and Phoebe goes, I told you, I’m going to keep the pressure on. This lake really comes together when you need them. I’ve got volunteers from as far away as Rome and Amity putting out flyers and checking vacant houses.
“Let’s head over to Breaux’s. I’m hungry.” He winked, “But I’ll settle for pizza.”
My phone vibrated with a text at the same time Jack’s rang.
“It’s Aurora,” I said.
He nodded and put his phone to his ear. “Aurora, Jack. What’s up?”
Jack stopped smiling within seconds. He cranked the engine and spun around in the small gravel turnout, heading back toward town. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”
My eyebrows rose when he flipped on the emergency lights. As we passed under the streetlight I saw the worry in his eyes and the hard set of his jaw. “What is it, Jack?”
“Jordie’s sick. Aurora took her home. She said her fever is already 103.”
* * *
By the time we turned onto Crystal Lane, Jack’s tension was palpable.
I’d tried to think of something to say to reassure him, but I know how I’d felt when River was sick. Nothing could keep me from worrying. That didn’t happen until he was feeling better, and I was certain he was going to live. Death always enters your mind, when they’re sick and helpless, especially when you’ve seen bad things happen; experienced death or loss. You’re always afraid it will revisit.
I admitted this to myself, even as I understood Jack’s fear. “She’s going to be okay, Jack.” I said with fervor and prayed it would be true.
He nodded as we drove across the manicured grass and into his driveway. Aurora was waiting on us at the door. “That was quick.”
In the hallway he brushed by Aurora, asking, “Is it just fever? Has she thrown up or anything?”
We both tried to keep up with Papa Bear, who was eating up the distance to Jordie’s bedroom as if a squad of terrorists were on his six. Aurora said, “Her tummy isn’t upset. It seems to be just fever and a rash. Maybe she brushed up against something she’s allergic to.”
We got to Jordie’s bedroom door just in time to see Jack throw his hat on the chair in the corner of the room and kneel by the bed. He bent over Jordie and, kissing her forehead, said, “Baby, Daddy’s here.”
A little moan came from under the covers about the same time as a low growl from the other side of the bed. Jack looked over his shoulder at us and moved his finger to his lips. As he reached for his gun, Aurora said, “Jack, don’t. I thought Jordie might enjoy the comfort of my big Beffie.” She called to the animal. “Beffie, up.”
A giant gray spotted dog, which looked like a cross between a Great Dane and a Catahoula Cur, rose over the other side of Jordie’s bed. His intelligent, soulful eyes looked from Aurora to Jack and me, then back to Jordie. He whined as he nuzzled her through the covers.
Jack looked at the dog and replaced the strap on his gun. “Hey, boy. You been looking after my baby girl?”
He reached out his closed fist, and the dog wagged its tail and licked his skin. “Good boy.”
He breathed out and turned to Aurora, removing his coat and tossing it on top of his hat. “She hasn’t been sick in years. How high was her temperature last time you took it?” He sat on the side of the bed stroking Jordie’s hair, I suspected more out of a need to comfort himself, the need to do something to combat the helplessness.
“It was 103.2 right after I called you. Which has only been ten minutes I think. She said she could take aspirin, so I gave her two.”
“It hasn’t had time to work then,” he murmured. Beffie whined again and looked at Jack. “What’s he want?” Jack asked.
“I think he wants to crawl up on the bed with Jordie. She coaxed him up there before but I made him get down.”
Jack patted the blanket beside Jordie. “You want to crawl up here, man? Come on then.”
The big dog jumped gracefully and landed gently on the bed, stretching out beside Jordie. In her sleep, she poked a slender arm out of the cover and draped it across his back. His head angled up so that he could lick her chin a couple of times, then he breathed out a contented sigh.
“They certainly seem to have bonded quickly. You say this is your dog?” Jack asked watching his daughter and the big dog together.
“Actually, he needs a new home. His old owner moved on and left him here. I’ve been kind of his caretaker in the meantime.”
“Hmm. You mentioned a rash?” Jack asked.
“Yes, on her hip. I decided not to treat it or put lotion on it until later. It may go away on its own.”
“Possibly,” Jack said. “I’ll keep an eye on her tonight and if the fever gets much higher, I’ll run her to the emergency room.”
“You might give Montana a call if you get worried,” I suggested.
“Okay, do I have her number?”
I gave it to him.
“Now that you’re here, I’ll get going. Call me, though, if I can do anything else.” Aurora said.
Jack rose and took her hands in his big ones. “Aurora, thank you.” Those three words spoken with so much sincerity made the normally pragmatic Aurora smile warmly.
“I’m glad I was able to help. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Tempe, if you can still help me at the shop.”
“Absolutely.” I’d do whatever pricing and tagging she needed as long as I could work it around looking for Paige.
I walked Aurora out. On my way back to the bedroom, I took a detour through the dining room to get a chair. I bumped it into the doorframe, and Jack looked up from his post by the bed. “Here, let me get that for you.” He got up and swung the chair one-handed into the center of the room across from him where we could both view his teenager.
“Why don’t I get us a cup of coffee and make you a sandwich?” I asked.
Jack stared at Jordie. He sighed, “Coffee would be good, but I’m not hungry.”
Hmm, that’s what a sick child will do for you, I thought. Make you forget you were starving just twenty minutes ago. I went to the kitchen and started rummaging around for filters and figuring out how to use his coffee pot.
I’d recognized the grey spotted dog. Aurora had spoken correctly when she said it needed a new home. The beast wasn’t really a dog. Oh, it looked like a dog and acted like a dog, and possibly even smelled like a dog. Not. It was in fact a Befanas, a creature be-spelled to protect a certain household. And Aurora had hooked him up with the Langs.
The question was why.
Chapter 35
Her hate nearly pierced the wall of rain I’d constructed.
* * *
Tempe
Jordie’s temperature dropped a couple degrees and we moved into the living room where our conversation wouldn’t awaken her.
We sat down on the couch and he rubbed the back of my neck absently. “Did you do the decorating?” I asked softly. The autumn tones were warm and made the atmosphere as comfortable as Jack’s soft olive overstuffed sectional.
“My mom and dad found the house for us and she furnished it.” He rolled his head to the back of the couch. “I know what you’re doing.”
“Me?” I laughed, “I was—”
“You were distracting me.” His eyes had warmed to the color of moss. Mesmerized, I stared at his lips as they descended toward mine.
He pulled me
to him, deliberately giving me time to pull away. His eyes flicked closed and he dragged his bottom lip across mine. He urged my lips open and the kiss became a flurry of passion. I ran my fingers through his hair as his tongue tangled with mine. The man could kiss. My hands explored the strong muscles of his back until a quiet, “ahem” interrupted. Jack’s hand stalled on my breast, and discreetly eased back to my waist.
He looked over my shoulder at Jordie, who’d just come out of her bedroom. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?” he asked the girl, holding me still. I knew if it hadn’t been for a certain incriminating presence between us he would have leaped off the couch to check on her.
He didn’t seem embarrassed. He didn’t jerk away, or stumble over his words. I relaxed against him. The last two weeks had taken a toll on me. Anxiety, revelations, lack of sleep, the job—had all been stressful. I tilted my head back toward Jordie.
“I heard a commotion—” she grinned. My face heated, but I didn’t move away. “I’m going back to bed.” Before she closed the door she said, “Carry on, father.”
Jack laughed long and hard, probably as much from relief as mirth. He let me go and wiped his eyes, he looked at me, “That girl is always surprising me.”
His eyes shown with so much love and pride that I gulped, tamping down the anguish I felt at the loss of that relationship between me and my own father. “That young lady,” I corrected, “is so lucky to have you.”
For that, I got a ferocious hug and a kiss that left me wishing I hadn’t stopped him earlier.
As I’d told Aurora Sunday morning when we priced gifts and masks and gowns and shoes and an untold mass of other stuff—retail was definitely not my calling—number one on my list was locating River’s old college girlfriend.
Paige is a minor, make that negligible Tempestarie, meaning her hair gets frizzy when rain hits the city limits. She works for Aladdin’s Rub, a housekeeping service with both commercial and private customers, and at the Red Carpet Inn in Alliance part-time.