The Hex Files - Wicked All The Way

by Gina LaManna

  Mostly, I found the standard prerequisite materials of a college student anywhere. A few books, notebooks, pens. Class handouts, homework and reports, the usual slew of crap that accumulated in one’s bag. I pulled out a glasses case complete with a pair of round glasses, prescription strength. I couldn’t put them on because the prescription was so strong. White must have been wearing contacts when he died or else he’d have been blind as a bat—something Sienna would be able to confirm for me.

  We already had White’s calling card, so I hadn’t been surprised not to find it. Also unsurprising was the lack of Residuals on the fabric. It was quite clean aside from the usual culprits.

  In addition, there were no notes, names, numbers, or anything of use in terms of the case. I had bagged up White’s belongings and Commed Felix to let him know I’d be dropping it off in evidence for closer examination. Maybe Felix would be able to pull a thread from the killer’s clothes, or somehow work backward to tell how—and why—White’s killer had disposed of the backpack deep in The Depth.

  I bounded downstairs earlier than usual the next morning, freshly showered, dressed, and rested. The evidence was in a bag over my shoulder. Primrose had Commed late last night to let me know she’d gotten everything set for our journey to The Isle. Hopefully, learning more about White’s background would give us some insights into the reason he’d been killed. His recent history wasn’t giving us much to work with, which told me these demons might have come from his long-ago past.

  Willa and Jack were already humming about in the kitchen. Their cheeriness, for once, didn’t annoy me. I had a big day planned, and with any luck, it would help break this case wide open.

  “That eggnog,” Willa complained as I waved to her. “Any chance you have Hangover Helper? I can’t compete with your mother.”

  “In the employee cupboard over the sink,” I said. “Help yourself.”

  “By the way,” Willa said as she stepped away from the counter. “What did Grey want last night?”

  “Nothing,” I said. Both Willa and Jack didn’t look convinced, so I shifted. “Nothing really. Just a bit of business.”

  “Uh-huh,” Willa said dryly.

  “It was!”

  “Well, that’s good,” she said. “Anyway, it was nice to see him. I’m glad he’s doing okay.”

  “Me too,” I said. “Now I’m late, so I’ve got to get moving.”

  “Does Matthew know he’s back?” Willa asked. “Grey, I mean?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “I haven’t talked to him since he left yesterday. But seeing as Matthew knows pretty much everything that happens in Wicked before it happens, I imagine he does.”

  “Ah.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just curious.”

  “Grey is the least of my problems. I’m saddled with a new partner for now, and we’ve got a high profile case begging to be closed.”

  “And Matthew?”

  “What?”

  “Are you worried about him?” Willa’s eyes were piercing as she waited for me to answer.

  “I’m always worried,” I said with a small laugh. “I love him. But come on, he’s Matthew King. I think the vampire can handle himself.”

  Willa smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Of course. Good luck on your case, Detective.”

  I gave a wave to her and Jack just as my Comm buzzed. I grabbed a coat off the unenchanted coat rack near the door and threw it over my shoulders.

  “Speaking of,” I said, raising my wrist to show the vibration. “This is Matthew—gotta take it.”

  Willa waved eagerly back while Jack gave a quick salute. I raised the Comm to my lips and shielded it against the nippy morning wind, wishing I’d grabbed a hot cup of coffee for the road, if only to keep my fingers warm as I walked.

  “Good morning, Captain,” I said. “How are you today?”

  “Danielle, I am so sorry.”

  “For?”

  “Last night. I couldn’t make it. I didn’t Comm; I meant to, but by the time I returned to the borough...”

  “You were here last night?”

  “Just for half an hour. I popped by the pizzeria but you were already asleep.”

  “That’s never stopped you from breaking in before and sneaking into my room.”

  I could practically hear Matthew grin across the line.

  “I thought I’d spare you the heart attack,” he said. “And since you were resting, I figured I’d use the time to get back to work.”

  “On?”

  Matthew sighed. “Please.”

  “Please yourself,” I said, a little snippy. “I worry about you. A little scrap of information here or there wouldn’t kill you, would it?”

  “I can take care of myself,” Matthew said. “I’m more concerned about you. How’s your investigation going?”

  I latched onto the neutral subject and filled Matthew in quietly as I hitched a ride to the precinct in the back row of a nearly abandoned trolley. By the time I hopped off, Matthew was caught up on the case.

  “You’re headed to The Isle today then,” Matthew deduced. “Looking into White’s family life.”

  “I’ll keep you posted on what we find.”

  “Thank you. And Officer Primrose, how is she doing?”

  “You know, better than expected,” I said. “She might turn out to be a capable detective yet. Down the line, with a little experience. A filter on her mouth maybe.”

  “You don’t have much of a filter to speak of.”

  “That’s true.”

  “She’s a good kid,” Matthew said. “I appreciate you showing her the ropes. I wanted her to learn from the best.”

  “Anytime.”

  There was a long pause.

  “Matthew, there’s one more thing.” I took a breath as I climbed the stairs to the precinct, then stood huddled outside, wanting to finish the Comm in private before Primrose attacked me with questions. “If you were in town yesterday, I’m sure you already know. Grey’s back.”

  “Ah.”

  “You’re not surprised,” I said. “I can hear it in your voice.”

  “I thought I caught a whiff of our four-legged friend yesterday,” he said lightly, the annoyance in his voice masked by feigned calmness. “I wondered if this would happen.”

  “If what would happen?”

  “If my absence would drive him back.”

  “Why would...” I trailed off, remembering Grey’s words about someone attacking me in the dark, and his being too far away to help. I’d called Willa first because both Grey and Matthew had been unable to reach me in the event it truly had been an emergency. “You think he’s taking it upon himself to try and watch over me.”

  “I do. And it makes sense, really. You’re both protectors of The Hex Files—it serves him well to make sure you’re alive. Having all five protectors together will help when it comes time act.”

  “And he’s my friend,” I pointed out. “He also probably doesn’t want me dead just because.”

  “Probably,” Matthew agreed, albeit reluctantly. “You know I’m not a fan of his, but I’m glad he’s back. If you need help, at least there’s someone nearby to take care of immediate threats until I return.”

  “You could return now and then you wouldn’t have to worry about Grey watching over me at all. Not that I need someone looking over my shoulder, but I’ve come to terms with it being the standard for now.”

  “Dani—”

  “I know, I know. You’ve got duties,” I said. “I do too, and I should go. I’m at the precinct to meet Officer Primrose. She’s got us a carpet checked out.”

  Matthew groaned. “Are you trying to terrify the girl?”

  “It’s the fastest, easiest way to get departmental travel to The Isle on such short notice.”

  “The carpets are notoriously finicky and hard to maneuver.”

  “Well, good thing I’m an excellent driver.”

  “You recently
crashed a broomstick through the window of the Sixth Precinct.”

  “I had a broken arm and a murderer on the back of my broom,” I said with a wry smile at the memory. “That’s different. I had a great excuse.”

  “You’ll have a rookie with a lot of questions and infallible enthusiasm on the back of your magic carpet.”

  “That’s true, but I think we’ll manage. Thanks for your concern.”

  “I really am sorry about last night,” Matthew said. “We thought we had a lead, followed it. I didn’t have my Comm on me and time slipped away.”

  “It’s fine,” I said, hearing the tiredness in my voice. “I expected you wouldn’t make it. You didn’t exactly RSVP—you’d just said that you would try to make it. I know you’re busy.”

  There was a long silence. “I don’t know what’s worse,” he said finally. “You’re not even surprised anymore. At least if you were upset because I hadn’t called, I’d know it bothered you. The fact that you expected it...”

  “Don’t read too much into it, King,” I said. “I love you. If you tell me you’re on this big, secretive project that you can’t talk about, I trust you. I trust it’s important. I’m not going to make a big deal about it—we’re both adults. We knew this would be hard, but it doesn’t mean we can’t make it work.”

  “I love you,” Matthew said softly. “I’ll see you soon.”

  “I hope so,” I said. “Bye, Matthew.”

  No sooner had I hung up my Comm, than a shiny yellow umbrella popped up over my head. Immediately, I was protected from the drops of chilled, freezing rain. One glance down at mousy brown hair told me it was my rookie who’d appeared seemingly out of thin air. I wondered if she’d been waiting behind a bush.

  I glanced around, looking for a hiding space. “Where have you been waiting for me, Primrose?”

  “I was standing out front, but then I realized you were on the Comm, so I ducked away to give you some privacy,” Officer Primrose said. “You looked cold. I had an umbrella. Plus, if we’re going to fly to The Isle...”

  “You’re prepared,” I said wryly, noting the cracked twigs and ruffled leaves on a large bush near the front entrance. I had a vision of the poor cop throwing herself off the front steps and into the wet, mucky foliage to give me privacy to speak with Matthew. It was at once both entirely ridiculous and very sweet.

  “Thanks,” I said, opting to lay off the criticism for the moment. “Shall we? Let’s check out the carpet. I want to drop off some evidence at the lab for Felix first. Can you handle the waivers?”

  “Of course,” Primrose said. “Did you see my report?”

  “My mom served eggnog last night. A lot of it. You can fill me in on the ride there.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  We parted ways at the precinct’s front desk. I hoofed it down to the lab and found Felix looking like his usual ruffled, messy self. He was peering through a Magiscope to examine a piece of fabric no larger than my thumbprint when I entered the room.

  “Got more presents for you,” I said, slinging the bag with Mason White’s backpack inside onto the bench. “You mind taking a peek at this today when you get the chance? See if anything stands out—any analysis you can run. I have a hunch the killer ditched the bag, and I’m guessing there was a reason why. Can you find out what that is?”

  “Merry Christmas to you, too.” Felix sat up from the Magiscope—a machine enchanted to help Felix pick up minute magical evidence left behind at crime scenes. “What is your bribe for the day?”

  I considered.

  “Actually, I don’t want to hear it,” Felix muttered. “Whenever I ask, you mention a foot up my ass, or my family jewels disappearing to somewhere unpleasant.”

  “Do I really talk like that?”

  Felix stared at me for a long moment. “Good one, Detective.”

  I grinned. “How about some of my mother’s homemade eggnog? It’s been said that there’s nothing else like it in the borough.”

  “Two jugs of it. The spiked stuff.”

  “Deal,” I said, already wondering what I’d have to trade my mother in exchange for her whipping up another few batches. “Thanks for your help on this. Comm me the second you find anything—it could be important, and apparently Chief Newton’s getting pressure from the mayoral office to wrap this puppy up.”

  “When is there not pressure to wrap up a case?”

  “I see your point and raise you one,” I said. “My mom will kill me if I’m working on Christmas, so we only have a few more days to save my life.”

  Felix squinted. “I’ll see what I can do. Though if you don’t get me that eggnog, all bets are off.”

  “It’s yours,” I said, already out the door and on my way to the flight deck. I didn’t bother to check my calendar; I didn’t want to know if there were meetings I was missing, messages I needed to return, or anything else that would keep me from The Isle. It could all wait.

  What I’d told Felix was true: I wanted this case wrapped by the holidays. Sure, my mother would kill me if I worked on Christmas, but there was more to the story. Matthew had mentioned he might take a few days off around then to be home, and I was looking forward to us spending time together. Damned if I let a murderer interfere with my precious plans.

  “We’re all ready,” Primrose said, smiling as I summited the steps to the flight deck. “Here’s your gear.”

  I stopped, trying to pretend that I wasn’t catching my breath. I really needed to do less pizza-eating as exercise and add more stairs to my work out routine. My fighting moves were up to par, but my endurance... not so much.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I looked up, caught a glimpse of Primrose. “You wear that outside of these walls, and you’re dead to me.”

  “What are you talking about? It’s a safety precaution. Here’s your helmet.”

  “No offense, but you look like an idiot, Primrose. Take it off,” I said. “You wear any of that crap, and I’m leaving you behind.”

  “But—”

  “Watch.”

  I took one more glance at Primrose and felt an unfortunate wave of amusement bubble up in my chest. The poor girl was smart and driven, but she had to lose some of her gullible mindset if she wanted to make it as a detective—or a street-smart officer for that matter. The criminals would walk all over her if she didn’t.

  “Come on guys,” I said, easing over to the flight deck attendants. The two goons had been around awhile. I’d checked out a few broomsticks from them, though I couldn’t exactly remember their names. “What are you playing at? She’s new.”

  “A rookie,” one of them agreed. “It’s standard procedure.”

  “You gave her elbow pads?” I said. “And I don’t even want to know why she’s so puffy looking. Is that some sort of a fat suit?”

  “Self-inflating balloon padding,” one of them said with a snicker. “We told her that if anything were to happen, it’d slow down her fall to earth.”

  “You two are the real idiots,” I said. “Stop pranking my recruit.”

  “She’s got to learn if she wants to hang with us.”

  While I agreed, I didn’t let him know that. “Then let me teach her. You’re being a dick.”

  The attendant tried to look chastised and failed. “It’s a little funny.”

  Primrose had heard the whole exchange and gestured down at her balloon suit, elbow pads, and helmet. “So, all of this... isn’t necessary?”

  I opted to let her down gently. “You’re a witch, Primrose. If the carpet were to crash, just use a Softening Spell to help with the fall. You don’t need all this junk.”

  “I knew I looked ridiculous,” she said miserably. “But they told me it was like SWAT gear. That it wasn’t optional.”

  “Well, you heard what I think of the attendants,” I said. “Come on, get undressed. Let’s get out of here before air traffic gets going for the day.”

  Primrose daintily picked the safety supplies off her body, wrinkling her
nose once she was back down to her normal attire. She wore a simple charcoal suit with a blue shirt underneath and a badge at her hip. She’d taken the detective role seriously, judging by her lack of patrol uniform.

  I climbed onto the magic carpet reserved for us and gestured for Primrose to do the same. I flipped the switch to activate the invisibility spell that would create a shield around us for the duration of our journey. We just had to stay lower than most aircraft and watch for any planes taking off or landing, and of course any broomstick traffic, though I didn’t expect much along our planned route.

  There was a small joystick fastened to the front of the carpet along with a throttle that had been put there and enchanted to make steering and acceleration much easier. The luxurious way to travel, the magic carpet sellers boasted. Unfortunately, the department was low on budget, so these had been luxurious some fifty years ago and were now pretty janky pieces of equipment. It was no wonder there was always one available.

  “Hold on,” I said. “First time on a carpet?”

  Primrose nodded, face pale.

  “Try not to puke. If you do, lean off the back, not the side. And don’t faint. I can’t catch you on this thing, okay?”

  Primrose gripped the edges tighter. “Anything you say, Detective.”

  “Good. Because that’s a command.” But I winked so she knew I was somewhat joking.

  She gave a half-hearted laugh back. “I don’t love heights.”

  I stalled the magic carpet just over the exit on the flight deck. “Are you kidding? And you’re telling me this now?”

  “It’s suddenly relevant.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “If I had told you before, you might have made me stay back so I wasn’t a nuisance to you,” she said. “I promise not to be a nuisance to you. I spent all night coming up with a Stomach Smoother to help my seasickness.”

  “You get seasick too?” I gave a huge sigh. “You’re aware we’re headed over a large body of water, flying very high in the air, to an island.”

  Primrose hiccupped. “Yep.”

  “And you still want to come? It’s not too late to hop off.”