“Yup.” Her lips pursed as she stroked the cat’s chin.
“The under butler?” He stared at the huddled creature peering back at him from the inside of his plastic satellite dish. Even for him, this day had a surreal quality. “Did we just get pulled into an episode of Downton Abbey reenacted by cats?”
She petted the jittery animal. “That’s how Earl Grey referred to his owners, the twin brothers, Charles and Montgomery Coldburn; they were his butler and under butler. And yes, he is a fan of Masterpiece Theater.”
That demanded an eye roll. The current situation might be his best chance to do something right and return home to the sea, but part of him couldn’t take cat interrogation seriously. “Ms. Torris, will this take long? A man is dead. I should be scouring this hotel for clues before a thousand people trample them like a cattle stampede.”
The way Adara tilted her head made her eyes flash as golden as her ring. Damn, the woman had a commanding gaze with just the right touch of mischief. “Be patient. This poor cat is so agitated I can barely make sense of what he’s trying to tell me.”
He reined in the rising inner tide of snark-asm and asked politely, “What are you seeing?”
“It’s what I’m hearing.” She turned to face him. “Cats tend to be theatrical but even so, this is a pretty dramatic tale. Earl—he’s allowing me to shorten his title—claims the brothers are—were—practicing wizards. They specialized in a sort of tag-team type of magic. One would cast the enchantment while the other grounded the spell. Mostly petty assignments. They were involved in divorce hexes or magnetizing a wayward sweetheart’s return. That sort of stuff, but their bread-and-butter, pay-the-rent jobs were corporate recon. You know, spying, information gathering, anything an outsider could turn to financial advantage.”
“That’s bleak.” He whistled. “I know it happens, but I hate to hear about members of the enchantment community turning sour.”
Adara shrugged. “It happens big-time, especially in Vegas. It’s always tempting to chase an easy buck. A recession makes things even worse.”
“I knew that.” Never one to be attached to material things, he hadn’t really thought about it. “Wouldn’t a couple of industrial spies require secrecy to operate? What are they doing at a Vegas convention with a cat?”
“Uh-huh. Earl says they had to bring him. He has an ear infection and needs medicated drops administered three times a day.”
He sat on the edge of the desk with a long leg dangling. “So, do you get the sense the cat was brought here because he couldn’t be left home alone, or is this something more disreputable? Were the Brothers Grimm planning to use a familiar to gain control over information, or someone?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You keep saying that.” He glanced at Roy for support, but his boss’s expression remained neutral.
Adara straightened. “The brothers took the cat everywhere. And yes, they thought it would be useful in specific situations. Earl carries some sort of an enchantment too. In the past, they’ve used him to their advantage.”
The tiny hairs on his arms prickled. “Damn. That’s clever.”
Earl hissed.
She nodded. “Yep. I think this was part of their plan. Come to Vegas and release a cat inside the hotel. Have it do a little recon at the convention. Earl actually tried to hide that last bit of information from me, but couldn’t. I caught a glimpse anyway. It makes sense. Cats are useful for breaking and entering, snooping around. Stepping on keyboards, you know, typical cat espionage.”
“Why? What were the wizard twins hoping to gain?”
“Earl thinks they came to the convention to recruit or make use of someone of high rank in the wizard community.”
He hung his head. “Any idea who their intended target was? Does he mention a name?”
“The target is not a he, it’s a she. And no, I don’t have a name. By the way, this cat talks in gibberish.”
The cat snarled and shrank back.
“Hush.” She cooed in sugar-sweet tones. “That wasn’t an insult. You’re a cat and you do speak gibberish, don’t take it personally.” Glancing at Kai, she said firmly, “It’s time to administer Earl’s ear drops. Someone should ask forensics if the cat’s medicine could be sent over here.”
Roy stepped closer and poked an exploratory finger at the cone. “I’ll ask.”
Adara held the cat lovingly. “This poor creature’s aura is carrying a heavy preternatural residue. It’s been overexposed to various forms of spellcasting all willy-nilly. The physical effects can be devastating. No wonder its ears ache. I strongly suggest Earl not be returned to the surviving brother.”
“Not an issue.” Kai wished Adara were stroking him as tenderly as she was babying that damn cat. ”By now, Montgomery Coldburn is chilling on a cold slab. Charles is running from the law and suspected of fratricide. At the moment, neither would make a responsible pet owner.”
Earl displayed his teeth.
Her brows locked in the middle. “For sure Charles is running, but we don’t know from what.”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Roy blurted. “He killed his brother.”
“Earl says he’s not sure,” she said with confidence.
He perked. “Really?”
She planted a kiss on cat’s nose. “He also says the brothers were tense and fighting during the entire drive to Vegas.”
“No shit. A road trip with a brother and a sick cat in triple-digit heat are prime conditions for fratricide. By the way, where were they from?” Roy glanced at a screen. “I could look it up, but I prefer to hear it from the cat.”
“North Hollywood,” she muttered. “I’m asking Earl if Charles shot Montgomery. He’s unclear about what happened, but doesn’t believe his butler Charles would do such a thing. The brothers were high-strung and competitive but never violent toward each other. Apparently, the plastic cone around his neck obscured his view. He does think it’s possible another person was waiting in the room when they checked in. Someone who smelled sweaty and tried to mask it with patchouli oil had sat on the bed.”
Kai rubbed his eyes. “Terrific. We’re looking for a sweaty person, possibly a hippie, in Vegas. It shouldn’t take long to locate them. So, to recap, the brothers came to the occult arts convention hoping to spy on their peers-slash-business rivals? Would you describe this as a business trip?”
She held the cat to her face and waited in silence. “No. Earl is saying this was a power grab. This was more than checking out the opposition. The Coldburn brothers meant to obliterate their competition.”
“How?”
“By capturing their fellow convention goers’ souls.”
Roy whistled. “Wow. I gotta admire their ambition, but isn’t soul-capture the Devil’s territory? The Coldburn twins are a couple of middle-aged wizards from the San Fernando Valley. They might want to scale back on their plan and start with something more attainable. Soul-capture isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s hardcore. What sort of spell could they cast to gather that sort of power?”
Adara held up a finger. “Hold on! Earl is trying to tell me something.” Staring into the cat’s face, she remained frozen for many moments. “God, I can’t make sense of what this creature is trying to say. Sounds like ‘sin locker’?” Looking up, her gaze searched his. “Does anyone know what a sin locker is?”
The cat got squirmy in her arms and meowed loudly.
He turned to Roy, who looked perplexed. “Dude, you ever heard of a sin locker?”
Roy shook his head.
“Wait!” she blurted. “It’s not sin locker, it’s something else that sounds like sin locker. I can’t get a clear image on it, but it’s not good.” Her face blanched. “We’ve got some dark, murky stuff going on here. Oh, shit, we’re in a lot of trouble. I think the word we’re looking for is ‘skinwalker.’” She covered her mouth with her hand and stilled. “This is bad. If I’m right about this, for safety’s sake, we should put the hotel in lockdown and do an eth
eric sweep of the entire premises—pool, parking structure, everything.”
Kai knew he’d be sorry, but asked anyway. “I’m from the Oceanic community. What’s a skinwalker, and why is it so awful?”
Adara sputtered her answer. “I’m a devil’s daughter, and take it from me, skinwalkers are the worst of the worst.” Her voice cracked. “Skinwalkers are demented, malevolent brujas and brujos who have deliberately killed off their inner humanity in order to gain power. They are the crazy-ass relatives of the enchantment community—you know, the unstable uncle who keeps a live hand grenade in his coat pocket. It’s like that. Nothing’s worse than a skinwalker.”
He stood. “Worse than a bilge demon? I’ve smelled a few that were pretty rank.”
“No contest.” Adara’s eyes widened. “Sewage washes clean, but a skinwalker taints the soul. They do horrible things to their victims. Humiliation and control are high on their list.”
Roy huffed. “And you think the brothers came to Vegas to join forces with skinwalkers?”
Adara paused. “No. Earl thinks they came here to become skinwalkers.”
This was getting extremely uncomfortable. He was in a position of responsibility and he had no idea what do next. “How would one even start down that path?”
“I’m by no means an expert, but I do know this much: to gain power, they’d have to impress the Devil and their wizardly peers by doing something shocking, or break a taboo out in the open.”
Kai crossed his arms and drew a heavy breath. “Good luck with that. This is Vegas. There’s a lot of competition here to get the Devil’s attention.”
She held the cat aside and mouthed, “Wouldn’t killing your twin brother be a colossal taboo?”
His gut clenched. This was going to be one of those cases he wished he knew nothing about. Shadow stuff was a creepy place to play. He didn’t understand why it attracted the interest of so many.
An intercom on Roy’s desk buzzed. Burt’s voice blared. “Forensics was moving the dead man’s body, and guess what? There’s a tiny wound in the back of Montgomery Coldburn’s neck.”
“So?” Roy sounded blasé. “There’s a bigger wound above his eyebrows where his forehead used to be. What about it?”
“Too early to tell, but it looks like a fresh puncture mark with a small white bead lodged inside it.”
Roy’s already somber expression intensified. “What sort of bead?”
“Who knows? Someone downtown is going to need to look at it under a microscope.”
Kai moved toward the door. “Sir,” he addressed Roy. “The clock is ticking. We have a suspect on the loose and, with all respect to Ms. Torris, I’m most useful where I can get a sense of what’s going on. I need to be on my own searching the building.”
Adara gaped. “Did you consider this interrogation a waste? At least now we know what we’re dealing with.”
“Correction.” His voice rumbled like a storm rolling over the sea. “You know what we’re dealing with. I’m still pretty iffy about exactly what a skinwalker is. I’ll leave those details up to you. All I know is a man ran in front of a security camera, fleeing the scene of a murder. It’s my job to find him and not just talk about finding him. I’ll leave you to your field of expertise. I’m more of a hands-on kind of—”
“You’re right,” Roy interrupted. “You’re both complete opposites. That’s why, for this investigation, I’m going to assign Ms. Torris and you to work together.”
Kai rubbed his chin. This wasn’t going to be easy. Maybe he’d been around jaded women too long, but for reasons that mystified him, Adara’s squeaky-clean, girl-next-door persona called to him on a visceral level. No empathic skills would be needed to scan his thoughts; the look in his eyes would betray him. Cue the cheesy porno music. Damn, he’d be in the hot seat.
“Roy, is that wise? How could we work together? I’m a water elemental and she’s the daughter of a firebrand, for crying out loud.”
The intercom beeped. “This is Burt. I’m in the sub-basement. I think we found your suspect. Charles Coldburn is dead. The forensics team has been notified and is on the way. Better hurry if you want your ‘special’ people to catch a glimpse of a pristine crime scene.”
Roy grabbed the cat from Adara’s arms. “Well, one decision has been made. I guess I’m adopting another cat. Go!” he shooed them away. “Both of you. I want PHDs on the scene to capture a first impression before the police department mucks it all up.”
Chapter Three
Adara straightened her vest and drank in the immensity of the situation. Her strongest skill, soulscanning, had failed her at the exact moment she’d needed it most. Technically, it wasn’t a complete wash—she could read Earl’s thoughts because he was an animal, and it was almost impossible to muddle animal communication—but she still couldn’t get a read on anyone else.
Adding to that, she’d finally had a real conversation with Kai Moana, a man she’d had her lustful eyes on for ages. Things were even better than she’d dared to hope. She’d assumed he was some sort of supernatural being because she’d not been able to read him, but his status as a fellow elemental made him even more attractive. She wished she could steal a glimpse of his thoughts, but she got zilch. Except for his obvious interest in her and his equally obvious disdain for her work methods, she was flying blind.
Too bad the current situation was dreadful. Hotel guests were dying, and an annoying suspicion buzzed in the back of her head that things were going to get a whole lot worse before they got better. Her gaze traveled between Kai and Roy. Both men appeared to be as disturbed as she felt. “I’m ready to view the latest crime scene,” she lied. “Let’s go.”
Roy piped up. “Get down there and take a peek before someone on the forensics team asks why a croupier left her post in the money caldron to stare at a dead body.”
Cynicism crooked Kai’s smile. “Don’t worry. We can get in and out quickly.”
Roy petted the cat. “Adara, don’t go back to the pit. I want you and Kai to make the skinwalker investigation a priority. PHD is on this round the clock, 24/7, until we get results. Got it? We need to find out what’s going on and shut it down before rumors spread on the Strip that Poseidon’s Palace is hexed. The last thing we want is superstitious gamblers fleeing the casino.”
“24/7?” She gulped. “You mean Kai and I have to stick together without parting or sleeping or taking a break?”
“Until the crisis passes, yes.” Roy clutched Earl to his chest. “Drink a Red Bull or two, but stay awake. I want my PHDs to combine efforts. Lives are on the line. For fuck’s sake, we have skinwalkers on the loose in Vegas.”
Her face flushed. How the hell was she going to handle this situation like a professional? It didn’t require supernatural skills to see Kai was attracted to her. And the feeling was mutual. Hot damn, the man was gorgeous. A six-foot-three tower of yum. And his deep voice, gritty as brown sugar, would be a pleasure to hear whispering dirty sweet nothings in her ear. They’d glanced and danced around each other for months while somehow managing to never get anywhere. Now she’d have the opportunity to find out if he was as interesting as she suspected.
Kai opened the door for her and waited. “We’d better get a look at the crime scene before too many people walk through it and muddy the psychic vibe.”
She sauntered past him, feeling a wee bit bashful. Glancing down at her utilitarian shoes with gel cushioning so she could comfortably stand all day, she wondered if a woman like her could hold the attention of a man like Kai.
He followed her with his gaze as he shut the door. “Practical work shoes. Good. We’ll be doing a lot of walking.”
Hoping to sound braver than she felt at the moment, she chirped, “Just wait until we reach the corridor and I hit my stride. You’ll have to run to catch up.”
His somber expression was shattered by a big winning grin that made the tiny lines around his eyes fan out.
Once they were away from Roy’s office, she f
elt uncharacteristically self-conscious. Being part nymph of Venus meant she could charm a man if she really put her mind to it; being part devil meant it was almost impossible to hold his interest. The devil in her was blunt and businesslike and not the least bit seductive. How many men had she frightened away without meaning to? An army.
From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Kai. He took long, easy strides and looked cool and determined, his jaw thrust forward as if ready to do battle. It wasn’t like her to be so bashful. She wanted to talk but remained tongue-tied. What did one say to a water elemental exiled to the desert? A silence neither of them dared to break hung heavy in the air. They strolled side by side along a seemingly endless hallway with a gaudy seashell-patterned carpet in crazy shades of turquoise, blue, and peach.
“This way.” He pointed the way to a service elevator, inserted a key, and turned a lock. “This is the fastest route. We’ll be lucky if we beat forensics to the punch.”
The elevator door opened and she stepped inside.
Kai followed and pressed the B2 button. “So.” With his hands tensely clasped in front, he stared at his boots. When the elevator lurched and dropped, he blanched. “I know we haven’t viewed the crime scenes yet, but are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
She studied his face. His eyes were squeezed shut. “You seem nervous. Am I throwing you off-kilter? I know you’re the sort of guy who prefers to work solo.”
“I do.” His voice rumbled low in his throat. “But that’s not it.”
She forced herself to not nibble her lip and streak her teeth with lipstick. “Are you worried about me reading your thoughts? You can relax. I was telling the truth in Roy’s office. I have no idea what you’re thinking, Mr. Moana. Really. For some reason, today my empathetic skills are blocked when it comes to humans.”
“I’m only half human, remember? Call me Kai.” He clenched his fingers until the knuckles whitened. “Confined spaces get to me.”
Wild Cards Page 4