by I. T. Lucas
The one with the goatee nodded. “I’m Detective Magnus McBain,” he said as he offered her his hand for a handshake.
Still impersonating a statue, the blond didn’t move or say anything.
“I’m Wonder Rush.” She smiled. “Please don’t make fun of my name.” She was willing to say anything to cover her discomfort.
Magnus smiled back. “I wouldn’t dream of it. Wonder is such a lovely name.”
“I get teased a lot because of it.”
He chuckled. “I can imagine. Can you answer a few questions for us, Wonder?”
“As best as I can.”
He leaned toward her, his piercing brown eyes staring right into hers. “Last night, my friend and I came to ask a few questions. I don’t remember seeing you around.”
“As Tony has told you, I’m usually in the back, monitoring the hallway with the bathrooms and the back exit. I’m not in the club proper unless there is girl trouble on the dance floor and I’m called to break up a fight.”
“I went out through the back exit to the parking lot, but I didn’t see you there either. I would’ve remembered a pretty girl like you.”
As usual, the compliment embarrassed her into a burning blush, which was most fortunate at the moment. It was a great cover-up.
“I must’ve been in the ladies’ bathroom or in the storage room. I make sure to restock it several times a night because if Jerry has to do it, he’s our cleaner, he has to put an out of use sign on the door and a huge line of antsy ladies forms outside. When I do it, it saves everyone a lot of headaches and keeps the customers happy. As a woman, I know how important a clean bathroom is. If I go into a store and the bathroom is gross, I never go there again.”
Magnus’s eyes were glazing over halfway through her monologue. Good, let him think she was a dumb blabbermouth.
“That’s a very commendable attitude for an employee. If I were your boss, I would have given you a raise.” He winked at Tony.
“In time,” Tony said.
Magnus returned his attention to Wonder. “When we were done with what we came for, I went back to our hotel room, and my friend stayed to unwind after the long day we had. I wonder if you’ve seen him. He is hard to miss.” Magnus lifted a hand. “Six foot six inches and a head full of red curls. Red hair, red beard, red mustache.”
“I’ve seen him.” It was better to tell as much truth as possible. “I was patrolling the parking lot when the guy you’re describing stepped out the back door. He had a lady with him, and they headed to the back alley.”
“Can you describe the lady?”
Wonder could feel the blond’s eyes on her. That one was creepy, so cold she could practically feel the chill emanating from him. She had the irrational urge to wrap her arms around herself as protection against the icy waves he was emitting.
Were they playing good cop/bad cop? If they were, it was working. Magnus was easy to talk to. The other one made her squirm.
Taking a deep breath, Wonder pretended to think it over. “Yeah. She was tall, but not as tall as me. I would say about five foot eight or nine. She was in her early or mid-thirties, had light brown hair that reached about here.” Wonder pointed to her bicep.
“Anything else?”
She shrugged. “That’s all I remember. And also that she was a little drunk.”
“Did you see them get back in?”
“I didn’t stay outside while they were busy doing you know what. Later, I saw the woman in the club, but not your friend. I remember thinking that it wasn’t nice of him to split right after what they… you know.” She felt herself blush again.
Perfect.
Sometimes it was good to look young, naive, and stupid. People would never expect her to do what she’d done.
“When did the woman go home? Are you sure they didn’t meet outside later on?”
Wonder shrugged. “They might have after I’ve gone home. When I left, the woman was still in the club.”
Magnus arched a brow. “Your shift ends before closing time?”
“I had a bad headache, and Tony let me go home early.”
“So as far as you know my friend could’ve returned after you went home.”
“He might have. You should ask those who stayed until closing. I’m sure they’d have noticed if a big guy like him walked back in.”
Magnus reached into his pocket and handed her a business card. “If you remember anything else, please give me a call. Our friend has gone missing, and we worry about him.”
He sounded so sincerely concerned about his friend that Wonder’s gut clenched with guilt.
“I sure will.” She tucked the card in her pocket, right next to the perfume she’d taken from the woman. “Good luck with finding your friend,” she said as she pushed to her feet.
“Thank you.”
As she walked out of Tony’s office, Wonder forced herself to pace her strides. The ladies’ bathroom was just a few feet away, and she headed right for the nearest stall.
The moment she closed the door behind her, Wonder put her hands on her thighs and let out a long breath.
Hopefully, she’d pulled it off.
Lowering the lid, she sat on it and replayed the entire back and forth conversation with Magnus in her head.
A few pieces of information stood out. First of all, Magnus and Dur had been on assignment at the club, asking questions. It was very likely that they had been looking for the other three she had taken. But then Magnus had asked her only about his redheaded friend and not about the other three.
Perhaps Dur had been telling the truth, and he really was not associated with them. It didn't matter if all four belonged to the same military organization. If Dur had been part of a different unit or department or whatever those were called, then he was not responsible for the activities of Grud’s unit. Not unless he was their commander or someone even higher up who had given the despicable orders.
Except, if he were, Grud and the others would have known him. They didn’t.
And what if his spy activities were not on behalf of their organization but against it?
Now, that was an interesting thought. The problem was that there was no way to prove it or disprove it.
Dur was her only source of information and he would say anything to get out of the cage.
30
Ruth
As Ruth chopped vegetables for the dinner get-together at Sylvia and Roni’s, she kept thinking about last night with Nick. She was so glad she’d finally had the nerve to try more than kissing.
The big surprise was that she’d enjoyed it. Nick had been gentle, his hands treating her body with reverence and not as an object to fulfill his own needs.
He hadn’t even asked for anything in return for pleasuring her so sweetly. She hadn’t orgasmed like the woman in the movie, but she’d had a good time.
It was more than that, though. The fact that she could enjoy Nick’s touch and get so turned on by an erotic movie meant that she was normal, and that there was nothing wrong with her. She wasn’t broken or defective.
It gave her hope that there could be more.
Much more.
Especially if Nick proved to be a Dormant.
The thing was, it was up to her to determine whether he was a Dormant or not, and she wasn’t sure how to do it. Everyone thought that once she and Nick had sex, she would know for sure.
What a bunch of baloney.
Not every immortal was obsessed with sex. Just most of them.
Ugh, there should be some kind of a sign. Some way to tell.
She loved Nick, but what did it prove? That he was a sweet guy, and that she felt less awkward around him because he was a fumbling goofball himself?
It wasn’t the all-consuming, can’t live without each other kind of love. She was fine with not seeing him every day. On the few occasions Nick had been gone on a job for more than a day or two, she’d missed him, but it hadn’t been terrible. Ruth had filled her time the way she’d
always had, with her hobbies and her books.
“I’m so worried about Anandur,” Sylvia said as she walked into the kitchen. “No one heard anything from him yet. I was hoping he just stayed overnight at some female’s house and forgot to call. But when they found his clothing in a dumpster, that hope was busted.”
Ruth felt awful. Anandur was missing, and all she could think about were her own issues. In comparison, they were so minor and unimportant.
Most of the clan didn’t know about Anandur yet. Kian and the Guardians were keeping it quiet to avoid causing panic. Roni knew because he was tasked with hacking into every security camera in the area Anandur had last been seen in, and he’d told Sylvia, who’d told Ruth.
“Is Roni coming to dinner?” she asked as she pulled out the roast from the fridge.
Sylvia shook her head. “He asked me to bring it to him at the lab. Which means you should make another plate for William. I can’t take one for Roni and not for him while they are working together.”
“Of course. It goes without saying. Shouldn’t we cancel the dinner, though? Turner is probably working on the case too.”
“He most likely is. Still, Bridget can come, and we can have a ladies’ night. That could be fun.”
Ruth shook her head. “I didn’t think about it before, but it seems wrong to have fun while a Guardian is missing. I don’t know Anandur well, but he seems like such a nice guy.”
“He is. I love him. Everybody does.” Sylvia wiped away a tear from under her eye.
“Oh, sweetie.” Ruth pulled her daughter into her arms. “Don’t cry. I’m sure they are going to find him. Our clan is strong and resourceful. You have to trust in the ability of the Guardians and everyone else who is busting their butt to bring him back.”
“I wish I could do something too. My so-called unique talent is mostly useless.”
Ruth patted Sylvia’s back. “That’s just nonsense. You’re the only clan member who can affect electronics with your mind. If not for you, we wouldn’t have been able to storm the monastery. Besides, your talent got you Roni. How else could you have snuck into a secure government building?”
Sylvia smiled through misty eyes. “Yay me!” She pumped her fist in the air.
“That’s right.” Ruth pointed a finger at her daughter’s chest. “Don’t you ever forget it.”
For a long time, Sylvia hadn’t told her how she’d met Roni. She’d kept from her the whole thing about sneaking into the government building to see him. If not for Roni blurting it out a few weeks ago, Ruth wouldn’t have known to this day.
She still didn’t know the reason for it. Sylvia had mumbled something about doing a favor for Andrew, but that didn’t make sense. Andrew worked in the same building Roni had been under house arrest in. If he’d wanted to talk to Roni, he could have done it openly. There had been no reason for him to sneak there at night and have Sylvia fritz out the monitoring equipment.
“You still didn’t tell me why you were helping to sneak Andrew in to see Roni.”
“I told you. He needed Roni’s help, and he couldn’t ask for it during normal working hours because Roni was always watched.”
Sylvia wasn’t telling her the whole story. Maybe she couldn’t tell her more. Perhaps she’d been sworn to secrecy, either by Andrew or by Kian.
Still, there were some things she could tell her. Not everything about her and Roni’s story was confidential.
“How did you know that Roni was the one?”
“I just did.” Sylvia chuckled. “I figured that if I could’ve fallen in love with a crusty, pimply, teenage virgin, it must have been fated.”
“He was a virgin when you met him?”
“Yep. I took his virginity, and since then he worships me like a goddess.” She winked. “Doesn't get any better than that.”
Ruth put the knife down and leaned against the counter. “So let me get it straight. You figured out he was a Dormant because you liked him despite his bad attitude and his pimples and his virginity?”
“Just the first two. I had nothing against him being a virgin. That one was a point in his favor.”
“Really? You didn’t prefer someone more experienced?”
Sylvia shrugged. “I was twenty-five at the time, Mom. I’ve been with plenty of guys who were experienced. Roni was a clean slate. I liked teaching him everything and experiencing the wonder of discovery once again. It was magical.”
Hmm, the wonder of discovery.
Ruth could have it with Nick. But unlike Sylvia, she would be experiencing the wonder and magic of it for the first time as well.
31
Brundar
As they left the club, Brundar called Callie. He’d promised her updates, but doing so with Magnus in the car meant that he had to be formal and skip the endearments. Surprisingly, it upset him. He missed her and wanted to tell her that.
“How is it going?” Callie asked.
“Nothing much for now. We have thirty-five Guardians roaming the streets, peeking inside people’s heads and searching for a glimpse of Anandur. For now there isn’t much else for them to do.”
“What about the club?”
“They don’t have surveillance equipment. Can you believe that?”
Callie sighed. “That’s really bad luck.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it.” The conversation felt stilted because he couldn’t talk freely with Magnus there. “I have to go now. I’ll call you later tonight.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Same here.”
Magnus pulled out into the street. “I can’t believe they don’t have surveillance cameras. Not inside the club or outside. Who doesn’t have them these days?”
“According to Tony, the other clubs, pubs, and restaurants in the vicinity don’t have them either. The wave didn’t hit this area of San Francisco yet because the buildings here are so old.”
Magnus shook his head. “You’d think we stepped through a portal into a different time.”
They had become too dependent on technology.
What had police detectives done before the era of smartphones and the proliferation of inexpensive surveillance equipment? They’d used other methods, which old-timers like him and Magnus should have thought of right away.
“We should find that woman,” Brundar said.
“We don’t even have her name.”
“But we have a face.”
Magnus cast him a bewildered look. “How? We just talked about the lack of surveillance cameras.”
“The old-fashioned way. The bouncer girl can describe the woman to a forensic artist. We can then run it through William’s facial recognition program and get a name.”
“That would require one hell of an artist. You’re talking accuracy on the level of a photograph.”
“I know a guy who can do it.” Brundar pulled out his phone.
The call was answered even before the first ring ended. “Any news?” Andrew asked without preamble.
“I need you to get Tim over here. We need to find the woman Anandur was last seen with. We don’t have a name, but several people in the club saw her.”
There was a moment of silence. “Can’t you find someone local? Tim is a prima donna. He would demand your firstborn in exchange for getting his ass to SF. And on top of that, he would want compensation for the vacation days he’ll have to use, and for keeping his mouth shut.”
Brundar had never met the guy in person, but he’d heard about him. None of it good, except for Tim’s impressive talent.
“I want to run the portrait through William’s program. It has to be photograph quality. I heard your guy is the best in the field.”
“He is. But don’t call him mine. It’s like taking ownership of an ulcer. I’ll talk to him tomorrow. What’s the limit on the bribe?”
“Other than my firstborn, anything he wants.”
“Will do.”
Brundar disconnected the call, then pulled Tony’s business card out from h
is pocket and dialed the number.
“Tony here,” the guy answered.
“This is Detective Brad Wilson. Is your female bouncer still around?
“She should be. Why?”
“I’m bringing in a forensic artist tomorrow. I want him to draw a portrait of the woman our colleague was last seen with. I need the bouncer for a couple of hours. Can you give me her number?”
“I’ll have her call you. Employee confidentiality and all that. You know how it is today. You fart upwind instead of downwind, and you get sued. I don’t need trouble.”
“I understand. But make sure she calls the number my partner gave you. We need it done ASAP.”
“Of course. Anything we can do to help in the investigation.”
Magnus cast Brundar a sidelong glance. “You could’ve threatened him with a subpoena. He would’ve given you the girl’s number.”
“I thought about doing that but decided against it. The guy is cooperating. No need to antagonize him. What did you think about the bouncer?”
Magnus smoothed his hand over his ridiculous goatee. “Pretty, but too big for my taste. What was she, like six foot tall?”
“I’m not talking about her looks. She gave off a strange vibe.”
“Nah, she was just nervous, and the perfume she doused herself with almost made me gag. Other than that she was just a young woman facing two police officers. Naturally, it made her anxious.”
Brundar shook his head. “She knows something she isn’t telling us.”
“We can interrogate her again tomorrow while your guy is working on the picture. And if she resists, one of us can thrall her.”
“Maybe after he’s done. I need her to focus on describing the woman and not on us.”
Magnus smirked. “You forgot another thing. She might have felt attracted to one of us. That would make a girl act strange, and I bet it was me. You’re a pretty boy, but you’re scary. I’m more approachable.”
“That’s why tomorrow you’ll be the one asking the questions while I observe her responses.”