The Zig Zag Scam (Afterlife Book 12)

by Kaitlyn Meyers

  "Can't imagine being an errand boy," Conner said, keeping the sarcasm in his voice to a minimum. "So, I've heard some of her men did go against her."

  Eric was about to answer when Conner heard a yell in the direction of Harper. He whipped his head around and saw that she was surrounded. He cursed and leapt to his feet, running over to them. Eric hesitated and then followed him, looking curious.

  "I haven't seen you here before. What are you?" one of the other incubi in the casino demanded. "You're not transformed, so you must be human. Shall we show you what we do to humans who come in our club?"

  Harper caught Conner's eye. She gave her head a minute shake and then met the incubus's eyes. "I'm not human," she said in an exasperated voice. "I told you, I'm a vampire. I can't show you. You know we can't transform during the day."

  "Likely story," the incubus said. He glanced at the others around her. There was a limpex, and a succubus. "Shall we feast?"

  "Don't even think about it," Conner said, jumping forward. "She's with me. That's my girlfriend, and trust me, you don't want to get on the wrong side of us."

  Harper nodded.

  "You vouch for her?" the succubus asked, looking over at him. She glanced at the limpex and incubus. "He's one of us, that much is clear. If he's vouching for her, she's clearly not human. No demon would be stupid enough to bring his human girlfriend into this place."

  The incubus glared at Conner for a moment and then backed off. The others followed him.

  "Come on," Conner said, grabbing Harper's arm. "Let's get out of here."

  Harper nodded and the two of them quickly left.

  "What happened?" Conner demanded once they were outside.

  "I was asking about Stanley," Harper said. "I thought I was getting somewhere with that succubus too, and then the incubus approached me and started yelling that I was human."

  Conner sighed. "Did you find anything out?"

  Harper said, "I found out that she's banned her people from interacting with any demons that aren't pledged to her. It's causing an uprising in her men. I think that's why they're going against her. What about you?"

  "The same thing," Conner said. "She's also recruiting."

  "Great," Harper said. "Just what we need."

  "I know," Conner said. He checked his watch. "I should get the soccer game anyway. Are you coming?"

  "Yeah," Harper said. She hopped into his minivan. "Let's go."

  FIVE

  Chloe groaned as Sarah threw another punch at her. She dodged out of the way, narrowly avoiding it. Then Sarah cut in with another and tapped her shoulder.

  "You know, you don't have to hit so hard," Chloe complained.

  "You've been getting out of shape," Sarah said. "Don't you keep up with your running?"

  Chloe considered for a moment and then shrugged. "I haven't had time recently. I've been a little busy."

  "Keeping up with your exercise is important," Sarah reprimanded. "You should really put more effort into it. I know you're busy, but make the time, Chloe."

  "I don't need a lecture," Chloe said. She stepped away from Sarah, feeling annoyed. She hated boxing in the first place, and she didn't want to be here. She wanted to be with Brittney. Of course, that's where she always wanted to be. Since they'd become engaged, they'd been almost inseparable. She couldn't believe there was a time -- not that long ago, either -- that she'd considered ending her relationship with the other woman.

  Sarah followed Chloe. "Hey, come on. You can't be that annoyed. I'm always nagging you to work on staying in shape. What's different this time?"

  "I don't know," Chloe said. "Well, I guess it's Brittney's mother. She said she was happy for us getting engaged, but I know she's not. I know she's disapproves, and it sucks."

  Sarah put a hand on Chloe's arm. "It's alright, Chloe. You knew that was a possibility when you told her. We talked about this, remember? You're marrying a woman -- some people are going to have a problem with that. Besides, not all the fey approve either, right?"

  "Actually, they do," Chloe said. "They made Brittney an honorary member, remember? That means that they're happy we're getting married, because I'm sticking to traditions."

  Sarah shrugged. "Well, still, disapproval is something you're going to have to get used to."

  "I know," Chloe said. "It doesn't help that we've been here an hour and we haven't heard a single thing. Nobody's talking about the councilwoman."

  Sarah glanced around. "That's true -- I wonder why. I mean, if her own people are coming after her, you think that'd be noteworthy."

  "Can we get out of here?" Chloe asked. "I'm tired, and we're not getting any information. Don't you have to meet Peter anyway?"

  "He can wait a while," Sarah said. "Let's go do something fun, just the two of us."

  "Like what?"

  "We can go for a run," Sarah suggested.

  Chloe made a face, and was about to argue, when she realized that Sarah was joking.

  "No runs," Sarah promised. "We'll go get coffee somewhere."

  Chloe nodded. "That sounds good. I could go for a mocha." Sarah shot her a glance. "Alright, fine, I'll stay away from the mocha. I can at least get something with cream in, right?"

  "Sure," Sarah said, laughing.

  They made their way out of the gym and walked down to the nearby coffee shop. It was a small place without many people inside. They went in and ordered their drinks. It was nice outside, so they went out and sat out on the patio.

  "You know, we haven't had much time to catch up lately," Chloe pointed out. "What's going on with you and Peter?"

  Sarah sighed.

  "Is it that bad?" Chloe asked.

  "No, not really," Sarah said. "It's just that he asked to move in with me. Can you believe that? First of all, it hasn't been nearly long enough, and secondly, my apartment is tiny! When I told him no he was going to break up with me."

  Chloe thought of Peter. "Well, I'm not really surprised. He's not exactly mature."

  Sarah frowned. "He's plenty mature when he wants to be."

  "And when is that?" Chloe asked.

  "Well... when we're in bed, he's pretty mature," Sarah said with a grin.

  Chloe groaned. "Oh, please. I don't want to think of my soon-to-be little brother in that light."

  "Oh, come on," Sarah said. "How many times have I listened to you talk about how good Brittney is in bed?"

  Chloe laughed. "Fair enough. Hey, do you think it'll ever get boring?"

  "What do you mean?"

  "Being intimate with the same person night after night," Chloe elaborated. She thought of Brittney and wondered how she could ever get tired of being with her. Brittney knew things that Chloe had never even dreamed of. Still, it was a concern.

  "You're asking the wrong person," Sarah said. "You know I've never been in a relationship long enough to get bored of it."

  "That's true," Chloe said. "Well, maybe Peter will last."

  Sarah groaned.

  "You were just saying he's mature in the bedroom," Chloe said. "That's pretty important."

  Sarah rolled her eyes this time.

  Chloe grinned in return. She started to say more, but before she could, they were approached by a tall man with a razor thin mustache. "Excuse me, ladies?"

  "Yes?" Chloe asked, turning to the stranger.

  "I'm sorry to bother you," he said, taking a seat. "You're from Afterlife, right?"

  Chloe and Sarah exchanged a glance, but it wasn't the first time they'd been approached by someone who knew who they were. "Yes," they said together.

  The man nodded. "My name is Robert. My brother is in town visiting me. He's from Santa Barbara originally, and he doesn't get down this way too often. Our mother is sick, though, and he thought he should come see her just in case she doesn't recover."

  "I'm sorry about your mother," Sarah said.

  Chloe nodded.

  "The thing is," Robert said. "My brother stopped in a casino to gamble a little. He doesn't have a problem o
r anything, he just enjoys playing the card tables when he's in town. But he was arrested for cheating. He wasn't cheating."

  Chloe immediately knew where this was headed. "Let me guess. He was being taken to the station, but they stopped halfway and the police officer told him that if he paid him off, he'd let the whole thing go."

  Robert nodded. "My brother's no cheater. But the officer said he had him on camera. Even showed him a clip of him on his phone showing the alleged cheating."

  Sarah arched her brows. "He had video of it?"

  "That's why I'm coming to you," Robert said. "They said that Afterlife deals with the supernatural and that's what this has to be, right?"

  "We'll look into it," Chloe promised, thinking of Brittney. Brittney was supposed to be at the station, getting information about the scam.

  "Thank you," Robert said. "He talked my brother out of half his savings."

  "We'll get it back," Sarah said. "Why don't you leave us your number and we'll call you when we figure this out?"

  Robert nodded. Chloe handed him her phone and he punched in his contact information.

  Chloe and Sarah finished up their coffees afterward and got up to leave.

  "This is a mess," Chloe said as they walked back to the gym to get their car. "Between this and the councilwoman, we're going to be so busy. I guess that means wedding planning is on hold for the moment."

  "What kind of wedding are you guys planning, anyway?" Sarah asked.

  Chloe shrugged. "I'd be fine with something simple, but Brittney wants the whole shebang. White dresses, walking down the aisle, lots of guests, everything."

  "Who's going to walk you down the aisle?" Sarah asked. "Or is it just Brittney that's going to do the walking?"

  "Well, if we can do it at night, I thought about asking Alec," Chloe said.

  "Really?"

  Chloe nodded. "Well, my father is dead, and Alec is the closest thing I have to a brother. I mean, there's Conner, but I'm not asking him to walk me down. He'd make it into some kind of joke."

  Sarah shook her head. "I don't think he would. He's matured a lot since getting back together with Janice."

  "That's true," Chloe said. "But still, I think Alec would make a better choice."

  "Do you think he'll agree?" Sarah asked.

  Chloe shrugged. "Let's not think about that right now. If we start talking weddings, I'm going to be caught up in that instead of our cases. Let's get back to Afterlife and report what we've found about the -- what did Brittney call it?"

  "The zig zag scam."

  "Yeah," Chloe said. "Let's go tell the others."

  SIX

  Brittney put on a blazer over her jeans and top and finished off the outfit by sliding on her badge over her neck. She clipped her gun in place and went to the station.

  Ryan Moore was waiting up front for her. "Good afternoon, Brittney. So, you're here to look at some witness statements?"

  Brittney nodded. "What do you have for me?"

  "Come on back to my desk," Ryan invited.

  Brittney followed him, nodding to the other police officers and detectives on her way. She had become well-known in the precinct since masquerading as an FBI agent. When they reached Ryan's desk, she took a seat and glanced at his desk.

  Ryan was much more neat than she was, and everything was stacked up and orderly. He sat in his chair and picked up a stack of folders and offered them out. "Here you go."

  Brittney took the folders and began reading through them. "Well I've noticed one thing," she said after a few minutes. "The person who's masquerading as an officer never takes on the appearance of a female officer. I assume because they can't. That means we're dealing with a male."

  Ryan nodded. "I surmised that much myself."

  She lowered her voice. "That means we're looking for something supernatural that can't take on the appearance of a woman. I'd say that rules out a shape-shifter."

  "Why?"

  "Because shape-shifters can take on the appearance of either gender," Brittney said, thinking of Sarah and when she'd learned that she could transform into other humans if she had the right incentive. She still wasn't good at it, and could really only do it if the circumstances were perfect.

  Ryan nodded. He took a small notebook out of his desk and jotted this down. When Brittney raised her eyebrows, he shrugged. "I'm trying to keep notes of anything about the supernatural that I don't already know."

  "Good call," Brittney said. "So we're looking for some kind of demon that can transform. I'll ask around and see what I can find out about them."

  "Sounds good."

  "I've also noticed that for the most part, it's men who have been robbed," Brittney said. "I'm going to go ahead and make an assumption that there's no seduction involved."

  Ryan nodded again. "I didn't think there was."

  "Can I make copies of these to take home to Harper?" Brittney asked. "She might see something we're missing."

  "Of course," Ryan said. He took the folders back from her and handed them off to an assistant to make copies. "So what else is going on with you lately?"

  Brittney hesitated a moment and then lowered her voice again. "Have you heard of Councilwoman Rebecca Stanley?"

  "Who hasn't?" Ryan asked. "She's the campaigning on cleaning up Las Vegas."

  "Right, well, what do you think of her?" Brittney asked.

  "I try to stay out of politics," Ryan said.

  Brittney nodded. "Well, she's in cohorts with a lot of demons."

  Ryan raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

  "Yes," Brittney said. "That's not as bad as it gets, either. She's using Afterlife to help with her problems. She's had some demons come out against her, and she wants us to clean them up for her."

  "I see," Ryan said. "And are you doing it?"

  "We don't really have a choice," Brittney said. "We owe her a favor. But she's gone through great lengths to make sure we help her. You heard about Harper's shooting? That was her. She was sending us a message."

  Ryan let out a low whistle.

  "So I need a favor," Brittney said. "We can't investigate her -- she'd find out. We need someone that has no connection with Afterlife to find some dirt on her. Anything that can be used against her. We need something to keep her in check."

  "So you're asking me?"

  "Well, we can't ask Livingston or Grady," Brittney said. "You know how they feel about Afterlife."

  Ryan nodded. "I'll see what I can find out."

  "Thanks, Ryan," Brittney said. "We need something above the board, so to speak."

  "I understand."

  "You're the best."

  Ryan smiled. "I haven't forgotten everything you do for Las Vegas. If you need help, I'm the man for the job."

  "That's good to hear," Brittney said. "Oh, and there's something else. I'm getting married."

  Ryan raised his brows. "So congratulations are in order. Is it to Miss McAllister?"

  "To Chloe, yes," Brittney said. "I was hoping you might attend the wedding. I'd like to think of us as friends."

  "We are," Ryan said. "And I'd be more than happy to attend. When is it?"

  "We haven't set the date yet," Brittney said. "Between this scammer and the councilwoman, we're a little busy right now. But I'll make sure you get an invitation."

  Ryan nodded. "I look forward to it. Can I bring my wife? Or is it going to be supernatural themed? I'm trying to keep her out of that side of Las Vegas. She wouldn't understand and it puts her in needless danger."

  "No, it's not going to be supernatural," Brittney said with a laugh. "Don't worry about that. My parents are also oblivious to that side of the city and I'd like to keep it that way."

  "Understood."

  "I'm going to take off now," Brittney said as the assistant brought her the copies of the interviews. "I might need to speak to some of these people myself. You think they'll have a problem with that?"

  "No, I think they want to get their money back," Ryan said.

  "Perfect,"
Brittney said.

  She shook Ryan's hand and then headed out. On her way, she was stopped by Marcia Livingston's desk.

  "What do you need, Detective Livingston?" she asked.

  Marcia shrugged. "I wanted to thank you for the last case we worked on. Putting my name on it, that is. Finding those missing people was huge for me. I'm up for promotion."

  "Glad to hear it," Brittney said. She shifted uncomfortably. There was no love lost between her and Marcia. "Is that all?"

  "Can I walk you out?"

  "Sure," Brittney said.

  Marcia nodded and followed Brittney out to her SUV. "I hear that you're working the zig zag scam. I assume that means there's a supernatural element to it?"

  "Yes," Brittney said. "We believe that someone's shape-shifting to appear as different officers. Smart move, really. Means that he'll be harder to locate. Why? You want in on it again?"

  "No, not this one," Marcia said. "I do have a vested interest in it getting solved though. My cousin was one of the people who was scammed out of money. He was in town visiting his mother."

  Brittney was surprised. "I see. Is he in the list of witnesses?"

  "No," Marcia said. "He came to me directly. I heard you were on to the case, so I thought you could go talk to him yourself."

  "When?"

  "How about now?" Marcia suggested. "You can follow me over to my house. He's waiting there."

  Brittney sighed. The last thing she wanted was to spend her afternoon with Marcia, but she knew she had a responsibility to all the victims. Even those related to people that she didn't necessarily like, like Marcia.

  "Alright, let's get going," Brittney said.

  She hopped in her SUV and followed Marcia. It took about half an hour to reach her place. It was a nice house, in a good neighborhood. There were toys out front. Brittney was again surprised; she had no idea that Marcia had a family. She got out of the SUV and went over to her.

  "Kids?" she asked.

  "Two," Marcia said. "A girl and a boy."

  "Are they home?"

  Marcia shook her head. "They're at school, and after school, their father is picking them up. He has them for the week."