“What are you up to?”
“I have to check something. See you tomorrow.” Gavin shoved his foot down on the gas pedal. All his calls to Finn went straight to voice mail. Frustration overtook Gavin, and he hit the horn. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the road. He needed to be calm when he picked up Jillian. As a Guardian and criminal science student, the twenty-year-old was the perfect partner in theory. In practice, however, she was too impressionable. She hadn’t yet learned how to lock her feelings away and keep it together. Being emotional led to mistakes, something he couldn’t risk if Finn’s life was truly in danger.
Did Finn’s concerns of being followed have some actual merit to them this time? Should Gavin have tried harder to follow it up? He parked the car in front of the library.
Arms wrapped around her skinny torso, black bob whipping in the wind, Jillian stood like a sapling. She’ll be fine. As an Ardere crime investigator, she has to be. Still, knowing that Umbra killed Ardere, versus having someone close killed was incomparable. Gavin knew that first hand.
Jillian climbed into his car, her body shivering as they drove downtown.
“Did you see any unusual houses? Maybe a bar or a square in your vision?” Gavin asked.
Jillian took a moment to think. “Yes. There was this green logo. I think it was a Pub. I don’t remember the name, but it sounded Irish.”
“O’Malleys.” The place Gio and Jeff had visited tonight. Gavin took a sharp turn and drove for a mile, then parked the car close to the pub. With it being Friday night, the streets swarmed with potential witnesses. Surely, nobody would’ve attacked Finn in such a public street. On the other hand, the hanging Spanish moss trees and dark side alleys provided cover and privacy. “We should check out the side alleys.”
Nothing unusual in the first two, and then Jillian shrieked in the third side street.
Finn’s lifeless body lay on the ground. A puddle of blood was spreading around it. Given the Guardian’s medium power level and the fact the body hadn’t disintegrated into air yet, the murder had occurred in the last half hour. Gavin crouched over Finn, taking photos with his cell phone from every angle, careful not to step into the blood puddle.
Then he reached for Finn’s sweatshirt and unzipped it, preparing to see the Phoenix brand. Phoenix sacrifices were committed either by dying Ardere to prolong their lives, the act turning them Umbra, or by Umbra, who in contrast to Ardere could not become more powerful through training. The gene mutation that occurred when one turned Umbra meant that Umbra could only grow more powerful via additional sacrifices. A human’s life vitality equaled a temporary power increase, while taking the life force of an Ardere meant a permanent power increase.
Finn’s skin, however, was unmarred. Gavin pushed open Finn’s eyelid. The iris was brown. “Not a Phoenix sacrifice.” To perform it, the mythological bird had to be etched onto the victim’s chest, only then could a dying Ardere or an Umbra absorb the life force through the eyes of the victim, turning them white.
“Whomever killed him didn’t do it for power enhancement or a second chance at life.” Jillian’s fingers dug into her arms. “I don’t understand. Finn was the sweetest guy. Why would anyone want him dead?”
Gavin rubbed his temples, confessing, “Finn came to me a few days ago. He believed someone was following him. I told him not to worry.”
Silence for a few beats, then, “It’s not your fault. Finn has cried wolf before. You couldn’t have known that this time he was on to something.”
“Still, I should’ve taken it more seriously.”
“No. The killer is to blame, not you.” Jillian’s voice shook with strain.
The logical part of Gavin knew she was right, yet that didn’t make him feel better. He racked his mind for a motive, unable to come up with one. Finn wasn’t a powerful Ardere, neither did he possess anything worth killing over. If anyone in Savannah became a target, it should’ve been Sierra with her unique powers, not a regular Guardian. “Tell me exactly what you saw in your vision.”
Tears streaked Jillian’s cheeks, and she shook her head continuously. “It was blurry. I don’t know if this is normal or not, because I’ve never had a vision before. But I saw a knife coming for Finn’s chest, and then he collapsed to the ground. That’s it. I’m sorry.”
Gavin put his jacket around her quivering shoulders. “Did you see who was holding the knife? A female, a male? Did you see the aura of the attacker?”
“No. The person wore a black leather glove. The hand wasn’t overly large, but I couldn’t tell if it was male or female, and I didn’t see an aura.” Jillian blew her nose and wiped at her eyes. “But the murderer has to be a supernatural, otherwise I wouldn’t have had the vision. I know that much.”
Gavin hugged her. “You did your best.”
“It wasn’t enough.” Jillian stared at Finn’s body. Her face went from pain-stricken to confused. She took a few steps closer to Finn and bent over. “He bled out. But—”
“What is it?” Gavin crouched next to her.
“If he bled out, there should be way more blood on the ground. I think some of it is missing.”
“You think the killer took it as a souvenir?” Gavin didn’t like the sound of that. An insane criminal meant unpredictable behavior not bound by logic. Which, in turn, made the case harder to solve and grant Finn the justice he deserved. “Don’t tell anyone about this until we have more information. Not even Jeff and Gio.”
Jillian folded her lips but nodded. “I’ll notify Finn’s family.”
Gavin put his hand on her shoulder. “No, I’ll file the report and the regency will notify them.”
“But—”
“No buts. Talking to them will only make you feel guiltier. I need your head in the game to help me find out who did this to Finn, to do right by him.”
Faith burgeoned in her eyes, and Gavin prayed he would be able to find the killer. Otherwise, this might haunt Jillian forever. Gently, he pulled her away from the crime scene. No point staring death in the face. It held no answers for them.
“No, you don’t have the situation under control, Gavin. A murder just happened and you have no leads.” Waldeburg paced the living room, her mahogany floor-length skirt rustling.
Gavin didn’t know what else to do. His reassurance that he and Jillian would do anything to find the culprit and that the murder wasn’t connected to Sierra seemed to agitate Waldeburg only further.
“Let the murder be my concern. I only told you and Sierra out of courtesy,” he finally said.
Waldeburg’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t take that tone with me, Gavin. I’m not attacking you. I’m just pointing out the obvious, namely you don’t have the situation under control.” She sucked in a lungful of air. “Sierra was supposed to be safe here. Heath didn’t want her anywhere near the regency, and I wanted to honor his wishes, especially since—”
“No one has yet been convicted of his murder. I understand. I prefer to be as far away from the regency as possible, particularly the likes of Louis.”
“You don’t think he could be behind this, do you?”
“Louis? No. Why?”
Waldeburg wrapped her hands around her tea mug and stared into it. “He was upset at you for not bringing Sierra to Florida.”
“Yes, but to commit a murder just to make me look incompetent? No, he wouldn’t do that.” Gavin rubbed his five o’clock shadow. It had been a long day. He could use a hot shower and a stiff drink. “If Louis retaliates, he’ll do it in an overt manner, letting me and everyone else know that he’s in charge. He likes to play power games. Admiration is his biggest addiction.”
“So not him then. What about the supernaturals here?”
“I’ll question them.”
“Good. Keep me up-to-date.”
Gavin stood. About to walk to the door, he paused. “How is Sierra holding up?”
Waldeburg sighed. “She asked me who the person was her mother used for the Phoenix sacrifice.” Her
face fell. “I don’t know. I can’t tell her anything about Aoife.”
Gavin knelt in front of her. “You respected your son’s wishes.”
“Yes. Still, I should’ve considered Sierra. I should’ve demanded to know more about Aoife, so that Sierra could know more about her mother.”
“No amount of knowledge will ever undo the pain of not having her parents.”
Gavin knew. After seven years, he was still treading through landmines. Just when he thought he was over his loss, he would see a son and a father watching a sports game or a family on an outing. His heart would contract in a viselike grip. Not letting anyone too close had turned into his reliable remedy of dealing with the pain. It worked. The more he did it, the better it worked. The cost was that each time he brought up his walls, he felt a bit number and emptier inside.
Tomorrow he would have to bring up his walls even higher when he questioned Gio and Jeff, shoving their friendship aside to consider them as murder suspects.
Chapter 11
Gavin rang the doorbell, half hoping Gio wasn’t home. A minute later, shuffling sounded from behind the wall. A shirtless Gio poked his head out, the previous night’s gel sticking in clumps to his dark hair.
“Do you know what time it is? It’s not even nine.” Gio grimaced and waved Gavin into the modest living room. A rickety table with four wooden chairs took up half of the space. The other part sported a worn black couch and flat-screen TV. Clothes and takeout containers covered the beige carpeted floor.
“Coffee?” Gio put milk and sugar on the table. His bloody knuckles from the previous night were already healed, speedy recovery one of the benefits of being a supernatural.
The toilet flushed and a blonde with tangled hair and raccoon eyes careened into the room. She held four-inch sandals and fiddled with her sparkly dress that barely covered her crotch.
“I had a great time. We should do it again,” she purred and kissed Gio on the lips. Then she swayed out of the front door.
Gavin waited a couple of seconds. “You should’ve told me you weren’t alone. What if she overheard classified information?”
Rolling his eyes, Gio set down the two coffee mugs. “If she had, we would’ve amended her memory.” He grabbed a large trash bag and began collecting dirty underwear, tees, and socks off the floor. “It’s laundry day.”
“I can see that. I thought you were interested in Whitney.” Gavin took a sip of his beverage, pleasantly surprised. French press, not some cheap filter crap.
Gio’s eyebrows knitted. “I am. This girl was just sex.”
Gavin didn’t know what to make of the reply. His understanding was that women were always carnal pleasures to Gio. Not caring enough to ask, especially given the actual reason for his visit, Gavin cut to the chase. “I need to ask you a few questions. I need your whole attention.”
Gio put a loose knot on the plastic sack and plopped down into the chair across from Gavin. “Do you need me to answer truthfully too?”
Gavin didn’t give Gio the satisfaction of provoking him. “Tell me about the bar scuffle you got into last night.”
Gio sighed. “Look, I didn’t throw the first punch, okay? And it wasn’t even about me.”
“Go on.”
Gio scratched the area behind his ear. “There was this young guy. He might’ve been underage. He did something to tick off a big guy. Big guy had a friend. They took the boy’s wallet and were tossing it around. They stood in this dark corner by the billiards table. Bartenders were busy serving customers. None of the other patrons did anything, so I stepped in.”
Shame constricted Gavin’s throat. He was questioning his friend regarding another friend’s murder. Gio possessed flaws. They all did, yet Gavin could never imagine the Italian killing anyone, let alone someone he knew.
“I got the kid out. The two big guys confronted me. Punches were thrown. Jeff got me out of there before it escalated too much.”
“Did you have to amend their memories?”
“No. I held back and didn’t do anything that would reveal me being a Dragoon.”
“Good. What happened next?”
“Jeff dragged me away. I wasn’t ready to go home. He convinced me to head over to Veneficia.”
Typical Gio. A fight not enough to deter him from his night of debauchery.
“I needed some fresh air. Jeff went in to piss. I waited on the curb. That’s when you showed up. Jeff took me home after that, said it was time to cut me off.”
“Did you go anywhere else last night?”
“No.” No hesitation, no guilt in Gio’s eyes.
“How come you had a girl in your bed then?”
He let out an exaggerated sigh. “Booty call. She had my number from before. I said sure, come over.” Gio rubbed his skull. “Are you done poking your nose in my private business? I want to go back to bed. My head is killing me.”
Gavin pulled out the image of Finn’s dead body and slid it across the table. The veins bulged in Gio’s neck. His beefy chest rose and fell rapidly. “When? Where?”
“Yesterday in an alley close to O’Malleys.”
Gio stared at the picture for a few beats. Then he banged his fist on the table. “Screw you! Are you saying I’m a suspect? Seriously?” He rose up so fast, his chair toppled backward and clattered to the ground. “You think I’m a murderer? That I could do this to my own friend?”
“No, I didn’t say that. I don’t believe that, but I have to do my job. I need to find out who killed Finn. I’m here to ask you questions, not to accuse you.”
“Yeah, right. If you were just doing that, you would’ve told me straight away Finn was dead. Yesterday, when you left Veneficia, you knew! You knew and you didn’t tell us!”
Gavin’s jaw locked into place. He grasped his almost empty mug so hard it cracked. “Ensuring Savannah is safe is my job. I can’t let personal stuff interfere with my judgment.”
“Get out,” Gio hissed, the sound more menacing than any scream.
“Let me know if you remember something or hear any useful information.”
Gio crossed his arms and turned away from Gavin.
With a clank, the front door locked behind Gavin. One down. One more to go. He wanted to procrastinate to avoid questioning Jeff. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Gio had been angry. The talk with Jeff would be worse. Anger evaporated quickly. Disappointment was of a gooey nature; it latched on to people and took a lot of dedication to be removed.
When Gavin arrived at Monterey Square, Jeff was already there, sitting on a shaded bench.
Jeff let out a huffing sound. “Are you going to be straight with me? Or are you going to treat me as a suspect the way you did Gio?”
Gavin clamped his teeth down. Of course, Gio had managed to call Jeff in the ten minutes it took Gavin to walk over here. He could’ve interrogated them simultaneously, but had felt a separate interrogation would be more effective. “Why don’t you start by telling me where you were at the time of Finn’s murder?”
Jeff’s story matched Gio’s, which wasn’t really a surprise. However, Gavin thought they were telling the truth. The alibis would be easy enough to check. All he needed to do was get the video footage from the bar. Since humans couldn’t see auras, a video or photo of a supernatural looked distorted to them. Ardere photos and videos were overexposed, while Umbra footage was underexposed. Other supernaturals, however, had no problem separating the aura from the individual. Thus, Gavin should be able to recognize the supernatural on the video footage, or at the very least see the color of his aura and know what Ardere faction he belonged to.
Unfortunately, Savannah only had a few cameras positioned throughout the city, making it impossible to find out from footage who had attacked Finn.
“It’s been ten years. I don’t know why I expect others to forgive me when I myself can’t,” Jeff murmured, wringing his hands.
“I had to question both you and Gio. It doesn’t mean I’m actually suspecting you.”
Jeff stared into the distance. “I wouldn’t change anything if I got to do it all over again. Susan was the love of my life, and if there was the slightest chance of rescuing her, I would’ve done the sacrifice again, even if she didn’t want to continue living as an Umbra.”
Gavin didn’t reply. He had read the reports. Both Jeff and Susan were mortally injured. Jeff only cared about saving his wife. He sacrificed the human for her, but it was too late. She died. The life force had transferred to him, condemning him to a life without his wife and one where the Ardere society looked down upon him, even ten years after his transgression.
Images of his parents’ lifeless bodies flashed in front of Gavin. If he had been older and his Dragoon powers had been awakened, would he have done what Jeff had? Would he have tried to revive his parents by taking innocent lives?
“Remember the unfamiliar Umbra I sensed the other day?”
Gavin’s attention snapped back to the present. “What about him?”
“I don’t sense him or her anymore. Must’ve left the city.”
“You think he killed Finn and fled?”
Jeff shrugged. “Maybe. Or maybe him being here was a coincidence.”
Gavin didn’t believe in coincidences. A murderer fleeing after committing a crime on the other hand, that he did believe. If that was the case, avenging Finn had just become tenfold harder, if not impossible.
Chapter 12
With the colleague-birthday-celebration crowd dwindling, Sierra finally found time to restock the Heineken and Budweiser bottles while Whitney collected empty glasses. Despite having worked only a few shifts together, they had already built great rapport and made plans to go shopping that week. Sierra looked forward to it. Shopping was something she used to do with Tammy, back when her life was normal and not a crazy train, each consecutive stop worse than the previous one.
“Smile, your admirer just walked in!” Whitney bumped her hip against Sierra’s.
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