In Search of Healing

by Katie Holmburg

  In Search of Healing

  Book Two of the Seeker Files

  By

  Kat Seaholm

  Copyright © Kat Seaholm

  May 2018

  All rights reserved. This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review

  To all those who extended a helping hand on my journey, you have my eternal gratitude.

  And to my family, you are the reason that I write. All my love.

  Table of Contents

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Twelve

  Thirteen

  Fourteen

  Fifteen

  Sixteen

  Seventeen

  Epilogue

  Glossary

  One

  Aletta made her way down to the holding cells. Although it had been three months since his capture, Druery was still waiting to go on trial for the murder of his two victims. The courts were having a hard time figuring out how to charge him when he had wiped his own mind, leaving him with no memory of the crimes.

  She made her way into the interrogation room where Druery sat waiting for her, his manacles secured to the table. She lowered herself into the chair across from him, observing him closely. He seemed to be upbeat, his three months of imprisonment apparently having little impact on him.

  She guessed that she shouldn’t be surprised by that since Druery was a greater Fae. He had turned out to be an elf, much to her surprise. However, Capt. Jones had informed her that Elves had just as many evildoers as any other race, no matter what some of the fairy tales might say.

  Druery greeted her cheerfully, a slight smugness underlying his tone. “Good morning, Agent. Come to chat again? You know that I don’t remember anything.”

  She grinned, but it lacked any warmth. “See, that’s where we disagree. I know that you know more than you’re letting on. You see, you’re an arrogant person who is convinced of their own superiority. I just can’t see you wiping your mind without a way to retrieve it after the scans were done. You knew too much valuable information to just have it lost forever.

  So, you’ve either written it all down somewhere, and I will find it if that’s the case. Or you’ve got a way to trigger the return of the memories that you voluntarily removed. So I will return every day until you confess all that you know about whoever is pulling your strings and what they want.”

  He smirked, “What’s to say that I wasn’t working alone? After all, you have evidence placing me at the scene of the crime and no one else. Well, other than the late Ms. Valens that is.”

  “As it turns out, Ms. Valens didn’t trust you. Too bad she didn’t realize that when she hooked up with you, but greedy desperate people make poor decisions.” She shrugged slightly. “Anyway, she left behind a record just in case you betrayed her. It was just chock full of information.”

  This caught his attention and he sat up straighter in his chair. “She what? I checked that place thoroughly, there was nothing there. You’re lying.”

  Aletta grinned triumphantly, “I thought that you didn’t remember anything about either of the murders or events of the past year.”

  He waved his hand impatiently. “I don’t remember anything, but I know how I work. I always make sure that there is nothing left behind. I know that I checked every nook and cranny of that place, that I erased any sign of my presence. There’s no way that I missed something.”

  “Oh, but you did. But that’s beside the point. You still stand by the position that your memory is entirely erased?”

  He fairly growled, “Yes, I don’t remember a bit of the past year until I woke up in the infirmary here under heavy guard wearing these blasted magic-nulling cuffs.”

  “Well, you deserved it. So, I have real things to do besides waste my time with you. Until tomorrow.”

  Rising from her seat, she motioned for the guards to take him back to the cell. He protested, “You can’t leave. You need to tell me what she had on me.”

  She sighed. “Watch me. I simply don’t have time for you and your games, Druery. If you want information from me, you’ll have to offer me something more than taunts and wasting my time. In fact, I don’t think that I’ll be back until you decide that you have something worthwhile to offer me in exchange for my information. Enjoy your cell.”

  He started cursing, but she simply ignored him as she made her way out of the interrogation room. Heading back to the main office, she decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Lately, she’d been chock full of nervous energy and any exercise at this point would help. As she climbed, she let her mind roam over the past few months.

  It had been a little over three months since the case that had landed her with her current partner, Lirim. She’d been partnered with him because she needed someone to watch her back. Her interference in someone’s plans had made them very irritated and they had managed to send a moon mad ogre after her. She hadn’t realized that someone was gunning for her and had been annoyed when Capt. Jones insisted she needed a partner. At the time, she believed that her superiors thought she was a screw-up.

  She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting in a partner, but Lirim was not it. He’d had a reputation for skilled casework around the office, but was also rumored to be cold and distant, difficult to work with. Well, they had one thing right; he could definitely be difficult to work with. He had a mischievous sense of humor that could appear at the strangest times. Oh, and an insanely protective streak that traced back to his time in the Outlier war. Also, he was a fry snob and actually had a ranking system worked out for fries from restaurants all over the city. Still, he’d had her back throughout the case, even letting her take the lead.

  He’d also been the one to discover that she had a gift: that she was a Sheridan. She grimaced as she recalled the turmoil that that discovery had added to her life. She could’ve done without that particular revelation, although she knew that the magic would’ve started acting out and causing problems if left untrained. Thankfully, no one realized what she truly was but merely thought that she was a nearly null Veritas like her registration stated. Veritas, even those with only potential, often found themselves drawn to law work, so it was no surprise that she had been drawn to working with HSI.

  In the short few months that she’d been with HSI, it had become home to her. Thankfully, Capt. Jones also had her back, which was a blessing with how rare Sheridans were. Sheridans were highly sought after, especially by evil ones looking to further their own schemes. Also, there were Cy and Lirim. As much as they drove her crazy with their protectiveness, she knew that they would do whatever she needed them to do in a heartbeat. Not to mention Ian and Cass, the quirky techs that made her laugh and kept her from getting too bogged down in a case.

  She’d passed Cass in the hallway earlier that morning and couldn’t help laughing when she’d seen the pixie’s deep aqua hair that would’ve made a mermaid proud. Cass loved to change her hair color frequently and Aletta never knew what color she’d be sporting next.

  Reaching the main office, Aletta made her way over to her desk without bothering to look around. If Lirim was there, he’d eventually make his way over. If he didn’t, he was probably off tracking down a lead on their latest case.

  It had turned out to be a tricky one. What had seemed like a simple scam run by a leprechaun searching to pad his pot of gold turned out to
be a convoluted scheme with widespread tendrils throughout several businesses and social tiers, involving both humans and supers. It had been an intensely puzzling case and Aletta had enjoyed it immensely. She was almost one hundred percent positive that they had untangled it; they were only waiting on a few last things for confirmation.

  However, she’d been very tired for the last few days, and it had nothing to do with the case or her magic. The ache in her heart reminded her of the anniversary she wished she could forget was coming up. She hadn’t said a word to anyone else, unwilling to share her very private pain. She knew that Cy and Lirim could tell that she was hiding something, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak of her loss. She needed to do better on hiding her feelings, but she was just so tired.

  Right then, Lirim sat on the edge of her desk, drawing her away from her increasingly depressing thoughts. He held a coffee in his outstretched hand, and Aletta took it gratefully. It had taken several weeks, but he had finally learned to add the correct amount of sugar and creamer to meet her specifications. She appreciated it, even if he did joke that he could hear the cavities forming from all that sugar.

  “Good morning. Any confirmation of the last few things we need to tie this up?”

  She sipped her coffee and hummed happily. Nodding at her computer, which was booting up, she replied, “I was just about to see if Ian had emailed me anything from the bank. Other than that, I’m still waiting.”

  “How’d your visit with Druery go?”

  Originally, he’d insisted on visiting Druery with her, but his presence had only incensed both Fae. They’d had some impressive shouting matches and some equally impressive silent treatments. In the end, they’d agreed that Druery would most likely be more cooperative with just her and that she was safe enough within the department building. That didn’t mean that he didn’t observe their meetings several times a week via camera, but he’d obviously been off somewhere else for this morning’s session.

  “He was startled to discover that Ms. Valens had left evidence indicating that there were more players in the game than just him and her. When he said it couldn’t possibly be true because he’d searched the place and erased all traces of himself, I called him on the fact that he’d supposedly lost all memory of the event. He stuck to his story, saying that he couldn’t remember, but he knew how he worked and would’ve never been so foolish as to leave evidence at the scene. He then had the gall to demand to know what evidence we found. He’d irritated me so much by this point that I merely left and didn’t tell him anything. I also informed him that I wouldn’t be returning until he had something worthwhile to trade. Let him stew on that for a while.”

  Lirim raised an eyebrow. “You’re in a foul mood this morning.”

  Slightly ashamed, she mumbled an apology, “Sorry, didn’t sleep well last night. Something I ate yesterday gave me weird dreams. I think that it was that Thai food we had for lunch. I’m never gonna eat there again.”

  If he knew that she was lying, he let it slide. She hadn’t slept well but it hadn’t been because of the food. Instead, a recurring nightmare had kept her tossing and turning all night as she tried to escape its stranglehold. She knew it was a vain hope. Its familiar terror would hold her captive for the next several weeks –until the anniversary passed and her guilt settled back down to a dull roar.

  Hoping to divert her mind away from the unpleasant memories, Aletta asked, “What about you, anything?”

  “I just got the papers from the last two places that we needed. As soon as Ian sends over that statement from the bank, we should be able to hand this all over to the prosecutors. Then we’re golden until it’s time to testify. I’m glad that it’s over. This has been one insane case.”

  She pouted slightly as she pulled up her email. “I thought that this one was intriguing. And no one died, which is a definite plus in my book.”

  “Of course you would find it intriguing. I just wanted to bash a few heads together. I still can’t believe that they came up with such a convoluted scheme and somehow managed to make it work.”

  She shrugged. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Opening her email, she grinned when she saw the top one waiting from Ian. “And here’s the statement from the bank. Let me just forward it to the prosecutors, then we can run the rest of the evidence we have over there and finally be done with the paperwork. While this case was intriguing, I definitely do not like all the paperwork that came along with it. Urgh, why does the government always need everything in triplicate?”

  “This way they look like they’re actually doing something instead of sitting around killing off trees right and left because of their love of useless paperwork.”

  Someone behind Lirim cleared their throat, trying to catch their attention. Aletta peeked around him to see Cara standing there patiently. “I’m sorry, Cara. I didn’t see you. What can we do for you?”

  “The captain wants to see you in his office at once.” Eying Lirim, who just grinned at her, she added, “Both of you.”

  “All right. Thank you, Cara.”

  She waited until Cara had moved away to murmur, “What do you suppose he wants?” Standing, she carefully stacked all the paperwork regarding their completed case so it could be sent off when they finished up with the captain.

  “I don’t know. I don’t think that we did anything odd on this last case. Well, if you don’t count tripping the leprechaun into the fountain.”

  She groaned. “I told you that was an accident.”

  He shrugged. “It was still funny and he deserved it. I was about to hit him, so in a way, your accidental tripping ended up saving him.”

  “I still don’t see why you were so upset that he was hitting on me. He was just trying to wiggle out of trouble. You know that I won’t fall for that kind of thing. Anyway, we shouldn’t keep Jones waiting. Ready?”

  He motioned for her to lead the way. She swiftly crossed the office to the captain’s door and knocked softly. He called for them to enter and she slipped inside, Lirim right on her heels.

  Jones greeted them, “Ah, Bosk, Sheridan, there you are. Have a seat.”

  They did as he bid and Aletta asked, “You needed to see us, sir?”

  “Have you finished the O’Reilly case?”

  She nodded, “We just got the last of the paperwork this morning. It should be an open and shut case. We have all the information that we need.”

  “Good, good job, agents. I have another assignment for you, one that I need you to get started on immediately.”

  Aletta suddenly felt a chill tracing its way up her spine. “Another case?”

  “I know that you just wrapped up a case, but this cannot wait. Things are escalating quickly and we want to stop whoever is behind this before someone dies.”

  Aletta nodded her agreement. She’d seen two dead bodies and she was in no hurry to ever see another one. “What is the case about, sir?”

  “Threats have been made against several prestigious members of the Canticum Company, as well as destruction of property and other general mischief. At first, they laughed them off, but last week a light fell and almost crushed the prima donna, Elizabetta. It missed her by only inches. They cannot ignore the threats any longer.”

  Ruthlessly keeping her voice steady despite the fact that it wanted to shake, she asked politely, “Why are we getting called in? Shouldn’t this be the jurisdiction of Isenton PD?”

  “Isenton PD has graciously invited us in on this because the Canticum Company is comprised of both supernaturals and humans. Also, as they are fairly high profile they expect a certain amount of discretion, which is where we come in. However, we will be cooperating completely with Isenton PD on this investigation. You’ll be working with several of your old unit, including Officer Wells.”

  Aletta carefully hid her dismay and the sick churning of her stomach. She knew she should’ve called in sick today. This was her punishment for that event three years ago. Not only would she have to work w
ith Wells, she was going to have to return to a world she had vowed never to step foot into again.

  She opened her mouth to refuse the assignment when Jones continued, “You know this world, what to look for, and who the power players are. This is why you and Bosk have been removed from your other cases and are to focus solely on this one until the perpetrator is caught.”

  She suddenly found herself struggling to breathe, the edges of her vision going dark as her lungs fought against the iron grip of panic. Lirim was suddenly there, kneeling in front of her, although she hadn’t seen him move from his seat.

  Gently grasping her hands, he coaxed, “C’mon, Leta, breathe. It’s all right, there’s nothing that’ll hurt you. You can do it.” She tried to do as he asked but couldn’t manage anything beyond a shallow pant.

  Tightening his grip slightly, his tone became firm. “Aletta, look at me.” She shook her head no. “Aletta, look at me, meet my eyes.” She reluctantly did as he commanded, unable to fight the order. “You have nothing to fear. You are safe in Capt. Jones office. You are safe at HSI. Most of all, I am with you so you have nothing to worry about. Whatever it is, we’ll figure it out. Now follow my lead and take a breath.”

  He drew in a deep breath slowly and she mimicked him. He held it for a count of three then slowly let it out as she mirrored his actions. They did this several times before the black spots faded from her vision and her racing pulse slowed. Releasing her hands, Lirim rose and placed his hand on her shoulder. “Good, just keep breathing. It’ll be ok.”

  She concentrated on doing what he said, trying to calm her panicking mind.

  * . * . *

  Lirim was seriously unsettled. He’d never seen Aletta react the way she had when the captain had told them about the case. He’d barely finished taking in what the captain had shared when a strangled gasp caught his attention. He looked at Aletta only to find her clinging to the chair arms with a white-knuckled grip, struggling to draw breath. He’d immediately shoved down his panic and moved over next to her, trying to figure out what was going on. She glanced at him, and he saw the desperation and panic in her eyes before she looked away from him.