The smell was of fear, faeces and of death.
Chapter 15
“Damn.” Jess swore under her breath, jumping over the bed toward the window.
Davis had undone some of the bandages and tied them to the top of the metal bars covering the window, climbing up on the small chair provided for all guests. His face, half covered with bandages, was emotionless as he hung from the makeshift gallows. Crisscrossing stitches ran across his skin like a railway switching yard.
“Call the doctors!” Jess barked at the kid, who disappeared from sight as she grabbed the lifeless legs and leapt on the stool. “Reb, get him loose!”
I fished in my pocket for my penknife, digging the small blade free with shaking hands. It fell to the floor and bounced across the tiles to rest against the wall. Jess snarled and reached up, extending her claws with a low roar.
Bran caught the unconscious body as the nails slid through the used bandages with ease, lowering him to the bed just as the nurses burst into the room. Jess spun around, retracting her claws before anyone could see.
“Out, everyone!” The doctor appeared in the middle of the hysteria, waving his arms as they ripped open Davis’s shirt, piling on like a football scrimmage. “Out!”
I shepherded the guard out, giving Jess a few more seconds before she followed with Bran. It was unlikely that anyone was going to see anything but it never hurt to boost the odds by giving her another minute to make sure everything was out of sight.
The blond kid fell to his knees in the hallway, retching and coughing on an empty stomach. I patted him on the back, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s okay. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Jess towered over the two of us, her face scarlet. “Want to explain to me what just happened here?”
I lifted myself up to all five-foot-four inches. “Looks to me like he just tried to kill himself. What do you think?”
“I think this has got something to do with the investigation. What did he tell you?” Her eyes narrowed. “What did he say?”
“I’ve told you everything.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw another nurse push a cartful of equipment into the room. “Guess he didn’t want to face you or the Pride again with the knowledge that he had accidentally helped this killer take out Ruth.”
“Don’t start to presume that you know what the Pride would or wouldn’t do!” There was a flash of anger in her face, the eyes threatening to go Felis. She clenched her fists, shaking where she stood.
“Don’t go there.” Brandon stepped between us, so much inside Jess’s personal space I took a step back. He stared directly into the older woman’s eyes. “Don’t blame Rebecca for your own mistakes.” He pointed to one side, to the kid still slouched against the wall. “Don’t blame him and don’t blame her. And you can’t blame Davis for keeping with your stupid traditions and then feeling torn between family and your damned secrets!”
Jess’s right hand snapped up, grabbing Bran by the throat. “Don’t presume to talk to me as an equal, human!” The claws begin to come out again, far too close to Brandon’s neck for safety. Even though they weren’t any more than an inch or two in length, at that range they could easily pierce the jugular.
The blond kid jumped up beside me, ready to charge in. I swung my arm up and blocked him. “No.” A strong shake of my head brought the situation home to the kit. I bit down hard on my lower lip. This wasn’t something I could fix.
“I don’t think you want to do that.” Bran spoke calmly as if we were placing another order for Chinese. He looked down. “Your decision.”
Then I spotted where his right hand was, pressed up against Jess’s chest. I had assumed it was to fend her off, but upon closer inspection I saw my stun gun—pressed right up against the shirt and aimed at the heart.
Jess grunted. She had assessed the situation. Bran smiled, his neck flexing against the claws. They weren’t razor-sharp but she could easily swipe across his throat and rip him open like a fish.
I had no idea if the small electrical charge generated by the stun gun would just shock Jess or stop her heart, the contact point being so close to the actual organ. I hadn’t ever thought about it. Probably Jess hadn’t either. I wasn’t sure if Bran knew, but I did know no one there really wanted to find out.
Jess stared at Bran for a long minute, one edge of her mouth twitching. Finally she smiled, letting loose with a deep laugh I hadn’t heard for years.
Lowering the reporter to the floor, she released her grip, pulling the claws in quickly. No one around us was paying attention, everyone dealing with the health crisis in the room beside us.
“Well played.” She looked at the kid. “You could learn something from this human, Rick.” Taking a step back, the grey-haired woman turned to me. “I’ll bring Frank and Kelly to you.”
“Bring them to my place.” Brandon glanced around us. “I’m tired of driving out to that Farm and I think it’s good for us to get into a neutral spot, put Langley off his game, so to speak.”
Jess nodded. “Agreed. I’ll have them there in a few hours. They’re at the Farm already. Give them some time to clean up before I bring them over.” A pointed look directed at Bran. “I already have the address, thank you very much.” She looked at the closed hospital room door. “Things have got to start being cleared up before they get even more complicated.”
A doctor opened the door, closing it behind him before we could see anything. “Mr. Konnerburg’s family?”
Jess drew herself up to her full height. “Davis has no family. I’m the designated next of kin in the paperwork.”
The young blond man looked around the small circle at the rest of us before continuing. “Mr Davis has suffered a small stroke, at the least. We’ll need more tests to confirm it, but at this point he’s paralysed on the right side of his body. We’re not sure how extensive the damage is to his brain.” He looked to the floor before continuing. “His prognosis is uncertain, at this point. We’ll also provide counselling since this was an obvious suicide attempt.” The medical professional took a deep breath. “Do you have any idea why he would have tried to kill himself?”
Jess shook her head, not waiting for anyone else to respond. “No idea. He didn’t say anything other than how stupid he felt falling into that farm machinery.” Her gaze shot across our faces, willing us into silence.
“Well, he’ll be moved to a more secure ward to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We’re not sure if he’ll ever regain full consciousness at this point, but we have to do everything we can to protect him from himself.” The doctor scribbled some notes on the clipboard he held in one hand. “We’ll be in touch as soon as we have anything else to report.”
“Thank you, doctor.” Hammersmythe shook his hand, crushing the delicate fingers. As the doctor moved off, shaking the numbness from his hand, Jess turned back to us. “I’ll have them there soon enough.” With a brusque nod to Bran and I, she hustled the kid down the corridor and of sight.
“That was pretty interesting.” Bran leant against the wall, taking a deep breath.
“You think?” I reached over and plucked the stun gun from his fingers. “I’m taking this back.”
“But I like it.” His whine was child-like, a wide grin on his face. “It’s such a cool toy.”
I glared at him, putting my hands on my hips. “Do you know how close you were to becoming a mysterious death on the floor there?”
“Pretty much.” Leaning in, he kissed me lightly on the lips. “I’m not totally oblivious to what’s going on around here. Jess is pissed off ’cause you’ve got me involved and I’ve got to play big man to keep her from swatting me around like a flea. And she’s even more pissed because you’ve also got me in bed and I’m such a hot commodity that she can’t stand it.”
I smiled, stepping back and crossing my arms. “You might actually be catching on to all this...” My hands waved in the air. “Politics. I was never all that into them.”
“Well, now migh
t be a good time to start.” He nodded toward the hospital room. “Because this is becoming a bigger and stranger jigsaw puzzle by the minute.”
The nurse at the counter watched us warily when we walked past her station toward the elevator. Obviously she hadn’t been impressed by our family reunion in the past few minutes.
“Frank isn’t going to be happy, I can tell you that.” I sat in the passenger seat of my own car once again, leaning my elbow on the window while I tried to clear my mind. Driving wasn’t the best way to do that and Brandon seemed to like taking over the wheel. “We have anything to eat at the apartment?”
“Plenty of munchies.” He arched one eyebrow, a half-smirk on his face. “Any special kitty treats I should order up?”
I smacked him in the arm, hard. “Don’t push it. You may have been able to face Jess down once or twice, but this sort of power game doesn’t stop.” Looking out the window, I watched businessmen walk briskly up and down the streets, racing into one building and out of another in a hunt that never ended. “With Davis becoming... incapacitated, there’s now an opening on the board. The last time that happened there was a hell of a lot of challengers, a lot of fights and more than a little blood spilt.” I shook my head. “Right now there’s probably a near-riot on the Farm while they start jockeying for position.”
“You could run. Take a spot on the Board.” The Jeep slipped into the underground parking lot, the attendant waving at Bran again.
“Like they’d accept me.” I rolled my eyes.
He pulled into the parking spot we had left not so long ago. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. You’re a pretty tough broad. They could do a lot worse than put you in charge of this.” Bran moved around the car to open my door, waving me out. “You’ve got a chance here to bridge the old and the new. That’s the sort of crap that got you into this trouble in the first place, right?”
The elevator was empty when we stepped inside and began to rise. I drew a deep breath, forcing down the sudden rage threatening to overwhelm me. “There’s a lot about this society that you don’t know and that you’ll never know. So please don’t go thinking that because you stared down an Alpha and got all snuggly with me that suddenly you’re an expert on me, my family and the Felis.” Unbidden a growl broke loose from my throat, a warning I hadn’t meant to send out.
His jaw dropped. Turning away from me, he crossed his arms, the leather sleeves flapping loose as the numbers flashed by on the screen.
I reached out and touched his elbow. “Bran, I didn’t mean...” I didn’t know what to say. How do you explain a culture, a society that evolved out of nothing more than the urge to survive and stay apart from the human race? Especially when I had shunned it for so long and now become a part of it again, against my will? There was no way I could explain it to him, the devotion I still had to the Felis, despite their treatment of me. Even if I couldn’t Change I was still Family.
Now I had gone and screwed up a perfectly decent relationship because I was an idiot. Never let it be said that I was the brightest one of the litter.
The elevator door slid open, the finely oiled doors not even making a hiss like all those old science-fiction movies. Brandon walked out without a word, stepping toward his front door without glancing back.
“Brandon!” A quick jog brought me beside him as he fumbled with the keys. “I’m not trying to be insulting. I’m just telling you that you can’t use me as a window into Felis society.” I slammed my hand onto the door, just above the handle. “I’m not part of it! I stopped being a part of it when they threw me out.”
The key slid into the lock, turning with little effort. He pushed the door open but remained standing outside with me.
“They threw me out when I was sixteen.” I stood behind him. “They threw me out into a world I had only read about. I knew nothing about what was out here. All I knew was that I was a misfit, a genetic throwback and I wasn’t good enough for them.”
The words caught in my throat. “I’ve spent over twenty years trying to forget that, all of it. So don’t think that I’m holding anything back or that I just don’t want to tell you. I’m caught in the middle here and I don’t know anything other than the fact that right now I would rather be anyplace else doing anything else. But I can’t.”
He didn’t look at me. “Are you trying to convince me or convince yourself?”
“I don’t know.” My shoulders sagged with the sudden weight that had somehow dropped onto them. “All I know is that you’re here and I’m here and I’d rather be anyplace else dealing with anything else with you.” A weak smile appeared on my lips. “Sort of schizo, I guess.”
“No.” Bran turned around to face me. His eyes flashed caramel for a second then warmed to dark chocolate brown. “I know a bit of what you’re experiencing. Been there done that. But you can’t let them define who and what you are.” He pointed at himself. “And you can’t let me do that either, otherwise it’s not going to work between us. You have to form your own group within the Felis, even if it’s just you and me.” His head tilted to one side. “Is any of this making sense?”
“Yes. And no.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll do my best, but just understand that some of this isn’t easy and it’s not going to be, ever.” I stretched my fingers to their full length then curled back into a fist. “Nothing is ever what it seems with the Felis. Nothing.”
Jazz appeared, weaving her way in and out between our legs with her usual loud and ugly purr. Bran reached down and picked her up, cradling her in his arms. “As long as you don’t tell me that I have to call her ‘Auntie.’ That’d be just a wee bit too much for me to handle.”
I chuckled, scratching Jazz behind the ears. “Not as far as I know. However, she does act like an old lady with attitude.”
The white cat let out an annoying meow as if to admonish the two of us then arched back out of Bran’s grip, making him lower her to the ground carefully.
“I’m going to go back online and see what I can get about Langley again.” Rubbing my eyes with my palms, I walked to the computer and began the start-up sequence. “There might be some sort of link somewhere that the Family hasn’t documented or something they haven’t been able to keep under wraps.”
“Can’t hurt to try.” Bran walked into the living room behind me. “I’ll work the phone lines again. I’ve got some connections at the cop shop—let’s see if Langley rings a bell with anyone.”
“He doesn’t have anything on his record.”
“Nothing that’s documented.” He touched his index finger to the side of his nose. “But who knows, maybe he’s been caught and warned away from some place or someone or something.” A lewd grin and wink accompanied his statement. “Never know when a cop’s gonna give a man a break ’cause he’s sympathetic to the perp. Especially when a woman’s involved.”
I rolled my eyes, spinning around in the chair. “Spare me.”
“Not a chance.” The low laugh came from behind me. “Not a chance, Reb.”
An hour later the phone rang. Bran picked it up, waving to me where I sat at the computer desk. “Thanks, Dave. Please send them up.” He tossed the phone onto the table. “Jess’s here along with Frank and Kelly. Sounds pissed.”
“That’s usual for her.” Walking into the kitchen, I stared at the complex machinery. “Can you start up a pot of coffee and a pot of tea? I think we’ll all need at least that much.”
“No problem. I don’t have any scones, however.” Bran grinned as I scowled a response. “Don’t get all kitty-PMS with me.”
“Oh, you have no idea.” I walked to the front door. “Just behave yourself. Frank’s not going to be happy being here and out of familiar territory and I don’t think Jess’s exactly nominating you for blood brother status anytime soon.”
The knock at the door brought us both back to business-form, Bran sliding across the varnished hardwood floor in his socks to reach it before me. Opening it with a wide smile, he gestured for Jess to enter.
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“Rebecca—Frank Langley. Kelly Langley.” Ignoring Brandon completely she waved in the two adults behind her, immediately taking control of the situation, the room and our lives. “We’ll sit over there.”
Jazz sat up from her position on the soft leather chair, yawning loudly when Jess approached. Picking up on the cues, she hopped off with a disgruntled meow and disappeared around the divider into the bedroom portion of the apartment.
Frank Langley was, to all intents and purposes, nothing more than a huge bear. Sitting on the sofa, he reminded me more of one of those Chinese pandas displayed in the papers every few years when they managed to procreate and continue the survival of their species. The balding, plump man sank into the cushions with a terrified look in his eyes. His wife sat next to him, grabbing his hand with an intensity screaming both fear and anger. She was blond and blue-eyed, a tastefully thin woman whose face was a mask waiting to be painted.
Jess didn’t sit, moving around to the kitchen area to make herself a cup of coffee. Taking a deep sniff of the fresh brew, her eyebrows rose in shock and approval. Bran retaliated by offering her milk from a small creamer plucked from the refrigerator. I tried to ignore the power play going on behind me, but I couldn’t help feeling a little pride in the way Bran was handling himself.
“Hello.” Moving to stand behind the coffee table I offered my hand to both adults. “My name’s Rebecca. Has Jess spoken to you about why you’re both here?”
“I’m... not sure.” Frank reached into one pocket of his oversized pants and pulled out a handkerchief that would have doubled as a tablecloth. “He said something ’bout Davis and some problems.”
Kelly sat up, her back ram-rod straight with her hands now folded in her lap. “We were at the Gathering earlier. It’s awful what happened to Ruth.” Her eyes flashed to one side, toward her husband. “Awful.”
I rubbed the centre of my forehead with my palm. “Right. Let’s just play this out, shall we?” Jess appeared in my peripheral vision, keeping to one side. “I’m investigating the death of Janey Winters, a teacher here in town. She was killed by a Felis.”
What God and Cats Know Page 18