Dead to Me (The Harry Russo Diaries Book 5)

by Lisa Emme

  Tess threw out her hand, grabbing the door. “What’s your deal, Harry? Didn’t you hear the lady?”

  The door slid back open and Jonah stepped in, a smirk on his face.

  “Sorry, ma’am,” Tess said, stepping to the side to let Jonah in. She was talking to his chest rather than looking up to his face as if the person she thought she saw was much shorter.

  I waited for the doors to slide shut and then looked around the elevator. Spying the security camera, I gave it a little push with my telekinesis, pointing it up to the ceiling and then turned back to Jonah.

  “Are you following me or something?”

  “Harry! What’s gotten into you?" Tess turned to Jonah. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why my friend is being so rude.”

  “That’s quite all right, dearie,” Jonah replied, reaching out to pat Tess’s hand.

  “Oh, enough already. Show yourself or I’ll find a way to make you.” I pushed the emergency stop button on the panel and the elevator jerked to a halt. A buzzer began to sound.

  Jonah leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, ignoring the noise. “And how would you go about doing that, I wonder?”

  He must have let the glamour drop though, because before I could come up with an answer, Tess gasped. In a blink of an eye, she had her gun out, levelling it at Jonah’s head.

  “What the…? Who the hell is this?" Tess slid over a step to stand between me and Jonah, never taking her eyes off him.

  “Tess, meet Jonah. Jonah, meet Tess.” I pressed the cancel button and the elevator started to move again.

  The gun in Tess’s hand wavered, but she kept it trained on Jonah. “Jonah? The Jonah?”

  “Why Harry, whatever have you been saying about me?”

  “Only that you’re a pain in the ass and have an ego almost the size of Tomas’s.” I turned to Tess, putting a hand on her gun arm. “You can put away your little pink gun. You won’t need to shoot him, at least not this time.”

  The elevator dinged, having reached our desired floor, and the doors slid open so we stepped out.

  “I knew it. I knew you were here.” Nash’s voice rumbled down the hall. He stood in front of an open apartment door with Dev, his partner from homicide.

  “Crap. They must have passed us in the other elevator,” Tess mumbled.

  “Harry, what are you doing here? You can’t be here interfering in a police investigation.” Nash scowled at me as we approached.

  “Actually,” Tess said, pulling a folded piece of paper from her pocket. “TBD Investigations represents the insurance company on the high-rise heists and we’re here representing their interests.” She thrust the letter at Nash.

  Nash grabbed the paper and scanned it, his face becoming stormier with each word he read. He pushed the letter back at Tess. “I don’t see what this has to do with the burglaries. It looks like an apparent suicide.”

  “Sorry, it’s a homicide,” I replied.

  “And you know that because?”

  “Cyndy told me.”

  “Cyndy. Cyndy Bartlett of apartment fifteen-ten?

  I glanced at Cyndy who had reappeared outside her apartment door and she nodded. “Yep, that’s the one.”

  Nash growled something unintelligible and turned away, running a hand through his hair. He turned back and looked at Jonah. “And what about you? Why are you here at another of my crime scenes?”

  Unaffected by Nash’s grouchy demeanor, Jonah shrugged. “I believe your victim, the cat burglar, stole something of value from the prey I am seeking.”

  Ha! Interesting. That was the most information about what Jonah was doing here in Riverton that I’d heard yet.

  Nash was shaking his head. “My life used to be so much easier,” he mumbled. He ran another hand through his hair, letting out a long, slow breath. “Okay, you’ve got about five minutes before the crime scene guys arrive and then you have to get the hell out of here.” He turned to me. “What did you learn from Cyndy? Does she know who pushed her from the balcony?”

  “No, she doesn’t remember.”

  “Of course, she doesn’t.”

  “But she did admit to being the ‘high-rise heist artist’, those are her words. And she said she would tell us where she hid all the loot if we take care of her bird.”

  “Her bird?”

  “Yeah, she uses a raven to case the places–”

  Nash put up a hand. “You know what? I don’t want to know right now. We don’t have time. Just do what you have to do and then go.” He stepped back, gesturing that we could enter the apartment. “But don’t touch anything until you get the go-ahead from me,” he added with a growl.

  Tess and I hurried into the apartment, immediately coming to a halt when we saw the destruction. The place had been ransacked, furniture overturned and ripped apart. It reminded me of what Bryce’s apartment had looked like back when he was murdered by someone searching for a video he had made.

  “Whoa.” Tess gaped at the mess.

  “What the hell happened to my place?" Cyndy flitted from one side of the room to the other.

  I turned to Jonah. “I think you might be on to something with your theory about the burglar. It sure looks like they were searching for something. What is it?”

  Jonah nodded, distracted. I don’t think he even heard my question. He walked across the room slowly, like he was trying to sense something.

  Tap.

  Tap.

  Tappity.

  Tap.

  The rapping on the window made me jump, the sound echoing across the room. I looked over at the glass doors leading out to the balcony. Lucifer, the raven, hopped up and down outside on the cement floor, pecking at the glass.

  “Lucifer!” Cyndy hovered at the door. “Oh, poor Lucifer. He won’t understand why I’m gone.”

  “I’m sorry, Cyndy,” I replied, feeling genuinely sad for her and the bird. “I’ll take care of him. I promise.”

  “Ask her about the loot,” Tess whispered.

  “The jewellery isn’t here,” Cyndy replied hoarsely, wiping a non-existent tear away.

  “What? But you said–”

  “I never said it was here. I told you my apartment number and you assumed.”

  “But if the jewellery isn’t here, why did we have to come up?”

  “What?" Tess gasped. “It’s not here?”

  “To get Lucifer, of course. Now let him in. It’s past his breakfast.”

  I eyed the big, black bird, pecking at the sliding door. “He won’t attack us or anything, will he?”

  “Of course not! He’s a very smart bird.” Cyndy searched around the room. “Here. This is his perch. Set it up and he’ll fly to it and you can give him his breakfast.” She flitted towards the kitchen. “I usually give him some kibble and apples in the morning. And there’s a kitty-carrier in the hall closet. I put him in there when he needs to travel in the car.”

  “How am I supposed to get him to go in there?”

  “Harry, will you tell me what the hell is going on?" Tess paced towards me impatiently.

  “Just a sec,” I replied to Tess.

  “Put the kibble in the carrier and he’ll hop right in.”

  I huffed out a breath. How do I get myself into these things? I shook my head and turned to the doorway where Nash stood scowling. “Hey Nash, is it okay if I pick the bird perch up and get some kibble from the cupboard? Oh, and I have to get a pet carrier out of the closet.”

  Nash grunted in exasperation. “Here, put these on first.” He pulled a pair of black gloves from his pocket.”

  Dev handed a pair to Tess.

  We gloved up and then I explained to Tess what Cyndy had told me. While Tess set the perch up, I rooted through the cupboards until I found the kibble and then went down the hall to find the pet carrier. The closet was towards the end of the hall, right before the bedroom. I paused at the bedroom door and peeked in. It had been trashed too. Jonah stood in the middle of the room, hands held up at chest height, his
eyes closed. It looked like he was leading a congregation in benediction or something.

  He cracked open an eye. “Do you mind, luv? I need to concentrate and you’re distracting.”

  “Sorry. I’ll grab what I came for and we’ll be gone.”

  I returned to the living room and approached the glass doors. Lucifer had stopped pecking at the window when he saw Tess set up his perch. Instead he cocked his head from side to side, watching us move around the room.

  “Okay,” I said. “I’m going to open the balcony door now.” I glanced at Tess, who nodded that she was ready. “Nash? Maybe you should shut the hall door, just in case he takes off.”

  Nash let out another exasperated sound, but pushed the door shut, standing in front of it with his arms crossed. “Tick-tock, Harry.”

  “Alright, alright.” Taking a deep breath, I slowly slid open the door. Lucifer hopped back away from me the moment the door started moving. When I slid it to a stop, leaving it open, he hopped forward to the threshold, but didn’t cross over. He cocked his head, letting out a low chirruping sound.

  “Come on, Lucy,” I encouraged. “There’s a good bird.” I took a step back, away from the door. “Look, there’s your perch. There’s your food.” I backed up slowly, not wanting to scare him.

  CAW!

  CAW!

  Lucifer unfurled his wings, flapping them twice, before settling back down again.

  CAW!

  He took a little hop-skip and stepped in over the threshold.

  CAW!

  He launched himself towards Tess and the perch. Tess ducked, letting out a little shriek, covering her hair with her arms as he swooped over her head and then down onto the perch.

  CA-CAW!

  “Quick, Harry! Show him the food.” Tess gestured at the bowl I had put in the carrier.

  I reached in and pulled out the bowl, giving it a shake. “Here Lucy, there’s a nice big bowl of kibble for you. Come on. Come get it.” I put the bowl back in the carrier and stood back.

  Lucifer tipped his head from side-to-side, looking at everyone suspiciously. He made another low chirruping sound and then suddenly launched himself into the air, flying straight towards me.

  “Crap!” I squealed, ducking and throwing my arms out.

  His talons wrapped around my forearm, as he settled his weight on it. I steadied my arm, gaping at him in surprise.

  CAW!

  “What the hell? It took me weeks to get him to do that with me,” Cyndy said, her voice sounding angry.

  “I think he likes you, Harry.”

  “Oh joy,” I replied, eyeing the big, black bird. “Uh, nice bird, good bird.”

  Lucifer tilted his head, staring at me with one eye at a time.

  Nash, who had moved closer when it looked like I was about to be attacked by the bird, picked up the pet carrier and placed it on the kitchen counter. “Here, Harry. See if you can get him to go in now. You’ve got to leave.”

  I walked over slowly, my arm already aching from holding the weight of the bird, and showed him the carrier.

  “Here you go, Lucifer. Be a good boy and hop in and I’ll give you a treat when we get to my house. In you go. Go on.”

  Thankfully, he hopped off my arm and onto the counter, suspicious of the carrier.

  “Go on,” I coaxed. “You’re going to have a new home. Trust me, you’ll like it.”

  CA-CAW!

  The raven took a step towards the carrier and I held my breath. He pecked at the plastic crate and then with one last chirrup, hopped inside. Relieved, I quickly slammed the door shut, locking it in place. Lucifer squawked, his wings battering the sides of the crate, but then he finally settled down.

  “Well done,” Jonah said, his voice coming from behind me. He must have finished whatever he was doing in the bedroom.

  Nash looked at Jonah. “Did you get what you need?”

  Jonah shrugged noncommittally.

  “Great,” Nash replied. “Now everyone get the hell out of my crime scene.”

  “Wait!” Tess threw out her hands to stop everyone. “What about the stolen items?”

  I glanced at Cyndy, who was still sulking about Lucifer, and she let out an exasperated noise. “Fine. Everything is in my storage locker at the U-Store-It on Taylor. You need the gate code and the locker combination. The gate code is–”

  “Hold on. Hold on. I need a pen.” I waved my hand, hoping someone had one.

  Nash rolled his eyes and pulled a pen from his notebook, handing it to me.

  “Okay. Go,” I said to Cyndy.

  “The gate code is 78466 and the combo is 12281995.”

  I grabbed Tess’s hand and scribbled the two numbers on her palm before handing the pen back to Nash. “Thanks,” I said to him and he grunted in reply.

  I carefully picked up the pet carrier and Lucifer squawked at me. “Let’s go, Tess.”

  “No,” Nash said. He pointed at me and Jonah. “You two, get out of here. You,” he pointed at Tess, “stay and wait for Michaels from Robbery to get here so you can fill him in on how you were able to solve the burglaries before he did.”

  I threw Tess an apologetic shrug and gestured with my hand that she should call me when she was done, and then followed Jonah out the door. I could feel Nash’s eyes on me all the way down the hall, but I didn’t look back.

  The elevator dinged as we approached it, and the doors opened to release three crime scene techs and all their gear. Jonah, stepped to the side, letting them pass.

  When one of the men tipped his hat and muttered, “Excuse me, ma’am,” I knew that Jonah’s glamour was back. I shook my head, stepping into the elevator, and Jonah followed suit.

  “It must get tiring,” I said, once the doors had slid shut.

  “What must?”

  “Always being someone else.”

  “But I’m always myself,” Jonah answered, his eyes twinkling. He took out his sunglasses and held them out to me. “Here, you better take these.” When I stared at the glasses in confusion, he added, “I noticed the light was bothering you earlier. It’ll get easier.”

  “What will?”

  “The bright sun, the loud sounds. Your vision and hearing are becoming hypersensitive. It can be a bit disorienting, when your powers first start to develop.”

  “Yeah, of course. I knew that,” I hedged, grabbing the sunglasses. “Thanks. I just forgot mine.”

  The elevator jerked to a stop and the doors opened. I rushed out so fast I accidentally banged the pet carrier against the door and Lucifer squawked in protest.

  “Sorry, Lucifer,” I muttered, striding ahead of Jonah.

  “Here, let me carry that to your truck for you.”

  “I can manage.”

  “Come on, what sort of gentleman would I be to let you carry that heavy box when we’re going in the same direction?”

  “I thought you’d be in a rush to get to the storage facility to search for your missing item before Tess and the cops arrived. I’m sure you managed to catch the numbers I wrote down for her.”

  Jonah grinned. “Yeah, but I really am parked near you. It’s the least I can do.” He reached out and took the carrier from me, being careful not to touch my hand, I noticed.

  He stopped at my truck and waited for me to unlock it and then set Lucifer’s crate onto the passenger seat. Lucifer chirruped a few times, but otherwise didn’t seem to mind.

  “Thanks,” I said. “For the glasses, too.” I pulled them off and held them out, squinting in the bright light. “I’ll be okay once I’m in the truck.”

  “Keep them,” Jonah replied, pushing them back towards me. “I’ll get them from you next time I see you.”

  I gratefully put them back on – the sunlight was really bright. I couldn’t believe it never dawned on me that I was reacting to all the loud sounds and bright lights because of my newly amped up powers. I needed an owner’s manual or something.

  I hopped into the truck and fired it up, rolling down the passenger
window. Jonah leaned inside. “Thanks again,” I said. I debated for a moment whether to say what I was thinking, and then decided why the hell not, and added, “You know, what I meant to say in the elevator was that it must get pretty lonely, hardly ever getting to be yourself with anyone.”

  Jonah blinked, and I could tell I had hit a nerve, but he merely shrugged and thumped the doorframe. “Until next time, Harry.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Next time, you get to spend hours and hours being grilled by the police,” Tess moaned, taking another swig of her beer.

  “No thanks, I’ve had my share of police interrogations already. Besides, I think you’re going to be well paid for the inconvenience.”

  Tess had managed to concoct a believable story for Detective Michaels to convince him that she had found the stash of stolen property from the burglaries and was able to lead him to the storage locker. The contents of the locker had been a revelation. It seems Cyndy was even a more prolific thief than they originally gave her credit. Not only did they find all the jewelry and items stolen from the recent cat burglaries, there was a mound of high end electronics and art stolen several years previously but never attributed to a single thief. The insurance company was going to be cutting Tess a very large check.

  I stuffed another Samoa – Tess had found a girl scout cookie connection – in my mouth and chewed noisily. We were up on the rooftop sitting around the fire pit, drinking beer and eating junk food, waiting for Max to arrive with the pizza.

  “Pass the pretzels, will ya?" Tess made a show of making minimal effort to try and reach them.

  I grabbed the bag, tossing it to her.

  CAW!

  CAW!

  Lucy – I couldn’t bring myself to keep calling him Lucifer – hopped-skipped along the half-wall running the perimeter of the roof, sidling closer to Tess.

  “Heads up, bird,” she said, tossing a pretzel backwards over her head.

  Lucy hopped into the air flapping his wings to snag the flying treat, landing on the roof with a muffled squawk.

  “Will you quit feeding him junk food? You’re going to make him sick.”

  As if understanding what I said, Lucy tossed the pretzel in the air catching it again, showing off. He seemed to enjoy playing with them as much as he did eating them.