Pale Wings Protecting

by Lesley Davis

  “You stage the scene?”

  “It’s what we do best to cover demon tracks.”

  Blythe shook her head. “What kind of world have we been ushered into, Rafe?”

  “The kind where shades of gray are the new normal. It’s the greatest cover-up the world has happening every second of every day. Congratulations, you’ve just gotten ringside seats to the madness.”

  Blythe looked at the baby in her arms. She thought of all they’d been through, all she’d seen, and what was to come. She searched his face, marveled at the dark hair that covered his head in tiny spikes. Had it been worth opening this world’s Pandora’s Box for her to see all the evils unleashed? The little boy woke up and stared up at her, his face crinkling as he yawned.

  Yes.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Still riding on the euphoria of handing over the baby to his mother and her grateful delight, Blythe had to forcibly switch gears in her head to get her mind focused on what lay back at the crime scene. She was grateful Lake, Caldow, and Browning had taken their own SUV to the scene. It had saved her and Daryl having to report anything without Rafe and Ashley ready to corroborate their stories. Lake hadn’t wanted to question them too much in front of the grateful mother and the local police who had gathered at her home at Lake’s instigation. One of the local police department cars was following behind them and a coroner’s van had been called to the scene. Police had been sent to arrest Mia Connelly for her involvement.

  Ashley met them all as they entered the agency’s parking lot. Blythe introduced her to Lake. Ashley walked him and the other police officer through the scene. Rafe joined her, and Blythe was impressed at how their professionalism disarmed Lake. Blythe knew he was still fuming over having the case taken out of his hands and being told to step back. Blythe could hear Rafe explaining why to him.

  “Ashley had information that Lailah had tried to set up this adoption scam in Chicago originally but had skipped town when she couldn’t find the right partner. There’d been a few aborted attempts at child snatching, so when Ashley got the call that something was actually happening here we had to come check it out to see if it was related.” Rafe paused at the edge of the crime scene. The local Crime Scene Investigators were setting up their equipment to gather their evidence. “When we heard she had a healthy distrust of men, we felt we had to make this a women-only worked case. The damn woman seemed to have a strange sixth sense when it came to males, and I reckon had your team been here she would have bolted and we’d have been left with nothing.” Rafe nodded her head in deference to Lake. “So thank you for letting us take the lead. We owe you one. You’ve got my number. Call it in anytime.”

  Blythe was mesmerized by Rafe’s performance. Rafe spun such a convincing tale that Daryl, standing beside Blythe, nudged her.

  “Did you know any of that?” she whispered.

  “It’s all made up,” Blythe whispered back. “Rafe told me she’d have to fabricate something believable to cover the fact they had to stop my team from being here tonight for the hand over.”

  “Do you think he’ll swallow it?”

  Blythe looked over at the dead body of Lailah lying on the gravel. A bullet hole was neatly drilled into her skull. She couldn’t help wonder how Rafe had pulled that off to fool the crime scene team who were taking their measurements and photographing the scene. She had a feeling Rafe had played this game before. She feared she was going to have to learn the rules to it now.

  “He has no reason not to. Our part of the story of what happened is entirely true. Rafe says that the more truth told, the more the untruths get to slip by.”

  “I have a feeling life for us altered irrevocably tonight.” Daryl was looking to where Virgil was standing beside Eli as they watched Ashley and Rafe walk Lake and his team around.

  “I hate knowing Rafe and Ashley have been dealing with this knowledge alone for so long without being able to talk about it.” Blythe couldn’t imagine the stress that must have caused Rafe. She thought of how bad she had felt keeping what she had learned from Daryl, and her chest ached in remembrance.

  “Do you really feel comfortable knowing there are real demons running around?” Daryl asked quietly.

  Blythe leaned into her, seeking her warmth and her solid presence. “I feel comfortable knowing we have angels that protect us. Virgil saved you and the baby tonight.” Blythe’s hand slipped to touch Daryl’s back. She had watched Daryl removing the ruined jacket and peeling off her shredded shirt. All that marred her back were the faint lines of where the demon’s talons had scored through her flesh. They would fade in time. The presence of demons would not.

  “Would you really have let me go if I couldn’t have understood your true calling?” Blythe was astonished by how strongly Daryl had wanted to keep her safe, no matter what it had cost them.

  “Yes,” Daryl said softly, capturing Blythe’s eyes. “And I would have died a thousand times if I’d had to watch you walk away from me.”

  “The only walking I’ll be doing is right by your side, my love,” Blythe said, wanting desperately to take Daryl into her arms and reassure her everything was going to be fine now. She spotted Lake heading in their direction. “It’s show time, Detective. Hope you’ve remembered your lines.”

  *

  The flight back to New York was oddly subdued given the successful outcome of the case. Daryl and Blythe had given their account of what had happened at the agency. Serena Miller had been led away from her business and placed into the back of a police van. Daryl had seen her catch sight of the body of her business partner left in place while forensics worked their magic. When Daryl and Blythe had joined Serena in an interrogation room, Serena obviously had decided to lay all the blame at the dead woman’s feet and at her lover, Mia. She’d at first pretended to have no knowledge of the truth behind each child’s abduction. Daryl let her spin a tale of how every woman had agreed to give up her child and watched her play the concerned adoption agency manager who wouldn’t deal with such a crime.

  It wasn’t until Daryl brought up the existence of her daughter, whom they knew had been stolen, that Daryl finally saw realization dawn on Serena’s face. She knew Serena finally got it; the truth was out. She wasn’t going home to her child anytime soon and now that they knew the little girl was yet another kidnapped child there was little possibility Serena would ever lay eyes on her daughter again. One by one, Serena gave up the new names of the children Lailah had stolen. She furnished them with the names of the couples that had wanted a baby so badly they had been prepared to pay anything they could to have a family.

  She spoke in detail about the deals she had brokered with each one, using Mia’s knowledge of the Heights and its people, and how they had been matched with the child just perfect for them. It had been a perfect setup. Lailah had stolen the necessary children to make a family whole, and Serena had made sure no one would ever find out about the lack of legality. Daryl had been amazed by how little feeling Serena had for the birth mothers. She’d seen a need in the marketplace, one she could use to her advantage, and grow wealthy in the process. The lesbians were a means to an end, they wanted the children, Serena wanted their money. By the end of the interview, Daryl didn’t know which was worse, the demon that had taken the children, or the human who felt perfectly justified in selling the stolen children as she saw fit. She found both equally abhorrent and evil.

  Serena Miller was left in the custody of the Connecticut police. Mia had already spilled her side of the story in another interrogation room. Ashley had stepped back to let Lake take over the case again, as she didn’t want to be too involved with the legal side. Her part was done. It fell back onto Daryl’s investigation, and Daryl was immensely gratified to see it brought to a close. Serena Miller wouldn’t escape a harsh sentencing. As for Lailah, she was dead to this world and banished in another. Daryl felt those were fitting punishments for both sides of Lailah’s character. She’d had a chance to see the body in the morgue a
nd had been amazed by how human Lailah looked when she had seen what had stepped out from the human flesh. Virgil had stayed silently by her side as she examined the face of the woman who had shown her both kindness and then the depths of pure evil. She couldn’t help but wonder how many more demons were out there hiding behind human eyes. Daryl was eternally thankful for Virgil’s presence.

  The return to their house at Cranston Heights had been swift and under cover of darkness. Lake had ordered them to gather their personal belongings and leave the rest to the clean up team that would remove all traces of their operation from the house. Daryl had felt bad that they couldn’t say good-bye to the neighbors they had spent so much time getting to know, but she understood the necessity of leaving without a word. Because of Daryl’s investigation, families were going to have their children removed from their houses and returned to their biological parent. It also pained her to leave the house that had become hers and Blythe’s. She had loved living there, sharing a life with Blythe, fitting into society, and falling in love. It had been very hard closing the front door behind them and walking away without a backward glance.

  “You do realize that when the story gets out, everyone will think we got caught up in the baby buying sting?” Blythe said from her seat beside Daryl. “We’re going to be the talk of the Heights, the couple that skipped town in the dead of night.”

  “Our role wasn’t exactly something we could have explained to the neighbors. Especially given what is now going to happen because of it. I don’t think I could have stood seeing Niki’s reaction to what her wife was involved with behind her back.”

  “I feel so sorry for Liz and Claire,” Blythe said as if reading Daryl’s thoughts.

  “I do too. But this is where I have to step back. I found Matthew Malone. Their son Justin doesn’t really exist.”

  “It’s going to be a horrible ordeal having to part these children from the parents who wanted them so desperately.”

  “Just as awful as for those mothers who had their children stolen from them at the time when the mother and baby bond grows.”

  “It’s a no-win situation, isn’t it?” Blythe closed her file and placed it on the table before her. She checked her watch. “We should be landing soon.”

  “We go back to the DDU and then what?”

  “We make sure Lake has all he needs from us and then hopefully we get a few days off to decompress before it’s back to work as normal. New cases are piling up. We need to move on to the next case in the stack.” Blythe leaned over and squeezed Daryl’s hand. “But you are coming home with me and we’re going to talk.”

  “That sounds serious, Agent Kent.”

  “It is.” Blythe ran her thumb over the wedding ring Daryl still wore. “I like seeing this on you.”

  “I love wearing it.”

  “Then we need to talk about you thinking that leaving me because you have an angel by your side was the only way we could continue.”

  Daryl looked suitably chastised. “I didn’t want you hurt by the world I was going to be a part of.”

  “I was more hurt by you thinking I wouldn’t choose to be by your side no matter what the world throws at us.”

  “I told you I had no experience in relationships.”

  “Then aren’t you lucky I know enough to keep you by my side so we can learn together?” Blythe leaned closer. “I love you, Daryl, and I’d love you if your talent for finding kids was pure luck and wishful thinking. But it isn’t, and I’m still staying right by your side where I belong.”

  Daryl grasped Blythe’s hand and pressed a firm kiss upon her knuckles. “I’m sorry. I just love you too much to want you dragged into a world where demons live.”

  “I wasn’t dragged. I walked in freely holding your hand. You’ll learn soon enough it’s you and me, babe, against the world.”

  Daryl smiled, finally at peace. “Do you think Lake would even consider taking me on now? Seeing as the first case we work on together had two other women muscling in on the investigation and resulted in a suspect being both dead and banished.”

  Blythe smiled. “I’d wager you salacious sexual favors that he has a desk cleared for you in the office just in case you ask for a job on our team.”

  “Sexual favors, eh?” She bit her lip in thought and caught the flame of desire spark in Blythe’s dark eyes. “We’ll talk about how salacious when we get back to your apartment.”

  “I love your way of thinking, Detective Chandler.”

  Daryl brought Blythe’s hand up to her lips again and kissed where the wedding band sat on her finger. “And I love you. We’ll sort this out to both our satisfactions, I promise you.”

  Chapter Thirty-four

  The office was silent save for the flipping of pages as Nathan Lake read Daryl’s report. She sat the other side of his desk, her attention drawn to the view from Lake’s window. The sight of row upon row of glassed skyscrapers was still daunting to a detective more used to a rural setting to conduct her business. She turned her head away from the grand architecture and looked out the other window the office afforded. Daryl focused in on Blythe. She sat at her desk and was laughing at something Trace was telling her. Daryl couldn’t help but stare as the pleasure lit up Blythe’s face. She had never seen anyone more beautiful.

  “Judging by the look on your face, Detective, I’m guessing I stand a better chance of offering you a job here in New York City now.”

  Busted, Daryl swung back around to face Lake. “Would I still be welcome on your team seeing as I will be actively dating one of your agents?”

  “I’m well aware of Blythe’s views on that matter. My best agent is ready to pack and move to Vermont if you turn down anything I offer.”

  Daryl shook her head. “I’m going to have my hands full with that woman.” She noticed Lake didn’t disagree with her. She let out a small sigh. “My dad is going to kill me for leaving behind my own desk and nameplate on the door to become what is essentially a foot soldier in someone else’s army.”

  “You’ll be more than just another body, Daryl. We all have our own strengths here. You’ll be adding your unique talents to a much wider system of investigations. You’ll have the whole of the United States caseload at your fingertips. I’d say you working with us this time proved to be very beneficial. The feds had to acknowledge their screw-up and do an about-face at your results. I’ve heard tell of a certain head getting ready to roll concerning that screw-up. Though I’m still disgruntled that some of us were consigned to the bench by the unexpected arrival of the Chicago contingent.”

  Daryl chewed at her lip as she considered the best way to broach her next question. “How would you feel if that particular scenario raised its ugly head again in the course of an investigation?”

  “Is there an actual chance of that occurrence?”

  Daryl shrugged. “Who knows?” She knew better though. Her world, along with Rafe and Ashley’s, were now inexplicably linked.

  “I remember Ashley Scott from an old case Blythe was in on years ago. She’s an unusual private investigator. She does the job but doesn’t seem to stick around much after the dust has settled.”

  “I don’t think she’s the stay in one place kind of girl. Although, now that she’s settled with Rafe, that may have changed.”

  “Ah yes, Detective Douglas. The same one who just happens to be Blythe’s best friend. How curious was that?”

  “Pretty damn strange.” Daryl knew the irony of it all was lost on him. “Douglas is a detective, Blythe’s an agent, both work in the Deviant Data Unit. I guess their paths had to cross eventually.”

  “And they crossed right into your investigation. How did that make you feel?”

  Daryl tried not to grin at his blatant attempt to interrogate her. She’d lived long enough with Blythe to recognize that tactic when it was employed. “I’m glad they were there to assist at the end. They had their own leads to follow up on. They got as much closure to the case as I did. It was a win/win si
tuation. I have no regrets whatsoever about working with them. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

  Lake appraised her silently for a moment. “Your mother once told me that if I ever got you to work with me I was never to question how you did what you can do.”

  Daryl tensed at his quiet revelation.

  “If that’s all it takes to get you on my team so I finally have your considerable expertise in the DDU, then I won’t question your methods. Be it your hunches, your amazing knowledge of locations out of the blue, or your steadfast belief that you know exactly where someone is and can lead us to them. I won’t even question your acceptance of two interlopers who shut me out of my part in your investigation.”

  Daryl couldn’t help herself. She laughed at his unshakable irritation at being pushed aside by Rafe and Ashley. “With all due respect, sir, you might want to suck that up and move past it. You might have to get used to those interlopers interfering again.”

  Lake rolled his eyes heavenward. “Damn it. That’s pretty much what Douglas said to me.” He looked out his office window at his people. “Is Blythe all right with all this?”

  Daryl nodded. “She’s willing to give it a try, sir.”

  “I asked your mother when you were younger if you were psychic. She laughed and said you were so much more than I would ever understand. She said you were your father’s daughter and that meant, some day, you’d make a mighty fine detective.”

  Daryl smiled at his comment. She could all but hear her mother’s soft voice getting her point across. “I’m not psychic, Nathan. I’m just able to find lost children among all the other investigations I get placed before me.”

  “I’ve said I won’t ask. But I do want you to bring your talents to the DDU.” He walked over to the window facing the city. “I don’t have any special powers myself, but I’d be a fool not to recognize that there’s something more than usual happening on the streets. I can sense it, feel it almost.”