by Amy Sumida
I rolled my eyes—there was nothing much to steal—but we let her lock the doors, then escorted her down to our vehicles. Carla was put in the back of one of the emptier SUVs. She sat there clutching her purse to her chest as if it might protect her. I caught her stare just before one of the extinguishers shut the door—something about her eyes made me nervous.
I leaned forward to say to Williams, “We'd probably better hurry.”
“Got it,” Williams stepped on the gas and we went screeching out of the parking structure.
Chapter Twenty-One
Alicia Waterhouse lived in a luxury apartment in downtown St. Louis, not far from her office. One of the extinguishers stayed in the SUV with Carla while the rest of us went into the building. Williams flashed his badge again and the security guard escorted us up to Alicia's apartment and opened the door for us. I really needed to get me one of those badges.
“Alicia Waterhouse?” Williams called out in a professional tone as we entered the apartment.
The security guard tried to follow us in but Raza firmly pushed him back into the hall and closed the door on him without a single word. The man didn't protest; even in human guise, Raza was intimidating. Conri took up a position in front of the door—arms crossed like a bouncer. Killian, Raza, Felix, and I left Conri there and spread out to search.
The apartment was spacious and bright, thanks to numerous windows and pale furnishings. It looked as if it had been taken straight from the pages of a magazine—absolutely pristine. Despite the size of the apartment, it took less than two minutes to determine that Alicia Waterhouse was not there. Extinguishers can see auras so even if she'd been hiding beneath an invisibility glamour, we would have spotted her.
While the rest of the team searched for evidence—some of them pulling out the scanning devices again—I nudged Conri aside and opened the front door. The security guard was still there, leaning up against the far wall, looking uncertain. He straightened in surprise when he saw me.
“When's the last time you saw Alicia Waterhouse?” I asked him.
He scrunched up his face in thought. Since he was an older man, this turned his face into something that resembled a shar pei. “About two days ago, I think. But that doesn't mean she ain't been here. I don't work twenty-four-seven. One of the other guys coulda been on.”
“Right. Do you have security cameras in the hallways?”
“Only the lobby.”
“We'll need the footage for the last month.”
“We only keep them for a week.” He gave me a sheepish grimace.
“That will have to do then,” I said. “Could you prepare it for us now?”
“Sure thing.” He frowned and tried to peer past my shoulder. “You're not gonna wreck anything like they do on TV are you?”
“No, Sir,” I assured him. “There's no reason for that.”
“Oh. Good. Okay. Could you lock up before you come down then?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then I'll have the footage for you at the front desk when you leave.” He turned and walked away, whistling to himself.
“Thank you,” I called after him, then closed the door again. I turned around and found Williams waiting for me. “Anything good?”
“Designer clothes, expensive toiletries, and a fridge stocked with champagne.” Williams offered. “All very good, I'm sure, but not for us. There's nothing really personal here. No photographs, no keepsakes, not even a fucking magnet on the fridge. This woman may be living it up but this only a place for her to stay, not her home.”
“There's no laptop or anything like that?” I asked as I wandered back into the living room.
The view from Alicia's apartment was exceptional, but I've never been much of a city girl and most fairies share my opinion. Fey generally preferred to live around nature and this woman had the money to live anywhere. So, it wasn't surprising that the apartment was only a part-time living situation for her. The question was: where did she really live?
“No, we haven't found a laptop or any files,” Williams answered me with a glance over his shoulder. “They're checking for secret rooms and hidden safes now.”
“Okay.” I looked over at Killian as he came walking up. “Should we install some surveillance equipment here or rely on the cameras in the lobby?”
“A bug up here wouldn't hurt,” Killian said.
“A bug?” Raza scowled in confusion.
“A small microphone,” I explained.
“We brought a surveillance kit with us,” Williams said. “I'll get it set up.”
“We'll need a team to monitor the apartment,” I pointed out.
“Nah. I'll install motion sensors too.” Williams grabbed one of the extinguishers. “Go get the surveillance kit from the trunk.”
“Yes, Sir.” The extinguisher ran off.
“I'm going to go and touch everything,” Killian declared and headed into the bedroom. “At least there are more options here.”
As I mentioned before, Killian can read the psychic energy left on inanimate objects. It's a tricky talent. Generally, he gets images of what the person was last doing with the object and/or what they were thinking at the time. It's often a lot of useless information but, occasionally, he got a glimpse of something important.
“I've got something!” Killian called from the bedroom a few minutes later.
Williams and I rushed down the hallway and into the bedroom, Raza following at a more sedate pace, but Killian wasn't in the bedroom. Several extinguishers were gathered around the door to the master bath. They moved aside for us, and I stepped into the bathroom where Killian stood in front of the sink. Above the counter, a gold-framed mirror had been pulled out on a hinge to reveal a hidden safe.
“Look what I found.” Killian shot me a smirk.
“It's a pretty standard safe,” said Extinguisher Bridget Kavanaugh as she peered around Raza's shoulder. “I should be able to get it open with a drill.”
“Not necessary.” Killian's smirk got cockier. “I caught the code in my vision too.” Kill tapped in a sequence of numbers and something clicked. He opened the safe and reached inside. “There's a bunch of cash here. Oh, and these.” He held up two, slim notebooks, then passed me one.
“It's initials, dates, and monetary amounts,” I said as I scanned the book. “RS—that could be Roma Stillson. I think this is a record of payments.” I handed the book to Williams.
“If that's a record of payments, then what the hell is this?” Killian muttered. “I've got dates, initials, and monetary amounts too but then there are numbers with 'ml' after them.”
“Milliliters,” I said. “Why... oh.”
“Oh?” Killian asked.
“It's a measurement of mucus,” Raza said as if it were obvious. He was leaning against the door frame, everyone else drawn back to give the dragon room.
“Please, never say those words again.” I made a face at Raza—an expression our daughter used when she found something particularly yucky.
Raza chuckled but then sobered and pointed at the book in Killian's hand. “That is another ledger—one that records payments to her suppliers.”
“Suppliers?” Extinguisher Sloane asked.
“The Alp Luachra. Or Alp Luachras—plural—by the look of it,” I explained. “She recorded the amount of goo they gave her and what she paid in exchange for it. At least she isn't holding them prisoner and forcefully harvesting it.”
“A goo farm.” Killian grimaced.
“Why don't you try reading that book in another way?” I prompted him.
Killian closed his eyes and concentrated. “I see her writing in it, that's all.” He opened his eyes. “Pass me the other one.”
Williams handed it to me and I gave it to Killian. He tried again.
“No. Just more of the same,” Kill said.
“We need to speak to the local Alp Luachras,” Raza concluded.
“What about the dealer?” Sloane asked.
“The de
aler would only lead us to Alicia.” I slid past Raza and got out of the bathroom. “Forget him for now. Raza's right, we need to find the goo fairies.”
“I think the Alp Luachras would be offended by that moniker, mo shíorghrá,” Raza said dryly.
“Oh, right. They're Unseelie, aren't they?” I asked.
“Yes,” Raza said. “But regardless of their race, they deserve some respect.”
“Unless they're part of a drug cartel that's been killing humans,” Sloane pointed out. “Then, I think the term goo fairy is on the tamer end of what I'll be calling them.”
Raza narrowed his eyes at Sloane. “So be it, but you will treat them fairly or you will deal with me.”
“I'm an extinguisher, I was trained to provide justice, not vengeance. I'll treat them fairly because my honor demands it, not because you just threatened me,” Sloane said crisply.
Everyone went still. Sloane set his shoulders as if expecting a blow.
He got one all right.
Raza grinned and slapped Sloane's shoulder in approval. “Good.”
Sloane cleared his throat and looked around at our team. “Let's get this place put back to rights, set up the surveillance, and vacate. Hopefully, our little bird will come back to her nest soon.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
The security guard had a disc of video footage waiting for us when we left. We advised him not to tell anyone of our visit, especially not Alicia Waterhouse, and then returned to our vehicles. Carla Mendoza was no longer needed so we sent her back to Enchanted Addictions with a few extinguishers who would set up more surveillance in the office. Williams advised Carla that we'd be watching and listening; any action on her part to warn Alicia Waterhouse would lead to her arrest. With her sufficiently cowed, we felt confident in allowing her to return to work.
The rest of us were tasked with finding the Alp Luachras.
“Any idea of where your fairies might hang out?” Williams asked Raza as we climbed into our SUV.
“In water,” Raza said as if it were obvious.
“There's a lot of that around these parts, starting with the Mississippi,” Williams said in the same tone. “Then there are lakes nearby and even a state park that's basically a natural water park.”
Raza's eyes widened. “Then it makes sense that Alp Luachras would congregate here. Unfortunately, that means that their group may be larger than I expected. We will not only have to find them but also find those specific Alp Luachras who are selling their secretions.”
“I wish people would stop saying words like secretions and mucus,” Conri muttered.
“You lick your own ass but you get disgusted by a word?” Felix asked dryly.
“I don't lick my own ass,” Conri growled.
“I've seen you.”
“That was my balls—big difference. You'd do the same if you could.”
“The Mississippi is the biggest river here,” Williams went on, ignoring my guards. “Should we start there?”
“That's the massive, muddy waterway just outside our hotel?” Raza asked.
“Yes.”
“No,” Raza said crisply.
“No?” Williams asked in surprise.
“No. Alp Luachras wouldn't live in that filth,” Raza explained. “We're looking for something cleaner. A pleasant, fresh body of water that people congregate around. The Alp Luachras will want a chance to feed.”
“Why don't we ask a local businessman?” Killian suggested as he fished out Drostan's card.
“A local businessman?” Williams asked.
“He's a fairy we know who lives in the area,” I explained. “We had dinner with him last night and he offered us a place to stay—the whole team actually. He also offered his help, should we need it. He says he has a lot of contacts here.”
“You have a friend here who could put us up and help us search St. Louis and you didn't mention it?” Williams asked with irritation.
“You're the locals.” I shrugged. “I figured you knew the area.”
“We do, but a fairy local is different. Especially if we're trying to find a bunch of fairies. And staying in someone's home, as opposed to a hotel, would be a lot easier. We wouldn't have to worry about humans in the rooms next door, for one thing.”
“Yeah and the guy's rich,” Killian added. “He probably has nice digs.”
I grimaced at Killian. “Just call him already.”
“It's already ring—hey, Drostan! It's Killian Blair.” Killian grinned as he listened. “Yeah, how'd you know.” A laugh. “That would be great. Uh, here's the thing, we're looking for Alp Luachras. You don't happen to—” Killian grinned broader. “You do, huh?” Another pause. “Sure, if you have time today that would be much appreciated.” Killian nodded even though he was on the phone. “Sweet! Yeah, we'll meet you there.” Killian hung up and snorted. “You were right, babe,” he said to me. “We ran into him for a reason. Drostan knows where the local Alp Luachras live.”
“Where?” Williams demanded.
“Forest Park, you know it?”
Williams huffed a laugh. “Do I know it? Yeah, it's right in the middle of St. Louis and its got a big lake in the center of it that branches out into rivers. A lot of shoreline to cover but significantly less than the Mississippi.”
“That's why Drostan's meeting us there. He said he'd show us the spots they frequent,” Killian said. “We're supposed to meet him at a boathouse.”
“The Boathouse,” Williams corrected as he started the car. “It's a restaurant that also rents boats. It's right on the main lake—Post-Dispatch.”
“Post dispatch?” I asked.
“That's the name of the lake.” Williams looked over at Sloane in the front passenger's seat to say, “Call the others and let them know where we're headed.”
Extinguisher Lance Sloane made the call and our two SUVs wound their way through St. Louis toward Forest Park. We'd been driving for a good fifteen minutes when Sloane's phone rang.
“Sloane,” he said brusquely. Then he growled, “What?”
Williams kept driving but glanced at Sloane in concern.
Sloane looked back at Williams. “Carla Mendoza is dead. Someone shot her as our people were walking her back into the office. Long-range. They have a fucking sniper.”
“We've been made,” I concluded. “Get our people out of there. There's no sense in watching that place now. Waterhouse won't be returning.”
“Handle the body, then return to the hotel and await further orders,” Sloane said into the phone. “Good.” He hung up and said to us, “They're cleaning the scene now. They'll leave the body for the cops. I'll call the Chief of Police; he'll take care of it.” Sloane started dialing.
Yes, there were council members in all sorts of convenient jobs.
“Carla must have known more than she was letting on,” Killian said softly.
“Williams, where's all the stuff you took from Carla's desk?” I asked him.
“In the back.”
Conri reached back, grabbed a duffel bag, and passed it to me.
“Thanks,” I murmured as I opened it and rooted around until I found the Rolodex. I started flipping through it.
“What are you looking for?” Killian asked.
“I have no idea but if they killed her, she must have something on them.”
“Yes, and it's likely in her head,” Raza noted.
“Which is now bleeding all over a parking stall,” Sloane growled.
“Looking won't hurt.” I continued to flip the cards.
By the time we reached Forest Park, I had gone through the entire Rolodex and found nothing more than restaurants, utility companies, and a plumber.
“Nothing,” I growled. Then I remembered that Williams had taken Carla's cellphone too. “Hold on, there's one more place to look.”
I fished out the cellphone, put in the code, and scanned Carla's recent texts. There was nothing from her employer so I searched her address book. No Alicia or Waterhouse l
isted but I did find a number without a name attached, just the initials EA. I assumed it was for Enchanted Addictions and likely was the office number but I tried it anyway.
“Do you have something?” Raza asked as he watched me.
“Maybe. Hold on, babe, it's ringing.”
“Hello?” a soft voice answered, too low to distinguish anything but sex; it was definitely a woman.