“That’s good enough for me. Now we just need to find a way to prove that he was responsible for her death.”
I unlocked the car door. “I don’t think it will be as easy as that. I mean he’s not likely to confess and he might have had someone do it for him.”
Jade pulled a face. “I’ll think of something.”
15
Jade
I stared at the crime scene photos for the millionth time. Who killed someone like that? Its sick. You would have to be a real callous bastard to do that to anyone. I felt sorry for Kandy. No matter what she was or had done, she didn’t deserve to end up in a dumpster.
Reynolds got angry when he saw her picture, that had to mean he was involved in her death. If he came to watch her dance, I couldn’t imagine that would make him angry. So she must have done something or heard something and maybe she tried to blackmail him. That would certainly be motive enough to kill her. Or at least have her killed.
I finally had a chance to properly look through Kandy’s phone. She didn’t have much social media, but she did have an Instagram account. It was mostly pictures of her posing in various revealing outfits. Most of the contacts in her phone were men’s names but one caught my eye. Daddy.
I never thought of Kandy having a family but of course she must have. Did he know his daughter was dead? I doubted it. He would probably think she was missing, never knowing the truth. I wondered if something ever happened to me, how Malcolm would feel. He didn’t know me, never knew I existed until I showed up on his doorstep, but he did want me to live at the compound with him. He must feel something for me.
Even if Kandy and her father didn’t have a good relationship, he deserved to know the truth. I pressed the call button, wondering what I would say. Guess I would wing it.
Someone answered after the third ring. “Hello?”
“Hello. You don’t know me but I’m calling about Kandy. I’m afraid I have some bad news.
“Urgh, is she cancelling on me again?”
They must have had plans together.
“Something happened to her…” I hesitated. How could I tell him his daughter was dead?
“Never mind, you’ll do. So tell me…have you been a bad girl?”
It took me a second to catch on. “Gross.” I quickly hung up, tossing the phone onto the desk. I clearly assumed Daddy was something far more innocent. I should have known better. “That’s the last time I do anything nice.”
Harry trudged back in, looking tired. “I take it you haven’t had any luck?” I asked.
“No, I’ve talked to everyone I can think of and I cannot find out what Reynolds is.”
“What if I go undercover? Try and get close to this guy?”
“That seems like a bad idea. He already saw you, he might suspect you’re a cop.”
“Well what do you suggest?”
“Technically we have a suspect for Regine. She wanted him found, she didn’t say we had to do anything about it.”
“You think she’d accept that?”
“We can try.”
I didn’t want to face her again, so I called her instead. “Regine? I’m calling to let you know that it’s looking likely that Reynolds is involved.”
“And?” she snapped.
“Well, we’ve pretty much confirmed it. What do you want is to do about it?” I tried not to snap back but I couldn’t help it. Every word out of her mouth made me angry.
“I want absolute proof or his head on a platter. Either way, make it happen.” She hung up on me.
I growled at the phone. “God, I hate her so much.”
Slamming the phone down, I closed my hands into fists, trying to calm down.
Harry appeared beside me. “What did she say?”
“She wants proof. What if we just waited until dark then went over there and took her out.”
“I doubt that would solve our problems.” He disappeared upstairs while I plotted horrible ways to murder her.
When he came back down, I saw that he had changed into his workout clothes. “Oh good are we going to spar?” I asked, eager to work off some of the pent up energy. I really needed to find a moment to go for a run in wolf form before she broke free on me.
“I thought we'd try something a little calmer today, given what happened with Regine.”
“Not more meditation please. You know I hate it.” I cannot sit still to save my life.
“No, this is something else. Tai chi.” Harry unrolled a couple of yoga mats on the floor.
“That thing where you wave your arms around and move really slowly?”
“There’s more to it than that. But it beats sitting on the floor, yes?”
I sighed. “I guess so.”
I kept a spare pair of workout clothes at the office, which I changed into.
Taking my place on the mat, I did a few stretches to warm up. I may dislike Harry’s methods but I couldn’t deny that they worked. When I first showed up at Crestwood, I had no control over the wolf at all. With his help, I learned to hold her back, work with her instead of against her. It meant less unexpected changes.
Mimicking Harry, I copied his movements as we began our lesson. I felt dumb, but didn’t complain. It was kind of relaxing. I let my mind relax too, forgetting about Regine for a while.
Letting my mind drift turned out to be a bad thing as it inevitably wandered toward Harry and how I felt about him. I should just tell him and get it over with. He might surprise me. Maybe he secretly feels the same way and has been too scared to say anything.
Yeah, right.
I glanced over at him. Why couldn’t I move past this? It felt like torture at times. I should just find someone and start dating them, I would move on eventually. That Noah guy was cute. I had his number, I could give him a call. What harm could it do? Assuming he wasn’t an axe murderer, it would be nice to spend some time with a guy.
“I think that’s enough for today,” Harry said, breaking the silence. I didn’t realize it but we had been at it for nearly half an hour.
“Okay, I’ll go change,” I said, heading for the stairs.
The second floor was Harry’s apartment. Well, it was really one big room. The kitchen area lay to the right, a dining area, his bed stood in the middle and the bathroom lay beyond the door in the far corner. A couch sat against the stairs rail.
Harry kept the place so tidy, it didn’t look like anyone lived here. The only thing out of place was a gray sweater hanging over the back of a chair at the table.
As I passed the bed, I let my mind wander, imagining what it would be like to wake up in it. Shaking my head, I entered the bathroom. Why torture myself with things that could never be?
I changed out of my work out clothes and back into my blouse and slacks. On the counter lay a razor and toothpaste. Another sign that someone lived here.
Leaving the bathroom, I crossed the room, pausing by the table. I picked up Harry’s sweater and inhaled the scent from it – it smelled like the aftershave he used – bergamot and that ozone smell which came from magic wielders.
God I’m so pathetic.
I returned the sweater to the chair. If I didn’t stop this, I would drive myself crazy.
Back downstairs, Harry sat on the couch, reading through the notes again. I took a seat beside him. We had been over them a million times, I didn’t see the point in doing it again. The killer’s name would hardly jump off the page.
“Maybe we should speak to the staff again. Something might have occurred to them since we last spoke,” Harry said.
“Hm,” I said, staring at the wall.
Harry sighed. “Jade, I know this isn’t the most thrilling part of the job, but it is necessary. I know you get bored easily, but…”
“What? Are you saying I don’t care about this?”
“Of course not, I just mean…”
I cut him off. “This is my job too. I know its going to involve a lot
of legwork. I just don’t think its worth our time to do that when we could be doing something else.”
Harry crossed his legs. “Like what?”
“Well…the person who killed Kandy didn’t leave a knife behind, so its likely they brought it with them. They came prepared. But the knife used to kill Frank was from his kitchen. It was a weapon of opportunity. They might not even be connected.”
“Okay, so what do you want to do about it?”
“The waitress from the club was the one who brought up Frank’s name. I think she knows a lot more than she lets on, but there is no way she is going to talk with Regine nearby. I say we get her on her own and get the whole story from her. But I don’t know when she works.”
“Ah, well while we were interviewing the staff at the club, I managed to snap a picture of the rota. What’s the girl’s name?”
“Wendy.”
He scrolled through the pictures. “According to this she should get off work in about an hour.”
“Then we have a plan.”
We waited across the street from the club when Wendy finished her shift. She emerged from the alley and headed east, head down, a sad look on her face.
Harry and I trailed behind her, not wanting to scare her. She led us to an apartment building and stopped to pull her keys out of her purse.
“I’ll talk to her, you wait here,” I said. I didn’t want to freak her out.
“Okay, I’ll be close by if you need me.”
I broke into a jog to catch up with Wendy. “Wendy? Hello, do you remember me?”
Wendy turned, her eyes wide. “What do you want?” she asked.
“I was wondering if I could talk to you a little more about Frank?”
She shook her head, looking terrified.
“Please, Wendy. I promise you that nothing you say will get back to Regine.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Come in.”
I followed Wendy into the building and upstairs to her apartment. The living room lay bare, with only a single chair and a small round table in the middle.
“Do you want the chair?” Wendy asked.
“No, it’s fine, I can sit on the floor.” I sat cross legged on he carpet. “I take it Regine doesn’t pay you very much?”
“Uh, no, I don’t need much furniture. I’m not used to living in a dwelling such as this.”
“Where do you usually live, Wendy?”
“In the mountains. I’m a mountain fairy. And my name isn’t Wendy, it’s Melody. Regine made me change it.”
“Oh. I’ve…heard of mountain fairies.” That wasn’t strictly true, there were so many types of Fae that I couldn’t remember them all. I couldn’t believe that Regine made her change her name.
“How did you come to live here?” The mountains certainly seemed better than this place.
She stared at her hands, tears welling up in her eyes. “Regine found me, stole my wings. If you steal a mountain fairy’s wings, they must work for you. She keeps them hidden.”
“Oh my God, that’s terrible. I’m so sorry.”
She sniffed. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to ask you about Frank. You said we needed to find him, why?”
“I thought he was in trouble,” she said.
“Was he dating Kandy?”
She looked up. “No, he wasn’t seeing her anymore. He liked me.”
“He did?” I said, offering her a smile.
She nodded. “Yes, he was nice to me. He promised to take me away from Regine, to help me get my wings back. But then he pissed her off and I knew she would hurt him.”
“That’s why you told us to find him?”
“I thought you could help him, or maybe he’d…” she trailed off, breaking down.
I felt so bad for her. She fell for this Frank guy and now she had lost him.
“Do you know who killed him? Who killed Kandy?”
She wrapped her arms around herself, bowing her head.
“Maybe I can help you get your wings back.”
Her head whipped up and I saw real hope in her eyes. “You can do that?”
“I can try. Do you know where Regine keeps them?”
She nodded. “In the safe in her office. But you need a handprint to open it.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can get to them.”
“But you said you would help,” she said.
“I know. Maybe I could talk to Regine and try to convince her to give them back to you.” Even as I said it, I knew it would never happen.
Melody started shaking her head back and forth wildly. “No, you said you would help and you won’t. You’re a liar, just like him!”
She got to her feet, practically shaking with rage. “You’re all liars!”
I got up too. “Wen...Melody I’m sorry. I wasn’t lying, I will try to help you.”
“No!” she screamed and sprouted a pair of fangs.
“Oh shit,” I said, backing away slowly. “Melody just calm down.”
“Frank lied, you lied. You both need to pay.”
I ran, throwing myself into the bathroom and slamming the door. I flipped the lock into place and braced myself against the door. Yanking my phone out of my pocket, I called Harry. “Harry, she’s gone nuts, help! 5E.”
I dropped my phone as Melody rammed the door. The lock popped and the door opened an inch. I threw myself against it, trying to get it closed again.
“Let’s talk about this, Melody!” I yelled.
She hit the door again and I fell forward. Catching myself on the sink, she stomped into the room.
I turned as she went for me, trying to claw my face. “Damn it, Melody I’m not the enemy.”
I grabbed her wrists trying to hold her in place, but the door to the apartment burst open, surprising me. Melody used it to her advantage, grabbing me and wrapping her arm around my throat.
Harry came into the room. “Jade! What’s going on?”
“Melody is a little upset,” I said.
“Who's he?” Melody hissed.
“My partner. Please Melody, let’s talk about this.”
“Yes,” Harry said. “I’m sure we can work this out peacefully.”
Grunting noises came from Melody as she decided what to do. I felt her arm relax and I thought she would let me go. “You have to pay,” she whined.
Opening her mouth, she sank her teeth down into my arm, making me scream.
16
Jade
Pain shot through my arm as I tried to get Wendy’s fangs out of me. Harry chanted the knockout spell and Wendy swayed before collapsing to the ground.
“That bitch bit me,” I cried. Mountain fairy my ass, she was a damn rottweiler. “God, it hurts.” It had started to burn.
Harry rushed forward. “Quick, wash out the wound and it will ease the pain.”
He grabbed the shower hose from the shower and switched it on. Holding my arm under it, I saw clear fluid coming out of the wound. “Is she poisonous?”
“No, but it can cause extreme pain.”
“I think it’s getting better,” I said as the pain started to fade. I didn’t expect this when I came here. Melody seemed so innocent.
“I’ll see if I can find a first aid kit,” Harry said.
I looked down at Melody on the floor. She lay curled on her side looking like butter wouldn’t melt. The wolf urged me to kick her, but I restrained myself.
Moving into the living room, I took a seat on the chair, cradling my arm.
Harry discovered a first aid kit and took out a bandage. I sat staring at the bathroom while he wrapped my arm, in case she came to.
“I’m pretty sure she killed Frank.”
“She did? Why?”
“He promised to help her and when he didn’t…well you saw what she was like.”
“What did you promise her?”
“I said I would help her get her wings back f
rom Regine.”
Harry sighed. “Mountain fairies are normally docile and very trusting. I imagine Regine tricked her into getting her wings. She must have pushed her to the limit.”
“Are you defending the crazy bitch who bit me?” I asked.
He finished securing the bandage. “No, of course not. But this is not normal behavior for them.”
Something buzzed on the kitchen counter making me jump. I got up and lifted Melody’s phone. Opening it, I took a look through it. She had a notification from one of her apps. I checked the call log. She had made multiple calls to Frank over a couple of days.
“Here’s a message from Frank. Dated the day Kandy died. He says, ‘sorry, I can’t help you. Hope things work out’. Okay I kind of get why she killed him if that was his attitude.” He just gave up on her.
“We should get out of here before she wakes up,” Harry said.
“No arguments from me.”
A wave of dizziness washed over me as we headed down the stairs. I gripped the rail.
“Are you okay?” Harry asked, putting an arm around me to steady me.
“Yeah, I think I’m fine.” I felt my cheeks heat up with how close he was. It only took getting attacked by a crazed mountain fairy to achieve it.
He kept his arm around me as we made our way down the stairs.
***
I found myself standing in the middle of the street. It was dark and no one else was around. I turned slowly on the spot, curious as to how I got here.
“Jade,” someone said.
Harry appeared out of the darkness. He smiled, taking my hands. Then leaned in and kissed me. “I’ve been searching for you.”
“Well you found me,” I said, smiling back at him.
He pulled me close, his hand caressing my cheek. “Unfortunately, they’ve been looking for you too.”
“Who?”
He took my hand and spun me around. I stopped short when I found myself face to face with four hideous spectres. Brett, Seb, Gideon and Elijah surrounded me, all of them rotting corpses.
“Join us,” Elijah said, holding out his hand.
I backed away horrified.
“Harry do something,” I cried.
He placed his hands on my shoulders holding me in place. “I can't. You deserve this.”
The Werewolf Queen of Bourbon Street: City For Lost Souls Series Book 1 Page 8