by A A Mize
It seemed she was being swept into the current of time, losing all semblance of control on her life. Never had she lost someone so close to her and so she had no idea what to expect from such a situation. For now, it was still new, and the pain had not quite penetrated her heart as her brain had not completely accepted that Rachel was gone.
Now she was waking to the face of Lukas, in a strange house that might soon be called home, if even temporarily. Groggily she sat up, rubbing her eyes while Lukas spoke. “Hey, Dominic will be home any minute. Let me have a moment with him and then I’ll introduce you and we can chat. OK?” he said with a confident smile. It was hard not to believe him when he did that. It seemed to come so easy for him, leaving nothing for Sophie to do but nod and try to make herself presentable. There was no question as to why her sister had been attracted to him.
When she heard the door unlock her heart almost stopped. Suddenly she was terribly nervous about the whole scenario and realized that the alcohol had worn off and she was no longer as sure about staying with them as she had been earlier. Her fingers dug into the cushion of the window seat to keep herself grounded. Lukas gave her a friendly pat on the hand before standing to meet his roommate at the door.
Sophie didn’t get a good look at Dominic when he entered, mostly seeing a silhouette moving down the hall toward the kitchen with Lukas, the only light in the room being from the fireplace and a single floor lamp beside the entrance hall table.
Quietly she stood and walked to the door, hugging herself for comfort. Her mind raced with all the terrible possibilities in store for her, but the logic in her tried to point out that if Lukas had wanted to kill her, he had had plenty of time to do so while she slept. With her back to the living room she peered down the hall in the hope of hearing what they were saying.
It was no use, though, as they were too far away. She could see Lukas’ face in the light, but Dominic had his back to her and was just a black figure, his only discernible feature being long hair. Sophie swallowed hard and retreated to the window seat to wait.
In the kitchen, the two men spoke in hushed tones. Rowan propped his elbows on the bar, rubbing his temples with thin fingers. “Why is there a human in my house, Matthias?”
“Okay, look. When I got to work some cops were coming out of Mamma’s place. They didn’t see me, but she said they were looking for me. Rowan, they think I killed some human girl,” Matthias explained quickly.
Rowan’s eyes flashed red and Matthias’ mouth snapped shut. His saving grace might be that there was a stranger in the living room, otherwise Rowan might have strangled him on the spot. Instead, Rowan folded his hands before him with great restraint.
“Were you at the Iron Lotus New Year’s Eve?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I was called in to aid Homicide in an investigation. I thought Artashir was withholding something from me, but it seems he was withholding the fact that you were there from the detectives.”
“But I didn’t do it, Rowan.”
“You don’t sound very sure of that,” Rowan hissed, picking up on the minor change in his Pupil’s tone.
“I don’t remember it all, but I know she was alive when she got in that taxi. It’s too much to explain right now, but she’s the dead girl’s cousin,” Matthias said, pointing toward the living room. “And to liven things up a bit, I used to date her sister.”
“What in the—”
“I overheard her talking on the phone. The police haven’t told her anything yet, but I get this feeling that she knows something isn’t right. I heard her say she was going to stay in the city until it’s all resolved, and I figured that if we keep her here and let her rent a room, I can stay close to the investigation and figure out what really happened.”
“Dammit, Matthias,” Rowan groaned. “What are you going to do when she realizes we have no normal human necessities? What about when she opens the cabinets to find them bare? Or maybe that we don’t go out in the day?” His voice was quiet but harsh and demanding, nails pressing hard onto the granite top of the island as he leaned in toward his Pupil.
“Really, Rowan? We are two single guys, living just blocks away from any place we could ever want to eat. It won’t be that hard to play off being clueless bachelors.”
“I don’t like this. At all. I feel she will begin to notice things.”
Matthias threw up his hands. “So what if she thinks we’re weird? Everyone in the whole damn city is weird. I need to keep her close and Mamma has already agreed to give her a go at the bar. The closer I keep this girl, the better. I have to know what’s going on.”
Rowan watched his Pupil, realizing that he was getting his first dose of reality. The boy was clearly upset at the possibility that he had taken someone’s life. Rowan could tell that Matthias was struggling with that and was truly concerned. The problem was, without tapping into his mind, Rowan had no way of knowing if Matthias was worried that he had murdered someone, or if he was just worried about getting caught.
“Fine. She can stay. But you are responsible for her,” Rowan said as he stood, straightening his double-breasted waistcoat. He sighed and waved a hand toward the kitchen door. “Come now, I’m not raising a heathen. Introduce me to our new resident.”
“All right, Sunshine. Be nice to her, OK?” he asked politely, but Rowan only sighed in irritation, clasping his hands behind his back as they walked to the living room.
When they rounded the corner, Sophie popped up from the window seat to greet them. Dominic was a thin man with almost sharp features and long silky straight dark hair that fell a little below his shoulder blades. In the firelight his skin seemed oddly pale and his eyes flashed glints of gold. His outfit was Victorian goth, the only obviously modern aspects of his appearance being his piercings. Sophie couldn’t be sure of the gauge, but his ears had thick black plugs in them about the size of her pinkie. Judging by the silver glint on his full lips, one of them was pierced as well.
However, it wasn’t his appearance that set her on edge. It was his gaze. His dark eyes seemed to look right through her, as if she was hardly more than a sheet of paper. The hairs on her arms prickled but she resisted the urge to rub them.
“Hey, Sophie, this is Dominic. He says you are welcome to stay here as long as you need to,” Lukas grinned ear-to-ear. Dominic remained expressionless.
“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sophie. Lukas tells me that you’re in the city because your cousin passed away? How unfortunate. I extend my deepest sympathies. If you should need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” Dominic bowed his head and dismissed himself, turning at the bottom of the stairs. “I do, however, have one request. My study is at the end of the hall and it is my private retreat. Please refrain from entering unless it is a dire emergency.”
Sophie didn’t have a chance to speak to Dominic, but she was glad. Once he was gone she plopped back down on the window seat, relieved that he was gone. Something about him was incredibly intimidating. It was as if his very presence had sucked all the air out of the room. She hadn’t even realized she was holding her breath until she exhaled in a heavy burst.
Matthias chuckled. “He’s a regular ray of sunshine, ain’t he? Eh, don’t worry about him. He’s not all that bad once you get to know him. Just really formal sometimes. C’mon. I’m sure you’re still tired so let’s get you upstairs.”
“Shouldn’t we talk about rent or something?” Sophie asked, stumbling up the first step where the light from the hall couldn’t reach.
“Whoops, watch your step. Sorry,” Lukas said, flipping a switch at the bottom of the stairs. “Don’t worry about rent right now. We can talk about it once you’re settled in. Mamma said you can start work in a couple of days, so you’ll pretty much have the place to yourself until then. Dominic and I both work at night, and we’ll be asleep during the day. You’re probably not used to that kind of routine, so if I were you, I would try to adjust to it before you go to work with me.”
They reac
hed the top of the stairs and rounded onto a small landing. Lukas pointed to the door on the far right, almost lined up with the steps. “That’s Dominic’s room. Next is mine, then yours is down there, across from his study. Your room looks out over the street, so be careful about leaving the curtains open at night.”
The room was small but bigger than she had been expecting, with tall French doors, shuttered windows and thick curtains. A canopy bed, roll-top desk, end table, and wardrobe were the only pieces of furniture in the space and all were stained dark mahogany. The wood floor was the color of warm honey, and a large area rug covered the space under the bed. The canopy was heavy, soft material in a deep red, matching the crimson and gold comforter and pillows. Overall it was inviting, and she could not wait to crawl into that bed and sleep.
“Those doors open onto a shared gallery that runs along the front of the house. There’s another door to it in the study and Dominic likes to sit out there and read sometimes so don’t be surprised if you go out and he’s there.”
“It’s perfect,” she said, walking over to the bed, drawing her fingers down the plush fabric of the canopy. “I can’t thank you enough, Lukas. If there is any way I can ever repay you, just let me know.”
“Don’t worry about it. Get some rest. I’ll be right down the hall if you need anything.” He closed the door behind him, and Sophie was left alone in the room.
She locked the door and stripped off her dirty clothes at the bedside, keeping them close. The house was warmer upstairs, but the hardwood floor was cold under her bare feet. She hopped into bed, pulling the curtains closed to keep the warmth in before crawling between the sheets. It felt strange to be so comfortable in a new place, but she was so tired and had little trouble falling asleep, the shadow of Dominic’s presence lurking in the back of her mind.
15
Roberts read over the coroner’s report in silence, the rest of the department quiet in the groggy early morning hours. The car had been found but it hadn’t been processed and likely wouldn’t be any time soon. That put them several days from an answer and for once, Roberts wondered if it was for the best that a murder investigation would take so long. It gave her time to figure out what to do about Walker and the risks they were taking with every step they took against Homicide.
“You sure are early,” Kincaid said, dropping his coat over the back of his chair.
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Me either. We’re in deep, aren’t we?”
“Yeah,” Roberts said, leaning back. “We are but I’m afraid we’re just getting our feet wet. Walker isn’t going to stop until he gets a Turned locked up.”
“You mean, Matthias?”
“Probably. But I stand by what I said; I don’t think he did it.”
“They got the results back on Dustin’s bloody shirt, you know.”
“What?” Roberts head whipped around. “Was it human blood?”
“It was. But it wasn’t Rachel’s. It was Dustin’s. Apparently, he had a Tarantino style nosebleed.”
“So, it wasn’t him.”
“That’s not necessarily true. I mean, it took him three days to come in. I doubt he’d have worn the same shirt. They only gave us the results to be thorough.”
“Yeah. Right,” Roberts mumbled. “I wish Walker would drop this and let Homicide handle it.”
“We both know he won’t. He wants Matthias, remember? Anyway, we’re supposed to get the video from the hotel first thing this morning. I guess we’ll know more then.”
Roberts nodded, blowing air from her tightly pressed lips. As Dustin was their only real suspect, they’d been able to keep him in custody. Bond had been set but no one had come forward to pay it for him and he seemed unwilling to call anyone to get him out. In the time they’d had him, he hadn’t asked to call anyone but a lawyer. There wasn’t any evidence against him so far, but there was something that didn’t add up.
“I just don’t get how Walker is getting all of this information. Shouldn’t this stuff be going to Homicide?” Roberts asked, unable to hide the annoyance in her voice.
“It should be. Frankly I don’t understand it either. The only thing I figure is that he’s pulling strings.”
“That won’t last long. Homicide’ll be hot on our heels for the tapes.”
“Did they finish their interviews yesterday?”
“With everyone but Matthias.”
“Oh really? I wonder why not.”
“I heard it was because Rowan wasn’t free to meet with them to sit in on the interview. They’re supposed to be around soon to finish up, though.”
Walker marched past her desk, snapping his fingers and pointing to his office. Robert’s stomach dropped, and she glanced at her partner. He shot her a tight-lipped smile and the two of them followed Walker to his office.
“We got the surveillance footage,” he said, motioning them to stand in view of his computer. “The hotel’s already been through it and highlighted what they thought was important. I’ve told Miller it’s been turned in and he’s on his way, so we have to be fast.”
A video started showing Dustin walking into the hotel bar and sitting a few stools away from a woman with short wavy hair and a blue cocktail dress. It took a moment but soon the two were chatting and the woman closed the distance between them. She began touching his hand and leaning into him but without audio there was no way to tell what they were talking about.
One thing that was obvious, however, was that Dustin was flirting right back. He ordered the lady a drink and briefly put his land on her knee. Roberts clenched her jaw and crossed her arms. After some time Dustin left the bar and headed to the bathroom. The unknown woman played on a phone, then set it on the stool beside her. Dustin returned, grabbed the phone, and joined Rachel at the entrance to the bar. The two of them left and Walker clicked off the video.
“Did she steal his phone?” Kincaid asked.
“I don’t think it could be said that she stole it. Pickpocketed it, yeah but she didn’t keep it. What was she doing on there?” Roberts pondered.
“Beats me.”
“I want to know who that woman is,” Walker said. “You two, get over to the hotel and talk to the receptionist and the bartender. I want to know what Dustin and that woman talked about.”
“Miller’s here,” Kincaid said, catching sight of the lieutenant and his officers walking toward the office.
Walker quickly pulled the external hard drive, slipping it back into the envelope it arrived in and sealed it, sliding it onto the desk moments before Miller barged in. Smith and Davis stopped at the door, remaining silent while Miller spoke.
“Morning, Walker,” he said, puffing out his chest. “I hear you have something for me?”
Roberts took a step back as Walker rose from his chair and handed the envelope over. Miller eyed him, checking the seal on the envelope. For a brief moment Roberts didn’t breathe, waiting for Miller to call them out on their snooping but he didn’t.
“You finished here?” Walker asked, thinly veiling irritation.
“Almost. We combed through the alley beside the Iron Lotus. Found something interesting but it seems to have gone missing from lock up.”
“I hope you’re not insinuating that we took it.”
The corner of Miller’s lips twitched. “Of course not. You have a couple of upstanding officers here. I’m sure they had nothing to do with it. But if you happen to hear anything about it…”
“We’ll let you know.”
“I’m sure,” Miller said, tapping the envelope in his palm. “I’m trying to get Rowan and Matthias out here for an interview. We’ll use one of your interrogation rooms, so I’ll let you know when he’s available.”
“Fine. Now if you don’t mind, I have things to do.”
“Well, we won’t keep you.” Miller motioned to Smith and Davis, who followed him silently.
Roberts whistled long and low as soon as the door was closed but Walker was in no mood to speak with
them any further. He shooed them out of his office and Roberts gladly obliged.
Hours later the department was much busier, a far cry from the early morning slump that they had left. They were hardly acknowledged as they strode across to Walker’s office. He closed the file on his desk and kicked back in his chair.
“What did you find out?”
Roberts and Kincaid took the seats across from him and as per usual, Kincaid allowed Roberts to take point. The entire time they’d been gone he’d fretted over getting in trouble with Miller, the possibility of demotion, and of losing his job. Roberts had calmed him for the most part, but it wasn’t likely to last. She was worried about the same and a part of her was getting fed up with Walker. He was putting them at great risk, and for what? That hadn’t become clear.
“Reception wasn’t willing to tell us anything about the woman who checked in without a warrant, but the bartender told us that she introduced herself as Ivanka. He overheard Dustin say that he was going to propose to Rachel and he was nervous about it.”
“That’s what he told us. They were here on vacation so he could propose,” Walker said, rubbing his mustache.
“Yes. Anyway, he’d gone to the bar for a drink to calm his nerves while she was getting ready and Ivanka started talking to him. The bartender said that they were flirting heavily and at one point someone called Dustin, most likely another woman, and he seemed upset.”
“Any idea who it was?”
“No, sir. The bartender didn’t get a look and he wasn’t close enough to hear, but he got the impression that Dustin didn’t want Rachel to know who he was talking to. He said that Dustin became agitated, constantly looking toward the door, and he was quick to end the call.”
“Probably the ex-girlfriend,” Kincaid said. “Dustin told us that he’d had a thing with his ex and she called him while he was with Rachel. That’s why they fought and she went off on her own in the first place.”