by E. A. Copen
“We have transportation.” Hector sighed. “Officers, it’s very late. If you have questions, I can meet you at the station tomorrow. Would that suffice?”
“Better to get it out of the way tonight,” I said. “No telling what could happen overnight. There are all kinds of monsters out there.” I tried to keep the acrid tone out of my voice, but it crept in anyway. I didn’t appreciate the way he was stonewalling us.
“Unless I’m under arrest, I won’t be going with you tonight. I need to be here with my people.”
I stepped out of line and put a hand on the man’s shoulder. “Someone else can keep the vigil until you get back. Looks like you’ve got plenty of people.” I started to pull him back toward the cruiser.
The door opened again. “Judah?”
I turned to see Mara step out of the compound, only it wasn’t the Mara I knew. She’d lost a lot of weight, giving her face a more angular look. The pink and blue coloring in her hair had faded, replaced by her natural dirty blonde. Instead of a tank top, jeans, and plenty of jewelry, Mara now wore a plain dress of slate blue. She stepped outside barefoot. “What are you doing here?”
Another popped out of the darkness behind her, this one a boy about her age. He wore pajama pants and a white tank top. “Tamara,” the young man hissed.
“It’s fine,” Mara said, raising a hand. “I know her.” I swallowed as she stepped closer and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Mara, I…” My voice trailed off; I was unsure of what to say. “Is everything okay? With you, I mean. It’s good to see you.”
I expected her to lash out with an insult. The Mara I knew would at least dismiss me with sarcasm. This Mara, however, stood poised and calm with a blank smile. “Yes, I’m happy here, and I’m glad to see you’re still alive.”
“You’re not still mad at me, Mara?”
Mara looked at Hector, her grin wider but strained. “The reverend has helped me to let go of my past. I’m at peace now. With everything.”
The young man stepped out onto the porch beside Mara, his eyes steely. “What are you doing here? What do you want?”
“Warren,” a middle-aged woman hissed from the doorway. So, this boy was the infamous Warren Demetrius who’d convinced Mara to join his dad’s cult.
I only caught a glance of the woman in the doorway, but she was wearing a dark dress and a head covering, and had a rather plain face. Mara looked well-fed, though, and I didn’t see any bruises or signs she was in distress, leaving me no just cause to intervene.
“Child, obey your mother,” Hector said, and he nodded. “These people won’t harm me.”
“But they’re the enemy,” said Warren, and he cast a hateful look at me. “You can’t trust them to keep their word.”
I let go of Hector’s arm as he turned to address his son. “And what does Jesus say we should do to our enemies?”
Warren didn’t answer, but Mara came to stand beside him, taking his hand. It was she who answered, “Love them.”
“Very good.” He turned back to me.
The woman I’d seen in the doorway stepped out to usher Warren and Mara back inside. “Nice kid,” Espinoza commented to the woman. “Yours?”
Hector stood stiffly. “You will address me. Everyone here is mine. These people are under my protection, Officers. They huddle here away from a world that has rejected them, so they reject it in return. If you insist on bringing me to the station now, you will have to carry me away from them in chains.” He extended his wrists to us. “If you arrest me, I will not resist. However, I will not be taken away from my flock under false pretenses. Either arrest me or leave.”
Espinoza and I exchanged glances.
“We’re not here to arrest you,” I said and he lowered his hands. “We’re just here to try to get information.”
“Yes.” He sighed, impatiently. “Information I have promised to provide tomorrow. We can go in circles all night, Agent Black, and neither of us will get any closer to getting what we want. Now, you can either accept my assurances until I’ve had time to confer with my lawyer and believe that I will come willingly to the station to meet you tomorrow morning for an interview, or you can arrest me. Anything else is a violation of my constitutional rights.”
“Tell you what.” Espinoza pulled a business card out of his uniform, blew on it, and held it out to the woman. “We’ll spend the night looking into things so we can have plenty of questions ready for tomorrow. If you think of anything else in the meantime or see anyone prowling around, you call the number on the card.”
The woman reached out and clutched the card with a thumb and forefinger, but Hector snatched it away before she could pull it back. “Thank you,” he said curtly. “Now, please leave.”
“That could have gone better,” I said, sliding into the back seat.
“It went better than expected,” Espinoza said. “I got her to touch the card. Hopefully, that counts for something. I would have preferred for her to hold it.”
I leaned against the metal grate that separated the front seat from the back. I’d meant meeting Mara again. Ed was going to flip his lid when he got the news that I couldn’t do anything about her. Mara seemed to be there of her own free will, and she’d seemed…maybe not happy, but better. I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath, willing my mind to refocus on the task at hand.
“You spelled the card?”
“Of course, I did,” Espinoza said, smiling. “Hector has some powerful magick. Did you see it, Agent Black?”
I nodded. “No idea what kind, but he’s got something big and scary. He’s probably registered with BSI, but I seriously doubt Hector Demetrius is his real name. If I were going to start a cult, I’d use a pseudonym. I’ll see if I can track down who he is.”
I paused and then added, “What will the card do?”
“Everyone who handles it is now eyes and ears for a limited time so long as I hold the card’s twin.” He produced another from his uniform pocket and waved it. “I don’t make them in stacks. Just two at a time. Anyway, if you want to listen in, we can do it anytime. At least until Hector figures out the card is spelled.”
“Make it so,” I said.
Espinoza flashed me a roguish grin. Then he lifted his copy of the business card and flicked it once. It made a sound somewhere between a tuning fork and radio static for a minute and then we heard voices.
“…I’m sorry,” the woman was saying. “I shouldn’t have interrupted.”
“They were only here to unsettle us,” Hector said. “They have no evidence, or they would have arrested me.”
“The police are about to be the least of our problems.” That was a third voice. Was it…Warren? “What do we do?”
“We continue on as if nothing has changed because nothing has changed.”
“We should break off contact,” Warren said.
“When we’re so close to a breakthrough? We are not about to walk away because of a nosy werewolf and two overzealous police officers.”
“Are you really going to the police station tomorrow, Hector? They’ll just twist your words. They are the enemy for a reason.”
“We must be in the world, Amanda, not of it. I will oblige them as far as I’m required, but no one else is to speak with the police.” There was a short pause before he repeated. “No one, Amanda. That means you, too, Warren.”
“I’ve said my piece,” Warren said.
“What about the lieutenant’s card?” Amanda asked.
“I’ll burn it,” Hector offered. “Go and tell everyone else to go back to bed.”
A moment later, Hector made good on his word. The connection cut out, and the dull glow coming from the business card faded.
“Well, at least he’s coming to the station tomorrow,” Espinoza said, raising his eyebrows.
“But we’re no closer to finding out why Reed attacked Ed.” I sighed.
Espinoza started the police cruiser, adjusted his mirror to look back at me, and said, �
��Hey, Agent Black. Did I see a for sale sign in your car window?”
Espinoza and I talked about cars all the way back to the crime scene. Apparently, he was a collector of the classics and was interested in purchasing my car. We’d just started haggling about the price when we pulled in.
Tindall stood with Ed near the squad car. Bran waited nearby as well, Mia still sleeping in his arms. I got out and Ed immediately started across the grass to meet me. “Any luck?”
I shook my head. “Nothing you’ll like,” I told Ed. “As far as I can tell, Mara’s there of her own free will. Without a warrant, there’s no way I can get into that compound to investigate. Everything I have that might get me a warrant is sketchy and limited to your testimony. I need more.”
Ed dropped his head, sulking in silence.
We stopped just short of the ambulance. “What’s going on here?” I asked.
“Sal. He changed a short while ago after Bran said something to him.”
“Dammit, he shouldn’t change yet. Not until he’s healed.”
“That’s the thing,” Ed said as we picked up the pace toward the ambulance. “He’s not healing.”
I looked down at my watch. We’d arrived at the scene somewhere close to ten, and it was inching toward midnight. Even with a cut that deep, he should have been completely recovered by now. Whatever magick that had been worked on the blade of Reed’s sword, I hoped it wasn’t going to lead to any further damage.
We reached the ambulance, and I leaned in for a look. Sal was back in human form, lying on the gurney and holding a wad of gauze against his ribs just under his arm. The EMT pulled the gauze away, and blood rushed out of a wide, gaping hole that was definitely bigger.
“No dice, wolfman,” said the EMT. “We can’t wait for your friend to come patch you up. Have to transport you to the hospital.”
Sal ground his teeth together. “I said no.”
“Doctor Ramis is on his way,” Tindall said.
“He’s losing a lot of blood, and the longer we wait, the worse the damage could be.” The EMT looked at me as if I could tell him what to do. “I’m not even sure how he’s still conscious. His body must be working overtime to keep him awake.”
“He’s drawing heavily on the pack bonds,” Ed explained with a frown. “But it’s not an endless well. Right now, it’s pretty shallow.” He turned to me, his face pained.
I nodded. “Sal, you need to go. Let them do triage at least, and put a bandage on. I’ll call Doc and send him to the hospital.”
Sal didn’t look happy, but once he tried to move and fell back, woozy, he decided a band-aid wouldn’t hurt. The EMT nodded his thanks, closed up the ambulance, and they sped off, lights and sirens blaring.
I turned to Tindall as soon as I could hear myself think again. “Did Espinoza bring you up to speed?”
“Close enough. Hector Demetrius, huh? He’s going to stonewall you, so I hope you’ve got a lead.” Tindall started back across the field toward the parked cars, and I followed.
“I’ve got nothing,” I said. “The best I can hope for is to find something useful at Reed’s house tomorrow. It should be easy enough to get a warrant to search there. We can’t go into that compound without ironclad evidence, Tindall. They’re going to hide behind their status as a protected religious group.”
I noticed Ed trailing behind with Bran and Mia and paused. Tindall and Espinoza stopped with me. “Go on ahead, you two,” I said to the cops. “I’ll catch up.”
Tindall eyed Bran and frowned, but walked off with Espinoza, making for where his car was parked.
“What’s going on?” I asked Bran as he came closer. I held out my arms, and he passed Mia to me. “Is it club business?”
Sal hadn’t been very active in the Kings since bringing home Mia. He’d given up his officer position as road captain, passing the duty to a guy named Phil. He still went to their meetings once a week and their social functions, but that was it. I couldn’t see why anyone would call him from the club unless it was an emergency.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your problem,” Bran said. “Legally, your back is to the wall. The club might be able to help. We can go places you can’t, and find out information you’d have to get a warrant for. If you want us to get the girl out, all you have to say is the word.”
I stopped walking and turned to face Bran. He stopped with me. He meant well, but I couldn’t take him up on his offer. I’d made it a point to distance myself as much as possible from the Kings lately, hoping that eventually Sal would get completely out.
“Thanks, Bran, but I’d rather handle this the legal way unless I have no other options.”
He nodded. “I understand. We will be here if you change your mind.” Bran inclined his head, and the three of us started walking again. “I will load my bike into the back of Sal’s truck and drive it back to your place. If you’d like, I can also take Mia home and put her to bed. I’ll stay with the children until you return.”
“You’re not going to the hospital?”
Bran shook his head. “I avoid going there in my club colors, especially when there will be a heavy police presence. Whenever I can avoid it, I prefer that my personal life and professional life not clash. Besides, I have an early shift tomorrow and could use at least a little sleep.”
By day, Bran was a prison guard. I’d never seen him in that role, which I suppose meant he considered me a friend on the club side more than the law enforcement side. “I guess that works. Did Sal leave you his keys?”
He lifted his fingers, and the truck keys dangled. “What about you?” Bran jerked his chin toward Ed. “What are you going to do?”
Ed looked at me and quickly dropped his eyes to the ground. “I think I’ll stick with Judah if she’s going out to the hospital.”
We walked back to the cars, and I buckled Mia safely into her car seat in the truck. She woke up for a minute, yawned, asked for something to drink, and fell back asleep before Bran got into the front seat. “Make sure you relieve me by five-thirty,” Bran said, adjusting the mirrors. “I am up for a perfect attendance award at work.”
I promised him I would, kissed Mia on the head one more time, and shut the door.
“You’re getting pretty buddy-buddy with the Kings.” I turned around. Tindall stood behind me, arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. “After everything that happened last year?”
“The shooting wasn’t their fault, Tindall.”
“No, but you know the Kings are in bed with Marcus Kelley.”
“So are you,” I snapped back before I could stop myself.
Tindall’s shoulders heaved with a sigh. “I don’t have a choice, and I ain’t doing anything illegal, Black. So far, the Kings have done a good job staying off my radar, but it’s only a matter of time before that changes.”
I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. “Things have settled down. The Vanguard has been quiet. This is the first major case to break in nine months. I’d call that a good thing.”
“The quiet’s what I’m worried about.” Tindall lit another cigarette and took a long drag. His eyes traveled over the open field and settled on the smoldering remains of the house. “It’s not a good quiet, Black. It feels like the last deep breath before you drown or the moment when you can see the car’s going to crash, but it’s too late to stop it. Last time I felt this way was in the days leading up to the Revelation Riots. Something big is coming. I just wish I knew what direction it was coming from.”
Tindall was right. I’d felt it, too. Even though I enjoyed the quiet, something about it felt wrong. Most of my focus had been on my family and preparing for whatever it was Seamus was going to throw at me, so I hadn’t had much time to worry about it. But it was there, lurking under the surface. You could see it in people’s faces, the fear, worry, and paranoia everyone felt, but no one spoke about. It had been that way ever since the shooting downtown.
“You’re a bunch of pessimists,” Ed said, and both of us looked at
him. He’d opened the trunk of my car and pulled on the spare pair of sweats I kept back there. They were too big, even with the drawstring pulled tight. “You killed a giant and gave a faerie king the middle finger. I find your lack of faith disturbing.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You realize you’re quoting the bad guy, right?”
Ed raised a finger and wagged it. “Was he? Technically, he was the ultimate hero of the story.”
“Right. I’m really interested to hear you explain that one.” I waved to Tindall and walked around to the driver’s side. “Go home and get some sleep, Sheriff. I’ll call you if anything weird happens.”
Chapter Five
The drive to the hospital wasn’t as tense as I expected. Ed put the window down, and the whoosh of wind at highway speeds filled the car until we took the exit near the hospital. At thirty-five miles per hour in the middle of the night, the only sound was the distant wail of a siren as another ambulance headed out.
Ed rolled his window up while we sat at a red light, waiting to pull into the hospital. “Am I going to be in trouble?”
“What would you be in trouble for, Ed?”
“The magick. I know I’m not supposed to use it. I’m not registered as a practitioner.”
I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. Ed was a friend, and I didn’t generally turn in friends, but if he continued to use his magick during the investigation, I’d have no choice. “It’s dangerous, what you’re doing.” He began a protest, but I cut him off with a wave of my hand. “I know you know that. I just wanted you to know that I knew. Reporting what you can do isn’t my first choice. It’s not even a close second, Ed. If I have to, though, I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“What needs to be done,” Ed repeated and shook his head. “I was afraid you’d say that.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’ll go as far as needed to save a friend, but there are lines even I won’t cross. Torture is one of them.” I stole a glance sideways at Ed, whose face was serious. “It was never my intention that any of that happen to Mara. She made decisions and kept me out. I understand why she did. I understand why the two of you have spent the last nine months moving around in secret, but that has to end if we’re going to continue to work together. No more secrets, Ed. No more lies.”