Staying on Top

by Elizabeth Corrigan

“Well, while you’ve been off making poor decisions, the phone has been ringing off the hook. Some woman named Philindra keeps calling. She says she has urgent information for you regarding her friend’s death.”

  “Philindra Dixie?” Kadin hurried over to the phone, or more specifically, to the notepad next to the phone where the family recorded messages. “Did she leave a number to call her back at?”

  “Finally, after about the fifth time she called.” Octavira’s tone made it clear whom she blamed for the situation. “I told her you wouldn’t be home until late, but she insisted on calling back every fifteen minutes for over an hour. During dinner time at that!”

  Kadin ripped the top sheet, the one with Philindra’s phone number written in Octavira’s curvy script, off the notepad. She used the rotary to dial the numbers. “How long ago was her last call?” asked Kadin as the phone rang.

  “I don’t know, about an hour ago?”

  Kadin didn’t have time to respond to Octavira’s snide tone because someone at the other end of the line picked up. “Miss Stone? Please tell me that’s you.” There was a note of hushed panic in Philindra’s voice.

  “It’s me.” Kadin was impressed at how efficient and professional she sounded. “How can I help you, Miss Dixie? You said you had some information about the case?”

  A distant crash sounded from somewhere in Philindra’s house. “I sent you a message,” whispered the actress. “It should give you everything you need.”

  “Miss Dixie, are you in danger? I can send help!” Kadin rifled through the phonebook next to her telephone, looking for the Valeriel Investigations emergency line.

  “It’s too late for that now,” said Philindra. “Just find justice. For both of us.”

  “Are you on the phone?” yelled a male voice on Philindra’s end of the line. “Who are you talking to, bitch?”

  “No one,” said Philindra. “Just saying some good-byes. I love you, Mandrick.” Kadin thought that last sentence was addressed to her, but she wasn’t quite sure. Was Mandrick the man threatening Philindra? Kadin thought she recognized the voice but not from any film.

  “Miss Dixie,” Kadin said into the phone. “I’m going to hang up. I’m going to call for hel—”

  Before she could get out the last “p,” a loud bang sounded at the other end of the line, and Kadin realized she had never heard a ject shot in person before.

  “I’m going to call for help,” she repeated, though she wasn’t sure if it would do any good.

  Grateful the starlet’s domicile was a matter of public record, Kadin rushed as fast as she could over to Philindra Dixie’s home. It took her the better part of an hour to get across town, and her heart sank when she saw the yellow-and-black crime-scene tape cordoning off the premises. She was surprised, but only slightly, to see a yellow-and-black CrimeSolve vehicle with red lights flashing parked in front of the lavish apartment building.

  When the neighbors hear a ject shot, they call CrimeSolve.

  Kadin wished she had a ject of her own with her, but she’d been kicking herself all the way over for leaving her bag—the bag with the talking gun in it—at the club. She could only hope that either Olivan or Jace had thought to grab it for her—without looking inside.

  She pushed her way through the crowd gathered outside the scene and ducked under the crime scene tape.

  “Whoa there, little lady,” said the CrimeSolve man guarding the premises. “There’s been a murder here. You’re not allowed inside.”

  Kadin flashed her badge and was grateful to see Mason and Coterie, two Valeriel Investigations responders she recognized, heading in her direction. “I’m Kadin Stone with Valeriel Investigations. I called in the emergency team.”

  The CrimeSolve agent let out a chuckle. “Honey, the neighbors called us.”

  “And she called us,” said Coterie. “She was on the phone with the victim at the time of her death.”

  The responder looked Kadin’s floral dress up and down as if to say, You don’t look like a detective, sweetie, but he stepped back and allowed her access to the building. “If you’re a witness, the detective will want to have a word with you.” Kadin ignored his condescending tone and hurried up the stairs.

  She didn’t have to search to determine which apartment was Philindra’s. There were only four doors per floor, and the first door on the left of the third floor was wide open. She followed the sounds of voices into what looked like a bedroom. The ivory carpet offset the mauve walls, and Kadin was sure the decor would have been lovely if every surface were not spattered with sticky red blood.

  Lying on the floor was a very dead Philindra Dixie. Coelis Crest had looked like she might be sleeping, but the giant bullet hole in the middle of Philindra’s forehead left no doubt as to the cause of her death.

  Jace and Olivan were in the room, leaning over the body, Jace in studious examination, Olivan in morbid curiosity. Kadin had called Divinity and left a message for them to hurry over. She technically shouldn’t have called Olivan, but she needed backup. Fellows didn’t want her on the case, and she wasn’t about to break up with Dahran at a crime scene. Also in the room were Detective Clout and his two associates she remembered from Baurus’s estate.

  “Ah, Detective’s Aide Stone,” said Clout. “Finally, someone with something resembling credentials decides to show her face.”

  “I told you, I’m a detective.” Olivan’s tone was laconic, as if he’d said the same thing five times, and it wasn’t getting any less true. “I don’t bring my badge with me when I’m out clubbing.”

  From the expression on Clout’s face, he didn’t believe Olivan’s lie, but he wasn’t confident enough to make a stink about it. “So tell me, Miss Stone. How did Valeriel Investigations come to be involved in this aspect of the case?”

  “Miss Dixie called me.” Kadin relayed the content of her phone conversation with Philindra. “I don’t know what that last part meant. I thought I recognized the voice of the person in the room with her, but I didn’t think it was Mandrick Pane. I think she didn’t want her killer to know she was talking to a detective.” And she trusted me to pass one last message to the person she loved.

  “And this is why we don’t let women do the detecting,” said Clout. “She names her murderer to you, and you still can’t solve the case. Most cases are open-and-shut, Miss Stone. We’re just there to stamp the evidence.”

  As recently ago as yesterday, Kadin might have flushed at the chastisement, and maybe tomorrow, she would again. But after the day she’d had and the murder she’d audibly witnessed, she didn’t feel ashamed of herself for having a different opinion.

  “Why would she tell her murderer that she loved him?” asked Kadin. “I know if my boyfriend showed up with a gun in his hand, I wouldn’t be speaking any words of affection to him.”

  “Who knows why women do the things they do?” said Clout. “She was probably hoping to stay his hand. She mentioned Pane by name, and he was at the site of the Crest murder. That’s enough for me.”

  “That’s circumstantial evidence at best, and you know it,” said Kadin.

  “Well, Miss Stone, if you wish to launch your own investigation, you’re welcome to do it.” Clout gave her a knowing smirk, though what exactly he thought he knew, she was at a loss to determine. He turned to Jace. “Is it okay if we take the body with us on our way to arrest Pane? I know cause of death can be difficult for some detecting companies to determine.”

  Jace glowered at him. “I think I can recognize ‘bullet to the head’ when I see it. Though you will, of course, send over the full autopsy report when you have it?”

  “Of course, of course.” Clout waved his associates out of the room and moved to follow them. “Painter will be up to collect the body in a moment.”

  After the CrimeSolve team left, Kadin found herself staring at Jace, who rushed to collect as many samples f
rom the body as he could. Well, “rushed” was the wrong word. He took every sample carefully, but he moved with enough efficiency that she knew he was getting more than the average forensic analyst would in the time allotted.

  He deserves better than Joelle. She wondered if she should tell him about Dahran and Joelle but decided against it. He probably already knew about his wife’s proclivities, and she didn’t want to hurt him further.

  “Well, isn’t this fun?’ asked Olivan. “My first ever for-real murder scene!”

  Kadin cringed. “Yeah, sorry about that, Ollie. I—”

  Olivan waved a dismissive hand. “It’s no biggie. It’s kind of exciting.” He let out a big yawn. “But now I’m tired, and this crime scene is just getting colder. What do you say we reconvene in the morning for a post-mortem.” He snorted. “Apparently, literally in this case.”

  Jace glared at Olivan. “A woman is dead. Have some respect.”

  Olivan shrugged off Jace’s chastisement, but he did settle down a bit.

  “Hey, did either of you happen to pick up my purse?” asked Kadin.

  Olivan and Jace exchanged glances, and unfortunately not ones that said, “We have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  Kadin rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Who has my bag?”

  The exchange of looks repeated itself, and it was Olivan who spoke first. “Duke Baurus.”

  Kadin didn’t sleep well that night. Somehow, the idea of Baurus having her bag and her talking gun didn’t sit well with her. She hoped Xanidova had the good sense to keep quiet around Baurus, but Deity even knew what talking guns thought.

  The next morning, Kadin got to work as early as she could and left Fellows’s java waiting for him before heading down to the morgue. No doubt the beverage would be cold by the time he arrived, but she didn’t want to risk him yelling at her to stay off the case before she could talk to Jace and Olivan about it.

  Olivan was already in the lab when she arrived. He had hoisted himself up on the steel counter, much to Jace’s obvious chagrin. Poor Jace. No idea how to deal with Ollie.

  “Morning!” Kadin greeted the pair of them. “So, Jace, how many dead body parts do you think you’ve left on that table right where Ollie’s sitting?”

  Olivan leapt off the counter so fast Kadin thought he might actually have seen one of those body parts. “Deity’s sake, Kadin! Why’d you have to make me think about that?”

  As Olivan made an elaborate show of brushing off his posterior, Jace mouthed, Thank you to Kadin.

  “Why are we meeting in the morgue, anyway?” asked Olivan. “Not that I don’t love seeing Jace’s not-so-smiling face first thing in the morning, but couldn’t we meet somewhere with a better smell?”

  Jace rubbed his forehead. “Explain to me again why he’s here.”

  “I need backup,” said Kadin. “Fellows doesn’t want me on the case, and I’m avoiding Dahran.”

  Olivan pointed at her. “Aha! I knew something happened last night! You completely disappeared, which meant Duke Baurus left way too early—”

  “Probably because he was tired of your inane questions,” muttered Jace.

  Olivan stuck his tongue out at Jace. “He said he was going to find Kadin and give her purse back, but we all know that didn’t happen. Regardless, you all made a better show of it than Vinnie, who didn’t even put in an appearance.”

  “Great, can we talk about work now?” asked Kadin.

  “No,” said Olivan. “Not ’til you fess up about why you’re avoiding Dahran.”

  “I decided to take your advice,” said Kadin. “Dahran and I are finished.”

  Jace started and then stared at Kadin for long enough that heat rose to her face. Does he know about Joelle and Dahran? Does he know that I know?

  “Hmm.” Olivan frowned. “I guess it’s good to avoid him for the time being, then. He’s probably upset.”

  “Well, I haven’t actually told him yet.”

  “Kay.” Olivan moved to hop back up on the counter, but his disgusted face said he thought better of it. “You’re supposed to break up with him and then avoid him. It doesn’t work at all in the other order.”

  “I know.” Kadin cringed at the whiny tone in her voice. “He was just… occupied last night. And then there was the murder. I haven’t seen him yet this morning, and he’s going to be so mad.”

  “Better just to do it,” said Jace. “Like a Band-Aid and all that.”

  Kadin took a deep breath. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right. I’ll talk to him later today, but in the meantime, can we please talk about the case?”

  “Okay, yes. Now we can talk about the case,” said Olivan. “Do you really think Mandrick Pane killed Philindra Dixie and Coelis Crest?”

  Kadin shook her head. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t. It wasn’t his voice on the other end of the phone. But I didn’t argue too much with Clout about it because custody is probably the safest place for Pane right now. By pretending she was talking to him, she put a great big target on his forehead.”

  “Besides,” added Jace. “I’m not at all sure the same person killed both women. The modus operandi of the deaths was completely different. Philindra Dixie was shot in the head, with a gunshot loud enough that the body was instantly found. Coelis Crest had a heart attack, and Lady Beatrin only found her body by happenstance.”

  “Heart attack?” Olivan looked from Jace to Kadin, seeming to expect surprise from the latter. “So it wasn’t murder?”

  Kadin and Jace exchanged a long look. Should we tell him? Jace’s eyes asked. We have to trust someone, Kadin tried to signal back. Jace looked away for a moment then gave her a slight nod.

  “Is Dexter around?” Kadin asked. Dexter Gnome was Jace’s fellow forensic analyst, the one whose mind the Society of Mages had allegedly destroyed twenty years ago.

  “No, we’re safe,” said Jace.

  Kadin turned to Olivan. “What do you know about Herrick Strand?”

  Olivan spread out his arms. “Kay, it’s me. What don’t I know? He was Queen Callista’s bodyguard, who was having an affair with her and killed her. He escaped custody and is still at large. I’ve got about five articles on his background upstairs in my office if you want more information.”

  “So you know what’s common knowledge,” said Kadin.

  “Hey! My knowledge is not common! It is well researched and documented! I doubt you have five articles on the topic at your fingertips.”

  Actually, considering that Strand’s escape had been her first and only real failure as a detective’s aide and that she still considered him dangerous, Olivan should know her well enough to know that she had at least that many articles filed away in her desk drawer upstairs. But this wasn’t time for a pissing match over who had a bigger stack of glossy articles.

  “What I mean is that you don’t know the truth about how he killed Queen Callista,” said Kadin. “That he used magic.”

  Olivan laughed out loud. “Be serious, Kay. There’s no such thing as magic.”

  “It’s true,” said Jace. “I examined the queen’s body myself. Nothing natural could have caused the injuries she sustained.”

  “And I was there,” said Kadin. “I was there when we tried to take him into custody. He used magic to burn everyone.”

  Olivan’s face wrinkled up. He clearly wasn’t buying the explanation. “If he’s some kind of all-powerful murderer magician, why didn’t he just kill everyone trying to bring him into custody?”

  I stopped him. But Kadin wasn’t ready to admit that, not out loud, and not to Jace and Olivan. “I don’t know,” she said instead. “I guess escaping was enough for him.”

  “Besides, I don’t think he’s all-powerful,” said Jace. “I’m sure magic has limits, the same as everything else. But it does have the power to kill.”

  “So you think Her
rick Strand killed Coelis Crest?” Olivan’s tone was dubious.

  “No.” Jace shook his head. “I think magic of a different kind did.”

  “So you think there’s more than one magic user running around Valeriel City, killing famous blondes?” asked Olivan. “Does that sound ridiculous to anyone else?”

  “Sure.” Jace shrugged. “It would sound crazy to me too, if I hadn’t seen it in action.”

  “You can’t tell anybody, Ollie,” said Kadin. “And you can’t do your thing where you give a million hints and let people guess. You have to keep this a complete secret.”

  “Oh, no issues there,” said Olivan. “I don’t want people thinking I’m as insane as I currently think you two are.”

  “Either way, if you take magic out of the equation, the different methods of death don’t add up to one killer,” said Kadin.

  “But why would two different people kill two best friends in the course of a week?” asked Olivan. “And if it was the same person, what made him desperate enough to change his method?”

  Kadin lifted her shoulders in a helpless shrug. Those were her questions too.

  Chapter 12

  When Kadin got back to the office, Fellows was waiting for her.

  “Miss Stone,” he said. “I received a most interesting call from CrimeSolve this morning. It seems that one of our homicide detectives—a man I had never heard of, strangely enough—attended a CrimeSolve investigation last night. I don’t suppose you know anything about this?”

  “Yes, sir.” Kadin stood up straight. She doubted Fellows would accept her explanation, but she felt her actions the night before had been justified. “I interviewed Philindra Dixie the night of Coelis Crest’s murder, before you told me to stay out of the case. I gave her my contact information and told her to get in touch if she had any further information to share. She called me last night, and I heard a ject shot fire while I was on the phone with her. I called our emergency services and asked them to investigate.”

  Fellows face turned red. “Let me see if I understand you correctly. Last night, you deliberately interfered in an investigation that I instructed you to stay out of.”