“She doesn’t know him,” Chase said. “When she does, she’ll see.”
Steve shrugged. “For Della’s sake, I hope you’re right.”
As the guy walked out, Chase said, “Thank you.”
Steve kept walking but Chase heard his words. “You’re welcome. But I still don’t like your ass.”
* * *
“Perry feels terrible,” Miranda told Della as she dropped down on Della’s bed. Della had come back from Chase’s to read the DA’s file over and over. Hoping to find something that would help get her father off. Miranda’s footsteps on the porch had woken her from a dead sleep—only to face the dead.
Della could feel the fingers of cold getting closer.
“Did his cousin tell Burnett anything?” Della asked, looking around and hoping she was wrong.
“Perry said that Burnett hadn’t finished talking to him. He was called away on another case.”
Della tried to pay attention to the witch, but it was hard. She could hear Mrs. Chi in the living room. Here, kitty, kitty.
Socks came hauling butt into the room and jumped onto the bed.
“What’s wrong?” Miranda asked the cat and picked her up.
“Be careful,” Della warned. “She has sharp claws.”
“Don’t make her feel bad,” Miranda said. “She only scratched you because the dog was here.”
“Yeah,” Della said. “But she obviously doesn’t like ghosts either.”
Miranda’s hazel eyes widened. “Is there a ghost … here? Now?”
Della wanted to lie, for Miranda’s sake, but she saw the girl shiver. From the cold as well as fear, so she nodded.
“Oh, crap.” Miranda put the cat down.
Kitty. Kitty. Mrs. Chi’s voice echoed again. The eeriness of it caused fear to tiptoe down Della’s spine.
“Is it your aunt?” Miranda asked, and the witch’s breath sent a wisp of fog.
A thud sounded from the living room.
Socks flew off the mattress, hit the wall with a thump, twisted midair, then scrambled under Della’s bed.
If Della hadn’t been embarrassed, she’d have followed the cat.
Another thud sounded and Della turned her gaze to the door just as a bloody basketball rolled into the room.
Then Mrs. Chi appeared, looking lost and pathetic. Guilt chased away Della’s sense of fear. She’d been so worried about Chase and the DA’s file, she’d put her elderly neighbor out of her mind.
Mrs. Chi’s sad gaze met Della’s. Where’s Chester?
“That’s not Chester.”
“Who’s Chester,” Miranda asked.
“A cat,” Della answered, but didn’t take her eyes or heart away from Mrs. Chi.
“Your ghost is a cat?” Miranda hugged herself from the cold. “This is getting freakier and freakier.”
They did it again, Mrs. Chi said.
“Who did what again?” Della asked.
“Are you talking to a dead cat?” Miranda asked.
They hurt someone.
“Who did they hurt?” When the spirit didn’t answer, Della threw out another question. “Do you know the names of the guys who are doing this?” Della motioned for Miranda to be quiet.
No. The old woman looked down at the basketball. But I showed you.
“What did you show me?” Della asked.
You saw.
“What did I see?” Della stood up. “I didn’t see enough to help me stop these creeps.”
You saw, Mrs. Chi repeated and then she and the basketball vanished.
Della snagged her phone, and called Burnett. It went to voice mail. “Call me,” Della said and started toward the door.
“Where are you going?” A scared Miranda popped out of the bed.
“To see Chase,” Della said, realizing they’d never gone over the vision. Maybe Chase would have an idea what Mrs. Chi’s words had meant.
“Can I come?” Miranda asked. “I don’t want to stay here with a dead cat.” Then the girl paused. “Or are you and Chase going to get naked again?”
“We weren’t naked,” Della snapped.
“If I’d been a few minutes later, you would have been.”
Della growled and wanted to deny it, but wasn’t sure it was altogether untrue. “There wasn’t a dead cat. Just a … dead … person.” Then, flinching at how that sounded, and hoping Mrs. Chi wasn’t in earshot, she added, “A sweet ol’ lady.” She flinched again. “Not that old.”
“I’m still coming.” Miranda stood up, looking around the room as if afraid something might jump out at her. “Why did I have to get stuck with two ghost-magnet roommates?”
“You’re just lucky like that,” Della said.
And so it seemed Della was lucky too, because Kylie stepped up on the porch and the witch decided not to come.
Chapter Twenty-six
The heavy-footed steps moving to his door told Chase the identity of his visitor before he got Burnett’s scent.
“Come in,” Chase said, though he doubted Burnett considered an invitation necessary.
The man stormed in. Chase didn’t waste a second. “Did you get anything from the guy Stone sent?”
“What the hell were you thinking?” Burnett thundered.
“I didn’t know Stone knew where I was!”
“I’m not talking about that! I’m talking about you going to that damn prison!”
“I was acting on some advice I got from another agent.”
Burnett stepped closer, his eyes bright with anger. “What idiot of an agent would have advised—”
“You,” Chase said, proud of himself. “You told me that to find the scum, I needed to ask other scums. The prisoners at—”
“I would have never allowed you to go alone!”
“Alone was the only way I could get in.” Chase held his shoulders tight and recalled his ammunition. “According to rule twenty-six, an agent is expected—”
“You are expected to have enough sense in your brain to know the risks.”
“I was aware of the risks,” Chase said.
“No, you weren’t. You think you’re invincible. You are young and dumb.”
“It would only be dumb if I didn’t get anything.”
Burnett scowled. “And who would have given us this lead if you hadn’t made it out?”
“I did make it out.”
“You think I haven’t seen this before? The first agent I was asked to train was nineteen. She thought nothing could touch her. She took a stupid risk and went after a killer by herself. By the time I got there, the only thing I could do was hold her hand while she died. They gave me the job of telling her mother that her daughter was dead. I refuse to have to tell another parent their kid is dead.”
I don’t have parents, Chase almost said, but caught himself. “I probably should have spoken with you. You win. I was wrong. But can we start working on my lead, now?”
“Probably?” Burnett groaned, then looked at Chase. “We’re talking about Hell’s Pit, aren’t we?”
Chase nodded, a little surprised Burnett was aware of it.
“I weighed the risk and made the decision to go,” Chase said.
Burnett exhaled. “You know what? I’m wrong. I apologize. I mean, weighing the risk is an important ability, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Chase felt validated.
Burnett nodded. “How about we send Della in to confirm whatever lead you got? I’ll call her right now.” He pulled out his cell and started punching in a number.
Chase’s breath hitched in his chest. Burnett hadn’t dialed Della’s number, he told himself. This was a ploy.
“Della,” Burnett said. “I’m at Chase’s cabin. Can you meet me here in five minutes? We need to discuss something.”
“I’m on my way now.” Della’s voice rang out from the phone. Chase’s blood fizzed with frustration.
Burnett put the phone back in his pocket. “I want her to know the risk before she decides to do it.”
Now it was Chase’s time to grit his teeth. In his heart, he knew this was just Burnett’s way of bringing home his point. The man would never let Della go. Chase just wished the point wasn’t so damn sharp.
Burnett lifted one brow. “What’s wrong?”
Chase swallowed. “Okay. It was too risky. You win.”
Burnett ran a hand over his face then met Chase’s eyes again. “I don’t want to win! This isn’t some friggin’ game. It’s life and death. If right now I thought I could go to the FRU and get your ass tossed out, I’d do it. But no, it’s too soon, and they’d just give you to someone else. Then when you ended up dead, I’d be stuck thinking I could have saved your sorry ass if I hadn’t passed you on.”
Burnett moved in, so close Chase could count the man’s lashes. “But I swear to God, kid. If you do something else this stupid, I’ll find a way to get your ass tossed out of the FRU. And don’t for one minute think I don’t mean it. I’ll make some shit up about you and the council. I’ll plant evidence.”
He put one finger on Chase’s chest. It didn’t feel like a threat so much as a man bringing home his point again. “Because I can live with killing your career a lot easier than I can live with watching you get yourself killed. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Chase nodded. “I understand.” And as scary as it was, Chase believed Burnett meant it.
“Good.” Burnett dropped onto the sofa. “Now, sit your ass down and tell me what you got out of your stupid mistake.”
Chase told Burnett everything. Even what he didn’t want to about his suspicions that someone at the council knew more about Stone than they were saying.
“I never considered that Stone would be looking for me. The last thing I wanted was to bring trouble here. If you think it would be best, I’ll find some other place to stay.”
Burnett seemed to consider it. “I don’t think that’s necessary right now.”
“The last thing I want to do is endanger—”
“If this kid, Sam, is all Stone has up his sleeve, I’m not worried.” Burnett leaned forward.
Chase hated to disagree with Burnett, but … “You may not be worried, but the kid managed to get in. And as nonthreatening as Sam might have been, the next guy—”
“His getting in was my own mistake,” Burnett said. “I should have run a check as soon as the power flickered. I won’t make that mistake again.” The man leaned forward. “If I feel your being here becomes a threat, we’ll revisit this discussion. Until then, you stay.”
Burnett’s tone made it sound like an order. One that Chase didn’t think he had the right to give.
* * *
Della landed in front of Chase’s cabin. She tuned her hearing to listen to the conversation and walked in. They both looked at her and Burnett motioned for her to sit down.
“Who on the council do you suspect of being dirty?” Burnett asked Chase.
“I’m not sure, but maybe I can investigate further by speaking to the prison guard. Maybe he knows more than he thinks.”
Della didn’t miss the fact that Chase wasn’t willing to admit it might be Kirk who was dirty.
Burnett frowned. “You do not go back into that prison. Not even near the prison,” his tone deepened.
“I understand,” Chase said.
Della wasn’t sure what had conspired between these two, but Chase seemed to be playing nice.
In the beat of silence, her patience snapped. “What did you need to see me about?”
“Let’s start with good news,” Burnett said. “I just heard back from the agent trying to fix things so Natasha can return to the human world. We tied up a few loose ends and now have her disappearance tied to Liam’s.”
“So she gets to go back home?” Della asked.
“We still have a few things to work out, but yes.” He paused. “Now for the bad news. There’s been another murder. We’re thinking it’s the same killers as the Chis and the young were cases. A couple, early twenties, only a mile away from the other crimes, was found in another park.”
Della nodded. “Mrs. Chi appeared to me about fifteen minutes ago and told me they had hurt others. I called you.”
“I was on my way here.” He hesitated. “Did she give you anything that might help us catch them?”
“No. But she still had the basketball. Did you keep the agent at the park at the basketball court?”
“I did. No one has shown up.”
“Was there a basketball court at the other park?”
“I think so,” Burnett said. “I’ll put someone on it. And I’ll see about putting other agents at any nearby park with courts.”
“I’d be happy to do that,” Chase said.
Burnett shook his head. “They might recognize you from when you rescued Della. Plus the doctor said you need to take it slow for today.”
Della remembered the reason she’d come here to start with. “Mrs. Chi said something … something that led me to believe she thinks I didn’t pick up on something in the vision. Because Chase was in the vision too, I thought if we compared notes we might stumble across something.”
“You should have done it right afterward,” Burnett said.
“Things came up,” Chase said.
Changing the subject, Della asked, “Have the autopsies been done?”
“Of Mr. and Mrs. Chi, yes, but not the young weres.” Burnett hesitated. “Definitely a were crime, a few bite marks but nothing distinguishable. So no evidence to help catch the killers. They are testing for DNA, but unless the killers were arrested by the FRU, that won’t help us.”
“So they just get away with murder?” Della snapped, and her frustration intensified not just from knowing the Chis, but from the fact that these killers were close to her parents’ home—close to her sister, who probably visited both the parks where the murders happened.
“Not if I can help it,” Burnett said. “The same examiner who did the Chis’ autopsy is doing the young weres’. She’s supposed to call when she’s finished.”
Leaning forward, Burnett cupped his knees in his palms. “Holiday told me she brought you the DA’s file. I still haven’t had the opportunity to read it. Did you find anything that might help us?”
Della’s heart raced at his question. She hated saying it aloud. “Help us, no. Hurt him, yes.” She took a deep breath. “My dad’s the one who called 911. The DA had made notes that his story changed, because now he claims he was unconscious the whole time.”
Burnett frowned. “At least his lawyer knows now.”
Chase leaned in. “It was a very traumatic experience. People block things out. I think it will be understandable to any judge that the situation could have affected his memory.”
Della’s emotions pushed back her ability to hear the positive. “But that’s not the picture they are going to paint. They’re going to say he killed his sister and then lost his mind.” Making it harder was that his own sister believed it.
Burnett seemed to read her mind, or at least the direction of her thoughts. “Holiday’s worried the ghost is—”
“No,” Della said. “I’m not letting Holiday send her away or chase her off.” She stared at Chase, praying he wouldn’t jump in and add fuel to the fire. He didn’t, but his gaze said he wanted to.
She swallowed the need to give in to tears and faced Burnett. “Have you gotten a judge on board yet?”
“Not yet,” Burnett said. “We’re still working on it. But giving up hope isn’t going to help.”
“I’m not giving up; I’m worried.”
“We’ve got the Douglas Stone lead. And now we have this cousin of Perry’s,” Chase said, as if to comfort her.
Della glanced at Burnett. “Has Sam given us anything?”
“I was pulled away to go to the murder scene. I’m letting him stew for a while.” Burnett cupped his hands and glanced down. She knew that look. He had something else to tell her and it probably wasn’t good.
“What else?” Her stomach
muscles hardened to the point it hurt.
Chapter Twenty-seven
“I got a call from our guy in the DA’s office,” Burnett said. “They got the trial date. Two weeks.”
“We’ve got two weeks to prove him innocent?” Della’s voice shook. “We’ll never do that.”
“Yes, we will,” Chase said.
“Listen to him,” Burnett said. “All it takes is one lead.”
Burnett took out his phone to check the time. “Why don’t you two go over the vision? In about an hour…”—he glanced at Chase—“if you feel up to it, you two can come down and help me interrogate Sam.”
“I’m up to it,” Chase said. “Tomorrow, in addition to looking for Stone’s girlfriend, I’d also like to start revisiting the Douglas Stone suspects, concentrating on the ones I’ve already visited.”
“But I thought you didn’t get anything from them,” Burnett said.
“I didn’t, but as Pope pointed out, Stone said I was poking around in the wrong places.”
“Were any of these people you spoke to vampires or supernaturals?” Burnett asked.
“No.”
“Then how would Stone have known it was you asking questions?”
“I don’t know, but my guts say he did.”
Burnett sighed. “Then I guess follow your gut.”
Della sat up a little straighter. “I’d like to go with him.”
“You have school,” Burnett said.
“I could miss a day or two. Hell, I could miss two weeks.”
Burnett frowned. “You can’t—”
“What am I gonna miss? Lessons about Russian politics, finding what friggin’ x is to y, and trying to decipher the theme of Pride and Prejudice? We’re running out of time. This could mean my dad’s life!” This time tears filled her eyes.
Burnett glanced at Chase, almost as if seeking his okay. What the hell? She sure as heck didn’t need his permission.
“I’ve got her back,” Chase said.
“Oh, please,” Della said. “Excuse me while I go and grow a penis so the sausage-and-meatball-toting gender will stop thinking I need a man to protect me.”
Both Chase and Burnett looked taken aback by her rebuttal, or perhaps it was her description of their genitals, but what the heck did they expect?