Chapter 14
THE CITY HALL was dark and silent when we arrived. A couple of deputies were headed toward their squad car as we jogged up the steps to the main plaza, and they waved at Delia.
“Sheriff, we’ve got a five-two down at the Starhopper’s Mini-Mall.”
“Be careful. You never know what else might be waiting.” She waved them on. “Damn kids. There’s been a rash of break-ins at some of the smaller stores. You’d think around here they’d realize that magical alarms are cheap to come by. But there’s always some idiot kid who thinks they can beat the system and break in.”
We hurried through the silent hallway, passing the city hall and the courthouse. As we swept through the doors to the sheriff’s office, the flurry of busyness startled me. At times I forgot that some careers never had a lull.
“Ralph’s in one of the main holding cells.” Delia wove us through the cluster of desks till we came to a door on the other side of the room. There, she brushed a keycard against the scanner on the wall and an audible click sounded as the door opened.
Once through that door, the hall was concrete, and I could sense a thick muffling wave that made my magic settle into a slow pulse. A magical reduction ward, I guessed. They’d have to have that, as well as other safeguards, in place, given the nature of Bedlam’s inhabitants.
The hall stretched on for a ways, several doors along each side. It ended in a T-junction. We followed Delia to the end of the hall, turning left behind her. About fifteen feet later we came to a large gate that barred the path with a door in the center. Ten feet beyond the door was another iron gateway stretching across the hall. Beyond that, I could make out a row of cells.
The officer inside scanned Delia’s keycard and then looked at us. “Any weapons to declare?”
Sandy handed him her bag. “You might as well keep that till I come back. Gun, brass knuckles, pepper spray, switchblade…a few other things.”
The guard suppressed a smirk as he locked it away in a cabinet, then proceeded to run a scanner over the three of us. I wasn’t sure what he was scanning for, but apparently none of us had any hidden contraband that showed up, so he locked the door through which we had just entered, then opened the one leading into the cell block.
Delia led us down the hall. We passed a couple large, barred windows that let in the light from the storm outside. Huge floodlights illuminated the grounds outside, and in their light we could see that the snow had picked up again. The Winter Fae must be partying hard, I thought.
The walls were taupe. The color was bland, draining the brightness out of everything. The hall also felt like it muffled energy, as well. Nothing to trigger tempers or sadness. Just a soft smoosh of bland, bland, bland.
We came to the end of the hall, and the cell block ran to the left and right of the archway. The cell in front of us was empty, but to the left sat Ralph Greyhoof, staring quietly at the television that was playing a football game. Ralph was a Seahawks fan, and he often threw huge football and tailgate parties.
The cells to either side of his were empty as well, and I could see cameras aimed on him from all directions. He really was under surveillance.
The moment he saw us, he turned off the television, slowly standing. “Sheriff, what’s going on?” He did a double take when he saw me. “Maddy…” Flustered, he stopped and lowered his head, staring at his hooves. “I don’t know what to say.”
“I know you were in thrall, Ralph. We may have a healthy competition between us, but I know you wouldn’t deliberately try to kill me. Or anybody else.” I tried to keep from wrinkling my nose as the scent of his discomfort hit me square in the face. One thing about satyrs: they couldn’t keep their moods hidden. Their scents gave them away every time, which was why so many of their first dates went bad. When you can smell a guy’s erection, it tends to put you off your dinner.
“Yeah, but we don’t actually know that I didn’t hurt that girl.” His voice was raw and he looked up, his gaze locking with mine. In his eyes I could see the whirl of guilt and fear and concern roiling up one hell of a storm.
“We’re going to try to find out for sure. If you didn’t, then you deserve to be free. If you did…”
“Then it’s better all the way around for everybody to know.”
“Ralph, we’re worried that you might be in danger. Don’t ask me why or who, but I’m going to move you to premises that are more secure.” Delia pulled out a large hoop filled with keys. She glanced through, finding the right key. “Stand back from the door, please.”
Ralph obliged, moving to the back of the cell. As I watched him, I knew I had been right. Ralph was no killer. This wasn’t someone who could easily cast aside someone’s life. He might be lascivious, but he wasn’t vicious.
Delia opened the cell and motioned for him to move forward. He held his hands behind his back, turning around so she could cuff him. Wincing at the iron in the cuffs—satyrs could handle silver, but iron roughed them up—he followed her as she led him out of the cell.
We quickly walked the other way, to the opposite side of the juncture. There, we came to a heavy steel door painted red. Delia glanced back at us. “This is a safer area.”
“What’s going on?” Ralph asked.
“We’re just trying to protect you in case the vampire who enthralled you comes back to—” Delia paused, glancing up at the satyr, who stood head and shoulders above her.
“To kill me?” Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and he began to fidget. “You really think I’m in danger?”
“We aren’t certain, but we’d rather be safe than sorry,” Sandy broke in.
“Sandy’s right. And behind this door, you’ll be in a vampire-free zone. They can’t get beyond the magical wards we have set up. And neither can anybody else.” Delia wasn’t quite being truthful. I could sense a discrepancy, but Ralph couldn’t.
He calmed down as she opened the door and led him through, motioning for us to wait. A moment later she returned and once again locked the heavy door. “He’ll be okay for now. Truth is one of the Aunties could get through, or someone like them. But I doubt that’s going to happen. Come on, let’s go talk to forensics and see what they’ve found.”
We returned to the main office, where she led us through another door. We stopped at a small cubicle toward the back of a narrow hall. With a quick knock, she opened the door.
We followed her through into a room that was larger than I had expected. On one side of a room was a row of lockers labeled “Evidence.” To the left were long workbenches, with magnifying glasses, microscopes, and all sorts of equipment. Straight ahead was some sort of a testing ring, where large white boards were covered with splatters mimicking blood. Several mannequins had taken a bad turn and were lying on the floor, ragged blood bags strapped to their chests and backs. We followed Delia over to one of the desks, where an officer was poring through a sheath of papers.
“Darren? What have you got for me on the Rose Williams case? Anything?” Delia leaned over his desk.
Darren—who I could tell at first glance was a werewolf, he had that lupine look to his eyes—glanced up at her. “I think we do, actually. We tried out several scenarios as to how she was stabbed. Sheriff, the person who killed—” He paused, glancing behind her as we all crowded around.
“Go ahead. They’re all right.”
“Okay, then. Williams was killed by somebody who had to be under five-eight. The angles of the wound are all wrong for anybody taller than that. I’d actually place the assailant at between five-five to five-eight. So that’s a fairly narrow range.”
Delia glanced at me. “Ralph’s six-three.”
“That occurred to me,” I said.
Darren held up another paper. “However, the killer was incredibly strong. The coroner just sent his report over and the wound to her stomach was so forceful that it chipped her spine. So the knife had to be strong and the assailant had to possess a massive amount of
strength. Given there’s only one stab wound and no signs of struggle, I would say that she either knew the killer, or was taken by surprise.”
“Anything else?” Delia asked, glancing over the forms he handed her.
“Yes, actually. We found two partial prints on the panpipes. The pipes were wiped clean, otherwise. Neither print matches the satyr’s. Even though he verified they belong to him it looks like they were planted at the scene. Whoever left them there wiped them clean, but wasn’t quite thorough enough.”
“This is all good news for Ralph. Anything else that we can use to exonerate him?” Delia blew a thin stream of breath through her teeth.
“Actually, yes. Greyhoof is left handed. If you look at this picture, you’ll notice the angle of the injury. When we recreated it, the killing blow came in on a right-handed angle. Also, and perhaps most important, when satyrs are highly excited—be it arousal or adrenaline—they give off a strong odor.”
“We knew that already.”
“Perhaps what you didn’t know is that their scent markers contain particles that cling to anybody near them. We can test to see if someone’s been within arm’s reach of a satyr within the past few hours and be reasonably sure of our answer.”
This was news to me and it made me wonder what any number of suspicious husbands—and a few wives—would do if a home satyr-scent test was invented.
Aegis spoke up. “You mean, because we were close to Ralph just a few minutes ago, we’d show positive for satyr dust?”
“Particulates, not dust. But yes. If he’s in any way aroused or excited or frightened, you’ll test positive. And the tests on Williams’s body were negative. Not a speck.” The deputy shrugged. “I’m going to say that we have no circumstantial evidence to place him there.”
Delia took one last look through all the forms and handed them back to him. “Then that clears him. We’re looking for a shorter killer who’s incredibly strong, and who definitely isn’t a satyr.”
“There’s nothing that can mask those particulates?” Sandy said.
Darren shook his head. “Not really. Oh, there are some magical charms that might be able to do it, but given everything else, no.”
I stared at the papers in Delia’s hand. “If Rachel was behind it, Ralph would probably have been the triggerman. But why wouldn’t Essie do the same if she’s the one responsible? Why get blood on her own hands?”
“You say Ralph isn’t capable of killing, right?” Aegis was frowning.
I nodded. “Right.”
“I’ll tell you something not many people know. Thrall won’t turn the victim into an automaton. If Ralph really doesn’t have a killer’s nature, he’d resist and it would be a mess of trouble. Whoever tried to set him up didn’t count on Ralph being more blowhard than bite. If you resist an order while under thrall, and you resist hard enough, it can break the connection.”
“So the vampire—be it Rachel or Essie—had to do the actual dirty work. Ralph couldn’t, so she did,” I said.
“There’s one other possibility,” Sandy said. “Essie likes control. Maybe she didn’t believe Ralph would actually manage it without fucking it up. So she set everything to look like he did it, but made certain that Rose—whom she thought was you—actually ended up dead.”
Delia frowned. “I’m not sure where to go from here. First, there’s Essie. And then, Rachel. Because of her obsession with Aegis, she’s likely to be more off kilter than Essie and therefore, more dangerous.”
I frowned. “Do you think that Rachel knows Essie set her up as the one behind Rose’s murder?”
“That’s a good question. I suggest we use that to our advantage.” Aegis cocked his eyebrows. “I have an idea, but it’s going to take a little while for me to implement. Until then, we sit tight. Let’s talk in a private place, shall we?”
And with that, Delia led us back to her office.
BY THE TIME we left the station, it was nearly 3:00 a.m. All of us were tired, so Delia had one of her deputies drive us back to my place.
“It’s so late. I’d rather not worry about you driving, even with that spell on your car. Stay the night. What good are four guest rooms if I don’t have somebody in there?” I wrapped my arm around Sandy’s waist as we hurried from car to kitchen. Aegis kept a watch until we reached the back patio and had entered the house.
“I guess you can talk me into it, if you give me plenty of coffee in the morning. But if you don’t mind, I’m going to crash now. I’m so freaking sleepy.” Sandy yawned. “I can sleep in the room where I took the shower. That looked comfortable.”
“Oh, the Garden Room? Yeah, go ahead. I specifically infused that room with earth energy to give it that nurturing, growing sensation. I’ll head up in a few. Aegis will keep watch over the house till morning. Won’t you, sweetheart?” I turned to him as he reached out to rub my back.
“Of course. There should be a few snacks in the mini-bar, Sandy. Don’t worry about messing up anything. It will be a quick cleanup tomorrow.” Aegis waved as Sandy heaved a sigh and began to drag herself up to the second story.
When she was out of sight, I let out a slow breath and dropped into the rocking chair in the kitchen, pulling Drofur into my lap. The stuffed unicorn said nothing, but he smelled like cotton candy and bubblegum. “This has been one hell of a day.”
“And night. You’ve been up too long. You look beat, Maddy. Why don’t you go to bed and sleep now?”
“I will in a moment,” I said. “My brain’s churning so much that I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.” I glanced at the clock. “I wonder where Linda and Patty are by now? I hate to think of them alone in the world, but I guess they’re beyond our reach now.” And then it hit me: I was the new High Priestess of the Moonrise Coven. I felt totally unprepared for the job, like a deer caught in the headlights.
Aegis pulled one of the kitchen chairs over to my side and took my hand. “Maddy? Are you all right?”
“I just realized that I’m going to have to take over the coven and be responsible for it, starting tomorrow morning. Its failure or success will depend on me. It all comes down to the High Priestess, and I’m not at all certain I have the expertise that’s needed.”
“You most definitely do. You just lack the confidence. I hope you don’t sell yourself short. Sandy will be there to help you.”
I straightened, turning to him. “But what am I going to tell them? I can’t tell them that Linda was turning on them, handing them over to the vampires.”
“They have to know. You have to be transparent with them, or they’ll sense you’re hiding something and become suspicious. Linda hid her secrets and look what happened to her. That put her at the mercy of Essie and her ilk. I may be a vampire, but this is why I do not get involved in the politics of Fangdom. It’s a dangerous, murky area. We’re fighting for our rights, but so many of my kind make that difficult by being exactly the type of creature that makes others run in fear. Go to bed, Maddy. Sleep. Everything will look clearer in the morning.”
Deciding there was nothing else I could do for the night, I agreed. But it was a long time before I could sleep, and I tossed and turned all night, running from shadows in my dreams, and from a dark figure wearing a bright crown of sparkling blood, frozen into crystal form.
I GROANED AS the alarm clock went off at 8:00 a.m. I really didn’t want to get up, but then I remembered the meeting at the Town Hall and grimaced, slipping out from beneath the covers. Bubba was staring out the window, but when I stirred, he merely glanced at me and let out a “Murp?”
“Yes, I’m getting up. Good morning, you little tosser. By the way, thank you for helping Linda and her daughter. I know you had something to do with it and that nothing got twisted around. You’re a sweetie, you know that?” I reached down to run my hand over his tail as I stared out the window. The morning was starting off with a pale shimmer of sunlight breaking through the clouds, but even the sun looked cold at this point. G
iven the amount of snow and storms we had had, magic use must be up.
Bubba just flicked his tail and haughtily strutted over to the door. “Mrow.”
“I know you’re hungry. I’ll be down in a few minutes. Go wake up Sandy, if she’s not already up.” I waved him off and he darted out the door.
A quick shower later, I dressed in my best indigo wash jeans, a mauve V-neck sweater, and a silver belt. I slipped on my big old Fugly-Boots, my favorite brand. Knee-high, they were leather and laced up the front. They had thick wedge heels, non-skid. They were stiff enough to keep my ankles from turning, and easily navigated the snow.
By the time I made it downstairs, I smelled espresso brewing. Sure enough, Sandy was at the helm and a frothy hot latte was waiting for me, along with toast and jam.
“I don’t think we have time for much more before the meeting, but at least this will get us through an hour or so of the shockwaves about to hit the community.”
“What should we tell them? Aegis thinks we should tell them the truth. But won’t that make people paranoid against the vampires?”
“Well, maybe they should be. I think he’s correct. But if you phrase it right, it won’t sound like we’re under siege.” She shifted her shoulders, then lifted her shirt to adjust her bra. “This is the last time I ever buy a Naomi Varjhas bra. The damned band won’t lay flat.”
Bubba leaped up on the table and stared at her.
“You little perv. Quit watching me.”
I laughed. “Bubba’s just waiting for you to ignore your toast. He likes toast and tries to steal mine whenever he gets the chance. I doubt if he’s entranced by your boobs.”
She snorted. “Neither am I. I accidentally caught my right one in the door yesterday when I leaned too close while shutting it. Mother-freaking son of a bitch, but that hurt.”
I snorted latte out my nose. “Thank you for that. I needed a sinus irrigation, yes indeed. Okay then, so we head out to this meeting in a few minutes. I don’t care if you think you’re not invited, I’m dragging you along.” Sobering, I set down my cup. “I don’t know about all this, Sandy. I’m not sure how to be the High Priestess. Am I serious enough for it? You know as well as I do, I don’t take things as reverently as I should. Won’t Temple HQ decide that I’m unfit for the job?”