Zach pointed to the far side of the desk. "There. Dial nine to get a line out of the compound."
"You have quite the setup here, don't you?" I asked, picking up the receiver. I punched nine, then dialed Chase's number. His answering machine picked up, so I hung up and tried him at work. Sure enough, he was still at his desk, but he sounded happier than he had earlier in the day.
"We caught him! We caught the dwarf-killer! Or should I say killers? A couple of teens from one of the local gangs. Damned bastards killed the dwarf as an initiation stunt to some weird cult. Have you ever heard of Freedom's Angels?"
"Can't say that I have," I said.
"They seem to be some offshoot of the Guardian Watchdogs, but I'm not sure how the two are connected. I've got a man on the case to find out, though. I've filed a report with OIA, but there's no word from them yet. We're holding the creeps until we get word on what HQ wants to do. They may demand extradition rights, which would open up a whole new can of worms. But at least we got 'em. What's up, babe?" he said, abruptly stopping to catch his breath.
Hating to put a cramp in his happiness, I briefly filled him in on what we'd found out. "The Weres want to take care of their dead, and considering what we're facing, that's probably best. But this guy… he was an FBH." I gave him the name Venus the Moon Child had given me. "We're figuring it's a good bet that he was killed by a werespider."
"Werespider? Not that damned Hunters Moon Clan you told me about?"
"Um-hmm," I said, not wanting to say anything since they might be listening in. "Listen, save everything else until you get out here. And make it quick, please."
Chase seemed to catch my drift. "Any sign of… you know what?" he asked, lowering his voice.
"Unfortunately, yes. But we'll talk about it later. Bring the FH-CSI medics. We may be dealing with Earthside Supes, but they're probably the best group to tackle this. We need to know several things about this man's body, and somebody's going to have to find out if he has a family, who to notify… stuff like that." If the gods were on our side, he would be a loner, unmarried, with no kids and parents who had already passed away.
While we waited for Chase, Venus asked Zachary to bring us something to drink. I wasn't sure that I trusted the Puma Pride just yet, so I declined, and of course Menolly didn't want any. But Camille and Morio accepted hot chocolate. I noticed they both sniffed their mugs carefully before tasting. The chocolate must have been fine, because they both began to drink the steaming cocoa.
I wandered over to the bay windows overlooking the path to the woods and pulled back the velvet drapes. The snow was still coming down, but now it was mixed with sleet. Before morning, rain would be in the wash, and we'd have a soggy mess to contend with.
Zachary moved to stand in back of me. Even though I liked him, I didn't like having someone hanging over my shoulder, so I turned just in time to clip his head with mine as he bent down.
"Oops," he said. "Sorry."
I forced a smile, not feeling at all confident about what was going on. Part of me just wanted to walk away and forget the compound existed.
He leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Are you seeing anybody?"
I shivered at the kiss of his breath on my neck. "Yes… yes, I am." Then, not knowing what propelled me, I added, "But I'm half-Fae. We aren't exactly exclusive." I was opening myself up to trouble, I knew it, especially with Chase on his way. A twinge of guilt nibbled at the edge of my conscience, and I added, "The detective on his way here is my lover. He's a good man."
Zachary paused, then nodded. "I understand. We'll talk more, later."
Venus called to him then, and he hurried over to talk to the shaman, but I could still feel him in my aura and my thoughts.
By the time Chase and his team got to the compound, we were itching to go home. Camille and Morio were curled up in one of the oversized chairs. He was tracing her cheek with delicate kisses while she sat on his lap, whispering in his ear. Menolly had found a corner in which to float near the ceiling, waiting and watching.
Tyler led the FH-CSI team into the room. Chase glanced around, starting when Zachary introduced himself. He stared at Venus with a curious look but merely said, "Where's the body?"
Suddenly, I found myself very happy to see him. He was safe territory, a known factor. I hurried over to his side, grateful for something to focus my attention on. Menolly lowered herself to the ground and hopped on the front edge of the desk, crossing her legs precisely, folding her arms across her chest. She didn't like Chase very much, but at least she was polite enough not to hover like a bat in the rafters when he was around.
As the medics examined the body, I leaned close to Chase and whispered, "Don't say anything you don't want overheard here. Something here isn't quite right, but I can't put my finger on it. Yet."
He nodded and planted a peck on my cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Zachary watching, his golden eyes now dark and tinged with irritation. I pulled away with an uneasy feeling that none of us were safe here. Not my sisters and me, not Chase and his team, not even the Pumas who belonged here. The night was fraught with danger, and we were all walking targets.
A few minutes later, one of the medics, Sharah, an elf, came over to talk to us. "The man was an FBH, all right. It looks as though every drop of liquid in his body, every internal organ, has been—"
Chase interrupted her, holding up his hand. "I know you need more time to do the autopsy and come to any real conclusions," he said in a pointed tone. Sharah blinked, then took her clue and nodded. "Take the body back to HQ and do what you need to. Have the report on my desk by morning at the latest."
"Yes, sir." Sharah motioned to her men. "You heard the detective. Get a move on, boys, we don't have all night."
Under the watchful eyes of Tyler, Venus, and Zachary, the EMTs body-bagged the man and carted him out to the waiting medic unit. My sisters, Morio, Chase, and I headed for the door as soon as they were through. Chase wrapped his arm around my waist as we approached the three Pumas.
"We'll let you know what we find out," I said.
"Fine." Zachary gave Chase a pointed look. "Thank you for coming out here on such short notice, Detective. Especially when we're so far outside your jurisdiction."
It was barely there in Zach's voice, but I could hear it: a challenge. I didn't know whether Chase would pick up on it, but apparently testosterone speaks its own language, superseding species and race.
Chase stared him down. "I'm sure your local sheriff wouldn't mind me stepping in. Would you like me to stop by his office, tell him about the case? While I'm at it, I can tell him the reason I'm here is because y'all are Supes and needed an FBH to run interference. As it is, I'm going to have to come up with a good reason why we removed an FBH murder case from your land."
Zach cleared his throat. "No, that won't be necessary," he said, frowning. After an icy pause, he motioned us toward the door. Tyler fell in beside him as they escorted us to our cars.
"I'll call you later tomorrow," I told Zach, keeping my voice as neutral as possible.
Zachary nodded, silent as the night. But I could feel his gaze fastened on my back as I climbed in and shut the door. Tyler, on the other hand, glowered the entire time. I had the distinct impression he appreciated neither our help nor our presence.
Camille waited until Chase was headed down the road, then she put the car into gear, and we eased out of the compound. On the way home, before anybody had a chance to say anything, I scribbled a note for them to read.
"Don't make anything other than innocuous conversation," it said. "I have a feeling the car may be bugged. I'll go through it tomorrow." And so that was how we came to discuss the impending holiday dinner the entire way home.
When we pulled into the driveway, we saw that Chase had arrived before we did. He was already inside. We spilled out of the car.
"Great gods, that was nerve-racking," Camille said as she wearily climbed the porch steps, carrying the shield that we'd found. She dropped it next to the door. "Let's leave this damn thing outside. I don't like the feel of it and don't want it in the. house," she added. "So, you really think my car's bugged?"
I nodded. "Ten to one, somebody was listening. Tomorrow, before you go anywhere, remind me, and we'll scan the car with the crystal that Trenyth left us."
"Good idea," she said. "Queen Asteria is one sharp cookie. We'd be as adrift as a glacier without her help."
Morio opened the door and stood back, allowing us to enter first. Menolly popped in the kitchen while the rest of us dropped into whatever seat we could find and stared at one another. Chase was shaking his head.
"That body… what happened to that man?" he asked.
"External digestion," Morio spoke up. We all stared at him.
"External digestion?" I said. "Yuck."
"How do you know that?" asked Chase.
Morio tugged at his collar. "Hey, I can't help it if I majored in biology when I got my degree online. My guess is that they'll find some residue of a digestive enzyme in his body. If the Hunters Moon Clan got him, they probably envenomated him with a paralyzing neurotoxin, which also broke down his internal tissue. Then they sucked it out through… well… wherever they could find—or make—a hole on his body."
"Gee, thanks for the visual. Not." Chase turned green. "Why did you have to tell me that? Now I'm going to have nightmares. It was so much easier before you all came through the portals. I hope you know that!"
I laughed, my first real laugh of the night. "Chase, the werespiders were here long before we came over from OW. As were the Puma Pride members and Morio and his kind. Get used to the idea that you had plenty of Supes here all along. You just didn't know about them."
"I still wish I didn't," he muttered but returned my smile. "Strike that. Then I wouldn't know about you, either."
Menolly came bounding back in the room. She'd changed into a clean pair of jeans and a pale blue sweater set. She wore stiletto heels, and her braids clicked gently as she pulled on her leather jacket.
She glanced at the clock. "I've got to get down to the Wayfarer. This took far longer than I'd planned. Remember, tomorrow night is my V.A. meeting. I expect at least one of you," she looked pointedly at Camille and me, "to go with me. You promised Wade you'd do what you could to drum up more family support."
"You're just trying to get a grant to help fund the organization, and you can't unless you have actual living members," Camille said. "Yeah, yeah, at least one of us will be there, and happily so."
Menolly snorted. "You know me too well," she said. "Iris left a note in the kitchen. She fed Maggie, and your dinner's in the fridge. She made a beef stew. I checked. There's enough for Chase and Morio," she added.
Chase looked up, surprised. "Thanks for the offer."
Menolly shrugged off his comment. "Hey, I'm not going to be here," she said but gave him a rare smile. She was out the door before we could say "Good night" or "Be careful."
She'd barely closed the door behind her when a noise from the kitchen told us Iris was stirring. She peeked into the living room. "I see you finally made it home. I just finished my bath and was about to go to bed, but now that you're here, I'll heat up dinner for you before I hit the sheets."
"We can do that, Iris—" Camille started to say, but Iris waved her off.
"Nonsense. You know I don't mind. Plus, you all look like you could use a good shower. Go on and get cleaned up, and by the time you're done, dinner will be on the table." She looked around. "Did Menolly leave already?"
"Yeah," I said. "She had to go in to work."
Iris nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen. I looked at Camille, Morio, and then myself. We all looked like we'd been through a mud bath.
"Okay, she's right. We're all a mess, except for Chase. Let's meet in the kitchen after a quick shower. Chase, why don't you keep Iris company until we come down?" I thought about asking him into the shower with me, but to tell the truth, I was way too tired for anything other than hot water and soap.
Camille and Morio headed up to her room. No doubt that he'd be joining her under the faucet. "Make it quick, you. two," I said as I turned the corner on the staircase, heading up to my own suite of rooms.
My apartment was the third floor of our old Victorian. It wasn't as big as Camille's suite, nevertheless it was mine, and I loved it. Three rooms and a bath. I'd set up one room as the master bedroom and the second as a workout and sitting room. The third was a kitty cat's playground, for when I felt like—or couldn't help—transforming. I'd filled the room with high-quality cat furniture: condos and climbing posts and slumber balls. In fact, sometimes when I catnapped, I preferred to change into my tabby form and curl up in one of the slumber balls. They were more comfortable than my bed.
The bathroom was filled with bath gels and supplies. I wasn't as girly as Camille, but I loved my bubbles and powders and creams. Stripping off my clothes, I tossed them in the laundry chute and climbed in the tub. No time for a lengthy bath, but the hot water was wonderful. I scrubbed my backside with the bath brush, throwing caution to the wind around the area of my butt that was still sore from the cockleburs. The scratches had scabbed over, and the bristles of the brush were soft enough that they didn't open them up again.
