Talia laughed. “You’re not in school, honey. If you have something to say, just come out and say it. We’re all part of this agency, and even though you’re new, that doesn’t mean that you can’t have an opinion.”
I flashed her a grateful grin. “Thanks. I just wanted to remind you all that the shadow that Angel felt when she was inspecting the pendant seemed to be some sort of a monster. Could the Dark Fae be summoning up some sort of demon?”
Herne gave me a thoughtful look. “That’s not out of the question. Both sides have made deals with not only the sub-Fae, but their underlings. We can definitely investigate that angle.”
“So who’s the new victim?” Yutani asked.
“I sure don’t want to tell you this,” Herne said, giving Angel a sideways glance. “Hang tight. This time, it was a fourteen-year-old boy. Apparently, neither sex nor age are factors when it comes to victims.”
I closed my eyes, trying not to think about the age of the boy. There was nothing I could do for now, except help to find his killer. “Where was he found?”
“Yeah, was it in Seward Park?” Viktor asked. “And was he human or a shifter?”
“Human.” Herne let out a long sigh. He consulted the text on his phone. “And he was actually found on the Eastside.”
“In the UnderLake District?” I began to jot down notes on what he was telling us. I glanced over at Angel. She had a sick look on her face. I wanted to comfort her, to remind her that DJ was safe, but this wasn’t the time or place.
“No, actually he was found on Mercer Island.” Herne held up his hand. “Before you mention it, I know perfectly well that Mercer Island is directly across from Seward Park. We seem to have a trail of bodies leading from the docks to the catacombs, to Seward Park, and now Mercer Island. Heading east.”
“If the murders are now one day apart, that means there’ll be another one today, probably found tomorrow.” I swallowed hard. Whatever we were facing seem to have an insatiable appetite. But what was it feeding on? Oh, there had been bite marks on the victims, and chunks of flesh taken out of a few, but not enough to feed a big hungry monster.
“So what’s next?” Viktor asked, looking as queasy as I felt.
“You, I, and Ember will go examine the murder site. Or rather, the dumpsite. We still don’t know where all the victims were murdered. Talia, get on the phone to those organizations and ask for full member rosters. See if our newest victim was a member. Yutani, run all the names through whatever computations you do, see if there are any connections between any of the other members that might link them to the murder victims we already have. Angel, you help Yutani and Talia however they need.”
“Of course,” she said, still holding her stomach. “What do I do if somebody comes in about a case? Do you even take cases that aren’t related to the war between the Fae? I’m not clear on that.”
Herne stood up, shrugging into his jacket. “Yes, we do, between cases that my father and mother send to us. And if anybody comes in wanting information, take their name and number, and set up an appointment for Wednesday or Friday afternoon. That’s when I offer consultations for other cases. From two until six p.m.” He motioned to Viktor and me. “Get your coats and let’s get a move on. We’ll take my car.”
As we hurried out of the office, I realized that I actually cared about what we were doing. I cared about the murder victims. It’d been a long time since I was this interested in my work, and that was a good feeling, even though it came at the expense of others.
Chapter 10
HERNE DROVE A black Ford Expedition, and he motioned for me to get in the front seat. Viktor scrambled in the back, looking like he didn’t care one way or the other. As we buckled up, Herne gassed the SUV and we took off out of the parking garage. He drove a little too fast for my comfort, but he was a good driver, and it didn’t surprise me that he drove a car as big as a house.
“How are we going to explain showing up at the murder site?” I asked. “Won’t the police get suspicious?”
“First, the police know all about my agency. Second, they’ve already been there and gone. If we encounter anybody, we walk softly and maintain composure. They won’t carry on an investigation once they realize this is connected to the other murders, so they’re not going to interfere with us.”
“Remember,” Viktor said from the backseat, “the Light and Dark Fae courts are chaotic, and they’ll push the boundaries until they get smacked. I know that your bloodline comes from both courts, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but it’s like dealing with unruly children who have their fingers poised over a weapon that could annihilate part of the country.”
“You don’t offend me,” I said. “Remember, my parents were killed by the Fae because they wanted to be together. From early on, the other Fae children let me know I didn’t belong to either side. If it wasn’t for Angel, I would have a rap sheet a mile long. She helped me steer clear of that. And her mother—Mama J.—helped keep me sane when my parents were killed. I know they sent the sub-Fae to do the job. Why get their own hands dirty when they can pay off a mercenary?” I knew I sounded bitter, but I had damn good reason to.
“When my father and mother gave me the dossier on you, there was a lot of information in there. But I have to hand it to you, you’ve managed to stay off the radar a lot better than most people,” Herne said softly.
I nodded, staring out the window. We were on the I-90 bridge already. Luckily, the morning rush hour had died down, and while it wasn’t smooth going, we weren’t in stop-and-go traffic, either.
“Yeah, I found them. I came home from school and when I saw the door ajar, I thought maybe my mother was cooking and wanted to cool off the kitchen. I don’t know why I thought that, it just made sense in my head. I pushed open the door and bounced into the house, hoping for cookies. What I found was my mother splayed out on the ground, butchered.”
“Cripes almighty,” Viktor said, sucking in a deep breath.
“I remember screaming so hard that I lost my voice. I ran into the living room only to find my father facedown on the carpet, a knife in his back. I don’t remember much else after that, just that the cops came, and said it had been a home invasion. They didn’t look very hard, and I saw one of them giving me a funny look, almost like he was surprised I was standing there.”
“He was probably an agent for either TirNaNog or Navane.” Herne sounded angry, and a cloudy look had filled his eyes.
“Probably. I just...I want to find out who did it.”
I didn’t like talking about my parents. It made me uncomfortable. But Herne and Viktor already knew what had happened, considering they had a dossier on me, and for once it felt good to be able to tell things from my side.
“When we get a chance, we’ll look into the case,” Herne said. “It’s been a long time, and if they hired sub-Fae, it will be a lot harder. But we can try.”
I glanced at him, suddenly grateful. While I doubted we’d ever find out the truth, just the fact that he had offered warmed my heart.
“Thank you,” I murmured. “Nobody’s ever offered to help before.”
Viktor cleared his throat. I glanced at him in the rearview mirror area and saw him wiping his eyes. He averted his gaze when he saw me staring at him, and looked out the window.
“I know it was hard for Angel to hear about the boy. He’s only four years older than DJ.” Herne let out a sigh. “I hate kid killers. Just as much as I hate animal killers. It’s one thing to hunt and use the food, it’s another to torture or kill for trophies.”