“All right, we’ll stick to the plan. Assess and stabilize.” His voice went hard and cold. “Then we take down Katashi.”
“I know the area pretty well,” Bryce told Idris. “I can take you where you need to go.”
“And I have a lead on a half-dozen properties where Katashi and his crew might be based,” I said. “Since I can’t see them holing up in a motel, my hunch is that they’re renting a big house in the area. Maybe you two can scope out the addresses while you’re out checking valves.”
“Yeah, that’ll work,” Idris said and tucked the map back into his bag.
“Excellent,” I said. At least I hoped so. There was probably nothing to worry about. After all, how much trouble could an ex-hitman and an angry, obsessed, summoner child of a demonic lord get into?
Whatever happened, at least we had cookies.
Chapter 8
Shortly after noon, I delivered Idris and Bryce to the crime lab and Jill’s olive green 1974 Chevy Malibu. With them was a big box of tools Bryce had found in my shed.
What began as a casual query about what tools I owned soon morphed into Indiana Bryce and the Holy Shit, Check This Out! after I opened the shed and told him to help himself. Apparently my dad and grandfather had amassed an enviable collection of tools, hardware, gadgets, and I had no idea what else. While Idris and I looked on, Bryce conducted an archaeological dig punctuated by exclamations such as “Oh my god, I wonder if this still works!” and “My grandpa had one of these!” and “Christ on a crutch, is that a jack for a Model T?!”
If not for the annoying detail that the fate of the world was at stake, Bryce would have delved for the rest of the day. Or longer. That said, he also knew how to use the tools, and after forty minutes and plenty of colorful language the Malibu sputtered to life. I made sure the boys had spending money and cell phones, then left them to their own mission and drove the two blocks to the PD and my meeting with Pellini.
? ? ?
The Beaulac PD detectives’ parking lot had been restriped with fresh and perky white paint, and smooth asphalt now filled the hole where lightning had struck and revealed a valve. Fortunately, a physical barrier had no effect on my ability to sense the valve. Damn good, since it allowed me to see the flickers of orange within the normal blue-green hues of the valve. Crouching, I pretended to search for something I dropped while I made a closer assessment. Now that I had a better idea what to look for, I had no trouble discerning the fraying border. Idris would need to put this one near the top of his list.
“Gillian?”
I looked up to see Cory Crawford standing a few feet away, his expression one of pleased surprise. Cory was my former sergeant in Investigations, and one of the few non-arcane people who had any knowledge of my not-so-normal abilities. He hadn’t changed one bit in the six months since I’d seen him last. Hair and mustache dyed the same dull-brown of his eyes. Tan dress shirt, brown slacks, and a tie with an eye-gouging design of purple and green swirls. Until this moment, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed him.
I straightened with a smile. “Hey, Sarge. Long time no see!”
“Too long,” he said then gave me an openly appreciative once-over. “You look great. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Thanks,” I said, smile widening. “I kinda got in shape.” My time in the demon realm had included quite a bit of physical training, and I couldn’t help but be pleased with the results. I’d actually gained weight, but none of it was flab.
Well, maybe a pound or two. The faas loved to cook, and one of Jekki’s souvenirs from his time on Earth was an Italian cookbook titled, I’m Gonna Make You a Ravioli You Can’t Refuse.
“Pellini told me you’d be stopping by,” Cory said. “Gotta say, I never thought I’d see you two work together without the threat of a court order.”
I laughed. “Yeah, it must be a full moon.”
A wince flashed across Cory’s face. Though he knew I dabbled in “extranormal activities,” he didn’t enjoy reminders. He busied himself with pulling a cigarette out of a pack. “Have you been officially called in on the plantation investigation?”
“Not officially.” I did my best to make it sound as if it was only a matter of time before that happened. “However, I’d like to get an idea of what occurred and determine whether it was an isolated event.” I also need to check the valve node out there, I added silently. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Szerain to keep the node stable, secure, and intact, but . . . I didn’t trust Szerain. With anything. Not at the moment.
“Whatever happened out there was fucked up, that’s for sure.” He lit the cigarette, shifted to stand where the smoke wouldn’t blow in my face. “There’s been a lot of that lately,” he added, unease in his voice. “Agent Kristoff filled me in on a few things after you disappeared last year, but I have a feeling that was only the tip of the iceberg.”