Nice save. Lex would find out more, but she had work to do. “I have to get to the station but will be home later. I mean here later.”
Simone rolled her eyes, while Tori barely bit back a snort. Lex turned for the door, knowing it was probably a bad idea to leave those two alone, but she didn’t have much choice. Apollo was killing people, and Bernie had nearly died. She shut the door on Tori chattering to Simone about why men’s brains were actually smaller than women’s and headed down to borrow Kell’s truck again.
If she didn’t knock it off, she’d actually start depending on him. Would that be so bad?
Man, was this actual love? God. That’s all she needed.
The drive to the station started sunny and, in true Seattle fashion, turned cloudy by the time she’d fetched an overflowing basket of mail from the post office. At least it wasn’t raining. She hauled the loot in to the station with her, surprised to see Bundt and Masterson huddled over a computer.
“You supposed to be here?” she asked Masterson.
“No.” He kept his gaze on the screen. “I’m supposed to wait for the doctor to clear me for duty, but I’m sure he’ll get around to it soon enough.”
Lex tossed the basket on her desk and skirted Bernie’s to reach the duo. “What are you two looking at?”
Bundt fiddled with the controls on the screen. “Video e-mailed anonymously to us about an hour ago, but it’s blurry. I’m working on it.”
Lex’s phone rang, and she stretched to reach it. “Monzelle.”
“Hi, Detective. This is Margie from the office of parole,” a nasal voice said.
Lex’s head snapped up, and her heart kicked against her ribs. “Yes.”
“I’m informing all interested parties that Parker Monzelle has been granted parole, mainly because of a batch of letters asking for his release from his ex-wife. He’ll be free tomorrow.” High-pitched and somehow still sounding bored, Margie gave more details, but Lex had stopped listening.
Holy shit. Parole. Damn it. “Are you sure? Is there an appeals process?” Lex spit out.
“No. Thank you.” Margie hung up.
Lex removed the handset from her ear and looked at it. A buzzing started between her ears.
“Lex?” Masterson asked.
She shook her head. “What?”
He lifted his chin toward the phone. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She shook herself out of a near explosion and set the receiver back in the base. “No worries.” She’d need to move her mother somewhere else, and she had to warn Tori. But at least the bastard wouldn’t get out until the next day. She swallowed. Yeah, she’d figured he’d get out someday, but not yet. And not when things were finally going all right.
Masterson smacked the screen.
“Knock it off,” Bundt muttered. He grabbed a folder and held it over his shoulder for Lex. “I finished the research for you and called in a couple favors.”
Lex, still fighting brain fog, reached for the file. “What research?”
“Trevan Demidov. The guy had a kid with a woman back east a few decades ago in the states. It’s interesting because Demidov was a citizen of Ireland, and the mom one of ours. She died when the kid was five. Kid’s name is Yuri. He took his old man’s name, so he was easy to find.” Bundt’s fingers clapped across his keys as he talked. “Had to call in a couple favors to get his juvie record, but I got it.”
Lex opened the file and gasped at the photo on top. The witch who had nearly killed Bernie. Light blue eyes, brown hair, fighting shape. He’d been caught early on starting fires. Big fucking surprise. As an adult, Yuri had been a person of interest in a couple investigations involving missing prostitutes, but those cases had gone cold. He’d managed to stay off the radar for at least a decade. Interesting.
“Any news on his father?” she asked.
“Nothing. The guy was all over the social pages years ago, and then one day, poof. Gone.” Bundt glanced over his shoulder. “He was tight with some woman name Simone Brightston, who has to be related to the lawyer chick of the guy you thought about banging. They look identical, except the woman in the pictures would be at least fifty or sixty by now.”
Masterson rubbed his chin with his healthy arm. “That’s weird, though. Having the exact same name.”
Lex shrugged, her cheeks heating. “I don’t know. A lot of men have sons with the same names. Why not women? Maybe the lawyer is Simone the second. Or third.” Or a freaking witch who didn’t age. Yeah. She should tell them that. She grinned. “Maybe she’s immortal.”
Masterson scoffed. “Good one.”
Bundt shook his head. “Can you imagine how much tail you’d get with immortality?”
Lex shut her eyes, still reeling from the bad news about her father. “How are you two still upright?” Morons.
“You would like to see me prone, now wouldn’t you?” Masterson wiggled his eyebrows.
She laughed.