“Close enough, right?” He ran his hands over his forehead, smoothing several strands of hair that had come loose from his bun. “Wasn’t hard to see the dude’s dead. Fuck! He’s got like bees feeding on him, man! What kind of bees are they, anyway? They look like nuclear waste bugs or something, glowing like that. You think there’s radiation in the water?”
Corey was saved from speculating on that by the sound of the death examiner’s van pulling in and parking next to the tent.
“Hey, partner. You good?” Young’s voice pulled Corey from her thoughts.
“Hmm?” Corey turned her face toward Young, but her gaze was centered on something far away in the past. “Yeah. You talk to the brother?” The wind kicked up off the river and blew through the yard, blowing Corey’s dark hair into her face. She pulled it back and wound it in an elastic band from her wrist.
Young’s bleached-tip spiky hair was so loaded with gel it was unmoved by the sudden breeze. “Yeah. They’re straight up. Nothing there. They’re going to talk to the blackcoats now.”
Young tapped his notebook on Corey’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t you have that thing?”
Corey nodded.
“I’ll wrap it up here then check in with the other shop owners on the street. Meet you back at the station after, yeah?”
“That’d be great. Thanks Ethan.” She needed to get a hold of herself. She thought she was nervous about seeing Alicia again. But now it dawned on her. After all this time, all these months of shutting it out, forbidding those memories she’d fought hard to pack away and ignore… Corey wasn’t sure she was ready to face them.
Chapter Nineteen
Corey drove her truck into the tunnel at the causeway, but instead of emerging on the other side and heading to the mainland, she was whisked through a portal into the underground garage of the Headquarters of the Prestigium’s Justice Center. She drove around the lot, going down three levels before she found a spot next to a black Suburban. The volume of cars surprised her; she hadn’t thought about it before, but of course all of Alicia’s friends would want to see her, too. The attempt made on Wingate’s life in Maldrake Prison the day after he arrived in his cell had spooked the PIO enough to bring Alicia into hiding.
It wasn’t that she really cared if Wingate lived or died. What mattered to her—what she needed the most—was to see him brought to justice, made to pay. Killing him wouldn’t satisfy that need. No, she felt certain that the only way to quiet the demons that moved in after what Wingate put them through was to see him locked away as a result of her testimony. Maybe then the nightmares would stop and sleep would return. She wondered if Alicia felt the same.
Once they realized The Oasis Group was out to silence Wingate permanently, the PIO hid Alicia away. She was, as one of the agents put it, a high value asset, instrumental to their case. As a living, drug-free—and fully branded—Half Moon Girl, Alicia offered the PIO a rare opportunity to use her to get to them.
Corey knew how it worked with witnesses. She didn’t like it, but she understood.
All the same, she expected Alicia’s visit home would have been kept low-key. She turned off the truck and sat for a moment, letting her thoughts gather and her heart rate slow down. She’d been avoiding coming to the office through the main lobby since all of this started. As much as Bronwyn tried to hide it, Corey could tell her presence reminded Bronwyn of her daughter. Likewise, seeing Bronwyn reminded Corey of Alicia, which ultimately led to thoughts of Wingate with his tranquilizers and being vulnerable, of losing control of… the episode that until this morning with the doc she was convinced couldn’t have been her magic.
A bead of sweat ran down under her arms. “Get a grip, Corey. Get a grip.” She hopped out of the truck, pulled on her navy-blue jacket, and went inside.
She stood in the entryway for a moment, scanning the faces in the room. Alicia wasn’t there. Bronwyn stood near a table talking with two younger guys, friends of Alicia’s, presumably. She spotted Corey and excused herself from the conversation.
A warm smile filled Bronwyn’s face. “Corey! I’m so glad you’re here.” She wrapped her arms around Corey and squeezed. “It’s been too long. How are you doing?”
“I’m sorry I haven’t…”
Bronwyn stood back, holding Corey by the shoulders. “Oh, don’t explain… I understand. It’s really good to see you.”
Corey smiled, relieved by Bronwyn’s genuine warmth. “I don’t see Alicia.”
“She’s still outside. They’re parked downstairs. She said she’s nervous to see everyone.”
“Yeah, I can understand that.” When Corey and Alicia arrived back from their ordeal and Corey took Wingate into custody, the news spread across the island like wildfire. Being involved in a case like this—being a victim in a case like this—made a lot of your private details quite public. And given the nature of the organization Wingate was involved in—a high-end sex trade syndicate with ties to organized crime in Russia, Europe and beyond—people’s imaginations took over. They made assumptions.
Coming back physically from the ordeal was just the beginning of the emotional toll. The stares, the whispers, everyone wondering if you’re okay… getting through the day became its own kind of trial. It was exhausting and brought with it a sense of embarrassment and shame, just like it had when she was eight and had been rescued from her kidnappers.
She threw herself back into work, but it wasn’t easy. Corey remembered her relief the first time she went out on a case and nobody recognized her.
Bronwyn glanced out the window. “I told her she’s being silly. These are her friends.”
Corey wasn’t sure it was worth trying to explain. Both Corey and Alicia went through something traumatic. But Alicia’s experience had been much worse. Where Corey had been trapped for twenty-four hours, Alicia had been held captive by Wingate for days.
Add to that the fact that she’d watched her best friend die in front of her eyes and was forced to help dispose of the body… Corey shuddered. It had to be hard for her to face her friends at school. It was no wonder Alicia was reluctant to see anyone.
It wasn’t possible to fit back into a life torn apart by trauma and tragedy, regardless of how earnestly the people from your old life wished for exactly that.
The door opened. A blonde woman in a black pantsuit and a white collared shirt stepped through the door, scanning the room. Corey pegged her for a PIO Agent immediately. Another red-headed woman in white shorts and a purple tank top filed in behind her, with another PIO Agent, this one with dark hair pulled back in a low bun bringing up the rear.
Corey had to look at everyone a second time before she realized the petite woman between the agents was Alicia. Her hair, which used to be long and blonde, worn in a thick braid, had been cut into a pixie and dyed red. But that wasn’t even the biggest change. This tall girl, who used to exude confidence and strength, stood before Corey with her shoulders curved and her eyes downcast. Defeated. Cowed. Corey’s gaze moved down Alicia’s long, slender legs to her ankle. The sparkling half-moon scar twinkled in the light.
Bronwyn gasped and hurried to her daughter. “My darling, darling girl.” She kissed her cheek and swallowed her in a rocking hug. “I am so glad you’re home.”
“Hi, mom.” Alicia’s eyes never left Corey’s. “I saw Corey come in.”
Corey looked down at her hands, feeling oddly out of place. “Hey, Alicia. How you been?”
Alicia pulled away from her mom and stood in front of Corey. “Good, I guess. I don’t know.” Her gaze darted around the room, taking in all of her friends. She laughed nervously. “I have no idea how I feel, honestly. I’m all over the map.”
Corey nodded. “Yeah.” God, she knew how that felt. Corey glanced at the two PIO agents standing by the door. “Who are you with?”
Alicia turned to her escorts. “This is Agent Gallagan and Agent Lee.”
The women extended a hand and made their introductions. A crash from the kitchen made ev
eryone turn. A waitress had dropped her tray. Alicia jumped, eyes wide and hands splayed out as if looking for something to grab onto.
Corey reached for Alicia. “Whoa, you okay? It’s nothing. Just some broken glass.”
Alicia grabbed Corey’s arms, clinging. “Hey, can I talk to you?” She eyed the row of chairs along the back wall. “In private?”
“What? Sure.”
Alicia pulled Corey over to the corner. Corey sat and Alicia slid onto the chair next to her, cornering Corey and leaning in to be sure no one else overheard. “I’m really freaking out, Corey.” She scratched the skin under her jaw. “Being back here? It’s like it’s about to happen all over again. You ever get that feeling?” She glanced back at her two escorts, who were now talking to Bronwyn. “I keep looking over my shoulder as if that monster is going to grab me or something. I can’t use any protection spells. It’s crazy. I feel like I am going crazy.”
Corey took Alicia’s hand. “Hey, calm down. You’re safe here. He can’t hurt you anymore.”
“I know. I really do know that. But that’s like the logical side of my brain that knows it. The other side, the side that can’t stop replaying everything that happened? The endless loop of those days he had me drugged… he was going to cut away my magic and sell me, Corey.” Tears welled in her eyes. “Like a slave! He kept me locked. In that box,” she whispered the last words as if speaking them aloud would make something terrible happen.
Corey didn’t know what to say. She still dealt with some fallout from her time with Wingate, but after two weeks of forced leave to recover, she was ready to get back to work. Corey looked at this woman—this poor woman, and wondered why she wasn’t losing it like Alicia was. Guilt washed through her as her thoughts moved selfishly inward. What’s wrong with me?
You’re Unworthy Trash, baby. Garbage to be tossed out. Darby Paul’s pet name for her echoed through her mind. His voice. The things he did to her were ancient history that wouldn’t let her be. Maybe he was right. After all he’d done to her. The way he preyed on her… maybe she was so broken by what Darby Paul had done all those years ago that anything Wingate did couldn’t even make a dent. You can’t break a thing that’s already broken.
But was she still broken? Her session with Dr. Glowden rang through her. Was everything she remembered untrue? Had she even earned the right to struggle like someone who had been through much worse?
Corey blinked and focused her attention on Alicia. “Hey, you can’t think like that. I know it’s hard, but you have to be strong. You really are safe.”
“But that’s just it, Corey. I don’t feel safe here. Not at all. I thought coming back to the island would be good. Living in M—” She glanced at Agents Gallagan and Lee, caught herself before she revealed where the PIO had her hidden. “Being away from here hasn’t been bad, you know? But I missed my mom, and school, and hanging out with my friends.” She leaned in, as if sharing a secret. “But coming back here? I feel like it’s a replay, you know? Like I can close my eyes and then it’s that stormy night all over again. And Nikki…” She covered her face with her hands and cried.
Corey rubbed Alicia’s shoulder, unsure what to say.
Alicia looked up, her hazel eyes—a mirror of her mother’s—bright from crying. “Whenever I close my eyes, it’s like the whole world is covered in shadows. I see dark shadows and watch Nikki dying and that monster Wingate on his boat.”
Bronwyn slid into the chair next to them. She noticed Alicia crying. “Oh, hey, Honey, don’t cry. It’s almost over. It’s going to be all right.”
Alicia wiped her eyes and turned to face her mom, nodding.
“I can’t bear to see you like this, Alicia.” Bronwyn reached over and grabbed hold of her daughter’s hand. “I can’t wait until all of this is over. After all that you’ve been through, doesn’t the PIO realize how difficult this is for you to be away from home?”
Alicia shook her head and glanced at the agents. “It’s not that simple, Mom. The Prestigium… they have been talking to me about what comes next. About after the trial.”
Bronwyn looked at Corey and then back at Alicia. “What do you mean? What’s going to happen after the trial? You’re moving back home, that’s what.”
“They’ve asked me to help them.” Alicia ran her fingers on the arm of her chair, following the lines of the wood grain.
“Help them with what, exactly?” Bronwyn’s voice grew loud with indignation. “After the trial that monster will be in prison. What more can you do for them?”
Alicia glanced around the room. Her friends were looking over at the commotion. “Mom—”
Bronwyn lowered her voice. “I don’t see why you have to go through with this at all, Alicia. I mean they have enough evidence to put Wingate away forever without your testimony. Look at you. You’re barely holding it together.”
“Don’t do this, Mom. I told you—”
“But you haven’t told me anything. You won’t even stay the night at home!” Bronwyn turned to Corey. “She’s staying at a hotel, can you believe that? My own daughter refusing to stay here.”
“Mom… they explained that already. It wasn’t up to me. It’s easier to protect me in a hotel.”
“They explained it. They explained everything. But Alicia. You used to share things with me. We used to share everything.” Bronwyn’s tears made her black mascara run down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I just want this to be over. For your sake.”
Alicia sighed. “I know, Mom. But it’s important that I testify.”
Bronwyn rolled her eyes. “I’m sure they told you that they can’t do it without you…”
“No. I want to testify. I have to.”
“You don’t have to do anyth—”
“I need to, Mom.”
Bronwyn stared at her daughter as if understanding for the first time.
Alicia took a deep breath. “I need to. After everything that’s happened, and after all that I’ve sacrificed, I need to testify. For me. For Nikki. Being hidden away has been really hard. Harder than I thought it would be. Leaving everything behind. All my stuff, all my friends, you—Mom. But through it all, one thing kept me strong. One thing gave me a reason for all of it. I would wake up every single day and tell myself that I survived so I could tell the truth. I am going to sit there in that courtroom and I am going to look that monster in the face and I am going to tell the truth.”
Corey’s phone buzzed. She pulled it from her pocket and glanced at the screen. It was Young. She tapped the screen. “Hey, partner.”
“Got a hit on our dead guy,” he said.
“Already?” She glanced at the clock on her phone. “It’s barely been an hour.”
“Yeah. He was easy to find.”
“I’ll be there in five.”
Chapter Twenty
On the short walk to the MCU building which was next door to the PIO headquarters, Corey’s mind kept going back to Alicia. She stepped through the automatic doors and made her way upstairs to the cubicle she shared with her partner. Young was on the phone when she arrived, so she dropped into her chair, closed her eyes, and allowed herself some deep breaths.
She needed to shake off the unsettled feeling she took away from meeting with Alicia and Bronwyn. Inhale—exhale. She visualized her breath flowing around her like a calm wave of light. She hadn’t been prepared to see Alicia like that. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but it wasn’t that.
Alicia and Corey had been friendly before. Not close, but more than just passing acquaintances. Alicia had worked at the station as an intern for two years, and her mother was a fixture at the reception desk. Corey used to stop by and chat several times a week, and whenever there was an office party, the women would definitely visit.
Corey didn’t have many female friends, and being able to connect with Bronwyn and Alicia through their connection at work had been a bright spot in her life.
Alicia had once had a plan for her future. She was once tight with
her mom. She had hope. But now, it was like that Alicia, the confident, calm, happy woman Corey once knew, was gone—replaced by a nervous, agitated, and scattered woman unable to relax.
Alicia had been through hell. Everyone dealt with trauma in different ways. If therapy had taught Corey anything, it taught her that. But watching someone else’s life flip like that. And knowing first-hand what had caused it? It was too big. Too close. If nothing else, she hoped the trial would do Alicia some good.
Young hung up the phone and spun around in his chair. “That was Dr. Albarexi. He wants us to come by later on today. Says he has something he wants us to see.” He handed Corey a one-sheet printout.
She scanned the page. It wasn’t a criminal rap sheet, quite the opposite—it was a profile from the Prestigium Army’s Elite Blue Guard. “This is our victim? He sounds like one of the good guys.”
“Squeaky clean, actually.” Young read from his notes. “Wizard First Class Gregory Brian Cullen, Weapon Spells Specialist, Elite Blue Guard, Retired.”
“Blue Guard? Really?”
“The one and only. Age thirty-four. Did three tours with the Mage Squad in the War of the Balkans and helped with the Siren Uprising in Greece. And he’s local. Lives up in Swan Grove Estates.”
“Nice. What’s he do to be able to afford such fancy digs?”
“Teaches self-defense, if you can believe it, you know… I mean, considering how he ended up and all. Private clients. Had his own freelance gig.”
“Says here he’s married. Anything on the wife?” Young flipped the page in his notebook. “Wife is Della Olson Cullen. A nurse. Works at Rathmoore Academy, in the hospital there. I called over and spoke to the headmaster. Della Cullen got off shift yesterday morning. I bet she’s at home.”
“You got an address?”
Young nodded. “Their place is up on Hognose Road, up off Grand View.”
Death Comes Ashore Page 11
