Wild Cards

by Katalina Leon

  “Clever little masked bastard.” Kai suppressed an uneasy chill that rippled through him. It creeped him out to see a raccoon walking upright. “Are Siegfried and Roy missing a performer? Maybe this is Criss Angel’s new act? He’s game for anything. Remember when he dressed up like a pregnant woman and waddled down the Strip?”

  Roy’s brow shot upward. “I’d laugh except we have a hotel guest on the second floor who’s splattered against the wall.”

  “Sorry. I understand we need to stay one step ahead of Homicide, but how do we handle this without obstructing the investigation?”

  “First, I want you to inspect the stairwell. I’m pretty sure you’ll find some hastily discarded clothing on the floor. Don’t touch it. Give Homicide a heads-up, and for Christ’s sake don’t mention our furry friend. I want you to investigate what the victim was doing here. One brother was wearing a pentagram on his tee shirt, and we have some sort of wacko occult arts convention scheduled this weekend in Ballroom C. I’m not a big believer in coincidence.”

  “Speaking of furry friends. The brothers checked into their room wheeling a pet crate. Jenkins in Homicide found gray hair inside the crate. He assumed it belonged to a cat. Could it have been the raccoon?”

  “Maybe.” Roy rubbed his chin. “Who takes a raccoon to Vegas? Wait. Don’t answer that.”

  “Whatever was inside the crate—if there ever was anything inside the crate—is not in room 214 now. Is there surveillance footage of an animal leaving the room?”

  “No.” Roy hung his head. “I’ve looked several times. The brothers enter their room. The door shuts. The door remains closed until one brother darts away.”

  “What about after Homicide arrived and set up shop? The door was wide open when I arrived. With all the fuss and everyone staring at the body, a cat could easily slip under a tarp if no one was looking.”

  “I’ll check again, but I didn’t see anything.” The line of Roy’s mouth tensed to a flat line. “There’s something about this case that’s really giving me the heebie-jeebies. I’ve got a real bad feeling. I’m going to do something slightly unethical, but only because it’s an emergency.”

  Kai didn’t mention that he’d woken feeling uneasy as well. “What?”

  “I’m going to out one of our other undercover paranormal house detectives and ask you both to work together on this case.”

  His mouth gaped. This was news. Had he been oblivious to someone watching him? “There’s another PHD in this hotel?”

  “Dude, please. Poseidon’s Palace is the size of a small city. You’ve seen the weekend volume of supernatural riff-raff arriving by the vanload. Do you think I’d risk the hotel’s safety and welfare to just one detective?”

  “W-well,” Kai stuttered. Roy had delivered a whopper of an insult. If he didn’t put forth a heroic effort in Vegas he might never see his beloved ocean again. “During the AARP convention, I single-handedly tracked down that crooked Djinn who was taking advantage of seniors at the slot machines. Remember Ali-Con? Three wishes in exchange for signing over Social Security checks, my ass. I sent that smarmy bastard straight back to his lamp.”

  “You did excellent work.” Roy lifted his palms skyward. “But you’re going to need help on this one.”

  “I gotta warn you, Roy, I’m not a team player. I work best alone.” Practically the story of his life.

  “Not this time.”

  Terrific. Another setback. At this rate, he’d never earn his ticket home. “Who are you partnering me with?”

  Roy pointed to a surveillance screen transmitting a live feed from the casino below. With a tap on the keyboard, he zoomed in on the gaming floor and panned the camera toward a crowded roulette table. The croupier was a curvaceous woman dressed in a casino-issued tuxedo-like pantsuit. Her oval face appeared innocent and devoid of glamour. “I’m pairing you with Ms. Torris.”

  His jaw dropped. He was familiar with Ms. Torris. There was something about her that drew his attention like a magnet to steel, and now he knew why. She was quiet, professional, and had given him tepid encouragement over the past months. When they passed in the casino, all he received from her in exchange for one of his biggest smiles and pleasant greetings was a slight wave or a nod of acknowledgement. Her indifference had merely fueled the fire.

  Secretly, he’d drooled over her on many occasions, but because of his situation he’d never gone the extra mile and asked her out for an after-hours drink, a midnight swim, or a much needed trip to his room for a mattress-wrecking, sheet-shredding thunder-fuck. On countless occasions, he’d imaged her lush hourglass form naked as he stood under a cold shower. “Ms. Torris is a PHD? I had no idea.”

  “You wouldn’t. She’s one of our best and most discreet. We keep her on the floor, with her finger on our patrons’ pulses. By the way, she’s the one who sensed Ali-Con’s presence and tipped us off in the first place.”

  “What are her paranormal abilities?”

  “Can’t you guess? She’s an empath with laser focus. With few exceptions, she can read most people like street signs. Adara has other talents as well, but those are on a need-to-know basis.”

  “Holy crap,” Kai groaned. His feelings toward Ms. Torris were politically incorrect. He was in for a world of hurt. “She reads minds?”

  A dark thundercloud of a frown dampened Roy’s features. “What’s all the eye rolling for? Don’t tell me, you refuse to work with a female PHD.”

  He was so busted. Recalling all the dirty things he imagined doing to Ms. Torris once he had her alone and naked now made his stomach hurt. “That’s not it, sir.”

  “Then what’s the problem?”

  How the hell could he keep his thoughts PG-13 in front of her? This could be a disaster. There was no way he could afford another fuck-up. “There is no problem,” he lied.

  “Good. A man has been murdered under bizarre circumstances. Our patrons’ safety comes first. We need to get to the bottom of whatever is going on.” Roy depressed a small button on the console.

  Adara tapped her ear and, for a fleeting second, glanced toward a surveillance bubble embedded in the ceiling.

  “Ms. Torris.” Roy leaned toward the speaker. “Please report to HQ, immediately.”

  Adara looked up at the bubble and blinked. She waved a male croupier over to the roulette table to replace her then strolled off the casino floor with her silky ponytail swishing against her back.

  Kai held his palm to his forehead. “Shit creek, here I come.”

  Chapter Two

  A few minutes passed before a quiet knock on the door signaled Adara’s arrival.

  Kai braced himself for what surely would be a humiliating encounter.

  Roy opened the door and made a broad gesture. “Come in.”

  Adara crossed the office’s threshold looking fresh-faced and bashful. Her black uniform clung to every generous curve.

  With a furtive glance into the main room after she entered, Roy quickly shut the door.

  Kai tensed as she approached. Her coppery bangs fell across one eye in a sultry sweep. An enticing hint of spicy perfume traveled in her wake. Lifting her face, she looked up to greet him. Her topaz eyes glittered. A faint smile crossed her lips, revealing a tiny dimple in her cheek. His breath caught. He’d often puzzled over why he was so attracted to her wholesome blandness, but up close she wasn’t plain at all. From her glossy coral mouth to her round hips, everything about her was as juicy as a ripe peach. For a horrible moment, he worried she was reading his mind, combing through every dirty thought he’d ever indulged in about curvy redheads.

  “Hello,” she acknowledged him, her cheeks flushed pink. “You’re a familiar face.”

  Overcome with nerves, he thrust his hand out in greeting. “Kai Moana, PHD. It’s a pleasure to finally be formally introduced.”

  Her lashes dipped. “I know who you are. I bugged Roy for weeks asking nosy questions about you.”

  “About me?” His chest tightened. “I don’t unders
tand. Why ask Roy? Aren’t you an empath?”

  “I am, among other things, but I can’t read you.” She swiped her open palm in front of her face. “When I try to look, all the images are cloudy.”

  “Ah.” He sighed with relief. “That’s interesting.” She can’t read my mind, hallelujah! His outstretched hand remained unclaimed midair, hovering between them like a diving board without its diver. “I had no idea you were what you are. Err…” He stalled. “Like me.” He waited for her to grasp his hand. With every passing moment, matters grew more awkward and the chance to make a good first impression slipped farther away.

  Finally, he broke the stalemate. “I’m descended from a long line of kahunas and sea gods, but my mother was human.”

  “I know. Roy told me.” Her smile faded. “My mother is a nymph of Venus and my father is a fire elemental.” She winked. “‘Fire elemental’ is a polite way of saying demonic firebrand. Daddy is a hell devil. Not the Devil, but a devil. He likes to set things ablaze—he can’t help it. Of course, that meant we moved a lot when I was a kid. I could never allow him to visit me at work. Could you imagine the damage he could do here?” She glanced at his offered hand. “I’m not being snobbish. I thought I should explain myself first. I’m a little out of whack today. For safety’s sake, I probably shouldn’t shake your hand or stand any closer than this. We can’t risk it. You’re water and I’m fire. If we touch, Roy gets a second-degree steam burn.”

  “Oh!” He snatched his hand back. “That didn’t even occur to me. I’m sorry.”

  “So am I.” Her gaze lingered.

  “Hey, kids.” Roy stepped between them. “I’m going to cut straight to the chase. Adara, there’s a killer on the loose and the crime has paranormal division written all over it.”

  She arched a delicate auburn brow. “On the way over, I heard some gossip from the forensics team. Twin brothers. One dead. Any clues?”

  “Possibly.” Roy shrugged. “It’s a long shot, but there might have been a pet in the room.”

  “What sort of pet and where are they now?” She had a sweet smoky voice.

  “We don’t know,” Kai butted in, eager to sound informed in front of her. “There’s an empty crate in the room with gray hairs in it. Likely a cat, but we might be looking for a raccoon.”

  “A raccoon?” She bit her lip. “Odd but interesting.”

  “Exactly, who brings a cat to a casino?” He scoffed.

  “Blofeld?” Her smile flashed, and for a millisecond the dimple popped into view. “Mr. Moana, I’m sure you’re aware that aside from being traditional companions to evil Bond villains, cats also make excellent familiars. We do have an occult arts convention on the docket. The brothers might have been warlocks using a cat to do their bidding. The other option is that nimble raccoon hands, if trained properly, could be extremely useful for some sort of nefarious criminal scheme. It wouldn’t be Vegas’s first animal jewel heist. Remember the German criminal eccentric Klaus Kloven, and his safecracking chimp?”

  Someone rapped on the door.

  “What is it?” Roy blared.

  “Sir.” A tired-sounding male voice floated past the door. “The concierge called to report a lost cat wandering in the lobby.”

  “Catch that cat and bring it to me ASAP!” Roy stabbed a finger toward the door. He turned to face Adara. “How sharp are your intuitive skills today?”

  With a shrug, she glanced at Kai. “Pretty bad. Today has been strange. I can’t get a clear reading on the patrons or anyone else. There is definitely some sort of psychic interference muffling my internal signal. I feel like I’m working inside a Faraday cage.”

  Roy puffed his cheeks out. “How often does that happen to you?”

  “Never!” With a dramatic gesture, she threw her hands up. “This is the first time I’ve been unable to soulscan humans. Something is off.”

  Kai pressed his palms together. “This is probably a good time to mention I woke to some odd activity as well. The water around me is not behaving naturally. In my experience, it’s a sure sign a dark juju has been activated in this vicinity.”

  “Um.” Adara licked the edge of her lips, her gaze locked on his. “Interesting. You still use the word ‘juju.’ I haven’t heard that term in ages.”

  She might have been flirting or just being mildly confrontational, he couldn’t tell. Was she getting prettier by the minute, or was he losing his freaking mind? He stared into Adara’s lustrous amber gaze, praying his mouth wasn’t hanging open.

  A loud rap on the door broke the spell. “I have the cat!” a male voice bleated. “For God’s sake, let me in—now!”

  Roy pulled the door open.

  Burt, a security guard with a broad, jowly face and wild blond mullet, stumbled inside. He held a yowling gray cat wearing a plastic cone around its neck. The surly creature burst from his hands. The cat darted under a desk, scraping the cone in the process.

  “I’m sick of you too!” Burt muttered. “Look at me!” He displayed meaty forearms which were scratched, reddened, and weepy from the feline attacker. “I lost so much skin I feel like I’ve been getting it on with a cheese grater.”

  Making a dismissive motion with his limp hand, Roy shooed Burt toward the exit. “Thank you for doing excellent work. This will earn you extra pay. Just be sure to get those wounds cleaned.”

  “Ya, right,” Burt grumbled. “Go into hotel security, they said. You’ll be making a difference for people, they said… I’ll probably contract cat-scratch fever.” He exited and the door shut behind him.

  Kai turned to Adara. “And you thought my use of the word ‘juju’ was out of date. Did you see that guy’s hairstyle? Patrick Swayze is looking down from Heaven, grinning with pride.”

  She smiled, and when she did her face lit with the same cheerful promise as a golden sunrise.

  Roy got down on all fours. “Here, kitty, kitty. Don’t be afraid.”

  “Now we’re going to fuss with a cat?” Kai grew impatient with the sheer amount of insanity that had taken place this afternoon. “Would you like me to go to the buffet and pick a few shrimp off Poseidon’s never-ending seafood tower? You can coax the cat out while I check the stairwell for clothing. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that a man was murdered on the second floor.”

  “I’m not losing sight of anything.” Roy reached under the desk and gently drew the cat into his arms. “There you go.” Cooing softly, he soothed the frightened feline. “It’s going to be okay. I’m sorry that big oaf Burt grabbed you too hard.”

  For a moment, Kai considered bowing out and continuing the investigation on his own terms. “What are we hoping to accomplish here? Shouldn’t I be on my own hunting down the missing brother?”

  “Kai.” Roy drew the cat against his chest, looking impatient as hell. “Don’t act like this is a waste of your time because it’s not. You have an exceptional skill set, and those skills will be even more useful once you learn to work with others.”

  The boss was right. He lowered his gaze. There was no point arguing.

  Roy rose, his knees creaking, and set the cat on the desktop. It flattened itself to the surface like melted butter and hissed.

  “Nice pussy.” Kai petted the cat. Anxious to get away from the chaos and Adara’s penetrating gaze, he eyed the exit. “I should probably check in with forensics. They might have discovered something we need to know.”

  “Hold on.” Roy motioned for Adara to approach. “Don’t go anywhere. I want you to stay for the interrogation.”

  The comment brought him to a halt. “What interrogation? Who? Did I miss something?”

  “The cat.” Adara hunkered to eye level with the feline. “Soulscanning works on animals too.”

  He bit his lip. Only midafternoon and the day had already worn out its welcome. “Cat interrogation? Really?” This investigation was going straight into the litter box.

  With palms raised, Roy gestured for calm. “My expectations aren’t high, but it’s worth a try.
Cats bend the truth and, as a rule, are prone to exaggerate. Dogs make better witnesses by far. They’re honest, if somewhat dull storytellers. Even though they tend to repeat themselves, they do pay keen attention to details.”

  Kai released a quiet grunt of agitation he hoped wouldn’t be heard. “Wouldn’t my time be better spent in the field? While we’re standing here, a killer is getting away. Ms. Torris admitted earlier that her abilities weren’t working too well today with humans.” Without intending to sound curt, he did. “What makes you think things will be easier with a cat?”

  She glanced upward. “Don’t be rude, Mr. Moana. It’s true, for some reason I’m not able to read humans at the moment. I have no idea why, but the cat is already communicating with me. Animals are always a clear channel and almost impossible to block. It’s working, so let’s go with it. If you must know, the cat’s saying some shocking things.”

  “No doubt.” From the corner of his eye, he noticed a plastic stirrer in Roy’s coffee mug swirling counterclockwise on its own, and noted the juju was coming on strong again. A moment later, the liquid in the cup trembled and the stirrer sloshed over the rim, landing on the desktop with a plop.

  Roy’s gaze focused on the stirrer with laser intensity. “Kai, did you do that?”

  “No.” He planted his hands on his hips. “That wasn’t me. I woke up to this crap.”

  Leaning down, Roy mopped the mess off the desk with his sleeve. “What the fuck is going on in this crazy casino?”

  “Hush!” Adara held up a manicured hand embellished with a large amber ring. “Don’t startle Earl Grey! He’s already unsettled from seeing his under butler lying dead on the floor.”

  “Earl Grey?” Kai knew he was grinning like a fool but couldn’t stop. Adara was just too cute with her big eyes and a smattering of copper freckles. His overwhelming attraction to what he might otherwise describe as a plain girl was perplexing and exciting. She was unlike anyone from his past, which was probably a good thing. In his filthy little mind, he was already unbuttoning her vest and caressing her breasts. Thank God she couldn’t read his thoughts. “Is that really the cat’s name?”