Miranda's Rights (Paranormal Detective Series Book 2)

by Lily Luchesi

  “Last fucking week. Three am. She found me with my pack and offered us power…for a price,” the wolf grunted through the pain.

  Angelica sat back down, cleaning her knife with a rag she had tucked in her back pocket. The thing wouldn’t bleed out from such a shallow wound, so she could finish her interrogation.

  “Okay, let’s say I believe you. What did she ask for in return?”

  “Your death and the capture of the man I nearly had before you showed up,” it snapped. “The other price was I stay looking like this until I died. Didn’t seem like much to pay at the time.”

  Angelica stood up, motioning Miranda out of the room. She followed the full vamp out into the hallway

  “Who is this Guilfoyle person?” Miranda asked the older vamp.

  “The devil,” Angelica snapped.

  She called the director and asked him to send a sketch artist to the room to see just what this woman the wolf met with actually looked like. Perhaps Angelica had been right, and every time one Fiona died, another human witch came to take her place to make her seem immortal. She hoped so, or else this was not going to be fun. She had met Fiona in 1881 but hadn’t seen her in person since 1909, so it was possible the witch was not the same one.

  “Frederic, I also want our research lab to take the shifter in for examination by our witches. I want to know exactly how she managed to get their forms to stay that way, if it’s reversible, and what other physical or mental side-effects there might be.”

  Miranda just watched her, looking confused. “You’re not going to punish it?”

  Angelica smirked. “The worst thing one can do to a shapeshifter is cage it. It will go crazy and be absolutely miserable while we have it confined in the testing labs.” She continued to explain as they walked down the long hallway. “When you left here earlier, you had originally stated that you wanted to quit. As of right now, you are a witness in an active investigation. Either you can remain a witness, or you can make this your last assignment as a PID agent. It’s up to you.”

  “What about Daniel?” she asked, trying to keep up with Angelica’s pace.

  None of your business, she thought. “He will get a similar offer.”

  “I guess I’ll stick around. This sounds like you might need all the help that you can get,” she said, yawning. “It’s almost sunrise. Can I crash at the residential section here for the night?”

  “You didn’t secure a home for yourself upon coming back to America? Why?” Angelica asked, though she knew the answer. Immature and selfish, Miranda must’ve thought that Danny would just welcome her back with open arms, uncaring about her Undead state.

  Miranda didn’t respond, and Angelica finally just allowed her to utilize the residential section while she was working on the case. As the vampire walked away, Angelica turned to the medical wing to check on Danny.

  Before she could, Miranda asked, “One question.”

  “Yeah?”

  “I haven’t been around here a lot, so I have to ask, who is this witch and why is she so Hell-bent on killing you? And give me a real answer this time, not just ‘the devil.’”

  Angelica sighed. “It’s a personal war that’s been going on since the late nineteenth century. I’ll explain more tomorrow.”

  Miranda shrugged and walked away. Angelica knew if it not for Daniel, she wouldn’t be sticking around for a personal vendetta against Angelica. For all Miranda cared, the vamplet could rot in her coffin.

  Angelica walked on to Danny’s room. She watched him sleep, his face pale but his breathing not labored by pain. The doctor informed her that he would be as good as new with the witch’s pain potion by the next afternoon at the latest.

  She left, informing security that there had been an assassination attempt on her and a kidnapping attempt on Danny, so they needed to up their game while he was under their care—especially since she would be in the same room.

  “Ma’am, are you sure that’s wise while you’re under threat?” the doctor asked. He was about fifty physical years older than Angelica, but he still looked to her for guidance. She was, after all, his employer and the woman who kept the paranormal community safe and in line.

  “I won’t leave him while he’s defenseless.” She grabbed a blanket from a closet and settled herself into a guest chair. The room had no windows, so she didn’t need sun block or sunglasses immediately. She fell asleep, her last sight before passing out was her love’s sleeping countenance.

  ****

  Miranda went to the comfortable room she’d been assigned, cuddled into the comfortable, extra-padded coffin, but couldn’t sleep. Her mind was whirling. The first thing on it was that there was a possibly immortal witch after Daniel, apparently because of his association with Angelica.

  She suddenly remembered the nightmares Daniel had experienced when they’d lived together. One night, his cries and longing calls for a phantom woman named Angelica had been particularly bad. Was it possible that the vamplet had been influencing his thoughts somehow? She’d always wondered who Angelica was, and now she was able to put two and two together.

  It killed her, knowing that he had actually been pining after a real woman, even though he’d claimed not to remember his dreams. While he had been engaged to her, he had been dreaming of Angelica Cross.

  Angry blood tears streaked her face, and fell onto the white pillow below her head. She vowed that, by the end of the investigation, she would be the one with Daniel.

  Chapter Five

  Danny woke up, feeling a throbbing head and sore side but none of the unbearable pain he had been in the previous night. He heard a light snore and jumped, looking for the source of the sound. He saw Angelica sitting in a chair next to his hospital bed. She had apparently watched over him again all night long.

  He felt his heart break, and then cursed himself. The last thing he wanted was an emotional attachment to a vampire. He still felt disgusted by vampirism. Drinking human blood—especially when you were part human, like Angelica—was unthinkable to him. He felt sick imagining kissing a woman whose last meal had come from a blood bag, or worse, a living donor.

  Yet his heart betrayed his brain every time he thought of Angelica. Sighing, he checked the time on his cell phone. It was already three pm. He slowly got out of bed, favoring his injured side, and went to the bathroom. Once he returned to the room, Angelica was stirring in her chair.

  “Hey,” she said, tossing her blanket off. “How’s your rib?”

  “I’ll live. Your witches have marvelous anesthesia. I was out like a light after being high as a kite.” He laughed and climbed into bed carefully. “What happened with the werewolf?”

  Angelica closed her eyes and said, “He claims it was Fiona who changed him…last week. The sketch artist should have a photo for us today to confirm it.” She got up and began to pace the small, white room. “I don’t get it. I watched her die, Danny. I watched her burn until my body couldn’t take the heat anymore. She burned, Danny. She burned like a fucking pig roast in Hawaii. If it’s not someone taking her name, what could I have done wrong?”

  Danny was about to say that he, too, had seen the death in a dream, but that wasn’t it. Something was nagging at the back of his mind. Something he was forgetting about the dream. He sat back against the pillows, face contorted in worry.

  “Hey, are you contemplating or constipated?” Angelica quipped. When he didn’t respond, she dropped the joking attitude and waited for him to speak what was on his mind.

  “That vision I had when you killed Fiona…” He sat straight up, his hair askew again and his dark eyes filled with worry. “The fire…it left her body and… as if it was alive, it raised her up into a standing position. S-she— Her flesh regenerated itself, Angelica. I thought it was just my imagination running away. It does that, y’know, ever since I found myself immersed in all of this.”

  Angelica plopped down into the chair again. “Wait, Danny…you’re saying that Fiona’s body was revived somehow?” He
r body looked like it was trembling all over. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit.”

  “What kind of spell could have given her immortality?” Danny asked.

  “It’s not just immortality. Vampires are immortal, but we can still die. If you had set me on fire like I did to Fiona, I’d be long gone. That’s like…endless life. Like a cat. When one life ends, another begins. I have to call Dominic and get him to round up our witches. Maybe they can figure it out. This is out of my league.”

  “You wanna say why you look constipated now?” Danny asked, looking around the room for his clothes.

  “No, I don’t and your clothes were filthy, if that’s what you’re looking for. I’m having them cleaned. I have clothes for you folded in the cabinet from our disguise closet.” She stood up and checked her watch.

  There was two hours to go before Miranda woke. Danny could tell that Angelica had never liked the young vampire. No reason, just a feeling he had. Now he wondered if it was because she had been with Danny in this life. Maybe he was being silly, but it was possible, right?

  Danny went to go change, but he first turned to her and said, “By the way, you snore.”

  After Danny’s doctor discharged him, he and Angelica went across the street for a late lunch and a brainstorming session.

  “Why do I smell coconuts?” he asked as they sat down.

  “My sunscreen. Sorry. I thought you remembered I need it in the day,” she replied.

  He hadn’t. That was the thing. He sometimes forgot that Angelica wasn’t completely human. It was a constant struggle to maintain his indifference towards her, but his repulsion was always renewing itself. Especially when she opened her purse and poured a vial of blood into her tomato juice.

  “I think it’s best to interview the wolf again and hope it can give us a way to contact her or give us her location,” Angelica said. “Because whether or not it’s the Fiona we knew, she still needs to be punished by the PID.”

  “How did the wolf respond to your questions last night?” he asked.

  “Terribly. Shifters and vamps are not compatible. It’s like the wolf, or whatever land mammal happens to be inside of their DNA in them is resentful of the bat inside of us. Even though vamplets can’t turn into bats, shapeshifters are still very aggressive towards us…and not in a good way,” she explained.

  “Then let me question him,” he said.

  “Danny…you’re a civilian, remember? You can’t legally question it,” she reminded him.

  “Let me sign up as a temp agent again. Fiona is out to make me her sex slave or something. I should be an active part of this investigation.”

  Angelica nearly spit out her drink as an unexpected bout of laughter hit her. “Sex slave? Wow, do you think highly of yourself or what?” Her giggles trailed off, but her smile remained.

  “You’re very rude, you know that? You used to have such good manners a hundred years ago.” He smiled back, unable to help himself. Her personality was magnetic, and her smile was electric. It could light up the entire city. He handed the waitress his credit card as Angelica opened up an email from the sketch artist and showed him the photo to him.

  It was Fiona. The original Fiona. The Fiona that should be a burned husk inside of an unmarked grave at the city cemetery.

  Angelica stared down at her phone and said, “I’m going to make sure you stay dead this time, you bitch.”

  ****

  At the PID offices, Miranda was waiting for them already. And she was fuming inside that the daylight interrupted her time with Daniel now that she was back.

  “Okay, here’s what’s happening,” Director Dominic began. “A team of three, you three, are assigned to this investigation. Object: to find and execute the hybrid wolves and find and arrest Fiona Guilfoyle. This is priority to human safety and the safety of two of our team members as well. Try to get this wrapped up as fast as possible. If you must kill her, make sure she stays dead.”

  “Trust me, I plan on it,” Angelica said. “Danny, did you want to come with me to interrogate the wolf? If not, Miranda and I will try again.”

  “Like you were very successful before?” Miranda scoffed. “It didn’t seem to care much for your threats or the fact that you stabbed it.”

  “I’m coming,” Danny said, not sounding surprised that Angelica had been so violent with it.

  The three of them walked down the hall and went to the level directly above the armory, where guards had moved the hybrid for its second round of questioning. Danny watched it through the glass for a moment before entering. Its arm, what was left of it, was bandaged up, and the bandage was still stained with blood. Its fur seemed to be wilted compared to the other night, and its fangs and claws were filed down to ensure less damage to the investigators and the lab technicians.

  “So you know, Angelica, my method of questioning is different than yours. But I’m sure it will be just as effective,” he said.

  “Different how?” she asked.

  “I won’t brandish a silver blade and threaten every appendage he has.” He used his temporary swipe key to enter the locked room.

  The wolf looked up at him and sniffed. “You’re the one I was supposed to kidnap,” it growled.

  “So I’ve heard. And that’s the reason I’m here, but, before we get to that, let’s start with the basics. Do you have a name?” Danny asked, taking a seat across from the wolf. His borrowed suit fit him well.

  “Ralph Howarth.”

  “Well, I won’t say it’s nice to meet you, because it’s not, but I’m Detective Mancini,” Danny said. “So, why were you after me?”

  “Didn’t the vamplet tell you?” it growled.

  “I’m conducting my own interview, which means you need to answer everything over again. Now, if you please?” He placed a tape recorder on the table, in typical human style. “Fiona Guilfoyle. She’s a witch. Usually, none of my kind want anythin’ to do with witches, but she promised my pack special power for a small price. I had to kidnap you, deliver you to her and kill Angelica Cross. The only other setback was that we would look like this until we died. It wasn’t much of a sacrifice for the power to possibly rule over other werewolves.”

  “Why? It doesn’t make sense,” Danny said, writing down the information.“Wouldn’t anyone like to be the leader of their people? In America, we have the President. Other countries have various names for their leaders. At one point, vampires also had their king and queen. Witches have the Grand Coven, even though now it’s a part of this place. Werewolves and other shapeshifters have never had a ruler, just a military branch. We wanted to be the first to share that duty. Now, these scientists are testing me and tamping down my power, and you and that little half-breed killed my pack.

  “When I get outta here, and I will escape, I’ll take you both out.” he snarled.

  “Yeah. Good luck with that,” Danny said. “When you captured me, where were you supposed to meet Fiona?”

  “She said she’d find us. That she could track her magic.”

  “With what?” Danny leaned in, hoping for some decent information. If Fiona could track her magic, then perhaps they could track her.

  “How the fuck should I know?” Ralph snarled. “I just wanted the power. I didn’t care if she could smell you.”

  “Where did you meet her? How did you get in contact with her?” This was the big one, the only way that they could truly know where Fiona was or at least where she could be contacted through.

  At that, the were clammed up. Not like it wouldn’t say where she was, but more like it couldn’t. Danny, Angelica, and Miranda watched as it opened its mouth and then promptly closed it. They saw Ralph’s eyes widen in shock, and then narrow in anger. It looked as if there were some extra charges on Fiona’s receipt, not just the ones she’d mentioned to the small pack.

  “Cat got your tongue? Black cat, perhaps?” Danny asked. “Try saying something benign. Your name again, or mine.”

  “Jonathan Price.” Clear as a bell, and wi
th no hesitation or struggle.

  Danny stiffened as he heard the name he’d had in his previous life.

  Outside, he heard Miranda say, “Who’s Jonathan Price?”

  “A hundred years ago, in another life, that was Danny’s name,” Angelica explained.

  “She put an insurance policy on her spell, in case you got caught,” Danny said to the wolf. “She didn’t count on your success. This makes things more difficult…” He got up and exited the room, coming face-to-face with the two vampires. “What should we do?”

  “I have an idea, but we need to tie the wolf down first. After it’s secured, ask it the question again and then touch its head. Perhaps your precognitive abilities can access its memories,” Angelica said. She called for silver restraints from the armory.

  After she secured Ralph, Danny reentered the room and asked it, “Where did you meet Fiona? How did she contact you?” He immediately placed his hand on the werewolf’s furry head and found himself immersed in its memories.

  ****

  Wolf Road Woods

  Willow Springs, Illinois

  One week ago

  Danny was a ghost again, silently and invisibly observing a memory, just like when he had witnessed the rising of vampire Vincent Cross. He was in a clearing in the woods surrounding a suburb with the untransformed werewolves of Ralph’s pack. All three were young and attractive. The girl was built like a tennis player and had the wild hair of a runway model in New York Fashion Week. The one male who was dead now, was a blond who vaguely resembled a young Chad Michael Murray. Finally, he recognized the real Ralph, whose light ginger hair and chiseled features made him look like Irish royalty.

  As Ralph had told him, they were discussing the werewolves’ need for leadership.

  “More of us organized, there would be less crazy rogues and we wouldn’t need to live in fear of the PID,” Ralph was saying.

  “More of us organized might be seen as a threat against humanity, and therefore more of a target for the PID,” the girl said.

  “There would be so many of us that the PID would be outnumbered if they decided to engage us,” the other male said.