Alex quickly prepped his phone for notes as Kylie looked back and forth between them.
"Alright," Alex said. "Go."
"The username is linash. All lowercase, if that matters at all. The password is Michael429, and I'm pretty sure the M is capital."
Alex smiled as he jotted everything down. "Beautiful."
"The computer didn't look too hard to use. There's only one little icon on the desktop. That launches their database. I didn't get to see anything after that. The lady had to use the bathroom—" He paused to look at Kylie. "Which I did not stop to spy on. And I wanted to get moving before I forgot everything."
"Nate, this is awesome. You did great."
"You got it, man."
"Wait," Kylie said. "That was the idea the entire time? Just go in there and get the password to her computer?"
"Yeah," Nate said first. "Simple, and brilliant. I was standing behind her the entire time, just waiting for her to start typing."
Kylie shook her head. "Wow. I thought you were just spying on girls somewhere else in the world."
For the first time since Alex had known him, Nate seemed truly hurt. He lowered his eyes, avoiding eye contact with Kylie.
"Yeah. You're welcome," he muttered. He walked through the front of the truck, through the engine, to settle back in the seat.
"What now?" Kylie asked. "Break into the police station? Use her computer?"
"No."
"Good. Because that would be crazy."
"First, lunch." He checked the time. "Actually, dinner. Then we'll do what you said."
She sighed. "I should have known that was coming."
"We need to know what they know. Suspects, time of death, location, anything at all. Then we can take it from there."
"I'm on board," Nate said, smiling and wringing his hands together. "This will be fun."
"You've never sneaked around a police station before?" Kylie asked.
"Actually, no, I haven't."
"Not enough pretty ladies there for you?"
Nate didn't smile.
"I guess not. I like to check out the women at clubs, even though I'm not old enough. Just like you."
Kylie's jaw dropped, not expecting such a harsh response.
"Hey—!"
"Knock it off, you two," Alex said, starting the engine. His stomach was prepared to eat itself. "Where's a good place for food around here?"
*****
It was eleven o'clock at night when Alex parked the truck alongside the street four blocks away from the police station. There wasn't much planning to do with what he had in mind, but he did what he could. He left his phone and wallet back at the motel. Ironically, despite his resistance to technology over the years, he felt naked without his phone. He'd only brought his keys, which he left under the seat. Slipping out of his short-sleeved button-down shirt, he stood on the sidewalk wearing only a thin tank-top, the back narrow enough to fit in between his shoulder-blades. He'd written Detective Nash's username and password on his forearm.
Kylie and Nate watched him from the sidewalk.
"Uh, Alex?" Kylie said. "Aren't you cold?"
"It's not so bad."
"You look a little silly walking around like you're going to the gym."
Nate laughed. "Please, Kylie. You'd sound more convincing if your eyes weren't bugging out of your head and you weren't drooling."
"I am not drooling!" she said, adjusting her glasses.
"Watch out, man. Tell Cindy she might have some competition."
"Shut up, Nate! Why is it okay for you to stare at everything with tits? But you want me to walk around with blinders on?"
"Man, touchy. I was just kidding."
"It's getting old. I'm sick of—"
"Hey!" Alex said, eying the both of them. "Would you both calm down?"
Kylie looked down at the sidewalk, her cheeks flaring from guilt. Nate felt no such guilt, and simply glanced at Kylie, and then at Alex, before shrugging. Alex noticed tension between them throughout the day. During dinner the two of them argued, nearly ruining his meal. The issue was so ridiculous Alex couldn't even remember what it was. Despite the fighting, the two were always close to one another, with Nate giving Kylie another lesson in teleporting after dinner.
He shook his head at the young, blossoming love.
It took ten minutes to walk the four blocks to the station. The streets of Stewardtown were quiet, deserted, with only the occasional vehicle driving by. The sidewalks were empty, except for a couple near a truck. They probably should have taken their excitement to a private room. The woman was sitting on the hood with her legs wrapped around her boyfriend's hips. The woman's shirt was pulled halfway up her torso, giving access to her boyfriend's roaming hands. Moans of passion escaped as they explored each other's mouths with their tongues.
"I know that woman," Kylie said as they passed. "She works at the grocery store on Tenth Avenue. And that is not her boyfriend."
Nate eyed them. "Well, looks like that's her boyfriend tonight, at least."
"Yeah," Kylie said, smiling. "You'd think they'd slow down a little with someone walking past."
"No," Alex said. "They can't see me."
To illustrate, he held out his hand as they walked, letting it pass through the cars. He felt the different materials, always an interesting sensation. Glass, plastic, leather, metal.
Kylie shook her head. "I'm not sure I'll ever get used to seeing a living person do that."
"Believe me, sometimes, that makes two of us," Alex said.
He still had his moments of self doubt. Demons called him Master. He had powers no one else possessed, not even a full-blooded witch. There were times he felt more comfortable in the demon world than his own. He didn't like mirrors. He was in a class all by himself, and that brought its own elements of loneliness.
But he'd accepted what he was, and those closest to him accepted him as well.
Alex stopped as he stood in front of the police station. Kylie and Nate drifted back, lost in their own conversation. He could have parked across the street, but wanted his truck to be far away. Peering through the glass door, there was only a single woman behind one of the desks, a different one from earlier in the day.
Kylie and Nate caught up with Alex.
"…I'm telling you, I can't dance," Kylie said.
"I thought you were fine on Halloween."
"That was a slow dance. That doesn't count."
"Of course it counts. We have to do that again."
"I don't think so."
"C'mon. How many more times do you think you'll get to dance with someone?"
They went silent as they approached Alex. Nate took up position next to him and peered inside.
"Okay, guys," Alex said. "Follow me."
He walked through the glass door. Kylie and Nate followed as he retraced his steps from earlier. He stopped when he reached the sea of desks and computers. The room was mostly empty, with the exception of three police officers. One of those officers was Lisa Nash.
"You've got to be kidding," Nate said. "Does she live here?"
"Who?" Kylie asked.
"That blond lady over there. That's who Alex talked to today."
Kylie stepped forward. "I know her. She stopped at the house to talk to Mom a few times. She actually went to my funeral. Not even Zoey went to my funeral, not that I blame her."
"So, she is working your case," Alex said.
He watched the detective. She sat with her heels off, nursing a cup of coffee. Working at the computer, she took turns between using the mouse and taking handwritten notes on a pad. Her expression changed from sadness to frustration, and then back again.
"She looks so tired," Nate said.
"What do we do now?" Kylie asked.
"We wait her out. She has to go home sometime. Until then, we need information. Both of you spread out, study this place. I need to know exits, hallways, who else is in the building. Okay?"
Nate nodded. "You got it."<
br />
The ghosts walked away in different directions, leaving Alex alone. He walked in a straight line, through desks and chairs, toward Lisa. Peering over her shoulder, it didn't surprise him to her working on Kylie's case.
He'd studied police reports before, but still didn't know exactly what he was looking at on the monitor. Every report was different, and Alex didn't understand the vernacular, or even where to look at for certain information. Only Kylie's name on top of the report clued him in.
Her handwritten notes were even worse. It was a diagram of gibberish, with circles and arrows.
Despite her presence, Alex's plan remained the same. Get a copy of the police report, and go back to the motel.
He scanned the folders on the corner of her desk, hoping that by chance one of them was Kylie's. They overlapped, hiding the occasional label, but none had her name. He couldn't have been that lucky.
Lisa let out a sigh as she rested her head against her palm. Alex thought she looked at him for a moment, but only leaned back in her chair and stifled a yawn. He was suddenly curious. Why was she still there? Did she have a family to go home to?
Slipping into her heels, she browsed through the folders on her desk. She picked out several and retrieved her purse from the back of her chair.
"Hey Nash!" another officer called from across the room. "You heading out?"
"Yeah. Time to go home and pretend like I'll sleep."
"You want to get a beer?"
"No, thanks, though."
For a moment, Alex thought she'd leave her computer as it was. However, she slid the chair under the desk and grabbed the mouse. With a few quick clicks the database was closed, and a logon prompt filled the monitor.
Alex dropped to one knee and watched Lisa walk away. The two remaining officers traded a few more words with her before she left. Keeping his head low, he could remain hidden from view, as long as he was careful.
He rejoined the world of the living, and quickly snatched the keyboard from the desk. His heart jumped when the first logon attempt failed. He tried the password again, this time in all lowercase, and the desktop sprang into view.
One of the officers coughed across the room, and a chair began to squeak. Alex slowly peeked over the desk to make sure no one was approaching. An officer was scratching his head with his feet propped on the desk.
Grabbing the mouse, he launched the police database. Luck finally smiled on him, as the most recently opened files were at the top. He double clicked on her file.
"Hey, Alex!"
He jumped at the sound of his name. He turned to see Nate, coming out of a hallway behind him.
"Oh, shit," he said, actually more panicked than Alex. "Okay, okay. We're rolling now."
Alex said nothing as Nate hovered above him.
"I think you're okay. Those guys can't see you. I'll holler if they start moving. Although that cop on the left looks like he hasn't moved in years."
He smiled, and a chuckle nearly escaped before he caught himself. Nate shrugged apologetically after Alex flashed him a glare.
"Sorry."
He clicked through the different menus, not finding what he was looking for.
"What's the problem?" Nate asked.
Alex kept his voice low. "How do you print?"
"I don't know, but you might want to try that icon that looks like a printer in the upper right corner."
He finally saw it. A ridiculous, minuscule icon. He clicked it, and a printer four desks over roared to life. Being as quiet as he could, he put the mouse and keyboard back on the desk, and logged out of the computer.
"Perfect."
Nate gasped when Alex stood up, until he realized Alex couldn't be seen.
He strolled to the printer. It spit out page after page. Police reports weren't short, and Kylie's was no exception. The officers were still on the other side of the room. That didn't make the challenge of getting the report out of the building any easier.
"Guys!"
It was Kylie. She stood in another hallway not far behind them, frantically pointing.
"There's an exit door this way. It leads to the side of the building. It's pretty clear."
"What's pretty clear?" Alex asked.
The printer stopped, filling the room with silence.
"Well?" Nate said. "Take the thing, and let's go."
"I can't just take it."
"Why not?"
"I can only bring small things into the spirit realm. A wallet, a set of keys, the clothes on my back. Not a damn novel."
"How the hell does that work?"
"I'm not sure. I never read the demonic handbook."
One officer looked at the other.
"Did you print something?"
"Just my fantasy lineup, but I used the printer in Tom's office."
"Damn. Are you sure? The last time the captain found football crap on the printer she nearly shot us."
Alex clenched his fists as the less lazy of the two officers rose to his feet. He took the first step through the maze, heading toward the printer.
Dropping to one knee, Alex looked up at Nate.
"Watch my back."
"What are you—?"
"Kylie! You're my eyes up front. Get me out of here."
"What—?"
The time for questions was over. Alex rejoined the living realm and stood up at the printer. He grabbed the stack of papers and turned toward Kylie without making eye contact with the officer. He walked slowly, confidently, like he was just as much a part of the police station as anyone else.
"Huh?" the officer said. "Hey—"
Alex didn't stop. Conflicting with his cool, relaxed demeanor was Kylie and Nate. The pair ran around him frantically. They stuck their heads inside offices, through walls. He smiled as he watched Kylie bouncing around. She threw so much energy into helping him.
"The offices are all clear!" she shouted. "At the end of the hall up here, take a right."
"That cop's coming," Nate said. "He's not running, but he's on his way."
Alex nodded. He wished he'd dressed differently. If he wore a dress shirt and slacks there was a good chance he could move about the station without any questions. But anyone would stop someone wearing jeans and a tank top. He filed that note away for the next time he needed to visit a police station uninvited.
Kylie was standing at the end of the hall when something caught her attention from the side. She looked at Alex, panic in her eyes, as her hands flew up.
"Alex! Someone's coming!"
He kept calm. Outside of an office ahead of him a plastic paper bin was fixed to the wall. He slipped the police report into the container.
"What are you doing? Hide!"
He already was.
Kylie was on the verge of losing her mind when a man rounded the corner. He spotted the officer following Alex, coming from the other direction.
"Hey, Lewis."
The officer named Lewis nodded in greeting. "John."
Alex watched from the safety of the spirit world as the two men talked.
"Did you see a guy in a white tank top walking down this way?"
"No. Boyfriend of yours?"
"Screw you."
Alex walked around the pair, dipping into an office for a moment, and approached Kylie. She was breathing hard, a hand to her chest, an action Alex thought funny and adorable. She tried to lean on a wall, only to almost fall through. Nate was still vigilant, poking his head through doors and peering around corners.
"Kylie, you've got to relax," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Trust me, I've been a part of some crazy shit."
She managed a smile before pushing hair away from her face and adjusting her glasses. "I'll bet."
"Sneaking around a police station. It's nothing, really."
"If you say so."
The two officers went their separate ways, taking one last friendly jab at each other.
"All clear!" Nate shouted.
Alex returned to the paper bin and
grabbed the report.
"Now," he said. "How do I get out of here?"
The remainder of the escape went without incident. Kylie led him down another hallway, and finally to an exit door. No alarms went off, no flashing lights. The crisp night air was a welcome relief as he walked along the station toward the street. He smiled to himself at the irony. After dressing for the possibility of using his wings it turned out he didn't need to.
"You guys did great back there," Alex said.
"Thanks. That was intense," Nate said.
"Nah," Alex shook his head. "Imagine having a bunch of mindless vampires trying to rip your throat out."
"Well, I thought it was intense."
"It was," Kylie agreed. "It's just Alex isn't scared of anything."
"That's definitely not true."
"Oh, really? What gets to you?"
He thumbed through the police report. He had the feeling that Kylie would soon find out.
CHAPTER 11
The sounds of quiet whispering pulled Alex from his dreams of kissing Cindy. Slowly his senses returned. He felt the uncomfortable bed beneath him. Opening one eye, the curtain was billowing slightly as the heater underneath the window spat air. He was aware of a hand holding his own. A real, flesh-and-blood hand. Craning his neck, his eyes fell on Meagan Sinclair, Kylie's mother, sleeping soundly next to him.
Memories of the night returned. Meagan was waiting for him in the motel parking lot, wanting to speak with Kylie. Alex wanted nothing more than to go to sleep and get a fresh start in the morning. However, he simply didn't have the heart to send Meagan away. He'd promised her access to Kylie, was even getting paid for it.
It was chaotic and noisy, even though there were only two people alive. Kylie, Nate, and Meagan talked, laughed, shared stories, all while watching TV. Alex held Meagan's hand while talking with his wife. He managed to tune everyone out and focus on Cindy, all the way up until he fell asleep. Meagan never made it out of the room.
Alex slowly peeled himself out of bed, moving slowly. Meagan didn't awaken. She simply turned over and curled into a ball, adjusting on the pillow. She'd kicked her shoes off sometime in the middle of the night, making herself right at home.
Kylie and Nate sat on the floor. The television was still on, but neither one was listening. The two were in yet another argument.
Demons LLC (Damned and Cursed Book 7) Page 19
