by C. L. Stone
7
I take a seat in my office chair at Mologan’s with a heavy sigh. It’s the first chance I’ve gotten to sit all night. Thomas was kind enough to bring me back and do a basic rundown of how to make a Void. I won’t know if his steps will work for me until I try it tomorrow. Samuel told me to call him if I need assistance getting to work tomorrow. It’s strange, having him willing to help me. Isn’t it just an inconvenience for everyone not having me be at least semi-experienced with magic? Are they being nice like this because the Sins “chose” me for the job? My phone rings in my bag. I sit forward and dig it out. Keifer, and I have thirty missed calls. What the hell? The call from this morning runs to the front of my mind. What was he trying to tell me then? Who did he find at the homicide scene? My heart picks up as I hit answer."Hello, Hope? Where the fuck have you been? I've been calling you all night. You have me worried sick over you, after what I found this morning!" His husky voice blares into my ear and I hold the phone away from myself. "Calm down, Keif. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore your calls. I started my new job today and left my phone in my bag all night. What happened? Who," I pause, not sure I actually want to know, "who did you find?"
He clears his throat. "I'll tell you, in person. Where are you?" A lump forms in my throat. "Mologan's."
He pauses. "At this time of night?" I sigh. "I wasn't sure where to go tonight. Ziggy has been avoiding me trying to meet with him since last night. He'll text me, but won't talk to me on the phone. Monica and Lauren are still working at this hour. So it was here or beg you for another night at your apartment, and I don't sleep at the same place more than twice a month."
"You've been texting with him all day?"
I huff. "Don't start in on me about him. I can be friends with both of you."
"I'll be over to get you in about fifteen minutes. Don't move." The line goes dead. I stare at the screen. What was that all about? Who died, was it Monica or Lauren? I hope one of their johns didn't finally do one of them in.
I sit with baited breath, my heart not slowing for a single second. The minutes drag on, until the echoes of sirens fill the night outside of the office. It's not unusual to hear them all times of the day, but this time I know they're Keifer. Using his sirens would be the only way he could get here from the Police Station so fast. I stand, grabbing my bag, I go to the door and unlock it. Snow drifts down in soft waves as I meet Keifer on the sidewalk. "Tell me what's going on, Keif."
He runs a hand over his platinum hair, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. He reaches to his belt loop, and a familar click invades the silence between us. I frown. With a motion of his his finger he says, "I need you to turn around for me first, Hope."
I grip my backpack tighter and take a step back from him. "What are you going to do?"
He takes a step toward me, forcing me to press against the closed door of Mologan's office. "Please do this calmly. I'll explain everything at the station. But I need you to cooperate. I got the head of homicide to do me a personal favor by having them let me bring you in alone, without a bunch of other guys watching."
No way out. He's always been faster than me, he catches me without even breaking a sweat. I stare up into his eyes. "Tell me why you're arresting me first. By law you have to at least do that."
He sighs and looks away from my gaze. "You're a suspect in the homicide case I'm working. I need to bring you in to rule you out. Please, turn around and I'll read you your rights."
I press my right hand to my chest. "I'm a suspect on a case you're working on? Really?"
"We found your prints at the scene."
"Who’s the Doe in the case, Keif. You made it sound like someone I know."
"Turn around and let me handcuff you, before I have to force you to do so."
Hot tears pool at the corners of my eyes as I turn around and place my hands behind my back. I force them down; I won't let him see how terrified I am. I didn't do anything wrong. I didn't murder anyone. There's no reason for me to be scared.
"You have the right to remain silent."
His words wash away as the thundering beat of my blood pressure fills my ears. He turns me and takes me to his unmarked police vehicle. Instead of putting me in the back, he has me sit in the front and buckles my seatbelt for me. I refuse to say anything on the semi-long drive back. How could he do this to me? Doesn't he know me well enough to know I'd never murder anyone? Most people could easily overpower me anyway. My tough girl attitude is more bark than bite. He should know this after fifteen years. To kill the ever building, thick silence, he switches on his radio. Life on Mars by David Bowie washes over me. How fitting.
8
We walk through the mess that is a New York police station. Overworked people practically sleep at their desks, as petty criminals sit around waiting to be processed into the system for probably their dozenth crime.
Keifer rushes me past the chaos to a secluded interrogation room. "Have a seat." He lets go of my arm and closes the door. "Can you take off the handcuffs? It's not like I can run far while in here. "
He nods and pulls out the key for them. My arms sigh with relief as he releases the binds. I rub at my wrists. I'll never get used to how they feel. With a sigh, he takes the other seat. "Where were you two nights ago, between the hours of two and four in the morning?"
I frown. "I was sleeping at Mologan's office under my desk. Why?"
He leans onto the table that separates us and folds his hands. "Do you have proof you were there at those times?"
I lean back in my chair. "I should be on Mologan's security camera footage, and his alarm system should have logs of me disarming and then rearming it. Around midnight. Why are you doing this?"
With a heavy sigh he rubs at his five-o'clock-shadow. "Hope, the person we found last night. It was..."
I gulp. "Yeah." I already feel as if I know the answer, but it can't be possible. "It was Ziggy, Hope."
My hand goes to my mouth. "What?" The hot tears from before come flooding back as an ache fills my chest. I can't breathe. He confirmed my fears. I sob into my hands. How can he be so calm about all of this?"
His hand grasps one of mine and pulls it away from my face. "I'm so sorry, Hope. I wish you didn't have to find out this way."
I shake my head. No, this can't be real. I've been texting with him all day. The tears stop. "He's not dead. It's not possible. I've been texting with him all day. I can show you the texts."
He shakes his head. "That's not Ziggy. I saw the body myself, Hope. It was him. I confirmed it with the birthmark he has on his ribcage."
I shake my head. "He can't be gone. We were supposed to hang out last night."
"I know."
I frown at him. "How could you ever think I killed him?"
"I told you, we found your prints at the crime scene."
"On what? I saw him the night in question, but it was for less than fifteen minutes before he needed me to bounce."
He glances at the mirror in the room. I'm not stupid, I know it's a two-way mirror, and that someone above him could be standing there watching our every move. “Why did you need to leave?” I swallow hard. Should I tell him about Marcus showing up? They didn’t see me there; I could be safe. I shake my head. “I can’t say.”
Kiefer pinches the bridge of his nose. “I can’t force you to say anything you don’t want to, Hope. But the more information you give us, the less likely it is I’ll have to arrest you and put you in a cell.”
“I drank a Fanta and had a leftover burger, while they weighed and bagged weed in front of me. We watched a documentary for a bit and then I had to bounce. I went to Mologan’s, where you can find me on his security footage and logs at midnight. There’s nothing else you need from me. So unless you are going to arrest me, I’m going to go now. I’m tired. And must work for Mologan in three hours.” I stand. “So can I go now? I need to catch the subway back to my first job.”
He stands as well. “We can’t keep you now. But don’t go out of t
he state until we verify your alibi.”
The tears return.
“Fine. I have no plans to leave the state anyway.” I readjust my bag onto my shoulder and turn to open the door and leave. With quick steps, I weave through the swamp of criminals and pigs before taking a much-needed gasp of cold air as I step outside onto the platform preceding a flight of stone steps. Snow falls harder than it did when we entered the police station; the icy wind slaps my cheeks where the hot tears have left tracks. Going to the first step, I sit down. I need a minute to collect myself for the journey to Mologan’s. Crying like a baby on the subway wouldn’t be a good idea at this time of night. Who knows what would try to take advantage of the weakness. How can Ziggy be gone, murdered? He always said he be one of the few gangsters to die of old age, while he chased the young hotties around the nursing home with a walker and no teeth. An odd gurgled laugh escapes me at the memory of his imitation of an old guy. Pulling my bag to the front of my body, I dig around until the cool metal frame touches my fingers, with a tug, out comes the picture of Ziggy, Kiefer, and me. Back when we ran this city. They were fifteen here and I was thirteen. They were my world. My fingers shake as I touch Ziggy’s face. Why didn’t I stay there? I should’ve stayed. “I’m sorry, Hope.” My back stiffens as I glance over my shoulder at Keifer. “Here to interrogate me more? I have nothing left to say to you.”
With a heavy sigh he takes a seat next to me. "He used to be my friend, too, Hope. But my job comes first. I can't let my personal opinions get in the way."
I scoot away from him enough that our arms no longer brush. "How did you even get to stay on the case? Doesn’thaving personal ties to the victim make you a biased party?"
He looks over his shoulder at the doors of the Police Station. "The Lieutenant doesn't know of my history with Ziggy. My juvenile records were sealed before I went into the police academy."
"He knows about me though, I'm connected to Ziggy and to you." I put the picture back in my bag, making sure to place it just right that it won't move around.
"He knows about you, because when we pulled your prints your juvenile record was linked to them. When he went to arrest you, I convinced him to let me do the job instead, that I knew you from childhood. It wasn't easy, but he owes me a few favors," he pauses, his breath forming billows as he sighs, "so I cashed one of them in. As long as I treated you like a suspect and not a friend, he was fine with it, I think. I can never tell what that man thinks on anything."
I kick off the snow collecting on my shoes, my feet have become icicles through my ratty combat-style boots. "Are you not sad at all that he's gone?"
"Of course I am. Jesus, Hope, I'm not a psychopath. We were friends a long ass time, maybe not as long as you and me, but long enough that I'm sad he's gone. I just can't show that kind of emotion right now, not with my boss looking over my shoulder at every turn."
"Who do we need to contact about his death, he didn't have any family, right?"
He shrugs. "Not that I can tell. We were his family for the most part. I guess his gang?"
I shake my head. "No, they weren't family. Were any of them dead as well?" Kiefer stiffens. "You know I can't share open case information with you."
I huff. "Fine. I need to go now. I'll only have an hour to nap at this point before Mologan's." I stand and he takes my arm. "Take the day off, I'm sure he would understand. You can stay at my place again; I'll take the couch. I don't like thinking about you sleeping under some desk."
The dream from before surfaces to the front of my mind. How real his touch felt on my skin. Why couldn't it have been real? I pull my arm from his grasp. "I can't do that. I need all the training I can get if I want to be a P.I. before I'm thirty. I also have my new job; I can't miss that. I'll stay in the state don't worry."
I take several of the steps down. "I know you didn't do it, Hope. I just have to check all my I's."
I give him a backhanded wave. "I'll see you around, Kief.”
Why couldn't life have played out differently?
9
"Miss Radcliffe, I'm happy to tell you that we have found your birth father. He lives in the Lower East side. If you want, I can facilitate a meeting for you two." I grin as I listen to Mologan give one of our clients good news. He always leaves the door cracked so that I can take part in the joyous moments as well. Taking a tissue, I brush away the tears. They haven't stopped all day. Anything will set me off. I'm not an emotional person like this. I take pride in being like stone. I didn't even cry as a kid when one of my other friends got shot in front of me. "Thank you, Mr. Mologan! I can't wait to meet him. You said next Sunday at noon would work best?"
Mologan opens the door for the woman with blond hair in a French braid "Yes. I’m sure that will work best.” She wipes at her own eyes. I glance down at her little round stomach. She smiles at me and holds out her hand. "I assume you helped in finding my father? Thank you so much...Miss?"
I take her hand. "Johnson. Hope Johnson." A scene of her standing in front of many computer screens flashes in my mind’s eye at her touch. "This is the only way we're going to find the bastard that has Fin. Vex says Mologan is the best, so we'll use him to get to Roseman. She said he has a moral standing though. I'll have to lie."
A man steps over to her with short black hair, a single streak of white going through the edge at the front. "Do what you think is best, Lon." He rubs at her pregnant belly. I gasp as the vision passes and my head throbs with pain, what the hell was that?
The woman frowns at me. "Are you okay?" I rub at my temple. "Yeah, I just got a cluster headache for a moment, I'll be fine."
She jumps and places a hand on her stomach before laughing. "Seems like my son likes you. Would you like to feel?"
I hesitate for a second. She caused me to see weird things the last time I touched her. It would be rude to say no though. I lift up my hand and she places it on her stomach. A little jolt hits my palm and I jump. "Leader Bram Radcliffe will now oversee the ceremony for his daughter Cinder's Passage."
A table in front of a mass group of people stands with five bowls in front of it. An older man steps up to them. "Thank you all for coming. I'm very excited to have you all here for my daughter's passage. Come here, Cinder."
A little girl with flaming red hair steps up to the table. She pulls at the pink fufu dress before placing her hand palm down over the bowl with a small flame. It rages to life, shooting into the air with a massive flame.
He sighs and pats her on the shoulder. "I see you're just like your grandmother and uncle." She sighs in return. "Yeah, can I go play now?"
I pull away from the woman. "Wow."
She stares at me. "You just had pink sparkles all around you. What are you? Did you feel something with my baby?"
"I'm a Fae, just not a very good one. You have a very strong baby there."
She nods and rubs her stomach. "He's a fighter. It took a lot to get him here. Anyway, I need to get going. My husband is waiting for me at home. He'll be overjoyed to hear the news. I assume it's safe for me to leave the other way?"
Mologan nods, his eyes glancing at me. "Yup. Have a safe Void."
She nods. "Thank you." She goes to the far wall and places her hand on it. A Void spreads across the entire thing. She laughs. "Ooops, I guess I don't know my own strength right now."
As soon as she leaves, Mologan rests a hand on my shoulder. "Are you okay? What was all that? You lit up like a pink Yule tree."
I shake my head. "I don't know. I touched her hand and I think I saw something from the past. Then I touched her stomach and I saw her child's future."
He frowns. "Has that happened to you before, ever?"I try to think back, but I think I'd remember seeing something like that. "No, it's new. Is this like my superpower or something?"
"Superpower?" He laughs. "I guess it could be one of your Fae powers. I don't know much about them. I wonder what made them decide to pop up now."
I stare at the wall where the woman left through. "Sh
e has a really strong baby. He had a crap ton of warmth coming off of him. That's what magic, feels like, right?"
He nods. "Yup."
"Don't trust her, M. I saw the past. Whoever she had you find isn't her birth father."
He nods. "I know. " I lift an eyebrow. "You do?"
A long-time friend who works at Mrs. Peacock's tipped me off yesterday. We're still doing good by helping her though, trust me. We're helping her find her other baby."
A sense of dread falls over my skin, making it tingle. "I hope you're right."
*
I gasp as I step out from the tall rock and stand in front of the prison. Ten fingers. I wiggle my toes, ten toes. A quick once over, I don't think any part of me has gone missing... Yes! I did it, I made a Void and didn't get lost or lose a limb. A grin spreads across my face as I walk up to the employee entrance and put my ring up to the scanner. The door opens. I sigh, it worked, good. Walking into the yellow lit hall of boring tile, I make my way toward the other locked doors as I take off my jacket. So warm in here. Marge leans against the podium that Kingston stands behind. They stop laughing as I enter the office space. Kingston smiles. "Glad to see the ring worked."
I nod. "Like a charm. See you later." I head for the elevators. No time to waste, the more time I spend on work, the less I need to think about the last twenty-four hours. My phone blares to life with my ringtone as I step onto the elevator. Good timing, whoever it is, I wouldn't have been able to answer after this point.
Keifer's name streams across the screen. "I'm just about to start work at my new job, what is it?"
"We just saw Mologan and the records. Your alibi checks out."
"Okay. Is that all?"
"Where do you work? I'll come pick you up when you get off. Stay at my place tonight."
