Blood Catalyst

by A. L. Kessler

Levi jerked at my wording.

  "I mean that I'm not a vampire, I'm not tied to the mystical rules that you are."

  "This is true, but I'd rather you not go after Samuel. If he comes after you that's one thing, but please don't seek him out."

  "Trust me, it's not on my list to do. I saw what he did to the warlock on his wall. I don't want that to be me." I patted his hand. "You know, this wasn't exactly what I was expecting when I said no secrets."

  "Doesn't every girl dream of being a princess?"

  "Not of vampires." I laughed and sipped my wine. "Of a fairy tale yes, but I see no prince charming, just a witch and a vampire."

  Levi chuckled. "Maybe when this is all over it'll be a fairy tale. You can go back to being just a witch."

  It was such an odd thing to say, and I looked at him. "When this is all over?"

  He shook his head. "Just using the turn of phrase."

  I wasn't sure I believed him, but I let it go and finished my glass of wine. "If we're done with the strange heart to heart and permission to kill Ira, I'm ready for bed. I have to hit work early tomorrow to try and figure out what's going on with my case."

  "Okay, good night, Abby." He stood and I followed. Levi pulled me into a quick hug before I let him out of the house. I watched him walk to the edge of the protective circle and then disappear.

  Merick appeared beside me. "That was a very odd conversation."

  "Something's bothering him, but he won't tell me what it is. He'd rather deal with it himself."

  "Sounds like someone I know." He gave me a knowing look, and I rolled my eyes.

  "I'm going to bed. Wake me if something explodes or the house catches on fire."

  He laughed and walked back into the living room while I made my way upstairs.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  The next morning, I sat in the containment center's visiting room, waiting for them to bring Lydia in. The door opened, and a guard walked the woman in. Her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, her hands were cuffed, and when she sat down in front of me, the guard secured her to the table.

  "Hello, Lydia, I'm Special Agent Collins, and I just have a few questions for you about your previous roommates."

  She bristled, but nodded, making no verbal answer. Her file didn't say that she was mute, but there wasn't even a noise of disgust or anything. I glanced at the guard.

  "She lost her voice the other day. Fever earlier this morning, bad enough that she put in a medical request."

  I pulled out a paper and pen as a sinking feeling claimed my stomach. "I need you to write down the answer to the questions, this is very important."

  She nodded.

  "Were your roommates practicing black magic?"

  She scribbled, 'yes.'

  "Where they Cynthia Wild and Virginia Stride" the pieces were falling into place suddenly.

  Lydia looked pale as she struggled to write yes out on the paper. She collapsed against the table, and the guard rushed forward.

  "Call medical, tell them to get a cleansing circle ready, now. She has a curse on her. As soon as she's cleansed, I need to speak to her again. She gave me what I needed to know, but I need her to confirm a couple more things for me." I stood as the guard radioed for a medic team. I stepped out of the way so they were able to get her out of the room. I waited a few moments after the room was clear before I left. I stopped by the front desk to return my badge and sign myself out.

  "Please make sure I'm called the moment she's cleansed. She's key to my case right now."

  "Of course, Agent Collins." The guard at the front wrote something down. "We'll be seeing you later then?"

  "Yes. Thank you." I walked out and noticed the car there. How the hell was this person finding me so easily?

  Had they managed to put a tracker on the Hummer? As far as I knew, Levi had the Hummer so magically locked down that not even Oliver had managed to get a tracker on it. Or were they were tracking me magically, and if that was the case, all my avoiding them wasn't doing any good. Fuck.

  I walked to the Hummer without any problems, but the car left the parking lot right after me.

  I called Mason on the hands-free system while trying to keep an eye on the car behind me.

  "What's up, Abby?"

  "I need you to bring both Cynthia Wild and Virginia in." I gave him Cynthia's last known address, "I think I know what's going on, and I think I found our actual victim. What I don't know is how it all lines up with Zayden and Jon." I had an idea, but I needed someone to confirm some things. "Also, make sure Cynthia and Virginia don't see each other."

  "You've got it. I'll meet you at the station." The call disconnected, and I headed toward the station.

  If I could get one of them to confess and get Lydia to confirm everything, then I had them, and the case was solved. I was willing to bet that the connection to Jon and Zayden was Virginia, but that still didn't explain the marks on Zayden.

  I sighed. Maybe one of the women had answers to that as well. I glanced up in the mirror and saw the car still behind me. So there was still that asshole to deal with. They were far enough back that I couldn't tell anything about the driver which gave me no clue as to who they might be.

  They followed me all the way to the station. I waited for a few minutes to watch them drive off. Either they didn't want to be caught at the station, or they knew that I would be here for a while. Either way, I was glad I didn't have to worry about them. I parked the Hummer and got out. Chances were I beat Mason here, but that would give me a chance to go over the file that Seth had given me.

  I walked into the station and waved at the few officers I knew as I went back towards the interrogation area. I found a conference room and sat down with my bag. I pulled out all the papers and notes I had made, and I pulled out Zayden's file that Seth had put together. I need something to connect all five people.

  I flipped though Zayden's file. The missions he had gone on were pretty straight forward. Warn a person here, invite a person there. I paused at the name of two people on an invite mission. Cynthia Wild and Virginia Stride. The reason for the invite was magical abilities that leaned toward persuasion. I wasn't entirely sure what that meant.

  I pulled out my phone and called Merick. "Hey, I'm at the police station-"

  "Do you need bail money?"

  His words threw me off for a moment. "What? No, no bail money needed. I'm waiting for Mason to bring in two suspects. I have a question about one of Zayden's mission. It says that he was to invite someone based on their abilities that leaned toward persuasion?"

  "If it says that, it means the witch or warlock had a talent for using their magic to get what they wanted. Not persuade like a vampire would, but manipulate the situation with magic to twist the results, not the mind."

  I thought about it for a moment. "Interesting. Okay. Thanks."

  "Do you think you have something?"

  Did I? "I think that I might have a connection of some sort, but I need to talk to some people first. I also need to know what those runes were holding back on Zayden."

  "I'm sorry that we were no help in that department. I'll chat with you later. I have to explain to Rania what happened to her clothes."

  I cringed. "Tell her I'm sorry." I disconnected the call and laid my phone down. I made a note next to that mission and continued through the papers. Zayden's last mission was to go speak to a Cult member's family to deliver the news that the member had died.

  I pressed my lips together and pulled my computer out. I had time to do a little bit of research before Mason got here with the suspects. I logged into the PIB database through the secure network and searched the family's name. A few things popped up, including a missing person case. I clicked on it a file was from a few years ago, and the next document was a Jon Doe that matched the description of the missing person and had later been confirmed. The date of the confi
rmation was only a couple of weeks ago. Interesting. I found the number for the family and wrote it down in my notes. It was Zayden's mission to tell the family a few weeks ago that the member was dead.

  I searched through the rest of the documents to try to find out any more information. After an hour, I had found nothing else useful. I closed the computer and put it in my bag just as I heard two women screaming at each other.

  Oh, this should be interesting. I stepped out of the room and watched as four officers, two for each woman, and Mason came down the hall. The women were fighting the officers to get to each other.

  "What the fuck is that bitch doing here?" Virginia snarled as she elbowed the officer away from her and tried to get at Cynthia.

  Cynthia, on the other hand, was simply trying to shake the officers off her. "Why am I even being brought in?"

  I glanced at Mason. "I thought I told you not to let them see each other."

  "Well, it turns out that Cynthia attacked Virginia at a local coffee shop. They made finding them an easy job."

  I shook my head. "Get them settled. I'll be in in a few minutes."

  I watched the officers guide the women down the hall and into their own interrogation rooms. I gave them a few minutes to settle down while chilling in the hall with Mason.

  "A coffee shop, huh?" I crossed my arms. "Did either of them give a reason for the fight?"

  He shook his head. "Witnesses said that they were arguing in a hushed tone and then started calling each other names that ranged from traitor to fucking slut face."

  I wasn't even going to touch that one. "Virginia seemed surprised that you brought Cynthia in."

  "Virginia was the one who attacked first. She probably expected Cynthia to play the victim."

  I sighed. "Well, let's go see what our little victim has to say." I made sure my PIB badge was visible and then waltzed into the room Cynthia was in with Mason right behind me.

  "Our squabble at the coffee shop is not PIB business." Cynthia pegged me with a stare. "There is no reason for you to be here."

  I smiled and sat down in front of her. "Actually, that's not what I'm here about. I'm here to speak to you about Lydia Trist."

  There was no change in her demeanor, no jerk of her head, nothing.

  "I have no idea who you're talking about." She folded her cuffed hands and then her attitude changed. She took a moment to compose herself. "Detective Mason brought us in because of a fight in a coffee shop, not a murder investigation."

  I laid out a picture of Lydia. "Actually, Detective Mason brought you in because I needed to talk to you and Virginia about a murder investigation." I tapped the picture. "This is Lydia, I have a feeling you two were roommates at some point."

  She looked away from the picture. "You can't prove that."

  "Actually, I can. You see, I visited her today in the containment center." I pulled the picture back. "Turns out, she can confirm that you lived together about the time she was put in there. She's not very happy about being there."

  Cynthia snorted. "Then she shouldn't have been caught with organs in the house." She shrugged and then her eyes widened.

  Caught her. "Interesting that you know that."

  "I must have heard it on the news or something." She shook her head.

  "So here's the thing. Virginia, in the other room, she's not happy with you. I'm sure if I go talk to her, she'll rat you out. I'm not sure why she's not happy with you, but I'm sure it has something to do with what's going on with Zayden and Jon."

  She looked back at the picture and was silent for a moment. "All I will tell you is Zayden wasn't the intended target."

  "Jon was." I put it together. "Why Zayden?"

  She shook her head. "I want a deal if I give you details. I want to make sure there's no death sentence for me."

  "I can't promise you that. It depends on to what extent you were involved in the murder."

  She shook her head. "I wasn't involved in it at all. I told her his secret, and she's the one that did everything else."

  "And what was his secret?"

  "He had the sixth sense, but he couldn't control it. He said it had developed when he arrived here." She shook her head. "I sent him to a Cult member I knew who could do the runes.""

  "How did you discover this?"

  Cynthia shook her head. "Am I getting the death sentence?"

  "Until I have evidence that says you didn't take his heart, I can't promise that."

  She shrugged. "Then I guess you aren't getting your answers."

  "That's fine. You can sit here for a bit. I'm going to go talk to Virginia about all this. I'm sure with how angry she was at you, she'd be willing to give me information." Of course I was also sure it would mostly be lies.

  I stood and picked up the picture to put back in the file.

  "Wait."

  I paused in my motions.

  "Look, Zayden and I knew each other from before. He'd come to talk to me about joining the Cult. We hit it off then, and so when I learned he was in town, we got together to hook up. He came to the house and freaked the fuck out because apparently, it's full of spirits."

  "Of who?"

  "The people we stripped of their organs," she muttered. "He knew exactly what happened because I guess they were screaming at him. He was going to report us to the Cult for misuse of magic."

  "So you killed him."

  "No, I wanted to kill his brother as a warning. Zayden didn't deserve to die. He was too sweet. Virginia wanted to kill him to shut him up and give Jon a warning. Apparently, they had beef."

  I glanced at Mason who nodded. "Okay, I'll see what I can do about that death sentence, but if you killed with magic for the organs, I can't promise anything."

  She sighed. "I guess it was just a matter of time."

  I walked out of the room with Mason following me.

  "Do you believe her?"

  I shrugged. "I don't know. We'll have to see what Virginia says and go from there. I can do a truth spell, but I don't want to depend on that. I know the cuffs limit their magic, but the Cult tried to recruit them, so I don't trust the cuffs or the rune at this point."

  "So?"

  "So we see what Virginia says without letting her know that we talked to Cynthia, see what matches up. My best bet? She'll tell us the same story with the roles reversed. Except I know one thing."

  "Which is?"

  "Cynthia isn't a crazy ex of Jon's. So that part of the story will be different. I need to see if I can talk to the Cult member that did the tattoos on Zayden. They and Lydia are going to be key to this."

  Mason nodded. "I'll see if she'll tell me."

  "No, because if this is a setup, she'll have someone who can claim they did the runes."

  I took a deep breath and went to Virginia's interrogation room. The moment I walked in, I knew that I wasn't going to play nice. She sneered when I shut the door behind Mason.

  "I'm not fucking talking."

  I slammed the photo of Lydia down. "You don't have to. She already told me everything about the organs at the house. She's the victim of the curse you used Zayden's heart for."

  "No, Cynthia was. You had the coven cleanse her."

  "I think you placed it on Cynthia to throw me off. I think this was a revenge thing. Jon broke your heart, and so you killed his brother, to put a curse on the one person who could rat you out for murder." I tapped the picture. "Luckily for me, I talked to her today."

  She narrowed her eyes at me. "You've got nothing on me."

  "I have threatening letters to Jon from a past relationship, a witness to confirm those threats, a motive for revenge on Jon, and association to another murder. I've got a ton on you."

  She gave me a stone-cold look that probably would have made a few people back down. Not me, not today. I stood there watching her, waiting for her to crack on something. When she didn't, I picked u
p the picture and put it back in my file. "You don't have to talk. I have everything I need. Killing with magic is a death sentence. So you better hope that Lydia can be cleansed. With everything else on your plate, I can't help you. I'll be going to the judge to get a search warrant for your house."

  She stiffened at that. "You won't find anything."

  "Cynthia's house then? Is that where you two have been performing all your magic?" I kept my voice light.

  She slammed her hand on the table. "That little back-stabbing bitch has nothing to do with me or mine."

  Oh that was a fun reaction. "Really? You two were roommates, once upon a time. What happen? She threatened to rat you out?"

  She composed herself and shook her head. "You're not getting anything else out of me until I speak to my lawyer."

  That was almost as good as her confessing to being guilty. I nodded and walked out. I wasn't going to say a word now that she wanted to speak to her lawyer. Mason followed me out.

  "Well?"

  "Not exactly how I pictured it going. But that's okay. She gave away a little bit of information. Now that she's calling her lawyer though, it might be a little tougher."

  My phone rang, and I looked down at the screen and saw the number for the containment center flash on it. I answered it. "Special Agent Collins speaking."

  "Lydia is dead."

  I cringed. "What? When?"

  "Before we could set up a cleansing. She died, heart stopped."

  Fuck. Me. "Thank you for letting me know. Please called Jason at the ME office to make sure he's able to do an autopsy on the body. This is key in my case."

  "Of course Special Agent Collins."

  I hung up the phone and walked into the interrogation room again. "You don't have to answer any questions, but Lydia just died, and if it was a result of the curse, I'll know, and there will be no helping your death sentence if you were the one who caused it."

  The woman had the audacity to smirk at me. I locked my jaw and walked out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

  Mason looked at me with raised brows. "Abby?"

  "Pretty sure that a curse just killed an innocent person and my key witness in this case," I growled. "Fuck. Me."