The Hex Files: Wicked State of Mind

by Gina LaManna

  I gave him a brief nod, and with that, we were pulled apart and thrust into the chase.

  UNFORTUNATELY, I DIDN’T make it far, and neither did Matthew.

  The club had been aptly named Dust, and in that moment, I discovered why. As the deejay dropped a hearty beat, wailing with bass and frantic, manic thumps of whatever this club called dance music, the ceiling exploded. Dust rained down in all shapes, sizes, colors, and sparkles. Like confetti, but finer, stickier, more compact.

  I stopped moving at once as shrieks of wild joy and desire rose from the dance floor. Bodies writhed and moved against one another. Sweat and glitter and dust coated every inch of bare skin. I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, and I was willing to bet even Matthew, with his ridiculous sense of sight, couldn’t make his way through the crowd.

  The deejay, I realized with a snap. I began sprinting toward the source of the music. The dust pouring down was the perfect cover for a snatch and grab. The lusty dancers would be so invigorated by the beat of the music, the ethereal burst of glitter descending from the heavens and cloaking the dance floor in blissful blindness, that nobody would notice any sign of a struggle.

  Either the deejay was involved, or he’d been paid off, or it had been sheer coincidence and good planning on the part of the kidnapper. I doubted a smart kidnapper would rely on luck, chance, and random timing, so I moved my legs faster until I reached the deejay booth.

  A man stood there, dreadlocks in his hair, eyes closed as he swayed to the music. Two turntables stood before him, spinning, electricity whizzing from his fingers as he plucked at invisible strings to control the sounds permeating the room.

  I reached for one huge headphone and snapped it hard against his ear. “Who paid you off?”

  “What?”

  I couldn’t hear the response. I could only see his mouth part in confusion as he shouted at me. The music was all encompassing from this close to the giant speakers. I grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and wrote: Who paid you?

  The man didn’t even flinch. I guessed him to be part troll, part human, judging by the burliness of his features and the slowness to which he responded to my inquiry. I doubted the meaning had sunk in.

  I glanced down at the floor as the dust settled, but neither Matthew nor the woman and man in question could be seen. As I turned my attention back to the deejay, I caught sight of a small envelope with a time written on the edge of it.

  I picked up the envelope, glanced at my watch, and saw the time matched down to the minute the dust had begun to fall. That’s all it took to answer my questions. The kidnapper had paid off the deejay to dump the sequins and sparkles and confetti from the ceiling as a cover up for his plans. He’d have herded his target out of the club by the time the dust had settled.

  I grabbed the deejay by the collar and pushed him against the back of the booth. “Who gave you this envelope?”

  He shrugged. “It was there when I came on stage.”

  “What time did you come on stage?”

  “Dude, I’m Ricky Rick—the headliner. I came on at midnight.”

  “You didn’t see who left this?”

  “No way,” he said. “I’m just dropping beats. I thought it was some guy wanting to get groovy with his girlfriend or whatever.”

  “Well, it wasn’t,” I said. “I’m Detective DeMarco, and I’m taking this. If you remember anything, you let me know. I’ll be back to ask more questions later.”

  “Ricky Rick will do that,” the deejay said, still completely unfazed. “Ricky Rick’s gotta get back to work, Detective Hottie.”

  I let him go with a disgusted scowl, catching sight of his bloodshot eyes. The guy was blitzed on something, and I highly doubted he’d remember anything that happened this evening at all. I doubted he’d even miss the envelope stuffed with cash that I’d confiscated as evidence.

  I tucked the envelope next to the bangle in my dress and jogged toward the nearest exit for the club—the one closest to where Matthew had been headed when the dust dropped.

  I pushed the door open and found myself in a dimly lit back alley, empty save for the shadows lurking next to over-stuffed trash cans and various junky items that accumulated in deserted backstreets.

  A woman’s shriek came from my right. I launched into a sprint without thinking and, a few seconds later, skidded around a corner to find a woman with blond hair and wild, panic-stricken eyes staring straight at Matthew.

  “Don’t touch me,” she murmured. “I have a daughter, a little girl...”

  Matthew looked at me and nodded. The signal for me to take over.

  “It’s okay, ma’am,” I said. “I’m a cop—Detective DeMarco—and I’m here to help. What’s your name?”

  “He’s a vampire!” she shrieked, pointing at Matthew. “Arrest him—his fangs!”

  “He’s a cop, too,” I said, raising my hands. “He won’t hurt you, I promise.”

  “You’re in this together!” The woman backed away, but she was cornered. The second her back hit the brick wall, her face went pale as blood drained from it.

  I waved Matthew away, and he took a step back. I inched closer, my arms raised in a sign of a truce. “I just want to help you—”

  “Lisa,” Matthew supplied. “I heard him call her Lisa.”

  “Lisa,” I finished. “We’re here to help you.”

  In an interesting turn of events, Lisa went stock still. She dropped her hands to her sides, closed her eyes, and waited. I hesitated, wondering if she’d gone into some sort of paralysis, some sort of nervous breakdown. Her eyelids fluttered as if she were dreaming, and the pain and terror in her expression filtered away.

  “Is she under a spell?” I asked, glancing at Matthew. “I don’t recognize it.”

  Her eyes flickered open and she looked at us through gleaming silver pebbles. It was as if a light shone through her very core, bursting through her eyes, streaming from the tips of her fingers in ten tight little concentrated bursts of light.

  “No,” Matthew said quietly. “I think this is her magic. Whatever’s happening, she’s in control of it.”

  Before I could theorize further, the crunching of carriage wheels barreling through the streets reached us. The sound was out of place and jarring. Carriages didn’t normally travel down back alleys in this part of the district.

  I cocked my head to listen, but before I could decipher where the carriage was coming from, Lisa glanced at me with her eerily backlit eyes, and then dove toward the side. She landed, crouched in the corner of the alley, seconds before the brick wall behind her burst into shambles.

  I recognized the signature explosion of a Crushing Curse—a spell meant to destroy anything in its path—as pieces of bricks pummeled in every direction. Things seemed to move in slow motion after the resounding crack sent my eardrums ringing and the brick shattered into pieces and sailed through the air in every direction.

  The space where the brick wall had stood moments before was now wide open. Behind the gaping hole was a midnight black horse with a carriage attached. Its driver wore a cloak, his face not visible through the thick shroud of smoke.

  My attention was drawn downward as a thump sounded on the ground. Matthew’s arms crunched around me simultaneously as he rolled us toward the side of the alley and out of the carriage’s rampage.

  We landed hard against the cement, the wall shuddering as Matthew’s back slammed into it. I didn’t feel a thing. He had me cradled in his arms, so I was left completely unscathed. I quickly wriggled free of his grasp, my eyes focused on the bundle that’d fallen to the ground.

  The driver of the carriage raised a fist and let out a cry of anguish. Lisa was nowhere to be seen. She’d escaped. The driver turned the horse and carriage around and, with the crack of a whip, disappeared from view.

  “Lisa got away,” I mumbled, hauling myself to my feet. “But how? Where’d she go?”

  Matthew quickly scanned the rubble of the alley—the broken wall, the retreating c
arriage, the bundle of blankets on the ground that was now, I realized, undeniably in the shape of a body—and shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “We’ve got to tail him,” I said. “He’s got to be our guy. He was going to take Lisa, and I’ll bet he already took Maybelline and Lillie, and quite possibly Linsey too.”

  But Matthew shook his head, and I understood why in a second. Another flash of smoke in the distance, and the horse, carriage, and driver vanished from sight. “Rope off the crime scene—I’ll be back shortly.”

  As Matthew set off in the direction of the disappeared carriage, I made my way across the alley where a sudden, chilling silence had settled into place. It’d be mere seconds, minutes at the most, before the dancers inside were alerted to drama outside, and this place would be swarmed with those hankering for a look at death.

  I raised my fingers, muttered the quick jinx that came standard with agency badges, and roped off the crime scene. Once that was finished, I made my way toward the bundle of blankets. Hesitantly, I pulled back the fabric hoping for a glimpse of the victim’s identity.

  The man was face down, however, and unrecognizable from this angle. I felt for a pulse and quickly found there was none. His body was cold.

  I was hesitant to roll him over before Sienna and her crew got here, but I needed to glimpse his face and check for Residuals. With a deep breath, I rotated his body to the side, trying to disturb as little as possible, stopping mid-turn when recognition hit.

  The victim was none other than Jim Geronimo—the very carriage driver who had driven Linsey Luca to her last gala.

  Coincidence? I thought, sucking in a breath. I highly doubted it.

  Jim had been killed by some sort of black magic—the Residuals were still dancing in a stormy mess over his body—and I could see that multiple bones in his body were broken. A variation on a Crushing Curse, no doubt. Unfortunately for Jim, it had been a painful death.

  I stood, my fists flexed as I quickly Commed the precinct and Sienna.

  As soon as they’d been alerted to the crime scene, I glanced down at Jim and vowed to find Lisa tonight. There was no doubt in my mind that Lisa’s attacker would be back—she’d seen too much, and now she was a loose end. But if I could find Lisa first, I could protect her. Especially if what she’d said about having a little girl was true. No way was I allowing another kidnapping on my watch.

  “Well, well...” Marcus inched his way inside the caution tape. “Seems as if trouble follows you around, Detective.”

  “Get out of my crime scene.”

  “I thought the captain told you to play nice.” Marcus gave a thin smile, his eyes flicking toward the dead body. “If it weren’t for me, you’d still be waiting outside in line, so excuse me if I ignore you. I’m here to stay, DeMarco.”

  Matthew returned then, scanning the scene, myself, and Marcus in a single glance. He merely shook his head at my unasked question.

  “Sir,” Marcus said. “What can I do to help?”

  “Secure the rest of the scene and start getting interviews from anyone who might’ve seen something. Reinforcements will be here in a few minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Detective DeMarco—” Matthew’s gaze leveled on mine. “When backup arrives, you’re coming with me.”

  Chapter 16

  An hour later, Dani and Matthew finished giving their statements. Matthew officially handed the reigns over to Sienna and crew, leaving Nash to run point over the rest of the officers working the scene while Marcus was responsible for keeping the crime scene clear of Silver Street looky-loos.

  As they left, Matthew caught a glimpse of distaste on Dani’s face when Marcus bid her goodbye. Oddly enough, Matthew thought Marcus was a fine employee—except for his unfortunate personality. He was smart and driven and cocky, and he rubbed several officers the wrong way—especially Dani. The two had been butting heads on this case, and nothing Matthew seemed to do could keep them apart.

  “Sir,” Dani said, as Matthew pulled her away from the scene. “Are you sure it’s the best idea to leave the crime scene in Marcus’s hands?”

  “The detective is perfectly capable, unless you have a reason to distrust his judgement.”

  “Besides the fact he’s a prick?”

  “Yes,” Matthew said. “Besides that.”

  His flippant response earned a grudging smile from Dani. They strode from behind Dust and ran smack into Nash, who was in the middle of interviewing Bran. Damien stood nearby, watching from a safe distance, wringing his hands while his face pinched with dismay.

  “Ah, there she is,” Bran said, landing his gaze on Dani. “I was wondering when we’d have the pleasure of seeing you around again. Red’s your color, Detective. You look very sexy in your dress.”

  “The pleasure’s all yours,” Dani said. “Tell me about the deejay.”

  Nash opened his mouth—whether to argue with Dani or tell off Bran, Matthew wasn’t sure. But one glance from Matthew and Nash shut up.

  “What about the deejay?” Bran met Dani’s gaze evenly.

  “Your deejay was bribed to help with a kidnapping,” Dani said, her voice hushed with barely restrained fury. “Whether you knew about it or not, your club is the breeding ground that’s led to two murders and multiple kidnappings. You’d better pray you got caught in the middle of something here, Bran, because if we find out you knew about any of this—a single payment—you’re rotting for life. Understood?”

  “I understand.” Bran’s voice drifted off along with his gaze. His line of sight slid down Dani from her lips to her hips. “Though it’d be much more comfortable to discuss this upstairs over a drink. What do you say?”

  “I say you’re an idiot,” Dani said. “Answer the question.”

  “I think I’d like a lawyer,” Bran said with a smirk. “Unless you feel like taking me up on that offer of a drink, Detective. I’ll talk to you. Alone.”

  “The deejay’s a dead end,” Nash warned. “The money will have been clean. No prints, no way to track it.”

  “I know,” Dani said. “Which is why I’m not wasting my time on him. Captain, let’s move.”

  Matthew shared an amused glance with Nash, then turned and followed Dani away from the club owner. Dani’s heart rate was elevated, and her body movements signaled major levels of agitation.

  “Rough night?” Matthew asked.

  “You could say that.”

  “Can I take it you won’t be having a second date with the wolf?”

  “I shot him in the leg,” she said. “What do you think?”

  Matthew couldn’t help the slight smile that crossed his lips. “Ah. I see. Did he try to hold your hand?”

  “You’ve got to stop this.” Dani stalked along without meeting Matthew’s gaze. “You’re giving me special treatment.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You are taking an interest in my personal life. You give me the best case on my first day back. People are starting to notice.”

  “People?”

  “Marcus,” Dani said. “He’s convinced I’m out to steal his promotion.”

  “I wouldn’t take it personally,” Matthew said matter-of-factly. “He’s a competitive man.”

  “It’s more than that, and you know it.”

  “Come on, Dani. Talk to me. There’s something bothering you, and it’s not Marcus.”

  “Everything is bothering me,” she snapped. “Tonight, for example. It was weird. Really weird.”

  Matthew cocked his head to the side. “I’m not sure what a normal homicide looks like.”

  “The whole thing with the deejay getting paid off. Lisa disappearing...” Dani looked like she wanted to mention something else, but she refrained. “Do you think Lisa was involved somehow?”

  “I think Lisa was the target. She was hurried out of the club by a mystery man and cornered in a back alley,” Matthew said. “It was only through some form of magic that she escaped.”

  “Lisa was
probably drugged,” Dani added. “According to Cynthia, the other girls drank something and went all glazy. I think that’s how he’s able to tell which elves have a certain gift.”

  “She didn’t look glazy outside,” Matthew said. “Considering she had light shooting from her fingers. She seemed to know what she was doing. She looked alert and quite powerful.”

  “True,” Dani agreed. “What else do we know? I’m almost certain the deejay was paid off by the same guy who shooed her out of the club. Probably a different guy than the one driving the carriage. That gives us two attackers.”

  “Yet Lisa escaped them both,” Matthew mused. “Did you recognize the Residuals on her magic?”

  “No, not exactly,” Dani said slowly. “But I’ve seen something like it before. Tonight, at the casino.”

  “On your date.”

  “At the casino,” she repeated. “The dealer in one of the high stakes rooms had something similar happen with her hands. But that was weaker—if I had to guess, Lisa is much stronger than Reina. And Reina is a sorcerer.”

  “Reina?”

  “Never mind,” Dani said. “We’ll deal with the casino later. What I can’t figure out is Lisa’s power. Are you sure she wasn’t being controlled?”

  “I’m almost one hundred percent certain. What I’m not sure of is how she knew the carriage would crash through the walls. The light shone, and then she dove out of the way. How could she have known?”

  Dani shook her head, but her face was plagued by doubts. “And where does Jim come into all this? Was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time?”

  “Marcus is checking with the carriage company,” Matthew said. “If Jim had a fare nearby, he was probably just collateral damage.”

  “It sounds like Marcus has everything under control,” Dani said abruptly. “If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to take off.”

  Matthew raised his eyebrow. “And go where?”

  “Would you believe me if I said I wanted to go to bed?”

  “Try again.”

  “I’m going to the lab,” she said, sighing. “I need to talk to Felix.”