And then it didn't, and I could become the Wraith inside my body. And flying became a reality. Wings and all.
"I was listening." Glare, glare. "But Joe, they were wanting to apprehend TC? That would be stupid."
"I'll say" The Phantasm munched a grape.
"No, they were referring to you. You and Dags are classified as planars."
Ruh-roh. "This doesn't sound good."
"Now you know why I said what I said." Azrael held a grape hostage between the index finger and thumb of his right hand. "The fact they've labeled you, and Dags, and the other Revenants, bothers me. Used to be there weren't labels because everyone was on the same playing field. But ever since Nona took over and this new council member stepped in to take over security operations, it's been a little less inviting."
"What about Rhonda? Or even Mom." I pointed at Joe. "Or you. You all do magic. Why haven't they classified you?"
"They don't consider magic a threat." Joe removed a cup and placed it in front of me. He changed the K-Cups and started his own cup brewing. "We can be subdued by very simple means. Bullets work pretty good. But we're classified as human."
"I'm human."
"Are you?"
I…
Wow.
I'd never really thought about that. I didn't know many humans who could do what I do.
Mental Note: Oh, the humanity!
Sarcasm aside, this conversation made me uncomfortable. "Keep going with the story."
Joe took his cup as it finished and pulled a bowl of sugar to him. He fished a spoon from a drawer in the counter by the Keurig. "Nona told that guy to can it and leave. And just as he did, I got a call from Mastiff."
Azrael stood and pulled an unopened carton of milk from the fridge. I noticed the side had been labeled "Phanty" in black marker.
"Did Mastiff piss you off? That why you quit the force?"
"You could say that. It seems they're making Daniel the main person of interest for those murders in the park, and the ones in Montreal. And since they positively ID'd him as the guy staying at the bed-and-breakfast with you, they're looking at you, too."
"Me? Why me?"
"Your involvement with Daniel."
"But what about the guy in the picture? He's the one who raped me. And he's a Power."
Joe looked pained as he grabbed the milk from Azreal before the Phantasm could open it and drink out of it. "I know, but that's not a piece of information I could go to them with."
Once Joe was done with the carton, Azrael took it back. "What made you quit?"
Even though the coffee was finished and he stirred it, Joe didn't drink it immediately. "Because they wanted me to set up a surveillance on Zoë. Set up a team to watch her and grab Daniel when he showed up near her again."
"They wanted you to watch me?"
"Yeah. And don't think because I quit that they won't do it. They will." He stopped. "Come to think about it…." He moved away from the counter and held out his hands, palms up. Closing his eyes, he took in two deep breaths and started humming.
I looked at Azrael as the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
Azrael grinned.
Something popped near the TV, then it sparked. After a few more seconds, Joe stopped humming, lowered his arms, and opened his eyes. "I think I just shorted my cable box."
"What were you doing?" I sipped the coffee and winced. Ooh…needs sugar. Blech.
"I was zapping out a low-tier pulse of magic—sort of like a EMP but on a more subtle level."
"That was not subtle." Azrael stuck his pinky in his ear and wiggled it. "So, no bugs in here yet."
"I agree with the 'yet'." Joe rubbed at his face. "Give it time. And Zoë, I'm pretty sure your place has plenty of bugs in it."
"Sneaky snoopers?" I set the sugar down…'cause I'd sort of lost track of how many spoonfuls of sugar I'd plopped in my coffee. "They've got them in my apartment?"
Joe grinned. Why was he grinning at me? "I'd forgotten you called them that," he said, as if reading my question off my expression. Or he could have heard my thought? After all, when I'd slipped out of body to become the Wraith, he could hear me then.
"They could have them there, and pointed here," Azrael said as he chewed the last grape. "But I'd guarantee that zap would have given whomever is listening some serious feedback. So—" He put his hands on the table. "—we need a new base of operations."
Base of— "For what?"
"Come on, Zoë," Joe sipped his coffee. Geez, he looked cute when he had bedhead. But then, Joe kinda always had bedhead. Spiky hair. "You do realize we've got a lot of fucked-up shit right now. Daniel's missing, Dags is missing, Rhonda's missing, there's something creepy happening with the Society, and your old rapist is a Power."
"You can ex Rhonda out of that list. I'm not rescuing her," I muttered. "Even if she is in trouble."
"That's kinda cold." Joe looked hurt. "She helped us get you out of the Throne."
I felt a flare of anger burn up from my gut into my head. I was thinking, this is what a hot flash felt like, as I was instantly covered in sweat. But whatever it looked like physically made Joe take a step back from me. "She used it to steal Darren from me, Joe. Or have you forgotten?"
"Tone that down." Azrael held up a hand. "We all know you're pissed off. And that was a shitty thing for her to do. But you have to admit, it wasn't all her. Geist had a hand in that, because he believes your relationship with the Grimoire is a bad idea."
"I don't fucking care what some kind of weird program thinks." I was getting really upset. And I thought I deserved the right to. Damn it all. I was having a really screwed-up year. And it wasn't getting any better. I mean…even my vacation was ruined…and it wasn't even New Year's yet!
I grabbed my coffee and walked around to the stools to sit beside Azrael. Joe stayed on the other side, his mug in his hand. "Sorry."
"Eh, I'm used to it," Joe said, and sipped more coffee. "So let's go backwards on that list. I'd personally like to know why Nona lied to you about sending the rapist after you."
I was sipping my own sugar-infused coffee when he said that. Joe hadn't been with Azrael and me at the park when Azrael explained to me that mom had been lying. So I nearly choked. "Wait…how do you know that?"
"Because I confronted her before I quit." He grabbed the counter with both hands.
"You okay?" Azrael narrowed his eyes.
"It's this Orbital Veil," Joe said. "It's going to take a few days to get used to it. I mean, it's working and I'm getting the hang of it, but sometimes I move one way and it moves the other."
I couldn't see all that stuff spinning around him, but I could remember it moving about that room at the Society House. The fact that he was right in front of the counter made me wonder if what was in the Veil was somehow phasing through the wood of the counter, the floor, and even the ceiling, depending on the diameter of the circle.
Ooh. That sounded smart!
"So what did she say?" Azrael asked. "Why did Nona lie like that about this rapist?"
Joe's phone rang. I sipped my coffee and started listing out the priorities myself. The only problem was, which one should I start on first? This rapist killing people? Finding Dags? Or finding Daniel?
"Mastiff…"
At first I thought he was answering his phone as Mastiff, but then I realized Mastiff was the one calling. Mastiff was Joe's partner. They were assigned together after Daniel went crazy, killed all those people, and killed his captain—
I really hated that I kept thinking about that.
"Look, you weren't there. You didn't see what I saw. And I am not going to spy on Zoë just so you can catch—"
When he stopped, Azrael and I looked at each other, then at Joe. The former APD detective had one hell of a look on his face.
"Joe?"
He held a hand up for me to be quiet.
:P
"….and you're sure. You can see it's him?"
That perked me up. Him who?
Chapter Eleven
"What do you mean, they found Daniel?" The question was out of my mouth before I realized I'd opened it. I also noticed I was breathing heavy and my heart decided arrhythmia was a good idea.
Joe looked…well, flummoxed. "Mastiff wouldn't say. All he'd give me was 'you have to see this.' So, I'll see it." He fixed me with a rather worried look. "You need to stay hidden. I don't want him knowing you're here."
"And me?" TC looked disappointingly at the empty bowl of grapes.
"You…well, you have to hide, too. But I figured you'd want to know what it was he found."
"Of course I would. Inanna's my sister." He turned and grinned at me. "So, should we be incorporeal together?"
And that's pretty much what we did when the doorbell rang twenty minutes later. In the interim, Joe showered and cleaned up the apartment and stowed the empty grape bowl and milk. He also put away my jacket before he glanced back at us—me all Wraithy and gruesome looking—and TC, well, looking like himself.
I made a mental note to ask him later why I looked like this. I mean, why didn't I just do what he did and go from solid to non-solid? How come my whole look changed? Not that I minded looking like some comic-book form of someone's nemesis…it was just weird.
Ebil bunneh slippers and all.
Joe took in a deep breath and opened the door. And, like he'd figured, six uniformed cops preceded a very leery looking Mastiff into the apartment.
"You got a warrant?" Joe asked as he slammed the door closed behind the intrusion.
Mastiff turned to face him inside the hall, and TC and I watched the uniforms take up positions around the living room.
"We're not here to look through your place, Joe."
"Why the muscle?"
"Just…precaution."
"Get out."
"Joe, I need you to look at—"
"Get out. Or you get them out. If you don't have a warrant—and I know you don't have probable cause for anything—then get out." He opened the door again and pointed.
Mastiff looked ready to explode. His jaw worked back and forth as he thought it over and then nodded to the officers. They filed back out of the apartment.
"Sergeant." Mastiff approached the last one out and slipped out the door. He whispered, but I could hear him. "Stay close and keep an eye out. I doubt Frasier's made it here yet. Martinique lives above this unit. Put two men on her apartment. We got a warrant pending to search her place."
"Yes, sir."
When he came back in, I bore a hole into his face with my very angry stare. I wanted to Scream at him, but figured that would just sort of complicate things. Asshole was going to search my apartment? What the hell for?
I kept quiet, too, since being invisible didn't necessarily mean being inaudible. When I first started going out of body, I learned that the hard way.
Joe looked outside after Mastiff came back in, then shut the door and locked it. "You got some fucking nerve, Mastiff."
"Me? I do?" the handsome, dark-skinned detective said. "I'm not the one who just quit the police department on a whim. That was you. And you did it right in the middle of a case involving your former partner after he shows up again here and in Canada. I call that pretty damned suspicious."
Joe didn't look at his partner — I mean former partner now that he'd quit—as he moved past him to the kitchen. He didn't offer him coffee, either, but picked up his own cold mug and downed half of it. "You got something to show me, then show me."
Mastiff reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket and retrieved a DVD case. "This is security footage taken early this morning of a fight breaking out in the lobby of a high rise in Buckhead, just down from Lenox Square mall."
"Name of said high rise?"
"The Oaks."
I blinked. Oh. Wow. That was where Jason kept one of his condominiums. It wasn't the Revenants' base of operations, but it was one of Jason's more private residences in Atlanta.
"And Daniel was in the lobby?" Joe was playing it cool. No shift in his expression. He even turned and reloaded another K-Cup into the Keurig. "Why that place?"
"We think he was going to see Jason Lawrence."
Joe nearly dropped his cup at that statement. And I nearly went corporeal. TC put a hand on my shoulder. "Easy," he whispered.
Easy? The last person I wanted to involve in this was Jason. Being a Revenant, he'd been careful all his life to remain a little invisible. But if Mastiff continued with this, it might bring unwanted attention to him.
And honestly…where had Mastiff gotten this DVD?
"You know Jason's got nothing to do with this."
"Then why was Daniel in the lobby of the very building he owns property in?" Mastiff moved to the counter. "Can I get a cup?"
"No."
I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop from barking out a laugh. Ha!
"I see. Well, we'll play it your way. My investigation into Mr. Lawrence's background and his financials has already started. I'll find out if he's working to give Frasier any kind of aid."
Joe put his old mug under the Keurig spout and hit brew. "Mastiff, how many rich snotty people live in that high rise? And you've singled out this one person out of all of them?"
"Wasn't hard." The detective reached inside of his pocket again and pulled out a small photo. He set it on the table. "I figure—" and he shrugged "—anyone involved with Zoë was worth looking at. I've seen him around her, a lot. And he's been in and out of Nona Martinique's shop as well."
"You're fishing."
"Maybe. But you forget, I know about you people." He turned to the living room, and moved past TC and I to the flat screen. He slipped the DVD out of its case and into the machine on the stand. "Come and watch, Joe."
We all crowded around, Joe joining us last as he finished making his coffee and came to stand behind the couch.
The image was pretty good quality given that it was a hidden camera. Then again, The Oaks being an expensive place to hang a hat, the camera probably wasn't hidden so it would deter the criminal element.
The camera angle gave a wide shot of the door, the front counter, and a row of elevators. A few residents came in and out, flashing cards in front of a panel to the right of the elevators before stepping through the double doors. Two people in dark uniform jackets manned the desk and waved at a few of the elevator riders.
Daniel came through the door. I'd know him anywhere and I almost dove at the screen, but TC held my hand. Here it was, confirmation Daniel was alive, and he looked fine. He still wore his long trench coat, and it looked like the same clothes he'd had on that night in the park, sans the blood. But I couldn't see from that angle.
He flashed a card in front of the sensor on the elevator and the light went green. The car was on its way. I figured Jason had given him access to the place as a refuge when he needed it.
Three people ran at Daniel, two males and one female, all of them dressed in black hoodies, black pants, and black shoes. Their faces were hidden, but it was obvious to me—and I was sure it was to TC and Joe—these were Powers. The way they moved and coordinated their attack on Daniel was too familiar.
He defended himself like a trained fighter, ducking, jabbing, rolling, and then one of them was down and Daniel had their weapon. A gun. He fired at the other two and they went down. Then he looked up at the camera, down at the gun in his hand, and ran at the elevator.
Only, the elevator doors weren't open yet.
"Wait…run that again?" Joe said as he set his mug on his coffee table.
Mastiff worked the controls and reset the image back and hit play. And again, Daniel ran at the elevator doors…and then through them.
"Son of a—" Joe said as he put a hand to his head.
Was this possible? My own jaw hung open as my wings, furled against my back, shifted and moved, mak
ing all the wrong noises.
Mastiff heard it and looked around the room. He narrowed his eyes and he slowly put the remote control down next to a fruit bowl. I noticed this behavior real fast. Don't get me wrong, I liked Mastiff, but I didn't trust him. He was a good cop, and even though he and Daniel had been friends, he'd seen Daniel do some seriously fucked-up shit when the Horror had him.
Mastiff believed Daniel needed to be locked up. He didn't care if he was healed through the interception of a First Born. Daniel Frasier was a criminal.
"He went…" Joe was saying.
"Through a wall. So you see why I've been looking for Zoë, why I need to speak to her. I know what she is, and you do as well, but none of my superiors have the slightest concept of what's really out there. So…" He clasped his hands on front of him, but I noticed he was looking around. "I've contacted the Society of Ishmael's security."
Joe whipped around and glared at Mastiff. "You showed them this?" He pointed to the paused image on the screen.
"I sent a copy to a Miss Stephens. Her name was the liaison contact on file. I'd like to know how Daniel suddenly has the same power as Zoë. Is he a Wraith as well? And if he is, is there a way to contain him? Daniel's a dangerous man, Joe, and he has to be stopped. There have already been more deaths—"
"If you're talking about the case with the murdered couples in the park and the ones that seem similar in Canada, then you're wrong. Daniel had nothing to do with those."
"Joe." Mastiff shook his head, but he didn't look at Joe as he talked. In fact, he was looking all over the living room. "We have an eyewitness who identified the man who committed the murders and rapes in Piedmont Park and in Canada. Karl Gibbons."
"Okay, that's good. So you know it wasn't Daniel who did that."
"No, it's bad. Karl Gibbons was shot over four years ago while evading police in a robbery. He was pronounced dead on the scene, the death certificate was signed by one of the city's finest medical examiners, and the body was shipped to the Dekalb County morgue."
Dominion: Zoë Martinique Investigation, Book 6 Page 7
