by Mel Todd
"Did you know money has a smell?" McKenna asked as she unwrapped food, her mouth watering as the smells of Italian meats wrapped around her.
"No, but I suppose a lot of things have a smell that isn’t obvious. Why?"
She could feel JD’s eyes on her, but she didn’t look at him, instead staying focused on the other two detectives.
"I can’t swear and I can’t prove it, but here is how I think it is working. The stack of papers are really the drugs. They are awfully thick. I think he has different amounts and types of drugs in the folders. He looks at what's handed to him, flips it open to validate the money, then hands them what they want. Probably color coded for types and amounts. I noticed only two colors on the table, and if is secured like that, even if they fell to the floor the drugs wouldn’t pop out and money is thin, so adding a few bills in a report like that, you’d never notice it from a quick look."
She took a bite and watched Laredo and Guinness just look at her, their mouths slightly open.
"Fuck," Laredo’s voice was a soft whisper and JD chuckled.
"Yeah. She’s good. I might have more time in than her, but she’s always been the one to see the patterns first."
McKenna cast a sideways glance at JD who just shrugged and went back to eating.
"So how do we prove this? Any chance you could kick over the bag and have the contents spill?" Guinness asked, his eyes distant as he sipped the coffee.
"Don’t think they would spill out. It looks pretty secure. And I’m not sure how well my ‘ability’ would hold up in court for something like that. I mean I guess you could bring in a drug dog? Stopping to get coffee and he goes haywire?"
"Thought you had your abilities proved by some trials?" Laredo asked pushing his cowboy hat back.
"Yeah. But you know the first case we bring in like this will become a feeding frenzy for the press. Why don’t we see if we can keep it under wraps for a bit? Make sure everything follows due process and avoid dealing with the attention?" McKenna shrugged. "Not saying we can’t. Just saying why flaunt this?"
Figuring she should shut up for a bit she took a big bite and chewed but watched the two men exchange glances and communicate silently the way any good partners did.
They must have reached a decision because Laredo nodded. "Let’s do it your way. Dog reactions are considered probable cause for a search and we can intercept outside the cafe. That and we’ll have someone go in and watch for a bit to see if they see the same thing you did." He quirked his mouth up in a half smile. "Not bad, Largo."
Chapter 25 - Being a Parent
An old black market trade in the Orient is heating back up again. For centuries animal parts have been sold to ‘cure’ certain issues, most of the time centered on male sexual performance. There has been a sudden uptick in bear, cat, and wolf parts on these black markets. That mixed with a spike of missing person reports in Asia is creating concern that these parts aren’t animal, but shifter. ~TNN World News
In the end it went down with a minimal amount of drama. They watched from across the street as one cop went in and bought coffee about the time the professor normally left. He walked out, all but following the man as a cop with a drug dog pulled up. The man and dog got out, seeming to just say hello when the dog triggered on the man trying to get by them quickly. Fifteen minutes later they had him under arrest for possession with intent to sell.
At the station Waris came out into the squad room as they were all working on paperwork to support the arrest.
"Good job. Nice bit of redirection. I approve. While I know we have the support of a few judges and the DA for our officers' abilities, not having to prove it in court will make everyone's life easier. But I must say, nice start to your tenure here on our team."
A muffled round of cheers and claps, but McKenna felt some eyes on her and a level of resentment at their big splash. She ducked her head and made a mental resolution to try to shift as much recognition towards others as possible. Right now she didn’t need any more attention.
~Quit it. We did our job, and I am just about ready to invest in a gas mask. Why are there so many smells in the world?~
The whine in JD’s mental voice had her pulling her head up and fighting back a smile.
"But that’s not all. There is a big game tomorrow night, and we’ve been asked to provide some extra support for a DUI checkpoint. And the two low people on the totem pole win the lucky duty. Largo, Davidson, see me before you go and I’ll get you the details. It’s a basic checkpoint, nothing you haven’t done before."
"Yes, sir." They replied then McKenna blinked looking at JD.
"What the heck do I do about Charley? I’ve never had to worry about this before."
He shrugged. "Ask Toni. I’m sure she’ll know a babysitter."
"You know she’ll volunteer to take him. I’m worried she’ll think I’m using her at this rate."
JD shrugged. "I don’t think so. The kids fit together, and I think they feel safer together."
Those words caught at her. "Do you think I should have a party for all the kids? You know the ones I took care of."
He gave her a look. "How would I know? You’re the one that spent time with them. Would they like it?’
The questions and concerns kept her occupied until she reached Toni’s. JD had headed home, muttering something about needing to pay bills. He had looked funny, but her own worries had kept her from pressing it, and now distance prevented her from pinging him mentally.
Jessi opened the door for her as she walked up. "Hey, Jessi. You doing better?" The forced change still had all of them freaked out though the kids seemed to be fine.
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah. We’ve been spending more time in our cats, so I feel better."
"Good." McKenna pulled the girl into a hug as they walked into the house.
Carina stood in the kitchen stirring something on the stove as she chatted on the phone. McKenna waved at her as she walked into the living room where Toni was still in pajamas, drinking coffee and watching the two boys play in the yard in animal form. Their joy radiated from them as they tussled.
"I assume he has all his homework done?" McKenna asked in a dry tone, knowing the answer before he asked.
"Of course. But not like he gets much at this stage in the game. Wait until high school."
"Try college," Carina added from the kitchen and both women grinned.
"It turns out I need to work late tomorrow night. Any idea where idea where I can hire a babysitter? Never done this before."
"Meh. Leave him here. They can have a sleep over." She lifted her voice a bit. "You okay with that, Carina?"
"Sure. Charley’s a good kid and honestly, they occupy themselves. I’ll just triple the food." The laughing undertone made both women laugh.
"You sure? I feel like I’m taking advantage of you," McKenna offered, a bit hesitant.
"Kenna." Toni had never called her that before and she grinned at how it felt. "You’re my friend. You saved my children at a horrible cost to you. Watching Charley is neither an imposition nor anything I mind. Or Carina for that matter. Besides mine never fight with each other when he is around." Her eyes narrowed as she shifted her attention to the kids. "Am I going to have to have a talk with him?"
"Probably. But I figure you have at least five to six years before you need to worry about it."
"Huh. Well, at least I like him."
"Let’s worry about that when Jessi decides she likes him. She might not be interested by the time they are both old enough." McKenna smiled, but she figured Charley’s attentions would never waver. Some parts of him were too wolf like, he would mate for life.
The idea shivered through her and she pushed it away. Some things were better not being asked.
"Then I’ll have him pack a bag in the morning. Meet you for breakfast Saturday morning?" Toni should just be getting home about then, so that might work out well.
"That sounds perfect. Bring food with you?"
"I can do that. I’ll call when I’m on my way over."
McKenna headed out to the backyard with Toni following her. She raised an eyebrow at the small curtained rack sitting on the corner of the porch.
"I got tired of nude kids. And I figure as they get older being that causal about getting naked might not be a good thing. Hence a changing room. There’s a set of shelves in there to put clothes on."
"Smart. I should probably do the same."
~Another thing to get from IKEA.~
"Charley, ready to go home?"
The two animals stopped and looked at her, both panting from their exertions. Charley wagged his wolf head, turned and trotted into the curtained circle. A minute later he stepped out smiling at her.
"Sure. Let me grab my backpack."
The next day she saw him to the bus stop, with an overnight bag. "Don’t give Carina any problem. I’ll see you tomorrow morning?"
His lip quivered but he smiled. "Yep. We’ll have fun."
"Charley?"
"Yeah," he looked up at her, eyes a bit haunted.
"I’ll always come back for you. Always. No matter how far away I am."
He ducked his head and smiled. She watched him get on the bus, the smile never faded even as he looked out the window as the bus drove away.
Chapter 26 - The Nose Knows
With another budget battle facing Congress, and with the influx of shifters into the military, the odds are they will try to cut funding to the military and all space programs. No one believes that the money being spent to protect us as a planet is worth it, and with the reduced health costs for shifters it might be a way to cut the budget drastically. ~ KWAK News
The day started a bit later than normal for her and JD as they were doing the DUI checkpoint. But it didn’t stop the amount of work involved in going through the busts, looking at some new drugs coming in and asking for samples. They had tapped into the people training drug dogs, who after a large amount of waffling had agreed to share any new samples for them to learn same as the drug dogs.
Hanging up the phone McKenna groused at JD.
"Really, two percent of the population is shifters. Most cops aren’t. Why are they so worried about this? Not like I can make anyone else a shifter."
~Well you can.~ JD pointed out with a laugh of humor in his mental voice.
~Shush you. That is another thing on the long list of things I am ignoring.~
His humor dropped away. ~You know you won’t be able to ignore them forever.~
~I know, but until I don’t have a choice I am. I can’t defend the Earth and no one will listen to me until I have evidence. And I’m not sure blood in a cell phone is evidence.~
~True.~
He subsided and they both focused on their work. They had brought uniforms for tonight as they needed to have the normal patrol officer stuff with them. An hour before they were scheduled to be at the checkpoint they got dressed, grabbed a squad car and headed that direction.
Enforcement check points were stressful and boring at the same time. One cop waved random cars over and McKenna and JD, each working their own lane, did quick assessments of drivers. Part of her hated it, it seemed so invasive, but she'd seen too many accidents involving drunk drivers to really object. Besides, it wouldn't have mattered if she did.
It felt odd to be in uniform again, the belt weighing on her, yet it also felt like coming home. The odd dichotomy distracted her even as she went through the motions of doing her job.
An hour in, she had three people who'd had too much to drink, and subsequently were having a very bad evening. One of them was so drunk she couldn't figure out how he'd managed to drive this far, plus he had an open fifth in the car. Two people higher than a kite on cocaine, and one person who was having a diabetic low.
"Is it just me? Or does this totally destroy your faith in the intelligence of others?" McKenna glanced at JD who had just waved a car through.
"Others have intelligence? Since when?"
She snorted as a van driver pulled into her lane. The temperature hung in the seventies this evening, and something burned her nose as the van drove up. A van like you'd see any plumber or small contractor drive. It had the faded remains of a sign, and all the windows in the back were tinted so dark she couldn't see into them as she walked up.
The window rolled down as she walked over, a young man, clean cut in a neat t-shirt smiled out at her. And a wave of cocaine and pot hit her in a current so strong she could taste it on her tongue. She stumbled to a stop, her hand hitting the hilt of her weapon in automatic reflex.
~JD, I've got a problem.~
~What?~
~Smell.~
A mental frisson of astonishment then she heard his voice again.
~It is so strong it burns.~
~Yeah. ~
"Evening officer. Swear I haven't been drinking. Just running errands." His smile seemed a bit tense, but she could tell he had no alcohol, and from him she didn't get any drugs on his breath.
"Nice evening for that."
~I've got no reason to search unless we want my nose to come out to the public.~ She pointed out.
~Worst case, they'll throw it out, but if there is as much as I smell it would still be taken in and destroyed.~ JD responded as he tried to see into the back of the van.
~Waris is going to kill me.~
"Could I see your license and registration, please?" She asked the kid, keeping her voice calm.
~Can you come to the other side? This isn't going to be pretty. I'm getting high off the fumes.~
~Yeah, my nose is burning, how can others not smell this?~
~Heck if I know.~
"Sure," the kid handed her the pieces of paper even as she thought furiously and finally mentally threw up her hands. The license told her the kid’s name, the registration looked like it belonged to a company. "Colin, I'm going to need you to step out of the van please."
The kid paled, his hand clenching on the wheel. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, I suspect you know. Please step out of the van."
Colin looked like he might be sick. Another officer wandered over, a Jacob Streen, a patrol cop she hadn't worked with.
"Issues, Largo?" His voice cautious.
"Colin, do you consent to let me search this vehicle?"
The kid shook his head back and forth in a jerky manner, and she sighed. "Please go sit down over there." She pointed at the curb. "Streen, would you watch him, please?"
He cast a funny look at her and she shrugged. "My boss will back me up."
~Or skin me alive. Whichever is going to be easier for him. ~
She popped the back door to the van and she and JD both choked at the same time.
~Yeesh. I’m getting a contact high.~
His words reminded her, and she dug out the gloves from her belt pocket. JD caught her action and mimicked it as they stared at the shoe boxes. She knew the ones in the front held only shoes, her nose told her they muffled, filtered the smell with the leather in the shoes and the scent packets. She moved the first row of boxes out of the way, barely glancing at them. Pulling out the next box, which from the label should have contained high end boots, she cut the tape dot sealing it closed and opened it. A see-through bag lay in front of her, glistening in the lights of the police cars.
"Is that cocaine?" Streen asked from where he stood, though he had moved over a bit.
"Yes." She glanced back at the van, then over at Colin, who looked like he might pass out. "I think it's time to call our boss."
"They are all full of cocaine?" Steen's voice hit a spike, eyes wide as he looked at them.
"That and marijuana," JD said holding open another box of what should have been heels she'd never have been able to afford, even if she wore heels. Inside that box was a tightly packed, green leafy bundle.
"Oh, wow."
That seemed to cover it. They read the boy his rights while they waited for Waris. McKenna had taken the easy way out and just asked dispatch t
o pass on the message that they needed him ASAP.
They shut down the check point, called in the techs to collect the evidence and backed off. The temperature had dropped a few degrees, but right then cold would have been nice, anything to help purge the drugs from the air. At this point everything reeked of drugs to them, and she wanted a shower with palpable desire.
Past the point they proved there were drugs, they had stepped back and not touched anything, it needed to be as perfect as possible, but she still foresaw headaches galore.
"Right now, I'm just glad Charley is doing a sleep over. How do parents do this?" She muttered standing next to JD. This conversation wouldn't cause raised eyebrows if anyone over heard, but she still didn't want to broadcast it.
"You're asking me? What? You think I've got a secret kid stashed some place I've been juggling all this time?" JD glanced at her exasperated even as he moved a spinner back and forth, a sign of his worry.
"Quit it. Worst case he writes me up, suspends me, and I get time with Charley." She didn't believe her own nonchalant attitude, but she tried.
"Uh huh. And I've got a bridge to sell you in Arizona. It's nice, looks out over a canyon."
Before she could come back with a snarky response, a dark green SUV pulled up and Waris got out. He had on a baseball cap, jeans, a light jacket, and a look she could only classify as exasperated.
"Largo. Why do I think I’m not going to like why I’m here? And why am I starting to think I should have taken Anne up on her offer to buy me a bottle of headache pills?"
She shrugged. "Swear, I just wanted to get today over with and go home. But I figured even if the case gets dismissed you’d want me to make this arrest."
His eyes narrowed. "If you tell me you blew your abilities wide open for a small-time dealer and pulled me away from my son’s soccer game, I’m going to have you busting school kids for the next two years."
McKenna grimaced, catching the smells of popcorn and coke on him. "No. I think they have a tally. If you’d come this way, sir?"
