Beneath This Mask

by Victoria Sue

  Gael sat up, interested. He liked picking through facts. He didn’t always like the broken bodies that went with them.

  Drew immediately stood and started listing the points of the case. Gael’s eyes crinkled in amusement at Talon, and Talon’s lips twitched. It was funny how Drew always seemed to think he was in charge.

  Both the detectives looked at Drew, then each other, and finally at Talon. Cortes interrupted. “Agent Fielding, we know what’s in the reports. I’m more interested in what isn’t.”

  Drew came to a halt and frowned, but sat down when Finn spoke.

  “You have something else to tell us?”

  Ryker shrugged. “It just doesn’t make sense. There was a wallet on the floor with no cash but all her credit cards, and records show she withdrew $100 as cash back from Publix the previous evening after she left Annabel Jones. We have people looking at the cameras that are available, but as far as we can see, she just went home. She didn’t have an extravagant lifestyle. She owned a four-year-old Nissan Altima. She was unmarried but had recently split from her long-term partner, Elizabeth Scott, who has moved to Miami and has a dozen witnesses to say where she was last night. She didn’t gamble. Her internet showed no unusual history. Her Facebook history shows she belonged to a multitude of book groups. She volunteered at two charities. There is no reason to suppose she knew anyone likely to slit her throat.”

  “Entry?” Gael piped up.

  “She seems to have let the person in. Techs are still processing, but the whole thing is weird.”

  “So, you’re saying the murder is just a coincidence?” Sawyer asked.

  Ryker tucked a brown curl behind her ear. “I don’t like it. Who slits someone’s throat for a hundred bucks?”

  “There are plenty of incidents where people have been killed for less, Detective Ryker,” Drew chided.

  “No,” Jake said. “That’s not what you mean, is it?” He felt everyone’s eyes swing to look at him. “You mean because she wasn’t stabbed or shot.”

  “Why would that make a difference?” Finn asked.

  “Because slitting someone’s throat is personal, vindictive.” Jake stood, pulled Gael up, and turned him to face away from him. He put his arm around Gael’s neck. “He or she would have had to be standing behind her. Very close.”

  Gael held his breath, his whole body lighting up as Jake touched him, manhandled him. He just hoped to God no one else noticed.

  “It could have been done to stop her screaming,” Talon pointed out.

  “She had the TV on, and the house next door was empty. The family had moved out three days ago. No one would have heard her scream,” Ryker said, shooting an admiring glance at Jake.

  Jake took a step back, and Gael sat down. He risked a look at Jake, but Jake was listening to Ryker.

  “How tall was she?” Vance asked.

  “Only five feet seven, so that doesn’t rule out too many people who couldn’t do to stand behind her and reach successfully.”

  “And I’m guessing because someone has gone to an awful lot of trouble for maybe $100, you are looping around to Maria Kelly?”

  Gael suddenly had another vision of Derrick in the hospital. So small. In so much distress. Hands clutching the broken tablet.

  “There were no contusions anywhere on Maria Kelly,” Gael said slowly. “What did the tablet break on? Derrick certainly didn’t hit her with it. The only reason Derrick is a suspect is because of his ability, that they somehow think he can channel electricity, and frankly I think it’s getting absurd.”

  “It wasn’t him,” Jake said abruptly.

  “Agent Riley,” Drew said condescendingly. “You really ought not to let personal—”

  Jake cut him off. “This isn’t personal. This is reading your report and being a cop for four years.” He looked at Ryker. “You’d have to check with the first responders, but when we got to the scene, Gael had to go around to the driver’s side to get in the back seat with Derrick, and I stood by the back passenger side door on the other side of him. The Joule marks on Ms. Kelly were on the left side of her neck. Even if they are somehow thinking he had the ability to channel enough electricity to use as a weapon when all he’s done so far is produce enough to work a child’s toy, the positioning is still all wrong. It makes no sense for Derrick to undo his belt, strike Maria with his left hand or whatever he used, shuffle back to his original seating position, and put on his seat belt. Even if he lost control of an ability, he wouldn’t premeditate the attack and the position—it would just happen.”

  “No, that’s right,” Cortes agreed. “It makes much more sense for it to have been someone standing by the window.”

  “I think it’s easy to get hung up on the bad press concerning abilities and forget to look at the big picture. In any other investigation, the position of the occupants of the car would have been one of the first things looked at,” Jake added, smiling as if to soften the blow. “I spent years watching my dad and his colleagues draw diagrams, take photographs, even run timing simulations.”

  “We also understand from Health Transport that they have very specific regulations for transporting vulnerable children,” Ryker said. “Apart from the rule of always having two drivers, they have company cell phones in every car. Even if they see an emergency situation, they are never allowed to interfere, stop the car, or get out, simply report it. Their first responsibility is to the child. We have also established from the garage that the Chevrolet Impala will lock automatically after a few seconds of setting off. Child locks were standard and working on the back doors. Ms. Kelly would have had to open the door herself.

  “Ms. Kelly was an impeccable employee with over twenty years of experience and not so much as a parking ticket,” Ryker continued. “Apart from the huge risk she had taken by transporting Derrick herself, we are struggling to believe she would break any other cardinal rule and open the door to anyone.”

  “Unless the person who asked her to open the car door had a badge,” Finn said suddenly. “Think about it. If she was requested to open the door by someone whom she thought was a cop, she wouldn’t refuse, would she?”

  “No,” Ryker said thoughtfully. “No one would.”

  “There’s no chance a cop stopped her and she wouldn’t roll down the window,” Jake said, the excitement rising in his voice, “which would fit with the marks on her neck, but doesn’t explain the broken tablet.”

  “And the assailant would have had to open one of the back doors to get to it. Seems odd,” Cortes mused.

  “It seems cruel,” Gael said. “But it also might mean it wasn’t opportunist. That someone didn’t just see the logo on the car.”

  “I hardly think—” Drew started.

  “Are you thinking she was being followed?” Jake leaned forward, cutting him off completely.

  “Possibly, but what I mean is, to try and blame Derrick, it had to be someone who knew about the tablet. How possessive he is of it.” Gael thought hard. Possessive, yes. Linked to his ability? There were less than a dozen people who knew of that, and the worst thing was most of them were in this room. He caught Talon’s gaze and knew instantly he was thinking the same thing.

  Gael studied Cortes and Ryker. How did he ask if one of their team might have either told someone or be responsible in the first place? If Gael could have shaken his own head without anyone noticing, he would have. The whole idea was getting far-fetched and out of hand. There had to be another explanation.

  “We’re also forgetting something else,” Talon said abruptly. “The motive.”

  “Exactly.” Ryker nodded. “Why on earth would anyone actually murder someone just so a child would take the blame for another murder? It makes no sense whatsoever.”

  “And in the other cases, it was the enhanced who was killed, not the enhanced doing the killing,” Cortes added.

  “Have we established Derrick definitely has no family?”

  Ryker nodded. “Absolutely. His mother died when he was thre
e, but he was removed from her care at birth. No other relatives, and no father on the birth certificate. No financial means, if that’s what you are thinking.”

  “Surely all this will mean Derrick will be able to go back to the school?” Vance asked, leaning forward to look at Cortes.

  Cortes and Ryker shared a look. “From what we have heard, the Enhanced Protection Law might come into play,” Cortes said slowly.

  “Meaning?” Jake prodded, noticing the looks they were exchanging.

  “No,” Gael said, shaking his head. “He hasn’t done anything wrong. You can’t lock a child away because they are scared of what he might do.”

  Cortes nodded. “I agree absolutely, but that is exactly what the protection law does. At the moment it’s likely he would stay in a locked mental health facility for the rest of his life.”

  GAEL FELT his cell phone buzz and glanced at it. It was Louise, his sister. Apparently their daughter had fallen asleep and they were heading back to the hotel. They were gonna watch TV for a few hours and then maybe take her back there tonight. Gael was welcome to come over at whatever time was convenient. They were in room 2022.

  Gael sat and stared at the phone. Did he want to do this? Did he want the reminder that his mom had chosen another family over him and Wyatt?

  “You okay?” The rumble from the side warmed him, and he glanced at Jake. Everyone else was milling around, getting food and coffee.

  He held his phone up so Jake could read the text message.

  Jake scanned it quickly. “You gonna go?”

  Gael shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.”

  “Look,” Jake said. “This may be completely out of line, but if you want some company, I’m happy to go with you. Or Talon,” he said hurriedly. “Talon would go.”

  Gael smiled. “You know the group foster home that Finn went in undercover? Well, there was a kid there who has a chance of a scholarship. He’s playing in a soccer match today, and they’re going to watch.”

  “An enhanced?” Jake asked, surprised.

  “No,” Gael said. “Just a kid who needs support.” Gael’s voice was matter-of-fact, but he saw Jake tilt his head as he caught the mild censure and he understood. It wasn’t about the mark. First and foremost, it was about children.

  “Maybe we can swing by if it’s still on when we’re done?”

  Gael tilted his head to the side, studying him. “You’re sure?”

  “Yes,” Jake said definitely.

  “Is there anything else we can do to help?” Talon asked as everyone retook their seats.

  Cortes swallowed his coffee. “Just out of sheer curiosity, do we have any up-to-date numbers of enhanced now?”

  Talon looked to Finn for the answer.

  “The last registered count took the numbers just over four thousand, but that’s mainly school and whatever employment records there are. There might be older enhanced not in the system at all. There is a higher concentration in Florida, but we think that’s because of the team.”

  “Visibility,” Talon added in case Cortes didn’t get it.

  “Of the team?” Ryker asked. “Because you are trying to make a safe space,” she qualified.

  Cortes looked around the room. “Is this all the team?”

  “We have one member who’s been on assignment at a hospital while an enhanced child got fitted with a Spider-Man suit,” Sawyer said with a totally straight face.

  Cortes glanced at Sawyer, staring at him in a quiet, unhurried way. The snarky comment didn’t seem to faze him. “But I thought you all wore Superman ones?” he shot back.

  Sawyer dipped his head, like, sure.

  “Every enhanced gets a human partner?” Ryker continued. Then she grinned and her green eyes shone. “I’m sure there’s some way of saying that all PC-like.”

  “Regular as opposed to enhanced,” Drew supplied.

  “So, you’re just regular, huh?” Ryker quipped straightaway.

  Drew stiffened.

  “Actually, Agent Fielding is helping us out temporarily. He has his sights set on Simpson’s department,” Talon put in smoothly. “I don’t think he’ll be with us long.”

  Cortes frowned. “That’s a hard gig. Good luck.”

  Ryker stood. “As soon as we find anything, we’ll share.”

  “Likewise,” Talon said, standing as well. Both detectives left, and Talon glanced at his phone. “Unless we have other news, I’ll see you guys on Monday.”

  Gael glanced at Jake, and Jake nodded, following him out.

  THE HOTEL was large, with an imposing circular driveway to the lobby and reception. Jake opted for short-term valet parking, as Gael said they wouldn’t be here long. He could have just shown his badge and left the truck where he wanted, but that would have brought the on-duty manager out in a panic, and they weren’t here as cops.

  “Anytime you want to leave, just say we need to be back at work. I’ll follow your lead,” Jake said quietly as they stepped into the elevator.

  Gael squeezed Jake’s bicep, and Jake wished he could take his hand, but even though they might have had a good time last night, they were far from any sort of relationship.

  They knocked on Louise’s suite door. A younger man opened the door after a few seconds, his face breaking out into a smile. “Gael.” He stuck his hand out. “I’m Kyle, Louise’s husband. Come in.”

  Gael returned the handshake and introduced Jake, saying they were coming via work as if to explain why Jake was there.

  They heard a door close and looked up nervously. A woman with long blonde hair scraped into a ponytail and cornflower-blue eyes came out of a room, with a baby on her hip.

  “Please, sit down,” Kyle said, gesturing to the small table and four chairs. “This is my wife, Louise,” he said walking toward her. He took the baby. “She done?”

  Louise nodded.

  “I’ll put her down. Coffee will be here in a minute.” He disappeared through the door Louise had just come through. Jake immediately stood and introduced himself, but he felt ridiculous pointing out who Gael was as his sister would already know, so he sat down. Jake searched for something to say as Gael and Louise were both just staring at each other, but then there was a knock on the door and a maid came in with a cart.

  Louise gave a weak smile. “Kyle’s ordered us an afternoon tea. I saw it yesterday on the menu. He knows I love all that,” she added, and the woman smiled and unloaded the teapot, coffee, cups, and then three plates of sandwiches and cakes.

  Jake rubbed his hands. “Looks great. What’s everybody else having?” he said innocently, and Louise smiled wider and seemed to relax a little.

  She hurried to the table and immediately started asking if they wanted tea or coffee. Jake said he’d never had cucumber sandwiches in his life, so he guessed he’d better have tea and try to do it all proper. Louise giggled. Gael looked like he was still trying to force air in and out of his lungs.

  Kyle came out of what Jake assumed was the bedroom. “Out like a light,” he confirmed, and Louise poured him a coffee without asking what he wanted. Jake liked that. He liked that someone knew their partner so well. He wanted that, and funnily enough, it had never occurred to him before. Maybe it was the cucumber sandwiches, or maybe it was the company he was keeping. Jake tried to send a reassuring look at Gael. He wanted to touch but didn’t dare.

  Kyle glanced at Louise and then at Gael. “I’m not sure exactly what Louise has told you, but I wanted to say that she only found out about you six weeks ago.”

  Louise’s hand shook as she picked up a cup to pass to Gael, and she put it down, took one breath, and her eyes filled. “I had no idea,” she whispered.

  “Ah, hell,” Gael groused and stood, then quickly came around to her. “Come here.” He opened his arms, and she choked out a sob and nearly launched herself at him.

  Jake didn’t know who was more shocked, him or Kyle. Gael had gone from scared and insecure to a protector in the blink of an eye. Maybe that had been what
was missing. Finn had told him Gael was Talon’s best friend, his greatest supporter. But Talon had Finn now, and he didn’t need Gael so much. It happened the world over. One friend—either girl or boy—would get a new boyfriend or girlfriend, and because the relationship was new and exciting, old friends tended to get left behind a little. If they were lucky they would always be friends, but it would never be just the two of them against the world.

  In Talon and Gael’s case, it must have seemed that for years, literately. Then things had gone from bad to worse. Gael’s new partner—him being ENu—reminded him of all the bad things about being enhanced. He’d gone on the hostage rescue course and another medic one very soon after. Jake doubted that either of those had any other enhanced in them. Gael hadn’t really spoken about either of them, so his lack of enthusiasm was telling. Then he had gotten home to find out his mother had replaced them with a new family. Been thrown out of his home….

  It was a wonder the man was sane.

  Jake caught Kyle’s indulgent look at the sight of the two of them holding each other and smiled. Gael had his head lowered, but Jake could see his expression and the smile. Jake loved taking care of others, feeling needed and wanted, but he had to remember Gael had those same needs too. That’s what a partnership was all about, really. Taking turns picking up the slack.

  “Why don’t we sit down and you tell me what you know?” Gael said gently, and Kyle moved so instead of Gael and Louise sitting opposite, they were together.

  Louise went to the small table at the entrance to their suite. She picked up an envelope and carried it back over. “Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago. She had all the treatments, but it wiped her out financially, so Kyle asked her if she’d like to move in while she recovered.” She reached out to her husband, and he smiled and took her hand. “Then six months later, she got what she thought was a bad back. She loved to garden.” Louise smiled warmly. “I told her she’d probably overdone things, and it took another month before she went to the doctor.” Louise faltered, and Gael’s arm slid around her shoulders and squeezed gently. “It had come back, and it was everywhere. Within a month they told us there was nothing else they could do. I took some time off from work.” She paused.