Mind Sweeper (Mind Sweeper Series Book 1)

by AE Jones

  “He can keep the gun. They are no threat. Let them in.”

  My eyes widened. How did he know what was going on outside the door? Was he the great and powerful Oz?

  The guard stepped back and we were herded into the room. The man behind the desk, who I assumed was Josiah Akers, stood slowly. He was tall and thin, but not lacking in muscle. His tailored suit fit him perfectly and I’m sure cost him a pretty penny. His black hair was slicked back, and his brown eyes were small relative to the rest of his face. I took an immediate, irrational dislike to him.

  He of course addressed Jean Luc first. “You must be Jean Luc. Nicholas mentioned you would be coming to talk to me today.” He then glanced at Dalton and me. “And are these your…colleagues?”

  How he could make the word colleagues sound like pond scum was beyond me, but he did. I smiled at him anyway. What was the saying, attract more bees with honey? “Kyle McKinley,” I said. “And this is Joe Dalton from the police department.”

  He motioned to the chairs across from his desk. “Please, have a seat.”

  I took a quick gander at his office. The view was nice. Windows overlooked the city behind him. His desk was mammoth but practically bare, except for a monitor perched there with a view of the hallway. So, like Oz in the movie, he was not all-powerful. The rest of the office was understated, but elegant, done in silver and blues. I wondered if it clashed with his purple skin when he changed to his demon form.

  He turned to Jean Luc again. “What can I do for you?”

  God, I was so sick of the games. Forget sweet, why would I want to attract bees anyway? They sting. “Didn’t Nicholas tell you why we wanted to meet with you?”

  His small eyes flicked toward me. “He mentioned you would like to talk to me about the incident at the Erie Bar. But I am not sure how I can help you with that.”

  My internal voice screamed “pompous ass”, but my external voice calmly stated, “A Pavel demon was seen at the Erie Bar that night, and identified by multiple witnesses. Since you are the Pavel clan leader, we hoped you could provide us with some insight.”

  He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his pristine desk. “How can you be sure a Pavel was involved?”

  “Witnesses saw a man with purple skin and yellow eyes.”

  “Can you produce these witnesses?”

  I shook my head. “You are aware of standard procedure in these cases. The humans’ minds were scrubbed.”

  “Since you have no credible witnesses, then you have no proof a Pavel was involved.”

  “We had a shifter witness who also corroborated the human accounts. He was sure it was a Pavel,” I countered.

  “And where is he now?”

  “Dead.”

  “Then you have nothing but hearsay.”

  I stared at him for a moment before responding. “Actually, what we have now are two murders. This gives us an even bigger reason to find out more about the Pavel at the bar, since he is the number one suspect for the shifter’s murder.”

  Akers snorted. “Why would this alleged Pavel go after the shifter?”

  “Because he would have assumed the shifter’s memories were not scrubbed, so he would go to him for answers.”

  “And what answers would those be?”

  “Where Hampton’s head is, of course.”

  He tapped his fingers on his desk. “Well, your argument doesn’t hold water. The head is still missing. Word on the street is someone is offering a large amount of money for it. I strongly doubt if a Pavel had, indeed, gone after this shifter, he would have come away without the information.” He smiled in triumph.

  “Not when I had already swept the shifter’s memory.”

  Akers’ eyes widened for just a second before he blinked and reverted to feigned indifference.

  Dalton spoke up next to me. “Mr. Akers, we are not here to argue ad nauseum about whether or not a Pavel demon was in the bar. We know it’s true. What we are doing is trying to protect the supernatural community from exposure. I assume you want the same thing?”

  Akers’ lips tightened into a thin line. “Of course.”

  “Do you know who might have been in the bar that night and why?” Dalton persisted.

  “No, I do not.”

  “Then we have a common goal. To find this rogue demon and stop him from causing more damage.”

  “If one of my clan is involved, I will find out and deal with the situation internally.”

  Jean Luc spoke then. “Unfortunately, when Hampton and the shifter were killed, it became more than a clan matter, sir. Now other factions are involved.”

  Akers grimaced. “Sebastian does not scare me.”

  “Can you think of any reason why a Pavel demon would be working with Hampton?” Dalton continued.

  “No. Vampires and demons normally do not work well together. No offense, Jean Luc.”

  Jean Luc inclined his head. “None taken.”

  Akers stood, signaling the end of our meeting. “I will conduct an internal investigation of this matter, although I am not convinced a Pavel is involved.”

  “Can you think of anyone with the means to offer large amounts of money for the head?” I asked.

  Akers had the nerve to smirk at me. “Well, I have the available capital, as do several others in the supernatural community. I assume you will be speaking to them as well.”

  I smirked right back. “Of course.”

  “I will be in touch if I learn anything more.” He ushered us to the door and opened it. Two of his goons stood just outside.

  “If I may, I have one more question.”

  He gave me a look much like a parent would give a disobedient child. “Yes?”

  “Would a Pavel hire a human to help retrieve the head?”

  “Absolutely not. We do not work with humans.”

  Condescending, much? “And yet it’s humans who have provided you with the money to live like a king in your mini-fiefdom, right?”

  Akers pupils darkened for one second before he regained his composure. “You know your way out.”

  We walked to the elevator, Jean Luc and Dalton flanking me. They seemed a bit anxious. I was just pissed. I had thought Boris was arrogant. He was a cute, wiggly puppy compared to this barracuda.

  We rode the elevator in silence and then walked through the parking garage to the van before speaking. I had calmed down considerably by then. I couldn’t say the same for Dalton and Jean Luc.

  Dalton slammed the door so hard the van rocked. “Jesus, Kyle, did you have to goad him?”

  I scowled. “I behaved until the end. He was giving us the bum’s rush. I just wanted to see if I could get a reaction.”

  “What if his reaction had been to have his guards come in and take care of us?”

  “He’s too smart to do that. Nicholas knew we were there. How would he have explained it?”

  Jean Luc put the van in reverse and backed out of the space. “I thought we agreed I would interview him. You really should watch your temper, Kyle. We may need Akers’ help.”

  I shook my head. “Akers isn’t going to help us at all. He’s lying. I think he knows very well who was at the bar. The question is, was he the one who sent him?”

  Jean Luc nodded. “I listened to his heart beat to see if he was lying, but he regulated it most of the time.”

  “Of course he did,” I added, “he knew exactly what we were going to ask.”

  Jean Luc paid the parking fee and pulled out onto West Sixth. “He did get agitated when you mentioned you had swept the shifter’s brain.”

  I smiled. “You noticed it too? He definitely didn’t know that, which means either he isn’t in control of the Pavel or it wasn’t a Pavel who killed the shifter. My vote is on the latter. Especially since Byron was not killed in a typical Pavel manner.”

  “Akers was also lying when he said Sebastian did not scare him. His heartbeat accelerated then.”

  “I don’t blame him for that one. Now, what are our next steps
?” I glanced first at Dalton and then Jean Luc.

  Dalton jumped in. “I think we need to talk to the shifter leader. It’s interesting Akers only mentioned Sebastian and did not refer to Griffin as a threat. Maybe he isn’t going to be a major player in this.”

  “Or maybe,” Jean Luc added, “Akers is underestimating him.”

  Chapter 20

  I fiddled with the pepperoni on my pizza, pulling it off and stacking the pieces one on top of the other, the smell of the spicy meat making my mouth water. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Dalton’s right eyebrow rise questioningly. I picked up the pizza and went to town, the steamy mozzarella nearly taking off the roof of my mouth. Pizza nirvana.

  “I’m glad to see you enjoy food.”

  I shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I?”

  “I don’t know. Most of the time women either pick at their food or insist on having only salads.”

  “It’s not because they don’t like food. It’s because they’re trying to impress you. They don’t want you to think they eat a lot. Heaven help you imagine them gaining weight. When they get home after the date they probably pack away a half gallon of Rocky Road.”

  “That’s crazy.”

  “I agree. Most men don’t think that far ahead. They aren’t thinking any further than ‘will I get lucky tonight?’”

  Dalton chuckled. “Wow, talk about harsh…and more than a bit sexist.”

  “No, just honest. I believe both women and men are messed up in their thinking.” I took another large bite.

  “Good to know you aren’t trying to impress me right now.”

  “Nope. And you aren’t thinking about how to get me into bed, right?”

  Smirking, Dalton reached for another slice of pizza. “I have to know. What are you going to do with the stack of pepperoni on your plate?”

  “When I get down to the crust, I like to lay the pepperoni across the bread and eat it like a sandwich.”

  “I’ll have to try it some time.”

  “Thanks for having lunch with me. Jean Luc would have come, but it’s a bit disconcerting to have him just sit and watch me eat. Besides, he wanted to go check on Misha.”

  “Misha’s doing better?”

  “Yeah. He’s big-time cranky, which means he’s feeling much better. Jean Luc is going to relieve Doc so she can get out of there for a while.”

  “It’s nice to see how much you care for each other.”

  “They’re my family,” I answered automatically. I sat back for a second, stunned. I hadn’t ever said it out loud.

  Dalton took a sip of water and stared at me for a moment, as if wanting to choose his next words carefully.

  “Spit it out, Dalton. I can smell the wood burning.”

  “Do you mind me asking about your biological family?”

  My chest tightened. We were not heading into happy territory, but I reminded myself normal people talked about this kind of thing all the time. “I never knew my father. My mom got pregnant when she was a teenager. I ended up having to take care of both of us while I grew up, and by the time I hit eighteen I was on my own.” I patted myself on the back. In four sentences I had succinctly answered his question.

  He gazed a little too long at me. “Sorry to hear that.”

  I squirmed a bit under his turquoise scrutiny. “It is what it is. What about you?”

  “My maternal grandmother raised me. My parents were killed when I was six.”

  “That’s awful. I’m really sorry.”

  He wiped his mouth with a napkin. “We were talking about you. What about your friends? What do you do when you’re not working?”

  I pushed the plate with the half-eaten slice away. I wasn’t hungry anymore. “What’s with the twenty questions?”

  “I’m just curious about you.”

  “Misha, Jean Luc and Sabrina are my friends…and I don’t have any hobbies, if that’s what you mean.” He frowned slightly and I plowed on. “I know, all work and no play makes Kyle a dull girl.”

  He shook his head. “I would never say you’re dull.” He paused. “So, no human friends, huh?”

  “No, what’s wrong with that?”

  “Nothing. I was just noting it.” He grinned. “I’d like you to consider me a friend. Now that we’ve called a truce and all, I was hoping a treaty would be next on the agenda.”

  I chuckled. “You are a slick operator. I need to remember that.”

  My phone rang, interrupting any response from Dalton. “It’s Nicholas. I’m going to take this outside.” I walked out of the restaurant and hit the button. “Hello.”

  “Hello, Kyle. I was calling to see how the discussion with Josiah Akers went.”

  Right. “I’m sure you’ve already spoken to Jean Luc and Akers, so can I just hit the highlights?”

  He paused for a moment and I held my breath. Not being able to see his face was a bit nerve-wracking. I wasn’t sure if he was amused or pissed. After a second, he chuckled. I let out my breath.

  “I will say I’m surprised you waited as long as you did before insulting Josiah. He can be a little…”

  “Pompous, arrogant, bigoted…would you like me to continue?”

  Nicholas ignored my comment. “What was your take on his responses?”

  “He knows more than he’s letting on. He tried to argue we have no proof a Pavel was involved, but it was all subterfuge. He knows a Pavel was working with Hampton. I’m just not sure whether Akers was the one calling the shots or not.”

  “And the money?”

  “If I was a betting woman, I would say he is the one offering the money.”

  “Why do you think so?”

  “Rumor is the vamps may already have the head. Since the Pavels are also interested in Hampton, I would say they are the front runners.”

  “Thanks for the recap.”

  “Before you go, have you been able to speak to Griffin yet? Is he back in the states?”

  “How did you know he was traveling?”

  “I have my sources.”

  “Griffin arrived last night, but his assistant said he had some important matters to handle today, and he has not returned my call yet. I will let you know when I can set up a meeting. Griffin has been told about the bartender’s death. I understand you let the cat out of the bag with Josiah about Byron being dead.”

  “I don’t think he was all that shocked to hear it.”

  By the time I hung up and walked back into the restaurant, Dalton had finished eating.

  “How did it go with Nicholas?”

  I quickly relayed the conversation.

  “So, we are on hold for today, until Nicholas can hook us up with Griffin?”

  “Yep, looks that way.”

  Dalton motioned for the check. “I’m going to go into the station this afternoon and take care of some things, then. Okay with you?”

  “Sure.”

  We were only a few blocks from my office, so I decided to hoof it back so Dalton could go directly to the station. Dolly was still at lunch, so I unlocked the door and walked into the back room. The white board called my name. I added notes under Akers and then paced in front of it. What was the next step?

  I really wanted to talk to Griffin. Maybe I could track him down. Nicholas had mentioned he was dealing with important matters when he returned. Maybe one of those matters was how Trina Connor was doing after her abduction. If not, I could find out if Tim or Stephanie would be willing to hook me up with him sooner rather than later.

  I took off for the suburbs. While I drove, I clicked on my sync, trying to call Dalton. His cell rang but never went to voicemail, which was strange. I called the police department next.

  “Cleveland Police Department.”

  “Yes, can I be connected to Lieutenant Joe Dalton?”

  “Hold please.” Muzak filled my ears while I waited. “I’m sorry but the lieutenant is not in today.”

  “I spoke with him this morning, and he said he would be working there this afternoon.�
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  “Sorry, ma’am. He’s not here. Can I take a message or direct you to someone else?”

  “No, thank you.”

  I hung up, and checked my watch. He hadn’t left very long ago. Maybe he got sidetracked.

  It didn’t take me long to reach the Connors’ house. I pulled next to the curb and parked when I spotted a black Audi sedan in the driveway. Maybe my hunch had paid off.

  Stephanie answered my knock. She looked a lot better than the last time I saw her.

  “Kyle. What a surprise.”

  “Hello, Stephanie. I’m sorry to drop in unannounced, but I wanted to see how Trina is doing. Is this a bad time?” Just a small white lie. I did want to know how Trina was—I wasn’t heartless, after all—but it would be an added benefit if I ran into Griffin in the process.

  She hesitated for a second and then beckoned me in. “Trina’s in the back yard. Griffin is back in town. He’s with Tim in his office.”

  I stepped over the threshold. “Tim isn’t in trouble because I helped Trina, is he? I can speak to Griffin if you want.”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  We walked toward the back of the house. Tim’s office door was shut. Damn.

  “I was just going to get some lemonade and cookies for Trina, would you like some?”

  “Sure.”

  “Go on out back, Trina is playing.”

  I opened the screen door and walked out into the fenced-in back yard. It was a kid’s dream. A wooden swing set and jungle gym sat to one side. In the middle of the yard was a large tree with a tree house. And it was not one of those houses with a simple floor and stairs made of wooden planks nailed into the trunk. It was a mini replica of the main house. How awesome was that? I stared up for a second longer and noticed small legs dangling from the side.

  Walking over to the tree, I hollered, “Permission to come up?”

  Trina’s head popped over the balcony. “Hi. Yeah, come on up.”

  I climbed the ladder and plopped down next to her. My legs kept time with hers as they swung back and forth and we peered out over the yard.