The Werewolf Queen of Bourbon Street: City For Lost Souls Series Book 1

by S. K. Gregory

  He shrugged again and moved away. I didn’t need any more unresolved feelings for anyone and Bobby didn’t seem like the relationship type. Not that I’m looking. Not unless it’s Harry.

  Yeah, like that’s going to happen.

  I saw the girl who showed us in, watching me. Getting off my stool, I headed over to her. She seemed to shrink in on herself as I got closer. What the hell did Regine do to her to make her this way?

  “Hi, I’m Jade. What’s your name?”

  She picked at her cuticles, glancing toward the back as though she was worried someone would catch us talking. Maybe she knew something.

  “Wendy,” she said softly.

  “Did you see what happened to Kandy?” I asked.

  She shook her head, looking at the floor. I moved in closer, picking up a scent from her that I didn’t recognize. “You can tell me anything.”

  The girl went even paler if that was possible. She leaned in and whispered, “Find Frank.” Her blue eyes were wide and I saw fear and pain there.

  “Who’s Frank?” I asked.

  She quickly backed off when she saw Regine heading our way, disappearing behind the stage. Was Frank our murderer? Or was this something to do with Regine? I was tempted to ask Regine who Frank was, but something told me that would only get that girl into trouble.

  Harry came with Regine. “Get everything you need?” he asked.

  I nodded. We needed to talk and I didn’t want to do it in front of Regine.

  “We’ll get back to you,” Harry said to her.

  “See that you do. I want this matter resolved as quickly as possible.”

  6

  Harry

  “So what did we learn?” I asked as we entered the office.

  “That strip clubs are nasty and there is glitter everywhere,” Jade said, wiping at her blouse where some had inexplicably appeared. I noticed some on the cuff of my trousers too. Pink. Pulling a handkerchief from my pocket, I wiped at it, but it stayed put. Sighing, I returned it to my pocket, glitter was the least of our worries.

  “I mean about the case.”

  “Urgh, everyone looks guilty to me. No one seems to have seen anything. How about the people you talked to?”

  “Same.” I had the pleasure of talking to Regine, that woman was the most unpleasant person I’ve ever met. She barely told me a thing and what she did tell me wasn’t much use. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was deliberately trying to make things difficult for us. I had to wonder if she was worried that we would find something out that she didn’t want us to know.

  “One girl did give me a name. She told me to find Frank. That name come up at all?”

  I thought for a moment. “No, not that I recall.” Frank? Regine did give me a list of employee names and none of them were named Frank. The only male employees were the bartenders and a couple of bouncers who worked at the weekend. None of them were there when Kandy died.

  “Well she seemed terrified of Regine, but I guess I can understand that,” Jade said. “I’m sure all her staff could tell us plenty if they were scared of reprisals.”

  I headed into the other office and returned a moment later with a portable whiteboard. I set it up in the middle of the room and started writing down our list of suspects in black marker.

  “Dude, you have a murder board?” Jade exclaimed.

  “Too much?” I asked.

  “No, it’s great.” She came over to stand beside me. When I was done with the list, she took the marker form me and wrote down a name of her own.

  “Regine? She hired us.”

  “So? That doesn’t mean she isn’t guilty.”

  “I realize she isn’t your favorite person in the world, but we need to try and stay objective.”

  She pulled a face. “Yeah, I know, but we can’t trust anything she says. Even if she does want us to solve this case, she isn’t going to make it easy for us. If I fail, she still gets what she wants and I doubt the death of one of her employees ranks higher than having a new minion to do her bidding.”

  Weres and Shifters never did get on. I remember when I used to work with them. They allowed Shifters to enter the pack, usually if they were the children of high ranking members or they served a purpose, but they were never viewed in the same way. Physically they were weaker and lacked the ability to change at will. Some Weres believed they shouldn’t be allowed to join at all and I did come across a Pack consisting solely of Shifters once. They banded together despite being from different bloodlines. That was rare. Most of them struck out on their own when shunned. Jade had the opportunity to join a Pack and she turned it down. Her decision surprised me at the time but it was clear she did better on her own. I couldn’t see her taking orders from some Alpha she didn’t know.

  Turning my attention back to the board, I read through the names again. According to the information we had gathered there were two waitresses, one bartender and two other dancers at the club when Kandy died. Regine said there were about half a dozen clientele but refused to give names. She was adamant they wouldn’t be backstage, but we would have to take her word for that. They probably wouldn’t know the layout of the place, it would certainly be easier for a staff member to do the deed. If we pursued the clients, they would blame Regine and in turn she would blame us. We didn’t need that, so we just had to hope that none of them were involved.

  “Okay, let’s break it down. Kandy came off stage just before nine and the other two girls went on together for the final show. Kandy was found a few minutes after they came off stage, when they returned to the dressing room, so I think we can rule them out. At least for now.”

  I crossed off their names – Crystal and Tallahassee. I somehow doubted they were their real names. Given what Kandy was, they probably weren’t human either. Regine was risking a lot having them working like that. All it took was for one of them to slip up and they could be exposed. She must have them on a short leash. Of course as supernaturals, they wouldn’t have things like ID or a high school diploma, so jobs like that were one of the only options available to them. Not many places paid cash nowadays.

  “Well, the bartender says he was serving drinks the whole time but if everyone was looking at the girls, I doubt they would notice if he slipped away for a few minutes. Plus he did admit to sleeping with her,” Jade said. “Though I imagine he’s slept with most of the women at the club.”

  “Okay, we’ll leave him on the list for now. The waitress I spoke to said that she saw Kandy go into the back and that was the last time she saw her alive. Whoever killed her might have been waiting for her.”

  “Where was Regine?” Jade asked.

  “She says she was in her office.” She made it very clear that she saw nothing and heard nothing when Kandy died.

  “Likely story,” Jade muttered. “The other waitress would barely speak. Of course we can’t rule out that someone could have sneaked in. A delivery driver for example could have had access. He could have hidden in the dressing room and waited for her to come off stage.”

  I stared at the board. “Hm. Let’s stick with the staff for now until we rule them all out. We’ll need to run background checks on them. We need to see if we can learn more about Kandy too.” If the staff or clients weren’t responsible, then the answer might lie in Kandy’s life outside the club. From what I can remember, Chupacabras are able to take on a human form once every fifty years or so. I can’t remember the exact details, but they get to choose a form and stay in it for a decade before returning to their former body. If Kandy arrived in the city five months ago, it may have been the beginning of her transformation. Spending ten years in a strip club did not sound like much of a life, perhaps she was looking for more and got herself into trouble.

  “Do you think Regine still has her personal belongings? Or do you think they’re in the bottom of the dumpster along with her body.” I could hear the bitterness in her voice.

  I could understand why Ja
de was upset. Throwing Kandy away like that was an atrocious act. Regine operated through fear though. It would certainly send a message to anyone else on what would happen if they messed with her. Helping her was the last thing I wanted to do, but if it meant ensuring Jade stayed in the city, then we had to do everything we could. This business had become a fresh start for both of us. If she was set adrift now, I worried what would happen to her. She had no money and after getting kicked out of Crestwood before she could finish her education, she didn’t have many options. I felt guilty about what happened. I was the one who confronted Janine and she only threw Jade out in retaliation. She may not have needed much of an excuse, but I gave it to her and I needed to make things right. Besides, Jade had a talent for this kind of thing or at least for getting herself caught up in mysteries that needed solving. She can handle herself, I know that from experience.

  “I’ll go back and see what she has. Why don’t you go over your notes?” I suggested, though I wasn’t looking forward to walking back into the club. I would have to keep my eyes on the floor. Perhaps the girl out front could fetch the items for me and I wouldn’t have to go in at all.

  “Fine,” Jade muttered.

  “I wonder if Detective Bell would be any help,” I said, pulling on my jacket.

  Jade looked up from her notebook. “That woman who was here?”

  “Yes, she knows the city.” She would also know who the criminals were and might be useful when it came to information.

  “Yeah, but she’s human. Probably not a good idea to involve her,” Jade pointed out.

  “I suppose you’re right.” If a human discovered what we were or one of our potential clients, it could get very dangerous for her. Some humans did know the truth, but if any posed a threat or it seemed like they would reveal the truth, they would be taken care of. Some were killed, while others were discredited or made to look crazy, that way anything they said wouldn’t be taken seriously. It would be a shame to have that happen to a policewoman who was only trying to do her job.

  “Besides, she’s a little too interested in you, if you ask me,” Jade said, pursing her lips.

  “What do you mean? Do you think she’s suspicious of us?” She seemed fine when I spoke to her.

  Jade shook her head. “No, dummy, she likes you.”

  That surprised me. “No, I don’t think so.”

  “I do think so. She was all over you.”

  I snorted. “If you say so.” It had been a long time since a woman has been genuinely interested in me and I doubt Kate had any interest in an ex-teacher turned private investigator.

  What an absurd idea.

  7

  Jade

  Half asleep, I trudged home for the night, leaving Harry still searching for answers. I told him to go to bed, but he insisted on staying up a little while longer. We had been working the case for hours and we were no closer to narrowing down the suspects. We tried running background searches on them, but the only one we could find anything on was Bobby. He lived in New York before coming here and didn’t seem to have a criminal record. The other staff members were a mystery. It didn’t help that we didn’t have their real names. I wish we had access to the SPA’s database, I’m sure it could shed a lot more light on them. That is if one of them was the killer.

  Too many people had access to the dressing room to be sure. They had no security or locks on the door. I even got desperate enough to look up the symbol from the side of the dumpster but couldn’t find anything on it. Probably a tag from some street artist and nothing to do with the case.

  How do the cops do this? It always looked so easy on TV. Although they had better resources and equipment. They could do things like run fingerprints and DNA. The best we could do was question people and hope they weren’t lying to us.

  I just need some sleep and then I can tackle it again tomorrow.

  At least I no longer had a ticking clock hanging over my head. That took some of the pressure off, but I had to wonder how long she would wait for answers.

  Letting myself into the shop with my key, I saw something move to the right. I screamed as a baseball bat headed for my face. Stumbling back, I almost fell as the bat missed me by an inch, connecting with the doorframe instead.

  “Jade?” a voice said. Kol stepped into view, eyes wide. “Sorry.”

  “What the hell are you doing?” I cried. He almost took my head off.

  “I thought you were someone else,” he said, lowering the bat.

  “Really? Who else has a key?”

  “Oh, yeah. Didn’t think of that. Quick, get inside.” He pulled me in and locked the door. “So, how was your day?”

  I folded my arms. “Kol.”

  He sighed. “I have been having some issues with some people, so I thought I’d keep an eye out, in case they tried anything.”

  “What people?” Did Regine come after him too?

  “Loan sharks.”

  “Kol!” I exclaimed. “What were you thinking?” He had to know how bad an idea that was. There had to have been a better way.

  “I know! I screwed up, but I didn’t realize how expensive it would be to get this place started.”

  Sighing, he rested the bat on his shoulder and led the way up to our apartment. When we were inside, I asked, “How much do you owe?”

  “A lot.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t help, but until we get our first proper job…”

  Kol stopped me. “It’s not your fault, Jade. I got myself into this mess. Don’t worry about it.”

  I dropped onto the couch, feeling bad for him. He worked so hard to get here and I really did hate not being able to contribute. I couldn’t pay rent, I couldn’t pay for groceries. I was totally useless. I did try to help out by cleaning the place but Kol was a neat freak anyway, so there wasn’t much for me to do. Except when it came to his potions, but he didn’t like me touching anything when it came to them.

  “Maybe you could ask Harry for a loan? Although, I doubt he has much left after leasing the building.” I’m sure it put a dent in his money, but it showed that he planned on staying.

  Kol looked up from the sandwich he was making himself. “Uh, Jade, Harry’s rich.”

  “What? No, he isn’t,” I scoffed.

  He brought his plate over to the chair opposite and sat down, propping it on his lap. “Yeah, he is. Those suits he wears are designer. His watch is probably worth more than I owe.”

  Surely, he had to be wrong. I mean I’m sure Harry had some money, but I figured it was savings from his job. Since he lived at Crestwood, he never had to pay rent or anything so I figured it built up over time. “I didn’t realize.”

  “I’m sure he doesn’t like talking about it. Anyway, I won’t be asking him. I can sort this, I just need a few more days.”

  He chewed on his sandwich while I pondered what he said. I never knew that about Harry. Then again, a lot of his life was a mystery to me. He really didn’t like talking about himself. The little I had gleaned about him, didn’t paint a picture of a rich guy. He seemed more like a nomad before he started working as a teacher. He moved from place to place, working with wolf packs. But now that I thought about it, that would take money.

  At least I didn’t have to worry about us going out of business, at least not right away. That made me feel a little better. Still, I didn’t like that he kept it from me.

  “Here, maybe you should get in there now,” Kol suggested, his mouth full of food.

  “Huh?” I glanced up at him.

  “Marry Harry, then your money worries will be over.”

  My cheeks flamed. “What? I wouldn’t do that.” Why would he say something like that? Did he know how I felt about him? God, I couldn’t even admit my feelings for him and he was talking about marriage.

  Kol laughed. “I was kidding. Hell, if things get much worse, I might marry him myself.”

  “You wish,” I said weakly. I hoped he didn’t read in
to my reaction, I didn’t need this getting back to Harry. “So what are you going to do about this money?”

  “I have some herbs that will make a few special potions, if I find the right buyers, it won’t be an issue. Actually, I think I have a guy prepared to buy them, but I need to get some more before he’ll make a deal. He’s picky that way.”

  “Hm-mm and I’m guessing this isn’t entirely legal?”

  “No. It’s completely illegal, but only in our world. The human police wouldn’t have a clue what is in the potion. Are you okay with that?”

  I shrugged. “It’s your business.” I did however worry that he would attract the SPA to our door. We already had the human police sniffing about, we didn’t need them too. At least with the regular police you had little chance of being thrown into a hole somewhere and forgotten about.

  “Yeah, but my business is attached to my home where you currently sleep.”

  I didn’t think of that.

  “Oh, good point. Well, don’t get caught. I can hardly make judgements when it comes to breaking the rules.” I’ve broken too many to count. It’s actually a wonder I never ended up on the SPA’s radar. Maybe it’s a good thing I never got to join them, I probably wouldn’t have lasted very long. I imagined a lot of disciplinary meetings for misconduct.

  “Don’t worry, if I get caught, I’ll tell them it was all your idea,” Kol said.

  I tossed a cushion at him, hitting him in the side of the head. “Don’t you dare!”

  He laughed, tossing it back. “I’m joking. I’ll sort it, don’t worry.”

  “Me? Worry?” I said. “What would I have to worry about?”

  “Exactly, nothing. I’m going to go to bed. Goodnight.”

  He left his plate in the sink and headed into his room, while I stretched out on the couch. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but I’ve slept on worse. That cot at Crestwood came to mind from my first night there.

  I snuggled under the blanket, going through what I had to do tomorrow. We went from doing nothing to scrambling to solve a murder, it left me feeling frazzled.