"It may be better to leave it boarded shut for now. They have your name, Ms. Leone. It's too dangerous to let anyone know where you are or where you'll be, including the insurance company and the glass company."
"Detective?" Officer Gray called out from the hallway.
"Come on in," Ari shook her head as Gray stalked into the bedroom before he was given permission.
"Sorry," Gray apologized. "But we got an ID on the perp. It's weird, too. He's from Corpus Christi. The report says he died three days ago."
"Well, that can't be true, now can it?" Lance drawled. "How long has he been in the Dallas area?"
"We don't know. There aren't any records of him traveling here. In fact, Corpus PD says his body disappeared after he died of a heart attack."
"Then they're wrong. Get back on this—somebody made a mistake," Lance growled.
"I'll have everything double and triple-checked," Gray walked out of the room.
"How soon are we leaving?" Nico asked, reaching for his shoes and socks, which were under the bed.
"I sent text messages to my cousin," Lance said. "When I get a reply, I'll know for sure."
His phone rang seconds later. "Lance, here," he answered.
Ari listened shamelessly to the conversation. "We got the go-ahead," a female voice said on the other end. "He says they'll be ready whenever you get here."
"Nico may want something to eat," Ari interjected.
Lance jerked around to frown at Ari before relaying that information to the woman.
"That's fine," she replied. "You can either go to a fast-food place or they can fix something when he arrives."
"Thanks, Mona. I owe you," Lance said and ended the call.
"Pack a bag," Lance barked at Ari, angry that she'd heard both sides of the conversation. "I'll make sure somebody gets extra clothes for Nico, and whatever it is the bird needs."
"Bird. Is. Fine," Mac declared.
On any other day, the light of a new sunrise spreading westward would have been beautiful to watch as they drove west of Fort Worth on I-20. Ari, hunched in the front passenger's seat and feeling miserable after the night's events, could only stare, unseeing, through the windshield toward the west.
Normally, she'd want to pull over to get pictures and a better look at the spring-green prairie grasses and wildflowers off the I-20 roadside that Lance's vehicle rushed past. Bluebonnets, the Texas state flower, sent swaths of blue throughout the green, and was worthy of a postcard or a painting.
Not today. She'd killed a man who may have already been dead. It left a bitter taste in her mouth, even after brushing her teeth twice and using mouthwash both times.
How could a dead man break down my door? Ari shuddered. It made no sense. The police got it wrong.
Because dead men don't kick down doors with superhuman strength. Ari shuddered again.
"We'll be at my cousin's place in ten," Lance promised after witnessing Ari's distress.
"You o-kay?" Mac croaked from the back seat.
"I'm okay, Mac. For now," Ari hugged herself. "I just feel a little nauseated, that's all."
Lance took an exit, then drove southward along a well-paved farm road. Ari forced herself to stop thinking of the one she'd killed; someone was willing to offer them sanctuary, and she needed to be alert and on her best behavior.
"Is this a cattle ranch?" Nico perked up in the back seat as Lance turned off the road and drove over a cattle guard, the vehicle's tires bouncing across the metal grid designed to keep cows from leaving the property.
"Sure is," Lance told him. "The ranch has been in the family for more than a hundred years. It's huge, and the biggest provider of organic beef in Texas."
"What?" Ari turned swiftly in Lance's direction. "Tell me you're not talking about the Jordan Ranch."
"You know about that?" Lance beamed.
"Turn around. Now. Take me anywhere but here," Ari hissed.
"But we're here." Lance pulled to a stop on a massive, circle drive outside a palatial, three-level mansion.
"No. I'm leaving if I have to walk," Ari wasn't having it.
"Is there a problem? You know my cousin?"
"His family. They did the unforgivable. I'll take my chances at home." Ari was so angry she almost spat at Lance. "Did you give them my name when you said you were bringing us here?"
"I didn't—they only know about Nico, his bird and a companion."
"Call them. Tell them Arianne Leone is here and she wants back what they took from her." Ari's breathing had gone ragged and fast, her arms clamped around herself as she vibrated with fury.
"Wait, here's my cousin. I'll ah, talk to him," Lance opened his car door and stepped out.
"What's wrong?" Nico asked.
"Nico, it's not something I can explain," Ari whispered.
"She says to tell you her name, and that she wants what you took from her back," Lance shaded his eyes as he studied his cousin, Val Jordan.
"What's her name?" Val asked.
"Arianne Leone."
"Fuck," Val cursed and turned his head away for a moment. "You're in the middle of it, now," Val turned back to Lance. "We offered to pay restitution—it's how we ah, handle disputes among us. Her mother refused payment. Called it blood money. I guess that's actually true, in their case."
"You're talking wrongful death?"
"Yeah."
"Fucking hell," Lance swore.
"We're still willing to keep them safe, but now you know why she's upset. Look, I'll get Mom out here—maybe she can talk sense to Arianne."
"I'm guessing this happened during Uncle Brett's lifetime?"
"Yeah. Twenty-six years ago, or thereabouts. It was a big to-do, and the Grand Master was called in."
"I'm not sure I want to know anything else. If Aunt Janie is willing to talk to Ari, I'd appreciate it."
"I'll go get her. She's been worried about that girl ever since, well," Val shrugged. "I'll go get her," he repeated before loping toward the front door. Lance turned back to the car. Leaning down so he could see Ari through the open driver's side door, he said, "Look, Ari, Aunt Janie is coming out to talk to you. Uncle Brett died eleven years ago, and Val says Janie still worries about you."
"Right." Ari shifted in her seat, turning her back on Lance. "I'm guessing you're half, and that makes you outcast," she accused.
"Not in this family; we recognize our own, no matter what."
"Hmmph."
"What's going on?" Nico asked from the back seat. "Can Mac and I get out? We'd like to look around."
"Sure," Lance blinked at Nico in the dim light of the car's interior. "Just don't wander far, okay."
"We won't." Nico opened the door and slid out of the car. Mac flapped after him, landing on his shoulder.
"Look, Detective, nothing you can say or do will ever make me come to terms with any of this," Ari flung over her shoulder.
"Arianne?" Aunt Janie now stood beside Lance and leaned down to get a better look at Ari. "Lance says you're in danger, and that you were attacked last night. At least let us protect you until they find the ones responsible for this mess. We're the best defense anyone can have in a situation like this."
"I have no quarrel with you," Ari still had her back turned to Lance and Janie.
"I made sure you and your mother were fed and taken care of during the trial. I'm sorry there wasn't anything we could do about the shooter. He was told to stay away on the full moon. He wanted the job over with, so he disobeyed. You remember that, don't you?"
"All just empty words," Ari sniffled. "The fucker is still alive, too."
"I told Brett not to hire a human. He didn't listen. I've never been so sorry in my life that he refused to take my advice. Please, come into the house. I know you haven't slept, and I hear you had to protect that boy against a monster last night."
"I guess it's too late to convince Detective Elliott that I used a knife, huh?"
Lance watched as Ari tried to hide the wiping away of tears.
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"He's going to swear that's exactly what happened," Janie said gently. "You did what you had to, to protect yourself and the boy. If you'll come with me, I'll fix breakfast for all of you. I have guest rooms ready for you, too, if you want to sleep after breakfast."
"I want to go home," Ari's head dropped against the window.
"I know. Right now, that's not possible. Come with me, and we'll help as much as we can. I know nothing will ever replace what you lost, but can we call a truce until this gets sorted?"
"Ari, this is the best option, really," Lance said quietly. "You don't have to say anything to anybody or do anything you don't want to while you're here. I need to get to work—I've got messages from Mona about Nico's phone, and more information on the man who died last night."
"Fine." Ari flung open the car door and stepped out awkwardly, as if she no longer knew what to do with her own arms and legs.
"She wants to shift," Janie whispered softly to Lance. "And she can't, because of the boy."
"Yeah. Let's go get her." Ari had walked aimlessly toward the edge of the driveway, where she'd stopped beside a mass of flowering lilies. Still hugging herself, Lance wondered if she were crying again.
"I'll get her," Janie put a hand on his arm. "You go to work. Keep us informed, all right? If she needs to get out of state fast because of what happened last night, we'll see to it."
"I don't think it'll come to that, but I'll let you know. Thanks, Aunt Janie. I really appreciate this." He leaned in to kiss her cheek before climbing into the car.
Ari stiffened when Janie Jordan placed a careful hand on her shoulder. "Come inside, now. This sun is blistering already," Janie coaxed.
Without a word, Ari followed Janie into the house. Nico and Mac caught up and walked in with them.
Janie led them toward the kitchen, where the scent of food tickled Ari's nostrils. "You must be starving," she turned toward Nico.
"I kinda am," he confessed. "Are those biscuits?" His eyes grew round at the sight of a large pan of the fluffy, homemade bread.
"We have sausage gravy to go with them, if you want," Janie smiled. "Sit down at the island, I'll bring plates. Does the bird need a plate, too?"
"Bird. Needs a. Plate," Mac declared, making Nico snicker.
"It's good to see you smile," Ari said, sounding weary. "Food smells delicious, Janie. Nico, Janie Jordan, here, is one of the best cooks I've ever met. Janie, this is Nicolas Garcia and that," she pointed toward Mac, "is Cormac Flynn, but he goes by Mac."
"Not sure I've ever met a bird who spoke my language before," Janie nodded to Mac. "Good to meet you, Nico. Now, I have sausage and bacon, scrambled eggs and biscuits and gravy. Who wants what?" Janie bustled around the kitchen, setting out plates and flatware, before placing a platter of meat and a bowl of sausage gravy on the island.
"Saw-sage and gray-vee, pleaze," Mac said.
"And he has manners, too," Janie smiled. "Would you like your sausage patty crumbled?"
"Pleaze."
Nico and Ari watched in fascination as Janie crumbled the sausage on Mac's plate, then poured gravy over it.
"Thank. You," Mac said before scooping up food with his beak.
Nico asked for some of everything, with orange juice. Mac got water with his food; Ari had eggs, bacon, a biscuit and coffee.
"I've never seen a raven with any red feathers," Janie said as she sipped a cup of coffee.
"It's. A curse," Mac croaked.
"Good one, Mac," Nico said. "High five?"
Mac lifted the wing nearest Nico, who tapped it gently.
"Unbelievable," Ari mumbled and finished her coffee.
"Here's everything we got from the kid's phone," Mona handed Lance a thumb drive and a file. "Touristy stuff from Spain, emails from his mother, pictures of his parents at restaurants; nothing that would be flagged as out of the ordinary."
"What about the security recordings from the gallery across the street from Blue Taco?"
"We're still going through those but so far, our dead man hasn't been in them."
"He may have been the house bomber," Lance theorized.
"Or one of them," Mona agreed. "If he wasn't alone last night, I'm sure Ms. Leone scared the others away."
"Did you talk to Aunt Janie?"
"I did."
"And?"
Mona leaned in as close as she could. "Mountain lion," she whispered.
"That would explain some things, all right."
"I can give you more later, but for now, I have to keep going through security footage." Mona nodded at her cousin and turned to go.
"Lunch?" he called out after her.
"Sure thing. One-thirty?"
"I'll meet you in the parking garage. Let me know if you find anything else on those recordings."
Mona waved a hand in agreement and disappeared around a corner. Lance turned; Belwether expected a meeting on where Nico was and how he was being protected. Lance had to be quick on his feet to refuse police surveillance on the property. He also had to find out if the patrol car and the two on duty last night had been found.
"Belwether wants to see you, and do you want to contribute to the collection for Norm's daughter? She's still in college, you know," Lance's sometimes partner, Kyle Anthony, stopped him in the hallway to ask.
"Bethany and her mother haven't had much to do with Norm for the past five years, but sure, I'll pitch in." Lance pulled out his wallet and handed Kyle forty dollars. What he didn't say was that there weren't many who did have anything to do with Norm if they could help it.
Still, nobody deserved to die like that. With a nod to Kyle, Lance continued his journey toward Belwether's office. He was pretty sure Norm's name would crop up in the conversation somewhere, since Lance was the last one to work with him.
"Come in and take a load off," Belwether motioned Lance into his office. "Shut the door, too. Want coffee?"
"I'll take coffee—not much sleep last night," Lance admitted.
"Well, we got a double check on the dead perp. They insist that's a dead man from Corpus. Fingerprints match, images match. Somebody's trying to screw with us."
"They are screwing with us. There's no trying involved," Lance said, taking a paper cup filled with coffee from Belwether's pot, then sitting on a guest chair.
"The kid and the woman are at the Jordan Ranch?"
"As of early this morning. My aunt is taking care of them right now. Val has every hand of his watching for anybody or anything out of the ordinary."
"If they need backup," Belwether began.
"We'll keep you informed," Lance replied. "No worries. They're as safe there as they can be anywhere. Mona's gone through the kid's phone—says there's nothing there out of the ordinary, either here or during his parents' trip to Spain last year. She's still going over the security stuff from Ari's gallery. What are we going to do with the dead guy?"
"I've asked forensics to bump him up their list and take a look. They ought to be able to tell whether the guy was killed last night or died four days ago."
"You'd think so," Lance agreed, hoping his voice didn't betray a hint of sarcasm.
"The kid needs a lawyer—he has his parents' business dealings, insurance and that sort of thing to handle, and probably has no idea what to do. The people who died there may be covered by a business policy, but we need somebody working on that soon."
"Val has a good lawyer on his payroll," Lance offered. "I'll see if he's available or can recommend somebody. There are no other relatives in the country, according to Mona."
"What about Mexico?"
"She's still working on that."
"Tell her to keep me in the loop."
"Sure thing." Lance stood, preparing to leave Belwether's office.
"We've got the kid's car—what's left of it—in impound. It was parked behind the restaurant, next to his parents' vehicle. They're going through it to make sure there's nothing incriminating, or if anything was planted in it by somebody else."
"Should I keep that from Nico?"
"No; it's something to talk to the lawyer about, too. You can feel him out about it if you want."
"This isn't the type of kid who'd murder his folks, you know."
"I figure that's true, but we can't assume anything."
"I'll keep you informed." Lance walked out, tossing his empty coffee cup in Belwether's wastebasket on the way. Something was way off on all of this; he seldom disagreed with Belwether but somehow, the Captain was going down the wrong track on this one—Lance felt it in his bones.
Time for a visit to the Medical Examiner's office; he wanted another look at the man Ari killed.
"What's all the fuss about?" Lance approached one of several officers standing guard outside the Medical Examiner's office.
"There's something going on inside—don't have much information, Detective," the officer replied after Lance showed his badge. "Most of the building has been evacuated. Could be hazardous materials or something."
Lance's phone rang—it was Mona calling. "I have to take this," he waved his thanks to the officer and stepped away.
"Mona? What's up?"
"You're not going to believe this," she began. "Belwether got a call from the ME—says that the cadaver from Ari Leone's house started twitching, and when it got off the gurney on its own, everybody started running. Right now, it's locked inside one of the exam rooms, knocking stuff around."
"What the hell?" Lance couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I just got to the ME's office, and there are uniforms everywhere. One just told me most of the building has been evacuated. The guy's head was nearly severed. No way he can still be alive."
"What if he isn't?" Mona asked. "Those people in Corpus still insist he's a dead man."
"It's just not possible. This is reality, Mona. Zombies don't exist."
"There has to be some explanation for it. It's happening, whether we believe it or not."
"Look, I'll meet you for lunch as planned. I think I'll go back to Blue Taco. We must be missing something in all this."
"I'm still going through that security video. Let me know if anything new turns up at the scene."
Raven, Red Page 3
